Nin-Shar Jul et Mad Paris

Desirability: Full bottle and a back up

Source: pinterest

I have heard/read of instances in which people observe a moment's silence when opening a rare fine wine or brandy, out of respect or perhaps silent awe. "Dear God!" was my first thought when sniffing the opened bottle of Nin-Shar (in the cute Love Dose 5ml size as was a semi-blind buy, I say semi-blind because I had a very pleasant encounter with Néa and therefore was confident that I would love its sibling too. With rose, oud and incense listed in its notes, it's a safe bet for me). After a deliriously happy albeit silent moment during which my olfactory nerves imbibed greedily on this glorious juice, my second thought was "I need a bigger bottle! STAT!" 

It seems like almost every house whether niche or mainstream has a rose/oud combination and the huge selection is quite fatiguing after the initial excitement wore off. Nin-Shar stands out from the competition because of its luscious rose jam note that is dripping with berries in syrup and packed with dark red roses in full bloom. This dessert rose shares some similarities with other jammy roses like Parfumerie Generale's PG13 Brulure de Rose or Sådanne . However the patchouli, incense and oud pull the fragrance away from the gourmand territory and the result is a sophisticated broody rose indulging in a glass of burgundy, surrounded by opulent trappings. Everything about Nin-Shar is rich and rooted in quality ingredients, projection is *moderate and longevity is very good on me. 

*my fellow colleagues beg to differ and insist that projection is enormous as apparently they can smell me down the hall which is no small feat. They have further claimed that anyone spending more than five minutes in my room comes out smelling of boozy roses. I leave you to be your own judge! :)

De Profundis Serge Lutens

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: www.beauty.at

One must love mums. Chrysanthemums that is. 

I digress but don't you love it when Serge Lutens decides to magic one of the deeply coveted bell jar perfumes into an export edition? I know I practically go giddy. So when I heard a rumour that there was going to be a limited release of De Proundis, in the sleek and glossy black flacon of the Le vaporisateur tout noir range that also houses other much-loved scents such as the delicious Rahat Loukoum, the wonderful if weird Silver Iris Mist that is more an experience than a perfume I can wear, my holy grail of all ambers- Ambre Sultan and Féminité du Bois-a warm, sweet and spiced woody scent that's all around perfect.

Chrysanthemum is the dominant note in De Profundis for me. The green yet floral scent that is characteristic of chrysanthemums is clear and vibrant throughout the moderate longevity of the fragrance on my skin. Light powdery floral notes form the background for De Profundis and I detect a clean almost austere note of incense in the heart.

Despite the associations of death and decay with De Profundis, I find it to evoke peace and tranquility, happy memories even. Chrysanthemum tea is a popular favourite which goes well with the lengthy and often boisterous Sunday dim sum brunches, where family and/or friends gather to eat, drink and be very noisy. Red, orange and gold/yellow chrysanthemums are also a staple decoration for the Lunar New Year, the colours being auspicious ones for the celebration.

I have longed to try De Profundis for so many years and it's such a pleasure to finally hold and smell it. For me, full bottle worthy but I am an avid Lutens fan, albeit more of the earlier work than the recent releases.

La Fumée Ottoman Miller Harris

Desirability: Sample

Source: Fragrantica

This house makes decent fragrances but I haven't been bowled over by another Miller Harris scent since L'Air de Rien. Judging by the notes for La Fumée Ottoman I had high hopes that it would rock my world the way LdR did. 

It starts off with a bright bang of bergamot before taking you into the kitchen where the spices of the Orient exist. The cardamom and cloves are seriously amped up in the beginning and I wish the scent stayed that way, I dig smelling like an aromatic sweaty pig and I mean that in the nicest way possible. However the spices drift away too quickly and the scent evolves into a warm spicy rose backed with sweet incenseand woody notes. The drydown is lovely, the spices are faint shadows of their former selves but still giving an edge to the sweet blushing rose with amber and incense to complete the oriental vibe but it is muted in comparison to the opening and after about two hours it is a skin scent on me. 

