The Fragrances of Christmas Eve 2022

Picture: Christmas 2022, I'm so excited
to receive this Christmas gift - despite It's NOT a perfume
Photo: Parfumista (c)

The Scent of Christmas Eve (sunny outside and daytime temprature ca - 5) ice-glaced and just a little powdery snow. Inspired from the finnish classic coated mintchocolate pastilles "Avec", cold weather, dark Midwinter nights, snow crystals and conifer , I'm wearing Annick Goutal Nuit Etoilee Edt  from the beautiful blue squarebottle. Pine and Fir with contrasing citrus (orange) and dry minty notes with traces of salty ambregris. A cold impression, yet very comforting a starry night. Somehow Mr Parfumista is  in the same mood, matching the style wearing the modern classic Comme des Garcons Kyoto from the incredible incense-line. Incense, cypress, cedar which creates a pine impression, perfect for Christmas.

Picture: The old AG Nuit Etoilee Edt square
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Below the updated list of the fragrances I've worn for the last nineteen Christmas Eves: 

2021: Tobacco Rose Papillion Artisan Perfumes ( dark red rose, over fresh moss, beewax, juniper)

2020: Rubikona Puredistance (contemporary chypre fresh - earthy and green accord, surounded and contrasted by smooth ,elegant creamy flowers). 

2019: Gold Puredistance (with a beautiful myrrhnote, a sort of smooth resin/sap and a cold (but not freezing) outdoor -in the wood - impression 

2018: Rubj Extrait by Vero Kern (warm, glowing orange in spices and elegant white flowers) 

2017: Vert de Fleur by Tom Ford (elegant retro but also contemporary austere flowery-green.)

2016: Oud Sublime Parfums de Nicolaï (quality "forest-refreshing" dark green, mossy, woody) 

2015: Rose de Taif Extrait Perris Monte Carlo (high class smooth velvety rose petals) 

2014: Impossible Iris Ramòn Monegal (an elegant, contempory iris with a delicious rasperrynote) 

2013: Quintaesensia Ramòn Monegal, (a special retro styled blend, furry, ambery, herbal/spicy) 

2012: Nothing, knocked down by the worst flu in ten years+. 

2011: Betrothal, Grossmith (classic, light and exquisite florals) 

2010: Cuir Mauresque, Serge Lutens (saddle leather, orangeblossom, jasmine, spices) 

2009: Tribute Attar, Amouage (dark leather, smoke, oud, excellent spices) 

2008: Incense rosé, Andy Tauer (rose, mandarine, cardamom, myrrh cedar, incense) 

2007: Ambre Russe, Parfum d'Empires (boozy amber, the, wood, oriental) 

2006: Jil Sander 4, Jil Sander (dark, overripe fruits, white almost withering flowers, oriental spices) 

2005: Nuit de Noël, Caron (dusky, retro flowers, moss and a furry note) 

2004: Cabochard, Parfums Grès (leathery chypre, harsh green notes and retro flowers) 

2003: Fracas Robert Piguet (the ultimate classic grand tubereuse) 

I wish you a Great Fragrant Christmas!

PS This year I've forgotten the Midsummerfragrancepost - a half  of a year  later I can announce it was Pierre Guillaume Animal Mondain which unfold surprisingly well that unusual warm Midsummereve.

Robert Piguet - Chai

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Chai is a green fragrance accentuated by  flowery notes grounded in subtle and smooth, lingering teanotes. Chai is a part of the Robert Piguet Pacific Collection which is created by Aurelien Guichard.

Chai starts with a burst of the same fresh teanote that is the maintheme of the classic Bulgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert. The fresh teanote quickly enters to the background but emphasizes the sparkling green freshness of the scent of just cutted  greenery and a gentle touch of white flowers, probably orangeblossom. A touch of a subdued citrusnote is also present. As Chai reaches the basenotes a wellbalanced smoky teannote joins the light teanote and the pronounced notes of greenery. A waxy note smoothens and warms the texture of Chai. Teafragrances are often cold and bright but Chai is warm and gentle in it's apperance. The smoky note is gentle, it's not the sharp smokiness of Lapsang souchong but a smooth smokiness. The smoky note reminds me somehow of a light version of the pleasant almost cigarette smoky note of my favourite Carner Barcelona, D600 . This smoky note is also present in another favourite, Annick Goutals herbal, smoky Nuit Etoilee. Finally there is (of course) also similarities to the smoky teanotes of L'Artisan Parfumeurs masterpiece Tea for Two but the smoky notes are subdued in Chai compared to Tea for two.

Chai is the perfect daytime spring and summerfragrance, also wearable in the colder month when longing for the summer. This green fragrance is suitable both for work and casual and even if bright and light in texture, Chai is sort of compact and not att all fleeting in its structure. The sillage is medium and the longevity for at least 12h.

