Maison Nicolas de Barry - Louis XV

Picture: Louis XV  (1710-1774)
Painting from 1730
  by Hyacinthe Riguad (1679-1743)
Wikipedia commons

Louis XV is the masculine counterpart to Madame de Pompadour also from Maison Nicolas de Barry reviewed earlier this week. Louis XV is created by Nicolas de Barry and Eddie Blanchet and part to the line inspired of historic royalties.

Louis XV starts with a sunny blast of sweet honeyed orangeblossom contrasted with the green and a tad bitter facetts of neroli. The opening is golden, as the rays of the sunset. As the fragrance developes, a classic bouquet of  flowers emerges and acts as a solid backgrund to the orange maintheme. The texture of the fragrance is as a smooth, silky golden velvet, suitable for a royal robe, worthy Louis XV himself. From the bouquet there are certain crispy green notes fleeting around in the blend, more or less noticeable as the flowery theme varies. Overall the composition has a citric tingeThe base is warm ambery, slight musky with just a small touch of soap. Louis XV is far from as ambery as Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV is a varitaion of the usual orange-/neroli theme and a much more straight forward white floral.

Louis XV is a very good orangeblossom interpretation, there is no harsh edges or artificial feeling. It's round and warm, very flowery, without the cologne texture common among many orangeblossom fragrances and also not as soapy as many of them. Louis XV to me is unisex and could be worn in most ordianry occasions, this is a fragrancs that adds everyday comfort and casual elegance. It also draws compliments. The sillage of Louis XV is medium and longevity not as great as the Madame P, Louis on my skin lasts for a day reapplied. This is strange as Annick Goutal Les Colognes Nèroli lasts for about a day without reapplication.

Picture: Louis XV
Photo: PR Maison Nicolas de Barry (c)

Fragrances that Louis XV reminds me of are Historiae Orangerie du Roy which is fresher and more colognestyled, Annick Goutal Neroli, which is thinner and less flowery, as well as it has some similarties with the more masculine, woody neroli Eau de Cardinal also from Maison Nicolas de Barry.

Rating: 4

Notes: Neroli, orange, roses, jasmine, violet, gardenia, hyacinth, daffodil, tubereuse, amber

Thanks to Fragrance & Art  for the sample to test

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