Independence Day

Picture: Finlands "Blue Cross Flag"
Photo from Facts.co

Today our beautiful neighbour Suomi-Finland is celebrating 100 years as an independent country.       Congratulations Finland!

Thinking of Finland, I suddenly remembered there was some entertaining fragrant readings with finnish connection on Fragrantica a year or two ago. And here I found them, written by Eeva-Helena Laurinsalo.

Fragrant Finland: A Fresh Affair

Fragrant Finland: Saunas, Babies and Rive Gauche

Fragrant Finland: An Emerging Scentscape & Tax Free Vikings

Fragrant Finland: Lumene, Beauty Born of Light

And last but not least: Congratulations to my son who is celebrating his 15th birthday today!

Fragrantica Perfume Awards

Picture: Fallen falleaves
Photo: Parfumista (c)

An exciting initiative from Fragrantica - " We at Fragrantica decided to organize our own community awards which will be fully driven by your suggestions and votes. You can nominate up to 5 fragrances in each category and vote for or against  of each nomination". 

The awardcategories, submitted & voted by the Fragrantica community, are:

1. Best Fragrance Of All Times for Women
2. Best Fragrance Of All Times for Men
3. Best Unisex Fragrance Of All Time
4. The Worst Fragrance Of All Time
5. Best Women's Fragrance Voted by Men
6. Best Men's Fragrance Voted by Women
7. Best Discontinued Fragrance for Women, Bring It Back!
8. Best Discontinued Fragrance for Men, Bring It Back!
9. The Legend of the Latest Decade for Women
10. The Legend of the Latest Decade for Men
11. Best Fragrance of 2017 for Women
12. Best Fragrance of 2017 for Men
13. Niche Fragrance of 2017
14. Most Innovative Fragrance of 2017
15. Perfume House Of The Year
16. Best Perfume Bottle of 2017
17. Best Perfume Flanker of 2017
18. Most Underrated Fragrance
19. Most Overrated Fragrance
20. Best Fragrance for Hot Days
21. Best Fragrance for Cold Days
22. Fragrance with the Best Longevity
23. Best Bargain Fragrance for Women
24. Best Bargain Fragrance for Men
25. R.I.P - Beloved Perfumes Murdered by Reformulation

The voting is open 24 Nov to 1 Dec - Don't miss the chance to  have fun and to influence.

Further fragrance reading...

Picture: Novemberrose
Photo: Parfumista (c)

I'm in some sort of writer's block but others have interesting perfumrelated things to share. Here some links to articles/posts I've appreciated recently.

Intresting thoughts about the battle between two versatile, very likable, everyday  fragrances launched in 2017  Chanel Gabrielle and Hermès Twilly - like them both.

And here comes reviews of them Twilly on Perfume Shrine and Twilly on Now Smell This Twilly on The Scented Salamander, Gabrielle on Bois de Jasmin and Gabrielle on Now Smell This, Gabrielle on The Scented Salamander.

An article about styling the winter wardrobe with perfumes on Fragrantica. The picture of the snowmen is just great :-)

Bois de Jasmin share us some words of wisdom from Christian Dior’s Little Dictionary of Fashion  timeless advices about style which of course including perfume.

More vintage, here about vintage perfume bottles

And last but not least - an inteview (with photo) with the mysterious perfumer Pierre Montale who many people doubt exist. Anyway, somebody is interviewed here 

Styling with perfume

Picture: The frame for the perfumes of last week
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Styling the SOTD with suitable outfits and accessoires is almost a science, especially under timepressure which is the ordinary state in the early mornings during a working week. I have found a routine to tackle this "problem". Doing some planning in advance gives the opportunity to concentrate on the choice of  SOTD the following mornings. I'm not organized like this often, but sometimes I got the "flow". Here is an example from last week:

First of all I chose a theme for the SOTD:s for the coming week which in this case was autumnal + oriental + dark fragrances + classic. Then I chose the beckground, the canvas for the composition, black dresses in jersey or light woolblend qualities act as a dark, simple neutral background. As the everyday frame to the composition, I chose the reaible accessories pictured above: Mulberry Chester in textured goat, my favourite November - December Hermès cashmere-silk shawl Collections Imperiales in black with pattern in muted autumn and winter colours, the Freywille Attersee bangle, vintage rings in gold with pearls and cabochon amethysts and a simple strand of pearls. The olfactory brushstrokes which completed the composition for each workday were:

Monday - Dior Eau Sauvage not an oriental but on the verge of beeing heavy applied the basenotes with moss, amber and musk are more pronounced. Still with the golden citrus glimpses and dark green aromatic accord.

