My Marie Antoinette Moment – Review: Parfums d’Orsay L’Intrigante

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Olfactoria

If you have not heard a lot about Parfums d’Orsay previously, don’t worry. Neither have I.

Ines sent me a decant of L’Intrigante and I promptly went from initial bewildered awe to all-out obsession.

The house of Parfums d’Orsay is marketed as a traditional perfume line named after Count Alfred d’Orsay (1801-1852), said to be the “most fashionable man in the most fashionable city of the world – London”. He was a Frenchman and reputedly created a perfume or cologne by the name of “Eau de Bouquet”. After his death the company was founded in his honour, most likely in 1908, although there is some controversy about the founding year.

His Eau de Bouquet, a unisex cologne was finally re-named Etiquette Bleue and is still available. The company was revived in 1995 and several perfumes have been added to the line-up since. There is a collection called Les Intenses of which L’Intrigante is a part of.

Created in 2010 by Anne De Puy Raimond, L’Intrigante includes notes of “musk sparkle”, juniper berries, myrrh, black pepper, camellia, red rose, carnation, orange blossom, sandalwood, vanilla, patchouli, white musk and suede.

L’Intrigante is mostly characterized as a fruity-floral, but it is far from your typical representative of the genre. Osmoz says it is a spicy-oriental, which is more what I would say myself. This is a warm, spicy, vanilla and musk-heavy floral that is extremely well blended and therefore hard to categorize.

“A bewitching eau de parfum created in the image of the beguiling temptress, who harnesses her charms for ambitious seduction.”

-from the company website

What I love about L’Intrigante is that it keeps me guessing. When asked what it smells like the best I can come up with is “good”. (Well, I did think a little harder later on, and the results are visible here.)

It is a real perfume-y perfume. So well blended, so smooth and seamless, so abstract that saying “this smells like…” is almost impossible. Trying anyway, I would say it smells warm and sweet, floral and spicy, musky and leathery.

L’Intrigante smells old-fashioned in the best of ways, it smells like the glory days of perfumery, I feel like a lady in waiting at the French court, like a turn-of the century belle taking a walk in Versailles, heck like the Empress Marie Antoinette herself, why be meek, it is only my fantasy, a little narcissism can’t hurt now and then.

L’Intrigante is thoroughly French to me, I see powdered wigs and tight corsages, rouged cheeks and seductive smiles behind beautiful lace fans.

I love L’Intrigante for its mystery, I find myself reluctant to analyze it and curious to find out more about its make up at the same time.

I think I’ll leave the analysis for now and just enjoy my Marie Antoinette moment with L’Intrigante. I highly encourage you to do the same.

Image source: parfumo.de, allmoviephoto.com
Posted in Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Fruity, Oriental, Parfums d'Orsay, Powdery, Spicy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

And The Winner Is…

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Olfactoria

Thank you all so much for entering the Aftelier Haute Claire Giveaway, I really enjoyed reading your creative “duet” ideas.

Sadly, as always, there can only be one winner.
The happy recipient of a generous 5ml sample of Haute Claire Eau de Parfum is (as determined by random.org):

Gisela

Congratulations!
Please get in contact as soon as possible with your mailing address, so I can pass it on to Mandy, who will ship the sample directly.

For all others, thank you for participating, there will be another interesting giveaway soon!

Posted in Giveaway, Ramblings | Tagged | Leave a comment

Peppermint Twist – Review: Le Labo Santal 33

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Olfactoria

Of course Le Labo Santal 33 follows the Le Labo practice of naming a perfume after the ingredient that is the largest component in the formula of 33 in this case, which invariably leads to confusion, since those perfumes tend to smell nothing like their name suggests to the unititated.

Of the 33 notes, Australian sandalwood, papyrus, cedarwood, cardamom, iris, violet, ambrox and leather accord are mentioned. Santal 33 was created in 2011 by Frank Voelkl.

Australian sandalwood is described as being quite different from Indian sandalwood, rather rougher, less creamy-smooth, and with an almost medicinal pungency.

To me Santal 33 starts out smelling strongly of iris and cool spices (cardamom), before starting to exhibit a cool, almost mentholated facet of sandalwood on leather. There is a freshness, a cool breeze running through it. During the development the perfume gets sweeter and sweeter, thanks to violet, on me.

