It’s time for another edition of my digest of Twitter mini-reviews; the following are from January to March 2015.
Ostara from Penhaligon’s (Bertrand Duchaufour; 2015)*
Truly delightful jonquil soliflore from Duchaufour. Orange blossom and subtle white florals mingle with woods & musks. A radiant marriage of the brand’s own Orange Blossom & Amaranthine. As optimistic, life-affirming and uplifting as the sun itself. Lovely.
Pour Homme Extrême from Bottega Veneta (Daniela Andrier & Antoine Maisondieu; 2015)*
Recognisably related to the spicy, leathery original, but with emphasis on woods in base. Elegant work.
Knot from Bottega Veneta (Daniela Andrier; 2014)*
Much love lavished on this one. The top notes certainly deserve praise: orange & neroli cascading like liquid gold. But I’d say the loveliness isn’t sustained. Fresh, cologne-like feel grows thinner. Still, much to commend it as an ‘easy to wear’ scent.
Baiser Volé – Lys Rose from Cartier (Mathilde Laurent; 2014)**
The original’s ‘stepping into florist’ feel replaced by bad-tempered rose. Ends on simple floral muskiness.
Pomélo Paradis from Atelier Cologne (Ralf Schwieger; 2015)*
Suitably idyllic top notes. Lime, grapefruit & blood orange against crisp white tablecloth & summer sky. As it progresses, it becomes unsurprisingly synthetic. But it does keep parting the clouds now and then. One of the brand’s better ones.
Artisan Acqua from John Varvatos (Rodrigo Flores-Roux; 2014)*
Great explosion of pepper at start, but then sinks into generic ‘masculine citrus’ quagmire. Depressing.
Love Story from Chloé (Anne Flipo; 2014)*
You’ve smelt this before. Pseudo-orange blossoms over musky shampoo notes. Soullessly pleasant. Wholly forgettable.
Rose Infernale from Terry De Gunzburg (Michel Almairac; 2014)*
Starts well. Cedar, cardamom & rose. Darkly Gothic, a la Lutens. But fades away with disappointing speed.
Alford & Hoff from Alford & Hoff (Rodrigo Flores-Roux; 2009)*
80s flashback. Cinnamon, nutmeg & pepper, in the style of Minotaure. Interesting translucency. Then all turns insipid.
Cuir Cuba Intense from Nicolaï (Patricia De Nicolaï; 2014)*
Sweet tobacco, coffee, herbs & patchouli overstay their welcome. Too unrestrained. Rare misfire from Nicolaï.
Philippe from Charriol (Christian Vermorel; 2014)*
Oh dear. Another instalment of ‘Attack Of The Masculine Clones’. Synthetic citruses. Dull musk drydown. Stay well away.
La Favorite from Dear Rose (Fabrice Pellegrin; 2014)*
Decent take on Arabian rose+leather idea. Perhaps drier than most in this genre, but still, not terribly original.
I Love My Man from Dear Rose (Fabrice Pellegrin; 2014)*
Violets, rose and carnation evoke lipstick and leather handbags, circa 1980. Confidently and appealingly feminine.
Sympathy For The Sun from Dear Rose (Fabrice Pellegrin; 2014)*
Curious savoury amber accord over melons and synth woods. Too pale and restrained to justify luminous name.
Bloody Rose from Dear Rose (Fabrice Pellegrin; 2014)*
Illegible and uninspiring mishmash of white floral cliches. Assertiveness comes not to those who bellow.
A Capella from Dear Rose (Fabrice Pellegrin; 2014)*
Fresh, happy, easy-to-like rose, with green and woody facets. Suggestion of tea too, evocative of lazy summer mornings.
Tagete from Profumum (2014)**
Linear, standoffish combo of tuberose & jasmine, with rosy, buttery, nutty undertones. Shades of Tom Ford Velvet Orchid.
Jadab from SoOud (2015)**
Woods and abrasive amber notes beneath sickly sweet berries. Not much to recommend it. Grows increasingly powdery and dull.
Promethee from Olivier Durbano (Olivier Durbano; 2014)**
Unconvincing melange of fenugreek, sage, vetivert, soapy notes and synthetic woods. Grows very thin and flat.
Sept 21 1966 from Rundholz (Arturetto Landi; 2014)**
Intriguing opening – cherry mimosa on dry paper. Weird green facets, like incense burning through grass. Then begins to lose focus. Turns into a straw beach mat and, finally, a sickly cocktail of synthetic woods.
Persolaise
* sample provided by brand
** sample obtained by the author
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Oh my God! What does 'Jadab' mean? In colloquial Lebanese, it means stupidity and general idiocy. 'Majdoub', would be an idiot.
Do they mean 'Jathaab'? With a stress on 'th' meaning attractive. Seriously, these guys need to work on their Arabic transliterations.
Danaki, thanks for your comment. I bow to your superior knowledge of Arabic 🙂 I think the people behind SoOud were going for the 'attractive' meaning. Maybe 'Jathaab' sounds a bit more like 'Jadab' when spoken by someone whose first language is French…??
Well…I think they need an Arabic culture translator/consultant, like moi? 😉
Maybe you need to advertise your services 🙂
I love your short reviews because they inspire me to try out some new releases I would otherwise probably ignore or never hear of them.
Sorry to hear you did not like Cuir Cuba Intense. I almost bought it last year because I fell in love with the smell of wet tobacco leaves and liquorice…and I'm seriously considering buying it this autumn.
Neva, thanks very much indeed. If you enjoyed the Nicolai, then please pay no attention to what I say 🙂 Buy it and enjoy wearing it! I just thought it was trying too hard. But I'm sure it'll find plenty of fans.
Oh, but I do pay attention to what you say, because I like your blog and your competence 😉 Of course I will buy it if nothing more intriguing will come my way in the next few months. I also like the "intense" part of it. It's a scent I can smell around me throughout the day without overspraying.
…as for the fans of Cuir Cuba – the less, the better. I'm selfish about fragrances I'm wearing 😀
Thanks very much indeed for your vote of confidence 🙂 I appreciate it.
As for not wanting our favourite perfumes to have too many fans… I'm sure there are plenty of people who would agree with you on that one!