Still winter....

Picture: Winter is still here...
Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Last week was snowy and with  tempratures between -10 and - 15 C. In the same time the light is back and there were some sunny days which, even if cold,  indicate that spring really is around the corner. These opposites causes an ambivalence in perfumewearing, I'm craving both warm and heavy fragrances as also lighter and brighter ones. This was reflected in the fragrances worn last week:

Epidor (Lubin): Both Monday and Tuesday was cold, sunny days and Epidors  sunny, hayish and light fruity apperance was both contrasting but also somehow matching as it has something like a cold string in it. This together with a distinct tonka been make me think of the original Dolce&Gabbana pour Homme when wearing Epidor.

Opium Edt (Yves Saint Laurent): The current, more woody version. But still cinnamon is evident as also the overall, varm, velvety and oriental spicy character. Opium warmed the whole cold, windy and snowy Wednesday up.

Prada La Femme Intense (Prada): An elegant, restrained, white and tropical flowers over a well-behaved patchouli is suitable in any climate or season. Added some casual elegance to my Thursday.

Najaf  (Xerjoff): Craved for something dark and woody for Friday and a sample of Najaf caught my interest. Animalic, very woody, with the tangy, bitter but in the same time sort of fresh smell of oud.

Aromatic Elixir (Clinique): This bombastic, dry, rosy and woody chypre requires cold weather. A powerful and demanding fragrance, a classic which has stood the test of time. Unfortunately I was a bit too triggerhappy this time so I was on the verge to having headache on  Saturday. 

Jardin Blanc (Maître Parfumeur et Gantier): A beautiful white flower boquet where tubereuse is the major player flourished my Sunday. Well balanced, dense but not heavy, with chords of green and some animalic glimpses from the dept of the fragrance.

Etat Libre D'Orange - Rien

Picture: Medival construction site.

Villard de Honnecourt, drawing of a buttress at Reims,

in his album of drawings, ca 1230 - 35. Bibliotheque Nationale

The name of Etat Libre D'Oranges Rien is an understatement to said at least. But that is on the other hand not surprising as it comes to this controventional perfumhouse, at least when it comes to the it's earlier releases. Rien is on of those earlier creations and it is executed by the famous Givaudan perfumer Antoine Lie. About the story behind and the perfumers inspiration of retro perfumes blended in a contemporary style and taken all the restrictions of rawmaterial in consideration that has ruined many of the great classics when reformulated, read the initiated review of Rien at Bois de Jasmin. Rien is one of these "complicated" cult fragrances, analyzed in almost it's every part in different parfumeblogs and forum and here is my version of it: The formula of Rien reviewed is the original, it's said to has been reworked to a softer version in 2014.

The perfume Rien is anything but "rien", instead it is very "très" as very much is going on in this blend. It starts by a very strong and almost overly harsh construction site note that I genreally like. But in Rien it's on the verge of being too much of that particular wet, putty, gritty and slight sweaty note. This note is also present but in a subtler and more pleasant way in Etros Messe de Minuit. There also a note of a tick, almost smokey and dry leather, as in a rough and heavy leather coat. As Rien is a very strong and potent blend one have to be very careful upon application. When sampling and wore a full sprits from the sample on the right arm and a half sprits on the left, I felt a difference in the scent. It smelled much better on the left, lower dose, hand, not as sharp and compact as on the right. But in the stronger concentration there on the other hand are some interesting animalic notes glimpse. As the first, strong blast tunes down, the fragrance turns into a pale pink almost withering rose backed up by a gentle cumminnote, musk and cold green whiffs that resembles geranium. This stage is slight powdery. The blend for a while gets even more dry to my nose and in this stage there is traces that reminds me of Aromatics Elixir by Clinique. But AE is a louder interpretation of the rose, geranium, moss and also distinguish the individual notes more apparently than in Rien, which notes seems to be more mixed together. In the basenotes there are also aimalic notes that is not as distinct in AE. There is an almost animalic furry note among the basenotes together with a distinct musknote and the powdery pale rose that remains subtle. In the middle and basenotes there are many similarities with the beautiful rose-musk combo in Musc Nomade by Annick Goutal and sometimes I'm almost thinking I'm wearing the latter even if MN is more refined and elegant in it's appearance. In the latest stage of the basenotes the rough leather from the earlier stages of Rien returns, but now it seems to be better in balance with the sourrunding notes than in the beginning.

Expect from the almost off-putting opening and topnotes of Rien, the perfume evokes just the right feeling of retroperfumes foremost in the leathery chypre style as Robert Piguet Bandit, Estee Lauder Azureé and Parfumes Grès Cabochard. But also as mentioned above, of a modern musky classic as Musc Nomade.

Rien is an interesting frag where a lot is going on during it's dry down and there is no risk of losing interest. Even the picky Mr Parfumista gives compliments when I wear Rien, which is strange as he often complians about strong aldehydic scents beeing too "old man/womanlike"on me. But Rien is dry, with almost no sweetness in it and Mr Parfumista is appreciating dry-wood perfumes for himself.  Rien is a must try for retro perfumelovers. I can't say it's officefriendly, not in it's initial stage anyway. This "offending" stage on the other hand dries down during the journy to work and when entering the office, the more pleasant middlenotes have appeared.

