Oh my deer! by Baruti: musk reimagined

A dirty mind is a joy forever, they say! The newest Baruti perfume, Oh my deer!, a play upon the expression and the deer musk ingredient prized in perfumery, started as an exercise in recreating the scent of deer musk. That ages old animalistic substance of mythical dimensions which lend such a sensuality to perfume that all scent is feeling...

The accord was quickly done, but releasing it as a standalone fragrance felt boring and redundant, so a whole composition was built around it.

Focusing on contrasts, the perfume opens very bright and radiant, then slowly morphs in this sensual enveloping scent that provides excitement and comfort at the same time. Just like the song The Honeymooners by Lucky Jim says “My body be your focus, your labor be my joy,“ or simply put: No pain, no gain.

 The new scent, Oh my deer! is presented as a beautiful mess by its creator, the perfumer Spyros Drosopoulos – "sexy, sensual, and a little bit kinky."

What can I say? I'm sold. :)

The olfactory notes of Baruti Oh my deer! include spicy accents of black pepper, Sichuan pepper, as well as aldehydes and metallic notes. It then radiates with a lily-of-the-valley accord, before seguing into the warmer embrace of incense, amber, vanilla, a soft barnyard accord, and lots and lots of musk...

Narciso Rodriguez Narciso For Her: fragrance review

There are brands conceived to claim something very potent, to break with the mold of their times, and to establish themselves in the market, spawning a thousand variations on their theme in their wake. Narciso Rodriguez Narciso For Her is not only a sort of a pioneer (albeit indirectly), coming out in the market as a "nouveau chypre"—a modern take on the mossy "chypre" family of perfumes—but also one of its most radiant representatives: it's hard not to notice a wearer of Narciso For Her, even though the scent itself isn't particularly pungent in any of its broken-apart constituents; not too harsh, too sweet nor too bitter, it's however very noticeable and radiates for miles.

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Technically Narciso For Her is a floral woody musk, not a proper "chypre" perfume (chypres are a classic fragrance family of very perfume-y scents with a floral heart sandwiched between fresh bergamot on top and the tension of trickle-like, leather-smelling labdanum resin and mossy, inky oakmoss, from a parasite growing on oaks, in the less volatile stages of the fragrance's development) Narciso For Her instead constructs the scent on vetiver (a Far East grass with a fresh and earthy feel) and fractalized patchouli, meaning a "cleaned up" patchouli essence, manipulated in the lab to divest it of its more hippie-like facets for which the natural extract, with its dirty chocolate overtones, is famous.
The floral component in Narciso is all a fantasy of abstraction: the orange blossom and osmanthus notes are registering as an intense sweetness, but you cannot bring yourself to proclaim "this is X flower, that is Y." Fans often say it doesn't smell like perfume per se and this is its major draw.

The aromachemical Amberlyn (a variation on woody amber notes, another name for Ambrox) plus a cluster of musks supports the floralcy, but most importantly gives tremendous diffusion and lasting power, without gazing everyone in close proximity, the pitfall of many a potent fragrance. The ingenious quality of Ambrox is its ability to come into and out of focus at intervals without being perceived as anything concrete; the person wearing the scent or someone sitting close by that person isn't constantly aware of the potent aromachemical. This allows for the necessary breathing space, alongside the clean egyptian musk at the core of the Narciso For Her scent, but also the necessary time chasm that gives us license to re-appreciate a beautiful thing we have come in contact with. "Look. Turn away. Now look again." If that is the definition of a beautiful human being's impression on those who pass him/her by on the street, Narciso For Her is its analogy in scent terms; smell, now forget about it, then smell again and be charmed anew.

For a breakdown of the concentrations (eau de toilette, eau de parfum, musk oil etc) & flankers of Narciso Rodriguez Narciso For Her fragrance, refer to THIS GUIDE.

More Narciso Rodriguez fragrance reviews and news HERE.
Musk fragrances guide and reviews HERE.

