LM Parfums Cicatrices

Posted on March 29, 2015 by Kafkaesque

"Javascapes" by Photographer Daniel G. Walczyk. Source: Behance.net (Website link embedded within.)

“Javascapes” by Daniel G. Walczyk. Source: Behance.net (Website link embedded within.)

Cicatrices, the French word for scars, seems like an unusual choice of names for a fragrance that is a comforting haze of warmth, with juxtaposed contrasts like a quasi-gourmand opening of deliciously pillowy iris nougat next to a spicy, smoky, resinous heart that beats with licorice and patchouli. But perhaps ironic juxtapositions are the precise point of Cicatrices, the latest scent from LM Parfum. Its founder, Laurent Mazzone, explicitly sought to create “contradictory revelations,” and there is no greater contradiction than the symbolism of brutal, raw wounds versus sweet warmth.

Cicatrices is an extrait de parfum from LM Parfums‘ more luxurious Intimacy Collection and will be released worldwide on April 5th. The scent is meant to convey a “world of shadows,” but the full description of Cicatrices and its notes is as follows:

Source: LM Parfums

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LM Parfums Epine Mortelle

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Kafkaesque

All good fragrances tell stories. Epine Mortelle, the latest release from LM Parfums, reads like an elegant fairytale. Imagine yourself walking in the woods. You take a wrong turn, and suddenly find yourself lost in darkness where trees are made from black and fiery Szechuan peppers, and the air is dense with an aromatic greenness that is almost like pine. A hushed silence hangs over everything — heavy, black, green, and thick. Yet, in the distance, a pale, pink light glows like beacon.

Photo: “Dark forest” by VityaR83 on deviantART http://vityar83.deviantart.com/art/dark-forest-299891639

Suddenly, before you know it, you stumbled into a clearing where roses blanket the ground as far as the eye can see. Their petals are made of velvet from pink pepper berries, and their heart billows out sweet, yellow mimosa pollen. Candied violets are sprinkled on top, while their roots grow in earthy soil made from musky cassis (or black currents) and spices. Every part of the magical flowers is blanketed with angelica, a herb that grows green and spicy.

Rose petal meringues. Source: foodandtravel.com

It’s hard to believe you were ever in that haunted forest, especially as the scene before your eyes changes quickly. Before you know it, the roses turn dark and rubied, wafting a fruity sweetness infused with spices. Trees made of violet orris lipstick sprout magically from the ground. As you walk, vines made out of a rich vanilla custard curl around your limbs, as tiny fireflies made of cumin dart around you. Then, as if a good witch waved her wand, everything changes and the spicy, lipstick rose vanishes. Now, you’re suddenly sitting down to have tea with sweet, powdery meringues made of roses and angelica. It’s as though you took a brief walk through Maleficient’s dark forest to suddenly end up at the Snow White’s pastry shop, but all of it is done seamlessly, elegantly, and with great richness.

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Best New Releases of 2014

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Kafkaesque

Source: 1ms.net

This has been a good year for perfume releases. For all that I sometimes grumble about the generic nature of fragrances put out these days, 2014 actually had a number of scents that really impressed me. Last year, I could not find a full 10 new releases for my list, and refused to simply include things for the sake of round numbers. This year, I have 15 scents that I actually think are good representations of their genre and were done very well, along with a few Honourable Mentions.

Violettes du Czar. Photo: Roberto Greco for Oriza L. Legrand.

As I always emphasize, perfume reviewing is subjective and personal by its very nature, so winnowing fragrances down to some favorites is even more so. My criteria for selection varied. A number of the fragrances were not really for me, personally, for various reasons (a particular note or genre that I struggle with, discreet sillage, or something else), but were chosen nevertheless because something about the particular scent was either interesting, luxurious, evocative, complex and/or, as noted above, an extremely good example of its genre that also happened to be done in a very elegant manner. A handful of perfumes are on the list for the most subjective reason of all: I either bought full bottles for myself, plan to get them, or would love to do so if their price were not a consideration.

Ranking things is an utter nightmare, but the Top Five are firmly placed in accordance with my feelings. The remainder of the scents are ranked within one to three slots, plus or minus, of where they are in my estimation at the present time, though keep in mind that perfumistas are a fickle bunch who can change their mind from one month to the next, and I’m no exception. All of these fragrances were released in 2014. The problem is that some of the names that I would love to have on this list (like SHL 777‘s O Hira and Black Gemstone) technically debuted in very limited fashion in 2013, before being released globally this year. As a result, what I’ve decided to do is to write a separate list of my 30 personal favorites of 2014, things that I’ve covered this year but without regard to their official launch date. I’ll update this post with a link when I do. There is some overlap between the two lists, but not a lot.

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LM Parfums Army of Lovers

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Kafkaesque

Opulent roses and animalic leather lie at the heart of Army of Lovers, the latest release from LM Parfums. Although it is ostensibly a chypre, Army of Lovers often feels more like a leather fragrance than one redolent of oakmoss. The greenness shimmers like a distant mirage, whilst all before you is musky leather that has been smeared with honey, sprinkled with spices, then nestled amongst some jammy roses in a stable. There is no getting around that last part, as this is one very dirty, raunchy leather that has a definite equine vibe for a good portion of its lifespan on my skin.

Jessica Chastain in Vanity Fair. Source: Vanityfair.com (Photo lightly cropped by me horizontally.)

In fact, Army of Lovers often reminded me of the old story about Camilla Parker-Bowles, now Duchess of Cornwall, who would allegedly go straight from riding her horse after a long day at the hunt to slipping on an expensive evening gown and attending a party, without a shower in-between. Yet, something about that shimmering oakmoss mirage in the background makes Army of Lovers more than dirty, horse-y leather wrapped up with rubied roses. LM Parfums’ founder, Laurent Mazzone, once told me that he loves the great vintage legends like Mitsouko, and that he seeks to bring the same sort of vibe to his fragrances, only in a more modern way.

Movie poster for Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1981 version) with Sylvia Krystel. Source: movies.film-cine.com

That sort of old-school sophistication hovers around Army of Lovers in a way that makes the Camilla Parker-Bowles story seem more apt for the characters of Downton Abbey, or some mash-up of a Ralph Lauren ad involving British aristocrats, riding, and evening gowns. There is a twist, though: these aristocrats are plucked from D.H. Lawrence‘s Lady Chatterley’s Lover and end up having a rather raunchy frolic with a musky, dirty gamekeeper in the stables.

Let’s start at the beginning. Army of Lovers is part of LM Parfums‘ Intimacy Collection, a stronger, more expensive range which is centered around pure parfums made from more luxurious ingredients. Hard Leather was the first in the collection, and Army of Lovers joined it on October 15th, with an official launch date of November 1st.

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