Inside the artist's studio: Bruno Fazzolari Editions perfumes (And a prize draw!)

By Donna I had the great pleasure of meeting artist and perfumer Bruno Fazzolari when I took my first ever trip to San Francisco earlier this year. He is a low-key, thoughtful and kind person, but underneath the calm exterior lies an extraordinary talent. He began as a visual artist and later began to translate his creative ideas to the art of perfumery, and I for one am very happy that he branched out; the diversity of the offering is a testament to his willingness to take risks, and that has paid off in a big way. In the two short years since the fragrance line was launched, his work has garnered a lot of the right kind of attention, and deservedly so. (Did I mention that he also has the rare gift of synesthesia?) One of the delightful surprises in the line is the retro chypre Au Delà, a stunner of a scent that pushes all my buttons – it has depth and mystery, a heavily animalic character and it's a real chypre, with galbanum and resins and oakmoss, so of course I fell hard for it. I am loving this trend among American indie perfumers of making the fragrances that Europe can no longer produce with the advent of the ever-tightening IFRA/EU restrictions. With such recent perfumes as Au Delà, Zelda from En Voyage Perfumes, Intimacy from JoAnne Bassett, and DSH Perfumes' Vert pour Madame, it may no longer be necessary to troll EBay for vintage – we can just order them brand new! In fact, I recently had the opportunity to sample a very rare old chypre that is impossible to find now. At first it reminded me of both Miss Dior and Rochas Femme, but as it developed on my skin and became ever more animalic and intense, I realized that it also bore a strong resemblance to the warm and vibrant Au Delà. Wear this when you mean business; it's for adults only, if you know what I mean... I was initially reluctant to mention it because it's no longer available, but the “flanker” of Au Delà called Au Delà - Narcisse des Montagnes is one of the most astonishing perfumes I have smelled in the past few years, with the finest narcissus absolute of piercing beauty overlaid on the original perfume's structure. It adds a sublime, almost honeyed floral beauty and a green aspect as well, while still maintaining the main idea of a chypre. The key ingredient is very hard to source so this was a limited edition; if it ever comes back, grab it with no questions asked if you love narcissus, because this does that flower justice in a big way, capturing the unique fresh/sweet/chilly/loamy character of the flower. It is very unusual to come across a modern fragrance that showcases narcissus because the absolute is so precious, and there is no acceptable substitute. In complete contrast, Lampblack has attracted a near-cult following for its fascinating take on a masculine spicy scent. What sets it apart is the confluence of bitter (grapefruit) spicy/woody (nagarmotha and black pepper) and smoky, the sensation of which comes from a “burnt” vetiver note, which has an inky aroma. Vetiver is my perfume nemesis – I like the smell out of the bottle, but on my skin, it tends to turn into something that smells like old vase water, murky and mildewed. Here, it is transformed into a roasted, tinder-dry, almost charcoal-like element that I really enjoyed, and it did not turn against me even after hours of wear. I never thought I could find a vetiver I could live with, but you never know! In this instance, going over to the dark side is exactly the right thing to do. Some of Bruno's fragrances are not so serious. Jimmy is a real charmer; you have watch out for him, he will talk you out of your last dollar and you'll be happy to hand it it over. Jimmy is the Fred Astaire of fragrances, nimble and light on his feet, brash and breezy and without a care in the world. He makes an entrance bursting with the exuberance of lemon and geranium, but lest you think he is a little too assertive, he whisks a bouquet of pink roses, sweet violets and ylang ylang out from behind his back and presents it to you with a bow and smile. Who could resist? He won't linger for very long, but you will remember him with fondness. If you are going to make a cologne style fragrance, the competition is fierce so you had better do it right; no problem here with Five. Clean, fizzy lemon, petitgrain and sweet orange mate well with savory rosemary and a woody/spicy base in this crisp, classic refreshment of a scent. Excellent materials and expert construction make this one stand out from the crowd. This one also has an ozonic quality, which I don't always care for, but here it is judiciously employed and does not dominate the composition. Want even more variety? Try the flat-out gorgeous Montserrat, a romantic and genre-defying perfume with a delicious aura of ripe apricots, courtesy of the magic of osmanthus absolute, and limpid jasmine. It was the first one I wore when I started testing these; it just kept blooming and opening as time went on, becoming ever warmer and lovelier, yet there was something fresh and interesting hovering in the background that I could not figure out, but I loved it; I found out later that's it's a note based on the idea of wet plaster, the kind that is used to make artistic frescoes. Now that I know what it is, it jumps out at me, but it just makes me love Montserrat even more; it is actually named for a specific artist's paint color, Montserrat Orange which is a beautiful hue somewhere between apricot and terracotta, so it's all of a piece. Indeed, it's the perfect counterpart to the sweetness of the other notes, and I have always loved the aromas of making art, paint, plaster, varnish and all the rest. I just can't overstate how lovely and unusual this is, and it captured my heart at first sniff. The most recent introduction to the brand is Room 237. and it's unusual to say the least. Its source of inspiration? The horror film “The Shining.” How do you make a wearable perfume based on an idea like that? If you are Bruno Fazzolari, you do something no one has done before and make it with: a shower curtain accord. I don't even begin to know how this was accomplished, but it works. In the category of “strange yet oddly compelling” Room 237 is right up there with the best of them. It's fresh and soapy with florals, green herbal notes and white musks, but first impressions can be deceiving. The smell of vinyl, clean yet somewhat claustrophobic, evokes the atmosphere of places where unspeakable things happen behind closed doors – hospitals, asylums, and yes, cursed hotels. (The smell of something that's a little too clean is always disturbing; what is it hiding?) It reminds me somewhat of one of my favorite (and sadly discontinued) Imaginary Authors fragrances, L'Orchidée Terrible, not in the way it smells, but in how the aldehydic shimmer on the surface acts with intent to deceive, since it's not in the least bit innocent despite its pretty façade; so does Room 237 present itself as a brightly scrubbed, smooth surface, until you figure out what lies beneath. That said, it's perfectly enjoyable to wear and has been such a hit that it is currently sold out, but more is on the way soon. Now for the best part - I was so enamored of Au Delà – Narcisse des Montagnes that I bought one of the last remaining bottles, and I am offering a sample of this rarity to one lucky reader! Please leave a comment if you would like to enter to win it – please note, you must have a mailing address in the continental U.S. since I cannot ship internationally. Image credits: Art courtesy of Bruno Fazzolari: “Lampblack”, “Nearside”, “Room 237”, and detail from the “Au Delà – Narcisse des Montagnes” poster, from brunofazzolari.com . Disclaimer: The perfume samples I tested for this review were given to me by Bruno Fazzolari.

