Peonies

Picture: A summerview from Stockholm Old City
Photo: Parfumista (c) photo from exactly
 a year ago, 24 June 2018

 

Even if I have no beautiful peonies in the garden I'm now (after the midsummerevening choice of Penhaligon's Peveone) into testing peonyperfumes. There are only two of them in my collection, the other one is Histoires de Parfums Vert Pivoine (VP). I was wearing VP yesterday and just as Peveone VP, at least from the later part of the heartnotes and in the basenotes, is mostly a pink rose perfume. The rose in VP is light, pastel tuned pink, whereas Peveone is dark pink. VP is dry compared to Peveone which is lush, juciy and showing up its beauty in a composition that creates the image of a warm, humid summerevening. VP is dry and chilly, understated, the peonies and roses ar accompanied with a wellbalanced dose of pinkpepper and cedarwood. There is a light touch of fruit which doesn't become sweet. VP is the image of peonies a grey, chilly and windy summerday. There is something, probably the rosewater and the chilly feeling, with VP that reminds me of an easy to wear rosefavorite of mine: Coquillete Tudor.

 

The notes of Vert Pivoine are (according to Fragrantica): Peony, ivy leaves, rose water, rose, gardenia, mimosa, red fruit, sandalwood, cedar, musk, vanilla.

 

The notes of Peveone are (according to Fragrantica): Violet leaf,, jasmine, rose, peony, vetiver, musk, chasmeran

Peoneve

Picture: The pink rosebud of yesterday
has unfolded during the midsummernight
Photo: Parfumista (c)

For the evening yesterday I switched fragrance to Penhaligon's Peoneve and it tangy, bitter peony (i a good way)combined with the pink rosy smell was great for Midsummer. This time the scent of peony dominated over the rose, usually it is the opposite.

Midsummer 2019



Picture: Midsummerroses with some sage
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Midsummer 2019 is warmer then last year, about 20 C + and cooling windy after the heat followed by tunder and (sadly just) a little rain, of yesterday. Have not still decided what to wear, last year midsummer I was wearing the quite heavy Halfeti   from Penhaligon's, this year I hesitate between wearing something light, slight woody and fresh or something matching a garden in full bloom.


When it comes to the former theme I think about  Yuzu Ab Irato from Parfumerie Generale, I'm having a PG crush for the latest weeks. Yuzu Ab Irato is refreshing with a damp, wet, slight woody, herbal accord suported by citric and restrained cold flowers. The dampness reminds me of something that could be an easy to wear, casual, bright and summery sibling to the dramatic wintery/early spring BeauFort Fathom V. 


The fragrance for the latter theme, the blooming garden, is depitched by Penhaligon's lush (mostly) dark pink rosy, peonyfragrance Peoneve, which of course, in a traditional view, is more appropriate for THE summerday of summerdays.


During the writing of this entry I started to really crave for Yuzu Ab Irato and had to apply some.
The choice is now obvious. Sometimes some structuring of thoughts has to be done to reveal the real craving of the day.


Happy Midsommer!

Picture: A pink Queen Elizabeth
Photo: Parfumista (c)

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Fragrances for late winter

The late winter, with spring around the corner, is the perfect season for a true parfumista: One day I'm carving a light and bright springfragrance and the other day a deep and dark oriental and the third day something in between. Below some nice frags from this week:


Picture: Prada (Amber)
Photo: PR Prada (c)

Prada (Prada): My bottle is from 2005 it's before Prada added "Amber" to the name. The perfect dark and embracing contemorary oriental with a rounded patchouli paired with amber and some vanilla.

Picture: Geranium Bourbon
Photo: PR Miller Harris (c)

Geranium Bourbon (Miller Harris): Green, dry, sunny, airy, with an austere and clean geranium flower note. A natural scent, like a garden a cool and windy summerday. Vintage in style but timeless anyway. Somehow GB resembles the intriguing Rose Noir in a bright version.

Picture: Aurore Nomade
Photo: PR The Different Company (c)

Aurore Nomade (The Different Company): A very special high quality, boozy, flowery, gourmand oriental with banana and rum accords. Warm and opulent, almost tasty. Comforting.

