Ricardo Ramos Perfumes de Autor - YouTubers' Series

Ricardo Ramos is a fashion designer  based in Granada, Spain. He is working on the evaluation and art direction of the brand collaborating with  perfumer Jorge Lee on the formulation side. A mission for the brand is to " making use of classic fragrance ingredients from the ancient kingdom of the Al Andalous to recreate a fused olfactory universe that blends the Middle East and Mediterranean traditions, with an aim to bring perfume enthusiasts closer to the cultural legacy of the Al Andalus kingdom, where European perfumery started in early Middle Ages". 

Aside from a wide ranges of perfumes in the regular collection, Ricardo Ramos Perfumes de Autor also have released some special editions and last spring I had the pleasure of winning a Fragrantica draw of a travelset of the three perfumeextraits in the The YouTubers' Series which was released in 2022. Thank you Ricardo for your generousity. 

The trio  is inspired by three YoutTubers, of whom I actually don't know anything. That could be an avantage, just to focus on the scents  when writing down one's impressions. As the fragrances are extraits, a little lasts for long one has to be careful, not overapplying.

Pic: Interstellar Moka
Photo: PR Ricardo Ramos Perfumes de Autor (c)

Interstellar Moka: This is a very pleasant gourmand, with soft, rounded, fluffy, nutty, slight spicy, coca coffeeaccord . There is also something dark, thick, lurking underneath, this dark side has sort of a oily dark brown to black texture, but not an oily scent. Maybe this is the Interstellar, otherworld moment, the endless space. An advantage with Intersellar Moka, is that this gourmand is pleasant un -sweet, friendly and perfect for grey winterdays. Like warming in a fluffy, oversized, white mohairsweater.

Pic: BucanerO
Photo: PR Ricardo Ramos Perfumes de Autor (c)

BucanerO: A warm, sunny gourmand with tropical island wibes. A coconutty Tuberose glazed with booze, honey and tobacco is the focal point. The tuberose accord have something in common with Armani Prive Rouge Malachite  but BucanerO is thicker, rougher than the elegant Rouge Malachite, happy, casual and easygoing.  Compared to  Interstellar Moka, BucanerO is sweeter ,but the sweetness is not  overwhelming. The same spirit as Interstellar Moka but on the light, sunny happy side and just as the latter, perfect for grey winterdays. 

Pic: Chypre Molecular
Photo: PR Ricardo Ramos Perfumes de Autor (c)

Chypre Molecular:  My favourite of three, a very green, metallic, nuclear, contemporary chypre. Chypre Molecular starts with an accord resembling like green soapwater mixed the greenery of  bulbflowers, like hyachints that is just about to start rotting. In this stage Chypre Molecular reminds me of another green intriguing fragrance, BeauFort Fathom V. Not that they smell the same but somehow they mediate a similar mood where Fathom V is sort of rural, way darker and moisty as a mire compared to the urban  minimalistic bright greenery of Chypre Mocular. Even if the first accord is green, slight watery, it has some dry elements, it's the beginning of the dry, light spicyness of the perfume, an accord that's not present in Fathom V.

In the dry down a clean ozonic, clean metallic, mossy, light dry spicy accord occurs. In this stege Chypre Molecular reminds me of flying Concorde in the 90ies, the understated, clean cabin, the dim metallic glitter from the slim aircraft rushing in suprersonic speed almost on the border to space.

Chypre Molecular is a perfect fragrance for late winter and early spring, it's nuclear in proejction and longevity on skin, it has to be applied in maximum four spritzes to avoid an overdose.

In mood for tubereuse

Picture: My tuby companions
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Lately I've craving for tubereuse. It all started with my unsniffed purchase of Twilly d'Hermès, there where no tester in the airport tax free. As I trust Hermès, like Christine Nagels creations in general and tubereuse is one of the protagonists, Twilly was a safe bet. More about Twilly in a later post.

Twilly inspired me to rediscover the real deal and I started to wear some of my neglected tubereuse soliflores. Tubereuse is also the prefect flower for the transition from summer to early autumn, warm, embracing and calming.

In this post I'll compare the two tubereuse soliflores (or at least they're purports to be soliflores) I've worn the latest week: Annick Goutal Tubéreuse  (AGT) and Caron Tubéreuse (CT).

Both starts with an golden, warm, pollen/nectar flowery smell, in AGT this texture/impression is significantly amplified. The AGT smells like the greenery, the steam and some earth and grass from around the tubereuse plant is also blended in the juice. The AGT is robust, a bit harsh, like a wild, grassy, almost a bit oily, animalic and very natural smelling tubereuse. As character, it's the tough loner countryside tubereuse. Where AGT takes the rual path, CT domesticates to a polished, elegant tubereuse. CT has learned to interact and cooperate with some other white flowers as also juicy, soft fruits. Regardless of the companions, the tubereuse is the protagonist of the delicate bouquet and even if well mannered on the surface, the smell of nectar, rough greenery with an almost animalic touch, lurking in the depts and swirls up when least anticipated. CT is the ambiguous beauty of the posh salons.

Even if similarities from the characteristic notes of the tubereuse, the different characters of AGT and CT justifies to own them both. AGT is best suited for casual wearing and CT for professional or formal wearing.
And both are so beautiful, each in their own way.