All that glitters: The Brilliant Collection by DSH Perfumes

By Donna Once again, a collaboration between perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz and the Denver Art Museum has resulted in a stunning group of fragrances. I always look forward to these art project launches from DSH Perfumes; Dawn's reservoir of creativity seems to have no limits. The Brilliant collection ties in with the DAM exhibit celebrating Cartier's storied history of jewelry making. All the more intimidating, the company also makes some very good fragrances, so this quartet had to distance itself from Cartier's own perfumes and make the fragrances all about the jewels – and what jewels they are! Starting off with a bang, Deco Diamonds is a tour de force, a seamlessly abstract beauty that brings to mind the kind of bold statement jewelry one might wear to a Black and White Ball – the men in elegant tuxedos and the women in sleek draped gowns embellished with feathers and sequins, and dripping with diamond necklaces, bracelets and rings, maybe a headband or two. Eventually this glittering aldehydic fragrance reveals its heart of jasmine and other white flowers, reminding me of one of Dawn's early perfumes that is no longer made, the gorgeously tender jasmine and mimosa Cielle. Deco Diamonds is a perfume from another world, not tied to the earth; if Cielle was a wisp of cloud in a blue sky, this is a jet trail, soaring bright and pure and streamlined toward the sun. In sharp contrast to Deco Diamonds, Fumée d'Or is a fantasy perfume in the sepia tones of a movie about the past, a whimsical imagining of what a goldsmith's shop in Paris might smell like; if this is the scent of such a place, I would want to live there and never leave. The overall impressions is warm and close, like entering a mysterious place on a brisk day and being enveloped in heat, the animal heft of human bodies and not-quite-familiar aromas. What is that languid, sweet smoke arising from the cauldron? Why do the dust motes dancing by the window sparkle so? What is that strange smell, like leather and metal somehow blended together? This “olde curiosity shoppe” of a fragrance will keep you guessing all day long. Rubies are one of the most sought after of all gems, and I predict that the fragrance devoted to them, Rubis Rosé, will be equally admired. If roses that smell of raspberries are your thing, this is the one. It is rich and dense like the best of the old garden roses, such as the purple-red Bourbon 'Madame Isaac Pereire' which is justly famous for its redolent raspberry scent. I would not call this a “jammy” rose perfume, because although it is fruity, it is so in a fresh and realistic way. Anyone who is not familiar with antique roses might doubt that a living flower can smell like this, but this plush, velvety aroma is exactly what is found in such a rose, and it comes as close as anything I have smelled to the incomparable perfume of the voluptuous old roses I love best of all. All of the perfumes in the collection are good, but one of them has captured my heart like no other – the stunning Jacinthe de Sapphir. The distinctive aroma of the hyacinth flower is one of my favorite smells in the world, but I have very rarely had the sensation of inhaling a perfume and feeling transported in time and place to a spring garden where the colorful hyacinth spikes give off their unique perfume, rich and intense yet not sweet in the way of most flowers, a green and airy scent with the chill of earth and winter still upon them. It even has that elusive, shifting character of the flower, dancing away and then coming back to tease the nose when you think it's gone for good. Of course this one is nominally in honor of precious sapphires, but it really an homage to this beloved garden bloom. This is the closest thing I have experienced to the exquisite hyacinth note in my favorite perfume of all time, Vacances by Jean Patou, and that's saying a lot coming from me. In the dead of winter, here is the ultimate breath of spring. Image credits: Vintage Cartier diamond engagement ring via glambistro.com, original source unknown. Seventeenth century engraving of a goldsmith's shop via wikipedia.org, in the public domain. Blue hyacinth via gallery.hd.org's Multimedia Gallery, free download photo by Damon Hart-Davis, effects by Donna. Disclosure: The samples I tested for this review were given to me by DSH Perfumes.

