Yes, This is a True Story

Pretty much what I said when I was in London, UK this September. Just went straight to Harrods' Serge Lutens section and asked for Iris Silver Mist--completely missed the Serge Lutens Paris boutique pilgrimage due to some awful directions merely days before that--and no, for the records Harrods wouldn't get ISM on behalf of anyone. So it's true, one cannot get "everything and anything" there.

Please don't get me wrong: I know ISM is a Paris Serge Lutens Paris boutique exclusive, and on-line ordering via the designer's official website can happen with the help of an European resident--merely an observation on, as I've said before, how not everything conveyed in the market is necessarily true just because it has been repeated over and over.

'Tis time like this a supportive long-distance partner who lives in Europe could come in handy, no? Someone who wouldn't (and frankly, shouldn't) consider the task of acquiring a Serge Lutens Paris exclusive and mail it to Canada an obligation under the law of reciprocity. Unfortunately none can be available in my case. Oh well, someday I will head back to Paris, armed with better directions.

(Or Serge Lutens can lessen the inconvenience by finally adding ISM to the export line. Now where's that on-line petition again? I think I have something to sign...)

Illustration by Someecards.com, text by AlbertCAN

I am Afraid This is Necessary

Honestly, why do many professionals think that nobody will be able to tell when cheaper ingredients are used during reformulation?

Illustration by Someecards.com, text by AlbertCAN

Playlist of the Moment: Classical

The 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition has just wrapped up several weeks ago in Fort Worth, Texas and Japanese concert pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, who is blind at birth, won the competition. (Tsuji shared the highest honours at the Van Cliburn with 19-year-old Zhang Haochen from China.) I should add that the Van Cliburn is one of the most prestigeous piano competitions; many consider it just as grand as the Leeds (held in Leeds, England), the Tchaikovsky (held in Moscow, Russia) and the Chopin (held in Warsaw, Poland). Anyhow, since seeing (and in this case, listening) is believing here are the requisite YouTube clips...

Preliminary Round: Selection from Chopin Twelve Etudes, Op.10



Preliminary Round: Liszt Paganini Etude No. 3 "La Campanella"



Preliminary Round: Selection from Images by Debussy, Book I





Semifinal Round: Beethoven Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 106, "Hammerklavier"



Final Recital: Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2



Final Recital: Chopin Berceuse, Op.57　



The competition actually ends with a customary concerto round but since his performance of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 is too long for me to post in its entirety please Google the footage if you are interested. Anyhow, enjoy!

Clips uploaded by Balloon0429 and the Van Cliburn Foundation on YouTube

Nope, I am Dead Serious

My decorum has prevented me from commenting on the specifics aside from raising this pertinent question. For information please refer to here.

Illustration by Someecards.com, text by AlbertCAN

Oh Yeah, I've Heard of This One (A Lot)

In marketing it's formally called "extending product life cycle", "increasing market shares", or simply "prospecting target demographic". (I know the talk and it doesn't mean that I have gone to the dark side.) But after a while one starts to wonder when would it be the time to create fragrances for people who enjoy wearing, let alone smelling, scented products? Sigh.

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(All Joking Aside) I Do Have a Point

Recently I stumbled upon a former acquaintance's travel blog and he, much to my horror, devoted one of his latest entries on how little can he offer the other person, who considers him as a boyfriend, aside from physical passion. I thought of sending him a stern message...but then I remember how we came to be former acquaintances. Besides, as I have said repeatedly on this blog: who am I to judge?

The incident nonetheless prompted me to think about my relationship with my life, how various elements have influenced me. And then it dawned on me...

As a fragrance writer I have a relationship with perfumery whether I like it or not.

No, I am not kidding: if one advocates going beyond instaneous consumerism then a rapport, regardless of the nature, has to be established between the object and the user. After all, if Coco Chanel advocates the elegance in refusal how else would one make a choice in a sea of scented concoctions? A choice, no matter how insignifigant, signifies favoring one relationship over another in this case--how else would one advocate limited resources? Something's gotta give no matter what.

Don't get me wrong...I am not substituting my scented relationship with the real thing, but what is our perfumery habit? What does that say about us? It is one of those issues which, as much as I would like to wax lyrical about, is best suited with on-going questions than with definitive answers.

