Evody La Collection d'Ailleurs ~Noir d'Orient, D'Ame de Pique, Ombre Fumée

La Collection d’Ailleurs is the latest chapter in the Evody story. Paying tribute to travel, the richness of nature and the diversity of different cultures, this captivating collection is brand creators Régine and Cérine’s own unique interpretation of far away places, linking their joint passions for travel and fragrance.

Noir d’Orient (from £85 for 50ml extrait de parfum)
The spice route is full of mystery – a trail of intoxicating scents, warmth, luxuriant forests and the depths of the Indian Ocean.

Noir d’Orient has been constructed around India’s olfactory diversity. The fragrance opens with a serene note of incense before revealing a heart of hot, sensual and intense spices including Cloves and Cinnamon. Finally, this heady oriental offers a rich soul of Wood, Dark Rum and Patchouli.

D’Âme de Pique (from £85 for 50ml extrait de parfum)
D’Âme de Pique is an ode to the roses from Rose Valley in the Atlas region of Morocco. Opulent and soft, exuberant and dignified these most regal of flowers are unrivalled in their beauty. Green and sparkling notes of Blackcurrant Leaf and Pear form the opening accord of this most captivating of fragrances. The heart is given up entirely to Rose, magnified by a hint of Raspberry. Finally voluptuous Sandalwood and Vanilla combine with sensual Patchouli.

Ombre Fumée (from £85 for 50ml extrait de parfum)
Drawing inspiration from the volcanic, tropical island of Reunion Ombre Fumée is a celebration of Vetiver, the intense raw material from which Reunion draws its wealth. Here Vetiver is wrapped in both fresh, green notes and mysterious, sensual notes. Invigorating Orange and Lemon give way to a soft touch of Cypress followed by a powdery note of Iris with Hot Black Pepper.

Created by mother and daughter duo, Régine Droin and Cérine Vasseur, EVODY’s distinctive fragrance collection is designed to enthrall perfume aficionados. The core range comprises eight beguiling scents, each designed to communicate the very real stories and emotions that inspired the creators. From the intensely personal Cuir Blanc, designed for Cérine when she was pregnant with her first child, to the sparkling Pomme d’Or created for Régine’s husband, a man who had never previously worn fragrance.

The dominant fragrance notes for the rest of the Evody line are as follows:
POMME D’OR – Bergamot, Sweet Lime, Juniper berries
FLEUR D’ORANGER – Mandarin, Jasmine, Orange Blossom REVE D’ANTHALA – Tiare Flower, Orchid, Jasmine, Vanilla BOIS SECRET – Bergamot, Black Pepper, Nutmeg, Tonka Bean NOTE DE LUXE – Jasmine, Bergamot, Ylang Ylang, Vanilla AMBRE INTENSE – Bay Leaf, Incense, Patchouli, Amber
CUIR BLANC – Violet Leaf, Iris, White Musk, Russian Leather MUSC INTENSE – Bergamot, Mandarin, Kashmir Wood, Musk

Guerlain Santal Royal: new fragrance

The upcoming launch by the historic house of Guerlain is called Santal Royal and comes in a bottle in the style of their "Eau de lit" and "Eau de lingerie" scents, but dressed in pitch dark black, with a gold filigree label and a cap and adorned with a tassel in black & gold hanging from the neck.

borrowed via Jaroslav's blog

Guerlain Santal Royal is an oriental woody perfume with spicy overtones that heralds the coming of the cooler season, in the manner of "cashmere scents" we perfumistas here on PerfumeShrine like to annotate to autumn and winter. Jan Masters describes it as "an evening scent, although I could imagine it cheering up grey days as if cosying up in a cashmere wrap."
Of course pair Guerlain and sandalwood in the same phrase and everyone thinks of Guerlain Samsara (with the lone historian reminiscing about Guerlain Santal parfum from the first years of the 20th century), but we're told this is a very different perfume.

Santal Royal is a Harrods exclusive launch for the opening of their Salon de Parfums, retailing at £125 for 125ml of fragrance and the scent is composed by resident perfumer for Guerlain Thierry Wasser. Harrods are plugging the Salon des Parfums, a new abode for perfume enthusiasts on the 6th floor, which opens on October 16th at 8pm, attendance by invitation only. The fragrance will eventually arrive on boutique counters as well.

The fragrance notes for Guerlain Santal Royal include the eponymous mystical note of sandalwood, coupled with cinnamon and fresh neroli on the top, while the deeper, denser notes of warm amber, musk and leather rise from the base. Preliminary reportage suggests also a note of rose and oud in the formula that isn't mentioned in the official breakdown.

My own addition is that now that the sustainable Australian sandalwood plantations of Santalum alba have been fruitful we're set for a new wave of sandalwood fragrances that will reprise that most prized of woody notes. Assuming of course that Santal Royal contains said ingredient.

Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur Extrait: fragrance review & draw

Mohur Eau de Parfum by Neela Vermeire Creations preceded the Extrait de Parfum version of this India-inspired rose fragrance for men and women; in fact the extract only launched last spring. But the perfume extract (extract de parfum) brings into highlight the richest in noble essences arranged in a manner that highlights their pedigree; comparing the two is like juxtaposing the silky hair of a Persian domestic cat compared to the majestic plush of the strapping Shere Khan. Mohur extrait is something of a diva! As if Mohur eau de parfum wasn't already queenly enough….but you can imagine the added magisterial effect, right?  {And now that your appetite is whetted there is a lucky draw for great Neela Vermeire Creations prizes at the end of the post, so be sure to read to the bottom!}

Rose is a fascinating, as much as a polarizing, perfume raw material due to two main reasons. For one, the natural extract can vary wildly according to the variety of rose variant used (the tea rose for instance possesses a completely different scent than that of the fruity, berry-plummy Munstead Wood), the cultivar and region (Rosa Damascena, traditionally coming from Bulgaria, is heavier and deeper than May Rose, traditionally coming from Grasse, though there are also Turkish, Moroccan and roses hailing from other regions) and the details of the method of extraction (different metals contribute their own little nuances in the end product etc). For another, rose by itself is an interesting, multi-layered oil, exhibiting facets of liqueur, wine, even pear or artichoke! Composing a fragrance based on the "Queen of flowers", as rose is affectionately named (jasmine is the King), isn't easy. This is also why most of the time there is very little, if any, natural rose essence, in perfumes. Constructing a rose bouquet with synthetics is far more elegant, in the mathematical sense of the world, allowing a precise calibration of the effect minus any distraction of off notes.