Anatole Lebreton - L'Eau Scandaleause

Picture: L'eau Scandaleuse

Photo: PR Anatole Lebreton (c)

L'Eau Scandaleause is the second in the interesting perfumeline of Anatole Lebreton. L'Eau Scandaleuse starts with a dry, minimalistic, cold tubereuse not at all the big, lush, tropical varity, this is a windswept tubey of the north. The tubereuse is mingeling with a fresh, just tanned leather, with clear animalic, sort  of tart and tangy smell. The leather has not the rubbery, smokey structure as is common in many niche leathers, the leather in L'Eau Scandaleuse is clear, somehow clean and refreshing despite the animalic touch. On my skin the leather is the dominating note, well supported by the tubereuse. The interpretation of the leather is splendid, one of the most natural smelling leathernote I've experienced in a perfume. Every lover of leather perfumes has to test this one. L'Eau Scandaleuse is an excellent fragrance in the style and expression of Histoires de Parfums Tubereuse 3 Animale even if not smelling similar, the HdP is a warm immortelle tubereuse. The coldness of the leather reminds me of the almost stone-leather note of Etat Libre D'Orange Rien and the fluid coolness of Helmut Lang Cuiron in the old formula, havn't smelled the reissue.

L'Eau Scandaleuse is suitable to wear year around but not in the hottest day of the summer. It's an outdoor perfume, proper for the stable and riding out, with its powerful apperance. One has to be careful in applying before entering office. Longevity is, as all the Lebreton fragrances very good, about 24h and sillage is grand. L'Eau Scandaleuse is an amazing, intriguing perfume which triggers my imagination during the days of testing.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, peach, artemisia, tuberose, ylang-ylang, leather, castoreum, nagarmotha, oakmoss

Neela Vermeire Créations - Pichola

Picture: Panorama of Udaipur's Jag Mandir Island
 at Lake Pichola, Rajasthan, India
Photo: Sballal (cc) some rights reserved,
Wikimedia commons

Pichola is the latest release of the Parisbased perfumehouse Neela Vermeire Créations which has released some beautiful deep, multifacetted cntemporary orental styled perfumes in the later years. Pichola, as also the earlier perfumes from Neela, is created by masterperfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. Pichola is inspired by Lake Pichola which is situated in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Pichola starts sunny, lush, juicy, lemony fruity with hints of spices. It's as I imagine it would be resting in a palace garden on the shore of Lake Pichola, sipping a refreshing, cardamon flavoured tea on a sunny day, occasionally cooled with gusts of wind from the lake. The fruity notes and the cardamon is recognized from another of the Neelas  Bombay Bling. Soon the great white flowers tubereuse and orangeflowers joins the blend mixed with a velvet, smooth magnolia who amps up the lemony impression. The magnolia is very well balanced, it has no sharp edges or chemical hints as in for example the higher octave, cologneinspired Editions Parfums Frederic Malle Eau de Magnolia. The middlenotes forms a classical floral accord dominated by the tubereuse and orangeblossom which smells wonderful and very natural as also the supporting jasmine, ylang-ylang and rose. The floral accord is watery-airy, reminding of the smell and texure of the air just above the surface of the lake. Pichola is not at all dense or cloying and the light spices perfectly contrasts the heavy flowers. In the basenotes smooth woods appears, one of the wooden notes is driftwood which probably creates some of the airy and watery impression. 


Picture: The spirit of Pichola
Photo: PR Neela Vermeire Créations (c)

When enjoying Pichola classics as the soapy, tubereuse-spicy Balenciaga Michelle comes to my mind. Michelle is aldehydic, soapier and with just a hint of  fruity notes. Also a modern, highend, less cloying and garish Versace Blonde comes forward. In the basenotes I come to think of Dior Poison also a spicy, fruity and much darker tubereuse. Overall Pichola is not "picco", it's grand but not in the bomastic way as the 1980s floral orientals, It's a wellmade contemporary interpretation of this cathegory, with juicy and lush fruits paired with the right, light dose of spicecs, replaceing some of the almost cloying, heady flowery "old school" accords of the old ones.

Pichola is the perfect summer fragrance to those who likes some "body" in their warm weather frags. Of course also great for winter when loning for the sun. Could be worn in any occasions, except for sport. Longevity for a day with traces on skin the morning after, sillage medium.

Picture: The beautiful bottle of Pichola
Photo: PR Neela Vermeire Créations (c)

Of the Neela Vermeire Créations released so far, I think Pichola is the easiest to like for a wider audience. Therefore I predict it will be the bestseller of the line :-)
Those who likes fragrances such as Ramon Monegal Moonblom and Robert Piguet Mademoiselle Piguet will probably like the more complex Pichola too.

Rating: 5

Notes: Cardamom, cinnamon, saffron, juniper, magnolia, neroli oil, clementine, bergamot, orange blossom absolute, rose absolute, tuberose absolute, sambac jasmine, ylang-ylang, benzoin absolute, sandalwood , driftwood, Haiti vetiver

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

Ramon Monegal - Moonbloom

Picture: Moonflower before opening for the nightblooming
Photo: The Moonlight garden circle com (c)

Moonbloom  is created by spansh perfumer Ramon Monegal. Moonbloom is another Ramon Monegal exclusive for Bloomingdales in Dubai, see also Dubai Next To Me  for Bloomingdales in Dubai.