The longevity is average but the sillage for La Fumée Ottoman needs to be improved in a major way to make sense of the price tag. A decently made and pleasant fragrance but it's not coming home with me. 

Tobacco Oud Tom Ford

Desirability: Decant

Source: www.buro247.ru

I met Tobacco Oud while visiting a friend during my travels and became pleasantly acquainted with it over the course of my stay. I had previously bypassed the grey-bottled Oud trio from Tom Ford partly because I was a little weary of oud and partly because I flinch at the pricing of TF fragrances. Yes the range has a few fantastic scents but seriously? Anyway I digress.

A heavy scent this one is. I don't usually give a stuff as to whether my SOTD would be better suited to colder temperatures than the tropical humidity I live in 365 days of the year but I would advise that less is more with the likes of Tobacco Oud. It does quieten down but that's after at least 3-4 hours into the wearing.

I smell tobacco, whisky and wood. A rich, sweet and aromatic tobacco that feels warm and rugged. The whisky in Tobacco Oud is a mellow fellow, I'm on the very early stages of the learning curve for whisky and I still wince at the perceived harshness of Scottish malts I've been introduced to, but there are no rough edges to Tobacco Oud, it's smooth, smoky and very delicious. The drydown is sweeter than when it first started and reminds me of incense rather than tobacco by this stage. On a side note I prefer this to Phaedon's Tabac Rouge that my friend is partial to but which I found to be a little on the sweeter side of tobacco scents and while I do have a sweet tooth I don't always indulge it and Tabac Rouge is a sweet treat. Despite the dark tobacco and smoky whisky I don't find Tobacco Oud to be brooding or masculine, certainly it doesn't conjure up images of cowboys, instead it feels like it belongs in a swanky smoking lounge or whisky club where luxury is like daily bread for the crowd there.

Phenomenal longevity, a potent beginning that lasts for quite a few hours before it fades but remaining noticeable for days! So despite me failing to discover any oud in Tobacco Oud, I still think this is worth sampling and definitely worth getting a decant at least. Since it lasts forever and a day, a full bottle may not be required unless you are of the happy breed that is content with just one perfume in your closet. 

Ambra Aurea Profumum Roma

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: www.profumum.com

Smooth criminal.

This is like a sensual and languorous trip that winds and loops, doubles back and proceeds once more through creamy vanilla, smoky incense, sweet myrrh, dusky warm labdanum, freshly shaven wood and a hint of camphor. Despite being a gourmand lover of sweet things, I prefer my ambers not too sweet and thankfully the sugar level is controlled in this smooth, rich and dense fragrance. I have to mention its ridiculously persistent longevity (ditto sillage) which seems to be a common trait amongst Profumum Roma scents. Mind the oily residue when sprayed though it does give one the fantasy factor of applying liquid amber on. 

Source: kultflick.wordpress.com

Of course I have to compare it with my Holy Grail of ambers...Ambre Sultan, Ambra Aurea is glossy and lustrous where Ambre Sultan is dry and spicy. Ambre Sultan takes me on a magic carpet ride to desert lands of Peter O'Toole's Lawrence of Arabia whereas Ambra Aurea is like the Sex and the City version of the Middle East i.e. a bit OTT but still loveable in the end. 

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Both are glorious amber perfumes in their own right and for those who can't decide whether they need a bottle of Ambra Aurea if they already own the Lutens I would say go for it. Many thanks (or not) to the fragrant friend/fiend who sent me vials of Fiori d'Ambra and Ambra Aurea, both labelled "smell me immediately". I obeyed your instructions and am now hooked.

Wisteria Hysteria Comme des Garcons & Stephen Jones

Desirability: Sample

Source: en.colette.fr

Wisteria Hysteria sounds a lot more fun than it actually smells. After the great time I had with the eponymous debut scent, I was awaiting my sample of Wisteria Hysteria with great expectations.