Picture: Galop d'Hermès
Photo: PR Hermès (c)

Galop d'Hermès (Hermès): The ulitmate rose-leather with the special addition of quince. Reminds me of a strictly and colder variation of Penhaligon's warm and spicy quince rose Vaara. Very classy and elegant.

Picture: Iris des Champs
Photo: PR Houbigant (c)

Iris des Champs (Houbigant): A light purple and grey fragrance. Starts with a delicious rooty iris then develops to a cloud of cold flowers with iris and lily of the valley as protagonists. Daytime springlike elegance.

Midsummer 2018

Picture: Midsummerroses 2018
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Midsummereve was yesterday. The summer solstice up here in the north is much celebrated and a national holiday. This year the weather (always a big question in Sweden) was quite good, rainy and cold (+9  C in the morning) and mostly sunny and quite warm in the afternoon followed by a chilly evening. The day was without rain, except in the morning.

This year (again) I didn't feel to wear florals to match the occasion. I couldn't think of any light high pitched flowery fragrance that was right for me. Instead I wanted something heavy, dark and dense so I went for Penhaligon's Halfeti, a dark rosy, dry spicy oud based fragrance inspried from the  black shaded roses which is/was grown in the turkish town named Halfeti.


Picture: The black rose of Halfeti
Photo: PR Penhaligon's

Halfeti is a fragrance that intriguing me. When I blindbought it about two years ago I was a bit disappointed, to much of the screaming, peppery type of oud. But still there was something that fascinated me with Halfeti and I went back testing it multiple times, I didn't want do give it up. Yesterday I finally find out the trick to avoid the overload of pepper/spice and how to hold Halfeti in check: One has to be very careful when  applying it, just using tiny half sprays at four to five points on skin. Full sprays is much too much. Applied in this way the dark, deep and spicy rose appears in a beautiful way, there are also a warm, dry and in the same time creamy sandalwoodaccord. Halfeti is difficult to understand and to tame, but it was certainly worth all the experimentering. The long process to evalute and to finally understand a complex fragrance is definitly some of the features of this fascinating hobby. Midsummer 2018 will be remembered as when I finally understand Halfeti.

Let's have a great summer 2018, combining the holidays with evaluation of the fragrance wardrobe!

Styling with perfume

Picture: The frame for the perfumes of last week
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Styling the SOTD with suitable outfits and accessoires is almost a science, especially under timepressure which is the ordinary state in the early mornings during a working week. I have found a routine to tackle this "problem". Doing some planning in advance gives the opportunity to concentrate on the choice of  SOTD the following mornings. I'm not organized like this often, but sometimes I got the "flow". Here is an example from last week:

First of all I chose a theme for the SOTD:s for the coming week which in this case was autumnal + oriental + dark fragrances + classic. Then I chose the beckground, the canvas for the composition, black dresses in jersey or light woolblend qualities act as a dark, simple neutral background. As the everyday frame to the composition, I chose the reaible accessories pictured above: Mulberry Chester in textured goat, my favourite November - December Hermès cashmere-silk shawl Collections Imperiales in black with pattern in muted autumn and winter colours, the Freywille Attersee bangle, vintage rings in gold with pearls and cabochon amethysts and a simple strand of pearls. The olfactory brushstrokes which completed the composition for each workday were:

Monday - Dior Eau Sauvage not an oriental but on the verge of beeing heavy applied the basenotes with moss, amber and musk are more pronounced. Still with the golden citrus glimpses and dark green aromatic accord.

Tuesday - Guerlain Shalimar Edp what a pleasure to wear this classic I imagine Shalimar as auburn in colour. Elegant, special, comforting and warm. Timeless.

Wednesday - Penhaligon's Halfeti not a classic but a representative of the western oud trend: Loud peppery saffron, oud  and woody notes over somoother and pleasant accords of a very dark red rose, creamy amber and leather. Potent and radiating, lasts for days on textiles and also with traces on skin after more then one showering. If it had a colour: Darkest of red and black.

Thursday - Chanel Coco Edt spicy, soft, cosy, strong and radiating but still elegant. A contemporary classic. Just as Shalimar, a real pleasure to wear.

Friday - Burberry My Burberry Black I like Burberry fragrances, it seems as their DNA suits my skintype. This fragrance is deep, dark, fruity, boozy, smokey, balsamic in a such pleasant and warming way. It also lasts for days on my shawl.

