Winter strikes back

Picture: Mr Parfumista (c)

Winter strikes back again and today it's snowing as h--l ! Treating my self in the peachy, chocolate, rose, freesia, spicy, patchouli 1969 Parfum de Revolte from Histoire de Parfums trying to find "inspiration" to start with the yearly tax declaration of income. 1969 is a really nice, not too sweet, dessert like gourmand fragrance.

So then my spring-spring fragrancepost probably have to wait for some more weeks.

Carner Barcelona - Tardes

Picture: Tardes, afternon in the countryside

Photo: Carner Barcelona (c)

Carner Barcelona Tardes is created by one of my favourite perfumers Daniela Andrier, the housenose of Prada.In Tardes the founder of the house of Carner, Sara Carner, through Andriers nose will capture the peaceful summerafternoons in the catalonian countryside.

Tardes starts with slight chemical notes that disappears very fast and an airy almond shines through. Soon the almond is supported by flowers and some light herbal notes and it's not hard to imagine the source of inspiration to this balmy and calming fragrance. Tardes is fairly liniear during it's dry down and heliotrophe and musk are supporting and deepen the other notes in the base. I can feel a minior trace of the fresh lighted cigarettenote that I appreciate in D600 in the base, but it is just fragments compared to D600 . Maybe this cigarettenote is a part of the housenote of Parfums Carner, probably it's a part of the musk used in the base.
Tardes is an airy almondfragrance, not surprisingly as it's a creation of the queen of transparency and airiness Daniela Andrier. Tardes is not as sweet as most fragrances with almond as the dominating note. Fragrances as Etros Heliotrophe which has about the same sweetness but has more heliotrophe and tonka then Tardes, Kiss me tender (swedish) by Patricia de Nicolaï which is a pastry take on almond and heliotrophe which almost feels like marzipan. Fragrances as Dior Hypnotic Poison (swedish) and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Castelbajac  (swedish) also features almond but are completely different, denser types of fragrances. Keiko Mecheris Taormine (swedish) is also a different almond, it's creamy and smells similar to an almondy bodylotion. Even if Tardes is slight gourmandy it somehow remains fresh in caracter during it’s whole dry down. Tardes is a very longlasting fragrance that remains unfragemented on skin after a whole day. The projection is fairly close.
The overall impression of Tardes is the airy, gourmandy and almost chilly expression that is also present in another late Daniela Andrier creation, Prada Candy (swedish). As Tardes was launched 2010 and Candy 2011 it is quite likely that the perfumer has worked almost simultaneously with the fragrances and they therefore shares the same theme but using almond as the major note in Tardes and benzoin/resins in Candy. Of the two, I prefer Tardes whith it's fine tuned, almondy, floweriness.

Tardes, as well as my other favourite D600, is a wellcrafted, comfortable and wearable fragrance.It is appropriate for daytime, both casual and to work. An almond that is suitable also in summer due to it's Andrierian transparency and almost chilly airiness.

Rating: 4

Update summer 2013: Rating 5. After wearing from the sample some more times, I totally adore the almond-rosewood-heliotrope combination. Just great and FBW.

Notes: Geranium, rose, rosewood, almond, cedar, plum, celery, tonka, musk, heliotrope

Carner Barcelona - D600

Picture: D600 by Carner Barcelona. This image

perfectly captures the spirit of D600. Photo by Carner Barcelona (c).

The scents of Carner Barcelona is sometimes accused to be to close to other, preferably better mainstream, fragrances. But with the multitude of fragrancereleases of today, which houses are not, and I can't see that Carner stands out among the other regarding this. Even if Cuirs that I reviewed in November last years resembles some other niche releases in the oud-saffron-leather category it's a well done fragrance which fully can compete with the other mentioned. But now, over to the todays subject - D600.

D600 is one of the two initial fragrances for the house of Carner, founded by Sara Carner in 2010. In the fragrances Sara will capture the spirit of her hometown Barcelona and it's catalonian surroundings through the compositions of different perfumers. In D600 the perfumer Christophe Raynaud  hits the target: D600 is the smell of La Rambla a warm summernight, it perfectly captures the modern pulse of the medivial city. D600 starts with notes thats resembles the smoke of a fresh lighted cigarette mingled with iris and jasmine . Later on the blend becomes more flowery with some discrite citric notes well blended, but in a urban, subdued way. There is also a sort of putty, slight lipsticky note that surrounds the flowers which is very pleasant. The base is light vetiver, woody well balanced with a vanillic touch and the light, freshly lighted cigarettenote consists and deepens during the evolution of the basenotes. In the end, blended with the vanilla, there is an almost edible, light gourmand accord. Something also is reminding me of The Different Company Oriental Lounge (in swedish).