Rose is also a fragrance note that needs getting some conditioning to. At least for me it did and I know I'm not alone. Rose scents can appear too old-fashioned for their own good sometimes (not old fashioned in the glamorous vintage sense of out-of-the-mold perfumes which dare to walk on stilts, towering over everyone else, but "grannyish" sorry to say). Nevertheless everything old is new again and rose is making a comeback in perfumery as a focal note (it never went away from the secret core of most feminine fragrances anyway). Luckily for me, Neela Vermeire Creations scored Bingo with their Mohur Eau de Parfum, which manages to smell at once contemporary and nostalgic, rich in second-hand reminiscences scaterred atop its jammy, lightly powdery rose dessert from Rajastan.

It's a perfume which accompanies my softest thoughts. Now the Mohur Extrait de Parfum, rich in rose absolute, comes as the culmination of the succulence, tempting and caressing with the intensity of its purple color of the flacon; at once cool and warm, like the color purple unites the fieriness of red with the calm of blue, regal, ceremonial and mystical with its association to the Crown Chakra. Honeyed facets of the rose are folded into a batter of powdery materials (the vegetal, subdued muskiness of ambrette seeds and the iris effect of carrot seed essence) while the sandalwood note takes on creamy qualities, deftly incorporated into this rosewater-flavored barfi by Neela Vermeire Creations perfumer in charge Bertrand Duchaufour (who also gave us another rose-dusted Ottoman-palatial-leaning phantasmagoria in Traversee du Bosphore for L'Artisan Parfumeur). Although the formula for the two is the same, the Mohur extrait is overall sweeter and rather more gourmand-smelling, with less of the aldehydic top notes of the Eau de Parfum, and while I think that the eau de parfum is personally speaking a very wearable incarnation thanks to its very drape-y softness which floats around me like a golden sari, I can't deny the exquisiteness of Mohur in pure perfume. If you can afford bringing so much beauty into your everyday life without keeling over, by all means, there's no point in searching beyond this masterpiece.

Mohur (in eau de parfum and extract de parfum versions) is part of the niche fragrances issued by Neela Vermeire Créations which also includes Trayee, Bombay Bling and Ashoka. These Indian inspired perfumes, like Chants of India, draw upon the tradition, history and cultural milieu of that vast Eastern sub-continent in which Neela herself has roots. These are truly "transparent orientals", modern and wearable, and therefore it comes as no surprise that Neela commissioned Bertrand Duchaufour to compose them for her niche line. Her e-boutique can be accessed on this link.

I have 2 great prizes for 2 winners (shipping to US, EU and Canada):
Prize 1 is a 8ml spray bottle of Mohur extrait with ceramic logo disk (depicted)
Prize 2 is a Sampler coffret (2ml x 4 scents) of the 4 eaux de parfum Trayee, Mohur, Bombay Bling and Ashoka (depicted) plus Mohur extrait sample with ceramic logo disk

What you need to do:
1. Leave a comment below in this review (about the NVC scents, the review itself, roses & scents etc...)
2. Please like Neela Vermeire Creations FB page or follow her NVC Twitter handle (whichever you have is fine). 

Draw is open till Friday midnight and winners will be announced sometime during the weekend.

NB disclosure: The review/draw requirements/links are non affiliated. I was sent a sample vial by the company for reviewing purposes.


Related reading on Perfume Shrine: 
A Dozen Roses: Top Selection of Rose Fragrances & Rose-Smelling Products
Fragrance Reviews of Perfumes with Rose notes 
Neela Vermeire Creations Perfume Reviews 

Guerlain RE-Issues 4 Archive Perfumes for their Heritage Collection: Fragrance Descriptions & Photos

The work that Guerlain is doing lately, bringing back their catalogue masterpieces for educational purposes at Champs Elysees, adhering to the original formulae no less, is remarkable. To the already impressive line-up four more vintage Guerlain perfumes are brought to life thanks to the work of in-house perfumer Thierry Wasser and Frédéric Sacone. They are the following.

via

1900 CHYPRE de PARIS in parfum extrait 
Contrary to what many people have in mind, the Guerlain Chypres came out before the famous Coty Chypre from 1917 {For a comprehensive reason as to why, please refer to my article on Chypre Fragrances Facts and The Origins of Chypre Perfume} [N.B. There is also Guerlain Chypre 53, a different fragrance]
A top of citrus and lavender gives way to the floral notes of pink jasmine, ylang iris, orange blossom, flanked by cascarilla, calamus, mossy chyprish notes, patchouli, and spicy accents of nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and balsamic notes.

via

Read more by clicking here 

Patricia de Nicolai Celebrates 25 Years in Business & new fragrance Musc Monoi

To celebrate 25 years in business, niche fragrance brand Parfums de Nicolaï is launching Musc Monoï, inspired by the scent of Ambre Solaire sun products. “For many years I have been in love with Ambre Solaire oil,” said Patricia de Nicolaï, the firm’s owner, founder and perfumer.

“I always wanted to create a fragrance from which I could use this wonderful smell, synonymous with sunny beaches.” Created, like all the firm’s fragrances, by de Nicolaï herself, it focuses on the benzyl salicylate note found in ylang ylang and features head notes of neroli, lemon and Paraguayan petitgrain; heart notes of ylang ylang essence, magnolia, jasmine, coconut (lactone) and Calone; and base notes of ylang ylang absolute, sandalwood and musk.

