Demeter Fragrance Library hides many little gems: from the convincing ivy green note of mysterious evil of Poison Ivy to the exact replication of the ionically charged and just outright lovely wet scent of a baby's humidifier caught in Rain, the line never fails to present one with small epiphanies and delighted coos of small discoveries where you least expect it (They have things like Laundromat, Belladonna, Sex on the Beach, referencing the cocktail....an endless pit of joyful playing around). So I wasn't really astounded to find their Wisteria cologne was actually good.
Wisteria by Demeter goes where upscale fine fragrance doesn't go, who knows for what inexplicable reason: It creates the beautiful, utterly gorgeous scent of the mauve hanging grappes of wisteria (glycine), perched like bunches of decadent grapes over terraces, latticework and verandahs in early spring. A fusion of spicy goodness reveals itself from the core; a middle road between peppery twinkle, clovey note, and carnations, with a side of a somewhat oily green nuance reminiscent of hyacinth and lilacs. All these facets are surprisingly caught in Demeter's Wisteria, a soliflore that is lush and rich like the natural flower.
The scent starts a little alcoholic at first but the progression into an intense spicy floral is more than enough to compensate. Sadly presented only in Eau de Cologne, but with rather good lasting power nonetheless. If you like spicy florals, carnation scents or just love the mauve blossoms themselves, there are good chances you might like Wisteria by Demeter.
At 20$ for 1oz it is an unmissable bargain. If you know of European based online outlets for this, do let me know in the comments.
photo via armchairfrance.com
Monday, April 25, 2011
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This Month's Popular Posts on Perfume Shrine
-
No note in perfumery is more surprisingly carnal, creamier or contradicting than that of tuberose. The multi-petalled flower is a mix of flo...
-
The flavor of verbena, lemony tart and yet with a slightly bitter, herbaceous edge to it, is incomparable when used in haute cuisine. It len...
-
When testing fragrances, the average consumer is stumped when faced with the ubiquitous list of "fragrance notes" given out by the...
-
Christian Dior has a stable of fragrances all tagged Poison , encased in similarly designed packaging and bottles (but in different colors),...
-
The upcoming Lancome fragrance, La Vie Est Belle ( i.e. Life is Beautiful ), is exactly the kind of perfume we dedicated perfumephiles love...
-
Some perfumes the minute you put them on feel like you've slipped into a pair of black satin slingbacks or a silk peignoir in ivory. Osc...
hi, www.eleven.se has some of the Demeters (check under "Library of Fragrance" in the brand section.) They ship worldwide. I have shopped from them numerous times, and they are 100% reliable.
ReplyDeletehi Elena! How weird is this.. around the corner from where i live there is this huge Wisteria (i always call it Hysteria, just to amuse me) which smells absolutely gorgeous. Last weekend i was sitting in our communal garden when i caught a whiff of the scent, and i was thinking, someone oughta bottle this and sell it.. lo and behold, i check my favourite perfume blog this morning first thing after the Easter weekend et voilĂ ! the cosmos must have heard my plea :-) have a great week! hugs, Wendy
ReplyDeleteHelg, you're right, I've been searching for a wisteria fragrance for pretty long. Well, at the end, I made one myself, but that's another story. It always puzzled me why it's not used more and even more... but people are weird.
ReplyDeleteNina,
ReplyDeleteprofuse thanks, going to check it out!!
Wendy,
ReplyDeleteclearly we're both psychic! :-)
No seriously, I just love how serendipity kinda happens with perfume lovers. I get the most awesome comments and emails with this like that. It's a wonderful flower and I ask myself why, WHY they haven't exploited this delicious scent more. But like Liisa says below, people are weird. I guess!!
"Hysteria" sounds about right: it hysterically clinges itself onto latticework, despite its shy appearence.
L,
ReplyDeletehello there, darling, how are things?
Yeah, talk about missed opportunities, on the industry's part. I'm sure you did a good job: Clove and ylang? Side helping of something powdery perhaps too?
Helg,
ReplyDeletelet me send you some. It's weird and pungent to the verge of eye-watering, built up on woods and frankincense.