A Contemplative Perfume: Memoire Liquide Encens Liquide

A planned post on incense fragrances failed to materialize in the pre-holiday rush but I find I am still very much enjoying wearing one of the perfumes I was going to write about thanks to its calming beautifully scented presence. This one is also getting some buzz on Facebook Fragrance Friends, due to several members scoring a lucky find at TJ Maxx. I was one of those fortunate souls and I eagerly grabbed the box, which looks like a little book with a frilly French label, as this was a brand I'd been interested in investigating. The perfume is Memoire Liquide Encens Liquide from the reserve line.

Contemplative incense perfumes remind me of attending Christmas Eve services, candles glowing, and soaring hymns sung by robed clad choristers. When I traveled in Europe my favorite thing to do was investigate cathedrals, both the well known landmarks and the local ones I stumbled upon. I am fascinated by the impossible flying buttresses, soaring vaulted ceilings, ornate statuary, and magnificent stained glass windows. I know it shouldn't theoretically make a difference where you choose to worship but I can't help but be more inspired when I'm in one of these magnificent edifices, built as a tribute to God but also a huge testament to the skills of the humble craftsmen. Many years ago I enjoyed The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Although he normally pens thrillers, his fascination with the many cathedrals scattered across the landscape of England inspired him to write this book detailing the building of a majestic cathedral and the village of workers that sprang to life to make this happen. If you have any interest in the subject and have never read the book it's well worth the read.

 I didn't grow up Catholic so incense didn't actually play a part in my worship, but I still find that incense scents are evocative of the church experience. I don't really want to smell like strong smokey incense and Encens Liquide gives the aura without the more strident smells of some of the more photo realistic incense fragrances. The perfume starts on my skin with a powdery amber. It is bright and glowing, reminding me of basking in the pool of rainbow sunlight beams filtering through the colorful stained glass windows. Gradually the amber turns more resinous, lending the scent a sparkling warmth. Some scents have the effect of provoking calm attitude and clear thoughts and I find Encens Liquide to have this reaction. The incense in the perfume is hinoki which is used in Japanese ceremonies and it is mellow and sweet. (I have reviewed another scent using hinoki incense here.) The fragrance also has notes of black tea and white musk. I can't say I get the tea note but the musk is pillow soft but understated. As the perfume goes into the third hour I begin to get notes of vanilla even though I don't see it listed as an ingredient. I love the way the vanilla interacts with the incense. In the final hours of wear Encens Liquide has lost that initial amber resinous radiance but it is still a comforting and contemplative scent and I keep sniffing my wrist to get another hit of the addictive scent. I can smell the hinoki drifting in and out all the way to the final curtain.

Memoire Liquide was started in 1984 by two sisters in California, thus making the brand probably one of the earliest created and still surviving niche perfumeries. The sisters initial business was developing personal oil scents for their clients. In 2009 they introduced five of the most popular mixes in an eau de parfum spray formula, each one meant to evoke a memory of time or place. Until recently I saw Memoire Liquide available at several perfumeries but since finding my box at TJ Maxx  it seems to have suddenly disappeared from their websites. They have a Facebook page where you can email and request to buy, but my best advice is if you're near a Marshalls or TJ Maxx go check it out. Hopefully they will find another distributor as I would have paid full price for this perfume, which was reasonably priced. If anyone has more information please let me know in comments.

Top painting of Notre Dame from etsy in Afremov ArtSudio here. Second photo is Google image of Salisbury Cathedral. Perfume is my own.

Silver Bells: Sparkling Perfumes To Wear This Christmas Holiday

 

Something about cold weather and the holidays makes me love wearing aldehyde perfumes. They are as sparkling and as effervescent as a fine dry champagne. They are crisp and chilly like a walk through Central Park in December. They feel dressy and special as befitting holiday parties and events, and go perfectly with gowns in satin or velvet, bedazzled heels, and sparkly earrings for ladies or the perfect outrageous cravat for the gents.

