Visar inlägg med etikett Baiser Volé. Visa alla inlägg
Visar inlägg med etikett Baiser Volé. Visa alla inlägg

torsdag 28 november 2013

Oriza L.Legrand - Jardins D'Armide

Picture: A rose from Armidas garden
Painting by Marie Spartali Stillman (1894)
Wikimedia commons
The original  Jardins D'Armide was released in 1905 and the current version is an interpretation of the original that preserves the old school feeling in a contemporary wearable way. The re-working is performed by Oriza L.Legrand houseperfumer Hugo Lambert. Jardins D'Armide is inspired of the garden in the story of Armida, a sacaran sorceress who during the First Crusade captured the Roman soldier Rinaldo and created an enchanted garden where she held him a lovesick prisoner. 

Jardins D'Armide starts dry powdery with a furry note, but in the same time a bit cold, like the texture and feeling of an orchid. A sweet note, reminding me of candy also appears in a very pleasanst way. The roses are dry, like dried rose petals, and a bit tart. When Jardins D'Armide developes a wellblanced, still cool, slight spicy, flowery heart appears soon followed by supporting sweeter and warmer notes. For a short while a very realsitic almond note glimpses by followed by powdry tonka and a pleasant musky base in which an almost geraniumgreen, tart note are apperant on my skin. The powder of Jardins D'Armide is not dominating, it's not the heavy powdery/soapy aldehydes of for example Lorenzo Villoresi Teint de Neige or Cartier Baiser Volé, the powder is just an accent, not the theme of the whole parfume. Jardins D'Armide is a retro perfume that in apperance somehow reminds me of one of the Grossmiths I think it is Hasu-no-Hana that comes to my mind. Another perfume which is more close in what it smells like is Profumi del Forte Roma Imperiale but without the slight dirty notes which is lurking in the latter.
Picture: Jardins D'Armide -another tempting bottle
from Oriza L.Legrand
Photo: PR Oriza L.Legrand (c)
As all Orizas, a wellblended and balanced perfume, Jardins D'Armide has a distinct sillage and longevity up to 24h even if discrete trails at that stage. A powerfragrance with a demanding appeal, appropriate for most elegant occasions but also in small doses, for officewear.

Rating: 4

Notes: Dry potpourri rose, orange blossom, iris powder, iris, violet, wisteria, carnation, honey, almond, tonka been, musk

Sample avaible at Fragrance & Art

torsdag 24 oktober 2013

Guerlain – Cruel Gardenia

Picture: Gardenia flower from the gardens at Monticello
Photo:Querbubbles (cc) Wikimedia Commons, some rights reserved
Cruel Gardenia is a part of the Guerlain L’Art et la Matiere Collection where Guerlain let mostly “off-house” noses create based on one single note. Cruel Gardenia is composed by perfumer Randa Hammami in 2008.

As written so many times before, there is not possible to extract from the gardenia flower by any technique. Therefore there are many different white flower interpretations pretending to be gardenia. Cruel Gardenia starts with a bouquet of white flowers where quite soon the mushroom note typical for some gardenias shining through very clearly to me. I can’t feel a cheesy note that also is present in some other gardenia, but probably that is just another facet of the fresh, mushroom note. When the mushroom is faded a wonderful, creamy, thick, white floral blend is appearing and is the linear main theme during the whole dry down. There is also an accompanying, fresh fruity almost citrus, slight ozonic like note balancing the creamy white flowers and all this beauty is anchored in a white and clean musky base. The impression of Cruel Gardenia is that of a luxury bodycreme and the style and associations of smelling the scent reminds me very much of the beautiful Puredistance I. I isn’t as thick as Cruel Gardenia, it’s lighter and more ozonic in texture.

Even if Cruel Gardenia is not a groundbreaking composition, it’s an very wearable, utterly elegant comfort scent made of high quality ingredients and seamless blended. The longevity is very good, almost 24h and the sillage is medium.

I think Cruel Gardenia could be appreciated by those who like Cartier Baiser Volé and Ramón Monegal White Musk (Cotton Musk).

Rating: 5

Notes: Neroli, peach, rose, gardenia, ylang-ylang, gardenia, musk, sandalwood, tonka been, vanilla

måndag 25 februari 2013

Jimmy Choo - Flash

Picture: Flash the latest Jimmy Choo release
Photo by Jimmy Choo (c)
As a longtime parfumista I shouldn't (of course) like Jimmy Choo latest fragrance Flash, but I have to confess, I really do like this mainstream release. Flash, created by experienced perfumer Christine Nagel, is a diluted and thin floral fragrance, so typical for a IFRA/EU compliant 2013 release even though, it has something appealing in its appearance. Maybe it's the contemporay interpreation of the cold white floral notes backed up by some light and spicy notes.

Flash starts flowery with a contemporary stripped down, cold tubereuse matched with a jasmine and a lily handled in the same way. The indolic, animalc notes are far away, and there is also no creamy aspects as for in example the lily dominated Baiser Volé from Cartier. Instead Flash has cold and clean and in the same time pleasant smelling flowers accentuated with a slight just recognizable note of frozen strawberries. The strawberrynote is not particular sweet, I percieve it as wellbalanced. Flash is quite linear in structure, but in the basenotes, some to the chilly impression, contrasing, light spicy, warmer notes appears as also a pleasant slight soapy note. Overall Flash is cold and the pale purple color of the juice is a perfect match to the feeling Flash intermediate: Its texture is like a pale, purple chiffon veil.

Flash is a very uplifting perfume, refreshing and even if pale, somehow distinctive. It's the perfect perfume for days when tired or even with a hang over. Flash is also a comfortable, non-offensive, office fragrance, versatile and a easy choice for days when not knowing what to wear. Flash will also be a good fragrance for spring. Despite Flash is representing the pale and almost bodyless structure of a modern mainstream, the longevity is almost 24h.

