Visar inlägg med etikett Lipstick Rose. Visa alla inlägg
Visar inlägg med etikett Lipstick Rose. Visa alla inlägg

måndag 30 maj 2016

Anatole Lebreton - Incarnata

Picture: Incarnata
Photo: PR Anatole Lebreton (c)
Incarnata which is the latest Anatole Lebreton creation starts with a very true, dry, dusty,  powdery, not so sweet lipsticknote, that sort of vintage lipstcknote, a scent I'm remember since childhood. Cosmetic notes is also the theme for this intriguing, retroinspired perfume. It has a putty lipstick texture but is not as violet-rosy as Frederic Malle Lipstick Rose or sweet and dirty as Etat Libre D'Orange Putain des Palaces. After a while, there is a note appearing which smells close to cummin, but not the sharp varity, this is sort of a smooth versio. There is also hints of something similar to cough syrup but in a positive way. As Incarnata dries down, a smell that resembling the image of the texture of a thick, transparent, cold fluid appears: A splendid, deep myrrh, not as dark as in Huitième Art Myrrhiad but also not as airy as in Serge Lutens La Myrrhe, here it's almost the myrrh from Guerlain Myrrhe et Delires. The result of the myhrr mingling with the powdery notes is brilliant; the cosmetic notes becomes enlighted and almost refreshing.

Incarnata is a suitable perfume for a evening out in the opera or in the theatre. It's sort of sophisticated, robust with hidden secrets, like an untidy apartment hiding behind the perfect facade of a buildning on a posh street. It's an intriguing perfume which shifts during its development and evokes different images. The sillage is medium and longevity is very good with clear traces remaining after 24h. To me Incarnata is a very feminine perfume.

Like the other Anatole Lebreton fragrances I have tested, Incaranta is intriguing, well made and stands out in the flood of niche releases. I would like to own a bottle of each and thankfully those fragrances are quite reasonable priced to be niche, 90 EUR/50 ml.

Rating: 4

Notes: Raspberry, violet, rhododendron, orris root, myrrh, rose, powdery notes, amber, suede, benzoin vanilla

måndag 25 april 2016

Making of Cannes - Quick reviews

Picture: A chic bottle of Rocher Princier
Photo: PR Making of Cannes (c)
Making of Cannes is a perfumebrand based in Grasse which creations are inspired of the Cannes Film Festival and the movie industry. Founder of the brand is Audrey Courbier who worked for Estee Lauder form many years, I havn't found who the perfumer is. Technically the fragrances are wellcrafted of a good quality and contains at least 20% perfumeoil, from a creative point of view even if beautiful nothing new or innovative. The fragrances are comforting, elegant and easy to wear.
Below some short thoughts of the five first releases from 2014:

Premier Role: This light oriental amber has a lovely vintage aura, especially in the start with something as unusual as a soft galbanum, this note often tend to appear as sharp. Taken as a whole Premier Role is a mix between two interesting perfumes from the past. Dior Dune and Balenciaga Prelude with an extra dose of smooth, restrained, moderate sweet white and yellow flowers. The first one-third is the most interesting then the fragrance get linear and smells almost the same for the rest of the dry down. Very feminine, warm, soft and comfortable to wear.

L'Amour la Monde: This is Frederic Malle Lipstick Rose crossed with a finetuned, realistic smelling leather like for example Acqua di Parma Colonia Leather. The leathernote vanishes after the topnotes and intergrates with the musky, powdery, creamy lipstick rose/violet accord. The more L'Amour la Monde dries down, the more of the powdery, musky, aldehydic character steps forward in a comfortable way. Just as with Permier Role the first one-third is the most interesting, than the fragrance stays almost the same, even if intensifying.

Invalouable: Starts very feminine as a flowery light powdery vanilla with fruity accents. The vanillic flower in its texture, not in the actual smell, is similar to the style of the angelic, powdery, flowery vanilla from Eau d'Italie Morn to Dusk. As Invalouable dries down to the middlenotes it settles in a light peppery, white flower accord  and the fragrance is close to the sparkling Ramon Monegal duo Kiss My Name and Lovely Day. As Invalouable reaches its warm and musky basenotes, the peppery sparkle steps back and the fragrance reminds of the beautiful summery white flower of Gianfranco Ferré which bears the same name as the designer.

Amazing Shooting: Listed as unisex but to my nose it's lending more to the feminine side. Starts fruity in a air of chypre. The fruits are fresh, not the spicy Mitsouko style, but combined with slight boozy notes, it becomes darker, almost creamy and much more sophisticated in apperance. Something which smells like a wellbalanced, not harsh teanote also glimpses, probably this is the metallicnote mentioned in the notelist. Amazing Shooting reminds me in style and expression of a more balanced EnJoy by Jean Patou made of much better ingredients.

