Fragrances for Christmas 2015 2(2) - Nichefragrances

In the second post about fragrances which could attract especially in Christmastime some appropriate gems from the niche segment will be commented.

Picture: Un Crime Exotique
Photo: PR Parfumerie Générale (c)

Un Crime Exotique (Parfumerie Générale): This is similar to the traditional sweet mulled wine called Glögg which swedes are drinking the in Advent and during the Christmas holiday. Un Crime Exotique is not as sweet as Glögg, the fragrance smells like Glögg mixed with an refreshing the like for example Oolong.

Picture: Loretta
Photo: PR Tableau de Parfums (c)

Loretta (Tableau de Parfums): A dark fruity, spicy, slight dirty, animalic tuberose which compared to for example Marc Jacobs Decadence really is decadent. A fragrance in the classic dark, style of Rochas Femme. One of Andy Tauers best fragrances IMO.

Picture: Mon Numero 10
Photo: PR L'Artisan Parfumeur (c)

Mon Numero 10 (L'Artisan Parfumeur): This one is a sort of merged fragrance with traces from Christmas appropriate classics as Fendi (original), Coco (Chanel) and also Un Crime Exotique (above) + some incense. Embracing and comforting to wear in cold and grey weather.

Picture: M.O.U.S.S.E
Photo: PR Oliver & Co (c)

M.O.U.S.S.E (Oliver & Co): This is the most similar fragrance to mimic real clove that I've tested so far. A sort of fresh, airy but in the same time intense, almost cold, spicy fragrance. Some incense also seems to be involved in a supporting role.

Picture: Wazamba (new bottle)
Photo: PR Parfum d'Empire (c)

Wazamba (Parfum d'Empire): A warm, a bit sweet and spicy incense, not the traditional cold, midnight mass churchy type as Comme des Garcons Avignon which is also a beautiful fragrance suitable for Christmas.

L'Artisan Parfumeur - Mon Numero 10

Picture:  Cover of the pulp magazine Oriental Stories
(Spring 1932, vol. 2, no. 2)  featuring Scented Gardens by Dorothy Quick.Cover art by Margaret Brundage, Wikimedia commons

Mon Numero 10 is created by  the highly productive perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour for the well known, pioneer, nichehouse L'Artisan Parfumeur.

Mon Numero 10 starts with a very special accord which smell almost like stewed fruits in  liqueur. Soon a clean airy incenseote appears, similar to the clean incense in Andy Tauers Incense Extreme. The incense is followed by a very well mixed note of cedar which smells like smooth pencil shavings, the note of pencil shavings I sometimes percieve as too sharp. Leather is another note which slowly evolve and becoming clearer in the middle of Mon Numero 10 and together with the other notes the fragrance adopts an almost furry texture. From here on, Mon Numero 10 smells similar to the iconic Fendi  Femme (original) but thinner and sweeter, like a contemporary, slight gourmand adaption to the classical Fendi theme. I could also detect Chanel Coco. This pleasant phase goes on until the later stages where suddenly the sweet, cinnaber infused, glüwein accord found in Parfumerie Generale Un Crime Exotique appears.

Picture: L'Artisan Parfumeur Mon Numero 10
Photo: PR L'Artisan Parfumeur

Mon Numero 10 is a perfect oriental for fall and winter, comforting and with  interesting twists as described above. The longevity is good, for a day and with traces left the following morning, it's especially these remaining notes which are very close to Un Crime Exotique. As Mon Numero 10 appears as an intresting mix of other attractive perfumes it somehow feels like Duchaufour was not especially inspired when he composed this blend, it's like this fragrance was created by routine. Despite this Mon Numero 10 is a good, multifacetted and wearable oriental. If I had not been familiar with the other perfumes which I detect in this fragrance and also liked each of them better than the "merged" fragrance, I would have considered more than a sample of Mon Numero 10.

Rating: 4 (November 2014)

Rating: 5 (Re-rated in June 2015 as I liked No 10 even more when tested after the review. It turned to be a fragrance which I couldn't get out of my mind = FBW)

Notes: Fennel, bergamot, aldehydes, pink pepper, cardamon, cinnamon, cabreuva, leather, incense, rose, geranium, jasmine, cedar, musk, vanilla, benzoin, hyrax, heliotrophe, tonka been, styrax, ambregris

Thanks to Fragrance & Art  for the sample

Carner Barcelona - Rima XI

Picture: Meadow Elves (Ängsälvor), oil on canvas
by Nils Blommér 1850

Rima XI is a transparant spicy, floral, light gourmand perfume created by perfumer Sonia Constant for the Barcelonean nichehouse Carner Barcelona. Sonia Constant also created the powerful Cuirs for the house last year and with Rima XI she explores a quite different, lighter and more delicate style. The appearance of Rima XI lies in between Tardes and D600 by Carner Barcelona and closer to Tardes of the two.

