Trussardi for Women & Donna Trussardi: fragrance reviews

There are fragrances which appear like a ghost from another world: New apparition, same old quirks; there's just something immediately common and yet at the same time quite different. Trussardi has two classic feminine fragrances in their repertoire which are great and they're both utterly lovely in differing ways, yet with a common calling card: Italian elegance and panache!

Trussardi for Women is elegant and chic as befits a classic floral chypre: Essentially timeless, yet so characteristic of the 1980s when this type of fragrance romped the executive ladders across the Western world, Trussardi came out in 1982. This is a cool customer: I can imagine that the all-white mock-crock flask bottle with the superimposed tabac leather medallion with the afgan dog profile (leather goods company Trussardi's trademark) is appealing to a certain type of person: She is always elegant even in 100F heat, preferably in all white, intelligent in a non studious way, more than a bit of a ruthless calculator, rather like Kathleen Turner in Body Heat (Surely Barbara Stanwick's best successor!) The fragrance inside however is all that and more: Hell, it can melt even the kindest of hearts! The characteristic perfume-y start is typically 1980s power chypre fragrance and directly derived by such powerhouses of unabashed audacity as the classic Bandit. Lovers of the very perfumey, very arid Gucci No.3 will recall how Italians embraced this type of fragrance and suffused it with a sense of luxury.

Trussardi for Women is indeed a sharp, arid composition with a good amount of pungent leather, centered around the classic bouquet of rose, jasmine and lily of the valley; the latter for its expansive properties which boost the effect of the deceoptive "cleanliness" inside and lets the other florals bloom ~among them a hint of tuberose. None of the notes are especially airated, creating a dense, pungent and slightly masculine effect with a hidden sensuality: the sandalwood, styrax resin and patchouli detectable at the dry down phase of the fragrance create a come hither vibe that is hard to miss. 

"You're not too smart, are you?...I like that in a man" she says....

On the contrary, Donna Trussardi, this time composed by Jean Guichard in 1994, is a much sunnier, open-hearted and more outwardly seductive composition that veers into floriental. Although there is a floral heart once again, the ambience is different, set on warmer tonalities, like the smile of a genuine seniora Italiana. The departure is much less sharp or perfumey, choosing instead the synergy of mandarin and ginger which imbues the fragrance in the saturated colours of the grand Italian masters. From then on, if you lean closely, you might detect several flowers, all singing in unison yet sometimes one can overtop the other in a game of hide &seek. I detect ylang ylang, carnation and a smidge of tuberose. But the real deal in Donna Trussardi comes from the unfurling of a classic balsamic accord like sweet suede, built on labdanum and benzoin (which compliments the sweeter elements of the tropical ylang ylang with its vanillic undertone). Although a couple of elements from the chyprish predecessor are surviving (the citrusy counterpoint, the rose, the patchouli layer), those who experience Donna Trussardi in the squarish bottle with the rounded shoulders are a long way away from the prayer mantis mating game of the first version in the white bottle. Their seduction is more woman-next-door and for that reason more insidious.

I love them both for all the wrong reasons...

Somewhat confusingly, Trussardi for women (or Trussardi by Trussardi)  is also seen as Trussardi per Donna, which might make some believe the 1994 version is the older one: beware, the packaging is totally different and easy to distinguish. Both Trussardi for Women and Donna Trussardi are a rare sight nowadays in my corner of the world, but discounters and online auctions might be a source of procuring some.


pics via punmiris.com

Uncorked: Natural Perfumers' Guild Celebrates 5th Anniversary

The Natural Perfumers Guild Celebrates it’s Fifth Anniversary June 1, 2011 with a Blogging Event and Membership Fee Discount. Uncorked!  The natural perfume stories of the members of the Natural Perfumers Guild are uncorked on their blogs to celebrate the 5^th Anniversary of the Guild on June 1.

Guild President Anya McCoy says “I realized that I didn’t know the reason that many of the members love natural aromatics, or why they became natural perfumers, and I asked them to blog their bios and cross-link to the other members.  It’s an intimate, lovely way to celebrate this milestone.”

You can find out who the participants are and follow their stories by clicking on Anya McCoy's blog page.

Hermes Un Jardin sur le Toit: fragrance review

Un Jardin sur le Toît, the fourth installment in the Les Jardins series at Hermès, a technopaegnia sample more than a simple fragrance, follows the success of Un Jardin sur la Mediterranée, Un Jardin sur le Nil and Un Jardin Après La Mousson. But whereas the narrative in the latter sprung naturally from the motifs of the house  (Un Jardin sur Nil was based on a previous design of river greenery captured in porcelain) or the perfumer's own travel associations (Un Jardin sur la Mediterranée was inspired by the moment when someone brought a plate of cut figs at the garden of an Hermes's executive house in Tunisia, while Après la Mousson was purposely composed chasing the monsoon in Kerala, India), this latest entry feels a bit constrained.

