Hope In A Bottle – Review: Bissoumine Les Fleurs de Nall

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Olfactoria

A good, classic floral composition is a thing of beauty. My last great love in that genre is the very hard to find and unfortunately rather expensive Amouage Beloved. I am saving for a bottle, but maybe (just maybe) I have found something that just hits the spot in a similar fashion: Les Fleurs de Nall by Bissoumine (see my mini-reviews of their other perfumes here) is a wonderful perfume that deserves our attention.

Les Fleurs de Nall was created by perfumer Kitty Shpirer and released in 2012 and includes notes of citrus zest, green leaves, iris, violet, jasmine, rose, patchouli, moss and precious woods.

“In the painter’s universe, where the imaginary is sublimating reality,
shadows and lights, colors and scents merge into an original creation…
A timeless perfume, dedicated to another dimension where the only language is Art.”

– from the Bissoumine website

Les Fleurs de Nall was created in concert with the artist Nall, an American painter. The box is decorated with his “Saffron Rose”.

Les Fleurs de Nall opens with a full bouquet of flowers, gently gilded with sparkly citrus. The top notes fade and the gorgeous floral heart becomes progressively spicier and woodier over time. It is a delightfully old-fashioned perfume, in the sense that is seems timeless and classic.

Whenever I smell something like this out of a non-vintage bottle, I’m simply delighted and profoundly glad that not all is lost in the world of perfumery. (Other such examples are Sonoma Scent Studio Nostalgie, MDCI Enlèvement au Serail and the above mentioned Amouage Beloved.)

I would love for Les Fleurs de Nall to have a bit more oomph. A stronger concentration would be perfect. As it is (it’s only available in EdT) it lasts for about four hours on me and the sillage is rather discreet. I have to add that if I had a bottle, I would probably spray a lot less restrained and this seems to be a perfume that needs a good many spritzes to really shine. If it were available in EdP I’d be over the moon.

Still, Les Fleurs de Nall is well worth a try. Samples are available via the company’s website for a very reasonable price.

Les Fleurs de Nall shows me that it is not helpful to cry about things that are lost forever, but look to the future. As long as perfumes like this are made, all is not lost. There is no need to despair over the seventeenth flanker of some mediocre perfume, we only need to spread the word that small houses do great things.

My sample was provided for consideration by the perfumer.
Image source: bissoumine.com, Nall Saffron Rose via bissoumine
Posted in Chypre, Floral, Fragrance Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

À La Recherche Du Temps Perdu – Review: Puredistance Opardu

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Olfactoria

Puredistance is a house very dear to my heart. Puredistance I, Antonia and M are all in my collection, I admire the style of this house and the way its founder Jan Ewoud Vos implements his philosophy and taste to build a brand that stands for luxury and quality, quite contrary to today’s trends.

Opardu is the fourth perfume created for the line, the third by Annie Buzantian (only M is by Roja Dove).

Opardu includes notes of tuberose absolute, gardenia, Bulgarian Rose, carnation, jasmine absolute, heliotrope and cedarwood.

The name Opardu is a neologism created by Jan Ewoud Vos, who told me with a twinkle in his eye, that it was his gift to the French who have been needing that word for a long time.

Opardu is a very evocative word, leaving room for everyone’s personal interpretation, Mr Vos wants it to be a memory of things past, of opulence and romance. For me, Opardu stands for “Oh, perdu!”, a sigh of quiet desperation for the things that are irrevocably gone, lost in time and never to be found again. (You know I’m not the most optimistic of people, I have a weak spot for all things melancholy. It’s my Viennese soul.)

Smelling Opardu, it perfectly fits that twilighted landscape of the soul hovering between tears and a smile, the name has evoked in me. Bitter-sweet memories, unfulfilled dreams, missed chances and rueful glances backwards find their olfactory equivalent in rain-drenched lilac, sweet violet and powdery heliotrope. A whiff of my mothers soap makes the trip down a shadowy memory lane perfect.

Opardu is a quiet and reflective perfume, it is retro in feel and it clearly harks back to a different era. Upperclass women in Fin de Siècle Vienna might have smelled like Opardu.

I’m not sure I agree about the notion of opulence that the company assigns to Opardu, because I find it to subdued for that. (Suzanne sees this similarly in her beautiful review.)

Opardu fits perfectly in the Puredistance canon, because it is elegant and refined, and makes me feel classy and sophisticated. Class is what Puredistance is all about, and Opardu without a doubt, has class.

I like to wear it and pretend to be Emilie Flöge for a day. And on such a day, it is fine to wallow in sentimental feelings about how all things must end, how ultimately all is lost.

