Old favourites revisited

Cymbaline commented on one of my recent posts, where I mused over whether I was becoming jaded and cynical in my perception of what is or isn't original. She mentioned that she keeps on returning to old favourites.

Well, following that, I've returned to a few old favourites too, and what a pleasant experience it has been. Today I wore Andy Tauer's Incense Extreme and Les Nez Let Me Play The Lion. What struck me most about both of these perfumes is how unique and original they are, at least to me. Incense Extreme is mostly about incense, but somehow despite its apparent simplicity it never fails to wow me. What longevity it has too. I sprayed it on at 8 this morning and after a shower at 8pm I could still detect it. Well, Andy Tauer is renowned for this, isn't he?

LMPTL is a curious fragrance, but very lovely all the same. I'm sure the name (which I understand comes from a line out of Shakespeare - is it Hamlet?) has subconsciously evoked the smell of African bush and lions for me, which is just fanciful. Having said that, I grew up in Africa and have spent time in the bush and have been in proximity to lions, so I know what this smells like and LMPTL does smell a bit like that, honestly! Again, I haven't smelled anything quite like it.

Then this evening I am wearing one of my Serge Lutens loves, Borneo 1834. Well, there's patchouli and then there's patchouli and Uncle Serge's is one of the best, in my opinion. Perfect for a relaxing evening that is unseasonably cool for late summer, even by English standards.

This really brings me back to a point I made a few days ago. I'm increasingly struggling to find perfumes that stand out for me and smell truly original. The ones I've mentioned here fit that bill. In spades....

Van Cleef and Arpels Midnight in Paris

Van Cleef and Arpel's Midnight in Paris starts with a fizzing sort of citrus top note, quite heavy on bergamot and a touch of leather. It also has a slight powdery smell about it and ever so sweet, with what I think is vanilla. While not exactly generic, it doesn't smell all that original either.

The rest of the development is relatively bog standard, at least to me. There is a leathery, perhaps more suede smell, which is nice, with a touch of light smoky spice and woods, which smells even slightly rubbery. Yes, you may guess where I'm going with this...

I'd say that Midnight in Paris is great for day wear, for the office, but not particularly original. The combination of vanilla and what I later perceive as a very slightly rubbery/smoky leather is a certain nod to Bulgari Black actually. Is this a bad thing? No, not really, but yet another example of a perfume that is nice, but in my opinion not nice enough to stand out as brilliant and certainly not as cutting edge as Bulgari Black was in its day.

The notes from Luckyscent include lemon, bergamot, rosemary, green tea, lily of the valley, black tea, styrax, wood notes, tonka bean, benzoin, leather accord.

Image credit - http://www.punmiris.com/

Verbosity or brevity?

I've noticed in the almost year and a half that I've been blogging about perfume that my posts generally have tended to become shorter and more to the point. Part of this is down to necessity and circumstance, as I have been very busy this year and increasingly find less time to post.

However, I do find that particularly with posts where I try to review a perfume, I tend to write in less detail. The way I tend to write about a perfume is to wear it and make short notes as the day progresses, attempting to capture the mood, smell, sensation and progression of the scent. In recent months these notes have become shorter and less detailed. Perhaps it is a matter of practice and training one's nose and perhaps I have become lazy. I don't really know. What I do know is that I find it increasingly difficult to capture the feel of a perfume, as if I lack inspiration. Perhaps it is a form of burnout!

Another thought crossed my mind recently, that being that it takes far more to surprise and move me these days, perfume-wise. I think some of this must be because I have tried so many perfumes in the last three years. I mean, lets face it - after a while a lot of juice out there starts to smell the same as other stuff, no matter whether it is released by a niche house or mainstream conglomerate. Or am I just being a kill joy? One benefit of this slightly jaded outlook is that when I do come across a perfume that wows me, it is doubly fantastic.

I'd be interested to find out what some of you think about this. Am I just too cynical and jaded, or is there some truth in what I am saying?

LT Piver Cuir

I don't know about you, but LT Piver is one of those perfume houses that has evaded my interest, and judging by the scarcity of reviews out there, the interest of most of the blogosphere too. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I can't recall reading any reviews, but I suppose there must be some out there.

