New generation: Vine and Helmut Lang

Vine by Strange Invisible Perfumes It is easy to lure me with the promise of a Greek myth, wine and pomegranates. I am also unable to resist the words like “whispering decadence”, “ambrosial” and “poised”. Vine is all of those things, but what is strangely invisible in the description of the fragrance is a very noticeable animalic accord that is persistently there through the two thirds of the fragrance development and only gets less noticeable (but never disappears completely) in the drydown, where Vine is all sweet fruits and thick dark wine. To stay in the vein of Greek mythology, that animalic accord is perhaps the smell of Cerberus sent by his master to stealthily follow Persephone; it is hard to believe that she could have stayed oblivious to his musc-y, wet, sweetly repulsive odour. I cannot. This “three headed dog from Hades” note in Vine somewhat obscures all that is ambrosial about it. That is not to say that I don’t like this fragrance; I find it repulsive and irresistible at the same time, just like I cannot get enough of Muscs Koublai Khan, the fragrance that first opened my eyes to the wonders of all things musk and animalic. Helmut Lang by Helmut Lang Another relation of Koublai’s, very distant this time. A pale, androgynous cousin many times removed but still somehow reminiscent of that dirty naughty Koublai Khan of Lutens fame. The indescribable nameless animalic note is super light here, but it is still present. There is a “skin accord” among the official notes, and, whatever that may be, I bet you that is what makes this sleek, clean, modern eau de parfum smell on my skin like an unwashed Mongol warrior. Helmut Lang is very wearable, rather discreet, with just a hint of a hungry sexy predator lurking beneath the very contemporary minimalistic surface.

Kissing cousins: En Avion and Vol de Nuit

En Avion by Caron Luca Turin’s description of En Avion in his Le Guide, as a fragrance fit for Sam Spade’s fiancée intrigued me enormously. He also describes this perfume as Olympian and suitable for an Amazon. According to Caron, En Avion was created as a homage to the first women of the skies (Adrienne Bolland, Hélène Boucher and Maryse Bastié), the adventurous ones, the ones who braved the elements. After sampling En Avion, I am not convinced about future Mrs. Spade and especially about a Greek goddess wearing this, but that is definitely what an Amazon might smell like. In fact, a woman wearing En Avion would be a great match for someone who wears Muscs Koublai Khan. That would be a union made in horse-riding barbarian steppe heaven. The official list of notes (“Orange tree, rose, jasmine, carnation…Totally new balance of rich flowers on a dry, spicy, wooded base.”) does not mention any animalic notes, but they are there, to my nose. The same “circus smell” as in Koublai Khan hit me when I first tried En Avion. It is not as wild as in the former but it sure is there. Not entirely unpleasant, weirdly captivating, En Avion is one of the most unusual perfumes I have ever tried. Vol de Nuit by Guerlain Vol Nuit is yet another aviation-related scent that I find to have animal accords. There must be some connection there, but it eludes me. Vol de Nuit was named after Antoine de saint Exupery’s novel, in which a pilot loses the control of his plane, while his newly wed wife is in the control tower, desperately waiting for any signs of life from his aircraft. It feels almost wrong that Vol de Nuit, this incredibly romantic story of love, is animalic on my skin. Think En Avion's prettier gentler younger sister. Think Muscs Koublai Khan's very distant relative. Perhaps it is jasmine playing its cruel indole game with me again. I don't know. All I know, there is something a little dirty and sensual in this fragrance, but that sensuality is suppressed. Fearless En Avion left behind her classy upbringing and eloped with Koublai Khan, while Vol de Nuit stayed at home, met her pilot and we all know the rest of the story. *The painting is An Amazon, by Franz von Stuck.

Muscs Koublai Khan by Serge Lutens

Koublai Khan, 1215-94, was a Mongol emperor, founder of the Yüan dynasty of China. He succeeded his brother Mongke as the ruler of the empire that their grandfather Jenghiz Khan had founded. The empire reached its greatest territorial scope with Kublai's final defeat of the Sung dynasty of China. Koublai promoted economic prosperity by rebuilding the Grand Canal, repairing public granaries, and extending highways; he fostered Chinese scholarship and arts; although he favored Tibetan Buddhism, other religions (except Taoism) were tolerated. Kublai encouraged foreign commerce, and his magnificent capital at Cambuluc (now Beijing) was visited by several Europeans, including Marco Polo. As far as I am concerned, there is none of that imperial splendor in Muscs Koublai Khan, no enlightened interest in arts and science; magnificent palaces full of priceless objects don’t rise before my eyes when I smell this fragrance. Serge Lutens creation is all about Koublai the warrior, a soldier among his soldiers, a conqueror prowling the great plains. Muscs Koublai Khan is raw, dirty and sensual. On the first sniff, this is, shockingly, the smell of a circus, you know the one, animal sweat and animal skin and all the things I will not mention here, a very distinctive smell that is repulsive yet weirdly appealing at the same time…Civet, castoreum, costus roots, patchouli…I have no doubt that this is exactly what Koublai Khan smelled like on his cleanest day while on a conquering spree. I would have never expected myself to like a scent like that, yet I find it incredibly alluring. Perhaps, Ambrose Bierce was right, and every Russian is a person with a Caucasian body and a Mongolian soul, and these are the deepest and the darkest recesses of my soul that crave Muscs Koublai Khan, this eau de blood-thirsty unwashed horse-rider of the steppes…Like Nikolai Gumilev, sometimes “I’m bored with people and the stories, and dream of the treasures of the kingdom, glories, and yataghans, all covered with blood.” *The painting is Koublai Khan by Frank Frazetta

Next...

"Clan of Koublai Khan", five “animalic” scents, four of them truly remarkable.

