Histoires de Parfums 1826: fragrance review

 Spicy stuff is usually reserved for wintertime because it so often appears in heavier compositions such as spicy oriental fragrances, a genre many of us love but that people around us find a bit retro and therefore not always pleasant. Rejoice then for a spicy citrus and oriental musk blend from a very worthwhile niche company that has retained its integrity and pedigree in an era of easy cash grab. 1826 by Histoires de Parfums is inspired by Eugénie de Montijo, the last French empress who was born in Granada, the jewel of Andalusia. 

photo Deborah Turbeville - Models in Valentino, VOGUE Italia borrowed via Pinterest

A sparkling beauty, her seductive nature and temperamental elegance delighted Napoleon the Third. It was for her that Guerlain made to measure his famous Eau de Cologne Imperiale Guerlain. It was those famous historical people, like her, as well as characters from novels, that inspired the first collection by venerable French niche brand Histoires de Parfums, the brainchild of Gerarl Ghislain. 

 Powdery violet is allied to spicy cinnamon and piquant ginger notes in the heart of 1826, but not before this is first refreshed with a rush of hesperidia—happy and aromatic, almost aggressive citrus notes that tumble out of the bottle in song. A honeyed ambience like a ripe orchard is present, they're never sour or sharp. Then the synergy with the prolonged musky drydown makes it appear woody, orientalised, dry, yet restrained. There is the elegance of sipping earl grey tea while reading an old book with violets dried inside its pages by the window overlooking a beautiful citrus grove...

Beautifully balanced, 1826  by Histoires de Parfums always welcome in any season, but especially when the weather warms up. 

Launch date: 2001

The older bottles have a retro label with a crest and a chiseled bronze-gold cap. The newer bottles are sparse with a rectangle shaped bottle that is visually cut in half, thus making the cap seem off, and they fit into their boxes like in a cardboard drawer, as if meant to display unto the shelves of a library. Very cute idea! 

The perfumer behind 1826 by Histoires de Parfums is Sylvie Jourdet. 

Top notes are Tangerine and Bergamot;
middle notes are Violet, White Flowers, Cinnamon and Ginger;
base notes are Patchouli, Amber, Woody Notes, Incense, Musk and Vanilla.

Ex Nihilo Iris Porcelana: fragrance review

 

In January 2022, Ex Nihilo introduced a new women's fragrance, Iris Porcelana. The inspiration for its creation was fine porcelain that came to Europe from the East, as well as a perfume material called Pallida iris. The perfumer is Dalia Izem (of Givaudan), a young perfumer from Dubai. The fragrance joined the main collection of the brand named Initiale, which already includes bestsellers such as Fleur Narcotique and Lust in Paradise and is therefore a useful gauge of how brands perceive materials and concepts. 

photo borrowed from Pinterest

The iris one is very popular, having become almost synonymous with a delicate feminity that is so sought after by many, many women nowadays. Alongside violet, it's often at the core of "powdery fragrances." Notes like milk, vanilla, iris, ambrette seeds, cashmere woods, musk, "cotton," and soap also define a genre of fragrances that create a sense of comfort and serenity, very sought after during and since the pandemic. Truth is, iris "notes" are routinely produced through less expensive methods. But this is neither here nor there; their magic happens not because of the cost itself, but of the perceived value.It's all a game of smoke-and-mirrors! But it works. It definitely works. 

 In Iris Porcelana by Ex Nihilo, the iris is rendered lightly metallic, with an eau de vie touch, and then fanned on something totally unexpected: Hazelnuts! The star ingredient appears thanks to a potent aromachemical in several creations in recent years. Being safe for even food use (GRAS), it is exploited with gay abandon in perfumery, exactly because it is not going to be on the chopping block of potential allergens in the near future. 

 From the intense praline in Angel Muse by Mugler to Amouage Guidance (a fragrance which I reviewed here and which takes Filbertone to the next level by overdosing), this trend shows no signs of abating: Devotion Intense, Patchouli Noisette, Valentino Uomo, English Oak & Hazelnut (Jo Malone), Aimez moi comme je suis (Caron), Joop! Homme Eau de Parfum, several boutique fragrances in the Trussardi line, Vetiver Gris, and even La Vie est Belle L'eau de parfum Intense. The precursor in the combination of Iris Porcelana is probably Praliné de Santal by innovative niche creator Pierre Guillaume. He coupled the sandalwood milkiness with the hazelnut savory facets and created an atypical fragrance that fascinates. And of course the pioneer was Mechant Loup by L'artisan Parfumeur as far back (in relative terms of contemporary perfumery) in 1997!

Balmain Carbone 2024: fragrance review

 

Les Éternels de Balmain perfume collection, which the new Carbone is part of, is the house’s first offering since officially launching Balmain Beauty in September. Several classics by Balmain are re-introduced, such as Vent Vert (a modernisation of the couturier's first legendary green fragrance from the 1940s and the favourite fragrance of the then young Brigitte Bardot), Ivoire (1979), Ébène (1983), and Carbone (2010), albeit all with a changed formula, equating to a different scent. 

 The latest edition of Carbone (2024), part of the Musk family, is described as Balmain's new creative director Olivier Rousteing's "baby," and when such pronouncements are made you know there is something that has definitely changed in an older fragrance being re-issued. The new Carbone from 2024 is therefore described as "the heady mix of tobacco, suede, cumin and rose and is already beloved by Beyoncé, Dove Cameron and Olivier's mother." Dove Cameron has been video-scoped sporting the 1945 Balmain clutch bag containing the Carbone fragrance to let this seep in. 