Aldehyde perfumes were popular in the 1960s but they gradually fell out of favor as a more natural approach to perfumes became popular in the 1990s, at least these are my memories. When I was a twenty-something I found strong aldehyde perfumes overbearing and obnoxious. I probably would have used the term "old lady perfumes" when describing them. But as the years ticked by and life experiences gained, somewhere along the way I changed my mind. Suddenly they seemed complex and mature compared to my everyday perfumes. There are many other bloggers that could tell you about the chemical process in aldehyde perfumes that cause the whoosh effect when the sprayed perfume hits the skin. I can't tell you why it happens but only that I love that rush of scent and that sensation of walking through a door into the cold chill of a winter day, the dry frigid air stinging your face and eyes. Some compare aldehydes to the pop of a champagne bottle and the fizz of the bubbles. My favorite time of year to wear these perfumes is in the cold weather when the perfume's amplified notes are muted by winter's chill and the notes feel sharp, silvery, and almost metallic, thus the reminder of silver bells in the song.

Clinique Wrappings was introduced in 1990 as only the second addition to the brand's line, twenty years after the debut of their first perfume Aromatics Elixir. Imagine these two strong take- no-prisoners perfumes and the gutsy statement that makes about how different the perfume market was then. Who knew that in less than a decade Clinique would be introducing the bland Happy and it's yearly flankers; meanwhile the Wrappings is rarely available on the Clinique counter or is hidden away like the relative that makes a bit of a scene after too much holiday tipple. If you want Wrappings you need to grab it around Christmas when Clinique makes it available. I must admit I forget about Wrappings every year until Christmas, when its name is subliminally triggered as I begin to wrap presents to put under the tree. Then when I spray it I am reminded why it is the perfect scent for this time of year. That rush that smells like frigid air. The green that smells like silvery fir needles laced with snow. Mind you, it's not a pine scented perfume, just very green. But at the beginning of the perfume's life on my skin it conjures the image of walking through a frozen forest, pine needles glistening with frozen ice glitter. Wrappings sparkles with aldehydes. There are a whole host of notes in this perfume but as was the custom of the era, no particular notes stand out. It is more a melange of floral and woody notes that eventually becomes more of a green chypre fragrance when the fizzy giddiness recedes.


A most traditional choice of perfume featuring aldehydes would be Chanel No. 5, but I prefer Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere.  As much as I'd like to wear the original for the grande dame she is, it comes off screechy and shrill on my skin. I find the Eau Premiere to have that champagne sparkle and pop without the bitter acrid edge of the original. This one is floral with heart notes of jasmin and rose. My bottle is from the original 2007 introduction of the perfume. It was reintroduced in 2015 and I am uncertain what changes if any were made to the formula. I don't think there has ever been a more perfect "little black dress" perfume created than the Chanel No. 5 in its various guises, and the Eau Premiere in particular makes me feel like I'm in my finery holding a bubbling glass of Tattingers.

DSH Perfumes Deco Diamonds was created by perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz as one of four perfumes to conceptually illustrate an exhibit at the Denver Art Museum in 2014, Brilliant: Cartier in the Twentieth Century. Dawn has had several collaborations with the museum and this one attempted to capture the luxury and sparkle of the Cartier jewels in the exhibit. Deco Diamonds specifically was created as a tribute to the Cartier diamonds worn by the Duchess of Windsor. The copy on the DSH website says, "She was bold, stylish, hard and a force to be reckoned with. Deco Diamonds mirrors this ferocity in a most beautitful way."

Deco Diamonds also starts with the zoom of aldehydes which Dawn describes as "a blazing and dazzling white sparkle."  Eventually the perfume becomes even richer as intense florals of jasmine, tuberose, gardenia and honeysuckle peep through the galbanum and aldehydes. But what distinguishes this perfume and makes it quite different from the two above are the animalic notes of   civet and hyrax. These animalic notes are much more intense  than the ones found in DSH Perfumes Chinchilla, which I reviewed recently here. I enjoy the combination of the sparkling dazzle of aldehydes and the strong, almost feral agressiveness of the animalic notes, and I think it perfectly captures the spirit of the woman it was created to emulate, Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor. A confident man or woman could rock this perfume but it's definitely not for the timid.

