HS3

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 really love orange blossom scents. They really seem to agree with my skin and are perfect in summer heat. I wear it to the beach, to work, you name it. My two current favorites are Fleurs d’Oranger by Le Labo and Orange Blossom Cologne by Jo Malone. Naturally, I sought out more to add to the genre. I thought I’d explore the world of Neroli – the blossom of the bitter orange tree, a spicier, slightly less floral cousin to the sweet orange blossom so common here in Florida. I ordered samples of Diptyque L’eau de Neroli and Profumum Neroli from Luckyscent.

Diptyque L’eau de Neroli. It started perfectly – this was it… the bright, light sweet orange blossom scent that I love, with a touch of zing from bitter neroli and verbena. The verbena added something extra in the opening that was gorgeous. In about 10 minutes though, all that was gone. The scent got sweeter by the minute, and creamy (luckyscent says that’s the beeswax talking). It’s a nice scent, but I’m not after orange blossom with a creamy musk base. I want the crisp and tart, but light and floral take. Next.

Profumum Neroli. This started in a huge classic way – traditional EDC notes led by sharp citrus, and less about blossoms. It stays crisp and dry throughout, never veering the creamy sweet way the Diptyque did, but I’m looking for something a bit more about the blossom, and less about the sharpness classic citrus structure.

The search continues!

I’ve always liked finding real photos of bottles, rather than just the press release images or product shots that are doctored to look perfect. Those images make it hard to really see what the bottle looks like. A perfect case of that would be this Maîtres Tailleurs.

I always assumed it was more of a variation on the MPG bottles, but in fact, it’s completely different. From the product shots, I didn’t realize it had the flat sides and round front and back. You would also never realize how nicely constructed it is. The wooden cap has great texture and feel – there’s a great deal of heft to the bottle and things fit together nicely like they should. No shoddy Bond No. 9 style caps (I have 3 that the inner metal ring is loose and cames off), or caps that make you think you’ll break them to pull off either.

It has a good, full spray and the mechanism doesn’t seem like it’ll have any issues in the future with fizzling out or leaking (Creed! That’s you, here).

Gorgeous bottle – it has a great color to the glass and picks up different light and seems to color shift. Sometimes it’s blue, sometimes purple. I didn’t have much luck showing that here, but it’s quite nice in the hand. Incidentally, the liquid inside is just as nice – a crisp, modern take on a traditional EDC.

I’m sampling The Ten Party by The Party today. I had expected quite a bit from this due to the price point and their level of supposed exclusivity. There’s a great story behind it though – 10 philanthropic friends that the scent was dedicated to for their commitment to brotherhood. They even all wore this for a year before it was released to the public. The packaging looks to be pretty spectacular as well, with a sterling silver cap and silk coverings.

Unfortunately, I’m finding the actual scent to be somewhat of a letdown. It seems to follow a very traditional pattern of bright citrus + lavender opening, a pleasant transition through the middle with the warmth of clove and cypress, and a dry down of nondescript woods, some oakmoss, and a touch of patchouli. The whole ride is pretty fleeting and somewhat confused. They claim to use only natural oils, which the scent would seem to confirm, but that also means its lasting power is a bit compromised.

Overall, it is a very nice scent, but it’s one that’s been done before and done better, at that. At a few points in its progression, it brings to mind Parfums de Nicolai’s New York, but a stripped down and much lighter version with a sweeter, less obtuse approach.  I checked their published notes, and they actually do share quite a few. I suppose if New York is too much for you (it can be pretty intense), The Ten Party might be a good alternative that has some of the same feeling, but in a more reserved and modern fashion.