News: All Production of Amouage Attars Now Ceased Entirely?

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Kafkaesque

There are further developments in the situation involving the Amouage attars. I’ve just been informed that the Amouage factory in Oman has ceased all production of the attars entirely.

Source: patrickbaty.co.uk

As some of you who kept up with the comments in my earlier post on this matter may know, it appears likely that the IFRA/EU perfume regulations are going to be adopted in some form in the United Arab Emirates. To be clear, these are Oman’s neighboring states, and their regulations to do not apply to Amouage’s home nation of Oman.

A reader called Taleb wrote that he’d read in his local (presumably Emirati) papers:

that the emirates standards and metrology authorization (ESMA) is going to enforce strict regulations on standardizing the perfume industry in the U.A.E. starting from July 2014. Of course part of the standardization is to comply with IFRA regulations.

Another reader, Dubaiscents, provided a link to a brief article in English on the subject of perfume conformity in the UAE and the plans of the Emirates Standards agency called ESMA. It was a confusing article that focused primarily on the contraband and fraud aspects of perfume regulation, but it mentioned one thing that caught my eye. It mentioned that ESMA had something called The Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme (ECAS).

I did some digging and it appears that the ECAS is where all the trouble lies. According to the ECAS mission statement:

per the Ministerial Decision No. 114/2 of 2004, ESMA is mandated to adopt International Standards, other Regional and National Standards relevant to the environmental conditions in the UAE in the absence of a UAE or Gulf Standards.

As part of ESMA’s commitment to support the effective implementation of the UAE Standards, the Conformity Assessment Department is implementing a Product Certification Program called the Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme (ECAS) wherein products that affects the public life, health and safety, products that have an impact with the environment and the UAE economy shall fall under this Scheme. Moreover, ECAS shall identify locally manufactured product to be included in this Scheme to ensure the quality of these products so that these products can be competitive in the global market. [Emphasis in bolding added by me.]

In a nutshell, the UAE plans on regulating all products — including those that have an impact on the public health — in order to be competitive in the global marketplace, and they plan to achieve this goal via the adoption of international standards.

Perfume is an item that international or foreign law (namely, the EU’s law) has deemed to have an impact on public health and safety. As a result, the UAE is likely to classify it in the same way, and to adopt the international standards that other countries have chosen to regulate that product. Ergo, IFRA/EU laws. Whether they will be adopted whole-sale or in piecemeal fashion that is tailored to the particular needs of the Emirates’ market and culture remains to be seen. However, it’s pretty clear that some form of international perfume regulation is coming to the Emirate Gulf States in three months time.

Attar distillation. Source: Broken Earth Naturals.

It seemed that Amouage preferred to move all its attars to its home country of Oman rather than run the risk of potentially violating future UAE ingredient levels, or diluting its attars. That was laudable and understandable, though also somewhat frustrating in light of early reports that Amouage was restricting even its Oman sales to long-time, established, local customers.

This latest news, however, feels quite grim. It comes to me from a good friend who is closely involved with the Amouage attars, and whose reliable, local source actually visited the Amouage factory in Muscat, Oman. There, he was told directly that they have completely ceased production of any kind. All that is left is remaining stock, which is virtually nothing. (To be precise, he was told a mere 2 bottles of Homage were available, though he thinks that there may be a few more bottles in general, based upon what he personally observed. All of them, however, would be limited for sale to very established Omani customers. And, after that, nothing.)

Source: straightrazorplace.com

It’s mystifying to me. Oman is a sovereign nation outside of the Emirates, and what it does at home under its own laws is completely separate from whatever its neighbors in the Gulf may choose to do. Oman has no laws on perfume regulation that I know of, and I’ve heard nothing to indicate that they are planning on following in their neighbor’s footsteps. So, why halt factory production of something that is already restricted to its own people and outside the jurisdiction of third-party regulation? My feeble hope is that this is a temporary issue while Amouage re-groups and decides what its future course of action may be.

However, if, by some miserable chance, this turns out to be a final decision, then I will be irate beyond belief. Not because of the attars themselves, but because of what all this symbolizes: that the EU’s insane neuroses have spread like an airborne Ebola virus to contaminate a whole other continent, one whose tradition of perfumery predates anything in Europe by at least a thousand years. There seems to be no escape from the bloody, sodding EU, their Quisling bedmate, IFRA, and their infection of the perfume industry. It’s all turning into some strange, twisted perfume version of Lebensraum: territorial expansion by dominion and the imposing of “superior” law to ensure the health of a certain group of people. That may be an unfair comparison, I grant you, especially given the loaded connotations of that term, but I’m not feeling particularly charitable or objective at this moment. I simply cannot believe that IFRA and the EU are impacting Middle Eastern perfumery.

The bastards.

