Moresque Parfum Al Andalus & Aristoqrati

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Kafkaesque

Moresque fragrances via vk.com.

Moresque Parfum is a relatively new Italian niche brand that was launched in 2015. Inspired by Moorish art, architecture, and the splendour of their dynasties, the company says it wants to imbue Arabic perfumery with “Italian design, fineness and taste,” as well as a “‘Made in Italy’ excellence[.]” Moresque has three different lines, the Black, White, and Art Collections, which are comprised in total of seven fragrances, each in eau de parfum concentration. Three of them also come in matching attar (concentrated perfume oils) strength which Moresque labels as “Esprit de Parfum.” All the fragrances were created by Andrea Thero Casotti.

Today, I’ll look at two of the eau de parfums: Al Andalus from The Black Collection and Aristoqrati from The Art Collection. I confess, I didn’t have high hopes going in because my past experiences with European interpretations of Arabic perfumery hasn’t impressed me much, but I was pleasantly surprised by Al Andalus, a woody spiced composition centered around ginger that bore tobacco-like tonalities, and a nice dose of amber and resins as well. Aristoqrati, though, was a generic disappointment that not only left me cold but so bored that I could barely summon up the interest to sniff my arm.

Source: dubaiprnetwork.com

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Orlov Paris Orlov & Flame of Gold

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Kafkaesque

In the second part of my look at Orlov Paris‘ debut collection, I thought we’d look at Dominique Ropion‘s woody oriental parfum, Flame of Gold, and the floral, Orlov. The latter was not a success on my skin, so let’s start there.

ORLOV:

Orlov’s Orlov via Luckyscent.

According to Luckyscent, Orlov’s namesake fragrance is built around:

Bergamot, jasmine, tuberose, orange blossom, vanilla, white musk

Orlov opens on my skin with clean, fresh, green-white flowers drizzled with crisp bergamot, sweet vanilla, and lemony musk. The flowers are faceless at first but rapidly turn into gauzy, non-indolic, syrupy orange blossoms. Within moments, their bright, sweet juices swirl around the lemony accords, making me think of a fruit salad, but in a good way. It’s a fresh, almost summery brightness that takes the edge off any acidity from the various lemony notes. But what really captures my attention is the vanilla accord. It rapidly takes on a very custardy quality that is appealing and works well with the bright fruit.

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Orlov Paris Star of The Season & Cross of Asia

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Kafkaesque

The Star of the Season diamond. Souce: am-diamonds.com

The Star of the Season diamond. Source: am-diamonds.com

The most famous gems in the world are the inspiration behind a relatively new perfume house, Orlov Paris, and its debut collection. Unlike many other brands that use jewels as marketing hyperbole, the link here is a personal and logical one. As Orlov’s website explains, its founder, Ruth Séry, comes from a family that has been in the diamond business for generations, and she herself seems to be both a diamond cutter and diamond dealer in Antwerp.

But she is also a perfume lover, and, when she learnt that all her favourite fragrances were made by the same man, she “told herself that if ever she founded her own fragrance house, she would work with Dominique Ropion. No one else would do.” He agreed to create five fragrances for her, each inspired by a different legendary gem, like the 100.10-carat “Star of the Season” or the 29-carat canary-yellow diamond called “Flame of Gold,” once owned by the Hollywood star, Greer Garson. All five are pure parfums (extrait de parfums), and were released in the fall of 2015.

Orlov fragrances. Photo source: Fragrantica.

Today, I’ll look at two of the five fragrances, Star of the Season and Cross of Gold, with Orlov and Flame of Gold to follow in the next post. In order to keep this review at a manageable length, I won’t provide the company’s official description for each scent in full as I usually do, merely the relevant portions regarding to the note list. I also won’t quote comparative reviews, but I will give you the general gist of people’s opinions on Fragrantica and a link for you to read their comments in full if you’re interested. So, let’s begin.

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Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Cuir Fetiche

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Kafkaesque

Cuir Fetiche is a name that might conjure up thoughts of fetishes, whips, and bondage leather, but put that aside completely and think instead of grand floral oriental classics. Specifically, vintage Bal à Versailles, perhaps with a tiny drop of Serge Lutens‘ Cuir Mauresque added in as well. This is not the world of 50 Shades of Grey or Etat Libre‘s Rien; it’s the 1950s world of Dior, Cecil Beaton, and Jean Desprez where women swirl in ball gowns and long gloves amidst clouds of sweet, lightly animalic floralcy, although some people think of Cuir de Lancome, Cuir de Russie, or Knize Ten instead.

Cecil Beaton photo of Charles James’ ball gowns via wnyc.org

Regardless of which fragrance classic is referenced, you should put aside all thoughts of modern or masculine leathers with their smoky, tarry, blackened birch and you should think of clouds of flowers instead. They are infused with citrus and chypre-ish elements before being placed atop iris chamois or suede gloves that have been coated with civet, resulting in a sweet, lightly animalic floral bouquet that gradually turns more oriental through golden flourishes of amber and cinnamon-scented resins laced with vanilla. That’s Cuir Fetiche in the broadest of strokes. It’s an incredibly pretty fragrance, one that I’ve been tempted to buy for myself on several occasions, but it’s also sufficiently familiar that I’ve held off in actually doing so.

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