Eau des Iles by Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier

I decided to review Eau des Iles right after the description of my hunt for a perfect coffee scent, since it was sampled during that hunt, as a fragrance that allegedly contains a coffee note. There was no coffee in it to my nose, but the scent itself is so remarkable that it must be mentioned anyway. According to Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier, Eau des Iles takes the wearer to “perfume islands in which coffee fragrances intermingle with stately rare woods and smooth exotic flowers that have a strange beauty of their own.” According to me, those islands are situated in restaurants specializing in (Trans) Caucasian cuisine. Never before had a perfume made me this hungry. Eau des Iles puts me in a mood for Georgian or Armenian food, for meat marinated in herbs and spices and then barbequed till it is nice and dark on the outside. Salivating yet? So was I. However I am not sure I want to smell like a juicy almost burned shashlyk. Eau des Iles is the smokiest perfume I have ever tried. The description promises “an astonishing olfactory discovery”, and for once a description does not mislead. But it does not prepare you for the fact that the “spices, wood, coffee, ylang ylang, patchouli” combine to produce an incredibly burnt smell. The smell is not unpleasant, not at all, but it is nothing I can ever imagine wearing on my skin. The fragrance is rather tenacious and the lasting power is superb. Applied at noon, the smoky aroma is still going strong six hours later. When it finally subsides, the residual scent is alike the smell that your skin, hair and clothes have when you spend some time in front of the campfire…Top marks for uniqueness. Nil pointe for wearability.

Coffee Scents: A Story with a Happy Ending

Contender No. 1. Hippie Latte: Comme des Garcons Series 7: Sweet – Wood Coffee Notes: cardamom, liquorice, chinese ginger, almond, coffee essence, wood, indonesian patchouli, vanilla. Wood Coffee was the first coffee scent I tried, and, it being Comme des Garcons, I expected something striking. Alas, I was disappointed. I did not encounter much wood, and even though there was plenty of coffee, it was not the coffee of the Turkish proverb, "black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love." Rather, Wood Coffee is a diluted, cold latte and I don't mean intentionally cold as in some fancy Starbucks creation, but rather as in “forgotten in a mug and gone cold and stale”. To make the matters worse, in the drydown, patchouli reared its ugly head demoting Wood Coffee from the status of unremarkable to almost unwearable. Contender No. 2. Politically Correct: Jo Malone – Black Vetyver Café Notes: coffee, vetiver, temple incense and sequoia. Black Vetyver Café was allegedly born from Jo Malone’s passion to create the perfect coffee note. I have a passion to find a perfect coffee scent, so there seemed to be a great chance that I would love this. And I don’t dislike it, but…as Ernest Hemingway said, “But did thee feel the earth move?” I did not. This is a big improvement on the stale, cold, patchouli leaden Wood Coffe. However, if, like me, you a crave a rich, dark, sensual coffee scent, this is not it. Black Vetyver cafe is a very neutral fragrance, civilized, elegant, appropriate anywhere...It is very wearable and actually even full-bottle worthy for me, but…this is not It. Contender No. 3. “The Spirit of the Unexpected”: Bond No 9 – New Haarlem Notes: coffee, vanilla, patchouli. How I love the beginning of this fragrance. It is dark, sexy, sweet and very recognizably “coffee”. Very hip, very sophisticated, and, at that point, very wearable. Unfortunately, that is not where the story ends. Memories evoked by scents can be a wonderful thing and enhance one’s love for a new fragrance; they also can be a curse. In this case it is not a bad memory that New Haarlem brings to mind, it is simply that, sometime during the drydown, the scent becomes, to my nose, a fragrance a person from my past used to wear, and I simply cannot get over that and enjoy New Haarlem. I feel that I am wearing another person’s skin so to say. The scent it reminded me of is Route 66, created in 1995 by Coty, which, for those unfamiliar with it, is a tobacco-woody-ambery fragrance. Damn be the tricks of olfactory memory. Memories aside, a masculine cologne drydown is simply not among the characteristic a coffee scent has to possess, in order to come close to the ideal I have in mind. Contender No. 4. Holy Grail Alert! Dawn Spencer Hurwitz – Coffee Absolut Notes: coffee absolute. Wowza! My search for a perfect coffee scent ends here (for now, that is, since a perfumista's job is never done). It is hard to imagine that there can be anything more coffee-like, apart from the coffee itself. From the dark colour of the liquid to the incredible scent, this is it, black, strong and sweet. I don’t know how she did it, the notes on her site don't disclose much, but DSH somehow created that elusive ideal coffee scent I was looking for. Wood Coffee? Purleeze! Black Vetyver Café? Laughable. New Haarlem? Sorry, not even close. A side note for other incorrigible layerers out there. I accidentally layered Coffee Absolut with Bourbon French Romanov (a sweet rose scent) and the result is incredible, I have a feeling this DSH creation would bring a certain stunning dark undertone to many a scent. Know of more coffee scents? Please send your recommendations!

The Madonna by Edvard Munch and Regina Harris Perfume Oil

Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter, lithographer, etcher, and wood engraver, is considered to be one of the most significant influences on the development of German and Central European expressionism. Munch's disquieting and tortuous art reflected the conflicts of his time, and his own unhappy life. His Madonna is not typically demure and full of inner light. She is dark, provocative and somehow troubled. Sensual, mysterious and tragic. Very intense. "The pause during which the entire world halts in its orbit. Your face embodies all the beauty of the world. Your lips, as crimson as a ripe fruit, are half open as if to express pain. A corpse's smile. Here life and death shake hands. The chain that links thousands of past generations to the thousands to come has been meshed." (Edvard Munch) Regina Harris Perfume Oil, also known as Frankincense Myrrh Rose Maroc Perfume Oil, is for me an olfactory equivalent of that painting. It is alluring, disturbing and mysterious. This is an Expressionist scent, with the notes of frankincense, myrrh and rose distorted and exaggerated to achieve an unsettling, dark and simmering fragrance. The notes are rich and complex and very smoothly blended. Lasting power is exceptional, the bottle is stunning, and, even though the price is rather high at $125 for 15ml, this scent keeps calling to me and one day I am hoping to have it in my collection. * The Madonna by Edvard Munch, 1894-5, Oil on canvas, Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo

Jorge de Burgos Would Approve: Messe de Minuit by Etro

My inner Goth craves incense perfumes and I feel I owe it to her to try them, after all, I keep her suppressed and never let her out. Some of the reviews of Messe de Minuit described the scent as scary. That is something I simply cannot resist. The sample was acquired and I braced myself, fully prepared to be terrified by the images too horrible to mention coming out of the vial in a puff of pungent smoke…Perhaps teenage and not-so-teenage years spent reading horror books and watching horror movies raised my fear threshold, Messe de Minuit failed to scare me. Instead it made me sad. According to Etro, Messe de Minuit has “a luminous quality that seems to sit comfortably with its darker undertones.” What on earth are they talking about? Nothing remotely luminous here, this is a very dark dense opaque woody incense. The image I get (and I am tragically unoriginal here) is that of a church, old, dusty, moldy church, with the incense smell forever being absorbed by the walls along with the prayers and tears of the people who come here…an unhappy place somehow, perhaps it is a desecrated church…or perhaps this is how the monastery from Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose would smell like, a stale sorrowful odor of a place where humorless monks live, obsessed with the fact that Jesus never laughed. Messe de Minuit could never possibly be wearable for me, but I couldn’t praise it enough for the originality and the evocativeness. For me this is one of the “haute couture scents”, something to be admired and maybe even bought, but never really worn in real everyday life.

