Bogue Profumo Cologne Reloaded: Lavender & Leather

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Kafkaesque

Source: Bogueprofumo.com

Lost olfactory treasure from the 1940s, vintage essences, and an ancient recipe lie at the heart of a modern fragrance centered around a duet of lavender and leather. Cologne Reloaded takes the cornerstones of a very traditional barbershop fougère, and juxtaposes its cleanness with darkness, blackened leather, smoky resins, and a touch of musky dirtiness. The result is classicism with a twist and an elegant fragrance with a rather sensual drydown.

Antonio Gardoni. Photo: Bogue Profumo via Delicatessen at moreinside.blogspot.com

Cologne Reloaded is a 2013 eau de parfum from Bogue Profumo (hereinafter just “Bogue“), an Italian artisanal perfume house founded by Antonio Gardoni. On his website, Mr. Gardoni describes the fascinating story behind its creation. In a nutshell, an antique dealer told him about 40 bottles of raw essences and perfume preparations from an old pharmaceutical laboratory. The vintage materials dated back to the 1940s! The dusty bottles had been hidden away and forgotten in a dark cupboard of an underground warehouse, but they were still sealed, somehow unaffected by heat, and very well-preserved. You can see them below in the photo. (Isn’t it the coolest thing?!) Accompanying them was a fragrance mixture for something called “Cologne of Esperis,” complete with the original recipe and the dosage amounts for preparing an eau de cologne.

The vintage bottles. Source: bogueprofumo.com

Mr. Gardoni started experimenting. As he explains on his website, he “mixed the ingredients following the instructions glued to the bottle for all the 5 different cologne variations with some very interesting results, full of granddad memories and old barbershop’s flavor.” He fell in love with the results in such a way that he decided to “exploit this treasure in order to create a completely new contemporary perfume.” He used the vintage materials, but increased the concentration from 4% to 15%, making the fragrance an eau de parfum instead of cologne, and added to this base “a mix of contemporary new materials”: Continue reading →

Shay & Blue Oud Alif & Amber Rose

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Kafkaesque

Today, we’ll look at two more fragrances from Shay & Blue London: Oud Alif and Amber Rose. The first is a spicy, woody scent accompanied by smoky leather, dark chocolate, saffron, and patchouli. The second, Amber Rose, is a fruity-floral which includes a “dulce de leche” accord of sweetened milk and “white amber.” I’m afraid neither one is my cup of tea, and I found them both to be extremely difficult fragrances to test, albeit for different reasons.

OUD ALIF:

Source: Shayandblue.com

Oud Alif is a “Fragrance Concentrée” created by Julie Massé in conjunction with the brand’s founder, Dom De Vetta. It was released in 2013, and is described on Shay & Blue’s website as follows:

Oud Alif via Fragrantica

Oud Alif – creamy, soft, rounded woods, inspired by the great gourmand oud fragrances of the Middle East. The best oud agarwood from the rare aquilaria tree, spiked with the richness of chocolat noir and notes of elegant leather, saffron and dark patchouli.

Top Note – Fine Oud Agarwood On the Nose, the Rich Intensity and Fullness of Arabian Woods. Hypnotic. The Alpha Oud.
Heart Note – Darkly Smooth Chocolat Noir in the Heart, and Soft Saffron Tempering and Balancing the Woods.
Base Note – Deep in the Dry Down, Napa Leather and Dark Patchouli Anchor This Sophisticated, Elegant Blend.

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Shay & Blue Salt Caramel, Blood Oranges & Blacks Club Leather

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Kafkaesque

Shay & Blue London is a British brand that arrived in America last week. One of its fragrances, Salt Caramel, has received a lot of buzz, but I was eager to try the line as a whole. So, I ordered samples, and I’ll take a detour from my ongoing Italian series to talk today about Salt Caramel, along with Blood Oranges and Blacks Club Leather. Next time, I’ll focus on Oud Alif and Amber Rose.

SALT CARAMEL:

Source: Fragrantica

Salt Caramel is an eau de parfum created by Julie Massé in conjunction with the brand’s founder, Dom De Vetta. It is a 2014 release which is described on Shay & Blue’s website as follows:

Salt Caramel, the pure temptation of the gourmand. Inspired by English chocolatier to the Queen Charbonnel et Walker’s Sea Salt Caramel Truffles, this is an irresistible fragrance composed of waves of caramel and bourbon vanilla cut through with sea salt and sandalwood. Tempting and indulgent.

Top Note – Liquid Caramel On The Nose, Expertly Offset With Tangy Sea Salt.
Heart Note – The Smoothness Of Tonka Bean Adding A Touch of Elegance.
Base Note – Refined Bourbon Vanilla For Depth In The Base With Sandalwood A Woodsy Counterpoint To The Sweetness.

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Charenton Macerations Christopher Street

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Kafkaesque

Source: trimfabric.com

Lime margaritas and leather in a perfume cocktail inspired by the history of a famous New York City street. Classicism done with a modern twist, and with the goal of subverting gender rules. Those are just two aspects of Christopher Street, a citrusy leather chypre from Charenton Macerations. Another way of describing it would be to call it a clear labour of love, as evidenced by every single one of the many details on the company’s website, from its lengthy examination of the famous street whose history and vibrancy inspired the scent, to its creator’s hard work in trying to replicate just one of the numerous elements in the fragrance. After all, how many people spend two years profiling the smell of people’s skin on a particular street, using “a modified hairdryer motor and a GC-MS fiber”?! Yet, that is precisely what Douglas Bender of Charenton Macerations did. As someone with slightly obsessive, perfectionistic tendencies myself, colour me thoroughly impressed by his efforts.

Douglas Bender & Ralf Schweiger. Source: Charenton Macerations website.

Christopher Street. Photo: Charenton Macerations.

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