SOTD March 2022

Picture: An adorable sight on a walk in early March
 (wearing Putredistance No. 12) -
Shetland Ponies are the cutiest.
Photo: Parfumista (c)

March 2022 - some notes about the SOTD.

1. Chance Eau Tendre Edp (Chanel) Musky light rosy, fruity - pink with lilac nuance

2. Angel Edp (Mugler) The ultimate mulitfacetted gourmand.

3. Sheiduna Extrait (Puredistance) Glowing, golden spicy ambery like sun rays over desert dunes.

4. Sheiduna Extrait (Puredistance) on repeat, one of my top Puredistances.

5. Warszawa Extrait (Puredistance) the dark fresh moss paired with dark plum in such a elegant way.

6. Gucci Oud Edp (Gucci) raspberry and dark pink rose over patchouli and well balanced oud.

7. Puredistance No 12  Extrait (Puredistance) A seamless blend of rose, iris and an accord like cristal clerar water  with a tiny bit of exclusive soap over a velvet smooth patchouli. Blue. Another of my top Puredistances.

8. Puredistance No 12  Extrait (Puredistance) another day in this beauty.

9. Peut Etre Edp (Maison Lancome) Light pink rose over musk, very pleasant and uncomplicated.

10. Lost in the city Edp (Miller Harris) Tangy rhubarb over rose with some zing from blackberry, close to Hermes Eau de Rhubarbe Ecarlate, which I like better, one of my favorites from the Hermes colognes.

11. Café Tuberosa Edp (Atelier Cologne) Thick tubereuse, dark chocolade and dark coffe in a delicious blend. 

12. Café Tuberosa Edp (Atelier Cologne) Couldn't resist it for another day.

13. Essence de Patchouli Edp (Perris Monte Carlo) Soapy, sort of dusty, musky dark and cold patchouli,  with a touch of something that reminds me of  a burning mosquito coil in a positive way. Unusual.

14. Coromandel Edt (Chanel Les Exclusifs) Earthy and clean patchouli over a balanaced dry dark chocolade amber, less sweet and more structured than the current Edp. The Edp is also very good although I prefer the Edt slightly.

15. Borneo 1834 Edp (Serge Lutens) Earthy fresh slight herbal-menthol dry dark chocolate  patchouli. Not as elegant as Coromandel, outdoorsy, classy - casual 

16. Akkad Edp (Lubin) Warm, sunny, sort of desert amber, delicious, perfect for snuggling.

17 Ambre 114 (Histoires de Parfums) Dark, herbal amber, leaning to the masculine side, classic styled amber, slight "old man" style.

18. Concentre d'Orange Verte (Hermès) I like the Concentre better for colder months with it's thicker texture and a hint of a note that reminds me of licorie which is not present in the  Eau d'Orange Verte. Both variations on a unique intermpretation of the classic colognetheme.

19. After My Own Heart (Ineke) Lovely smooth lilac with fruity notes. Comforting, warmer, sweeter and with more body than En Passant (Fredric Malle).

20. Eau de Soir Edp (Sisley) Elegant and sparkling like Champagne, I think of it as colored in gold and white, cool with beautiful, light, uplifting mossy notes. Have something in common with Puredistance No 12, similar texture and mode. Referring to a batch from mid -00, before the oakmoss regulations.

21. No 5 Eau Première  (Chanel) Smoother, sunnier, warmer not as serious cold and chalky as No 5 Edt. Easier to wear, lighter with the aldehydes. Classy. Referring to the 2008 version.

22. Concentre d'Orange Verte (Hermès) Sunny and early spring outside inspires to wear the green orange again. For the evening  No 5 Eau Première  (Chanel) on repeat.

23. Gabrielle Essence Edp (Chanel) A warm floral heart with a contrasting touch of tart notes probably from the fruity topnotes. Very pleasant, the perfect inoffensive officescent. Just like the greener and colder Gabrielle Edp.

