Arabian Nights – L’Artisan Parfumeur Al Oudh Perfume Review

Well, it looks like Nigel really came through on the old birthday front (thank you all for your kind wishes btw) deciding much against his better judgement to generously give me a big ole bottle of L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Al Oudh as his gift. Al Oudh has been sat on my wish list for quite some time now (which makes me wonder why I haven’t reviewed it already) and out of the slew of ouds available I believe that it is one of the few thatt brings something new to the party.

Al Oudh now joins my three other L’Artisans (Vanille Absolument/Havana Vanille, Traversée du Bosphore and Nuit de Tuberéuse) all of which, Al Oudh included, just so happen to be Bertrand Duchafour creations, thus proving that I really do have a “thing” for le Duchafour, and who can blame me? The dude is clearly a genius and with Al Oudh his skill of turning common accords entirely on their head is in full swing.

Bertrand Duchaufour created Al Oudh for L’Artisan Parfumeur in 2009. It’s billed as an exotic, spicy and woody oud with accents of rose and dried fruits. L’Artisan describe it as “the elixir of sensuality itself”, which is a very fluffy way of saying that it is in fact sex on a stick, or sex in a bottle to be more accurate. Al Oudh may not be what you’re expecting from an oud but that is exactly what makes it so captivating.

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My Beautiful Beloved – Amouage Beloved Perfume Review

“There’s just something about the glamour and luxury of wearing great big flowers that takes away the grey humdrum of everyday life.”

I’m always keen to see what Amouage is up to, they are a brand with incredible cohesion, yet each release is new, surprising and exciting. Amouage’s creative director Christopher Chong has gone a long way to give the brand an international aesthetic, drawing inspiration from Puccini, Swan Lake and the Silk Road (to name but a few) to create perfumes that transcend culture and location.

This year has been a good year for Amouage releases, March saw the release of the latest edition to the Library Collection with the orgasmically good amber Opus VI, and now, preceding the launch of Amouage’s annual masculine and feminine duo later this year, the house has launched a new feminine perfume exclusive to a small number of high-end department stores. A perfume that has been bestowed with the named ‘Beloved’.

Beloved is an unusual launch for Amouage because it stands alone without a masculine counterpart and it joins Ubar as one of the only fragrances in the line to do so. It has been created to represent the modern woman so it stands to reason that it doesn’t need a man to shine. Amouage says that “Beloved engages the elegance and complexity of the modern woman: strong, empowered, animated, in control.” [1] and to me it feels like a contemporary modern floral with a classic edge.

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CPB I Love Perfume – CB I Hate Perfume 7 Billion Hearts & M5 Where We Are There Is No Here Perfume Reviews

With so many perfume launches per year and the overwhelming number of niche houses that seem to be popping up all over the place, it stands to reason that one has to give in to the fact that not everything can be tried, and in some cases entire lines must be ignored for the sake of one’s sanity. For me, CB I Hate Perfume was one of these lines that unfortunately fell by the wayside.

I’m not entirely sure why I have ignored CB I Hate Perfume for so long, Christopher Brosius is regarded as somewhat of an industry maverick and his appearance in BBC4’s Perfume documentary last year should have piqued my interest, but instead it had the opposite affect. Instead I couldn’t help but feel that line was just a gimmick hiding behind an eccentric personality – watch me eat my words.

I recently had the opportunity to try the two latest CB I Hate Perfume fragrances (in water perfume concentration); 7 Billion Hearts and M5 Where We Are There Is No Here. The names didn’t fill me with a huge amount of confidence, they again sounded quite gimmicky, but I’m always happy to be proved wrong and despite the names both of these new offerings from CB I Hate Perfume are beautifully unusual.

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A Gourmand to Make You Smile – Etat Libre d’Orange Fils de Dieu Du Riz et Des Agrumes Perfume Review

“I love a perfume that makes me smile – Fils de Dieu brings the smiles, and plenty of them”

Despite their often hyper-sexed and occasionally misdirected marketing techniques, Etat Libre d’Orange are one of the most solid niche brands out there. They offer a line of well made, interesting, unusual and affordable fragrances that simply cannot be matched. The Etat Libre d’Orange war cry is “Parfum est mort, vive le parfum” (“perfume is dead, long live perfume”) and they are going a very long way to resurrect the concept of fun into the landscape of modern perfumery, a landscape that can so often become devoid of any delight.

