Maria Candida Gentile - Rrose Sélavy

Picture: Rrose Sélavy (Marcel Duchamp)
Photo: Man Ray, 1921 

Rrose Selavy is an intriguing rosefragrance from italian perfumer Maria Candida Gentile dedicated to one of the leading artist of the dadaism Marcel Duchamp and his double identity Rrose Selavy. In the 1920:s Duchamps was photographed as a women, Rrose Selavy in a cooporation with Man Ray.

Rrose Selavy is an all through rosefragrance, built around different types of roses, and from different parts and extractions of the roses. The perfume starts with the natural smelling rose accord as for example in Annick Goutal Rose Absolue and Montale Taif Roses. As in both of these fragarnces, Rrose Selavy has the for the natural roseaccord typical rubbery note,  but less rubber than in the two mentioned fragrances. As Rrose Selavy developes, some light animalic, a bit furry notes appears as also a dry touch of something similar to cinnamon. The fragrance has a tea-ish texture, but there are no sharp or harsh edges as in some tea fragrances. This texture reminds me of Masque Russian Tea not the scent but the apperance. The clean and natural rose petal note (vevet pink if it had a color) appears now and then in short glimpses during the dry down, the rest of the time it's mixed with the other notes of rose. There is also a sort of herbal, candided impression in the basenotes, as the rosepetals are glazed in a light herbal sweetness. In the basenotes there is also a light leathery note and some of the dry fur is playing underneath.

Picture: Rose Sélavy
Photo: Maria Candida Gentile (c)

Rrose Selavy is in the same cold, airy but in the same time not thin style of velvet pink rose fragrance as Hermès Galop d'Hermès but Rrose Selavy is more eccentric in style, completely unisex, and less sweet in its restrained rosy, slight leathery apperance. The leathery tone in Rrose Selavy has the touch of fur mentioned above as the leather in Galop is that of a fine pair of gloves with a scent bordering to suede.

Rrose Selavy is an elegant not so rosy, rose soliflore. It's perfect for daytime wearing for example for office. Sillage is close, it's parfumeconcentration, longevity for more than a day if applying liberally, if only little applaied it lasts shorter than a day.

A beautiful and rare rose soliflore. It smells as it has many more notes than the variations of the rose and maybe it has as, notelists are seldom complete. .

Rating: 5

Notes: Rose petals, Turkish rose, May rose, Michelle rose, rose stems, rose leaves

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample to test

Perris Monte Carlo - Absolue d'Osmanthe Edp & Extrait

Picture: Absolue d'Osmanthe Edp
Photo: Perris Monte Carlo (c)

Perris Monte Carlo have created a wellcrafted line of fragrances and I have reviewed most of them during the latest year. Recently there are two additions, or to be completely true, four additions as each fragrance is avaible in a Edp and in a Extrait formula. First out for test and review is Absolue d'Osmanthe Edp & Extrait.

Absolue d'Osmanthe starts beautiful with a thick, flowery, sweet osmanthusnote. I've hardly smelled such a dense/thick osmanthus before, most of them I've tested before has been more diluted and with a tealike impression. After a while a pleasant barnyard note arrives adding a retro vibe to the blend. Smooth velvey flowers fading down the barnyard and an accord which reminds me of the taste of ceratin pastel patterned, fruity pastilles which was chewy and rectangular. I don't remember the name and it's probably discontinued as I haven't see the product in this millenium. Beside this pastille, there is also a light apricot, suedelike nuance in the fragance. Absloue d'Osmanthe reminds me of a much more discret and not as bold and vivid Yvresse from Yves Saint Laurent. As Absolue d'Osmanthe dries down a beautiful, well rounded, smooth, sandalwood appears connecting and anchors the fragrance together with warm and balsamic basenotes. The sandalwood is prominent

Picture: Absolue d'Osmanthe Extrait
Photo: Perris Monte Carlo (c)

The Edp and Extrait versions has the same notes, expect rose petals are added to the extrait, and smells similar. The Edp is in the higher ocataves of the fragrance notescale and more airy in apperance, the extrait is vevety, dark, rounder, smoother and more mature. The Edp emphasize the woody notes of the base and the Extrait the balsamic combined with the sandalwood in a subtle way. The different versions complement eachother, the Edp is perfect for wearing dayly especially in spring and summer, the Extrait is for the evening and for autumn and winter. The Extrait would be very nice as a perfume accompanying for Christmas.

Longevity is about almost a day when it comes to the Edp and between 12h - 24 h for the Extrait, depending on how much is applicated from the start. Sillage is close for both. Even if smelling very nice, the sillage and longevity of the extrait is not as good on my skin as of my favorite of the Perris Extraits so far, Ylang Ylang Nosy Be

Rating: 4

Notes: Osmanthus, jasmine sambac, sandalwood, vanilla, labdanum, tolu balsam

Today - A decade with the blog.