Once the last of Opardu’s sillage dissipates in the air, it is time to dry the tears, go to sleep and be safe in the knowledge that all is well and will be well as surely as the sun will rise again.

But from time to time, I wouldn’t want to miss the look backwards Opardu facilitates. It’s only from the past that we learn.

Opardu is only available as pure perfume in a 32% concentration in the usual 17.5 ml vial, golden this time, as well as 60ml and 100ml flacons. Opardu launches in November 2012.
Sample provided for my consideration by the company.
Image source: puredistance.com, Emilie Flöge by Gustav Klimt via wikipedia; Post title stolen from Marcel Proust
Posted in Floral, Oriental, Puredistance | Tagged , , , , , , , | 47 Comments

Paris Treasures – A Shopping Trip to The Capital Of Perfumeland

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Olfactoria

Below is the lovely account about perfume shopping in Paris by my friend Sandra, an American living in Vienna and a loyal, long-time reader of Olfactoria’s Travels. Sandra is a perfume-nut and mother of an incredibly cute three-year old. I’m very happy she agreed to relate her Parisian adventures for us.

By Sandra

I have fallen completely and utterly in love with Paris. My husband and I have traveled to Paris three times in one year and we still discover new and beautiful sights.

As a lover of perfumes, I have known about 68, avenue des Champs-Élysées the Guerlain headquarters for years. For some reason or another I never made it to the main store and just sniffed the perfumes at the major department stores such as Printemps and Galeries Lafayette. I saw pictures of it on the internet and still I only managed to make it into the pop-up store next door this past Christmas. Well, this time I made it a mission to make it to 68, avenue des Champs-Élysées and I dragged my dear husband and son with me on the very first day after we checked into the hotel.

Nothing on the internet or in the guidebooks prepared me for La Maison Guerlain. I was a bit apprehensive as well thinking that it might be difficult to find a friendly SA. Nothing could be farther from the truth! We walked in and we were welcomed with friendly smiles. I decided to climb the spiral staircase and was greeted by a painting of the woman from La Petit Robe Noire on the wall (it was as if she was winking and whispering in my ear of the magic that awaited upstairs). As I climbed up the stairs the decor became golden and serene in a way. Upon reaching the top, three friendly SAs asked if they could be of assistance and Aurélie was the one who walked me through everything I wanted to smell. She guided my husband and son to a comfortable chair (near the bee bottles on the wall for pete’s sake! Talk about a heart attack on my side and hoping for the best behavior of my three year old. In fact he was perfect and did not touch a thing) so that they could read and talk to each other while I walked around the main room and the side room.

Aurélie was wonderful and knowledgeable and most importantly very patient as I wanted to work through all of the L’Art et la Matière, Une Ville, Un Parfum and Les Parisiennes. They allowed me to photograph the spectacular perfumes and take my time. As a side note I have loved the youthful campaign for the launch of La Petite Robe Noire and enjoyed seeing the special display next to the bee bottles on the wall. Needless to say having such a wonderful SA left me almost bankrupt at the end of the day but I was so impressed with Guerlain that I went back a second time before we left Paris.

No stay in Paris should be without a visit to Sens Unique in Le Marais.

When I walked in with my men, Svetlana, the lovely SA, greeted us warmly and even remembered that it had been about six months since our last visit. What I love about Svetlana is that she tells me the stories behind the perfumes I am smelling and she takes her time. The experience becomes multidimensional when I understand an inspiration or a memory of the creator. Charming and eloquent Svetlana even made my husband understand and appreciate perfume as an art form (near impossible feat when he usually mumbles an approval or disapproval).

Sens Unique has a plush golden chair in the corner which can be seen as ostentatious, but is in fact comfortable and well situated as my husband can attest to. There are many cafés in the area and we discovered that there is a carousel around the corner, which helped keep my son entertained, while I spent some time in the store this time around.

If you want to smell several difficult to find perfumes in one place, Printemps and Galeries Lafayette are good stops. The halls are usually brimming at the seams with shoppers and it can be quite overwhelming if you don’t have a specific perfume you want to try, but they are well worth the visit. I was unable to make it to the Dior boutique but was able to smell all the La Collection Privee at Printemps. The SA was friendly enough and I will certainly go back there again.

I had had big hopes for Jovoy but was disappointed by the service and the lack of assistants.

The above is by no means a guide to perfume shopping in Paris; it is a recollection of a few of my experiences and my suggestions. Most importantly Paris has so much to offer in sights, sounds and smells and I savor every single experience I have there.

Image source: all photos by Sandra G.
Posted in Shopping, Travels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 36 Comments

Monday Question – Which Perfumes Feel Like A Walk In The Country?

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Olfactoria

By Tara

What are your favourite “back to nature” fragrances?

