Outback Adventures With Olibere Paris: Savannah's Heart & L'Etoile Noire

 

Last year my husband and I went to visit his home in South Australia for the summer, January through March, then covid happened and we extended our stay. In late March we began hearing rumbles of possible shut downs so we decided to head out of town while we still could.  Adelaide is the gateway to the most accessible part of the Outback, so we headed north to investigate Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. Ikara is the Aboriginal name of the Adnyamathanha people who have inhabited the land for thousands of years. It means meeting place, which refers to the circular formation in the park called Wilpena Pound.

Traditionally the beginning of April would signal the arrival of a stream of European visitors in RVs. We were visiting just a couple of weeks ahead of the tourist season and had the park virtually to ourselves, and the people who rely on the tourists influx for six months of the year to make their living were nervously waiting to see how serious this Covid was going to turn out to be. (The park ended up shutting down a week after we left).

Right before leaving on the trip I had received a box of samples ordered from Olibere Paris and I took them with me. Two scents in particular came to define my time there and perfectly describe the surroundings.

The drive to Ikara-Flinders Park is about six hours and as you begin to approach the park you see the hill formations, breaking out of the flatness of the earth. One is struck by the reds, browns, and umber tones of the earth, which give Australia's desert its distinctive look. The perfume that seemed to fit this scenery perfectly was Olibere Savannah's Heart. Perfumer Luca Maffei created the perfume to replicate a visit to the African savannah, with a special nod to African coffee by including that note. I've never been to the African savannah, but when I smelled Savannah's Heart I could sense the red and umber earth, dusty and dry, in the surrounding countryside. 

The perfume opens with bergamot, rhubarb, and labdanum. Of these, the resinous labdanum is the strongest on my skin. And although oud wood is in the base notes, I smell it immediately. Much has been made of the coffee note, but it is not at all gourmand. It mixes with the wood notes and is strong and acrid, further intensifying this feeling of parched earth. The slight spiciness and wood notes make this a warm perfume, and it felt like the experience of baking under the relentless sun on the desert landscape. This is a very different and distinctive perfume and certainly not for everyone, but I enjoy wearing it.

Essential headwear, modeled by my husband, pictured above. Trust me, it takes about 30 seconds to get over feeling silly when you wear these head covers. Without them the flies will cover your face.

While Savannah's Heart was the perfect day time perfume, when the sun dropped and the air temperature immediately dropped several degrees, I found another Olibere perfume to fit the mood.

The Australian Outback is one of the best places in the world to go stargazing; the absence of ambient light and the vast open spaces. Australia faces the Milky Way so the stargazer can see one hundred times more stars than visible from the Northern Hemisphere. 

A view of the Milky Way from Ikara-Flinders Park. Imgur.com.

 

Olibere L'Etoile Noire translates to "the night star", and Perfumer Amelie Bourgeous  juxtapositions light and dark notes to emulate bright stars glittering in the inky night sky.

Olibere is not the first perfume company to use patchouli to impersonate the dark depths of the night sky, but they've done it very well with L'Etoile Noire. It's kind of a conundrum, because patchouli is also more commonly used to give perfumes an earthy appeal. But add the right notes, in this case Amelie Bourgeois used Italian bergamot and lemon to add pricks of light to the underlying darkness, and its like stars thousands of light years away, their brightness piercing the darkness. The imagery of light fades pretty quickly and spices mixed with wood enter the scent frame. Blue ginger and resinous elemi give a warm feel to the scent, but it is a little off kilter and unexpected, not exactly the normal mix of spices in a caravan silk road inspired scent. Whenever I'm in Australia I'm always intrigued by the unusual plants and smells, and these notes seem new and surprising.

Base notes are quite the mixture: incense, Indonesian patchouli, tobacco, tonka bean, amber wood, vanilla, violet, and white musk.

It's a beautiful experience, laying on a blanket gazing up at more stars than the eye can fathom. This perfume captures a little of that magic, and here's a song to give the mood.

Top photo www.southaustralia.com. Middle photo and perfumes my own.

Olibere Les Insoumines Collection: Le Jardin de Mistinguett

This is the fourth and last perfume from Olibere's Les Insoumines collection that I have reviewed. The collection is Marjorie Olibere's tribute to some famous leading ladies in the cinema, and this last perfume is slightly different in that regard. It is named for the Moulin Rouge performer Mistinguett, who was in the early 1900s one of the highest paid female entertainers in the world, and who became famous for insuring her legs for 500,000 francs in 1919!

As for the perfume, I'm not sure what the connection is to the entertainer other than France is celebrated for its mimosa blooming season, but it is literally spring in a bottle! Here are the notes:

Top: Bergamot, lemon, watermelon

Heart: Lily of the Valley, jasmine, mimosa

Base: Cedar wood, amber, tonka bean, musk

But forget all that. What I get is one hundred percent mimosa. It is soft, fuzzy, and slightly powdery. Mistinguett feels sweet and innocent and will make you want to throw a flowered blanket on a spring meadow of wildflowers and have a picnic in the sun. There are moments in the perfume when I do get a breath of the watermelon, which smells more like cucumber to me, watery and fresh. This scent brings to mind bumble bees, somnambulant from sweet nectar, like this one falling asleep with its pollen-dusted butt peeping out from the cupped flower.

