By Kilian Single Malt

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Kafkaesque

“Unnecessary” is the politest summation I can come up for to describe Single Malt, the new fragrance from By Kilian. “Derivative, regurgitated tripe” is a little closer to my true feelings. You can toss “monolithically singular,” “boring,” “unbalanced,” and over-priced” in there, too.

Single Malt via bykilian.com

Single Malt is an eau de parfum that was created by Sidonie Lancesseur, ostensibly and officially as an exclusive for Harrod’s of London. Be that as it may, Kilian has it on all his websites for purchase, just as Apple Brandy is now widely available despite initially being exclusive to his New York boutique. (It’s the same story with Vodka on the Rocks which was once limited solely to Moscow.) Like its siblings, Single Malt seeks to pay homage to its chosen city via the liquor that Kilian thinks is most closely associated with it. I personally would choose port for London for historical reasons, and single malt for Edinburgh, but Kilian says on his website:

This exclusive scent, created for the Harrods Boutique, is an homage to London and its most emblematic liquor: WHISKY.

The heart balances between the golden reflection of wheat absolute and the sweet yet sophisticated character of plum. The woodsy dry down of SINGLE MALT composed of cedarwood essence from texas enriched by the vanilla absolute from Magadascar and tolu balm from Colombia gives to this fragrance an unconventional identity.

Continue reading →

Couvent des Minimes Cologne of Love (Eau Aimable) & Matines

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Kafkaesque

Couvent des Mimimes hotel and spa in Provence. Source: splendia.com

Couvent des Minimes hotel and spa in Provence. Source: splendia.com

I’m always on the lookout for a bargain basement gem, but they’re not very easy to find. So I decided to look at two newer releases from Couvent des Minimes, a brand with a very solid line of body products and one cult favorite fragrance, the boozy vanilla Eau de Missions. Their latest creations are Eau Aimable (or Cologne of Love), and Matines (or Cologne of the Morning). One of them is worth trying if you’re looking for a bargain floral.

EAU AIMABLE — COLOGNE OF LOVE:

Source: Ulta

Like many of the Couvent des Minimes fragrances, Cologne of Love has a few different names. The actual bottle says Eau Aimable, but Couvent des Minimes’ American and British websites call it Botanical Cologne of Love. (I’ll use both names from this point forth.) Regardless of title, it’s a light eau de cologne with an orange label that is centered on fresh, non-indolic, neroli-like orange blossoms. On its website, Aimable’s description and notes read, in part, as follows:

Botanical Cologne of Love gives a feeling of well-being and serenity. [¶] Thanks to its Original Recipe combining Orange Blossom, a source of softness, with 5 Plants selected for their beneficial properties, this exquisite, sparkling, scented water perfumes the skin with a soft and soothing fragrance. The skin is fresh and perfumed, the body is enveloped in softness.

INGREDIENTS
•Orange Blossom: source of softness
•Bergamot, Mandarin: sources of serenity
•Wild Rose: source of hydration
•Nasturtium: source of radiance
•Petitgrain: source of harmony

Photo: my own.

Continue reading →

Bogue Profumo O/E

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Kafkaesque

O/E via Luckyscent.

The news of O/E‘s release late last week had me drop everything in sight. O/E is the newest scent from Bogue Profumo, an Italian artisanal house that not only makes some of the most interesting, bold fragrances around but also the brand that put out MAAI. I chose the animalic chypre masterpiece as my #1 best new release of 2014 as well as my favorite scent on my personal list of fragrances (irrespective of debut date) that I’d tried that year. I even admired Bogue’s aromatic leather and lavender Cologne Reloaded despite being rather a lavender-phobe. Bogue is simply one of those houses that I find really intriguing and high quality, thanks to the talent of its founder and nose, the charming, intellectual Antonio Gardoni. So when Luckyscent announced it had received his newest creation, O/E, I was practically fell over myself to order a sample. The fragrance bears the Bogue DNA, but it is not what I had hoped for.

O/E is an eau de parfum that is a reworking and reinterpretation of Mr. Gardoni’s first fragrance, the now discontinued Eau d’E. I never tried it, so I can’t tell you if some people’s accounts of O/E as “reformulated Eau d’E” are accurate. Bogue’s website has no description for its latest release, nor any notes, so I can’t tell you that either. All I can share with you is Luckyscent’s note list which is:

Bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, neroli, clove, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, camphor, Lebanon cedar, juniper, pine, cypress, rose, jasmine, vetiver, benzoin, tobacco, resins, sandalwood.

Ricola herb garden, Switzerland. Source: myswitzerland.com

Continue reading →

Arabian Oud Kalemat Floral & Kalemat Musk

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Kafkaesque

Lush, almost tropical florals drenched in honey and cocooned in golden amber. Clean, sugared roses laced with black incense and woods. Those are the faces of Kalemat Floral and Kalemat Musk from Arabian Oud. One of them is a variation on the theme represented by the gloriously opulent Kalemat Amber. The other is not. I’ll take a look at each one of them in turn.

Trio of the Kalemat oils at the Arabian Oud London store. Source: Arabian Oud London.

KALEMAT FLORAL:

Source: shikhalal.com

Kalemat Floral is an attar or concentrated fragrance oil that was released last year. Its notes on Fragrantica are incorrect, judging by the information provided to me by Mr. Ahmed Chowdhury of Arabian Oud London who kindly sent me my sample. He said the perfume pyramid is officially:

Top notes: Heliotrope, Jasmine
Heart notes: Hibiscus, Rose
Base notes: Vanilla, Cedar Wood & Musk.

Hibiscus. Source: 1ms.net

A brief word about the hibiscus note. I don’t recall the actual flowers having any smell at all. Furthermore, the “hibiscus” bath or body products that I’ve tried smell primarily like frangipani or plumeria. On Fragrantica, hibiscus is defined as a “soft note of flower recreated in the lab.” In a discussion on the Fragrantica boards, Doc Elly of Olympic Orchards Perfumes bears out my view that the flowers have no scent and that the “fantasy accord” is primarily based on “tropical flower notes like frangipani,” unless the goal is more of a musky scent in which case ambrette seeds might be used. Here, in Kalemat Floral, the aroma is absolutely the tropical one of frangipani (or plumeria).

Source: etshoneysupliers.

Kalemat Floral opens on my skin with honey, lots and lots of dark, raw, sticky honey in a heavy, thick stream that feels as dense as molasses. Trapped inside, like flies caught in amber, are a slew of flowers dominated first and foremost by what really seems to be orange blossoms. To be precise, orange blossoms splattered with the sweet juices of sun-ripened oranges, as well as Middle Eastern orange blossom syrup and more honey. They’re a smoother, deeper, more fruited but a less shrill, overpowering and nuclear version of the note in Ghroob, which is clearly an orange blossom fragrance. Arabian Oud makes no mention of the flower in its notes, but then again, they don’t mention the roses that are such a clear part of Kalemat, either. Regardless, every time I wear Kalemat Floral, “orange blossoms” are what come to mind in the opening moments, and I wasn’t the only one. When I brought the oils to a family testing session, my father had the same reaction.

Continue reading →