This really Gauls me: DSH Perfumes Passport to Paris Collection

By Donna Artisan perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes has presented another set of perfumes based on a collaboration with the Denver Art Museum, an artistic venture that brought us such past gems as the Secrets of Egypt fragrances and the YSL Retrospective collection. The new trio, inspired by iconic works of French art, is called the Passport to Paris collection. Each one was made to reflect the character of a particular piece, and after testing these all I can say is get me on a flight to France immediately if this is what happens when one contemplates French masterpieces. I began with the delicately delicious Amouse Bouche, which translates (very) loosely to “there's a party in my mouth.” I only wished that I could have a real strawberry confection like this to eat instead of being tantalized by the perfume. It is a gourmand with a feather-light touch, beginning with a realistic strawberry note heightened by lemon before the florals, including rose, jasmine and ylang ylang chime in to ensure that it's more than just a novelty scent. Soon the gourmand notes of tonka bean, buttered brioche and vanilla show up, and their restrained sweetness makes this smell like a sophisticated pastry, the kind that's almost too pretty to eat. I am a huge fan of strawberry in perfume, and therefore I am very critical of it when it's done badly. This is exactly right, and as a gourmand fragrance it's just sweet enough to make you want more, as though you were looking with longing into the storefront of a patisserie that has closed for the day and you have to be satisfied with the lingering aroma in the air. Amouse Bouche was made to match the mood of Toulouse-Lautrec's “The Dunce's Cap' and it is as lighthearted as its inspiration. Vers la Violette is entirely different, a moody green violet perfume with a refined sueded base. Its touchstone was a pastoral painting by Post-Impressionist painter Hippolyte Petitjean. I adore violets, so I was predisposed to like it, and it exceeded my expectations. Look “French perfume” up in the dictionary and you might well find a picture of this; nothing could be more Parisian than a bunch of violets, and this fragrance exudes chic right from the beginning. It is subtle but not wistful as the green notes of galbanum and oakmoss keep it away from the fainting couch; instead it strides breezily down the boulevard, cool and confident. This is the kind of violet fragrance that a man can wear with ease – notes of lemon, leather and ionone tamp down the floral sweetness. The perfumer really has a way with this fragile and temperamental floral; this is just about the polar opposite of her amazing Quinacridone Violet but no less deftly composed and it shows the range of possibilities to be discovered for the humble yet beautiful violet. It might even remind you a little of Balmain's Jolie Madame with its violets and leather, but with the chypre darkness replaced by buoyant spring green. If you can't be in Paris for the April violets, just wear Vers la Violette instead. Passport à Paris was a real surprise; it was the last one I tested, I did not expect that it would become quite strong on my skin after the initial impression of bergamot, anise and lavender made me think it would be as delicate as the other two. It is a classic fougère with a twist; as it develops it becomes richly animalic and decadently powdery, laden with patchouli, rosewood, civet, coumarin (of course) and sandalwood and with impressive staying power. The perfumer took her inspiration from Claude Monet's “The Beach at Trouville” which is a glimpse into the life of the upper classes taking the air at a seaside resort. It owes more to iconic unisex perfumes like Guerlain's Jicky than to strait-laced English style fougères that conform to a narrow definition of what “men's colognes” should smell like. (Don't worry, it's not a huge stonking monster like Drakkar Noir either!) This juice is anything but stuffy, spicy-powdery but with a soapy back beat that is irresistible, like a really sexy man fresh out of the shower, wrapped in a towel and shaving with a creamy lather, and all you can think of is unwrapping him. I don't often wear traditional masculine fragrances myself except for a few favorites like Grey Flannel, but I would wear this one, if only to conjure up a mental image of the guy in the towel...but I digress. Passport à Paris is as good as it gets in the fougère department in my opinion, but don't take my word for it, since I am not as well versed in this genre as I could be. I can only say that both men and women should give it a try, because it's really great. Image credit: Eiffel Tower wallpaper (the kind you can buy in a roll) from spoonflower.com.; also available as fabric. I want some! Disclosure: the fragrance samples for this review were given to me by DSH perfumes.