Hallowed – Review: Tauer Perfumes Incense Extreme

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Olfactoria

I was looking for a perfume fitting for todays holiday: Epiphany, the Day of the Three Holy Kings, as it is called here.

And, to give credit where it is due, I was inspired by the blogging project We Three Kings, to look at incense perfumes with a new interest. And I am only at the beginning, I have a slew of incense based perfume samples coming, so this will be a theme you will hear more about in the bleak grey months of winter that are still ahead of us.

 

Andy Tauer is known for his love of incense and it is through his creations I have first gotten to know it better and learned to appreciate and love it.

Incense Extreme is a straight forward incense perfume, and that is how I like it. If I want incense I want to smell it as unadulterated as possible. Incense Extreme starts with a breath of coriander and petitgrain over the smooth and clear incense, the base is ambergris and woods, that retain and stabilize the incense for long hours. It is never a good idea to apply a Tauer scent and want it gone in an hour. That is not going to happen. Ever.

Thankfully they are so good, that I enjoy wearing them for the long haul, twelve hours is quite the norm for any his perfumes.

This is one perfume that doesn’t show a lot of development, it is almost linear and that is good. Incense always evokes associations of churches in me, but this is different. It is an outdoorsy kind of incense, clear, strong, but at the same time airy and not stuffy or stifling.

It is perfectly unisex, not too masculine, as many incense fragrances can lean in that direction.

I like to wear Incense Extreme at night, to bed. I love how it is with me whenever I turn. I am aware of its presence in phases of being half asleep, half awake (trust me my nights are not smooth sailing), which I find comforting and bracing at the same time.

Incense Extreme gives me a feeling of calm, dark grey quiet, of dusk in a forest, breathing in the misty air, a column of smoke slowly spiraling upwards. Being all alone, and enjoying it. I wear it when I want this sense of contented loneliness, that is sometimes hard to come by at this (very long) moment in my life.

Picture Source: “Foggy Forest” wallpaper via walldigger.com, thank you!
Posted in Fragrance Reviews, Incense, Tauer Perfumes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Back To The Future – Review: Robert Piguet Futur

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Olfactoria

I always had a healthy respect for Robert Piguet perfumes.

That involved mainly to stay away from them. I had a traumatic encounter with Fracas once, that seemed to have scarred me for life. And out of a kind of clan liability I avoided all of Fracas’ siblings too. No Bandit for me, and no Futur.

I am on my way exploring the Green facet right now, so of course Futur popped up left and right. I also comes highly recommended by Marina, so it was time to break the Piguet embargo. It was unjustified anyway. Maybe even Fracas and I can be friends one day. Okay, that is probably taking it too far 😉

Futur was first released in the 1960ies, in 2009 in was re-released in a reworked form created by Aurèlien Guichard, notes include bergamot, neroli, violet, jasmine, ylang ylang, vetiver, cedar, and patchouli.

First of all,  Futur is not necessarily what I expected, namely a massively green fragrance, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it.

It is an old-fashioned perfume in the best sense of the word.

Futur’s initial blast is indeed green, very much so, like crushed stems and leaves, and I love it. The crispness and pungency of galbanum (not listed, but I seem to smell it) paired with bergamot is bracing, almost bitter but entirely lovely. It goes away so fast, though!

I was hoping for a green-all-the-way perfume, but that is not what Futur is, soon it takes a turn towards floral, a classic bouquet of jasmine, rose and a hefty dose (at least to my nose) of ylang-ylang take over the stage, nothing soft about those flowers too, at this stage Futur is almost too loud for me, but the attention seeking flowers get sleepy after a while and retire.

In the base some green reappears in a more somber variant with vetiver and cedar, still heavily tinged with ylang-ylang, but the character has entirely changed.

The crisp, almost haughty and unapologetically radically green beginning, that I love so much, is irrevocably gone, replaced with a more enigmatic base, no longer exuberant, but more murky and almost pensive in character and also very sweet (at least on me, but I tend to amplify sweetness.)

Color wise in my head, this perfume turns from bright green, to almost hot pink in the heart to a greenish brown in the drydown. Very interesting, very unexpected, but not the green I was hoping for.

In my disappointment I am in all likelihood not doing Futur justice, for it is really good. A very classical and elegant, very old-school and traditional perfume with an edge that keeps it interesting. It is just not green all the way.

It is hardly the fault of a perfume when it doesn’t fulfill my expectations, is it?

I like Futur and it will be worn. Like every fragrance it takes a certain mood to come to life for me. I will seek it out on days when I feel an inner need to assert myself, to show strength, to demonstrate power, that would make Futur the ideal companion.

