Parfums de Nicolaï - Oud Sublime

Picture: The Moose in the snow
Painting by John Bauer (1882-1918)

Oud Sublime is a luxurious elixir based on real cambodian oud, created by perfumer Patricia de Nicolaï for her own house, Parfums de Nicolaï. As the rest of the Nicolaï ouds, Oud Sublime stands out as a different oud compared to the common, strong, medical, syntecial intrpretation of this woody note. In the oud fragrances of Nicolaï oud is gentler and not as dominating, it's one of several notes inteacting in well constructed accords.

Oud Sublime starts smelling almost as Incense Oud for a while. Then Oud Sublime takes a darker and deeper trail, with less patchouli, smoother and a bit mysterious. It's texture and color is like a mossy green velvet gown under a dark chocolate brown velvet coat. There is no harsh chemical notes and no cloggy thickness which could be an issue with some "commercial" oudfragrances. Instead, despite of it's darkness, there is an element that could be described as fresh in Oud Sublime, it's the freshness of walking in the forest in the mid-winter, not the acquatic or citrus sort of fresh. The patchouli in Oud Sublime is the same characteristic "Nicolaï patchouli" as in Patchouli Homme/Patchouli Intense and the note is intergrated with the other notes in a seamless way. The base are dominated by the characteristic dark green, chalky, slight mossy elegant Nicolaï accord, the Guerlinade of the house of Nicolaï. In Oud Sublime, this houseaccord seems to be wrapped in dark, woody, slight animalic and natural oudy notes with a hint of a clean incense.

Picture: Oud Sublime
Photo: PR Parfums de Nicolaï (c)

Overall, to me Oud Sublime seems to be an extrait variation of Incense Oud, darker, smoother and close to the skin whereas Incense Oud is the more radiant, brighter, higher positioned on the fragrant notescale.
When it comes to the difference/similarity between the two versions it's about the same relationship as between Andy Tauers versions of his moroccan desert fragrances L'Air du Desert Marocain and Au Coeur du Desert where the former is the brighter and more radiant and the latter extrait variation is darker, smoother and close to the skin.

Oud Sublime is a wearable fragrance both for gloomy autumn/winterdays and for evenings year around. It's a unisex fragrance, close to the skin with a longevity for more then 12h. Silage is somewhere between close to medium.

For a conniseur both Oud Sublime and Incense Oud are worth owning, just as the classic Guerlains and Chanels are different enough to justify owning all versions. As Oud Sublime is quite expensive, Incense Oud is a good option which on the other hand is quite friendly to the wallet.

Rating: 5

Notes: Davana, coriander, rose, ambretta, cambodian oud, patchouli, incense, styrax

Parfums de Nicolaï is now avaible on Fragrance & Art

Parfums de Nicolaï - Incense Oud

Picture: One summer's evening they went with Bianca Maria
deep into the forest (1913)
Watercolor on gouche by John Bauer (1882-1918)
Wikimedia
(The swedish artist John Bauer, his wife and three year old son were tragically drowned in a
shipwreck on the lake Vättern 20 November 1918, ie exactly  98 years ago yesterday. )

Incense Oud is created by one of the best noses of today Patricia de Nicolaï for her own perfumehouse Parfums de Nicolaï.

Incense Oud starts with a clean and clear incense embedded in the typical "Nicolaïade" accord, sofisticated, smooth, slight soapy, chalcy, green with a sort of contemporary, retro touch. This Nicolaï accord in its different settings has a carefree, parisian, elegance. The oud is not a major player here, it's one of the interacting notes from the dept of the fragrance. The oud is not of the dense, smokey variety, nor the chemical, medical one. It's a transparent, herbal and dark green oud (if it had a color), refreshing in the same way as stayning in the deep forest among trolls and elves.
The oudnote is in the same vein as the oud note in Vescace Pour Homme Oud Noir and as in By Kilian Pure Oud, cold and sort of airy but quiter, smoother and seamless integrated with the other notes.  In the background there is also a slight musky almost animalic dept to the fragrance. A more prominent note which is interacting closely with the oud is patchouli. It's the same elegant (in the higher octaves of the fragrance note scale) herbal-fresh patchouli leaves note as in one of my favorite Nicolaïs Patchouli Homme later renamed to Patchouli Intense. Incense Oud reminds me much of the Nicolaï patchouli but Oud Incense is chillier, fresher, a bit herbal whereas Patchouli Homme has spicy and warm notes interacting with the patchouli. In Incense Oud I can also detect some of the slight green, chalky note present in Vanille Tonka. There is no obvious similarities with fragances from fragrances outside the house of Nicolaï, the fragrances of Parfums de Nicolaï are unique in its style compared to the rest of the market. One fragrance I come to think of when it comes to the herbal leaves patchoulinote is Coquillete Herat which blend of tobacco and a canabisnote reminds a bit of the patchouli accord in Incense Oud. There are also a tonality reminding a bit of By Kilian Smoke for the Soul but Incense Oud is much more structured, clean and not as thick and on the verge to messy as the Kilian blend. 