Moonbloom starts starts with sweet, creamy, white flowers where tuberose supported by orangeblossom dominates in a delicate mix,I don't know if there is any moonbloom within as I don't know how it's smelling. The opeing reminds me slightly of the old gem Versace Blonde, but more bright, clean and innocent. Moonbloom is quite linear in its construction and when Moonbloom has settled, it smells of sweet, honeyed white flowers inteacting with an light ambery smooth woody base during rest of its lifespan. The ambery, flowery aura of the fragrance, reminds me of the similar, but more classic in style, impression of Maison Nicolas de Barry Madame de Pompadour. Some darker passages are swirling up to the surface in the second part of the dry down, this passages remins me of the special almost inky rose, spieces, sandalwoody combination in Vero Profumos beautiful Rozy Edp. Another fragrance that comes to my mind is Robert Piguet Mademoiselle Piguet but without the pleasant slight decaying greenery accord of the latter

To summon up Moonbloom, it's not an original fragrance as there are many in the same thick, almost tropical white flower style.The archetype for this style is to me a fragrance as Annick Goutal Songes even if there of course where other before that one in this group. On the other hand Moonbloom is very beautiful  and very pleasant to wear, smells wonderful. Even the picky Mr Parfumista commented in a very postive way on Moonbloom, and thats not happen very often when I'm testing new fragrances.

Moonbloom is an easy to wear fragrance, perfect for most occasions and is the type of fragrance which blooms and unfolds as best a very warm summerday. Longevity is for a day when tested under spring conditions ca 10+ C, silage is medium.

Rating: 5

Notes: Havn't found any notepyramid but I guess tubereuse, orangeblossom, rose, sandalwood, amber, vanilla. musk  are involved

Le Galion - La Rose

Picture: Hever Castle rose garden and fountain, Kent, England
Photo: Graham Bould 2007, Wikipedia commons 

La Rose is another successful flowery re-creation (see the reviews of Tubereuse and Iris in January 2015) performed by Thomas Fontaine. The original is as usual when it comes to Le Galion, a Paul Vacher creation for his own house, a house that has been revived during 2014.

La Rose is a very juicy rose, warm and flowery like the smell of the petals in hot weather, one can imagine contempling in an english rosegarden a very warm summerday. There are no steams or green leaves from the roseplant in the mix. It starts sparkling and flowery, followed by smooth notes of cedarwood, nothing sharp or pencilshaving alike. Despite the cedar, La Rose is warm in texture and apperance, the more it dires down, the more it settles in a very pleasant creaminess. La Rose is also supported by other flowers and just as in Le Galion Iris, the lily is prominent to my nose. There are also a light fruity touch in La Rose. When La Rose has reached the musky, slight woody basenotes, a pleasant boozy notes appeares, the smell is as if whisky has been stored in rosewood barrels.

Picture: Le Galion La Rose
Photo: PR Le Galion (c)

Fragrances with similarities to La Rose when it comes to the woody part are Lalique Perles and Marni Marni, despite those are the complete opposites in their apperance, sharp, icy and cold as the winter. When it comes to the lush flower expression of La Rose, it is in the same style as Tubereuse and Iris, as the three fragrances has a similar background but featuring different flowers.

Rating: 4

Notes: Bergamot, violet leaves, rose, ylang-ylang, peach, water notes, lily; cedar, patchouli, vanilla, musk


Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample to try.

Midsummer (and some concerns about Caron)

Picture: Midsummerflower
Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

So here we are, already the magic summersolstice with the shortest night of the year i.e not dark at all, just more or less light outside. But when it comes to the temprature one could suspect it's the wintersolstice we are celebrating. Yesterday was the coldest Midsummereve in decades and perfumewise I felt to put on some spicy-woody YSL Opium instead of something traditional midsummer flowery or green grassy. It all came to a compromise, I chose a flower but not at light pretty summerflowery one.

Instead I went for a classical, dramatic, elegant and restrained soliflore, Caron Tubéreuse which has intrigued me lately, inspired from the great review on Suzannes Perfume Journal as well as a post on The Scented Salamander and the fact that I suspect (don't know from any official source) that Tubereuse is discontinued. At least as a fragrance widly avaible in a bottle and not only as an urn/fountain-extrait. Can't find it on the Caron website which is also the case with for example Bellodgia (there is a new release called Più Bellodgia) and I suppose the old, cranation dominated one is replaced with a new interpretation of the fragrance as last years regulations hardly affected the substances which creates the smell of carantion.

Definitly Caron Tubereuse should have more attention. It's not the bombastic, flowery, tuberose as Robert Piguet Fracas, nor the green, crisp, leafy, sunny tuberose as Frederic Malle Carnal Flower. Caron Tubereuse starts with a honeyed nectarnote like in Annick Goutal Tubereuse but not rounded and warm in texture as the latter. Caron Tubereuse on the contrary is cold, slight bitter-green and strangly enough at first dry but later dark-green slight mossy, a bit moisty in texture. It's a dark and restraind fragrance and even if not smelling close, I think Caron Tubereuse expressing a similar mood as Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Tubéreuse which is a lighter in texture tuberose compared to the Caron.