Chai is suitable for wearers who likes the two perfumestyles indicated above: "Pure" tea fragrances and fragrances grounded with transparent, fresh lighten cigarette smoky notes. Other tea fragrances that comes to my mind when testing out Chai are Dior Escale à Pondichery (bergamot, jasmin, spices, black tea) and ByKilian Bamboo Harmony (bergamot, neroli, spices, tea).

To me Chai is the star of the Pacific Collection. An uplifting, comfortable fragrance, just in time with the color of 2013: Green.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot leaves, white tea, (white flowers), beewax, mate tea

Best of 2012

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

When it comes to perfumereleases 2012 was a good year bringing some beautiful stuff to us Parfumistas.
Here are my top ten from what I have sampled of the 2012:s in no particular order:

Nuit Etoilée (Annick Goutal): NE was a growing liking for me, it unfolds it's full beauty in the summerheat.
Urban, woody-herbal to me.

Impossible Iris (Ramon Monegal): Probably this was released before 2012 but as the exceptional Ramon Monagal line was launched internationally this year I include it. An elegant iris that is amplified by a light berrynote and contrasting flowers. A harmonious blend.

Ivoire (Balmain): What a sucessful reformulation! I like this fruity and sparkling version even better than the stricter original galbanum-accentuated Edt which is a great classic.

Opardu (Puredistance) Dreamy, elegant, powdery lilac that captures the spirit of the Paul Poiret fashion of the 1910s. Already a classic in my book.

Chypre Palatin (Parfums MDCI): Retrostyled with the dry gunpowdernote that I appreciate so much. And some slight animalic notes lurking in the background.

Poudre de Riz (Huiteme Art): Boozy notes and subdued tropical flowers in a dry powdery context creates an elegant, retrostyled fragance.

Songe d'un Bois d'Ete (Guerlain): This wellbalanced spicy, leather, oud with a intricate note of jasmine and cardamom is my favourite of the Les Deserts de Orient trio. At the moment at least, Rose Nacree du Desert comes close and could take over some day.

Dama Bianca (XerJoff): Wellbalanced white flowers contrasted by a wheat-malt note over a beautiful base of vanilla. The elegant comfortscent of the year.

Oud Stars Al-Khatt (XerJoff): Elegant, creamy, white flowers with jasmine as mainplayer, interacting with a beautiful laotian oud. As Ubar in an oud-interpretation.

Rose Etoile de Hollande (Mona di Orio): A soft, dark, velvety, resiny, medium pink rose, retro in style. The last creation of Mona, named to her honour by her businesspartner Jeroen Oude Sogetoen.

Vero Kerns beautiful chypre Mito, the leather/tobacco Speakeasy (Frapin), the woody-spicy Bois Noir (Robert Piguet) and the Neela Vermeire Creations trio Bombay Bling, Trayeé and  Mohur should also be mentioned among the best of 2012.

If I had to choose just ONE it would be Opardu for its timeless features and its appearance. It's almost as I'm sniffing a classical floral-powdery Guerlain or even a classical Chanel in the style of No 22.

Top summerfragrances 2012

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Suddenly the bright and shining early summer month of June disappeared, the high summer month of July is over and sadly most of the summer is gone. Two weeks ago I also noticed the first signs of the late summer, the late evening suddenly was dark, not bright as in the beginning of the summer. One week ago the crickets started to play a true sign of the late summer. Fragrancewise I have worn just a few typical summerfragrances, most of the preferred ones up to day I enjoy the year around. Even if I almost sampling different fragrances and not have much time to wear my favourites, here they are for summer 2012:

Nuit Etoilée (Annick Goutal): Light herbal, slight smoky this one reminds me of a starry night in the asphaltjungle.

Cologne Friction (Parfums de Nicolaï): The ultimate, green, grassy, cologne for lazy summers. Perfect for vacation in the archipelago or just anywhere. And for looking at a game of tennis.

Corps et Ames Eau de Toilette Apaisante (Parfumerie Generale): A 1970s inspired chypre-light featuring the verbena note. An airy and bright interpretation of the original CeA Edp.

Rebel (Antonio Visconti): A soothing, refined patchouli with delicate notes of dark and dry chocolate.

Cristalle Edt (Chanel): There is (almost) nothing like this citrus-mossy classic when it's comes to summer casual chic.

Impossible Iris (Ramón Monegal): Year around elegant-chic. Has made a rapid career and is now among my most appreciated irises.

Rose Etoile de Hollande (Mona di Orio): Monas lovely rose is an olfactorial masterpiece is a multifacetted creation that reflects both the brightness and the dark sides of the rose.

Amoureuse (Parfums DelRae): Whith it's dark, almost decaying flowers blended with cardamon, Amoureuse is a beautiful gem suitable for alls seasons. Love it.