Picture: Incense Oud
Photo: PR Parfums de Nicolaï (c)

Incense Oud is a versatile fragrance wearable the year around expect in the warmest summerdays. It's a casual chic fragrance, suitable for office or for a day in the city. Sillage is medium + and the longevity is great. Incense Oud is unfragmented after more then 12h wearing and it's fully detectable after 24h and on textile after many days. The fragrance is unisex. From what I have smelled from the perfumelaunches of 2016, this is one of the very best.

Rating: 5

Notes: Artemisia, ambretta, coriander, rose, cedarwood, oud, cypriol, patchouli, frankincense, styrax, castoreum, amber, musk

PS: Parfums de Nicolaï is now also avaible from Fragrance & Art .

Parfums de Nicolaï - Ambre Cashmere Intense

Picture: Autumn oakleaves
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Ambre Cashmere Intense is the latest addition to the perfumeline of Parfums de Nicolaï, the reaible, quality niche house founded by the Guerlain descendant, perfumer Patricia de Nicolaï . The house celebrated a quarter of a century last year.

Ambre Cashmere starts with a beautiful, sparkling accord dominated by a full and round lemony note cleverly mixed with pepper. The pepper is not at all dominating, which unfortunately is very common with this note. Instead of beeing overdosed the pepper adds sparkle and contributes to a dry and warm impression. The lemony note has some green accents which adds an very elegant texture to the fragrance.I recognize this accord from other Nicolaïs as for example L'Eau Chic and Vanille Tonka, it's seems to be something like a signature for the casual chic style of Nicolai. When Ambre Cashmere reaches the middlenotes, a slight buttery note with a floral touch appears. Despite the buttery texture there is something almost ozonic, fizzy appearing for a while. A beautiful, dry vanilla which feels unprocessed and natural appears, there is not the candy sweetness nor the woody old-book smelling vanilla version. The vanilla in the basenotes is balanced with smooth, rounded resins, a powdery tonkabeen with a touch of patchouli which together with a light musk adds dept and longevity to the scent. Ambre Cashmere is intresting also in the basenotes, the fragrance is shifting in its performance, for example suddenly the base becomes a tad spicy, an almost cinnbar like note which I recognize from (but here it appears in a lighter form) the very special, most unusual patchouli secnt I have sniffed so far, Patchouli Homme which I think is renamed to Patchouli Intense. Further in the drydown the spicy patch gets cleaner, earthier but still discrete and supporting, not at all dominating.

Picture: Ambre Cashmere Intense
Photo: PR Parfums de Nicolaï (c)

Ambre Cashmere is a light, soft and uplifting amberperfume. The amber is not dominating as the name implies, the amber is discretly present, surrounding the fragrance and creating a soft, golden aura around the wearer. When it comes to the overall gentle apperance and texture of the fragrance, the "Intense" part of its namn it hard to understand. Ambre Cashmere is a perfect perfume in the first beautiful part of the autumn with the golden sunlight and the leaves shifting in orange and yellow. Something with Ambre Cashmere reminds me of Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Ambre even if not smelling the same, the MdO Ambre is more distinct with a dry gunpowdernote. Anyway both fragrances are light ambers in the higher octaves of the notescale, powdery and cashmerelike in texture. Wearing these fragrances is like to be wrapped in a featherlight cashmereshawl.

Ambre Cashmere is a discrete fragrance with close sillage but  clearly present to the wearer and to those who are in 1-2 meters distance. A wearable and elegant fragrance, even if classified as unisex it's IMO leaning to the feminine side. Longevity is good, last unfragmented for a day and when it comes to this aspect of the perfume, it deserves the epithet "Intense". Even if not the most exciting or innovative perfume, Ambre Cashemere is very well made, elegant, relaxing to wear and as always with Nicolaï. perfectly blended and balanced.

Raring: 4

Notes: Black pepper, mandarine, citron, orrisrooth, violet, cloves, vanilla, labdanum, benzoin, tonka been, patchouli, sandalwood, amber, musk

Le Galion - Special for Gentlemen

Picture: Special for Gentlemen
Photo: PR Le Galion (c)

The venerable perfumehouse of the 1930s-1970s  Le Galion, was brought back to life again  in  2014. The golden days of Le Galion started in 1935 when the already then famous perfumer Paul Vacher bought the house and started to create a range of high class perfumes. Vacher is also the nose of iconic Miss Dior and Diorling for Christian Dior. Tomas Fontaine is the perfumer who has reworked the old Le Galions according to current standards. As I haven't tested any vintages, I can't comment on differences/similarities et but the new versions I've tested so far are great. Over to the object of today: Special for Gentlemen originally released 1947 and was created by Parul Vacher himself.

