The FiFi® awards are like the Oscars except it celebrates perfume achievements in different categories. In 2010 we celebrated the winners of the 19th Annual international FiFi® awards. Another year has passed which brings us to the 20th Annual International FiFi® Awards 2011. It is the time to recognise the growing globalization of the fragrance industry and its sensory and aesthetic contributions to societies around the world. Each week we will be bringing you the winners form the nominated countries as they are released.

This week we will be looking at the winners of the United Kingdom FiFi® winners of 2011.

BEST NEW FEMALE PRINT ADVERTISMENT
‘Classiques’ X Collection by Jean Paul Gaultier

BEST NEW MALE PRINT ADVERTISEMENT
Colonia Essenza by Acqua di Parma

BEST NEW FEMALE FRAGRANCE COMMERCIAL
Acqua di Gioia by Giorgio Armani

BEST NEW MALE FRAGRANCE COMMERCIAL
Bleu de Chanel by Chanel

BEST NEW FEMALE FRAGRANCE PACKAGING
Beauty by Calvin Klein

BEST NEW MALE FRAGRANCE PACKAGING
Voyage d’Hermes by Hermes

BEST NEW FEMALE FRAGRANCE IN LIMITED DISTRIBUTION
Private Blend Azure Lime by Tom Ford Beauty

BEST NEW INDEPENDENT NICHE FRAGRANCE 
Orange Star by Tauer Perfumes

‘PEOPLES CHOICE’ AWARD FOR WOMEN
Gucci Guilty by Gucci

‘PEOPLES CHOICE’ AWARD FOR MEN
Bleu de Chanel by Chanel

THE MEN’S HEALTH READERS AWARD
Boss Bottled Night by Hugo Boss

BEST NEW CELEBRITY FRAGRANCE
Purr by Katy Perry

BEST NEW PRESTIGE FRAGRANCE FOR MEN
Bleu de Chanel by Chanel

BEST NEW PRESTIGE FRAGRANCE FOR WOMEN
Gucci Guilty by Gucci

This was reproduced from fragrance.org with permission of The Fragrance Foundation “Copyright ©2001 The Fragrance Foundation. All Rights Reserved.”

A question we are often asked by our customers is how cheap our perfume prices are so low and are they real genuine perfumes? A good question if you’re used to purchasing your perfume or fragrance form the department stores. For as long as I can remember the places that sold genuine perfumes were the department stores and they a charged a premium price to cover their costs. The times have changed as MyPerfume.Com.Au embarks on taking all major perfume retailers and outlets as well as the department stores.

MyPerfume.Com.Au offers all the big brands and genuine perfumes and fragrances at heavily discounted prices. How is it that we offer cheap perfume, it’s simply, we don’t have any retail shops just an online store. This means we save on most of the overheads that a traditional retail store would incur. All the savings we make are passed directly onto our customers. Our customers enjoy luxury designer perfumes without the designer price tags.

The second part to the question we are often asked is, are our perfumes and fragrances authentic? The answer is YES. We do not sell imitations or knock offs, all of our products are genuine. Our perfumes and fragrances are exactly what you would find in department stores only much cheaper. We offer authentic cheap perfume up to 80% off the recommended retail price. You no longer have to wait for a sale to find great bargains, specials or deals, our cheap perfume and fragrances are on sale all year round.

To back this up we also offer 100% money back guarantee that all our cheap perfume and fragrances are genuine.  Now you can shop at MyPerfume.Com.Au with confidence and reassurance. With our huge selection of cheap perfume, perfume gieftsets, women’s cheap perfume, men’s cheap perfume, kids cheap perfume and unisex cheap perfume you’re sure to find great bargain.

The word “perfume” derives from the Latin word “parfumare” meaning through smoke. The history of perfumes dates back to the ancient Egyptians. The ancient Egyptians used perfume for religious ceremonies and rituals to honour their gods. Later on the ancient Egyptians started using essential oils, incense and ointments for personal use, such as cosmetics, to scent their hair and love making preparations. As interesting as it is, scented products that enhance the feel of skin and the smell of the body have been highly valued in every culture.

