Sunday 18 May 2014

Parure Extrait Review



Released in 1975, yet smelling more of 1925, Parure’s fate was arguably sealed from the outset.
A giddily dense, even chaotic Chypre, J.-P. Guerlain’s creation explores the dark, fruity facets of rose by pairing it with a deep plum note that’s bordering on the alcoholic. Unlike Nahéma, which was launched just four years later and blazed a pioneering trail with  its overdose of alpha-damascone that forever changed the representation of rose in perfumery, Parure seems contentedly retrospect, quoting the spicy-green complex of Vol de Nuit over a dry, leathery, backdrop. In the base, patchouli blends with plenty of pungent oakmoss and an amber-(styrax ?)-balsamic accord to bittersweet effect.

Nose: Jean-Paul Guerlain
House: Guerlain
Release date: 1975 (discontinued)
Notes (per Fragrantica): plum, bergamot, green notes lily of the valley, rose, iris, lilac, jasmine, narcissus, oak moss, spices, amber, rose patchouli.

Sunday 11 May 2014

Oolang Infini Review



What begins as a chord of zesty, transparent wood very soon devolves into a murky, terpy, waxy monolith that smells like a collision between all the non-citrusy parts of citrus oils. To my nose, it’s harsh and unpleasant and largely obscures the Earl Grey-like tea note that could profitably have been shifted to the fore. A half teaspoon’s worth of sweetness meanwhile, provides a bridge to a Cashmeran-type woody-musk base. 

Nose: Jérôme Epinette.
House: Atelier Cologne.
Release date: 2010.
Notes (per Fragrantica): bergamot, Tunisian neroli, oolong tea, blond leather, tobacco blossom, guaiac wood, vetiver from Haiti.

Sunday 4 May 2014

Sa Majesté la Rose Review


Sa Majesté la Rose is a peerless rose soliflore at whose heart lies an unusually high dose of Rosa damascena absolute.
Following a nostril-singeing flare of waxy citrus, there emerges an astonishing facsimile of a freshly-cut, Madame Alfred Carrière-type blossom; all pink and dewy with an unmistakable lychee fruit accent. As the perfume develops, it gains a honey-like hue that’s shaded by dark spices and yet, somehow, Sa Majesté la Rose never looses its geranium-like brightness and verdant vibrancy - no mean feat given its remarkable longevity.

Nose: Christopher Sheldrake
House: Serge Lutens
Release date: 2000
Notes (per Fragrantica): Moroccan rose, guaiac wood, clove, white honey, musk.