Monday Question – What Is Your Favorite Cosy Stay-In Perfume?

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Olfactoria

Nights are getting colder and longer and cocooning at home in front of a fire with a good book and a cashmere blanket seems incredibly attractive and preferable to braving wind and rain outside.

Which perfumes are your best companions for stay-at-home cosiness?

What perfume completes this scenario for you?

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My Answer:

I love cuddling up with a soft blanket, a book, a cup of tea (yes, and chocolate) and a warming perfume.
My favorites this time of the year are Nabucco Amytis, JHAG Calamity Jane, Guerlain Tonka Imperiale and Mon Precieux Nectar and of course my beloved L’Ambre des Merveilles.

What can you recommend as the ideal cosy perfume?

Posted in Amber, Monday Question | Tagged , , , | 59 Comments

Intimate Decadence – Review: Laboratorio Olfattivo Daimiris

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Olfactoria

By Tara

Created by the prolific perfumer Pierre Guillaume, Daimiris was one of the four fragrances in Laboratorio Olfattivo’s first collection launched in 2009. It contains top notes of saffron and cardamom, heart notes of rum, iris and daim (suede) candy accord and base notes of amber and musk.

laboratorio-olfattivo-daimiris

From the name and list of notes I expected Daimiris to be an iris suede, however that would have made it too similar to its stable-mate, Nirmal. What I actually get is a sensuous, spicy amber.

This extract from Laboratorio Olfattivo’s story behind the scent explains it:

“This fragrance is a tribute to a female divinity, enchanting and enchanted at the same time. It whispers forth notes of amber and spice and suggests delicate and harmonious movements.”

On spraying, the saffron is jewel-like and combined with the soft spice of cardamom it makes for a luxurious opening. The boozy rum is listed as a heart note but is almost immediately evident. It doesn’t belch alcohol fumes but instead adds a dizzying feeling of loucheness.

The alcohol burns off before the main course arrives, which is a spice speckled amber with a slightly powdery texture. The sublimated iris is a smear of orris butter on fine suede. Daimiris also has some saltiness which makes me think of skin and gives it that sensual touch.

The amber stays on in the base but it loses a little of the spice and gains a chocolatey nuance. It’s full of nuzzle-your-nose-into-your-skin goodness.

Daimiris is not a fragrance of that feels like pale hued chiffon, it swaths you in rich velvets of claret and gold. This is in direct contrast to the brand’s laboratory aesthetic with its functional looking bottles and talk of perfume “experiments”.

It doesn’t feel at all streamlined or avant-garde. It feels baroque and voluptuous. However, it’s a lot quieter than it sounds, embodying decadence of an intimate kind rather than a conspicuous show of wealth and status.

Daimiris whisks me off to the interior of a lavish suite in a Venetian palazzo with sumptuous fabrics, frescoed ceilings and ornate furnishings. Here, my beloved and I spend our days as well as nights lounging in bed, consuming the finest chocolate and sipping the rarest vintages.

Pierre Guillaume does sensuality so well. Whether it’s the knee trembling come-hither of L’Ombre Fauve or the private story told here, for me he sets the tone just right. Never too obvious or overpowering (although I know that style has its fans too).

It’s a rich composition but nowhere near Serge Lutens bold. It feels comfortable, relaxed and easy to wear. Daimiris would make a quietly intoxicating amber for autumn and winter with its boozy opening, exotic spice and warm skin feel.

Bedroom-from-the-Palazzo-Sagredo-1 (1)

Over the course of a day’s wear, I get soft sillage and decent longevity.

Plush ambers may be more Olfactoria’s thing than mine, but Daimiris is very inviting.

Are you a fan of amber fragrances? Any favourites?

Posted in Amber, By Tara, Fragrance Reviews, Laboratorio Olfattivo | Tagged , , , | 29 Comments

Life Is Good When You Smell Fabulous! – Review: Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Olfactoria

Hello Olfactoria’s Travelers,

Portia from Australian Perfume Junkies and Perfume Posse thrilled to be with you all today. I hope life is treating you all well.

Mohur has been a constant in my fragrance wardrobe since first discovering it. It has been the subject of full posts and often wins in my Top 10 lists for seasons, desert islands and all other lists (we perfumistas love a list) because I find it so easy to wear as a spritz and go, but I also love to spritz lavishly when there are a couple of spare hours and totally immerse myself in it luxury and intricacies. Today I am re-reading Chandler Burr’s The Perfect Scent and spending a lazy day before getting ready for work and I have spritzed for my own selfish pleasure. Why don’t you enjoy my lovely lazy morning with me.