Tuesday - Guerlain Shalimar Edp what a pleasure to wear this classic I imagine Shalimar as auburn in colour. Elegant, special, comforting and warm. Timeless.

Wednesday - Penhaligon's Halfeti not a classic but a representative of the western oud trend: Loud peppery saffron, oud  and woody notes over somoother and pleasant accords of a very dark red rose, creamy amber and leather. Potent and radiating, lasts for days on textiles and also with traces on skin after more then one showering. If it had a colour: Darkest of red and black.

Thursday - Chanel Coco Edt spicy, soft, cosy, strong and radiating but still elegant. A contemporary classic. Just as Shalimar, a real pleasure to wear.

Friday - Burberry My Burberry Black I like Burberry fragrances, it seems as their DNA suits my skintype. This fragrance is deep, dark, fruity, boozy, smokey, balsamic in a such pleasant and warming way. It also lasts for days on my shawl.

End of report from my well organized perfume week.

Blog anniversary 11 years

Picture: Violettes du Czar
Photo: PR Oriza L Legrand (c)

Last Wednesday 1 November, Parfumistans Blogg celebrated 11 years and I was wearing the intriguing leather, gasoline, violet Violettes du Czar from Oriza L. Legrand. Since a couple of years I have noticed that November is the time of the year when  I crave Oriza fragrances the most. Probably something in their nostalgic DNA that goes with the mood of the season.

Picture: Eau Sauvage
PR Christian Dior (c)

When writing this post I'm wearing a true classic signed the great Edmond Roudnitska, Dior Eau Sauvage, to honor my father, who passed away 10 years ago today, far too young. Eau Sauvage was his signaturefragance and it was like tailormade for him. I find Eau Sauvage unisex, with cirtus, aromatic, subdued  flowery, mossy accords. It's casual fresh in an elegant retrostyle and lights up any gloomy Novemberday as well as beeing refreshing a warm summer day.

So far this year it seems as I'm not in the right mood for the real, heavy autumn/winterfragrances, probably this will change when winter strikes. Probably there will be another day in Eau Sauvage tomorrow, and I definitly think more women should try it.

Puredistance - Warszawa

Picture: Puredistance Warszawa
Photo: PR Puredistance (c)

Puredistance Warszawa is a collaboration with the Missala family who sells Puredistance in their perfumeries in Poland. The perfume (extrait with 25 % perfumeoil) is created by perfumer Anotine Lie and is a tribute to Warszaw and it's people, inspired of the golden era of Warszawa in the begining of the last century. Warszawa was originally launched in 2016 and was sold exclusivity by Quality Missala for a year. Now it's at last avaible for the rest of us lovers of vintage styled fragrances.

The colour of Warszawa the fragrance is said to be dark green with some gold and grey, and that's is also my first impression of the fragrance. It's starts like an elegant, glowing fruity chypre and it reminds me very much of a restrained, darker and smoother variation of Yves Saint Laurent Yvrersse (Champagne). Yvresse is higher on the fragrance notescale and more extrovert whereas Warszawa is gentler and intimate in character. Warszawa is also less sweet and more flowery than Yvresse, more green where Yvresse has more of the golden glimmer, or to be correct, Yvresse sparkles and Warszawa glimmers. Galbanum is distinctive in the first part of Warszawa and it's then present during the whole dry down. In the middle notes the flowery accord first brightens with a fruity touch which gives me associations to the lipstick-textured fruitiness of Cartier Baiser Fou but in a darker and refined context. In one wearing the fruitiness stands out, the other wearing the more intoxicated, elegant, flowery notes. Warszawa is a fragrance with many layers and interesting twists. Later in the dry down an almost balsamic texture appears, wrapping the wearer in a gentle and mysterious skinscent. The basenotes are deep and dark green, with strikes of a mysterious golden glow, like the remains of a campfire in the dept of a big forest a dark night in the autumn.Warszawas slight cosmetic touch, without beeing powdery or too lipsticky also reminds me of a night in the opera or theatre in the pre WW1 era. Dim light, elegant women in fur, velvet and silk in dark jewellery colours, glowing gemstones, feather decorations, powder and heavy perfumes.



