HS3

When I was returning from my sunny Jamaican honeymoon (mind you, it wasn’t sunny one day we were there), we were stuck in the Montego Bay airport for a few hours. After the first few security checks, there was a slew of stores carrying all kinds of Jamaican knick-knacks, foods, goods, etc. We bought some coffee, some spices, and found an area that had a whole selection of local perfumes. I had seen them in another small shop a few days prior, but didn’t get a chance to smell them, so I was excited to try them out. There was some pirate-y named thing (I recall liking that one, but my new wife wasn’t as keen on it), something with gold referenced in its name that was a powdery floral, and this colorful thing: Reggae Splash. When we sprayed it on paper, it seemed oddly interesting. Even when I sprayed it on my arm, it remained intriguing. It seemed woody, bright, with a bit of citrus and sweetness. Something happened between the store and Florida. Maybe it was the air there that made it smell good, or maybe it felt the stress of being corralled like animals at the terminal while we waited to board (after the fourth search and security point).

Whatever happened, this one would have been better left in Jamaica. It’s a thin, whining aquatic that would have a hard time being hocked as the house scent for Walgreen’s. I wanted so much to try to like it, but it’s about 1990s generic as it could be – but doesn’t smell as nice. I’ve only worn it fully in public once, and all day had wished I hadn’t and that my sillage was low enough that people around me wouldn’t notice. No, it’s not really as bad as I make it sound, but it’s just such a weak attempt at a segment of the market already so saturated with mediocre scents.

I’ll probably try to wear it again sometime and give it another chance, but most likely not without a drink or two first.

Watch this space for some photos of a completely new size of Xerjoff 17/17 bottles. They have hand-cut stone on the front of them and  are sure to be gorgeous. Hopefully I can do them justice with some good photos!

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.

I decided to give this one a test this morning as I was heading out the door and put a single shot of it on the back of my hand to enjoy throughout the morning. At first sniff from the bottle (really nice bottles – photos of the set coming soon!) and initial application, it is a nice light summery floral citrus that didn’t really seem to hold any surprises. It has an uplifting white floral opening (listed notes are lotus flower, magnolia, jasmine, olive blooms) with a hint of bergamot and a spike of tart citrus… the description on the Xerjoff site really is spot on. It’s really quite pleasant, but didn’t come across as earth shattering or new.

However, this scent has huge evolution. On my drive to work, it has already begun progressing through a variety of notes and new players were emerging. I was getting what seemed like a chili pepper note and the olive blooms were really coming out as the other initial florals fell back. A few hours into it, that chili pepper note begins to fall back and you’re left with a very fresh osmanthus and citrus. I’m not sure if the Olive Blooms listed in the notes is of the osmanthus variety, but I’m definitely perceiving it that way. I also smell orange blossoms, similar to how they’re treated in By Kilian’s Prelude to Love. It’s extra “clean” smelling – most likely attributable to the choice in musk aroma-chemicals in the base. If smelled up close, you’ll be able to detect just the slightest of creamy undertones that is quite nice and helps to bring it together.Very nice.

Overall, it’s probably my least favorite of the Casamorati series, but I really like the other three. It’s certainly well made and something to put on your sample list if you love bright citrus floral scents that aren’t too feminine… I think it could easily be worn by a man. Actually, the longer it sits on my skin, the more I like it. I’ll definitely give this one a full wear soon.

Check out Sorcery of Scent for Dimitri’s thought on it from a while back.

UPDATE A WHILE LATER – I’m really warming up to this one. After a while on my skin, I’m really liking it.

Comme des Garcons has some really quirky packaging. From the plastic dummy bottles in the Guerrilla series to the unfolding metallic box in the LUXE series, their packaging (though not the most luxurious, is definitely some of the most original. Comme des Garcons EDP, released in 1994, is no exception. It comes in a simple white card stock box with plain black printing on it. Open the box and the bottle is presented in something you might expect to save meat in the freezer with. The “as-seen-on-TV” style pouch seems to cover all the bottles of the same shape from CdG that I’ve tried. I’m still not completely sold on the bottle shape – though it serves its purpose quite well, it has a hard time sitting next to others in a collection. It ends up just being plunked there in the front.

As for the scent, it can certainly hold its own. This 1994 EDP is a melange of spices, loaded with clove and hot cinnamon. It advertises itself to work like a medicine and behave like a drug – though I don’t find the opening quite as medicinal as some, it is undoubtedly intense and slightly medicinal, perhaps due to the camphorous notes that you’ll find in the top. I find a good bit of rose throughout, but it’s never overly floral – merely a supporting note. It settles nicely into a smoother cedar and sandalwood-rich scent with the black pepper present through most of the day. Longevity on me is superb, which is not a surprise with its nearly 20% concentration. Sillage is above average for me on this one – I wore it yesterday and felt at times that I was leaving a trail a bit more tenacious than I usually like to. 12 hours into it, the GF (wife in a month – woo!) had her interest piqued and pressed her face into my neck to exclaim how good it smelled.

From what I gather, this scent was reformulated and the new version is now made in Spain. Some reviews point to the reformulated version as being lighter and less intense, but I’ve only tried this version (French made version), so I can’t compare. There don’t seem to be many good pictures of it online, but the ones that I have seen of the newer one (on Luckyscent and Dover Street Market sites) look considerably lighter in color. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily always point to a noticeable shift in ingredients.