D600 is a very comfortable scent, unisex but to my nose it's leaning to the feminine side as opposed to Dior Homme (different versions) which it's sometimes is said to be too similar to. To my nose there is similarities in style and in the irisnote but I think DH is much more lipsticky and the iris is louder and more cosmetic in feel and so is the whole DH fragrance. In D600 the jasmine is almost equal to the irisnote and I can't find the fresh ligheted cigarettenote in DH. Another frag that comes to my mind when sniffing the cigarettenote is Etat Libre D'Oranges Jasmin et Cigarettes but in this scent the cigarettenote paired with jasmine on me,  precipitates in the most unpleasent way. D600 is a much more successful interpretation of the flowery cigarette theme. D600 also intermediate a sort of urban, vegetal feeling that I also can recognize in Annick Goutals Nuit Etoilée . There is also a touch of hot asphalt like in Keiko Mecheris Mulholland (swedish), even if Mulholland is a citrusfrag with winy accords.

Overall, D600 is a pleseant, comfortable fragrance very versatile, the type of fragrance which is essential those days when it's hard to choose which frag to wear. The longevity is satisfactory and the fragrance is interesting during it's whole dry down.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, grapefruit, pepper, iris, jasmine, cardamom, vetiver, cedarwood, vanilla

Thanks to Carner Barcelona for sending a sample for test.

Happy Easter!

Photo: Parfumista (c)

Suffering from a really bad cold, I've hardly been able to work the the past two days but somehow managed to get to the office. I'm now (as also my nose) going to rest during the Easter weekend to get well until next week's obligations.

According to tradition, I usually publish an Easter fragrance post but since my sense of smell is completely vanished  I find no inspiraton. OK not completely vanished as I sometimes smells fragments of the comforting Thierry Mugler Cologne which is my SOTD.

If I didn't had the cold I would have like to wear Le Temps pour d'une Fete by Patricia de Nicolaï, it's crispy green galbanum with springlike hyacinths perfectly fits the Easter holiday as also Antonia by Puredistance which is a more polished take on the theme. First by Van Cleef & Arpels would also be a good choice in this category.

Which you a happy and well smelling Easter!

Parfumerie Générale - Musc Maori

Bild: Choc Rose Cake, foto: SimonJamesKent, (cc)

Wikimedia Commons, some rights reserved

Scroll down for an english version.

Även om jag är en stor Pierre Guillaume fantast, och det beror inte på utseendet :-) utan givetvis enbart på hans högkvalitativa parfymskapande, så står jag bara inte ut med Musc Maori. Rent teoretiskt borde jag tycka om MM med noter som kakaofrön, tonka böna, ambra, mysk och vanilj gourmand men ändå pudrigt torrt, i teorin alltså. Men praktiken är något helt annat: På mig är MM som en tung, smörig chokladcreme, helt enkelt som att smörja in mig med innehållet i en mastig chokladtårta. I bland kommer lätta dunster av varmt smör, ungefär som smör upphettat för att poppa popcorn på traditionellt vis, doften precis när majskornen lagts i det smälta smöret i kastrullen.MM är sammantaget bara alldeles för mycket och på gränsen till illamående framkallande. Jag känner inte av någon typisk vit mysknot överhuvudtaget, en not som på mig antingen är ren och svalknade eller pudrigt "skanky". Men eftersom det är en rent tekniskt bra parfym, som de flesta av PG:s, så finns säkert mysken skickligt inblandad för att förstärka övriga noter.

MM påminner inte om någon annan myskparfym som jag har sniffat på, utan har sina släktingar i den rena gourmandfamiljen. Den doft MM ge mig asociationer till är Missoni men då bara på grund av chokladen, men Missonis choklad är torr och mer diskret än MM:s. En annan doft med chokladdoft som jag kommer att tänka på , men som inte är lika söt och påträngande, är Trussardis Python.

MM är den perfekta fika-doften och kan ha sin plats vid godisstinna högtider som påsk och jul. Men den kommer aldrig in i min parfymgarderob efter avslutandet av ett (redan innan jag fick det påbörjat parfymprov). Det som är kvar räcker till en - två provningar så kanske jag ska ge MM en chans till. Det är ju trots allt en PG. Betyget färgas mycket av min subjektiva upplevelse av MM. Det är en välblandad och speciell doft som på rätt person säkert kan falla ut väldigt bra. Personligen tror jag att Pierre hade en riktigt dålig dag när han blandade till MM.

Even if I'm a great admierer of the art of Pierre Guillaume I think he must have a bad day when he blended Musc Maori. In theory I should like MM with it's gourmand notes of cocoa seeds, tonka bean, amber, musk and vanilla but still powdery dry. But the practice turns out to be quite different: For me, the MM performs as a heavy, buttery chocolate creme, just as smear myself with the contents of a hearty,dense, buttery chocolate cake. Sometimes there are light whirls of hot butter, like butter heated for making popcorn in the traditional way in a saucepan on the stove, it's the scent that is evident just as the corn is put in the melted butter in the saucepan. MM to me is just way too much and on the verge of nausea-inducing

MM does not resemble to any other muskdominated perfume that I have sniffed so far. It's relatives accoeding to me belongs to the pure gourmandfamily. Other scents that MM gives me asociations to are Missoni by Missoni but only because of the chocolate and the Missoni chocolate is drier and overall more discreet. Another chocolateinfused fragrance that comes to my mind is Trussardis Python. But Python is not as sweet and intrusive as MM.