The amber-coloured juice comes in the firm’s usual tall, elegant bottle with a gold cylindrical cap, and costs £108 for 100ml or £36 for 30ml from de Nicolaï boutiques worldwide and the firm’s website. De Nicolaï, who is president of the Osmothèque perfume museum in Paris, is a descendant of the Guerlain family. She trained at ISIPCA and helped to develop Lancôme’s Trèsor while at Quest before founding her own firm in 1989. Parfums de Nicolaï has since produced 48 fragrances.

quote & press via Patricia Mansfield-Devine, Rennes

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: 
Beachy Fragrances: Scents to Take You Away, 
Salicylates: Ingredients with Solar or Evergreen Qualities, 
Ylang Ylang: Flower of Passion & Exotica

Dolce Eau de Parfum by Dolce & Gabbana: fragrance review

One could be excused for getting all dreamy eyed and nostalgic à la Nuovo Cinema Paradiso upon watching the latest commercial by Dolce & Gabbana for their feminine fragrance launch, Dolce eau de parfum. They could be excused for erupting in twirly pirouettes filled with longing at the sight of the super pretty bottle, its flower cap, its grosgrain bow, its retro typeface. But what one can't possibly excuse is getting worked up over the fragrance of Dolce by Dolce & Gabbana itself, because, frankly, it's so programmatically "not"-so-many-things that it gets very hard to describe it.

It's not really floral, despite the ad copy and the images of orange groves in full bloom. Not indolic-smelling, which comes hand in hand with white flower fragrances. Not woody either. Nor citrusy. Not particularly feminine if your notion of femininity is not terribly challenged by a particular philosophic system of which I am not accountable for. Not anything special in the fresh fragrance slot. Not distinctive, not unique by any stretch of the imagination. Not offensive either, but that's damning it with faint praise.

"Neroli leaves" (come again?), papaya flower, white amaryllis, narcissus, white water lily, sandalwood. Where are all these things?

A clean, lightly aqueous neroli scent with a faint musky underpinning that won't get you noticed even if your life depended on it, Dolce eau de parfum projects "meh-shampoo" in a me-too-pool of similar scents for women afraid to use fragrance with any conviction. It could just be the perfect culmination of a product that looks like a perfume but doesn't perform like one for our crazy times. Even if destined to the very young or the very inexperienced, there is nothing in Dolce eau de parfum of the flush of daring and defiance that a truant teenager might indulge into, swiftly exchanging her smart pants and sweater for a cut off blouse and heels in secret at the ante-room of her house to go out with the hip crowd of her school. It's also so faint for an eau de parfum to make one seriously doubt their nose. If this gets released in eau de toilette there will be someone doing a cartoonish, evil laugh all the way to the bank, because they might as well be selling plain water for all the dilution.

So why am I even bothering to review it, you ask?

Simple. It's the first original release by the Italian brand that is not a flanker or re-issue in what feels like eons. I'm susceptible. I love Italian style.

Additionally, I can be excused for feeling a pang of what Swedes call 'smultronställe' , literally a wild strawberry patch, but figuratively a sentimentally laden spot returned to for solace, an escape from sadness.  Sicily is Dolce & Gabbana's spot. My own smultronställe has been orange groves in full bloom from my childhood like the ones shown in the romantic commercial for Dolce eau de parfum. I might be excused for seeking them into a bottle of fragrance advertised with exactly those images in neorealist style and nostalgic color saturation…

A really wasted chance, if you ask me. Bring back Sicily. 

Ayala Moriel Parfums Musk Malabi: fragrance review

Originally released to coincide with the spring equinox and Nowruz (the Persian New Year), the intoxicating floral confection Musk Malabi by Ayala Moriel is unabashedly feminine, subtly exotic and hopelessly romantic, evoking for the wearer a sensory experience not unlike a passionate love affair. Musk Malabi was inspired by and named after a traditional Middle Eastern dessert, malabi—a milk-based pudding or custard, thickened with rice flour, which israelikitchen.com describes as "You'll taste rose-flavored sweetness and a light, creamy texture that keeps you dipping your spoon back in till the Malabi's all gone". (Actually the artisan perfumer has a recipe for Malabi on her blog!).

via pinterest

The scent of Moriel's Musk Malabi is a rich, milky-smelling, lactonic musk with a lightly coolish top note, sweetly petering out to rosewater and orange flower water. The result is a succulent and sensual confection that can only be enjoyed in the context of one loving sheer, plush, sensuous scents meant to be shared between lovers; spoonful by spoonful, preferably as the final courting phase before other things happen or as an intimate refueling of energy… Although this description might tend to stigmatize a musk fragrance as being a tad too intimate for comfort (if you know what I mean), there is no such danger with Musk Malabi, because the succulence outweighs the usual funky scent of "musk". The fusion of vegetal sourced musk-smelling materials is an intricate but rewarding experience for the perfumer who ends up with a mix that alternates between warm and cool and complements perfectly with the milkier (like sandalwood inflected rose) and fluffier notes (imagine a downy soft note of orris and vanilla, even though I'm not sure orris is included in the official set of notes)

Having grown up in Israel, the sights, sounds, and smells of the Mediterranean have always been a source of inspiration for Canadian based indie perfumer Ayala Moriel. "What has always captured my imagination about malabi is its soft, evocative-sounding name, and its unique fragrant combination of rosewater and neroli water," explains Ayala. "Rose and orange blossom are such noble flowers yet oh so different."

Tunisian neroli and Turkish rose meet with musk in the heart of Musk Malabi, creating an unusual and mesmerizing triad. This botanical musk, designed to smell as close as possible to deer musk, brings an effortless fluidity to this magnetic fragrance, playing the role of Cupid in the fragrance and drawing the lovers (rose and neroli) together. There is also cardamom, coriander and blood orange on top.
As with all Ayala Moriel perfumes, Musk Malabi is all-natural and free of animal cruelty, created entirely of botanical essences. The top and heart notes of this sensual fragrance rest on a silky bed of atlas cedarwood, botanical musk and Tahitian vanilla.

Good deed bonus in purchasing: Ayala Moriel Parfums is donating 10% of sales to aid Syrian refugees.

Musk Malabi is available in eau de parfum 4 ml ($49) and 15 ml ($119) bottles on the official website of Ayala Moriel Parfums and the Vancouver Giving Gifts & Company.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Scented Musketeers: musk fragrances reviews

New fragrance editions from Ramon Monegal and Acqua di Parma

Spanish perfumer Ramon Monegal has been commissioned to produce an exclusive fragrance for Bloomingdale's Dubai, called Dubai Next to Me, a special edition of 50ml eau de parfum in a specially decorated box. The fragrance aims to marry the magic of the traditional Arabic perfumery with some Spanish flair, via its Spanish leather touch. The top of Dubai Next to Me contains notes of fruits (coconut, peach, melon) alongside spices (Spanish saffron, nutmeg and black pepper), while the heart is floral and resinous with jasmine, rose (oil and absolute), frankincense and labdanum. The base is resting on woody notes (oud, sandalwood) with a leather touch as well as musk, tonka bean and ambraceme absolute.

