Woudacieux Mousse d'Arbre Gris: Fragrance Review

 

There are few things I appreciate more than stumbling upon a clever word play which intrigues my mind and excites my hopes for something unusual. Mousse d'Arbre Gris was one such thing in the perfume world, and it caught me by surprise, since I had not heard of the Woudacieux Haute Parfumerie brand before. Lucky for me, the Internet and its wonders has a way of introducing me to all sort of bright ideas. And so, on I plunged and tried the fragrances.

 

Mousse d'Arbre Gris immediately impressed me. The wordplay lies in arbre being tree in French, while ambregris is grey amber, the notorious perfumery ingredient from sperm whales. And mousse is froth, foam, the fluffy texture of a dessert or lather. In short, it's not what it seems, it's so much more. 

All the Woudacieux fragrances I tried give the sensation of high ratio of natural extracts in them. They have this herbal, primal quality about them. The initial spray of Mousse d'Arbre Gris is redolent of jatamansi, or spikenard (the Latin name Nardostachys jatamansi indicates being part of the honeysuckle family). Native to the Alpine Himalayas and mentioned in the traditional medicine system of Ayurveda, jatamansi/spikenard is precious and important.

The scent of Mousse d'Arbre Gris is both green, herbal, resinous, between salty and warm-powdery -it gives mysterious and welcoming vibes of the vegetal and earthy kind.
The brand as a whole has a hippy-classy quality about them, the fragrances are vegan and produced in limited batches (2000 were created for this one). The illustrations speak of an affinity for botanical sketches on old books, and the fairies that seem to be dancing on the labels give an impression of a Victorian album.

It's a quiet and introspective scent that projects moderately and creates a sense of allure about its wearer. The synergy of synthesized castoreum,civet and ambregris gives a rich body behind the greener and floral touches of the top. It's supple and soft, ambery, non invasive yet still very there. The company introduces it as "an introductory turn on for both sexes" and it really is.

The 20% concentration of compound in the Eau de Parfum ensures a great lasting power to the mix and a value for money application. You only need a couple of sprays I found to fulfill the frothy mix of mossy-herbal softness aura around you. The bottle can be found on the official website. You can see images of the brand on their Pinterest account.

 

Kenzo World Power: fragrance review

Maybe the most unexpected in the line Power by Kenzo is Kenzo World Power, a woody aromatic fragrance for women launched in 2019. Although the fragrance purports to be a relaxing essence, it possesses an even weirder combination than Kenzo Power Intense, in that it's both sugary and salty, retaining snippets of Reveal (Calvin Klein) and Olympea (Paco Rabanne) in equal measure and resulting in something new.

pic via nocibe

The overall impression in Kenzo World Power is quite unisex in that the cypress and salty notes recall something made for men in the woody or aquatic range of fragrances, yet the sweet almondy base notes with the backing up of strong aroma synthetics and woody essences speak of something aimed at both (all?) sexes.

The woody backdrop is reinforced with cooler weather and I think that cool weather brings out its better qualities, contrary to Reveal which is nicer in the heat. It's interesting that we come at the end with a scent that without deviating too much from the clean and abstract original, manages to smell odd and salty-sweet without claiming neither office, nor gym proclivities. It's quite a big presence in terms of sillage and lasting, well, power. I would very much doubt Kenzo World Power's potential as a date fragrance either, as it's not inoffensive, nor is it markedly within a certain frame of genre that would denote a specific "image" of one's self the way we tend to pick fragrances for romantic dates. It's definitely not meant for job interviews either. Maybe an introspective walk in the park or stay at home fragrance, then. Something that one enjoys alone. But one has to consequently wonder: will it sell enough not to be discontinued right away? It's a question to think about for sure.

The series of Kenzo World and its flanker fragrances has managed to bypass that by offering a very distinct visual presentation, literally "seeing you" in the sense of Lacan's "the mirror" concept. It's an interesting concept for all perfumes, because what is an artificial smell but an effort to transport images and feelings that we, as bipods, transpose to vision rather than more primal senses? Most fragrances heavily rely on visionary cues, from the perfume bottle design to the colour schemes chosen, right down to the advertising images that accompany their launch.

