HS3

Well, it seems silly that I had a come-back post, only to post nothing for another long stretch. I’ve been pretty stressed between work, the idea of moving, being newly married, and the like so I just haven’t gotten around to a new post. I’m way overdue for some thoughts on the basenotes Musk Project – I’ve even worn the incredible Kewdra about 4 times over the course of the couple weeks and will be posting a nice glowing review soon.

Anyways, sorry for the absence lately. For those that know me or care, the decision to search for a job back in the old area of Washington, DC has become the foremost priority. It will be sad to leave my perfect job situation here, but you have to do what you have to do for a family! I can’t wait for a fabulous evening of beer at RFDs or a great meal at Zaytinia. Soon.

For my first ‘real’ post after being away for awhile, why not some photos?! I won’t go too much into reviewing the four scents in the Casamorati line (you can find some great reviews on basenotes), but I can say that all four are really wonderful and worth a sampling. My two favorites are Bouquet Ideale and Mefisto. It should be known that both of the scents originally intended for men can easily be worn by women and vice versa with the two intended for women.

I’ll try not to make this quite as lengthy as the Modoc post, but it should definitely give you a better feel for the bottles and to see their level of quality!

Well, technically I’ve been back for a couple weeks. However, things have been hectic lately so I haven’t had a chance to post until now. I’ve got a pile of great photos of the Xerjoff Casamorati line that I’ll post in the next couple days – just finishing up going through them and touching them up. Here’s a teaser of Bouquet Ideal, a gorgeous, creamy rose scent. More photos soon!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately – I got married last weekend and am heading to the honeymoon tomorrow! I have a pile of things waiting to have pictures taken and reviewed that will be tended to when I get back.

See you soon!

I am participating in a musk project called Mystery of Musk over on basenotes and will be sniffing 12 different musk perfumes over the next few weeks made by members of the Natural Perfumer’s Guild. First up is Sharini’s Graines de Paradis, a perfume created by Sharini Parfums Naturels in the south of France.

This opens as a bright floral citrus – refreshing and comforting. Sparkling grapefruit zest, spicy ginger, and wild cherries picked just last month in the valley of the Herault (wow!). The cherry note, sweetened by the 18 month aged tincture from Madagascan vanilla pods, has an almost chocolate covered cherry cordial feel to it. Those cherry cordials were my dad’s favorite growing up, so the image of them makes me smile. The sweetened citrus floral opening reminds me of Guerlain’s 68, but obviously a bit easier to relate to and simpler given the 19 ingredients rather than the huge 68 in the Guerlain. I only have experience with a few all-natural fragrances but what always strikes me is just how… well, natural they smell. Something about that makes you feel closer to the scent as it feels like it’s come from the earth, rather than a lab. It’s fascinating picking out notes in a natural perfume because what you’re smelling is actually what you’re smelling, rather than an attempt to recreate their scent artificially.

The opening is fleeting, but what’s next is the star of the show. This has a gorgeous floral heart of everything from Linden blossom, Genet flower (got me on what those are) and white rose to more traditional notes such as jasmine, gardenia and neroli. You’d think from what you see on paper thus far that this would be a very feminine floral, but it’s not. There’s nothing light or dainty and the supporting base notes bring a sultry tone to it. None of the floral notes are absolutes, but rather obtained by manually washing enfleurage pomades nearly 20 times. I’m not familiar enough with the process to know the precise affect that has, but perhaps it contributes to the much earthier feel to the florals.

It doesn’t take long for those florals to subside and allow the fabulous base to emerge. I sense a considerable amount of Ambrette with just the right amount of earthy patchouli to round it out. Notes of genuine oud, dusty iris and something that reminds of of the spicy warmth of cinnamon sticks (perhaps just the oliban?) are present. It’s at this point that it hits its stride and actually lasts an incredibly long time. I’ve worn it a few times now – the first time I sprayed it on the back of my hand around 7am and an earthy and warm base was still easily detectable a full 12 hours later – incredible for a natural perfume.

It very apparent that the ingredients here were obtained in a painstakingly careful way and in the traditional manner. Photos of their workshop and traditional extraction methods can be seen here on their site. A full description and complete list of notes can be found here.

Only 25 50ml bottles in eau de parfum strength were produced and are priced at 120€. Their bottles are gorgeous – each topped with a handmade ash wood cap, complete with the exterior bark.