Vero Profumo - Mito Voile d'Extrait

Picture: The great swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson (1918-2005),
maybe the closest to a Diva we have had in this country of Jante. 
MitoVoile d'Extrait would have fit character as Birgit perfectly.
Photo: Gunnar Harnesk 1948, Wikimedia commons

The "Les Voile d'Extrait" sub-line from Swiss perfumer Vero Kern is another interpretation of Veros beuatiful perfumes and EDP:s Mito, Rubj, Kiki and Onda.  Just as the differences between the perfume and EDP line justifies owning both versions of the favorite, also the Voile Extrait versions are sufficiently different to justify owning also these. When it coems to Rubj, Kiki and Onda I think the Les Voiles d'Extraits are closer to the perfumes than to the EDP:s, the speical passionflower accord in the latter distinguishes the EDP:s of this three most from the perfume and the Les Voile d'Extrait-line. Mito EDP that is a later creation than the first three of the house is without this passionflowernote. But now to todays subject the stunning beauty Mito Voile d'Extrait.

Picture: The retrostyled bottle of
Mito Voile d'Extrait
Photo: PR Vero Profumo (c)

When Mito Vd'E starts the round, sunny,  fresh citrusy note of Mito is clearly present but not dominating as in Mito EDP. Instead a beautiful tubereusenote is taking the centerstage. The tubereuse is the varm, honeyed, nectarladen tubereusenote of Annick Goutal Tubereuse which smells like as I image the tubereuse flowers on the fiield during the day, exposed in the strong sunlight. Mito Vd'E is very feminine (whereas Mito EDP is more unisex) and voluptuous, a perfume for a Diva, but not the heavy diva as Fracas. Mito Vd'E is more transparent in texture and somehow a retro but  in the same time modern impression is achieved. The flowery notes which are present in the middle notes of Mito EDP for instance the magnolia are amplified in Mito Vd'E and the interaction of tubereuse and magnolia reminds me of another fragrance which combines these notes; Arquiste Flor y Canto even if the magnolia is more distinct in the latter and the combination is soapy, which is not the case with MitoVd'E. Compared to the original Mito EDP, Mito Vd'E is warmer and much more flowery, the original is a juicy citron, with distinct green and also some slight almost herbal notes and a moisty mossy base. The mossy base is also present in MitoVd'E but a bit smoother in character, or maybe just dazzled by the flowers. To compare the both Mitos: Mito EDP could be the daytime version and Mito Vd'E could be the evening/more festive version of the Mito theme.

Rating: 5

Notes: Citrus, galbanum, tubereuse, champaca, hyacinth, magnolia, peach, cypress, labdanum, moss, musk

Jardins d'Écrivains - Gigi

Picture: Gigi by Jardins d'Écrivans
Photo: PR Jardins d'Écrivains (c) 

Gigi is the other feminine floral in the literature and garden inspired fragranceline of the house of Jardins d'Écrivains. Gigi is inspired of La Belle Époque and Colettes novel Gigi, about a parisian girl groomed to be a courtesan by her grandmother.

Gigi starts with a sunny accord of orangeblossom, tubereuse and jasmin supported by some fresh greenery and a hint of a cocos note often recognized together with tubereuse, I think it's one facet of the flowers scent. Soon also a subdued fruity note appears which deepens the fragrance just a bit, but the transparant sparkling impression is still dominating. Further in the dry down an almost nailpolish like note (but not in the chemical way) appears but in a pleasant way. I think it's the black currant paired with the, in this stage, nondescript white flowers that creates this effect. The base is moderately woody-musky and supports the other notes in a in a harmonious way.

Moderate I think is the right way to describe Gigi. It's a nice and gentle without any strange passages, a typical IFRA/EU compliant floral fragrance of today. Gigi is not in the putty/powdery/soapy floral genre which is typical for the releases of the latest year, Gigi is clean, transparant, white floral. Unfortunately it seems as my skin almost eat Gigi, and even if there is clear traces left after a day of wearing, the fragrance ends up somehow bland for me. Even the other feminine Jardins d'Écrivains the cologne La Dame aux Camélias appears much clearer, is more distinct and creates images to me, than the Edp Gigi. Gigi is very officefriendly and easy to wear.

Those who likes fragrances like Prada Infusion de Tubereuse, the original Gianfranco Ferré (with the same name) and Ramón Monegal  Kiss My Name and Lovely Day, despite the three latter are way more distinctive and have more expressed personalities, I think also could appreciate Gigi.

Rating: 3

Notes: Freshly cut grass, orangeblossom, neroli, tubereuse, jasmin, blackcurrant, sandalwood,white musk

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample of  Gigi

Historiae - Bouquet du Trianon

Picture: Queen Marie Antoinette of France walking in the park of Trianon
with two of her children.Painting 1785 by Adolf Fredrik Werthmüller  (!751-1811)

Bouquet du Trianon is a floral woody fragrance created for Parfums Historiae by the famous nose Bertrand Duchaufour. Historiae are using a high precentage of natural fair traded esential oils in their fine fragrances.