It is most unusual, and very unique. I like it, although it demands attention. It is not a perfume to wear casually and never think about it again. For me at least, there is a constant presence and a slight nudge to my nose whenever I move and smell Santal 33.

The icon that Le Labo wants to evoke with Santal 33 is the Marlboro man. I can see their point, but to me it smells not like my idea of the Marlboro man at all. I see mint candy.

Somehow my skin amplifies the underlying sweetness in Santal 33 and that combined with the menthol-like freshness makes me see peppermint patties and those red-and white after dinner mints American restaurants like to place at the cash register to grab on the way out.

Santal 33 is surprising for me, it is interesting to wear, but not something I would need a bottle, or even a decant of.

From what I have heard and read, Santal 33 seems to wear very differently on different people. What are your experiences with the fragrance?

Image source: liberty.co.uk, recipe2eat.com
Posted in Fragrance Reviews, Le Labo, Woods | Tagged , , , , , | 19 Comments

My Favorite Things – Summer Edition

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Olfactoria

It is high time for the Summer Edition of My Favorite Things.

Perfume: This category is most prone to quick changes. but those two perfumes have been worn the most and loved the most in the past months. Typically for me and my luck, both are very expensive. But quality has its price, and those two are of the highest quality – Aftelier Tango and Xerjoff Lira.

Makeup: In London I fell prey to the seductive lure of Burberry Cosmetics. Elegant and understated, these items are classy and beautiful. I especially love the lipstick in Rosewood (N°4) and the blush in Cameo (N°2).

Skincare: Paula’s Choice Resist skincare products are amazing! I have been using Paula Begoun’s products for years and I stumbled across her books in the 1990ies and I am certainly glad for that. She provides a sensible, trustworthy and indispensable resource in her books as well as online on Beautypedia. Resist is a new addition to her line and I couldn’t be happier with how the products work and how my skin looks. I am no beauty blogger and therefore I refer you to others who do that better. I can only say, those products work for me in every respect and that is why they make it onto the favorites list (and not only in summer, I just thought of including them now 🙂 ).

Music: Laugh at me all you like, but the soundtrack of Moulin Rouge is fantastic! I have a recurring Moulin Rouge phase every now and then. I think the use of known songs in a fitting context is genius. And I admire Ian Mc Ewan for singing so amazingly.

My son is listening to Swan Lake a lot right now, and therefore I am bewitched once again by the beauty of Tchaikovski’s masterpiece.

Speaking of which: Did you see Black Swan? I liked this movie a lot!

TV: Who else thinks the opening sequence of True Blood is genius? The music, the images, truly disturbing and wonderful at the same time. The series itself is over the top weird, bloody and addictive.

What are your favorite things at the moment?

Image source: aftelier.com, thedifferentscent.com, northernlights.com, paulaschoice.com.
Posted in Ramblings, Shopping | Tagged , , | 49 Comments

Two Divas – Review And Giveaway: Aftelier Haute Claire

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Olfactoria

Mandy Aftel has launched a new perfume and all the blogs rally. When Mandy releases something new, that is an occasion to pay attention to, because there is no one comparable out there. Mandy is truly in a league of her own.

Haute Claire is an Eau de Parfum combining two strong materials, that are not usually combined because they easily overpower each other, try to fight for supremacy and generally tend to make a mess in their bid for king of the perfume. But Mandy Aftel has found a way to not only reconcile these two brats, but make them sing in perfect harmony.

The story of Haute Claire’s inception is interesting. In a letter exchange with fellow perfumer Liz Zorn hosted on Nathan Branch’s blog, Haute Claire‘s creation can be followed, its name was suggested by Nathan (it is French for “high” and “clear”) and is a derivation of the name of a famous sword from the 12th century French poetic epic, “The Song of Roland“. (Totally off topic side note: another work of art based on the Song of Roland is Stephen King’s Opus Magnum The Dark Tower, that I love. Not relevant here, just sayin’…)

Haute Claire includes notes of galbanum, ylang ylang, clary sage, lime, orange, honeysuckle, vetiver, ethyl phenyl acetate and vanilla.

When I smelled Haute Claire for the first time I heard angels sing – literally, and they were singing a very real melody. Viens, Mallika, the Flower Duet from Delibes’ opera Lakmé. Nothing portraits Haute Claire so perfectly for me as this piece of music, sung here by two divas, Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca. High and clear indeed.