Colonia per il Papa: Avignon by Comme des Garcons

According to Proverbs 27:9, incense brings joy to the heart. I have yet to find an incense perfume that would do that to mine. The feeling I often get is that of desolation, loneliness and gravity. Parfum Sacre is the only exception, but that one is a different story, sensual incense, almost sacrilegious. Avingon, along with Messe de Minuit and, to a lesser degreee, Passage d’Enfer, is the most somber and sorrowful of the incense scents I've tried. This is undeniably a Catholic church incense, evoking an image of a Papal cathedral no less, a place that is grand, important and unapproachable, all cold marble and disapproving statues of saints. The incense note here is somber and chilly, but if I try really hard I can smell some patchouli here, like a dirty earthly undercurrent hidden under all that holiness. This is a wonderfully unique, albeit intimidating, fragrance. I could never be able to wear Avignon, but it makes one's idle mind wonder, do Pontiffs wear cologne? I can't imagine an edgy, trendy brand like Comme Des Garcons being popular behind the walls of the Apostolic Palace, but their Avignon really should be. There is no other scent that would be so fit for Papa, although I imagine the late John Paul II might have liked something more cheerful and less formal. I will stop now before I start any blasphemous rumors and get disowned by the Church.

Sacred Feminine: Parfum Sacre by Caron

It is hard to believe that Parfum Sacre was created as recently as 1990, this incredibly beautiful perfume, an immaculate, soft, classic, timeless blend. With notes of myrrh, musk, vanilla, rose, jasmine, pepper, cinnamon, coriander, Parfum Sacre is something straight out of the Song of Songs, “an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits…with every kind of incense tree, myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices…” It starts as a gentle, whispery rose and vanilla blend on my skin, with tiny sparkles of pepper adding discreet spiciness to the composition. Cinnamon and jasmine, two notes I find rather hard to wear, are not obvious to my nose here, this story really is all about roses, vanilla and musk. As the fragrance develops further, incense tiptoes in, and this is sweet, warm incense, very far removed from the cold grey scents like Avignon or Passage d’Enfer. Parfum Sacre is all about warmth, colors red, black and dark gold. Having said that, there is nothing overly grand or imposing about this perfume, don’t let the name lead you to expect a heady voluptuous High Priestess kind of scent, this is a different kind of sacred, the one that is kept in reverent secrecy and related in whispers. Song of Songs aside, what this fragrance really brings to mind are the images of Sacred Feminine and the theories of the Goddess in the Gospels. Yes, I did read and like The Da Vinci Code and it obviously shows, but think about it- roses and myrrh, what other perfume would be more appropriate to personify Mary Magdalene? Have the members of the Priory of Sion infiltrated Caron in the 1990s? Perhaps, given the history of all the wonderful Caron creations, they were present there from the very beginning. I will leave you with Padraic Pearse's "Song for Mary Magdalene": O woman of the gleaming hair, (Wild hair that won men's gaze to thee) Weary thou turnest from the common stare, For the shuiler Christ is calling thee. O woman of the snowy side, Many a lover hath lain with thee, Yet left thee sad at the morning tide, But thy lover Christ shall comfort thee. O woman with the wild thing's heart, Old sin hath set a snare for thee: In the forest ways forspent thou art But the hunter Christ shall pity thee. O woman spendthrift of thyself, Spendthrift of all the love in thee, Sold unto sin for little pelf, The captain Christ shall ransom thee. O woman that no lover's kiss (Tho' many a kiss was given thee) Could slake thy love, is it not for this The hero Christ shall die for thee? *The painting is Mary Magdalene in the Desert by Jusepe de Ribera, 1640-41, Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Next ...

“Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart “ Proverbs 27:9 Next four posts will be devoted to perfumes with incense notes. Not a comprehensive list by any stretch of imagination, just the four that I liked and / or found particularly interesting and evocative.

Balm (and Honey) for My Russian Soul: Eau de Russe by Crown Perfumery and Romanov by Bourbon French

