Dior Dolce Vita: fragrance review of a perfumery classic

Photo by Bianca Czarnock on behance, borrowed for educational purposes

 

Dior's Dolce Vita fetes its 30th anniversary this year, being launched in 1994, when Dior was very careful with its new launches and the firm was creating mega-hits that shattered antagonism in one fell swoop. The promise of happiness, exuberance and confidence in Dolce Vita, in its flamboyant and optimistic package, looked smashing. A drop of sunshine, dropped magically in your lap, for special moments and for making it your own.

The scent of Dolce Vita by Dior indeed smells as voluptuous and sensuous as Anita Ekberg looks in the classic Fellini film La Dolce Vita. It was under the direction of legendary director Maurice Roger that Dolce Vita came to be, composed by Pierre Bourdon.

Under Roger's direction Dior's iconic perfume, Poison, was born in 1984, launched with much aplomb, as well as Fahrenheit in 1988 and later in 1994 the subject of our story, Dolce Vita. The fuzzy peach fruitiness in Dolce Vita is part of its succes. The effect, possible since at least Mitsouko by Guerlain in 1917, is mainly accountable to γ-undecalactone and despite many other molecular options today, it is still used by perfumers. The scent thus becomes wondrously sensual, with a fuzzy feel akin to caressing the skin of a peach or a smooth epidermis still with vellus hair, all tactile contours. Just beautiful. With the addition of baked goods cinnamon, the pleasantry in the fragrance is exponentially increased. The inclusion of palissander, commonly known as rosewood, is what ties the comfortable woody backdrop with the gourmand impression of the more delectable notes and makes for a soft, pliable, squishy feminine woody. 

Happiness in Dolce Vita lies in sweet accords that immediately seize you by the taste buds: warm cinnamon, spicy cardamom adding a middle-eastern touch, and the juicy lushness of soft apricots and lush peaches. An accent of juicy citrus puts a welcome dash of sharpness so as not to lose the bones amidst the plush. The magnolia, key within the floral bouquet, puts a spin on the citrusy fruitiness and almost lends air to the molecules. It feels expansive and melodious in the air at this stage. Finally the composition renders woody and soft notes: as the scent of Dolce Vita dries down the notes of palissander with heliotrope and vanilla beckon you even closer. It's a come hither of a scent, yet exuberant and confident too. 

I have dedicated an anniversary article to Dolce Vita on Fragrantica, if you care to read in its entirety.

Creed Green Irish Tweed (1985): Fragrance Review

~by guest writer AlbertCAN

 This is my tenth year, in various capacities, within the fragrance industry. One does not come this far without hearing a tall tale or two over the years. Some printable; some unfortunately aren’t. Thus imagine my amusement a few years ago when George Clooney’s negotiation for fragrance licensing with Coty fell through, in part, because the asking fee was $30 million dollars.

Now don’t get me wrong: I’m sure Clooney had his sound rationales, and $30 million dollars would surely come in handy when buying a more secluded villa in Lake Como, with the privacy he had sorely missed when vacationing. With this being said it’s doubtful that I would need a copy of bottled George in the first place, for when I am compelled to take after the leading man —along with other cultural icons such as David Beckham, Russell Crowe, Pierce Brosnan, among others— I pull out my copy of Green Irish Tweed.

actor David Kelly in his green irish tweeds

Officially Green Irish Tweed was created by master perfumer Pierre Bourdon for yet another leading man among leading men —Cary Grant. The chronology gets fuzzy beyond this point, however. He supposedly used it, though Grant would kick the bucket within a year after the fragrance introduction. Carbon dating the scent through its olfactory blueprint would be somewhat futile in this case, for it’s a green aromatic fougère that subtly influenced the masculine market for years, pointing to the future rather than its past. (But more on that later.)

