The winner of the draw....

...for the Majalis sample is Sabine. Congratulations and please email me, using Contact (with "Majalis winner" in title), with your shipping data so I can have this in the mail for you shortly.

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and till the next one! (very soon)

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. 

Indie & Artisan Perfumers and Owners Speak: Mandy Aftel of Aftelier

Mandy Aftel granted me an interview on subjects which are usually never touched, such as business positioning & online only distribution, her unique place in the artisan universe as an all naturals perfumer, her experience with the luxury customers and how regional preferences shape (or rather do not shape) her output and the interest of the online aficionado/blogosphere. You can read the interview (and feel free to comment with your agreement/disagreement or questions) on this link on Fragrantica.

Here are two interesting quotes from Mandy to get you going.

About her distribution channels:
"I have chosen to now be only a web-based business; I previously also sold my perfumes in Henri Bendel’s and several small boutiques. I've been approached by almost every prestigious department store to sell my perfumes—when I turned down Neiman Marcus, their response was to ask me if I knew who they were? I personally like knowing that my customers are well taken care of and that everything is perfect about my products. When I sold in stores, I would see that the presentation of my perfumes was not up to my standards, which upset me. I take a lot of pleasure in individually wrapping each order and writing cards to people—I like having this relationship with my customer."

And about the price rises in the luxury & niche segment of the perfume business:
"As far as the industry justification for overpricing, that seems like a complete dodge at best! It reveals those perfume companies’ values—those are not my values and I don’t pay any attention to them. Yet there can actually be a blessing-in-disguise from high prices, since I like to encourage people to “buy less, better”—to have a meaningful connection with what they’ve bought and not be swayed by status concerns and marketing."

This interview comes as a follow-up of some issues we have discussed with Andy Tauer of Tauer Perfumes on this link, as well as a presentation of my views on the marketing side of perfume business, so if you missed those and the fascinating discussion that erupted in the comments, you might want to check them out to get things in context. Hopefully the series will continue with more artisans, indies and business insiders sharing their views with us.

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.