Today the perfume industry has become close to a $10 billion industry globally. Everyone from designers, celebrities and sports stars are all getting involved the perfume industry wanting a piece of the pie. Today women have perfume collections of at least five to six different perfumes, rather than a single signature perfume. Perfume is used for all different reasons, whether it’s keeping one special perfume for special occasions, wearing different perfumes dependent on the time of year (summer season, winter etc) or the way they feel or the mood they are in or want change.

Perfume plays a big part in the dating game especially when you’re starting to get to know someone. Perfume can have a powerful effect in a relationship. Usually the memory of a scent or smell that correlates with a very sensual experience is more than enough to spark a particular feeling. The flip side research shows two people cannot maintain a relationship if they don’t like each other’s smells.

Today there are thousands of perfume designers, which are used by all the different demographics. All though, the advancements and history of perfume has seen vast changes through the ages, their popularity has only increased and perfume remains a highly sought after product that creates a wonderful air of aroma, enigma and romance for both women and men around the world.

Let’s begin with the definition of opium from the world English dictionary – the dried juice extracted from the unripe seed capsules of the opium poppy that contains alkaloids such as morphine and codeine and or something having a tranquillizing or stupefying effect

Whether it’s the smell, the packaging, the name, the hype or its appeal to a particular market each fragrance has its own uniqueness. The popular and controversial name, Opium perfume by Yves Saint Laurent was launched in 1977 as an oriental spicy perfume.  The noses behind the fragrance are Jean Amic and Jean-Louis Sieuzac. Opium perfume has stood the test of time and been around for more than thirty years and still going strong becoming a timeless classic for women around the globe. With the success of Opium for women, Yves Saint Laurent launched the male version, Opium Pour Homme which was launched in 1995.

A perfume of a provocative and egregious name, when Opium perfume was released, we were given an insight into the fascination and inspiration by Yves Saint Laurent’s attraction of the Orient. This perfume also displays the understanding that Yves Saint Laurent had of a women’s nature. Opium perfume is a symbol of the many facets of a woman’s personality and their hidden enigmatic passions.

Opium perfume opens the window to the fantasy world, exploring the mystery of the unknown, an extraordinary elsewhere full of sensations, magic and emotions. Opium perfume is an embodiment of all that is mysterious and enchanting in our lives. This is truly a perfume that rouses our imagination with its exotic accords. When you open the Opium perfume bottle you are quickly embraced with the smell of luscious rich and heady spices, flower tones and the notes of deep woody tones.

Opium excites the senses with a unique blend of a fruity and aromatic opening with mandarin, bergamot and lily of the valley. The rich and spicy heart reveals its sensuality with jasmine, carnation and myrrh. The deep sensual base lingers on the skin with vanilla, amber, sweet myrrh and patchouli leaving a trail that arouses desire.

Opium Perfume By Yves Saint Laurent

Lets start off with the meaning of EUPHORIA. The dictionary definition – a feeling of happiness, confidence, or well-being sometimes exaggerated in pathological states as mania.  When you describe extreme happiness to someone, the natural reaction is you cannot help but smile. Evidently when describing Calvin Klein’s Euphoria perfume, your mood instantly changes into a cheerful and happy feeling.

Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume was launched in year of 2005 with great acclaim and response. The Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume was nominated for that years Fifi award for best luxe perfume and no surprises there it took out the prestigious award over its rivals. The noses behind the fragrance were perfume creators Dominique Ropin, Carlos Benaim and Loc Dong.

Euphoria by Calvin Klein is a fun, flirty and exotic floral-fruity fragrance. It’s an enticingly beautiful fragrance which is mysterious. It invites you to really enjoy all the beautiful things in life. The fragrance is very reminiscent and appealing like the mystifying flowers, exotic fruits and a rich creamy signature creating a memorable impression with just one spray.

