The Fragrances of Christmas Eve 2018

Picture: This years pretty
Christmas tree
before it get dressed up
Photo: Parfumista (c)

The Scent of Christmas Eve 2018 is Rubj Extrait in honour to it's creator Vero Kern who passed away last week. Vero was so kind, nice  and commited to the art of perfume and I hope that
her unique creations will be continued in production as Vero:s fragrances have to be experienced by
every true parfumista.  As Christmas this year actually is white with snow and  ca - 8 C degrees outside, the glowing, orange, white flowers, light spice of  Rubj  is the perfect warmer.  Yesterday I worn the fab Veroprofumo  Onda Extrait one of the best in the retro genre with its barnyard, soil, damp grass, leather vetiver accord.

Mr Parfumista is wearing  Eau d'Italie Bois d’Ombrie an almost fresh, chilly, woody scent with a pleasant vetiver/whiskey/tobacco/leather accord, inspired of the umbrian forest a rainy day. Eau d'Italie  Sienne l'Hiver would of course have suited even better, but B d'O fit well together with the greenery of the fresh Christmas tree.
 Below is the updated list of the fragrances I've worn the last fiftheen Christmas Eves:

2017: Vert de Fleur by Tom Ford (elegant retro but also contemporary austere flowery-green.)
2016: Oud Sublime Parfums de Nicolaï (quality "forest-refreshing" dark green, mossy, woody)
2015: Rose de Taif Extrait Perris Monte Carlo (high class smooth velvety rose petals)
2014: Impossible Iris Ramòn Monegal (an elegant, contempory iris with a delicious rasperrynote)
2013: Quintaesensia Ramòn Monegal, (a special retro styled blend, furry, ambery, herbal/spicy)
2012: Nothing, knocked down by the worst flu in ten years+.
2011: Betrothal, Grossmith (classic, light and exquisite florals)

2010: Cuir Mauresque, Serge Lutens (saddle leather, orangeblossom, jasmine, spices)

2009: Tribute Attar, Amouage (dark leather, smoke, oud, excellent spices)

2008: Incense rosé, Andy Tauer (rose, mandarine, cardamom, myrrh cedar, incense)

2007: Ambre Russe, Parfum d'Empires (boozy amber, the, wood, oriental)

2006: Jil Sander 4, Jil Sander (dark, overripe fruits, white almost withering flowers, oriental spices)

2005: Nuit de Noël, Caron (dusky, retro flowers, moss and a furry note)

2004: Cabochard,  Parfums Grès (leathery chypre, harsh green notes and retro flowers)

2003: Fracas Robert Piguet (the ultimate classic grand tubereuse)

Wish you a Great Fragrant Christmas! 

Picture: And here it's dressed up
for Christmas Eve
Photo: Parfumista (c)

 

Parfums de Nicolaï - Néroli Intense

Picture: La Carmencita (1890)
Painting by John Singer Sargent  (1856-1925)
Musée d'Orsay

Néroli Intense (NI) is an elegant nérolicentered fragrance, created by perfumer Patricia de Nicolaï. NI is not a stronger version of Cap Néroli from this summer, it's a variation (just as with the different concentrations of classic Guerlains and Chanels) on the néroli-theme with less higher and lighter citrus notes and more of warm, sweet, dense and dark oriental notes. If NI had a color it's would be like the muted orange color of the dress of La Carmencita above. If it had a texture it would be like bitterorange marmalade

Néroli Intense starts like a massive warm glowing wall of orange néroli and other inteacting sweet and bitter citrus essences with a clever contrast of a dark green, "fat" herbal tarragon note. If Cap Néroli is the sunrise and the scent of a summer morning, NI is the golden sunset of the late afternoon.   There is an almost bloody, metallic accord that seems to rise from the depts of the fragrance and serves as an intriguing contrast to the elegant and well behaved notes of néroli and orange. This accord make me think of a similar twist in Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin. Maybe this impression is created with a combination of the beewax absolue and the herbal tarragon. The musky base with patchouli is not like a separate stage of the fragrance, it's blended in the fragrance to support the other notes in a very well balanced way.  Another PdN fragrance that NI reminds me of is the discontinued dark hebal-néroli  Eau sOleil, an Eau Fraiche with good longevity. Even if I remember that one as creamier, almost soapy, with less néroli, with more other with flowers and a note of fresh mint accompained by other herbs.


