Creating scents for 10 a.m., “being a baby,” “puberty” and “death.”

A former member of the New York Police Department pleaded guilty in connection with an armed robbery of $1 million in perfume in Carlstadt, N.J.

That smell wafting through middle-school hallways? Itâs tween boys trying on manhood.

Hair scent may be the new fragrance frontier as several new products with exotic fragrances are challenging popular hair-care scents.

Turning perfumers into celebrities is the fragrance industry’s latest ploy to lure people to the perfume counter.

With overall fragrance sales down 10 percent, Noir, a midpriced perfume, has been a consistent top seller for Victoria’s Secret Beauty.

 In a wood panelled room above Liberty in the heart of London, Francis Kurkdjian leans forward excitedly and reaches for one of the pristine white boxes that are spread out on the table in front of him. This is the man who created one of the most prolific fragrances of the 90’s: Le Male, at the age of 25, and who has since been the createur parfumeur behind a succession of internationally renowned fragrances for the likes of Dior, Elizabeth Arden, Guerlain and Armani. Today, he presents a range of fragrances which launch his own parfum house: Maison Francis Kurkdjian.

“If I pay for jasmine absolute, I should get jasmine absolute”, said Mark in one of our early meetings. He had gathered a small group of us to discuss the never-ending problem of essential oil adulteration. ”And the same goes for any oil we buy,” he continued, “we want the best quality. Let us do our own perfumery. Don’t dilute the stuff for us.” It doesn’t help that Mark’s demands exceed the generally accepted standard that he has a tendency to be paranoid.  ”We know that the majority of the oils out there are adulterated, but we really want to make it clear to the suppliers: give us the real thing and we’re prepared to pay for it. But if you lie to us, we’ll name and shame you.” At this point our essential oil buyer cut in: “We already have them sign a declaration. Naming and shaming might mean that we could be left with no suppliers.” 

Evelyn H. Lauder welcomed fashion, beauty, and fragrance bloggers to Estee Lauder’s opulent headquarters for the launch of the worldwide October Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign.  Mrs. Lauder passionately described her many contributions to breast cancer education and research.  In 1992 she co-created the Pink Ribbon to raise awareness of breast health;  85 million pink ribbons later, Mrs. Lauder, the founder and chairman of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, is just as legendary for her advocacy as she is for her much loved fragrances and impeccable style. 

All over the world, on the last week of August, Basenotes members gathered together to meet and celebrate and participate in their love of scent. As well as the official Basenotes Meetup in London, members also met in Boston, Kansas, Southern California, San Francisco, Vancouver, Florida, Chicago and Hong Kong!