[UPDATE: It turns out that the issue is one of insurance stemming from the new UAE law and its indirect incorporation of EU standards. At least, insurance is the explanation provided by Amouage’s Christopher Chong. You can read the details in my review for Homage attar.]

Roja Dove Enigma Pour Homme (Creation-E)

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Kafkaesque

Rivers of brandy and tobacco flow out like tributaries to a sea made of spicy, crystallized ginger and dark plum molasses. An ambered wind blows, making the waves froth white peaks made of vanilla mousse, while the sky rains down cardamom, more ginger, and soft cocoa. Eventually, the brandy river dries up, leaving a sea of Christmas plum pudding that crashes onto shores of pure tobacco in a land called Enigma.

Source: listofimages.com

Roja Dove‘s Enigma Pour Homme is a regal, refined vision of spicy, sweet, boozy, dark and golden richness. The fragrance was released in 2013, but came to America under the name Creation-E due to legal trademark reasons. Some European sites simply call the perfume “Enigma,” which can be misleading as there is also a white-labelled women’s version, but the men’s fragrance is largely unisex in my opinion, despite its name. Enigma or Creation-E comes in two forms, an Extrait Pure Parfum version and an Eau de Parfum. This review is for the Extrait.

Enigma or Creation-E Pour Homme via Bergdorf Goodman.

On his personal Roja Parfums website, Roja Dove describes Enigma as follows:

“Mysterious & Compelling – Defy Expectations”
RICH, SOFT, WARM, SPICY, POWDERY, & SENSUAL
“The mystery of the name drove me to create a fragrance that seems to be all things to all people, but itself is certain and assured, whilst creating ambiguity in others”. Roja Dove

INGREDIENTS
TOP: Bergamot
HEART: Geranium, Heliotrope, Jasmine, Neroli, Rose
BASE: Ambergris, Benzoin, Black Pepper, Cardamom, Cognac, Ginger, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Tobacco, Vanilla.

Source: vk.com

Enigma opens on my skin with a potent wave of cognac and ginger, followed by spiced, dark fruits, more ginger, tobacco, black pepper, and cardamom. Seconds later, there is a note like the softest milk chocolate cocoa, then rich amber, a whisper of geranium, and drops of vanilla. The tiniest slivers of jasmine and a spicy, rich, dark patchouli pop up momentarily, then fall to the wayside.

Christmas Plum Pudding set on fire with brandy. Source: fooods.net

At its core, Enigma’s opening bouquet is spicy ginger in a sea of expensive, heady cognac, dusted by cardamom and infused with dark, juicy, fruits, all atop an ambered base. The walloping, hefty dose of ginger feels both like the spicy, slightly biting fresh kind, and the more sweetened, crystallized variety. It is conjoined with a strong fruited accord that feels like a touch of peach has been mixed into very dark plum molasses cooked with brown sugar. I don’t know where the accord comes from, as there are no fruits listed in the notes, but I’ve tried Enigma a number of times and “Christmas plum pudding” or “ginger sugar plums” is always an immediate thought that crosses my mind. Plum puddings are made with cooked or dried fruits, a lot of ginger and some cardamom, then drenched in brandy, so the association makes some sense.

Enigma’s strong spice basket never feels like a visit to an Arabian souq because of the powerful cognac and ambered warmth. The scent is richly brown, strongly boozy, and sweet, with an almost leathered undercurrent to the resinous base. The amber never feels like ambergris on my skin, but more like a full-bodied, deep, golden warmth that anchors the scent and makes me feel as though I should be sipping from a snifter on a soft leather chair before a library in a very opulent library. On the table beside me should be a pipe, stuffed with sweetened, slightly fruited tobacco but unlit because tobacco is not a central part of Enigma’s opening minutes.

Source: snappypixels.com

Other elements add to the vision of richness. The cardamom is very noticeable at first, and utterly lovely. On my skin, it verges on and replicates soft cocoa. While the main ginger scent keeps everything fresh and spicy instead of gourmand, Creation-E also feels as though everything has been crystallized in brown sugar. There is a definite molasses undertone running through the scent like a pulsating vein. Sometimes, it feels like caramel, thanks to the ambergris, but, mostly, it feels like brown sugar drenched in brandy.

Fille en Aiguilles. Source: Serge Lutens’ Facebook page.

The overall combination strongly reminds me of bits of other fragrances, all mixed together. The very first time I applied Creation-E, I took one sniff and immediately thought of Serge Lutens‘ fantastic Fille en Aiguilles. The latter has a definite ginger sugar-plum aroma atop a resinous base of brown sugar sap. Enigma feels like a super-saturated, heavy, second cousin to the Lutens fragrance, only without the latter’s strong frankincense or pine notes.