Photo @rabbitholeza

The perfumer for Mintinguett as well as the other three perfumes is Luca Maffei. If you would like to read about the other perfumes in the Les Insoumines collection, go to Le Jardin de Madame Chan here, Le Jardin de Amélie here, and Le Jardin De La Reine here. There are very reasonably priced sample kits at the Olibere website.

Google image on top. I bought the perfume samples from the Olibere website.

Olibere Les Insoumines Collection: Le Jardin De La Reine

Paris perfume house Olibere introduced four perfumes in 2018 entitled the Les Insoumises Collection, all of which pay homage to some of the cinema's greatest leading ladies. Brand founder Marjorie Olibere and Perfumer Luca Maffei are the creators behind all four scents. Le Jardin De La Reine is the third of the four I have reviewed, and in the course of testing it went from being my least favorite to my most favorite!

This would probably be the most devisive of the four perfumes in popularity, as it is of a certain style. It has what I think  of as that French perfume essence which I love, but to those used to the fruity florals of the last decade it might smell decidedly different than what they are accustomed to wearing. Both the Olibere website and Fragrantica call this a fresh floral, but for me it is what I call a modern chypre. It is a lighter and younger interpretation of this genre, but it gives that warm rush of scent, laced with a slight bitterness, that identify a chypre. A classic chypre opens with citrus, moves on to a mossy/oakmoss element, then closes with patchouli or labdanum. Le Jardin De La Reine has two of these elements, bergamot in the opening and patchouli in the base. This perfume was created to represent Marie Antoinette as played by Kirsten Dunst in the namesake 2006 movie, Marie Antoinette. The film is a kaleidoscope of fantastic sets and costumes, all done in a gorgeous pastel palette, rich and opulent. The more formal feel to this perfume and its strong reference to historical French perfumery is a good reflection of the ill-fated Queen.

Le Jardin De La Reine contains a litchi note in the opening, as well as the bergamot. The litchi gives a bit of sourness and a bitter twist to the florals which are in the heart of the perfume: lily of the valley, peony, and jasmine. Like a true French perfume these florals are blended into a whole so that not one distinctly stands out. But the litchi keeps the florals from becoming too sweet or romantic. Chypre-esque perfumes always have a certain stateliness. Base notes are patchouli, amber, and musk but it is definitely the patchouli which has the biggest influence on the scent. I can smell it throughout most of the life of the perfume. I love patchouli so for me this is a good thing.

If you are a fan of French-style perfumes but in a lighter and easily wearable style, then you may enjoy Le Jardin De La Reine. I definitely appreciated its formal, yet fun, appeal.

My sample is labeled Le Jardin De Marie-Antoinette, so I don't know if there was a later name change or if this is in error.

You can read about Le Jardin De Madame Chan here and Le Jardin D'Amélie here. 

Photos are from an Annie Leibovitz photo shoot for Vogue at the time of the movie release. I purchased the sample from Olibere website.

Olibere Paris Les Insoumises Le Jardin D'Amélie

 Le Jardin D'Amélie is the second of the four perfumes in the Les Insoumises collection by Olibere Paris that I am reviewing. I picked this photo from the Olibere Instagram site because it perfectly encapsulates the opening of the perfume, a berry-wine scent. I recently wrote a post on perfumes that smell like rosé wine, and it is a shame I had not already sampled this perfume as it is a perfect fit for the story. 

This series of Olibere perfumes is based on heroines from iconic movies, as picked by brand founder Marjorie Olibere, who has a passion for cinema as well as perfume. Le Jardin D'Amélie is based on the 2001 movie Amélie, or as it was known in France, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain. The plot is about a shy waitress who does a good deed, and is so inspired by the positive results that she begins to look for ways to change the lives of those who surround her for the better. The film is quirky and uplifting, and was an unexpected worldwide success that made French film more accessible to non-French speakers. It also helped make famous the Montmartre area of France where the film takes place. 

France is celebrated for its cuisine, and in Amélie the food is an integral part of the story. When my husband and I traveled through France a couple of years ago, one of the greatest pleasures was the daily ritual of lunch. In France sitting down to dine is a ceremony of sorts, not to be rushed but to be savored and appreciated. In the movie, food is used as a means to bring some of the lonely characters together. Amélie's zest for life is illustrated in her enjoyment of food, such as breaking the glassy crust atop the crème brûlée or eating the raspberries, as seen below.



