Scent on Canvas Rose Opera: fragrance review

It was the explosion of beauty in a field of saffron that captured the senses of perfumer Jórdi Fernandez. The romance of rose and saffron stamens recall the passions of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra, who infamously perfumed themselves with saffron before their romantic encounters. It was this reference which Beatrice Aguilar brought to the table to discuss further with Fernandez for the creation of this woody floral fantasy, Rose Opéra.

The scent oscillates between floral and woody-herbal with exotic woody notes (vetiver and patchouli) in the base, allied to a mossy feeling of walking through a forest with autumnal mulch on the floor. This gives a tilt into rosy chypre fragrances, but it is the cool-spicy and smoothly suede feel of the saffron essence which keeps Rose Opéra from being a full-blown retro rose and feels at home in the contemporary category of sophisticated, complex floral scents.

Cleopatra's Banquet as per Pliny's tale (wiki)

The first impression is at once fresh and floral, due to the Calabrian bergamot and the fruity notes of wild strawberries. Pepper rose, cardamom and macis (also known as the nutmeg flower) round off the mid notes of the perfume. Other ingredients are jasmine, artemisia, tagete and rose of Turkey, which unveils a mix of cedar wood, roots of vetiver with touches of patchouli and oak moss. The fragrance remains elegant, with a mysterious touch of twilight.

The new niche collection "Scent on Canvas" so far includes five perfumes created by an eclectic mix of perfumers: Jórdi Fernandez (for Rose Opéra and Noir de Mars), Shyamala Maisondieu (Ocre Doré) , Alexandra Kosinski (Brun Sicilien) and the founder, Beatrice Aguilar herself (Blanc de Paris). The collection spans five fragrance genres with nuanced olfactory work within them: the starchy, woody musk, a predetermined crowd-pleaser (Blanc de Paris); the dark musty-mossy with guts (Noir de Mars); the mysterious, coppery woody (Ocre Doré); the rosy floral with mysterious, spicy-suede tonalities (Rose Opéra) and the complex hesperidic-leathery (Brun Sicilien). Each fragrance is accompanied by a painting by a well-known painter who is inspired by the aromatics in the composition, then the painting is turned into an engraving which is used for the packaging of the fragrance: the inside of the box holds the engraving ready to be framed and hung on your walls.

Notes for Rose Opéra by Scent on Canvas:
Top: Calabrian bergamot, wild berries, jasmine, armoise, Turkish rose, tagete
Heart: Spanish saffron, cardamom, pink pepper, nutmeg flower,
Base: cyperus scariosus, Virginian cedar, Javanese vetiver, Peruvian lentisque, patchouli, oakmoss, incense.

The perfumes are priced at 130 Euros for 100 ml of perfume/eau de parfum (only Blanc de Paris is an Eau de Parfum by design, the rest are extrait de parfum). A great value sample pack of all 5 scents is offered for only 10 euros online at the official e-shop. More information: scentoncanvas.com

Scent on Canvas Ocre Dore: fragrance review

The generosity of Ocre Doré is immediately perceptible: the fragrance blends a bright, vibrating and dry introduction alongside spicy cinnamon and clove-like layers folded into a classic woody core. Warm, enveloping, with the deep and almost animal touch of labdanum, a resinous scent extracted from rockrose, it is a heady, cooler weather animal. The fragrance is inspired by the scent of edible white truffle, an aroma that is earthy but also fresh; this tension is recreated in the fragrance by Shyamala Maisondieu by juxtaposing the green resin and herbal top notes with the more austere and intriguing qualities of the less volatile ingredients.

credit: virginia hey shop

The story goes like this: " Founder Beatrice Aguilar knows that true luxury is found in nature’s perfection: on virgin land, in cascades of crystal water, in the reflection of light on a diamond and in the white truffle, an aroma that penetrates everything around it with an intense fragrance of flowers, woods, silence and mystery. To express these subtle sensations, Beatrice put her trust in the Parisian perfumer, Shyamala Maisondieu. She was to incorporate the white truffle (also known as white gold due to the high prices reached on the world market) for its exquisite fragrance."