Acqua di Parma on the other hand is issuing a 75ml bottle of their Acqua Nobili across the range of the female fragrances: Gelsomino, Magnolia and Iris.

There is also a Special Edition of Gelsomino Nobile, the fragrance in an exquisite refillable bottle (above) with hand-drawn features, fine engraving and 24K gold silk-screen-print. You can watch a video of the production process on this link.  The fragrance formula remains the same.

info via respective press releases, rephrased by me.

Fragrance Reviews of the Resurrected Guerlain Perfumes for the Centenary Celebration at Champs Elysees (part 2)

This is part 2 of the perfume descriptions of the heritage Guerlain fragrances which were re-issued for the smelling enjoyment of those who visit the renovated flagship store at Champs Elysees in Paris. If you have missed part 1 you can access it on this link.

Let me again extend my thanks to the generosity of Mme. Delacourte; without Sylvaine it wouldn't be possible to go in such detail. 

 SILLAGE

EXTRAIT 1907

A floral of white flowers : jasmine, tuberose, ylang-ylang on a leather background, oak moss and again tinctures of animal ingredients. A perfume emblematic of its era.

CANDIDE EFFLEUVE

EXTRACT 1922

Read more on this link

L'Artisan Parfumeur Haute Voltige, Rapelle-toi, Onde Sensuelle: three new fragrances in Explosion d'Emotions

L'Artisan Parfumeur continues to harness the creative powers of perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour who adds to the line Explosion d'Emotions with three new fragrances: Haute Voltige (acrobatics), Rapelle-toi (remember!) and Onde Sensuelle (sensual wave). They form the Collection Detonante (the detonating collection) packaged in bright fuchsia.

The press release describes them in rapturous tones and I quote:

Haute Voltige

capture the exuberance

True excitement. Feel the goose bumps on your skin

as an intense joy takes over. This is an Eau de Parfum with an expansive and extroverted personality: where

a generous floral peony note meets with the unexpected fruitiness of pomegranate.

An explosion of joy.

Rapelle-toi

feel the beauty inside

Silence as a door to our inner thoughts. A contemplative fragrance, anchored in the stillness of our surroundings. With its mesmerising opulence, gardenia evokes this quiet introspection, enlivened with fresh vibrating notes of Sichuan pepper. This magnificent flower is enhanced with musks and smooth sandalwood with honey accents.

A beautiful transcendence.

Onde Sensuelle

the ache of desire

An insatiable, voracious desire is felt like a deep force, surging under the skin. A wave of sensuality washes over you. This Eau de Parfum is a work in contrasts, between a burning spicy bouquet of ginger, saffron and cumin, and the icy crispness of juniper berries and cardamom.

It recreates the sensation, and tension of this urge.

A captivating wave of passion.

The fragrances are presented in Eau de Parfum bottles of 125ml and are set to launch in early May 2014. 

Boucheron Boucheron Femme eau de parfum & extait de parfum: fragrance review

Direct kin off Narcisse Noir (Caron's venerable classic built on orange blossom and Sunset Boulevard notoriety) Boucheron Femme is at once a queenly narcotic perfume that recalls retro beauties and a fragrance that breathes contemporary air; if by contemporary we refer to the still living, still breathing women who first discovered it in the 1980s when it erupted Venus like from the sea foam "sprayed" by the creative sperm of perfumers Francis Deleamont and Jean-Pierre Bethouart in 1988. Obviously this is the result of palinoia rather than divine intervention, but it feels like the latter, such is the awe it inspires in me. Boucheron Femme feels the way Venus de Milo looks: eudaimonia (ευδαιμονία), in Greek literally  denoting "of benevolent spirit", a balance of prosperous good living, of contended human flourishing.

I suppose what I'm trying to convey in my Greek-inflected English is that Boucheron Femme possesses the sort of timeless charm that makes for idols such as Greta Garbo or goddesses such as Venus; intelligence built in the glamor package, a healthy dosage of wit and self-deprecation (or self-insouciance), the distance necessary to feel special and never "me too". The only reason I can discern for this perfume being less well known or lauded than some others (and thus forming part of the Underrated Perfume Day feature today) is that audiences have been so conditioned not to understand quality, even when it slaps them in the face, that the likes of Boucheron Femme can remain a code for the secret handshake societies of perfumistadom such as this one.

The formula of Boucheron Femme fragrance remains a beautifully balanced textbook definition of the floriental genre: an oriental perfume skeleton onto which lush flower notes have been etched with the precision of a skilled calligrapher on thick moire paper. Orange blossom absolute with its candied and indolic facets is contributing the main floral theme, blooming as the succession of two different but equally "fresh" directions in the introduction: one is the citrusy fruity theme of hesperides (elegant bergamot, juicy and sweet mandarin) plus fleshy lactonic apricot; the other is the emerald accent of galbanum grass resin rising atop with a couple of complimentary notes in bright minty basil and bluish, celadon narcissus.

Although tuberose and jasmine are among the cluster of flowers contributing to the rich radiant bouquet, Boucheron Femme is that kind of fragrance where one would be hard pressed to say where one floral essence begins and one ends. The orange blossom is dominant, sure, but the rest are supporting players with important lines to deliver all the same.
The plush of the base isn't just downy soft, it can only be described as the finest, whitest ermine, the smoothest marble, the deepest shimmer of smoky cognac diamonds. Constructed out of amber, vanilla, olibanum (frankincense), sandalwood and the vanillic, caramelic benzoin resin, it is everything a grand oriental should accomplish, but without losing the plot into too vampish. Boucheron Femme is always the lady and a very knowing and smart lady at that.

The bottle of Boucheron Femme is famously inspired by cabochon sapphires set on a ring. In fact the glorious parfum concentration (which smooths out the marmoreal qualities of the resins even further without losing the inherent radiance) is shaped like a giant ring for une femme aux gros doigts, sitting in its own leather-cased box lined with felt like a real jewel would. But what am I saying…it IS a jewel, what the French so aptly call un parfum bijou. 