End of report from my well organized perfume week.

Une Nuit de Bali - Suma Oriental, Mr Vetyver, Fleur des Fleurs

Une Nuit de Bali is a french fragranceline inspired from the plants, flowers, trees and natural substances of southern Asia.

Picture: Suma Oriental
Photo: PR Une Nuit de Bali (c)

Suma Oriental starts a tad too musky but this accord soon fades out in a bright sandalwoody and in the same time slight boozy accord. Later on Suma Oriental becomes darker, induced from a very well balanced patchouli which is supported by woody note and the sweet, powdery notes of tonkabeen. The light boozy impression remains also in the deeper and darker second part of the fragrance, a phase which is very comforting and long lasting. A good, easy to wear, woody oriental with classical vibes, there is something "Shalimar-ish" over it but not as complicated and without the sweet and animalic notes. Suma Oriental is my favorite in the line

Picture: Mr Vetyver
Photo: PR Une Nuit de Bali (c)

Mr Vetyver is a straight forward, masculine but IMO also unisex fragrance. In its first part Mr Vetyver smells like icecold dry vermuth. The chilly impression contiues when cold spicy notes appears, cardamon is dominating supported by herbal notes. There is also the musky note present in Suma Oriental which is more prominent and present duiring the whole dry down in Mr Vetyver. Maybe this musknote is a part of the house´s baseaccord. Worth to try for those who likes cold, white, boozy fragrances as Penhaligons' Juniper Sling and The Different Company De Bachmanov.

Picture: Picture: Fleur de Fleur
Photo: PR Une Nuit de Bali (c)

Fleur des Fleurs starts watery, like a floral light fruity bubble bath. The fruity notes are soft and airy, with a natural sweetness. There is also warm spicy notes, a light saffron is well blended with the flowesr and fruits. Warm, green notes, like tropical leaves balancing the fruits and flowers in a sunny, comforting and relaxing fragrance which is appropriate both for humid days in summer as to enlight during grey winterdays.Even if not smelling the same, Fleur des Fleurs reminds me of a contemporary interpretation of Balenciaga Michelle.

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the samples to test

5 Top Late Summer fragrances 2016

Photo: Late Summer 2016
Mr Parfumista (c)

The summer is in its final stage, after a cold and rainy week in the middle of August, the sun and warmth are back, as often when school and work starts again. When it coming to perfumechoices, this late summer is a bit confusing compared to my earlier middle/late summer cravings which were for dark and dense autumn/winter appropriate perfumes. This year it seems as I havn't any cravings for a particular fragrancecategory at all, everything goes. Wearing fresh and bright fragrances is common this late summer compared to earlier years. Below five choices from the latest weeks, both bright and dark ones.

Vent Vert (Pierre Balmain): The windy-green Vent Vert  is the archetype of a spring/early summer fragrance but even as good in August. I like the new and the older 1990:s version equal, this time I've worn the new version which smells less flowery and more tart and musky than the older version. A fragrance which receives compliments.

Les Colognes Néroli (Annick Goutal): A contemporary reworking of the classic Annick Goutal Néroli Edt. The cologne is a somehow oldfashioned but not dated, sopay, musky, bittergreeen, neroli with an outstanding longevity to be classified as Cologne. Probably this is due to the musk which is present in many contemporary fragrances which aspires as Colognestyled, for example the whole line of Atelier Cologne.

Cuir Garamante (Parfums MDCI): Mr Parfumista goes for some dark stuff and Cuir Garamante is perfect in the glowing, damp heat of the late summer. The late summer conditions are perfect for the intriguing dry down of CG:s dark leathery, boozy, dark woody accords. This fragrance shows different aspects in different wearings and there is still new twists to discover. CG is one of the very best in this genre, from what I have smelled so far, IMO the best.

As Sawira (Penhaligon's): As Sawira is deep and mysterious, featuring dark frutiy, floral and spicy notes over a gentle resin, amber and slight oudy base. Not the standard oud-saffron-rose accord even if all three of them are present. As Sawira blooms a gray day with high humidity and some rain.