Serge Lutens Chergui: Hay Heaven-Fragrance Review

Oddly enough, though I love both orientals and Serge Lutens fragrances on the whole, both of which I own a rather significant collection, I rarely reach for Chergui. I attribute this to its not finding it challenging enough or wistful enough; Lutens fragrances in particular either lure me with their pensive, introspective mode (Iris Silver Mist, Douce Amere, L'Orpheline and La Myrrhe...) or with their exultation of taking a chosen artistic direction to its natural apex (Fleurs d'oranger, El Attarine, Arabie, Sarrasins and Tubereuse Criminelle...). Chergui nevertheless enjoys the kind of popularity that makes me revisit it at disjointed timeposts...when something new and terrifying lies in the horizon or when I'm particularly congratulatory of a penitent interval.

Lutens promises the exoticism of the east with Chergui (ascending from the name onwards...) but delivers a quite restrained composition that is not too challenging. It melds with the skin and complements it, plus it's mildly sweet (very popular with modern audiences) and subtly powdery like a greige sweater that's comfy enough to hide one's melancholia behind.

The Lutensian story behind the fragrance is certainly highly visual:

"A fire fanned by the wind, a desert in flames. As if bursting from the earth, Chergui, a desert wind, creates an effect that involves suction more than blowing, carrying plants, insects and twigs along in an inescapable ascent. Its full, persistent gusts crystallize shrubs, bushes and berries, which proceed to scorch, shrivel up and pay a final ransom in saps, resins and juices. Night falls on a still-smoldering memory, making way for the fragrant, ambery and candied aromas by the alchemist that is Chergui."

The facet which is dominating on my skin is the coumarin (what we refer to as mown hay). Indeed hay absolute plays a prominent role in the composition, but it's still pertinent to stress that on my skin Chergui by Lutens is not a pipe tobacco dream oriental with masculine proclivities as sometimes described, but a cuddly roll in the hay that sticks on you for long after the deed. It's soft and warm and lasts for a full 48 hours, which is quite impressive and a good recommendation for people who have longevity issues with fragrances in general.

It has been remarked upon before but the shift from the rather medicinal opening (in the older formula) into the fluffier hay core is a point of tension. It's the one and major change that happens in a fragrance that remains mostly linear on my skin. Still it presents its own "a ha!" moment.

Chergui by Serge Lutens is dry, befitting the name but at once lush and dense, and it brings to mind a certain opacity to the proceedings which is typical for most Lutens fragrances, which could be easily attributed to an oriental character; even the florals! Chergui is redolent of oil paintings by Dutch masters, somber yet textured, and as if you can taste it. I find this a quality that resonates with Lutens buyers and therefore Chergui is probably a safe purchase.

The Body Shop Red Musk: fragrance review

When I first discovered The Body Shop I was a teenager. This also happened to be a time when the company was run by its founder, Anita Roddick, and not by the conglomerate that is L'Oreal. It gave a wholesomeness to the concept which I sorely miss.

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I also miss (sorely!) some of those fabulous, early perfume oils with imaginative and totally incongruent names: Japanese Musk, Azmaria, Ananya and Woody Sandalwood (the latter was a huge hit on my crush!). These are no more... Thankfully, in an array of mainstream and much more forgettable scents that get discontinued at seemingly lighting speed, there are still a couple The Body Shop fragrances that manage to capture my interest. The latest has been Red Musk.

I discovered Red Musk on the recommendation of a friend from a fragrance board and I thank her for it. I bought the perfume oil on the spot and didn't regret it. The advertising copy insists this is a spicy and unconventional fragrance for fiery situations, but what I get is the cozy core of the original White Musk powdery scent drydown, ornamented with the lushest tobacco and dried fruits overlay. In a way it's like a lighter, subtler Burberry London for Men, a very fetching scent in its own right. Red Musk is like a fluffy terry robe that a handsome man who smokes pipe tobacco with apricot flavor has worn for a few days; it has that soft, enveloping lived-in feeling that is both a consolation and a longing, and I happen to be a total sucker for this kind of scents. Maybe you are, too?

