Parfumerie Generale - Corps et Ames

Although I quite admire chypre-style perfumes, I am not an out-and-out fan. I know and appreciate the history of chypres, but for some reason they just aren't really me. Having said that, I love Mitsouko, and Chanel No 19 is a crackerjack of a fragrance. Corps et Ames is styled as a more masculine chypre and to me opens quite aldehydic and strong, with a definite green, sappy kick. I'd say it was more feminine than not, in this early phase. As the top notes fade, it dries out, staying fairly green with a hint of pepper and what I perceive as citrus. It just goes to show that my nose does not always detect notes accurately. The listed notes include bourbon geranium, immortelle flowers, melati wood, leather and sandalwood. I have to be honest and say that I do not detect geranium, while leather completely escapes me. I don't know what Melati Wood smells like and at the time I wrote that I could smell lavender! Perhaps that is geranium. As for immortelle flower, does it smell like immortelle as in 'a curry, maple syrup note'? If so, again, I can't detect anything remotely like this. 

The heart of the fragrance is far less feminine and wears quite unisex. I wouldn't say it is overtly masculine, not that it matters. It reminds me ever so slightly at this point of another Parfumerie Generale perfume, Papyrus de Ciane. It is slightly mossy and green, with a hint of citrus and flowers. It is very definitely a chypre, but not in the style of Mitsouko for example. As the fragrance progresses further, I really like a slightly incense-y, peppery note that wells up, just giving it a bit of an edge and focus. I really like this. I wonder if this is perhaps the leather listed in the notes, although it doesn't strike me as particularly leathery?

Overall I would say that I like Corps et Ames, but I'm not bowled over. Perhaps I need to give it more time, but again, perhaps its just that chypres aren't entirely me. I think a lot of people would like this and I'd certainly say give it a try, but I think there are better fragrances in the Parfumerie Generale line.

Image credit - luckyscent.com

Amouage Lyric Woman and Man

Seeing that I'm in an Amouage frame of mind, I thought I'd put together some thoughts on Lyric Woman and Lyric Man, two excellent fragrances from Amouage. I find the whole Man and Woman thing quite interesting. In the case of Lyric and Epic, both the masculine and feminine versions do have some similarities. For example, Lyric is mostly about rose, while Epic is about tea and oud. Earlier fragrances exhibit less of this cohesiveness. A classic example would be Jubilation 25 and XXV. The feminine perfume is mostly a gorgeous chypre underpinned by incense, while the men's is a fruity, spicy, woody, incense-y middle eastern delight, one of my absolute favourites in the line. Getting back to Lyric, I originally sampled the men's version a couple of years ago and loved it off the bat. It was pungent, full of incense and rose, and surprisingly floral. I hadn't smelled anything like it before. The notes include bergamot, lime, rose, angelica, orange blossom, galbanum, ginger, nutmeg, saffron, pine, sandalwood, vanilla, musk and frankincense. I still like Lyric Man, but it is an absolute powerhouse of a scent on me. It literally lasts all day and survives a thorough shower. It's no shrinking violet and if over-applied, can be very screechy and over the top. Although I love the concept of Lyric Man, the opening especially can be a bit overbearing, and the use of incense here is the most powerful and pungent I have found of all the Amouage fragrances, which is saying a lot.

Lyric Woman, pictured top left, was a much later sample and it blew me away. I would say that it is possibly my favourite of the whole line, ignoring gender. While the men's version shouts and struts its way around, Lyric Woman is understated, smooth, jammy, creamy and oozes sophistication. But don't be fooled. There is a slinky and somewhat sly facet to Lyric Woman, perhaps not that surprising. After all, most roses have thorns, and this one has enough going on to suggest some femme fatale beneath the sweet exterior. The notes include bergamot, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, rose, angelica, jasmine, ylang-ylang, orris, geranium, oakmoss, musk, patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, tonka and frankincense. The strange thing for me is that going from the notes, the ladies' version seems to contain every note known to pefumery, while the mens', while not exactly short of notes, is a bit less busy. Yet in reality, Lyric Man has far more going on on my skin, with a lot of competing notes, while Lyric Woman, to me, is mostly about a jammy sweet rose, light incense, creamy sandalwood and spice, but quite simple in development. However, I'm not for one second suggesting that Lyric Woman is inferior or actually simple. In fact, it is the harmony and interaction of its notes wherein which lies its beauty. Lyric Man, as good as it is, strikes me a bit as trying too hard, and is ever so slightly clumsy. I love the use of rose in Lyric Woman. It is a sweet, jammy, slightly earthy rose, yet never becomes cloying or like potpourri. It stays quite true to the smell of rose, but has a slight dirtiness to it that is intriguing. Although by no means the same, it shares some characteristic with Kingdom, by Alexander Mcqueen, in that it is suggestive of sexuality, without actually blatantly flirting it. Some would disagree on Kingdom - I know many find it skanky. 