Timeless doesn’t even begin to describe this scent, for Green Irish Tweed is working incredibly well for men of all ages. Just like the same Shakespearean passage could be interpreted so many different mannerisms and contexts, Green Irish Tweed somehow manages to give off a different spark in different situations: on a young lad, the vibrant and brash green opening; on a middle-aged businessman, the all-purpose aromatic earnest; and the golden men, the classic fougère base. That’s not to say that GIT lacks character, as it opens with a bracing rush of green and citrus elements such as lemon verbena. True to namesake fabric the nuances from the crunchy green really maintain the requisite masculine ruggedness; it’s as if one is meeting a true aristocrat, but instead of in the drawing room of his ancestral home it’s a chance meeting right before his polo match, brimming with confidence and vigor. Somehow I suspect geranium is in the mix, having picked up its presence among other similarly structured colognes, yet it’s not listed in the official notes: instead we have an interesting bunch consisting of violet leaves and vetiver making rounds before settling on the aforementioned fougère base along with sandalwood, ambergris and modern musk. Iris is in the mix too, although truth be told I still cannot decide its place: Creed lists it as a top note, whereas it's more of a heart note to my nose.

Now at this point readers with a modern olfactory palette would need some contexts before smelling this fragrance for the first time, for its idioms have been widely utilized ever since. The bookends of this fragrance, the green and the fougère, was to me referenced in Chanel Platinum Egoiste (1993), albeit in an arguably more acrid, slightly more high-pitched incarnation. Of course, Bourdon would also famously reprise the structural integrity of GIT by plugging in Calone into the mix, producing the watershed Cool Water for Men in 1988, just three short years after the release of the Creed.

Comparing Green Irish Tweed with Cool Water for Men is indeed a gentlemen pursuit worth partaking, for the differences are quite interesting. To me GIT is gentler in character, less intrusive than its marine sibling. Both perform quite well in diffusion and sillage, although Cool Water for Men balances out the freshness from Calone with a more assertive base in my humble opinion. Now much has been said about the use of Calone, the synthetic chemical first discovered by Pfizer in 1966 but left on the shelves for decades due to its bizarre slant: in high concentration its scent has been described as oyster like! Yet at a lower pitch it gives off a fresh marine impression with, depending on the context, melon or cucumber with a slightly saline dent. Yet Calone isn’t the magic pill within Cool Water for Men, as its similarities with the Creed imply. Of course, the Davidoff is more budget conscious, done with broader brush brushstrokes, but Bourdon’s signature touches are decidedly present in both. After all, the instrument alone doesn’t make a concert: neither in perfumery does the overdose of a novel ingredient take away from the thought process. We also pay for the perfumer’s time, not just for the sum of the bottled ingredients.

One notable difference, however: GIT layers very well with other masculine scents, not only with eaux de colognes but also quite interestingly with MUMAs. Because it doesn’t come in deodorants I tend to combine it with Terre d'Hermès deodorant stick. Mind you, I have even layered it beautifully with Chergui by Serge Lutens, with Chergui at the base and GIT right above, though looking back the combination is a tad assertive for my taste, fortifying the amber of the Lutens to an opulent, diffusive place I don’t normally venture—but then again conventional rules are out of the door at Lutens; I just dare not go that far.

For more information please refer to Creed’s official website.

Frederic Malle Iris Poudre: fragrance review

There is a human, flawed sublayer beneath the icy, perfect Hitchockian beauty of Betty Draper from Mad Men, which manifests itself when the woman is emotionally beaten to pulp by the final realisation her husband is actually cheating on her. The mask-like layer falls off and the melting face, crumbling updo and wrinkly tulle dress falling off the shoulders instill human empathy in us, hinting at a crack of the perfect facade. Iris Poudre is the Betty Draper, née Hofstadt, in the Frederic Malle line of perfumes, the icy coolness of Grace Kelly incarnate, when faced with the line "You're so profoundly sad" to only tentatively reply "No, it's just that my people are Nordic". Brrrr...  

Iris Poudre needs no introduction, really. Catherine Deneuve cites it in the foreward of F.Malle's new book as the fragrance that drew her from her beloved Guerlain into "fragrance infidelity" with the likes of Malle & company. A random choice? I think not.
Within the confines of this much esteemed niche brand that caters to the tastes of perfumephiles and perfumers both, this scent holds a firm place of distinction due to its haute elegance: The former group appreciates Malle because they can sample the vision of some of the best noses of our days with trully good ingredients. The latter group because they are at last given free reign to do what they had always wanted to do but couldn't, due to commercial restrictions.