When it comes to the inspiration to Bouquet du Trianon the story tells: "On August 15, 1774, King Louis XVI makes a wonderful gift to his wife Marie-Antoinette: "You love flowers, I have a bunch to offer you: the Petit Trianon." At Trianon Marie-Antoinette created a haven of intimacy that allowed her to escape the etiquette. She indulged her taste for countrystyle patterns and pastel colors."

Bouquet du Trianon starts with an airy and fizzy burst of greenry, some crisp flowers and most of all blackcurrant buds. The black currant is the mainplayer in the topnotes and is still clearly recognizable during the whole dry down. There is also a light, transparant, almost incenselike note that accompanying the blackcurrentnote, maybe the mint and beewax combined with the refined and smooth sandal- and cedarwood notes creates this effect. The flowers of the blend takes the centerstage somewhere in the middlenotes and are still present in the woody base. The dominating flower is a light, transparent and fizzy tubereuse, note meety and indolic, but wellbehaved and minimalistic. There is also something reminding of a pleasant, hard caramellnote. In the top- and in the beginning of the middlenotes Bouquet du Trianon seems to be a transparent version of another recent Bertrand Duchaufour creation dominated by blackcurrant: Enchanted Forest from The Vagabond Prince. It is easy to suspect that the two fragrances where created simultaneously a transparent one and a heavier one. Of the two I personally prefer Bouquet du Trianon as it blends much better with my skinchemistry. The critical Mr Parfumista complimented Bouquet du Trianon, thought there is some1980s vibe of the perfume and even found some similarities in its apperance and style, even if Bouquet du Trianon is lighter, with the great Montana Parfum d'Peau.Personally I also find some similarities with Grossmith Floral Veil and with the spirit of Golden Chypre from the same house.

Picture: Bouquet de Trianon Edt
Photo: PR Historiae (c)

Bouquet du Trianon is a perfect fragrance for officewearing, elegant and not disturbing. Despite it's transaprant character, the sillage is medium and the longevity is for almost 24h. To me Bouquet de Trianon is a very comfortable springscent, a real wristsniffer and I'm very enthusiastic about it.

Rating: 5

Notes: Lemon, bergamot, mandarin, galbanum, mint, freesia, blackcurrant bush leaf,  tuberose absolute, ylang ylang, beeswax absolute, rose, honeysuckle, vetiver, patchouli, amber, musk, sandalwood, cedarwood

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample to test

Guerlain Mahora and Mayotte - Quick comparison

Picture: Mahora in its special tropical styled bottle and box
Photo: PR Guerlain (c)

As wellknown among perfumenerds the warm and full tubereusedominated tropical flower Guerlain  Mayotte in the Parisienne line (bee-bottles with a ribbon on its neck) created 2006 by Jean-Paul  Guerlain is said to be the same (or almost the same) as the Y2K creation of Jean-Paul Guerlain Mahora in the regular line, I think it's discontinued since many years. As mentioned in an earlier post, I received a sample of Mayotte from fellow perfumeblogger Fragrantfanatic to compare with Mahora.

Picture: Mayotte in the Parisienne bottle
Photo: PR Guerlain (c)

Accomplish a side-by-side test of the two I can conclude they are not the same fragrance even if very close to eachother. I suspect that Mayotte is a "lightweight" further development of Mahora, a adjustment to the taste to smoother and more discrete perfumes during the later years.  Compared to Mayotte, Mahora is shrill and loud with some almost vegetale (on the verge to decaying) notes, more in the style of a 1980s perfume. Mayotte is smoother, fuller more discrete and elegant in apperance and therefore easier to wear, a comfortscent that could be used anytime. Wearing Mahora you have to be in the right mood. All in all: The two fragrances are so close that one just have to own one of them. Below I insert the comment from Fragrantfantic the other week as she nails it when she conveys her impressions:

"I did try the Mahora yesterday by itself and it is similar (as in containing the same notes) as Mayotte but it's definitely not the same. The beginning is harsher and trashier, a metallic note is more pronounced and I don't get any gardenia. The drydown is longer and very similar the heart of Mayotte. Next step is to wear them side by side, we'll see if I stick to my words by then :)"

Notes:

Mahora: Orange blossom, almond blossom, green accords, ylang-ylang, neroli, tuberose, jasmine, sandalwood, vanilla, vetiver 

Mayotte: Neroli, frangipani, tuberose, indian jasmine, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, vanilla, vetiver

Grossmith - Floral Veil

Picture: Queen Victoria in her weddingdress 1847
Painting by Franz Xavier Winterhalter (1805-1873)

Floral Veil is one of the four classy fragrances released in the Grossmith Black Label Collection so far. Floral Veil is created by another perfumer than the other three: Jean-Marie Santantonio.