These three perfumes for me capture the essence of bustling city sidewalks, window displays brimming with holiday scenes and people carrying an excess of packages to soon be transformed to gifts under the tree. They also give me a sense of cool, silvery metal, thus the tie in with the song below, the original Silver Bells from the 1951 motion picture The Lemon Drop Kid.



Disclaimer: In reading up on aldehydes and their use in perfumes several said that comparing their use to adding sparkle and fizz was an amateurish take, and that the notes can often be soapy or waxy. I am in no way an expert but can only state my opinions, and what I get from the aldehydes is described as best I can in the above reviews.

Top photo Dominique Corbasson. Tree photo Google images. Perfumes from my own collection.

Ballet Inspired Perfumes Part Two

In Part One of ballet inspired perfumes, scents to wear to the ballet and specifically in this festive season the Christmas performances of The Nutcracker, three perfumes from the Les Parfums de Rosine line were featured. In this post we will look at four more perfumes inspired by elements of the ballet.

Keiko Mecheri Lady Pointe opens with one of the most distinct blackcurrant notes I have ever smelled in a perfume. It is uplifting and very fruity but not at all sweet. There is a touch of citrus in the opening but the rose comes in to mingle with the blackcurrant note fairly quickly. There are also notes of orchid, suede and musk, but what I am mostly noticing is a grape- jammy rose. In the final stages of wear notes of tonka bean, incense, oakmoss, patchouli, and sandalwood combine with the rose to render a darker air to the perfume. I particularly notice the tonka bean which gives a slightly powdery gourmand note, once the intensity of the intoxicating black currant and rose notes have dissipated. Lady Pointe conjures images of red ballet shoes and purple-skinned black currants. This perfume is rich, dark and unexpectedly fun.

With Penhaligon's Iris Prima we move away from the rose-based ballerina perfumes and on to iris. Iris can be an austere, proper note which perhaps suits the theme of ballet dancers and the endless hours of practice and fierce dedication required to make a mark in the profession. The iris starts off very similarly to Prada Infusion d'Iris on my skin. I get the quiet, grey iris note and the starched smell that often accompanies iris perfumes. There is a touch of pink pepper in the opening which gives it an initial ping but that quickly disappears. The perfume also has notes of leather, sandalwood, vetiver, amber, vanilla and benzoin. I smell the iris with the softest touch of leather. The leather is a super soft and pliable note and it is an easy comparison to imagine it the the well worn leather of the ballet slipper that we are smelling. For me this wears like a winter companion to the Prada Iris, the leather note providing a darker hue to the usually light iris note.

Strange Invisible Perfumes Prima Ballerina has a very different take from the perfumes featured thus far. For one thing, it does not feature a leather or suede note to indicate the ballet toe shoes. Also, there is no sandalwood, a nod to the wooden stage and practice studios, that features in the previous entries. This interpretation is an aromatic perfume featuring the rose note. Strange Invisible Perfumes is one of the early originators of botanical perfumes and based in California. This scent opens with a lime note which gives the very pretty and true rose note a citrus lift. It also has notes of sage which give a light herbal quality to the naturalness of the perfume. I would say that this perfumer is not trying to draw a hyper realistic scent picture of the ballet performance including elements of wood, leather and sweat, but is instead trying to relay a portrait of the romance of the ballet and the beauty of the ballerina dancer. I find this scent to be very feminine.

