Shiseido Koto: fragrance review & draw

Koto by Shiseido was issued launched in the international market in 1985 which makes it a fairly recent vintage, yet in hindsight one can see how this ethereal quality of cool mossiness is reminiscent of other eras when elegance, discretion and manners were the passe-partout into society. {Indeed in Japan it was originally issued in 1967 as it transpires}. Simply put Koto is supremely well-mannered and I could never in a million years "see" it on someone chewing bubble-gum with an attitude, gesturing madly in public and talking loudly on their cell-phone regardless of passer-bys. It exudes a polished, refined aura which puts things in perspective and people who come into contact with it at ease, rather than in a defensive mode. Among chypres, Koto is one of the friendliest and most easy to accept, but not receding to the role of wallflower either!

Naming a fragrance after the national musical instrument of Japan is indicative of Shiseido's thought-process: melodic, graceful, with a refinement that eludes Western appreciation for fuller scores which span contrapuntal levels like in the form of a fugue or canon, koto and the music played on it is an entity of its own. The "chypre" basic structure on the other hand is a classically westernised transliteration of the latter musical idea, interpolating themes woven into clusters of notes: a floral heart, a powdery base, a fresh ~often green or citrusy~ start. You get whiffs of each motif as the fragrance evolves on your skin like voices taking turns into singing the same melody, out of synch yet harmonically. In many ways for a Japanese company such as Shiseido to issue chypre fragrances (Murasaki is another interesting case) is like borrowing the contrapunto of Palestrina and spinning it on its head. Koto doesn't smell as perfume-y or powdery as most Western chypres do, retaining the discretion and natural feel that Japanese audiences appreciate more.

The composition of Koto is based on a two-pole magnetic compass that points to instantly perceived charisma: On one side the starchness and dryness of a classic chypre accord smelling green but not too earthy. On the other side, a floral chord of crystalline (but not too high-pitched) and "clean" notes of lily of the valley (muguet) with a smidge of rose and gardenia. The two elements produce a dry yet expansive and fresh wave which envelops the body lightly. A hint of leathery, resinous touch at the base with indefinable woody notes is underscoring the green mossy stages. Lovers of the original Vent Vert and the more soapy Ivoire by Balmain might take note, as would those who like Y by Saint Laurent, Jacomo Silences, Chanel Cristalle and Paco Rabanne Calandre. Koto is certainly less agressively green than vintage Vent Vert or Silences (no galbanum or quinolines here) and less oakmoss-rich than the original Y, but it falls within the group's characteristics nonetheless and can be nicely shared among the two sexes.

Koto by Shiseido circulates in an Eau de Cologne Pure Mist version (which is satisfyingly sufficient if you're not demanding of your scent to stick around into the night) and is a Japan exclusive. Yet it makes some appearences on online auctions from time to time. It's definitely approachable enough in both scent and price point to grace more collections than it does at the present time.

For our readers, a good-size decant of the fragrance will be given to the lucky reader among those who state their interest in the comments. The draw will be open till Saturday 30th May midnight.




The song is "Itsuki No Komoriuta", from the CD compilation "The Koto- Japanese Healing Music" uploaded by Starfires.
Painting Green Teapot and Japanese Bowl by Helene Druvert.

Issey Miyake A Scent: fragrance review

After the definitive 90s bestseller L'Eau d'Issey and the definitive 90s commercial "tank" Le Feu d'Issey (affectionately termed "Phew d'Issey" by its detractors, but rhapsodised by fragrance critic Luca Turin for its undoubted olfactory innovation), Miyake who has been held on public record saying he doesn't like perfume and never wears it, launches his third "elemental"-inspired scent. A Scent, inspired by air, no less! Much like this would seem like a joke, I assure you it is not.
The fragrance is very, very pleasant if not groundbreaking and I would like to think that the inane name is merely a break-down of Ascent, denoting ascendant, a rising and optimistic sign that points to the skies above. After all, air can be charged with its own aroma, especially before and after a springtime thunderstorm! A Scent by Miyake does reprise an airy electricity-charged green smell that recalls spring mornings of crushed greenery underfoot, still holding dew on it, and it's a mystery why it was launched for the autumn-winter season. I suppose they figure it will pick up sales-wise come February, when people are sick and tired of the drab days of sleet and mud-trampled snow and will want the promise of sharp cool air in the tall grass, the touch of a dryad...