Floral Veil starts with an accord somehow familiar to me, I recognize the scent from some fragrance in the past but haven't sorted out yet which on it could be. There are light and transparent green and citrus-fruity notes, not sweet but refreshing. The delicate flowers joins soon, they are smooth, transparent and seemless blended, the only flower that is detectable as an own note to me is the airy tubereuse, a tubereuse without is regular companion the orangeblossom. The beautiful sheer florals are supported by light, green and fresh notes, the geranium for instance doesn't reach its typical tarty green stage, it's subdued and just there to create an natural, green freshness.The musk is the note in the foreground in the basenotes but it's so well blended with warm amber and silky cashemrean woody notes that I don't think of it as a separate note. One fragrance that comes to my mind when testing Floral Veil is the first Gianfranco Ferré, named Gianfranco Ferré, from the 80s. As a fragrance from that bombastic decade it is of course much stronger and the tubereuse has much more body, even if light for that era. In comparisation Floral Veil is like a translucent fairy.

Floral Veil is really a perfect name for this creation. When wearing the fragrance, I almost feel the smoothness of a chiffong veil in weightless slik and I can image a young, romantic bride wearing this. Floral Veil is also the perfect first fragrane for a young girl, even if the creation is timeless and also could be worn with grace by a 90+ old lady also. Floral Veil is all about understated class and elegance, just perfect which on the other hand in the long run could be a bit dull, but that is certainly no problem for me as I almost never wears the same frag two days in a row. Floral Veil is the fragrance to reach for situations when the wearer needs confidence but when it's not when it is not appropriate to stand out from the context for example when  giving a presentation at the boardmeeting.

Rating: 4

Notes: Citruses, green notes, lemon, black currant, geranium, rose, ylang-ylang, tubereuse, vanilla orchid, musk, cashmeran (wood), amber

Thanks to Fragrances & Art for the sample to test.

Chanel Les Exclusifs – Gardenia

Picture: Gardenia thunbergia,
Source:Compton Herbarium, Kirstenbosch
Picture by Edith Struben, c 1915

Gardenia is another of the reinterpreted/reformulated Ernst Beaux classics from the 1920s in the Les Exclusifs Collection. The first version of gardenia was created in 1925. The Exclusives version is an Edt like all fragrances in the collection.

Gardenia starts with a blast of the smell of an elegant bath foam, a real bubbly bath. To me Gardenia smells transparent, in between light and dark pink, as a pink a bit viscous liquid. The bubble bath and pink liquid associations leads me to think of the transparent but viscous, pink, bubble bath tubereuse Michelle from Balenciaga but Michelle is stronger and bolder in it’s expression where Gardenia is more polite and unobtrusive. Gardenia, like all gardenia fragrances, is not the scent of gardenia as it can’t be extracted, but a interpretation of the perfumers, and probably also Coco’s, vision of her favourite flower. As the pink texture described, Gardenia to me is most about a delicate, medium sweet tubereuse, some other white flowers, some smooth fruit, some greenery and a contrasting, just a bit dirty, almost dry-furry note among the musky basenotes. 

Gardenia is a discrete, elegant, timeless Chanel fragrance, wearable in most situations, the year around. Blooms in summerheat and gives glimpses of a warmer season when worn during the colder months. Gardenia stays close to the skin and lasts for more than 12h.

Those who enjoy abstract, colder, tubereuse fragrances as  Mona di Orio Les Nombres d’Or Tubereuse  and L’Artisan Parfumeur Nuit de Tubereuse will probably like Chanel Gardenia.

Rating: 4

Notes: Orangeblossom, green notes, tubereuse, jasmine, gardenia, fruits, coconut, sandalwood, musk, vetiver, patchouli, vanilla

Tableau de Parfums (Andy Tauer) - Loretta

Picture: Loretta, the protagonist from the Brian Pera
"Womans Picture" movie Loretta

Loretta is a dark fruity floral oriental created by Andy Tauer for his line Tableau de Parfums. The parfumes in this line are created to match the characters in a serie of movies "Womans Picture" created by the filmmaker Brian Pera. Before Loretta the aldehydic Miriam has been released as also the very limited edition Dark Passage.

The story of the film is described as: "Loretta is a young woman who works as a maid at a motel. She is shy and withdrawn, but creates her own life in a fantasy world where she danced and falls in love with a man. She is sensual, sexy and seductive, but she has a secretive dark side."

Loretta starts with an accord dominated by sweet, almost jammy, dark ripe fruits where the plum is the prominent note. There are also  notes that reminds me of the scent of warm, dry and dusty leather accuented with a dry, dark and dusty touch of rose. As drying down, the dark plum takes even more the centerstage and further into the middlenotes the white flowers kicks in. First the orangeblossom dominates alterned by the tubereuse. The  farther in the dry down, the more the tubereuse becomes prominent to my nose. The tubereuse in Loretta is velvety, dark and thick, not transparent and light as a veil as in Jimmy Choo Flash reviewed earlier this week, the two fragrances are on the opposite sides on the scale. The tubereuse and the white flowers are sweetened by resins and by the dark jammy overripe plum even in the basenotes. There is also a hint of the typical  Andy Tauer labdanum-resin accord. 