Rose Ishtar (Rania J.): A dry, spicy, dark, tart and watery rose with glimpses of a mens cologne and some almost herbal aspects. Even if close to the skin, Rose Ishtar is an intense and very present fragrance. A very special rose.

Burberry - My Burberry

Picture: My Burberry
Photo: PR Burberry (c)

The latest Burberry release My Burberry, a creation by Francis Kurkdjian, is refering to the Burberry icon, the trenchcoat. The ribbon on the falcon is also in the same fabric as the trench.

My Burberry starts urban, flowery, like the smell of flowers struggeling in the asphalt jungle a rainy and chilly day ie the perfect condition to wear the Burberry, or when it comes to me, even better a John Partridge waxed coat. The metallic rose and freesia is skillfully contrasted with notes that reminds me of wet asphalt and fumes. The severe freshness of geranium is also glimpsing by. The blend is grounded in a clean patchouli in the high-tech contemporary  category and there is a pleasant, musky tartness dominating the base. I suppose musk is also in the basenote as the longevity is very good, up to 24 hours. The sillage is medium and is surrounding the wearer with a comforting but in the sametime interesting aura. Perfect for autumn but could be worn any season in any place.

My Burberry is not the typical Kurkdijan dense flower blend. This is sort of a powerful translucence, contemporary, artifical (in a good way) and high tech. Since all the IFRA restrictions many fragrances became transparant, fleeting and with inferior lastingpower. Now it seems as the transparent cathegory has received more strength and power. I guess (I'm no expert) it has do to with the technological development of fragrancecomponents due to restrictions.

Picture:  Cara Delevingne and Kate Moss
fronting My Burberry
Photo: PR Burberry (c)

There are notes/accords in My Burberry which reminds me about some other pleasant fragrances, both british by the way. The first one is another Burberry favorite Burberry Body (swe), with variations Body Edt and Body Tender Edt the metallic rose and the texture, from Penhaglions Vaara which is a spicy floral oriental blend, the special refreshing fruity-spicy quince-note. Compared to Burberry Body, My Burberry is easier to wear (but not less intresting), Body is sort of a more difficult character. I've to confess that I fell hard for My Burberry, the fragrance is very versatile and comforting, in tune with its time. My Burberry is ageless in style which is  consciously or unconsciously reflected  in the campaign featuring top models of two generations: Cara Delevingne and Kate Moss. One of the best releases of 2014 taken both mainstream and niche segments in consideration. This will be a contemporary classic.

Rating: 5

Notes: Sweet Pea, bergamot, mandarin, geranium, freesia, quince, rose, patchouli

Peonies

Picture Peonia Suffruticosa
Photo: Aberlin (cc) Wikipedia commons,
some rights reserved

Now it's the time when the wonderful., lush peonies starting to bloom and as a Perfumista I start longing for wearing the note. Peony is not a common soliflore in the world of fragrance and when it appears as the leading part it's almost always (just as most soliflores) backed up with another floral note, most common is rose. Below some peonies I've tested and like very much:

Picture: Vert Pivoine
Photo: PR Histoires de Parfums (c)

Vert Pivoine (Histoires de Parfums): Starts fizzy, dry, green and almost light peppery. Dries down to a lush, fullblown, almost in the first phase of withering, musky peony, supported by a rose and a contrasting  tart wellbalanced, berrynote. There is also an earthy note in the late drydown. Smells very good and feminine.

Picture: Peoneve
Photo: PR Penhaligon's (c)

Peoneve (Penhaligons): Another great smelling, feminine, lush peony, also supported by rose but the blend smells like lily of the valley is the second player. It's the lush peony contrasted with the green tangy, almost poisonous tartness of the LOTV.

Picture: Rose Pivoine
Photo: PR Parfums de Nicolaï (c)

Rose Pivoine (Parfums de Nicolaï): Here the rose and peony are acting on more equal themes, the peony doesn't take over the composition. The chamomille freshens and cooling the mix and the fruits smoothen the edges of the protagonists. A lighter and airier composition than the previous two.

Picture: Quel Amour
Photo: PR Annick Goutal (c)

Quel Amour! (Annick Goutal): Uplifting, sparkling, bubbly, slight green, peony/rose smoothed by peach and berries There is also a something contrasting, tart in the fragrance which creates a fresh and almost chilly feeling. Quel Amour is happiness in a bottle. The same lighter style as Rose Pivoine.

