5 Autumn Fragrances 2017

Picture: Autumnleaves 2017
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Autumn is very rainy and quite warm this year. This weekend the sun was shining mauch and there was almost as late summer days. When it comes to fragrances, my choices are both "in between", transition fragrances or fragrances suitable for (almost) year around and some autumn/winter fragrances. And there are lot of Chanel I recognize when thinking of what I've worn lately.

Gabrielle (Chanel): The more I wear Gabrielle, the more I like it. This abstract, lightly glowing like an opal, restrained floral is an addicting fragrance. Gabriell is so easy and versatile to wear, attracting compliments and stay long on skin.

Twilly d'Hermès (Hermès): Ginger and a pale tuberose where the ginger is not too strong, it's just enough and adds a fizzy sparkle to the pale, watercolor tuberose. Twilly reminds me of a light outdoor variation of Vivienne Westwood Boudoir (the first version of it).

Coco Edt (Chanel): This one is of course for autumn and winter but is also a great transition fragrance. Warm, glowing like amber, with soft spicy notes where cinnamon most evident. A great spicy oriental, the Edt is more straightforward spicy than the Edp with it's more pronunced drak fruity and flowery notes.

1996 Inez & Vinoodh (Byredo): Light smooth leather over patchouli contrasted with the cold iris/violet and juniperberries that is very comforting and relaxing to wear. Perfect for grey, rainy days. Reminds me somehow slightly of the signature fragrance from Adrienne Vittadini.

Ambre Sauvage (Les Absolus Annick Goutal): A beautiful, dark, glowing amber. Like resting in front of the fireplace a dark and cold winterevening zipping on a good brandy or calvados. A clean an smooth amber contrasted by deep, black, patchouly.

Kerosene - Wood Haven

Picture: Wood from the Swedish forest.

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Wood Haven is created by John Pegg, the perfume reviewer that started his own house, Kerosene. Wood Haven is a fragrance in the a bit weird but tempting and in the same time “nice-to-wear” and “deja-vú”style that is typical for the house of Kerosene. The “deja-vú” feeling that is present with almost all Kerosense fragrances is both positive: I can recognize other frags that I like, sometimes several in one Kerosene composition as in the best of them all IMHO: Copper Skies. The negative part is that I feel a bit dissapointed, I mostly (but not always, a very wellconstructed and alternating frag close to another could be interesting anyway) get bored when a fragrance is too close or similar in style to another already existing fragrance.

Wood Haven starts with a grapefruitnote that I can recognize from one of the other woodinspired Kerosenes Santalum Slivers. A beautiful, mellow, sparkling, note of a yellow lemon glimpeses by, I wish this shining note would last more than just a short moment. Soon a dry grassy, green note appears, like long, wild, grass dried in the sun on a meadow. There is also a slight herbal tinge to the grassy note. After a while a slight moisty, vegetal accord arrives and balances the drieness. Some light, bright, light spicy and dry wood is present in a discrete and pleasant way, the smell recalls the smell of sun warmed bark on conifers. There is also a distinguishable note of vetiver present adding a slight, clean, earthy vibe to the barknote.

Wood Haven is a woody-fresh-grassy fragance, not woody-acquatic and not peppery-woody, which is enjoyable daytime, both for casual and work, year around.To me Wood Haven is a lighter and less distinctive version of L’Eau Guerriere by Parfumerie Generale, which is a more powerful fragrance in the fresh woody bark note category.

Rating: 3+

Notes: Bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, black pepper, pink peppercorns, juniper leaf, ginger root, vetiver, cedar, gaiac wood

Thanks to Fragrantfanatic  (Riktig Parfym) for the sample of Wood Haven to test

Kerosene – Fields of Rubus

Picture: The 'Barnet' raspberry, a hand-coloured engraving after a drawing by Augusta Innes Withers (1792-1869),
from the first volume of John Lindley's Pomological Magazine (1827-1828), Wikimedia commons.

The Kerosene Fields of Rubus starts with a great deja-vú when it comes to me: I smell the great, robust and almost dusty, Patchouli Antique by Les Néréides. The patchoulinote dominates the topnote but after a while, step by step, a jammy, berry, note is sneaking into the blend, rounding up the almost harsh patchouli. Another moment later, the berrynote developes and shows to be the note of fresh picked raspberrys, for a while the smell of raspberry smells very true. Maybe the applenote mentioned among the notes contributes to the sparkle of the raspberry, I can’t smell it like a separate part, but I somehow can image it in this stage. After a while the jam is there again and Fields of Rubus becomes sweeter and similar to a raspberry, jam, vanillic, dessert with cream. As the fragrance developes the patchouli withdraws and becomes a player in the backgrund. The patchouli contributes to the dark facets in the base of Fields of Rubus, smoothed by the vanilla and musk that together with a light woody note, balances the though patchoulinote.