The new niche collection "Scent on Canvas" so far includes five perfumes created by an eclectic mix of perfumers: Jórdi Fernandez (for Rose Opéra and Noir de Mars), Shyamala Maisondieu (Ocre Doré) , Alexandra Kosinski (Brun Sicilien) and the founder, Beatrice Aguilar herself (Blanc de Paris). The collection spans five fragrance genres with nuanced olfactory work within them: the starchy, woody musk, a predetermined crowd-pleaser (Blanc de Paris); the dark musty-mossy with guts (Noir de Mars); the mysterious, coppery woody (Ocre Doré); the rosy floral with mysterious, spicy-suede tonalities (Rose Opéra) and the complex hesperidic-leathery (Brun Sicilien). Each fragrance is accompanied by a painting by a well-known painter who is inspired by the aromatics in the composition, then the painting is turned into an engraving which is used for the packaging of the fragrance: the inside of the box holds the engraving ready to be framed and hung on your walls.

Notes for Ocre Dore by Scent on Canvas:
Top: Iranian galbanum, dried tea leaves, mate
Heart: white truffle, oakmossm, undergrowth
Base: guaiacwood, Paraguay wood, Virginian cedar, Indonesian patchouli, labdanum gum

The perfumes are priced at 130 Euros for 100 ml of perfume/eau de parfum (only Blanc de Paris is an Eau de Parfum by design, the rest are extrait de parfum). A great value sample pack of all 5 scents is offered for only 10 euros online at the official e-shop. More information: scentoncanvas.com

Lily Bermuda Calypso: new fragrance

A niche perfumery in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? And yet, it moves. Calypso, the latest unisex fragrance by Lily Bermuda perfumery, located in the Bermudas, captures the summer energy of Bermuda’s Emancipation Celebrations and the lively rhythms of the Island’s music and lifestyle. Calypso is a fresh blend of sparkling neroli and bergamot. Its heart reveals fruity notes of Bermuda loquats and aromatic notes of the south shore seagrass. Calypso ends with soft and aquatic notes of white musk, which will linger on your skin and create lasting memories.

Family: Citrus Aromatic
Perfumer: Isabelle Ramsay-Brackstone

“Calypso is fresh, dynamic and youthful – a fruity fusion of Bermuda scents, part of our unisex ‘Water Collection’ alongside South Water and Fresh Water,” said perfumer Isabelle Ramsay-Brackstone who crafted the fragrance in St. George’s at The Bermuda Perfumery. “People who are open-minded, easy-going and passionate about a life of freedom and expression will cherish Calypso. With intrinsically Bermudian scents of loquats, seagrass and neroli, this fragrance is universal, well-suited for spring and summer celebrations like sunset cruises or an open air concert by the ocean.” This is the first fragrance launch since the Lili Bermuda line skyrocketed to international acclaim with segments on The View, The Bachelorette and CBS This Morning. In 2012, CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg brought worldwide attention to Lili Bermuda when he named The Bermuda Perfumery the best place in the world to buy perfume in his book The Best Places for Everything.

Notes for Calypso by Lily Bermuda:
Top notes: Mandarin, Fresh French Basil, Sicilian Bergamot zest, Petitgrain, Citron
Heart Notes: Bermuda Loquat, Neroli, Seagrass, Geranium
Base notes: White Musk, Bermuda Cedar, Marine notes


Online orders at LiliBermuda.com are filled at The Bermuda Perfumery with a hand tied ribbon and shipped from the St. George’s Post Office.

news via press release

Le Labo Exclusive Fragrances Available Widely for a Limited Amount of Time

The 3rd edition of the Le Labo City Exclusive event will start September 1st. If you have even passingly heard about Le Labo you know they're quirky: they dilute, decant and personally label the fragrances for you on the spot in their boutiques and they have a range of "city-exclusives" that are available ONLY in the selected cities (and come $$$ too!). Annoying, I know! (Especially since I love at least two of them). But for a limited time from September 2013 they're offering those city exclusives to all of us aficionados, to give us a chance of owning them at last.

The City Exclusive scents have been created as a tribute to the cities Le Labo has shops in. These scents are usually only available in the boutique of the city it belongs to: no phone order, no online order, no shipping, no exceptions!

For 6 weeks and 6 weeks only, the 8 city-apointed Le Labo perfumes will be sold in exclusivity in all of the Le Labo boutiques, online (http://storeinternational.lelabofragrances.com/) and in a limited selection of corners across the globe (Barneys stores). To get ready for the big day the samples of the City Exclusive perfumes will be available starting tomorrow!

The winner of the draw

...for the Acqua di Parma set is Akmtvehi. Congratulations and please email me using Contact with your shipping data so I get this in the mail for you soon.

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and till the next one!