There is some similarities in style with the In the Garden of Good and Evil fragrances from ByKilian but Flash is more distinct, less fruity and maybe a bit sharper in edges but it definitly gives a greater value for the money. Another fragrance that strangely comes to my mind when wearing Flash in its basenotes is the transparant, smooth-spicy Rima XI from Carner Barcelona. It's probably the light spiciness just detectable in Flash that is the common link as also the chiffonlike texture of both frgrances even if the Rima XI veil is white where Flash is purple, Rima XI is not flowery at all to my nose. Those who like Prada Infusion deTubereuse could also like Flash.

Rating: 4 *)

*) Even if Flash doesn't reach a 5 rating in the overall assessement, Flash is a fragrance that I personally like very much regardless the overall rating

Notes: Strawberry, tangerine, pink pepper, tubereuse, jasmine, lily, heliothrope, white woods

måndag 10 september 2012

Balmain - Ivoire (new)

Picture: Place Vendome, a picture of  the spirit of Ivoire.
Photo by Dimitris Distigues  (CC) Wikimedia Commons, some rights reserved

The 1980 classic Ivoire de Balmain is re-launched 2012 (this week in Sweden) in a new and very successful interpretation/formulation created by Michel Alamirac and Jacques Flori.

The new interpretation of Ivorie starts much smoother and gentler than the older galbanum-tinged formula with elegant fruity-flowery notes. The pleasant fruitiness has an accompning role inr the middlenotes where elegant flowery interpretations of are mingeled with the traditional galbanum of old Ivoire in a considerably lighter dose. An interesting twist is the addition of some slight peppery notes. It sounds hazardly for such an elgant blend as Ivoire but the pepperiness is so skillfully handled, it's acting in the background as an uplifting note that gives sparkle to Ivoire and I don't percieve the spritzy-sharpness that are present in many peppery creations.  The soapiness of the old Ivoire is tuned down a bit in the earlier stages of the new, this is not strange at all as the galbanum isn't preseant in the early stage. As Ivoire continues to dry down the similarities, among them the lovely sopainess, with the older formula are even more obvious, despite the fact that the soapiness is of a smoother and gentler kind. It intermediates the feeling of wearing a soft, white cashmerejumper, the same feeling as I precieved with the wonderful lilyinterpreation Cartier Baiser Volé. In the elegant base which mediates a vintage sense of mossiness, the new Ivoire has much in common with the old version, to me it's like the more Ivoire dries down, the closer to the old Ivoire it appears. The expression of both the fragrances is the same and I can recognise the same structure and scent but the new Ivoire has a smoother, gentler and fruitier aura as the older is greener, sharper, rougher and more edgy.

The new Ivoire also preserves the same very french elegance as the older version. Ivoire still reminds me of an elegant french lady in a well-cutted, less-is-more, ivory silkdress, dining at a likewise elegant restaurant a bit cool summer evening at a place like Place Vendome. Ivoire creates the same feeling of elegance as Puredistances Antonia even if Antonia is edgier and closer to the original Ivoire whit its charactersitic note of galbanum. The casual-chic daytime alternative to Ivoire, a scent with resembling notes but interpreted in outdoor style is one of my all time favorites Hermès Amazone.

Both versions of Ivoire is definitly worth owning for the lovers of the old Ivoire, they are great complements to each other, where the newer "contemporary" version is a bit easier to wear and I also think it appeals to a wider group of perfumebuyers than the orignal. Besides the fragrances mentioned above I also think that people that enjoys Bas de Soie by Serge Lutens will like Ivoire, both the new and old version, fans of Chanel No 19 Poudre I think will appreciate the new Ivoire.

The longevity of Ivoire is very good, it lasts over a whole day to late in the evening.

Rating: 5

Notes: mandarin, violet, orange, jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, black pepper, galbanum, vanilla, vetiver, cedarwood, patchouli

torsdag 12 januari 2012

Cartier - Baiser Volé

Picture: Lilium longiflorum, Easter Lily.
Photo by UpstateNYer (cc), Wikimedia commons, some rights reserved

A freshly washed cashmerejumper white as snow, worn by an elegant woman in a large likewise elegant. white decorated living room. She is resting in front of the lighted fire in the marble fireplace in the center of the room. That's the image that Mathilde Laurents Baiser Volé evokes to me.

After some gentle citrusnotes and a light note of luxery detergent in the top, Baiser de Volé is a quite linear creamy, lily fragrance. If the fragrance had a texture it would be something like the showercreme of Dove. The lily is bright and crisp with a soft spiciness that feels like the natural spiciness of the lilyflower.  but in the same time it is warm, not cold as lily scents often are. The creamy aura reminds me of the creaminess of Burberry Body, but as Body features a pink rose, Baiser de Volé features the white lily.

When it comes to comparing BV to other lily fragrances I have to confess that I like it much better than Serge Lutens Un Lys. To me Un Lys is Lily of the valley and the scent is somehow fragmented and a little screamy and not as full blown as BV. Compared to the favorite lily of mine, Donna Karan Gold, Gold with it's woody- watery, dark lily notes is like a forest in the evening, with golden rays falling through the trees and something dark lurking in the background. As BV is another type of lily fragrance it has it's place even i a wardrobe already containing those.

Maybe Baiser de Volé is not the most complicated creation but on the other hand it's just lovely and cosy. And that's exactly what I need gray and chilly days. To my nose, one of the best releases among designer fragrances in 2011. I received my sample from Escentual.

Rating: 5

Notes: Citrusnoter, gröna blad, lilja/ Citrus, green notes, lily