 It smells like a an aquatic fruity-floral that would be perfect for a hot day when you don't want the usual citrus based scents. Fresh, green, sweet and watery. The crispness of the opening slowly fades away and I pick up spicy powdery notes that were also present in Stephen Jones but the powder is much toned down here in comparison. The aromatic spices do a lot in livening up the fragrance for me, I wasn't blown away by the introduction. White musk and a light incense are present in the later part and although the drydown is warmer and deeper than its introduction, Wisteria Hysteria never becomes engaging on my skin. 

The relationship I have with Wisteria Hysteria is like that with colleagues you have worked with for many years and there is mutual goodwill but you never bother to catch up with over the weekend as there is a lack of warmth to push the relationship into the "friends" territory. Overall it is a pleasant scent but I much prefer the unique and quirky Stephen Jones. 

Rossy de Palma Eau de Protection Etat Libre d`Orange

Desirability: Sample

Source: iperfume.ru

Unless my sample was labelled wrongly, Rossy de Palma has to be the tamest scent that I've tried from Etat Libre d'Orange ever. I kept waiting for a twist in the tale but the lack of shock tactics was notable from the start to its drydown.

Rossy de Palma is a peppery spiced rose, whose place on the "Scoville" score of spiciness lies between Paestum Rose by Eau D'Italie on the milder side and Epic Woman by Amouage on the spicier side. Pasteum Rose is too mild tempered for my liking and Rossy de Palma is more affordable than Amouage, so it is a good in-between scent if you are having problems deciding between them. Rossy de Palma opens with a peppery spiciness tinged with the sharpness of fresh-cut ginger. There is a green rose that appears from behind the spices, a little sour, a little sweet and plenty realistic as if you were leaning in to smell the rose itself perched on its bush, the scent of wet dirt type of patchouli rising from below. Mingling with these smells is a gentle breeze carrying a light incense that completes the picture of Rossy de Palma. 

I've heard the scent termed so many things from sensual to cozy and I believe it encompasses both and everything else in between. It has a moderate projection but a decent longevity and I feel it can be comfortably worn by both males and females. A nicely done spiced patchouli rose that doesn't go screechy or powdery like some roses do but despite singing its praises, my heart and purse still belongs to the opulent, breathtakingly beautiful Epic Woman.

Trivia: The Scoville scale is a measurement of the spiciness of a particular food or chili pepper, measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU) which is related to the concentration of capsaicin in the food but is an imprecise method of of measurement in contrast to methods such as high-performance liquid chromatography. 

Black Jade Lubin

Desirability: Decant

Source: www.perfumeriaquality.pl

I'm sure many fragrance lovers have heard or read the story revolving around Black Jade, that it was the last fragrance (purportedly) worn by Marie Antoinette before her ending. For me it doesn't matter if the tale is real or reel but if you would like more history on the brand and the fragrance, Vanity Fair had an article here. 

So forgetting about all that, the scent is quite fantastic really. It starts off coolly green yet spicy (almost like chewing mint gum) and a tart citrus hangs around for quite a while instead of its usual fanfare and about-turn as an opening note. I can't smell jasmine for all I try ( I sampled Black Jade at least on four occasions) as a fresh rose still tinged with green has taken hold of my nose. Young rose in the merry company of lofty galbanum (who thankfully doesn't monopolize the opening) and spices, the opening is bright and young before things start to heat up and Black Jade morphs into a highly suggestive (no coquettishness here) dirty rose. Animalic. Thick incense still carrying a trace of spices and citrus, the rose reclining on a luxurious bed of earthy moss and soil with a sheet of smooth sweet vanilla covering her bits and pieces as a stab at modesty. Here I am confused as I've gone through every review I could get my hands on and nobody spoke of leather but that is what I smell and the sweet leathery note adds to the come-hitherness of Black Jade. Sexual but not raunchy like Nuit Noire. 

It has an OK projection but the longevity isn't as good as I would like, still it is a pleasing first foray into the house of Lubin and Gin Fizz is next on my list to sample, firstly because I enjoy a cool G&T and secondly(supposedly) Grace Kelly was wearing it when she was proposed to by the Prince of Monaco- I am not big on royalty but I am a fan of fairytales.

Angélique Noire Guerlain

Desirability: Full bottle and back up

Source: www.lesflaconsdeparfum.com

Complete and peaceful. 