There must be something very special about Russian leather to warrant not one, not two but at least six (that I know of) perfumes based on that note, and probably countless “dupes” and “types”. Chanel, Creed, Le Jardin Retrouve and L.T. Piver all came up with a scent named Cuir de Russie. Demeter and DSH both created Russian Leather... This popularity is especially strange considering that in Russia we like our leather to be imported from Italy or at the very least from Turkey. Returning to the topic of Russia-related scents, apart from leather, there also are Russian Amber (Dawn Spencer Hurwitz ), Zagorsk (Comme des Garcons, Incense Series) and Russian Caravan Tea (CB I Hate Perfume). According to wonderful and knowledgeable Now Smell This, Parfum d’Empire will launch Ambre Russe in October, incorporating all of the above notes (leather, tea, amber, incense) into one scent and adding a whopping bonus ingredient, namely vodka…I don’t know if I should laugh or cry about this. I am choosing to laugh. Stereotypes can be fun. In small doses. And while I admire many of the notes I mentioned above, I came to think of them as of “traditionally Russian” in perfumery and quite honestly I am longing for something different. In this case, “different” does not mean startling and unique ( Chanel’s Cuir de Russie is both of these), all I want is to find a Russia-related scent that doesn’t necessarily have leather, tea, incense and especially vodka as the most prominent ingredient. Enter Romanov and Eau de Russe. Eau de Russe by Crown Perfumery, allegedly created for the last Tsar, Nicholas II, is described as a “rich, contemporary and warm scent, to be worn with confidence,” and is for some obscure reason categorized as a masculine scent. With that description in mind, I prepared myself for a “typically Russian” scent, a traditional cologne or a leather perfume, in any case, something much heavier and headier. Note to self: let go of preconceived ideas, you are Russian yourself, you know there is more to it than cuir and a certain alcoholic beverage. Eau de Russe starts as a citrus scent on my skin; I smell limes, which to me is a note common to many Crown perfumes, lemon and a little anise. Then the scent changes the direction completely and delightfully. Now it is a soft, delicate, almost edible …floral? floriental?… it is hard to categorize that heliotrope-vanilla-amber-musk wonderfulness. Contemporary? Certainly. Warm? Yes, the way a sunny afternoon in a lovely garden is warm. Masculine? Absolutely not. Maybe unisex. When the word “pleasant” is used in perfume reviews it is usually not a compliment but a signal that a fragrance in question is quite unremarkable. I am going to use this word here in its original sense; Eau de Russe is pleasant, because it is a pleasure to smell it and to wear it. Another often overlooked, if not entirely obscure, gem is a perfume called Romanov by Bourbon French, a wonderful 160 years old New Orleans perfumery. Bourbon French describes the scent as “a warm background of vanilla, heliotrope, amber and musk perfectly blended into a handsome fragrance of true victorian tradition. The recipe dates back to 1870.” I don’t know how a New Orleans perfumery came to dream up this scent and name it Romanov, but I am so glad they did. This is a scent of roses and honey. The last royal family relaxing in their garden in summer sunshine, all white dresses, wide-brimmed hats, lace gloves; absolute serenity and calm of warm languorous summer days. Bees are buzzing over the roses, children are laughing and chasing each other…they have no premonition about what is to come, the sky is cloudless. For those who saw Mikhalkov’s film Burnt by the Sun, Romanov for me is the smell of the idyllic life the characters led in their summerhouses before the darkness fell over them. Romanov is poingnantly beautiful, the scent of times and things that are now lost forever. So what does it say about me if I love the scents that idealize my home-country? I don’t know. I believe perfumes are supposed to be pleasant. I will look for realist representation in newspapers and literature. As far as perfumes are concerned, social critique is not welcome on my skin. Give me a romaticised image of Russia (or any other country) and I will buy it. Perhaps I am becoming very émigré; next thing you know, my house is full of Matryoshkas and Khokhloma and I am devoted to the cause of reinstalling the monarchy. If that happens, someone please slap me. But leave me my Russian scents with notes of honey and roses.

Next week...

My two favourite Russia-related perfumes, Romanov by Bourbon French and Eau de Russe by Crown Perfumery.

The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy and L’Heure Bleue by Guerlain

The Forsyte Saga is the sequence of novels, which chronicles the lives of three generations of a large, upper-middle-class family at the turn of the century. The Forsytes are tenaciously clannish and anxious to increase their wealth. At the core of the story is the relationship between Soames Forsyte and his wife Irene. Soames is madly in love with Irene and, true Forsyte that he is, sees her as a form of property. Irene does not love Soames and is deeply unhappy; she falls in love with a young architect, Soames’s prosecution of the said architect leads to the latter’s death in a traffic accident in London. The other novels of the saga trace the subsequent divorce of Soames and Irene, the second marriages they make, and the eventual romantic entanglements of their children. If all this sounds like a soap-opera to you, it really isn't, this is a thoughtful, often humorous book that used to be filed under the "social realism" category during my Soviet childhood. L’Heure Bleue. “The gods had given Irene dark brown eyes and golden hair, that strange combination, provocative of men's glances, which is said to be the mark of a weak character. And the full, soft pallor of her neck and shoulders, above a gold-coloured frock, gave to her personality an alluring strangeness. … She was ever silent, passive, gracefully averse.” What perfume can be more fitting for a woman like that (and consequently for the book that is centered around that woman) than an infinitely soft and feminine L’Heure Bleue. Rhetoric question, really. L'Heure Bleue is a “very Guerlain” fragrance, with that dark, whispery, powdery undertone, and reminds me both of Mitsouko and Shalimar, especially of Mitsouko, with which it shares the same oleaginous, balsamic quality, however L’Heure Bleue is a much gentler scent. It has the sotto voce quality that I adore in perfumes, it is distinct yet soft. The notes of rose, iris, jasmine, vanilla and musk come together to form this intimate, refined and sensual perfume. Even though I know from the book, that Irene wore “gardenias”, when I read the following passage, I cannot help thinking of her wearing L’Heure Bleue : “Soames went to the drawing-room presently, and peered at her through the window. Out in the shadow of the Japanese sunshade she was sitting very still, the lace on her white shoulders stirring with the soft rise and fall of her bosom. But about this silent creature sitting there so motionless, in the dark, there seemed a warmth, a hidden fervour of feeling, as if the whole of her being had been stirred, and some change were taking place in its very depths. He stole back to the dining-room unnoticed.” * Paintings – Mariage de Convenance by Sir William Quiller Orchardson, Glasgow City Art Gallery and Les Adieux by James Tissot, Bristol City Art Gallery

Heaven Has No Favorites by Erich Maria Remarque and Farnesiana by Caron

Heaven Has No Favorites. Lillian is slowly dying of consumption and she doesn’t want to end her days in a hospital in the Alps. She wants to see Paris again, to live lightheartedly and to the full for as long as possible. Clerfayt, a race-car driver, tempts fate every time he's on the road. Both are living only for the moment, without regard for the future. They can’t have any regard for the future because essentially they have no future, they are living an instant at a time. “Nobody escapes. … And nobody knows when and how it will catch up with him. What’s the use of haggling over time? What is a long life, anyhow? A long past. And the future always extends only to the next breath. Or to the next race. Beyond that, we know nothing.” Even though I can definitely relate to this very existentialist philosophy of his, I don’t have much sympathy for Clerfayt, after all he has chosen to lead this dangerous life. I do however have every regard and compassion for Lilian, who is probably one of my most favorite literary heroines. One of the most poignant and human aspects of the book is the relationship between Lilian and the dresses she buys from Balenciaga (who by the way makes a cameo appearance in the book). She hangs the dresses around her in the room so that when the night comes and she is afraid of darkness and suffocation, “she could stretch out her arm and grasp the dresses, and they were like silver-and velvet-ropes which she could use to draw herself back out of the shapeless grayness, back to the walls, time, relationships, space, and life.” Farnesiana. “Mimosa,” Clerfayt said, pointing to the flowering trees by the lake. “Whole lanes of them.” Farnesiana is Baudelaire’s “fée aux yeux de velours”, “fairy with soft eyes”, a perfume whose bittersweet freshness represents Lilian like none other. Farnesiana, with its oleaginous, balsamic softness and bitter almondyness, is a poignant, fragile scent, an epitome of beautiful life slipping through our fingers, life where we meet and hold each other for a while and lose each other forever. “What is your secret?” Fiola asked. “A great future?” She shook her head again. “None,” she said cheerfully. “No future at all. You have no idea how easy that can make so many things.” * The first photo is of Balenciaga dress, Fall/Winter 1950, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection of Costume Institute. * The second photo pictures Acacia Farnesiana or Sweet Acacia, the inspiration behind Caron’s creation.