Rocher Princier:  Listed as masculine or unisex the woody-spicy, to my nose dominantly incense-oudy Rocher Princier goes for both. Starts with a cold aldehydic chalky incensy which is close to Montale Full Incense. As Rocher Princier dries further down, a light smokey, confier, cold oudy aura appears and the fragrance in this stage has similaritues with Robert Piguet Oud Some light sweet spicy elements combined with balsamic notes deepens the fragrance in the basenotes. A rounded, well constructed incense-oud without any sharp edges or annoying pepper, very pleasent to wear. The smooth incense interpretation in texture is similar to the sweeter and gourmandy cosy incense Juozas Statkevicius (Josef Statkus). The favorite from the line both for me and Mr Parfumista.

måndag 4 maj 2015

Maison Nicolas de Barry - L'impératrice Sissi

Picture: Emperess Elisabet of Austria (1837-1898)
Painting by Amanda Bergstedt (1841-1918)
Wikimedia commons

L'impératrice Sissi from the historic line of Maison Nicolas de Barry is inspired of the Empress of  Austria-Hugary the beautiful  redhead Elisabeth of Bavaria. L'impératrice Sissi is create by Nicolas de Barry and Eddie Blanchet.

L'impératrice Sissi starts sparkling, flowery where natural smelling violets blended with iris, the flowery irisinterpretation are featured. Later on the fragrance goes more cosmetic, like the smell of lipstick, a bit putty- powdery, and this impression deepens as the dry down goes further on. The base is slight vanillic, musky powdery in a  pleasant way.

L'impératrice Sissi is a well made, not candy sweet pastille smelling violet, the flowery iris blances the violet in a perfect harmony. Simple in notes but well balanced and with good ingredients, L'impératrice Sissi is pleasant to wear year around, this is not the typical transaprent spring violet. It's a comforting but in the same time casual chic fragrance, wearable in most occasions.

Frederic Malle Lipstick Rose and L'Artisan Drole de Rose are fragrances in the same vein as L'impératrice Sissi in its later stages. The flowery opening is more in the style of Acqua di Parma Iris Nobile and Le Galion Iris.

I don't konw why  Elisabeth inspired to a violet fragrance, maybe because she liked to wandering in the nature or simply because violets where popular in the romantic era in the 19th century.

Rating:4
Rating: 5 (November 2016)

Re-testing Sissi in November 2016 - its a really great fragance, I like it even better now, the natural vanilla together with an almost herbal facet shines through in a much better way this time. 

Notes: Bergamot, violet, iris, vanilla

Thanks to Fragrance and Art for the sample to try

måndag 24 februari 2014

L'Artisan Parfumeur - Quick impressions of some classic L'AP:s 1(2)

Picture: One of the L'Artisans,
Drôle de Rose
Photo: PR L'Artisan Parfumeur (c)
After becoming disappointed with the new sub-line L'Explosions de Emotions from the old (one of the very first niche-houses, only Diptyque was earlier) reaible L'Artisan Parfumeur, I had to test/re-test some of my samples from the house to get my confidence back. Below some quick impressions of some classic L'Artisans from different genres.

Bois Farine: A 2003 Jean-Claude Ellena inspiration from an unusual tree in the Caribbian. Sweet, powdery, like flour, woody with some spices. The opening smells like peanutbutter. Delicious, mouthwatering and comforting (if properly dosed) to wear cold and grey days. Unfortunately Bois Farine now is discontinued, so it's time to stock up.

Voleur de Roses: Created by Michel Almairac as early as 1993 and it's a forerunner to the whole dark, earthy, moisty, dark, red rose and patchouli that I like so much. VdR is somehow the unpolished gem (ruby) of the genre the patchouli is dirtier and moistier, the red rose is darker and bolder than in the more polished followers such as Guerlain Rose Barbare, Juliette has A Gun Lady Vengeance, and Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady.

Drôle de Rose: A powdery, cosmetic, lemony, cherful, sunny take on the combined violet and pink rose theme, created by Olivia Giacobetti in 1996. Also a forerunner to fragrances such as Frederic Malle Lipstick Rose which more formal in appearance and with more pronounced violet than in DdR and Etat Libre d'Orange Putain des Palaces which is a dramatic, dark and dirty variation of violet-rose.

To be continued in the next post.

måndag 7 maj 2012

Etat Libre D'Orange - Putain des Palaces

Picture: Au Salon de la rue des Moulins, oil on canvas
painted by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1894.
Museum de Toulouse-Lautrec, Wikimedia commons.

The fragance with the controversial name Putain des Palaces was created by Nathalie Feisthauer for the avantagrde perfumehouse Etat Libre D'Orange in 2006. To me PdP is a fragrance that is not created to smell good or to be praised for it's masterful blending. This is one of those perfumes that are primarily created to make an artistic statement and on many wearers it of course also developes to smell good. It seems that PdP fits with my chemistry as the discerning Mr Parfumista comments "Today you also have a frag that smells good and that suits you" when sampling PdP.

