Fidelis Histoires de Parfums

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: Fragrantica.

Not a scent for the fainthearted.

Fidelis is a heavy hitter from the very first spray. I tend to overspray with hefty pumps thanks to my slight anosmia secondary to chronic allergic rhinitis, but with Fidelis I am cautious not to go above two gentle sprays or else I run the risk of engulfing everyone else around me with its monster projection.

Many if not all houses from niche to mainstream seem to have done a rose/oud/patchouli combination by now and we perfume lovers have one if not several favorites from the glut of choice available. Some of us may even be fatigued by it! Enter Fidelis and a break with tradition. 

Unabashedly loud, almost brash, Fidelis is nothing like the smooth, romantic rose/oud combinations I lean towards. THIS is oud. Upon application, this giant of a scent is almost unbearably bitter with a medicinal oud so thick you could imagine cutting the air in front of you with a knife. Saffron, cardamom and cumin are looted from the spice cupboard and applied with a liberal hand. Their spicy harmony provides a dry, crisp respite (a breath of spicily fresh air literally) from the majestic oud. Patchouli enfolds you in its warm familiar vegetal sweetness, somewhat akin to rolling around on damp forest ground. Rose neither delicate nor syrupy blends a floral theme into the bold and earthy mixture and I suspect allows for my more feminine tastes to better enjoy Fidelis. 

An Original in a sea of rose-ouds which takes you on an endless and passionate journey. Fidelis is not a scent I frequently reach for, as truthfully I find it a tad too demanding for my sensibilities for a regular fixture but on the days I want complexity as well as a major case of intensity with my roses, this is a good one. 

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! :)

Rose Nacrée du Désert Guerlain (Les Déserts d'Orient)

Desirability: Decant

Source: whatmenshouldsmelllike.com

A oud/rose/patch combo that went through finishing school.

Most perfume lovers are well acquainted with rose/oud/patchouli combinations from the coarse to the refined- well at least perfume lovers who have little or no aversion to oud. Guerlain's offering Rose Nacrée du Désert rests on a throne along with the upper crust. I'm biased where Guerlain is concerned, if Guerlain made it, it's well-made be it the revered classics or the newer offerings. I don't  necessarily like all that the house produces, for example the biggest strike out would be Chypre Fatal, however the quality is evident in all of them.

Rose Nacrée du Désert like a generous bosom barely restrained by its corset, spills over with luscious rose blooms, flooding the senses with their heady sweet smell. Dry sweet saffron, a non too pungent oud, earthy patchouli and a warm resinous base complete this well-rounded and sophisticated fragrance. It hints of rugged beginnings that were polished over centuries like the lineage of a self-made family that became "respectable" with time and money.

Rose Nacrée du Désert is undeniably luxurious and alluring. If I didn't already have a few too many rose/patchouli/oud combinations or if I had unlimited perfume funds, I would consider adding this to my perfume wardrobe. Still there's always birthdays and holidays!

Trance J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin

Desirability: Sample

Source: Fragrantica

Trance has a boozy opening, thick and sweet like maple syrup laced with a fruity liquor. Fruity booze and maple syrup- a seriously powerful introduction! At the same time there is something that is strong and pungent as if herbs and leather were burnt together. All these potent and different smells create a dark (really dark) and deep fragrance, sweet yet medicinal, woody and fruity, heavy yet dry and definitely complicated. 

A faint rose appears midway but the most persistent and resonant is the unusual herbal leather note. As the scent evolves it feels dry and dusty like sawdust, the vegetal, leather and syrup notes enduring till the end. The drydown is dark and earthy similar to how patchouli can give that "earthiness" vibe. The rose is less timid now as if having bloomed over time but although it is easier to detect, I don't feel it ever becomes a dominant player in this scent. 

Trance was a weird experience with some nice bits along the way, the drydown being the most enjoyable part when things settled down a bit instead of out-shouting the other notes. Unfortunately the death knell for me was the herbal leather combination that was a bit too harsh for my stomach to handle ( I literally got waves of nausea smelling this each time). Good projection and longevity though and I am positive that on the right person this would be a commanding fragrance. 

Rose Oud Monotheme Fine Fragrances Venezia

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: www.granducati.com

I enjoy the smell of oud and have never been too bothered about whether the oud in my perfume was real or synthetic as long as it smelled good. Monotheme's Rose Oud smells good.

The scent of sweet blushing roses and the unique spicy-citrus smell of elemi resin greet you upon applying Rose Oud. Slightly powdery, bright and beautiful with a just the right amount of something green and sour. It grows more earthy and woody (like what you would imagine a forest floor with its mat of dried leaves and mud would smell like) over time but never goes over to the dark side despite the patchouli and oud. There's a ?mineral smell amongst all the dirt, plants and flowers, like how a gravel courtyard smells under a burning sun. ? Stony haha. The drydown is a more subtle expression of all the notes that have already been introduced, nicely balanced and smooth. 

