The perfumed year 2013

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Time to summerize some perfume related matters from 2013:

* The year started with the intention to say something perfumewise or perfumerelated each Saturday in the "Fragrance(s) of the week" post. This routine lasted as long as three quaters of the year then it subsided. Writing two posts a week, which usually are reviews, is just enough having a full time job in a complete different business, family etc.

* My Twitter also subsided after almost two years of SOTD tweeting. In the end I almost felt exhausted about this daily compulsion. In 2014 I'll try a middle course, tweeting for a  week now and then.

* During the year I tested, sniffed just for short briefs or evaluated fragrance testings outsourced to Mr Parfumista, a number of ca 135 fragrances. It  means that in about 37% of the days of 2013, some form of perfume evaluating activity took place. Upon this there are of course also fragrances just worn which I have not written about but I have registrated most of them in my "scentmemoey" as references.

*In 2013 there was just one or two fragrance free days and this was when I had a stomach flu. When I'm cold and can't smell anything I put on a light cologne for its ambience. In 2014 the sniffing rate will slow down (I think).

*Days when there are no fragrance assessments on the agenda I relax in comforting fragances as for example the Piguets, the Goutals, the By Kilians or the Hermes Colognes or just appreciate the classics. For example Guerlain Mitsouko is far more interesting than most of the new releases even in its current formula.

*I'll coming back to my perfume testing routines in a post next year, ie how I test and evaluate for a full review.

* In 2013, even if there where many good releases, my nose become a bit jaded. There is nothing wrong with the releases as such, but when sniffing a lot of fragrances, in the end, not many of them stands out. Different  fragrances within a certain category are generally very close in style and smell. When reviewing I try to don't let this affect the assessment as such, I like to compare them with other fragrances captured in the scentmemory.

* 2013 was also the year when the EU restrctions which became effective July 1 would put an end to many of the classics so I've stocked up some during the first half of the year, just to be sure. Today it seems as in reality nothing has happened, but who knows when the old stocks runs out.

* At the moment there are some positive signs about the perfumed future. I read somewhere on Bois de Jasmin that Victoria had smelled a new batch of Mitsouko which was very good and smelled much more like the vintage version. Some newly invented/improved moss substitutes are probably the reason for that. Hopefully this is just the start for new inventions and who knows, in the end and taken as a whole, maybe the restrictions dosen't matter. Maybe something even better comes out of this within a few years.

I wish all readers a Happy New 2014!

Best of 2013

Picture: Summer evening in Stockholm Archipelago 2013
Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

2013 was another year with a flood of releases, many good and well constructed but too close to other perfumes too really catch my attention. The fragrances of the best of list are such that immidiately caught my attention and a "wow" feeling appeared.

For Her: Le Parfum Couture Denis Durand pour M.Micallef Already during my first wearing of this dark rosy, retro, skanky perfume I knew this would be the perfume of the year to me and it made it to the end.

For Him: Royal Vintage from M.Micallef fresh mangled, exquisite, linen tablecloths worthy a the Royal table. Notes of a just lit cigarette with hints of a minimalistic dry jasmine complements.

For Both: Oumma by Stéphane Lucas Humbert 777 a runner up tested the weekend before Christmas. A fragrance in a class of its own, balsamic resins, rose and a smooth expression of saffron and precious woods.

Close runner up's/ Honorable mentions: Oriza L.Legrand Chypre Mousse, Neela Vermiere Cretations Mohur Extrait, Andy Tauer PHI Rose the Kandahar, Robert Piguet Rose Perfection, Puredistance Black, By Kilian Playing with the Devil, Oliver Durbano Lapis Philosophorum and Aedes de Venustas Iris Nazarena.

2013 apperantly was a good year for Martine Micallef and her house nose Jean-Claude Astier, releasing special and wearable fragrances that stands out to me and make my jaded nose a bit excitetd. The sampling of Oumma was pure luck, random choosing from a sachet of Aus Liebe zum Duft samples. About all the fragranes which almost made it (I'm also almost sure I've forgot to mention some interesting releases): They are all very good and I or Mr Parfumista are delighted to wear them.

Which fragrance is your best of 2013?

Ramón Monegal - Quintaesencia

Picture: La Rambla, Barcelona
Photo: Flickeruser Oh barcelona.com, (cc)
Wikipedia commons, some rights reserved

Quintaesencia my Christmas Eve perfume is created by spanish perfumer Ramón Monegal for the Christmas and New Years Holidays of 2012. When I tried it at that time it was a very limited almost "secret" editon but it seems as for Christmas 2013, Quintaesencia is prepared for a wider distribution in the regular Ramón Monegal "Inkwell" bottles, don't know in which concentration, My review is describing the initial perfume.

