Thierry Mugler Oriental Express & Supra Floral (Les Exceptions)

Thierry Mugler launched a prestige collection last year called Les Exceptions, created by Chanel‘s Olivier Polge with Jean-Christophe Hérault. The collection has five fragrances: Oriental Express, Supra Floral, Chyprissime, Fougère Furieuse, and Over the Musk. Modernistic techniques like IFF’s “Head Space” technology were used, according to what one of the perfumers told the blog, Grain de Musc, who found the fragrances to carry a “retro-futuristic” aesthetic. I tried two of the line and don’t think they’re as interesting or complex as that description, but one of them is very enjoyable.

Source: 2luxury2.com

Source: 2luxury2.com

The fragrances are an attempt to partake in the niche trend, so they bear a higher price tag than what is the norm for Mugler and are only available in limited fashion. Outside of Mugler’s U.S. and French websites, I’ve only seen the collection on the American Nordstrom website and Canada’s The Bay. Only a few Nordstrom shops are expected to carry it in-store. Oddly, the scents are not available for actual purchase on a number of Mugler’s sub-sites, like its Italian one, and the perfumes are not even listed on its U.K. page.

Though I generally try not to cover scents with very limited availability, two of the scents caught my eye. Oriental Express tempted me because of its notes and the name’s implicit reference to the legendary train. Supra Floral intrigued me because it is a hyacinth soliflore with incense. Hyacinth is one of my favorite flowers and one that is rarely highlighted in perfumery, let alone with incense. Finally, on a superficial note, the bottles look very chic, sleek, and expensive. So, here are reviews for Oriental Express and Supra Floral.

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Upcoming New Releases: Neela Vermeire Pichola

Neela Vermeire will be adding a new fragrance to her line this Spring, an eau de parfum called Pichola (pronounced “Pitchola”). It was inspired by Lake Pichola in Udaipur, Rajasthan, scene of the stunning Lake Palace and location for the James Bond film, “Octopussy.”

The Lake Palace in Lake Pichola, Udaipur. Source: topindiatravel.com

The Lake Palace in Lake Pichola, Udaipur. Source: topindiatravel.com

Pichola is a floriental (or floral-oriental) created in conjunction with Neela Vermeire’s usual “nose,”  Bertrand Duchaufour. The press release provides the following information and perfume notes:

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Histoires de Parfums Tubereuse 3 Animale

"Luna Surface" by Adrian on Flickr. (Direct website link embedded within.)

“Luna Surface” by Adrian on Flickr. (Direct website link embedded within.)

A shape-shifting, smoky floral leather with resinous darkness and honeyed sweetness lies at the heart of Tubereuse 3 Animale, a most unusual, unconventional take on the flower from Histoires de Parfums. Instead of icy floralcy, the flowers are restrained and blanketed by a dense haze of honeyed immortelle which slowly turns them into a shimmering mirage before swallowing them up entirely in sweet smokiness that verges on the sulfurous at times. The whole thing lies on a thick river of resinous leather, dark tobacco, dry hay, and prunes with an almost molasses-like richness and flecks of chocolate. This is not your regular tuberose, and it’s certainly not your mother’s Fracas. No, this is a different beast entirely — a dark, wholly unisex, sometimes challenging, often sexy fragrance that some consider to be one of the great gems in the Histoires de Parfums line and many love with great abandon. I think it bears a definite kinship to 1740 (Marquis de Sade), its sibling in the Histoires de Parfums’ line, and is a “tuberose” that might surprise you.

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Histoires de Parfums 1740 (Marquis de Sade)

1740 was the birth year of the Marquis de Sade, a man linked to such infamy that his very name became a byword for the most heinous acts of licentiousness and cruelty. 1740 is also the name of a fragrance created by Histoires de Parfums, a French niche perfume house founded in 2000 by Gérald Ghislain, that seeks to encapsulate the essence of historical figures in olfactory form.

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Source: telegraph.co.uk

At first glance, the choice to immortalize the Marquis de Sade in scent might seem to be an odd one. After all, his actions often amounted to an extreme form of sadism, and there is debate as to whether all the women involved actually consented. Many were prostitutes which would seem to negate much free will in the matter (even if others loved him to the every end). Plus, the ideas expressed in de Sade’s books are rather unpalatable, taking matters outside the arena of “Fifty Shades of Grey” erotica. (Not that I’ve read the latter, as I’ve heard the writing is atrocious.)

"The Marquis de Sade's Personal Devils," 1912, unknown artist. Source: calicultural.net

“The Marquis de Sade’s Personal Devils,” 1912, unknown artist. Source: calicultural.net

However, there is a new school of thought regarding the infamous Marquis which puts him in the context of the aristos’ behavior of the time, as well as the precarious political situation of the Ancien Regime. In The Marquis de Sade: A New Biography, Donald Thomas explains that the Marquis shared the sexual proclivities of many “grand seigneurs,” such that there was even a law going back to 1319 providing fines for various levels of sexual misconduct. His acts were nothing new, particularly at the highest levels, like the notorious Regent, the Duc d’Orleans, who ran the country for an infant Louis XV. Sade’s difficulties came not from unorthodox behavior, but from having that behavior made public in the press at a time when the Ancien Regime was teetering on political revolution. So, he was made a convenient scapegoat, one designed to draw attention from many similar acts happening at Versailles. Whether he deserve the full extent of his subsequent infamy is the subject of debate, but Donald Thomas’ book is one that I highly recommend for anyone who is interested in the matter.

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