O’Driù Peety: Honeyed Tobacco & Animalics

Bespoke perfumery, your own urine, bears and honey, and tobacco sweetness. Those are some of the elements at the heart of Peety, a fragrance that I’d argue is actually much less edgy, revolutionary, or weird than you’d think. I think it is a very rich, rather classical fragrance that plays with French animalic traditions in a swirl of honeyed tobacco that can be quite addictive.

Angelo Orazio Pregoni of O'Driu. Source: Basenotes

Angelo Orazio Pregoni of O’Driu. Source: Basenotes

Peety is a fragrance released in 2013 by O’Driù (henceforth spelled simply as “O’Driu” without the accent). It is a small Italian niche company founded in 2010 as part of a project by the Pleasure Factory, a specialty communications company. All of O’Driu creations are made by Angelo Orazio Pregoni, and several involve a “su misura” approach, or a “sur mesure,” bespoke touch. In the case of Peety (which was originally called “Secration“), the result is extremely clever and creative marketing which has certainly increased the company’s profile.

Peety via Fragrantica

Peety via Fragrantica

You see, you’re supposed to “personalize” Peety with your own urine. The 50 ml bottle comes with 49 ml of fragrance, and you’re supposed to fill the rest with your own … er… liquid. No, I am not joking, and, no, I myself have not tried it. (Nor am I planning to, by the way. This is one area where my normally limitless curiosity comes to an abrupt, withering halt. So, obviously, this review of Peety is for the unadorned, more universal version.) However, others have “personalized” their Peety, and a few claim that, yes, their urine actually does make a difference in making the fragrance bloom. A small difference, but a difference nonetheless. I’ll take their word for it, because I like Peety a lot just as it is. Continue reading

Grossmith Shem-el-Nessim: Romantic Beauty

An exquisite floral beauty worthy of a queen in a bygone era. That is Shem-el-Nessim, a fragrance from Grossmith London that harkens back to the very best of grand perfumery, with a strong resemblance to vintage L’Heure Bleue in parfum form. Rich neroli orange blossoms swirl together with geranium, roses, deep bergamot, orris, and plush patchouli greenness to create an opulent, luxurious floriental. I find it truly beautiful, carrying the full weight of its 108 year old history in its powdered floral start, but ending with a very timeless, perhaps even modern, finish of creamy neroli-vanilla mousse. Shem-el-Nessim is not for everyone, and most definitely not for modern tastes. But for women who bemoan the loss of the vintage greats, it is a fragrance that they must try.

Grossmith's Baccarat set of the original fragrances, £23,250. Photo: Grossmith via The Telegraph newspaper.

Grossmith’s Baccarat set of the original fragrances, £23,250. Photo: Grossmith via The Telegraph newspaper.

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Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille

Crème brûlée vanilla infused with the darkness of smoky woods. That’s the essence of Serge LutensUn Bois Vanille, which seeks to turn the gourmand category on its head through the contrast of devilish woods. To quote Uncle Serge, “both the devil and vanilla like black.”

Source: Luckyscent.

Source: Luckyscent.

Un Bois Vanille is an eau de parfum that was created with Lutens’ favorite perfumer, Christopher Sheldrake, and released in 2003. On his website, Monsieur Lutens speaks about the perfume’s character in allegorical terms

To paraphrase Freud, it’s not the evil who are full of regrets, but the good. Both the devil and vanilla like black.

No sentimentality here!
Within each of us, this mellowness grows stronger and more refined thanks to contrasting wood notes. Continue reading

Tola Anbar & The Gulbadan Experience

Source: Fragrantica

Source: Fragrantica

Tola (sometimes written as “Tola Perfumes“) is a new fragrance house from Dubai founded in 2013 by Dhaher bin Dhaher. He is the nose behind its creations, a self-taught perfumer who grew up around perfumes and whose story is told in a detailed Fragrantica editorial about the line. If you’re curious about the meaning of the word “tola,” it refers to an ancient Indian measurement unit which predates the metric system. All the fragrances are available in either eau de parfum or extrait form, but I have focused on the more accessible eau de parfum concentration. In an earlier post, I looked at Misqaal and Masha. Today, it’s time for Anbar and Gulbadan.

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