The final perfume inspired by the ballet is Amrita Aromatics Vaganova: a Bittersweet Ballet Floral Botanical Perfume. It features notes of ginger, rosewood, tuberose, sandalwood, cedar, rosin, and satin; altogether a most romantic list of ballet inspired notes. Even if I had blind tested this, I would have guessed it is a natural perfume. It has that bright organic presence that naturals often show. Ananda Wilson says about her perfumes, "Know that when you purchase a natural perfume, it is an intimate engagement in the wild natural world and will not offer the predictable, cloying, or forceful type of experience that commercial perfumes often do." My experience wearing this perfume: I smell the opening brightness of the ginger. Woody notes of rosewood, sandalwood, and cedar give a nod to the scuffed practice floor, and there really is a dustiness that gives the aura of the rosin that the dancers dust their ballet shoes with to prevent slipping. The tuberose note never becomes apparent to me. And although I didn't confirm this with the perfumer, I am assuming the perfume's name is taken from the renowened Vaganova Choreographic Institute in Leningrad, the highly competitive school for the Kirov Ballet. This perfume was beautiful and very personal; like many naturals it wears close to the skin and longevity was about three hours.

Are there any other ballet inspired perfumes that you wear?

Nutcracker Ballet photos from George Balanchine's New York Ballet production. Red ballet slippers photo from Pinterest. Samples are my own collection.

Ballet Inspired Perfumes: Les Parfums de Rosine Ballerina No.1, 2 & 3

Every year the week before Christmas one of our family traditions is to attend a performance of the Nutcracker Ballet. There is an order to the tradition. It starts with pre-theater fondue and champagne in the formal living room which gets used about five times a year, fire blazing and tree lights twinkling. Then in our dressy finery we go to the Bass Hall in downtown Fort Worth, the two trumpeting angels adorning the building setting the mood even before we enter. The atmosphere is festive with young children in their Christmas outfits getting photos with the Mouse King or Nutcracker beside the towering tree. Then the familiar music starts and we are immersed once again in the magical world of Clara and her cast of characters. This ballet, which was first performed in St. Peterburg in 1893 to rather tepid reviews, is now a mainstay in cities around America during the month of December.

Flickr Photo Lindz

Les Parfums de Rosine is a French perfume house founded in 1911 that didn't survive the harsh economic reality of the Great Depression. The house was revived in 1991 by Marie-Helene Rogeon, whose grandfather had worked with the original owner. The perfumes all feature a rose note and so far the house has created 37 variations. One of the newer introductions was in 2014 with the debut of Ballerina No. 1, followed in 2015 by Ballerina No. 2 and No. 3. The perfumes are meant to represent the three stages of a ballerina's life. No. 1 is the young student just learning the craft; No. 2 represents the maturing dancer as she becomes more polished; and finally No. 3 is the prima ballerina in her prime and at the top of her game.

Les Parfums de Rosine Ballerina No. 1 is a fruity floral but if you're not a fan of the genre don't be alarmed . Despite the achingly cute pink bottle bedecked in its own frothy tutu, this is a fruity floral designed with tight reins on both sweetness and fruitiness. It starts with a touch of innocent white rose, followed by notes of pear and peach. The fruit notes are mellow and smooth. I can smell the freesia if I put my wrist to my nose and inhale. Middle notes of rose, peony, and violet smell softly floral and the merest touch powdery. What is really interesting is the dry down where a milky note combines with musk, sandalwood, and vanilla. On my skin the vanilla is very mild and the milky note adds a creaminess to the sandalwood that is very appealing. This would be a perfect perfume for a young woman you're trying to introduce to finer perfume styles. I'm too old to be their target market but I wouldn't turn down a bottle if it came my way. It is a pretty, proper, and a happy fragrance.

Les Parfums de Roseine Ballerina No. 2 opens with a beautiful strong rose note. It smells extremely freshly picked and organic. As it settles the rose intensifies and a raspberry note gives it a jammy sweetness. This perfume is classified as a woody floral and there are a long list of notes:  bergamot, raspberry, and orange blossom in the opening; rose, magnolia, violet and iris in the mid range; and at the base sandalwood, patchouli, ambrette seeds, vanilla and amber. I'll be honest, for me it predominantly is a rose perfume although in the later stages I get a whiff of leather shoes scuffing the wooden practice floor.

