New Years Eve 2022

Picture: From my morning walk (12,27 km) on
New Years Eve 2022. Very warm weather
for the winter season (+ 7 C). Like Fall.
Photo: Parfumista (c)

 ...and I'm wearing one of my top three old time favorites the leathery, spicy, plummy, honeyed and therefore slightly animalic chypre Montana Parfum de Peau. In the original formula, housed in the all blue cardboard. Doesn't wear it often, saving the bottle and as the fragrance also takes up a lot of air space, these days it's more appropriate wearing it in the evening for festive occasions. Like this last evening of 2022. As I'm wearing a simple and clean black outfit with a  bracelet / necklace in dark jeweltones as eye-catcher, I think the ulitmate accessory, the perfume, is allowed to dominate.

When it comes to my best of 2022 I plan posting about this subject in the coming days.

Happy New Year 2023 - may peace come - Slava Ukraini!

Puredistance MV2Q

Picture: Puredistance MV2Q
Photo: Puredistance (c)

Autumn is almost here, and autumn means it is time for a new release from Puredistance. Last autumn Puredistance reached its full number with the beautiful No 12. After that, each new realease in the Collection will casuse the discontinuing or withdrawel to buy after request, of one of the fragrances. No 3 M even if very popular, was the first do go (discontinued) among others due to new restrictions regarding some of the ingredients. To replace the loss of M a new Extrait created around the leather theme is launched in September 2022.

The similarities between the old classic M and the new MV20 are (beside the high quality ingredients, the extrait formula and the pure apperance) that both are very masculine fragrances even if  I think  MV2Q could even pass as unisex despite of it's leaning to the masculine side. Also the fact that both of them are more  (M) or less (MV2Q) leather fragrances, bring them together. Then, the similarities ends, M and MV2Q are IMHO two different fragrances. M is a timeless, high quality leather fragrance in the style of Hermès Bel Ami, a sort of refined Bel Ami in a clean and smooth extrait formula. 

MV2Q to me is a contemporary, modern urban woody oriental fragrances with an accord resembling the leather chypres of the 1980s as a side kick. A bright, full and sunny version of the chyper-ish accord is appearing in the topnotes and also showing up later in a darker, more sensual moonlight version as MV2Q has dried down in to the basenotes. The leather chypre styled accord,  reminds me of a less sweet-flowery version of one of my all time favourites, Montana Parfum de Peau (vintage version). But most of all MV2Q is a modern dry and warm, balsamic spicy woody fragrance with some light traces of something almost boozy, like a deep and rounded cognac.  Among the spicy notes, on my skin, the clean woody pepper note takes the centerstage and could "take over" the composition when MV2Q reaches the middlenotes  if  not applied very light. I've tested MV2Q several times over the summer, in  very warm and also colder tempratures  and my conclusion is that one or one and a half spritz (if hot outside) is maximum for me to apply to avoid the woody pepper note to take over. The positive side is, that very little of MV2Q is enough to create a great silage and a longevity for about 24h. The extrait is very concentrated, it's rich and mellow, full of very fine quality ingredients playing with each other in wellblended accords. When MV2Q reach the basenotes, the accord similar to a modern Parfum de Peau shows up again but this time with a more oriental soft spicy touch which reminds me of  the cozy and comforting Puredistance Sheiduna. Maybe MV2Q is the masculine counterpart to Sheiduna in the Puredistance collection. In the basenotes, there is also a slight dark leather-boozy element which reminds me of MDCI Parfums excellent Cuir Garamante.

Picture: Puredistance MV2Q
Photo: Puredistance (c)

Somehow I imagine, after its sunny opening, MV2Q,  in the middlenotes, as a dry, dark, log of wood lying together with some black, leather in the desert warmed up in the sunlight at midday. When MV2Q reaches the basenotes, the sun sets and the perfume calms down and transforms to a darker, softer and cosier evening fragance. MV2Q is a fragrance that seems to be tailor-made  to accompanying the progress of the day into the night and to emphasize the characteristics of each part to the wearer. As usual with Puredistance, an intriguing, very well made fragrance, which is concentrated and therfore even the smallest 17,5 ml  flacon (pictured above) will last for a very, very long time.

Overall MV2Q will be a perfect match for the coming autumn, although I will mostly go for the more feminine Sheiduna. 

Notes:

Orange blossom, Pink pepper, Lavender,
Cinnamon, Nagarmotha, Jasmine Sambac, Pine Tar,
Indonesian patchouli, Madagascar vanilla, Spanish labdanum, Tonka bean, Texas cedar

Thank you Team Puredistance for the generous sample of  MV2Q 

Gucci - Gucci Guilty Absolute pour Femme

Picture: Gucci Guilty Absolute pour Femme
Photo: PR Gucci (c)

Gucci Guilty Absolute pour Femme is the female interpretation of the 2017 success for him, the rubbery leather Gucci Guilty Absolute pour Homme. Both fragrances are created by the very experienced perfumer Alberto Morillas. 