Overall, the presentation and visual emphasis for the Power series by Kenzo is more interesting than the fragrances themselves, still they merit sampling thanks to that rare correspondence of what we expect and what we get in the end. A mirror image of things rather than their true essence.

The perfumer behind this fragrance is Jerome Di Marino, contrary to the previous fragrances made by Francis Kurkjan. Top note is cypress; middle note is sea salt; base note is tonka bean. The fragrance circulates at an eau de parfum concentration.

Hermes Un Jardin sur la Lagune: fragrance review

In old novels, in the time of Balzac and thereabouts (as I have written in detail before), or even prior to that time, there is the well-known trope of the poor relative, usually female, who receives the second hand clothes of their elders and betters in social status, with the acceptance of keen appreciation of their circumstances. Governesses, school mistresses, nurses, or beneficiaries of a small income of a few pounds or francs a year, thanks to the generosity and sense of due of an almost unknown yet benevolent antecedent. In the world of perfumes, this situation is usual and usually ignites the same condescending acceptance: "close, but no cigar; divested of the elements which make the original truly flamboyant or plush, bon pour l'Orient."

via

It's with great pleasure that I found out that Un Jardin sur la Lagune by Hermes (a spring 2019 launch) is an exception to that scenario. One of my favourite and closest to heart fragrances, Lys Méditerranée by perfumer Edouard Fléchier for the niche brand of Frédéric Malle, has a little cousin; one who does not ape the greater one, nor does it deign to wear the elder's hand-me-downs, Un Jardin sur la Lagune by Hermes.

An abstract feeling of petals from flowers of another dimension, of champaca and bliss, unfolds into space like cones which embraces with arms opens wide, with the piquant joy of citrusy touches and the blissful cocoon of white musk.

In Un Jardin sur la Lagune, inspired by a secret Venetian garden which Christine Nagel, in-house perfumer for Hermes, discovered thanks to the writings of a blogger, the feeling of solace and silent contentment is palpable.

The scent of far away algae is delicate in Un Jardin sur la Lagune yet there, the salty water which hits the lonely craggy shore or the foundations of an old building immersed into the water, possesses that sort of introspection, a very humane sense of disorganisation and an ironic look on the state of the Human Condition that even Balzac would be jealous of.

Les Jardins series in the Hermes portfolio is a line of easy and lightweight fragrances which began its course in 2003 with Un Jardin sur la Méditerranée, the impression of a mediterranean garden where people nibble on freshly cut figs. Next came Un Jardin sur le Nil (2005), inspired by a trip to Assouan, in Egypt; then Un Jardin apres la Mousson (2008), evoking the watery landscape of Kerala, India, after the passing of the monsoon; Un Jardin sur le Toit (2011), inspired by the war-time garden on the terrace of the flagship Hermes boutique in Paris, and Le Jardin de Monsieur Li (2015), a minty citrus evoking a special eastern garden. 
All prior Jardin fragrances have been composed by legendary perfumer Jean Claude Ellena (an interview of whom I had the honour of taking HERE), and therefore Un Jardin sur la Lagune is Christine Nagel's first entry in the series. 

Bruno Acampora Musc Gold: fragrance review

It's not a tentative preview but a well established ritual, but Musc Gold perfume oil by Italian niche brand Bruno Acampora always makes it seem like it's the very first, one's no-virgin-anymore time.

via

The particularly incongruent, yet oddly beguiling mushroom note that is at the heart of the original Musc is still subtly present (herbaceous, earthy patchouli), but patters out very quickly in order to give the bitterish salty semblance of naked skin which sweetens the more it stays on.

It makes me think of the words of E.E Cummings "in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, or which I cannot touch because they're too near."


