small talk

RSS

She smelled of tuberoses.

"She'd sit very close to me and she smelled of tuberoses, which is not my favorite perfume, not by a longshot."  Joe Gillis (William Holden) sitting on the couch with Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) watching silent films in Director Billy Wilder's 1950's film Sunset Boulevard.

"They were always her pictures, that's all she wanted to see."

 

Jeffrey Dame

Quiet Storm.

"I personally love all the perfumes I create for you, each and every one...how could I not?   During the creative development process I wear the fragrance myself for weeks at a time so that when the perfume reaches you it is just perfect in every way possible.  With my new Parfums Jeffrey Dame Fidele Ambre Noir Homme EdP  though the development process has been just a touch longer at forty years.  Amber in perfumery is not an ingredient, it is rather an accord of sandalwood, benzoin and patchouli which when brought together creates a sweet resinous warm balsamic sensation which I find fabulous.  Way back in 1984 I was presented with a three note amber accord which I've dabbed on myself here and there for years and years and always thought this heart needs to be built out into a complete fragrance.  So yes, here now is Fidele Ambre in resplendent form for you to explore and enjoy.  DAME Club 100 members have had access to Fidele Ambre on a preview basis for the past few months, and trial sizes are being mailed out right now to those customers who signed up for a free sample.  Fidele Ambre took a good while, but I'm a happy man now that my cherished amber accord has been fully dressed.  I'm wearing it right now while listening to Smokey Robinson sing Quiet Storm.  Perfect." 
Jeffrey Dame

So all you noticed were the jewels and perfume?

"Was there anything special about her?"

"Yes pearls, the color I like and perhaps I can appreciate...platinum and diamonds; and she didn't buy her perfume in Algiers."

"So all you noticed were the jewels and perfume?"

"Was there anything else?"

Notorious jewel thief Pepe le Moko (Charles Boyer) recounting last night's Casbah visit from beautiful French tourist Gaby (Hedy Lamar) with Slimane (Joseph Alexander Caesar Herstall Vincent Calleja) in Director John Cromwell's film Algiers (1938).

Jeffrey Dame

You're such a fancy dude.

"Hey.  You know if you want to make out you're such a fancy dude you ought to wear something besides that cheap Jockey Club cologne." 

Julie Christie straightening out Warren Beatty in director Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller, 1971.

 

Jeffrey Dame

Lovely to see you again my friend.

"Certainly The Moody Blues song Lovely to see you again is always worth a listen.  These days though lovely to see you again is the sensation I experience while I'm in the midst of re-evaluating all sixteen Soliflore perfume formulas to be certain the concentration levels of oil in alcohol are at the perfect whoa point.  No change to the formulas of course, just carefully tinkering with the concentrations because there is always a sweet spot.  I'm quite excited about the new 50 ml Soliflore EdT's coming August 1st and I do have the time and 'head-space' this June and July for a re-visit to my original Soliflore creation processes from 2014 and 2015.  Shall it be 12, 14, 16 or 18 percent?  Where is the exact perfection point?  Old friends indeed, smiles all around."
Jeffrey Dame

and then and then and then

"My typical perfume development process takes about two years start to finish, so what you see 'New and Now' today began long ago.  A new fragrance idea can come to me like a lightbulb turning on or a gentle tugging at the back of my mind.  In either case the idea takes a month or two bouncing around in my head to find form.  And then another two or three months for the baseline fragrance ingredient formula to be developed;  and then more time after that to narrow the base formula down to two or three modifications.  And then an intense 30 day period where I immerse myself in the scent, wearing it every day and deciding between Mod One verses Mod Two [both perfect of course, but is one more perfect than the other?].  And then I evaluate tiny variations in concentration to be sure and capture the exact oil concentration level where the scent performance is simply magic from start to finish.  And then of course, here it is for you."
Jeffrey Dame

Perfume matters. A lot.

A long time favorite customer sent me a note today saying - 

"I love my perfume. Probably too much… But hey. Perfume matters. A lot."

I'm thinking to myself as I read her note 'What a lovely sentiment.'; and then also 'There's no such thing as loving your perfume too much.  It's just not possible.'

My customers are wonderful and I am thankful for each and every one.

Jeffrey Dame

Here, inhale.

"Here, inhale", says Fanny.

"It's not sardines", responds Cesar.

"It's perfume!"

"Is it very expensive?"

"Of course not, but it is perfume."

Leslie Caron bantering with Charles Boyer in Fanny, 1961.

 

Jeffrey Dame

Beauty within reach.

"The joy I find in perfume creation only comes to fruition if there are women and men out there in the world actually wearing and enjoying my fragrances.  Yes of course I offer trial size samples in all sixty of my scents, but it's not the same.  There is nothing quite so satisfying as starting your day reaching out for a beautiful full bottle of perfume and spraying away with abandon, knowing this perfume is indeed yours and when your bottle is all used up you'll have another thank you.

I think of the perfumes I offer to my customers as 'considered purchases'; by which I mean selecting a fragrance to buy is not only a personal evaluation of whether the scent character is desirable and right for them - but also if they have the extra cash that month for a luxury purchase.  This is why my Parfums Jeffrey Dame fragrances are priced at $42 for a full bottle.  Beauty within reach."
Jeffrey Dame

I wonder if you wonder.

Walter Neff asks Phyllis Dietrichson "Same chair same perfume same anklet?" 

"I wonder if you know what I mean?" responds Phyllis

"I wonder if you wonder," says Walter

It was a hot afternoon and I could still remember the scent of honeysuckle all along that street.  How could I have known that murder can sometimes smell like honeysuckle.

Double Indemnity 1944 with Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson.

Jeffrey Dame

Those magical retro vibes.

"My new Rugir de Gardenia has vintage vibes thoroughly modernized, so the scent is in a unique place in 2023 perfumery.  I’m 63 years old now and my formative perfumery creation decades were in the 1980’s and 1990’s, so I always laugh at myself a bit when I read comments from perfume devotees discussing “vintage” fragrances from 1988 and I remember attending the scent's launch party.  Funny stuff, as by definition it makes me vintage.  But forty years in perfumery also allows me to share through perfume creations with my clientele what the possibilities are in a perfume.  Often modern perfumes of which I have many on offer at Dame Perfumery are sheer and transparent and one-dimensional simply because this is what the customer of today desires.    Here and there discussions appear bemoaning the European IFRA ingredient standards implying that complex perfume formulas can’t be made today because of ingredient restrictions, but this is not really the case.  Sophisticated and advanced modern aroma chemicals laid over a bed of naturals can easily achieve those magical retro vibes. The clientele for such a perfume is more limited, but fierce and focused.  For those in search of such a scent, I can only suggest my new Rugir de Gardenia."
Jeffrey Dame

Shapeshifter

"Modern perfume creations are more often than not linear in their scent character, by which I mean the top note scent you smell in the first moments after spraying your perfume on remains consistent over the next few hours through the middle notes and down to the dry down; everything constant.  My photorealistic SOLIFLORE Gardenia perfume does this, true and focused all the way though.  Even the more complex formula for my Carolina Woman Lime, Gardenia & Benzoin Eau de Toilette performs in this manner.  There are nuances and facets to experience, but the character is steady throughout. Back in the day though there were perfume formulas with a great deal of movement - what you smell to start changes and moves to different places throughout the day.  The character can't be pinned down, the scent is on its own journey and you try and keep up.  This is what you will find with my new JD Rugir de Gardenia Noir Femme Eau de Parfum, a vintage vibes retro fabulous shapeshifter which carries you away."
Jeffrey Dame