Diptyque, Al Haramain, A Lab on Fire & Etat Libre d’Orange

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Kafkaesque

Source: diptyqueparis.com

The end of the year is always a crazy time, particularly in terms of new releases. I’m starting to have visions of a Leaning Tower of Pisa composed of sample vials toppling over and squashing me to death. I simply can’t keep up. It’s almost entirely my own fault because of the detailed, verbose way I approach my reviews, but there are also more and more fragrances being launched every year. According to Michael Edwards, author of Fragrances of the World, there were 1620 releases in 2014 as compared to 38 back in 1984. I’m sure there are even more this year — and it all seems to reach a crescendo during the holidays. I’m exhausted, both mentally and physically, and my stack of notes (some going back months and months) exceeds the number of proper, full reviews I can write before it’s time to do the year-end “Best of” lists.

As a result, for much of this week, I’ll be posting rapid-fire mini reviews, starting today with Diptyque‘s new Oud Palao and Essences Insensées 2015, Al Haramain‘s Najm Gold and Atifa Blanche attars, A Lab on Fire‘s new Mon Musc à Moi by Dominique Ropion, and Etat Libre d’Orange‘s Remarkable People. They are all 2015 releases except for the Al Haramain attars. I’ll provide only the most basic information: note lists, and links to the company, a vendor, and/or Fragrantica for you to pursue later if you’re interested. The “reviews” themselves will be generalised overviews or nutshells. So, let’s get to it.

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Al Haramain Obsessive Oudh & Arabian Treasure

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Kafkaesque

Arabian Treasure. Source: Arabian Treasures.

Al Haramain‘s Prestige Collection turns away from the extravagant and ornate orchestral symphonies of Middle Eastern attars to focus on quieter melodies that bear a more European aesthetic. Eau de parfums like Obsessive Oudh and Arabian Treasure are both soliflores that pay tribute to a characteristically Eastern ingredient — authentic, genuine agarwood and labdanum amber, respectively — but they do so in a quieter fashion, filtering the materials’ complex, animalic, or decadent qualities through a refined lens to create a very approachable scent. And, yet, the fragrances never give up their oriental roots completely, always maintaining a strong olfactory vestige or quality that nods to the company’s origins.

They may not be the edgiest or most complicated of scents, but they’re not meant to be. What they’re meant to be are highly polished orientals that clarify the ingredients and blend them seamlessly in a lighter, airier, softer bouquet to create an easy-to-wear, versatile, and high-quality scent. All of that is then packaged in a truly luxurious, chic manner. I’ll look at each fragrance in turn.

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Fragrance Recommendations: Leathers, Vetivers, Fougères & More

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Kafkaesque

Source: mf.techbang.com

Every week, I get at least three or four emails from people seeking fragrance recommendations. The vast majority of them are men, but there are some women, too. Most of them are not long-time readers of the blog and have simply stumbled upon it, so they don’t know my long-time favorites that I talk about often, but a few are subscribers who seek specific suggestions. Sometimes, people start by giving me a brief idea of their tastes and/or names of prior fragrances they’ve worn. Typically, though, the information is insufficient for me to know what might really suit them, so I write back with a list of questions, trying to narrow down what notes they have issues with or love best, how they feel about sweetness or animalics, how their skin deals with longevity or projection, and what sort of power they want in both of those last two area.

Ralph Lauren Purple Label editorial ad via tumblr.com

What I’ve noticed is that I tend to make certain recommendations time and time again for particular genres or fragrance families. So, I thought I would share them with all of you. However, please keep in mind that these names are in response to some pretty set criteria given to me by the person in question, even though many of those factors end up being quite similar. For example, the men who like dark, bold, rich or spicy orientals all seem to want a certain sillage or “to be noticed in a crowd,” as several have put it. In contrast, most of those who want clean, crisp scents prefer for them to be on the discreet side and suitable for professional business environments. Men whose favorites are classical designer scents that fall firmly within the fougère, green, fresh, or aromatic categories (like Tuscany, Guerlain’s Vetiver, or vintage Eau Sauvage, for example) tend to want very traditional scents, even “old school” in vibe, and not something sweet, edgy, or with a twist. So, that is what I try to give them as recommendations, which means that there are a whole slew of fragrances that fall outside the category.

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Rania J. Oud Assam

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Kafkaesque

“Camels and Desert 3” by Mahoor Shah on Fine Art America. (Direct website link embedded within.)

A mix of East and West lies at the heart of Oud Assam which showcases and highlights a true, authentic Middle Eastern oud in many of its complex facets before giving a nod to the West through touches of vetiver greenness and neo-chypre-like elements. It is not a scent for everyone, particularly those who have only experienced Western “oud,” a different animal entirely, and your reaction is going to depend on your familiarity with and appreciation for the more challenging aspects of the genuine article. On the other hand, if you love cheesy, creamy, musky, smoky, and slightly barnyard-like oud, Rania J.’s creation is one for you to try.

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