BeuFort London - Fathom V

Picture: Paiting by Albert Bierstadt
(1830-1902)

Fathom V is one of the (to my nose) two "wearable" fragrances from the line of the niche house BeauFort London, the other is Lignum Vitae. The first three releases ( 1805 Tonnerre, Vi et Armis, Coeur de Noir) from the house are very intriguing but to my nose more of fragrance artworks or scent installations than perfumes which could be worn in public. More about the other BeauForts will follow in next week.

 Fathom V starts chilly, crispy, green with a smell similar to narcissus but a bit more flowery, lily is mentioned among the ingredients. There are also green coniferous elements, like fir and juniper. Soon also a cold, earthy smell emerges, like the just thawed earth in late winter/early spring. This accord is contrasted with a glimpse of an animalic note which slight resembles the smell of cat fur. After a while a windy element appears in Fathom V, it smells like someone is airing out an attic closet in an old house by the seaside during a cold, windy day early in the spring. Something in the concept/texture but not in smell reminds me of a outdoor variation of Parfumerie Generale L'Ombre Fauve. Further on in the drydown, the fog is rolling in over the cost from the open sea. Salty elements together with seaweeds and algaes appears in the blend, and later also a hearbal almost minty note, shows up, clearing the fragrance up from the fog. The salt and mint slightly reminds me of another Perfumerie Generale  Harmatan Noir and for the airy salty vibe also Laboratorio Olfattiva Salina but Salina is warm in texture. The icy cold and dry lily is present during the whole dry down of Fanthom V and as it settles, there is also a moisty, mossy element supporting the green herbal accord sweeping over the scent of  fresh soil.

Picture: Fathom V
Photo: PR BeauFort London (c)

Fathom V, like all the BeauForts, is very intriguing and creates vivid fantasies and pictures for the wearer, in this case more pleasant ones compared to the first fragrance trio. It's my favorite from the house and I really appreciate it's shifts in different moods and nuances. The fragrance is an outdoorfragrance in the same spirit, but not the same smell, as the also earthy, early in the spring/late in the winter, fragrance Onda from Vero Profumo. That even if Onda to my nose is describing this season in the inland and the scents of Fathom V is from the seaside.  Fathom V is unisex, maybe a tad more feminine because of the lily and that the herbal element isn't the typical, harsh aromatic type. Instead it's sort of soft and smooth herbal which is unusual and Fathom V therefore is wearable fougere for woman. The fragrance is perfect for daytime wearing in late winter and early spring but could be worn year around. Sillage is medium and longevity very good about 24h.

One of the best fragrances in 2016 IMO, if I had sampled it then, it would be among the top three.

Rating: 5

Notes: Juniper berries, tangerine, black currant, green notes, soil tincture, thyme, lily, jasmine, ylang-ylang, ginger, cumin, black pepper, mimosa, patchouli, vetiver, oakmoss, salt, incense, atlas cedar, amber

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample to review

Maria Candida Gentile - The Flight of the Bumblebee 1 (2) - Leucò, Kitrea and Syconium

Picture: The fresh Bumblebee Collection
Photo: PR Maria Candida Gentile (c)

Italian perfumer Maria Candida Gentile "Flight of the Bumblebee" trio, inspired from the beautiful music piece of Nikolaj Andreyevich Rimskij-Korsakov, uses honey as the common theme of the three fragrances. The fragrances are light and natural, ar also inspired from the beauty and simplicity of mother nature. All three parfumes are Edp:s and has a very good longevity but in the same time feels light and transparent in texture.

Leucò: Dominated by light spices, woody and white flowery elemtents over a musky base. It's fleeting without sharp edges. The honey is not dominating, it's a supporting note adding some warmth to the composition. In other words, there is nothing of the challening honey of Serge Lutens Miel de Bois. The more Leucò dries down, the more present is the tubereuse and the light peppery,woody slight musky basenotes, which even if smooth, take some of the natural impression away but this is not at all disturbing. Probably thanks to a skillful handling of the woody musky elements (the latter not mentioned in the notelist), the longevity is tremendous for such a light and transparent fragrance, on a scarf it could be recognized, unfragmented a week after testing. As Leucò is strong but has a light texture, one have to be careful and apply sparingly.

