Quest Blog

As the celebrations for Clarins 60th Anniversary move into full swing, it’s a pleasure for me to think back on the time fifteen years ago, when I first discovered Clarins skincare products. It was the winter of 2000, and I was writing an article for Beauty Fashion about the launch of ‘Renew-Plus’ Body Serum.
 
I submitted my a […]

2014: In-house perfumer, Thomas Fontaine, in front of the Jean Patou Paris boutique
The first three fragrances of Jean Patou’s ‘Heritage Collection’, launched in 2014 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the house of Jean Patou (1914-2014), comprise a beautiful and sophisticated ‘perfume play’ in three acts, in honor of women a […]

“In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light….”
– Robert Lewis Stevenson, A child’s Garden of Verses
These early October mornings when I awake, I love to linger in the gloved hand of darkness.  So I play a quiet little game with the universe to prolong and savor this nether time between night and day. Ther […]

One of the most gratifying aspects of going to Pitti Fragranze year after year is watching things grow. Brands, fragrances, people, ideas, and trends. Held in Florence every September, Pitti Fragranze, an international artistic perfumery trade fair, brings together all that is fine in the artistic perfumery sector.
 
This year one o […]

 
 
Move over, Brooke Shields! As of today, your 1981 trademark expression implying an intimate relationship with a brand of jeans has been hi-jacked by a new woman who can proclaim, “Nothing comes between me and…‘My Burberry’!”
 
And just in case you want to argue that the underlying message of ‘My Burberry� […]

The word, “Osmothèque”, is composed of two Greek words: “Osme” meaning “scent” and “theke” meaning “storage space”.
 
 
 
When my perfume lover friends ask me where they can best learn about fragrances in Paris I always say, “Go to L’Osmothèque!  Go to L’Osmothèque!”
 
So, here� […]

 
 
Wind in her sails and laden with treasures, a much anticipated Le Galion Maison de Parfumerie has sailed gracefully into port and now rides majestically at anchor in Paris —  at Jovoy on rue Castiglione, and at Colette on Rue Saint-Honoré.  My first sighting of Le Galion dates from March, 2014, where at Esxence, […]

No. 57 and No. 31  ‘Arquiste for J.Crew’ Perfumes Launch in All US and International J.Crew Stores
 
 
This past week, while vacationing in my hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, I had the thrilling experience discovering that one of my favorite American fashion brands, J.Crew, had been working with one of my favorite ar […]

 
 
Just before leaving for America the end of July, I stopped by Jovoy to say good-bye to François Hénin, and to make sure I had enough fragrances to last me through the month of August while I’d be away from Paris.  It was then that I happened upon ‘Ciel d’Opal’ by Ann Gérard Parfum, perhaps becaus […]

Karl Bradl co-owner of Aedes de Venustas at May 22 Paris launch of “‘Oeillet Bengale’ in the Ells Collection show rooms
 
 
On a dark afternoon in February I stopped by the Aedes de Venustas boutique on Christopher Street in New York. I was on a short three-day trip to attend Elements Showcase, and finding m […]