24. Gabrielle Essence Edp (Chanel) Again - It just smells so good and is so easy to wear.

25. Dune Edt (Dior) Late 1990s formula of Dune, dry, salty, sandy, warm, sunny, high blue sky with glimpses of the sea in the horizon. Still so special.

26. Dune Edt (Dior) Couldn't resist another day in Dune, it's perfect to warming up this  cold, windy Saturday.

27. Orchid Leather Edp (Van Cleef  & Arpels) Dark, plummy leather, concentrated, a bit too masculine for me.

28: Nothing sick in flu or something similar.

29:  The same

30:  The same

31: Red Roses Cologne (Jo Malone)  Feels better celebrating with a few spritzes of this wonderful natural clean and calming rose.

It seems as Puredistance and Chanel (again) are the most worn during the month.

Fragrances for late winter

The late winter, with spring around the corner, is the perfect season for a true parfumista: One day I'm carving a light and bright springfragrance and the other day a deep and dark oriental and the third day something in between. Below some nice frags from this week:


Picture: Prada (Amber)
Photo: PR Prada (c)

Prada (Prada): My bottle is from 2005 it's before Prada added "Amber" to the name. The perfect dark and embracing contemorary oriental with a rounded patchouli paired with amber and some vanilla.

Picture: Geranium Bourbon
Photo: PR Miller Harris (c)

Geranium Bourbon (Miller Harris): Green, dry, sunny, airy, with an austere and clean geranium flower note. A natural scent, like a garden a cool and windy summerday. Vintage in style but timeless anyway. Somehow GB resembles the intriguing Rose Noir in a bright version.

Picture: Aurore Nomade
Photo: PR The Different Company (c)

Aurore Nomade (The Different Company): A very special high quality, boozy, flowery, gourmand oriental with banana and rum accords. Warm and opulent, almost tasty. Comforting.

Picture: Galop d'Hermès
Photo: PR Hermès (c)

Galop d'Hermès (Hermès): The ulitmate rose-leather with the special addition of quince. Reminds me of a strictly and colder variation of Penhaligon's warm and spicy quince rose Vaara. Very classy and elegant.

Picture: Iris des Champs
Photo: PR Houbigant (c)

Iris des Champs (Houbigant): A light purple and grey fragrance. Starts with a delicious rooty iris then develops to a cloud of cold flowers with iris and lily of the valley as protagonists. Daytime springlike elegance.

Chanel No 5 and its different faces

The most famous fragrance classic, Ernest Beaux's Chanel No 5 is the model for aldehydic perfumes. Since its introduction in perfume concentration 1921 No 5 has appeared in different shapes and formulas. A few weeks ago I worn some of its variations:

Picture: Chanel No 5 EDT
Photo: Chanel (c)

Chanel No 5 EDT: The Edt version of the original perfume was interpreted by Henri Robert in 1952. Before a cologneversion created by Ernest Beaux was launched in the 1930s. The Edt is an austere, balanced, sort of putty-soapy aldehydic fragrance, cold and refined as marble, perfect for formal occasions. A demanding and challenging fragrance, the appearance shifts slightly between wearings, but its overall "stiff upper lip" personality remains the same. A confident personality but as often in such cases, there is some uncertainty about the self-esteem.

Picture: Chanel No 5 EDP
Photo: Chanel (c)

Chanel No 5 EDP: The Edp version was created by  former Chanel inside perfumer Jacques Polge in 1986. Starts with the recognizable No 5 aldehydic accord, soon deepened with a smooth, deep note of sandalwood. Beside the refined sandalwood, jasmine, rose and peach are the protagonists. Chanel No 5 Edp as a whole is the one that differs most from the other versions tested, to me its a wellbehaved, restrained, sort of urban variation of the colorful, vivid sandalwood jasmine Guerlain Samsara. Strangly I also find similarities with a later composition, Miller Harris Noix Tubereuse. The perfect No 5 for autumn and winter.