Mohur was created by Bertrand Duchaufour for Neela Vermeire Creations in 2011.

Mohur Neela Vermeire Creations FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica, LuckyScent and Neela Vermeire Creations give these notes and accords, each site is slightly different so I have melded them all:

Top: Cardamom, coriander, ambrette (musk mallow), carrot seeds, black pepper, elemi oil
Heart: Turkish rose oil, Moroccan Rose Absolute (rose accords around 11%), jasmine, iris/orris, aubepin (midland hawthorn), almond milk accord, leather, violet
Base: Sandalwood, amber, patchouli, oudh Palao from Laos, benzoin, vanilla, tonka bean

Freaking hell, even looking at the note list makes me sleepy. This is kitchen sink perfumery in theory but something that Mohur does do every time is give me a new and different ride. While the main player rose is a constant, on some days it will be incredibly vanilla heavy, another day I will really notice the herbaceousness and on others it will feel like an iris, pepper, patchouli, sandalwood or almond fragrance. Though rose is the constant even its facets will be slightly different, boozy, citric, fruity or tea-ish depending on the day.

mohurPhoto Stolen Neela Vermeire Creations

I think Neela & Bertrand have used a large amount of naturals in with the synthetics and that gives everything a real chance to interact with your chemistry, what you bathed or moisturised with, even down to your exercise and eating habits at the time. That on top of your environment, which can change how the fragrance lives, makes Mohur a real chameleon.

How was my ride today on this lovely 19C spring day? Gorgeous as ever. So yes, I get loads of the notes but to be perfectly honest today I just lay reading and enjoying how freaking amazing I smelled. ALL DAY! A big fat spicy rose and resinous woods, ALL DAY LONG! Life is good when you smell this freaking fabulous…

Part of the fun can be parsing the notes while wearing, and I do try to keep my nose in gear, but sometimes it’s nice to just let the fragrance wash over you as a whole creation. As the perfumer and curator have intended, as a finished and wonderful fragrance. Mohur is particularly good for this because it is such a tapestry, a beautiful Kashmiri carpet all woven tegether of fragrant strands and it is thick, rich and luscious enough to float you away to other more exotic places.

Neela Vermeire Creations sends to Europe and has an excellent set of 8ml samples of the whole range
LuckyScent has EdP $250/60ml and Extrait $465/50ml and sends to the world Surrender To Chance has $7/.5ml

What do you wear when you want to drift away on an exotic miasma?
Portia xx

Posted in By Portia, Fragrance Reviews, Neela Vermeire Creations, Rose | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments

Monday Question – Let’s Talk Make-Up!

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Olfactoria

Last week it was fun to talk about skincare. Your responses were so interesting and I think we all enjoyed a peek into each others bathroom cabinets.

So to stay a bit sideways of the perfume topic once more, I’d like to take a peek into your make up bags today.

Do you wear makeup?

If yes, everyday or just on special occasions?

What are your favorite products?

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My Answer:

I love makeup. I wear it every day. My surgeon commented on my flawless look on the way to the OR when I had my children (via C-Section). So it is a rare and usually not a great day when I am without it.

But makeup for me is about enhancement not transformation.

I am of the nude look/natural makeup school of thought, coloured eyeshadows and bright red lips are not for me.

My favorite product is definitely concealer – a good concealer is a life-saver (Clé de Peau is amazing!!!). Foundation and mascara are also important for me and I have never left the house in almost three decades without applying lipgloss.

In my handbag I carry a leather pouch holding concealer, powder, cream blush, lipgloss and of course a perfume decant, at all times.

I love luxury lines like Burberry, Edward Bess, Chanel and Dior, but my workhorse items often come from MAC.

Favorite products: Chanel Glossimer lipglosses, Dolce&Gabbana Powder Foundation, Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick, MAC lipsticks, Chanel Le Volume mascara, Paula’s Choice Resist Anti- Aging foundation, Clé de Peau Concealer.

Makeup was a big no-no when I grew up, my mother hasn’t worn a stitch of makeup in her life, so I think at least part of my use and enjoyment of it came out of rebelling against that prohibition.

What is your relationship with makeup?