Dame Perfumery Dark Horse: short fragrance review

Dark Horse strikes me as the sort of thing you grab on the way to a very promising rendez-vous of an erotic nature. Ladies, beware of men using this intoxicating blend of citrus, burnished woods and cinnamon-cloves spice; they can turn very addictive, very, very soon!

pic via pinterest.com

On the other hand, you don't have to be a Dame (in the British sense of the word; I'm punning on the name of the founder of the house, in case it got confusing) to appreciate its insinuating message. But i's no deterrent either. Dark Horse is quite classy in its sexiness for either sex, and delicious in its implications. It doesn't quite show it, but it's a player. Hence, Dark Horse, I guess.

Perfumer's Base: Animalis by Synarome

Largely unknown and thought of as coinnoisseur stuff, perfumers bases are simply ready-made "chords" of complimentary ingredients which create a unison effect for use when composing perfumes. It both aids with time constraints and it saves the trouble of having to reinvent a desired but tried& tested effect all over again, so the perfumer can concentrate on achieving something beyond the been there, done that. Legendary female perfumer Germaine Cellier, for reasons pertaining to both syllogisms, opted to compose with lots of perfumers' bases, resulting in a contemporary difficulty to replicate her formulae, as many of the ingredients for those bases or the bases themselves are now defunct or substituted. Nevertheless, some bases, such as the famous Mousse de Saxe base for Caron, the succulent peach base Persicol and the naughty Animalis by Synarome, have created their own history and have survived.

Perfume molecule producing company Synarome was founded in 1926 by Hubert Fraysse (of the prolific and renowned Fraysse clan) who created the famous speciality Ambrarome Absolu (a densely animalic chord reminiscent of natural ambergris). Nactis acquired Synarome in 2006, creating Nactis Synarome, who continue to provide fragrance compound specialties.

Synarome's most infamous classic "perfumer's base" though is Animalis, from which the term "animalic fragrances" has sprung; a feral, thick ambery yellow liquid, mostly insoluble in water but easily soluble in alcohol, with prominent civet and castoreum (both traditionally animal-derived products),  a cluster of musks and with costus root, a plant essence that has an uncanny resemblence to a mix of unwashed human hair, goat smell and dirty socks. The presence of phenolic-smelling, para cresol molecules also indicates a tannery tar & barnyard "stink". And yet he effect of the finished accord is envelopingly fur-like, powdery musky, warm, powerful, rich, decadent and yes, very animalic-smelling.

To get a feel for the classic accord, Animalis is featured in vintage Piguet's Visa, in all its "dirty" glory, created by Jean Carles (the man responsible for the skank-fest that is the classic Tabu, "un parfum de puta", a whore's brew). I also believe that Weil's Zibeline (a characteristic "parfum fourrure") features some of it in its core. Other vintages featuring lots of it is the rare Soft Youth Dew, one of two declinations of the classic Lauder Youth Dew in the 1970s (the other declination, the Intense Youth Dew was actually marketed later as... Cinnabar!, as per Octavian) and the less rare Mais Oui by Bourjois. It's also part of the mysterious urinous & musky allure of Kouros by Yves Saint Laurent (which indeed features a healthy dose of costus under phenyl acetate paracresol). But as much as it was favored during the classic era of perfumery, the traditional Animalis base fell out of favor in the middle of the 1980s.

Perfumery restrictions, which have axed the use of costus and eradicated the use of real animal ingredients, required a recalibration of the actual formula of Animalis, now allowed to be featured in up to 4% of the compound for perfume making. The base's stability has allowed it to not only be used in fine fragrance but also can be featured in shampoo, deodorant and creams. Modern Animalis perfume base includes 10-undecanal, linalool, alpha-pinene, β-Caryophyllene, limonene, heaps of cedrol and cedrene alpha. Mysteriously enough the final result ends up smelling animalic (smelling the fragrances containing it confirms this). The modern Animalis, animalic-smelling but without animal-derived ingredients, is featured in Vierge et Toreros by Etat Libre d'Orange and possibly the masculine Twill Rose by Parfums de Rosine.