Mandy Aftel has a tendency to make me speechless, as evidenced with Tango recently, but thankfully there are is music that helps to convey the sublime duet this perfume sings.

Imagine my disappointment when I wore Haute Claire on skin for the first time (after initially testing on paper) and, I don’t know why, my skin chemistry and Haute Claire somehow don’t go together well. Haute Claire is very different on me. Somehow I amplify a slight animalic note, indoles abound and I end up overwhelmed.

But, not to be diverted easily, I enlisted he help of a friend. She wore Haute Claire for two days and was subjected to several sniffings and the outcome is, Ladies and Gentlemen, it worked perfectly on her and we have a new convert. Thankfully on her skin, Haute Claire sings without a hitch, the bitter galbanum and the sweet and lushly ripe ylang ylang dance around each other, gracefully underscored by vetiver and a dash of vanilla.

The lasting power of this Eau de Parfum is very good, one of the longest wearing perfumes in the Aftelier range.

While I am not happy that Haute Claire and I did not get on too well, I absolutely enjoyed smelling it on my friend whose skin allows Haute Claire to shine and fulfill its intended purpose of showcasing this incredible pairing.

If you want to try Mandy’s new Eau de Parfum, you are lucky. Mandy generously offered a 5ml sample of Haute Claire to one reader of Olfactoria’s Travels.

Please leave a comment on this post stating what combination of two materials you would find interesting in a perfume? Which duet would you like to “hear” in a fragrance?

I will pick a winner using random.org on Thursday 28, 8am GMT, the draw is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. Your prize will be shipped directly from Aftelier Perfumes in California.

Image source: aftelier.com, vintagevogue.com
Posted in Aftelier, Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Green | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 94 Comments

Monday Question – What Are Your Five Most Versatile Perfumes?

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Olfactoria

Which five fragrances do you use most often?

Which are the five you really use up, not only sniff at and admire?

What are your go-to perfumes for everyday life?

Which perfumes are the ones you apply without thinking twice, knowing they will work whatever the day brings?

My Answer:

When I have to narrow it down, put all testing and blog-related perfume wearing aside, there are indeed not so many perfumes I trust with getting me through the day without neither boring nor irritating or challenging me.

My five, “don’t think about it, wear it” everyday perfumes for the summer season are:

Esteé Lauder Bronze Goddess

Il Profumo Nuda

Comme des Garcons Kyoto

Hermès Voyage d’Hermès

Parfum d’Empire Equistrius

On these I can see the level go down. How about you?

Image source: gomonews.de
Posted in Monday Question | Tagged , , | 45 Comments

Last Week In Perfume Land – Weekend Link Love

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Olfactoria

Friends of ours relocated to the US last summer. With two small children and a great deal of apprehension they packed up their things, sold everything and moved to New Orleans. I admire and envy them.

We are meeting them today, since they are on vacation in Vienna, I cannot wait to hear how they are doing. If things were just a bit differently, I would do the same. It is the biggest regret of my life, that I never took the chance to live in America for some time, when it would have been more easily possible.

I am holding out for old age now. There is always an Early Bird Special waiting for me in Florida…

Last week in Perfumeland was highly productive, so many articles caught my eye:

Tarleisio on Scent Less Sensibilities wrote about Mandy Aftel’s Parfum Privè. I MUST try this. And she put up reviews of Honoré des Pres Love, Coco and Aftelier Haute Claire (including a giveaway) as well, this week, all very much worth your time.

Ines on All I Am – A Redhead had a guest poster who wrote about the hotly anticipated Tauer collection – Pentachords. Purely coincidental Tara guestposted on the same day here, on Olfactoria’s Travels, don’t miss her beautiful reviews of all three perfumes.

Annemarie on Beauty on the Outside reviews a perfume evoking the talented Andy Tauer in his garden, otherwise known as Reverie au Jardin.

Tommy on The Candy Perfume Boy can be safely categorized as my evil scent twin, which does not make me love him any less at all.

Liam on Personal Odour writes about very, very, no really, very bad smells. Don’t read this before or during a meal!

Persolaise recaps the BBC documentary about perfume. Did you watch it yet? All three episodes can be seen on Youtube! Another interesting post about several Huitième Art collection perfumes by Pierre Guillaume can be found here.