Templates by Someecards.com and text by AlbertCAN

Bizarre Layering Challenge of the Day

As if the smolderingly hot summer August air isn't suffice I am uncorking my oriental fragrances. I have long suspected that Serge Lutens Chergui develops along a similar path as Guerlain Shalimar (I have the parfum edition) so one plus one gives, not surprisingly, still one: Chergui seems to contributes to both ends of Shalimar, with the lime opening brightens the bergamot end of Shalimar while the Lutens amber base gives the Guerlain classic vanilla signature yet another dimension. Chergui's hay absolute hovers at the back, providing an interesting counterpoint to the blend's iris backbone. "Tis a very subtle improvement, mind you, but harmonious enough to make a difference upon closer inspection. A keeper.

Photo: Ossian's Dream by Ingres, via Lib-Art.com

Feel Free to Pick One (If You Must)

I can't help but adding these two satires after having a discussion on perfumery misconceptions with Angela from Now Smell This. (For more info please refer to here.) The possibilities are endless but I suppose nobody needs to see infinite variations.

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Humour Me for a Second, Please

Heated debates need not apply here: this is merely a rhetorical question which I am all painfully aware of the answers. (And please: no more "innovation does not sell" or "creativity=strange" fallacies, which are as repetitive as the juices coming out these days.) Too disenchanted with contemporary perfumery to get into the specifics today so perhaps more later.

Note: Much to the horror of many fragrance aficionadi I actually consider Issey Miyake L'Eau d'Issey as the last ground-breaking fragrance. (For the specifics on how so please refer to "Perfume Legends: French Feminine Fragrances" by Michael Edwards.)

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Playlist of the Moment: Alternative Folk Rock

If there's a crime for neglecting one's blog yours truly is guilty as charged! But since I am not ready to talk about perfumery (just yet) here are what I have been listening from the folk rock music scene along with my clumsy intros to boot.

Seattle-based independent folk-rock act Fleet Foxes is making all the right moves and it's not hard to see why: critics and fans alike praise the refined lyrics and vocal harmonies in songs like "Blue Ridge Mountains", which the band performs here live at Letterman. Hmm, maybe the band formally known as "Pineapple" (which they dropped due to another band sharing the name) will get even better? One scary thought.



Best sign of a true artist: sounding ever better live with minimal accompaniment. Here 2008 Polaris Music Prize finalist Basia Bulat performs "Snakes and Ladders" with just a guitar and hits all the right notes. I finally saw her live a few weeks ago and she just had a great stage presence. She was also one of the nicest person I've met in a while (I got her autographs--twice). Talent and personality: now that's a fantastic combo.



First heard of the following song from the season finale of "How I Met Your Mother" and now I am hooked to AC Newman's "Prophet" ad nauseum. That's one rare instance which I don't mind being influenced by the mainstream media.



A sneak sample of the Great Lake Swimmers' immense talent for transforming complex material into breaths of pure lyricism. Believe it or not lead singer Tony Dekker sounds even better in person: heard this song at the 2009 Vancouver Folk Festival (YouTube footage not from the festival) and he just gave everyone goosebumps with the intricately resonant timbre of his voice. Neil Young would be mighty proud of this up-and-coming Canadian act.



Oh, one more before I dash off! Great Lake Swimmers' "Various Stages" is in high rotation on my iPod right now. Behold the group's great ability to tell such a complex story: any psychologist will surely get a kick out of the lyrics with words such as "How high your highest of heights? How low are your lows?" Needless to say the song was a hit at this year's Vancouver Folk Music Festival. Enjoy!



Clips courtesy of YouTube

A Quick Public Service Announcement

As some of you might know this summer I have been developing a modern art blog called (surprisingly enough) The Modernism Within. Since having one active blog is better than two inactive ones (no prize for correcting guessing how attentive I have been when it comes to blogging in the purest sense) I am reposting the relevant articles below and retiring the modern art blog. Oh, almost forgot: I like the template for the other blog so much that I am borrowing that one for Les Tuileries. (My only consolation is that self plagerization is not a crime: at least not yet!) Here, that's the quick public service announcement for the day.

Card template by Someecards.com and text by AlbertCAN