Posted in Monday Question | Tagged , , | 74 Comments

Dandified Violet – Review: Mona di Orio Les Nombres d’Or Violette Fumée

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Olfactoria

By Tara

Before her tragic, untimely death in 2011, Mona created Violette Fumée for her business partner Jeroen Oude Sogtoen. She sought to embody within it his favourite raw materials, passions and memories.

In 2013 he decided to share this personal creation with the rest of us and it joined Les Nombres d’Or.

mdo violette fumée

The new flacon

Notes listed for Violette Fumée are lavender, bergamot, oakmoss, violet flowers, violet leaves, rose, vetiver, clary sage, opoponax, myrrh and cashmeran.

On application the lavender rushes up to greet me, but I don’t want to recoil the way I usually do with this tricky note. It is a little medicinal and rather cold but the spiky edges have been planed off. Bergamot sits just behind the lavender, brightening it up and adding a nice contrast.

Over the course of maybe half an hour, the lavender gradually turns to a rich shade of violet.

The rapidly blooming violet flowers are fresh and leafy at first, then turning smooth to the point of being almost creamy.

The violet sweetness is kept in check by the herbaceous border of violet leaves and oakmoss. To start with, this dark green edging is vegetal and earthy, but it dries out over time.

Who can resist the combination of violet and rose? These two complement each other so well it’s as if they were made for one another. So when a tender pink rose joins the violet, they create a remarkably pretty haze which means Violette Fumée feels far from “Men Only”.

Despite its name, I don’t get any acrid tobacco or noticeable waft of smoke. The overall impression is of a cool and gently powdery profusion of violets with a scattering of rose petals, on a soft carpet of moss and dry leaves.

At around the three hour mark it gets a lot quieter and becomes more of a skin scent. Some may balk at this lack of prolonged sillage but I like the intimacy of it and longevity is very good (it is labelled Eau de Parfum Intense).

I stop short of falling for Violette Fumée because of its chilly nature and the fact that I seem to be sensitive to the kind of musk used. However, I love its sophisticated take on violet and the fantastic mossy base.

Needless to say it would work well on a guy, but any woman who likes the sound of a grown-up (not matronly) violet should definitely check it out.

This chic fragrance feels like a good match with Katharine Hepburn, movie star of the golden-age of Hollywood. With her masculine style and feminine beauty, she appeared self-possessed and self-assured.

hepburn_katherine

Violette Fumée has the aura of a well constructed classical perfume that still feels modern. It manages to pull off the not insignificant feat of straddling both the masculine and the feminine, the old world and the new.

Have you tried Violette Fumée? Do you like violet fragrances?

Posted in By Tara, Fragrance Reviews, Mona di Orio, Violet | Tagged , , , , | 42 Comments

The Goldilocks Rose – Review: Guerlain Rose Nacrée Du Désert

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Olfactoria

By Michael

I recently caught up with a friend recently who waxed lyrical about Guerlain’s Rose Nacrée.

“Oh yeah? I’ll try it sometime” I said and proceeded merrily to forget it existed.

Then, no more than a two weeks later, a lovely little package arrived from the UK coincidentally containing a little decant of this very fragrance.
Of course I tried it straight away and oh boy was my friend’s recommendation right.

Rose Nacrée du Désert is a fragrance created by Thierry Wasser for the house of Guerlain in 2012.

RN Bottle 1

According to Guerlain, Rose Nacrée du Désert is a Woody Floral fragrance and contains the following:

Top notes: Saffron, Persian rose, Patchouli.
Heart notes: Cardamom, Curcuma (turmeric), Cedar wood, Oud accord.
Base notes: Myrrh, Benzoin.

I will admit that I have difficulty wearing rose fragrances. Please don’t misunderstand, I do love the smell but I often can’t escape my western perception of the note’s femininity.
Despite this I’ve tried many many roses but because of how I perceive the rose note, I do struggle.

Portrait of a Lady? Too pink. Too load.

Voleur des Roses? Too boozy.

Une Rose? Too bombastic. I don’t need my fragrance to shout “ROSES!” from 50 paces.

Rose de Nuit? Almost there, but maybe just a touch too powdery. I do love its animalism.

La Rose de Rosine? Put me in a frilly dress and call me grandma (sorry Rosine fans!!!)

Rose Nacrée du Désert on the other hand is my goldilocks rose – just right.

Rose Nacrée du Désert opens with a dark viscous rose and a smooth mix of spices and woods.
Over time the rose becomes creamier and more and more rounded.
You will find none of the typical Guerlain bergamot sharpness here.

