Strenesse Gabriele Strehle

By Marina Almond seems to me to be one of the popular and sought after notes in the perfume universe, especially in the niche galaxy. I know that I am always on the lookout for something almondy. There are almond scents out there, but not so many that a fan can afford to miss one. Even (or perhaps especially) one as obscure as the 2001 Maurice Roucel creation for a German clothing brand, Strenesse. On a scale of almondiness, Strenesse is perhaps a 5. The note teases you, seemingly weaving in and out of the composition. Here is a hint of it in the delicate peachiness of the top notes, made airy by the presence of citrus. Here is another hint in the heart of heliotrope, jasmine and lily of the valley, dominated by the latter. And you will smell a whiff of it in the orrisy, vanillic base too. The base, to me is the best part of Strenesse, there is something subtly delectable in the pairing of iris and almond. And I actually like the fact that almond play hide and seek here; as much as I love the note, when it is constantly present, it becomes grating. The overall impression I get from the scent is that of whiteness, of childlike gentleness, of transparent fluffiness...It's not a masterpiece by any stretch of imagination. Slight soapiness, a side effect of muguet and in fact almond itself, spoils it a little bit for me. That said, I find the quiet, soft, translucent Strenesse to be utterly enjoyable, a perfect scent for a night or for a weekend. Discontinued, but can be fairly easily found online, for example on Amazon and Overstock, for $25.00-$30.00. Image source, Americana Manhasset

Tocade by Rochas: A cologne in search of a perfume

By Donna I am a big fan of Rochas and its opulent perfumes; the name of one of them, Byzantine, seems to describe the house’s ornate style perfectly. I greatly admire Byzance, I currently own Absolu and Alchimie, and I am trying to decide if I want to spring for the modern formulations of Madame Rochas and/or Femme, since I know what the vintage versions were like. I mourn the original Lumière, and I have no idea why it “needed” to be reformulated. But there is one I had never tried, since I assumed it was inferior due to its eternal presence in the discount bins. Surprisingly I found on a recent visit that it is carried at my favorite upscale perfume shop, so after all this time I finally got around to trying Tocade. One could easily be put off by the odd bottle; it looks like it was designed by a James Bond villain in partnership with a fast-food franchise, with its incongruous proportions (the similar packaging of its sister scent Tocadilly nearly requires eye-bleach to get past the psychedelic outward appearance) and tippy zaniness. Never mind about that, just close your eyes and sniff, for this is a really nice scent, a soft vanillic rose and iris that is hazy and romantic. One interesting feature is that the further away from the skin my nose gets, the more vanilla I smell, while if I press close I get rose and green notes; yet all I have to do is move a few inches away and there is the vanilla, refined and very pretty and not gourmand at all. Tocade is not a heavy hitter like most scents in the Rochas repertoire, but it stands up well against them, at least the modern ones. (Not sure what could hope to compete with vintage Femme!) What puzzles me about this 1994 fragrance created by the great Maurice Roucel, now discontinued, is why it’s only available in an Eau de Toilette; it is crying out for a more concentrated formula, at least an Eau de Parfum if not a Parfum. The floral part of it is just shy of being too thin, especially since the “rose” note is actually geranium, and I think it would be luscious and gloriously rounded if it had the chance. As it is, my nose keeps “reaching” for more and finding it just out of range. I have looked high and low, on every discount site and auction listing I could find, and it is only available in the EDT, in the 1.7 oz size or the huge 3.4 oz. bottle, except for one .25 oz bottle of Parfum I located which I suspect was a limited edition or else discontinued long before the EDT was. (It was expensive, too!) It’s very good the way it is, and highly wearable for any situation, but I am at a loss to figure out why Rochas, of all houses, did not make a more intense fragrance when that is where their strength lies. I wonder if it would have succeeded in the marketplace with the added punch of an EDP to offer instead of being relegated mostly to the discounters. It’s everywhere, and can easily be had for under $25 and frequently much less, even for the big bottle. This is really a “what might have been” scent for me. I like it very much and I might even buy it, considering the price, but it could have been true love if it had a much-deserved upgrade. Image credit: Tocade bottle and box from perfumela.com.

