Lanvin Oxygene: fragrance review

 Everything old is new again and now that things aqueous and lightly transparent, with a mist of cool fresh air like Drop d'Issey, are making ripples, it's time for a comeback for those musky, airy, cool and dewy fragrances that defined an era. The presentation for Oxygène by Lanvin followed the trend for diaphanous or light blue (Light Blue anyone?) bottles that dominated the 1990s and up to the millennium. Then pink erupted and has never left us since. Indeed nowadays blueish bottles are almost solely geared to men.

The olfactory reception I get in Oxygène is quite something, as it recalls and depicts vividly one of my favorite flowers, the wisteria, or glycine in French. It's an early spring flower and, therefore, associated with cool air, dewiness, and a certain hesitant expectation. The heat and the sun have not come in to orgiastically lavish upon it. Its peppery spiciness, inherent also in mauve lilacs, is due to eugenol. I begrudge L'Artisan Parfumeur for discontinuing their lovely scented candle Sous la Glycine - Under the Wisteria - which remade the effect to perfection. (If the good people at the head office are reading, please bring it back!)

Delicately floral, with a subtle spicy note of clove, the central chord in the Lanvin Oxygène' fragrance recreates the beautiful, utterly gorgeous scent of the mauve, hanging grappes of wisteria, perched like bunches of decadent grapes over terraces, latticework and verandas in early spring. A fusion of spicy goodness reveals itself from the core: a middle road between peppery twinkle, a clove note, and carnations, with a side of a somewhat oily green nuance reminiscent of hyacinth and lilacs.

pic borrowed via pinterest

I do not get real milky notes, not the potable kind nor the milky body lotion type, which is prized among millennial women. It could only be said that there is a faint whiff of creaminess in the musk, but it is the overwhelming impression of white musk - redolent of white flowers and lilies - specifically that does it, not the milk or sandalwood, really. A very subtle hint of vanilla fuses with the headiness of the base. Any sweetness is due to the musks. On the other hand, Oxygène's freshness of citric notes and ozone in the initial spray is very perceptible and, to me, delectable; they recall that long-lost zingggg that scents of designer brands used to do so well back then.

Lanvin's scent Oxygène can be bought at discounters and online at relatively low prices nowadays.

Related reading: The History of the Lanvin House

Diptyque Vinaigre de Toilette: how it came to be

 During the great plague in Toulouse between 1628-1631 (claiming 500,000 victims), four thieves were looting the houses of the dead, completely unharmed by the pestilence. When found out, they were arrested and incarcerated. About to be burned at the stake, the thieves inadvertently intrigued the judges thanks to their resilience to the Bubonic plague. 

In an effort to find out how that was possible, they offered the more lenient death by hanging, in exchange for their secret: the scented recipe of the elixir which they rubbed their entire body for protection before entering the houses. From this story, the name Le Vinaigre des 4 Voleurs ("'Four Thieves Vinegar" and also Acetum Quator Furum) was coined.

The same incident also happened in Marseilles in 1720, whereupon the thieves voluntarily shared the recipe with the afflicted city people, thus saving their own lives as well. From that incident Le Vinaigre des 4 Voleurs also gained the names of Marseilles Vinegar or Marseilles Remedy.

In fact, before the sanitation of European cities in the 18th century, delineated in great detail and analytical depth in Alain Corbain's seminal work Le miasme et la Jonquille, the use of aromatics and fragrances was based predominantly on their prophylactic role; hence the name Prophylactic Water.

During plagues perfumer-doctors visited houses with aromatics molded into a gigantic bird’s beak to protect themselves. As those “witch doctors,” with their duck-like noses, were often no more efficient for the pestilence than the placebo effect, the term “quack” became a synonym for charlatan!

Nevertheless the inclusion of camphor, spice and garlic in those elusive protective elixirs does have a footing in science. Put a clove of garlic or a clove (clou de girofle) on a petri dish and watch it under the microscope to see how bacteria and microbes cannot enter its inner sanctum, keeping their distance. The reasoning probably has to do as much with their flea repellent action as with the direct influence on the microorganisms. Fleas and the mice they infected, as well as dogs, had been a supreme carrier of the grave disease that spread through Europe like wild fire.