The fragrance starts in a traditional aromatic way with the most beautiful lemon, yellow, sunny and warm. The lemon is of course supported by aromatic, hebal notes, very fine tuned and smooth in their apperance. In this stage Special reminds me of fragrances as Givenchy Gentleman, Geoffrey  Beene Bowling Green  and Chanel Pour Monsieur. Quite contrary to most aromatic fragrances, there is absolutely no harsh or sharp edges as in Special, it's so well blended and seems to be constructed with very high quality ingredients. Among the herbal-spicy notes a smooth cinnamon is most evident and it's recognizable during the rest of the dry down. When the cinnamon appears I'm reminded of Parfums de Nicolaï  Patchouli Homme a very uncommon patchoulifragrance. After a while also balsamic notes appears, deepens the fragrance and wraps the wearer in a comfortable but still very elegant aura. There are also discrete woody-mossy  notes with a touch of something animalic which anchoring Special in the basenotes. Despite the heavy notes, Special is sort of light in texture  with a very clear presence which is never disturbing. In its later stages, Special reminds me of fragrances as Aramis Tuscany (mens version) and there is also something (but much smoother) from the legandary Guerlain Jicky present.

Special is pure elegance, for the versatile gentleman, a timeless fragrance of high class, both in construction, blending and quality of the ingredients. To me, Sean Connery in the character of 007 James Bond, personifies Special for Gentlemen. It could be worn in many (non-sporting) occasions and Special is demanding in another way: Wearing it always requires a proper outfit for the said occassion, as the whole image of the wearer has to be complete. Special is indeed a very masculine fragrance but the smoothness and balsamic structure oddly enough also make it (almost) wearable for a women.

Special is definitly a must try for those in search for a classical aromatic fragrance. Personally, after trying this, I can't remember me or Mr Parfumista have tried anything better among classical aromatics. Top notch and the best masculine fragrance tested since M.Micallef Royal Vintage spring 2013.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, citron, lavender, cinnamon, amber, labdanum, oakmoss, patchouli, vanilla, castoreum, birch, opoponax

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the (already drained :-( ) sample to try

Mer av Parfumistans reviewer - Niche 1(2)

Fortsättning på föregående inlägg med länkar till reviewer våren/sommaren 2010 på min förra blogg "Parfumistans dagbok". Listan nedan gäller reviewer av nichepafymer.

Montale Oud Red Flowers: http://blogg.expressen.se/parfumistansdagbok/entry.jsp?messid=596113

Eau d'Italie Pasteum Rose: http://blogg.expressen.se/parfumistansdagbok/entry.jsp?messid=596655

Parfums de Nicolaï L'Eau Mixte: http://blogg.expressen.se/parfumistansdagbok/entry.jsp?messid=604201

 Parfums de Nicolaï Patchouli Homme : http://blogg.expressen.se/parfumistansdagbok/entry.jsp?messid=604298

Parfums de Nicolaï Violette in Love:  http://blogg.expressen.se/parfumistansdagbok/entry.jsp?messid=606623

Histoire de Parfums Tubereuse  1 Capricieuse: http://blogg.expressen.se/parfumistansdagbok/entry.jsp?messid=604241

Histoire de Parfums Tubereuse  3 Animale: http://blogg.expressen.se/parfumistansdagbok/entry.jsp?messid=604286

Fortsättning i nästa inlägg.

OBS: Eventuella kommentarer på något av inläggen lämnas här då jag inte checkar av Parfumistans dagbok

Patchouli Homme

Av ren slump har det blivit så att jag börjat med de två sist utgivna av Patricia de Nicolaïs dofter. Häromdagen L'Eau Mixté från i år och idag Patchouli Homme från 2009.
Patchouli Homme handlar egentligen inte så mycket om patchouli. Noten är ovanligt nedtonad och den flyter in i blandningen utan att dominera som i andra patchoullidofter. Bland övriga ingredienser, vid sidan av patchoullin, finns lavendel, ros och geranium i toppen följt av lagerbladsolja, kanel, frankincense, sandelträ, apelsinblomma, läder, ambra och vanilj.
Patchouli Homme är framför allt en varm kaneldoft för mig. Men det är en transparent och mycket fin kanel som minglar med bland annat lagerbladsoljan. Den har en dandy-lik elegans och kan av en del upplevas som på gränsen till feminin. Detta är herr Parfumistas upplevelse, så även om han uppskattar de fina råvarorna och den subtila kompositionen, så tycker han att den inte riktigt är han. Det tycker i och för sig jag som får sniffa in vågorna av doften. För det är en doft med stor men ändå inte påträngande närvaro. Patchouli Homme är i min värld en perfekt unisexdoft, den är otroligt välgjord, elegant och extremt hållbar under dagen. En doft som skulle vara ett bra val för vår blivande prins under den krävande morgondagen. Under ett sådant maraton gäller det att ha en doft som både är ytterst elegant och hållbar.

Betyg: 4+