Ineke's Dashing Duo: Derring-Do and Field Notes From Paris

By Donna I recently reviewed two Ineke perfumes which I found to be the most “feminine” of the line. I find two others to have more of a masculine or unisex vibe to them, Derring-Do and Field Notes From Paris. They are not similar in style at all, but they both have what I now think of as the Ineke signature; vibrant, clear and full of personality. Derring-Do is a modern citrus blend, and what comes to mind at first sniff is that it is done in a very popular style similar to CK One or its many acolytes, a fresh, slightly sweet rainy citrus with florals, light woods and musk. The difference is that while the (usually) pleasant opening that sells so many of those department store clone scents often goes wrong after a few minutes, turning into scratchy metallic tones or just fading away completely, this one actually wears well on skin and stays true to the original impression. It is quite linear and does not change much over time, at least on me, but that's just fine because it is very likeable. It is firmly in what we have come to think of as the unisex category because of the ubiquity of these light but soft citrus fragrances. It has a light-hearted, breezy jauntiness that’s a perfect fit with its name. I have never been a big fan of this genre, probably because there are so very many mediocre examples of it out there. Some of them are very nice and others are instantly forgettable, and a lot of them are close kin to the dreaded category of sport fragrance which seems to be marketing shorthand for piling on the aquatic/ozone notes, highly pitched “fresh” notes and synthetic woody-ambers to headache levels. Thankfully, Derring-Do never gets anywhere near this territory; it has a watery feel but no harsh marine notes, just a generally cool, wet quality. Testing this in winter is not ideal, since it begs for a hot and humid summer swelter to bring out its real virtues. The first time I wore it I was not sure what I thought, but on the second try it clicked; I think I had been bracing myself for it to make a wrong turn on the first try, but it never did. If you like the idea of this style of scent but fear the mall, then fear no more, for this is a delightfully fresh take on the style, made to be splashed on with abandon, and it beats anything else in the mainstream offerings of this kind of fragrance for my money, whether it’s worn by a dashing hero or a fair lady. Notes include citrus blend, rain notes, cyclamen, magnolia, fougère accents, Gaiac, cedar and musk. Field Notes from Paris is more my style and I was captivated immediately by its originality and the rush of memories it brought back, which I was not expecting. Not memories of Paris, as I have never been there; but of an unforgettable episode in my life when I was teenager that left an impression on me that lingers still. When I was a very innocent sixteen year old girl from a small town, my family had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go to Europe for a deeply discounted fare on a charter flight, and so my mother, my aunt, my younger sister and I all flew to Amsterdam, where we promptly fell in love with that wonderful city, and the whole country too. We tramped all around on foot, explored everything via streetcars and buses, and then took off to see some other countries by train, including Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany, before coming back to Amsterdam for a few days. (On one of the trains there was a very attractive dark-haired older man in a trench coat, and we decided that he must be a spy; we flirted and whispered and giggled, and I think he must have been just as amused as we were ridiculous.) One of the stops we made in The Netherlands was Rotterdam, where we arrived after a magical boat cruise on the Rhine from Koblenz. (Of course, there was an adorable and muscular young deck hand to keep my sister and I entertained when we weren't looking at all the ruined castles on the hillsides.) I did not really like Rotterdam at first; rebuilt almost entirely from the ground up after being devastated by war, it was modern and cold and a bit scary, unlike the picturesque charm of Amsterdam's historic central city. There did not seem to be much to do for tourists like us, without a lot of money and lost in the metropolis. Fortunately we landed at a decent hotel, a small quiet place with a nearby canal where people would come to feed the ducks. There we met a most unexpected person; he may or may not have been an expatriate American, I never did get his story straight, but he called himself Mississippi, looked like Frank Zappa and smelled of cannabis. Before we knew it, my sister and I were invited out for a night on the town with this raffish character. My poor mother gave her permission after much persuasion, I can't imagine why, but somehow we always felt safe on that trip; sadly most of Europe seemed a lot nicer than any large American city I have ever been in, before or since.  