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New from Byredo: BLANCHE

post #1 of 28
7/23/09 at 11:00am
Thread Starter 
Ive not seen this one discussed here... Byredo are just sending their new eau de parfum BLANCHE into stores. Here is an excerpt from the review Ive just written on my blog.

Just as the name suggests, Blanche is a tribute to the colour white. Ben Gorham, the founder and creative director of the brand, notes the following: "the fragrance is pure and simple in structure but extreme in character"... and his perception is right on the money. The scent opens with diamond-white aldehydes that suggest a fragrance almost transparent in nature... read more here.
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post #2 of 28
7/24/09 at 9:40am
Thread Starter 
I'd be keen to hear if anyone else has tried this release too.
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post #3 of 28
7/24/09 at 12:18pm
I can't help but think of Bette David and Joan Crawford ('What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?')every time I see 'Blanche' in a fragrance name. LOL.
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post #4 of 28
7/24/09 at 12:33pm
Thread Starter 
... and I always think of The Golden Girls Mike!
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post #5 of 28
7/25/09 at 8:59am
Being from Sweden (as Byredo), I still haven't sniffed a single one of them
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post #6 of 28
7/25/09 at 9:41am
Thread Starter 
Shifts, shame on you!

Might I suggest you at least try Blanche, and get thee to a stockist selling their room sprays/candles too... ENCENS and BIBLIOTHEQUE rock my world. I bought Encens vaporisateur d'ambiance last week and will be going back to buy Bibliotheque this week... it totally embodies the smell of pages and leather binding in a library!
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post #7 of 28
7/25/09 at 10:54am
A SA from Barney's told me they stock Byredo (by phone) and that she adores "fantastic man". I've not even heard of this house until a few days ago. I'd be hard pressed to consider the house until I get samples. Do you all speak highly of this house? I'm just curious since this is a new one on me.
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post #8 of 28
7/25/09 at 12:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scentologist View Post

A SA from Barney's told me they stock Byredo (by phone) and that she adores "fantastic man". I've not even heard of this house until a few days ago. I'd be hard pressed to consider the house until I get samples. Do you all speak highly of this house? I'm just curious since this is a new one on me.

I gang smelled the line, last summer, in Sweden and Ray fell in love (and subsequently bought a decant of) Pulp, which is an agressive fruit (peach/fig) fragrance. Strong sh*t. The rest of the line was okay...but nothing reached out and grabbed us like Pulp. Gypsy Water smelled so light, that me, Ray and a woman shopping at the same time all could not smell the scent at all. Weird.

Since then, they've released Fantastic Man (named after the quarterly magazine from the Netherlands) and Blanche. I haven't smelled either one. But I'm sure next month when I'm in New York, at Barneys, I will give both a sniff.
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post #9 of 28
7/25/09 at 12:24pm
Thread Starter 
Scentologist, I concur that Pulp and Blanche are the best from the line, though I am far more enamoured with their room sprays and candles. I bought ENCENS and am wearing a little on my skin... wonderful stuff...
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post #10 of 28
7/25/09 at 9:15pm
Hmm. Well, when I think Blanche, I think Dubois, so that's a third association for this thread.

Pulp sounds a little - or rather, a lot - fruity for my tastes, but Blanche sounds great.

This is the second niche house I've just learned about today. There are sure a lot of them out there, aren't there?
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post #11 of 28
8/2/09 at 7:35am
I tested Blanche today when I was out shopping. It does have that clean laundry-drying-in-a-mild-breeze type of quality. There's a slight green/fresh edge that gives it an outdoorsy feel and keeps it from slipping too far into detergent territory.

It's subtle, but appears to be very persistent. All in all a pleasant fragrance.
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post #12 of 28
8/2/09 at 7:55am
I have to admit that nothing in the Byredo line has appealed to me. The packaging is cheap looking and generic (those lids! please) and for that kind of money I would like a quality custom bottle please. Pulp just sounds repulsive, name and frag description, and the other releases were so meh to me that I don't recall them.

But Blanche!! It is calling my name, it sounds utterly gorgeous and it's interesting how the scent is managing to be clean and crisp without smelling like detergent (from reviews) and that alone makes me want to sniff.

