Robert Piguet - Bois Bleu

Picture: Bois Bleu in its stylish, classical
Robert Piguet bottle 

Bois Bleu is created by the (almost) in house perfumer Aurlien Guichard for Robert Piguet and is the latest addition (spring 2013) to the Nouvelle Collection from 2012. Bois Bleu is classified as an unisex woody aromatic fragrance.

Bois Bleu starts with a intriguing blend of citrus and bergamot. The accord is somehow muted, it's note the sparkling, sunny a bit bitter uplifting accord which has evaporated when the topnotes are gone, but a sort of massive, much deeper accord which in texture and apperance, even if not so close in the citric smell, reminds me of the start of Mona di Orios Lux (swe) but more masculine. My first impression is that, just as with the aromatic NoteS of the Nouvelle Collection, Bois Bleu leans to the masculine side on the unisexscale.
But as always with Piguet fragrances, many things are going on and suddenly Bois Bleu becomes less aromatic and more spicy as a delicious note of nutmeg appears and take the centerstage still with the muted citric notes accompanying. The nutmeg is balancing a dry, non-sweet violet which is almost woody in character, Threre is nothing of the sweet, candy like violet or the more green violet with violetleaves which are the most common interpretations. The citric,violet,nutmeg trio is underscored with a wellbalanced woody base of vetiver, sandalwood and cedar where I think the warm and slight sweet character of sandalwood comes very well to its right. Bois Noir is subtle and engage the wearer during the whole dry down. The overall impression remains, despite the warmer, spicier part in the middle, that Bois Bleu is a more masculine in character but women searching for an aromatic fragrance should not hesitate to try it.

Trying Bois Bleu on Mr Parfumista the fragrance appears in a different way. The separate notes are much more distinct and the whole fragrance is brighter and somehow fresher. There is something in the mix and in the general impression of Bois Bleu there that on Mr Parfumista smells like a 2010s styled, refined and dimmed version of the wonderful Zino Davidoff from the 80s but without the distinct patchouli of the latter.
   
Just as its companions in the Nouvelle Collection, Bois Bleu is a fragrance of its own even if there is something familiar in the overall aura and some traces in common with two other Nouvelles: The nutmeg from Casbah and the sandalwood from Bois Noir. Bois Bleu is more discrete than the powerful Bois Noir, the sillage is medium but the longevity is very good, traces are still there after 24 h.

Rating: 5 (on Mr Parfumista) 4 (on me)

Notes: Bergamot, citruses, nutmeg, violet, sandalwood, cedarwood, vetiver

Robert Piguet - Mademoiselle Piguet

Picture: The Reader, oil on canvas by Jean-Honoré Fragonard ca 1770-1772,
captures the warm and comforting spirit of Mademoiselle Piguet

Mademoiselle Piguet is another fragrance in the great Nouvelle Collection from Robert Piguet created by the "house nose" Aurelien Guichard.

Mademoiselle Piguet could be described as beeing vegetal, combined with orangeflowers with a sweet honeyed texture. The vegetal note is not damp and almost on the verge to rottening (but in a positive way)as in some interpretations for example Guerlain Jardins de Bagatelle Edp and Annick Goutal Passion, the vegetal note is almost fresh and reminds me of a fresh sugar pea. A similar impression is expressed in a Fragrantica review by clover.chen who refers to processed mung beens in desserts, something that I havn't tasted myself but can image when smelling the greenery of Mademoiselle Piguet. The orangeflower I perceive as very natural and fresh, not chemichal at all. The note has a wonderful honeyed nectar texture and smells just sweet delicious, probably the apricot adds this facet. There is something in the orangeflowernote that reminds me of the same note in Fracas, but in Mademoiselle Piguet it is somehow domesticated.

To me the structure of Mademoiselle Piguet is linear, the notes are preseant at the same time even if the vegetal phase is more apparent in the first part of the dry down of the fragrance and later instead is acting as one of the supporting notes in the background. To me the sweet , honeyed,  Mademoiselle Piguet also seems to be the female counterpart to the (to my nose) much more masculine dry, herbal-orangeblossom NoteS which I reviewed earlier this week, they are fragrances of the opposite side of the interpreation of orangeblossom-scale and are interesting to wear as complementary fragrances for different moods and occasions. As NoteS is more complicated, strict and a excellent choice for daytime professional wear, the Mademoiselle is a fragrance both for evening and comforting daytime wear, versatile enough to warming up during cold winterdays and to bloom beautifully in the summerheat. Mademoiselle Piguet, thanks to the interesting and well harmonised vegetal notes, has its own identity even if partly familiar to other fragrances featuring the orangeblossomnote.The longevity of Mademoiselle Piguet is extraordinary for an orangeblossom scent, I can smell the orangeblossom on my skin more then 30h after application.

