2014 In Review: 30 Personal Favorites

Source: designzzz.com

Source: designzzz.com

My list of favorite fragrances that I’ve tried this year is quite different from yesterday’s list of the best new releases of 2014. The latter centered largely on scents that I thought were good, very elegant or interesting representations of their genre, regardless of whether they were my personal cup of tea, and they were only things that debuted in 2014. Today’s list is purely about what I really enjoyed and does not consider the date in release at all. So, this time around, there are very few qualifications and caveats, and the vast majority of these fragrances are things that I bought for myself, am thinking about buying, or would love to buy were their price not a consideration.

You will notice that a good number of the fragrances are not complex masterpieces at all, but quite simple in nature. One reason for that is that I love cozy, comfort scents, and they are generally not very nuanced or multifaceted to begin with. Plus, mindlessly simple but really well-done fragrances that combine richness with soothing warmth are, in all honesty, a huge relief to me after a long day where I do nothing but analyse every nuance and change in a scent for hours (upon hours) on end.

Ferdinand Leeke,  "The Last Farewell of Wotan and Brunhilde," (1875). Source: Wikipedia.com

Ferdinand Leeke, “The Last Farewell of Wotan and Brunhilde,” (1875). Source: Wikipedia.com

A few other points. As always, I have to repeat my mantra regarding the subjective, personal nature of reviewing in general, and how a list like this is even doubly so. With regard to the rankings, it’s always an utter nightmare, but the Top Ten chosen here are generally quite firm in order. There is a bit more leeway with the next 10 names, as a tiny handful could go up or down one to two places of where they are at the present time. I’m most undecided about the placement of the last 10 which are the most subject to fluctuations in order. One reason why is because perfumistas are a fickle bunch who can change their mind from one month to the next, and I’m no exception. The other reason is that I’ve gone back and forth on a few scents, switching their places repeatedly until I just gave up in the end. So, for now, this is where things are, for the most part. Finally, you will notice that some of my summary descriptions are verbatim from my list of best, new releases of 2014 or from my mid-2014 best or favorites list. My apologies in advance. Covering almost 60 fragrances in two days is rather an exhausting process, so I hope you will forgive me.

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O’Driù Pathetique

Source: truffleharvest.com.au

Source: truffleharvest.com.au

Pathetique is the latest creation from O’Driu and Angelo Orazio Pregoni, a scent that briefly takes you to the heart of the forest floor with black truffles, singed woods, vetiver, jasmine, and mosses that are woven together with incense, before it then segues to something very different. I liked parts of Pathetique (officially spelled with an accent as “Pathétique”) quite a bit, particularly the creamy vanilla crème anglaise that acts like a bridge between its various parts, but it is not a scent that matches up to its hyperbolic description. O’Driu describes Pathetique as everything from “performance perfume” and “contemporary artwork” to wholly “unique” in all the world and a “masterpiece” whose name was chosen as an ironic finger to critics. In reality, Pathetique is an easy, very wearable scent. It’s not a mainstream fragrance but, comparatively speaking, it’s the most commercial Pregoni creation that I’ve tried thus far. I think its approachability is a good thing, but my description would probably horrify its controversial creator.

Source: Fragrantica

Source: Fragrantica

It’s hard to talk about Pathetique without talking about its creator. Mr. Pregoni’s character is part of everything, from the scent to its press release description and his interviews about it. My initial impression was that Mr. Pregoni was a progressive free-spirit who sought to work outside the lines out of genuine intellectual artistry, and whose approach was driven purely by a self-deprecating, whimsical sense of humour. I think I was mistaken.

Angelo Orazio Pregoni at Pitti. Source: Fragrantica

Angelo Orazio Pregoni at Pitti. Source: Fragrantica

Several recent reports from people within the perfume industry that were told to me privately show a very different side to Mr. Pregoni, as does a very telling Fragrantica interview with him which took place at the recent Pitti exhibition and concerned, among other things, Pathetique and “perfumed art.” None of this is helped by the self-aggrandizing way that the scent is described on the O’Driu website. Ultimately, though, it is not my place or business to talk about a perfumer as a person, only about the way a fragrance smells. So, I’ll leave it to you to read that Fragrantica interview and draw your own conclusions. I’ll move onto Pathetique.  Continue reading

O’Driù Leva & Its Biblical Challenge

Leva via Luckyscent.

Leva via Luckyscent.

An intersection of the ancient past and the modern present lies at the heart of Leva, a fragrance from the Italian niche house of O’Driù (henceforth spelled without the accent as plain “O’Driu”). It is an eau de parfum that was originally released in 2011 as part of The Genesis Collection, and is meant to represent Eve to Ladamo‘s Adam. To that end, it cleverly uses ingredients that go back thousands of years in history, including spikenard which the Bible says is the fragrant oil that Mary used to anoint Jesus’ feet. Leva is a challenging fragrance on my skin, particularly in the beginning, and I’m afraid I wasn’t up to the task.

French marigold or tagetes patula via Wikipedia.

French marigold or tagetes patula via Wikipedia.

Leva is an eau de parfum created by Angelo Orazio Pregoni. O’Driu has no description for Leva on its website at this time, but the press release file that I was sent provides the following notes:

Grapefruit, turmeric, lemongrass, jasmine, tagete [marigold], vetiver, jatamansi [spikenard], basil, lavender, ylang-ylang, vanilla, benzoin, tonka bean, and pepper. Continue reading

O’Driù Ladamo: Mother Earth

Source: Facebook page of Amazing Landscapes, Nature, Animals and Places

Source: Facebook page of Amazing Landscapes, Nature, Animals and Places

Close your eyes and imagine a landscape of burnt umber, red, green, and black where the ground is made of earthy patchouli and tobacco, the rivers run dark with burnt resins, green shrubs of vetiver and galbanum grow around sinewy trees made of black licorice, and the sky hangs heavy in a haze of terracotta red dust and amber. In the far distance, near marshes of wet, mushy amber, there is an ancient monastery. Its library is filled with ancient parchment paper made from pressed herbs and covered with the dust of ages. In its kitchens, the monks cook with dried fenugreek and curried immortelle, their aroma carrying on the wind to the rugged landscape outside. That is the world of Ladamo which takes the most organic aspects of Mother Earth, and puts it in a perfume bottle.

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