Parfums de Nicolaï - Cap Néroli

Picture: Parfums Nicolaï Cap Néroli
Photo: PR Nicolaï

Cap Néroli is the new 2018 EDT from Parfums de Nicolï, a real favoritehouse of mine. Last years release was Rose Royale, a celebration to the pink roses of the palacegarden in the center of Paris. this year is celebrating néroli and what a celebration: This is not the usual soliflore niche stuff, this is lika a full fragrance, a bouquet of notes which makes one think that Cap Néroli doesn't belong to the soliflore genre.

Cap Néroli starts with an uplifting, cheering, burst of juicy, natural smelling full orange, like fresh oranges squeezed  in the sun by noon on the terrace of a villa in chic mediterrain surroundings. The orange liquid squeezed is natural, with fruit fibres, tick and not diluted or sugared. This is the accords of a early summer sunny day bearing all the expectations of the wonderful days which will come. In the nexte stage a chilly green, minty note appears blended with a herbal touch. The orange becomes more elegant, restrained and sincere in this stage, the néroli oil appears. Also a dry, salty note enters, a note similar to sea salt and also the scent which reminding me of old school bath salts, in this stage Cap Néroli has left the soliflore stage and enters the domains of a more complex fragrance. The salty ant bath salty aspects are also apperant in  Deco London Lawrence even if the latter is greener and colder in style, like an early summerday of the coast of Britan instead of the shores of the Mediterrain. Cap Néroli is grounded in oakmoss and musk an probably this is a part of the secret of the elegant retro feeling of the fragrance. The timeless elegant, green freshness could be the sign of the oakmoss and the herbs even if I guess that some of the typical Nicolaï geranium (think l'eau Chic) could be embedded in the base accord. During the whole drydown the slight herbal minty note gives Cap Néroli a certain sparkle and together with the salty note, offset the sweetness of the flowers of the fragrance. Compared to my other favorite Nicolaï neroli, Eau sOleil, Cap Néroli is brighter and higer on the fragrance note scale. Eau sOleil is the warm, glowing and slight spicy fragrance for the golden sunsets of the late summer, the orange of Eau sOleil is darker, with velvet nuances of gold and brown.

The overall impression of Cap Néroli is classic retro elegance, interpreted in a modern way. Cap Néroi is a modern take on the classic chypre accord, it's minimalistic and scaled down but still some of the moisty mossiness is there together  the with retro salty, slight soapy cleanness and retro freshness, elegant freshness as in vintage Eau de Rochas. To me Cap Néroli as a whole is more of a formal summer fragrance, it goes well in the boardroom. Both the radiance and longevity are very good to be an EDT, Cap Néroli lasts for over twelve hours. The fragrance is unisex, just as good on my skin as on Mr Parfumistas even if my skin amplifies more of the orange notes and his the green, salty and herbal notes. This fragrance shouldn't be missed, its perfect for effortless elegance both in formal and casual chic summer gatherings.

Rating: 5

Notes: Petitgrain bigaride, orange, mandarine, rosemary, mint, neroli, ylang-ylang, jasmine, orangeblossom, oakmoss, musk

Olfactory dessert

Picture: Olfactory dessert April 28, 2018
Photo: Parfumista (c)

As mentioned several times before in this blog, in this houshold there are very rarely desserts served after weekend dinners (only when we have guests). Instead Mr Parfumista often insists on sniffing/analyzing fragrances. As he in 9 of 10 times takes the initiatve to this "dessert", the inhabitants of his fragrance wardrobe are overrepresented. Yesterday evening there was two themes:

1) The frequently occurring comparison between two of Mr Parfumistas wardrobe staples Tom Ford Tuscan Leather (TL) and Acqua di Parma Colonia Leather  (CL) similar in style but both definitly needed. The role model Tuscan Leather is darker, denser, thicker, with smokey, tobacco, leathery notes, like a well worn bikers leatherjacket. TL also reminds me of a polished sibling to Mona di Orios wild Les Nombres d'Or Cuir. When it comes to CL the weird thing is that I always smell the raspberry which is a note in the Tuscan Leather pyramide and not mentioned in the CL pyramide and in TL I can hardly smell the raspberry at all. CL is more transparent in style, with an uplifting citiric aura which is not smelling citrus, it's blended in the texture per se, adding some sparkle to the brew. The leather in CL is the fine and noble leather, the inside of an exclusive handbag.
2) The random fragrance theme, which just occuring, was yesterday triggerd by Mr Parfumistas testing of Parfums de Nicolaï new Cap Néroli. He really likes it and said he will rather wear it than "that sample I was thinking of maybe buying a FB of ". I immediately thought he ment  MFK APOM Pour Homme which he has sampled lately but to my initial surprise, not when thinking twice, he brought out PFM Geranium pour Monsieur. Geranium is a note which is present in the typical Nicolaï "houseaccord", it's not mentioned in the notelist of Cap Néroli even if I suspect it's there as a part of the baseaccord. The other fragrance Mr Parfumista related to after a days wearing of Cap Néroli was Deco London Lawrence. Also a fragrance with a distinct dose of geranium, special and retro smelling, salty and dry like old-fashioned bath salts. These associations shows that one should not limit oneself to compare a certain fragrance to those in the same, in this case, neroli category, one should experience fragrances without any limitations in the mindset, which is hard to achieve.