Picture:Loretta in its unusual bottle.
Photo: PR  picture Tableau de Parfums

Loretta reminds me of fragrances like Rochas Femme (in swedish) with its dark plummy notes and dark flowers. The dusty and dry rose makes me think of Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Rose Etoile de Hollande as also the warm dusty note "dust on a lighted bulb" in Mona di Orio Carnation (short impressions in swedish). The dark, sweet, jammy notes of Loretta reminds me of another Tauer favorite Une Rose Vermeille (in swedish) a wonderful, sweet, bright lipstick red rose. To conclude, Loretta is a fragrance in the contemporary retro style, intriguing to wear, especially the earlier dry, dusty, plummy accords, comfortable but in the same time inspiring in the dark resinious basenotes. Loretta i suitable for the colder months but I'm convinced it will bloom beautiful also during warm and humid summerdays, as before and also after a thunderstorm.

Loretta is the perfect fragrance for those who like dark, mysterious and challenging flowers and as I'm among those, wearing Loretta was a real pleasure for me.

Rating: 5

Notes: Dark plum, fruit, aldehydes, rose, tubereuse, jasmine, orangeblossom, carnation, cinnamon, patchouli, ambergris, leather, sweetened orris root , woody/resinous notes, labdanum

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample of Loretta.

Jimmy Choo - Flash

Picture: Flash the latest Jimmy Choo release
Photo by Jimmy Choo (c)

As a longtime parfumista I shouldn't (of course) like Jimmy Choo latest fragrance Flash, but I have to confess, I really do like this mainstream release. Flash, created by experienced perfumer Christine Nagel, is a diluted and thin floral fragrance, so typical for a IFRA/EU compliant 2013 release even though, it has something appealing in its appearance. Maybe it's the contemporay interpreation of the cold white floral notes backed up by some light and spicy notes.

Flash starts flowery with a contemporary stripped down, cold tubereuse matched with a jasmine and a lily handled in the same way. The indolic, animalc notes are far away, and there is also no creamy aspects as for in example the lily dominated Baiser Volé from Cartier. Instead Flash has cold and clean and in the same time pleasant smelling flowers accentuated with a slight just recognizable note of frozen strawberries. The strawberrynote is not particular sweet, I percieve it as wellbalanced. Flash is quite linear in structure, but in the basenotes, some to the chilly impression, contrasing, light spicy, warmer notes appears as also a pleasant slight soapy note. Overall Flash is cold and the pale purple color of the juice is a perfect match to the feeling Flash intermediate: Its texture is like a pale, purple chiffon veil.

Flash is a very uplifting perfume, refreshing and even if pale, somehow distinctive. It's the perfect perfume for days when tired or even with a hang over. Flash is also a comfortable, non-offensive, office fragrance, versatile and a easy choice for days when not knowing what to wear. Flash will also be a good fragrance for spring. Despite Flash is representing the pale and almost bodyless structure of a modern mainstream, the longevity is almost 24h.

There is some similarities in style with the In the Garden of Good and Evil fragrances from ByKilian but Flash is more distinct, less fruity and maybe a bit sharper in edges but it definitly gives a greater value for the money. Another fragrance that strangely comes to my mind when wearing Flash in its basenotes is the transparant, smooth-spicy Rima XI from Carner Barcelona. It's probably the light spiciness just detectable in Flash that is the common link as also the chiffonlike texture of both frgrances even if the Rima XI veil is white where Flash is purple, Rima XI is not flowery at all to my nose. Those who like Prada Infusion deTubereuse could also like Flash.

Rating: 4 *)

*) Even if Flash doesn't reach a 5 rating in the overall assessement, Flash is a fragrance that I personally like very much regardless the overall rating

Notes: Strawberry, tangerine, pink pepper, tubereuse, jasmine, lily, heliothrope, white woods

Oscar de la Renta - Mi Corazon

Picture: Polianthes tuberosa (flowers), Plants of Hawaii
Photo: Attribution to Forest & Kim Starr (cc) Wikimedia Commons

Mi Corazon ia another nice flowery fragrance in the Oscar de la Renta Essential Luxuries-line. Mi Corazon is created to Oscar de la Rentas daugther Eliza, his heart, and will symbolize their shared interest for gardening and their mutual liking to the ylang-ylang flower.

To me Mi Corazon is a tubereuse dominated fragrance to that extent that I will classify it as a tubereusefragrance. Of course the other flowers are there, but more as supporters that lifts the star of the show, the tubey. Despite my writing about the tubereuse as the star of the show, the tubey of Mi Corazon is no indolic, Grand Diva a la Fracas. Instead the tubereuse is of the contemorary, sparkling, uplifting and clean version. Mi Corazon starts bright, sparkling and with the crispy light greenery that accompanies bulbflowers. In this stage Mi Corazon reminds me of the 80s bright, green and warm Gianfranco Ferré  (signature). The tubereuse is there from the start and it is present during the whole dry down. In its heart and base notes, Mi Corazon, get sweeter and deepens a bit with the caranation and ylang-ylang which adds an slight honeyed texture to the tubereuse. In the basenotes there is a passage that reminds me of a gentler interpretation the dark tubereusecentered blend of Ysatis by Givenchy. The overall impression of Mi Corazon is that it is a good example of a classical, clean floral that smells somehow natural, probably a sign of high quality ingredients and skillful composition.