At the same time, however, Creation-E is built upon a plum pudding note with tobacco that called to mind Tom Ford‘s Tobacco Vanille. I did a side-by-side test one day. The Tom Ford fragrance lacks Enigma’s powerful brandy note, is substantially more vanillic, has touches of beeswax, and very little ginger. However, there is a subtle plumminess underlying all that tobacco and vanilla that feels like distant kinship. In short, if the crystallized ginger plumminess of Fille en Aiguilles had a three-way, torrid, sexual escapade with the tobacco vanilla of the Tom Ford and the hefty, fruited booziness of Kilian’s Apple Brandy, the love child might be Roja Dove’s Enigma.

On my skin, the core essence of Creation-E remains largely unchanged for the first few hours. There are small notes that come and go. The hint of geranium vanishes after mere seconds, though it pops up again at the end of the first hour for a brief moment, adding a peppered, leafy, green piquancy before it disappears again. The heliotrope lurks about in the background in the opening minutes, but never really makes a proper appearance on my skin. I don’t detect any rose at all, nor neroli. After 20 minutes, the jasmine creeps into the background, but it is extremely muted, subtle, and short-lived.

Kephalis. Source: Givaudan.

The tobacco is equally subtle at first, but it grows stronger with every passing minute. I have to be honest, this was a slightly difficult note for me, and I like tobacco a lot. When I first tested Creation-E, I dabbed it on and only in a small quantity. I was hit by a very distinctive aromachemical whiff. To me, it smelled like Kephalis, a synthetic that I’ve encountered 3 or 4 times before and which Givaudan describes as follows:

Kephalis is a very versatile and rich product, used as a long lasting heart/basic note. It blends well with floral notes (jasmine, rose, violet, lavender, etc.) as well as sophisticated amber, woody-aldehydic, tobacco and masculine creations.

On the other hand, there are any number of tobacco aromachemicals on the market with woody-ambered characteristics, and I’m certainly no expert on the subject. I don’t know which one was used in Enigma, but there is no doubt in my mind that the tobacco note is chemical.

Source: cigarettezoom.com

The second and third times that I tested Creation-E, I sprayed instead of dabbed, and I applied quite a bit. To my relief, the richness of the other notes drowned out that chemical harshness and left only sweetened pipe tobacco as an aroma. So quantity makes a distinct difference, at least at first, since the sharp dryness does reappear later. That said, I realise that my nose is much more sensitive to aromachemicals than most, and that the average person is completely unfazed by them, if they can even detect them at all. However, I can only recount what I smell, and I detect a tobacco whose aromachemical nature was very noticeable at times. I doubt anyone else would be bothered by it, so let’s move on.

Photo: Greg Meyer at coastalphotography.com.au

Enigma shifts and starts to change after 30 minutes. The vanilla grows stronger, turning into a deep, frothy mousse that is really lovely. The tobacco’s aroma-chemical twinge starts to creep around the edges, but it is easy to ignore at this point, especially as the perfume turns more golden, ambered, and warm. Enigma feels almost unctuous in its beautifully rich, completely narcotic depth, as if rivers of ginger, plum molasses, and pipe tobacco had merged with small streams of creamy vanilla to flow into a sea of brandy. Cardamom, black pepper, and amber rain down from above, while a lone dove of jasmine flies over, then vanishes out of sight.

The cognac is particularly intoxicating, but not in the singular and excessive way that Kilian’s Apple Brandy manifested itself on my skin. Enigma has massive body, like the most expensive, aged liqueur can have, with layer upon layer of other elements to create a multi-faceted bouquet. Yes, there is a hefty amount of unadulterated booze on my skin, but there is also a lot more, so that it feels as though I’m wearing actual perfume, not that I’ve accidentally slipped into a vat of Calvados or Armagnac.

Source: edchef.com

At the end of the first hour, Enigma is a tobacco-ginger plum pudding, dusted with more ginger, set in a sea of crème anglaise vanilla sauce, then drenched with brandy and set on fire. It’s a potent, rich bouquet with only 2 small atomizer sprays but the sillage isn’t overpowering. Initially, the Extrait pulsated out about 3 inches above the skin, but at the end of the second hour, Enigma drops to an inch above the skin. At the start of the 4th hour, it is almost a skin scent, though still extraordinarily rich and easy to detect up close.

Tobacco leaves. Source: pipesmagazine.com

Creation-E continues to shift by microscopic fractions. The cognac begins to fade away by the end of the 2nd hour, as the tobacco grows more powerful. By the start of the 4th hour, the booziness has vanishes almost entirely, though a lingering richness pops up occasionally at the edges for another hour. Enigma is now largely a tobacco vanilla scent with dark plummy fruits, dusted with ginger and other more amorphous spices, all atop a smooth, golden, ambered base. 4.5 hours in, the perfume turns drier and woodier in feel, centered mostly on spiced tobacco and ginger, lightly flecked by vanilla and dried fruits. It is also a complete skin scent by this point.