The Quintaesencia perfume is attempted to catch the essence of Ramóns hometown, the beautiful and rich in ancestry, Barcelona. The fragrane is very unique as it uses one of the famous amberbases, created by the house of Myrurgia (Ramón is an descendant of this perfumehouse, the Guerlain of Spain), over fifty years ago. Those amberbases were then bought by Jaques Guerlain to be used in the excellent Guerlain-creations of the time.

Wearing the beautiful blend of Quintaesencia I immediately get the following associations:
1) Quintaesencia captures the spirit of Caron Nuit de Noël, there is a furry, almost oily note, some supporting, very fine and fresh, true smelling  leather and a liquor-orangepeel-herbal-rose touch that intermediate a vintage feeling. I can also smell (what I'm thinking is) some subdued oud in the basenotes. I can imagine an elegant fur, cutted in the 1920s fashion with a wide shawl collar.
2) Quintaesencia is the olfactory image of the Carlos Ruiz Zafón Barcelona novels (The Angels Game, The Shadow of The Wind), it somehow captures the eternal spirit of these stories as also the likewise eternal spirit of "Cathedral of the Sea" (La Catedral del Mar) by Ildefonso Falcones. So Ramóns attempt to catch the city of Barcelona in a perfume is indeed very successful.

Picture: Santa Maria del Mar
Photo: Paolo da Reggio (Paolo Picciati)
Wikipedia Commons

The perfume is like a golden nectar, a bit syrupy in character, dark and velvety. Almost as a smooth oil to treat oneself with during cold winterdays. But Quintaesencia is also lovely to wear during a warm summerevening. The dark, almost oily quality is somehow similar with an attar and attars are generally blooming beautifully under warm weather conditions.

Rating: 5

Notes: I don't know the notes but my nose can imagine the following: Fur, leather, liquor, orangepeel, herbs, dark rose, honey, oud, wood, dark musk

The fragrance of Christmas Eve

Picture: Winterroses. 2013 is a warm winter
without (almost) any snow so far.
Photo: Mr Parfumista

Time for the regular Christmas Eve post:. Scent of Christmas Eve 2013 is the retrostyled, furry, herbal, ambery, beauty Quintaesensia created by Ramòn Monegal. I'll review Quintaesencia tomorrow.
Below is the updated list of the fragrances I've worn the last then Christmas Eves:

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)

I wish all of you a Great Christmas and as I'm very curious to know what you are wearing for Christmas, feel free to leave a comment.

Edit at Christmas Eve: Mr Parfumistas SOTD is the incredible Chypre Mousse from Oriza L.Legrand. A perfect match to this rainy and green Christmas (green lawns and roses outside).

Parfums de Nicolaï - Rose Oud

Picture: Rose Oud
Photo: PR Parfums de Nicolaï (c)

Rose Oud is the rosy one of the two newly launched perfumes by Parfums de Nicolaï containing the famous oudnote. As always the owner of the house the Guerlain descendant, ISIPCA graduated perfumer Patricia de Nicolaï has created the fragrance.

Rose Oud starts with the most natural smelling raspberry note I've smelled so far. The rose that follows is light, fresh and medium pink in color. The raspberry lends it a jammy but discrete character. In this stage Rose Oud reminds me of another Nicolaï Jardin Secret but Rose Oud is softer. As Rose Oud dries down the rose gets more dominant but it's soft, gentle slight creamy, very comforting, not a power rose. The rose is interacting with to my nose non-descript light florals togehter with a light, refined, woody mix. When Rose Oud reaches the basenotes I can smell a sparkling note similar to geranium that I recognize from Mona di Orio Oud and I think this is the oud probably natural or at least a high precentage of natural, as the syntetic ones smells much stronger, headier, rougher and darker. But I no expert so I'll just guess. To summerize the basenotes, they smell close to, but creamier and lighter, the base of Amber Oud.

Rose Oud is overall a wellcarfted, wearable, "take no risks" fragrance. It is discrete, elegant and proper for daily officewear. It's even lighter in apperance than Amber Oud but has a good longevity on skin, traces are there after 12h+.

Just as Amber Oud, Rose Oud is an un-oudy oud, it's a wellcrafted, discrete, flowery fragrances, where oud is one supporting note among others in the base. Rose Oud had no similarities with By Kilians Rose Oud which is a traditional rose-oud creation with these two notes dominating.