Although Lyric Woman is undeniably feminine in some ways, I have no trouble wearing it and I think it performs well on my skin. It is one of the most interesting perfumes in my collection and if ever I was going to go for full bottle purchases from the Amouage line, I think Lyric Woman and Jubilation XXV would top my list. If you haven't tried Lyric before, I would urge you to give it a go. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Image credit - luckyscent.com

Amouage Opus II Library Collection

As quite a few people have pointed out recently, Amouage seems to be churning out fragrances. Certainly in the last nine months they've released about seven new ones, including the recent Memoir Man and Woman. It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Amouage and any review of their products leaves me feeling slightly apprehensive, in case I am blinded by bias and not impartial. The Library Collection appears to have received a mixed reception. If anything, it seems to have been a lukewarm-ish response, with a few that have loved these, and those that think the house standards are slipping. Well, I don't. Admittedly I haven't tried Opus I or III yet, but Opus II, the one meant to be the most masculine in the collection, certainly meets with my approval. I read that it is a reinterpretation of a fougere, which perhaps it is. I don't claim to be an expert, but I didn't perceive it much as a fougere. I thought it is predominantly an exercise in incense, a highly sophisticated one. 

The notes include lavender, absinthe, pepper, pink bay (pink pepper?), jasmine, rose, cinnamon, cardamom, cedar, patchouli, amber, musk and incense. The opening for me is a light, yet strangely intense mix of pepper and citrus, and quite spicy. I don't detect lavender in its stereotypical form, or much absinthe. I'm always a little confused by absinthe anyway. It's derived from wormwood, which is a principal opening note in Yatagan, by Caron, but it is definitely not presented in that fashion here. The incense makes its presence felt almost immediately after the top notes fade, which is no surprise, given Amouage's inclination for using this note, and very nice it is too. The spiciness is balanced by a subtle, almost fruity sweetness that emerges, lightly floral but not overpowering. I take this to be mostly rose, with a little jasmine, but no man need feel uncomfortable with the use of these florals in this case. Underpinning all this is a dry and light pepperiness that I think is pink pepper, but masterfully presented. The use of pink pepper has become so indicative of men's perfumery but it smells so good in Opus II. It is almost bracing, combining with the slightly lemony facets of incense and the subtle sweetness of rose to create a wonderful heart accord. To my mind this is the most impressive phase of development in Opus II. As it moves into the dry down, the woodier elements of the scent slowly emerge and mingle to create a solid, if somewhat conservative ending to a lovely fragrance. The base smells good, and Amouage is no stranger to the combination of cedar, musk and patchouli, used in a number of their fragrances. Dia Man and Reflection Man spring to mind, but to me Opus II borrows some of those elements without simply rehashing it verbatim. 

I've read reviews describing Opus II as smelling like a barbershop, which is the usual impression created by a classical fougere, I think. However, I don't personally detect this at all and at no point did I think Opus II was a bog-standard fougere. Although it is quite masculine, I don't think it is obviously so and I can't see why a woman couldn't wear this with absolute confidence. I think Opus II is sufficiently different to its predecessors to warrant and deserve being part of the Amouage lineup and I for one am very impressed with it.

Image credit - luckyscent.com

The penny drops

Don't you find it is weird sometimes how you can test a fragrance for some time and be so not in love, then come back to it a few weeks later, or in a different season, and find your perception of it has totally changed? This has happened to me recently with two perfumes, Papyrus de Ciane by Parfumerie Generale and Fat Electrician by ELDO. When I first tried these in the summer I sort of liked them, but definitely wasn't blown away. Having tried them again this autumn, they are so much nicer. So what's up? Is it a change in my skin chemistry? To me this is part of the magic of perfume. I like to be surprised and I'm even happier when I move from lukewarm to hot. I can sort of understand Fat Electrician. I tend to appreciate vetiver scents more in the autumn, although I'm not entirely sure why. Papyrus de Ciane surprises me more - I would have thought this would fit far more into late spring/summer wearing, with its green, slightly mossy feel. Instead it comes alive for me late in the season, where a slightly more woody facet reveals itself.

Are there any perfumes that have surprised you like this?

Calling Cymbaline!

Cymbaline, wherefore art thou Cymbaline? I'm still waiting (and hoping) for you to email me with your details so I can send you the samples you won in my 100th post draw! Please get hold of me!

Sorry if you are away or something like that and haven't been checking messages.