Rating: 5

Notes: Aldehydes, cummin, leather, iris, amber, patchouli, moss, incense, rose, pepper, styrax

The mainstream niche

As I strolled around in the local chain-perfumstore some perfumed insights just popped up. In these days when the launches of many nichelines becomes more and more bland and not distinguishable from other niche and mainstream offerings (we can call it "mainstremification" of the niche) an opposing movement occurs automatically when it comes to some "mainstream" parfumes or maybe better referred to "designer"parfumes. Just looking around in the ordinary assortment of the chainstore I visited, I came to some conclusions:

- The classics still remaining in the assortment  is way more interesting then the majority of the new niche realeases. A perfume that have survived five to ten years or more, even if gradually reformulated, has stood the test of time and is something special. Examples: Rive Gauche (YSL), No 5 & Coco (Chanel), Angel & Alien (Thierry Mugler), Infusion d'Iris (Prada), Aromatic Elixir (Clinique)

- There are good new releases too, even if increasingly rarer (in relative terms) i.e exactly the same phenomen as in the niche sector. From the latest two years: Esprit d'Oscar (Oscar de la Renta), Le Parfum (Elie Saab),  No 19 Poudre (Chanel), Body (Burberry), Candy (Prada).

- The, in some cases quite distinctive reformulations of some fragrances, with the new Dior policy as a hallmark, suddenly makes a ten year old bottle with an pre-reformulation formula to an almost niche fragrance. Examples are of course in particualar from the Dior range: Dior Addict, Dune, Miss Dior Cherie Edp. I will  definitely treasure my (not so) old Diors :-).

-This store had a tester of Miss Dior labled as that and not the new Miss Dior Originale. I bet the MDO version formula is somehow tweaked too.

When writing this I'm yearning for these and other distinctive "mainstream" fragrances. As I'm almost always  sampling different nichefragrances, a week or two in "mainstream" would be a great relief.

Passande klassiker 3 (4)

Foto: Parfumista (c)

Ursprungligen publicerat på min tidigare blogg "Parfumistans blogg" på Damerns Världs hemsida i januari 2008.

Vid sidan om besvikelserna i förra inlägget, finns en del klassiker som passar hyfsat alternativt glänser till under vissa förhållanden men kan bli en mindre katastrof under andra omständighter. Den här listan är svår att ta fram, den kräver ett ärligt rannsakande och bort med alla önsketänkanden.

1000 (Patou) Fin aldehydisk blomparfym med den exklusiva osmanthusblomman i centrum. Blir aldrig mer än normalbra på mig trots en lovande öppning på doften.

Boucheron (Boucheron) I sig en fin doft som luktar gott på flaskan men blir tråkig på mig. Finns ett litet spår av Oscar i doften, något som irriterar mig.

Panthere (Cartier) Även om den har en trevlig plåsterton i sig så finns även här lätta spår av Oscar som irriterar. Doften är också för damig för mig.

Nuit de Noel (Caron) På mig blir den bara en typisk tjugotalsdoft men utan något extra. Känner inte mycket av julkryddorna. Kan bero på att jag testat Edt-version. Parfymkoncentrationen är säkert något helt annat.

Jean Louis Scherrer (Scherrer) Denna eleganta, gröna chypre kan spela bäraren (och har spelat mig) otäcka spratt. Varning för överdosering!

Bandit (Piguet) Vill så klart att denna tuffa läderchypre ska smälta in som ett andra skinn. Men det gör den inte utan den lägger sig liksom lite utanpå. Mycket känslig för störningar i kroppskemin, typ infektioner. Men så är den också en oberäknelig chypre.

Aromatic Elixir (Clinique) Denna örtigt kamomilliga chypre tycker jag bra om. Men den tar ett steg längre på många andra som bär den.

Vilka är dina oberäkenliga klassiker?

Kommentar 2011: Numera är det bara Bandit och 1000 som får en chans ibland. Övriga prover är slut och inte ersatta eller i det fall det fanns en flaska så har jag den inte kvar heller. Vill ha säkrare kort en så här.

Örtigt värre

Bild: P99.com
Plötsligt kände jag att jag behöver bryta mig loss från nuvarande favoriter rökelse, ambra och vita blommor. Vad passar då bättre i sommartid än herrdoften Aramis 900 från 1973. En frisk,örtigt, träig torr och osöt chypre, en lightversion av systerföretaget Cliniques Aromatics Elixir.
I den här luktar man somrigt men samtidigt inte som alla andra. Utförlig recension finns i inlägg från trettonde januari i år.

Dagens doft - Aramis 900

Är en torr, mycket örtig doft med tydliga roseninslag. Aramis 900 från 1973 är den maskulina versionen av Cliniques Aromatics Elixir som kom två år tidigare. Både Aramis och Clinique ägs av Estee Lauder och idén att göra en dam och en herrdoftutifrån samma bas går igen även bland Estee´s dofter.
Aramis 900 är, liksom Elixir, raka motsatsen till de söta gourmanddofterna. 900:an är mindre mäktig (en lightversion) och överväldigande än Elixir. Elixir har ett större inslag av torkad ros. Örtigheten ger ett slags medicinskt inslag. Man associerar till apotek och vita rockar.
Hållbarheten över dagen är inte så bra som Elixirs. Så här på kvällen doftar 900:an svagt. Positivt är att doften inte fragmenterats utan fortfarande känns hel.
I toppnoterna i denna chypre finns citron, rosenträ, kamomill och bergamott. I hjärtat  ros, nejlika, violrot och geranium. I basen mossa, patchoulli och vetvier.