I have said many times before that I am a self-proclaimed Etat Libre d’Orange fanboy, I simply cannot help it, I find their compositions to be filled with humour, occasional, nay regular genius, surprise and wonder. Each one is an essay in pushing the boundaries of perfume, turning familiar genres on their heads and firmly sticking two figures up at the bland, the trite and the cheap.

Fils de Dieu or ‘Fils de Dieu Du Riz et Des Agrumes’ (Son of God of Rice and Citrus Fruits) to use its full name is one of two latest releases from everyone’s favourite French olfactory freedom fighters, the other being Bijou Romantique. It was created by Ralf Schwieger and the concept behind it is interesting to say the least. Also available under the more controversial name of ‘Philippine Houseboy’, Fils de Dieu “is the golden eye that reflects beauty and conflict, rapture and pain. It is an emotional fragrance that requires a sympathetic connection between the server and the served, the giver and the taker, and the willingness to exchange roles.” [1]

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More ‘Amber’ Than ‘Oud’ – By Kilian Amber Oud Perfume Review

Perfume fate seemed to happen last week. As I was planning The Candy Perfume Boy’s Guide to Oud, the postman bought me two oud-ie goodies – the first being my new bottle of Tom Ford’s Oud Wood and the second being a sample of By Kilian’s latest perfume ‘Amber Oud’. So it seems like last week was fated to be the week of the oud, and in keeping with that theme it only seems fitting to give Amber Oud a whirl.

Firstly, By Kilian has to be commended for their PR practices. Last year they offered members of The Kilian Club on their Facebook Page a complete set of samples from the L’Oeuvre Noire collection and now they have been kind enough to send everyone a sample of their latest fragrance ‘Amber Oud’, with the sole intent of introducing it to Kilian fans. Now, that’s good PR!

Amber Oud is inspired by greek mythology and is the latest addition to By Kilian’s Arabian Nights collection. It was created by Calice Becker and joins Incense Oud, Pure Oud and Rose Oud to become the fourth pillar within Kilian’s oud-quartet. Kilian says that Amber Oud “is borned in Heliades tears” [1] and with this new fragrance his objective “was to deconstruct/reconstruct the traditional “Amber” by taking the animalistic qualities of a dark “Oud” and adding richness through an overdose of “Vanilla” from Madagascar and “Benzoin” from Laos.” [2]

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Bubblegum Chic – Honoré des Prés Vamp À N.Y. Perfume Review

Bubblegum Chic

Tuberose, tuberose, tuberose, the narcotic Queen of the Night. The erotic, sensationalist flower with a reputation for stealing many a heart and corrupting many a virgin. My love of tuberose is pretty well documented (please see The Candy Perfume Boy’s Guide to Tuberose) and I’m pretty much happy to try any fragrance that lists it as a note. I was however, slightly sceptical of Vamp À N.Y., but lots of positive reviews and a sample that was very kindly donated by Ines of All I Am – A Redhead led me to try it.

“This is extreme, never lived before, French couture… addictive, sophisticated and futuristic” [2]

Vamp À N.Y. is part of Honoré des Prés’ ‘We love NY’ collection created by perfumer Olivia Giacobetti. The Honoré des Prés line prides itself on having perfumes that are “100% natural origin – 100% botanical ingredients – 100% engaged.”[1] I don’t know about you but I’m not entirely fussed about whether a perfume is all natural or not, the art of perfumery, in my eyes, requires a large palette of natural and ‘synthetic’ ingredients. But that’s beside the point, Vamp À N.Y., whether it is natural, synthetic or otherwise, is a very interesting take on my favourite flower.

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Dream a Little Dream of Me – Guerlain Idylle Eau De Parfum Perfume Review

“I imagined for Idylle a bouquet of fresh and joyous flowers, a symbol of love” Thierry Wasser [1]

In 2009 the eyes of the perfume-world were firmly fixed on the doors of No 68 Champs-Élysées in Paris. The world awaited the brand new feminine fragrance from the world’s most important (and arguably the greatest) perfume house – Guerlain. In the previous year Guerlain (now owned by the fashion-gargantuan Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) had appointed Thierry Wasser as their in-house perfumer and he had already started to create exciting fragrances for the house (see Guerlain Homme), but he was yet to conquer the mammoth task of creating a Guerlain feminine.

