Roja Dove Amber Extrait: Willy Wonka’s Amber

"Chocolate on My Mind," Painting by Pamela Van Laanen. Source:  AbsoluteArts.com (direct website link embedded within.)

“Chocolate on My Mind,” by Pamela Van Laanen. Source: AbsoluteArts.com (website link embedded within.)

The joys of chocolate and sandalwood, encased in golden amber. That is only one aspect of Amber Extrait which merges the wonders of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory with the luxury version of a Starbucks line-up: Earl Grey tea, hot chocolate, a white chocolate chai, and a vanilla latte sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts, all enveloped in multi-faceted amber velvet. Yet, at its heart, Roja Dove’s Amber is almost as much about sandalwood as it is about chocolate or its namesake note. There is a Mysore-like bouquet that is, at first, milky, then creamy and spiced, before finally turning smoky. It is a significant part of the fragrance, and one reason why Amber is hardly the simple soliflore that its name suggests.

Amber (sometimes called “Amber Extrait”) was released in 2014. On his website, Roja Dove describes the fragrance and its notes as follows:

Source: Neiman Marcus.

Source: Neiman Marcus.

“Seductive Enveloping Opulence”
RICH, SOFT, VERY SWEET, & WARM

“Amber, a blend of exotic materials, crafted to give us a glimpse of the mysterious Orient. I blended a rich, velvety note of black chocolate with the soft sweetness of an amber accord to create an edible olfactive delight”. Roja Dove

TOP: Bergamot, Geranium, Lavender, Orange
HEART: Cocoa, Rose
BASE: Amber, Benzoin, Cedarwood, Coumarin, Labdanum, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vanilla.

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Reviews En Bref: Penhaligon’s As Sawira & Levantium

Penhaligon’s Trade Routes Collection are fragrances inspired by the exotic spices and woods brought to London in the 19th century from the Orient and Middle East. Two of the oud scents in the line are As Sawira and Levantium. I’ll take a look at each in turn. In general, my Reviews en Bref are for fragrances that — for whatever reason — didn’t seem to merit one of my detailed, exhaustive reviews. In this case, it’s because neither fragrance was particularly complex or enjoyable.

AS SAWIRA:

Source: Penhaligon's.

Source: Penhaligon’s.

As Sawira is an eau de parfum that was created by Christian de Provenzano and released in 2015 as a limited-edition part of the Trade Routes Collection. According to Twisted Lily, the fragrance’s inspiration and its notes are as follows:

As Sawira, a new addition to the Trade Routes Collection, is inspired by the city Essaoiura, which became the first seaport of Morocco in the nineteenth century. With extensive trade connections to London, many of the commodities which adorned the wharves of the docklands will have originated from there.

Bergamot, Davana, Saffron, Absinthe, Rose, Jasmine, Carnation, Clove, Cardamom, Labdanum, Amber, Oud, Myrrh, Gaiacwood, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Patchouli, Musk, Vanilla, Maltol.

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LM Parfums Cicatrices

"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

Source: LM Parfums

Source: LM Parfums

Source: LM Parfums

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Bogue Profumo O/E

O/E via Luckyscent.

O/E via Luckyscent.

The news of O/E‘s release late last week had me drop everything in sight. O/E is the newest scent from Bogue Profumo, an Italian artisanal house that not only makes some of the most interesting, bold fragrances around but also the brand that put out MAAI. I chose the animalic chypre masterpiece as my #1 best new release of 2014 as well as my favorite scent on my personal list of fragrances (irrespective of debut date) that I’d tried that year. I even admired Bogue’s aromatic leather and lavender Cologne Reloaded despite being rather a lavender-phobe. Bogue is simply one of those houses that I find really intriguing and high quality, thanks to the talent of its founder and nose, the charming, intellectual Antonio Gardoni. So when Luckyscent announced it had received his newest creation, O/E, I was practically fell over myself to order a sample. The fragrance bears the Bogue DNA, but it is not what I had hoped for.

O/E is an eau de parfum that is a reworking and reinterpretation of Mr. Gardoni’s first fragrance, the now discontinued Eau d’E. I never tried it, so I can’t tell you if some people’s accounts of O/E as “reformulated Eau d’E” are accurate. Bogue’s website has no description for its latest release, nor any notes, so I can’t tell you that either. All I can share with you is Luckyscent’s note list which is:

Bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, neroli, clove, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, camphor, Lebanon cedar, juniper, pine, cypress, rose, jasmine, vetiver, benzoin, tobacco, resins, sandalwood.

Ricola herb garden, Switzerland. Source: myswitzerland.com

Ricola herb garden, Switzerland. Source: myswitzerland.com

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