French aromatherapy doctor Jean Valnet (1920-1995) gave the story credence. In his book, The Practice of Aromatherapy, he quotes the archives of the Parliament of Toulouse, going on to claim the original recipe was revealed by the four corpse robbers who were caught red-handed in the area around Toulouse in 1628-1631.

The rise of the apothecary as the purveyor of scented products only made access more widely available and falls in step with the advent of sanitation and greater attention to hygiene which was the development of the 18th century.

The recipe for the milder skin elixir comprised apple cider vinegar, thanks to its closeness to the natural Ph of the skin contrary to the more acidic wine vinegar. The acid would have cosmetic uses, since the harsh alkali-rich soaps would disrobe the natural acidic mantle of the skin, whereas the finishing with vinegar (alcoholic or not, as the formula stipulated) would help rebalance the skin.

Rosemary in particular seems to have been a particularly beloved ingredient in the preparation of scented products at the time, not least forgetting the mention in Shakespeare's Hamlet "There's Rosemary, that's for Remembraunce [sic]." After all, the great playwright was not unfamiliar with the great plague, having siblings lost to the disease and his theater shut down due to the London outbreaks between 1593 and 1608. Rosemary was after all the "magic" ingredient in another miraculous fragrant preparation: the Eau de Reine d'Hongrie!

Nowadays the scented "vinegar" is still sold in traditional apothecaries and notably by Diptyque as Vinaigre de Toilette as well a by Oriza Legrand (tagged underneath Oriza Aciduline). Its benefits start from the removal of lice and nits, extend to hair and mucous membranes sanitation, headaches (applied on the temples), and even for respiratory problems.

Pierre Cardin Cardin for Women (1975): fragrance lore & musings

 Some perfumes seem to exist in limbo. No one has really known them intimately, yet their reputation lives on. Oddly enough, as my colleague Sergey highlighted in his review of the chypre Cardin de Pierre Cardin,"If you go to the Pierre Cardin official website, you will not find this fragrance on it. There, officially, the feminine perfume history of the brand begins in 1981, with Choc de Cardin. As if there was no Cardin de Pierre Cardin (1975) perfume at all. Meanwhile, vintage advertisements and vintage bottles say the opposite." 

 

 Meanredz's 5934 photos on Flickr via pinterest

My view is similar to his, in that it presents a very interesting, yet disturbing phenomenon: Companies re-inventing their past, but contrary to -say- Creed, by omission. As if they want to focus only on the present, or at the very least on what they consider sell-able still. As fragrant history attests,"at least two more Pierre Cardin fragrances were released for women – the floral chypre Suite 16 Pierre Cardin and the green Singulier Pierre Cardin. A couple perfumes more, Amadis and Geste For Men, were also launched around the same time, as Mr. Pierre Cardin opened his Eve and Adam boutiques in Paris, sharing their bottle design with Suite 16." 

Cardin for women was the first fragrance from the house of Pierre Cardin, launched in 1976 according to Fragrantica. It opens with notes of citrus, aldehydes, bergamot, clove and cumin. The heart is a bouquet of flowers such as roses, ylang-ylang and jasmine and woody notes of oak and cedar. The base consists of amber, civet, musk, labdanum, moss, sandalwood and vetiver. Available as EDT, EDP and perfume.

So is Pierre Cardin's Cardin for Women anywhere to be found? I would love to know. 

Jean Paul Gaultier Le Beau Paradise Garden: fragrance review

 Le Beau Paradise Garden by Jean Paul Gaultier is "a tribute to the Garden of Gaultier, filled with vibrant flowers and enticing scents. It masterfully blends the salty coconut's freshness with the green fig's lushness and sandalwood's soothing warmth. Hints of zesty ginger, cool mint, and sun-drenched tonka bean enhance the fragrance's green aquatic and woody character, making it an ideal embodiment for energetic and passionate men." 

pic borrowed via pinterest

Does it deliver? Yes, it surprisingly does. Perfumer du jour Quentin Bisch masterfully composed this fragrance as a woody, green, aquatic melody, capturing the divine atmosphere of a tropical haven in an Eau de Parfum for men concentration. 

