Rogue Perfumery Chypre Siam

Chypre Siam is a whimsical, creative, and original take on the classical chypre genre. Manuel Cross, a former chef of 25 years, whisks up Thai cuisine with the zingy, zesty, bitter freshness of South East Asia’s Kaffir lime, aromatic green basil, the heat of fiery red chili peppers, and a touch of delightful lemongrass in lieu of the traditional French top notes. Then, he deftly swerves back to the classics with lush, indolic florals in the middle and verdant oakmoss in the base along with a load of skanky civet, amber, dark nitro musk (musk ketone), and dark, occasionally medicinal, smoky leather.

I really enjoy the fun, original opening of Chypre Siam and its vibrant character that demands attention and respect. Yet, I find myself somewhat ambivalent when I consider the fragrance as a whole from start to finish.

Photo by Weerapong Chaipuck. Source: deMilked. (Direct website link to Mr. Chaipuck’s photos embedded within.)

Continue reading

Rogue Perfumery Tuberose & Moss

Rogue Perfumery‘s Tuberose & Moss is intended to be a tuberose chypre inspired by vintage fragrances of the 1960s but with a modern character as well. My experiences with the scent were complicated, to say the least.

Rogue Tuberose & Moss, 30 ml bottle.

Continue reading

Oriza L. Legrand Peau d’Espagne 1872 & Leather In Perfumery

Peau d’Espagne 1872 is the most recent addition to Oriza L. Legrand‘s collection of leather fragrances. It’s supposed to center on Spanish Leather, a specific sub-genre of the leather family of fragrances. I found it to be more of a hybrid, however, that also used Russian Leather and modern isobutyl quinoline methods of leather recreation. I think that makes an olfactory difference, especially if you’re expecting the softer, gentler fragrance style of Spanish leather, so today I’ll talk about the different olfactory ways in which the scent of leather is recreated in perfumery as well as what Peau d’Espagne 1872 smells like in particular.

Leather. Source: atulperx.com

Continue reading

DI SER Hikaru Daichi

DI SER‘s Hikaru Daichi takes you on a trip to Japan’s mountain forests from the clean, crisp air at the peak to the green-tinged earthy forest floors below, complete with aromatic, fragrant pine cones strewn all over. The only things that remove you from the naturalism of this tableau are church-style frankincense and immensely resinous, tarry, leathery oud.

Source: Pikist

Continue reading