Les Perfumes de Rosine Ballerina No. 3 represents the prima ballerina as a confident dancer with a stage presence. This rose is deeper and more multifaceted right from the beginning. Top notes are fuchsia flower, rosebuds, black pepper and pink pepper. The opening is much more opulent and deep than the other two perfumes. Mid notes are black rose and violet leaf. Base notes of sandalwood, oud, cashmeran, patchouli, cedarwood, carmalized vanilla and amber make this perfume even darker as time goes on. The patchouli is the first base note I smell, lending an earthy quality. Then the cashmeran, vanilla, and amber kick in and the perfume becomes slightly sweeter and denser like rosy hued amber.

All three perfumes are pretty. No. 1 and No. 2 are more feminine. I would say No. 3 is unisex. I was surprised how much I enjoyed wearing the girly Ballerina No. 1. No. 2 has a beautiful opening rose note, but after that it kind of fizzled for me. There was no real development on my skin. I most enjoyed wearing No. 3. In warm weather I found it  to be more fierce and demanding it's moment in the spotlight. In cold weather it softens to a more comforting rose cashmere on  my skin. In the United States www.beautyhabit.com carries these perfumes. You can also order directly from the company here. Their samples are called enchantillons. I ordered a full set about six years ago and it was one of the prettiest sample packs I've ever received from a perfume company.

Finally, here is one of my favorite moments from The Nutcracker, The Dance of the Snowflakes.


Top photo Google image. Second photo of Bass Hall from Flickr. You tube video is the New York City Ballet. Samples are my own from Beautyhabit.

The Hanging of the Greens with DSH Perfumes Vert Pour Madame

The first Sunday in Advent is traditionally the time when churches hang garlands and wreaths in a ceremony known as the hanging of the greens, to commemorate the birth of Christ. In like manner homes are festooned with festive decor and wreaths are hung on doors to welcome the Christmas season.  The first evergreen boughs were hung in London churches in 1444 (I would love to know how this factoid was discovered!) and in 1500 era Germany evergreen boughs were formed into circles to signify God's eternal love. But this custom of hanging the greens predates Christianity and was a part of winter solstice celebrations by the Druids, Celts and Romans. Winter solstice, or Saturnalia as it was called by the Romans, occurs at approximately the same time as Christmas. Evergreen plants were treasured because they promised the rebirth of the sun and harvest so their use played a dominant role in the celebrations. These green plants of winter served as a reminder that the dark would not last forever; that the sun would return and the days of light lengthen. These habits were deeply ingrained so early Christians began to incorporate some of these celebratory features of the harvest festival into the season preceding Christmas.

DSH Perfumes Vert pour Madame is the perfect green scent to capture the essence of the observance of the hanging of the greens. From the first whiff, Vert pour Madame takes me back to a hazy childhood memory of watching my mother complete her toilette for a night out. I remember faint images that include dresses with bell shaped skirts and waspish waists,  red lips and darkened eyebrows, and high heels that usually only came out on Sundays. And a trail of perfume that was deep and dark and spoke of places I couldn't yet go and things that happened after my eight o'clock bedtime. Please don't think we're talking "old lady" perfume here, a term I heartily dislike. These perfumes called for no small measure of poise and aplomb to carry off, unlike many of the generic scents littering perfume counters today.

Vert pour Madame, a vintage style green chypre, harkens back to a day when perfumes had presence and made a statement. They sought to be bold and sometimes the center of attention. If you have feared that this style of perfume is long gone then Vert pour Madame will thrill you. I believe Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, creator at DSH Perfumes, originally introduced this perfume as a precursor to spring. Notes of hyacinth, jonquil, and lily of the valley give the scent a lovely brightness in the opening, but notes of cedarwood, patchouli, and moss bring it back around to a darker place. The perfume would smell lovely anytime of year but there is something about wearing this in cold weather that makes the green notes really sparkle and gives it a sharp crisp edge.