And when it comes to Cap Néroli, a full review will follow probably after the next weekend when my birch pollen allergy hopefully has calmed down so I can smell and evalute this beautiful fragrance properly.

Deco London - Quick reviews 2(2)

Deco London is a fragrancehouse which debuted with six fragrances in 2015, three for women and three for men. Deco London pays homage to the golden age of perfumery and elegant, flamboyant 1920s London. Here some thoughts about the gentlemens trio:

Ernest: Aromatic everyday, classic fresh with a contrasting, slight oriental depth which adds a certain balsamic sweetness to the aromatic structure. Lavander, vetiver, different woods, leather, amberand vanilla. Reminds me a tad of a oriental interpretation of Caron Pour un Homme but without the metallic almost bloody accord which is present in the latter. Ernest is a versatile, daytime fragrance in a timeless style.

Picture: Deco London Lawrence
Photo: PR Deco London

Lawrence: Smells like a warm bubblebath, which reminds Mr Parfumista of the classic Badedas bathoil. There is also something dry and salty, which is distictive for the fragrance. There is also a light spicy, tangy lime, blended with white flowers, lavender, vetiver and some greenery. First I come to think of a cologne dominated by orangeflowers (for example Les Colognes Néroli from Annick Goutal), when inhaling I can smell nothing of the orangeflowernote, but the structure/texture is similar. A special fragrance with a vintage but in the same time timless aura. The most intriguing in the Deco London collection IMO and a Mr Parfumista favorite.

Quentin: This one is close to good ol' Givenchy Gentleman at least in the earlier stage. Starts with a dark green mossy patchouli, just like Gentleman. After a while the development of Quentin takes a different path. Where Gentleman focuses on the dark, moisty moss, backed-up with a dark herbal patchouli, Quentin goes to radiate just a herbal patchouli, first with hints of old books as a tame version of Les Néiréides Patchouli Antique and later transformed to a nice slight soapy texture. A nice moderated patchouli, a unisex fragrance IMO.

To summon up the Deco line, three-four of them are similar to, or in some cases (Loretta & Millicent), very close to already excisting designer fragrances. Loretta & Millicent to my nose are gentler, more finetuned but not as distinctive as their designer equals.

Deco London is avaible from Fragrance&Art.

Deco London - Quick reviews 1(2)

Deco London is a fragrancehouse which debuted with six fragrances in 2015, three for women and three for men. Deco London pays homage to the golden age of perfumery and elegant, flamboyant 1920s London. Here som thoughts about the feamle trio:

Constance: A sweet, balsamic, musky oriental with some flowery notes. Reminds me of candy; caramel toffee to be precise. In style it has similarities with Prada Candy but more dense, sweet and less distinctive than Candy. Prada Candy has the typical chilly, almost of refreshing Prada base (similar to the basenotes of Infusion d'Iris)which brightens that fragrance, Constanse is solid in texture and is more average in its sweet oriental style than the Prada. Anyway a good oriental, balancing to the gourmand territory.

Picture: Deco London Millicent
Photo: PR Deco London

Loretta: This Loeretta is far away from the dark, plummy tuberose of Andy Tauer. The Deco Loretta is bright, chocolate-boozy, like white, icy, booze in a wide cocktail glass. There is also a flowery element which I percieve as lily of the valley, both the flower and the greenery even if the notelist mentions orangeflower, osamnathus, rose and jasmine. To me Loretta smells like a lighter, brighter and more flowery version of the chocolate-boozy, icy Notorious from Ralph Lauren. Notorious is bold, dark and dense in texture compared to Loretta. If compared, Loretta is the spring and summerversion, whereas Notorious goes for autumn and winter.

Millicent: A superb white floral which is not surprising as Millicent smells almost identical to a real favorite orangeblossom of me, Elie Saab Le Parfum (Edp) at least in the top and basenotes. In the middle, Millicent is at tad more of a general "white floral bouquet" even if the orangeblossom dominates in this stage too. Millicent is less sweet/thick and more spritzy/mineral-like (like  Sauvignon blanc vs Chardonnay if related to the world of wine) than Elie Saab Le Parfum in its Edp version (havn't tested the Edt). In the basenotes of Millicent there is also a light pleasent dry a bit chalky note which smells like a sunwarmed, round, smooth stone a hot summerday. My favorite from the womens trio, very pleasant to wear.

Deco London is avaible by Fragrance & Art