Which perfumes bring to mind trees, leaves, green stems or grass?

Is there a perfume that transports you to a rural idyll?

Or have you yet to find a green fragrance that appeals to you?

My Answer:

Vintage Vol de Nuit parfum has opened me up to green fragrances and now I want to know more. For me, this classic Guerlain conjures up fresh green shoots in the opening and the deep and complex scent of woodland undergrowth in the base. Now I’m wondering whether I should make an unsniffed purchase of Jacomo’s Silences or vintage Vent Vert by Balmain.

I was already a fan of Trefle Pur by Atelier Cologne because of its unusual clover note, but I’ve recently been spellbound by the ultimate enchanted forest that is Ormonde Woman.

Just like a walk in the country, these fragrances seem to lower my blood pressure and soothe my nerves.

Please share your own favourites. I need more!

Posted in By Tara, Green, Monday Question | Tagged , , , | 93 Comments

And The Winner Is – MDCI Giveaway Winner Announced

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Olfactoria

Thank you all for commenting, there was a lot of interest, the MDCI’s are very lovely and rather hard to find perfumes after all…

But unfortunately I can only send out one decant, because of the insane shipping costs in Austria, I would certainly be willing to share more of my juice.

Random.org helped me choose a winner, so the 5ml decant of Péché Cardinal and the sample of Enlèvement au Serail go to

ElenaInGreece

Congratulations!

Please contact me with your details within a week, if not, I will draw another name.

The next Bottle of the Month and with it the next giveaway, are not far…

Posted in Giveaway, Guerlain | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Where Fairies Dwell – Review: Vero Profumo Mito

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Olfactoria

Vero Kern is a much admired woman in Perfumeland. Many of us not only revere her creations – Vero Profumo – but also the woman herself. She is inspiring and exudes a joy for living, a happiness, a positive energy that, paired with her strikingly beautiful appearance and a sharp intellect, makes for a fantastic role model.

You might rightly infer from the paragraph above that I am a fan of Vero, the woman. I am also a fan of her work. Rubj, Kiki and Onda (Oh, Onda..) in extrait and the corresponding Eaux de Parfums are staples in my collection, and eventually I would like to own full bottles of all of them.

So I was very curious about Mito of course. The first new perfume to be released in five years, it was hotly anticipated by the fragrance community.

I was also strangely reluctant to try it though, maybe I didn’t want to be disappointed… And I have to say, I was right, Mito was not love at first sniff. But, as is my custom, I try perfumes again and again, and one evening I took out my Mito sample – and lo and behold: it clicked. I got it. I got it and I fell for it. Totally.

Mito was created by Vero Kern and includes notes of citrus, magnolia grandiflora, white magnolia champaca, jasmine, galbanum, hyacinth, cypress and moss.

When I read the press material for Mito, what struck me most was Vero’s description of the gardens of the Villa d’Este in Tivoli, her inspiration for the perfume. She talked about the fountains, the cool water breaking into thousands of tiny mirrorlike drops that shine in the sunlight filtered through green leaves and white flowers.

That is how Mito opens – a burst of fresh citrus sparkling, alive, radiant and cool. Later the white floral aspect gains steam and on an evergreen bed of moss and galbanum the flowers bloom. A green, floral chypre, never sweet, never dry, it strikes a cool balance that evokes elegance and refinement. I am reminded a bit of Chanel’s Cristalle.

Mito evokes a place removed from time, outside of time, a haven, a secluded realm that is eternal, timeless, peaceful. Mito takes you into fairyland, where you are prone to forget time, forget your worries, forget your everyday, tired self.

Let Vero be your fairy godmother, who leads you to a place of stillness and serene beauty, a place to recharge. Be suspended in time, see your worries disperse in the clear air, like the tiny, glittering drops of water from the fountains, only to find yourself whole again in the reflection on the water.

Sample provided for consideration by Campomarzio70. Mito will be released in September 2012 in 50ml Eau de Parfum.
Image source: photo by Diego Comi and illustration by Sofo Berdzenishvili; Villa d’Este via holidaycheck.at
Posted in Chypre, Citrus, Floral, Green, Vero Profumo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 44 Comments

Intellectual Exercise With Pineapple – Review: Parfums MDCI Le Rivage des Syrtes

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Olfactoria

I fell in love with three perfumes (Péché Cardinal, Rose de Siwa, Chypre Palatin) of MDCI lately so financially speaking I’m very thankful I did not fall for Le Rivage des Syrtes, but it is a unique and very interesting fragrance in any case, created by Patricia Nicolai no less, and it is therefore definitely worth a closer look.