Ubar (Amouage): There is a golden shimmer surrounding the white flowers of this fine Amouage classic. Always right to wear in it's understated elegance, the quiet sister among Dia and Gold.

Black Oud (Montale): This classic dark rosy, leathery, patchuli oud becomes creamy in texture when worn in warm and humid weather. And never fails to attract compliments....

The Midsummer Fragrance

Picture: Midsummer Dance (Midsommardans).

Oil on canvas by Anders Zorn, 1897, Wikimedia Commons

Tomorrow it's midsummer eve and today it's the lightest day of the year, tomorow it turns to be darker. Every year I write an entry about proper (or maybe improper) midsummer fragrances. Last year was midsummer in Chanel Cristalle Edt as I was in a Chanel mood. This year I'm in no particular mood (except maybe Annick Goutal as I'm so appreciate Nuit Etoileé and also La Violette) so I havn't got the slightest idea of what to wear.

Today I'm wearing Etat Libre d'Orange Tom of Finland and it's leathery, coconutty smell is not especially midsummerlike. The only association to midsummer I get from ToF is Finland as Finland is our neighbour country and also celebrates the midsummer eve. I received the Tom of Finland sample from my friend Fragrantfanatic yesterday during our pleasant, monthly perfumelunch. FF then told about a perfume that has supported her in the grief of her grandfather, see her touching entry here . FF also let me test from her sample of the new, not yet released, Mito from Vero Kern. Pure, sparkling, wonderful greenness, a must have. Can't place the fragrance already, but it reminds me of some other green beauty.

I wish you a merry Midsummer weekend!

Carner Barcelona - D600

Picture: D600 by Carner Barcelona. This image

perfectly captures the spirit of D600. Photo by Carner Barcelona (c).

The scents of Carner Barcelona is sometimes accused to be to close to other, preferably better mainstream, fragrances. But with the multitude of fragrancereleases of today, which houses are not, and I can't see that Carner stands out among the other regarding this. Even if Cuirs that I reviewed in November last years resembles some other niche releases in the oud-saffron-leather category it's a well done fragrance which fully can compete with the other mentioned. But now, over to the todays subject - D600.

D600 is one of the two initial fragrances for the house of Carner, founded by Sara Carner in 2010. In the fragrances Sara will capture the spirit of her hometown Barcelona and it's catalonian surroundings through the compositions of different perfumers. In D600 the perfumer Christophe Raynaud  hits the target: D600 is the smell of La Rambla a warm summernight, it perfectly captures the modern pulse of the medivial city. D600 starts with notes thats resembles the smoke of a fresh lighted cigarette mingled with iris and jasmine . Later on the blend becomes more flowery with some discrite citric notes well blended, but in a urban, subdued way. There is also a sort of putty, slight lipsticky note that surrounds the flowers which is very pleasant. The base is light vetiver, woody well balanced with a vanillic touch and the light, freshly lighted cigarettenote consists and deepens during the evolution of the basenotes. In the end, blended with the vanilla, there is an almost edible, light gourmand accord. Something also is reminding me of The Different Company Oriental Lounge (in swedish).

D600 is a very comfortable scent, unisex but to my nose it's leaning to the feminine side as opposed to Dior Homme (different versions) which it's sometimes is said to be too similar to. To my nose there is similarities in style and in the irisnote but I think DH is much more lipsticky and the iris is louder and more cosmetic in feel and so is the whole DH fragrance. In D600 the jasmine is almost equal to the irisnote and I can't find the fresh ligheted cigarettenote in DH. Another frag that comes to my mind when sniffing the cigarettenote is Etat Libre D'Oranges Jasmin et Cigarettes but in this scent the cigarettenote paired with jasmine on me,  precipitates in the most unpleasent way. D600 is a much more successful interpretation of the flowery cigarette theme. D600 also intermediate a sort of urban, vegetal feeling that I also can recognize in Annick Goutals Nuit Etoilée . There is also a touch of hot asphalt like in Keiko Mecheris Mulholland (swedish), even if Mulholland is a citrusfrag with winy accords.

Overall, D600 is a pleseant, comfortable fragrance very versatile, the type of fragrance which is essential those days when it's hard to choose which frag to wear. The longevity is satisfactory and the fragrance is interesting during it's whole dry down.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, grapefruit, pepper, iris, jasmine, cardamom, vetiver, cedarwood, vanilla

Thanks to Carner Barcelona for sending a sample for test.

Serge Lutens - L'Eau Froide

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

L'Eau Froide is the second release in the controversial Eau-line of Serge Lutens. Controversial as SL is famous for its distinctive contemporary oriental style even if the house haven't been totally faithful to the initial theme during the receant years. L'Eau Froide is inspired of the smell of the snow and the frozen ground just about when it starts to melt in the late winter.