By the end of the 7th hour, Enigma is primarily a tobacco fragrance on my skin. It feels dry, dark, and with a nuance that is almost leathered. There is very little sweetness or vanilla, though a trace of gingered plums remains at the periphery along with a thin smear of abstract amber. To me, the tobacco smells aromachemical in nature with a harsh woodiness. Again, I doubt anyone else will feel the same way. Tiny flickers of benzoin and a vague hint of lightly powdered tonka appear in the last few hours, but they are very muted and muffled on me. In its final moments, Enigma fades away as a blur of woody tobacco. All in all, the Extrait lasted 10.5 hours on me with 2 small sprays from an atomizer (amounting to one big spray from a bottle), and almost 12 hours with more.

Roja Dove via Twitter.

I very much enjoyed parts of Creation-E. The richness of the cognac, spice basket, Christmas pudding opening was marvelously intoxicating. It all felt very regal, heady, and sophisticated. While I was unenthused by the aromachemical clamour of the tobacco, that actually wasn’t my main difficulty with the scent. It was that Enigma Extrait felt a little too monolithic and unchanging. On my skin, the core essence of the Extrait was primarily some version of ginger plum molasses with tobacco, and I found that a little tiring after a while. That said, I think Enigma would be lovely to wear once in a while in the winter. It’s the sort of scent that makes you feel like dressing up in a velvet smoking jacket, putting on a silk ascot, and taking out a pipe. In short, it makes you feel a little like you’ve suddenly turned into Roja Dove himself.

There is a lot of hype, buzz, and adulation for Creation-E out there. In fact, there is so much that I rather expected the perfume to fall short. It doesn’t, for the most part, though I don’t share the wild worship for the scent that many others do. Creation-E actually suits my personal tastes much more than the famous Diaghilev, perhaps because it feels more modern or perhaps because boozy orientals are more my style. Either way, I think Enigma is definitely worth trying for anyone who enjoys a scent that is a mixture of the best parts of Fille en Aiguilles, Apple Brandy, and Tobacco Vanille. It’s absolutely unisex in that regard.

Source: Basenotes

There are no blog reviews that I can find for Creation-E, but there is a lot of talk about the scent on different Basenotes threads, as well as some Fragrantica reviews. I hadn’t read any of them while I was tested the perfume, so I was interested to see that a number of people brought up Tobacco Vanille on Fragrantica. There, commentators are largely positive:

this has the most realistic tobacco note I have ever smelled. There are comparisons to Tobacco Vanille, but to be honest it does not remind me of TV at all. The sweetness isn’t there, the spicy potpourri scent isn’t there…This is just…Well, better. [¶] To be honest, this reminds me EXACTLY of a Coca-Cola slushie from Target, with a tobacco note added…In a good way. [¶] Also, there is a lightness (but potent, make no mistake)to this that makes it wearable almost all year round, excluding extremely hot days. I could see this being worn on a cooler summer night even. [¶] Definitely, DEFINITELY full bottle worthy for me.

The opening is similar to Root Beer Soda.
Its okay. If I compare it to the Roja Dove line, it’s better from the bunch.
Probably the only almost original scent.
The other fragrances of the Roja Dove line are knock offs, of less quality and less less appealing of Guerlain and Amouage.

To me this fragrance centres around the cognac experience. The opening is most certainly boozy with the cognac unravelling its characteristics slowly. [¶] Milder spices such as pepper and ginger fuse together with the raw sweetness of vanilla. I also get a floral note amidst this composition. A pipe tobacco lingers throughout combining well with the wetter elements of cognac.

THE TOBACCO VANILLE KILLER! FOLKS, IF YOU HAVEN’T TRIED THIS YET… PLEASE DO! ESPECIALLY IF YOU LIKE TOBACCO VANILLE. THIS HAS AN COGNAC TWIST TO IT, THAT’S ALL.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Perhaps the most useful assessment comes from a chap called “Taskphorce” who compares Enigma in the Extrait version that I’ve talked about here with the Eau de Parfum concentration. His review reads, in part, as follows:

The cognac is so authentic and attractive and a friend who interviewed Roja Dove informed me that Roja incorporated actual extracts from a Cognac distillery into this fragrance. The Eau de Parfum seems to hold the Cognac note throughout the entire fragrance whereas the Extrait seems to turn slightly floral in the base. Regardless, both strength’s are of high quality and the differences are insignificant. In the base, I am detecting a semi-sweet vanillic tobacco and the cognac is still lingering. I hate to say this because I respect and love Krigler but Established Cognac doesn’t compare to Creation E. The Cognac note dissipates in nearly 5 minutes with Est. Cognac. I am on hour 6 and the cognac note is holding strong. I can’t get enough of this fragrance. It has quickly climbed to the top in my top 5. I am becoming obsessed with Roja Parfums and am already plotting my next purchase. You get what you pay for and Roja Parfums are so complex, unique, and produced with the finest materials in the world, it is my opinion that they are unmatched in the industry.