Drawing inspiration from the Jean Paul Gaultier Autumn/Winter fashion collection of 2010-2011, imagine a lush, enchanting garden named "Le Beau Paradise Garden" and "La Belle Paradise Garden," a haven of intense delights and fervent desires. The box with its paradisaical pro-lapsarian motifs and the bottle with the green hue and the delicately woven codpiece attached are very pleasing to the eye. Picture a bottle of striking beauty: an emerald-green glass ornately embroidered with a vibrant vine leaf, boasting exquisite, high-fashion details. 

Le Beau Paradise Garden by Gaultier now encompasses the saltiness of Mugler's Womanity (a stand in for the genitals hidden by a fig leaf?) with its fig overtones for the main chord and buttresses them up in delicious coumarin-rich tonka bean. This gives a tasty dessert quality to the mix, creating a good tension between the salty and the sweet without succumbing to either. Although we can't expect something too innovative, since the main chords have been done before and tonka beans are everywhere apparently in later years, I find it a balanced composition. Coconut is more reminiscent of coconut water than shredded coconut sweets, which can become too sweet. In the original Le Beau I found the coconut rather too much, as I'm sensitive, but here it's just right. It's more aqueous overall, with hints of the pre-lapsarian Garden of Eden — green, damp, wet, and creamy. Tonka, after all, is in the same compound class as lactones, and it makes sense to pair them. 

It does come across a bit synthetic, because —hey! — it is synthetic, but the entire market is synthetic anyway. Yet it's mild, quite fresh, mouth watering, not really botanical (which is usually associated with men's fragrances), and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't insult anyone. 

Official fragrance notes for JP Gaultier Le Beau Paradise Garden: 

TOP NOTES Aquatic Notes, Mint, Ginger, Fresh Greenery
MIDDLE NOTES: Salty Coconut, Green Fig
BASE NOTES: Sandalwood, Tonka Beans

L' Erbolario Assenzio: fragrance review

Although Assenzio Aqua di Profumo by Italian pharmacist-inspired brand L' Erbolario is an older scent, I only truly discovered it last year, testing it again and again, and contemplating a full bottle of my own for the coming months. 

via pinterest

The Italian name means absinth and it effortlessly recalls ringlets of fragrant smoke rising from a censer into the ethers, which is totally fitting for days of recollection and pensiveness, since incense is usually burnt into a censer and left to rise. Frankincense has a citrusy top note and this is beautifully fanned out in Assenzio, where the citrus and herbal part (bitterish artemisia and wormwood) is the introduction to the hazy, billowy development. 

Perfume lovers have beautiful and zen-quality words to say about it. Silver Hiccup writes in Fragrantica, "Assenzio is ultimately a very gentle, flowy scent, like a fluffy cloud that envelops you. I can admit that for me, it may carry a sense of melancholy."  Cerise Noir writes, "I love this powdery, herbal sweetness. Makes me feel so clean and calm." Abraham 7 says, "An ancient, green, relaxing charm."

Others, like Kioflare are mixed: "The opening is really quite masculine, astringent and not particularly pleasant [...] reminds me in a sense of Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet, which I was not particularly fond of. This goes on for about 15-20 min. The drydown showcases its truly marvellous and gentle side. That is the real unisex herbal talcum [...] becomes a bit chalky sweet, the herbs shine through, but they leave a gentle and warm impression, like a green powdery caress."

Although Assenzio has been compared to Felce Azzura, the famous shower gel and dusting powder products from Italy, another South-eastern European reference that is often conflated with incense, due to the dry soapy-piney ambience, it is not a replication of that (admittedly amazing) scent. But it's worth trying all the same, because the herbal qualities will appeal to lovers of the Italian classic of grooming all the same. 

Best of all? This quiet scent has an array of ancillary products to enjoy from morning till bed-time... Bliss. 

NB. The Aqua di Profumo concentration is the equivalent of Eau de Toilette. 

 

Official notes for Assenzio by L' Erbolario:

Top notes are Wormwood, Amalfi Lemon and Orange.
Middle notes are Artemisia, Coriander, Lavender and Cardamom.
Base notes are Musk, Carnation, Geranium, Patchouli, Benzoin and Cedar.