MM is the perfect coffee scent and have it's place at the candy-fueled holidays like Easter and Christmas. But MM will never enter my perfume wardrobe after the completion of the small sample. What is left is enough for one - stuff for ca two more tests so of course I'll give MM another chance. It is after all a PG and PG always stand for high quality in spite of there is an very small part of his creations that I don't like.  It is a well-mixed and original scent that for the right person and in the right proprtion will fit very well. The rating of MM is of course influenced  by my own subjective experience wearing MM.
Rating: 2

Noter/Notes: Kakaofrön, tonkaböna, ambra, mysk, vanilj/ cacao seeds, tonka been, amber, musk, vanilla

Serge Lutens - L'Eau Froide

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

L'Eau Froide is the second release in the controversial Eau-line of Serge Lutens. Controversial as SL is famous for its distinctive contemporary oriental style even if the house haven't been totally faithful to the initial theme during the receant years. L'Eau Froide is inspired of the smell of the snow and the frozen ground just about when it starts to melt in the late winter.

L'Eau Froide starts with an evident citrus detergentnote followed by an infusion of a crispy, icy incensenot. The citrusnote (even if citrus is not listed) is more pronounced than the opening of the first creation of the Eau-line, L'Eau Serge Lutens. The citrusnote is similar to the one in DoubleYou Norvége  and MPG Eau de Camelia Chinois and I have started to wonder if this is a new note, created to be complinat to the IFRA citrusrestrictions. After a while a fresh pinenote comes forward, pine seems to be fashionable this days. The note is evident also in Annic Goutals Nuit Etoliée , but contrary to the cold L'Eau Froide, I precive Nuit Etolieé as a warm fragrance. At the pine-phase of L'Eau Froide I can recognize a similarity to the pine and incense in Olivier Durbanos Black Tourmaline but both notes are more pronounced and according to my opinion better executed in Black Tourmaline.

When L'Eau Froide reaches the basenotes something very familiar appears after a while: The vegetal base of the particular flowery SL Nuit de Cellophane. This vegetal baseaccord are deepen as L'Eau Froide drys down and it's mainly accompanied by the opening citrus and with some pale wiffs of the cold incense.

L'Eau Froide smells good but I prefer the vegetal base paired with flower as in Nuit de Cellophane. I percieve the scent as a mix of distinctive elements from L'Eau de Serge and Nuit de Cellophane paired with incense. L'Eau Froide is an ideal officescent wearable year around but preferably for spring and summer.

Rating: 3

Notes: Olibanum, seawater, mint, incense, musk, vetiver

Perfumed thoughts April 2012

Earlier this week I thought that this weekend would be the right time to publish my list of Spring-Spring perfumes in my serie Spring fragrances, see the earlier post Winter-Spring fragrances. But then Jack Frost returned for the weekend and I lost all the inspiration. But as always there is some perfumed thoughts:

* As the Robert Piguet fragrances is an old love to me I'm really looking forward to the release of the  five fragrances in the Nouvelle Collection created by the Piguet "house-nose"Aurélien Guichard at Givaudan: Bois Noir, Casbah, Mademoiselle Piguet, NoteS and Oud. Earlier, expect from Douglas Hannant by Robert Piguet, the house in collaboration with perfumer Aurélien Guichard  has new-interpreted their old classics Visa, Baghari, Calypso and Futur. Bandit, Fracas and Cravache I think are "regulary" reformulations of the original Germaine Cellier creations. The Nouvelle Collection will be tested and reviewed later if I can get my hands of some samples.

* Another release I have read about but are not sure it will be this year is some new fragrances from Vero Kern, Vero Profumo. As I love Rubj, Onda (swedish) and Kiki I know Vero will deliver.

* I'm also not sure about if or when the perfume/perfumes Mona di Orio was working on when she passed away in December 2011 will be released. As a great admier of Mona, although it is so deeply tragic, I'm waiting of the privilege to take part of her final creation(s).

* There is so many interesting fragrances around and it's hard to select what is worth to sample. As Denyse at Grain the Musc wrote in her post (controversial as she argues about the consequenses of the sharp increase of perfumebloggers)  Enchanted, disenchanted she can't waste time trying out scents that don't challange her. Therefore her strategy is almost only to test and review creations from houses/noses that she know almost always delivers from her point of view. I will try to practice this rule in the future, and I already do that (without thinking of it)  to some extent, but it's not a a planned strategy of mine. As I have many already written reviews "in stock" the mix of favouritehouse/noses and other will remain within the foreseeable future.

That's my perfumed thoughts by now :-)