Guerlain‘s Vol de Nuit is legendary among chypre (and narcissus) lovers, so I was curious to see how it fared in the age of IFRA with its draconian limits on oakmoss which, as many of you know, has now been legally restricted in perfumery to practically nonexistent levels. So let’s take a look at the current parfum, a sample of which I bought in early 2021.
Guerlain Vol de Nuit parfum. Source: Fragrantica.
Rose Aqor, Oud Ulya, and Vanilla Barka are three of six new attars that Amouage has launched recently in an attempt to straddle the richness, glory, popularity, and complexity of its old legends and the increasingly draconian restrictions placed on perfumery in the eight or so years since IFRA forced Amouage to retire its original olfactory beauties. Do the new additions live up to the greatness of old? No. Do they come across as real, authentic attars? Also no, in my opinion. Are they terrible? Well, it depends on which ones you try and your personal tastes. Are they worth the money in question? That answer, like most things involving perfumery, cannot be anything but purely subjective and individual, but I will tell you that I personally have a lot of issues with these new “attars.”
Amouage attars via Amouage’s booklet on them. Photo of the photo: my own.
Meander is one of four Renaissance Collection fragrances that marked the debut of Renaud Salmon as, essentially, Amouage‘s new perfume director. Though it lacks the Amouage DNA, in my opinion, it is an appealing, pretty, ethereal, and smooth fragrance.
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BDK Parfums‘ Gris Charnel is a cult hit, a blockbuster retail seller, and a fan favourite on TikTok and other social media sites. Does the creamy iris, cardamom, sandalwood amber scent live up to the hype? Well, yes and no. I think it will depend, even more than usual, on which notes your skin chemistry emphasizes.
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