Like a recovering addict, I've done my best to steer away from the sole Guerlain counter that carries the exclusive range and even went to great lengths to avoid the shopping mall in which its housed. However I recently bought in on a split of Angélique Noire which I briefly smelt and loved a few years ago. From the line L’Art et la Matière, Angélique Noire and Tonka Imperiale stood out the most for me. Actually I'm pretty crazy about my tiny decant of  Angélique Noire to the point that words and reason failed me when I tried to explain why (the crazy part that is). I'll say it's Guerlain at its best...just call me a groupie.

A pleasantly strange fragrance, vanilla is obviously part of the composition but there's a faint peppery greenness about the vanilla that makes it different from any other vanilla I've come across. Vanilla usually adds some weight but Angélique Noire remains quite...Twiggy-esque for a lack of a better word. Spicy without being fiery, sweet without crossing into gourmand or sickly and aromatic without being too green. Delicate and rarefied but not limp. Musk and faint incense appear in the drydown which feels like a warm golden shawl around your shoulders, conjuring up images of perfect perfectness like the duck scene in The Notebook. Moderate projection and very good longevity.

Source: pinterest.com

Trivia: Angelica or angelica archangelica as an essential oil is purported to be an excellent restorative to help ease anxiety, lift depression and alleviate tension. 

PG14 Iris Taizo Parfumerie Generale

Source: Fragrantica

Iris Taizo is another almost but not quite gourmand fragrance from Parfumerie Generale. You need to like cardamom to get through the opening as it starts with a blast of spicy green...incense? That's what I smell anyway. With time the potency of the scent decreases and so does the intensity of it, leaving room for a sweet powdery and woody base to be noticed under the spiciness. On paper the powdery aspect of the iris is played up and I much prefer it on my skin where it's more waxy than powdery, an enveloping warmth of spiced honeyed wood.

My only guff is that despite its promising bellow at the start, the scent wanes quite fast and all that's left is a skin scent that sticks around for the better part of  three hours tops. Solution: buy the 100 ml and lug it around for frequent touch-ups.

CiocoRosissimo Hilde Soliani

Source: Luckyscent

Quirky rose.

The chocolate is most obvious when the scent is first applied, more of a bitter dark chocolate. Sadly the chocolate note waxes and wanes before disappearing completely. Along with the chocolate at the introduction there are  sweet spicy notes that make me think of pepper and cloves. There is also a strong and dry incense gamboling with the chocolate and spices, overall it doesn't smell bad or good but challenging? So the chocolate wanders off and the spice and incense take it down a few notches, it's the debut of the rose, or rather delicately sweet rosewater. By the drydown most of the spiciness is gone leaving the incense, rosewater and vanilla, subtly sweet and balmy.

I can't decide if I like or dislike CiocoRosissimo. It's a wonky and fun scent with tasty point, average projection and longevity. Something that should be sampled though and not blindly bought. 

Mmm Hilde Soliani

Source: www.scentbar.it

Luckyscent lists the ingredients for Mmm as: Basil, vanilla, incense, and burrata accord. Sounds dubious even awful but in reality it's not as challenging as it reads. 

Herbal green. Smoky incense. That's what I smell mostly. It's slightly sweet and spicy, similar to the sensation of chewing mint leaves. The green living things in Mmm are in equal proportions with the incense that smells sharp and bright, the overall effect feels like...burning incense out in the woods?  In the drydown it becomes smoother and smells like spiced vanilla cream with a sprig of mint for the rest of its extremely lengthy lifetime. But burrata? Methinks someone indeed moved my cheese. 

Le Voluttuose La Vaniglia Bois 1920

Source: www.basenotes.net

I will fully admit that my girly girl side fell for the blush pink and gold bottle BUT what tipped me into blind buying a bottle of La Vaniglia was that it has quite a number of detractors despite being a vanilla scent. Oriental vanilla that is. Very oriental indeed. 