Gotta say though, the bottles and the price will most likely ensure that I do not end up with a bottle. And Blanche....Paul & Joe did that already with Blanc. Not a deal breaker but....

Would you say his market is men? I'm all for simplicity and elegance in packaging/labelling, but come on *yawn* the Byredo packaging is awful.
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post #13 of 28
8/2/09 at 8:10am
You've sampled 'fantastic man' as well ?


Quote:
Originally Posted by 3xasif View Post

I have to admit that nothing in the Byredo line has appealed to me. The packaging is cheap looking and generic (those lids! please) and for that kind of money I would like a quality custom bottle please. Pulp just sounds repulsive, name and frag description, and the other releases were so meh to me that I don't recall them.

But Blanche!! It is calling my name, it sounds utterly gorgeous and it's interesting how the scent is managing to be clean and crisp without smelling like detergent (from reviews) and that alone makes me want to sniff.

Gotta say though, the bottles and the price will most likely ensure that I do not end up with a bottle. And Blanche....Paul & Joe did that already with Blanc. Not a deal breaker but....

Would you say his market is men? I'm all for simplicity and elegance in packaging/labelling, but come on *yawn* the Byredo packaging is awful.
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post #14 of 28
8/2/09 at 9:43am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3xasif View Post

Gotta say though, the bottles and the price will most likely ensure that I do not end up with a bottle. And Blanche....Paul & Joe did that already with Blanc. Not a deal breaker but....

Would you say his market is men? I'm all for simplicity and elegance in packaging/labelling, but come on *yawn* the Byredo packaging is awful.

P&J Blanc is a trillion miles removed from Blanche 3xasif... where Blanc is heavy with almond and lactic milk creaminess (ie: the "Body Kouros" of the Femal fragrance world), Blanche is as sheer as chiffon. Clean & classic.

The Byredo target market is both men and women... and I have to say that Scandinavian design is always really rather understated, hence the clean and airy labels, boxes and simple lines of the bottle.
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post #15 of 28
8/2/09 at 10:06am
I've sampled Green, and one more frag from this line that I can't seem to recall the name of. I thought they were poor and could pass off as a designer release.
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post #16 of 28
8/2/09 at 10:35am
I have finally tried all their fragrances. While most of the original lineup did nothing special (most of them were annoyingly thin), the three latest are really pleasing.

Fantastic Man really is doing something new with the old familiar men´s cologne. Smells manly in both a new and retro way. I could use a bottle if it was given to me, but for now I stick to Derby...

Bal d'Afrique is my favourite so far. To me very similar to Hermes Vetiver Tonka which is in my top ten (well twenty). I think there is a little more going on in this Bd´A, but I prefer the more pronounced Vetiver note in VT.

Finally Blanche. Although nice and wearable it doesn´t rock my world. It works in the same territory as another of my top twenty fragrances, Infini by Caron (I believe I have a sample of the current parfum). They both share a kind of fleeting appearance - they do not project a lot but instead they create an aura that comes and goes. Infini is a little softer and I believe a tad more animalic, and I prefer that to Blanche´s "sharper" floral parts.
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post #17 of 28
8/2/09 at 11:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dimitri View Post

P&J Blanc is a trillion miles removed from Blanche 3xasif... where Blanc is heavy with almond and lactic milk creaminess (ie: the "Body Kouros" of the Femal fragrance world), Blanche is as sheer as chiffon. Clean & classic.

The Byredo target market is both men and women... and I have to say that Scandinavian design is always really rather understated, hence the clean and airy labels, boxes and simple lines of the bottle.

Oh I can imagine they are completely different! I just meant the name. White is white

And I still love the sound of Blanche and want to try it. "Sheer as chiffon, clean & classic" sounds like it was made for me!

I guess the packaging is too simple for my tastes. The bottles and lids look pre fab, which makes the high price even less appealing.
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post #18 of 28
8/2/09 at 11:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoGent View Post

You've sampled 'fantastic man' as well ?

No. None of the others have appealed enough to me to even sample.

But Blanche sure does! *wallet cries*
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post #19 of 28
8/2/09 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
I've just posted a blog at the Sorcery of Scent (see siggy) and made a thread in the Home fragrance forum for Byredo's ENCENS... j'adore!!!!

