Fendi Theorema: fragrance review

Now that perfumer Christine Nagel is at the helm of Hermès, looking back on her work for various brands reveals her core aesthetics; at once saturated and filled with light, like a Joseph M.W. Turner painting that foreshadows what's to come, namely Impressionism. Judging by her newest Eau de Rhubarbe Ecarlate and Galop, this heftiness-shot-with-brightness continues the sun path to its natural apex.

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With Fendi's Theorema, Italian for theorem, a proposition that has been proven to be true based on previously established statements, Nagel has taken a theme and brought it into its culmination. Namely the "Oriental perfume" that feels as comforting as nibbling chocolate by the fire, while at the same time retaining the plush luxury and sophistication that a proper womanly perfume fit for the salon should exude.

Fendi's Theorema, inexplicably discontinued much too soon (at least before the brand discontinued its entire line in order to bring out the newest project on the shelves) and at least as clamored for a resurrection as Laura Biagotti's Venezia, opens with the delectable alliance of orange and chocolate. The effect of the former is apparently accounted by two unusual citruses: tangelos and thai samuti. The chocolate is folded with sweet spices, amber and warm milky woods, such as sandalwood and rosewood; there's none of the austerity that woody notes usually provide. A touch of a classic, orientalized bouquet of flowers (orange blossom, ylang ylang, jasmine) gives just a tinge of ladylike proclivities. But Theorema is too good to stay on the ladies alone...and is extremely ripe for a resurrection as well.

Histoires de Parfums Petroleum (Edition Rare): fragrance review

All the colors of a bruise: black and blue, teal green edging out in purple, fading to rosy, ending in ochre yellow like ancient parchment.

The electrical buzz of arc-welding, fiery orange sparks filling out the skies, the rusty mine of the shipwreck. The air filled with a mineral, scorched feel. The plank-plank of cork wedges hitting the iron ore at the loading decks.

A leather cloth, all smeared with wax. The musty smell of the hold of an old ship. He had his hair loose and oily with sweat and ambery brilliantine. My hand aching from trying to hold tight onto the lower mast. I said "I'm hurt". He should have said, "honey, let me heal it", like Bruce. Only he never said it; not in so many words.

John Klingel

Petroleum by Histoires de Parfums is Gerald Ghislain's story on oudh, the prophylactic defensive rot on Aquillaria trees and its resinous, nutty, woody, complex scent. Infused with fizzy orange, musty patchouli and a prolonged furry, white musk aftertaste, lasting hours, purring after the roar, Petroleum is the gift of the earth in an unassuming bottle. This oudh étude surpasses many others, in a masterful cadenza of chromatic tonalities: from black and blue, teal green edging out in purple, fading to rosy, ending in ochre yellow like ancient parchment. The chromatics in a drop of "liquid gold", in an old bruise that still aches when pressed.

Acqua di Parma Colonia Assoluta 10th anniversary Editione Speciale 2013: fragrance review & free perfume bottle givaway

Husks of cardamom, crashed and fragrant, in my pocket. A window opening up to a vista of green pines overlooking the Mediterranean azure blue under the crisp but smiling sun of noon. The scent of clean linen dried in the fresh air in the breeze and the human warmth of a worn wool sweater approaching. Zesty citrus as when you scrap a bitter orange with your nails. Scattered writings on the desk, unfinished phrases, small notes of random thoughts. Pencil shavings in an ashtray, abandonded and lonely. A beautiful stem of jasmine cut and browning by the hour. Safety. Serenity. Solace.

When in 2003 the formidable collaboration of perfumers Jean Claude Ellena and Bertrand Duchaufour came up with the original Colonia Assoluta for Acqua di Parma the feat wasn't announced with fanfare. But now that the classical Cologne has re-emerged from the attic as the eternal sine qua non of Southern European elegance and proper grooming, when totally modern spins on this time-honored genre, such as GS03 (Biehl Parfumkunstwerke), as well as more traditional ones, like Chanel Eau de Cologne, draw our attention, rediscovering this refined gem in a gorgeous presentation for its 10th anniversary is occasion for rejoicing.

Acqua di Parma assures us that more than ten ingredients are of a natural origin in their Colonia Assoluta: Calabrian bergamot, red orange, orange blossom, jasmine, lavender, rosemary, Virginia cedar and sandalwood. Less citrusy than the original Colonia, more emphatically aromatic and mossier, the way Cartier Declaration is mossy under the cardamom cool spiciness, Colonia Assoluta is everything I picture a graceful man (or a woman who loves using shared fragrances) of my culture wearing.