Carrie on Eyeliner on a Cat reviews Aftelier Haute Claire as well, I love her point of view.

Another Perfume Blog found love in Amouage Lyric – finally! Read her beautiful review!

Bonkers About Perfume’s Vanessa has unearthed a Kate Middleton lookalike and analyzes possible perfumed connections in her inimitably hilarious way.

And finally Suzanne writes an interesting review of L’Artisan Parfumeur Mon Numéro 1 on her Perfume Journal.

What are doing this Sunday? I’d love to hear from you!

Posted in Weekend Link Love | Tagged , , | 31 Comments

Sinful – Perfume Shopping At Sündhaft

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Olfactoria

As a fan of Aftelier perfumes I need to be aware of my options.

One such option for European shoppers is the perfume and beauty boutique Sündhaft. Based in Munich as well as online, Sündhaft (meaning sinful) offers a wide variety of niche perfume lines, not the least of which is Aftelier.

Aside from Mandy’s creations, you can find CB-I hate Perfume at suendhaft.com, as well as Calè Fragranze d’Autore, Andrea Maack, 1000Flowers, Anamor, Antica Farmacista, Aroma M, DSH, Heeley, Hilde Soliani, Juliette Has A Gun, Laboratorio Olfattivo, Les Nez, Miller et Berteaux, Six Scents, Tauer Perfumes, Vero Profumo and many others.

Sündhaft also offers cosmetics as well as tea and coffee specialties at their store.

An impressive range…

The shop is run by Jan Hoyer and Thomas Kast who provide a very friendly and knowledgeable service.

Currently there is a sale going on where some nice deals can be had.

All in all a shopping experience I can wholeheartedly recommend.

Disclaimer: This post was written by my own incentive and reflects my satisfaction as a customer only. I was in no way compensated for publishing it.

Image source: http://www.suendhaft.com
Posted in Shopping | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Less Is So Much More – Review: Tauer Perfumes’ Pentachords Collection

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Olfactoria

The following post was written by regular reader, commenter and perfume lover extraordinaire Tara from London. I am delighted she agreed to share her experiences with the coveted new Tauer collection with us and I hope she will agree to write for Olfactoria’s Travels from time to time. Welcome Tara and thank you for this wonderful post!

I was lucky enough to win a prize on Andy Tauer’s blog recently, which included 3 samples of the upcoming collection from Tauer Perfumes. The Pentachords (five chords) Collection consists of three fragrances, each of which contains five notes and each note is a single synthetic molecule.  You might think these compositions could be pretty basic affairs but remember they are in the hands of the renowned indie perfumer, Andy Tauer.

Tauer’s creative concept and challenge to himself was to reduce perfume down to just a few ingredients of the highest quality. In doing so, he proves that synthetics in perfumery definitely do not have to mean cheap, and that more ingredients do not necessarily make for a better end product. Less only means more in this case. The names, Verdant, White and Auburn perfectly represent their scents as well as the Collection’s simplicity.

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Verdant

Notes:  dewy leaves, suave leather, brown tobacco, sweet earth and vibrant amber

Somehow this combination of notes manages to conjure up an entire forest of ivy, resonating lushness and fecundity. Now, you are not walking by a forest, or sniffing ivy on the breeze, you are standing in the midst of dense, green vines, rays of sunlight are glinting through the canopy and the scent of damp soil is rising from beneath your feet. The depth and pungency of Verdant is quite astounding. It is entirely natural smelling, as are all three fragrances despite their synthetic nature. This could well be the green to end them all.

————————–

White

Notes:  violet blossom, orris root, bourbon vanilla, amber gris and warm woods.

White is nuzzle-your-own-wrist yummy and I think it may prove to be the most popular of the trio. Though be assured there are no freeloaders here! The violet flower and orris root are most prominent early on and are so beautiful they make me swoon. The soft base of vanilla, amber gris and warm woods adds a fair amount of sweetness and some powder. It evokes the dreamy feeling of sipping milky hot chocolate in the snow.