Inspirations
Iris Poudre was created by Pierre Bourdon, one of the finest noses in the field and arguably one of the most personable ones to talk to. Frédéric Malle reveals that it was the first fragrance created in the line: his collaboration and appreciation of Bourdon goes a long way back. The initial inspiration for Iris Poudre is a substance called "concrétolide", a legendary French iris base that was the heart of many perfume classics from the period between the two world wars. The finished result was drawing inspiration from the famous 1960s film Belle de Jour, starring none other than...Catherine Deneuve!
Malle professes that "if it were a garment, it would be a cashmere sweater - classic but personal, appropriate for most occasions, something one never tires of".

Scent Profile
Although touted to be a grand floral aldehydic, to me it has no distinct relation to aldehydic fragrances that people perceive as typical of their classification, such as Chanel No.5, Madame Rochas or Arpège. It is subtler and less sparkly, more softly, cooly powdery. However it does have touches of the chilly allure and rosiness of YSL Rive Gauche or Paco Rabanne Calandre, both scents with a beautiful coolness contrasted with a little warmth in the base. There is a repressed sensuality about this scent, like the cool exterior of perfectly proportioned glacially faced Severine who goes to spend the afternoons as a high-class prostitute in her sexual frustration.  Dihydromyrcenol gives that steely ambience of scrubbed countertops, hissy clean citrus. Muscenone (a musky substance) gives human warmth sensed underneath the perfect facade.

Iris Poudre utilises the caramel butteriness of tonka bean, the cosiness of the musks and just a hint of fluffy vanilla to instill that faint warmth that surrounds you like a precious pashmina on a chilly evening on a walk back from the theatre or an art exhibit. Until you hear that your husband slept with someone you wouldn't even consider worth sleeping with, of course!

Notes for F.Malle Iris Poudre : aldehydes, iris, ylang ylang ,rose, vetiver, musk, vanilla, tonka bean.

photo credits: top January Jones as Betty Draper from Mad Men TV show via wikimedia commons and bottom via telegraph.co.uk

Parfums MDCI Ambre TopKapi: fragrance review

More of a straight fresh masculine than a languid unisex, more of an hesperidic-rich mock-amber than the stupendous orientalia of the brick & mortar of the real TopKapi palace, Ambre TopKapi, the first masculine fragrance by niche perfumery Parfums MDCI is a puzzling case of onomatopoeia.The fragrance "sounds" like an expletive in a foreign language.

Perfumer Pierre Bourdon is at least as famous as Ernest Beaux for super-dosaging an ingredient with a very distinctive odour profile in a best-selling fragrance: For Beaux it was the chain of aliphatic aldehydes in Chanel No.5, for Bourdon it was dihydromyrcenol in Cool Water. It seems like Bourdon has made a habit of this: Ambre TopKapi, although classified as a woody-spicy, is suffused with the cool citrusy aluminum blade that is dihydromyrcenol; boosting the freshness of the citrus notes (which veer more into pineapple fruitiness than the classic Eau de Cologne bergamot ambience of old) and incising the spiciness of its heart (cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, basil, lavender and thyme, all essences with a bracing, stimulating quality). The fresh feel is one that resembles part shampoo remnants, part chlorine-mopped counters, part woody cologne for men and it's this atmosphere that characterises the duration of the fragrance on skin; oscillating between dusty cool and sweetish, never really giving a straight-shooting answer.

Not much warmth or languor is to be met in the drydown and it's interesting to see that the fragrance doesn't really last as I expected, despite the presence of heavyweights listed in the official notes (musk, vanilla, sandalwood, oakmoss). The problem with Ambre TopKapi coming out in 2003 out of a niche line is that in a market full with clones of Cool Water it ends up smelling generic, even though it's masterfully blended and retains the same coherent character from start to finish.

Notes for MCDI Ambre Topkapi:
Bergamot, grapefruit, pineapple, melon, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, basil, thyme, lavender, oak moss, vetiver, sandalwood, rosewood, leather, Darjeeling tea, amber, musk, vanilla, jasmine and violet.

Ambre TopKapi retails for 250$ for 60ml and the price can rise to 610$ for the bust edition (same fragrance, same size, with a Roman bust on the cap made of Limoges porcelain)

Related reading on PerfumeShrine: Parfums MDCI Peche Cardinal, Masculine fragrance reviews

Les Parfums de Rosine: fragrance history & Hymn to the Rose

Today's piece of fragrance history was prompted by an article in the Jakarta Post, dedicated on the creator of niche line Les Parfums de Rosine, Marie Hélène Rogeon, the woman who reintroduced the brand originally masterminded 80 years before by her antecentant, renowned couturier Paul Poiret for his beloved daughter Rosine (He established Les Ateliers de Martine for his younger daughter in the same year, 1911).