Picture: Nostalgia, a retro snapchat from the perfumcollection.
Photos from February 2004, long before Parfumistans blog
 was started 1 November 2006.  All the green ones above are still with me :-)
Photo: Parfumista (c)

This is a retrospective post. Today Parfumistans Blogg celebrates 10 years. It started as "Parfumistans Dagbok" (Parfumistans Diary) on the daily newspaper Expressen where it was possible for the readers to start up own blogs on the newspapers site. After six month I contacted the major swedish fashion magazines and the biggest of them, Damernas Värld, jumped at this opportunity. The website editor at the time proved to be interested in perfume, I doubt I would have my blogcolumn if this had not been the case. When she left and the there was a "site makeover" my blog was cleanad out for the benefit of blogs with broader content for example "Beauty" as a broader subject. Even today, six years after this (spring 2010), I can't find any specialized perfumeblog on the site. On the other hand, perfume is still not that big in Sweden even if the interest is growing and is far greater than ten years ago. In June 2010 the zenith of this perfumeblogging venture occurred (at least for the first half :-) as I was invited together with an expert from Swedens finest department store, NK, to talk about perfumes suitable for summer to the morning show in swedish television channel TV4. In October 2010 I moved to Blogspot and strarted to write in "swenglish" during 2012.

....as also these four
Photo. Parfumista (c)

Since then everything rolling on in the usual bloggingroutines writing on and sometimes two post in the weekend. I have found out which fragrancehouses I prefer to review fragrances from and mostly concentrate on them for full reviews. After so many years with perfume as a passion, I know which houses offerings generally suits me even if I certainly missing many good houses out there. Because of this non objektive selction of what is tested, most of my reviews are 4 or 5 rated and therefore I'm thinking of (but havn't decided yet) stop writing the rating figure as the selction is sort of biased from the start. A new experience During 2016 was that there has been a sort of writer's block during late winter, spring and summer but now finally the perfumespirits are back and some of the energy to write also. So this venture seems to continue, at least for a while.

Yours Parfumista

...the Hannae Mori is traded away since long...

PS: I'm painfully aware that I havn't checked the mail account which is linked to the blog for more than a year. Now I have to find the log in credentials and check the mail. I apologize if anyone  have mailed without response. There is no excuses but there are so many mails connected to first the mail at work, then the everyday household administration and probably because of that information overload, this maibox has been neglected :-(

...and so is the Trussardi  which I truly regret, the old formula
was a beautiful green, slight leathery chypre
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Rania J. - Cuir Andalou

Picture: Ziryab, one of the most famous musicians in Cordoba
 playing the oud, a musical instrument similar to a lute.
Poster illustrating  Cuir Andalou from Rania J. (c)

Rania Jouaneh is an independent perfumer with her own house Rania J. which has built a collection of wellcrafted fragrances with a high content of natural ingredients and with an oriental vibe. Rania dosen't rush releasing fragrances but now her new creation, Cuir Andalou dedicated to leather and supported by oud is here.

Cuir Andalou starts with a very dry leathernote and a light, slight fizzy, uplifting, clean dry spicy, slight peppery note I suspect it's the saffron. There's also an oudnote, clean and not smokey as often when combined with leather. The composition is like leather and pepper mixed with crisp, cold and clear high mountain air. Neroli is also present and brings the scent a vision of a garden with orangetrees in the palace of Alhambra. The orange, neroli and other flowery elements changes the apperance from slight chilly to golden and glowing, probably the saffron also contributes  to this impression. When Cuir Andalou dries further down, the well balanced clean oud spicy dry leather dominates but now in the warmer texture. In the basenotes there is also a touch of a animalic note, barely noticeable on my skin and a fine, dry, non smokey sort of embedded in golden nuances, vetiver which is prominent on me. The impression of the basenotes is as the fragrance is grounded in the dry, dusty, glowing Andalusian earth.

Picture: Cuir Andalou
Photo: Rania J. (c)

Cuir Andalou is a real wristsniffer, I catch myself constantly sniffing my wrists constantly during a day of wearing. An addictive experience (I'm craving Cuir Andalou in these grey autumn days). The fragrance is in the same genre as some other spicy/peppery-leathery-oud fragrances but Cuir Andalou is made with a feminine touch. It's not the rough, peppery, smokey variety Cuir Andalou is sort of fine cut with noble traits compared to the archetype of the genre. The sillage is medium+ and longevity great, it's still unfragmented after 12h and unfragmented traces are left after 24h. Suitable for year around, unisex but compared to most representatives of the genre, it's leaning more to the feminine side.