Wear it with your very best, naked skin!

pics via pinterest

Patricia de Nicolai Rose Oud: fragrance review

Couple two of the most objectionable (to me) materials, the tired by now oud perfumery base and the often stuffy, stifled rose note, and you can bet you have me checking my watch every 2 seconds like I last did when dragged to watch Star Wars episode 2 (I finally zonked out). Yet there are certain roses and certain ouds that manage to hold my interest (and there are many fragrances combing the two, so it's a demanding exercise!). Without being ecstatic, I can vouchsafe that Rose Oud  by Patricia de Nicolai is among the better ouds and simultaneously among the better roses in the market today and if you like any of those materials or the woody floral genre in general you should check it out for yourself: it's perfectly pretty with a side of fog for interest.

jenny packham/lik-usya.tumblr.com

Rose Oud does not differ in approach from the other  winter 2013-2014 "oud" release by the niche French brand, Amber Oud, in taking into stride the oudh trend and mastering it in a way that it becomes putty in dear Patricia's tender paws. The rose is woodied-up, boxed, polished, with the familiar backdrop of two standbys: patchouli and sandalwood (an Indian dream), like a beautiful blossom in a waxy sealed wooden cigar box in a land where tigers lurk and monkeys leap from beneath Bangalore ancient temples.

Delicate fruity aspects emerge out of this rose, with the underpinning of nagarmotha providing a smoky, oily facet the way oil paintings put a thick consistency even to baby pink. Nagarmotha/Cypriol is an interesting material in itself, at once earthy, grassy and smoky, with its own deep aspect that can put dusk on the daintiest girly girl stuff. Rose capitulates; what else can she do? And it's all for the better. There is no retro or potpourri vibe anywhere.

Perfectly able to be shared between the sexes, Rose Oud is another faceted briolette in the jewelry box of de Nicolai's vault, a notch less interesting than Amber Oud (which surprises with its herbal lavender character). Without breaking waves Rose Oud is perfectly nice and attractive and one can't knock that.

Notes for Patricia de Nicolai's Rose Oud:
Top: raspberry, artemisia, osmanthus
Heart: rose, lily of the valley
Base: patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla, musk, castoreum, amber, oud.

Patricia de Nicolai Amber Oud: fragrance review

Patricia de Nicolai is repositioning themselves (the new bottles being one of the hints), if intimations are any indication, and no luxury niche brand today is complete without a generous helping of the infamous oud perfume ingredient. Not that there were any audible borborygmi coming from our collective perfumista stomachs craving oud, but apparently a boy or a girl can never have too much oud; or so the aroma producing companies would make us believe. Amber Oud by de Nicolai however is oud prowling in kitten's paws, so delicate and purring you might be mistaken for thinking there is some problem with the labeling. Because Amber Oud is mostly a glorious aromatic amber fragrance with copious helpings of premium grade lavender fanned on resinous, plush notes of velvet.

via TheOtherAlice/Tumblr

The combination of amber (a 19th century trope resting on labdanum & vanillin) with oud/aloeswood is not unknown to niche or Arabian-inspired perfumes; if only in name, both Diptyque and by Kilian have utilized this blend to good effect (there's also the Rasashi and Arabian Oud brands). The nutty and musty character of the modern oud/aoud/oudh bases with their Band-Aid vibe is very well tempered by a tried & true combination that somewhat sweetens the bitterness of oud and renders it more Westernized and silky to the touch. Tonka bean and lavender is also "a marriage of true minds". This 2 by 4 is played like a quartet that produces a single harmony.



In Patricia de Nicolai's Amber Oud the blast of lavender at the beginning is the dominant force which takes you by surprise and which might make women think this is more men's gear than girly girl stuff. But they need not fear. Gents and ladies alike will appreciate the seamless procession into a balsamic smelling nucleus. The inclusion of sage is beautifully erogenous, recalling human bodies in sweat, cleverly juxtaposed with the washed brightness of the lavender and the camphorous hint of patchouli. Seekers of oud (lured by the name) might feel cheated and there is no eye-catching innovativeness in the formula itself, but de Nicolai is continuing on a path of wearable, presentable, smooth perfumes that have earned her brand a steady following.


Notes for Patricia de Nicolai Amber Oud:
Top: lavender, thyme, sage, artemisia
Heart: cinnamon, saffron, agarwood (oud), Atlas cedar, patchouli, sandalwood
Base: vanilla, tonka bean, styrax, musk, castoreum, amber.

Prescriptives Calyx: fragrance review & history

Part of PerfumeShrine's regular Underrated Perfume Day feature, I'm inspired to talk of Calyx because it strikes me as the Prometheus of hardcore (if such a strong word can be used for the genre) fruity fragrances that have dominated the late 1990s, the 2000s and 2010s market so far (and in part a culprit for the emergence of fruitchouli). Coming out as far back as 1986, an uplifting tart tropical punch splashed all over a tan California blonde right out of the shower, it subsisted on the other edge of hope, pitted as it was against the likes of Coco by Chanel, Opium by YSL, Dior's original Poison or Giorgio Beverly Hills.

Still, the cosmetics brand that issued it, Prescriptives (since out of business, except for this fragrance which is still in production and now distributed via Clinique counters), part of the Lauder Group, had the necessary market cojones to sustain its sales for years. The pure, custom-tailored image of their cosmetics was a natural fit for the idea of a pure, celestially squeezed perfume which back then had none of the connotations of sugary hard candy stickiness and hair salon peach/apple waft we associate with fruity fragrances today. Its perfumer, Sophia Grojsman, is famous for her clean but potent accords, which make use of a very different idea of feminine allure than the standard "vintage" and European concept of animalic scents that enhance -rather than conceal- the odorata sexualis and hide cigarette smoke remnants off Old World garments. Calyx was the culmination of American Artemis versus European Aphrodite: the "lean, mean, clean machine" was coming on scene for good and Lauder (who oversaw Prescriptives) had already built a generous following thanks to their sparkling clean fragrances such as White Linen and Estee. Grojsman was put to record elaborating on the cachet of fruit as feminine nectar saying "some fruit accords, like the one in Calyx, have a very pure quality. It's a different kind of sexuality, more innocent than the animal notes…And men like innocence. To them it is sexy…Fruit also carries a connotation of sin. Where would Adam and Eve have been without that apple?"

