Rania J - Lavande 44

Picture: King Henry VIII,  (1491-1547)
Painting ca 1537 by Hans Holbein (1498-1543)
Wikipedia commons 

Lavande 44 is the lavenderinterpretation of Rania Jouaneh, perfumer with her own house, Rania J.
Lavande 44 starts with a natural smelling sparkling lavender highlighted by slight bitter, aromatic citrusnotes. After a while some spritzy green, almost like geranium appears, probably traces from the vetiver mixed with lavender and others. When moving further there is also an almost gourmand vibe in the fragrance, maybe the powdery, sweet tonka gives that effect. In the basenotes, Lavande 44 is considerably darker in character and texture then most lavender fragrances. The combined notes, creates a very pleasant leathery note and ther is also a pleasant almost sour note that contrasts the sweetness of the tonka been. The lavender is still present in the basenotes but not as herbal as in the beginning of the fragrance. In this stage it's much more intergrated with the other notes and harder to pick out as a separate one. In the basenotes Lavande 44 reminds me of a more straightforward Vero Profumo Kiki Extrait or Kiki Voile d'Extrait, the Kikis to my nose are a bit more complicated with some more layers in the compositions. As a great Kiki devotee I of course also like Lavande 44. Just like most of the other Rania J fragrances, Lavande 44 is in the same time contemporary and timeless, which seems to be a feature of the Rania J. line. Lavande 44 is, just as Rose Isthar, a fragrance that I can imagine whiffing by in the Tudor court, the pleasant smell of lavender but with something dark and dangerous underneath. Would have been perfect as a shared fragrance between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

Picture: Lavande 44
Photo: PR Rania J. (c)

Lavande 44 is a lavender also for autumn and winter. It's close to the wearer and perfectly officefriendly. Longevity is good for a lavenderfragrance, over a day.

Even if Lavande 44 is darker and more dramatic, I think that fans of natural smelling lavenderfragrances on the higher end of the fragrance notescale, such as Maria Candida Gentile  Luberon  and Caldey Abbey Perfumes Caldey Island Lavendel (swe) would appreciate Lavande 44.

Rating: 4+

Notes: Bergamot, petit grain, lavender, patchouli, tonka been, oud, labdanum, vetiver, musk

Thanks to Rania J for the samples to try.

Maria Candida Gentile - Luberon

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Lately I've tested some fragrances from Maria Candida Gentile, an Italian perfumer who's creations I really appreciate, see my reviews of some of the earlier releases Exultat, Hanbury, Barry Lyndon, Cinabre, Sideris. This week I'll write about my impressions of three fragrances from the Exclusive Collection and starts with the lavender beauty Luberon.

Luberon is inspired of the lavenderfields in the Provencale region with the same name. Trying it, I can imagine cycling around the lavendelfields a sunny summerday  inhaling the wonderful herbal-flowery scent. Luberon starts with the most natural smelling lavenderaccord, reminicent of the lanvender gold standard in the genre, Caldey Island Lavendel (swe). After a while tha lavender blend with other notes and becomes almost chalky-oily, a bit similar to a light petrolnote, maybe the minty leaves creates this effect together with the lavender. The rose nor the woody note is noticable as a separate notes, it's the beautiful lavender which dominates during the whole drydown. The longevity is very good for a lavenderfragrance, it lasts for a whole day performing outdoor activities, which also is the right setting for Luberon. Where Caldey Island Lavendel is musky in the base, Luberon is of a drier, woodier character.

Rating: 4

Notes: Lavender, rose, mint, oakmoss, cedar

Thanks to Fragance & Art for the sample to test 

Caldey Abbey Perfumes - Island Fern

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

I was so inspired by Pojkfrökens fact-filled travel report (in swedish) from the Island of sacred fragrances Caldey Island so I felt the urge to test the Island Fern also described in the post of Pojkfröken. Last year when I orderd the Caldey Abbeys best fragrance (five stars from Luca Turin and by him appointed as the best lavendel) Caldey Island Lavendel  I also received a bunch of generous samples from the bountiful monks. One of them is Island Fern.

Island Fern is a green in texture, a soapy, herbal, grassy, slight mossy blend, an archetypal fougère. I haven't much to add to Pojkfrökens review, my impressions seems to be similar.Island Ferns structure is straightforward, neither complicated nor "great parfumery" but with good quality of the ingredients and it's an excellent reference fougère. In style it has some similarities with lighter, classical vetivers as for example Guerlains Vetiver but Island Fern is smoother, soapier and gentler in charachter. It reminds me somehow of a retrostyled hotelsoap. Island Fern is the perfect scent to splash on after a sauna and the following refreshing bath in the sea, an easy going scent for casual life in the archipelago. The longevity is medium, better then I expected, the sillage is quite close with some whiffs around the wearer now and then.

Rating: 3

Notes: Fern, moss, grass, herbals, aldehydes (I guess as I have not found a notelist of Island Fern)

Thanks to Caldey Island Abbey for samples to try.

Caldey Abbey Perfumes - Caldey Island Lavendel

Foto: Herr Parfumista (c)

På den lilla ön Caldey Island utanför Wales kust finns ett kloster med driftiga munkar. Dessa har bland annat parfymtillverkning på agendan och man utgår till stor del från den flora som finns på ön.Caldey Island Lavendel skapades av den belgiske parfymören Hugo Collumbien. Den har av doftgurun Luca Turin utnämnts till den bästa lavendelparfymen och har följaktligen belönats med en 5:a i The Guide.

Och visst är Caldey Island Lavendel en väldigt fin lavendeldoft. Det är en krispig liksom mintig, hög och klar lavendeldoft. Doften behåller också den friska lavendelnoten under hela sin utveckling och den blir inte som en del lavendeldofter tung, lite sur och liksom grå efter ett tag. Det är något som jag tycker händer i Acqua di Parmas Lavanda Tonica, en doft som öppnar med en fin och ren lavendel men som sedan blir ganska deprimerande på mig. Caldey Island Lavendel:s fina lavendelnoter grundas i en behaglig, ljus mysk som inte känns kemisk även om den så klart är det. Doften är ett samspel mellan den krispiga lavendeln och den mjuka och behagliga mysken. Mysken lyckas dra ur både de blommiga och lite jordiga facetter som finns i lavendeln och jag tror att det är mysken som gör att Caldey Island Lavendel är så pass hållbar fast den är en ganska lätt Edt. På mig sitter doften en hel dag om jag applicerar generöst och det finns till och med en viss risk för överdosering. En avslappnad och avslappande doft som passar dagtid överallt men särskilt i casual sammanhang. Ett litet sprits före sänggåendet ger också en rogivande effekt.

Ska man ha en okomplicerad lavendeldoft som kan användas året om så är det Caldey Island Lavendel man ska investera i. Och den är ett fynd, lite drygt 200 kr för 100 ml. När jag köpte min flaska fick jag så generöst rejäla prover av flera andra av öns örtiga dofter. Så även om Caldey Island Lavendel är pärlan i kollektionen så är fler reviewer att vänta av några klostrets olifactoriska kreationer. Mer om denna speceilla doftproduktion går att läsa under http://www.caldey-island.co.uk/

Betyg: 4

Noter: Lavendel, mysk