Peek behind the doors of London’s private members clubs, and sniff the rich tobacco that hovers over dark woods and boozy drinks in a haze of golden amber laced with expensive incense. That’s the inspiration behind Ryder, the newest release from Ex Idolo, a British artisanal brand. It is the sort of olfactory story that I normally love, but Ryder did not work for me, alas.
Category Archives: Orientals
Review En Bref: Amouage Opus IX
My Reviews En Bref are for perfumes that — for whatever reason — don’t seem to merit a full, exhaustive discussion. In the case of Opus IX, the newest Library scent from Amouage, the reason is dislike that is slowly replaced by boredom and disinterest.
Source: nezdeluxe.pl
Stéphane Humbert Lucas Mortal Skin
Woods and herbaceous fields, spices and sweetness, incense and leathery smoke — those are some of the various strands of Mortal Skin, the latest release from Stéphane Humbert Lucas. It is a scent that echoes some of his other fragrances for me, but it is ultimately its own creation, and one which I think will appeal to lovers of spicy, smoky, woody orientals.
“Collection” is written under the snake. Source: Stephane Humbert Lucas.
“Collection” is written under the 777. Source: Stephane Humbert Lucas.
Mortal Skin is a new parfum or extrait that initially looked as though it were being released under Stéphane Humbert Lucas’ own name, unlike the 777 fragrances. That confused me at first, so I asked Monsieur Lucas about it and about the significance of the “777” being omitted from the packaging. He explained that “777” is merely one collection within his overall brand, which should officially be considered as “Stephane Humbert Lucas” as a whole. The Snake Collection is a separate line altogether and has its own signature aesthetic. He provided the images above to underscore how the packaging emphasizes that “777” is merely a collection, not part of his brand name. He also brought up Kilian, who has various unrelated lines, like the Arabian Nights, the Addictive State of Mind, or the Asian Tales.
Photo: Roberto Greco for Stephane Humbert Lucas. Source: Roberto.
Mortal Skin is the debut release in The Snake Collection, along with the new Harrods Exclusive, and it will be slowly rolled out at all regular SHL retailers over the next 6 weeks. Luckyscent already has it, with Osswald NYC to follow in a few weeks. In Europe, I’ve been told that it is already out at Harrods. The fragrance originally debuted at the Esxence perfume show in March, but that was an earlier version that has been substantially altered since then. Monsieur Lucas told me that, in total, Mortal Skin has gone through roughly 200 or so modifications before being finalised after Esxence with the version that will be hitting stores shortly. I’ll explain the specific changes in a moment.
Guerlain Myrrhe & Delires: Many Faces, No Name
There are faceless men in Game of Thrones, men who go by no name, have no set identity, are fluid in their ability to take on different guises, and who worship the Many-Faced God. Guerlain‘s Myrrhe & Delires reminds me a lot of them: many faces with a fluid identity that is sometimes quite elusive and often quite forgettable.
Source: cosmoshopping.ru
It’s a fragrance which I first tried a few years ago, but I never got around to writing about it simply because it frequently slipped my mind. It’s all too easy to forget about Myrrhe & Delires, which is actually part of the problem. Or the biggest problem. Every few months, I made the resolution to cover the scent, but something interesting invariably came up, something which moved me for better or for worse, or triggered some sort of emotion. So, my little decant went back on the shelf. From time to time, I would see it and would struggle to remember what exactly Myrrhe & Delires smelt like because, you see, that faceless quality leads to an all too forgettable nature. I could vaguely recall a fruity, rose-y-ish gourmand with licorice smokiness, but that’s about it. It left no real impression at all. Even now, after re-testing it for the umpteenth time, it’s hard to describe its exact specifics because, on my skin, Myrrhe & Delires is the fluid Many-Faced Guerlain that has no real face at all.
Image by Monsieur Guerlain via monsieur-guerlain.com
I had forgotten entirely about Myrrhe & Delires (as usual) until a few days ago when the blogger, Monsieur Guerlain, announced on his Facebook page that the fragrance was being discontinued, and that Guerlain had confirmed it. Monsieur Guerlain states that the Myrrhe & Delires will only be sold in stores while stock or supplies last. In rounding up my retail links for this review, I noticed that the fragrance is already off the one Guerlain website that always allowed online purchases, the French one. Typically, all the Guerlain sub-sites permit you to put their niche fragrances on a wish-list, but only Guerlain France consistently permits online purchases of their higher-end releases. That is no longer the case for Myrrhe & Delires, a definite sign of discontinuation, so I thought it best to review the scent while supplies last for any of you who may wish to try it.
Guerlain’s L’Art et La Matiere Collection. Photo/Source: Fragrantica.