Dark creamy red lipstick or deep glowing red nail polish could easily come to mind.
I prefer to think of dark red luscious almost oily rose petals, slightly warmed in your hands.

As it starts to dry Rose Nacrée du Désert becomes creamier and slightly softer in tone than before.

The smoky and ambery tonalities then begin to appear. The smoke is neither liturgical nor particularly wispy or ethereal. It’s the smoke of the finest toasting wood while the amber is soft and sweet.

The spices slowly become more prominent into the mid phase providing an added dimension to the fragrance rather than an overt spiciness.

Eventually the rose starts to become just a little powdery but on my skin but it is blended so seamlessly with the woody/incensy, smoky and spicy notes that it never smells typical powdery.

Finally the fragrance becomes just a little skanky with the some dirty oud notes settling into a naughty skin scent.

dried roses

Frankly this is the type of fragrance that makes me a Guerlain/Wasser fan. There are countless Rose/Oud/Wood fragrances but I haven’t smelled any this smooth and nuanced.

Rose Nacrée du Désert is creamy, smooth and exceedingly comfortable to wear.

I came to this Middle Eastern Guerlain line with more than a little cynicism but I am now completely convinced. This is a beautiful Middle Eastern rose perfume composed in the quintessentially French style that only Guerlain and Wasser can produce.

Read about the other perfumes in the middle eastern-inspired Guerlain collection here.

Posted in Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Guerlain, Rose | Tagged , , , , | 25 Comments

Monday Question – Which Skincare Product Is Indispensible For You?

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Olfactoria

A bit (okay, quite) off topic today, I’d like to discuss skincare.
Many of us are on a search for “Holy Grail” products, meaning the best of the best in its category something we want to keep using forever.

So tell me:
What is the one cream, lotion or potion you cannot live without?

Which skincare product gives you what you want?

What product is the one you’ll never want to be without?

My Answer:

I discovered Paula Begoun and her books when I was twenty. Almost twenty years on I am still a fan of her no nonsense, scientific approach to skincare. When she came out with her own line, I was on board and have been using it for over ten years now.

I can’t live without my Skin Recovery Gentle Cleanser and a seasonally varying assortment of her treatments and moisturizers. I am thoroughly Paularized. 😉

What about you?

Posted in Monday Question | Tagged , , | 89 Comments

White Iris – Review: Laboratorio Olfattivo Nirmal

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Olfactoria

By Tara

Laboratorio Olfattivo is an Italian store selling high-end fragrances. They released four perfumes under their own name in 2009 and now have eleven in total. I came across this niche line for the first time on a recent trip to the perfumery at Roullier White in south London.

laboratorio-olfattivo-nirmal

Their ethos is to give perfumers the artistic freedom to create innovative fragrances which “…evoke elegance and uniqueness, features that more than anything else characterize artistic perfumery”.

Nirmal was released in 2013 and the inspiration was to create a scent as delicate and sincere as a loving embrace. Nirmal means “pure, immaculate” in Hindi and the perfumer, Rosine Courage, has reflected this well in her interpretation.

Top note: carrot. Heart notes: iris an

d violet. Base notes: cedar, amber and “daim” (suede) candy accord.

Looking at the notes, I expect the opening to be full-on, freshly dug root vegetables but not so. There’s cool air and a sweet mustiness, but I definitely don’t think “Carrots!” This is probably because the iris and violet are lying right underneath and wafting upwards in powdery clouds.

As you might imagine with a perfume representing purity, it’s not a complex or loud fragrance but a simple and subdued one. However, it’s not sparse or austere the way some irises can be. It has a gentle, soothing character. A comforting aura.

There is strength in virtue. Nirmal wears a compassionate smile and extends a caring hand.

It has purity yes, but it also has approachability and this makes it endearing. Perhaps this is because there is a significant amount of sweetness but there’s also nearly as much violet as iris on my skin. The violet adds floral sweetness and silences the throaty rasp of iris.

Nirmal has a candied quality. There’s a fine haze of sugar which hovers above the skin. It’s a long way from being a gourmand but you’d have to tolerate sweet notes in perfume to enjoy it fully.

Somehow it manages to have both cool and warm tones at the same time. When I lean in, first I get a skim of chilliness from its surface and then a warm, fuzzy feel from just below.

The iris is pale and paper thin. It’s the solitary white iris that stands apart in a sea of purplish blue in Van Gogh’s beautiful painting, Irises.

Irises by Vincent Van Gogh OSA409

The base is the familiar combination of vanilla and amber but given a sugared suede feel.