NI is dense like velvet in it's structure but not at all cloying. Timeless in appreance, it has a clever retrotouch. NI is a top notch nérolidominated perfume with high quality ingredients, there absolutely no syntetic vibes about it. To me NI is leaning more to the feminine side of unisex, but just as with Cap Néroli, wearable for both. NI is an elegant fragrance and just as with Cap Néroli it goes well in the boardroom but for autumn and winter instead. NI would also be a perfect companion to our

patient, committed and beautiful Queen Silvia when celebrating her 75th birthday today. Long live the Queen!

Go for Néroli Intense if you wan't some glowing, warm, elegance for winter.

Rating: 5

Notes:

Picture: Olfactory pyramid of  Néroli Intense
Photo: PR Parfums de Nicolaï

Thanks to Parfums de Nicolaï for the opportunity to test Néroli Intense. Néroli Intense is also avaible by Fragrance & Art.

It's the Puredistance time of the year....

November and December is the Puredistance time of the year. Of course I'm wearing them during other seasons too, but for this dark months, one need something extra. And as it's also soon is Christmas I come to think of  that the beautiful fragrances from this house are the ones to wear for the holidays. Below some suggestions:

Picture: Puredistance Warszawa
Drawing: PR Puredistance (c)

Warszawa (Puredistance): I've worn the dark, mysterious, almost plummy Warszawa  much during grey November. An elegant, high quality dark floral oriental, with vintage vibes, boardering to a chypre in the light spicy-fruity genre (think Guerlain Mitsouko, original Dior Poison and Tauer Loretta). 

Picture: Puredistance Opardu
Drawing: PR Puredistance (c)

Opardu (Puredistance): Even if Opardu is the ultimate perfume for spring, it has recently lightened the gloomy days up. It's a lilacperfume with many other facets (for example rose) and interesting twists, with something almost crystalized, slight gourmand.Opardu is not of the light, outdoor, airy variety, it has a much deeper texture and more body.

Picture: Puredistance Sheiduna
Drawing: PR Puredistance (c)

Sheiduna (Puredistance):The grey and gloomy weather demands some true quality and elegance to be defeataed. Sheiduna is a brilliant spicy, slight gourmand oriental with warm and boozy accords. There is also some almost refreshing, offsetting notes, almost like tea. Sheiduna is just superb and reminds me slightly of another gem from perfumer Cecile Zarokain Kashnoir from Laboratorio Olfattivio.

Picture: Puredistance M
Drawing: PR Puredistance (c)

M (Puredistance): An elegant, classical gentlemans leather fragrance but just as Marlene Dietrich with Knize Ten, M could be worn by women too. A smooth and close to the skin variation of Hermès Bel Ami.

And last but not least - the luxurious Puredistance sample giftset is the perfect Christmas gift.

Thank's to Puredistance for contributing with samples to test over the years.

At the moment - Top 3 favourites

Picture: From a walk earlier this autumn,
before the leaves started to fall.
Photo: Parfumista (c)

As a Parfumista my longing for a certain fragrance or fragrancestyle are highly volatile, what I crave for is changing very fast. Top 3 by now:

Lankaran Forest (Maria Candida Gentile): Fresh, piny green, the undergrowth in a cold, autumnal forest. Nothing sweet or cloying, meditative to wear.
Rose Privèe (L'Artisan Parfumeur): When I first tested this three years ago it was not a favourite, even if intriguing, I thought it was to harsh and herbal. But now, I completely changed my mind, this is the smell of an English garden a chilly day. This is how the new Burberry Her should have smelled.

Cuir Cuba Intense (Parfums de Nicolaï): Sundried tobaccoleaves, in a light leathery context. Elements of hay, light, dry spices and dry patchoulileaves. Not a thick and dense but an airy and transparent tobacco.

Blog anniversary 12 years

Picture: Rose hips
Photo: Parfumista (c)

November 1, today it's twelve years since my first blog-entry about perfume. As there is less time for blogging, my entries will appear irregular these days. During my most active years, there was about two to three entires per week, then decreased to one per week and now, now and then. I think that is a better alterntaive than to close the whole venture down. There is still plenty of scented impressions from which I want to share some. So here we go for another year!

Atelier Cologne - Part 2

The Atelier Cologne testing has continued .....