Off we went to paint the town red, and our new pal brought a friend, a German man named George who looked to be in his thirties, who spoke not a single word of English and seemed very shy, though also disarmingly sweet. What a pair they were, Mississippi in ragged jeans with long hair and a Wild West mustache and George in a gray business suit, with short hair and formal manners; how they ever got together is anyone's guess. Anyway, the first thing we did was hit a private speakeasy club – yes, there was actually a little sliding panel in the door that opened and you had to give the password! (Our Bohemian friend knew it, of course.) I think there was illegal gambling going on, but we were “only” drinking – it was legal for minors over there, sort of, and no one asked for our I.D. cards. Then we went to a very large, very loud disco, modern in the worst sense, all sharp edges and strobe lights and hard chairs and ugly cubes that passed for edgy architecture. Everyone seemed to be smoking. We managed to get a table and tried to talk, but it was well nigh impossible. Meanwhile, Mississippi was enthralled with my little sister, who was all of fifteen, and George and I were making eyes at each other even though we could not communicate verbally. (I don't think we ever did give my mother all the details of that evening.) Finally it got very late and we are all pretty tipsy, so we called it a night. George and I sat in the back of the car on the way home, and that's when it happened; sweet, shy buttoned-up George turned to me in the dark and kissed me, a knowing kiss, delicious and smoky, the kind that usually leads to more kissing and beyond, but something in it managed to convey that he knew I was much too young and also that he wished it were not so. (For the record, so did I.) To this day I can close my eyes and remember just how it felt. Field Notes From Paris is the distillation of that whole European experience to me; the pungent smoke of Gauloise cigarettes, the smell of George's cologne, the strong coffee of the famous Dutch breakfasts mingled with the wafting aromas from the innumerable patisseries, the patchouli aura of the American hippies hanging out in the public squares, the polished wood and wax of hotel dining rooms and art museums, the handsome stranger on the train, and the exhilaration of adventure, even of danger, on a dark summer night in Rotterdam when a young girl had just a taste of forbidden fruit. The listed notes include coriander seed, orange blossom, bergamot, tobacco leaf and flower, patchouli, cedar, Tonka bean, leather, beeswax and vanilla. Its structure is traditionally masculine on the surface, but after it warms up on skin it gives off all sorts of interesting signals, with the sweeter notes coming up and surprising the nose; the beeswax really makes it sing and provides a bridge between the sharp cedar and coriander, the pungent patchouli and the softer notes of tobacco flower, Tonka and vanilla. I can recommend this fragrance very highly to anyone; who knows what memories it will evoke for you? Ineke perfumes are surprisingly affordable, at $88 for 75 ml (2.5 oz.) of Eau de Parfum. In today's perfume dollars, it's an incredible bargain for the quality you are getting. The line is in a limited number of boutiques in the U.S.A. and Europe but you can buy them directly from the Web site too. A deluxe set of generous 1.5 ml samples of all seven fragrances is available for $25. (If you buy a full bottle via the Web site after buying the sample set, they will give you a discount of $25 off the bottle purchase!) Image credit: Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates Of The Caribbean© films from empireonline.com, original source unknown. Rotterdam at night from sysid2003.nl. Disclosure: My sample set was sent to me gratis by the Ineke Company for testing.

