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

The winner of the draw...

...for the Tauer bottle of your choice is Mireille. Congratulations! Please email me (using the Contact email on top of page) with your shipping data mentioning in the title "PerfumeShrine Tauer draw" and the scent of your choice, so your prize can be in the mail soon.

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation, rest assured your comment wasn't wasted as I plan to include a shout-out to all of you later on (surprise!), and till the next one!

Smelling Babies and Teenagers

'I inhaled deeply. “Ummm, baby!” I exclaimed
“What did you expect her to smell like? Dog?” asked my teenage son.
I gave him a stink eye.
“Babies smell good. You used to smell good when you were a baby,” I retorted.
“I still smell good,” he argued.
“No, now you smell like boy. Teenage boy. It’s a combination of dirty socks and too much body spray. That smell is only appealing to teenage girls and video game manufacturers.”

At last. A wittily written article on experiencing scent, drawing on the singularly pleasurable sniffing experience of smelling that sweet, clean, cozy baby smell...and contrasting it with how teenagers grow up to smell.
You can read the whole (hilarious and so true) thing on this link. 

Christmas Giveaway: Win a Free Perfume Bottle of your Choice fromTauer Perfumes!

We have a glorious giveaway today on Perfume Shrine, courtesy of niche perfumer Andy Tauer and his Advent calendar project he conducts every year.

The prize for the winner: A full, new perfume bottle at the choice of the winner! The winner can select from ANY fragrance (read reviews of White, Verdant, Auburn, of Zeta, of Une Rose Vermeille & Eau d'Epices, of Carillon pour un Ange,  Une Rose Chypree, Orange Star, Incense Rose, L'Air du desert marocain, Incense Extreme, Reverie au Jardin, Vetiver Dance) that Tauer sells on tauerperfumes.com OR a bottle of Miriam, the Tableau de Parfums scent, OR the Cologne du Maghreb.
What to do: All you need to do is comment on this post, telling us: What was your best scented discovery of 2011? What was your worst perfume experience of 2011?
Conditions: Draw is open till to everyone from all over the world till Wednesday 14th, 8am. . Draw is now closed, thanks for entering! The prize is shipped directly to the winner by Tauer perfumes.
I will announce the winner sometime tomorrow, stay tuned and check these pages again.

 Best of luck to everyone!!

Robert Pattinson's of Twilight Saga Favourite Fragrance

In this endless roller-coaster of what celebrities do and what they like, when said celebrities are not issuing a fragrance themselves, we're busy asking what perfume celebrities are wearing. In the case of Robert Pattinson, notably Edward in the Twilight films series, the question isn't exactly a simple one.

Reportedly the rising Brit star has a thing for the artistically crafted Serge Lutens line of fragrances with the conceptual rationale behind it. He rotates between them, taking care to completely empty one bottle of cologne before buing the next one. I guess he's a serial monogamist so to speak, in what regards perfume choice at least.