I took a break from my oud rampage for a while so I can't say for sure how Rose Oud compares with other similar combinations but based on memory, I would say fragrance-wise it's up there with Thirty-three which is a big love of mine. Projection and longevity are average.

Not the easiest to purchase online but I have found a store called Granducati that ships internationally and the prices for the perfumes are reasonable. I haven't bought from them yet but going by my first and very pleasant experience with Monotheme's fragrances, I am interested in sampling others.

Rausch J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin

Desirability: Sample

Source: Fragrantica

Sweet, heady stuff that is not for the faint of heart but possibly faint-making when worn by the right individual. Projection is phenomenal and longevity is very good, be careful when applying as it's hard to scrub off.

Lightly spiced and smoky wood notes, a dense moody amber as thick as syrup and the smell of sweet leather make up this potent if none too complex scent that conjures up images of the stereotypical bad boy that all good girls want to look after despite their survival instincts telling them to run for the hills.

There's a burnt rubber note that lingers in Rausch and I can't decide if I like it or not but overall this is a dark and bold unisex fragrance ( I say unisex but the guy who wears this must be able to take sugar with his scents) that isn't particularly original but is undoubtedly good. 

Mamluk Xerjoff

Desirability: Decant

Source: Fragrantica

Honey overload. You definitely need to like honey, lots of it, to enjoy the ride with Mamluk. The main player in Mamluk from start to finish is honey and you will literally drown in the stuff as good as it smells so don't go trigger happy with your Mamluk. It has massive projection and sticks around forever and a day. 

Mamluk reminds me very much of Ginestat Botrytis but with that little pungent extra that turns it from a grown up gourmand to a boudoir scent. I will call that little extra...salty dirty musk. Don't get me wrong, Mamluk has nothing on Mona di Orio Nuit Noire when it comes to dirty, maybe one level of condensed skank below Maison Francis Kurkdjian Absolue Pour le Soir? 

A thick amber coloured honey laced with a bit of naughty ( I assume that this is what represents the oud in Mamluk), a sprinkling of spices and on a base of resins and wood notes. 

Xerjoff Mamluk= Honey + a little animal funk + Wood + Spices

Ginestat Botrytis= Honey + Ripe Fruits dripping in syrup + Spices

In my opinion Mamluk is worthy of a full bottle purchase and I am eyeing up the Xerjoff Oud Stars Discovery Set (6 x 15 ml: Al-Khat, Fars, Gao, Mamluk, Zafar and Zanzibar/Najaf) which is financially more viable for me than to purchase the individual scents that might require the sale of a kidney on the black market.  

Aoud Gourmet M. Micallef

Source: flickr.com

Equal measures of "aoud" and "gourmet" seamlessly blended and of good quality, Aoud Gourmet reminds me a little of Sådanne in the sense that both are nicely balanced between happy light-heartedness and a brooding darkness. Sådanne is fruity sweetness with leather whereas Aoud Gourmet is an earthy oud and honeyed candies that remind me of baklava. The oud is the predominant note at the beginning, it is so potent that those who are wary of the note may be put off but the strength wanes quite quickly on me and the scent maintains an equilibrium between gourmand and the noble rot for the rest of its lifetime which is about 12 hours on me with an average projection. Aoud Gourmet has a welcoming warmth that is imparted by the obvious oud and baklava as well as a woody musk that becomes more prominent as time passes and the scent lulls one into a soothing calmness.

Despite its obvious positive qualities, I am still on the fence with this one after going through two large decants. It is without a doubt lovely and every time I wear it I add it to the want list in my head, but once out of sight, out of mind it becomes again. Perhaps it is because I find Aoud Gourmet too muted, too tame? 

Thirty-three Ex Idolo

Source: exidolo.com

Thirty-three begins oily and bitter before the roses come in to lighten the darkness along with some tart citrus and peppery notes. I like how the scent unfolds over time, one moment the rose is sweet and powdery like in Yves Saint Laurent's Paris, then it is deeper and lusher accompanied by the smell of mossy damp earth that comes from the patchouli and oud combination . 

Despite being unisex and dark, Thirty-three is a softer oud to enjoy as opposed to Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Oud or his Oud Mood trio or my bottle of Montale's Aoud Queen Roses which are denser and can be more "oud-y" than one is in the mood to handle some days. Compared to some ouds out there I find the oud note in Thirty-three to a truer example of what I imagine real oud to smell like, the dark pungent resin produced in response to inoculated ascomycetous mould. Elegant and mysterious, Thirty-three is my favourite (also affordable) rose/oud/patchouli perfume with very good projection plus longevity and I wish it were not a limited edition. 

Isparta 26 Parfumerie Generale

Isparta opens up with piquant red berries and sweet jammy roses that remind me of PG's Brulure de Rose or Tauer's Une Rose Vermeille. The sweetness level is up there with Juliette Has A Gun's Miss Charming, fruity rosy sweetness...like Montale's Roses Elixir but edit out the citrus opening and swap the strawberries for tangy red berries. Ok the resemblances stop there.