Picture: Chanel Eau Premiére
(old bottle and the tested version)
Photo: Chanel (c)

Chanel No 5 Eau Premiére: Eau Première was created 2007 by Jacques Polge as a modern take on No 5 Edt. In 2015 Eau Premiére was reformulated and also changed its presentaion to the Chanel squarebottle. I'm testing the original formula in the rectangual bottle. No 5 Edt is clearly recognizable in Eau Premiére, the characteristic aldehydic accord is similar, the fragrance as a whole feels more uncomplicated, warmer and gentler probably because of the emphasize of the neroli, ylang ylang and vanilla notes. It's apperance, like sunny aldehydes, is creating an informal atmosphere. Eau Premiére's personality is well behaved, kind, with a great dose of self-esteem.

Picture: Chanel No 5 L'Eau
Photo: Chanel (c)

Chanel No 5 L'Eau: No 5 L'Eau created by inhouse perfumer Olivier Polge, is Chanels move to convince the young generation to like No 5. Airy, watery, with a lighter and higher interpretation of the classical No 5 aldehyde accord, the fruity (lemon, orange, mandarine) and floral (jasmine, neroli, ylang-ylang) notes are bright and clean (not detergent clean) and not embedded in the powdery-putty "just blown out candle" aldehydic notes of No 5 Edt and to a lesser extent No 5 Eau Première. Uplifting, and carefree, versatile to wear, a sort of casual elegance, perfect for any daytime occasion. As this is not a sweet, fruity, floral I doubt this will be a sucess in the yougest group of perfume consumers. No 5 L'Eau will attract those with a discerned taste in any agegroup. In my book this version is already a classic.

My favorite: With no doubt Chanel No 5 L'Eau, together with Galop d'Hermès the best release in 2016 (from the very small fraction I have tested). Followed by No 5 Edt because of its more intriguing dry down compared to Eau Première, which on the other hand I like better as a whole, considered its personality and friendlier apperance.  Last but not least Chanel No 5 Edp which is an elegant perfume but in another style, more dated and not as much No 5 as the other versions.

Olivier Durbano - Prométhée

Picture: The legend of Prométhée
Photo: PR Olivier Durbano (c)

Prométhée is the 2014 addition to the Olivier Durbano collection. With Prométhée Olivier, according to what is written around the background to the fragrace, want to enter a new path for his fragrances. Many of the earlier ones are focused around different incense themes, with Prométhée he wants to do something new.

Prométhée starts with a masculine colognenote dominated by the characteristic citrus note of a classical cologne. This stage lasts only for a short while, soon step by step peppery, herbal and soft spicy notes appears. Then a slight animalic note appears, giving the herbal notes a rounder and softer shape. In this stage, Prométhée reminds me of Miller Harris L'Air de Rien  but less sweet and musky than the latter.
This stage is followed by a quirky passage that lasts for a while. A metallic note appears and something starts to grow until it smells almost like fresh blood. This is a bit upsetting and disturbing for ones peace of mind but it doesn't smells bad at all. I get a similar, but lighter painted, metallic-bloody experience in Parfumerie Générale Harmatan Noir. As the metallic-bloody accord steps back,  Prométhée gets spicier and darker, with resins smoothening the dominating herbal theme. An effect that reminds me of the smell of mulled wine appears and Prométhée is from now a fragrance that triggers a contemplating mood. Later a tart and dry earthy-vegetal accord appears, reminding me of the smell of crispy autumn leaves on the frosty ground a cold late autumnday. There is also a hint of pink pepper present but it doesn't dominate, just adds some sparkle. Vetiver also brighten the base with a woody, green slight citric element. The herbal aspect of Prométhée reminds me of Parfum d'Empire Corsica Furiosa even if that one evokes the image of a hot mediterrian summerday with burned herbal/grassy notes but also greener, lighter, playing in the higher octaves of the notescale. 