The fragrance of New Years Eve

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

As the winter here in the north is the warmest in decades and New Years Eve is more like a mid-autumn or mid-spring day in temprature the choice was also unusual for this day. Instead of a dark and heavy scent I chose a light and transparent fragrance, a sample that I unfortunately have forgotten for over six month but was reminded of when reading all the Best of 2013 lists: Marni (by Marni).

Marni definitly should be included in my Best of 2013 list (or maybe the 2012 if the releasedate on Fragrantica is correct), even if I discovered the last day. It's transparent but in the same time it has strength and lasts, it is both cold and warm in character, refreshing but also comforting and calming. A great mainstream fragrance, created by one of my favorite noses, Daniela Andrier which also created the first female classic of this century: Prada Infusion d'Iris.

The warmer spicy-incense part of Marni reminds me of the from the perfumecommunity surprisingly dissesd 2013 release Vaara from Penhaligons, a fragrance which I like very much. The colder aspects reminds me of one of the early "Noveau Chypres" Perles de Lalique, a more intense, deep and in the same time icy cold, rose-woody combo with characteristic pencilshavingnotes. The rose/incense/spices also reminds me of what Caron Parfum Sacre could be if it would appear in an Eau Fraiche variation. Very oddly a light and smoother trace of the "päronsplit"-note (swedish icecream, vanilla icecream covered with pear-ice, popular among children, more about htis see earlier post on Riktig Parfym) in Angelique Noir glimpses by. or maybe it's not that strange, A N is also created by Daniela Andrier.

A very wearable fragrance, easy to wear, comforting and a good officescent. Will be perfect for the coming spring and also for the winter if these tempratures stays.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, spices, rose, cardamon, cinnamon, vetiver, cedarwood, incense, patchouli

Mona di Orio - Les Nombres d'Or Violette Fumèe

Picture: Exquisite Pure New Wool fabrics
for traditional tailoring, PR picture stolen from
 Alfred Brown Worsted Mills UK, (c)
And, I want a suit/some suits in one or some of theese beauties :-)

Violette Fumée is a fragrance created by Mona di Orio specially for her businesspartner Jeroen Oude Sogtoen. Violette Fumée is created to feature the person Jeroen, who he is, his memories from the past and things he likes. Almost two years after the great perfumer Mona di Orio:s untimely death, Jeroen has released his personal fragrance in public and I think we could be grateful he did this move, because Violette Fumèe is a great fragrance, a fragrance I appreciate the more I smell it.

Violette Fumée starts with a slight herbal note, a note of a fresh but in the same time dark lavander supported with some bergamot fizz and green, leafy notes. After a while violets both flowers and the leaves appears. The violets are dark and woody-leafy in style, just as they are popping up under big old threes, deep in the forest, breaking through the carpet of old moldering leaves from last year. The violet flower stays during the whole dry down, in the middlenotes supported by subtle green, woody and rosy notes and in the base resins and woody notes together creates a slight sweet and smoky impression. In the middelnotes I can also recognize the typical "dust on a lighted bulb" note from Monas first fragrance Carnation but more subdued in Violette Fumée. Another characteristic for Violette Fumée is the dry, woolen-fabric quality of the fragrance, Violette Fumée evokes the feeling of visting the tailor who's measuring up an extraordinary wool-fabric for a suit. The tailor association is also strenghted by the fact that I can smell similarities with the most classic tailor fragrance ever: Knize Ten. The dry woolen note and the images of tailormade are similar and to me Violette Fumèe is a contemporary violet - dark herbal take on the classic leather Knize Ten. Another dry-woolen-tailor fragrance which comes to my mind when giving attention to the woolen fabricnote, is Penhaligons Sartorial.