Rima XI starts with an almost gourmand accord, similar to the bread and apricot acccord in Serge Lutens Jeux de Peau or the gourmand sandalaccord of Parfumerie Generale Praline de Santal, which to me is a Jeux de Peau follower. There is an almond, cardamon accord that shows up early in Rima X and which is more and less present during the dry down of the perfum. After a whlie, Rima XI suddenly evokes the olfactory image of a sort of sharper Bois Naufragé by Parfumerie Generale, the wood dried in the sun at the beach by the sea and the woody, sandy, slight salty nuances that emerges from this. After a while the sweet, gourmand, character appears again, like an almondcookie, it’s almost like the smell when sniffing in a cookie jar. There is also a discrete flowernote sneaking in to the blend.  This pastry impression remains during the whole development of Rima XI. There is not a oversweet impression, it’s surprisingly light and transparent and there is absolutly no risk that Rima XI will be overwhelming. The almondcookie seems to be offset by a note similar to spicy tea and this balances the fragrance in a delicate way. This accord reminds me of yet another Parfumerie Generale fragrance, Un Crime Exotique but tuned down multiple levels. As UCE is an extreme when it comes to “spieced beverages” inspirated perfumes, readers that dislike UCE should not fear trying Rima XI. As Rima XI is resting in the basenotes the impression still are flowers, almondcookies, spices and tea supported by woody notes.

Rima XI to me is a very versatile fragrance, contemporary in style despite its inspiration from a poem of the 19th Spanish poet G.A.Bécquer: “I am a dream, an impossible; vain ghost of mist and light; I am bodiless, I am untouchable; I cannot love you. – Oh, come, you come!”. IMHO this poem also could describe a the subtle precense of a beautiful perfume, like for instance Rima XI.

Rima XI is wearable year around and could be described as a comfortable and reliable parfume with a close sillage which makes it very officefriendly. The longevity is good. The spicy character, even if light, makes it suitable for daytime wearing during the upcoming Christmas just like another good fragrance for daytime Christmas fragrance, Aus Liebe Zum Duft No 1 (from the excellent german perfumeshop with the same name) which has similariteis in style with Rima XI but as a stronger and masculine alternative.

Rating: 4

Notes: Cardamom, black pepper, mint, saffron, cinnamon, nutmeg, jasmine, coriander, cedarwood, sandalwood, vanilla, benzoin, soft amber, musk

Parfumerie Générale - Un Crime Exotique

Bild: Blossas årgångsglögg 2005, hjortron

Foto: Dnor, Wikimedia Commons

Un Crime Exotique från Parfumerie Générale är den perfekta doften i juletid. Den inleder med en doft av glögg inklusive kryddorna i glöggen; kanel, kryddnejlika och pomerans. En torkad rosenbladskänsla à la potpurri lurar i bakgrunden men blir aldrig skrikig och för mycket. En lite plastigt blommig not som den i PG:s Psychotrope skymtar snabbt förbi och den lätt söta, juliga, dunkla kryddigheten finns i en mer skalad tolkning även i PG:s jasmindoft Drama Nuui. Lite senare inträder en not som jag känner igen som dominerande not i Givenchys Ysatis. Men i UCE är den snarare en bakgrundsnot och den är mer avrundad och diskret. När doften tonar ut bottnar den i doften av kryddat julthe. Det finns också en mycket lätt antiseptisk not. Basnotsfasen är väl balanserad och trivsam. Projektionen är ganska liten men doften är tät och hudnära. Den finns dessutom kvar ofragmenterad på huden efter en hel dag.

UCE är en säregen doft som är svår att förhålla sig till. Den står för sig själv och skiljer sig klart från mängden. Första gången jag provade den tyckte jag att den bara var för mycket, och jag doserade också för mycket. Sedan har jag lärt mig både att dosera och att uppskatta UCE, hur mycket får jag se när provet är slut. En perfekt julklapp om det visar sig att jag inte klarar mig.

Betyg: 5

Noter: Osmanthus, pepparkaka, the, kanel, stjärnanis, maté the, vanilj, socker, sandelträ

Juldofter - Gourmander

Den orientaliskt - gourmandiga gruppen har förstås en given plats vid frosseriets högtid som ju julen dessvärre också är. Här några:

Burberry Brit Red (Burberry): Har jag tjatat om många gånger på tidigare bloggar. Ingefära och en slags vaniljig brödighet och rabarber (vilket egentligen gör den mer höstlik) har den en julighet i hela sin uppenbarelse.

Un Crime Exotique (Parfumerie Generale): Den här är som att gå in i en julbutik, ingefära,kanel och annan kryddighet upplättad av te.Påminner mig också om glögg. Ingen personlig favorit men en speciell doft som onekligen har sin plats kalla vintrar, särskilt kring jul.

Angel (Thierry Mugler): Denna underbara gourmandernas gourmand med sin mörka choklad och patchoulli. Jag känner mig alltid i komfort i Angel (om jag inte är sjuk förstås). Vad kan passa bättre denna sötsakernas högtid!

Black Orchid (Tom Ford): BO är särskilt bra i toppnoterna där den åstadkommer ett bläckartat, svart - purpur-aktigt sammetslikt intryck. En slags torr, mystisk blommighet som samtidigt ger mig associationer till doften av en högkvalitativ päls. I mellan och basnoter är den bra men tyvärr mindre originell, påminner en del om Dior Addict i de senare stadierna. BO är kanske inte helt en gourmand men efterom den ger samma känsla som Angel så lägger jag den i gourmandgruppen