Vanilla usually out shouts its accompanying notes and vanilla scents can get a bit boring and repetitive after a while. Standout vanillas like Mona di Orio's Vanille and La Vaniglia break out of the gourmand category and present challenging compositions that will have their equal share of fans and critics. Mona di Orio's Vanille is an acrid woody vanilla that I enjoy sniffing but cannot wear as I find it too dry to be comfortable and I do like some sugar with my vanilla. L`Erbolario Dolcelisir is a boozy gourmand vanilla that's loaded with cinnamon and other spices which makes it feel drier than other gourmand vanilla perfumes that I've tried. 

Where Dolcelisir is laden with cinnamon, La Vaniglia my third encounter with a dry vanilla, is liberally peppered especially in the opening where the smell of freshly grated ginger and pepper is almost overwhelming and there's no sign of vanilla at this time. The initial spiciness dissipates over time but spice remains a prominent note even to the drydown and this dry spiciness gives a feeling of antiquity to La Vaniglia. Under the spice, living beneath a thick fog of darkest patchouli and smoky incense that is so intense it is as if someone sucked up the incense of several cathedrals and stuck it in this creation, there is a creamy vanilla but La Vaniglia is not just vanilla as she claims to be nor is she the innocent cotton candy pink of the bottle. Yes there is sugar but just enough to be noticed so in comparison I will say much less sweet than Dolcelisir but sweeter than Vanille. She is very much a sophisticated, audacious take on vanilla that is both wildly weird and wonderful. Potent and promiscuous this is definitely not for little girls. AMAZING longevity and good projection. Blind buy success! 

Honour Woman Amouage

Source: www.gopixpic.com

Honour Woman isn't my most loved BFWF ( big fat white floral) nor is it my most loved Amouage but if you are into luscious white floral perfumes, you should add this to your sampling list. 

A gardenia/tuberose/jasmine delight that opens with a strong lily of the valley presence and some peppery green notes before the focus shifts to the main players, the white flowers. The flowers are lusher than in Estée Lauder's Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia which is an elegant white floral bouquet but too polite and thin for my taste. However the meatiest mixed white floral for me is the super buttery Isabey's Fleur Nocturne even though my darling tuberose is replaced with a creamy magnolia and juicy fruit notes. Honour Woman sits between Fleur Nocturne and Tuberose Gardenia in terms of boldness and the "fatness" of the floral notes (medically speaking the BMI of Fleur Nocturne would be over 30, Honour Woman would be about 25 and Tuberose Gardenia would be 20). In the drydown of Honour Woman there is a light sprinkling of the peppery notes from earlier on and a lovely warm smoky incense under the white floral notes. A beautiful rich white floral perfume with a mellower ending compared to its first hour that any tuberose/gardenia lover especially should try. 

Thanks to chronic rhinitis that has addled my snifter, I tend to gravitate towards powerhouse perfumes and I particularly love how Amouage perfumes announce one's presence before one is physically even in the room and how everyone knows you have been in that room for an hour after you have left. This isn't the case with Honour Woman which is moderate in both the scent trail and longevity departments as compared to Memoir Woman or Interlude Woman for example. 

Portrait of a Lady Frederic Malle

Desirability: Full Bottle

Source: Fragrantica

I have two important things to say. Firstly to the dear friend who traded me 10 ml of Portrait of a Lady, thank you for re-introducing me to this stunning Malle creation. Secondly I owe a big apology to Portrait of a Lady for having once said that I prefer Noir Epices to her. Not that I've changed my mind about Noir Epices but to the woe of my bank account both perfumes are now on my want list. 

Source: 

If Maison Francis Kurkdjian Lumiere Pour Femme is my heartbreakingly lovely rose/patchouli then Portrait of a Lady would be my rose/patchouli seduction tool if the occasion for one were to ever arise. 

Unlike in Noir Epices where the spices command the stage, here in Portrait of a Lady the spices are present but mild-tempered, showcasing a voluptuous heady rose that's practically pouting and dark smouldering patchouli with billows of incense undulating in their wake.

 If this be a lady, she is a lady by day only. This is not to say that Portrait of a Lady is a tramp for she isn't by far, lacking any animalic musks or sweaty spices which are my prerequisites for the label. Instead I would say that she issues a challenge to those who would dare. 