Roksolana by Pavlo Zagrebelny and Rahat Loukoum by Serge Lutens

Roksolana. Written by Ukrainian writer Pavlo Zagrebelny, this is a story of Roksolana (approx. 1506-1558), also known as Haseki Hürrem Sultan, Rushen and La Rossa, who has been enslaved during raids by the Crimean Turks on Ukraine, and presented to the Ottoman palace. Intelligent, quick-witted and attractive, Hürrem became Süleyman the Magnificent’s most beloved wife. Her influence over him was proverbial. To ensure that one of her own sons would succeed to the throne, she did everything in her power to turn Süleyman against his eldest son and heir Mustafa. Roksolana advised her sultan on political matters and had an unusually influential role in politics and foreign affairs of the empire. During her later life, Hürrem became more concerned with charitable works and founded a number of institutions, becoming the first woman to endow a mosque complex in Istanbul. Political aspects aside, to me this is a story of Roksolana’s love and hate for Süleyman, dark passion first born out of necessity and grown in gilded slavery. This is a powerfully and beautifully written historic account of her life, and if you can find this book I wholeheartedly recommend it (and please let me know where you found it, I am desperately searching for an English translation). Rahat Loukoum.The scent is based on an exotic dessert called Turkish Delight or Rahat Loukoum (literary, “rest for the throat”). This rubbery-textured candy is made from cornstarch or gelatin, sugar, honey, fruit juice, jelly, or rose water and is often tinted pink or green. Chopped almonds, pistachio nuts, pine nuts or hazelnuts are frequently added. This candy was the legendary sweet of the harem in the Middle East, eaten by women to keep themselves appealingly plump. One of Les Eaux Anciennes, Rahat Loukoum the fragrance is a delicious mélange of white almonds, white honey, musk and vanilla. The sum is bigger, more luscious and darker then the ingredients might suggest; this almost smoky darkness of Rahat Loukoum on my skin is the reason I love it above other renditions of this Turkish delicacy, namely Keiko Mecheri’s Loukhoum and Montale’s Sweet Oriental Dream; it is also the reason why I think this is a fitting perfume for Roksolana. Rahat Loukoum starts with the burst of cherry and the smell grows more sensual, decadent, dark, smoky and less foody with every minute. This is a scent to love "as certain dark things are to be loved, between the shadow and the soul." I will leave you with a poem written by Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent for his beloved Roksolana, the poem is signed Muhibbi, meaning “lover” or “sweetheart”: "Throne of my lonely niche, my wealth, my love, my moonlight. My most sincere friend, my confidant, my very existence, my Sultana The most beautiful among the beautiful... My springtime, my merry faced love, my daytime, my sweetheart, laughing leaf... My plants, my sweet, my rose, the one only who does not distress me in this world... My Istanbul, my Caraman, the earth of my Anatolia My Badakhshanmy Baghdad, my Khorasan My woman of the beautiful hair, my love of the slanted brow, my love of eyes full of mischief... I'll sing your praises always I, lover of the tormented heart, Muhibbi of the eyes full of tears, I am happy."

Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov and Passage d’Enfer by L’Artisan Parfumeur

Master and Margarita. Set in 1930s Moscow, this is a satirical tale of good and evil, of power and corruption, and of human weakness and the strength of love. The cast includes the Devil himself, his posse that contains, among others, a beautiful naked witch Hella and a large vodka-drinking, pistol toting, black cat Behemoth; the beautiful Margarita, and a writer known as The Master. These characters are joined by Pontius Pilate and Yeshua (Jesus Christ) in an incredibly entertaining, imaginative, bizarre and yet brutally realistic parable. The Devil (Woland) and his gang wreck havoc in Moscow but in the end bring peace to two tragic lovers, Master and his Margarita. And if you ask Woland, just like Faust asked Mephistopheles, who is he after all, he will undoubtedly reply, that he is “part of the power which forever wills evil and forever works good.” Passage d’Enfer. The overall impression is that of a "gray" scent, gray and melancholy, but also strangely comforting. This is my scent of choice on a gloomy rainy day, when I am stressed or sad. It brings me strange peace. A beautiful passage from Master and Margarita might illustrate that odd lightness of heart: “Gods, my gods! How sad the earth is at eventide! How mysterious are the mists over the swamps. Anyone who has wandered in these mists, who has suffered a great deal before death, or flown above the earth, bearing a burden beyond his strength knows this. Someone who is exhausted knows this. And without regret he forsakes the mists of the earth, its swamps and rivers, and sinks into the arms of death with a light heart, knowing that death alone…” The scent does not evoke an image of an inside of a church, as most incense based scents do' what I do imagine is some otherworldly eternal creature perched on top of a tall gray cathedral (“With his sharp chin resting on his fist and one leg folded beneath him Woland sat hunched on the taboret, staring fixedly at the vast assortment of huge buildings, palaces, and shacks condemned to destruction”), surveying us mortals with disdainful pity, because he has seen it all so many times and knows that youth passes, hearta break, life ends and all our earthly pursuits are nothing but vain and clutching at the wind... Wearing Passage d'Enfer puts me in a mood to read Ecclesiastes. Or Bulgakov. The wonderful photo is by Luciano Duse and is called The Protector of the City.

Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan and Un Zest de Rose by Les Parfums de Rosine

Bonjour Tristesse. Set against the radiant beauty of the South of France in summer, Bonjour Tristesse is narrated by Cécile, a seventeen-year-old, who is “not a girl, not yet a woman”, and whose meddling in her father's love life has some tragic results. Fresh from the confines of boarding school, Cécile leads a carefree hedonistic existence with her young-ish, handsome, good-natured and promiscuous father. This summer, Cécile has a sexual conquest of her own in the face of a “tall and almost beautiful" law student. La vie est belle, the sea is warm and the sky is without a single cloud. Then, a new and demanding woman appears in her father's life. Feeling that her cozy companionship with her father and their unrestrained lifestyle are being threatened, Cécile sets in motion a plan that has consequences more devastating than she ever imagined. Deceptively simply structured, Bonjour Tristesse is a brilliant portrait of laid-back amorality and a young woman's frantic attempt to comprehend and control the world around her. Un Zest de Rose. This mélange of roses and citrus is translucent and sweet, the combination that seems so poignant to me. Its contrast of carefree freshness of mandarin, lemon and orange blossom and sultry almost-sugariness of roses is the reason I always think of it as a perfume that could represent Bonjour Tristesse. It is young, pretty and vulnerable. Moreover, to me, this fragrance has the same finesse, emotion and subtlety that I adore in Sagan’s writing. Un Zest de Rose starts all zest and no rose on me, then slowly the rose joins the lemon and for a while they are side by side like ingredients in some Turkish desert of sugared rose petals sprinkled with lemon juice. Finally, the perfume dries down to a rose scent with hints of lemon in the distance. (Notes: Lemon, bergamot, cedar, dried fruits; Bulgarian rose, tea rose jasmine, rose absolute; Rose, gardenia, white musk, gray amber, smoked tea leaves.) Apparently, there is a rose called Golden Zest, which has a strong citrus fragrance, perhaps that was what Madame Rogeon had in mind when she created this gorgeous summery scent. And if you found my idea of a rose-based dessert appealing, how about some rose petal jam? As poet Rumi said: Touch your cheek to the cheek of sugar. Get the taste of it. Give perfume to it. Try to alleviate the pain of separation With the help of sugar. Once you become the conserve of roses, You are food for the Soul, Light for the eyes... When I say "conserve of roses," I mean the Grace of God and our existence.

Greetings

This is a blog about perfume and related issues. Sometimes the relation will be very distant. Sometimes it will exist only in my imagination. My only qualification for starting this blog is my love (some would say obsession) for perfumes. I am also an avid reader and lover of art, movies, music…you name it. Again, I am not an expert in any of these fields; I just have diverse and eclectic tastes. I would love to hear from you, so please do not hesitate to comment. In the course of the next five days I am going to talk about my favorite books in relation to some of the perfumes I love. These are not books about fragrances; they probably don’t even mention perfumes. The idea was to imagine what each book would be like as a perfume; what existing perfume would fit the image or rather the “feel” of each book. First, Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan and Un Zest de Rose by Les Parfums de Rosine.