Before sampling, reading from the notelist and sniffing the outside of the sample vial, I had a great hope that Fields of Rubus would be as awesome as the ambery Copper Skies my favourite from the Kerosene line, but it turned out to be a good but not stunning fragrance when worn by me. Fields of Rubus starts interesting with the robust Patchouli Antique like accord and the sparkling raspberry that occurs after a while. But as FoR dries down it somehow loses some of its identity and ends up as an ok but not special scent. I wish Fields of Rubus would have developed in the opposite way, ie that the topnotes would form the base and vice versa.

Fields of Rubus is a fragrance suitable for autumn and winter as it creates a comfortable and sweet, delicious mood for the wearer. The sillage is medium and the longevity is good.

Rating: 3

Notes: Raspberry, plum, apple, tobacco wood, musk, vanilla, sandalwood, cedar, patchouli

Thanks to Fragrantfanatic  (Riktig Parfym) for the sample of Field of Rubus to test

Montale – Gold Flowers

Picture: Polianthes tuberosa, 1816,

John Sims (1746-1799), Wikimedia commons

Montale Gold Flowers is one in the indefinite ranges of perfumes from the house of  Montale, created by the hyperproductive perfumer Pierre Montale some years ago. Gold Flowers belongs to the Edp line, which is the non-oud line of the house. Of course there are oudnotes in many of the blends in the Edp-line but the note is used as a woody note among others and not as the leading note of the creation as in the Oud-line.

In Gold Flowers I can’t detect any oud, Gold Flowers is a genuine, tuberose dominated spicy, bold flowery fragrance. Gold Flowers reminds me of at least three fragrances: Spellbound with it’s flowery spiciness, Fracas tuberose and the texture of the flowery, fruity chypre Jil Sander 4. But Gold Flowers is lighter, brighter and more contemporary than those three fragrances. As the fragrances of the early 90s has been one of the major trends in perfumery for some years, for example Burberry Body, Gold Flowers is quite in tune with time.

The sillage and longevity is great as almost always with the Montales. The composition is also well balanced. Gold Flowers is perfect for warming up a grey day in autumn- or winter but is also appropriate to summer as it last very well and has a certain transparency. With it’s character it is also suitable for evening wear. To summarize: Gold Flowers is not the most original composition but cozy and wearable spicy, tuby fragrance.

Rating: 4

Notes: Tuberose, pepper, clove, sandalwood, grey amber

Maître Parfumeur et Gantier - Tubéreuse

Picture: Polianthes tuberosa
Source: Wikimedia commons

The tuberose interpretation of Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Tubéreuse starts with topnotes that reminds me of powdery lipstick. The tuby-note are evident even if embedded in lipstick. As the top notes fades and the perfume reach it's heart, a more polished version of the typical dirty "stable-like" jasmine note of MPG matsterly interpreted in the MPG soliflore Jasmine, appears accompaning the tuberose. There are a lot of similarities between Jasmine and Tubéreuse but the latter is more well modulated and polished even if some skankiness lurking behind it's elegant exterior. The former is straight forward, it smells as it has just left the stable. In both Tubereuse and Jasmine the top-and mid-range are infused with green notes that accentuates that respective flower. The green notes are slightly harsh, galbanum comes in mind but without the typical crispiness of that stuff. Just as Jasmine, Tubéreuse is grounded in the special MPG musc that contribute to the retro-like impression of their fragrances.

To summon all up, MPG Tubéreuse is a green floral scent accented by tuberose although there is a hefty dose of jasmine too. The scent is not an equally distinct and compact tuberose frag such as Annick Goutals Tubéreuse or Frederic Malle Carnal Flower. As Tubereuse is not very powerful and it is almost percived as thin in the projection. But it fills its place as a retro scent with a clearly nostalgic vibe. Tubéreuse is an EDT that fits well  wearing during daytime especially for spring and summer. 

Rating: 4

Notes: Green notes, tuberose, jasmine, rose, musc, amber

Maître Parfumeur et Gantier - Fraiche Passiflore

 Picture: A great Passionflower 

Photo: Simon Rudolf (cc)

Wikimedia Commons, some rights reserved

Scroll down for an english version. This is from the unpublished archives, ca 2011.
Håll i er alla parfymsnobbar: MPG:s Fraiche Passiflore är något så hemskt som en fruity-floral! Men en hemskt trevlig fruity-floral och inte alls en sådan där generisk, klonad, massmarknadsprodukt som man normalt associerar med begreppet. Nej, Jean Laportes passionfruktsblommedoft med jasmin och persika har en helt annan klass. Det finns ju faktiskt fruktiga floraler som är jättebra, både bland niche och i designerdoftssortimentet. Frukt ihop med blomma blir precis lika bra ihop som tillexempel gräs och blomma bara parfymören komponerar med känsla och bra ingredienser används.

Så är fallet i Fraiche Passiflore som även om den inte tillhör MPG:s mer avancerade dofter i sin relativa enkelhet är riktigt originell, uppiggande och ger en viss spänning trots att den har rätt lite av den så för äldre MPG:s i bakgrunden lurande "skankynessen". Fraiche Passiflore inleds med en massiv dos persika och passionsfrukt. I det här stadiet är den nästan lite för söt men det går över när den MPG-gröna jasminen inträder och balanserar upp det hela. I den här fasen påminner passionsfruktnoten mycket om dito i Vero Kerns Edp-versionerna av Rubj, Kiki och Onda. Dessa tre dofter har genom adderandet av passionsnoten fått en gemensam aura som påminner om utstrålningen i Fraiche Passiflore. Även MPG:s egna fina Rose Muskissime har en mindre dos av passionsblomman, en not som uppenbarligen borde användas mer med hänsyn till de godingar till dofter som jag precis räknat upp. I FP:s notlista finns också spansk peppar, en not som jag inte känner direkt men säkert tar ut en del av sötman för i mellanregistret har FP stramat till sig. Sedan fortsätter den i samma stil ned i basen där den MPG typsiska lortmysken lurar men här i en ganska tvättad version. Dessutom finns en kittig not i basen. I basen påminner FP så otroligt om en doft som jag upplevt som liten, någons parfym eller någon hudcreme. Om FP skulle ges en färg så är den definitivt starkt orange för mig och den utstrålar glädje och värme.

Fraiche Passiflore är den perfekta, eleganta, fruity-floralen och den är som gjuten för cocktails ljumma sommarkvällar. Men den passar också för att pigga upp om vintern, faktum är att jag bar den ett par dagar före julafton, bland annat på årets mörkaste dag. Kanske en omedveten manifestation av att "nu vänder det". Men eftersom baksidan med FP är att den har en sämre hållbarhet under dagen än de flesta andra av mig testade MPG:s så passar den bättre på vintern eftersom dofterna inte radierar lika snabbt från bäraren i kyla som i värme.

Hold on all perfumesnobs: MPG's Fraiche Passiflore is something as awful as a fruity-floral! But a terribly nice fruity-floral, not one of those generic, cloned, mass-market products that's generally is associated with the fruity-floral concept. No, Jean Laportes passionflower brew with jasmine and peach has a completely different class and proof that there's really fruity florals which is very good both in the niche and the designer fragrance range. Fruit with flowers is just as well together such as grass and flowers. What's matter ist that the perfumer composes with a feeling, that the blend is balanced and good ingredients are used. And of course, that the production over the years is true to the original or if reformulatad, reformulation is done true of the spirit of the original.

In the case of Fraiche Passiflore, even if the fragrance does not belong to more sophisticated MPG blends, it in its relative simplicity, is quite original, refreshing and gives a certain exitement, although it has fairly small amount of the, in the background lurking skankinsess that is a sign of some of the earliest MPG's. Fraiche Passiflore begins with a massive dose of peach and passion fruit. At this stage it is almost a little too sweet but it will pass when the to MPG typical green jasmine enters and balances it all up. In this phase  the passionfruit note much resembles ditto in Vero Kern's EDP versions of Rubj, Kiki and Onda. In these three fragrances the addition of the passionflower note (and some other changes in the forumlas compared to the extraits) have lended them a aura reminiscent of the radiance of Fraiche Passiflore. Although MPG's own fine Rose Muskissime have a smaller dose of passion flower, a note that apparently should be used more seen in context to the fine fragrances I have listed. Among FP's notes also pimento is listed, I can't smell the note directly but surely it rounds out some of the sweetness because in  the midrange  FP has calmed down considerably. Then it continues in this style into the basenotes where the typical MPG dirty musk is waiting, but in FP in a rather cleaned version. There is also a putty note in the base. The base of FP  so incredible resembles a smell that I experienced as a child, probably someone's perfume or skin cream. If  FP would be given a color, it is definitely bright orange as I'm concerned. The whole fragrance also radiates joy and warmth, it's definitly a happy fragrance.

Fraiche Passiflore is the perfect, elegant, fruity-floral and it is perfect for drinking cocktails in balmy summer evenings. But it is also ideal to brighten up in the winter, I was as an example wearing FP at midwinter solstice, 21 December. And as FP:s longevity is not as good as most of the others MPG:s it's of course better to wear in winter as it stays longer in chilly air. But this doesn't stop me to enjoy FP during the summermonths either.

Rating: 4

Noter/notes: Persika, hallon, passionsfruktsblomma, spansk peppar, jasmin, mysk, sandelträ/ Peach, raspberries, passionfruitflower, pimento, jasmine, musk

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.