Ineke's Fantasy Garden: After My Own Heart and Evening Edged In Gold

By Donna I am definitely late to the (garden) party, because until recently I had never smelled any of the Ineke fragrances. Critical raves abound for this San Francisco-based artisan perfume house, and I have been curious. I recently received a sample set of all seven of the fragrances, and now I know what all the fuss was about; I was simply stunned by how good they are, and how original. Ineke Ruhland is the nose behind these charming creations, and her classical training really shows. These perfumes can stand with the best the world has to offer while offering a different perspective on traditional compositions. Each one is very distinctive but all are imbued with a certain brightness, a joie de vivre that makes them stand out from the crowd. As a lifelong lover of floral perfumes, I was drawn to her first creation immediately. I knew from reading about it that After My Own Heart was based on lilac, but that did not prepare me for being so completely bowled over by it. Lilac is one of my favorite flowers, but it is very tricky in perfumes, and most attempts at lilac soliflores seem to end up smelly musty and flat after only a short time on the skin. Ineke has discovered the secret of how to do lilac right; pair it with zesty bergamot, raspberry and leafy green notes so that it stays fresh and vibrant. Sandalwood, heliotrope and musk in the base give it lasting power but they have been used with a light touch so they never overwhelm the star of the show. According to the description on the Web site, it evokes the scent of lilacs “floating on the early evening breeze,” but to me it's more of a morning feeling, rain-kissed lilacs after a spring shower when all the world seems new, and it reminds me of my childhood in New England when I would go out to the big hedge of lilac bushes behind our barn after it had been raining and drink the scented raindrops from the drenched purple plumes bending under the weight of water. After My Own Heart is a wonderful memory fragrance in that regard, but it's also just plain good perfume that wears well and stays true, an impressive thing for a lilac scent. I used to get a very nice lilac and bergamot perfume oil from for my sister from a company that no longer makes the product, so I am glad that she now has an alternative, since lilacs are her very favorite flowers. The freshness of After My Own Heart may be an ideal daytime scent, but when the night shadows fall, Ineke has the perfect perfume for that too in Evening Edged In Gold, her fifth fragrance (they are all named alphabetically). Again I was amazed as soon as I smelled it, because it's really like nothing else. It's a floral Oriental with fruity accents, and the opening of osmanthus and plum is delicious. The overall effect is of exotic night-blooming flowers, including the haunting Angel’s Trumpet, and it has that slight hint of decadence that I love in this style of perfume. An unexpected delight is the note called 'Midnight Candy' which is actually the cultivar name of a pretty little nocturnal flower whose tongue-twisting botanical name is Zaluzianskya capensis, commonly called night phlox. Its powerful aroma is hard to describe but if you have ever smelled night-scented stock or sweet garden phlox you can get an idea. It is intensely sweet without being sugary, a piercing headiness peculiar to those flowers that send forth their enticement to attract the moths and other creatures that only come out at night. I have grown it in my own garden and so I can say with confidence that its essence has been perfectly captured in the perfume. But this is not just a flower fest; there are spices, leather and woods in it to keep it interesting, although as with After My Own Heart, they are used with a sparing hand. It is indeed most definitely an evening fragrance, so lush and ripe is it, and its longevity and sillage are both impressive and tenacious, and yet it's not heavy, but soft and inviting. I have worn it to bed and found that both I and the sheets had retained its aroma in the morning. Evening Edged In Gold is as well named a fragrance as I can think of, since smelling it brings me to a secret garden lit only by moonlight and gently glowing paper lanterns, with wild things calling out and rustling in the dark just beyond its boundaries and the soft air carrying all the voluptuous, swirling scents of the night blossoms. Romance is in the mix too, as murmurs of laughter and intimate whispers add to the atmosphere of intrigue in this garden of earthly delights. I plan to wear this for the next special occasion I attend, and I may even make one up just so I can wear this fragrance! Now for the really good news: Ineke perfumes are very affordable, at $88 for 75 ml (2.5 oz.) of Eau de Parfum. In today's perfume dollars, it's an incredible bargain for the quality you are getting. I know I will want full bottles of at least these two, and probably more of them once I have the chance to live with them for a while, so it's a good thing they won't break the bank. The line is in a limited number of boutiques in the U.S.A. and Europe but you can buy them directly from the Web site too. A deluxe set of generous 1.5 ml samples of all seven fragrances is available for $25. Image credit: Outdoor scent with paper lanterns from roomenvy.com Disclosure: My sample set was sent to me gratis by the Ineke Company for testing.