Ginger. iStock photo via Wetpaint.com

On Basenotes, an early thread on Enigma has similarly positive thoughts. It opens with a brief review from “Hedonist222” who writes, in part:

(I gave the parfum extrait a thorough wearing)
It starts out with lots of ginger thats softened by cognac, musk & benzoin.

Heliotrope & cardamom are still lurking.

A while into it and all the perky notes have now evaporated and what’s left are somber notes like tobacco, benzoin Ambergris,.

These set the stage for a mellow floral accord.

Ginger remains prominent but softens as the perfume develops.

It’s a very good perfume. Completely unimposing, very smooth. Regal.

A few others agree with the description of “regal,” and one person called Enigma-E “outstanding.” On the other side of the aisle, however, someone called “Rouj” wrote that he was never impressed with Enigma to wear it out of the store.

Basenotes’ official entry for Enigma Pour Homme only has one review listed thus far. “FISS80” writes, in part:

Heliotrope. Photo: Crystal Venters via Dreamtime.com

This fragrance has an old school vibe without actually smelling dated. I can see the comparisons to TV [Tobacco Vanille] but it is an absolutely different fragrance altogether. It is much lighter and no where near as sweet. I swear I smell the neroli and bergamote all the way through its development. The tobacco and vanilla are blended extremely well and the cardamom comes through in a big way towards the end. I think that the dry down more closely resembles Spicebomb than TV. I thought and thought about what this fragrance reminds me of. Finally I got it. This brings me back to my grade school days doing arts and crafts! I believe it is the heliotrope in the opening that does this. In any case, I really like the cognac in this. To me it is this note and the heliotrope that set it apart from both of the aforementioned fragrances. That and its superb construction. Well blended, long lasting, perfect projection, and excellent longevity. 8/10 [Emphasis and bolding to names added by me.]

Source: wallpaperwa.com

I love heliotrope, so I’m rather envious of his experience, as well as that of “Mick Trick” who also detected a lot of the same note. In another early Basenotes thread, he writes about the Extrait/Parfum version:

Initial thoughts from hand sample last night and full wear today. Enigma enters with a floral plume, almondy heliotrope and touch of slightly indolic jasmine and neroli combine with benzoin laced vanilla and congac to give an ever so slightly dirty boozy honey like accord. As the heart is revealed an ambery creamy sandalwood accord joins the fray and builds in strength towards the drydown where it dominates as the florals recede. During this stage where Enigma is at its sweetest it shares some similarity to Amber Narguile in its feel. Tobacco (unsmoked and fine) is in the mix and plays a supporting role, becoming more prominent during the drydown also. The drydown actually reminds me a little of a more opulent and less synthetic version of the Opus VI late drydown, but playing at a much lower volume. Basically it’s a sandalwood laced amber at this stage, fuelled by benzoin and vanilla and a touch of spice. The sweetness level drops slightly during late drydown as it hums a soulful soft ambery resinous tune, some white musks enter at this point it is incredibly delicious and alluring, one of the softest most velvety delicate things I have ever experienced. [Emphasis to names with bolding added by me.]

If you will notice, all of the scents brought up in these comparisons are unisex ones. So, if you are a woman reading this review, do not be put off by the “Pour Homme” part of Enigma’s name. If you have a taste for Orientals that are boozy, ambered, spicy, fruited, and tobacco’d in nature, you will have no problems carrying off the scent.

Creation-E is not cheap, and its American price is soon going to go up even further. Right now, a 50 ml bottle of the Extrait costs $435, €395 or £345. I’ve read that the U.S. price is going increase around the early or middle part of April by about $30 or so, if I remember correctly. If you’ve already tried Enigma Extrait and want to purchase it, now may be your time. (As a side note, I found a discounted bottle on Amazon, though there is only one left. Check the Details section at the end.) If you have wanted to test the perfume, you can order samples from OsswaldNY. If you’re in New York, Bergdorf Goodman carries the Roja Dove line, while Neiman Marcus is your best bet for other parts of the country.

Regardless of your location or country, if you love Enigma but are put off by its cost, there are a number of groups that offer perfume splits or small decants on a more affordable basis. Basenotes has a Splits section, while Facebook has a few different, perfume groups that you can join, like Facebook Fragrance Friends. However, you may need someone to recommend you to the main one, International Fragrances Split Association, that I believe is currently offering all the Roja Dove fragrances.

Is Enigma Pour Homme worth a test sniff? If you love rich Orientals with either tobacco or booziness, then absolutely. It’s very well done. Whether or not it brings you to your knees will depend very much on how you feel about ginger, plum pudding, cognac, Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille, and the price.