Top notes of pomegranate, green accord, persimmon open the sensation while heart notes of champaca flower, black orchid and lotus blossom unfold. Base notes of cream accord, mahogany wood, liquid amber and black violet complete the oriental woody harmony. Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume is a fragrance of sophistication with sensual tones, confidence yet mysterious with and edgy touch on the playful side in a bottle.

Due to the success of the Euphoria perfume, Calvin Klein launched several limited edition successes to the original also with great success. First inline was Euphoria Luminous Lustre which was launched in 2006, an oriental fragrance, Euphoria Blossom was introduced in 2006 as an oriental floral fragrance, Euphoria Crystalline released in 2007 as a floral version and two newer versions were released in 2009, Euphoria Eau De Toilette also an oriental floral fragrance and Euphoria spring temptation as an floral perfume. Whatever your type of fragrance family is, there is a Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume to suit everyone woman.

Euphoria Perfume

Euphoria Blossom Perfume

If you’re like us and watch the current affairs shows like the Today Tonight episode on the other night, you will appreciate the saying you get what you pay for. Like the statement suggest, the show was about the all the fake products and fake brands that are available for purchase at a fraction of the original recommended retail price. Major brands and products ranged from cheap perfume and fragrances, handbags, movies, music, clothing, make up, watches, wallets and much more.

The industry is estimated at a trillion dollars. Wow, that’s a lot of money and it’s not often you hear the word trillion. All the major brands are victims of the fake market which is fuelled by people who purchase these fake brands and products. The copies have advanced so much that on some products the differences are very hard to point out and in some case impossible to pick.

It’s simple, the more fake brands and products are purchased the more reason for these fakes to be produced and sold. Getting what you pay for is exactly that, dangerous and harmful materials are used, life of the products are shortened, no warranty or guarantees and more often than not fake business are setup  as a forefront to ensure customers the products are the real deal.

When buying cheap perfume be very careful that you are getting the real thing and do your research beforehand.  Be suspicious of really cheap perfume. There several ways to identify fake perfume and we have a guide that’s easy and will assist when trying to spot the fake from the real. http://www.myperfume.com.au/blog/hints-tips/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-a-fake-and-genuine-perfume.html

Perfumes have been a very important part of culture and religion since ancient times. Not only were the perfumes valuable but so were the bottles that held them. The oldest known perfume bottles came from the Ancient Egyptians. They used containers made of stone and alabaster which kept the perfume cool and did not leak the precious liquids. Many perfume containers have been found in tombs around the globe. Scents and perfume were an important part of the Egyptians preparation of the dead.

Some glass bottles date back to the fifteenth century BC. The glass perfume bottles adorned the homes of the noble and wealthy. While early scents were designed to ward off bad spirits, grace the gods and disguise body odors, the bottles were a true symbol of luxury. In Greek and Roman times, scent bottle designs became increasingly more sophisticated, even imitating the shapes of birds, humans and other animals.

Perfume bottles found in Palestine were made of glass, and had narrow long necks. They were primarily found in tombs. They believed the perfume bottles would cover the smell of the dead bodies.

The Ancient Greeks made beautiful containers for perfume. They hand painted vases which were often shaped as animals. They used lidded bowls for holding less expensive perfumes.

The Roman’s used hollowed-out precious stones to carry their most valuable perfumes before the introduction of glass bottles.

Glass blowing techniques had been developed in Syria. This was a huge advancement in bottle construction industry. Expensive Roman scent bottles created from transparent glass adorned with coloured decorations were widely acclaimed.

Today the trading of unusual, limited editions and ancient perfume bottles has become big business. Their books and material on how, when to be collecting the perfume bottles, conventions, places to sell and buy the perfume bottles. This usually happens at auctions, exhibitions and collectors markets where dealers and appraisers are presents for evaluations of the precious bottles.

The Fragrance Foundation was established in 1949 by six industry leaders affiliated with Elizabeth Arden, Coty, Guerlain, Helena Rubenstein, Chanel and Parfums Weil, to develop educational programs about the importance and pleasures of fragrance for the American public. Today, America is the largest fragrance market in the world and The Fragrance Foundation has become an international source for historic, cultural, scientific and industry related reference materials.