Ineke F: Field Notes from Paris- Perfume Review

By Scott At the tender age of 18, T.S. Eliot wrote The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock in which he reveals the internal musings of a young man preparing to ask for his beloved’s hand in marriage, wondering if his restrained, carefully meted out collection of life experiences has created a man worthy of her love: For I have known them all already, known them all: Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons; I know the voices dying with a dying fall Beneath the music from a farther room. So how should I presume? One of the inspirations for Ineke Rühland’s new release, F: Field Notes from Paris, is that lovely line about coffee spoons, how it evokes a metering of memories, of nostalgia, of that Proustian moment of clarity when all that has come before coalesces into one instant in time. Rühland has metered out her fragrances not in coffee spoons, but in alphabetical letters. Her early creations A though C can all be characterized as florals of fresh, sparkling, effervescent clarity. In D: Derring-Do she pushed the transparent quality into a more literal realm with a masculine/unisex fragrance that played with magnolia and aquatic notes on wet cement, to capture those first moments of a summer rain shower hitting pavement. Derring-Do was her first foray into unisex fragrances. In her latest creations, E: Evening Edged in Gold and her brand new release F: Field Notes from Paris, she has turned down the wattage, moving away from bright fizzy transparency toward a warm glow, from champagne to cognac. Evening, which features gold osmanthus and angel’s trumpet (brugmansia, which releases its perfume only during the nighttime), is a fragrance for warm sultry nights and feels more formal, elegant, opera-ready. With her latest release, she continues the trend toward warmer, denser creations. Despite the line about coffee spoons, there is no coffee in this juice. The accompanying box notes and “story” for F: Field Notes from Paris tell us that the fragrance is meant to evoke the “nostalgic feeling” of sitting in Parisian cafés, lingering over café crème, perhaps jotting down our adventures in a journal. Described as a “woody oriental”, the top notes are listed as coriander seed, orange flower and bergamot; middle notes of tobacco flower and leaf, patchouli, and cedar; and base notes of tonka bean, leather, beeswax and vanilla. The coriander seed adds a sweet spiciness to the opening which balances the slight sourness of the bergamot and patchouli, which predominate (for me in) the first 15-30 minutes. The patchouli adds radiance and depth to the early proceedings and as it recedes a bit, Tobacco leaf, leather, and vanilla take center stage, with vanilla and cedar more evident in the dry down. While notes of orange flower and tobacco flower are listed, it is never overtly floral. This fragrance opens as more traditionally feminine patchouli fragrance and ends as a vanilla tobacco and leather masculine fragrance. The tobacco here is not the harsher smoked variety, but the slightly damp leaf of pipe tobacco still in its leather pouch. The progression and development is a pleasure to experience, the sillage is moderate, and the tenacity is excellent. For me it lasted the entire work day. The amber/tobacco colored bottle is wonderful, with a hand drawn map of Paris visible through the class. I believe Ineke, as a line of fragrances, has achieved the perfect marriage of bottle and perfume design. There is a simplicity that manages to be fresh and contemporary, and yet still feels solid and luxurious. Looking at her perfumes lined up in order of release, the bottles provide a visual cue of the progression from effervescent to more dense perfumes. F: Field Notes from Paris is original (a feat these days!), well constructed, warm, approachable and wearable by men and women alike, especially if you are fond of the leather tobacco accord. I predict it will be added to many lists of Best Fall Fragrances, and the timing of the release could not be better. Like J.Alfred Prufrock, who agonized over whether he was marriage-worthy, I too have agonized over many a sample of perfume, wondering if it was bottle-worthy. In this case, it is. Scott Lauzé, MD Dr. Lauze is a psychiatrist in private practice in San Francisco and a perfume enthusiast. Image source, Ineke.com