When trying to imagine this perfume, don't think of the green of dark forests or the sunnier green of a freshly mowed lawn. In fact, don't think of earthly greens at all. Think of an elegant green satin evening gown, cool to the touch. Imagine a large green emerald with murky depths set on a ring surrounded with tiny glittering diamonds. Imagine boxes wrapped in the most expensive and heavy shiny green wrapping paper, topped with a red bow. This green feels glamorous, grown up, and utterly distinctive. While I'm wearing Vert pour Madame I feel smarter, prettier, and slightly dangerous, even though at the moment  I'm wearing flannel pajamas with cherry topped cupcakes dancing across the fabric. Could this be self esteem in a bottle?

Chypre perfumes traditionally have bright top notes and deeper duskier base notes and it is this contrast of light and dark that makes them interesting. In Vert pour Madame Dawn uses notes of bergamot and galbanum to give that chypre opening, but she also adds the spring flowers of hyacinth and narcissus and these are the notes that I smell most at the beginning of the perfume's wear. Aldehydes add that sparkle and panache that makes this feel like a festive and sophisticated perfume, as well as giving it that sharp almost bitter edge. If you go to the notes list on Fragrantica you will see that Dawn, as is her custom, uses a basket full of fragrant notes to create this perfume. I'm not going to expound on each one because the notes are so well blended that what you smell is dazzling green.

My sample was taken from my one dram miniature flask of the EDP version of Vert pour Madame. DSH Perfumes also sell a perfume extract version and I can only imagine what deep gorgeousness this might contain. A sample may be a little gift to myself in the immediate future while Dawn's annual holiday sale is going on. Go to the DSH Perfumes Facebook page here  to find details. Creating exquisite perfumes comes at a cost but your nose will distinguish the difference, sort of like the difference between buttering your roll with canola oil margarine or Beurre de Baratte. The site offers lovely presentation flacons which would make an exceptional luxury gift.

In conclusion I will give you an appropriate Christmas song. Christmas music is my favorite so expect more of this!



Top photo Google image. Perfume sample from my own collection.

Parfums Dusita: La Douceur De Siam & Le Sillage Blanc

Parfums Dusita is the culmination of the creative efforts of Pissara Umavijani to introduce French inspired perfumes with a Siamese inspiration. Pissara debuted her collection in spring of 2016 and the three perfumes:  Issara, Melodie De l'Amour, and Oudh Infini all have been lauded as among the best of 2016. Ms. Umavijani was hailed as a young perfumer with an old soul and one to watch. Her latest two perfumes, La Douceur De Siam and Le Sillage Blanc, have been garnering great reviews as well, although they will  not be formally introduced for sale until early 2017.

Today's Thailand is a busy bustling place and Bangkok is a chic business hub of Asia. For centuries, however, Thailand was known as Siam and the name only changed in the WWII era. To me personally Siamese references harken back to the traditions and romance of a long ago time when Thailand was a more isolated and insular place, full of exotic secrets,  hidden beauty, and pageantry. Pissara's creations are inspired by the poems of her late father Montri Umavijani, esteemed poet of Thailand; but where his palette was the melody of words, Parfums Dusita speaks through the language of scented memories and fragrant idealized settings.

La Douceur De Siam

I chose the photo above with water not because there are any aquatic notes in La Douceur De Siam; there are not. Having been in and around Asia for the last fifteen years or so, the reality is there is always water nearby, be it a river or the ocean and it very much influences the mood of the place . La Douceur De Siam reminds me of that landscape with its fluid airy languidness and the tropical lushness of air heavy with humidity.