Further reading on Perfume Shrine:
Musk, the material: natural deer musk and synthetic musks
Skin scents: intimate and subtle 
The Musk Series: Part 1, a Cultural Perception of Musk
                             Part 2, Natural musk and everything you need to know on synthetics
                             Part 3, The Many Permutations of Musk Fragrances (musk "types")

Scented Musketeers: musk fragrance reviews for men & women 

L'Artisan Parfumeur Batucada: new fragrance

L'Artisan Parfumeur turns to perfumers Karine Vinchon and Elizabeth Maier (after a long stint with Bertrand Duchaufour) for their newest fragrance Batucada, due out in October 2011. The upcoming release connects two perfumers, but also two diametrically different places of the world; Grasse in France and São Paulo in Brazil, according to their official ad copy.

Although Grasse is apparently touted as the origin of the finery of the composition's formula, it's Brazil which serves as the conceptual spatial reference; batucada is a subgenre of samba originating from Rio de Janeiro. It involves a percussionist ensemble (bateria) that is heavily influenced by the repetitive and fast style of African percussionists.

Batucada by L'Artisan Parfumeur is a unisex fragrance that involves several Brazilian-influenced notes, at least what is populary considered classic Brazilian references for foreigners: The top expecetdly mixes a Brazilian Caipirinha cocktail accord (lime, cachaça and mint leaves), while the heart evolves around floral notes of tiare and ylang ylang. The drydown consists of base notes of coconut water and marine notes with nuances of sea salt.
I do hope that they manage to surpass the lovely Bahiana (Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier) which went that route before. Otherwise, what's the point?

Batucada will be released as an Eau de Toilette in 3.4oz/100ml and 1.7z/50 ml this coming October at select doors who stock L'Artisan Parfumeur fragrances.

Thierry Mugler Womanity: fragrance review

All Mugler fragrances create a stir, from the iconic Angel to the stomping woody jasmine in Alien, the metamorphosis-inducing androgyne tuberose of À Travers le Miroir to the surprising Miroir des Envies with its Nutella chord: Womanity, a woody, sweet (fig notes) and salty Eau de Parfum which was advertised with fish references (the caviar accord) alongside the name cannot but conjure images of female genitalia to the fertile imagination. And maybe this was at the back of the mind of Mugler and the creative team at the Clarins group all along!
The designer's house has almost gone bust, kept afloat via perfume & accessories and the man has buffed himself up into a mutilated rendition of a seedy-magazine bodybuilder named Manfred. Something has got to keep the perfumes at the position they are nevertheless and that something is innovation and originality. Womanity is no exception, the definition of a love-it-or-hate-it fragrance, much like all Mugler perfumes are with the possible exception of Cologne.

"Womanity is the quality of being a woman. We differentiate ourselves from the rest of huMANity in biological, social, cultural and spiritual terms" (according to womanity.blogspot) Colour me unimpressed. Yet the composition which perfumers at Mane concocted for Parfums Mugler is nothing short of apocalyptic (in both senses of the word). The overwhelming sweetness (and loudness!) of the fig note is flanked by the austerity of wood and a salty nuance (ever so slight) which manage to create something that doesn't conjure anything concrete, and doesn't recall any other fragrance on the market. In fact if the saltiness was more pronounced (as the woody drydown progresses the arch seems to fall flat and become dull and incongruent) we would be talking about a true classic-to-be.

Smell and compare with other fig fragrances ~such as the two classics, Philosykos by Diptyque and Premier Figuier by L'Artisan Parfumeur with their hint of coconut and bitter leaf note; or the ultra-refined Un Jardin en Mediterranée by Hermès with its herbal aromata~ and you will see how Womanity differs. First of all, there is a watery-sweet note on top which is very unusual: The fruity note passingly resembles that in Un Jardin En Mediterranée or Figue Amère by Miller Harris, but whereas the warmth co-existed with the cool in the Hermès fragrance, laid on thin over the green notes, and it was bitterish-cool in the Miller Harris, in Mugler's Womanity the figs have caramelised. Their succulent flesh id more apparent in the sun than the leaves or the bark of the tree, with a nod to fig cookies as well. And then the salty note, said to evoke caviar!! Its intimate, lightly animalic quality is musky and intriguing. Pierre Aulas, olfactive director of Clarins Fragrance Group, revealed that it was a true challenge to work on Mugler's idea of combining savoury and sweet notes. The ambery-woody drydown is the "weakest" part aesthetically, borrowed as it seems from Alien, and not exciting enough, echoing as it does a base common in other fragrances on the market.