This assertion is in a nutshell the axiom of feminine mental submission. In a way these fruity scents seem to me as if they're not so subtly introducing a regression on feminism. Woman becomes a pliable little girl again, fresh and unknowing in her virginal, not yet sexualized body, which awaits the all prescient male to do the plucking. It is important to note that contrary to similar concepts of youthful, nubile allure brandished in European brand fragrances of the time (such as Loulou by Cacharel) the girl in question is never presented to be aware of her own erotic capital as an authentic Lolita would be. Rather the innocence is poised as a halo around her, a scent message of total abandon of control. Where's the temptation of the knowledgeable apple, I question.

Calyx doesn't smell of apple either. It smells of a neon cascade of grapefruit (though like with Un Jardin sur le Nil with its illusion of green mango there is no essence of the illusory fruit in question in the formula), boosted by guava and papaya (which give an almost overripe scent bordering on garbage if you really notice it) and a cluster of more traditional, zestful fruit notes (namely the citrusy mandarin and bergamot for uplifting elegance and the lactonic peach and apricot for comfort & skin compatibility). The weird thing with Calyx is that the standard cool-steam-room of lily of the valley heart with its transparent florals from a distance is flanked by a little berry underpinning on the bottom and transparent woody notes that rely on bombastic synthetics. The feeling earned nevertheless is one of celestial, mental awareness rather than one of tropical languor on Bora Bora sand dunes all smeared in Coppertone lotion and for that unique reason it deserves a place in the lesser pantheon of perfumes worth giving a second chance to, feminism aside.

The full list of Notes for Prescriptives Calyx includes:
Top: mandarin, passionfruit, peach, mango, bergamot, grapefruit, papaya, guava, mint, cassia.
Heart: cyclamen, lily of the valley, jasmine, rose, neroli, marigold, melon.
Base: vetiver, oakmoss, sandalwood, musk, raspberry.

DSH Parfums de Beaux Arts -Passport a Paris (from Passport to Paris Collection): fragrance review

The Passport to Paris Collection is a trio of perfumes exploring the fin de siècle (that is, the 19th century's prolonged swan song) which perfumer and painter Dawn Spencer Hurwitz produced in collaboration with the Denver Art Museum celebrating La Belle Epoque. Passport à Paris, primus inter pares, is Dawn's homage to the growling fougères of the late 19th century, namely Guerlain's Jicky and Houbigant's Fougère Royale; in a way closer to the real thing than one would expect, especially since the slimming regime the former has gone through via the rationing of civet. Indeed experiencing  Passport à Paris I'm left with the agonizing realization that this is the kind of perfumery we have been lamenting for lost, only we haven't quite understood that its salvation can only come through artisanship and a rebellious spirit coming not from the Old World, but from the New one.

Fittingly, the fragrance was inspired by a famous painting from the late 19th century, the eerily alienating, ennui filled Beach at Tourville by Claude Monet. In it a world of repressions the simple beachside pleasures are encapsulated with a silent tension (a sort of oil painting rendition of Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence), faces like a smear of paint, an impressionistic image of boredom or unfulfilled desires. In a way the perfume genre that got invented with the thrashing of the powerful new synthetics is a rebellious antithesis to that same ennui.

I'm not in the habit of oooh-ing and aaah-ing as I walk about the rooms in my home, but to my amazement I found myself doing just that (to the incredulous gaze of my significant other) as I had sprayed my wrists and neck with Dawn's magnificent animalic perfume Passport à Paris. Lovers of vintage Jicky, please take note. This is good stuff. This is amazing stuff. No hyperbole. A bit more lemony, citrusy up top maybe than the Guerlain classic, especially in the modern form, but soon opening to a gorgeous meowling heart of lavender, dark jasmine and rich civet paste, smooth, hay-like and plush thanks to the conspiracy of vanillin and coumarin, an orientalized unisex more than just a masculine trope reminiscent of shaving cream (if that's your idea of fougère, that's not it by a mile).
Passport à Paris is also tremendously lasting on the skin and, really, just beautiful.

I'm of the belief that too many words cheapen the experience of savoring a sensual pleasure for yourself; a bit of "analysis-paralysis", if you will. So I'm leaving you with one directive and one directive only: try it. Like, right now!


Notes for Parfums de Beaux Arts Passport à Paris:
Lemon, bergamot, French lavender, rosewood, mandarin, grandiflorum jasmine, Bulgarian rose, orris root CO2, Clover, Australian sandalwood, amber, vanillin, coumarin, ambergris, East Indian patchouli, civet

Available in the DSH e-boutique (samples start at just 5$)

In the interests of disclosure I was sent a sample by the perfumer. 

Jil Sander No.4: fragrance review & history & free perfume giveaway

Although No.4 by Jil Sander comes nowhere near the novelty of Maxwell's laws of electrodynamics, it is despite its in the wings presence rather memorable to me both for its expansive radius of spicy oriental scent and the fact that its relative success condoned an infamous scented catastrophe just one year later, Spellbound by Estee Lauder (1991). But whereas you'd have to dig a moat around the house that kept a bottle of Spellbound (even in a remote drawer, under lock and key in a wooden box), Jil Sander No.4, although a characteristic 1980s-style powerhouse that would challenge the best of the lot in radiance, thrived on a somewhat less carnivorous attitude, This is exactly what makes it worthwhile of rediscovering it nowadays that we crave more flesh-eating perfumes after a prolonged 20 year-lasting perfume diet of either strict veganism or one for severe hypoglycemia. It's a the Lana del Ray effect: there's something trashy retro about her, but refreshingly different from the average pop singer too which makes it very "now and happening".

Tomb of Talma by Helmut Newton, Pere Lachaise cemetary  Paris 1977, via Pinterest

Coming out in 1990, No.4 by Jil Sander had both accumulated the gist of the big orientals that dominated the decade of carnage (and emulated their core elements), such as YSL Opium, CK Obsession, Dior Poison and to a lesser degree Cinnabar and Cacharel Loulou, but had also devised a way to give an impression of quiet animalism, an aura of worn elegance that was antithetical to the distance that the quarterback shoulder pads of these fragrances evoked at the same time.