La Douceur de Siam opens with a creamy frangipani note. The different colored frangipani each have their own aroma and the note in this perfume definitely reminds me of the soft yellow or white petaled frangipani, not the exuberant pinks. The photo is me with my sister in law in Thailand. She took small cuttings from frangipani trees from my yard in Singapore several years ago, stuck them in the ground, and when I went to visit five years later they were all big gorgeous blooming trees. I love the frangipani for their tropical smell, which although lush are always sweet and creamy.

Rose de Mai is also present. In most of my instances wearing the perfume the rose was quietly beautiful in the background, but taking a back seat to the yellow flowers. However just one time the rose took center stage and told the frangipani, champaca and ylang ylang to take a hike and for that one day she decided to be a beautiful rose perfume. That is what I love about top class ingredients. They turn a perfume into a living elixir that can react differently on skin, opening up new facets with each wear.

Champaca enters the picture with floral and woody notes. Ylang ylang bolsters the yellow flower appeal with its creamy musky florals. Violet leaf adds a green-tinged herbaceous accord. The perfume doesn't become green, it's just a whisper. Eventually the floral notes fade and sandalwood becomes dominant. Even later notes of amber, cloves and vanilla join the sandalwood in the final breath of the perfumes wear. These notes are subtle and quiet.

I couldn't help getting a mental image when wearing this perfume. Picture yourself in a narrow long boat on the river Chao Phraya in Bangkok. Your trip begins near the markets and you glide silently past the floating boats laden with fragrant flowers. As you slip away from the city you glide past small communities that have settled along the river banks. You smell the scent of wet green vegetation with its pleasant funkiness. As the sun lowers the river narrows and the trees along the shore line close in, blocking out the light. The woody comforting scent of trees surrounds the boat. The scent dims at dusk to a light amber woodiness with a tinge of vanilla.

If you are wondering what the difference is between La Douceur de Siam and Melodie de  l'Amour, other than the white flower/yellow flower distinction, here is my take. Melodie De l'Amour is a beautiful bouquet of white flowers and explores the individual white flowers that make up the bouquet. La Douceur de Siam starts with yellow flowers but then evolves to a more quiet and mysterious place.

Le Sillage Blanc

This perfume was actually created as an ode to "a Mediterranean idylle" and as a nod to one of Ms. Umavijani's favorite scents, vintage Bandit by Robert Piguet. I'm stubbornly sticking to my Thai theme though, and using this photo of gorgeous greens, watery vegetation, and a leathery elephant to illustrate this modern green leather chypre scent.

Le Sillage Blanc is the yang to La Douceur de Siam's yin. It opens with a rush of neroli from the bitter orange tree. It is galbanum that makes Chanel No. 19 sing in a sharp key and it does similar service in Le Sillage Blanc, taking away any slight sweetness that might be found in the neroli and giving it a bitter green twist.  There is the same vegetal feel that lightly flitted through Le Douceur. It's a shape shifter going from moody and mysterious to a bright hue of green . Artemesia has a sharp, bitter, pungent smell and it helps make this essence a thoughtful and even slightly challenging wear in the best way.

Before we go any further I must mention tobacco. The tobacco note is just as big a player in Le Sillage Blanc as are the green and bitter notes. The tobacco note in perfume, depending on what it is paired with, can be boozy, fruity, or sweet with caramel type notes. This tobacco note captures the more green aspect of the plant and to me has a ganja like smell. There is a leather feel to this perfume. It serves to rough it up a bit and heighten the earthiness. It is subtle and well blended. Finally the patchouli brings even more earthiness and expands on the slightly mossy note presented here. Ambrette seed is also in the dry down and it can present as nutty or with undertones of tobacco, clary sage, or cognac. All these notes conjoin to present an overall feel of bitter greens, herbal accents, and earthiness.

