Zadig & Voltaire This is Her: the mysterious jolt of Ambroxan and Lactone

 

Cecilia Bönström, artistic director of Zadig & Voltaire, told wwd at the time of This is Her! and This is Him! launch that the idea was to break from what already existed on the market and "to find a balance of something really clean and something darker, more mysterious." The woody, floral, and gourmand This is Her!, signed by perfumer duo Sidonie Lancesseur and Michel Almairac, contains notes of pink pepper, Sambac jasmine, silkwood blossom, milky chestnut, whipped cream, vanilla, cashmere woods, and sandalwood. 

photo borrowed from pinterest

It's all very soft, tender, plush... creamy, like a dessert or maybe a body lotion? I think therein lies the riddle. Although This is Her! masquerades as a gourmand fragrance with all those sweet and edible references in the given notes, in reality, the composition reveals one characteristic that is overlooked. The lactonic impression is, in reality, translating as... metallic. Clean and a little bit shrill. With lots of starched musks (Cashmeran adding a shredded sensibility of salty epidermis) and a layer of abstract floralcy the way Noa by Cacharel or Classique by Gaultier are abstractly plush, feminine, soft, and dreamy. 

 Any woodiness (Ambroxan mainly) is interpreted the way Artificial Intelligence would interpret the picture of woods. Indeed this is all due to the Ambroxan that lies hidden in the formula and the Cashmeran (cashmere woods) in the given notes of the pyramid, with its salty-clean musky-woody appeal. This is part of the charm, as most women would object to much woodiness in their everyday fragrance; they tend to associate it with masculinity or sobriety. But formulas reminiscent of body lotion with musky garlands and irone-rich laces? And a little bit vanilla? They're mad for them! 

The whipped milk construct is especially comforting presented as such, since the term "milk" might refer to edible milk pudding, but also body milk products. Milk also connotes life-sustaining breast milk, the Milky Way, and even droplets of semen in outré works of art bordering on pornography. The mental interplay between "deserving to indulge" but also "deserving to pamper myself" is, in my opinion, the crux of the matter, what makes This is Her! so commercially successful. The eyes interpret the white contours, the startling black lettering of hip and cool upon this unspoiled canvas, the mind reads the indulgent presentation of olfactory effects, and then the nose and skin recognize immediately the familiarity of skin-scent effects that work their well-known magic, acting as an insulating cocoon against the cruel world outside. That's how you build a best-seller for the masses, apparently.

Easter Wishes

 May this time of the year bring inner peace and peace to the world. May it manifest love and prosperity. May it herald acceptance and forgiveness. 

Happy Easter to all! 

pin borrowed from Pinterest

In the meantime, you might read or reread these articles on PerfumeShrine:

Incense Week (incense scents inspired by the Holy Week)

The aromata of Greek Easter and a Recipe

The Myrrh Bearers 

Christos Anesti 

Mapping Scents of Spirituality

Spring Clean: Links for spring fragrance reviews & musings

Puredistance Divanché: fragrance review

 

Meeting with a new Puredistance fragrance is always a time for pleasure and for introspection. The newer Divanché is said to be inspired by Japanese gardenia, so how could I not be mesmerized into trying it out? 

Although gardenias and white flowers have captured the imagination of the past with classic specimens at the heart of illustrious floral chypres, pear and pineapple are two entirely contemporary fascinations of modern perfumery. In fact a minuscule facet of sulphur unites the two materials, producing a common thread that reflects one another like the two faces of Janus. As a colleague chemist notes, "the pear profile often overlaps with other fruity odours; saturated esters often have apple tones, while unsaturated ones have pineapple and berry tones." 

 Pear especially possesses soft, juicy qualities, a little bit like unctuous sweet treacle, gelatinous and translucent too, and is very popular for a reason. It's succulent without leaning tropical. It first appeared prominently many years ago, in Laura Biagiotti Tempore Donna (1999) and in D&G Feminine (also 1999), but only lately has it been highlighted in recent launches opting for newer chords and newer fruity effects. 

 In DIVANCHÉ pear is very much present in the diffusion of the fragrance, the main protagonist, juxtaposing the light mushroom-like moistness of the gardenia and the hints of lactonic elements hiding in the recesses of the formula (a hint of peach, more than a bit of jasmolactone, a soupçon of fig leaf and milk). It feels ripe and rich, yet fresh and softly caressing, like the wings of an angel or the frisky fur of a long-haired kitten if you're so inclined. 

It also recalls Japanese stationery with its cute factor intact which is probably fitting given the Japanese background for this Puredistance creation. The woods and musks sensualize and round the floral heart. Finally, resinoids lead the fragrance to an unwavering denouement where DIVANCHÉ gains the feeling of a soft whisper over the skin. It is discreet and polished, not intense.

Read my full review on Fragrantica on this link. 

I am Being Quoted on Bustle, Referencing "Man-Repelling Fragrances"

 It was my absolute pleasure being interviewed by journalist Parizaad Khan Sethi for an in-depth article on Man-Repelling Fragrances for Bustle, where I am heavily quoted alongside industry people (and with some great suggestions for fragrances to wear to distance yourself from too much attention). Is there such a thing as anti-intimacy? And why would want actually desire it? 

We go in depth into how this whole concept works, which effects, chords and materials produce this sense of apostasy, and then we propose certain fragrances to put some distance between you and the vast wide world, as per needed. 

Take a read on THIS LINK , it's very interesting, and let me know what you think!

 Click the images below for a clearer view. 

Oriflame Amber Elixir: short fragrance review

 

Amber Elixir by Oriflame remains very popular after many years and the line is populated with flankers (a couple of which are especially memorable). What makes it so special? 

 It is hard to do an amber fragrance which, firstly, doesn't recall a hundred others, and, secondly, is not heavy and cloying but instead fit for all seasons and occasions. Perfumer Vincent Schaller worked this classic Oriflame best-seller in 2007, and it has been beloved ever since due to its versatility and elegance. 

Working a light almond-heliotrope facet under the vanillic labdanum chord of amber perfumes, the scent of Oriflame Amber Elixir becomes creamy, lightly powdery, and soft like a hug from a loved one. It is like a caress rather than a warm stilting hug that crashes you and therefore it never becomes heavy or -that word people use- cloying. A malady of some other ambers, to be sure. This is comforting and a sort of diet-amber if I may say so. Which is perfect really, for my personal taste, at least. 

It's suitable for all seasons except very hot summers and can lend a contemporary touch of femininity to all ages. Available in 50 ml for €39 at the moment on the official Oriflame website.