Although I've been calling the scent a "she" I find Portrait of a Lady to be comfortably unisex and would be alluring on anyone comfortable in wearing this chock-full of patchouli potent drug. A sultry rose and heady patchouli? All I need is a flick of eye-liner a la Bridget Bardot and the right black dress...I'm thinking of Bernie Dexter in the Super Spy dress by Heart of Haute and I'm ready to rumble. 

Cuir Ottoman Parfum d'Empire

I like, I do not love. 

Cuir Ottoman. The name evokes images of sweat, musk, animals, leather, darkness...

The opening is promising, bitter harsh leather, but it didn't last for more than a few minutes before becoming a very civilized, polite suede. It's like the evolution of a cave man to a modern man not over hundreds of thousands of year but over mere minutes. 

Isabel Marant Dicker boot, courtesy of lagarconne.com

Cuir Iris might be a more suitable name, as the powdery and earthy iris is more dominant apart from the explosive tarry opening. The leather as I mentioned becomes a smooth, polished suede and instead of a pair of Frye cowboy boots, I'm thinking of Isabel Marant's suede Dicker boots, sand colored ones.The scent is made even more amiable with the addition of sweet creamy vanilla, warm resins and a much toned down incense that provides a spiced relief from all the congeniality. 

A well-crafted and elegant iris/suede perfume with no rough edges, that would appeal to both sexes and would wear well for all occasions, having a moderate sillage and good longevity. As much as I find its pleasing countenance attractive, I will throw my lot in with moodier leathers such as Serge Lutens' Cuir Mauresque, Les Exclusifs de Chanel's Cuir de Russie, Papillon Artisan Perfumes' Anubis, Mona di Orio's Cuir and...you get my drift.  

La Liturgie des Heures Jovoy

I'm a big fan of Jovoy's Gardez-Moi (big fat white gardenia) and Psychedelique (my most reached for dark and sultry patchouli) and had my sights set on sampling the rest of the line. 

Incense. Latin: Incendere. "To Burn".

The Liturgy of the Hours is the prayer of Christians daily and in all denominations, the principle remains the same: to pray throughout the day, to spend the entire day and night in praise of God. Wearing La Liturgie des Heures Jovoy, one does feel and smell like having spent the whole day in church, issuing forth frankincense, myrrh, styrax and copal with every step. 

The use of incense in Christian worship is seen as a symbol of the prayer of the faithful rising to heaven. Psalm 141, verse 2: "Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight: the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice." In the Catholic Church, whenever a thurible, used to contain incense as it is burned on hot charcoal, is swung to incense people or objects, it is repeated in patterns of three swings, to represent the Holy Trinity.  

La Liturgie des Heures takes us back to its ancient use as aromatherapy, of healing both the physical and emotional through stimulation of the olfactory nerve.This sweet resinous smoke is linear but beautifully crafted and would be welcomed by those who enjoy this genre of scent, employing a calming and relaxing effect on the limbic system. Read more on incense symbology here.

Aromatherapy benefits

It is a potent incense so be careful how much you spray, besides scenting, it could be used instead of pepper spray if applied with vigor, if that fails to disarm your assailant, throwing the heavy glass flacon with good aim would guarantee a knockout. 

Trivia:

Frankincense and Myrrh come from the sap of trees, frankincense from the genus Boswellia and myrrh from the species Commiphora, where the sap is collected as dried beads from tapping the reservoirs in the trees and allowing the ooze to dry on the trunk. 

The resin of both plants has been used for spiritual practices for over 5,000 years and were considered a valuable and practical gift in ancient times- recall that the Three Magi gifted baby Jesus with gold, frankincense and myrrh.The resins also have medical benefits that were applied in past civilizations dating back to 1500 BC, including antiseptic, antidepressant, immune booster, astringent and sedative among many other health uses. 

* Frankincense drying on a bark. Cedric Pollet.