As for my desire for greener pastures though, the search continues…

Picture source: robertpiguetparfums.com: Image of Dior dress from the 1960ies via myvintagevogue.com, some rights reserved, thank you!

Posted in Fragrance Reviews, Green, Robert Piguet | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Perfume Paradise – Shopping in Vienna’s “Le Parfum”

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Olfactoria

For my perfume needs there is a perfect location to be found in Vienna. Right in the heart the city on Petersplatz there is a lovely, little boutique called “Le Parfum”.

They stock an impressive range of niche and hard to find lines. For a complete brand list click here. The sales assistants are very friendly and helpful and recommended many a great perfume for me. They are also very generous when it comes to samples, they know that the best way to get a perfumista to return is handing out samples 😉

Some lines are sadly missing from the line up, I would love to see Tauer Perfumes, or luxury brand Puredistance would find a perfect home there too, in my opinion, since they do not sell their perfume at the lounge any longer. Or what about MDCI?

But on the whole I am really glad that there is such a gem to be found in my home town. If you ever visit Vienna be sure to save an hour for a visit to “Le Parfum”.

Disclosure: I am in no way affiliated with Le Parfum other than as a customer. I receive no compensation in any form for this article.

Image source: http://www.leparfum.at, thank you!
Posted in Shopping | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

That Name Is Evocative Enough – Review: Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Olfactoria

Strange title today, huh?

But it is true, Iris Silver Mist is such a great and poetic name, nothing I could come up with could be any more indicative of the mood this perfume gives off, any more evocative of its feel.

There are many Lutens perfumes I love, equally many that I hate. He and his work seems to be nothing I can be indifferent towards. It is all or nothing, love or hate.

Iris Silver Mist is love. Serge has a few perfumes that are not part of the Moroccan canon, as I call them. All those heavy, dense, intricately woven and dark orientals, of which I like some, but many are just too much for me, they make up the largest part of his oeuvre.

And then there are some that do not fit into this mold, Iris Silver Mist is the oldest of these outsiders (1994), Bas de Soie the youngest (2010).

Iris Silver Mist was created not with Christopher Sheldrake, but with perfumer Maurice Roucel, which also sets it apart from the others.

Funnily enough Roucel is also chiefly known for opulent, highly orchestrated and complicated perfumes often in the oriental genre.

And these two endeavored to create a perfume that is so delicate and ethereal, a gauzy, airy, barely there, gossamer light, silvery presence, that makes me swoon (and throw around adjectives like there is no tomorrow). And for all its misty glory, Iris Silver Mist is not floating without anchor, on the contrary, it is rooted deeply in wet, black earth, reflecting its tenacity and power of endurance.

I could write another five hundred words about Iris Silver Mist, it moves me to great bursts of eloquence or massive logorrhea, depending on the viewpoint. 😉

It is not often though, that a perfume completely bewitches me, lets me forget or even more – not care at all – about its composition, about notes or whatnot. I just want to breathe it in, be enveloped in it and enjoy it as it is.

No analyzing, no dissecting, no post mortem on this one.

I am sorry to say that it is only available through Serge Lutens’ Paris Boutique at the Palais Royal Shiseido, their online store ships throughout the EU. That is one good thing we Europeans can boast of. 😉 Update, July 2013: In the meantime Serge Lutens bell jars are also available in the US at Barney’s and through the Lutens website.

And for the obsessive-compulsive among us (okay, I am one of those) here are the notes: iris pallida root, galbanum, cedar, sandalwood, clove, vetiver, musk, benzoin, incense, and white amber.

Picture source:  sergelutens.com, Morning Mist via Eaglegifts Galore, some rights reserved, thank you!
Posted in Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Green, Serge Lutens | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Larger Than Life – Tauer Perfumes Carillon Pour Un Ange

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Olfactoria

I have a sample of Carillon Pour Un Ange, and I have had it for quite some time now. I never had the time or the impetus to try it, since I was saving it for spring, wanting to work through all my cold weather perfumes first. Then, craving something greener, more spring-like, I happened upon my sample. Thank the Lord!

And Andy Tauer.

I should have known, it is a Tauer perfume after all, and from experience I can say: Andy doesn´t do anything by halves when it comes to his creations. And a half-measure this is decidedly not…

Carillon Pour Un Ange is the perfumers take on lily of the valley (notes include rose, ylang ylang, lilac, green lily of the valley accord, jasmine, leather, ambergris, moss and woods) such an innocent, little flower with such power as we know since the late, I mean original, Diorissimo.

