Parfum d'Empire - Corsica Furiosa

Picture: Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821),
another corsican furiosa.
Painting by  Paul Delaroche (1797-1856)

The latest addition to the highquality house Parfum d'Empire, Corsica Furiosa is a tribute to the ISCPA-trained perfumer and owner of the house Marie-Antoine Corticchiato native island Corsica. Corisca Furiosa, which features the mediterrian shrub lentisque, is an aromatic-green fragrance in its very own style , one hand dry, herbal, on the other green, leafy, crisp.

Corsica Furiosa starts with an accord which smells of dried herbs and gras over the sunbaked, hot, earth of a mountained, mediterrian island. There is also a note of smoke, as the smoke from a fire far away. A light spicy limenote is also present and is recognizable also in later stages of the fragrance. After a while a natural haynote appears and further in the dry down an almost animalic note, a pleasant furnote, appears. This stage reminds me of something in Musc Tonkin but softer and tuned down. In the basenotes a note clos to crisp, bulbflower leaves appears, probably the tomatoleaves but different handeled than in typical tomatoleave fragrances as Sisley Eau de Campagne and Joop! What about Adam. In this stage a light flowery element which reminds me of daffodil, enlighten this, taken as a whole, austere composition. This flowery note, the green note, the fur note and some of the hay with a slight herbal touch is what remains in the basenotes and lasts until the fragrance has dried down after 8-10 hours. There is also an element in Corsica Furiosa which reminds me of an accord in the base of Olivier Durbano Lapis Philosophorum.

Corsica Furiosa is gentle and close to the skin, it's light, almost as a cologne and could be re-applied during the day without any risk for overdoing it. It's a very casual fragrance but would also perform well in the workplace, especially in the scentfobic office. Corsica Furiosa is most intriguing in its first part, than its plesant and quite ok but with out the sensation of the first one third.

To me Corsica Furiosa is truly unisex but to be honest I think it wears better on me than on Mr Parfumista who tried it at first as I thought it would be more herbal bitter and masculine in style. Other fragrances which comes to my mind when testing Corsica Furiosa is Guerlain Cologne 68 which have some of the burnt, herbal mediterrian notes but is more flowery and sweet. The crispy bulbflower leaf is present in for example Pierre Balmain Vent Vert (older formula) and Oriza L .Legrand Deja le Printemps.

Rating: 4

Notes: Lentisque, hay, grass, lime, honey, moss, labdanum, mint, tomatoleaves, pepper

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample to test.

Olivier Durbano - Heliotrophe

Picture: A bottle of Heliotrophe with the bloodstones (heliotrophes)
which are the inspiration for the fragrance
Photo: PR Olivier Durbano (c) 

Heliotrophe or bloodstone is the semiprecious stone that inspiered to this red and warm perfume from Olivier Durbano.

Heliotrophe starts balsamic, with a hint of mandarine and a smell similar to red "autumberry" notes such as cranberries and rowan berries. There is also a tender, juicy, spiciness present combined with an almost powdery slight vanillic note, probably the heliotrophe (flower). After a while a herbal impression also appears. The herbal note creates a slight medical impression. In its earlier stages, Heliotrophe reminds me of Serge Lutens Chypre Rouge. Later Heliotrophe deepens and gets warmer with a light saffronnote which interacts with the resins and woods in different layers of the perfume, just as the incense typical for all the perfumes in the Bijoux Pierre Poemes. Heliotrophe is the smells from the forest with it's morass' a sunny day in the early autumn.

Picture: Another peace of inspiration to Heliotrophe
Photo: PR Olivier Durbano (c)

Heliotrophe is another outdoor fragrance from Olivier Durbano. Not as extreme as the ultimate fragrance for outdoor life, Black Tourmaline (see earlier review) instead a softer, gentler and friendlier one, easier to wear and suitable also for work. The sillage of Heliotrophe is close and longevity for less then a day. On fabric Heliotrophe lasts much longer and its character strangely enough shows off better on fabric then on my skin. Even if a bit tame compared to the other testes Durbanos, it's an original scent well worth testing.

Rating:3+

Notes: Elemi, olibanum, ginger, blood mandarin, angelica, chili pepper; saffron, magnolia, nagarmotha, heliotrope, myrrh, cedar, sandalwood, musk, ambergris, benzoin

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample

Olivier Durbano - Black Tourmaline

Picture: Black Tourmaline by Olivier Durbano
Photo: PR Olivier Durbano (c)
This also applies to the pictures below

Black Tourmaline is another fascinating fragrance from the jewellery/perfumehouse Olivier Durbano. It's one of the earliest releases of the house and a part of the Bijoux de Pierres Pòemes which is fragrances inspired from different semi-precious stones.

Black Tourmaline starts heavy with a very  natural smelling tar-note. Soon Black Tourmaline smells like an Isle whisky, with its notes of tar and turf with a tad of smoke. The incense is interplaying well blended with the other notes. As Black Tourmaline dries down the tarry wood notes are softened by different dry spicy notes. There is also a hint of a quite rough leather but not as rough as in Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Cuir which is the fragrance that I find most similar to Black Tourmaline, Cuir is almost a sort of turned up follower of  Black Tourmaline, even if Cuir also have the original smoky note that resembles grilled meat. Cuir is overall a stronger and heavier perfume. In the basenotes the dark and potent notes of Black Tourmaline are offsetted by an accord similar to the smell of the forest floor which provides the fragrance a sort of aronatic, fresh and clear expression. I guess this is achieved by the mossy and patchoulinotes interacting with the spices. To me Black Tourmaline is totally unsweet, opposed to MdO Cuir which have some resin sweetness. Sometimes I find such total lack of sweetness i a perfume as a relief.

