Fragrances for Christmas 2015 2(2) - Nichefragrances

In the second post about fragrances which could attract especially in Christmastime some appropriate gems from the niche segment will be commented.

Picture: Un Crime Exotique
Photo: PR Parfumerie Générale (c)

Un Crime Exotique (Parfumerie Générale): This is similar to the traditional sweet mulled wine called Glögg which swedes are drinking the in Advent and during the Christmas holiday. Un Crime Exotique is not as sweet as Glögg, the fragrance smells like Glögg mixed with an refreshing the like for example Oolong.

Picture: Loretta
Photo: PR Tableau de Parfums (c)

Loretta (Tableau de Parfums): A dark fruity, spicy, slight dirty, animalic tuberose which compared to for example Marc Jacobs Decadence really is decadent. A fragrance in the classic dark, style of Rochas Femme. One of Andy Tauers best fragrances IMO.

Picture: Mon Numero 10
Photo: PR L'Artisan Parfumeur (c)

Mon Numero 10 (L'Artisan Parfumeur): This one is a sort of merged fragrance with traces from Christmas appropriate classics as Fendi (original), Coco (Chanel) and also Un Crime Exotique (above) + some incense. Embracing and comforting to wear in cold and grey weather.

Picture: M.O.U.S.S.E
Photo: PR Oliver & Co (c)

M.O.U.S.S.E (Oliver & Co): This is the most similar fragrance to mimic real clove that I've tested so far. A sort of fresh, airy but in the same time intense, almost cold, spicy fragrance. Some incense also seems to be involved in a supporting role.

Picture: Wazamba (new bottle)
Photo: PR Parfum d'Empire (c)

Wazamba (Parfum d'Empire): A warm, a bit sweet and spicy incense, not the traditional cold, midnight mass churchy type as Comme des Garcons Avignon which is also a beautiful fragrance suitable for Christmas.

Oriza L.Legrand - Royal Oeillet

Picture: Study of Polly Bernard  1885 for
"Carnation, lily, lily, rose"
Painting by John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)

Royal Oeillet is a composition inspired of the rich heritage of the revived french powder and perfumehouse Oriza L.Legrand. The house of Oriza recreates some of the old formulas taken the restrictions of and opportunities in to account and the result is one of the very best nichelines of today. In Royal Oeillet he interpretes the it-note of 2014: Carnation.

Royal Oeillet starts with an traditional, dense carnation note, a full carnation as in Caron Bellodgia pre year 2000. After a while, a contrasting note appears, a glimpse of the, what I call "an old attic" note appears, but much lighter, cleaner and airier than in the "old attic" gold standard L'Ombre Fauve from Parfumerie Générale. The note soon steps back and integrates with the carnationnote. The carnation is dry and papery in structure, I imagine its color as brick red. The clove which is a part of the carnationnote is very balanced and doesn't overpower the composition. Compared to Royal Oeillet, for example M.O.U.S.S.E and M.O.U.S.S.E II from Oliver & Co, spicy clovefragrances and the impression of carantion is subordinated the spices. Royal Oeillet is, despite the light spieces, in a strange way refreshing when worn a warm summerday. It's linear and minimalistic in its apperance but not at all boring. Its a meditative and calming fragrance which triggers the imagination and transports the wearer to the late 19th century and the impressionists era. The atmosphere in John Singer Sargents wonderful painting Carnation, lily, lily rose is similar to the vibes of Royal Oeillet.

Picture: Carnation, lily, lily, rose -
 the finished painting 1885-1886
 John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)

Compared to the other Oriza L.Legrand carnation, Oeillet Louis XV Royal Oeillet gives the impression to be a soliflore carnation, the Louis is more of an aldehydic boquet with carnation as the leading flower. In the Mâitre Parfumer et Gantier carnation Soie Rouge, where fruit and rose are more predominat an its also less spicer. Haven't tried my sample of Aedes de Venustas Oeillet Bengale yet but I'll compare it with Royal Oeillet when I review it.

Royal Oeillet could be worn in many situations when one need a comforting, elegant and easy to wear fragrance. The fragrance is appropriate year around, but especially for late summer/fall, the sillage is medium and longevity for almost a day.