DETAILS:

Cost & Availability: Enigma or Creation-E Pure Parfum Extrait is available in a 50 ml/1.7 oz size which costs $435, €395 or £345. There is also a Eau de Parfum version which comes in a 100 ml bottle, and which costs €265, £265, or around $350. In the U.S.: Creation-E in the 50 ml Extrait form is sold at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and Osswald NYC. Creation-E Extrait is also sold at a big discount on Amazon at $349, and the seller is listed as both “Roja Dove” and “SAI Holdings WW INC.” Outside the U.S.: In the UK, you can buy Enigma Pour Homme from Roja Dove’s Haute Parfumerie on the 5th Floor of Harrods. Roja Dove also has an e-store at Roja Parfums, and he sells the 50 ml Extrait for £345, while the 100 ml EDP is £225. In France, Jovoy Paris is the exclusive distributor for Roja Dove perfumes, but the website only shows the Extrait version in the white Women’s bottle. I can’t see the black-labelled men’s version on the site. Zurich’s Osswald also carries Roja Parfums, but I don’t see Enigma on their list. In the UAE, the Paris Gallery carries the Roja Parfums line, but only has the Extrait from what I can see, not the EDP. It’s priced at AED 2,050. For all other locations, you can use the Roja Dove Locations listing which mentions more stores from Poland to Germany, Switzerland, Lithuania, Russia, and the Ukraine. I don’t see any Canadian, Asian, or Oceania vendors. Samples: If you’re in the U.S. but have no access to one of the listed stores, you can order samples by phone from OsswaldNY. They offer a deal of 10 samples for $20 (shipping included) for domestic customers. Their phone number is: (212) 625-3111. Surrender to Chance does not carry the fragrance at this time.

Xerjoff Al Khatt (Oud Stars Collection): Jasmine Excess

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Kafkaesque

“Debauched jasmine” rendered musky from Laotian oud, sweet from vanilla, and fresh from bergamot lies at the heart of Al Khatt, an eau de parfum from Xerjoff that seems more like an attar in its concentrated richness. It’s a creamy, sometimes animalic jasmine whose petals often feel as though they had been drenched in sharp honey, and which wafts a quiet animalic sensuality that is subtly amplified by the earthiness of a very muted, truffle-like oud.

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LM Parfums Vol d’Hirondelle

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Kafkaesque

Source: Fragrantica

The tart, refreshing briskness of citruses that turn creamy and sweet from jasmine and rose in a blend that is nestled upon a bed of woody musk– that is the essence of Vol d’Hirondelle from LM Parfums. Vol d’Hirondelle is an eau de parfum that was released in 2012, and created as a tribute to a friend of Laurent Mazzone, LM Parfums’ founder. I suspect it’s meant to be a loving gesture in memory of the Mona di Orio who was a very close friend of Laurent Mazzone and who died in late 2011. The perfume’s name means “Flight of the Swallow,” a delicate bird who I think is meant to symbolize the later perfumer.

Source: Premiere Avenue.

LM Parfums describes Vol d’Hirondelle and its notes as follows:

Inspired by a painting, Vol d’Hirondelle is a precious tribute to a close friend of Laurent Mazzone.

– Top Notes: Hespéride, Lemon, Bergamot, Mandarin, Paraguay Petitgrain, Rosewood, Davana.
– Heart Notes: Rose, Jasmine, Orange tree, spices
– Base notes: Vetiver, Musks

Source: kitchendaily.com

Vol d’Hirondelle opens on my skin with a blast of crisp, chilled citruses in a sea of yellow and green that is infused with flecks of bitter petitgrain, woodiness, vetiver, and clean musk. The perfume feels thin but extremely potent, cool and refreshing, but also clean. The tangy, green, extremely tart lemon almost verges on a lime, but is countered by a richer bergamot. There are light hints of a sweet, syrupy jasmine, a dash of apricot davana, and a smidgeon of orange. The whole thing is nestled in a very woody, twiggy embrace that is thoroughly infused with a sharp, clean musk.

Davana. Source: hermitageoils.com/davana-essential-oil

Some of the elements are very pretty. I’m a sucker for davana, which I think is sorely underused in perfumery. It is a rich, opulent flower from India that has the smell of juicy, warm, sweet apricots. Here, the note has a faintly tropical, floral feel as well which contrasts sharply with the cool, almost icy, tart lemons. Piquant, bitter, lightly peppered petitgrain weaves its way through the citruses which feel very concentrated in nature, almost as if their absolute essences were used. The jasmine adds a light touch of sweetness, but the main focal point of Vol d’Hirondelle’s opening is definitely the hesperidic notes and aromatic woodiness.