It's utterly meaningless to try to differentiate "notes" in this perfume, as the weaving of each thread in this complex macramé is so intricate and complex that it would be more of an exercise in author's vanity than an actual helpful breakdown. The notes read like there's everything and the kitchen sink in it. It'd be much more practical to say that No.4 by Jil Sander is warm, perceptibly spicy with anise and what I sense as clove-coriander (a whiff of pomander), with a tuberose heart winking to Poison's direction. And more importantly it has the sort of oriental base that characterizes big 1980s classics: big, proud, Amazonian, sounding its barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world.

If you like that sort of nyctophyliac thing, you will like this sort of thing, but it's worth keeping in mind these are bombastic perfumes worthy of a mini Katrina in radius; be sparing and considerate of your fellow human beings when applying, don't ambush them in the morning train to work.
If you enjoy anise and clove orientals but want something more contemporary (with a much higher price tag), you can look into Noir Epices by Frederic Malle for an alternative. If you'd rather settle for the under-appreciated underdog, No.4 can be found online for a decent price.

I have a vintage boxed miniature to share with a lucky reader. Please comment below this post with your impressions/opinions/questions to enter the draw. Draw is open internationally till Sunday midnight and winner will be announced some time on Monday.

Notes for Jil Sander No.4:
Top: geranium, peach, bergamot, plum, anise
Heart: rose, violet, jasmine, tuberose, heliotrope, ylang ylang, coriander
Base: amber, sandalwood, oakmoss, patchouli, vanilla, musk, civet, cedar, tonka bean.

Related reading on PerfumeShrine:
Underrated Perfume Day (reviews of forgotten fragrances),
Oriental Perfume Basics.

Fragrance Trends for 2014: The Notes That Will Dominate in Your Perfume

Although it seems like it, fragrance vogues aren't just random, nor do they follow the latest celebrity, image first, perfume formula later. The perfume producing companies who manufacture them are actually doing extensive R&D into what captures market interest and follow up with combinations that ring at once familiar and a little different to keep interest going. The perfume barometer, the Seven Scents company, has revealed the fragrance notes that are looking like they're going to be big for the autumn and winter of 2014-2015. Looking at one year ahead, then, what will your perfume bring?

It seems like what we perfume aficionados know instinctively, that autumn and winter are natural habitat for fragrances that "evoke a sense of warmth and comfort" (to quote Miri Scott, the insight manager of Seven Scents) is a market watch conclusion. To reinforce this desired feeling, Scott prescribes "darker, rich rose and red berries, as well as a dash of spirit-inspired notes to give a seductive character to fragrances".

Rose is looking like a winner for the third consecutive year, reinforced by intense notes of (yet again) oudh and plush, velvety saffron. These notes will add depth to the rose and create elegant bouquets.
For sophistication and edginess, Scott reveals a direction to "spirits' notes" such as gin-like juniper berries, or the smoky aroma of whiskey and rum.


The company goes so far as to categorize the fragrance directions for autumn and winter 2014-2015 in three distinct trends:

• Futuristic Folklore: bold and potent compositions with leather notes and urban woody notes lead to a structured base of metallic musks and amber. 
• Energetic Kaleidoscope: Warm and spicy fragrances inspired by the global village, with cosmopolitan accents of local spices.
• Engineered Evolution: Responding to the demands of the digital generation, this path offers fruity berries, floral notes and familiar sandalwood and musks as the base for fragrances to appeal to the younger segment. 

Mock as you may on the imaginative names, the drive of demand through the ubiquity of ingredients and the opportunities for innovation thus created account for a reach of 15.7 billion dollars by 2017, no mean feat in itself.

Best Woody Violet Fragrances (Violet Series)

After the top soft, powdery violet fragrances list, it was natural to follow with another popular category among violet fragrances; those which take on earthier and woodier tonalities, which recall the environment in which the little flowers grow, beneath low foliage, tangled weeds and upturned dirt.
This gothic image of the impenetrable woods is a natural for violet perfume, which grew as a fragrance trend right when the gothic novel became a household name, in the Victorian era. Although woody violets are not Victorian reminiscent in their fashion style (the 19th century favored clean and transparent violet waters), they have something of the darker romanticism of a Dickens novel or Serge Lutens photography.

via

In perfumery terms dosing a greater percentage of methyl ionone in a fragrance formula creates a woodsier element to the finished scent as opposed to other ionones; particularly 6-methyl alpha ionone gives a silvery sheen to the scent, such as in Serge Lutens deep Bois de Violette, with the background of a woods littered with hundreds of violet bushes beneath the dried fruits compote consumed near the hearth on the front.

But of course context and the imaginative additions on the part of a perfumer accounts for nuanced effects that range from intensely mossy with upturned dirt to lighter pencil-shavings-swirled scentscapes. Notes of oakmoss, sandalwood and cedar complement the violet for a more austere or dangerous direction, like a red riding hood gathering violets in the forest oblivious to the big bad wolves in sheep's clothing lurking.

The following is a list of the more worthwhile darker, earthier violets in the woods. As always you're advised to sample before committing.

Violets by Pre-Raphaelite painter James Dromgole Linton

Some of the best woody, earthy violet fragrances include:

Amouage Library Collection Opus III (an opulent take on Insolence and Apres L'Ondee)
Creed Love in Black (among the better modern Creeds)
Fresh Index Violet Moss (what its name says)
Geo Trumper Ajaccio Violets Cologne (woody and masculine)
Geoffrey Beene Grey Flannel (a classic masculine fougere with the unexpected note of violet)
Keiko Mecheri Genie des Bois (a less calculated alternative to Bois de Violette)
Tom Ford Black Violet (Private Blend collection) (a proper darker violet with moss and a light citrusy top note)
Serge Lutens Bois de Violette (Feminite du Bois with violets in the forefront, dense and nuanced)
Sonoma Scent Studio Wood Violet (what its name says)
Sonoma Scent Studio To Dream (a more feminine woody violet, sans the usual cosmetic powder tones of retro violets for women)
Soivohle Violets & Rainwater (like violets trampled underfoot on a rainy day, extremely fetching)

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: 

Best soft, powdery violet perfumes, 

Violet, Violet leaf & Ionones: perfumery materials.

Parfums de Rosine Majalis: fragrance review & sample draw

Les Parfums de Rosine, Marie-Helene Rogeon's outfit borrowing only the name of the original Poiret line, do their utmost to stretch poor rose to the limit, like on a Procrustean bed, but I admit that I quite like Majalis, their newest launch, thanks to its tawny cinnamic and peppery blast which is sweet music to my ears. This style never fails to make me want to break out the flimsy scarves and the rusty sunsets lipstick and belly dance a bit in front of the mirror as if no one's watching and no one's ever the wiser; a gift to myself alone.