The FiFi Awards are an annual event sponsored by The Fragrance Foundation which honour the perfume industry’s creative achievements and are considered the “Oscars” of the fragrance industry. These awards have been held annually in New York since 1973 and are attended by around 1,000 members of the international fragrance community, designers and celebrities from the fashion, theater, film or television industries.

The 2010 FiFi awards were recently held in New York City and here are some of the winners in their respective categories.

This was reproduced from fragrance.org with permission of The Fragrance Foundation “Copyright ©2001 The Fragrance Foundation. All Rights Reserved.”

In the world of perfumes there are hundreds of brands, different perfumes and fragrances, enormous advertising campaigns with well known public figures like celebrities and models endorsing them. There are many perfumes that have over the years stood out more than the rest. As we all have different opinions, some might say the best selling fragrance is that of a unisex type used by both men and women. Unisex might have a bigger market both genders like the scent and both genders use it.

If it is the French perfumes, there is no question that their reputation has a big sway. French perfumes have won a secured place in the arena of perfumes for a long time. As statistics show that French perfumes sell very well and earn the French perfume industry billions of dollars. Many perfumes are released into the market and the few true classics emerge by standing the test of time.

Now there is no compromise with price and what is liked by all becomes the times tested perfume. The question still remains, what is the best selling perfume of all time? A timeless classic, It is the one and only,  CHANEL N°5. This famous perfume was created for Coco Chanel in 1921 by a perfume creator named Ernest Beaux. Ernest Beaux presented Gabrielle Chanel with a choice of fragrances; she barely hesitated before choosing the fifth one, which was to become CHANEL N°5.

This top-selling perfume is very popular among celebrities. In addition to being a favourite fragrance of Marilyn Monroe, the latest celebrity to join the list is none other than Nicole Kidman. CHANEL N°5 has been on sale continuously since its introduction in 1921. Like many other iconic brands, CHANEL N°5 secured a place in the art world. In 1959 Andy Warhol, did a series of nine silk screens of the CHANEL N°5 bottle.

“The secret of timelessness is to simplify, to pare down, to keep only what is essential” Gabrielle Chanel

CHANEL N°5

When purchasing fragrances whether it’s for yourself or a gift for someone a common question that is asked among the many is I’m not sure if it’s eau de parfum or eau de toilette. Perfumes all start with the original aromatic compound made up of various essential oils and natural ingredients. The perfume oils are combined with ethanol or water; this is because in their natural sense the undiluted oils can cause severe allergic reactions when applied directly to skin. The percentage of aromatic compound also means that the intensity and longevity of the scent is different, with stronger perfume oils producing a stronger scent than lesser perfume oils.

Some fragrances with the same name but having a different concentration types may not only differ in their dilutions but actually use different perfume oil mixtures altogether. Eample, in order to make the eau de toilette version of a fragrance brighter and fresher than its eau de parfum, the etd oil may be “tweaked” to contain slightly more top notes or fewer base notes.

Definitions of the various perfume types and the concentration does vary between perfume makers, however this should be taken as an easy guide for the everyday user to understand:-

• Parfum extracts contains 15-30% of the aromatic compound; typically around 20%.  Scent last approximately 8 to 12 hours. Usually a lot more expensive for less volume.

• Eau de Parfum (EDP) typically contains around 15% of the aromatic compound. Scent lasts approximately 3 – 8 hours

• Eau to Toilette (EDT), the most common fragrance description/type sold contains about 8-15% aromatic compound.  Scent lasts approximately 2 – 4 hours. Very common among men’s fragrances.

• Eau de Cologne (EDC), average about 4% of aromatic compound.  Initially very refreshing but will wear off quickly.  Great for application after a shower.

• After Shave, and Splash Colognes only contain about 1-3% aromatic compound.  Initially quite refreshing but will wear off very quickly.

It must be known that whichever fragrance is you decide to apply it all depends on your skin type. The above is just a general guide only. The same fragrance can last longer on someone else due to their skin type.