Rogeon established herself at Les Jardins du Palais Royal in Paris before Serge Lutens, in 1991 and they co-exist happily side by side ever since, a visit garlanded with memories of girly romanticism stacked against mystical opulence. Many of the original Rosine fragrances were created by legendary perfumer Henri Alméras, the composer of several legendary Jean Patou fragrances {click link for reviews} as well as Emannuel Bouler and Maurice Shaller. François Robert (for Rose d'Homme), Pierre Bourdon (for Roseberry), and Camille Latron (for the newer releases) have all contributed to the re-issued portfolio of Les Parfums de Rosine. The compositions follow a simple rule: They're above all dedicated to the kind of flowers, the rose, in various guises and manifestations. From the traditionally powder puff of iris-ladden Pousierre de Rose to the creamy, bright explosion of a pas de deux between rose and sandalwood in Rosa Flamenca through the lemony-tea infusion of Zeste de Rose and the mischievous spicy flirt to dirt of Diabolo Rose, Les parfums de Rosine offer an embarassement of riches for rose-maniacs.

"Paul Poiret was a ground breaking designer that freed {sic} European women from their corsets. He launched a perfume line called Les Parfums de Rosine in honor of his deceased daughter Rosine {sic}. Rogeon's grandfather was commissioned to manufacture fragrances for him but did not create them himself. Later the great depression and war came, and production ceased. Poiret came back after the war only to find himself being replaced by new fashions like Coco Chanel and his fashion house disappeared. The perfume bottles disappeared too. Rogeon, though, met them really early in her life - in her grandparents' attic. "My grandparents kept some labels and some old bottles in their attic... unfortunately the perfume was sold out - there were only labels left," she said. "I realized also during my studies that this range of perfume was really creative because Paul Poiret just wanted to use some geraniums, nobody else used it before," she said. The creativity amazed her and prompted her to revive the manufacturing. She does not follow the original bottle design but kept the logo and the tassel, and the fragrance expected of de Rosine.
She has gone beyond the resurrection of the old fragrances - with some tweaking to follow modern safety regulations. She has come out with her own blends of rosy scents - for men and women - drawing her experiences from different cultures. In her hands, a rose is no longer about a rose. Rose blended with a musky leathery mix in Rose d'Homme, for example, brings out elegant masculinity in men. Rose Praline is like having a tint of chocolate herb tea while rushing through a rose bush, bringing that playful but yet not girly feeling. Rose Kashmirie is a garden of roses and Chinese peonies in one place. La Rose de Rosine combines ylang ylang, jasmine, iris and tonka beans in the same flower beds."

You can read the interesting article here. A list of the vintage Parfums de Rosine can be found on Perfume Projects.

Les Parfums de Rosine are available in Paris, at Barney's, at Rosenstein in Montreal, Canada, at Galleries Lafayette, at Body n'Soul in Athens, Greece, at Mecca Cosmetica in Australia, online at their official site , Beautyhabit & at Aus Liebe Zum Duft (First in Fragrance), and at the newest boutique at Papillion 2, Plaza Indonesia, in Jakarta.

If you have a favourite Rosine, come out and let us know which and why you love it!

Pics lusciouscargo and perfumeprojects.com

Classic Values ~Kouros by YSL: fragrance review

Kouros : how misrepresented you are. I almost feel pity... Or perhaps not. Because it has been over applied and misused by many, it earned a reputation of no less than "piss" (enter the comment of a character in the indie film “The locals” who says so, when the other guy slips a bottle of Kouros out of the glove compartment saying girls at work like it). Yet I still love it in small doses!

