(04-30-2016, 05:20 AM)nervosa1901@ Wrote: Yes, and Montale Aoud Musk was inspired by Nasomatto's Duro, and Millesime 1849 was inspired by New York Oud, and so on, but that doesn't make it right...
The Asylum LE was a virtual copy of ADP Colonia. Many state that Manna smells like Tabac (I haven't smelled myself, so I cannot comment myself). It took me a moment to place Felce when I first tried it, but I concluded that it was just an expensive version of Claiborne's Curve. I cannot comment on Cosmo, but I do recall reading somewhere that there was a fragrance that Cosmo mimicked.
The point is that there is no art in copying because there is no real creative process being utilized by the maker. He is taking the idea of another and trying to profit from it. Back to soap, I would liken the typical "artisan" soap maker to a painter. The artisan creates his soap base, and it may be excellent (similar to a canvas used by Picasso). The soap maker then selects his essential and fragrance oils, often of inferior quality (compared to the high quality paint a great artist might use). He then sits down with a Picasso in front of him and tries to use his skill and materials to recreate the painting in front of him and sell it as a work "inspired by" Picasso. Would you call this person an artist? I wouldn't. I'd call him nothing more than a painter.
Case in point...
Fougère Aromatique is, as its name suggests, the aromatic version of our all-natural fougère, built on an accord of oakmoss, French lavender, tonka bean, and hay absolute, a smell akin to liquid sunshine. We blended the fragrance with touches of lime, cardamom, and thyme as an
homage to Invasion Barbare, Stephanie Bakouche's remarkable aromatic masterpiece.
In the early 20th Century, the House of DeLaire created a magnificent perfume base for legendary perfume firm Parfums Caron. A masterpiece in its own right, the base, known as “Mousse de Saxe” (Saxon Moss) made use of a brand new aromatic chemical called isobutyl quinoline, an incredibly bitter, dark, leathery substance of incredible potency and versatility. Marie DeLaire, head of the House, built the base around this strange new substance, weaving anise, iodine, oak moss, and various other compounds into a seamlessly beautiful, velvety tapestry that was to form the basis of many of Caron’s greatest masterpieces. DeLaire continued to manufacture its legendary base for Caron until 1969, when the House went bankrupt and the formula was lost. Today, everyone who ever knew the original Mousse de Saxe formula is long dead, the base itself a mere memory.
That’s where we come in.
Some time ago, Barrister & Mann had the extraordinary fortune to obtain a sample of the original base. Armed with only this small sample and a basic knowledge of what had gone into the original, we set out to recreate the famous base by smell alone. After four months of research, formulation, reformulation, and constant refinement, we successfully rebuilt Mousse de Saxe into its original glory. It seemed only fitting that such an achievement should be used to create a soap inspired by one of Caron’s most famous fragrances: Pour un Homme de Caron. We have not copied the original; instead, we have taken the Mousse de Saxe and blended it with lavender, vanilla, cedar wood, and the elegant musk Exaltolide to create a dark, leathery, elegant soap unlike anything seen for nearly a half century.
Barrister & Mann proudly presents Lavanille.
Based on one of the oldest forms of perfume,
Cologne Russe is a throwback to a scent created by the House of Guerlain for the Russian Royal Family and discontinued in the early twentieth century. Notes of lemon, bergamot, petitgrain, and herbs dry down to violet, rose, bay, vanilla, and amber. The scent is distinctly warmer than most other cologne-type fragrances, owing largely to its inclusion of castoreum, benzoin, and vanilla. Clean and elegant without the aloofness of some other scents, Cologne Russe is a perfect way to finish your shave and brighten your morning after a cold, bitter winter.