Picture: Prométhée
Photo: PR Olivier Durbano (c)

Present over the dry down from the middle to the end of Prométhée there is a cold, rounded accord whith a mineral wibe, I think it's a interpretation of myrrh. This cold stone accord are present in many of the earlier Durbanos and it has a similar apperance as in Prométhée in one of my favorites from the house, Lapis Philosophorum. To me Prométhée is not a depature from the Olivier Durbano style, it's still the same but this time without a dominating incense. Promethèe is a difficult and demanding fragrance which highlights different aspects in different wearings. Therefore it's intriguing and challenging to wear in the same way as Lapis Philosophorum.

Promethée to me is the perfect autumn fragrance, it captures the mood and colors of late autumn. It could be worn both for work and casual but one have to be careful when applying, this is strong stuff. Sillage is medium and longevity for more than a day. It's a unisexfragrance leaning slight to the masculine side.

Rating: 4

Notes: Fennel, pink pepper, nutmeg, myrtle, labdanum, lily, narcissus, sage, styrax, incense, ambergris, cedar, musk, vetiver

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample to try 

Parfume d'Empire - Musk Tonkin

Picture: Marlene Dietrich, a worthy wearer of Musk Tonkin
Image source: i006.radikal.ru

Musk Tonkin from Parfume d'Empire was first introduced as a limited parfume edition in 2012. In 2014 an Edp version was launched. Musk Tonkin is created by P d'E founder, perfumer Marc-Antoine Corticchiato. The review will cover both the perfume and the Edp versions.

The concept behind Musk Tonkin is an attempt to recreate the smell of the real animalic musk tonkin  which is derived from the musk deer, using vegetal and syntetical musk replacement.

From the beginning until the end Musk Tonkin is vintage in style, as a 1930s diva in a  biascutted velvety evening gown and a grand furstole. The fragrance starts  dark, heavy, musky flowery, the parfume rounder, smoother and more close to the skin. The Edp is lighter, playing in the higher octaves with some almost citric/fruity notes wich gives the fragrance an  almost sparkling radiance in the first accords. The perfume version goes straight to be a skinscent, and even if close, it's a skinscent with quite a detectable sillage. As the topnotes have vanished, the Edp approach to the parfume and becomes quite similar even if I can discern some minor differences, the parfume is still a notch more dark flowery, a bit more velvety and smooth, the Edp still a bit brighter and sharper. In the middlenotes both versions becomes more musky and also a bit spicy, cumin is defenitely involved but in smaller potions than in Parfums d'Empire Aziyade. Indolic, white flowers interacts with the prominent vegetal musky note, a vegetal musk that reminds me of amberette seeds, hay and almost powdery, light touched barnyard notes. This musky setting, and the image the fragrance creates overall, reminds me to some extent to Parfums MDCI Chypre Palatin.  Maybe the flower in Musk Tonkin is tubereuse as I'm reminded of Miller Harris Noix de Tubereuse when it comes to the integrated, heavy, seamless, indolic flower, musky accord. Musk Tonkin is quite linear in its development, even if  the musk is slightly more prominent in the basenotes, it's still balanced and is not taking over the composition completely. If I would describe Musk Tonkin in one sentence it's: A vegetal musk soliflore.

Picture: Musk Tonkin
Photo by: PR Parfum  d'Empire (c)

 

Musk Tonkin is sometimes described as an animalic, dirty musk. As I havn't smelled real musk tonkin  can't judge  if this vegetal musky smell is also close to the animalic version. As I remember Serge Lutens Muscs Koublaï Khan it's not as musty, less flowery and with more traces of cumin than Musk Tonkin. It's also more animalic even if a discrete interpretation. For those searching for a hardcore, dirty musk, Les Neréidés Fleur Poudreé de Musc could be recommended, Musk Tonkin and its siblings stand out as shy violets compared to this one.
Musk Tonkin is best for the colder month, especially it's good for cold evenings. Sillage is close and longevity great, for 24h at least. Unisex, leaning to the feminine side.

Those who likes fragrances as Mona di Orio Nuit de Noire and Maison Francis Kurkdijan Absolue Pour Le Soir will probably also like Musk Tonkin.

Rating: 5

Notes: Musk

Thans to Fragrance & Art for the sample of Musk Tonkin Edp to test, the parfume  comes from my own sample