"Cinescent" by Gabriela Guidetti (December 2016)

Fundamental – Rubini (2015) 

vs

 Ex_Machina - Alex Garland (2015) 

Caleb: So what? You want me to talk about myself?
Ava: Yes.
Caleb: Where... Okay, where do I start?
Ava: It's your decision. I'm interested to see what you'll choose.
(tratto da Ex Machina, 2015)

Nel 2015 sono sbocciate due magnifiche creature che per caso o fortuna sembrano legate dallo stesso inarrestabile destino. Fundamental, la prima fragranza della maison Rubini, e Ava, la protagonista del primo film diretto da Alex Garland, lo sceneggiatore preferito da Danny Boyle.
Ed entrambe hanno fatto parlare di sé.

J'Adore by Dior (EdP reformulation, 2016).

Probably you have already heard the buzz: J'adore EdP was reformulated again in the autumn of 2016.
I would not want to say if it's for better (or worse), this time I wanted to check it according to the "fragrance formula trick" explained by Alberto Converano some time ago (here the original article) ...and I have to agree with, since I can smell a certain difference, and read a different "formula" at the same time.

SAMSARA, the Legend.

Hello!
This is my first solo post at "Raiders of the Lost Scent" and the first chapter of a small bunch of fragrances that changed my life. 
I'd like to start with one of my favourite scents since I was a teen: "Samsara" by Guerlain, one of the most spectacular exhibitions of Jasmine and Sandalwood ever created: in my opinion, it's a scent near perfection, and it was an instant love.

How to recognize CARON perfumes (1965-2015)

Dear Sirs,
we are a couple of avid scent collectors, and we stumbled upon your magnificent blog. What a surprise to be able to "decode" so many perfumes at last! 
However, we noticed a big void: Perfumes CARON.
Hence here's a short guide for dating most CARON fragrances from 1965 to 2015. Please note this has to be intended as a tribute to Caron, one of the finest perfume brands ever created, and not for commercial purpose. Caron suffered many highs and downs during its history, but succeeded in maintaining an high standard of quality. Many Carons are really masterpiece of perfumery.
Unfortunately, the huge amount of different boxes and bottles produced for the same scent make the "dating" a bit difficult. Just as an example, more than fifteen different boxes/bottles of "Infini de Caron" were produced! Put simply, you can't rely on shape of the bottle (or textures on the boxes) only.
Here you will learn how to "decode" the batchcodes: not so easy at first sight, but you will soon understand the "pattern". A lot of tutorial pics will help you.
Anyway, please keep this guide free, and without commercial purposes.
Sincerely,
Alessandro C.
Gisella B.

Yesterday and Today: "La Nuit de L'Homme" EdT, by Yves Saint Laurent (guest post)

Hi there! 
This is my first post, here at "Raiders of the Lost Scent". A few months ago I wrote a brief note about "fragrance formulas" reported on the boxes in all Dior perfumes, suggesting them as a method for detecting reformulations (see here). Surprisingly, that post gained a lot of resonance among perfume enthusiasts (you can find discussions and even Youtube videos explaining formulas written on the box, codes, "secret numbers".....).   
Following this track, I accepted to make a funny, similar work, with another acclaimed male scent: La Nuit de l'Homme EdT, by Yves Saint Laurent, performing tests, then checking "formulas" on the boxes and discussing the results. 
Yves Saint Laurent has actually been using "formulas" for a long time, and every YSL scent (EdP, EdT, AfterShave) has its own "formula" at the end of the ingredient listed on the box.

GUERLAIN Stickers.

"Dears,
Elena and I were very thrilled listening your idea about dating old Guerlain perfumes relying on stickers only, and we checked our old family archives to find out some useful infos identifying all subtle differences you mentioned. It was amusing, a sort of jigsaw puzzle game, and we found some interesting things. It is not 100% accurate, of course, but it could be useful when you have to rely on stickers only, without any further clue (box, codes...). 
We hope this can helps. 