Labdanum 18 Le Labo

This was my last birthday gift to myself and came shipped from Luckyscent via an amazing perfume-friend. I adore the skank Rose 31, the super leathery Patchouli 24, the hyper-realistic Lys 41, the gorgeous woody Belle du Soir, Santal 33 my favorite happy sandalwood and I was ready to be impressed by Labdanum 18.

I'm not wowed off my feet, but I'll say it's a good SKIN SCENT. It's so soft, it's practically made of fairies' wings. Not something I expected with labdanum and civet amongst its notes. 

I sprayed a copious amount on my sleeve and finally met Labdanum 18. It's a smoky, Oriental musk, with a hint of animals hiding behind the trees. Not as smoky like Le Labo's broody Vetyver 46, it's more resinous than a wood fire. 

So it didn't win the sweepstakes in projection but it's rather long-lasting, I could still detect its balmy sweetness eight hours on if I stick my nose to my arm. Good for days you want to remain discreet in office meetings before you have a rendezvous with your lover after, it's guaranteed he/she will respond amorously to this musky "like skin" but "skin rolled in animal funk and incense" scent. 

I've heard it compared to Musc Ravageur by Frederic Malle. I would say there are similarities but they are not identical twins, maybe fraternal. First I can actually smell Musc Ravageur after one spray (sorry for the repeated gripe), secondly Musc Ravageur has this potent, obvious spiciness about it that is not present in Labdanum 18. Musc Ravageur is provocative, in your face wantonness whereas Labdanum 18 is quietly alluring. Ok, Musc Ravageur would be Angelina Jolie (how could you miss all that sex appeal starting from the lips right?) versus the gamine Audrey Tautou as Labdanum 18 (watch Amelie then go watch Hors de prix). At the end of the day, it depends on who or what you want to channel. 

L'orpheline Serge Lutens

Glacial. Incense is usually associated with warmth and comfort but in L'orpheline the incense does not cast its usual brilliant glow and the scent feels stark and cold, almost grim. If I could give it a colour, I would say it's steel. The musk is no heated up primitive musk, it is a naked musk, stripped of any emotions and not derived from anything biological. It feels sterile...spiritless.

Two notes. Musk and incense. Notes that represent or play a role in passion and celebration. Here, creating such a heavy smog of melancholy, such strangeness, such emptiness...all alone in a bleak land, the sun and moon having disappeared forever, the stars snuffed out like in W.H. Auden's poem.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. 

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. 

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

L'orpheline is a stray waif, so very distant from the opulent orientals from the Serge Lutens line. Strange. Apathetic. Detached. 

Amber Russe Parfum d'Empire

Inebriated amber ahead.

Wow. I smell like I just emptied the better part of a vodka bottle on myself. It's drowned out whatever champagne there is in the top notes for me too. All I smell for the first ten minutes is vodka, vodka and more vodka. 

After my liver and nose have digested the vodka, I smell leather or birch tar or birch tar tanned leather, anyway it's tanned animal hides for sure. The juniper adds a crisp and sweet evergreen note reminiscent of how driving past a forest of conifers smelt in autumn going into winter.  

The amber in Ambre Russe then makes its way slowly into the scent just as I was wondering where it was. It slinks in like a knowing feline, with smoky incense trailing behind, causing a stir in the crowd and the temperature to rise. It's as if the booze has really set into your system, your pulse is racing, your face is flushed and the heat radiating off your skin smells musky. 

The dark sultry amber takes centre stage in the dry down, her voice raspy from too much smoke and drink, her leather coat with its layers of smells accumulated from all the nights spent in a bar or a club. She's lowers her guard with each shot downed, her sooty eyes and red lips are sexily smudged and her inhibitions are scattered to the wind. She's intoxicated but not vulgar, just effusive and affectionate. Having a really good time. 

Ambre Russe is definitely a unique experience and one that I would like to repeat. A wearable olfactory piece of art that will definitely make people around you pause and admire. It's unisex but I can foresee some avoiding it because of the booze overload. An unusual take on amber that all amber lovers should at least sample. I am very happy I did and found the creative spirit in perfumery still very much alive! 

Note: probably best not to wear in the office or places where you are expected to be sober.