The name Putain des Palaces is just right to this skanky, animalic, lipstick-putty, blend. In it's texture and partial in the lipsticknote PdP has similarities with Lipstick Rose from Frederic Malle. The similarities ends there as LR is innocent and pretty and PdP is the quite oppsite character. After applying PdP I can smell a noticeable note of cummin in the topnotes. According to the notelist there is no cummin but ginger, probably this note is the outcome of a handling of ginger that I have not perceived before. I like PdP in the topnotes, the sweaty "cummin" that for a short while mingles with a dirty, furry-animalic note that I recognize from Parfumerie Générales L'Ombre Fauve. As PdP dries down and settles in the middlenotes/beginning of the basenotes, there is a light leather or more like a suede note, a sultry violet-rose, still dirty and with hints of something that I perceive as a chalky note. The lipstick note is also there but the violet and rose dont feel clean and clear as in the luxary lipstick of Lipstick Rose. Despite some creaminess from the lipsticknote, there is a certain sharpness hiding at this stage, an at the same time round note that reminds me of a golden apple on the verge to be overripe. This note, which I belive is suede combined with flowers, I have earlier experienced in Etienne Aigners In Leather for Women and in Ava Luxes Film Noir. As the dry down get further and finally settles in the base, the violet and rose appears to brighten, get less skanky and a note similar to papyrus glimpse in the powdery musky base.

Putain de Palaces is a suggestive, haunting and alluring scent. It is not especially pleasant to wear, you have to be in mood to deal with the tragic reality this fragrance will display. In contrary to what one expects from the perfume of a Putain de Palaces, PdP is lingering close to the skin and has a medium sillage. The longevity is, as in the case with almost all ELDO fragrances I have tried, quite good and it is still there unfragmented late in the evening with traces the day after.

Rating: 5

Notes: Leather, mandarine, ginger, rose, violet, lily of the valley, amber

torsdag 3 maj 2012

Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle - Lipstick Rose

Picture: Viola Riviniana and Viola Canina
Nordens flora, picture painted between 1917and 1926 by
swedish botanist Carl Axel Magnus Lidman
Wikimedia commons

Lipstick Rose is created by perfumer Ralf Schwieger for Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle year 2000 and was released with a bunch of other fragrances in the earliest edition of the house.

To me Lipstick Rose smells very innocent, well behaved and girl next door-ish. Even so (of course the girl next door wears a little pink lipstick on special occasions) Lipstick Rose is a appropriate name of this violety, rosy, slight powdery and slight earthy blend. The top- and middlenotes definitely conveys the picture and smell of a lipstick of high quality. There is a creamy and slight powdery note, dominated by violets. The rose is the second player and disappears on my skin as the scent drys down to the basenotes. In the basenotes there is still a trace of the powdery violet but the notes of vetiver and musk anchor it in a slight earthy base. On my skin those notes blended together also create a tealike note.

The powdery note present during the whole dry down reminds me of a polished version of the gunpowdernote that I appreciate in Lorenzo Villoresis Teint de Neige. In it's earlier stages Lipstick Rose is somehow a well-behaved violet-version of the, in comparison, wild and eccentric TdN. But Lipstick Rose don't goes the whole hog as TdN, neither by the gunpowdernot or by the soapiness as the Lipstick Rose powder never passes in to the great soapiness of TdN. Other fragrances that have similarities with LR is Andy Tauers beautiful Une Rose Vermeille a jammy, fruity rose with hints of violets and with the texture of Etat Libre D'Oranges Putain de Palaces. Even as also it's name indicates, this scent with it's dirty animalic heft is the direct opposite to the girl next door-ish Lipstick Rose, but the style,violets and the rose are in common. 

Lipstic Rose is a well executed, almost linear fragrance that is easy to wear for many non-casual occasions in autumn, winter and spring. It's a tad too sweet and powdery to feel appropriate for summerwearing.

Rating: 3

Notes: Rose, violet, musk, vanilla, vetiver, amber

måndag 30 april 2012

Histoire de Parfums – Blanc Violette

Picture: A Violet, viola sororia. Photo by: Hoodedwarbler12 (cc),
Wikimedia commons, some rights reserved

Blanc Violette is one of the fragrances in the Histoire de Parfums underline Soliloquies based on some of the classical notes. Blanc Violette is created by the HdP founder Gerald Ghislain and Magali Senequier

Blanc Violette starts with a powdery, aldehydic, retro accord that highlights the violets in the the lipstick-like way as seen in Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Lipstick Rose and Etat Libre D'Orange Putain the Palace. But in Blanc Violette the violetnote is clearer compared to the other two and supported by other flowery notes of iris and ylang-ylang. In the middlenotes a lot of the powderness is toned down and a light, dry, white-peppery note appears, probably an element of the sandalwood in the base. Blanc Violette will continue as a rather shy but dominating violet supported by the other flowers and with a well-established contrast of anise and rice powder over a musky base with some light traces of vanilla. The anisenote never takes over the scent, as in many cases with this distinctive note, it's well interwoven, balances the other notes and gives the fragrance a special character. In style, not particulary in smell, there is a similarity with the chilly elegance of Jolie Madame by Pierre Balmain.

Blanc Violette is a chilly, yet soft scent that's perfect wearing during daytime in winter-spring and spring. It smells just like I imagine that the color light purple would smell. Both Lipstick Rose and Putain the Palace is warmer and more extrovert in style than the cool, understated elegant, yet comfortable Blanc Violette. Longevity of the day is so-so, just fragments remain in the evening.

Rating: 3 +

Notes: Violet, bergamot, iris, ylang-ylang, anise, sandalwood, ricepowder, musk, vanilla