I think Mademoiselle Piguet would be appreciated by those who like L’Artisan Seville à l’Aube, Maria Candida Gentile Hanbury and Annick Goutal Tubereuse (even if featuring another white blossom note I think Tubereuse and Mademoiselle Piguet have a similar pleasant, honeyed texture).

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, orangeblossom, almond, apricot, tonka been

Robert Piguet - NoteS

Picture: From the manuscript of Bach's lute suite in G Minor
Wikimedia commons

NoteS is one of the perfumes in the interesting Nouvelle Collection (described here) from the honorable perfumehouse Robert Piguet. NoteS is created by the houseperfumer Aurelien Guichard.

Classified as a unisex fragance, NoteS to my nose is leaning much to the masculine side at least in the top- and middlenotes, but it is definitly wearable for a woman, I got positve remarks at the office wearing this. NoteS starts a bit brisk in the classical bergamot and herbal style. The opening of NoteS smells like a classical quality fougere to me with its clean, herbal accord. Also in the heart the classical refreshing geranium is appearing, gently mixed with some discrete and somehow dry orangeflowery notes. It's interesting how the orangeflowernote (as all flowery notes) could be so differently interpreted in different perfums from dry too very sweet. From the middlenotes there is a balsamic texture in NoteS and this balsamic, smooth feeling is amplified the more the fragrance dries down, even if the herbal element still is there. In the basenotes NoteS gets in the chypre direction with mossy notes strengthened with vetiver and softened and rounded out with dry, powdery tonka. In the base NoteS is clearly unisex and not leaning into any direction as in the top- and middlenotes.

NoteS is a wellcrafted elegant fragrance in the classical style but interpreted in a contemporary, smoother, balsamic way.  There are no harsh edges and the notes are just fleeting into each other in a wellcomposed manner, just like the name of this classy creation indicates. There is no chemical aquatic, no shrill pepper or loud woody notes in this contemporary classic.Wearable year around, very suitable in chilly autumn, escpecially the comforting basenotes. Longevity very good, sillage medium +. Simply yet another sucessful creation from the restored perfumehouse of Robert Piguet. NoteS is a fragrance of growing liking to me, it's a somehow "difficult" fragrance that takes it time to be fully appreciated, something that I really apprecite when it comes to perfume.

A fragrance for those who like (even if not smelling the same the fragrances mediates a similar impression): Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche pour Homme (more herbal), Rochas Macassar (more flowery and mossy) Givenchy Gentleman (mossy greener, more wet), Maria Candida Gentile Barry Lyndon (lavendel instead of white flowers).

Rating: 4+  (a bit too masculine for me)

Notes: Bergamot, clary sage, geranium, orange flower, vetiver, moss, tonka been

Perfumed thoughts April 2012

Earlier this week I thought that this weekend would be the right time to publish my list of Spring-Spring perfumes in my serie Spring fragrances, see the earlier post Winter-Spring fragrances. But then Jack Frost returned for the weekend and I lost all the inspiration. But as always there is some perfumed thoughts:

* As the Robert Piguet fragrances is an old love to me I'm really looking forward to the release of the  five fragrances in the Nouvelle Collection created by the Piguet "house-nose"Aurélien Guichard at Givaudan: Bois Noir, Casbah, Mademoiselle Piguet, NoteS and Oud. Earlier, expect from Douglas Hannant by Robert Piguet, the house in collaboration with perfumer Aurélien Guichard  has new-interpreted their old classics Visa, Baghari, Calypso and Futur. Bandit, Fracas and Cravache I think are "regulary" reformulations of the original Germaine Cellier creations. The Nouvelle Collection will be tested and reviewed later if I can get my hands of some samples.

* Another release I have read about but are not sure it will be this year is some new fragrances from Vero Kern, Vero Profumo. As I love Rubj, Onda (swedish) and Kiki I know Vero will deliver.

* I'm also not sure about if or when the perfume/perfumes Mona di Orio was working on when she passed away in December 2011 will be released. As a great admier of Mona, although it is so deeply tragic, I'm waiting of the privilege to take part of her final creation(s).

* There is so many interesting fragrances around and it's hard to select what is worth to sample. As Denyse at Grain the Musc wrote in her post (controversial as she argues about the consequenses of the sharp increase of perfumebloggers)  Enchanted, disenchanted she can't waste time trying out scents that don't challange her. Therefore her strategy is almost only to test and review creations from houses/noses that she know almost always delivers from her point of view. I will try to practice this rule in the future, and I already do that (without thinking of it)  to some extent, but it's not a a planned strategy of mine. As I have many already written reviews "in stock" the mix of favouritehouse/noses and other will remain within the foreseeable future.

That's my perfumed thoughts by now :-)