The finished effect though is so powerful that it is worth amassing some of the quotes of people who have sampled Womanity and publicized their impressions on Fragrantica. Those range from the impressionist ("a futuristic scent, or what perfume would be like on an alien planet" and "something a mermaid would wear. Overpoweringly fishy at first as she rises from the sea, but later as she is sitting on a rock combing her tresses, breezes from the nearby fig groves sweeten the air. Perhaps she is on a Greek island somewhere in the Mediterranean") to the programmatic ("I know many people get citrus, fig, salty caviar, nail polish or bad body odour, but I smell spicy cookies" and "Womanity smells like popcorn from a movie theatre, filled with gobs butter"), all the way to the purely dismissive ("It smells dirty, like youd been cutting trees all day and smoking at the same time, but smells even worse than that if you can imagine"). A fragrance which creates strong feelings......but a very strange one!

Thierry Mugler has once again jumped into the deep end with Womanity, proposing a new release which sounds odd but will definitely open up new doors, possibly more refined along the way. If the previous Mugler scents are any indication to the spawn they leave behind, then expect to smell more of this combination in the future. I don't think I would personally wear Womanity, my tastes running to subtler, more intellectual routes concerning personal fragrance, but I cannot deny its risk-taking as the proper stance to take at the moment, even if not entirely successful. If all fragrance houses did this, the world of perfumery would be much more interesting at least, without a doubt!

NB: The review is based on my own sampling at store and at home and NOT on the promotional pre-release "kit" which several other bloggers got in the mail in summer 2010.



Related reading on Perfumeshrine: Thierry Mugler news & reviews

Caviar on Fig photo by Boverthemoon

Hilde Soliani Acquiilsssssima, Doolciiisssimo, Freschiiissimo, Saaaliiisssiimo: fragrance review exclusive

When we had introduced Hilde Soliani and her niche line of perfumes to the English-speaking world, little did we know she would become something of a cult figure, especially after the introduction of her second line of perfumes inspired by her theatrical performances in Parma. Our past choice of a suave, hedonically smoking Humphrey Bogart for illustrating Bell'Antonio proved such a hit, that a respected online decanter chose the pic to feature the scent and even Hilde herself run away with it on her official presentations! But it's not surprising to us that someone as classic and unique as Boggie should front one of her scents: Hilde's fragrances have something unusual about them even within tired genres such as the fruity floral, the gourmand or the tobacco masculine: they brought a touch of Inglese Italionato e un diavolo incarnato ~the sensibilities of an Italian brand yet garlanded with an international spin that makes them instantly recognisable across the boards, caressing memories of childhood and impressing with its panache: The effect of a Maseratti smirking secure in its beauty at a group of gasping Fiats. Someone is doing a pretty good job in that Parma laboratory!

Hilde Soliani's upcoming fragrance line, exclusively previewed/reviewed on Perfume Shrine today, is called Profumo e Gusto in Libertà and is inspired by her love of haute cuisine, which is as Italian as Marcello Mastroianni or Monica Vitti are. Indeed nary does one need to sit at a small local trattoria in the greater Lombardia area to appreciate that for Italians food is perfume for the mouth! The four new Hilde Soliani fragrances inspired by this cultural tradition are: Acquiilssssima, Doolciiisssimo, Saaliiisssiimo, Freschiiissimo ~everything is onomastically attenuated to an hyperbole because they denote the pleasure one derives from refined flavours (although if I am anything to go by, I predict one hell of a confusion when trying to spell for someone or online, but let's not be grumpy); one after the other they are meant to interpret the watery, the sweet, the salty and the fresh/tangy. Let's take them one by one!