Picture: Violette Fumée in its classical Mona di Orio
Champagne inspired bottle
Photo: PR Parfums Mona di Orio (c)

Violette Fumée is a unisex fragrance which in my opinon is leaning more to the masculine side. Maybe it has to do with skinchemistry but from testings in the House of Parfumista the test results is clear: Mr Parfumista wears this much better than myself which could be disappointing but the good news are: He is wearing Violette Fumée extremly well, just as well as Knize Ten, and indeed, I can live with experiencing this beautiful fragrance by proxy :-)

Rating: 5

Notes: Lavender, bergamot, oak moss, violet flowers, violet leaves, rose, vetiver, clary sage opoponax, myrrh, cashmeran

Fragrances of the week (36) 2013 - Fragrant thoughts

Picture: Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodphur,
the Maharaja resides in a part of it
Photo: Ss2107 (cc) Wikimedia Commons

Penhaglion's Vaara has received mixed reviews and some reviewers seems to be quite reserved when having an opinion about it, emphasize that it's a well made fragrance but on the other hand to mainstream-ordinary and not enough indian in style. Despite the doubts of others: I really like Vaara, it's a sort of airy and balmy oriental-floral, with a light rose-saffron combination which is pleasant and very wearable. I also don't find Vaara especially ordinary as the note of quince gives the fragrane an own character. Coriander also gives a sort of fresh, oriental vibe. I can imagine a scent like this wafting through a Maharajas palace and as the perfume is a tribute to the granddaugther of the Maharaja of  Marwar Jodphur, named Vaara, I find the creation credible. On the other hand, I havn't visited a Palace of a Maharaja so of course I don't know, just speculating.

Talking of Orientals: When I visited one of the major departmentstores the other day, some stylish spanishspeaking touristing ladies in their (I guess) sixties, passes by me. And what a wonderful scent trail they wafted: Deep and full spicy orientals, far away from the pale, fresh, meeky fragrances the swedish women wears, if not wearing shrill and overly sweet fruitchoulis of course. These ladies wore distinct, classy perfumes and I have to confess that I turned around and went after them for a short while just to inhale. This experience made me crave for wearing YSL Opium.

Last but definitly not least: One of the most intriguing releases this autumn is IMO Puredistance Black. For this fragrance no notes or fragrancefamily is disclosed, Puredistance just want us to enjoy and relax without so much analysis. As I love the Puredistance fragrances I really looking forward to test this and try to do at least some analysis, an interesting challenge.

Inflation

....i Bertrand Duchaufour? Som alla läsare av olika parfymbloggar säkert noterat så är Bertrand involverad i nästan hysteriskt många doftprojekt. Få se nu, direkt ur minnet: Husnäsa hos L'Artisan där han varit väldigt produktiv det (drygt) senaste året: Traversée du Bosphore, Nuit de Tubereuse, Al Oudh och Havna Vanille. Senaste nyheten är att han blivit husnäsa i det av far och dotter Ellena hittills dominerade The Different Company (TDC). Celine Ellena har tydligen börjat hos en av de större dofttillverkarna och pappa JCE har sedan flera år lämnat TDC för att vara Hermès husnäsa. Åter till inläggets huvudperson Bertrand Duchaufour som på kort tid gjort två dofter för Penhaligons Amaranthine och Sartorial, flera för Eau d'Italie som Pastum Rose och Baume au Dodge, men det var ett tag sedan så det samarbetet pågår nog inte längre. Dessutom har han skapat Frapins senaste doft 1697 liksom Parfums MDCI:s La Belle Helene och det för mig okända märket Marc Atlans Petite Mort.

Bertrand har gjort några av mina favoritdofter Dzongka, Pastum Rose och Nuit de Tubereuse men nu undrar jag var det bär hän. Vad är det som pågår, en slags mainstreamifiering av niche? Det verkar som flera hus nästan i panik anlitar det just nu säkert mest säljande namnet. Trygg investering visserligen men risken är förstås att, med den produktionstakten, dofterna kommer att likna varandra för mycket. Alltså precis det som gruppen doftnördar anklagar segmentet designerdofter för. Tydligen har, enligt vad jag har läst, La Belle Helene många likheter med Traversée du Bosphore. Och Bertrand, ska han månde snart gå i pension och mjölkar ur allt han kan ur sitt varumärke? Annars kan jag inte förstå att han faktiskt riskerar sitt namn på det här sättet.

Själv tror jag att jag håller mig ifrån Bertrands nya skapelser. Fast det kan och andra sidan vara kul att prova och se om mina teorier stämmer så det blir nog en och annan sniff ändå.