Perfume Reviews by Perfume House: A-H

Perfume houses I-Q, Perfume houses R-Z __________ 10 Corso Como - 10 Corso Como --- 1000 Flowers - Reglisse Noire --- Abinoam - Beleza - Cobice - Corazon - Desejo --- Acqua di Biela - Bursch --- Acqua di Parma - Colonia - Mirto di Panarea - Profumo --- Aesop - Marrakech --- Aftelier Perfumes - Candide - Cassis - Cognac - Lumiere - Parfum de Maroc - Tango --- Agarscents Bazaar - Al Manara --- Agatha - Imperial Jade - Emperor --- Agent Provocateur - Agent Provocater Eau Emotionelle - Maitresse --- Agraria - Balsam - Bitter Orange - Lemon Verbena --- Ajne - Savoir --- Alan Cumming - Cumming The Fragrance Review 1 Mr. Colombina Cumming The Fragrance Review 2 Tom --- Alexander McQueen - Kingdom - My Queen --- Amouage - Al Shomoukh Attar - Ciel - Gold - Jubilation 25 - Lyric Man review 1 Marina Lyric Man review 2 Tom - Lyric Woman review 1 Marina Lyric Woman review 2 Donna - Memoir Man review 1 Marina Memoir Man review 2 Tom - Memoir Woman - Reflection for Men review 1 Marina Reflection for Men review 2 Tom - Reflection for Women - Tribute Attar - Ubar --- Anat Fritz - Anat Fritz Eau de Parfum --- Annayake - Miyako --- Anne Pliska - Anne Pliska --- Annick Goutal - Ambre Fetiche review 1 Linda Ambre Fetiche review 2 Tom - Ce Soir ou Jamais - Des Lys - Duel - Eau de Lavande - Eau de Monsieur - Eau de Sud - Eau d’Hadrien Eau d'Hadrien Review 2 - Encens Flamboyant review 1 Linda Encens Flamboyant review 2 Tom - Le Muguet - Mandragore - Musc Nomade - Myrrhe Ardente review 1 Linda Myrrhe Ardente review 2 Tom Myrrhe Ardente review 3 Marina - Ninfeo Mio - Quel Amour - Sables - Songes - Un Matin d'Orage - Vetiver --- Antica Farmacista - Casablanca - Vaniglia, Bourbon & Mandarino di Sicilia --- Antoine & Lili - Holy Champa --- Antonia's Flowers - Sogni del Mare (Dreams of the Sea) --- Anya's Garden - Kewdra - Rewiews 1 - Temple --- Apivita - Euphoria --- Apothia - If - L - Velvet Rope --- Aquolina - Blue Sugar --- Arabian Oud - King Fahed --- Arab Perfumes - Al Rawza --- Areej Al Ameerat - Areej Al-Ameerat Dehen Al Oud --- Armani - Armani Code for Women - Armani Prive Ambre Soie - Armani Prive Bois d’Encens - Armani Prive Cuir Amethyste - Armani Prive Eau de Jade - Armani Prive Pierre de Lune --- Aroma M - Geisha Noire --- Art of Perfumery - No. 3 - No. 6 --- Atelier Cologne - Orange Sanguine --- Augustina - Avondale - Roxborough - Woodlawn --- Aus Liebe Zum Duft No. 1 - Duft No. 1 --- Ayala Moriel - Hanami --- Azzaro - Pour Homme --- Badgley Mischka - Badgley Mischka --- Balmain - Ambre Gris --- Banana Republic - Alabaster Black Walnut Jade Rosewood Slate --- Barbara Bui - Barbara Bui Le Parfum --- Benefit - Laugh with Me Lee Lee --- Beverly Hills - Iconic - Must Have - Rodeo Dr. --- Bijan - Bijan --- Bill Blass - Bills Blass Eau de Parfum --- Boadicea - Pure --- Bogner - Bogner Wood Woman --- Bois 1920 - Real Patchouly --- Bond No. 9 - Andy Warhol Silver Factory Review 1 Tom Andy Warhol Silver Factory Review 2 Marina - Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue - Bleecker Street - Broadway Nite - Brooklyn - Bryant Park - Chinatown - Coney Island - Fire Island - New Haarlem - Riverside Drive - Saks DNA for Her - Saks DNA for Him - West Broadway - West Side --- Boucheron - Miss Boucheron - Trouble --- Bourbon French - Romanov --- Bruno Acampora - Jasmin --- Burberry - Brit Gold - Burberry London --- Bvlgari - Au Thé Rouge - Jasmin Noir --- By Kilian - A Taste of Heaven - Back to Black - Beyond Love - Cruel Intentions - Liaisons Dangereuses - Love - Rose Oud review 1 Tom Rose Oud review 2 Marina - Straight to Heaven --- Byredo - La Tulipe - Pulp --- Cacharel - Anais Anais --- Cale Fragranze d'Autore - Mistero --- Calvin Klein - CKfree - CKIN2U Him - Euphoria - Secret Obsession --- Calypso St Barth - Lily --- Carnival Wax - 1965 --- Carolina Herrera - Chic --- Caron - Aimez Moi - Alpona - Eau de Reglisse Eau de Reglisse Review 2 - En Avion En Avion Review 2 - Farnesiana Review 1 Marina Farnesiana Review 2 Tom Farnesiana Review 3 Donna - L'Anarchiste - Less Plus Belles Lavandes - Montaigne - Muguet de Bonheur - N'Aimez Que Moi Review 1 Tom N'Aimez Que Moi Review 2 Marina - Nuit de Noel - Or et Noir - Parfum Sacre review 1 Marina Parfum Sacre review 2 Donna - Royal Bain de Caron - Tabac Blond - The Third Man (3eme Homme) review 1 Tom The Third Man (3eme Homme) review 2 Marina - Violette Precieuse (old and the new release) - Yatagan Yatagan Review 2 --- Cartier - Declaration - Les Heures de Cartier L'Heure Promise - Roadster --- CB I Hate Perfume - At The Beach 1966 - Black March - Burning Leaves Burning Leaves Review 2 - Cradle of Light - Eternal Return - Gathering Apples - Greenbriar 1966 - I am a Dandelion - In the Library Review 1 Tom In the Library Review 2 Marina - Memory of Kindness Memory of Kindness Review 2 - Musk Musk Review 2 - Revelation - Russian Caravan Tea - Tea/Rose - Under the Arbor - Violet Empire - Wild Hunt Review 1 Tom Wild Hunt Review 2 Marina - Winter 1972 --- Cecile & Jeanne - Eliel --- Chanel - 31 Rue Cambon (Les Exclusifs) - Antaeus - Beige - Bel Respiro (Les Exclusifs) - Bleu - Bois des Iles - Chanel No 5 Eau Premiere - Chanel No 18 (Les Exclusifs) - Chanel No 19 - Chanel No 22 (Les Exclusifs) - Coco Mademoiselle - Coromadel (Les Exclusifs) - Cristalle - Cristalle Eau Verte - Egoiste - Gardenia - Pour Monsieur - Une Fleur de Chanel --- Cherigan - Fleurs de Tabac --- Christian Dior - Addict - Bois d'Argent - Cologne Blanche - Diorama - Diorella - Dior Homme - Diorissimo review 1 Marina Diorissimo review 2 Beth Diorissimo review 3 Tom - Eau Noire - Eau Sauvage Eau Sauvage Review 2 - Fahrenheit - Fahrenheit 32 - Hypnotic Poison - La Collection Couturier Parfumeur Granville - La Collection Couturier Parfumeur Leather Oud - La Collection Couturier Parfumeur Mitzah - La Collection Couturier Parfumeur New Look 1947 - La Collection Couturier Parfumeur Vetiver - La Collection Particuliere Passage No 4 - La Collection Particuliere Passage No 8 - La Collection Particuliere Passage No 9 - Midnight Charm Eau de Noel - Midnight Poison - Miss Dior --- Clive Christian - X for Women --- Colette - Curated by Collete Three As Four --- Comme des Garcons - 2 - 2 Man - Avignon - Burnt