Pictures: Montage of Warsawa, Poland
Montage of  Foxy 1219 photos of  Radek Kołakowski, Marek和Ewa Wojciechowscy ,
 ekeidar, Marcin Białek, DocentX, Mateusz Włodarczyk
Wikimedia commons (cc) some rights reserved

Warszawa is a fragrance which has to be experienced in multiple wearings as new angles are appearing in each wearing. It's a fragrance for evenings around the year and for daytime wearing during the colder and darker months. The sillage is close, its a calm and quiet perfume, the longevity is for at least a day. A retro styled fragance in a contemporary interpretation.

Rating: 5

Notes: Galbanum, grapefruit, violet leaf, jasmin, broom, orris, patchouli, vetiver, styrax.

....and 5 other autumn frags

Picture: Maple leaves October 2017
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Last week was colder and autumn is now really here. Heavier stuff was worn, including some favourites such as:

White Oud (Montale): White, cuddling, with a white rose, something mashmallow-ish and a faint oudnote. Texture and smoothness like an angora kitten.

Amber & Spices (Montale): A pleasant, fizzy gingernote and warm spices with hints of a delicate rose and some oud. Smells like my grandmothers spice rack did.

Auburn (Andy Tauer): From the discontinued Pentachords-line (three fragrances built among just five notes). Auburn is warm, brown, cinnamon with tobacco and some white flowers. Even if a bit freaky synthetic, it's the ultimate autumnfragance. 

Sheiduna (Puredistance): Warm, embracing, spicy, balsamic whith some almost boozy notes. The ultimate pleasure to wear a grey, rainy day.

Incense Oud (Parfums de Nicolaï). Smells like the deep forest in autumn, damp and chilly, with dark green moss, tangy, slight herbal notes and earthy patchouli. A sort of refreshing fragrance. 

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.

Etat Libre D'Orange - Vierges et Toreros

Picture: La muerte del maestro, oil painting, 1884

by José Villegas Cordero (1844-1921)

Vierges et Toreros is a spicy-woody fragrance, created for the avantgarde perfumehouse Etat Libre D'Orange by the two Antoines, Lie and Maisondieu in 2007.

As often with ELDO perfumes there is something strange and fascinating with the blend, ELDO creates fragrances that makes us reflect and recalling images. VeT starts with a weird spicy, slight plastic note, plastic in a soft, pleasent way.  Then a anorectic light smoky leather, with the plastic spices still there, sets in followed by a very subdued tubereuse. Also some patch are present but as the creation is well blended, there is hard to discern the notes from each other. The plastic-spicy impression reminds me somehow of Masque Luci et Ombre another unusual tubereuse fragrance. Even if not the similar scent, I think Mona di Orios Les Nombres d'Or Tubéreuse, which is more sophisticated, warmer and more feminine, is a similar concept with a subdued tuby togther with subtle spices. Also Histoires de Parfums Tubereuse 3 Animale has the tuned down tuby in common despite the immortelle dominated Animale is much stronger, louder and demanding than the quiet VeT.

Over all this is a quite comfortable, light spicy blend with some edges. Compared to the quite violent associated name, VeT is a quit and peaceful perfume. Suitable to wear year around, expect the warmest days in the summer, fitting both for work and casual.

Rating: 3

Notes: Bergamot, nutmeg, pepper, cardamom, ylang ylang, tuberose, leather, animal notes, costus, patchouli, vetiver

Thanks to Fragrantfanatic for the sample to try.

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.