Mi Corazon is a very wearable fragrance, perfect for work as there is absolutly nothing disturbing in it. Suitable year around. Even if spring and summer seems as the natural choice for a fragance like this, it's very comforting to wear in the winter as Mi Corazon is a warm fragrance even if containing these green, crispy, elements described above. To me Mi Corazon is a perfect, classy fragrance for a young girl, instead of the syntethic, musky, floral, fruitiness intended for this group from the marketing.

Those who like bright tubereuses like Kiss My Name from Ramon Monegal, La Divina Tubereuse from Antonio Visconti and  Un Air de Damas Tubereuse from Parfums Dorin will probably like Mi Corazon.

Rating: 4

Notes: Peach, narcissus absolute, carnation, tubereuse, ylang-ylang, cederwood

Robert Piguet - Petit Fracas

 The sparkling and flirtatious spirit of
Petit Fracas (Robert Piguet)
Picture: All Posters.com

Petit Fracas from one of my absolute favouritehouses, Robert Piguet, it seems as the RP fragrances gets very well with my skinchemistry, is created by the housenose Auerlien Guichard 2012. The Petit Fracas is meant to be the entry to the Grand Fracas, the Queen of tubereuses and it is said to be aimed to the younger generation. According to me, it suits all ages of those who likes a well crafted frutiy-floral.

Petit Fracas starts with sparkling fruity notes, dominated by the pear and contrasted by a cacao note. The cacao blended with especially the pear creates an impression of butterscotch. The pearnote is recognizable in another recent Robert Piguet fragrance, the sparkling tubereuse/white floral Douglas Hannant.  The gourmand impression of Petit Fracas is present already from the start and the cacao note is running through the whole fragance. It gently interacts with the notes of each stage, creating different gourmand impressions. As the name of the fragrance indicates, tubereuse is of course the star of Petit Fracas, even if the cacaonote comes close as the most important, contrasting note.

As Petit Fracas reach the heartnotes, the white flowers takes the command with the tubereuse as the leader of the team. The tubereuse is more sparkling and clean than the dark, dense and almost animalic version of it in Fracas The cacaonote in this stage, appears as more dry and less sweet as its performance in the topnotes. Petit Fracas in this stage, to my nose is more close to Douglas Hannant, (but DH lacks the gourmand notes as a clear floral fragance) than to Fracas. At least compared to my 10+ years old version of Fracas, I don't know if the current forumlation is weaker. The flowery gourmand accord developes beautifully when interacting with the warm sandalwood and the smooth, rounded musk of the base. The effect is almost creamy and there is very comfortable to wear Petit Fracas as it performs in its sweet, mouthwatering, delicious greatness for about 24 hours. Something in the texture of Petit Fracas later stages, reminds me of another great Piguet, Mademoiselle Piguet even if that one is centered around orangeblossom and also features some almost decaying vegetable notes, perfectly contrasted to the clean orange. Sillage is contemporary medium, not as bombastic as Fracas. To summerize: Petit Fracas is a real pleasure to wear and a good example that there are indeed good fruity-florals on the market. Something that parfumistas often tend to forget when discussing this taunted category of fragrance :-)

Madonnas Truth or Dare with its mashmallow note comes to my mind when it comes to the cacao - tubereuse combination in Petit Fracas. Both are gourmand tubereuses where Petit Fracas is the well-behaved and subtle, and Truth or Dare the bold and perky one. I also think that those how like the sweet beauty Tubereuse Couture by Parfumerie Generale will like Petit Fracas very much.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, mandarin, pear, tubereuse, jasmine, gardenia, musk, sandalwood, cacao

Ramón Monegal - Kiss My Name

Picture: Rose Champagne Bubbles

Photo by Gaetan Lee (CC-BY-2.0; CC-BY-2.5.)

Wikimedia commons some rights reserved

A fizzy, peppery tubereuse-boquet is how I percieve Ramón Monegals tubereusefragrance Kiss My Name. The initial accord reminds med of the light, sight green, tubereuse boquet of Gianfranco Ferre (the fragrance has the same name as the designer himself). But very soon a blast of light, fizzy pepper appears and takes control over the blend. This stage is close to the developement of Lovely Day and just as with that fragrance, reminds me of Un Jardin apres la Mousson by Hermès. The glimpse of something that reminds me of an almost melony note is also present in Kiss My Name as in both of the former fragrances. I don't know from which ingredient the peppery note comes from, probably there is some woody note that is not mentioned among the ingredients that produces it. To me Kiss My Name, just as Gianfranco Ferre is first of all a sort of casual-chic dry, green white flower boquet where tubereuse has a leading but not predominant role. As Kiss My Name dries down the tubereusenote gets clearer. It's a clean and nice tuby-note that never reaches the dangerous dirty, fleshy, almost putty in texture, territory. In the late drydown, Kiss My Name is very close to the fizzy,airy, peppery Un Matin d'Orage by Annick Goutal.

Kiss My Name wears well during a warm summerday and I think it's proper for daytime wear year around. As it is strong in concentration, light application is recommended. A nice, happy and easy to wear fragrance, nothing complicated even if well crafted as the whole Ramón Monegal-line.

Rating: 4
Notes: Tuberose, iris, jasmine, neroli, tolu balsam