Gucci Guilty Absolute pour Femme (GGApF) starts with a juicy, very natural black berry and to my nose also black currant accord. Later on  a purple rose accompanied by the green woody note of cypress, some glimpses from the leather in Gucci Guilty Absolute pour Homme  (GGApH) and the dark patchoulinote shows up. Light rose pepper sparkles in the blend like glimpsing stars on the dark night sky in the middle of a cold winter. The pepper never goes peppery, it's just fizzy. The fruity notes are tangy and delicate, and not especially sweet. GGApF has some similarities with GGApH, the same woody notes, especially from the cypress and a smooth interpretation of the leather. GGApF has not the rough and though burnt rubbery notes of GGApH, instead it has those beautiful dark fruity, juicy notes blended with the rose which creates a plush feminine impression over the contrasting masculine woody notes.

GGApF could be worn both for day and night. It's a bit formal, it's not a casual, laid back fragrance, it's perfect for the office and for after work. It's a fragrance that builds confidence, in the same way as for example Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Edp and even more; Montana Parfum de Peau. Just as the fragrances mentioned, the longevity is great, silage not as big but medium.

GGApF is an excellent example of the new chypre style, less sweet than the usual ones and with its own juicy, dark blackberry character. Even if GGApF is an example of the new chypre style, wearing it somehow makes me think of, even if not smelling similar, the above mentioned grand chypre of the 80s Montana. GGApF:s character also reminds me of Sisley Soir de Lune which is also a great contemporary chypre but created in the classic style. 

To me GGApF is one of the best releases for years in the womans section. I'm convinced this will be a classic just as GGApH.

Rating: 5

Notes: Blackberry, bergamot, pink pepper, rose, cypress, woody notes, amber, patchouli

Robert Piguet -Alameda

The Femme fatale spirit of Alameda - Salome
oil on canvas by Franx von Stuck 1906
Wikimedia commons

Alameda by Aurlien Guichard is a strange and intriguing fragrance from one of my favorite houses Robert Piguet. Alameda is classified as a floral chypre but it also has traces of animalic, gourmand and aldehydic accords.

Alameda starts in a classic animalic-floral-chypre way but in a contemporary interpretation of the style of for example Estee Lauder Knowing and Montana Parfum d'Peau. The animalic note is relatively clean, it's somehow like the smell of a new fur. But soon the chypre impression is dimmed with an almost gourmand, dry, light spicy, cookie accord. As the fragrance moves further a light powdery-clean-earthy-rosy almost light aldehydicstyled accord appears and this accord intesifies and different twists appears during the dry down. The earthiness of the orris is without the carrots, it's like this note has been removed.  In the basenotes, Alameda ends up in a beautiful animalic chyprebase similar to how I image Montana Parfum d'Peau or La Perla (classic) would  have smelled if these fragrances were created today.

Picture: Alameda by Robert Piguet
Photo: PR Robert Piguet (c)

Alameda is a fragrance which performs with different twists during different wearings. It's a complicated fragrance which take a wearing or two to really appreciate. Just as I want from my perfumes, Alameda is intriguing, the wearer doesn't know what will happen next in the dry down, this perfum is not about just smelling good, it's also about a challenge. To apply Alameda sparingly is a must, the fragrance is concentrated and could be overwhelming if applying too much, my preferred dose is three squirts. Alameda is classified as unisex, to me it's definitly feminine but could, as complex as it is, probably develope in a quite different way, on a man. Can't convince Mr Parfumista to try as he thinks it's a real Femme fatale fragrance.

Alameda is a rich fragrance with great sillage and longevity for 24h+. It's not the fragrances for the scentfobic office but in a fragrancefriendly surrounding, a light dose could be nice preferably during the dark and cold season. For eveing and festive occasions, Alameda is just amazing.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, rose, lily, orris, patchouli, amber, castoreum

Historiae - Bouquet du Trianon

Picture: Queen Marie Antoinette of France walking in the park of Trianon
with two of her children.Painting 1785 by Adolf Fredrik Werthmüller  (!751-1811)

Bouquet du Trianon is a floral woody fragrance created for Parfums Historiae by the famous nose Bertrand Duchaufour. Historiae are using a high precentage of natural fair traded esential oils in their fine fragrances.

When it comes to the inspiration to Bouquet du Trianon the story tells: "On August 15, 1774, King Louis XVI makes a wonderful gift to his wife Marie-Antoinette: "You love flowers, I have a bunch to offer you: the Petit Trianon." At Trianon Marie-Antoinette created a haven of intimacy that allowed her to escape the etiquette. She indulged her taste for countrystyle patterns and pastel colors."