Source: merlyimpressions.co.uk

There are other aspects that I find less enchanting. I cannot stand white musk. At all. And I always think renders a perfume quite commercial in feel. Here, the note doesn’t smell soapy or cheap, so, thankfully, the combination with the lemon doesn’t evoke lemon dish washing soap, but the clean musk is still far too strong for my liking. It doesn’t help that my skin really amplifies the bloody ingredient, which is perhaps why it smells so sharp, potent, and intense in the case of Vol d’Hirondelle.

I also have to confess that neither citrus fragrances nor citrus woody musks do much for me as a general genre, so I’m not hugely enamoured by the overall combination here. It’s pleasant, and I like the davana, along with the growing sweetness from the orange, but Vol d’Hirondelle is simply not one of those fragrance categories that moves me much. Honestly, I’m blaming most of it on the white musk which is something that I simply cannot move past.

Lemon Mousse Parfait by Mary Bergfeld on One Perfect Bite blogspot. (Link to website with recipe embedded within photo.)

The perfume starts to shift a little after 5 minutes. The citruses feel warmer, heavier, and deeper, losing some of their crispness. Vol d’Hirondelle feels less thin, green and watery, more yellowed and sunny. The vetiver begins to flex its muscles, smelling both fresh and somewhat mineralized. Whispers of orange dance around, next to a tiny touch of warm rosewood, while the musk loses some of its early sharpness.

After 20 minutes, Vol d’Hirondelle turns smoother and creamier. The lemons, bergamot, and orange feel inundated with a velvety richness, probably from the tropical, lush davana mixed with the sweet jasmine. Yet, the perfume never reads as a floral scent at this stage because the citruses continue to dominate and be Vol d’Hirondelle’s main focal point. The petitgrain, vetiver, and woody notes work indirectly to anchor the tart, brisk, hesperidic elements, but they generally feel abstract on my skin and are not clearly delineated in a significant, individual manner.

The florals finally burst onto center stage at the end of the first hour. At first, it’s just a light touch of rose, but by the 90 minute mark, Vol d’Hirondelle is thoroughly imbued with a jammy, rose sweetness. In its trail is a slightly peppered, woody note that resembles cedar. The sweet, pink rose mixes with the warm citruses, bitter petitgrain, and white musk to create the dominant bouquet. In their footsteps is the sweet jasmine, a subtle spiciness, creaminess, and an abstract, amorphous woodiness.

Painting: Anastasiia Grygorieva. Source: artmajeur.com

Vol d’Hirondelle remains largely unchanged for the next few hours. The notes occasionally rearrange themselves so that some of the secondary players are more noticeable, but the perfume’s core essence never swerves from being a floral, citric musk with some woodiness. All that really happens is that the perfume turns more abstract, the notes blend into each other, everything turns a little hazy, and the sillage changes. From the start of the 3rd hour until the beginning of the 6th one, Vol d’Hirondelle’s primary note is rose infused with creamy citruses. After that point, the jasmine takes over, but the perfume is such a seamless blend that the end result really just translates to some “floral, woody musk.” In its final moments, Vol d’Hirondelle is a simple smear of creamy jasmine with some white musk.

Source: es.123rf.com

All in all, Vol d’Hirondelle lasted 10.75 hours on my skin with generally good sillage. Using 3 small sprays from an actual bottle, the perfume initially projected 3-4 inches above the skin in a very concentrated but airy, sheer bouquet. At the end of the 2nd hour, the sillage dropped half that amount. Vol d’Hirondelle was almost a skin scent at the 4.5 hour mark, but was still easy to detect and strong up close. It became a true skin scent after 5.5 hours, and remained that way until its end. When I used a smaller quantity of perfume, amounting to 3 smears from a dab bottle, Vol d’Hirondelle became a skin scent on me at the end of the 3rd hour, the sillage was softer, but the perfume lasted close to the same amount of time. Again, my skin amplifies perfumes that contain white musk, and clings onto them like mad, so you may experience a softer, lighter fragrance.

I think Vol d’Hirondelle is nice, but I find it hard to shake off the feeling that it is really an upscale version of a designer scent but with more expensive ingredients and a slightly more refined touch. I have a huge soft spot for LM Parfums, especially as it makes the scent that is my absolute favorite modern perfume in existence, Hard Leather. It is the first scent has come close to matching the instant, unbridled intensity of my reaction the first time I smelled vintage Opium. No other modern perfume has captured my heart so instantaneously in that same visceral way and to quite the same degree. And I’m mad about Sensual Orchid as well, a perfume that was my first introduction to the LM Parfums line and essentially set the bar for everything that followed.

As a result, I expect a lot from LM Parfums, but Vol d’Hirondelle is not it. I realise that is unfair and that it is partially a personal issue in this case, given my indifference to citric fragrances or floral, woody musks. Yet, there have been perfumes in both genres that I have somewhat enjoyed. I think the problem here is that Vol d’Hirondelle represented an earlier LM Parfums, one that was finding its feet as a new house and without the guiding hand of Mona di Orio who created many of its original fragrances. I think LM Parfums has a much clearer, stronger, bolder identity now with a very different sort of perfume aesthetic that suits me much better. I realise all those things, but I still think that Vol d’Hirondelle smells largely generic. A safe, nice, refined take on a designer scent, yes, and even pretty on occasion with the nice creaminess that ensues — but generic nonetheless.