Rating: 5

Notes: Rose, black pepper, myrrh, geranium, cloves, pink pepper, cedar, bitter orange, violet leaf, sandalwood

Fragrances of the week (28) 2013: Oliver & Co - Impression of the line

Picture: Oliver & Co Discoveryset
Photo: PR Oliver & Co, (c) all rights reserved

The Oliver & Co line definitly has its own natural smelling aromatic fresh style. Overall I find the unisex fragrances from the Oliver & Co house to be just a little bit more masculine than feminine in style (to use the stereotypes) probably because the absense of sweetness which I find carcteristic for the Olvier & Co fragrances as also the aromatic texture they all, more or less, have in common. Anyway, I think both genders should test these original creations.

All the fragrances are strong but refreshing and also long lasting which is not a common feature when it comes to fragrances with a high content of naturals. Those who like fragrances in the style of Commes des Garcons Incenseserie would probably appreciate the Olvier & Co line as they conveys the same impression but without incense as the line features other ingredients. My personal favorites are Mousse and Resina followed by La Colonia.

From Oliver & Co:s website there is possible to order a priceworthy discoveryset  which I think will last very long as each vial is 10 ml and as my 2 ml vials still lasts very well after assiduous testing.

Oliver & Co - Resina

Picture: Resin from pine
Photo: Meanos (cc) Wikimedia Commons,
some rights reserved

Resina is a natural smelling balsamic, spicy aromatic blend from spanish nichehouse Oliver & Co and as all the fragrances created by the owner of the house; Oliver Valverde.

Resina starts with the balsamic wowen plasternote that I like so much and which is distinct during the whole dry down in Comme des Garcons Jaisalmer but in Resina it soon withdraws from the centerstage as also a almost medical aromatic blast. Then a phase with balsamic, light spicy, unsweet caramellic and light woody notes appears, the ingredients seems almost seamless blended and the fragrances is soft and less aromatic. In this stage Resina gives me the impression of a non-sweet version of Prada Candy (swe) with a note that is very close to sandalwood (but as this ingredient is not listed it has to the skillful blending that creates this effect) instead of the sweet powdery benzoin in Candy. The overall impression of Resina is a natural smelling, warm and comforting fragrance with interesting twists from the spices and resins.

Even if wearable year around Resina IMO is the most cold season friendly fragrance from Oliver & Co. Its non-swetness makes it also possible to wear during the summer even if the warmest days should be avoided.
Longevity is great, 24h and sillage is medium. Beside Mousse, Resina until now is my favorite Olvier & Co fragrance. But who knows, further testings might change this order :-)

Rating. 4+

Notes: Tolu balsam, elemi, myrrh, labdanum, opoponax, jasmine sambac, incense, benzoin, coffee, flame tree, mace, rooibos tea, tonka bean, star anise

Oliver & Co - M.O.U.S.S.E and M.O.U.S.S.E II

Picture: Gewürznelkenbaum, Köhler
 Medizinal -Planzen, Franz Eugen Köhler (1897),
Wikimedia Commons

Mousse and Mousse II are slight different takes on a original fresh spicy clovetheme. Both are created by spanish indieperfumer Oliver Valverde who uses a high precentage of naturals in his, despite this, strong and lasting fragrances.

Moussse: Starts with a distinct scent of airy clove which is unsweet and natural in its interpretation. It's clean but without any detergentnotes despite its consistent supporting musky theme. Even if the clove is airy and transparent in texture, this fragrance is very strong and demands a light application. As Mousse dries down the clove is tamed by a soft sandalwood which perfectly balances the fragrance. In this stage there is a hint of the scent from a soft high quality carnation soap. To summarize Mousse it's the perfect spicy counterpart to Comme des Garcons excellent incense-pine creation Kyoto.   

As Mousse is a non sweet and fresh clove it's wearable also during the summer and the musky spicy clove blooms in warm weather. Mousse is also right to wear during the rest of the year, a versatile sort of timeless ( even if contemporary I can easily image a king of the baroque-era wearing this) unisex fragrance, despite IMO, just as Kyoto, Mousse is leaning to the masculine side. Sillage and longevity (24h+) are great.