Black Tourmaline is, just as MdO Cuir, a sort of "outdoor perfume" a fragrance which immediately gives me associations to the autumnal hunt in the swedish forests. The woody and damp smells from the forest, the smoke from the campfire when taking the lunchbreak, the smell from the well oiled riefles and smeared leathery guncases, the woolen, moleskin and leathery smells from the clothes. Black Tourmaline is a unisex fragrance not leaning either to the masculine or feminine side as opposite to MdO Cuir which I find very masculine. It's a perfume for daytime casual wear but could be worn to work if very sparingly applied, this is potent stuff. Sillage is medium and longevity for 12h+.

Black Tourmaline could  be appreciated by those who likes Amouage Interlude Man, Carner Barcelona Cuirs and Nasomatto Black Afgano.

Rating: 5

Notes: Cardamom, coriander, cumin, frankincense, pepper, smoked wood, oud, leather, precious woods, musk, amber, moss, patchouli

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample to test

Olivier Durbano - Pink Quartz

Picture: An elephant carved in rose quartz
Wikimedia commons

Pink Quartz from Olivier Durbano Parfums de Pierre Poemes dedicated to semiprecious stones starts pink/grey velvety rosy paired with a sort of dry, opaque stoney note. In the topnotes, Pink Quartz is uplifting and a bit sparkling and the rose is very natural smelling and true to the real rose scent. When the fragrance dries down, a small trace of incense, spice, balsamic and musky notes deepens and darkens the unconventional rose/stone combo. This combo is the core of the fragrance and apperant in all stages of the dry down. In the basenotes there is also a tangy, slight fizzy note which I so appreciate in rosefragrances and which gives them a touch of chypre. There is also a subtle smoky nuance in the base and a very light sweetness from the resins. If Pink Quartz had a color it's definitly the almost opaque, pale pink/grey of the pink quartz mineral. If it was a fabric, it would be a pale, powdery, pink quartz colored velvet.

Pink Quartz is very intriguing, probably (as the notelist indicate) all the wellbalanced ingredients creates this impression. Pink Quartz is a true unisexfragrance and IMO it lending to the masculine side, here is a rose (without oud) for men. Despite this, it's pleasant also for a woman to wear, an  exception when it comes to pink roses as it is not as sweet as most pink fragrances.. Sillage is close and longevity for 12h+, an exellent choice for the early spring.

Picture: The tempting Pink Quartz
Photo: PR Olivier Durbano (c)

Pink Quartz could be appreciated by those who likes pink roses with some deept and without the conventional sweetness fragrances such as Parfum d'Empire Eau Suave even if that one is a tad fruity. To me pink Quartz is sort of the masculine counterpart of Eau Suave. Just as the latter (on of my alltime favorite pink roses) Pink Quartz is a little gem.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, pink grapefruit, olibanum, saffron, ginger; palmarosa, damask rose, palisander rosewood, rose, amber, patchouli, myrrh, benzoin, white musk

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample 

Olivier Durbano - Lapis Philosophorum

Picture: From the world of alchemistry
Photo: PR Olivier Durbano (c)

Lapis Philosophorum is the 2013 release from Olivier Durbano who is an architect and a jewelry designer, His perfumes are inspired by his collection of semi-precious stones, Bijoux de Pierres Poèmes (Perfumes of Stones Poems).A common trait in his perfumeline is the involvement of different types of incense. Lapis Philosophorum is inspired from how the ancient alchemists was searching for the Philosopher’s stone that would change base metals into pure gold. 

Lapis Philosophorum starts with soft balsamic notes with over a gentle, winey backgrouond, the winey accord is reminiscent of the winey expression in Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Une Rose. After a while a soft note of incense appears, balancing the tangy winey notes in a sort of meditative harmony. The winey soft incense accord stays through the whole dry down of LP and lasts also in  the contrasting base of the fragrance. The base is very original, a clear menthol note which adds an almost sea-salty impression, is blended with warm, balsamic notes of opoponax and myrrh with oakmoss contributing with its mysterious, dark, velvety green dept. There is something with LP in this phase that reminds me of a darker, warmer and  incense infused sibling to the salty, aquatic, herbal  Finisterre by Maria Candida Gentile.In the later stage of the basenotes, LP turns dark blue in its expression as an inky note appears on an almost metallic background. 

Picture: Lapis Philosophorum
Photo: PR Olivier Durbano (c)

Lapis Philosophorum evokes the image of medieval alchemist working in the secret, hidden somewhere in the a dark moisty cave with lichens on the rough and cold walls. The overall impression of Lapis Philosophorum is, despite the odd combination of notes, a well balanced, soft, calming and relaxing fragrance of high quality and with (even to my jaded nose) intriguing twists in each phase of the dry down. This is a fragrance that catches my attention from the first dab to the final notes 12h+ later, something I really appreciate from a perfume.

Rating: 5

Notes: Calamus, juniper, rum, truffle, grapefruit, wine sediment, frankincense, mesquite, ambergris, menthol

opoponax, myrrh, musk, oak moss

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample to test.