Bouquet du Trianon starts with an airy and fizzy burst of greenry, some crisp flowers and most of all blackcurrant buds. The black currant is the mainplayer in the topnotes and is still clearly recognizable during the whole dry down. There is also a light, transparant, almost incenselike note that accompanying the blackcurrentnote, maybe the mint and beewax combined with the refined and smooth sandal- and cedarwood notes creates this effect. The flowers of the blend takes the centerstage somewhere in the middlenotes and are still present in the woody base. The dominating flower is a light, transparent and fizzy tubereuse, note meety and indolic, but wellbehaved and minimalistic. There is also something reminding of a pleasant, hard caramellnote. In the top- and in the beginning of the middlenotes Bouquet du Trianon seems to be a transparent version of another recent Bertrand Duchaufour creation dominated by blackcurrant: Enchanted Forest from The Vagabond Prince. It is easy to suspect that the two fragrances where created simultaneously a transparent one and a heavier one. Of the two I personally prefer Bouquet du Trianon as it blends much better with my skinchemistry. The critical Mr Parfumista complimented Bouquet du Trianon, thought there is some1980s vibe of the perfume and even found some similarities in its apperance and style, even if Bouquet du Trianon is lighter, with the great Montana Parfum d'Peau.Personally I also find some similarities with Grossmith Floral Veil and with the spirit of Golden Chypre from the same house.

Picture: Bouquet de Trianon Edt
Photo: PR Historiae (c)

Bouquet du Trianon is a perfect fragrance for officewearing, elegant and not disturbing. Despite it's transaprant character, the sillage is medium and the longevity is for almost 24h. To me Bouquet de Trianon is a very comfortable springscent, a real wristsniffer and I'm very enthusiastic about it.

Rating: 5

Notes: Lemon, bergamot, mandarin, galbanum, mint, freesia, blackcurrant bush leaf,  tuberose absolute, ylang ylang, beeswax absolute, rose, honeysuckle, vetiver, patchouli, amber, musk, sandalwood, cedarwood

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample to test

Dior - Miss Dior Cherie EDP

Foto: Parfumista (c)

Ursprungligen publicerat på min tidigare blogg "Parfumistans blogg" på Damerns Världs hemsida i september 2007.

Vissa dagar (även om det inte är barnkalas) bara känner jag för Lolita-doften Miss Dior Cherie EdP från Dior 2005, kreerad av Christine Nagel. MDC är parfymsnobbarnas skräck, enligt vissa slutet för Diors ädla förflutna bland damdofter. MDC är generisk, massmarknadsinriktad till det yngre segmentet och inte alls i klass med sin anmoder, den gröna, klassiska chypren Miss Dior från 1947.

Jag tycker ändå att MDC har sin plats, jag blir glad av den och den är bra i kompositionen. Har man burit "seriösa" dofter i flera dagar är det faktiskt skönt att få "poppa" omkring med MDC. Ja, popcorn är just en av ingredienserna i mellanregistret. MDC inleds med tangerin, jordgubbsblad och viol. I mellanregistret finns jasmin, jordgubbe och karamelliserad popcorn. I basen patchouli (men ärligt talat känner jag inte mycket av den jordiga patchoulinoten) och mysk.

MDC påminner om en doft jag hade under nittiotalet, Montanas Parfum d’Elle som liksom MDC klassas som chypre utan att jag egentligen förstår varför. Möjligen då de nya sk chyprena, som inte innehåller den numera förbjudna ekmossan utan ett kalkigt substitut. P d’Elle hade en tydlig not av melon och faktum är att jag tycker att även MDC luktar lite melonigt, det är nog det som jag inte gillar med doften.

Summa sumarum: Alla ifs and buts till trots – en väl komponerad doft att bli glad av med god hållbarhet under dagen och tydlig närvaro. Egentligen inte my cup of tea men någon enstaka gång dras jag till den. Får absolut inte överappliceras för då blir den riktigt sliskig. Blir bättre i slutet av dagen när basen med bla mysk blir mer framträdande. MDC  bör inte användas i mer allvarliga sammanhang, som vid förhandlingsbordet.

Betyg 3 +

Kommentar 2011: Stärkt betyg till en 4:a. man får inte låta sig påverkas för mycket av parfymsnobbism. Det där med att jag inte känner någon jordighet i patchoulin beror nog på att det rör sig om en modern "clean-patchouli"  som tas fram med modernt teknik, inte den klassiskt jordiga patchoulioljan.Det här är en välgjord doft, tidig (om inte till och med först) i sin genre "modern fruktig chypre". Numera känner jag mer av popcorn/jordgubbstonen än tidigare. När jag var liten fanns ett kort tag faktiskt en popcorn-sort som var smaksatt med jordgubb och en annan med citrus. Men de försvann snabbt från marknaden.Den reviewade versionen är den ursprungliga, texten är stansad i flaskan. Den nuvarande versionen med texten på vit pappersetikett är en annan, blommigare forumlering som förlorat en del av originalets karaktäristika. Har bara sniffat den nya versionen snabbt på sticka och tycker mig inte ha tillräckliga intryck för att kunna betygsätta den.