5 fragrances for a cold May

May, the month of spring has been very cold so far with tempratures beyond zero in the morning an and just some + degrees Celsius during the days. The crave for sheer and delicate fragrances which normally appears in spring hasn't arrived yet. As my longing for flowers remains unchanged my choices of fragrances are from the stronger and heavier cathegory this May.

Picture: Tubereuse Indiana
Photo: PR Creed (c)

Tubereuse Indiana (Creed): My boss nailed it when entering the room where I was working: "Oh here is the scent of the fine world". That´s Tubereuse Indiana in a nutshell, smooth, velvety, elegant tubereuse and mostly white flowers over the signature Creed ambergrisbase. Retrostyled, yet timeless elegance.

Picture: Honour Woman
Photo: PR Amouage (c)

Honour Woman (Amouage): Another beautiful white floral, this one is on the chillier side, accompanied with watery flowers. Elegant, versatile and comforting, contemporary yet timeless in style. In my book a runner up among the Amouages, it has grown to be one of my top favourites from this house.

Picture: Rose Ishtar
Photo: PR Rania J. (c)

Rose Ishtar (Rania J.): A cold, very dark and dry rose with a herbal/spicy contrast. Gives almost ancient vibes and it's androgynous, sometimes it leans to the masculine side and then suddenly it's strangely feminine. Maybe more of a autumnfragrance but anyway perfect for the moment.

Picture: Marni
Photo: PR Marni (c)

Marni (Marni): Another cold rose, but this time pink and bright with contrasting woody (cedar) and slight peppery notes, just perfect for accompaning a cold, frosty spring like this years. 

Picture: Graine de Joie
Picture: PR Eau d'Italie (c)

Graine de Joie (Eau d'Italie): A lush, fruity, berry floral which has become better the more I have tested it. Nothing chemical or sickenly sweet, just a warm red juicy nectar, giving hope of a coming summer after all. Delicious!

Ormonde Jayne - Ta'if

Picture: In the Bey's Garden (1865)
Painting by John Frederick Lewais (1805-76)
Wikimedia commons

An Ormonde Jayne Classic, the beautiful oriental rosefragrance Ta'if was created by perfumer Geza Schoen in 2004.

Starts with a burst which smells like green pepper, not pink, mingling with something reminding of a tangy citric note. Soon an slight juicy, pink, rosy note appers, and then the whole accord becomes light creemy after a short while and Ta'if reminds me of a bit sharper, less juicier Le Galion La Rose. As Ta'if developes, the rose interacts with the other flowers, the bright and chilly freesia is prominent to me. Ta'if is more of a boquet than a solar rose fragrance and surprisingly bright and high up on the fragrance note scale to be an oriental fragance. The saffron is playing a supporting role in the background, not at all as prominent as in the standard dark, often oudy, oriental rose fragrance. At one stage in the middlenotes a hint similar to cedar appears which together with a fizzy, peppery note, reminds me of a light and smooth interpretation of Perles de Lalique and also of a more refined, cremy and smooth version of Marni. The datenote provide a moderating dark, fruity component, anchoring the kind of shrill flowers together with the pleasant amber-musky base.

Summed up Ta'if is a pleasant rose in the cold rose category. It's slight watery, but not at all thin, on the contrary it's heavy but in the same time transparant as the air of high humidity up in the mountains. As less sharp and more juicy/creamy than most cold roses, there is hints of warm trails Ta'if in some parts of the dry down. Since Ta'if creation many roses in the same style have emerged, I also comes to think of Burberry Body and Unum Rosa Nigra, and even if Ta'if is not as unique anymore, it has stood the test of time very well and is still a wellcrafted, intriguing fragrance. The longevity is great, traces are left after 24h, and sillage is good. Proper for daytime wearing escpecially for office or formal occasions. Works for year around, exept the coldest months.

Rating: 5

Notes: Pink pepper, saffron, dates, freesia, rose, orange flower, jasmine, broom, amber

Thanks to Fragrance & Art för the sample to test

Le Galion - La Rose

Picture: Hever Castle rose garden and fountain, Kent, England
Photo: Graham Bould 2007, Wikipedia commons 

La Rose is another successful flowery re-creation (see the reviews of Tubereuse and Iris in January 2015) performed by Thomas Fontaine. The original is as usual when it comes to Le Galion, a Paul Vacher creation for his own house, a house that has been revived during 2014.