In Tauer´s hands lily of the valley becomes larger than life. A glorious hyper-muguet that combines innocence with knowing entirely too much, shyness with boldness, white, green and black, it is all in there and it smells great to boot 😉

Opening with a burst of GREEN, Carillon soon heralds in the sweet, angelic whiteness of lily of the valley, from stem to petal, adding the black, wet soil for good measure. The muguet accord sits comfortably on the now already famous base, and it is – in best Tauer fashion – here to stay. After twelve hours I still smell traces on my arm.

It is unmistakably assertive and self-assured, but at the same time elegant and tender and simply lovely. It doesn´t need to scream to command attention, but does it by simply entering the room, if it were a woman, that is a kind I would like to be.

Until I am there, I let Carillon Pour Un Ange speak for me and earn the compliments.

Carillon is at the moment only available for pre-sale directly at Tauerperfumes.com, 15ml Eau de Parfum riche, not yet in the gorgeous flacon, but it is slated to become part of the Hommage line in the red bottle. Samples are also available at Andy´s site. As I have heard it is to be launched early in 2011, when exactly I don´t know. (I just hope it is soon, because it is my favorite Tauer to date and I really want the pretty bottle, since I am shallow and obsessive-compulsively wanting this to go together with my other Tauer bottle ;))

I highly recommend to try this if you have the chance. As for putting the “spring back in my step” after this already long and cold and grey winter – it succeeds perfectly.

I see the world through green-tinted glasses. 🙂

Picture sources: Wallcoo.com some rights reserved, thank you!

Posted in Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Green, Tauer Perfumes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Monday Question: Are you Easily Bored By A Perfume?

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Olfactoria

Do you grow tired of a particular scent quickly?

Do you crave change?

How long do you usually wear one scent?

Do you suffer from perfume attention deficit? 😉

My Answers:

This probably comes not as a big surprise, but I am afraid that I do indeed suffer from perfume attention deficit disorder. But lucky for me (and you) the cure is easy: Just get more perfume! 😉

Seriously, though, I have a very short attention span concerning scents, I like the change, I like the challenge of something new, I like to discover new frontiers. Thankfully there is always something new on the horizon. The industry caters to people like me.

Sometimes (coincidentally when perusing my credit card statements) I wish it were different. I wish I could be the person who seeks out something to love and makes it part of her forever or for a long time at least.

On the other hand, it is only perfume after all. It is there to have fun with, to use it to enhance a mood or see yourself in a new way.

I shouldn’t be too hard on myself 😉

Picture source: gomonews.de some rights reserved, thank you!

Posted in Monday Question | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Last Week In Perfumeland – Weekend Link Love

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Olfactoria

This was the last week of 2010. Bloggers near and far published their Best Of lists, but aside from those many interesting articles found their way into my reading list.

Let´s see what we have, shall we?

For a round-up of all the Best of lists see Danielle´s blog, she put all the must reads in one place.

Victoria on EauMG did an excellent review of Bois 1920 Sushi Imperiale, a strangely misnamed, but very interesting oriental.

Chicken Freak´s Obsessions is a blog I only recently discovered and really like. Her review of Hermes Hiris made me seek out a sample.

Joan Elaine of Redolent of Spices take us on a journey through her year in fragrance.

Amelia takes us on one of her time travels on her beautiful blog “The Vintage Perfume Vault”, this time around Carven´s lesser known gem Vert et Blanc is explored.

I also recommend checking out the Best of lists, especially Bois de Jasmin´s wonderful article about her explorations in smell and flavor is outstanding.

And finally Brian’s look in the rearview mirror of 2010 is another great testament to his writing skills and courageous (and spot-on) opinions. Read it!

Next week we will be feeling a breath of early spring air here on Olfactoria´s Travels. I have had it with winter for the moment, and therefore we will have a look at some great fragrances that help me see green again, like in the image above 🙂

See you all (I hope)!

 

Picture source: Photo8.com, all rights reserved, thank you very much!

Posted in Weekend Link Love | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Paris-Oregon-Vienna: Vintage Guerlain On The Road

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Olfactoria

The Christmas mail overload was to blame that I found another lovely gift in the mail only yesterday, but I couldn’t be happier anyway.

What better way to greet 2011, than smelling of Shalimar that is 43 years old?

My friend and fellow blogger Danielle from Oregon, was so generous as to send me samples of several concentrations of her vintage (1967) Shalimar collection as well as a large sample of vintage L´Heure Bleue.

I love how she packaged it!

I really appreciate her kindness. Blogging has opened so many new doors for me and I met lovely and like-minded people, who are generous to boot.

I will endeavor to compare all the different incarnations of my beloved Shalimar, in a post soon.

Thank you very much, Dee. Happy New Year! 🙂

P.S.  Dee also included a decant of Laurence Dumont Tendre Madeleine. I must confess that I had never heard of it before. It turns out to be a lovely gourmand scent, that seems to be ideal for layering purposes. I like it.

