Jardins d'Écrivains - George

Picture: George Sand (1804-1876)
 Portrait by Auguste Charpentier (1838),
Wikimedia Commons

Jardins d'Écrivains is French nichehouse which started with scented candles and bathproducts and lately also added perfumes to their line. Jardins d'Écrivains in its style, is inspired of litterature combined with the interest of gardens. The four perfumes in the line whereof two leaning at the masculine side and therefore (and as "skintime" is rare when it comes to me :-) the testing of these fragrances, George and Wilde is delegated to Mr Parfumista. Below I have summerized his impressions of George while Wilde will follow in the next review.

George is of course inspired of the 19th century cultwoman Aurore Dupin married Dudevant aka George Sand who already have some fragrances named after her: Histoires de Parfums 1804 George Sand and Les Parfums Historique (MPG) Eau de Parfum de George Sand. When applying the reaction was "This smells so similar to something else" and after a short while everything went clear: One of the greatest classic tobacco-leather ever, Knize Ten, but George is smoother and gentler in appearance, adapted to the stripped down  fragranceastetic of the general public of today.  There is also a difference in notes: Where Knize Ten intermediates the scent of the clean woolen cloth of an tailor-made suit and tabacco, George intermediates the scent of fresh,dark, green conifer during a warm and windy summerday and tabacco. The green, coniferaccord is of the same spirit as in Annick Goutal Nuit Etoilèe but deeper and darker and without the smoky note of NE.

George is a year arounder and it's fresher character compared to Knize Ten makes it suitable also for more casual events than the more formal Knize. Mr Parfumista likes George very much but comments: "It's sort of a contemporary Knize but not fully accomplished in the way Knize is".George is classified as unisex but leaning towards the masculine side, for those who cares about such petty details. Sillage is medium and longevity for about 24h.

As the forerunner Knize is the original, George just almost reach the highest rating. If there was no Knize forerunner, George would reach the highest score. George is an exellent alternative for those who thinks Knize Ten is too heavy and oldfashioned, which it's not, as it's timeless, but that's of course just my personal opinion :-). George is also a good example of that very good perfumes could be made today also despite all IFRA-restrictions and it is also, just as the whole Jardins d'Écrivains-line, an axample of that good fragrances could also be reasonable priced SEK 725/USD ca 114/EUR ca 83 for 100 ml.

Rating: 4 or 4+ depending on perspective, with or without comparing to Knize Ten

Notes: Neroli, bergamot, heliotrophe, coffee, tobacco, peru balsam, musk, myrrh

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample to test

Seven years of perfumeblogging!

Picture: Maple leaves, end of October 2013.
Photo: Mr Parfumista

Today Parfumistans Blogg is celebrating seven years. Celebrating is of course a slight exaggeration, when becoming of a certain age, one more or less just notice "birthday again" and don't want to realize another year has flying away.

Autumn is IMO the best season for perfume, almost every fragrance family could be considered as some days are warm and in other there are wintertempratures. The latest week has been
predominantly warm but in the same time dark and windy i.e time fore a wide range of fragrances. I suddenly craved Annick Goutal Eau de Ciel despite this one is almost always described as a spring fragrance. To me Eau de Ciel has some floral notes in common with a more proper fragrance for this season, Serge Lutens Miel de Bois, I think it's the linden/hawthorn notes that are the connection. SL Rahat Loukoum was a very positive surprise and if  I havn't got a sample from Fragrantfanatic, I have never got the idea of testing this true comfortscent. Autumn also mean revival of some of my greatest discoveries this year: The perfumes from the incredible house Oriza L. Legrand, the problem is that the four I have tested so far Rêve de Ossian, Relique d'Amour, Oeillet Louis XV and Déjà le Printemps are all so great that I can't decide which one to invest in the day when my samples runs out, which unfortunately will be soon. Which one I like the most changes with each wearing. Now Relique d'Amour, which I liked the least (everything is relative :-) when testing these in the beginning of the year is a runner up with its smooth and refined fir balm and incense notes. And four new fragrances have been/will be launched from this genuine perfumehouse.....will be hard to handle :-)

Guerlain - Myrrhe et Delires

Picture:  Commiphora myrrha by Franz Eugen Köhler,

 Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen,1897, Wikipedia commons

Myrrhe & Delires is the latest creation in the Guerlain L'Art et Matiere-line. It's created by the current Guerlaan inhouse perfumer Thierry Wasser.