*I found myself transfixed by the succulent and rich tobacco ambience that Doolciiisssimo exudes. Hilde divulged that the idea began by la crema catalana with tobacco leaves which she had first eaten in Milan ~too scrumptious for words, apparently and by Jove if you have even the tiniest affinity for the hedonic bouquet of a good cigar with its gingerbread and honeyed tones, then don't walk, run to secure a sample or a bottle of the Doolciiisssimo. Though I normally look at sweet fragrances with a certain disdain due to overexposure to cavity-inducing potions that float around giving me a diabetic coma by association, this perfume is nowehere near what one would call "sweeeeeetest" (which is what its Italian name means). In fact a striking dissonance between name and composition is what makes it mouthwatering and one of the best gourmands I smelled recently: The cut-hay and almonds feel of tonka beans is made richer by vanilla (Madagascar absolute) while retaining a little tobacco and cherry-pie tonality due to currants/ribes. If you have liked Bell'Antonio and Vecchi Rosetti [reviews linked] you are probably going to like Doolciiisssimo too; and if you found the former a bit much in the woody department, then you're also nicely set.

*Acquiilsssssima has a personal story in the background: Claudio Sadler, the famous chef, create a dish for Hilde's birthday which she cunningly took as a point of departure for a "beach air" scent: If you have ever eaten at a small taverna on a Greek island (click for pic) under the shady pines with gaily vibrant geraniums and lush jasmines potted all around and the salty remnants of a sea-dip still on your tanned, tired arms then you would know how Acquiilssssima feels! The salty tang comes from seaweed and its marriage to jasmine is akin to taking a boat to the isles. But what is most interesting is that I detect a little oakmoss in the background, that chypre tonality which blends so well in our hot climate and which provides the murky backdrop to a composition that is otherwise full of watery and light notes.

*Freschiiissimo on the other hand is unusually refreshing, eshewing the customary watery notes for a cool blast of "short" spices such as ginger allied with lime, which gives an effarvescent quality to the fragrance, like champagne bubbles bursting on the surface of one's taste buds in a sorbet quenchingly devoured after some vigorous samba on the dance-floor.

*Last but not least, Saaliiiissssiimo is taking a dare with an uncustomary composition which oscillates between the salty and refreshing undercurrent of vetiver grass and the golden bitterness of saffron as well as the caramelised bittersweet note of licorice (in itself reminiscent of anise). The feel of that fragrance is lightly salty and woody with a starchy feel, full of comforting saffrony risotto stuffed with peas and homemade broth. There is also dill listed, but I confess that I could not detect it prominently.

The new Hilde Soliani fragrances come in Eau de Parfum concentration in 100ml diaphanous glass bottles and will be featured shortly in New London Pharmacy and Luckyscent (where the rest of her fragrances are already carried, check them out).

On Sunday 21 June starting at 5pm at Desenzano del Garda (bs) the Profumeria Parolari will hold a special event with Hilde Soliani: Come and enjoy 7 different flavours of ice-cream inspired by the scents of the older and the new perfume collection called Profumo e Gusto in Libertà (Perfume and Taste Liberated!). The flavours are: Acquiilssssima, Doolciiisssimo, Saaliiisssiimo, Freschiiissimo, Sipario (pina-colada-like), Stecca (inspired by tomato vines) and Fragola salata. At 6pm Hilde will give an interview and there will be singing. Sounds like an evening fit for all of us Italionatos!

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Hilde Soliani reviews: 1) Il Mio Daisy/Ti Amo Line (Tulipano, Iris, Margerita, Anemone, Ortensia), 2) Teatro Olfactiva line (Bell'Antonio, Vecchi Rosetti, Stecca, Mangiamo dopo Teatro, Sipario).

In the interests of disclosure, I was sent a sample of each scent from the manufacturer.
Pic of Marcello Mastroianni and Monica Vitti via hyper-ware.com. Crema catalan via rusticpalate.com.