Yours, 

Elena and Vincenzo"

(All pictures were sent from friends around the web, and were purposedly placed side-by-side to the text: if some copyright infringement occurred, please let us know) 

Smell Festival Estate (Carovigno, 5-7 agosto 2016)

Diario di un fine settimana profumato: 
Smell Festival Estate, Carovigno 5-7 agosto, 2016.

by Gabriela Guidetti

Dopo la bellissima esperienza dello Smell Festival a Bologna lo scorso maggio, in questo 2016 ho raddoppiato il piacere di trascorrere un fine settimana profumato in occasione del primo Smell Festival Estate che si è tenuto tra il 5 e il 10 agosto presso il Castello Dentice di Frasso a Carovigno e nella riserva naturale di Torre Guaceto, incantevoli luoghi incastonati nell'Alto Salento pugliese.

Cinescent: Rubj VS. Irma la Douce (by Gabriela Guidetti)

Rubj (Vero.Profumo, 2007) 

Irma la Douce (Billy Wilder, 1963)

Nestor: Pardon me, do you have a licence?
Irma (walking her dog): A licence? No.
Nestor: It's a violation of ordinance No. 56
Irma: Oh, usually they let us get away with it. 
Nestor: Not me. And according to the law, you're supposed to keep it on a leash. 
Irma: On a leash?
(from Irma la Douce)

If there is a director that challenged common morality during his age, that was Billy Wilder, the master who directed movies imbued with biting humour, disregarding any rule or convention. 

SMELL FESTIVAL 2016: a Diary by Gabriela Guidetti.

(ALL PICTURES by SMELL FESTIVAL)

Magiae Naturae Smell festival 2016, Bologna 21/22 maggio.

Aggiornaremo degli odori, e de'profumi dopo le distillazioni, arte conosciuta, e sua parente, perche da quelle ricerca i suoi odori, e li compone insieme, e fà i profumi, accioche di quà, e di là soavissimamente spiri gli odori suoi 
(tratto da Della Magia Naturale di Gio.Battista della Porta. Libro Undecimo - Il qual da ogni parte spira soavissimi odori – Proemio. Traduzione da latino in volgare)

Parlare di due giorni intensissimi trascorsi avvolta da centinaia di magici odori, non è impresa facile. Io ho purtroppo vissuto solo una parte di questa splendida festa dell'olfatto che è Smell Festival che è iniziata il 18 e si è conclusa il 22 maggio, perciò vi racconterò del fine settimana che mi ha visto interagire con aromi preziosi e magnifiche persone tra le mura antiche e affascinanti del Museo internazionale e biblioteca della Musica nel cuore storico e pulsante della dotta Bologna.

CINESCENT by Gabriela Guidetti: "Barbarella" vs. "Calandre".

"Barbarella" (Roger Vadim, 1968)

VS.

"Calandre" (Paco Rabanne, 1969) 

A perfume should be as imbued with meaning as it is light to wear (Paco Rabanne)

Dildano: Are you typical of Earth women?
Barbarella: I'm about average. 
(from "Barbarella", 1968)

Basque-born and rebel at heart, Paco Rabanne revealed himself as a revolutionary spirit since the beginning of his career in fashion. And despite he wasn't warmly welcomed by his colleagues, as Coco Chanel who called him "the metal-worker of fashion"......

"Perfumes I love", by Luca Turin.

Disclosure:  since we are italians, there could be a little bias in what we follow.... and Luca Turin is not a simple name, but "The Name", since his early, magnificent book "Parfums: le Guide", published during 1992-1994.
It was the book which started all (followed by many other works), and a cornerstone, especially for fragrance lovers with a passionate and "scientific" point-of-view. 
So, we are really glad to read Luca's new "perfumed" blog HERE 

"Bentornato, Professore!!"

perfumesilove.com 

CINESCENT by Gabriela Guidetti: Chanel Nr.5 VS Moulin Rouge (April 2016)

"Je lance ma collection le 5 mai, cinquième mois de l'année, laissons lui le numéro qu'il porte et ce numéro 5 lui portera chance" (Coco Chanel)