Myrrhe & Delires starts sort of resinous, fresh and airy. There is also an accord that reminds me of classical, oriental/chypre perfumes fleeting in and out in the basic structure of the perfume during the top and middlenotes. The classical accord reminds me of the typical chic "french" smell of Balenciaga Prelude and also hints of Quadrille from the same house. This typical french-chic note is also present in Balmain Ivoire vintage version even if the latter fragrance is green, aldehydic, flowery, soapy which is not the case with the former fragrances. Quite early in the dry down the to some myrrhe fragrances typical licorie note appears. In M&D this note is light and airy, contrasting to for example Huitieme Art Myrrhiad (in swedish), is dark, dense and mysterious compared to M&D. There is also a streak of the cold, dark, slight smoky accord of Juliette Has A Gun Calamity J. but tuned down and expressed in a softer and smoother way. The rest of the dry down is soft, sweet, resinous and retains the airy interpretation of licorie. To me the opening accords (as with most of the fragrances I have tried from the L'Art et Matiere-line )  are the most interesting part of the fragrance, but the linear dry down that follows later is beautiful, very comforting and easy to wear. To my nose there are some similarities between the composition of the base of Tonka Imperiale and Myrrhe & Delires as also with Cuir Beluga.

As Myrrhe & Delires is'nt overly sweet and almost airy in it's texture, the fragrance is wearable for both day and evning during the whole year, except for the warmest days in the summer. Sillage is close, longevity about 24h.

Those who likes Annick Goutal Myrrhe Ardente, Serge Lutens La Myrrhe (in swedish) and Mona di Orio Jabu (even if myrrhe in Jabu is just a supporting note) will probably enjoy Myrrhe & Delires too.

Rating: 4

Notes: Bergamot grapefruit, osmanthus, jasmine, rose, violet leaf; patchouli, incense, tonka bean, vanilla, myrrh, licorice

Guerlain - Tonka Imperiale

Picture: Roman Emperors

Source: http://vaticanarthistoriantours.com

Tonka Imperiale is one of the later creations in the Guerlian exclusiveline L’Art et la Matière. Tonka Imperiale is a true warm and slight, gourmand sweet oriental, created by the Guerlain houseperfumer Thierry Wasser.

Tonka Imperiale starts with a warm, sweet but in the same time light and subtle, a bit powdery accord of tonka been. After a while a very balanced note that reminds me of a rounded cedarwood note appears, maybe it's one of the woody notes or maybe it's the mix of wood, herbs and spices that induces this impression. An almost liquorlike note of tobacco, balanced with light, almost not detectable flowers appears and contrasts after a while with "fresher" colder, balmy notes of incense and fir. As in all of the L’Art et la Matière fragrances I have tried so far, the ingedients are so well balanced, rounded and fine tuned that there is hard to distinugue them separately from each other. Tonka Imperiale is no exception It's a very well crafted fragrance with gourmand undertones. In the basenotes there is a slight powdery caramelnote, similar to the one in Prada Candy (in swedish) but darker, less sweet and a bit stronger. In Tonka Imperiale the tonkabeen is not combined with vanilla which is common, and that probably tempers the sweetness to a pleasant, moderate level. In the texture Tonka Imperiale has similarities with the elegant immortelledominated Guerlain Cuir Beluga, it's like a pushier, more masculine (even if unisex) interpreation of a similar theme. Both are beautiful fragrances but Cuir Beluga to my nose, is a bit more original.

Tonka Imperiale is perfect for autumn, winter and the chilly early spring. Even if moderatly sweet I suspect it could be overhelming in warm summerdays. Tonka Imperiale is a true comfort fragrance, it's not overpowering if applied with care and therefore a perfect officescent that brings comfort also to other than the wearer. Sillage is medium and longevity for 24h.

Those who likes the fragrances mentioned above as also Carner Barcelona Tardes, Parfumerie Generale Tonkamande, Etro Heliotrophe and Parfums Nicolaï Kiss me tender , even if the two latter is more floral, will also like Tonka Imperiale

Rating: 4

Notes: Bergamot, rosemary, jasmine, almond, tonkabeen, tobacco, incense, cedar, pine

Guerlain – Cruel Gardenia

Picture: Gardenia flower from the gardens at Monticello
Photo:Querbubbles (cc) Wikimedia Commons, some rights reserved

Cruel Gardenia is a part of the Guerlain L’Art et la Matiere Collection where Guerlain let mostly “off-house” noses create based on one single note. Cruel Gardenia is composed by perfumer Randa Hammami in 2008.