Sugar - Dover Street Market - Dry Clean - Garage - Guerilla #1 - Guerilla #2 - Harissa - Lily - LUXE Champaca - LUXE Patchouli - Nomad Tea - Peppermint - Play - Skai - Soda - Spicy Cocoa - Sticky Cake - Tar - Vettiveru - Wonderwood - Wood Coffee Wood Coffee Review 2 - Zagorsk --- Comptoir Sud Pacifique - Coco Figue - Eau des Lagons - Piroguier - Tiare --- Costamor - Sugarwood - Tabacca --- Coty - Muguet de Bois --- Crazylibellule - Amoureuse - Ananas Imperial - Aux Anges - Encens Mystic - Litchi Blossom - Toi Mon Prince - Vanilla Fruit Sorbet - Vanille Sucre Glace --- Creed - Angelique Encens - Acqua Fiorentina - Cuir de Russie - Fleurissimo - Love in White - Love in Black - Royal English Leather - Royal Scottish Lavender - Virgin Island Water --- Cristiano Fissore - Cashmere - Cashmere for Men --- Crown Perfumery - Alpine Lily - Eau de Russe --- Czech & Speake - Cuba - Frankincense and Myrrh - No 88 - Oxford & Cambridge --- Damien Bash - Lucifer No. 1 --- Danielle Steel - Danielle --- Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Parfums des Beaux Arts - Coffee Absolut - Cuir et Champignon review 1 Donna - dirty ROSE - The Egyptian Perfumes - Reviews: 1, --- Demeter - Paperback --- Des Filles a la Vanille - Argentee --- Diesel - Fuel for Life For Her - Fuel for Life For Him --- Diptyque - Do Son - Eau de Lierre - Eau Duelle - Eau Lente - L'Eau de L'Eau - L’Ombre Dans l’Eau - Virgilio --- Divine - Divine - Eau Divine - L’Être Aimé Femme - L’Être Aimé Homme review 1 Tom L’Être Aimé Homme review 2 Marina - L'Inspiratrice -- Domenico Caraceni - Domenico Caraceni (1913) - Loren --- Donna Karan - Chaos - Fuel for Men - Gold - Labdanum - Red Delicious for Men - Wenge --- Dr. Vranjes - Cassiopea - Elettra - Esperia --- Eau d'Italie La Sirenuse - Baume du Doge - Magnolia Romana - Paestum Rose --- Ebba - By Sand review 1 Marina By Sand review 2 Linda - Miss Marisa - Miss Marisa Tropical --- EgoFacto - Jamais Le Dimanche - Prends Garde a Trois --- Elizabeth W - Vetiver --- Ellie D - Ellie --- Elterhaus - MoslBuddJewChristHinDao --- Escada - Casual Friday - Collection - Magnetism for Men --- Esteban - Le Bain Secrete Afrique - Sensuelle Russie --- Estee Lauder - Azuree Body Oil - Private Collection - Private Collection Amber Ylang Ylang - Private Collection Jasmine White Moss - Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia - Sensuous - Youth Dew Amber Nude --- Etat Libre d'Orange - Antiheros - Divin'Enfant - Don’t Get Me Wrong Baby, I Don’t Swallow - Eloge du Traitre - Encens et Bubblegum - Fat Electrician - Jasmin et Cigarette Jasmin et Cigarette Review 2 - Je Suis Un Homme - Like This Tilda Swinton review 1 Tom Like This Tilda Swinton review 2 Marina - Nombril Immense - Putain de Palaces - Rien - Secretions Magnifique - Tom of Finland - Vraie Blond Vraie Blond Review 2 --- Etro - Messe de Minuit - Musk --- Ex Voto - Ambre Profond --- Farina Gegenuber - Kolnisch Juchten - Russisch Leder --- Fendi - Asja --- Fifi Chachnil - Fifi Chachnil --- Floris - Florissa - Lily of the Valley --- Frank Los Angeles - Frank - Frank No 2 - Frank No 3 --- Frapin - Caravelle Epicee - Esprit de Fleurs - L'Humaniste - Passion Boisee - Terre de Sarment --- Frederic Malle Editions de Parfums - Bigarade Concentree review 1 Tom Bigarade Concentree review 2 Marina - Carnal Flower review 1 Marina Carnal Flower review 2 Donna - French Lover review 1 Denyse French Lover review 2 Tom French Lover / Bois d'Orage review 3 Marina - Geranium Pour Monsieur - Iris Poudre - L'Eau d'Hiver review 1 Marina L'Eau d'Hiver review 2 Tom - Le Parfum de Therese - Lipstick Rose - Lys Mediterranee - Musc Ravageur - Noir Epices - Outrageous! - Vetiver Extraordinaire Review 1 Marina Vetiver Extraordinaire Review 2 Tom - Une Fleur de Cassie Review 1 Marina Une Fleur de Cassie Review 2 Donna - Une Rose --- Fresh - Bergamot Citrus - Cannabis Santal - Cucumber Baie - Pomegranate Anise - Redcurrant Basil --- Gendarme - Sky --- Geo F. Trumper - Spanish Leather --- Geoffrey Beene - Grey Flannel --- Germaine Monteil - Bakir --- Ginestet - Botrytis - Le Boise Review 1 Marina Le Boise Review 2 Tom - Sauvignonne --- Givenchy - Ange ou Demon - Lovely Prism - Oblique Rewind - Organza Indecence --- Gorilla Perfume at Lush - Lust --- Gucci - Flora - Gucci Pour Homme - L'Arte di Gucci --- Guerlain - Apres L'Ondee - Attrape-Coeur - Bois d’Armenie - Cherry Blossom - Colours of Love - Cruel Gardenia - Cuir Beluga - Derby - Djedi - Figue-Iris - Guerlinade - Habit Rouge - Habit Rouge Review 2 - Heritage - Insolence - Iris Ganache - L'Ame d'Un Heroes - Les Voyages Olfactifs Moscow - Les Voyages Olfactifs New York - Les Voyages Olfactifs Tokyo - L’Heure Bleue review 1 Marina L'Heure Bleue review 2 Donna - L’Instant d’Un Ete - L’Instant D’Un Ete Pour Homme - Lovely Cherry Blossom - Mahora - Metallica / Metalys - Mitsouko Fleur de Lotus - Mouchoir de Monsieur - Muguet - Philtre d’Amour - Plus Que Jamais - Quand Vient La Pluie - Rose Barbare - Secret Intention - Shalimar review 1 Marina Shalimar review 2 Beth Shalimar review 3 Donna - Sous le Vent - Spiritueuse Double Vanille Review 1 Marina Spiritueuse Double Vanille Review 2 Tom - Vega - Vetiver Vetiver Review 2 - Vetiver Frozen (Eau Glacée) - Vetiver Pour Elle - Vol de Nuit --- Hampton Sun - Privet Bloom --- Hanae Mori - Hanae Mori for Men --- Heeley - Oranges and Lemons Say The Bells of St.Clements - Spirit of the Tiger --- Helmut Lang - Helmut Lang --- Henri Bendel - Grapefruit & Vetiver - Incense & Musk - Rose & Oud --- Henry Dunay - Sabi --- Hermes - Amazone - Ambre Narguile - Eau d'Hermes - Eau d'Orange Verte - Kelly Caleche - Osmanthe Yunnan - Paprika Brasil - Rocabar - Terre d’Hermes - Un Jardin apres la Mousson - Un Jardin sur le Nil - Vanille Galante - Vetiver Tonka --- Hilde Soliani - Bell'Antonio - Conaffetto - Doolciiisssimo - Fraaagola Saalaaata - Il Tuo Tulipano - Il Vs Iris - Mangiamo Dopo Teatro - Stecca --- Histoires de Parfums - Blanc Violette - 1804 George Sand - 1740 Marquis de Sade - Vert Pivoine --- Honore des Pres - Vamp a NY --- Houbigant - Apercu - Demi-Jour --- Hove - Tea Olive --- Hugo Boss - Pure Purple --- Huitieme Art Parfums - Fareb --- Humiecki & Graef - Askew - Eau Radieuse - Geste - Multiple Rouge - Skarb ---