Someone I know who actually did work for Yves Saint Laurent back in his heyday had a little anecdote on its creation to share: when Yves visited Greece in the 1970s he made a stop at Sounion/Sunium, that cape at the edge of Attica with the famous Poseidon temple {click to see an atmospheric photo and here for a more classical one}. This temple is situated at an advantageous point for surveillance of the Aegean in case of a potential enemy fleet and formed part of the Holy Triangle, marked by three major temples (Aegina island – Athens – Sounion cape). The day was bright, the sea ahead was azure blue, the columns of the temple stood imposingly solid. The only etchings on the marble then were those of Lord Byron who obviously felt the need to leave his name on a piece of antiquity: see, vandalism was not unknown even back then, even if Byron assisted the country’s National Revolution. It must have made an impression: he quoted Sounion in Don Juan ~

"Place me on Sunium's marbled steep,
Where the waves and I can only
hear
Our mutual murmurs sweep
There, swanlike, let me sing and die."

But I digress... Yves contemplated the view and was inspired to recreate the feeling in a perfume. The progressive sketches he made were of stylized columns that little by little became the austere white image of the bottle we know today. "Living Gods have their perfume: Kouros", ran the advertising campaign.

Kouros the name was in keeping with the Greek theme: Kouros (plural kouroi) is an iconographic type of the archaic Greek sculpture of 6th century BC that featured the famous archaic smile. A statue of a young man, in the nude, with one leg slightly protruding before the other, it gives the impression of motion that is about to happen any minute now.
Kouros, the fragrance, composed by the great Pierre Bourdon (Iris Poudre, Ferre by Ferre, Dolce Vita, Cool Water) launched in 1981 and became iconic of that period winning a FiFi award the next year and holding a place in bestsellers for years to come. With its intense, pungent almost orangey blast of the coriander opening it segues on to warm clove, sensual oakmoss and a touch of ambergris (that infamous whale byproduct that is so hard to come by) and infamously civet, managing to smell both sweet and bitter at the same time, urinous with sage, quite powdery which is unusual for men’s scents; insolent, animalic, audacious, almost Gordon Gekko! The drydown is like freshly washed hair on a sweaty body.

It is usually recommended to all ages, but frankly I can not picture it on the very, very young, nor the old. It's best in between: a little experience is necessary, but not that much! To be rediscovered by a new generation pretty soon. I just wish they came up with a feminine version of this one : if it’s so common to do so with women’s perfumes, then why not with men’s?

The Flanker Fragrances of Kouros

The original Kouros is one of the fragrances with the most "flankers" over the years (flankers are new, often wildly different fragrances coat-tailing on the success of a best-seller using the name and bottle design in new twists, as devised by the company). These tried to lighten up the load of the odoriferous original. The experiment started with Kouros Eau de Sport in 1986 (now discontinued) and Kouros Fraîcher in 1993 which added bergamot, orange blossom and pineapple, while still remaining the closest to the original.
From 2000 onwards, interest picked up, a comparable case as with Opium, and parfums YSL launched Body Kouros composed by Annick Menardo (of Bulgari Black fame) in a black bottle goving a twist through vibrant eucalyptus on the top notes and adding Camphor-wood and Benzoin to the drydown, the latter's sweet caramel vibe clashing with the mentholated notes of the former.
Kouros Eau d'Ete in 2002 plays on blue-mint, rosemary and cedarwood and comes in a clear ice-blue bottle. Kouros Cologne Sport came out in 2003 and relied on cedrat, bergamot and tangerine for the top with the florancy of jasmine and cyclamen in the heart. Neither of those really resembles the original ~which is either good or bad according to your reaction on the latter.

Kouros Cologne Sport Eau d'Éte sounds a little like they ran out of words (cologne, sport and summery!): it launched in 2004 as a limited edition in a gradient blue bottle (predictably). Yet another limited edition Kouros Eau d'Ete launched in 2005, with just a marginal play on the box.
The latest was the Kouros Tattoo Collector (2007), another limited edition: lighter and with a peppery accent it comes in an Eau Tonique concentration which fits somewhere between Eau de Toilette and Apres-Rasage/aftershave. And what about the tattoo? Well, it came along with two temporary tattoos in the box. Booh, if you're going to be serious about anything, get a real one, please!
This year sees a gradient bottle of blue (again!) with the tag Kouros Energising. Ooouff! Enough!

So, what do you think of Kouros? Love it or hate it?

Image of Archaic kouros from Getty museum, pics of ads by Parfumdepub

Scent your Home for Spring

How can one do without friends? Fragrant friends are especially wonderful, if only because they introduce you to delights of the senses that forever tie their memory with the feelings thus provoked. One of those friends sent me some Jacques Garcia Gold. And the elation of sniffing recalled the wonderful traits of this lovely lady who has been spoiling me rotten!