Le Rivage des Syrtes (named after the French novel by Julien Gracq) was created by Patricia de Nicolai and includes notes of sweet orange essence, pineapple, galbanum, ylang ylang, tuberose, orange blossom absolute, incense, ambergris, vanilla and musk.

Pineapple, orange and galbanum? Dear Lord, you’ll be thinking, what good can come of such a combination? Well, if you know Patricia de Nicolai’s work, you will not be surprised that she manages to make those three notes shine in a way that is uncommonly lovely and very recognizably her style.

The opening of Le Rivage de Syrtes is dominated by this unusual fruit and green combo, galbanum serving to bring out the best, the juiciest side of pineapple and orange, without letting them head into cocktail territory.

After a while the scent morphs into a more floral dominated composition, orange giving way to orange blossom, pineapple receding to let ylang-ylang take center stage. The whole time a green undercurrent keeps things fresh and light. Despite sounding like a club over your head, this perfume is actually very soft and quiet. There is a lot going on, but it is going on discreetly and almost shyly.

The floral stage is very longlasting, sillage is soft and the perfume stays close, but it lasts the entire day. Only at the very end the florals fade out and a skin scent of musky vanilla with a whiff of incense stays until you wash it off.

Le Rivage de Syrtes is unique and interesting, but it does not capture my heart. Wearing it is more of an intellectual experience for me.

With my bottle allowance taken up for the coming three months with MDCI’s that is not a bad thing at all…

Do you know perfumes that you admire but that don’t touch your heartstrings? Which fragrance is your intellectual exercise?

Image source: luckyscent.com, vintageadbrowser.com, Still life with Pineapple by George Harris via 1st-art-gallery.com
Posted in Chypre, Citrus, Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Fruity, Parfums MDCI | Tagged , , , , , , | 40 Comments

Welcoming The Age Of Reason

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Olfactoria

My older son started school yesterday and we were all very excited and proud.

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We had mass (it’s a catholic school) and the priest mentioned the significance of this day as a happy, but also a sad occasion, because it meant letting go. And promptly poor old Mom proceeded to bawl her eyes out, because the baby is a big boy now, and as much of a relief and an occasion for pride and happiness this is, it’s also a goodbye of sorts.
Goodbye to my firstborn baby, hello to my school boy.

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Hopefully it also means goodbye to temper tantrums and disrupted sleep and a very warm welcome to the age of reason.

Posted in Ramblings | Tagged , | 58 Comments

Monday Question – What Are Your Top Ten Perfumes Of All Time?

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Olfactoria

It is time again to make a list!

What are your top ten perfumes without which you wouldn’t want to live?

Which ones are your top priority?

Which ones would you immediately replace if used up?

Which ten perfumes would you take with you if you went on that famed deserted island (full of other Pefumistas willing to swap of course)?

My Answer:

After much waffling, debating and rooting around in my perfume closet, I came up with the following list, in no particular order of importance:

Roja Dove Unspoken

Amouage Beloved

Parfums MDCI Péché Cardinal

Vero Kern Rubj

Chanel 31 Rue Cambon

Frederic Malle Carnal Flower

Mona di Orio Musc

Dior Ambre Nuit

Puredistance I

Cuir de Lancome

I’d be happy with those for quite some time, but there are many I’d sorely miss (my contemporary Guerlains, my Amouages, my Chanels, Feminité du Bois and Ambre Sultan, some Kilians, Juliette Has A Gun Lady Vengeance, SoOud Ouris, a lot of MDCI’s, Mona di Orio’s, Parfumerie Générale’s and… the list could go on and on… so glad you all are on that deserted island too, willing to swap. 😉 )

Can’t wait to read your lists!

Posted in Floral, Jasmine, Monday Question, Tuberose, Ylang Ylang | Tagged , , , | 132 Comments

Bottle Of The Month: August – And A Giveaway!

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Olfactoria

The bottle of the month of August is my first one (definitely not my last though) from Parfums MDCI, Péché Cardinal. I would have liked the bust bottle, but of course, common sense prevailed and I bought (and shared) a plain bottle. What is inside is fantastic enough!

Do you want to indulge in a bit of peachy tuberose? I am giving away a 2.5ml sample of Péché Cardinal, and a 2.5ml sample of Enlèvement au Serail too, so it doesn’t feel so alone.

Please leave a comment on this post stating which is your favorite of the Parfums MDCI and why, or which one you would like to try the most. Tweeting and sharing on a social media platform of your choice garners you an additional entry.

The contest is open worldwide until September 7 midnight GMT and I will announce the winner on September 9 on the blog.

Please be aware that I cannot be responsible for the doings of the post office and can’t replace lost packages.

Good luck everyone!

Posted in Fragrance Reviews | Tagged , , , | 53 Comments