A new feminine fragrance from Guerlain is always big news and it can’t be easy creating a fragrance for a house that brought Jicky, L’Heure Bleue, Mitsouko and Shalimar into the world, but with Idylle it felt like the pressure was REALLY on. Thierry Wasser had the huge tasking of creating a contemporary and modern fragrance that wouldn’t betray Guerlain’s age old heritage and for that reason Idylle is a relatively important fragrance, it signifies a shift within the house, and this shift is highlighted in the tag-line on the above advertising image, which presents Idylle as “The New Guerlain”.

Guerlain describes Idylle (‘Love Dream’) as “Like a mist of petals on the skin, a fresh floral bouquet warmed by the sensuality of chypre” [2] and if only to emphasise the ideal of ‘The New Guerlain’, Idylle marks a complete break from the house’s tradition of lavish chypres, big florals and Guerlainade-filled orientals.

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O Tannenbaum! – A Blogging Event

O Tannenbaum! is a joint blogging event where the finest of perfume bloggers have got together to each post a trio of reviews focusing on woody fragrances. Taking part in the project are;

All I Am – A Redhead: Part 1 & Part 2, Another Perfume Blog, Beauty, Bacon, Bunnies, Beauty on the Outside, EauMG, Eyeliner on a Cat, Fragrant Reviews (@FragrantReviews), Muse in Wooden Shoes, Olfactoria’s Travels, Parfumieren, Redolent of Spices, Scent of the Day, Suzanne’s Perfume Journal and Undina’s Looking Glass.

Please head over to their blogs to view their posts!

My tastes tend to lean towards those perfumes that are either floral, oriental or gourmand, and woody fragrances, whilst not being my favourite type, belong to a genre that I have learned to love as my tastes have developed and improved along my perfume-sniffing journey. For this reason O Tannenbaum! has been an intriguing post to write and I have tried to choose three scents that represent completely different aspects of the woody genre.

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Under Slow and Solitary Suns – Lorenzo Villoresi Theseus Perfume Review

“Theseus sits within that genre of confident and comfortable masculine fragrances that feel like they could be worn with the most casual or the smartest of clothing.”

Lorenzo Villoresi, the fragrance house by the Italian perfumer of the same name, is a brand that I have to admit that I haven’t had a great deal of exposure to. My experience with the house extends to a quite disastrous encounter with their most popular fragrance – Teint de Neige, a baby powder mess that really isn’t me at all. But, I won’t let one bad experience taint my idea of a brand, and I have heard positive things about the rest of the line, so it is with great interest that I try their latest release – Theseus.

Theseus, which takes it’s name from Greek mythology (he was the dude that killed the Minotaur), is the latest addition to Lorenzo Villoresi’s ‘Fantasy Fragrances’, a collection consisting of fragrances which “recall exotic and dreaming worlds, atmospheres and landscapes.” Theseus is described as:

“A fresh, radiant, sunny fragrance, evocative of ancient adventures over strange countries and seas, in the search of mythological lands. An elegant fragrance, noble and timeless, deep and velvety, full of rare, intense and precious scents. Citrus fruits, herbs, spices and mysterious resins. The seductive aroma of ancient wood and flowers, overflowing with delicate fragrances.”

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Barely There – Hermès Santal Massoïa Perfume Review

I am a great admirer of Jean-Claude Ellena, I find his ‘minimalist’ style of perfumery intriguing, and I think he has done some great scents for Hermès’ (there is a ‘but’ coming) but I have to admit that I struggle slightly with the Hermessence Collection. I know that this confession may serve as some form of perfume heresy but I can’t help it. It’s not that I actively dislike the collection at all, I just find the ‘barely there’ approach frustrating and I’ve only come across one or two that I really like. That said, any new Jean-Claude Ellena fragrance is worth a sniff and I can appreciate his style (and talent) without being madly in love with it.

The Hermessence Collection, which Hermès describes as “A collection of olfactory poems, with sobriety and intensity, which freely explore new facets of emotion.” [1] is a line of fragrant watercolours, of which Santal Massoïa is the latest addition. Like others in the collection, Santal Massoïa is a light, transparent interpretation of one of perfumery’s most glorious ingredients – sandalwood.

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