Aedes de Venustas: fragrance samples set draw

We have all come to rely on Aedes de Venustas for the most exquisite niche brands in perfumery. But their own brand is also quite fearsome to behold with perfumes created with some of the world's top perfumers working right now; from the award-winning Iris Nazarena to the fiery Oeillet Bengale to the mysterious acqua incense of Copal Azur  Aedes de Venustas has proven its mettle many times.

via

The discovery set of Aedes de Venustas comprising 3 x 10ml perfumes has launched and I happen to have samples of all three scents.
5 lucky winners will get 1 of each of the 3 scents so they can decide which appeals to them most; or upgrade to the mini bottles for more prolonged enjoyment! Draw is open internationally to those who comment below this post saying what they'd like to read next on Perfume Shrine. Winners to be announced early next week.

Aedes de Venustas Copal Azur: fragrance review & samples giveaway

How can a strictly indoors smell, that of burning incense, so tied to wooden pegs and tight clusters of people, gain an outdoorsy veneer? The French perfume school has long thrived on the exploration of indoor scents; from the culinary scents of hot butter, peachy and plummy compotes and pain d'épices fused into classic chypres and orientals, to the introspective scents of the church and the literary salon, full of incense, beeswax and the scent of the paper-knife between paper leaves, the ink that dots the pages... These reflect the traditions that have built France's reputation as the seat of good food and decent banter. But the great outdoors, a less Parisian perhaps, yet not entirely distant destination, was left uncharted right till the bucolic greeneries introduced with Vent Vert and the athletic agility of the 1990s marines. And then the outdoors came sweeping one day, sailing on.

Copal Azur by Aedes de Venustas & Bertrand Duchaufour isn't strictly a ....but.click to read my full review on Fragrantica grabbing a nice fluffy mohair blanket and a chocolate bar.
And enter a comment to be eligible for one of the 5 samples I'm giving away. Draw is open internationally till Sunday 23rd noon.

Aedes de Venustas Oeillet Bengale: fragrance review

If like me you have been searching for a Catherine Earnshaw kind of fragrance all your life, then the options haven't always been that populous. Sure, there are some wild perfumes out there but they either (deliciously) run butch or raunchy (Bandit or Tabu), extremely sophisticated (Tabac Blond, Poivre, Coup de Fouet) or possessing that kind of French veneer that makes the Versailles what they are and not a rough stone house on the moors (YSL Opium, Coco de Chanel). I'm extremely surprised and overjoyed to find out that Oeillet Bengale, the third fragrance by Aedes de Venustas (the famous niche perfume boutique in NYC) is a Catherine-Earnshaw-by-way-of-India and that's mighty fine by me; this feral thing is so beguiling, one can forgive it a wandering spirit, even beyond the grave.

Oeillet Bengale like its namesake (the Bengal tiger) conjures the vision of a wild, fiery, untamed thing, oozing feline sex appeal and the sort of charm which keeps you on your toes rather than winning you over with an easy smile and pleading puppy eyes. It also conjures the temples of India, garlanded by flowers and smoky with woody-smelling incense, a sort of Kipling novela written in the register of smells.

Oeillet Bengale by Aedes de Venustas boldly goes where modern niche carnation fragrances go, that is more Vitriol d'Oeillet (Lutens) than Bellodgia (Caron). The spicy component, fresh and dark, like an electric storm in a land of immense skylines that go on forever, lends it well into night wear, while the combination of resinous smells and floral notes gives it a Queen of Sheba via a modern sort of vibe. This is a wonderful fragrance for either men or women who exude sophistication (or aim at doing so!) because the smoky pepperiness—with its incense-y ambience—doesn't lend itself to cooing over the latest chick lit volume. If you are the type to go gaga over Hello Kitty items (and not just out of childhood nostalgia) Oeillet Bengale will leave you cold. If you're a fan of spacious, yet richly nuanced, woody fragrances with a prominent spicy component (sans the expected Indian curry food notes!) and the growl of smooth and carnal labdanum, then the feral Oeillet Bengale is your thing.

In fact, if I were to sum it up, I'd say that the chord of pepper-clove-labdanum-incense is the "soul" of Oeillet Bengale, a smoky carnation for fiery spirits.

