You’ve Got To Slow Down… – Things To Come

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Olfactoria

I have been writing this blog with one post a day for twenty months now and while I still love to do it and won’t stop in the foreseeable future, I feel I have to, no, I want to scale back a little. Hopefully not in quality, but certainly in quantity to preserve the former and not compromise it for the latter.

When I was newly down the rabbit hole I couldn’t smell enough, couldn’t explore enough, I had a blast. Now I’m in a more sedate mood, the frenzy has mostly calmed, and now I want to enjoy what I have and adapt that pace in my living and in my writing.

Perfume is incredibly important to me and I want to keep it that way, what I don’t want is to make a chore out of it. Many of you visit this blog more than once, because they like my way of writing, and rather than impressing people with my prolific style, I’d prefer to keep myself and hopefully my readers happy with what I have been doing all along, only a little slower.

The months of July and August mean I have less time to blog, and this year I don’t want to struggle to keep everything up and running at full speed, despite having less hours a day to do so. I don’t want to run out of steam.

I’m planning to keep the Monday Question going as well as at least two reviews per week. So I’m no totally slacking off, but I’m not keeping up the same daily schedule either.

This is a song by an Austrian singer from the nineties, I grew up with this and I think it is an exceptional piece of music that an international audience should hear. Also, it says it all…

I hope you stay with me through the summer and join me while taking the time to smell the roses (and jasmines, and irises and ouds and vanillas and…)!

Posted in Ramblings | Tagged , | 61 Comments

Bottle Of The Month: June – And A Giveaway!

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Olfactoria

The bottle of the month for June came once more from Place Vendome in Belgium, I really wish I could get everything there, the customer service is just exceptional. I love that place!!!

So without further ado, I present:

Guerlain Mon Precieux Nectar

I couldn’t resist the lure of Guerlain’s most affordable extrait and the bee bottle swayed me further. I have been wearing it a lot, which shows me that it was a good decision. It is easy to wear, undemanding, not distracting, but still wonderfully elegant and comforting.

Did you try this exclusive Guerlain? Would you like to?

I’m giving away a 5ml decant to one lucky reader. For a chance to win, please leave a comment on this post telling me about your favorite Guerlain perfume. Tweeting and sharing on Facebook or other social media platforms of your choice gets you another entry and increases your chance to win. Let me know if you did so in your comment.

The giveaway is open for everyone, everywhere in the world. The giveaway is open until July 6, midnight GMT. The winner will be announced here on the blog on July 7.

Please be aware that I cannot be responsible for the doings of the postal services once the package has left my hands, I can’t replace lost items.

Good luck!

Posted in Floral, Giveaway, Gourmand, Guerlain | Tagged , | 129 Comments

Chandler Burr’s Untitled Series – Mystery Unveiled

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Olfactoria

Perfumeland was abuzz with discussion about OpenSky and Chandler Burr’s idea of selling perfume as is, i.e. without packaging and advertising surrounding and cluttering the olfactory artwork.

This Friday, June 29, Chandler will be revealing the identity of the mystery scent S01E01. Live at 12noon EST on OpenSky he will reveal the scent in addition to explaining why he chose it and some history behind the brand. Chandler will then open up the discussion and answer questions and comments live through his Facebook feed on his OpenSky profile.

Are you curious what it is? Will you be joining the discussion?

UPDATE: S01E01 is Prada’s Infusion d’Iris by Daniela Andrier.

And this is what Chandler says about the next perfume in line, S02E02:

“E02 is a work of olfactory science fiction. It is not merely the morphing of the eau fraîche into a 22nd century form (which would be feat enough), it is the scent of a plant, a lovely curling vine, in a garden built in outer space. It is the green scent of the plant’s delicate green tentacles and its graceful leaves in the precious, pressurized air circulating in cool post-metal tubes, a perfect equilibrium of the heartbreakingly natural and the mesmerizingly artificial.”