Cuir Andalou reminds me at bit of the dry, spicy texture of Robert Piguet Casbah without the smoke and the incense. As mentioned above it has something in common with leathery ouds in general but it's drier and doesen't contain the smokey note. So even if some similarities, Cuir Andalou is a frag of its own.

Rating: 5

Notes: Leather, rose, iris, neroli, patchouli, saffron, violet, castoreum, vetiver, sandalwood, oud

Chanel No 5 and its different faces

The most famous fragrance classic, Ernest Beaux's Chanel No 5 is the model for aldehydic perfumes. Since its introduction in perfume concentration 1921 No 5 has appeared in different shapes and formulas. A few weeks ago I worn some of its variations:

Picture: Chanel No 5 EDT
Photo: Chanel (c)

Chanel No 5 EDT: The Edt version of the original perfume was interpreted by Henri Robert in 1952. Before a cologneversion created by Ernest Beaux was launched in the 1930s. The Edt is an austere, balanced, sort of putty-soapy aldehydic fragrance, cold and refined as marble, perfect for formal occasions. A demanding and challenging fragrance, the appearance shifts slightly between wearings, but its overall "stiff upper lip" personality remains the same. A confident personality but as often in such cases, there is some uncertainty about the self-esteem.

Picture: Chanel No 5 EDP
Photo: Chanel (c)

Chanel No 5 EDP: The Edp version was created by  former Chanel inside perfumer Jacques Polge in 1986. Starts with the recognizable No 5 aldehydic accord, soon deepened with a smooth, deep note of sandalwood. Beside the refined sandalwood, jasmine, rose and peach are the protagonists. Chanel No 5 Edp as a whole is the one that differs most from the other versions tested, to me its a wellbehaved, restrained, sort of urban variation of the colorful, vivid sandalwood jasmine Guerlain Samsara. Strangly I also find similarities with a later composition, Miller Harris Noix Tubereuse. The perfect No 5 for autumn and winter.

Picture: Chanel Eau Premiére
(old bottle and the tested version)
Photo: Chanel (c)

Chanel No 5 Eau Premiére: Eau Première was created 2007 by Jacques Polge as a modern take on No 5 Edt. In 2015 Eau Premiére was reformulated and also changed its presentaion to the Chanel squarebottle. I'm testing the original formula in the rectangual bottle. No 5 Edt is clearly recognizable in Eau Premiére, the characteristic aldehydic accord is similar, the fragrance as a whole feels more uncomplicated, warmer and gentler probably because of the emphasize of the neroli, ylang ylang and vanilla notes. It's apperance, like sunny aldehydes, is creating an informal atmosphere. Eau Premiére's personality is well behaved, kind, with a great dose of self-esteem.

Picture: Chanel No 5 L'Eau
Photo: Chanel (c)

Chanel No 5 L'Eau: No 5 L'Eau created by inhouse perfumer Olivier Polge, is Chanels move to convince the young generation to like No 5. Airy, watery, with a lighter and higher interpretation of the classical No 5 aldehyde accord, the fruity (lemon, orange, mandarine) and floral (jasmine, neroli, ylang-ylang) notes are bright and clean (not detergent clean) and not embedded in the powdery-putty "just blown out candle" aldehydic notes of No 5 Edt and to a lesser extent No 5 Eau Première. Uplifting, and carefree, versatile to wear, a sort of casual elegance, perfect for any daytime occasion. As this is not a sweet, fruity, floral I doubt this will be a sucess in the yougest group of perfume consumers. No 5 L'Eau will attract those with a discerned taste in any agegroup. In my book this version is already a classic.

My favorite: With no doubt Chanel No 5 L'Eau, together with Galop d'Hermès the best release in 2016 (from the very small fraction I have tested). Followed by No 5 Edt because of its more intriguing dry down compared to Eau Première, which on the other hand I like better as a whole, considered its personality and friendlier apperance.  Last but not least Chanel No 5 Edp which is an elegant perfume but in another style, more dated and not as much No 5 as the other versions.

5 Top fragrances for fall

Picture: Maple leaves
Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Autumn is late this year but finally it has arrived with its glowing colors, fresh chilly air and damp/moisty scents. Below some fragrances I like/like to wear this autumn, whether they are autumnal or not:

Bois Blond (Parfumerie Generale): Now when my sample is drained after years of occasionally wearing, I suddenly realized how much I will miss this dry, hayish, woody beauty. It's not the easiest fragrance to come close to and probably too masculine for me....Anyway a bottle is on its way.