Source: hdw.eweb4.com

On Fragrantica, the majority of commentators like Vol d’Hirondelle, though there are only 4 reviews in total at this time. Some of the comments, all of which come from men, are as follows:

Green,citrusy, slightly powdery,very generic. I have smelled before.

i wear it in springtime and can’t get enough of it!

reminds me of lighter version of Ververine James Heeley
rly good! man can weare it to

Painting by Jill Hackney at www.jillhackney.com

The longest assessment of Vol d’Hirondelle is a very positive review which reads:

Tried it, tested it and bought it today [.][¶] Fell in love with the brand this summer. Really wanted the Sensual Orchid One but at £195 way over my budget. (worth every penny though)

This one is a fresher yet dense and complex concotion of all kinds of citrus fruits, rosewood, vetiver and that green petitgrain. Very nice rose note in there as well.

To me probably the best citrus themed fragrance that has an unusual and exotic complexity that is hard to achieve with a construction of citrus.

Superb and long-lasting. Not too heavy and not flighty either.

A brilliant and very exclusive product that very few people wear.

For the fragrance lover that is hard to impress.

Eh, we shall have to agree to disagree on a lot of that. From his entire review, the only sentiment with which I fully concur is that Sensual Orchid is fantastic and worth every penny.

Source: backdropsforyourlife.wordpress.com

On the other hand, Vol d’Hirondelle is a much easier, more approachable fragrance than many in the LM Parfums line. It is safer because it is largely generic, and not as interesting, bold, or intense. It lacks the quirky uniqueness of something like Patchouly Boheme; the ripely opulent, over-the-top, tropical and boozy headiness of Sensual Orchid; the unusual bites or contrasts of Ambre Muscadin. It’s hardly as refined, smooth, or expensive-smelling as Black Oud. And it’s in a completely different galaxy entirely from Hard Leather.

Vol d’Hirondelle is more wearable on a daily basis than all of those perfumes. It is one of those scents that may be perfect for Spring, if you’re looking for something simple, uncomplicated, or pleasantly pretty. If you love citrus scents that are infused with florals or basic floral woody musks, this would qualify. Vol d’Hirondelle is generally unisex for the most part, though the more floral stage skews slightly into feminine territory, in my opinion. Obviously, however, there are men on Fragrantica who think otherwise.

If you want something pleasant, give Vol d’Hirondelle a sniff.

Disclosure: Perfume provided courtesy of LM Parfums. That did not impact this review. I do not do paid reviews, my opinions are my own, and my first obligation is honesty to my readers.

DETAILS:

Cost & Availability: Vol d’Hirondelle is an eau de parfum that is available only in a 100 ml/3.4 oz bottle which costs $175, €135, or £135. In the U.S.: LM Parfums is exclusive to Osswald NYC. They currently have Vol d’Hirondelle in stock but, if, at some point in the future, the link doesn’t work, it’s because Osswald takes down a perfume’s page when they’re temporarily out, then puts it back up later. Outside the U.S.: you can buy Vol d’Hirondelle directly from LM Parfums. In addition, they offer large decant samples of all LM Parfums eau de parfums which are priced at €14 for 5 ml size. LM Parfums also owns Premiere Avenue which sells both Vol d’Hirondelle and the 5 ml decant. It ships worldwide. In the UK, the LM Parfums line is exclusive to Harvey Nichols. They sell Vol d’Hirondelle for £135. In Paris, LM Parfums are sold at Jovoy. In the Netherlands, you can find Vol d’Hirondelle at ParfuMaria. The LM Parfums line is also available at Silks Cosmetics. In Germany, First in Fragrance has Vol d’Hirondelle for €125, along with the full LM Parfums line, and sells samples as well. You can also find LM Parfums at Essenza Nobile, and Italy’s Alla Violetta. In the Middle East, I found most of the LM Parfums line at the UAE’s Souq perfume site. For all other countries, you can find a vendor near you from Switzerland to Belgium, Lithuania, Russia, Romania, Croatia, Azerbaijan, and more, by using the LM Parfums Partner listing. Laurent Mazzone or LM Parfums fragrances are widely available throughout Europe, and many of those sites sell samples as well. Samples: A number of the sites listed above offer vials for sale. In the U.S., none of the decanting sites carry LM Parfums, but Osswald NYC has a special deal for U.S. customers if you call (212) 625-3111. Any 10 samples of any 10 fragrances in 1 ml vials is $20 with free shipping. You can try the LM Parfums line that way.