Any guesses? Reading that my first thought is Mugler Cologne… we’ll see next month if I’m right. 😉

Posted in Ramblings | Tagged , , , | 33 Comments

Now And Then – Review: L’Artisan Traversée du Bosphore

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Olfactoria

To some perfumes we feel an immediate affinity, some we dismiss out of hand. Some perfumes capture our hearts and imaginations at first sniff, some stealthily claim their place in our hearts. Some perfumes need and take their own sweet time, until they have insinuated themselves securely into our brains and souls, and we end up unable let go of them again.

Traversée du Bosphore is such a perfume for me.

When it was released in 2010, I tried it and was put off by its (then perceived as) obvious turkish delight note, that made me feel like Hazer Baba candy. True to form for something we don’t like, it proved pretty unscrubbable too, so I was afraid to ever go near it again. But I did anyway.

First a small candle made its way into my house, and I began to appreciate Traversée as an ambient scent, and it was not so linearly gourmand to me anymore. (See my review on PST here.)

The candle made me seek out a sample and by now I have used up three samples and finally feel ready to write about it.

Created in 2010 by Bertrand Duchaufour, Traversée du Bosphore (Crossing the Bosphorus) includes notes of tobacco smoke, apple, tulips, saffron, leather, Turkish Delight (rose and pistachio) and musk.

Traversée holds all the ingredients (and clichées) you might imagine when thinking about an oriental city, from a romanticized, western perspective. Apple tea, hookah smoke, leather, loukhoum and spices – it is all there.

In Traversée it melds to a spectacular gourmand leather melange that is at once familiar and surprising.

Traversée is multi-layered and complex, while smelling astoundingly simple at times.

Opening with apple and tobacco, a sweet powdery sugar comes down over those notes like snow slowly falling and covering the landscape in a forgiving, softening and noise-quenching blanket of smooth sweetness. Over time a very soft leather note becomes apparent, not harsh and masculine, but like well-worn saddle bags, smooth and soft, but durable and hardy too.

What I love about Traversée du Bosphore is that it is so unusual. Well, there are other Turkish delights scents, you might object, like Serge Lutens Rahat Loukhoum or Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum and probably many more. And that is true, but for me Traversée is so much more than a gourmand, although that aspect is delicious.

Traversée unites aspects of gourmand, leather, oriental and powdery that results in something more than the sum of its parts.

Traversée does indeed take me on a journey, if not to Istanbul, then at least down memory lane towards my childhood memories. A seven-year old acting out a PG-rated version of Sheherazade with the neighbor’s son, a twelve-year old fascinated with Byzantine history and culture and devouring every book on the topic the local library stocks, an eighteen-year-old exploring Turkey on her first vacation with friends instead of parents…

Traversée Du Bosphore takes me back in time, bridging the gap between the girl I was and the woman I am.

Traversée du Bosphore once more drives home the reason why I love perfume so much.

Image source: artisanparfumeur.com, aidatours.net
Posted in Fragrance Reviews, Fruity, Gourmand, L'Artisan Parfumeur, Leather, Rose | Tagged , , , , , , | 46 Comments

The Animal Is Back – Review: Dior La Collection Privée Oud Ispahan

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Olfactoria

Oud and Dior Privée – a truly animalic experience. Leather Oud, the other oud scent in the Collection Privée, evoked the animal in me and Oud Ispahan, a supposedly softer pairing of oud and rose means the animal is back, with a vengeance.

Oud Ispahan was created by Francois Demachy in 2012. Notes include labdanum, patchouli, sandalwood, rose and agarwood (oud).

Oud Ispahan is an excellent perfume. I state this right away, because I believe this is a very well balanced, beautifully constructed perfume, that is not reinventing the wheel of course (how could it? the genre is surely well populated already), but bringing an interesting and intriguing rendition of a well-known theme to the market. It is just that I cannot wear it, and that is a huge disappointment for me. I was all set to love and invest in Oud Ispahan, but unfortunately it is not meant to be…

Oud Ispahan opens slightly harsh and medicinal, but then a beautiful, no an exceptional  rose note takes center stage. It sings an aria like a diva accompanied by a well-tuned woody orchestra.