Rating: 4

Notes: Raspberry, artemisia, osmanthus, rose, lily-of-the-valley, oud, patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla, musk, castoreum, amber

Parfums de Nicolaï - Amber Oud

Picture: Amber Oud
Photo: PR Parfums de Nicolaï (c)

Amber Oud is one of two newly launched perfumes by Parfums de Nicolaï containing the famous oudnote. As always the owner of the house the Guerlain descendant, ISIPCA graduated perfumer Patricia de Nicolaï has created the fragrance.

Amber Oud starts with a light animalic, almost barnyard like accord followed by lavender and herbal notes. Something in the mix, probably the interaction between some of the ingredients, smells almost as dry pineapple with hints of an also dry vanilla note. In this part Amber Oud strangely enough reminds me of an unsweet version of Sonia Rykiel Belle en Rykiel. The lavender cinnamon that is present in Amber Oud also reminds med of another Nicolaï, the bolder Maharadjah. As Amber Oud continues to develope in the heart, light spices and the amber emerges. The amber is of the herbal, not boozy or vanillic, variety, the same style of amber as in Maître Perfumeur et Gantier Ambre Precieux but softer. Parfums de Nicolaï Amber Oud should therefore not be compared to its namesake ByKilian Ambre Oud as the latter is of the amber-vanillic type. In Nicolaï Amber Oud there are also woody notes supporting the spices and one of them is oud which blends seamless with the other and add some dept to the woody part. This is just like the contribution of the oud in Mona di Orio Oud where the oud is so well integrated that I don't think of it as a oudfragrance, but as as a well balanced fragrance with woody notes. In the basenotes the animalic vibe from the start of Amber Oud returns but in this stage it is smoother, surrounded by balsamic and slight powdery notes, and later on a deeper, darker, slight boozy note which also is present in Maître Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Doré (another fragrane on the amber-oud theme but less herbal despite it's heritage from Ambre Precieux) appears and is present until the last traces of Amber Oud, almost 24 h after application.

Despite Amber Ouds extensive notelist, the fragrance is overall minimalistic in apperance, it is comforting as in the same time casual chic. The fragrance developes step by step in a wellbehaved manner and it is classic in apperance and very wearable. Even if not smelling alike, I  instinctively come to think of Guerlain Heritage but also Habit Rouge when it comes to the well mannered style of Amber Oud. As a wearer, one have to appreciate a developement "in the small" as Amber Oud is all about nuances, there is nothing bold or glaringly with it. Amber Oud is polite and proper in many situations and will not interfere for example in the workplace. Even if unisex I think this one is the most masculine of the two Nicolaï oud-launches.

Amber Oud is a good representative of the "second oud generation" fragrances where oud is one of the interacting and supporting notes and not the dominating note and theme of the fragrance as the "first
oud generation" like the Montales, Juliette Has a Gun Midnight Oud etc. Amber Oud is a fragrance with oud which I don't think of as an oud, to me it's an aromatic-spicy-balsamic fragrance.

Rating: 5

Notes: Lavender, thyme, sage, artemisia, cinnamon, saffron, oud, cedar, patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla, tonka bean, styrax, musk, castoreum, amber.

Historiae - Mystic Oud

Picture: The awesome bottle of Mystic Oud
Photo: PR Historiae (c)

Mystic Oud is a contrasting fragrance in the up today classical "garden perfume" inspired line of the french niche house Historiae. Orangerie du Roy, Bouquet de Trianon, Hameau de la Reine, Rose de France and Violette Imperiale. As most of the Historiaes Mystic Oud is created by no other than the famous Bertrand Duchaufour.

Mystic Oud starts intriguing with a fruity, boozy note, probably the davana, soon followed by a pink, creamy rose which smells almost like a luxurary face creme. After a while red roses, without the creamy feel, fizzy and a bit tart the same impression as in Annick Goutal Rose Splendide (swe) but not as prounounced, joins the blend and contrasts the comfortable creamy impression. Further on the oud appears but not as the demanding note as in so many oud fragrances. In Mystic Oud it acts more as a dark, woody, contrasting note to the roses and the oud is acting balanced  together with the others in the accord. The boozy note returns darkens and intensifies in the basenotes together with a note of natural honey which lend a slight animalic character to Mystic Oud. The rosy mix is still present in the base, both the creamy pink ones and the tart red ones.

In an early stage of the developement of Mystic Oud I got strong associations to a favorite pink rose of mine, Burberry Body Edp  (swe) but overall Mystic Oud gives a rosier, cleaner and more minimalistic impression compared to Burberry Body which is more of a mixed bouquet but dominated by roses to me.  I think Mystic Oud is a proper name for this rose dominated blend as the oud is (as mentioned above) sort of hidden among the other deeper notes of the fragrance.

