Chanel Adds a New Chapter to Coco Mademoiselle
Chanel has introduced Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu, a new Eau de Parfum by the house’s in-house Perfumer-Creator Olivier Polge and the latest interpretation of the Coco Mademoiselle signature.
A lychee and grapefruit accord gives the opening its fruity, citrus character before rose and jasmine move into the heart. Patchouli, one of Coco Mademoiselle’s defining materials, remains prominent in the base, this time accompanied by ambery notes with pronounced vanilla accents and vetiver. The result takes the familiar structure into warmer, more intense territory while retaining its connection to the original.
The bottle follows the established Coco Mademoiselle silhouette, with the line’s pink-beige colour deepened for Crush Absolu and contrasted with a black label and gold lettering. Singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams fronts the new campaign as the face of the fragrance.
Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu is available in the UAE in 50ml and 100ml, priced at AED 615 and AED 845 respectively.
Santa Maria Novella Turns to Rosa Gardenia
Santa Maria Novella is bringing Rosa Gardenia back into focus for September, a floral composition built around two of perfumery’s most recognisable flowers.
Rooted in over 800 years of Florentine craftsmanship, the fragrance opens with bergamot, almond blossom and orange blossom before Centifolia rose and gardenia take over at the heart. Fig leaf and jasmine add another dimension to the florals, while sandalwood, vanilla and musk give the base its warmth.
Centifolia rose provides the central reference point. The flower is harvested during the final weeks of spring, when it reaches its fullest character, and meets the creamier profile of gardenia in a composition that draws on Santa Maria Novella’s longstanding botanical tradition.
Henry Jacques Brings Les Toupies Back to the Middle East
Henry Jacques is bringing Les Toupies back to the Middle East, with three limited-edition fragrance duos housed inside some of the French house’s most distinctive crystal flacons.
Named after spinning tops, Les Toupies began with an idea drawn from childhood. Artistic Director Christophe Tollemer spent more than three years developing the bottles with European crystal houses, eventually creating a multifaceted, mouth-blown form that remains stable despite having no central axis. Only a few hundred pairs are available.
Each duo has been composed around the relationship between two fragrances. Mr. H and Mrs. Y pay tribute to house founders Henry Cremona and Yvette. Cedar leaf, geranium, sandalwood, tobacco and amber give Mr. H its woody character, while Mrs. Y moves through ylang-ylang, Damask rose, jasmine, iris and lily of the valley. Tonka bean creates a link between the two.
Fanfan and Galileo take a different direction. Galileo combines patchouli with lavender, Italian mandarin, tobacco, myrrh and amber, while Fanfan answers with saffron, Damask rose and lavender. The final pairing, N°16 and N°81, places the Rose de Mai and honeyed warmth of N°16 against N°81’s bergamot, grapefruit, smoke, woods and spice.
Les Toupies are available at Henry Jacques boutiques in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, with prices available on request.
Parfums de Marly Gives Althaïr an Exclusif Treatment
Three years after the launch of Althaïr, Parfums de Marly is returning to the fragrance with Althaïr Exclusif, a new gourmand, ambery and woody interpretation of its vanilla-led signature.
Bourbon vanilla remains central, but the composition around it has changed. Amaretto, bergamot and saffron form the opening, followed by cinnamon, orange blossom, cardamom and praline. Bourbon vanilla then meets guaiac wood and Ambrox in the base.
The amaretto accord is one of the more interesting additions. Parfums de Marly developed it using what it calls its “Smell-The-Taste” technique, bringing the expertise of flavourists into the perfume-making process to translate elements of taste into scent. Here, the accord introduces the bittersweet, almond-like character associated with amaretto.
The Bourbon vanilla has its own provenance. Sourced from Madagascar, the variety descends from vanilla introduced to the greenhouses at Versailles during the reign of Louis XV. In Althaïr Exclusif, it moves from the heart of the original fragrance into the base, giving the new composition a different structure while maintaining the connection between the two.
Max Mara Enters the Fragrance World With Le Parfum
Max Mara has entered a new category with Le Parfum, its first fragrance developed under the Italian house’s long-term partnership with Shiseido.
The house looked to one of its most familiar signatures for the concept, the coat. Le Parfum is built around tuberose, vanilla, sandalwood and cedarwood, translating the tactile quality Max Mara associates with its clothing into fragrance. The formula contains 90 per cent ingredients of natural origin and is vegan.
That reference carries through to the bottle, where an architectural glass silhouette is wrapped at its centre with a lacquered detail resembling the belt of a Max Mara coat. Florence Pugh fronts the campaign, extending her relationship with the house into its first major fragrance chapter.
Le Parfum is already available through Max Mara UAE in 35ml, 50ml and 100ml formats, priced from AED 375.