For the first hour wearing it is pure delight. Then the animals take over…

It is a classic case of “It’s not you, it’s me!”. My skin seems to amplify the animalic notes in here to an extent that is not bearable for me and I would not want my environs to encounter me like this.

Lady Jane Grey, my local sounding board and reality check, gets no barnyard whatsoever and swoons over the rose the whole time. No sweat, diaper and cow shed associations for her (the lucky woman!).

Maybe I’m done with oud for now. Maybe I’m just happy with oud in the cold season. For now, in any case, my sample of Oud Ispahan is locked away in a plastic baggy and two wooden boxes.

It is safe there, and so am I.

Image source: dior.com, deshow.net
Posted in Amber, Dior, Dior La Collection Privée, Musk, Oriental, Rose, Woods | Tagged , , , , | 22 Comments

Mona’s Legacy – Mona Di Orio Les Nombres d’Or Rose Etoile de Hollande

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Olfactoria

Mona do Orio’s take on rose is eagerly anticipated by everyone who knows and loves her work. Rose Etoile de Hollande was created by Mona herself, before her untimely and tragic death last December. Her business partner Jeroen Oude Songtoen thankfully decided to keep Maison Mona di Orio going in the manner he and Mona had envisioned.

Rose Etoile de Hollande will be available from the end of July, I was fortunate enough to be provided with a sample by the company.

Created by Mona di Orio, Rose Etoile de Hollande includes notes of bergamot, white peach, heliotrope, Bulgarian Rose, Turkish rose, geranium, clove, patchouli, cedar, vanilla, benzoin, amber and Peru balsam.

The beautiful sample presentation (8ml roll-on).

Apply Rose Etoile de Hollande and you immediately recognize it as a Mona di Orio creation. It has Musc’s show of strength through softness, Ambre’s tenderly powdery demeanor, the beautiful way of displaying a floral note of Oud and a spicy and resinous drydown reminiscent of Vanille.

Rose Etoile de Hollande opens with an accord like a tinkling laugh of a young girl. A sweet peach note, sparkly and effervescent leads to a slightly spiced, fresh rose garnished with bergamot. I imagine only the most jaded souls would refrain from smiling at the beauty and lightheartedness expressed in the first minutes of Rose Etoile’s development.

As time passes, the easy laughter subsides and a richer, deeper emotion surfaces. The face of the heart of Rose Etoile is a smiling one, the face of a happy woman. A wealth of roses, red, big, fully opened, in concert with powdery heliotrope, fill an olfactory garden that flashes hints of earthiness, woody depth and leathery strength and finally fades into a drydown rich in resinous and ambery softness. The smile slowly fades as time passes, the woman grows older and wiser, but her smile never leaves the eyes.

Rose Etoile de Hollande takes me on a highly emotional journey. It is a beautiful perfume and wearing it makes me laugh as well as cry. I laugh at the sheer happiness it exudes, the rich nuances, the fully realized potential of the rose, orchestrated to shine, integrated in a harmonious whole, far more complex than any mention of a soliflore would suggest. I wear it easily and I feel good in it. It suits me and it makes me feel beautiful, alive and happy.

Rose Etoile de Hollande also makes me cry for mostly the same reasons. Sometimes beauty is hard to stand. Also, of course, smelling Rose Etoile is bringing home the fact that the amazing talent of Mona di Orio is no more. Her life, at her peak, has been interrupted, the rose that was Mona will never experience the contentedness of old age, her journey had to be over before it could take its natural course.

Mona left us with a piece of herself. A gorgeous portrait of a beautiful person done in olfactory notes singing an ode to a rose.

A rose that smiles, even through the tears.

Image source: monadiorio.com, my own.
Posted in Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Heliotrope, Leather, Mona di Orio, Musk, Patchouli, Resins, Rose, Spicy, Vanilla, Woods | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 62 Comments

Monday Question – Which Perfume(s) Are You Going To Take On Vacation?

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Olfactoria

We talked about Scents of Destination last week, so I’d love to know today which perfumes you are going to take with you this summer if you are going on vacation.

No matter if you are going away or staying at home, which perfumes smell like the Summer of ’12 to you?

