Saw this at Scented Salamander:

http://www.mimifroufrou.com/scentedsalaman..._2008.html#more


I'm intrigued! Not all Balmain scents are winners, but none of them are boring...

Interesting! I hope the recent switch to a new manufacturing house doesn't doom this to mediocrity. Sounds intriguing from the notes.

Roseattar, thanks for posting that. The notes sound somewhat similar to those of Initial by Boucheron:

Initial

Top Notes: lily of the valley mandarin, black currant leaf
Heart Notes: jasmine,Turkish rose, almond, honey, immortelle
Base Notes: pepper,cardamom, cinnamon, patchouli, vanilla

Thanks for the pointer. I'm a bit weary of the endless barrage of new releases, but this one does sound sumptuous - and ambre gris is one of my earliest loves. Hope the sum isn't too sweet, and lives up to its claim/name.

notes given in the article: myrrh, cinnamon, pink peppercorn, benzoin, immortelle, a dash of tuberose in the heart, and a light animalic base with the ambergris.

I would almost venture to try Initial too, Fiveoaks (thanks for another tip), yet I veer towards the Balmain, for I prefer myrrh over patchouli (myrrh being one of my favorite notes, patchouli one that can make ánd break), and tuberose over (Turkish) rose. I also suspect Initial - due to honey, almond, vanilla and lily of the valley - will be more sweet and perhaps frilly: (rightly or wrongly) I associate Boucheron with pleasing, ladylike scents, and Balmain with a more assertive, cool esthetic. I'll seek it out nonetheless.

These notes really appeal to me and I love many of the classic Balmain perfumes.

Initial by Boucheron has a sweet fruited creamed honey thread that sometimes pleases me but often puts me off. It is rich and luscious rather than cheaply sweet, but it is my least favourite Boucheron. I think that the myrrh in the new Balmain would add a bitter quality that I like in a perfume.

Me, too. Scents with Benzoin can get quite sweet/vanillic, and myrrh in perfumes is usually rendered as a deep, sweet, note. It gives me hope that, that since it's listed as a topnote, it will be more dry and resinous.

I am very interested in this one. I was just reading about it on Now Smell This a few minutes ago. I have Initial and love it. I love sweet and spicy perfumes- this one sounds like it might fit in that category. I am so dissapointed in so many of the new releases. I just ordered the new Max Mara Le Parfum because I thought it would be so pretty with the nutmeg note- can not smell anything- zip- nothing. So frustrating.

I find Initial to be surprisingly spicy in a "cool" sort of way. I like it, but wear it infrequently as I find it on the strong side and sometimes it can give me a bit of a headache (I'm sure it's the lotv that does it to me) if I'm in the wrong frame of mind. The honey, immortelle and almond are a really interesting combo though. It's not as sweet as it could be, although I'd hardly call it a dry fragrance. In the EdP a little goes a very long way. Maybe I'll try wearing it tomorrow; I like it in the winter time best.

I'd love to try this new Balmain. Does anyone know where it is available?

That's my question too! I've never seen any Balmains in any bricks and mortar store except Ivoire at TJMaxx last summer.