Satine - “Christian, I'm a courtesan. I'm paid to make men believe what they want to believe” (from "Moulin Rouge")

Dior Homme, Dior Homme Intense, and other stories.... (guest post)

Dear Sirs, a few years ago, during the 2000s, I had a brief stint in the cosmetic industry as a chemist. Although I am not particularly fond of those years, I am nonetheless entertained in knowing all debates about "reformulations", analyzing batch-by-batch, month-by-month, picture-by-picture. 
I especially enjoyed the ones regarding to Dior Homme, Dior Homme Intense, Dior Homme Parfum, and generically, all Dior perfumes and cosmetics. And when Andre from "Raiders" pointed out another probable reformulation occurring at the beginning of 2015, I decided to write this short note. Why? Because there is basically a very quick way to understand if a "reformulation" happened. 

SMELL FESTIVAL 2016 : Magiae Naturalis.

  Illustrazione © Georges Bousquet - Casajordi.

The perfume of Smell Festival 2016 is “Magiae Naturalis”.
From May 18 to 22, 2016, Bologna once again welcomes “Smell – Festival dell'Olfatto”, the event dedicated to the sense of smell and the art of perfume. “Magiae Naturalis” has been chosen as the theme for the VII edition. With international guests, exhibits and paths dedicated to botanical perfumery, the Festival celebrates the “Perfumer-Magician” and Nature, the inevitable reference point for any fragrance lover.

A cup of coffee with...VERO KERN (March, 2016)

“What a nice interview! Thank you very much!

 I highly appreciated the original, 

non-stereotyped questions about perfumery -

  it was a real pleasure for me to answer.”   

Vero Kern, March 2016

Today I meet a dear friend, a perfume Lady who, in a few years, has given us some of the most fascinating fragrances of contemporary olfactory landscape: she's Vero Kern. From her native Switzerland, Vero has been able to spread over the air not only the unique aroma of her creations, but also the love for a research that turned her passion into art……

CINESCENT by Gabriela Guidetti (February 2016)

Aromatics Elixir (Clinique, 1971) 

vs 

Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)

Bob: I don't want to leave.
Charlotte: Then don't. Stay here with me. We'll start a jazz band.
 (Lost In Translation)


In the early 70s, Clinique decided to rely the creation of its first fragrance on Bernard Chant's expert hands: he was an exquisite connoisseur of aldehydes, since he wisely balanced them in classics scents like Cabochard by Grès plus Estée and Aramis by Estée Lauder....

Scented Interviews: Francesca Faruolo and Smell Festival 2016.

Smell Festival 2016 – illustration by Casajordi

Gabriela Guidetti meets Francesca Faruolo

Today I meet a special friend, Francesca Faruolo. Francesca lives in Bologna, where in 2010 created one of the most artistic event in Italian perfumery universe, the Smell Festival, an international festival dedicated to the culture of smell and to the art of perfume. This olfactive journey has its highlight moment in May and covers the whole year with courses, workshops and events to offer the public a melting pot training of fragrant and sensory experiences.

"Then and Now": Bandit, de Robert Piguet.

If you love "leathery" scents, you should know Bandit. 

Alongside with Cabochard (Grès), Aramis, Knize Ten, Jolie Madame (Balmain), Cuir de Russie (Chanel), and a few others, Bandit is one of the most famous "leathery" scents ever made.

It's one of  the greatest perfumes (together with Fracas) produced by Robert Piguet, created during the Forties by Germaine Cellier.

There are a lot of articles about Bandit (and about Robert Piguet's perfumes) so if you want read reviews, you will find as usual a lot of references at the end of the article.

A bit of recent History: after many glorious decades, the "Robert Piguet Parfums" brand was sold in 1985 to Alfin Fragrances, then sold again in 1995 to Fashion Fragrances & Cosmetics Ltd, which currently own the brand. It took a certain amount of time to completely reformulate and relaunch the scents, in 1998, with the label of the "original formula, certified by Givaudan".

Recently, at the end of 2012, Bandit underwent a reformulation due to IFRA restriction laws.