Picture source: my own

Posted in Ramblings | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

2011 – New Year, New Perfume, New Love

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Olfactoria

January 1, 2011, very early morning…

The first day of the year is so innocent. Nothing keeping you down (yet), no grave thoughts (yet), no pressing things to do (yet), no children screaming for you (yet), no cranky husband grumbling (yet).

Everything is quiet and white and new. Like a freshly made bed, crisp and fragrant.

Like an undisturbed field of freshly fallen snow, glittering and cold.

What does this scenario smell like?

My first answer is Puredistance I, but I’ll refrain from saying it, because I don’t want to bore you by repeating myself, so I will look further this time.

What does it smell like?

Like Snow White as in L’Eau d’Hiver? Like falling snow as in Teint de Neige? Like a walk in the woods as in Incense Rosé? Like the white flour of Bois Farine? Yes, yes, yes and yes, but that is old news, too.

What does it smell like? What does the color white smell like? What does quiet smell like? What does serenity smell like?

I’d like you to tell me. What is the best fragrance for this kind of mood, this kind of scene in your opinion? What could be my new perfume love for this cold January of 2011?

I’m curious what you love right now.

I have to go now, children start screaming, husband starts grumbling, thing outside are still white though. Serenity Now!

Picture source: top-wetter.de, laurenoutloud.com, some rights reserved, thank you!

Posted in Ramblings | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Happy New Year! – Review: Caron Bellodgia

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Olfactoria

Today is the last day of 2010 (I am fairly certain you did not need me to point that out, but bear with me ;)). This year went by in a flash, it seems the older I get the faster life is sprinting by, it pains me to be uttering all these platitudes, that I always abhorred when they came from my parents, but (and you did not need me to  point this out either) they are true.

So, despite getting older and not much the wiser, I am happy today and will celebrate tonight (not as raucous as you might think, but it´ll involve a huge chunk of beef prepared by my husband, who has been looking forward to this task for months, and some champagne). The venue is terribly glamorous – our kitchen, with the children hopefully sleeping despite the fireworks going off all around the city.

What fragrance will I be wearing?

Something gloriously happy, bright red, uplifting and empowering: A carpet of red carnations in the sunlight – Caron´s Bellodgia.

Thanks to the beautiful and fearsomely intelligent Tarleisio, Bellodgia quickly made it into the top ranks of my favorite perfumes.

Although my first association with carnations are funerals and the second one is socialism, this perfume is neither sad nor prone to call you comrade.

It is one of the most joyful and joy-inspiring fragrances I know. It is sunshine in a bottle.

It was inspired by the beautiful landscape around Bellagio, Lake Como in northern Italy. I spent a vacation there once, and it is still burnt into my memory as one of the most wonderful times of my life. Great food, nice people (not to mention spying George Clooney on a boat flashing past, hysterical giggling ensued, it was mortifying) and the most beautiful landscape imaginable. If I had to move to Italy I would choose the Lake Como area. George has great taste, after all. We share a lot of interests, I reviewed Nespresso candles just the other day, if that is not destiny, then what is? But I am digressing…

Bellodgia was created by perfumer Ernest Daltroff and introduced in 1927; notes include rose, jasmine, violet, lily of the valley, sandalwood, vanilla and musk.

Bellodgia opens with a heady and quite peppery flower accord, that then mellows somewhat and settles down to a sweet, exuberantly flowery feel-good fragrance, that despite its positive attitude has a lot of depth and complexity. (That is not to say happiness precludes depth, but I find that to be true oftentimes nonetheless.)

The flower aspect is rich and the carnations feature prominently, I also get a hint of rose. The drydown is typically Caron (as far as I can say that, since I did not try all of the line´s perfumes, but from what I tested I perceive a certain common trait in the base) a musky, powdery drydown, that is a little dark and shadowy, in this case sweetened with vanilla.

I have the Eau de Toilette (for lack of availability of other strenghts, but there is an Eau de Parfum as well as an extrait, which is on my wish list), but the sillage and longevity are still impressive.

Bellodgia is a perfume I would never have thought that I would like, judging from the notes. But this is one aspect of fragrances that I love so much, you are always in for a surprise.

Therefore, beware of the unsniffed buy and be prepared to fall in love with perfumes you are set to dismiss. I graciously bestow these wise words on you to take to heart in the coming year 😉

Happy New Year to all of you! Have a great time tonight!

What will you be doing? Party or Dinner for Two? Let me know in the comments!

Picture source: new-year-card.blogspot.com, aromierotici.blogspot.com, wallcoo.net, some rights reserved, thank you!

Posted in Caron, Floral, Fragrance Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments