Love Chanel - A side by side test of two Chanels

In my mind, I have thought of the Jaques Polge (former house pefumer of Chanel) creations Allure Sensuelle Edp (launched in 2005) and Coco Mademoiselle Edp (launched in 2001) as quite similar, always thinking of the other when wearing the other one. As I have to get clarity in this mystery, I've at last compared them side by side. Below my thoughts:

The similarity between the two is that they are on the same level of radiation, on the same stage on the fragrance notescale, both are somewhere between bright than dark even if containing heavy notes and accords. And of course, the elegant Chanel interpretation of patchouli is the core ingredient in both fragrances.

Picture: Chanel Allure Sensuelle Edp
Photo: PR Chanel (c)

Allure Sensuelle starts with radiant notes of spices and resins with an ambery, patchouli character. The texture is balsamic and almost like sweet rubber, I can imagine of a pink chewinggum. There are also glimpses of something resembeling menthol or nailpolish in Allure Sensuelle. The spicy notes are strict, well mannared and have an almost cold quality.  The ambery, spicy patchouli are accompanied with discrete flowers and dried fruits, everything very balanced and well behaved. When coming to Chanel oriental fragrances, the chilly, balanced and behaved  floral oriental  Allure Sensuelle contrasts to the warm, spicy and bombastic spicy oriental Coco (launched 1984). Compared to Coco Mademoiselle, Allure Sensuelle is sweeter and  more polished. It also feels more complicated, with some strange twists which gives the fragrance an overall more interesting drydown than Coco Mad.

Picture: Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Edp
Photo: PR Chanel (c)

Coco Mademoiselle starts with a contrasting orange/citrus and patchouli accord with elegant touches of bergamot. The heart of Coco Mad is classic florals interpreted in a clean, scaled down, contemporary way, there is no traces of a romantic floral bouquet or rural flower meadows. Coco Mad is a fragrance for urban life, a fragance which mingles well with asphalt and exhaust. The flowery heart is accompained by a musky patchouli, instead of the ambery patchouli in Allure Sensuelle, wrapped in light balsamic notes. The base of Coco Mad is the gold standard for the contemporary so called chypre, where patchouli blends became a different alternative to the banned oakmoss. Not in smelling the same, but to create a similar feeling. Compared to Allure Sensuelle, I find Coco Mad as lauder and more straight forward in its development, there are not the weired twists as in Allure Sensuelle. The patchouli is also more outstanding as single note in the basenotes of Coco Mad, in Allure Sensuelle the patch is more integrated with the amber and spices in the basenotes.

To summon up; two great classics where definitly Allure Sensuelle deserves more attention as an alternative to Coco Mad and Coco Mad doesn't need any attention as its one of the bestsellers, if not the bestseller of the 2000s.

Love Chanel

Picture: Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel
Photo from the blog The Encanted Manor

Chanel is a house with an aesthetics to love (just as Hermès). The chic aesthetics  also affects, or maybe more correct, inspires the fragrances from the house. The fragrances are well made and even if not in love with every subline, my craving for Chanel fragrances is enough to qualify Chanel as one of my favorite perfumehouses. I think many of the Chanels in the regular line is as good as Les Exclusifs, the difference is more in price and distribution, not the quality of the production.

I very much appreciate the aldehydic classics like No 5 in its difierent versions, as also the mossy citrus of Cristalle and the greenery of No 19 in the different interpretations of those classics. Also the modern classics as the incredible spicy oriental Coco and the not as much talked about gem Allure Sensuelle are favorites as also the mega hit, the contemporary fruity-floral chypre Coco Mademoiselle and its balsamic, spicy follower Coco Noir.

When it comes to Les Exclusifs there are also plenty to love. The green and clean woody vetiver Sycomore, the putty, slight dirty aldehyde No 22, the strange amberette No 18, the elegant flowers of Beige and best of them all the smooth, light flower touched, gunpowder leather of Cuir de Russie.

I'm now curious to try the new Gabrielle and find out if the new Chanel pillar fragrance will qualify among my favourites.

Histoires de Parfums - 1969 Parfum de Revolte

Picture: "Riverbank of Peach Blossoms (portion)", ink and colors on paper,

1642 - 1707, located at Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wikimedia commons

From a perfume named 1969 Parfum de Revolte one routinely expect a blend with a dominant patchouli, maybe something as Reminiscence Patchouli or the airier Etro-version Patchouly. The 1969 Parfum de Revolte, created by the houses founder the perfumer Gerald Ghislain is anyting but this: Parfume de Revolte is a fruity, slight floral dessert-like gourmand creation, and there is indeed some patchouli very well blended among the ingredients.

1969 Parfum de Revolte starts with a wonderful peachy, rosy accord supported by a note that I percieve as freesia, which is not mentioned among the notes. The peachy note is somehow not especially sweet, it's not jammy instead it's more like the fresh ripe fruit. The peach note is present during the whole dry down but reduces in extent in the middle- and basenotes.There is also an  indefinite almost dense flower-iness which complements the peach very well. In the middle/base a patchouli which highlights the dark chocolate aspect of the note shines through. But the patchoulinote is cleverly interwowen in the blend as it never takes over the fragrance, just supports with it's darkness. In this stage some soft spices and a dark coffenote also appears, perfectly matching the patch. Everything is backed up by a soft musk. In the late middlennotes/early basenotes there is an accord as I percive as true aldehydic, there is something in common, not exactly in smell but in appearance, with Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche.

1969 Parfum de Revolte is another beautiful and artful composition from the quality house of HdP. This is not the ordinary, screechy, chemical, fruity-floral, this is a delightful, credible fruitiness. It's an unsual blend and I for once have hard to find other scents that I think it resembles. The opening peach have some similarities with Parfums MDCI Peche Cardinal despite PC also has a plumnote in it's top and I percieve 1969 as a cleaner peach but not as airy as the springlike By Kilian Flower of Immortality.

1969 Parfum de Revolte is a good fragrance for evening but I also think it's proper to wear at daytime during the cold and grey months in fall and winter. The fragrance has a great longevity and remains almost unfragmented until the next morning.

Rating: 5

Notes: Peach, rose, white flowers, caramon, clove, patchouli, coffe, chocolate, musk

Histoires de Parfums - 1740 Marquis de Sade

Picture: Portrait of Donatien Alphonse de Sade, "Marquis de Sade" (1740-1814).

The drawing dates to 1760, when the Sade was nearly 20 years old. Drawing by

Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo, Wikimedia commons

This review was hidden in the archives, written in ca 2012.
1740 Marquis de Sade from the for me rediscovered house of Histoires de Parfums, tested fragrances from the house cirka two years ago but it's this year I really have started to appreciate it's sometime serious and "difficult" creations. 1740 Marquis de Sade definitly belongs to the difficult category. Originally  created year 2000 by Sylvie Joudet and as I understand updated by Gérald Ghislain in 2008 it is classified as masculine but as containing some sweetness there is also women that appreciate 1740 and I will classify it as unisex but leaning to the masculine side.

1740 Marquis de Sade is a very wellblended and multifacetted fragrance on the woody-oriental-herbal-leathery theme. It's starts with boozy, slight sweet notes from the davana (artemisia) which is said to, as an ingredient, developes different on different skintypes and therefore transforms a scent to be (to some extent) personal to the wearer. There are also hints of immortelle (even if not mentioned among the ingredients) in this part of 1740. When the boozy top fades away a dray, dark chocolate note, probably a finetuned patcholuli, accented withe a minty tune, appears. There is also a pleseant spicyness from corianer and caradmom even if some dirty notes are shining through now and then. Later on, immortelle, typical housnote in several HdP creation shows up again togheter with a discrete leathernote, the woody pepper of cedar and resins, which creates a resinous and longlasting base.

1740 Marquis de Sade is very pontent and a low dose is needed to avoid smelling of an old grumpy man as Mr Parfumista accused me to do when I spritzed too much. To me four spritz is the maximum to let this well blended juice flourish. Whitin each stage of it's slow and gradually drydown, many things are happening and there is as eache of the top, middle respecitve basenotes represents an own perfume within the whole fragrance ie there is three different fragrances of the same theme whitin the 1740 Marquis de Sade. The developement is very interesting and precipitates out different by different wearings. It's not a flattering scent and as it takes some wearings to understand and appreciate 1740, it is important to don't dismissing it by the first wearing. Associations to Marquis de Sade? Not so many as 1740 reminds me of a distingued, well-behaved gentleman living in a manorhouse in the english countryside, a 19th century gentry. Maybe the chocolate note associate to de Sade as I read somewhere that he was a chocoholic. The leathernote is to gentle and polite to be associated by the games of de Sade.

Other fragrances that is partly similar to 1740 Marquis de Sade is L'Oiseau de Nuit by Parfumerie Générale especially when it comes to the sweet and boozy davananote. Also, but to a lesser extent , some of the skankiness from L'Ombre Fauve from the same house is present in 1740 Marquis de Sade.

When rating 1740 Marquis de Sade I weighs together that the wellcrafted blend (5) doesn't precipitate in the best way on me, it's a tad to masculine (3) which makes a:

Rating: 4

Notes: Artemisia  (davana), bergamot, patchouli, coriander, cardamom, cedar, labdanum, leather, elemi resin

6 Fragrances for Summer 2017

Picture: Clover 2017
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Soon already in the late days of summer 2017, time for a list of perfumes I like for summer. And not just for this summer but for summers in general.

Reverie au Jardin (Tauer): This is imo a neglected fragrance from Swiss perfume meastro Andy Tauers earlier creations, worn by me for about ten summers now. Seems simple but is in the same time clever in construction: Lavender, greenery like clove, an outdoor, green incense and probably a woody violetnote as Mr Parfumista associates to Dior Farenheit when I'm wearing Reverie au Jardin.

Eau d'Orange Verte (Hermes): What more to say after decades with this tangy, green, bitterorange elegant "fresh" brew grounded in moss, than: A masterpiece, the best and most versatile Cologne ever.

Verveine (Heeley): Round, full, like what I imagine a green full moon in dark August would look like if such should exist. A sort of grassy-fruity green scent with what I percive as a figgy-woody accord. Delicious for summer.

Mon Patchouly (Ramon Monegal): Dark, earthy patch in some interpretations is refreshing for middle and late summerdays. Mon Patchouly is a delicious but non-sweet take on patch with its powdery, dry powdery cocabeenfacetts.

Coton Egyptien (Phaedon): Ultra blue skies over sunbathed dunes, a loose shirt in a light, almost transparent, white, crisp egyptian cotton. The fragrance is green like grass, with a clean accord which smells almost like a green, dry, laundry detergent.

Musk Samarkand (Les Neréidés): A clean, robust white musk with something slight dirty lurking in its depts. No detergent and refreshing as a chilly summer breeze a hot sunny day. Reminds me of a budget alternative (but just as good as) to the new interpretation of Parfumerie Generales old Musc Maori 04: Le Musk et la Peau 4.1. My bottle of Musk Samarkand is an earlier version, the bottle with the bookmark angels on the sticker.

Carner Barcelona - Sweet William (Floral Collection)

Picture: Sweet William
Photo: PR Carner Barcelona (c)

Sweet William is Carner Barcelonas modern interpretation of the old-fashioned fragrance floral concept of carnation. Perfumer is Rodrigo Flores-Roux.

Sweet Williams starts very attractive, like a light, fresh, dry, almost ozonic carantion, as wild carnations in a field a sunny and windy day. The texture is of paper. Even if bright and high in the octaves of the fragrancescale, Sweet William is not shrill or annoying. There is nothing of the traditional dense and dark carnationfragrance, heavy supported with clove. Anyway, there is a touch of spice in Sweet William, but light and sparkling from the wellbalanced harmony of white pepper and cardamon. After the topnotes, Sweet William becomes less papery in etxture and a pleasant tangy, slight leafy note with sort of clean earthy glimpses, appears, maybe hints of the tobbaccoflower. This gives the fragrance a deeper contrast and the pleasant tangy accord is the mainplayer together with the clean carnation for the rest of Sweet Williams drydown. There is also a touch of something that reminds me of a natural smelling pearnote, not the chemical cloying version, and also some light woody rosy touches are also present. The base is light ambery together with sort of a clean resin note.

When comparing to the classics, Sweet William could be the modern Caron Bellodgia in Edt version, it has the same light and tonality even if Bellodgia is spicier and if it has a colour, I imagine Bellodgia as orange and Sweet William as bright red. Oeillet Sauvage from L'Artisan Parfumeur in current version, has similarities with Sweet William with the fresh, light, bright and almost sparkling opening and in the overall light and airy impression. Etro Dihantus also comes to my mind when it comes to the light and bright style.

Sweet William is a pleasant, mostly linear, versatile, non-complicated carnationfragrance which is not as challenging or demanding as classic carnationfragrances. It's very easy to wear and it's a carnation for summer and daytime wearing. Sillage is close and longevity for a day. The most unisex of the three fragrances in the Floral Collection even if leaning slight to the feminine side.

Rating: 4

Notes: White pepper, cardamom. cinnamon bark, galangal, dianthus, ylang-ylang, rose water, tobaccoflower, ambrarome, iris, styrax, vanilla

Carner Barcelona - Besos (Floral Collection)

Picture: Besos
Photo: PR Carner Barcelona (c)

Besos (kisses) is my second try of the Floral Collection from Carner Barcelona, a house which fragranceline IMO is versatile and contemporaty in style, fragrances which cheer up in the everyday living. Besos is created by perfumer Shyamala Maisondieu.

Besos starts fresh, sparkling, moisty, musky with a hint of a flowery orangenote, probably the mandarine. Besos has a putty texture, and the colour (if Besos had a colour) I percieve as light grey. I come to think of fragrances as for example Chanel 1932 when it comes to texture and aura of the fragrance. Soon clean spicy elements occours, probably the pepper, a very well handled pepper, there is no traces of the pepper overdose which is persent in many fragrances especially in the "pour homme" section of the market. The white, musky tonality is present throughout the fragrance and the musk is inteacting and highlights other notable notes of  the fragrance for example a white, light spicy jasmine which comes me to think of a crisp minimalist, summervariation of the spicy jasmine in The Different Company Jasmin de Nuit. Iris contributing with a cold slight earthy note which moderating the most flowery aspects of the jasmine. Besos over all is a linear fragrance from and smelling almost the same the whole journey, a light note of resin renders a smooth quality to the musky base.

Besos is a comfortable, easy to wear, contemporary styled flower fragrance. If I didn't know it's a part of the Floral Collection I wouldn't think of besos as a floral fragrance, I would think about it as an musky, light spicy fragrance with some restrained flowery elements. Even if not a luminous bouquet, I think of Besos as a feminine fragrance even if suitable for men to. Besos is suitable for daytime wearing, both for work and casual, escpecially for the warmer months. Sillage is medium and longevity good, traces are present after 24h.

Rating: 4

Notes: Mandarin, black pepper, jasmine sambac, iris, benzioin, vanilla, musk

Carner Barcelona - Latin Lover (Floral Collection)

Picture: Latin Lover
Photo: PR Carner Barcelona (c)

For summer 2017 catalonian nichehouse Carner Barcelona introduces the Floral Collection which is in the opposite style compared to the excellent Black Collection of last year. The Floral Collection presented in stylish white bottles vs the Black Collection in stylish black ones. First out for test from the florals is the wristsniffer Latin Lover created by perfumer Jordy Fernandez.

Latin Lover strats with a burst of beautiful a tad watery flowers, dominated by magnolia sweetened by ylang-ylang. Magnolia usually is a bit tricky note for me as it could be almost harsh and sour to my nose. But balancing with ylang-ylang obviously is the trick, the magnolia blooms beautiful. Later on a clean, flowery jasmine and a detactable also flowery (not powdery lipsticknote), violet steps forward and add a certain elegance to the perfume. The bouquet is grounded in a just enough musky base with some contrasting, almost dark, a bit moisty, earthy elemets, probably the patchouli. The dark of Latin Lover is like sitting in the shadow of a pinetree near the sea a hot summerday. There is something familiar with Latin Lover and after a days wearing I know: It smells similar to Lalique Edp by Lalique but less sweet and fruity. Other fragrances I come to think of (even if not smelling the same but the same feeling/style) when wearing Latin Lover are Puredistance WHITE, By Kilian Water Calligraphy and Amouage Honour Woman.

Latin Lover is a happy fragrance which is a pleasure to wear, perfect for a mediterranean summerevening or just to cheer up a summerday which is spent in the office. The longevity is for at least a day and sillage is medium. Classified as unisex but to my nose lending to the feminine side. After my acquaintance with Latin Lover I have high hopes for the other two in the Floral Collection, Besos and Sweet William. Reviews will follow.

Rating: 5

Notes: Bergamot, ylang-ylang, violet, jasmine sambac, narcissus, benzoin, patchouli, musk

Eau D'Italie - Rosa Greta

Picture: The imagined colour of Rosa Greta
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Rosa Greta is a tribute to the timelessy beautiful Greta Garbo, created by perfumer Fabrice Pellegrain for italian stylish nichehouse Eau D'Italie. Eau D'Italie describes the inspiration of the fragrance as "In 1938 Greta Garbo suddenly vanished from Hollywood.  Later the paparazzi discovered her secret hideaway: a stunning villa in Ravello on the Amalfi Coast, overlooking the blue of the Mediterranean, its gardens fragrant with blooming clusters of the famous Ravello Rose.  The divine Garbo shone again all her light, having lived moments of secret happiness with her new lover.  To this tale of love and life we have dedicated Rosa Greta."

Rosa Greta starts true rosy combined with slight herbal tea notes similar to example Bvlgari Eau Parfumeé au Thé Blanc. This accord creates an almost ozonic, outdoor, by the sea accord and I can imagine bright, light red, crispy roses in an elegant Amalficostgarden. The litchi is not apperant as a detectable note by itself, probably it is there to balance the harsh aspect of the teanote and to highlight the fruity notes of the rose. The rose is very clean an natural (as Garbo herself) and it's present in that shape during the whole drydown of Rosa Greta. Somewhere in the first part of the fragrance, I can smell an element one of my favorite Eau D'Italie Un Bateau pour Capri, an element that somehow reminds me of the mediterranean air and sea from a distance, not the smell directly on the beach. The cedarnote is also bright and clean, underscored by the ambrox which gives Rosa Greta a bright radiance and a longevity for more than a day even if its a light, daytime rose in style. It's a uncomplicated, contemporary rose, very versatile and enjoyable to wear, especially for summertime. It's the counterpart rose to the dark, complicated, mysterious Eau D'Italie Pasteum Rose another favourite from the line. Rosa Greta appears a bit different in different wearings. Mostly i appears as the clean, sea-air-ish rose as described here, but in some wearings the airish notes becomes sparkling, fizzy somewhere in the middlenotes. This sparkling, fizzy apperance reminds me of Ramon Monegal Kiss My Name and Lovely Day but without the slight peppery note apperant in those. As the two mentioned Monegals, Rosa Greta is a happy fragrance.

Picture: Rosa Greta
Photo: PR Eau D'Italie (c)

Rosa Greta is a beautiful, versatile, daytime rosefragrance, with good longevity and medium silage. Suitable both for casual and at work especiall in summer. A fragrance that couldn't disturb anyone and not as intriguing as it's  muse. To me both Pasteum Rose and Un Bateau pour Capri is more Greta, but as the inspiration for Rosa Greta is the image of Greta Garbo in the context of the Ravello Garden and Gretas clean, blonde, classic look, I can see the connction.

Rating: 4

Notes: litchi, white tea, rose bud, damascus rose, ambrox, cedarwood

Midsummer

Picture: Midsummerrose
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Midsummer again, or just passed. The summer solstice here in the north is celebrated the weekend after the occurrence with Friday as a national holiday. This year the weather (always a big question in Sweden) is quite good, mostly sunny and warm. For exemple two years ago it was almost as cold as on Christmas Eve (which was warm) with only 8 C daytime and rain.

For Midsummer one should (?) of course, if warm weather anyway, wear florals to match the occasion. I couldn't think of any flowery fragrance that I wan't to wear today, strangely I crave for spices today, and yeserday too to be honset, So I'm smelling as an oriental spicemarket of Les Néréides Oriental Lumpur which is a robust, dry, warm, spicy, patchoulileaves fragrance, in the higher ocataves of the fragrance notescale. If it had a color it is a light green/grey nuance. There also a dry, grassy element, here there is actually a connection to a swedish meadow when the grass is dry in the late summer. But overall Oriental Lumpur is dry spices, contrasted by the fresh earthy patchoulileaves. A good niche fragrance to the fraction of the price of others in the dry spicy segement such as Tauer L'Air du Desert Marocain, Frederic Malle Noir Epices and Tom Ford Sahara Noir. A strong fragrance with distinct silage which should be applied in small doses. My vesion of  Oriental Lumpur is from the old anglesbottle.

Busy days...

Picture: Bird-cherry tree
Photo: Parfumista (c)

There are so much going on in the early summer and as my storage of edited pre-written reviews is empty there has been a shortage of blog posts lately. When (if :-), everything calms down reviews will appears about new releases from two favorite brands: Eau d'Italie and Carner Barcelona. Maybe also something inspired from the post about Zlatan and a Midsummerpost of course. Until then: Have a nice summer!

Once again...

Picture: Vase with pink roses (1890)
by Vincent van Gogh
Wikipedia commons

It's so extremely saddened, the horrible, evil terrorattack murdering so many innocent children and teenagers visiting the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester yesterday.  I'm missing words.....

Impressions of Zlatan Ibrahimovic Myth Wood & Myth Bloom

Picture: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and
perfumer Olivier Pescheux sniffing their new releases
Myth Wood and Myth Bloom
Photo: PR Zlatan Ibrahimovic/Anna Malmberg (c)

Yesterday, visiting the local mall, there was a table exposing Zlatan Ibrahimovic's just launched fragrances Myth Wood and Myth Bloom and for once I stopped and sniffed.It's very rare I sniff a celebrity fragrance even if I'm claiming I'm not a perfumesnob. When it comes to Zlatan, he is of course not "just another celebrity" for a swede, he's after all the greatest footbollplayer this country has produced so far. And his partner Helena (who was an entrepeneaur and businesswomen long before she met Zlatan) has a great taste for fashion...

The Myth fragrances, according to the marketingbuzz, are inspired from the nature and myths of Sweden. Zlatan wanted to capture the scents from where he feel most at home, in the swedish nature where he gets peace and quiet. Perfumer Olivier Pescheaux was visitning Sweden around Midsummer 2016 to collect scents from the nature, the forests, meadows and from the archipelago with it's barren woods and vegetation. Then (I guess) headspace technology was used to transform the scents into the perfumers palette. My impressions comes from sniffing scentstripes with Myth Wood and Myth Bloom + two squeezes on skin of the female Myth Bloom.

Myth Wood starts quite common like a contemproary light, bright aromatic woody fragrance with a tangy fresh element, probably the grapefruit. Later some pine and blond woody notes steps forward to my nose also a note of beewax is fully evident even if not mentioned in the notelist. The lavander is not that evident but acting as a contrast to the woodyness. I can't smell the moss as a separate ingredient but the forestinspiered aura of the  fragrance contains a fresh, moisty, mossy element. Myth Wood is much more interesting in what's left on the scentstripe after almost a day than the more ordinary opening. A fragrance that comes to my mind when sniffing Myth Wood is Maria Candida Gentile Gershwin but without the incensenote in the latter. The aura and woody brightness, the calmness of the fragrance, also have something in common with Lankaran Forest from the same house.

Myth Bloom is a bright, pink rose with different companions than the usual example from the genre. The shamrock and especially the appleblossom are clearly detectable, contributing to the wild rose in a partly different direction. There is also an almost peachy note apperant, probably the result of the mix of the flowers. The woods are Scandinavian blond and bright, cedar balances the woody mix just right,   it doesn't becomes sharp or smelling like pencilshavings. There are also elements of hay and hints of the pleasant beewaxnote in Myth Wood. When sniffing Myth Bloom one of my first impressons was that this is amost UNUM Rosa Nigra and as logical result of that I also smell a connection to Burberry Body.

My findings from this brief evalution is that I like both fragrances very much. When it comes to Myth Wood the next step is to test it on my own skin as I think it's unisex from sniffing the scentstripe. When it comes to Myth Bloom I'm tempted to go for a bottle. And at last: Does the fragrances capture the scents of Sweden? Yes in some ways, it captures the spirit (in a chemical way of course) of the nature in summer, Bloom gives me associations to a Midsummer meadow and Wood has elements of the archipelago. Somehow I also come to think of Russia when smelling Wood. Maybe it's the beewaxnote and something that is similar to the olfactory picture of gentle incense in a wooden church in northen Russia, a picture I also experiences when smelling Commes de Garcons Zagorsk even if the fragrances smells different as a whole.

5 fragrances for a cold May

May, the month of spring has been very cold so far with tempratures beyond zero in the morning an and just some + degrees Celsius during the days. The crave for sheer and delicate fragrances which normally appears in spring hasn't arrived yet. As my longing for flowers remains unchanged my choices of fragrances are from the stronger and heavier cathegory this May.

Picture: Tubereuse Indiana
Photo: PR Creed (c)

Tubereuse Indiana (Creed): My boss nailed it when entering the room where I was working: "Oh here is the scent of the fine world". That´s Tubereuse Indiana in a nutshell, smooth, velvety, elegant tubereuse and mostly white flowers over the signature Creed ambergrisbase. Retrostyled, yet timeless elegance.

Picture: Honour Woman
Photo: PR Amouage (c)

Honour Woman (Amouage): Another beautiful white floral, this one is on the chillier side, accompanied with watery flowers. Elegant, versatile and comforting, contemporary yet timeless in style. In my book a runner up among the Amouages, it has grown to be one of my top favourites from this house.

Picture: Rose Ishtar
Photo: PR Rania J. (c)

Rose Ishtar (Rania J.): A cold, very dark and dry rose with a herbal/spicy contrast. Gives almost ancient vibes and it's androgynous, sometimes it leans to the masculine side and then suddenly it's strangely feminine. Maybe more of a autumnfragrance but anyway perfect for the moment.

Picture: Marni
Photo: PR Marni (c)

Marni (Marni): Another cold rose, but this time pink and bright with contrasting woody (cedar) and slight peppery notes, just perfect for accompaning a cold, frosty spring like this years. 

Picture: Graine de Joie
Picture: PR Eau d'Italie (c)

Graine de Joie (Eau d'Italie): A lush, fruity, berry floral which has become better the more I have tested it. Nothing chemical or sickenly sweet, just a warm red juicy nectar, giving hope of a coming summer after all. Delicious!

Carner Barcelona - Costarela

Picture: The Golden Beaches of Santa Susanna,
Costa Brava, Catalonia, Spain
Photo: vincentdesjardins (cc) 

Costarela is a citrus woody spicy Edp created for Carner Barcelona by Shyamala Maisondieu.

Costarela is built around a partly unusual accord, tart, light citrus combined with a subdued saffron. I can also smell something similar to fresh cardamon, maybe a nuance of the saffron blend. There is also a dry paper note present and the overall impression is fresh, windy, salty,  yellow sun and sand, dry driftwood on the shores. Later in the dry down, Costarela deepens a bit when the ambery - woody notes are added to the "day at the seaside" accord described above.

Costarela is a discrete and versatile contemporary citrus aromatic fragrance which is suitable to wear both for work and casual, especially in spring and summer. It's a quiet fragrance which is quite close to the skin with a calming effect  The fragrances is unisex, leaning slightly to the masculine side. Longevity  is for almost a day even if Costarela in its later stages is very discrete and gentle, sometimes almost undetectable but when one think it has disappeared, then it's suddenly appears again as a gentle wisper. It's like returning waves of seasideinspired accords. Wearing Costarela creates the image of the beach a sunny and windy day with the monotonous sounds of the waves rolling in, bringing driftwood, algae, seaweed, shells and the smells from the ocean with them.

Picture: Costarela
Photo: PR Carner Barcelona (c)

Other fragrances I come to think of (not smelling the same but with a similar impression) when testing Costarela are fragrances from different interpretations of the salty, woody or citrus theme: Maria Candida Gentile Finisterre and Lankaran Forest, Hermès Epice Marine and Dior Homme Cologne

Rating: 4

Notes: Bergamot, saffron, marine and sand notes, cedar, ambroxan, amber

Peccato Originale - Quick reviews

Picture: Papaver somniferum. (Schlofmoon)Franz Eugen Köhler (1897), Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, Wikimedia commons

Peccato Originale (Original Sin) is an Italian nichebrand founded by chemist/pharmacist Silivia Monti inspired from her her work in a pharmacy and the clients she met there. The fragrances har created by Siliva in collaboration with not revealed pefumers, expect one which is mentioned; Lucca Maffei. I have tested samples of four fragances from the line which consists of at least eight fragrances which is defined as unisex.

Antidoto Reattivo is a juicy citrusdominated fragrance with a cold spicy vibe from cardamon. There are also contrasting, green notes with an almost dry, airy, very light flowery, tangy touch and also a boozy slight antiseptic element in the base. Maybe the dry, flowery, tangy impression is from mate which is mentioned among the notes. Something in the over all expression reminds me of a less flowery Une Nuit de Bali Fleur des Fleurs.


Iniezione di Morfina despite its name this one is a classical, powdery, floral aldehydic musky fragrance with the usual flowers rose, iris, jasmine but here with an noticeable addition of lily of the valley. A late follower to fragrances in the style of Lorenzo Villoresi Teint de Neige, Etat Libre d'Orange Putain de Palaces and Frederic Malle Iris Poudre et al. The Morfina is very feminine to my nose

Picture: Tintura Spiritosa
Photo: PR Peccato Originale 

Tintura Spiritosa starts like a random Mancera/Montale fragrance with rose and spice but much less oud. The oudy impression soon disappears and TS becomes sweeter with a tangy blackcurrant (the berry) note combined with  a light boozy touch and tea accents. This over a  musky peppery resin amber base where the pepper is quite detectable.

Cantaride the softest and most polite of the four tested. A light amber with angelica which creates the typical contemporary classic suedenote. Some very light animalic passages as also a very light touch of booze glimpses by and all is grounded in a pleasant musky base. A comforting, calming and pleasant "wrist-sniffer". Cantaride makes me think of fragrances as Guerlain Cuir Beluga and to a soft and tame variation of Annick Goutal Sables.

My impression from the sampling is that the Peccato Originale line is quite ok but nothing as spectacular as some of the names of the fragrances indicates. All the first three tested fragrances have a cold (not Cantaride which is warm), almost boozy strike to them, maybe a recollection from the Pharmacy. The longevity is impressive, around 24h for all four fragrances. Taken as a whole, my impression from sampling three the Peccato Originales is that the house have some own characteristic even of beeing one in the crowd of new fragrancehouses which have flooded the market during the latest years.

Perris Monte Carlo - Santal du Pacifque EDP & Extrait

Picture: Staute of Ganesha in sandalwood
Photo by Ricce
Wikimedia commons 

The Santal du Pacifque duo (Edp & Extrait) was released 2016 together with the Absolue d'Osmanthus duo from monegasque perfumhouse Perris Monte Carlo. Both are a part of a range of perfumes which presents  "singlenotes" in different settings and interpretations. Here is my previous reviews of the line.

Picture: Santal du Pacifique EDP
Photo: PR Perris Monte Carlo (c)

Santal du Pacifique starts with a warm, sparkling, transparent sandalwood. with a prominent fignote. I think fig is a part of sandalwood as it's present also in for example By Kilian Sacred Wood  which is the sandalwood fragrance which is most similar to Santal du Pacifique from what I come to think of when wearing Santal du Pacifique especially in the Edp concentration. The Edp concentration is woodier and denser than the Extrait which emphasizes the flowery and light spicy aspects of sandalwood. Both versions lacks the cocoa accent which is present in sandalwoodfragranceas as Sacred Wood and Serge Lutens Santal Majuscule and are therefore lighter in apperance. The Edp is deeper, warm, smooth woody as one can imagine the scent of a piece of polished sandalwood in the sunset, warmed by the sun during the day. There are also darker, a bit pleasant dirty barnyardnotes glimpsing from the depts of the Edp contrasting the fresh sandalwood. In the later stages the SdP Edp reminds me lot of Exclusifs de Chanel Sycomore Edt but less green.As the latter has sandalwood as a prominent note beside the vetiver, that's not surprising especially as both fragrances has the similar tonality on the fragrance notescale. When it comes to the Extrait this version,as mentioned above, is more of a arier, soft woody floral with some warm dry salty, spicy elements. In the middlenotes there are also contrasting notes of a damp vegetation, in the same good way as the barnyardnotes in the Edp. A hint of the figgy note persist duting the whole dry down of the Extrait and contributes to a seaish impression and the overall impression is that the Extrait has some similarities with Hermès Epice Marine even if less spicy.

Picture: Santal du Pacifique Extrait
Photo: PR Perris Monte Carlo (c)

Santal du Pacifique is a versatile, casual elegant and comforting fragrace which could be worn year around. It's unisex even if the Edp probably will attract men more as it's less flowery and more woody. The Edp has medium sillage and the Extrait is close. Longevity for the Edp is over 12h and the Extrait almost for a day.
A clean and pared down contemporary sandalwood which smells natural and not of perfumery.

Rating: 5

Notes: Sandalwood, floral notes

5 fragrances for Easter 2017

Picture: Violets in the garden April 10, 2017
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Easter is here and so finally the spring, even if some snow isn't unusual around 1 May but it doesn't last then.


Fragrances for Easter for me are almost always from the following groups: Gourmand (reminding of the food especially the sweets for Easter), Incense (reminding of the religious background to the testive) and floral green (reminding of the vegetation of spring with crispy bulbflowers and violets). This year I am not going to be that structured, below my impressions of some fragrances I like and which I've worn more than once the latest months.

Picture: Marconi 3
Photo: PR Profumi del Forte (c)

Marconi 3 (Profumi del Forte): This is among the cosiest and most comforting fragrances I've ever worn. In the same time Marconi 3 has an vintage elegance, a skilful blended oriental-gourmand-chypre styled fragrance with prominent vanilla, spices and patchouly. Smooth and addictive, it always renders compliments. I'm not sure if Marconi 3 is still in the PdF line since they have switched to a new design of the bottles. I'm so glad that I bought a tester of Marconi 3 before it's (eventually) gone.

Picture: Musst de Cartier Gold
Photo: PR Cartier (c)

Musst de Cartier Gold (Cartier): A hidden gem, probably missunderstood, as it could be bought quite cheap from discounters. Gold is Cartier inhouse perfumer Mathilde Laurents interpretation of the classic Musst de Cartier (Edp I'll say as my Edt from the 90s is more herbal and with a light band aid note) and Musst is fully recognized, at least in the second part of the fragrance. The beginning is greener, sunnier and lighter, and the whole fragrance is sort of a luminous "sunny day" version of the darker and heavier "sunset" variety Musst Edp. Musst Gold is an elegant floral-oriental with the characteristic comforting vanillanote which is also present in Musst.

Picture: Sheiduna
Photo: PR Puredistance (c)

Sheiduna (Puredistance): Sheiduna only gets better with more wearings. It's a beautiful perfum, which conveys the warm impression of "sunset over the desert dunes". It's dry and spicy, mixed with some of the pleasureable patchouly "old, dusty books note" with hints of dark roses, anchored in balsamic, ambery depts. It has a comforting elegance and is delightful to wear.

Picture: Bracken Woman
Photo: PR Amouage (c)

Bracken Woman (Amouage): This is a very nice surprise from Amouage. A sort of floral, green fougere for women, even if it's unisex IMO. It's a bit strange and I can imagine to some noses, off putting as it has an almost chemical vibe which occurs now and then under the dry down. Bracken remins med of fern, moss, moist vegetation contrasted with berries and tiny little pale flowers in a forest in the early springtime. Excellent fragrance.

Picture: L'Attesa
Photo: PR Masque (c)

L'Attesa (Masque): Finally I've tested it, one of 2016 cult fragrances. And L'Attesa is (like most Masque fragrance) very good. It's a dry iris, not the roty carrot varity nor the flowery version, and has a very realistic sort of clean lipsticknote, the best lipticknote I've smelled so far. There is also an wheat or beernote in L'Attesa, a note which is also present in Vero Profumo Kiki Extrait and in a sweeter context in Mancera Roses Vanille. Not surprising, Luca Maffei is the perfumer of this stunning fragrance.

Soon Easter....

Picture: In the painting "Die Lebensstufen" (The stages of life)
Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) has painted a swedish flag in the hands
of his children Gustav Adolf and Agnes Adelheid (in centrum of the picture). 

Today the traditional "Scents for Easter" post was planned. As I have a bad cold there was no energy nor inspiration for writing. Of course the terrible terror attack here in Stockholm didn't boost the energy either. All thoughts to the victims, among them an eleven year old girl on her way home from school for the Easter Holiday.......it's so sad and terrifying .

A post will probably show up on Thursday or Friday instead.

Carner Barcelona - Rose & Dragon

Picture: Saint George and the Dragon (1432-35)
Painting by Rogier van der Weyden (1399-1464)
Wikiart.com

Rose & Dragon is the third creation in the luxury, well crafted Black Collection from Carner Barcelona. Rose & Dragon is inspired from the legend of Saint George who saved the princess from the dragon. From the dragons blood, a rosebush with dark red roses grew.

And that one can imagine: Rose & Dragon is a thick, dark, rosy, spicy potion, resting over an animalic, soft leathery dept. The fragrance is sweetened with the todays it-note in contrasting leather or other dark, rough notes: Sweet berries as raspberrys and strawberrys, which could also be found in for example Masque Russian Tea, Tom Ford Tuscan Leather and Acqua di Parma Colonia Leather (not mentioned among the notes in the latter but I can smell it). Rose & Dragon has some similarities in style with these fragrance but is rosier, more animalic and spicy. It is also sweeter, has a certain liqueurish vibe, is much more deep and mysterious. When it comes to the latter; Rose & Dragon delivers the same mysticism as another dark and deep rose, Frapin Nevermore, even if that spicy rose interpretation is almost dry and less sweet than Rose & Dragon.
To my note Rose & Dragon is also the most feminine of the three fragrances in the Black Collection and also more feminine than the fragrances mentioned above. A more feminine dark and mysterious rose I come to think of when wearing Rose & Dragon is Parfumerie Générale Isparta.

Picture: Rose & Dragon
PR: Carner Barecelona (c)

As apprehensible from all associations mentioned above, Rose & Dragon isn't anything new or groundbreaking but it's a very well crafted and smooth blended fragance, one of the very best in this genre. With such heavy ingredients there is always a risk that a fragrance becomes cloying, harsh and unstable, especially if cheaper ingredients are used. Rose & Dragon is avoiding all such mistakes, it is top notch.

Wearing Rose & Dragon is a pleasure and the day is filled with constant wrist sniffing. It's wearable also for elegant evening but should'nt be restricted for such occasions. It's a quite linear fragrance and one can enjoy its mysterious and beautiful accords almost all at the same time. Longevity is about 24h and sillage is medium.
Rose & Dragon is my favorite from the Black Collection, an excellent example of the dark, deep, mysterious sort of rosefragrance which I love.

Rating: 5

Notes: Saffron, cumin, wild strawberry, cinnamon, bulgarian rose, turkish rose, honey, incense, castoreum, leather, labdanum, amber

Carner Barcelona - Black Calamus

Picture: Acorus Calamus
Köhler Medizinal Planzen
from Wikipedia

Black Calamus is the second fragrance I'm testing from the intriguing Carner Barcelona Black Collection.
And this one (unfortunately as this is expensive stuff) also turned out to be a winner.

I can read that the Calamus plant is growing in damp conditions and I have probably seen it myself in some fen in the wood unaware of what plant it is. I also read that the root has a very special aromatic, bitter, sharp and spicy taste and I can imagine that when wearing the concentrated and multifacetted fragrance Black Calamus. Black Calamus starts woody and in the same time sort of fresh, like some stiff, crispy, thick leaves growing in a chilly, moisty surrounding paird with the fresh smell of juniper wood. The pepper is (thankfully) very well balanced and adds a natural sparkle to the creation. When Black Calamus dries further on resisns and balsams softening the fragrance and takning it to darker depths, still with a distinct woody background where a touch of oud inteacts and creates an oriental twist. Black Calamus is comforting to wear but still an interesting fragrance, there are new twists on the theme, featuring different accords, during the dry down. It's really a dark fragrance but not sad, thick or cloying. Even if not groundbreaking, this dark woody style is well estabilshed since years, Black Calamus a real pleasure to wear. Compared to some other fragrances from the dark aromatic woody category, Balck Calamus is darker, more balsamic, resinious and a bit sweeter and spicier than: Robert Piguet Bois Noir which has a similar theme but is situated higher on the perfume "octaves scale" and Ramón Monegal Dry Wood which is lighter, brigheter, drier with a bit mossy soap added to the super dry wood. Robert Piguet Oud is another fragrance I come to think of when wearing Black Calamus, RP Oud also starts with a cold impression.

Picture: Black Calamus
Photo: PR Carner Barcelona (c)

Black Calamus is an elegant, smooth interpretation of the dark woody style. There are no harsh edges, it is well blended, smooth and comforting. Perfect for colder months but I think it will flourish also in summer evenings. Black Calmus is unisex, longevity is great, traces are left after 24 h and sillage is medium to high, this one shouldn't be applied heavy, it's very concentrated.

Rating: 5

Notes: Calamus, black pepper, coriander, papyrus, labdanum, osmanthus, turkish rose, vanilla, agarwood (oud), incense, juniper

Carner Barcelona - Sandor 70's

Picture: Sandor 70's
Photo: PR Carner Barcelona (c)

Last year, Carner Barcelona launched a luxury sub-line, named Black Collection. There are three fragrances up to day, very well made and they all smell very pleasant. First out for review is the suede-booze-tabbacco Sandor 70's.

Sandor 70's starts with the soft suede character which is characteristic for the whole dry down of the fragrance. First the suede is paired  with an almost caramelized, round boozy accord with tobacco where also dark, dried fruits like in Serge Lutens Boxeuses are hidden. It's like resting in a comfortable leathery clubchair, reading the newspaper in the lounge of a venerable gentlemans club even if Sandor 70's is inspired of one of the most iconic bars of the 70’s in Barcelona so maybe the chair should be a bit more contemporary in style. There are also an intriguing contrast from emerging from the depts of the fragrance, hints of something animalic, furry reminding me of the horsey aspect of Rania J. Oud Assam but the intepretation is more polished and quiet  in Sandor 70's. In the middlenotes there is also a glimps of the pleasant "dust on a lit bulb" which is more prominent in another leather gem of 2016 Téo Cabanel Kasar as also in the opening of Mona di Orios first fragrance Carnation. The basenotes of Sandor 70's is dominated by an extreamly pleasant accord, smooth, balsamic, fresh leathery/tobacco with a balancing note of patchouli. The vanilla is not present as a single note but I can imagine it softens and fills out the other notes.

Picture: Sandor 70's
Photo: PR Carner Barcelona (c)

Taken as a whole Sandor 70's is a multifacetted fragrance, mostly linear in construction but still an intriguing compostion. It's very comforting, almost relaxing and very wearable, with absolutely no harsh edges. It's perfect for the colder seasons, for daytime or evening. Sandor 70's is unisex in style, maybe a tad more masculine, Mr Parfumista likes this much. The sillage is somewhere between close and medium and longevity about 12h+.

Those who likes fragrances in the style of for example Puredistance Black, Parfums MDCI Cuir Garamante, By Kilian Back to Black and Huitème Art Liqueur Charnelle should definitly try Sandor 70's.

Rating: 5

Notes: Suede, bergamot, jasmine, osmanthus, rose, tobacco, clary sage, cedar, peru balsam, vanilla, leather, patchouli, vetiver, incense, oakmoss

Parfums de Nicolaï - Rose Royale

Picture: Parfums de Nicolaï Rose Royale,
resting in the snow,
 reminding of the coming Spring
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Rose Royale is a celebration to spring, launched by Parfums de Nicolaï to Valentines Day 2017. This (pink IMO) rose soliflore is inspired of the rosegardens of Palais Royale in the center of Paris.

Rose Royale starts pink rosy with natural smelling fruity accents. The fruity notes are somehow almost dry in appreance and there is nothing too sweet or artifical about it. I especially recoginze the note of passionfruit but lighter and not as prominent as in for example Vero Profumo Rozy Edp or in the tribute to the passionfruit flower from Maître Parfumeur et Ganiter Fraîche Passiflore. In the topnotes also there is also a contrasting glimpse of the fresh, tangy nuance of blackcurrant as also the bergamot which provides the fragrance with a particular chic style. Coriander also brings a light green, refreshing spicy touch to Rose Royale, which togther with the bergamot, provides a slight retro vibe or perhaps it's more appropritate to call it timless.

Picture: Rose Royale
Photo: Parfums de Nicolaï (c)

Rose Royale is all about the rose flower itself, with no interference of stems and greenery. Its about the natural fresh smell of the velvet smooth pink rose petals. It's a bright but not at all shrill rose, it is happy and uplifting when waiting for spring in the last days of the winter. When Rose Royale dries further down, I can also recognize a more severe side of the fragrance, there are snapshots from a darker dept where traces of an accord familiar to the metallic, cold, bloody rose of Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin are hiding. This gives an intresting twist to this over all polite, refreshing, pink, rose. The roses of Rose Royale resting in a elegant, well balanced musky smooth, warm, woody base where also a very light immortelle sparkles..

Beeing an "easy to go" EDT aimed for spring, Rose Royale has a good longevity if liberally applied. I can smell traces on skin after more then 12 hours. It's a very wearble daytime fragrance both for work and casual. The sillage is somewhere between close and medium.

Rose Royale is something to tray for those who like a uncomplicated but still wellconstructed, rose soliflore as for example Annick Goutal Rose Pompon, Maison Francis Kurkdijan À la Rose and Téo Cabanel Early Roses.

Rating: 5

Notes: Blackcurrant buds, passionfruit, bergamot, coriander, rose, ambrette, immortelle, sandalwood, guaiac wood, musk