Easter Wishes

 May this time of the year bring inner peace and peace to the world. May it manifest love and prosperity. May it herald acceptance and forgiveness. 

Happy Easter to all! 

pin borrowed from Pinterest

In the meantime, you might read or reread these articles on PerfumeShrine:

Incense Week (incense scents inspired by the Holy Week)

The aromata of Greek Easter and a Recipe

The Myrrh Bearers 

Christos Anesti 

Mapping Scents of Spirituality

Spring Clean: Links for spring fragrance reviews & musings

Puredistance Divanché: fragrance review

 

Meeting with a new Puredistance fragrance is always a time for pleasure and for introspection. The newer Divanché is said to be inspired by Japanese gardenia, so how could I not be mesmerized into trying it out? 

Although gardenias and white flowers have captured the imagination of the past with classic specimens at the heart of illustrious floral chypres, pear and pineapple are two entirely contemporary fascinations of modern perfumery. In fact a minuscule facet of sulphur unites the two materials, producing a common thread that reflects one another like the two faces of Janus. As a colleague chemist notes, "the pear profile often overlaps with other fruity odours; saturated esters often have apple tones, while unsaturated ones have pineapple and berry tones." 

 Pear especially possesses soft, juicy qualities, a little bit like unctuous sweet treacle, gelatinous and translucent too, and is very popular for a reason. It's succulent without leaning tropical. It first appeared prominently many years ago, in Laura Biagiotti Tempore Donna (1999) and in D&G Feminine (also 1999), but only lately has it been highlighted in recent launches opting for newer chords and newer fruity effects. 

 In DIVANCHÉ pear is very much present in the diffusion of the fragrance, the main protagonist, juxtaposing the light mushroom-like moistness of the gardenia and the hints of lactonic elements hiding in the recesses of the formula (a hint of peach, more than a bit of jasmolactone, a soupçon of fig leaf and milk). It feels ripe and rich, yet fresh and softly caressing, like the wings of an angel or the frisky fur of a long-haired kitten if you're so inclined. 

It also recalls Japanese stationery with its cute factor intact which is probably fitting given the Japanese background for this Puredistance creation. The woods and musks sensualize and round the floral heart. Finally, resinoids lead the fragrance to an unwavering denouement where DIVANCHÉ gains the feeling of a soft whisper over the skin. It is discreet and polished, not intense.

Read my full review on Fragrantica on this link. 

I am Being Quoted on Bustle, Referencing "Man-Repelling Fragrances"

 It was my absolute pleasure being interviewed by journalist Parizaad Khan Sethi for an in-depth article on Man-Repelling Fragrances for Bustle, where I am heavily quoted alongside industry people (and with some great suggestions for fragrances to wear to distance yourself from too much attention). Is there such a thing as anti-intimacy? And why would want actually desire it? 

We go in depth into how this whole concept works, which effects, chords and materials produce this sense of apostasy, and then we propose certain fragrances to put some distance between you and the vast wide world, as per needed. 

Take a read on THIS LINK , it's very interesting, and let me know what you think!

 Click the images below for a clearer view. 

Oriflame Amber Elixir: short fragrance review

 

Amber Elixir by Oriflame remains very popular after many years and the line is populated with flankers (a couple of which are especially memorable). What makes it so special? 

 It is hard to do an amber fragrance which, firstly, doesn't recall a hundred others, and, secondly, is not heavy and cloying but instead fit for all seasons and occasions. Perfumer Vincent Schaller worked this classic Oriflame best-seller in 2007, and it has been beloved ever since due to its versatility and elegance. 

Working a light almond-heliotrope facet under the vanillic labdanum chord of amber perfumes, the scent of Oriflame Amber Elixir becomes creamy, lightly powdery, and soft like a hug from a loved one. It is like a caress rather than a warm stilting hug that crashes you and therefore it never becomes heavy or -that word people use- cloying. A malady of some other ambers, to be sure. This is comforting and a sort of diet-amber if I may say so. Which is perfect really, for my personal taste, at least. 

It's suitable for all seasons except very hot summers and can lend a contemporary touch of femininity to all ages. Available in 50 ml for €39 at the moment on the official Oriflame website.

The Elusive Search for an Exceptional Fragrance

With almost 6000 new fragrances each year, nowadays, it is impossible to proclaim something as best of X year. There is absolutely no way of testing everything, even if we tried. Pure mathematics prove this: 6000 divided with 365 gives us 16,43 fragrances tested PER DAY, every day. Who can do that and how would one's poor nose react to that sort of tension and over-reaching? 

I bet there would also be days of a nose cold or lack of adequate weather conditions in order to do proper tests. A day of heatwave tends to side-track and alter olfactory perception, simply due to the physics of volatility and diffusion of scented molecules. Therefore the process of elimination starts at the testing chop block. 

Personally I tend to seek out brands which either rejecting the norms of mass produced fragrance, seeking a return to luxury and creativity, therefore brands on a carefully controlled scale in order to empower the fragrance creators while offering the customer an exceptional experience. Collaborations with talented perfumers also pique my interest to sample fragrances, or a very creative and unusual concept catches my attention. But the judging does rely on the result. Does the fragrance deliver in terms of adhering to its communicated concept? Does it have consistency with the general style of the brand? Does it bear an individual touch which separates from the rest in its genre? Or alternatively does it exalt its genre into something elevated and pushing boundaries? Originality is somewhat twisted. 

British author Tibor Fisher wrote that all ideas were covered by the Greeks long ago and we're merely rehashing the collectively forgotten. This is the conundrum of the artist: "I won't look at what has come before, I won't go to galleries or museums, I won't read or talk to artists, and thus I can't help but be original." Is this even possible? Is it even desirable? So in a world that is rehashing tropes in a way, sometimes knowingly, sometimes unconsciously, I tend to seek either the iconoclast who dares step further on: say, a modern neo-chypre that project as novel, or an atypical use of Iso E Super in order to give peppery tones for example. Either some craftsman who absolutely excels at what they're doing: a polished amber that does not feel obese or cloying, a shimmering aldehyde floral which manages to stand shoulder to shoulder with great specimens of the glorious past...That sort of thing cuts the thread for me.