La Rose is a very juicy rose, warm and flowery like the smell of the petals in hot weather, one can imagine contempling in an english rosegarden a very warm summerday. There are no steams or green leaves from the roseplant in the mix. It starts sparkling and flowery, followed by smooth notes of cedarwood, nothing sharp or pencilshaving alike. Despite the cedar, La Rose is warm in texture and apperance, the more it dires down, the more it settles in a very pleasant creaminess. La Rose is also supported by other flowers and just as in Le Galion Iris, the lily is prominent to my nose. There are also a light fruity touch in La Rose. When La Rose has reached the musky, slight woody basenotes, a pleasant boozy notes appeares, the smell is as if whisky has been stored in rosewood barrels.

Picture: Le Galion La Rose
Photo: PR Le Galion (c)

Fragrances with similarities to La Rose when it comes to the woody part are Lalique Perles and Marni Marni, despite those are the complete opposites in their apperance, sharp, icy and cold as the winter. When it comes to the lush flower expression of La Rose, it is in the same style as Tubereuse and Iris, as the three fragrances has a similar background but featuring different flowers.

Rating: 4

Notes: Bergamot, violet leaves, rose, ylang-ylang, peach, water notes, lily; cedar, patchouli, vanilla, musk


Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample to try.

Maison Nicolas de Barry - Eau de Vizir

Picture: Die Kinder des Vicomte d'Andrezel,
 französischer Botschafter an der Hohen Pforte,
werden dem Großwesir Ibrahim Pasha vorgestellt, 10. Oktober 1724
Oil on canvas by Jean Baptiste Vanmour (1671-1737)
Wikimedia commons

Eau de Vizir is a masculine, very original creation from the house Nicolas de Barry who has composed the fragrance, maybe in collaboration with Eddy Blanchet as some of the other fragrances.

Eau de Vizir starts with an aromatic, citric-herbal blast, it's strong and cold in apperance. Early a very sort of clean, dry, smoky vetivernote appears and it is present in full or as whispers during the rest of the fragrance. As it continues, herbs, especially basil, green notes and fresh bitter notes appears, the fennel is sort of natural fresh and uplifting. In texture and impression Eau de Vizir is cold as original Marni, but without the rosy elements. There is also a slight mentholic touch in some stages and somehow By Kilian Smoke for the Soul comes to my mind as also the classic Azzaro Acteur with its moisty forest floor accords. The aromatic-herbal accords are founded in a musky, woody accord in which the smoky vetiver also are clearly present, a base which emphasizes the fresh coolness of the scent.

Picture: Eau de Vizir
Photo: PR Maison Nicolas de Barry (c)

Eau de Vizir is a good fragrance for regular daytime wearing. It's definitly masculine, suitable year around and would be perfect in early spring with the slight chilly air and wet soil. The longevity is very good, a little goes for about a day. Maybe Eau de Vizir is another addition to the reported upcoming, mostly non-sweet, woody-tarry-aromatic trend.

Rating: 3

Notes: Lemon, bergamot, orange, basil, vetiver, fennel, sandalwood, musk

The fragrance of New Years Eve

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

As the winter here in the north is the warmest in decades and New Years Eve is more like a mid-autumn or mid-spring day in temprature the choice was also unusual for this day. Instead of a dark and heavy scent I chose a light and transparent fragrance, a sample that I unfortunately have forgotten for over six month but was reminded of when reading all the Best of 2013 lists: Marni (by Marni).

Marni definitly should be included in my Best of 2013 list (or maybe the 2012 if the releasedate on Fragrantica is correct), even if I discovered the last day. It's transparent but in the same time it has strength and lasts, it is both cold and warm in character, refreshing but also comforting and calming. A great mainstream fragrance, created by one of my favorite noses, Daniela Andrier which also created the first female classic of this century: Prada Infusion d'Iris.

The warmer spicy-incense part of Marni reminds me of the from the perfumecommunity surprisingly dissesd 2013 release Vaara from Penhaligons, a fragrance which I like very much. The colder aspects reminds me of one of the early "Noveau Chypres" Perles de Lalique, a more intense, deep and in the same time icy cold, rose-woody combo with characteristic pencilshavingnotes. The rose/incense/spices also reminds me of what Caron Parfum Sacre could be if it would appear in an Eau Fraiche variation. Very oddly a light and smoother trace of the "päronsplit"-note (swedish icecream, vanilla icecream covered with pear-ice, popular among children, more about htis see earlier post on Riktig Parfym) in Angelique Noir glimpses by. or maybe it's not that strange, A N is also created by Daniela Andrier.

A very wearable fragrance, easy to wear, comforting and a good officescent. Will be perfect for the coming spring and also for the winter if these tempratures stays.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, spices, rose, cardamon, cinnamon, vetiver, cedarwood, incense, patchouli