Perfume Review: Kenzo Power

Kenzo describe Power, their new fragrance for men, as "surprising", and it certainly caught me off guard. Given the name and the fact that the scent is hoped to become as powerful a seller as the feminine Flower, I expected something ...more archetypally masculine and more broadly appealing, I suppose (something that an average male buyer would immediately recognize as manly). Which shows how little imagination I have compared to the creative team at Kenzo, how little thought I gave to the overall esthetics of the brand and how much I underestimated the latter's willingness to risk. With Power, Kenzo taps into the trend in masculine fragrances, which views macho as not mucho, which believes that "charismatic" is not synonymoys with "agressive", and that understated power is as real and attractive as the more obvious kind. Fleur du Male, Fahrenheit 32, Gucci Pour Homme II, the trio of Dior colognes and above all Dior Homme are the examples of such "understated masculines". Like Dior Homme, Kenzo Power was created by Olivier Polge, and like former, it is "a flower for men". In Dior's case, the flower was iris; for Kenzo, Polge conjures up an imaginary blossom. Given the fresh and sweetly-piquant top notes (candied citrus zest spiced by cardamom and coriander) and the softly-balsamic, a tiny bit powdery base, in my imagination I see that flower as a cross between lotus and iris, with the aroma that is simultaneously clean and sensual. In reality, the "abstract floral heart" of Power is supposed to be a blend of rose, jasmine and freesia, and I would say that of the three, jasmine seems to me to be the most apparent. Something in the mix of coriander, cedarwood and labdanum produces a subtly smoky effect...the smell of a cigarette lit somewhere in the far distance...this might be the perfume's only nod to the stereotypically masculine. Overall, the scent is beautifully androgynous. Its softness makes it entirely wearable for a woman; and I hope that the "new sensitive male" that made Dior Homme a hit will make Kenzo Power a bestseller too. A company that thinks outside of the hairy-chested box of masculine perfumery deserves to be rewarded. Kenzo Power retails for $55.00-$75.00. Image source, Kenzo USA.

Perfume Review: Dior Homme

This week Perfume Smellin’ Things will be focusing on “men’s” fragrances. I put “men’s” in quotation marks, because, as I have declared many times before, I consider masculine-feminine distiction in perfumery unnecessary and quite random. And in that I have the very authoritative backing of one of the greatest perfumers, Pierre Bourdon, who, when once asked what is the difference between a women’s a men’s scent, replied, Pour Homme written on a bottle. There are of course scents that are so “hairy-chested” and virile that I am unable to wear them (and wouldn’t want to smell them on a male of the species either), but then again, some of the “women’s” scents are so over-the-top buxom, heady, in your face, I-am-a-Woman-hear-me-roar feminine that they are just as unwearable for me. In other words, apparently I don’t deal very successfully with the extremes in perfumery, be they “masculine” or “feminine”. And that brings me to today’s scent, Dior Homme, a wonderful example of moderation and understated elegance. Centered around an iris note, this fragrance is painted in subdued hues of beige-pink and grey. After the brief brightness of the top notes, which illustrate very well the in-between-two-worlds quality of lavender pointed out by Edwin Morris, who said that it is “a link between herbal notes and a decided floralcy”, the iris begins to flourish. This is a beautifully pale accord that makes me think both of the cool petals and the subtle rooty-ness of this flower. So as not to let the iris become completely ethereal and airy, as it is often prone to do, the perfumer, Olivier Polge, gracefully but firmly grounds it with the notes of amber, patchouli and vetiver, delicately sprinkles it with cocoa powder and, in the late drydown, completes the stylish composition with a hint of smoky leather. Supremely elegant, discreet, unfussy, sophisticated and neutral in the most positive sense of the word, Dior Homme is easy and a pleasure for me to wear and a delight to smell on a man. I must add that I find the direction, in which Hedi Slimane leads the men’s fragrance division of Dior to be admirable. The three colognes (Eau Noire, Cologne Blanche and Bois d’Argent) and Dior Homme walk the line between classic and contemporary, subtle and full of character with commendable ease and style and to me are more interesting and desirable than many of the “women’s” releases, both Dior’s and other companies’. Dior Homme is available at Scentiments, $33.89-$45.89. Tomorrow, Habit Rouge by Guerlain. Here are the links to my (and, in one case, Mr Colombina’s) reviews of some other “men’s” fragrances: Annick Goutal Duel Caron Yatagan Christian Dior Bois d'Argent Christian Dior Cologne Blanche Creed Cuir de Russie Guerlain Derby Guerlain L’Instant and L'Instant D'Un Ete Pour Homme Guerlain Vetiver and Vetiver Frozen Hermes Terre d'Hermes Fresh Cannabis Santal Le Labo Vetiver 46 Les Parfums de Rosine Rose d'Homme Parfums d'Orsay Le Dandy

Perfume Review: Guerlain Cuir Beluga

Cuir Beluga is a part of L'Art et la Matiere collection of scents created for Guerlain by perfumers Olivier Polge, Francis Kurkdjian, and Daniele Andrièr. Each perfumer was more or less given a carte blanche and asked to come up with a scent based on a “noble” ingredient. Kurkdjian has chosen rose, Andrièr angelica and Polge leather. Not any old calf leather, mind you, but Beluga leather. …Seriously though, the name "Cuir Beluga" baffles me. Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) is a small toothed whale; surely, this scent was not inspired by a sea mammal…or was it? “Beluga“ also more or less means “the white one” in Russian (Beluga Whales are also called White Whales), so perhaps the creators simply meant white leather? Then why not just call it Cuir Blanc? Perhaps the Beluga part of the name is referring to beluga caviar, arguably the best kind of caviar, thus emphasizing the exclusive and expensive aspect of the scent, the Beluga of all Leathers … There are all sorts of unusual perfume names out there, from Latin phrases to long book titles, and they certainly are fascinating and fun, but sometimes one gets a little frustrated when facing a meaningless, bizarre name like “White Whale Leather”. I tried to understand the scent just as hard as I tried to understand its name. After many attempts, I must regretfully admit that I just don’t get it. On me, Cuir Beluga is a blurry, hazy composition heavy on heliotrope and vanilla. The only interesting feature here is an immortelle note, an accord, which, to quote Luca Turin, has “an odd, fenugreek-like smell halfway between curry and burnt sugar.” In Cuir Beluga, in contrast to the understated sweetness of other notes, immortelle actually smells sharp and dry, bringing to mind patchouli and well-brewed black tea. Unfortunately, immortelle alone is unable to withstand the gentle but relentless pressure of heliotrope and vanilla. The two overtake the composition somewhere in the beginning of the middle stage and no amount of amber or aldehydes can penetrate their foggy sweetness. Why don’t I mention the leather accord, you might ask. Well, that is because I smell no leather in Cuir Beluga. Not a tiny little bit of leather, however hard I try. Fans of leather scents, attracted by the name of this perfume, are bound to be disappointed. I would however highly recommend to all lovers of Etro Heliotrope to give a try to Cuir Beluga. Cuir Beluga smells a little rawer and a little less sweet than Heliotrope, but those who like the soft fluffiness of the latter are still bound to be pleased with the former. Cuir Beluga is available at Guerlain’s boutique at Bergdorf Goodman, $190 for 75ml.