Bespoke scents for historic figures

Marian Bendeth interviewed perfumers Francis Kurkdjian, Christophe Laudamiel, Jean Michel Duriez and Maurice Roucel asking each to pick a famous persona and describe a perfume they would create to suit that persona. Francis Kurkdjian chose Maria Callas, Christophe Laudamiel - Marlene Dietrich, Jean-Michel Duriez - Marie Antoinette, and Maurice Roucel - Julius Caesar and Jesus Christ. I was intrigued by Roucel's idea for Christ's scent. "I would create the smell of purity", he says, but instead of choosing predictable "pure" acquatic or ozonic notes, the perfumer opts for the ingredients that would evoke "the color white": "I would use powdery floral notes such as heliotrope, but it would also be spicy, and have iris, also violets and woods. These notes have so many sides to them, they create an aura." Kurkdjian's perfume for Callas, "a floral bouquet fragrance based on a tuberose accord, with a soft, spicy trail of fresh clove buds and green cinnamon bark that wraps your body and soul" and Laudamiel's scent for Dietrich, "woody, floral, fruity, opulent and rich" also sound very interesting. Duriez's interpretation of Marie Antoinette's persona through the lens of the eponymous the Sofia Coppola was quite unexpected. You can read the whole article on Canada.com. Please note that due to a mistake on the part of National Post, Bendeth's interview is published without a byline and appears to be a part of Iris Benaroia's article. Please scroll down to the paragraph starting with "Judging by the number of new fragrances..." to read the interview.

Perfume Review. Roses and Vanilla: Rochas Tocade and Bond No. 9 Broadway Nite

Today’s review is for two scents blending rose and vanilla, a combination I adore. Obviously, rose and vanilla are not the only notes in either of these fragrances; Tocade has a very noticeable magnolia note and Broadway Nite is quite heavy on violet and what I perceive to be geranium. Still, to my nose and on my skin, rose and vanilla are the core ingredients of Tocade and Broadway Nite. However, despite the shared notes and despite the fact that both were created by Maurice Roucel (the nose behind Musc Ravageur, 24 Faubourg and many others), Tocade and Broadway Nite could not be more different. It is as if, having been given the task of creating a rose scent for Bond No.9, Monsieur Roucel went back to Tocade and made it more heady and generally glammed it up, creating a gorgeous, capricious, pampered diva out of a sweet, lovely, pretty house-maker. Tocade is a soft comfort scent, unobtrusive enough to be worn in any environment, lovely before bedtime. It starts with a blend of rose, magnolia and vanilla on my skin, the magnolia note wears off quite soon and, till the drydown comes, Tocade is mostly rose and vanilla on me. In the drydown, rose becomes much less evident and amber joins the mix, adding its sweet warmth to the scent and bringing it up a notch on the comfort scale. This is not a glamorous fragrance, it stays very close to the skin and, unless you really over-spray, is likely to go more or less unnoticed by others. It is however guaranteed to bring a smile of contentment on your face whenever you catch its floral-gourmand aroma. Broadway Nite is a different story altogether. It is a bombshell, glamorous, heady, with a luxurious trail of sillage. It would not tolerate being worn with your coziest sweater, wrapped up in a favorite old blanket, reading a book. Broadway Nite demands to be taken out on the town; don’t dare to put it on unless you are dressed très chic, with your heels very high. I heard Broadway Nite being compared to Lipstick Rose by Frederic Malle and I can see the similarity in that both mix rose and violet, however where Lipstick Rose is powdery, soft, and warm, Broadway Nite is aldehydic and dazzling, and, despite the fact that it has vanilla and amber in the drydown, it strikes me as a “cold” scent. To compare it to Tocade, the rose note is much more loud and prominent in Broadway Nite and stays very noticeable in the drydown. There is a certain green-ish quality to this scent that is probably due to the mentioned violet note, honeysuckle and iris. I could have sworn there was geranium in the blend as well, Broadway Nite has that sharpness I associate with this note, but, for what it’s worth, it is not on the official list of ingredients. Broadway Nite is a heady, demanding scent and does not always work on my skin; once in a while it throws a tantrum and becomes very harsh and cloying; it is not full bottle worthy for me. Tocade, on the other hand, gets worn often and is always even-tempered, soft and comforting; I will be definitely buying a bottle. Broadway Nite can be found in Bond No. 9 boutiques or online, for example at Beautycafe.com, and costs $110.00- $178.00. Tocade retails for as little as $21.69, at Scentiments.com *The photo of Maurice Roucel is from Editions de Parfums, and is here mainly because, on this particular picture, the perfumer looks remarkably like my father, only with a more luxurious moustache :-)