Photo of Leda Petit by Jocelen Janon (originally the photo was larger and copyrighted but where I found it it was cropped) 

As announced a little while ago, the newly launched Majalis is inspired by the unique Rosa majalis, native to the Asian mountains, to render a soft oriental with spicy complementary notes of pink pepper and nutmeg on a woody background. Bulgarian rose absolute contributes a bright and heady heart note.

It is essential to like cinnamon (see a bit of cinnamon's history on this article) and peppery stuff to appreciate Majalis, because the content in cinnamic elements is so high that I almost can hear IFRA's breath down its neck itching to wield the axe and go off with its head. Les Parfums de Rosine affectionally call the inspirational rose a "cinnamon rose" and it's not hard to see why. But although we have come to associate cinnamon with orange & cloves from the classic Christmas melange sold in specialized tea shops and the festive pot pouri mixes originating from the medieval pomander, the composition of Majalis insists on more peppery (rather than clove-y) elements which pique and give a short rather than prolonged nasal pinch. It's also rather different from Rose Kashemerie by the same brand which is more resinous and saffron infused, less powerfully spicy. [In fact Majalis nicely falls into the "mellis accord" more on which you can read on our Oriental Perfume Basics. ]

If I were to draw a perfume comparison, I'd mention Cinabre by Maria Candida Gentile, a composition built on some gorgeous naturals which is as honking loud and as gorgeous as Sophia Loren in Marriage Italian Style. Cinabre is rather more ambery and with a distinct ginger note, while Majalis is less so, but the style is not miles away, so if you like one, you'll like the other. Although Rousse by Serge Lutens is another fragrance that immediately leaps to mind when thinking about cinnamon scents (and to a lesser degree Auburn by Tauer Perfumes), I find that the treatment there is different from the orientalised Taif rose that dominates the heart of Majalis by Parfums de Rosine and its milky sandalwood drydown.

Majalis just launched and is available through Rosine retailers and online. The bottle is beautiful as you can see, in all its coppery and fuchsia glory.

Notes for Parfums de Rosine Majalis:
Top: Bergamot, Mandarin, Grapefruit, Nutmeg, Cinnamon bark
Heart: Cinnamon leaf, Taif rose, Tea rose, Rose absolute, Jasmine, Black pepper, Pink pepper, Coriander seed
Base: Vetiver, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Amber, Musk

One carded sample of Majalis is available for one lucky reader. To enter the draw please let us know in the comments if you have a particular spicy cinnamon scent/food/association (pleasant or unpleasant!). Draw is open internationally till Sunday midnight and winner will be announced sometime on Monday.

In the interests of disclosure I was sent a sample by the company. 

Laura Biagiotti Roma: fragrance review

Roma by Laura Biagiotti belongs to that outré category of scents that lend themselves well to brumous days and which were apparently marking their territory throughout the 1980s by fusing a minty, agrestic top note with an orientalized amber on the bottom. The initial impression, if you don't know the perfume beforehand, is somewhat alarming, as if the fragrance is starting to go off, but that weird tension is fully itentional. Must de Cartier (which weaved galbanum on top) and Dune by Dior (with its broom and monastic herbs) are two other perfumes which share kinship (and so is Fifi Chachnil). But Roma (1988) is less discussed about than either one, possibly because Cartier has luxury cachet thanks to the jewelry side of the business and Dune is sort of a cult thanks to renewed interest following good reviews. Such is the fate of some worthwhile but under-appreciated fragrances but this is precisely why I intend to highlight more of them on Perfume Shrine in the following weeks. (How about an Underrated Perfume Day featured regularly?).

via Patricia C./Pinterest

Though Biagiotti's Roma smells decidedly "Italian" (warm, golden fragrances that extol the pleasures of being human and alive) it doesn't necessarily lend itself to the classical image of either the Eternal City, la passeggiata or the column-styled bottle meant to kitschify the many adorning the Forum. (In that regard I prefer the vintage images of Fendi with the Raphaelite model kissing the statue).
Nevertheless the tag line has always been "un soffio d'eternità" which my rusty Italian translates as "a breath of eternity". Considering it has outlasted other fragrances that came and went, after 25 years on the market it feels like an eternity all right, in a good way. It's rather unsettling nevertheless to think I used this during heavy flirtation so many years ago, one memorable summer with bathing suit changing cabins on the shore a dark silhouette over the sea's horizon and the crushed chamomiles littering my pockets. More things change, more they stay the same, I suppose.

The greenish pungent top note in Laura Biagiotti Roma, recalling spearmint-on-acid and sassafras, very quickly gives way to the balsamic scent materials (myrrh and amber especially) that immediately rise to the surface, almost swamping the bridge flowers in deep sticky goo. But there is a lasting citrusy element which consolidates a classical oriental fragrance feel. My old bottle additionally features an inky note of oakmoss, earthy and bitterish, that is perfectly tempered with the myrrh resin (in itself bittersweet), creating a contrast that keeps me interested for the duration of Roma on my skin. If you like the amber coziness drydown of CK Obsession, Dune or Must you will find a good alternative in Roma.

via Michele Tiscini/Pinterest

In recent reformulation the moss in Roma is toned down, as are the animalic elements (civet), and the fragrance feels somewhat sweeter and lighter in volume to me, which subtracts something of its original charm and potency (Typical I should say for a Procter & Gamble owned company). Still, it's different enough than most fruitchouli scents on department store shelves nowadays and therefore worth trying out for yourself.
Although marketed to women (having a traditionally "plush", warm, silky skin feeling that reads as feminine), I believe the tension between the top notes and bottom lends itself well to male skin as well. Though Laura Biagotti has a Roma pour homme as well, the feminine is delicious on discerning gentlemen.



(*This is beautiful, but I find the acting a bit corny, don't you?)


Notes for Laura Biagotti Roma:
Top notes: black currant, Sicilian bergamot, pink grapefruit, mint and hyacinth
Heart: carnation, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley and rose
Base: amber, sandalwood, patchouli, musk, civet, vanilla, oakmoss and myrrh.