Constrained for associations: Hermès tend to a rooftop garden (i.e.jardin sur le toît, you see) at Rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré above their Parisian headquarters, but come on; how spontaneous would it be to search for inspiration so close to home now, I ask you? Constrained for accomplishments, too: The fragrance feels a sort of déjà vu, despite its poetic arc and delicacy of execution, traits typically Ellena. Finally, constrained for marketing: Hermès went out on a limb ~amidst braving the hostile take-over attempts from LVMH~ and invited journalists to a cooking class, a horticulturist's part-time occupation and a press presentation no less, all three rolled into one! So the question is, does the fragrance succeed in what it set out to do? It depends on the angle from which you're watching it unfold.

From a purely aesthetic viewpoint, Un Jardin sur le Toît is ~as always for latter part of the house's fragrance portfolio~ an ethereal, beautiful, elegant composition. I wouldn't expect anything else from perfumer Jean Claude Ellena who eschews easy, run-of-the-mill recipes in order to cut out his own path. Un Jardin sur le Toît is typical Ellena; fans will be on the verge of orgasming, detractors will complain about his vegetal, unusual -for standard luxury- accords once again.  But therein lies the danger of repeating himself as well: The problem with Un Jardin sur le Toît is exactly what should be its strong suit: It's so reflective of its creator it's hard to differentiate it from his other opus. The top section is eerily reminiscent of Kelly Calèche, the drydown dangerously close to the woody-green parts of Un Jardin sur le Nil. Much as one might love both fragrances (and I do), they might wonder at the necessity of launching a separate third fragrance which sounds very much like conceptual looping: the accords sound like a talented DJ's sample scratches, looped into infinity. Inside info wants Jean Claude Ellena to have deemed the Jardin series complete at number three (that's Mousson) and being actively coaxed into producing a fourth one. Pas mal, considering.

Un Jardin sur le Toît from Hermès takes the scent of wet soil, foliage and wild flowers (really, a vegetable patch) as the stepping stone into an herbal epanalepsis of its creator's favourite soundbites. The top stage is effervescent with the tomato leaf (vert de tomate), slightly bitter green, pungent accord that he favours so much (even as far back as Sisley's Eau de Campagne). Whereas in the past this was a bracing breath of fresh air, totally unpolluted, this time Ellena fuses a slightly sweaty element; a bit tarrish, a bit like wet dogs, a bit like compost, in a good way, which merges in a refined way with the more flowery (rose) and fruity (pear, apple) elements. The rose is transparent, more like the greenery in L'Ombre dans L'Eau by Ditpyque or its tratment in Kelly Calèche than anything overtly feminine; peppered and citrusy, a whiff of magnolia in there. Officially classified as a floral fruity, this Rooftop Garden fragrance is as wildly removed from the standard surupy floral fruity as À la Claire Fontaine is from a mass supermarket jingle. Jean Claude Ellena describes it ‘the scent of sunlight and pleasure… a fruity botanical floral’ and that's totally on mark.
Fairly linear and totally unisex, Un Jardin sur le Toî, sustains that repetitive vegetal chord over an indeterminate woody-mossy bass which gives the background that makes the fragrance last and last. The inclusion of oakmoss (evernia prunastri) is what is so sorely missing from many modern time chypres: Who knew the elation of getting one's hands in good, honest earth was only a rooftop away?

The new Hermès fragrance comes in the standard bottles of Les Jardins series, this time in light green bottom, available in 50ml (£55) and 100ml sizes at the eponymous boutiques, major department stores and online.


music A La Claire Fontaine by Shang Wen Jie

Later Day Chypre Quiz

I am busy organising a project on historical "chypres" and the restrictions on oakmoss affecting their status and perception by the public which will involve university students. In the interests of helping me out in this research, I would like you to offer me your insights: Which older chypres in your opinion are ruined and which have remained more or less worthwhile? (even if changed) Which newer, modern chypre fragrances are worth testing and how do they flesh out the chypre concept according to you?

For those who are not sure what a chypre fragrance is, please refer to this link for the definition of chypre fragrances and some historical chypres. Refer to this link for the new breed of "pink chypres" or "nouveau chypres" fragrances. And to this article for what the chypre concept translates to from an aesthetic point of view. (see if you agree or not!)

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Bouquet No.2: new fragrance

After last year's Bouquet No.1, the succession has materialised at Guerlain:  
Aqua Allegoria Bouquet Numero 2, developed by in-house perfumer Thierry Wasser is presented with the tag line of old in vintage Guerlain advertisements: "inspired by nature, created by Guerlain".

The new take in Bouquet No.2 is on more tropical accords, rather than fresh florals unlike last year's edition; this time centered on the fruity notes of litchi, fanned on rose and iris for tenacity and elegance. The bottle is the typical, familiar 75ml/2.5oz spray bottle with the beehove latticework on top, the standard of the Aqua Allegoria line, to be distributed as a travel retail exclusive (much like last years Bouquet No.1).
According to the official Guerlain blurb: "Nature is an emotionally-charged setting where we gather treasures, which inspires and enfolds us. Every year, when springtime comes, the Guerlain perfumer conjures up gardens filled with scents, in a blend of allegory and exhilaration."