——————-

Auburn

Notes: citrus blossom, warm cinnamon, fruity tobacco, dry amber and creamy sandalwood

I‘ll admit, I am not generally a fan of cinnamon notes in perfume but Auburn changes all that – and how!. This is not the nose-tickling, harshly spicy cinnamon that makes me want to back off (and sneeze). This is the softest, most welcoming cinnamon ever and manages to be both fresh and warm at the same time. The orange citrus cuts through the sweetness and the supporting notes are rather dry, so this does not remind me of the bakery, but it is comforting none the less. Auburn is a strikingly original fruity cinnamon and Andy himself says it makes “a statement” which it certainly does.

——————–

There is not a lot of evolution with any of the three, which is to be expected when there are just five ingredients but, the emphasis does shift somewhat between notes over time. Longevity is extremely good and sillage is enough to get you compliments (and I have) but not enough to overwhelm.

What I like about this minimalist Pentachords Collection is that it showcases Tauer’s artistry and the outstanding results you can get from top-notch synthetics. With so few ingredients, there’s nowhere to hide. I am very hopeful that there will be further additions to the Collection at a later date.  Andy says he has five “in his books” but chose to release the three most diverse.  After experiencing the quality of these three, I am keeping my fingers crossed.

The Pentachords come in 50ml and are exclusive to Rome’s Campomarzio 70 until mid September when they will become available from the  Tauer website and retail stockists.

Image source: basenotes.net, http://www.resilientearth.com, thundafunda.com, Cinnamon courtesy of Photo8.com
Posted in By Tara, Fragrance Reviews, Green, Spicy, Tauer Perfumes, Woods | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 51 Comments

All Woman – Review: Parfums MDCI La Belle Hèlène

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Olfactoria

I have been circling Parfums MCDI for a while, not approaching for reasons of price as well as the fact that no single scent really spoke to me, from reading about it alone. Until La Belle Hèlène that is.

It is probably mostly the fact that it is a Duchaufour creation, which ups my interest factor at all times, but the review at Bois de Jasmin, likening La Belle Hèlène to Traversée du Bosphore particularly piqued my interest back then. Not because I loved Traversée du Bosphore so much, but because I did not. Another Duchaufour fragrance, this time for L’Artisan Parfumeur, Traversée du Bosphore was lovely in theory and I also rather like the candle (see my review here), but the perfume turned into a loukhoum festival on my skin that I could not stand, although I liked the idea behind the scent.

Created in 2010 by Bertrand Duchaufour, La Belle Hèlène includes notes of pear accord, aldehydes, tangerine, lime blossom, rose essence, osmanthus absolute, ylang-ylang, orris butter, hawthorn, Mirabelle plum, myrrh, vetiver, patchouli, cedar, amber, oak moss absolute, white musks, sandalwood and licorice wood.

La Belle Hèlène starts out smelling like a sweet pear, juicy and just a bit tart. The base clamors from the depths right away, and a sumptuous, sweet and powdery almost-gourmand base it is. In between the pear and the powder, rose and osmanthus are sitting pretty, surrounded by a tiny hint of overripe banana-esque ylang-ylang and juicy plum. The base is a dark mossy-green leather, old and well-used, soft and smooth but durable and hardy.

This is not a happy scent, La Belle Hèlène is rather dark and shadowed. It evokes the idea of being heavy, but isn’t. It evokes the idea of being sweet, but isn’t. La Belle Hèlène is complicated and contradictory, but that makes it interesting and not easy to place.

Good.

La Belle Hèlène is an abstract gourmand that treads the exact middle ground between yummy and perfume-y. Just how I like it. It is comforting, but sensual, soft and powdery-smooth. It is sensual and maternal, it is reminiscent of both bedroom and kitchen.

La Belle Hèlène is all woman.

I used this image for its smooth perfection, the face of a mythical woman who inspired a bloody war and meant death for many. Although the cold stone belies the power and the passion of this woman, the perfume breathes her warmth and strength.

La Belle Hèlène has fantastic staying power, it is fairly linear and is with me for the entire day. Were it not for the investment factor, I’d put it on my list, being as it is, I cherish my sample, but use it, not squirrel it away for hard times, it deserves to be worn, it asks to be worn. I won’t cry my eyes out if it is gone, but I’ll sigh deeply and hope for fate to bring another sample to my doorstep at some point in the future.

Sample provided for purposes of review by First in Fragrance.
Image source: fragrantica.com, Helena via 
Posted in Chypre, Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Fruity, Gourmand, Oriental, Parfums MDCI | Tagged , , , , , , , | 27 Comments