 Carbone 2024 by Balmain is a fragrance that drives the quest for identity. "Housed in a lacquered signature black bottle, it reflects all facets of individuality with an assertive duality of maximalist musk and minimalist rose. The fragrance features white musk, rose neoabsolute [sic], suede, patchouli, sandalwood, and cumin, creating a complex scent where pure and carnal elements unite," states the brand. It's not easy to come up with a novel rose these days, when roses have been typified into two main camps. On the one hand the rose-patchouli-oud mélange of the Arabian tradition meant for westerners who want some bang for their buck and the promise of 1001 Nights enfolding in their evening life, as begat by the commercial and critical success of Portrait of a Lady. To me the new Balmain feels like an effort to bridge both categories above; it's soft, but also retains a more shady tonality. It's not entirely masculine, but it's not froufrou feminine either. Although one might consider it dangerous because of the cumin mentioned in the pyramid, it is not dirty, really, it just has a sensuous quality to its rosiness; it's not the screechy kind. It is not ground-breaking either. 

Balmain's Carbone 2024 is intended to appeal to a very wide demographic, case in point being promoted via celebrities that people want to emulate. And this is maybe its major flaw: When trying to please everyone, one doesn't excite anyone enough.

Balmain Carbone 2024 Fragrance Notes: White Musk, rose, suede, sandalwood, cumin, patchouli

Le Jardin Retrouvé Jasmin Majorelle: fragrance review

Is it him? you ask yourself, looking at the graceful figure that seems to float on the pool, beyond the fountains, in the blue of the renovated building. Your imagination, helped by the heat of the sun at its zenith, thinks it perceives the man who once created here his inspired worlds. But only a rare scent of jasmine, ylang-ylang, lemon of Italy, coriander and iris answers you and proceeds to disturb your senses. Jasmin Majorelle. Pure joy illuminates you. 

The name comes from Jardin Majorelle, restored by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé at Marrakech, in Morocco. 

photo of Jardin Majorelle in Morocco borrowed from Pinterest

 The formula was originally created by Yuri Gutsatz, the founder of the brand decades ago and one of the founders of the Osmotheque, who worked for Roure-Dupont-Givaudan and the first to formulate the principles of a middle ground between luxury perfumes and mass perfumery back in the 1960s. 

 As one of my colleagues wrote, "Jasmin Majorelle the fragrance was created in 1981 and introduced in 2018 in a limited edition after being chosen by hundreds of fragrance connoiseurs — it garnered 23% of the votes. However, further sales have shown that this perfect jasmine fragrance has proven to be a real bestseller!" 

A dense jasmine-ylang cloud, lively, fresh and sweet, embellished with citrus accents, transparent greenery, light spices and a subtle mothball hint of indole. A romantic perfume to offer as a love token, or to love yourself. Just like the founders of the original garden did. 

Luxe Calme Volupté by Francesca Bianchi: fragrance review

 

There all is order and beauty,

Luxury, peace, and pleasure.

-Charles Baudelaire, L' invitation au voyage

In the poem, Baudelaire invites his lover to join him in an exotic place where they can live in calmness and peace. Francesca Bianchi described in 2021, when the fragrance launched, how this fits with the times in which we found ourselves and how she felt the need to offer something which could bring comfort to the spirit, an invitation to connect with oneself and temporarily forget about the daily concerns. Now, after the pandemic, this message isn't lost on us. It still delivers a powerful reminder to savour small pleasures, every single day and Fancesca Bianchi envisioned Luxe Calme Volupté as this escape. 

photo borrowed from pinterest

Baudelaire included L'Invitation Au Voyage in his poetic collection Les Fleurs du Mal in 1857, inspiring in turn the namesake 1904 painting by Henri Matisse. Bianchi is often inspired by classical chords not only in poetry but in perfumery as well and she has divulged that she was inspired by no less than three classics when art-directing this one: Y perfume by Yves Saint-Laurent, Must de Cartier, and Envy Gucci. A floral chypre, a green-top oriental (the mix of galbanum and amber is very characteristic) and a green floral. Armed with that knowledge my adventure in the lands of Baudelaire and Bianchi promised a wild ride. The fragrance of Luxe Calme Volupté is not wild but lush and rich in depth. And it doesn't really recall green chypres of the past, although there is definitely the natural feel those leave you with (although they're not at all natural). Melifluous, honeyed, sweet and fruity, but with that kind of fruity depth we have marvelled at from fruity chypres of yore, when women wore this rich lactonic effluvium directly on their naked skin, their naked bosom and charmed by-standers and their dates while on a night out in the city. Ylang ylang and peachy-plummy notes evolve and get sweetened with a lacing of sweet resins and balsams, without however becoming heavily orientalised or ambery. 

photo borrowed from pinterest

 Perhaps like another verse by Baudelaire, Bianchi aimed for corrupt, and rich, triumphant, With power to expand into infinity. While retaining her Italian pedigree as well. Luxe Calme Volupté feels like a cadenza extending into eternity, because of its nuance, its depth, its fruity ecstasy, which embraces without overwhelming with that horrid shampoo-like synthetic aura so many fruity fragrances do. The Luxe Calme Volupté fragrance leans more feminine than masculine, though all sexes may want to experiment with it. It feels gorgeous and lovely and this comes from someone who isn't crazy about fruity fragrances on the whole. In the same way the Francesca Bianchi fragrances, even when not overtly sexual, take sensuality as a point of departure to ponder on the value of sensuousness, of analyzing Hedone as a philosophical concept. Indeed the Latin name for this Greek goddess is...Voluptas. So there, the Luxe Calme Volupté name of the scent alone recounts the entire story, faithfully.