As written so many times before, there is not possible to extract from the gardenia flower by any technique. Therefore there are many different white flower interpretations pretending to be gardenia. Cruel Gardenia starts with a bouquet of white flowers where quite soon the mushroom note typical for some gardenias shining through very clearly to me. I can’t feel a cheesy note that also is present in some other gardenia, but probably that is just another facet of the fresh, mushroom note. When the mushroom is faded a wonderful, creamy, thick, white floral blend is appearing and is the linear main theme during the whole dry down. There is also an accompanying, fresh fruity almost citrus, slight ozonic like note balancing the creamy white flowers and all this beauty is anchored in a white and clean musky base. The impression of Cruel Gardenia is that of a luxury bodycreme and the style and associations of smelling the scent reminds me very much of the beautiful Puredistance I. I isn’t as thick as Cruel Gardenia, it’s lighter and more ozonic in texture.

Even if Cruel Gardenia is not a groundbreaking composition, it’s an very wearable, utterly elegant comfort scent made of high quality ingredients and seamless blended. The longevity is very good, almost 24h and the sillage is medium.

I think Cruel Gardenia could be appreciated by those who like Cartier Baiser Volé and Ramón Monegal White Musk (Cotton Musk).

Rating: 5

Notes: Neroli, peach, rose, gardenia, ylang-ylang, gardenia, musk, sandalwood, tonka been, vanilla

Guerlain – Iris Ganache

Picture: Three Godiva truffles
Author: Ginny (cc) Wikimedia commons 

Iris Ganache, created by Thierry Wasser is the irisinterpretation in the Guerlain gourmandepos L’Art et la Matiere. Iris Ganache is the first from the line that has been discontinued but some bottles could still be aviable.

Iris Ganache starts with an elegant, wellcrafted iris, almost compleatly without the carrotnote that is present in the more orris-rooty iris interpretations. The iris is blended with a light,  leathernote, like the image of smooth, white or beige colored leather used in a pair of long, glacé-gloves, matching an elegant ball-gown . When Iris Ganache dries down to the middlenotes it becomes sweeter and a note that reminds me of white chocolade occurs: The flowery iris is still there, and brings a coolness that counterbalances the sweetness in a wellblended manner. This impression lasts during the rest of the drydown where the musk, vanilla and patchouli which the blend contains, isn’t recognizable as separate notes but as a wellblended, smooth and pleasant base for the iris-gourmand accord. Iris Ganache is described as containing powdery notes, but to my nose these notes are subdued and just slightly recognizable, to my nose Iris Ganache has an almost bubble bath-y note in the late drydown. Iris Poudre by Parfums Editions Frederic Malle is much more powdery IMO.

Iris Ganache is comfortable and elegant in the same time. It’s a perfect scent both for dressed up occasions as for work to cheer up and to convey a pleasant olfactory presence. The longevity of Iris Ganache is for more than a day and the sillage is close, this is an elegant and subtle skinscent. 

Those who appreciate iris scents in the style of Ramon Monegal Impossible Iris, Prada Infusion d’Iris Absolue, Huiteme Art Naiviris and Xerjoff Irisss will probably also like Iris Ganache.

Rating: 4

Notes: Cinnamon, bergamot, iris, white chocolate, patchouli, cedar, musk, vanilla, amber 

Guerlain - Bois d'Armenie

Picture: Haghartsin monastery, Armenia
Photo:Fhen (cc) Wikimedia Commons some rights reserved

Bois d'Armenie  by Annick Menardo is the fourth installment in the Guerlain L'Art et Matiere line. It's the most subtle and gentle true woody oriental fragrances I have tested so far. To me Bois d'Armenie is totally unisex even if marked as male in some descriptions.

Bois d'Armenie starts soft spicy woody with some very smooth incense and a note that reminds me of nectar. The nectarnote later on becomes sort of a soft note of honey that glimpses by. Maybe I'm anosmiac to something in Bois d'Armenie because during the drydown I percieve the same linear, smooth, a bit sweet, spicy, gentle, light woody scent and it's faint to me. Cosy and nice, well blended of good ingredients, but no challenges or excitement. A safe fragrance for everyday wear except for the warm summerdays. The least appealing fragrance to me in the L'Art et Matiere line, even if good quality there is not much going on in this according to my nose.

Rating: 3

Notes: Iris, pink pepper, incense,coriander, benzoin, guaiac wood, patchouli, white musk, copahu balm