A welldone, and even if not the most innovative fragrance ( I find Burberry Body more innovative, maybe because it is IMHO the prototype in this contemporary rosy genre), an intriguing and in the same time comforting  rosefragrance to wear. Sillage is medium and longevity 12h +. The best of all: Mystic Oud is reasonably priced compared to most niche ouds (SEK 830, EUR 93 and USD 124) in Fragrance & Art  webshop. Mystic Oud is quity priceworthy when it comes to quality, there are far more expensive fragrances of lesser or same quality out there.

Those who like rose perfumes and ouds in the style of Ramon Monegal L'Eau de Rose, Robert Piguet Rose Perfection and  Montale Aoud Damascus (swe), I think also  will appreciate Mystic Oud.

Rating: 4

Notes: Aldehydes, bergamot, orange, rose, davana, saffron, rose, peony, geranium, clove, oud, vanilla, benzoin, vetiver, castoreum, amber, patchouli, sandalwood, oak moss

By Kilian - Musk Oud

Picture: Autumn dark, pink rose
Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Musk Oud is the last episode in By Kilians Arbian Night Collection preceded by Pure Oud 2009, Rose Oud 2010, Incense Oud 2011 and Ambre Oud 2012. Musk Oud is created by Alberto Morillas.

Musk Oud starts with bright, sort of clean light fruity and spicy notes, the impression is a natural freshness. From the beginning a pink, slight musky rose, deepened by a gentle oudnote, is also present. The rose-spice-musk and oud combo is gentle and brings an air of sophisticated comfort. The more Musk Oud dries down, the more the fragrance simplifies when it comes to perceived notes. The oud-rose combo climbes forward and when entering the second half of the dry down, Musk Oud resembles any conventional basic oud-rose combo with one exception: A very light, barely discernible boozy, slight sour, note appears which is somehow a  little annoying to me. When reaching the basenotes, the fragrance is very oud-y.

The overall impression is that of a good, easy to wear, standard rose-oud. The sillage is great and so is the longevity, 24h. Musk Oud is wearable any time of the year. Of the By Kilan offerings of 2013 Flower of Immortality and Playing with the Devil, Musk Oud is the one that impresses me the least. On the other hand, Playing with the Devil is one of the best releases of all 2013 IMO. Absolutely nothing wrong with Musk Oud, but I have smelled the same for almost a decade and has become a bit jaded.

Rating: 3

Notes: Lemon, cardamom, coriander; cypress, rose, geranium, artemisia, rum, incense, agarwood, musk, patchouli.

Perfumeshopping for Christmas 2013

Picture: Julbocken (The Yule Goat) 1912
Drawing by John Bauer (1882-1918)

Soon Christmas is here and below are some ideas when it comes to perfumeshopping not just for the holidays but also looking in the long term.

• First of all I'll recommend the beautiful perfumes I have sniffed and reviewed this year. Remember: All are good regardless rating. The rating reflects my personal impression when testing the fragrance,  my 3 rated could be your 5.
• For the moment, from the perfumes reviewed 2013, I'm specially craving: Puredistance Black eternal beauty, Robert Piguet Alameda contemporary but in the same time retro, oriental styled chypre, a sophisticated fragrance, the dark and dirty beauty of Le Parfum Couture Denis Durand for M.Micallef and the fascinating, age-, gender- and timeless Orlando from Jardins d'Écrivains.
• Another perfume grabbing my attention at the moment is Andy Tauers fantastic rosecentered PHI Une Rose de Kandahar which is built around a rare afghan roseoil of very high quality. As the roseoil is avaible just for limited time periods, Rose de Kandahar will also be avaible in limited quantities and periods. Therefore true roselovers should test this beautiful rose now.
• Samples of Patricia de Nicolaïs Amber Oud and Rose Oud just arrived. Have just sniffing outside the vials but my impression is I'll not be dissapointed, on the  contrary, they smell delicious. Reviews will follow.
• In the current niche-hype: Don't forget all the good perfumes within "mainstream" such great classics (despite more or less reformulated) as Chanel Coco, YSL Opium, Guerlain Shalimar, Estee Lauder Youth Dew and Thierry Mugler Angel are perfect for warming up in dark and cold winterevenings (and days).
• Rumors on Basenotes says Chanel No 5 Eau Premiere will be repacked in the squared Coco Mademoiselle bottle and that some minor adjustments will be done in the formula. As tweaking with formulas when changing bottledesign is very common, it could be time to stock up with the current version for frequent users of Eau Premiere.
• When it comes to repacking: Parfums Annick Goutal has changed the bottle design (don't know about the formulas) during the year and discontinued some gems: Mon Parfum Cheri, par Camille which is the best Goutal ever IMO, the perfect springfragrances Eau de Camille, Eau de Ciel and the cosy Le Mimosa. For Goutal fans it's time to stock up as the old (and cheaper) bottles soon are gone.
• A package of samples is an intriguing Christmas gift to most. Luckily Fragrance & Art and Riktig Parfym could support in such matters.