Galop d'Hermès (Hermès): No toplist without a Hermès, their fragrances are versatile and suits me perfect for everyday wearing. Galop exceed my expectations with its juicy, rosy, soft leather with a slight sort of clean, animalic touch. It's now my favorite Hermès together with my all time feminine favorite from the house: Amazone.

No 5 L'Eau (Chanel): I have to confess I didn't want to like this as L'Eau is a far longer step away from the distinct super aldehydic original No 5 than No 5 Eau Première. Even if I tried to resist when tested in store, this flowing light flowery beauty with many the notes from No 5 but in different proportions and with a lighter base is a new classic.

Baume du Doge (Eau d'Italie): It's such a well balanced myrrh dominated fragence. Infused with orange, resins  and spices, BdG warns during grey and rainy days. To be worn with a cashmere sweater/shawl.

Baptême du Feu (Serge Lutens): A bit weired but intrguing fragances with light gourmand, citric, incense and smoky notes. The incense in style with the clean note in L'Orpheline, the citric notes cold as metal, the gourmand licour and spice, the smoke from gunpowder and campfires. Intriguing during it's whole dry down.

Puredistance - Sheiduna

Picture: Perfumer Cécile Zarokian holds
the first sample flacon of Sheiduna Perfume
Photo: Puredistance (c)

Finally it's here Sheiduna, the long awaited release from Puredistance, the first since the beutiful flowery White early in 2015. White was also my "Best of 2015" .This time there is an oriental theme, the first oriental from the brand, in the spicy subcategory. Perfumer is one of the stars of later years, the talented Cécile Zarokian, creator of favorites of mine as Parfums MDCI Nuit Andalouse, Laboratorio Olfattivo Kashnoir, Masque Tango and of course, her breakthrough creation as one of the perfumers of Amouage Epic Woman. Sheiduna is released in pure perfume.

Puredistance tolds us about the inspiration of Sheiduna "With the creation of Sheiduna we wanted to bridge the sensuality from the Orient with the elegance from Paris. Wearing Sheiduna one wafts sensuality and at the same time feels like being wrapped up in a warm, soft blanket. Deep colours of Persian rugs touch the senses".

Sheiduna starts with a burst of a peppery note, maybe it's the clove/incense. Soon this fizzy intro steps back and a beautiful sort of deep, lush citric accord appears grounded in a light rosy touch. The tangerinenote appears very realistic, the best interpreation of tangerine I have smelled so far. A light gunpowdery dry note (as in Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Ambre) also appears as also something soft and eveloping, slight Asian-kitchen-gourmand, green spicy coconutty note, a soft verision of a similar accord in Neela Vermeire Creations Ashoka. This accord is acting as a delightful background also for the rest of Sheidunas drydown. As Sheiduna dries further down, an accord appears dominated by a note of new-laid  vetiver, embedded and sort of glaced in spices and amber/balsamic notes. There is something rooty, green and tart with glimpses of a dry but warm incense, which contrasting the spicy/ambery/balsamic, oriental notes. The gunpowdery element reapperas in the basenotes together with the salty ambery note of ambergris. Blended with other oriental notes, this creates a special, a bit tart, dark, slight orange-y, balsamic, vintage, with a touch of the "old books", smelling accord which maybe is a sort of trademark for Cécile Zarokian as I have smelled it in various degrees in Kashnoir and Tango.A resembling note/accord is also present in Balenciaga Prelude. In the basenotes of Sheiduna I can also smell elements of a deep, soft dark rose.

Picture: The glowing Sheiduna
Photo: Puredistance (c)

When wearing Sheiduna I can understand the Persian inspiration (despite the light Asian-kitchen accord mentioned above), and than not just from the rugs. The fragrance brings forth an impression of spices, dried fruits, dark flowers, the architecture  and most of all the sunset in the desert with the glowing sun over the dunes.

Sheiduna is an intriguing fragrance, the impression shifts with and within each stage of the drydown. Much is going on, like a game where the interaction of the notes/accords quickly turns into contrasts and back again. The fragrance is warm and comforting, perfect for autumn/winter. But the enlighting and contrasting notes doesn't reserve Sheiduna just for the cooler month, the perfume will be a good choice also for humid and warm summer evenings.  The contrasting structure of Sheiduna prevents this contemporary oriental fragrance to become cloying and dense.

Sheiduna is classified as unisex which I agree with even if I think it lends a little bit more to the feminine side. The longevity is very good, traces are left after 24h, sillage is significant.

Rating: 5

Notes: Lemon, tangerine, geranium, rose oil, incense, myrrh, vetiver, patchouli, labdanum, ambergris, benzoin, tonka absolute, vanilla absolute,