What will be this coming season’s signaure scent?

My Answer:

I will take Guerlain Pamplelune and Lys Soleia, Chanel Eau de Cologne, Dior Ambre Nuit and Chanel Sycomore and No19.

With that combination, I feel I’m set for day (Eau de Cologne and Pamplelune) and night (Ambre Nuit, Sycomore) and all moods in between (Lys Soleia, N°19).

What are your summer must-haves?

Posted in Monday Question | Tagged , , | 58 Comments

Gold Dust – Review: Chanel Bois des Iles

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Olfactoria

By Tara

Since tumbling down the rabbit hole into Perfumeland the only perfume I have bought on the spot is Bois des Iles. It was love at first sniff and despite the price tag I couldn’t walk away without a massive bottle of the Eau de Toilette. Bois des Iles is not just a great perfume, it is perfume perfection; a stunning and exquisitely balanced composition of aldehydes, woods, florals and spices.

The Chanel website only gives notes of bergamot, mandarin, tonka bean and vanilla but elsewhere on the internet you’ll find lists which also include aldehydes, neroli, peach, jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, iris, ylang-ylang, coriander, vetiver, sandalwood, benzoin and musk.

Sandalwood is the bed upon which all the other elements of the composition lay. There aren’t many materials in the world as rich and creamy as this much depleted natural resource so who knows how Chanel manages to maintain the quality in Bois des Iles, but they do. The soothing sandalwood note is present from start to finish.

Upon first spraying the EdT you’re hit with aldehydes akin to freshly varnished wood. This fleeting blast is soon followed by bright splashes of orange citrus, muted florals and soft spices. These spices are of the gourmand variety and the resultant effect is often likened to gingerbread. It’s this mouth watering accord which helps to set Bois des Iles apart from other fragrances in the woody oriental genre.

After moving through shades of orange and brown, Bois des Iles turns into the olfactory equivalent of powdered gold. The drydown is truly swoon-inducing. The fragrance seems to meld with your skin, coating you with its fragrant beauty.

As well as the EDT, I now own the Parfum which is darker, deeper and surprisingly sweeter. I dab a little of the Parfum and add a few sprays of the EDT for volume.

Master Perfumer Ernest Beaux was apparently inspired to create Bois des Iles in 1926 after seeing “The Queen of Spades” opera by Tchaikovsky at The Imperial Theatre in Moscow. You can tell how the richness and sumptuousness of the scenery and costumes are reflected in this plush yet reserved fragrance. I’ve read that Beaux named Bois des Iles as a favourite among his compositions, which also include Chanel No. 5 and Cuir de Russie.

Opulence can be tacky and comfort can be unsophisticated but this is not so in the case of Bois des Iles which retains a high level of refinement throughout its development. Forget the loud, brash orientals of the 70s and 80s, this is an oriental with chic restraint.

Bois des Iles is a Chanel, after all.

Bois des Iles is part of Les Exclusifs, available in 75ml and 200ml EDT and 15ml Parfum.
Image source: fragrantica.com, 8tracks.com
Posted in Aldehydic, By Tara, Chanel, Floral, Spicy, Woods | Tagged , , , , , , , | 63 Comments

What I Do In Vienna Is Obvious – Review: A Lab On Fire What We do In Paris Is Secret

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Olfactoria

The title of this perfume alone is already half a blog post…

A Lab On Fire has created a bit of a stir in the perfume community and while the utilitarian bottles are not drawing me in at all, perfumes by Dominique Ropion and Thierry Wasser are.

So let’s take a look at the newest one with the intriguing, funny, apt and looong title of What We Do In Paris Is Secret.

What We Do In Paris Is Secret was created by Dominique Ropion and includes notes of bergamot, honey, lychee, Turkish rose essence, tonka bean, vanilla, heliotrope, tolu, sandalwood, ambergris and musks.

The descriptor that comes to me again and again when I wear What We Do In Paris Is Secret (further known here as WWD), is “intelligent gourmand”. WWD is yummy, no doubt about it, it smells of pastry and macaroons, loukhoum and almond paste – rose scented delicacies of Parisian origin that make your mouth water and your heart ache, because they unite the sweet and the beautiful and become therefore irresistible.