When I first interviewed Pissara to write the review on Issara she sent me a link to a work which inspired her greatly in the years prior to starting her own perfume brand: Freedom From the Known by Jiddu Krishnamurti. She stated that the book inspired her to discover her life's passion and to expore the meaning of happiness. I have always been curious with young achievers, what motivates them and gives them courage to pursue their dreams? I don't know that this particular passage from the work was Pissara's inspiration but it certainly describes how she has gone after fulfilling her creative passion.

"But when you have thrown it off, and have this energy in which there is no fear at all--no fear of making a mistake, no fear of doing right or wrong, then is not that energy itself the mutation? But when there is this energy that comes from throwing off every form of fear, that energy itself produces the radical inward revolution. So you are left with yourself.....and you are already free to discover."

Ms. Umavijani has in one short year garnered a lot of respect and buzz for her brand and her perfume creations. Any of us who have had conversations with her will attest to what a kind and generous soul she is. It is a pleasure to see her fragrances getting so much love from the perfume world and these two newest scents will only add to the acclaim.

Edit: I have a set of the three original Dusita perfumes to give away. So there can be three winners instead of one, I am going to break up the set. In comments below, let me know if you prefer to win the Melodie De l'Amour, Issara, or Oud Infini. Press here to link to the post of my last giveaway, which will show you what the perfumes look like and links to my reviews. The contest will end next Friday, Nov. 25, 9 pm Central Time. Oh, and it's not a requirement, but I'd appreciate you either subscribing to my blog or liking the facebook page of The Fragrant Journey if you feel so led. Thank you and good luck! 

Top photo Harpers Bazaar. Middle Photo my own. Elephant photo from rootsgrowdeeper.tumblr.com.  Perfume samples provided by Parfums Dusita.

My Favorite Autumn Scent: Parfumerie Generale L'Oiseau de Nuit

When people find out I love perfume they often inevitably ask, "What is your favorite perfume?" I hate that question and it always leaves me tongue tied. It's like asking, "Which of your three children do you love the most?" How can I possibly limit my perfume love to only one when there are so many out there to explore? But there is one fragrance that I have adored since it was first introduced in 2009, and if you really pressed me I could at least commit this much: Parfumerie Generale L'Oiseau de Nuit is my favorite autumn perfume. Probably. Almost certainly.

The very talented and fragrantly prolific Pierre Guillaume introduced this perfume to his limited edition line of fragrance but here's hoping it never goes away. There is a gourmand note in the opening, like burnt caramel or something golden and syrupy. It is slightly sweet but not the candy curdled sweetness found in so many gourmand perfumes. It is more an opulent richness with bergamot providing a golden light. The davana note adds to the boozy feel of this scent. The first hour it is truly an elixir of warmth and luxuriance and I am tipsy with delight.

Now for the really good stuff. Benzoin and labdanum are two of my most loved fragrance notes and they take center stage in L'Oiseau de Nuit. Benzoin makes this perfume feel like it has amber as an ingredient, but it's a slightly lighter more transparent amber note than the real thing. Benzoin  also adds a sweetness which doesn't feel like a full on gourmand, a unique juggling act. Ladanum is a sticky resin that also adds to the amber accord feel. At the beginning of this perfume's wear it is like a gorgeous golden elixir, slightly sweet and rich. Then the amber notes began to take over and it becomes the most oppulent cashmere blanket of scent. On the Parfumerie Generale website L'Oiseau de Nuit is termed an ambery leather perfume, but Guillaume kept the leather touch light. It adds a very slight animalic note and tones down the more gourmand aspect, but I never really sense a strong leather presence. The longer I wear it the darker the scent becomes, perhaps referencing the night bird in its name.

This is the perfect fall comfort scent for me. It evolves from its bright and showy opening to a darker denser fragrance. For all the drama of its opening it eventually becomes a fairly close to the skin scent which one could be comfortable wearing in any situation. L'Oiseau de Nuit would be equally at home as a male or female scent. If you love banzoin, labdanum, or amber this is a must try.

This beautiful collage can be yours from Imagine Studio, Etsy. Scent from my personal collection.