Just between you and moi, I think they do ambient/room fragrance better than they do skinscents.
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post #20 of 28
8/2/09 at 1:31pm
I have a bottle of Pulp I enjoy when I'm in the mood. Like mikeperez said it's very strong. Spray lightly and the lasting power is all day for me. I sampled Fantastic Man. I like it, but not enough to buy a bottle. Weak and short longevity. Amazing that Pulp and Fantastic Man are at opposite ends when it comes to strength and longevity.

Three sprays to one spray of Rose Noir makes a nice combo. It lightens up the sometimes overpowering room sillage of Pulp.


I agree with "pelle" assessment below -
Fantastic Man really is doing something new with the old familiar men´s cologne. Smells manly in both a new and retro way. I could use a bottle if it was given to me, but for now I stick to Derby...

Bal d'Afrique is my favourite so far. To me very similar to Hermes Vetiver Tonka which is in my top ten (well twenty). I think there is a little more going on in this Bd´A, but I prefer the more pronounced Vetiver note in VT.
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post #21 of 28
8/7/09 at 8:28am
So which one is the winner in the long run - Blanche or Bal d'Afrique? I sampled both today, and both are better than Byredos earlier offerings, but I can't decide which one's bottleworthy (if any)...
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post #22 of 28
8/28/09 at 6:34am
They are sending me samples of Blanche and Bal d afrique today. I had a qick test sniff at NK the week before the release of blanche. I only had it tested on a blotter and I thought it was powdery and fruity. Really strong too! I hope it wont be as fruity and strong on the skin and Im hoping I get the almondy milky dry down.
Ive heard people mention banana in reviews of bal d afrique. Can someone who has smelled this juice sort this out for me. Is it banana in it?
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post #23 of 28
8/29/09 at 7:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sketchwars View Post

They are sending me samples of Blanche and Bal d afrique today. I had a qick test sniff at NK the week before the release of blanche. I only had it tested on a blotter and I thought it was powdery and fruity. Really strong too! I hope it wont be as fruity and strong on the skin and Im hoping I get the almondy milky dry down.
Ive heard people mention banana in reviews of bal d afrique. Can someone who has smelled this juice sort this out for me. Is it banana in it?

I tried both Blanche and Bal d'Afrique for the second time today. I didn't get any banana in Bal d'Afrique, but Blanche smelled like a mix of synthetic banana and a laundry agent.
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post #24 of 28
8/29/09 at 7:57am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by irrbloss View Post

I didn't get any banana in Bal d'Afrique, but Blanche smelled like a mix of synthetic banana and a laundry agent.

!?

Maybe you have a banana flavoured booger up your schnozz irrbloss. Take a tissue and blow. I for one didnt get any banana in Blanche.
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post #25 of 28
8/29/09 at 8:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dimitri View Post

!?

Maybe you have a banana flavoured booger up your schnozz irrbloss. Take a tissue and blow. I for one didnt get any banana in Blanche.

I didn't get it the first time, but today it smelled almost like the candy "Banana skids" (if you're familiar with that?) + laundry agent. Maybe I sampled too many fragrances today . Anyhow, I did't find either of the two scents bottleworthy (Bal d'Afrique was the better one). I also asked about the room sprays, but they didn't have any of them...
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post #26 of 28
8/29/09 at 8:47am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by irrbloss View Post

I also asked about the room sprays, but they didn't have any of them...

Byredo cant sell themdirectly anymore, but why not contact them direct and ask for a comprehensive list of their stockists in Sweden?
Then you can mail/phone the stores and see if they have any in stock.
Im sure if I can find one here in Copenhagen, theres bound to be some outlet with some residual stock existing in Sweden. Good luck!
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post #27 of 28
8/29/09 at 10:24am
Sort of off topic, then again not really, do any of you guys know of brick and mortar stores that carry Byredo. Their website doesn't seem to have that info on it.
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post #28 of 28
8/29/09 at 11:16am
Barney's here in the US. I first sampled them at NK and at COW in Stockholm.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mtgprox05 View Post

Sort of off topic, then again not really, do any of you guys know of brick and mortar stores that carry Byredo. Their website doesn't seem to have that info on it.
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