The bottle design for the Colonia Assoluta 10th anniversary isn't just random: This special edition decorated with graphic signs is inspired by the moving spokes of a bicycle. The original pattern was designed by Acqua di Parma to convey the contemporary feel of this particular Eau de Cologne and its users, modern men around town, atop their bicycle. The original motif is reproduced in the bottle and case with the spokes stretching across the surface in silver hues, the distinctive colour of Colonia Assoluta. It is through a special craft that the spokes are engraved on the glass surface in order to create light and dark contrasts serving as an elegant expression of the sophisticated scent itself. Light contrasts keep changing with every motion of the large sized 180ml bottle, offered in the refillable version to last in time. 

Notes for Acqua di Parma Colonia Assoluta:
Top: bergamot, bitter orange, sweet orange and lemon verbena
Heart: jasmine, vetiver, ylang-ylang, cedar, cardamom, pink pepper and paprika
Base: patchouli, oakmoss, white musk, sandalwood and resins

Please note this isn't the first special edition for Colonia Assoluta: there is also Editione Riviera (2007), Editione Speciale 2011 and Colonia Assoluta in Villa (2009). This 10th anniversary edition is code-named Colonia Assoluta Editione Speciale 2013.

To make this 180ml/6oz bottle you see in the picture yours, please post a comment saying whether you bicycle or not (and why) and if you have any favorite associations with bicycles. Mine will forever be Ladri di Biciclette by Vittorio de Sica.
Draw is open internationally till Sunday 10th October midnight and the winner will be announced on Monday.

Andy Tauer Orange Star: fragrance review & draw

The newest Andy Tauer fragrance, Orange Star, is based on his previous soap-making for Christmas-giving for which he produced Mandarins Ambrées, a lovely, yummy concoction of mandarin and clementine essences steeped into ambregris tincture (or so it seemed to me). Rest assured that if you liked that soap (I did), you'll love the fragrance too!

Andy had written on his blog about that soap back in November 2007: "It took me a while and quite some fiddling around to get this ambergris hint, the little woody vibrant touch that I wanted to be there, lifting the green mandarins without transforming the bathroom into Givaudan’s Okoumal* production facility. In a sense, the ambergris line shall bring out the colours, point the nose to a mandarin that is fresh, green, clean.Les Mandarines ambrées have survived an extensive bathroom test for weeks in Zurich, they pleased the eye and the nose and the skin as well."

*Okoumal is a Givaudan aroma-chemical smelling ambery and fresh with powdery and mushroom-y nuances.

Orange Star , the fragrance which transforms that concept into a proper, complex fragrance, is an intensely sunny, citrusy (but never cologne-y) composition with lots of coumarinic tonka beans for warmth and comfort, fanning out the cheery glow of the fruits. The tenacity of ambregris is skin-like, a wee bit dry under the natural sweetness of the hesperides, but what I call the coup de grace is the inclusion of a fine spicy note (halg peppery, half clove-y) which makes the whole quite piquant instead of soapy blah. There's some floral element in there (orange blossom, violet, some lily-ofthe-valley for sudsy) but it's never overshadowing the main character. The base material, Ambreine, derived from cistus labdanum, is truly beautiful (but more on to that later, I'm promising you something spectacular!) In all, recognisably Tauer, high naturals ratio, good tenacity.

Spraying vs. dabbing makes for an expansive experience, the spicy note ringing truer, the mandarin juice dribbling more succulent.

Official notes for Andy Tauer Orange Star:
Head: Fresh citrus accord with mandarines and clementines
Heart: Juicy lemongrass, clean orange flowers
Body: Rich ambergris base with tonka beans and hints of vanilla

The best bit is that the bottle and presentation box looks truly gorgeous in deep cobalt blue (as far as I can see from the pictures and from the Milan exhibition) and is a definite redemption for the previous packaging that has been criticized as "cheap-looking" in the past (Le Maroc pour Elle, I'm looking at you!) As Tauer's business has flourished, going from one success to another, so did the budget and the new design showcases we have to deal with an artifact that has the exterior presentation it deserves. Bravo!

For our readers Tauer has provided a generous deluxe sample for a lucky reader. Andy will be at the Scent Bar (Luckyscent's brick and mortar store in LA) on Saturday 17th from 1-4 p.m , but you have your chance to try it out for yourself even if you can't make it to Los Angeles! Please state your interest in the comments. Draw will be open till Sunday 18th midnight. Draw is now closed, thank you for participating!
Samples and pre-orders for bottles will begin sometime before May 1, 2010 at Luckyscent

In the interests of full disclosure, I was provided with two samples directly from Tauer Perfumes: one for myself, one for the giveaway.
Painting Swimmer, 1998, by Colette Calascione via coilhouse.net