Frapin Caravelle Epicee: fragrance review

The road from Kerala has been finally constructed and the cargo all the way from its verdant backwaters is getting delivered to the ship traveling from the bays of the Indian ocean to Southampton. It carries on it a small quota of the spices of the East, in wooden chests decorated with the coat of arms of the port commander for his personal use. Amongst them nutmeg is the crowning glory, the seed of the Myristica tree, cool and tingling at the same time, redolent of that curious contradiction of serenity and languor that is the east to a westerner's mind.

via

All the splendour of the spice-laden ships has been translated into Caravelle Épicée by Frapin, a fragrance intended for armchair pirates contemplating looting one of them and sailing off to the Seychelles to enjoy the fruits of this escapade. And behold, what do I see in my pocket telescope? Here is a band of them storming the agile vessel with their sabres in hand!

They're inhaling the spicy notes escaping the small hold, caraway and coriander with their cool piquancy, a counterpoint to the hotness and dryness of black pepper, a potent mix never ceding to sweetness. They're already intoxicated with the good-smelling treasure they captured. Maybe too intoxicated to get through the risky voyage to the islands. I can see it even from here. The captain lies in ambush, his particular type of pipe tobacco lingering on the vessel long after he hid. There's hope for the ship yet!

Cologne, Americans and Maghreb

Cologne was invented in 1709 by Johann Maria Farina, who wrote to his brother: "I have found a fragrance that reminds me of an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain."

via

'Actually, colognes are very traditional perfumes in a very low concentration. Let’s put it that way. They were invented about 200 years ago in Cologne, Germany, as a reaction to the very heady, animalic scents that people used to wear. Before that, perfumes were loaded with natural musks and castoreum, so when colognes were invented it was like a breakthrough. It was the first time that people were wearing light, refreshing fragrances that were not supposed to last for days, but were just there to be enjoyed in the moment. And, of course, back then colognes were all natural and they were basically composed using an overdose of citrus oil like lemon or bergamot. They were combined with some clary sage to give an interesting twist, and also with lavender to give an herbaceous contra punto. Americans might not know what colognes really are, but I think there’s also a misconception of what a cologne is in Europe, too. It probably is because the generation of perfume lovers today were so influenced by marketing. And we all have male friends who call their fragrances “cologne” even though they’re not cologne concentration—they’re eau de toilette or eau de parfum.' ~Andy Tauer


Part of a longer interview of indie perfumer Andy Tauer to Tara Swords of Olfactif subscription service on Cologne du Maghreb being relaunched for summer 2014.

What I wrote about Le Cologne du Maghreb when it first came out back in December 2010:
'It is a classical cologne, with a woody baseline chord, "a firework of natural citrus notes, exploding into expensive sparkles, on a background with ambreine and cedarwood from the Moroccan High Atlas".
Like all colognes it is not made to last but it is a fragrant joy, living in the moment, leaving you with the finest veil of woods on your skin.
Ingredients: Citrus essential oils and absolutes (such as lemon, bergamot, clementine, mandarine, grapefruit, orange blossom absolute, neroli oil), rose absolute and oil, cedarwood, ambrein, cistrose and much more.'

Related reading on PerfumeShrine: 
Eau de Cologne: the Basis of a Legend, 
Limon Kolonyasi: Turkish delights,
Gender Bender Fragrances