But WWD is more than that. It has multiple layers and hidden crevices, shadowy corners and obscured depths that no run of the mill gourmand ever displays. WWD is beauty and brains, sugar high and rapier wit in one (sadly unsightly) package.

Deceptively simple, deceptively quiet, WWD displays strength and power in both sillage and longevity. This is a perfume that is easily underestimated at first sniff, simply dismissed as nice gourmand, but wear it and be immediately drawn into a beguiling and wonderful world you never thought could hide behind something so “cute”.

What they did in Paris to disguise this extraordinary perfume as a simple and easy one, is indeed secret. What I do in Vienna when I smell it on the other hand, is quite obvious: my nose stays attached to my wrist and I smile an enigmatic smile that is only enigmatic until you smell it too.

Then you’ll understand.

Image source: fragrantica.com, vintageadbrowser.com
Posted in Fragrance Reviews, Gourmand, Vanilla | Tagged , , , , , | 38 Comments

Soap Opera – Review: Guerlain Cruel Gardénia

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Olfactoria

The dear constant reader knows how much I love to complete a set. With this review I’m proud to say that I have now reviewed the entire, gorgeous and exclusive L’Art et la Matiere line. Not bad for someone hundreds of miles from the next Guerlain boutique… 😉

Cruel Gardénia is the last of the eight perfumes and one of the few florals. Mostly gourmand-orientals (which is why I love them so), L’Art et la Matière offers beauty and opulence and is a worthy heir to the classic Guerlains in my unimportant opinion.

Most other perfumes in the line have won my heart, take a look at reviews of Angelique Noire, Tonka Impèriale, Cuir Beluga, Rose Barbare, Iris Ganache and Myrrhe et Délires as well Tara’s review of Bois d’Armenie.

But on to the topic of the day: Cruel Gardénia.

Cruel Gardénia was created by Randa Hammami and includes notes of damask rose, peach, neroli, violet, ylang ylang, white musks, tonka bean, vanilla and sandalwood.

I could say I saved the best for last, but unfortunately that would not be true. I am not a huge fan of white florals, although I found a few to love by now, but still, it is not my favorite genre. But, my fellow white floral skeptics, fear not: There is no gardenia in Cruel Gardénia, which, it might be argued by white floral lovers, is cruel indeed.

But misnaming is a bit of a tradition in the L’Art et la Matière line, since Angelique Noire is not noire, Cuir Beluga has almost no leather, the Rose is not barbarian in the least.

It must be said though that the heady scent of gardenias is very hard to replicate, since it can’t be extracted from the flower, but must be reconstructed. Which has lead to a plethora of fragrances bearing the name but not the actual scent of gardenia. Therefore Guerlain is in good company here.

Cruel Gardénia smells soapy, white and clean.

It is a white musk-heavy orange blossom and jasmine fragrance to my nose, that smells like soap and ummm, soap. It grows softer over time and try as I may, I am reminded of a decidedly more low brow smell – that of the original Nivea cream.

Cruel Gardénia evokes the image of gardenia, the pristine white flower, rather than the smell. Exactly the same image of clean and innocent beauty that the white cream of Nivea projects as well.

A soapy shower followed by the application of body cream or lotion, a pampering ritual with all its attendant feeling of comfort and care, is what I get from Cruel Gardénia.

Please forgive me (especially you, Undina, I know how much you love it) for this not very elucidating review, but, as hard as I’ve tried, Cruel Gardénia does not yield its non-soapy secrets to me.

Here is a glowing review by Elena on Perfumeshrine and one more along the line of soapy suds on Bois de Jasmin.

What do you think about Cruel Gardénia? Did you slide down the soapy slope to love? Does it leave you foaming at the mouth? Or do you adore Cruel Gardénia’s clean scrubbed bouquet?

Image source: alafajperfume.com, vintageadbrowser.com
Posted in Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Guerlain, Guerlain L'Art et la Matière | Tagged , , , , , | 30 Comments