Created in collaboration with perfumer Daphné Bugey of Firmenich (who I am reminding you is responsible for those reportedly amazing Coty classics reconstructions and the mean vanilla of Kenzo Amour), designed by Arik Levy and produced by Beauté Prestige International, the Paris-based fragrance division of the Shiseido Cosmetics Corporation, A Scent had all the prerequisites to become a new "classic". Will it? Only time will tell, but it doesn't seem as original as it should for it to become so. Then again, technically neither was L'Eau d'Issey: In the aqueous ozonic stakes, drenched by gallons of Calone (the melon-fresh aroma-ingredient that characterised the decade), New West by Aramis beat it by three years coming out in as early as 1989.

Is Miyake's A Scent “a scent as simple and beautiful as the air we breathe” as purported in the ad copy? I would venture that for the average urban dweller this would be an ironic line, but let's not digress. The green notes of galbanum (nothing too bitter in this interpretation) and hyacinth, reminiscent of the re-issued Vent Vert, Guerlain's Chamade opening and Chanel No.19's verdant patches ~before the iris takes over in plush~ fold the floral heart while a lemon note echoes throughout. The core is garlanded by vivacious hints of citrusy-green notes (verbena apparently) and a carnal-devoid diaphanous jasmine. The remaining tonality is a white-musk-infused base that whimpers off skin infrequently with slightly soapy reminiscences like just showered bodies. Comparisons with Estée Lauder's Private Collection Jasmine White Moss are pretty obvious, as the same citric and green spike emerge on contact and the common lineage is none other than Chanel's Cristalle, especially in the more hesperidic-toned Eau de Toilette. Arguably however the predecessor is much more daring and stealthy, while the limited-distribution parable by Lauder is more polished and lasting (especially in the wonderful extrait de parfum), leaving A Scent in some kind of limbo state despite its surpreme wearability by both sexes.

Green chypres are becoming popular again (just contemplate Cristalle Eau Verte, a twist on the refreshing classic) and they have taken on a new mantle it seems, one of intense subtlety (there's your oxymoron!) and seeming attenuation, one of less conviction if you please. More an environmentalist-streak running through the market, rather than a "let's get back to nature" 60s song, they seem catered for the urbanite who is commuting to work with i-Pod at hand. But in a world that is almost faced with complete extinction of that venerable fragrance family I can live with that rather than hundreds of fruity-florals and fruitchoulis, I guess.

The bottle looks like a slice cut out of a block of transparent slob (jn fact it is) which is perfectly cool in its own tongue-in-cheek way (there's luxury products for you!) and fitting with the scent image.

Notes for Issey Miyake A Scent: galbanum, hyacinth, verbena, jasmine, "crystal moss" (A Firmenich patent on a mossy substitute for oakmoss)

A Scent by Miyake is available in department stores in a 5 oz Eau de Toilette ($115.00 USD), a 3.3 oz Eau de Toilette ($89.00 USD), a 1.6 oz Eau de Toilette ($65.00 USD), a 6.7 oz Moisturizing Body Lotion ($48.00 USD) and a 6.7 oz Moisturizing Shower Gel ($42.00 USD).

Tree in the form of a woman via heandfi.org, bottle pic via popsop.ru

Silences by Jacomo: fragrance review

If one could liquidify a handful of Pre-Columbian emeralds of crystal-clear luster into a brewing potion of intense aloofness and exceptional grace, Silences by Jacomo would undoubtedly result. Or imagine catching the cool, bracing moments of air just after a torrent thunderstorm in a tangled green garden when the earth is still humid and electrified. In music scores those "rests" denoting periods of silence account for building tension, the tension felt before a flamboyant burst of the whole orchestra. The overall musical effect of Silences is comparatively akin to getting a pre-emptive glimpse of the slow, indeed silent passage of winter into a blossoming, riotous spring.