Coquillete - Tan-Tan

Picture: Sahrawi tribal men performing fantasia at the
Tan-Tan (Moussem) festival, Morocco
Photo: Maxim Massalitin (c), Wikimedia commons
some rights reserved

Tan-Tan is the first masculine fragrance (also classified as unisex in some sources) by the nichehouse Coquillete. Tan-Tan is, just like the first edition of four fragrances Sulmona, Sumatera, Moramanga and Herat, inspired of warm, exotic places.

Tan-Tan starts green and balmy with a note reminding of a smooth rhubarb, not as tart and dominant as in for example Aedas by Aedas de Venustas. The tartness is present during the whole drydown and balances the milky, figgy notes as also the pine and artemisia. The figgy notes reminds me of Neela Vermeires green Ashoka even if the latter is warm and foody in texture where Tan-Tan is clean and balmy in comparasion. In the middlenotes Tan-Tan becomes more aromatic/herbal and reminds me of the classic green, moisty chypre Givenchy Gentleman. In the basenotes a oily note appears, creating a chalky-earthy-petroleum impression resembling of a lighter and smoother version of the base of Kerosene Copper Skies. This oily accord is perfectly conterbalancing the creamy figgy note.

Even if Tan-Tan, just as the other Coquillete fragrances, is subtle in its apperance, it's suprisingly distinctive and longlasting. Mr Parfumista who was performing the test thanks to a sample from Fragrance & Art, found Tan-Tan very pleasant and easy to wear while also intriguing waiting for the next step in the development of the perfume. Appropriate to wear daytime the year around, non-offensive but in the same time, interesting officescent.

Rating: 4 (November 2013)

Update February 2014: The more Mr Parfumista tests this, he is now on the 2nd sample, the better this coconutmilky fig-frag is.

Rating. 5 

Notes: Pinetree, bergamot, fruity notes, artemisia, fig, cedar, vetiver, jasmine, patchouli, carnation, coconut milk, fig tree, white musk, ambergris, sandalwood, leather.

Jardins d'Écrivains - Orlando

Picture: Orlando
Photo: PR Jardins d'Écrivains (c)

Orlando is the latest fragrance in the affordable niche line Jardins d'Érivains where the fragrances are inspired of the world of literature. Orlando is of course inspired from the novel of Virginia Woolf and when testing Orlando the great movie with Tilda Swinton relives.

Orlando starts balsmaic, cool, fizzy-spicy and the balsamic/spicy impression lasts during the whole dry down. Notes appears that reminds me of expensive retro bubblebath + dirt (like in a stable) + the almost plasticlike (vinyl) note that sometimes emerges from shiny new leather is an intriguing accord that conveys an impression of the immortal Orlando, present in so many centuries. This accord is  counterbalanced by the mysterious dark, spicy, balsamic and musky basenotes which creates a sort of timeless impression. Orlando has a dry, powdery-putty-balsamic texture and is comfortable in the same time as it's evocative and fires the imagination as there are new nuances to find at every turn. Orlando is very much it's own fragrance but I find some similarities with another a bit "strange" perfume, Psychotrope from Parfumerie Générale. Psychotrope is flowery where Orlando is spicy but the clean. cold. almost leatherlike note as also the bubblebathy are present in both. The initial spicy, sparkling impression of ginger, also have something in common with Aus Liebe zum Duft No 1 but the gingernote is not as sharp in Orlando as in the latter. As Orlando has developed for some hours in the basenotes, it suddenly becomes stronger in apperance and in this stage, Orlando reminds me of the classic Robert Piguet Bandit.

Orlando, just as its role model is a genuine unisex fragrance despite Mr Parfumista thinks it's leaning more to the masculine side and and I think it's slight more feminine. Orlando is appropriate both for work and casual, it has good stayingpower, about a day at least, and the sillage is medium. Orlando is IMO the most interesting and original fragrance from Jardins d'Écrivains so far.

Rating: 5

Notes: Orange, pink pepper, ginger; amber, patchouli , cloves, guaiac wood, peru balsam, musk

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample to test.