LT Piver is carried by Les Senteurs in London, the only place I've seen them. When I was last there, I decided to get a sample of Cuir, one of the men's fragrances. If I understand correctly, Piver is a venerable old house and most, if not all of their fragrances have been recently modernised. Whether this is only the packaging and bottles, or the juices as well, I can't say.

Anyway, Cuir is a curious little number. In keeping with some of the older style leather fragrances, it has no shortage of greens and florals, and while I wouldn't call it a leather green chypre in the style of say Bandit, for example, it does verge on feminine for quite a long time. The opening is especially floral and quite intense, with very little leather to start with. There is also a soapiness that reminds me a bit of a Spanish leather style, with perhaps a hint of smoke too. As Cuir dries down the leather does become more prominent, but it never reaches the intensity of Knize 10 for example and retains a resinous, slightly green feel. I suppose it is a chypre, and I certainly didn't mind it, but it does smell a bit fusty and dated to me.

Having said that, I think it is worth at least trying.

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Cuir et Champignon

Cuir et Champignon is part of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz's Parfums des Beaux Arts line. As the name suggests, this perfume is mostly about leather and mushrooms, and what an interesting and at times startlingly realistic interpretation it is. 

I don't know if I have encountered a mushroom accord in perfume before. I've seen truffle used before, for example in Frederic Malle's Un Rose. Cuir et Champignon opens with a very smoky and leathery feel. Although it is a very sophisticated perfume, to me it is all about the outdoors, to my mind evocative of an autumnal walk in the woods, tramping over leaf-strewn paths, the smell of early season decay in the air, the smell of woodsmoke wafting on the cooling breeze. Perhaps this is fanciful, but this is really a very woodsy perfume. Leather is most evident at the start, and while it never fades, it, along with the smoke, soften and blur as the perfume progresses. 

The mushroom accord is also very realistic, mainly in the first half of wearing it. Later on, that smell segues into a more recognisable woods accord, but is anything but conventional.

I don't know what else to say about Cuir et Champignon, other than it is a fabulous perfume, possibly the best I have tried by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz. It also, unlike a few others I've tried, has very good lasting power. I'd certainly recommend this to anyone.

Image credit -   http://dshnotebook.files.wordpress.com/ 

Eau d'Italie comes to town

This may not seem like the most exciting news, but to me, any new line launch (in the sense of new to my town, not a new line in itself) interests me. I've tried a couple from the Eau d'Italie line before, Paestum Rose and Sienne l'Hiver, both of which I found interesting, if not amazing. I've also encountered the line at Liberty in London, but for some reason have never tried the others. Anyway, Fenwick is now stocking the entire line, which is good news.

This weekend I wore Bois d'Ombrie and Baume du Doge. I found them both, again, quite interesting, but couldn't help feeling as if something in both of them didn't quite work. I don't know for sure what it was, but both seemed quite fruity to me, which combined with incense and myrrh just seemed strange. Both had good dry downs, particularly Bois d'Ombrie and I also enjoyed both of them more on paper, where the fruitiness was more subdued. Still, I will try them again and I can't deny that they are interesting. Baume du Doge reminded me a lot of another fragrance I've tried before (from a niche line, I'm sure) but I could not pin it down. If anyone has any idea, please let me know.

The week that was (or wasn't)

Well, another week has gone by and my blogging continues to flounder, drowning as I am in a sticky, muddy bog of work. That's one monkey I can't seem to get off my back, at least for now.

I did try the new Serge Lutens, Vitriol d'Oeillet. Honestly, I don't really know what to make of it. I've only tried it once, but I didn't feel moved, be it positively or negatively. I'd be interested to find out if anyone has tried it and if so, what they think.

I haven't worn a lot of perfume this week, but today I tried my favourite Montale, Oud Cuir d'Arabie. Some of you who've read my blog for a while will probably know that I love it, but jeez, for some reason it did not smell good on me today. I don't know if my sample is turning bad, but it smelled plasticky and slightly synthetic-sweet on my skin, which it never has before.

Perfume has taken a bit of a back seat in my life recently, but for some reason I have turned to music, a lot. In particular Bob Dylan. I'm no stranger to his music, owning most of his albums, bootleg series and basement tapes, but I keep on revisiting his stuff, in particular Another Side of Bob Dylan. Two songs stand out for me, where he really sounds like he is enjoying himself, almost laughing in places.  The two are All I Really Want to Do and I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met). Check them out...