Launched in 1978 Silences was created for "the refined woman who knows how to combine fragrance and elegance, and for the mature woman wishing to add a great perfume to her social evenings and superbe attire". The noble lineage can be traced to the archetypal intense green, Balmain's Vent Vert by Germain Cellier, but also the intense dark green that makes the formula of Bandit eau de parfum so uncharacteristically verdant. The galbanum central accord that makes the vintage Vent Vert so achingly fresh is the razor-sharp cut that appears as a vibrant influence in such great green classics as Chanel No.19 , Givenchy III and Alliage by Lauder, with a passing wink to Sisley's Eau de Campagne and Lauder's more chypré progeny, Private Collection, as well. The early and mid-70s was historically a time of intense turmoil in the women's movement which brought about emancipated chypres and intense greens that were eschewing typical polite, ladylike aldehydic florals or the long forgotten seductive wiles of sultry orientals; those latter ones would come back with a vengeance however just about when Silences was introduced and would manage to knock it off its pedestral thanks to groundbreaking commercial success of Opium. Thus Silences was left in oblivion and remains a well-kept secret that deserves to be discovered anew.

Jacomo's Silences begins its intensly green, bitter adventure via the magic of galbanum and hyacinth, and progresses to fresh-cut floral mid-notes with touches of metallic: green jasmine (hedione), rose and lily of the valley (muguet), which hint at the delights of the coming of spring amidst the coolness of wintertime. Silences dries down to a mild, powdery base full of the synergy of warm woods and mossy lichens. Whereas Chanel No.19 counterpoints the richly iris-laden heart with a leathery accent and prominent vetiver in the base, Silences is warmed through the fanning of precious woods and is even drier. The powdery, arid sensation that is left on drydown lasts on the skin for hours and can become quite seductive by itself; if not to others around you, certainly to yourself!

A perfume friend, Maria of Bittergrace Notes, parallels it to "A romantic tryst in an untended garden, as imagined by a nun" in her notorious one-sentence reviews. "Still dewdrop in blend, she cascades without being too shrill" is how fragrance expert Marian Bendeth describes it. Luca Turin had described it in his defunct French 1994 guide as an unpretencious tapering silhouette of cut flower stems, even urging men to try a smidge of it in the morning if they're daring enough.
It is rather unfortunate that those bitter green fragrances with a mossy face powder effect have gone out of fashion for quite some time, thus making a sophisticated marvel like Silences seem out of synch with our current culture worshiping at the altar of hypersweet, nevertheless for those who want to give it a go I find that it has its own share of perverse sexiness.

Although the original comes in a black smooth, crescent bottle in a dark box with iridescence, there has been a new addition, the newer Silences Purple which is more of a sunny white floral in an identical bottle in purple with a matching box in purple iridiscence. The packaging for the classic however appears in two versions as well: the older, un-reformulated one is greyer with the name appearing once, while the newer packaging has the name appearing repeteadly over the box.

Notes for Jacomo Silences:
One set of notes states:
Top: Galbanum, Green Note, Bergamot, Lemon, Orange Blossom .
Middle: Orris, Rose, Muguet, Hyacinth, Jasmin.
Bottom: Moss, Cedarwood, Sandal, Musk .

The current set of notes on the Jacomo site states:
Top: Narcissus absolute, Iris from Florence, Rose, Blackcurrant absolute, Galbanum
Heart: Calendula, Bulgarian rose, Lily of the valley
Bottom: Oak moss, Ambrette, Sandalwood, Vetyver

Jacomo Silences comes in Eau de Parfum concentration and is available on Jacomo's official site and some online stores for very modest prices.

Photo of Jacomo Silences bottle © by Helg/Perfumeshrine.
"The Spanish Inquisition" emerald necklace pictured, is now in the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, and was once owned by Harry Winston. (Photo: Dane Penland/Smithsonian via palagems.com)