For accuracy's sake, Synarome currently has not one but two distinct Animalis bases in their arsenal (the breakdown of ingredients above pertains to the first one): Animalis 1745-03 (which is Tonkin musk smelling, which is to say very warm, musky with a leathery nuance) and Animalis 5853 with woody & sensuous notes. The latest version of the former is Animalis 1745-03 TEC.
International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) offers a similar competitive product, called Cherval, but that one is less cedary and even more powerful. 

It's interesting to note that Animalis has not only been used in oriental perfumes, as would be expected them being the quintessential sensuous, langoruous fragrances evoking sexy thoughts, but also in citrus fragrances to exalt their fresh notes by way of contrast.

photo by Willy Ronis 1970 Nu au tricot raye

Maria Candida Gentile Cinabre: fragrance review

Much like Sophia Loren's is a spicy, fiery beauty that defies mere prettiness in favor of exquisite lines, panoramic vistas and hypnotic eyes, Cinabre by Maria Candide Gentile, a force to reckon with, is the type of Italian fragrance I love to love. There's just no way around it; this is a romantic, sexy rose perfume to turn even rose-dubious hearts fire-engine-red with desire!

Cinabre tricks one into thinking it is a cinnamon amber composition and even though there is the intense spice element present and the warmth of ambery resins indeed, one would be mistaken to view it so. Cinabre is a big, honking spicy rose the size of a house and gorgeous for it! Proper Italian fragrances have a sort of lived-in coziness, sunny and outgoing like their compatriots, appearing from a distance less distingué than an aloof French, but at heart they reveal an intricate, complex structure that can be even superior than their neighbour's.

The initial top note in Cinabre is intensely spicy in a peppery way, short and hot, and soon cooled by the more sophisticated touch of ginger (these are clearly sequential stages, pay attention and watch them deliciously unfold, as signora Gentile weaves them artfully into the plot). The rose is lush, all out, sensuous, a deep red rose that accompanies erotic messages delivered under the cloak of night. This sexy rose blend is no accident: it blends essences of many varieties, Moroccan Splendens, May rose absolute with vanilla and myrrh into an embrace that is strong, but a little dangerous at the same time. The resinous elements bring out an orientalized effect to the rose, eschewing the powdery or pot-pourri associations one might have with the rose flower.

This is a fragrance built italianate style, with corbels at every projecting eave and belvedere to calmly show off exquisite ingredients put to artful use. Bravissima, signora Gentile!

Notes for Maria Candida Gentile Cinabre
top: ginger and pepper
middle: opulent rose accord
base: opoponax, benzoin and vanilla.

pic of Sophia Loren via MaryLou.Cinnamon

Perfume Quote: "All I can think about is her wearing nothing except that perfume."

Fragrance and scent in general plays a big role in what guys find attractive (or not) on a woman and on a recent Shine article titled "10 Beauty Moves Guys Find Sexy" it features prominently. Experiences range from the clean & scrubbed effect to having perfume lingering on a pillow...

"I don't know how she does it, but she always smells delicious," says Brent, 29, of his girlfriend, Cate. "Even when she just gets out of the shower!"
"I love inhaling her right here," says Damien, 35, pointing to the area of his girlfriend Veronica's neck right under her ear, where she says she applies Burberry's The Beat perfume every morning. "She smells amazing, all sexy and soft."
Mike, 30, loves his fiancée Nadine's Jo Malone Vanilla & Anise perfume. "All her stuff smells like it" he says. "I love it when I wake up and she's gone, I can still smell it on her pillow."
Tyler, 26, says his girlfriend "asked for a bottle of Stella Nude by Stella McCarthy for her birthday, and now I know why. She smells incredible in it. It's seriously like an aphrodisiac for me. All I can think about is her wearing nothing except that perfume."

Ladies, you have been warned!