Equistrius by Parfum d’Empire is the iris accented fragrance it comes closest to. This is unsurprising considering they have a number of notes in common including iris, violet, amber and suede, however Equistrius is drier and brighter.

Nirmal is an EDP, not a fleeting eau de toilette and the lasting power is very good. The whole thing feels soft and pillowy, but it has substance.

It’s doesn’t project far, seeming to softly enclose the skin.

Ultimately, it has just too much sweetness and not enough iris for me, but Nirmal is a feminine, touching fragrance nonetheless.

Have you tried any of the range from Laboratorio Olfattivo? Do you like the sound of Nirmal?

Posted in By Tara, Laboratorio Olfattivo | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

Saltwater Citrus – Review: The Different Company South Bay

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Olfactoria

Hi there Olfactoria’s Travelers,

Portia with you today from Australian Perfume Junkies and Perfume Posse.

I know you are all heading towards Winter and Autumn has gripped the north but still Autumn can be sunlit and warm during the day. I have finally discovered The Different Company’s 2013 L’Esprit Cologne releases that added to the subset. Having really enjoyed Tokyo Bloom and After Midnight I was hoping to get to these sooner but as in all things they had to await their time.

South Bay was created by Emilie (Bevierre) Coppermann for The Different Company in 2013.

South Bay The Different Company FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured acords:
Top: Grapefruit, mandarin leaves, tamarind
Heart: Woody accords of grapefruit tree, freesia, eglantine (Rosa rubiginosa)
Base: Sandalwood, vetiver, suede

South Bay offers a sweetened grapefruit, though still quite remarkably like a grapefruit, and there is definitely some citrus leaf but to be completely honest I have no idea what a tamarind smells like so I can’t give you a heads up on that.

Talk about fresh and sweet, a lovely citrus wash that could make even the hardest heart smile. A beautiful, bright, fizzy citrus that really does have a devil may care feel and makes me put all my worries aside and just to breathe in the beauty. South Bay is also delightfully smooth, and very comfortable. This is not what I was expecting from South Bay at all, for some reason (no I didn’t read the notes when I was spritzing before) I was expecting a salty seaside fragrance.

South Bay The Different Company Citrus Slices Marc Samson FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

When the woods appear they don’t overwhelm the citrus but play very nicely and I get a distinct apple smell too, a crisp, dry, freshly picked apple cut into slices and served with the citrus. This is no cool citrus though but a warmed one, warmed with woods and it says freesia but having been out the front to smell my lovely freesias I can get no resemblance really, just a nod, it smells more daffodil than freesia to me. I have lovely daffodils, jonquils and freesias this year, a great show.

Through the heart my skin maintains the citrus at front & centre happily in charge till the vetiver comes through, quietly creeping in till it is the main attraction. All of a sudden you really take notice of its green, slightly brackish earthiness and it plays a lovely counterpoint top the citrus and woods. Imagine the picture below is of citrus dropping into a salt water pool.

South Bay The Different Company citrus-water-splash DesktpWallpaper4Photo Stolen DesktopWallpapers4

Though South Bay is sold as a cologne, it is a boundary pusher. It hits all the right high points for a cologne but does it so much more sophisticatedly and gives a good deal longer frag life than most colognes.

A lovely refreshing citrus based fragrance that will keep all of you lovers of the genre happy, and could well introduce some new fans. I thought I had enough citrus fragrance bottles in my collection but South Bay may just have changed my mind…

Further reading: Colognoisseur
LuckyScent has $125/90ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml

Are you a fan of The Different Company? Do you know their work at all? Is a light frothy citrus something you would wear much?
Portia xx

Posted in By Portia, Citrus, The Different Company | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

Monday Question – Are You A Closet Perfumista?

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Olfactoria

Are you open about your perfume hobby?

Do you share your passion with casual acquaintances or are only closest friends in on the secret?

Is your fragrance hobby public knowledge or is it your private indulgence?

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My Answer:

As much as I talk about perfume in the virtual world, I tend to keep it under wraps in real life. Mostly it is because I am not a person who generally shares personal stuff easily, but also because I still harbour a little shame about pursuing something so superficial. (Which it is not, I know, but that is my Freudian Super-Ego talking, which, honestly doesn’t know the first thing about perfume. 😉 )

What about you? Are you open about your love for all things scented or do you handle it on a need to know basis?

Posted in Monday Question | Tagged , , | 35 Comments