the world according to fabrice penot: le labo in the bazaar

was quietly editing today along with my santal 33 candle from le labo, when i came across the issue of harper’s bazaar russia. i’m amazed as to how russian language has changed since i used to speak it as a child. forget high german, i can barely understand it. that said, mr. penot’s life is a life of envy. who wouldn’t want to be around the fabulous smells and good vibes of le labo on a daily basis? they have become a little piece of nolita’s modern history by now and we can’t get enough of them… by xy

Cire Trudon wafting into town


cire trudon is the worlds oldest candle maker, and is the newest addition of french scent indulgences in new york’s nolita neighborhood. 54 bond street, downstairs, to be exact. with 367 years of heritage, being the candle producer for royalty, and having developed the perfect wax for cleanly sharing their fragrances this may call for a showdown with previously reigning french scent stars at le labo. by kl

fan di fendi – fendi’s newest fragrance launch: out in september 2010

after fendi pulled all of their existing fragrances off the market, for over a year, there was a vacant spot begging to be filled. “fan di fendi” is the newest launch due in stores this september 2010. the simple yellow packaging and the proportion of the bottle are quite beautiful and summary, however the name is a little uncool for our taste. not only it sounds odd upon first read, its rather a direct derivative of the very successful j’adore dior. one would have expected karl lagerfeld to resist it just for that, but one can see how such a name can make marketing directors and the family filled with excitement. after all who doesn’t want “fans”… or for that matter to be “adored”. the only problem is that naming it that doesn’t necessarily make it so. the jus is signed by perfumer delphine lebeau-krowiakj and the ad campaign is, once again, created by mr baron (yawn!) and features models anja rubik, abbey lee and karmen pedaru suspended in a moment of rock and roll ecstasy.

for the record, our favorite fendi has always been the original classic “fendi by fendi”. the 70’s scent was delicious but unfortunately found it’s way into the low end retailers in the 80’s and the rest was histrory. with a bit of re packaging and updating that scent could find a great spot next to the latest, and we hope fendi will consider bringing that back. by dd

what comes around goes around


our friend jean luc godard once said that “the matter it’s not where you take things from, but where you bring them to”… well not very far in this case but it’s enough to be great.
so, i love the original, i love the new version and i can’t wait to smell those pretty byredo perfumes that i’ve seen all around for a while but never been able to put my noze on. by pp’

an aphrodisiac


after reading that this eau de parfum by killan has been created to be an olfactive aphrodisiac, using the narcotic lure of tobacco I am extremely curious to smell this . never did I imagine the smell of tobacco as an aphrodisiac…this surely has to be tested immediately. the back to black can be purchased at aedes de venustas for a mere $225. by kv

Ask: Fabrice Penot- perfumer/sorcerer- Le labo

my favorite _____ is:
-book: “the trouble of being born” by cioran… which impacted my life as much as “finding nemo” did for zoe, my daughter, when she discovered it last week.
-album: bach, goldberg variations ( glenn gould)
-city: man, NEW YORK CITY… in 1985. at least my idea of it.
-place: my head on jennifer’s belly
-film: once upon a time in america…
-restaurant: real food daily, santa monica…
-hero: in history? diogenes. right now? the iranian people
-smell: pure birchwood… smells like my grandfather’s garage
-artist: banksy… come on, beyond the hype around him, this guy is fucking brilliant
-hotel: ACE hotel in nyc
-peculiarity: ADD. i can’t concentrate more than 6 seconds on 1 single subject at a time… sorry, what was the question again?
-hobby: doing nothing…
-indulgence: spending more time focusing on my hobby
-moment in history: zoe’s birth! ( my daughter)
-prized possession: my super 8 camera
-vacation: big sur
-drink: coconnut water
-way to go: i want to die loved, broke, anosmic, in free fall, with a smile on my face…