Nasomatto China White

Besides the obvious slang association with a drug, heroin, that China White brings to mind, I didn't really know much about this perfume prior to ordering a sample. I was expecting something quite severe, chalky perhaps, that would end up being a chypre or leather. Instead, China White strikes me as more oriental in nature, particularly in the first half of its development. It opens surprisingly warm and cosy, with an almost caramel sweetness, reminding me ever so slightly of Coze or Aomassai by Perfumerie Generale. Just cutting the sweetness is a hint of violets and what smells to me like vetiver. After the initial top notes fade there emerges a slight spiciness, piquant like cardamom and a bit of pepper. I also detect a fleeting patchouli note, but I'm not entirely sure. Overall China White is much warmer than I thought it would be, as I said. In the heart the vetiver strengthens, but it remains fairly comfy. I wouldn't necessarily call it gourmand, but it verges on it. At this stage I think I can detect an iris note and I kept on thinking that China White reminds me of another fragrance but I couldn't put my finger on it. Eventually it came to me - Antaeus by Chanel. Particularly in the heart there is a graphite, carbon-like smell with powdery, yet earthy patchouli. I was quite surprised to make this association. After all, Antaeus is firmly a product of the eighties, while Nasamotto is the chic, hip, ultra-expensive niche line from the 21st century. Still, I like China White a lot, probably more than I was expecting to. It's not a dead ringer for Antaeus and as development progresses into the dry down, it stays sweeter, lighter and a bit more powdery. 

I don't know how I'd classify China White. Due to the association with Antaeus, I would initially say it veers more towards the masculine, but it is sweeter, especially in the opening, and has a slight powderiness to it that leads me to state ultimately that it is a perfectly good unisex fragrance. I think China White is very good, although it is rather expensive at £100 for 30ml here in the UK.

Image credit - Luckscent.com

Taking stock and an autumn roundup

So, autumn has truly arrived in the muddy isle (aka the United Kingdom), true to form as October 1st dawned, blustery with near-torrential rain. Autumn can be a lovely time, as we all know. Who isn't moved by a bright, crystalline-fresh morning, leaves turning golden, the smell of woodsmoke redolent in the air? Unfortunately, the other side of the coin is the aforementioned weather, and grey, dull and wet days. Yet despite this I always find that come autumn I really yearn to wear perfume. The cooler weather calls for fragrances with more oomph, and a bit of comfort too. Gone are the fresh citrus colognes, or the sheer woody florals. In their place comes tobacco, amber, vanilla, spice and sweeter woods, which might have been cloying a couple of months ago. And maybe it's just me, but autumn releases seem so much more interesting than a lot of the dreck that comes out in the warmer months, destined to crowd-please. 

Some of you who read my blog more regularly might recall a somewhat melancholy and self-pitying post at the start of August when I mentioned how busy I had been at work, with not enough time to take stock of life and enjoy things that matter most to me, including wearing perfume of course. Two months on and I feel a lot better. Work is still busy, finances are still stretched, but for some reason I feel calmer and more in control. Hopefully this is not just delusion, but reality! I was trying to think back on perfumes I've tried over the summer and early autumn, and what I enjoyed, and didn't. 

There's been very little in mainstream that I've enjoyed. It's hard to keep up with all the celebrity releases anyway. I tried Serge Luten's Bas de Soie, and felt that while it was a sort-of return to form, it isn't totally me. One perfume that did impress me, surprisingly, was Jean Paul Gaultier's Le Male Terrible. The original Le Male was groundbreaking, and still as unique today as it was a decade or more ago. But it was so over-worn that it became cliched, probably a bit like Polo was in the US in the eighties, perhaps. Terrible is in the same vein as Le Male, but has some skankiness in it, with a bit of smoke and incense (at least to my nose). It is rather compelling and I'd urge you to approach it with a fresh and open mind - it might surprise you. I also tried Gucci Guilty the other day, and while not exactly a revelation, it is a rather well done floriental, better than a lot of similar releases over the last few years.

Moving onto niche, most of what I've tried has been older stuff that I haven't got round to before. I did try Andy Tauer's Orange Star, which I really enjoyed. The big rave was L'artisan's Nuit de Tubereuse. I've tried it once but it's hard to form a strong opinion. I liked that it wasn't an obvious, big, screechy tuberose, but  I couldn't quite get my head around it. I tried Mona di Orio's Cuir, which was a leather slap upside the head. Not for the faint-hearted. I also tried Amouage's Library fragrance Opus 2, labelled a fougere but not to me. It's great by the way. I haven't tried 1 and 3.

What about imminent releases (or just-released)? Well, I'm looking forward to trying the new Amouage Memoir Man and Woman. I know some people lament how many perfumes Amouage churns out these days, but they can do little wrong for me. I'm also curious to try the Vero  Profumo eau de parfumes (the extraits are way too expensive for me).

Going off topic a little, one sample I ordered recently that I wasn't expecting to like for some reason, but blew me away, is Costamor's Tabacca. It's a gorgeous tobacco fragrance, not too sweet, fairly sedate, but extremely well executed. And what disappointed me the most? I think it might be Heeley's Sel Marin. I was expecting something a bit like Sel de Vetiver, I guess because of the 'sel' in both titles. In the end Sel Marin smells like Hermes' Un Jardin apres la mousson, which is not my favourite. It's a bit brackish and totally not what I hoped it would be.

To end, what I really can't wait for is the annual release of the Serge Lutens non-export Paris exclusive, set to come out towards the end of this year. This year it is Cuir Mauresque. I've only ever smelled this one as a wax sample, which is not the same thing of course, but it was excellent.