Jul et Mad - Les White - Nin-Shar, Néa & Garuda

Les White is a separate collection of three oriental inspiered Extraits de parfum from Jul et Mad. Nin-Shar is created by Sidonie Lancesseur, Néa and Garuda by Luca Maffei. 

Picture: Nin-Shar
Photo: PR Jul et Mad (c)

Nin-Shar starts fruity-rosy with boozy elements. Soon woody, balsamic, incense notes joins where a wellbalanced oud and most of all, a distinct note of nagarmotha is present. As the boozy note steps back, the rose becomes sweeter and jammy. The nagarmotha accord softens in the basenote but taken as a whole, this together with the fruity, later jammy rose is the lasting impression of Nin-Shar. To me Nin-Shar is very close to a sweeter, fruitier version of the beautiful L'eau de Mumtaz i Mahal by Maison Nicolas de Barry which I personally slightly prefer. Nin-Shar is reported to be the bestseller in the trio.

Picture: Néa
Photo: PR Jul et Mad (c)

Néa Oriental-fruity-gourmand, the fruit in the heavy oriental style with  boozy dates, ripe peach, mango but also berries. Green notes balances the fruit as also a beautiful rose. The basenotes with resins, balsamic notes and musk creates a dept to the perfume. Even if intense with many powerful ingredients I percieve Néa as a perfume in the higher ocataves in the notescale. Néa is not at all cloying or heavy to wear, it is sparkling in some passages of its development, sometimes some green fizz break through with a note that smells something that I can imagine fresh harvested cardamom smells like. There is nothing chemical or sickenly sweet to Néa. it's a delicious pleasure to wear, comforting and relaxing. For those who likes the style of Eau d'Italie Graine de Joie and By Kilian Playing with the Devil.

Picture: Garuda
Photo: PR Jul et Mad (c)

Garuda Light fruity/nutty accentuated of a light smokey oud-wood with some behaved barnyard elements glimpsing through. The oudy - woody note is high and bright in the octaves compared with for example Perris Monte Carlo Bois d'Oud and Acqua di Parma Colonia Oud. This accord gets more woody in general and less oudy as Garuda developes. There are also a herbal. minty element that sparkels and adds almost a freshenss to the fragrance. I suspect there is also sandalwood involved, probably the warm, nutty elements comes from there. In the basenotes there is also a tangy, floral alomst mossy quality which has a resemblance to a green classical chypre accord but with a soapy twist. Garuda with its compexity and different faces is my favorite from the line.

Les White are perfect fragrances for the colder months, they envelope the wearer in warmth and smells delightful. Their style is ornamental, warm, golden and all will fit perfectly for the coming Christmas and New Years Holidays. All three fragrances are of very good quality, with close to medium sillage and good longevity. To my nose predominantly feminine in style.

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the samples to test

Perris Monte Carlo - Bois d'Oud

Picture: Uttewalde Grund
Painting ca 1825 by Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840)
Wikimedia Commons

Bois d'Oud is a fragrance in the Perris Monte Carlo oud duo, to me it's the more feminine one whereas Oud Imperial is definitly the masculine alternative.

Bois d'Oud starts powerful with a woody, light oudy accord underscored with smokey notes accentuated by a light note almost close to grilled meat or burned leather. This meat/leather note but more distinct is present in Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Cuir and to a lesser extent in Amouage Interlude Man where it's matched with a tangy almost rhubarbnote. Further on flowery elements steps forward, the flowers are interwoven with woody elements in an intricate pattern which gives an impression similar to flowery oud, I think it's the cambodian variety. In this stage I recognize the oudy, flowery style of Acqua di Parma Colonia Oud which smells more "vintage/perfumery" (in a positive way). As Bois d'Oud dries further down, the fragrance becomes more woody-spicy and Montale Amber & Spices comes to my mind, later on another Montale shows up the flower-sandalwood Sandalsliver which is brighter, sweeter and is playing in the higher octaves of the notescale. In the basenotes Bois d'Oud reminds me much of a darker, less sweet and more balsamic Sandalsliver with sudden whirls of the smokey notes.

Picture: Bois d'Oud
Photo: PR Perris Monte Carlo (c)

Bois d'Oud as a fragrance captures the mystical, dark, forest atmosphere in the Caspar David Friedrich painting above. It's appropriate for dusky autumn and winterdays but it's also developing very well when tested in summertempratures. Bois d'Oud is a strong fragrance, a little will go for long. Longevity is for 24h and sillage is medium or more. Its intensity makes it suitable for a night out. If worn in the office, gently application is recommended.

Rating: 5

Notes: Peach, plum, jasmine, rose, iris, orange blossom, oud, cedar, blackwood, patchouli, vanilla, ambergris, labdanum, musk

Five fab frags for fall 2015

Already in the middle of the autumn, which are probably the best days when it comes to wearing perfume over the whole year. Crisp and chilly days are contrasted with almost summery tempratures, the last traces of the summer. This encourages the use of fragrances representing quite different perfumestyles. Below some favorites for the mid season, excluding the ones I have tried and/or reviewed during the latest weeks.

Picture: Perle de Mousse
Photo: Parfums Ann Gerard (c)

Perle de Mousse (Ann Gerard): Many describes this as a springscent, probably because the Lily of the vally note which is one of the protagonists together with ivy and galbanum. To me it's autumn as I precieve it as golden, glowing, tart and dusky as the moisty forestfloor.

Picture: Eau Soleil
Photo: PR Parfums de Nicolaï (c)

Eau sOleil (Parfums de Nicolaï): From the 2013 Nicolaï summercollection of lighter and easy to wear fragrances. To me this warm and golden nerolifragrance where the citric notes are skillfully balanced with herbal notes is like a sunny day in the autumn, a warming sun with some crisp chilliness in the shadow.

Picture: La Religieuse
Photo: PR Serge Lutens (c)

La Religieuse (Serge Lutens): This subdued, slight soapy and animalic jasmine havn't many fans when reading comments and reviews. To me it's sort of contemplating and serene reminding me somehow of an everyday variation emerged from one of my most favorite SL:s ever, De Profundis.

Picture: Gucci by Gucci Edp
Photo: PR Gucci (c)

Gucci by Gucci (Gucci): I very much appreciate this contemporary chypre both in the darker fruitier Edp version as also in the more flowery Edt. It's dark, stripped patchouli with  its earthy freshness adds a contrasting dept to both versions. A modern classic.

Picture: Colonia Oud
Photo: PR Acqua di Parma (c)

Acqua di Parma Colonia Oud (Acqua di Parma): The top and middlenotes of this are fabulous, a flowery oud which reminds me of the slight flowery cambodian oud. In the basenotes it's more of a standard peppery woody (porbably cedar) oud but some of the flowery woody accord glimpses now and then.

Which are your mid-fall favorites?