Rating: 4

Notes: Honey, cistus, lily, tubereuse, benzoin, pepper, frankincense

Picture: Porträt des Komponisten Nikolaj Andrejewitsch
Rimskij-Korsakow (1844-1908)
Painting by Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (1865-1911)
Wikimedia 

Kitrea: Kitrea is the most unusual in the trio. Starts light fruity-citrusy with mixed with salty seanotes which are very refreshing. There is a pleasant hint of woody sweetness in the salt, probably the effect of the grey amber which I suppose is the same as (syntetic) ambregris. Kitrea with its seaside, salty vibes reminds me of another MCG gem, the woody-aquatic  Finisterre but Kitera is a sweeter fragrance whit is natural feeling sweetness of honey and fresh fruits. The fresh fruits is nothing like the standard ultra sweet muddled accords of  many fruity-floral fragrances, the fruitiness of Kitrea is transparent, natural and cold-clear. Another salty fragrance which Kitrea reminds me of is Laboratorio Olfattivo Salina.  Just as Leucò,  Kitrea albeit citrusy, is strong in concentration but has a light texture. Therefore  one have to be careful when applying as a little goes for a day.

Rating: 5

Notes: Honey, lemon, bergamot, fresh fruit, grey amber


Thanks to Fragrance & Art of the samples to test

Parfums de Nicolaï - Musc Monoï

Picture: Musc Monoï
Photo: PR Parfums de Nicolaï (c)

In the current tidewave of new nichehouses with strange or copy-cat fragrances, I'm even more grteful for the old, stable houses in this genre. The 25 years jubilee Parfums de Nicolaï is a true mainstay, creating high quality, elegant and in the same time effortless fragrances which also often are innovative even if the PdN house doesn't make any fuss about it. Such a fragrance is the latest release, Musc Monoï,as usual created by Patricia herself.

Musc Monoï is said to be inspired by summer, beach and the suntan oil Ambre Solarie and as I havn't tried the oil, I can't refer to if Musc Monoï is close to it or not. But when I refer to suntan oils in general, Musc Monoï is not smelling as the regular, coconut, big tiare overdosed ones. Musc Monoï in comparison is restraind and casual chic in the same time it's warm and highlights the sweet ylang-ylang backed up with a deeper jasmine and is brightend of the flowery-lemony qualities of magnolia in a beautiful way. There is also something aldehydic in its style, like a carefree, tropical island Chanel No 5 Eau Premièrè. It could also be a bohemic-chic cousin (draped in a 140x140 Hermès parero) to the classic aldehyde Hermès Calèche personality.Probably it's the warmth, the yellowness and carefree apperance of both fragrances that gives me these assosciations
.

Picture: Hermès "Jungle Love",
cashmere and silk  (140x140)
Photo: PR Hermès (c)

After the flowery beginning, Musc Monoï reach a more musky stage which deepens the apperance of the flowers. I can smell a salty quality as also some stripped down, dry coconut and the same with the, in general almost narcotic, tiareflower. It's like a minimalistic, domesticated accord of the nut/tiare and here I for the first time can smell some light traces of a sunscreen of my childhood, Snik an old austrian classic (mostly worn during the winterholidays in the swedish mountains), sadly I havn't seen in the shops in this millennium. As Musc Monoï dries down further, a slight juicy, but not fruity, quality shows up. Probably this is the dreaded note of calone, handled in the right, cautious way. The musk in Musc Monoï is not dominating as a note, to my nose it's more of a carrier of the floral and light salty notes and the musk is probably the component that lends the good longevity to Musc Monoï, it lasts for almost a day, off beach.

When it comes to the salty notes, such sometimes could be almost intrusive, I'm thinking of Laboratorio Olfattive Salina which I think is a ok smelling fragrance but it has to be handled carefully as it has a grand sillage and longevity for days. Salty notes lightly done like in Musc Monoï or Parfumerie Générales perfect summerfragrance Bois Naufrage doesn't require such considerations when applying and is therefore relaxing and uncomplicated.

Musc Monoï is easy to like but not at all simple. It's definitly a charming campanion for summer and it could easily also be worn in the tiresome summerdays in the office.Musc Monoï is avaible in the (new) Nicolaï standardbottles 30 & 100 ml from the PdN website.

Rating: 4+

Notes: Neroli, lemon, petitgrain,  ylang-ylang, jasmine, coconut, calone, magnolia, ylang-ylang, sandalwood musk

Thanks to Parfums de Nicolï for the sample to test