Composed by Rodrigo Flores-Roux, Oeillet Bengale by Aedes de Venustas includes top notes of turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, cloves and saffron; middle notes of rose, white pepper, strawberry and floral notes; and base notes of vanilla, tolu balsam, benzoin and labdanum.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine:
Spicy Floral fragrances reviews,
Carnation in perfumes: the clove-scented buds of La Belle Epoque

Giveaway of Niche Perfume Samples

Irises (and iris-named perfumes) come plentiful in both mainstream and niche sectors lately: from best-selling Infusion d'Iris by Prada, Donna Karan Iris and Iris Nobile (A.di Parma) to Guerlain's Figue-Iris, Iris Ganache (also Guerlain), Iris Poudre (F.Malle) and Iris Silver Mist (Serge Lutens). Even The Body Shop has a white musk version in their Midnight Iris edition. And many many more….Everyone wants to have an iris in their fragrance portfolio!

So it came as no surprise that Aedes de Venustas, a niche abode known to all aficionados, came up with Iris Nazarena. The effort is rewarded with a Fragrance Foundation award (Parfum Extraordinaire) and it's my privilege to be able to give away 10 samples to 10 readers who will put in a comment under this post until Thursday midnight. The lucky recipients will be announced on Friday 1st August, stay tuned. This is closed, thank you!

Perfume Bottles Coup de Foudre: What Has Caught My Heart Recently

Usually I'm not that taken with the outer appearance of a given perfume; the bottle is the dress on a beautiful form and it's the flesh I'm after. But I allow myself some oculoplania from time to time. These vehicles of dreams, pictured below, manage to instigate a desire to supervene substance for form; in some happy cases the two converge harmonically, to everyone's delight.

Source: Uploaded by user via PerfumeShine on Pinterest

Lancome's L'Autre Oud; a door to the mystery we rediscover as adults.

Source: Uploaded by user via PerfumeShrine on Pinterest

Reminiscence Oud: malicious vapors of a spirit escaping its imprisonment, stars glimmering on its surface.

Source: Uploaded by user via PerfumeShrine on Pinterest

Iris Nazarena by Aedes de Venustas: sumptuousness gone glam.

Source: Uploaded by user via PerfumeShrine on Pinterest

Guerlain Songe d'un Bois d'Ete: arabesque...

Which have been your own perfume bottle loves recently?

Aedes de Venustas Iris Nazarena: new fragrance

"With Iris Nazarena eau de parfum", perfume creator Ralf Schwieger explains "I had to face two major challenges: to find a point of difference with Chanel No. 19, which has always been a reference point for iris-based scents and an unsurpassable model since its launch in 1971, and to incorporate transparency so that the beauty of the Nazarene iris would be best expressed".



The second eponymous fragrance by niche haven Aedes de Venustas in Greenwich Village, New York City is launching this June and is inspired by the Bismarck variety of iris, also known by the name of Nazarene iris thanks to growing in the mountains east of Nazareth, which piqued Karl Brad's (the co-founder of Aedes) interest.

German perfumer Ralf Schwieger (with the perfume-producing company Mane), is winner of the Fragrance Foundation France Prix des Experts, 2012, creator of such successful fragrances as Eau des Merveilles (Hermès), Lipstick Rose (Frédéric Malle), The Afternoon of a Faun, and Philippine Houseboy aka Fils de Dieu (Etat Libre d' Orange) and Orange Sanguine (Atelier Cologne). Previously Aedes de Venustas had employed Bertrand Duchaufour for their first eponymous fragrance, in a flacon of deep purple glass. This time the bottle of Iris Nazarena takes on a fittingly dark grey tint.

In Aedes de Venustas Iris Nazarena ambrette, with its facets of pear, rose and musk, is luminous on the top notes while juniper berries introduce the theme of incense. The fresh and vivid green star anise evokes the stylized leaves and stems of the flower with woody notes such as patchouli and vetiver alluding to the roots in the earth. The clay like earthiness is further warmed by touches of cloves and oud.

Notes for Iris Nazarena by Aedes de Venustas:
Top: iris, ambrette, juniper berries, star anise
Heart: leather, oud, cloves, rose de Mai
Base: incense, woods, musk, vetiver