Zesty, fruity berries are the entrance to Le Jardin D'Amélie, but the berries continue throughout the wear of the perfume. This makes the fragrance feel young and carefree, and if you are influenced by seasons as I am, this certainly speaks of spring and summer. Heart notes are rose, honeysuckle, and violet. I believe it is the rose that makes me think of wine, as it gives the perfume that vino feel. Honeysuckle is such a carefree and sweet note, just like our heroine Amélie, and it gives the fragrance lift and frivolity, referencing the sweetness of jasmine without the indoles. Base notes are woods, amber, and musk but for me the rose and berry note was very prevalent until it started fading away. This is a pretty and feminine scent to me, but anyone who likes the scent of raspberry may enjoy it. This was a light, uplifting, and cheerful fragrance to wear, just like the movie that inspired it.

If you would like to read about another Les Insoumises fragrance by Olibere Paris, go here to read about Le Jardin De Madame Chan. 

Top photo from Olibere.com website. Other photos Google images and YouTube images. I purchased my sample. 

Olibere Les Insoumises Collection: Le Jardin De Madame Chan

The house of Olibere Paris introduced the Les Insoumises Collection in 2018, four eau de parfums based on iconic movie heroines. It was the lovely graphics on the box and bottle that first attracted me to these scents. Yes, I am one of those people swayed by the label on the wine bottle. Today I am  reviewing  Le Jardin De Madame Chan, and it references, of course, the movie In The Mood For Love from the year 2000. This was a much lauded film, and not since the scene in The Age of Innocence where Daniel Day-Lewis unbuttons Countess Olenska's glove (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) and kisses the pale sliver of revealed skin, have we seen such furtive glances, accidental touches, and restrained longing.

Marjorie Olibere is the brand founder and she is inspired by films, be it their fantastic locations, iconic heroines, or revered movies. "Cinema and perfume feed my life with equal passion," she states on the Olibere website. Luca Maffei is the perfumer for all the fragrances in this collection. 

Photo wwwOlibere.com, Les Insoumises Collection

In The Mood For Love is based in 1960s Hong Kong. Two couples, the Chows and the Chans, move into a crowded boarding house. Mr. Chow and Madame Chan become friends as their spouses are often away, and in their loneliness they turn to each other. They discover their spouses betrayal but vow to fight their growing attraction, as they don't want to be like their unfaithful mates. Madame Chan is played by Maggie Cheung, and an unattributed star of the movie are the gorgeous cheongsams she wears throughout the film. I lived in Singapore for over a decade and would see these dresses hanging in designer shops, where they would be carefully fitted to hug the wearer's figure, which had better be good because cheongsams are not forgiving! I longed to buy one, but it is a truth universally acknowledged that a blonde firangi is never going to look as beautifully at home in this outfit as our Asian sisters. They are made for swan like necks, willowy-boned bodies, and dark hair to contrast with the beautiful floral patterns. 

Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love, Google image.

The opening notes of Le Jardin De Madame Chan are bergamot, coriander, and geranium. I smell the sharp bergamot and the dry geranium briefly, but the ylang ylang comes in quickly on my skin. The heart notes are ylang ylang, rose, and jasmine. Here the ylang ylang with its exotic and sligtly fruity scent is the star. On my skin its most overwhelming characteristic is a powder note. I always find ylang ylang to be powdery, but it is not the scent of baby powder or makeup-like rice powder. It is more akin to the powder aspects of a carnation but without the scent of carnation itself, although I do find the clove note often found in carnation-based perfumes to be present. It is heady and slightly sweet and blends well with a very subdued jasmine note. The rose note is very light and drifts in and out during the wear of the perfume, as if on a breeze. It adds a lilt and delicacy.

Base notes are patchouli, peru balsam, sandalwood, vanilla, and musk. The powdery ylang ylang is the most prominent note on me, and then eventually light vanilla, balsam, and musk. Le Jardin De Madame Chan is lighter than I first expected, but after wearing it a couple of times and thinking about the character of Madame Chan, I think it is a good representation. 

In The Mood For Love, Google image.

This is not a big perfume on me; it is muted and plays out in soft sepia tones. This fits the reflective and soft spirit of Madame Chan and the gentle yet passionate nature of this love story as it plays out. In this pandemic era I have discovered a new found appreciation for softer, non-demanding scents that surround me with lovely gentle fragrance but don't command too much attention. Olibere states it as a mission to represent French perfumery traditions and this fragrance is an example of that attitude. I enjoyed wearing Le Jardin De Madame Chan, and as an added bonus I found that when it came time to go to sleep, the powder-soft florals and fuzzy musk were the perfect accompaniment to my rest.

I will look at the rest of the perfumes from this line in the next few days.

NOT PERFUME RELATED

In the spirit of acknowledging the cinematic origins and inspirations of Olibere's Les Insoumises Collection, I am providing a couple of links that I found interesting in regard to dissecting In The Mood For Love from a film critic's aspect. It appealed to the inner nerd in me who took film appreciation courses at university.

Here is "frames within frames". 

And here is a study of all the beautiful cheonsams that Madame Chan wears in the film.

Top photo from Olibere website. Thanks to youtube.com for videos. I purchased the sample myself from Olibere Paris.