Ramón Monegal – Entre Naranjos

Picture: Citrus aurantium, (bitter orange "Orange de Seville")

Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid.

Photo: A.Barra (cc), Wikimedia Commons,

some rights reserved

Now it’s time to going on posting my impressions from my journey of discovery of the Ramón Monegal fragrances. Of course I should have introduced the house and the line by now but as my overall impression from what I have sniffed from the house is very positive, I can’t stop myself from testing and forward my impressions of the fragrances. But the hard facts will follow later J.

Entre Naranjos, between the oranges (trees?), is a name that matching this uplifting orange scent perfectly. The formula seems straight forward but for the sake not at all simple as the ingredients seems to be of a good quality and as in the RM fragrances tested so far, also well blended without any rough or sharp edges (except the neutronbomb Dry Wood). Entre Naranjos have similarities with the classic Hermès Eau de Cologne Orange Verte but as EDCOV is more about the orangeflowers EN is almost all about the oranges, the fresh fruits themselves, directly picked from the tree, peeled and eaten in it’s shadow. Despite the initial similarities, the fragrances then take different directions: Where EDCOV:s citrus accented orangeflowers rests on a cool, bright, mossy base, EN:s fruity orange goes darker and more oriental-woody in style, resting on a light peppery (cedar?), woody amber base. The patchouli is very well blended with the other ingredients and it’s not recognizable as a singular note, but it’s adding some chilly eartyness to the blend.  All in all: EN stirkes me as a sort of contemporary interpretaion of the orange-cologne theme of the Hermès classic.

EN to me seems to be a good year around cologne, during the colder season as a vitamin boost and a reminder of the sunny summer. It’s perfect for casual daytimewear and will not offend anybody in the office enviroment. EN is unisex in style even if some passages of it is leaning slight to the masculine side. The sillage is close, the longevity is relativly short, not the 24h + that I have experienced from some other RM fragrances. On the other hand as  EN is leaning towards the cologne style one can’t expect more.

To summon it all up: Entre Naranjos is a versatile, casual, orange-woody fragrance, not groundbreaking but a good choice for a basic contemporary alternative in the citrus section of the fragrance wardrobe.

Rating: 3

Notes: Orange blossom, bitter orange, petit grain, neroli, amber, patchouli

Ramón Monegal - Impossible Iris

Picture: The Impossible Iris personified

H.R.H Crownprincess Victoria of Sweden,

Photo: Mattias Edwall/Royal Court (c) 

The Impossible Iris, a creation of senior parfumer Ramón Monegal for his own house, which also bears his name, is all but impossible. It's a beautiful irisfragrance in which the perfumer manages to curb the sharp, rough, carrot-earthy notes that are present in the topnotes of almost every orris-root dominated perfume as in for example Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist or Heeley Iris de Nuit. The carrot is there but it's soft and rounded, in texture as cashmere. Another fragrance where I have percieved this sensation is in Naiviris the Pierre Guillaumes creation for his Huitième Art line. After a while the iris note in Impossible Iris get an almost buttery (the orris-butter?), but at the same time airy quality. Soon also an unexpected twist for such a pure, elegant creation like this appears: A red berry note, but handled in a way that supports and balances the cold iris, ther is no typical sweet, fruity-floral, vibes at all. The warm and almost powdery note of mimosa is also clearly present to balance out the iris. In this stage there is a powdery-cosmetic feel that is characteristic for elegant iris fragrances but in Impossible Iris it's tuned down and constitute one of all the interesting facets of this fragrance. The whole delicate blend rests on a light woody-cedar base, integrated in a seamless way with the rest of the ingredients.

Impossible Iris is high quality stuff, very versatile, it's the perfect officescent, a sort of first-class Prada Infusion d'Iris Edp replacement. Impossible Iris is also the perfect "lunch at some elegant restaurant fragrance" or something to wear at a day time reception, would be a perfect choise to our Crownprincess Victoria for the official celebrations of her 35th birthday today. If Impossible Iris is to be personified, Victoria is my choice. When wearing Impossible Iris another high quality iris comes to my mind, the XerJoff Irisss (review in swedish). Both these fragrances have the elegant, gently, airy quality but to me the orris root are more present in Impossible Iris whilst Irisss to my nose is more about the iris flower. Of the two IMHO Impossible Iris has more interesting twists whereas Irisss is more of a conventional, classical iris.

Even if Impossible Iris is easy to wear, the developement is interesting during the whole dry down, something that I demand from my favourite fragrances. The longevity is great, + 24 hours in warm, humid summer weather, a feature that is not common when it comes to fragrances with this smooth and gentle character. Often such fragrances falls apart and fade away, but not this incredible,beautiful (Im)possible Iris.

Rating: 5

Notes: Iris, mimose, raspberry, ylang-ylang, jasmine, cedar

Thanks to Ramón Monegal Parfums for getting the opportunity to sample this beauty. The Ramón Monegal Parfums are also avaible at Aus Liebe zum Duft .