The bright sweetness dissipates quite quickly on me and Isparta takes an abrupt turn down the earthy, herbaceous path where it's darker, patchouli and oud being responsible for the change of mood. It's not all gloom and doom with the warm, jammy rose still going strong. It reminds me a lot of Ex Idolo's Thirty-three with the rose/patch/oud combination but the rose in Thirty-three is very much darker than in Isparta where it smells...pinkish-red? In Thirty-three the rose makes me think of dark almost black red roses, goth roses. The oud does not have the synthetic vibe some other "ouds" have, but it lacks the thick, oiliness I enjoy (that being said, even authentic oud has many different odours just as wines have bouquets).

Daiquiri

I enjoy the quick turnabout that Isparta took, from the initial cutie Strawberry Shortcake character type before fast forwarding ten years when Strawberry Shortcake got some tattoos and attitude. The scent projects in a major fashion on me even from a dab sample and it lasted the whole night into the morning and still going strong.

The rose is less syrupy sweet than Brulure de Rose or Une Rose Vermeille were on me and definitely has more character than the sweet and simple Miss Charming. Like others from the PG line, Isparta obviously comes from good stock but if we talk about interesting...the abrupt mood swing is about the only major difference that sets Isparta apart from other rose/oud/patchoulis.

Night Aoud M. Micallef

Possibly my favorite from Micallef so far. I wasn't too enamored of Mon Parfum (original and the Cristal version), I'm undecided about the bubble-gum note in Watch (Time for love) and Aoud Gourmet is nice but I prefer Night Aoud by far. Unfortunately I've read gossip that it's been discontinued but I managed to swap for an almost full bottle. 

It's a very pleasing oud/floral combination, warm, plush and has a gourmand feel to it, something akin to Aoud Gourmet, almost a fruity gourmand ( soft ripe peaches and vanilla). It opens with a blast of heady and sweet ylang ylang but the scent gradually mellows and settles into an woody-oudy-floral, touched by a glowing amber. Overall I smell approachable, even friendly.

Night Aoud projects very well the first hour or so and subsequently stays as a skin scent for about six to eight hours. Despite it's name, Night Aoud is suitable for day wear and for all occasions be it work, grocery runs or date nights. Oud based perfumes can be potent and almost overwhelming but not here where in spite of the oud, the scent remains light. I find it leaning towards the feminine side of the scale, in part due to the sweetness of the fruity-floral aspect but any self-assured male could carry this off very sexily too. 

Daphne Comme des Garcons

Daphne Guinness collaborated with Comme des Garcons and released her signature fragrance in 2009, which she described as a "battle of contradictions". A battle or a bottle of contradictions? 

The description on the Comme des Garcons website is as such: "The fragrance DAPHNE gleans images from childhood memories in gardens, family houses and mysterious church rituals of an imaginative young girl."

Official listed notes lifted off the CDG page are: Bitter orange from Sicily, Incense, Saffron, Rose centifolia, Tunisian jasmine, Tuberose from India, Florentine iris, Indonesian patchouli, Oud wood, Amber, Vanilla from Madagascar. 

Comme des Garcons is all about the artsy and the experimental, from fashion to fragrances. As much as I like quirky, the clothing isn't wearable in my line of work nor does it quite gel with my personality i.e I'm not fashionably flexible enough. So I content myself with their their radical line of scents instead. My first ever CDG take home was their first and eponymous fragrance which has a very spicy and resinous unisex personality.

Daphne lives up to her name and the brand she is part of. I've admired Daphne Guinness for being fashionably eccentric and carrying it off with insouciance that cannot just be copied. It's something you are born with. Read more here. She's witty and I enjoy reading her quips. She was once quoted saying, "Nothing terrifies me more than being social."- ditto here. Other quotes I enjoy:

" I spend alot of time upside down. It increases the blood flow to the brain, so it really helps your creativity."

"Life is full of banana skins. You slip, you carry on."

So back to the scent. Bittersweet, more bitter than sweet, like the taste of Hédiard's bitter orange marmalade. A leathery, dusty saffron opens the scent with heady tuberose and spicy, smoky incense. They are followed by a metallic, powdery iris and an earthy patchouli. I smell the patchouli more obviously as time passes and it's paired with the oud, that's perceptible but not overpowering.

Daphne is elegantly dark and intoxicating on me, an interesting and unique take on one of my favorite flowers, here matching the narcotic white flower with equally potent partners, such that this tuberose scent is not just attractive, but intriguing as well.

Sillage and longevity are very good.

Mnemosyne was an art video created and directed by Daphne Guinness to accompany the perfume Daphne, a Web-released "anti-ad". 

A little trivia: Mnemosyne was the Greek goddess of memory and remembrance.  Memories are the influences behind the creation of Daphne, which was born from a personal blend she made out of tuberose, incense and oud. The tuberose and cedar take her back to her mother's garden in Cadaques, Spain, the incense sparks visions of High Church rituals during childhood and the oud speaks to her sense of adventure. 

"Fragrance takes you on a journey of time. You can walk down the street and pass someone and get taken back 20 years. It's very Proustian that way."- Daphne Guinness.