Picture: Trèfle Pur
Photo: PR Atelier Cologne (c)

Trèfle Pur: Elegant and minimalistic. Smooth lime, moss, not powdery but wet chalky. Contemporary but somehow retro in the same time. Reminds me of a favorite modern cologne Mugler Cologne in a more elegant chypre inspired version. Trèfle Pur has to be applied liberally to last during a whole day, almost a full sample is needed.

Picture: Orange Sanguine
Photo: PR Atelier Cologne (c)

Orange Sanguine: Juicy, sunny and so happy! Starts like fresh squeezed orange juice, sipped on the terrace, during a breakfest in the height of the summer. The orange-y scent stays during the whole musky slight ambery dry down. There is also green fragments of the orangetree leaves in the mix. In the later phases of the dry down, Orange Sanguine resembles Clémentine California but more sweet juicy where CC is greener and more tangy.

Picture: Grand Néroli
Photo: PR Atelier Cologne (c)

Grand Néroli: Elegant, citrus - bergamott opening,like  a contemporary interpretation of the 70s classics as for example Eau de Rochas and Chanel Cristalle Edt. After a while GN takes a different path and the nèroliaccord takes the center. The longer the drydown, the softer and creamier GN appears, as with Trèfle Pur, there are similarities with Mugler Cologne in the late stage of the dry down. Also Grand Nèroli has to be applied just as liberally as Trèfle Pur to last.

Picture: Rose Anonyme
Photo: PR Atelier Cologne (c)

Rose Anonyme: This is one of my favorite roseparfumes, I imagine a cool dark pink rose wrapped in fresh, earthy patchoulileaves and some cool spices, combined with a balanced woody oud. There is also something almost winey about it. Despite this, Rose Anonyme is not thick and heavy, instead it's surprisingly transparent. A woodier variation of Laboratorio Olfattive Rosamunda and a fragrance for those who loves dark roses as for example Marni Marni, Juliette has a Gun Lady Vengeance, Terry de Gunzburg Rouge Nocturne and so on.

Atelier Cologne - Part 1

Atelier Cologne is a house which I for many years have overlooked to discover properly. I love Jasmine Angelique and like Mistral Patchouli and Rose Anonyme very much. Café Tuberosa enticed me to try more of the line. Thanks to the generous Atelier Cologne Sales representative in Åhlens City, I've a bunch of samples to test. Here are my short impressions:

Picture: Tobacco Nuit
Photo: PR Atelier Cologne (c)

Tobacco Nuit: A stunning transparent Tobacco from one of the Edp sub-lines of Atelier, Collection Orient. On paperstrip it first smells like a anorectic version of Kerosene Copper Skies, on skin it's tobacco, citric notes, sort of a dry smell of soft paper and finally sparkling, fresh cardamon. A proper and clean tobacco for those who are afraid of a disruptive interpretation of the note. 

Picture: Encense Jinhae
Photo: PR Atelier Cologne (c)

 

Encens Jinhae: Also belonging to the Collection Orient, E J is dry incense wrapped in berries, pink pepper and roses. E J immediately reminds me of a smoother and more sophicated Vivienne Westwood Anglomania mixed with some Chopard Madness.

Picture: Clémentine California
Photo: PR Atelier Cologne (c)

Clémentine California: An almost natural smell of Clementine, slight bitter but in the same time juicy sweet. Green notes like the leaves of the tree and  also a cold, breezy impression. Compared to for example Hermès Eau de Mandarine Ambrèe  CC is brighter and sharper in apperance, In MA the mandarine is wrapped in a soft, glowing amber.Strong and longlasting for belonging to the cologne subline, somewhere between Edt and Edp on my skin.


Picture: Café Tuberosa
Photo: PR Atelier Cologne (c)

Café Tuberosa: I've already posted two mini-reviews of CT and therefore add both: "Starts with thick tuberose, bergamot, blended with dry cacao and maybe a hint of coffee. It's a thick blend, vintage in style reminding me in texture and style of Vero Profumo Rozy. Later there are traces of the colognestyle with hints of citric notes. " (April 2018) "What a comforting beauty! A dark oriental floral with chypre vibes. The coffee and cacao are not sharp or sticky, they blends very balanced with the tuberose in a retrostyled accord. The tuberose dosen't stand out as a flower, it's just a part of the dark blend. " (September 2018).

Further impressions from testing fragrances from Atelier Cologne will appear during the coming months.