Mousse II: This is an even more airy, almost ozonic take on the original Mousse. The clove is lighter and the whole scent is brighter and the fizzy fresh notes of mint and cardamom is added. There are also a strike of the crisp green lily of the valley accord from La Colonia. Overall Mousse II is more playful, brighter, lighter not as distinctive/sharp as the original Mousse and therefore easier to wear. It's also a more feminine unisex fragrance than the original Mousse. Sillage is good and longevity for a day. Etros transparant carnation with clove, Dianthus comes to my mind when wearing Mousse II even if Dianthus is more concentrated of the carnation than its clove notes

Even if Mousse is more masculine I prefer it as it is much more original and also genuinely highlights the clove. There is no attempts to quiet down the powerful clove as I perceive as an intention in the flanker Mousse II. But Mousse II is definitly a good choice for those who prefer a more blended and tuned down perfume featuring clove.

Rating: Mousse 5, Mousse II  3+

Notes Mousse: Lime, aldehydes, clove, lavander, oakmoss, sandalwood, musk
Notes Mousse II: Lime, aldehydes, clove, lavander, cardamom, mint, lily of the valley, sandalwood, ambergris, musk

Fragrance(s) of the week (20) 2013 -Random perfumeimpressions

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Havn't anything thought out to say perfumewise this weekend so here comes some random perfumeimpressions .

Samples that I ordered from Aus Liebe zum Duft  swiftly arrived during the week and some is already in testing on myself or familymembers. Impressions:

From the descriptions of the fragrance, Lostmarc'h Iroaz is a wild rose from the rosebushes of the shores of Brittany. This is a sort of airy, like the moist seaair, pink rose. Reminds me of the roses in Jean Patou Un Amour de Patou and Montale Crystal Flowers. A wearable, non-sweet rose.

Speaking of Montale, yesterday I couldn't resist trying one of the Montale samples I've ordered. Have sampled so many light, springappropiate fragrances the latest weeks (June will be a light fragrances reviw month) I now long for heavier stuff. Aoud Ever is a quite recent Montale blend that seems to consist of some Aoud Lime at the start lime but here added whith a dose of lemon which dominates the citric part. Then one of my favorite Montales, Amber & Spices appears but in Aoud Ever the peppery notes in the spicy mix are a bit more prounonced and are resting on a base dominated by sandalwood and of course oud.

Mr Parfumista is testing the new Comme des Garcons Black.Starts as a powerful fragrance containing elements of some other of Mr Parfumistas CdG favorites, the cool cypress and pine-like notes of Kyoto and the balsamic spice of Jaisalmer. There are also notes that resembles of a weaker and short lived version of the rough, almost burned leathernotes of one of Mr Parfumistas top favorites ever: Mona di Orio Cuir.

Myself is sampling the new Andy Tauer Noontide Petals. Starts as the powerful Incense Rosé but calms down very soon and then smells like a dimmed version of Incense Rosé with powdery accents. As the Incense Rosé accords tuning out, but still remains in the background, aldehydic flowers appears and the composition becames weak compared to the first half of the dry down. Nice fragrance but a bit messy in the same almost chaotic way as Histoires de Parfums L'Olympia Music Hall ie both these frags somehow intermediate an impression of don't be able to decide what direction to have. As I like or love almost every Tauer creation released so far, I definitly will give Noontide Petals further trials. Update May 28 2013: There was a beautiful scent lingering in a pashmina which I suspected was traces of Noontide Petals and today I have tested Noontide Petals again. This time in a lower dose than before and that was the trick. Today the fragrance was neiter messy or chaotic in the later drydown just perfect powdery, a bit soapy notes that embeds a typical Tauerstyled  accord, most similar to Incense Rosé mixed in the smoothness of luxury aldehydes. Contemporary elegance and in the same time comfort. Great, this is a 5 rated perfume for me and unfortunaly a new lemming!

Sniffing on a napkin saved since the lunch with Fragrantfanatic this Thursday where there are dots of different fragrances from the spanish house Oliver & Co. from a discoveryset that FF has borrowed from another parfumista. One of the M.O.U.S.S.E fragrances stands out from the fragrancedots and I think it's the first Mousse where the clove is very  pronounced and combined with balsamic spice as in Jaisalmer. This one could really be something! Also the balsamic dot that I think is Resina and La Colonia appeals to me. Overall, Oliver & Co. seems to be a house to explore further.

As Fragrantfanatic recently has visited Paris and there acquired a bottle of Guerlain Mayotte I'm now a happy owner of a vial of this that would be compared with its precursor Guerlain Mahora. And as FF now has a sample of Mahora, it will be very interesting to compare our findings from our respective coming side-by-side tests of these two heavy, tropical Guerlains.