What does Chicago smell like? That’s the challenge that Tru Fragrance, a private label perfume company based in the Windy City set out for itself in 2011. The team behind the label wanted to create something not done before in the fragrance world, specifically a “homegrown” scent, one planted, grown, gardened, harvested and bottled in one season, from a specific place, like Chicago. In 2012 there were about 1,100 new fragrances released in the US market. Some have done very well, others were as fleeting as their scents. But none of those perfumes have a concept like Tru Blooms Chicago, which is a fragrance truly made in Chicago. Made in Chicago means planted, grown and harvested by Chicagoans. It’s a community project, with many benefits beyond making a unique, beautiful scent. Why Chicago? Simply for the reason that it is home to Tru Fragrance and seemed the most natural candidate…
Curious About Wine and Perfume Pairings? Save The Date November 16, 2013!
Find out why it’s no longer taboo to pair wine and perfume at our upcoming workshop, The Essence of Fragrance. Join me and master perfumer Sarah Horowitz as we take you on an olfactory exploration of wine and scent on Saturday, November 16, 2013 from 4 – 6 pm. Sign up soon, this is sure to sell out fast! This workshop will take place in the greater Los Angeles area; stay tuned for location announcement. WHAT: The Essence of Fragrance – A Wine and Perfume Pairing WHEN: Saturday, November16, 2013 TIME: 4-6 pm WHERE: In the Greater Los Angeles Area CONTACT: Mary Orlin, WineFashionista mary@orlinmedia.com Sarah Horowitz sarah@sarahhorowitz.com WORKSHOP FEE: $125 per person. limit 10 people We present The Essence of Fragrance – a two hour exploration of the aromatic experience of wine and perfume, led by Master Perfumer Sarah Horowitz and Sommelier and Journalist Mary Orlin. We will be…
Fragrant Debuts: Eau de Sniffapalooza
With Sherri Sebastian of Perusa Naturals How does a perfume fanatic find out about the latest upcoming niche perfumers? At Sniffapalooza, a twice yearly event that brings fragrance lovers from around the world to New York for a weekend of spritzing, sniffing and shopping. Day one is jam-packed with up to 100 perfumes to try, a dizzying experience but loads of fun. On day two the pace isn’t nearly as frenetic, and there’s more time to enjoy all the new scents coming your way. The most interesting part of the day is lunch, when the “Eau de Sniffapalooza” forum takes place, where emerging indie brands launch and present their concepts and scents for the first time to this group of passionate perfumistas. Startups in the niche perfume industry are invited to debut their lines to the group, each giving about a 10 minute presentation to tell us who they are, what they…
The Master Perfumer – Roja Dove
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Any perfumista worth his or her Chanel No. 5 certainly knows the name Roja Dove. I knew it from the books I have written by him, as he is known as the world’s foremost authority on perfumery. I had the good fortune of being able to attend the Sniffapalooza Spring Fling in May of this year, where Roja flew in from London to make a personal appearance and launch his new fragrance line at Bergdorf Goodman. I had the even greater fortune of getting to interview him one on one. Now mind you Roja is not what you’d call a celebrity or rock star perfumer. I think he’d shudder at the suggestion of that. No other living perfumer has the prestigious title of “Professeur des Parfums,” which Roja earned six years into his fragrance career at the House of Guerlain, where…
Dress to the Vines!
It’s a weekend of wine country fashion! Join me at Jessup Cellars in the heart of Napa Valley for Dress to the Vines, a four-day celebration of fashion, wine and perfume. I’ll be doing perfume pairings with Jessup wines and Sonoma Scent Studio fragrances. We’ll dish on the latest wine country style and talk about how Napa Valley influences fashion with industry insiders, magazine editors and stylists. If you are a wine fashionista like me, you won’t want to miss this ground-breaking event that puts style on par with wine, food and art in wine country. On Thursday night, August 15, I’ll be part of a panel talking all things fashion and wine country. To kick off the event, I’m pairing three Jessup Cellars wines with perfumes from wine country based Sonoma Scent Studio that will highlight different aromatic notes in the wines. While wine and perfume together are usually…
New! The Essence of Wine and Perfume – A Pairing Workshop in LA
Please join me and master perfumer Sarah Horowitz for a super fun wine and perfume pairing workshop in Los Angeles! We’ll be pairing wine with fragrant essences curated by Sarah at her perfume studio. You’ll get to sniff and sip. The best part of all is we’ll be creating a custom, one-of-a-kind fragrance on the spot, with your input, inspired by one of the wines! You’ll be able to take a home a sample vial of this bespoke scent. This is a great way to learn about both wine and perfume, and how the two are more similar than you ever imagined. Our guest vintner is Sonja Magdevski of Casa Dumetz Wines and we’ll be pouring and pairing her wines with Sarah’s perfumes! Tell all your perfume loving friends, especially those in the Los Angeles area. Sign up early! Space is extremely limited. Detailed information on ScentTrails.com, a new perfume boutique finder and…
Original Scent Opening Draws Stars and Fragrance Fanatics
Blue and green glass bottles fill shelves against a stark white backdrop. Mixologists hold bottle stoppers out for people seated at the bar to smell. They wear white lab coats that say “Be Original Be Fabulous.” They seem to be conspiring with the guest brewing a concoction. Clear glass bottles are filled with amber colored liquids. You’d think that a special Cognac or Bourbon is being blended for a cocktail at a hipster bar. Instead, the people behind the bar are perfume gods and goddesses, waiting to help you find your own Original Scent. Then you notice Kelly Bensimon (Real Housewives of New York) sniffing and smelling at the bar. She’s consulting with artisan perfumer Sarah Horowitz to create a custom blended perfume. There’s Jeff Goldblum trying out different scents. These sessions are taking place at Original Scent, a new upscale custom fragrance boutique in Pasadena, CA. Original Scent is…
Learning To Blend Perfume – A Class With An Artisan Pefumer
When you’re really passionate about wine, there’s nothing better than getting an opportunity to visit one of your favorite wineries, meet the winemaker, and then have a blending session led by that winemaker. By learning the basics of blending, you can taste how just a few drops here or a few milliliters there of Cabernet Franc added to a Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot blend can make all the difference, one creating a blend that you don’t like at all to one that is sublime, one that you can’t wait to drink. The same principle applies in perfume blending, as I learned one recent Saturday in Los Angeles. I had met perfumer Sarah Horowitz through the Artisan Frangrance Salons held in San Francisco and LA, and I liked her perfumes very much. I’m obsessed with Perfect Coconut Milk and Beauty Comes from Within. When I heard that she also teaches a beginner’s…