Jacques Garcia Gold is an orange blossom scent: it was therefore natural that it would attract the attention of Perfume Shrine which has so much elaborated on orange blossom in the past. {click the link for our series}
Jacques Garcia is, amongst many famous international places, the interior designer of Hôtel Costes in Paris, La Mamounia in Marrackech, La Reserve in Geneva, Casino de Montreux in Switzerland, L'Avenue Restaurant in Paris, Jean-Georges in NYC and Hotel Victor in South Beach...
Jacques Garcia had the lovely idea of launching a line of home fragrances in room spray and candle form to scent all those sumptuous interiors and to do that he collaborated with Rami Mekdachi. The latter is a true sorcerer of scent who actively sought to create "perfume for modern temples". His diverse portfolio of artistic direction encompases the opulent brocades of the Hôtel Costes scents, the leathery smoothness of the exclusive fragrance for the infamous dancing venue VIP Room, as well as in the eponymous fragrance for the famous Colette boutique and Pierre Frapin Cognac. Not to forget ’Scent Lab’, the fragrance forecast bible for the cognoscenti.

With a background of marketing at a major cosmetics company as well as being a musician, Rami Mekdachi found the perfect fusion of art and business in the world of perfumery: "Music has the ability to bring you to a certain period of your life, to remind you of special moments. The same can be said of perfume, and yet, the effect of scent is even more powerful, because it acts on the subconsious level and opens the mind to a whole new arena of emotions".
All this with a nod to the ancient tradition of scent being a means to transport one to a different mood upon entering a sacred place. Very simpatico with Perfume Shrine's philosophy!

The nose chosen by Mekdachi to recreate these feelings in the Jacques Garcia line of ambience scents was the great Pierre Bourdon: the nose behind such elegant compositions of light cyclamen as Iris Poudre,the ethereal chiffon of Ferré by Ferré, as well as enduring bestsellers like Cool Water for men.

Gold is the freshest whiff of orange blossoms swaying in the spring breeze, bringing promises of happiness and insouciance, the glimpse of sunny days ahead and destinations in the Mediterranean where groves full of bitter orange trees look like white fairies in the wind.
The smell is simple, yet heavenly, as it engulfs you in its initial hesperidic freshness making the nostrils smile with pleasure. In a minute the blossom is there, true, honeyed and realistic as if a citrus aurantia tree is growing its branches beneath your windows, with the scent of wood as an afterthought. I have been known to put this on skin, as a personal scent, to uplift the spirits.
The bottle is one of the most decadent ones I have ever seen for a room fragrance, yielding itself to the frou-frou look of a boudoir atomiser in midnight blue with a tassel in silk thread and gold filigree design on the front. The candle is a comparable affair of indulgent decoration that will bring a touch of glamour to any coffee table. They're perfectly transporting!

The candle comes in 6.7oz, while the room spray comes in a 3.4oz bottle. Available at Aedes.
The line also includes Silver, a tuberose scent and Bronze, a scent based on myrrh. I can't wait to try those out as well.


So, what will you use to scent your home this spring?

Pics courtesy of Aedes

Fragrant news: new Frédéric Malle scent

The following exciting info comes from Osmoz.com:

In May, Fréderic Malle will be launching a new fragrance designed by perfumer Pierre Bourdon and christened "French Lover". Frédéric Malle’s original idea was to create a fuller-bodied version of the scent Angéliques sous la Pluie. But the creator and the perfumer soon went beyond that concept to come up with a sophisticated men’s scent, ‘super-sensual, but not trashy.’ The ingredients include dazzling green notes of pimento and galbanum, iris, cedar, trimofix, angelica, frankincense and vetiver. Mosses, musks, ambroxan and karanal bestow ‘a kind of plant-based animal quality that immediately evoked the smell of a man’ [for the creators]. 1.7 fl. oz.: €90; 3.4 fl. oz.: €135.

Please note that this the third one in the line that will be named with an english name after Lipstick Rose and Carnal Flower.
Ambroxin is a synthetic amber note, while trimofix is a fixative with ambergris, mossy and vetiver-like tonalities and the karanal aromachemical has a woody ambery tone.

Sounds exciting and wily!