Visar inlägg med etikett Oud Assam. Visa alla inlägg
Visar inlägg med etikett Oud Assam. Visa alla inlägg

måndag 20 mars 2017

Carner Barcelona - Sandor 70's

Picture: Sandor 70's
Photo: PR Carner Barcelona (c)
Last year, Carner Barcelona launched a luxury sub-line, named Black Collection. There are three fragrances up to day, very well made and they all smell very pleasant. First out for review is the suede-booze-tabbacco Sandor 70's.

Sandor 70's starts with the soft suede character which is characteristic for the whole dry down of the fragrance. First the suede is paired  with an almost caramelized, round boozy accord with tobacco where also dark, dried fruits like in Serge Lutens Boxeuses are hidden. It's like resting in a comfortable leathery clubchair, reading the newspaper in the lounge of a venerable gentlemans club even if Sandor 70's is inspired of one of the most iconic bars of the 70’s in Barcelona so maybe the chair should be a bit more contemporary in style. There are also an intriguing contrast from emerging from the depts of the fragrance, hints of something animalic, furry reminding me of the horsey aspect of Rania J. Oud Assam but the intepretation is more polished and quiet  in Sandor 70's. In the middlenotes there is also a glimps of the pleasant "dust on a lit bulb" which is more prominent in another leather gem of 2016 Téo Cabanel Kasar as also in the opening of Mona di Orios first fragrance Carnation. The basenotes of Sandor 70's is dominated by an extreamly pleasant accord, smooth, balsamic, fresh leathery/tobacco with a balancing note of patchouli. The vanilla is not present as a single note but I can imagine it softens and fills out the other notes.
Picture: Sandor 70's
Photo: PR Carner Barcelona (c)
Taken as a whole Sandor 70's is a multifacetted fragrance, mostly linear in construction but still an intriguing compostion. It's very comforting, almost relaxing and very wearable, with absolutely no harsh edges. It's perfect for the colder seasons, for daytime or evening. Sandor 70's is unisex in style, maybe a tad more masculine, Mr Parfumista likes this much. The sillage is somewhere between close and medium and longevity about 12h+.

Those who likes fragrances in the style of for example Puredistance Black, Parfums MDCI Cuir Garamante, By Kilian Back to Black and Huitème Art Liqueur Charnelle should definitly try Sandor 70's.

Rating: 5

Notes: Suede, bergamot, jasmine, osmanthus, rose, tobacco, clary sage, cedar, peru balsam, vanilla, leather, patchouli, vetiver, incense, oakmoss

torsdag 15 maj 2014

Rania J - Oud Assam

Picture: Before the race,
Painting, oil on panel, ca 1882-84
 Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
Wikipedia Commons
Oud Assam is the oud fragrance in Rania J:s natural perfume line.Oud Assam is created by Rania Jouaneh.

Oud Assam starts with a burst of dirty, animalic notes contrasted by a discrete offsetting glimpse of dense orangenotes. The orange is not of the sparkling, light character, the impression is more like orange combined with dark chocolade, but in this case, orange combined with animalic notes. As Oud Assam dries down further, a very well interpreted leather establishes and Oud Assam is an intriguing interaction between barnyard, leather and woody notes, even if it gets more polite later in the basenotes with a note similar to dark, dry chocolade or maybe a dry tobacconote. and it's almost as the orange glimpses through together with some musc and in this stage a very pleasant, almost pure, part appears. Despite the demanding notes especially in the first part of Oud Assam, the fragrance is smooth and comforting in texture and it feels natural and very wellbalanced  in style. There are non of the harsh or peppery notes which are so common in synthetic ouds. Oud Assam is very special and a pleasant surprise, one of the very best ouds both I and Mr Parfumista has tested so far. The comforting oudnote in Oud Assam reminds me of the oud in the amber-oud fragrance from Maître Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Doré but drier and smoother. The first part of Oud Assam is maybe not the best officefragrance but the second part would be no problem. Anyway, Oud Assam is perfect for cozy days at home or for walks in the forest during autumn and winter. Sillage is medium and longevity for almost a day.

Oud Assam is totally unisex. When Mr Parfumista wears Oud Assam less of the animalic notes appears and more of the polished ones. In the later stages Oud Assam is a gentle, woody perfume which smells pure and natural. Mr Parfumista find something in the pure notes in Oud Assam that reminds him of vintage Cartier Santos and I agree when smelling them side by side. On my skin Oud Assam takes another route, the animalic-dirty. I can still smell the stablenots in the late drydown.

Overall Oud Assam is an intriguing and very special oud that takes many twists during its drydown. Oud Assam should be smelled on skin, it's fine on the scentstrip but warmed up and mixed with ones own chemistry something almost magical heppens and Oud Assam reaches a higher level. It's a very personal fragrance as almost different perfumes are appearing depending on who is wearing Oud Assam. Mr Parfumista also want to add that he truly appreciate the lack of pepper in this oud as he is so fed up with all the bombastic, peppery oudnotes out there.

Oud Assam is a real gem and should be tested by those who like oud and wellcrafted woody perfumes. Even if not smelling the same, Oud Assam has the natural feeling of delicate and comforting oud just as Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Oud and The Different Company Oud Shamash. Oud Assam is also a priceworthy alternative to those fragrances.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, sweet and bitter orange, oud, cedarwood, vetiver, incense, pepper, tonka bean, musc