L'Eau Froide starts with an evident citrus detergentnote followed by an infusion of a crispy, icy incensenot. The citrusnote (even if citrus is not listed) is more pronounced than the opening of the first creation of the Eau-line, L'Eau Serge Lutens. The citrusnote is similar to the one in DoubleYou Norvége  and MPG Eau de Camelia Chinois and I have started to wonder if this is a new note, created to be complinat to the IFRA citrusrestrictions. After a while a fresh pinenote comes forward, pine seems to be fashionable this days. The note is evident also in Annic Goutals Nuit Etoliée , but contrary to the cold L'Eau Froide, I precive Nuit Etolieé as a warm fragrance. At the pine-phase of L'Eau Froide I can recognize a similarity to the pine and incense in Olivier Durbanos Black Tourmaline but both notes are more pronounced and according to my opinion better executed in Black Tourmaline.

When L'Eau Froide reaches the basenotes something very familiar appears after a while: The vegetal base of the particular flowery SL Nuit de Cellophane. This vegetal baseaccord are deepen as L'Eau Froide drys down and it's mainly accompanied by the opening citrus and with some pale wiffs of the cold incense.

L'Eau Froide smells good but I prefer the vegetal base paired with flower as in Nuit de Cellophane. I percieve the scent as a mix of distinctive elements from L'Eau de Serge and Nuit de Cellophane paired with incense. L'Eau Froide is an ideal officescent wearable year around but preferably for spring and summer.

Rating: 3

Notes: Olibanum, seawater, mint, incense, musk, vetiver

Annick Goutal - Nuit Etoilée

Picture: Wildweibchen mit Einhorn,

Kissenplatte, Strassburg, October 1500,

Unknown author, Historisches Museum Basel,

Wikimedia commons

The latest creation from Annick Goutal Nuit Etoilée, created by the "house-nose" Isabel Doyen will be released later this spring. NE will capture the feeling of walking in the wild forest at night, the magical feel, the fresh minty herbs, moss and the whirls of dark, woody notes.

To me Nuit Etoilée doesn't mediate this impressions, on the contrary I get the image of a warm summernight in the asphalt jungle of a big city. NE starts with a citrusy note that for a very short while reminds of the beginning of The Different Companys chilly DeBachmakov. But very soon NE turns to be a warm fragrance, and stays warm during the whole dry down. A slight dusty jasmine note combined with mint comes forward and at this stage NE reminds me of a gentler version of Etat Libre d'Oranges Jasmin et Cigarettes. There is also a plastic note lurking in the background, but the note is not at all disturbing and fits in with the menthol cigarettes. The mint note is not as distinctive and sharp as in the mint-tea blend of Parfumerie Générale Harmatan Noir. In the basenotes a gentle balsamic firnote appears together with a quiet pine. But there is pine trees in urban surroundings, there is not the wooded, green, sharp- and freshness in the pinenotes as in for example Cacharel pour Homme.

When sampling NE it reminds me of another perfume that I can't identify at first. As NE achieved the middle- and basenotes it's all suddenly clear: NE is close to the transparent, light herbal, light spicy, flowery Turbulences by Révillon, early 2000 Edt-formula. The plastic, minty, cigarettenotes are there in both blends but Turbulences is more flowery, spicy as NE is more herbal, woody in character.

Nuit Etoilée is, according to the picture on the samplewrapper, botteld in beautiful, night dark blue bottles. The mens squarish bottle with it's dark label is the most beautiful. But unfortunately the juice (to me) doesn't quite lives up to the beauty of the blue bottles. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the blend but after the releases of the masterpiece Mon Parfum Cheri, par Camille and the distinctive, sappy green beauty Ninfeo Mio I have far higher expectations than NE can deliver. Of course I'm also affected by the fact that I perceive Turbulences during almost the whole drydown of NE.

To summarize: NE is a good perfume but it doesn't stand out among the Goutals, but compared to most mainstream releases it definitly does.NE is a very wearable perfume, foremost in spring and summer. It is classified as an unisex fragrance and I think it's the right classificationas it seems to fit both genders equal.

Update June 2012: Nuit Etoilée is one of those fragrances that grows over time, sniffed it now and then during the latest months, I have learnt to appreciate NE much more then before. In particular I'm appreciating the minty-cigarette-smoky-note which resembles the cigarette-smoky note in my favorite Carner Barcelona fragrance D600.

Rating: 3+   Updated rating June 2012: 4+ .Rating July 2012: 5 This one just grows better with time :-)

Notes: Citrus, orange, peppermint, angelica, imortelle, fir balsam, pine, tonka.

Thanks to Parfums Annick Goutal for the sample to review.