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 often put a bit of a fragrance on the back of my hand to sniff during the day at work and sample. Today, I decided to grab a random Bond out of my desk drawer at home – I grabbed Astor Place and thought I’d give it some more attention since I’d only briefly smelled it in the store up til now.

When I first put it on, I got a pleasant, but not exceptional plummy fruit note. It seemed nice enough and I thought perhaps it could be something the GF would like when she wanted something light or girly. By the time I had gotten to work, it had fallen flat. I’m not sure exactly what the culprit is, but it’s turned into the smell of shampoo. I lived with a number of girls one year in college, and this is the smell of their just-washed hair while getting ready to go out for the night. I think the freesia may be to blame, but I can’t be certain. What I get now is nothing more than wet Pantene hair. Every now and then, I get a pop of citrus, likely the mandarin sticking its head out for a breath of air.

I wrote most of this earlier and then headed to a meeting. Astor Place did evolve some, but not much. There were a few minutes that I felt like it was going to turn into something better, more tart – but then it settled back into a shampooed head. The juicy mandarin is smothered with the hammering freesia and white florals.

I’m left pretty disappointed for the most part. It’s a pity – the bottle is quite a sight, and the real location seems to be very cool. Perhaps that intersection has a lot of recently washed heads of hair.

Well, I’ve finally really encountered a real, true reformulation. And I love both versions. I recently ordered a 90ml bottle of Route de Vetiver from Perfume Country. I even emailed after the order to confirm that it was in fact the 90ml size, which I was assured it was. I couldn’t wait. It arrived, and much to my dismay, UPS had treated it with as much love and care as a used diaper. The bottle’s cap had been broken into two and the nozzle had popped off with it, losing almost a quarter of the liquid inside. I was heartbroken. I emailed the company and received a quick apology back. They did the paperwork to submit the loss claim to UPS and within the hour, they told me my replacement was on my way.

In the meantime, my handywork (and the help of superglue) put the first bottle back together and it was functioning and on my shelf.
Today, the replacement came. I quickly opened it, holding any satisfaction at bay until I had the undamaged bottle in my hand. This time it was double wrapped in bubblewrap and packed tight with foam peanuts. I opened the box and pulled the (WHAT?) 100ml bottle out. I couldn’t be upset since I’d repaired what was left of the first bottle and doubted I’d be finishing two bottle of the rich, earthy vetiver anytime soon. I sprayed it on my elbow just for the pleasure and thought, hmm, something’s different. I grabbed the other bottle and sprayed the other elbow. YES, they’re totally different! Like, one has gritty, earthy vetiver root and the other (newer) is a slightly soapy, floral vetiver. I can draw similarities, but they’re different enough that I wouldn’t balk at the idea if someone told me they were two scents from two companies. Fortunately, I’m really digging both. One is the rich, austere vetiver root, and the other is a more modern twist with a floral touch that give much more versatility. It’s like two great scents for the price of one.

They’re only in their first 20 minutes now, so I’ll probably add some better thoughts here later (and pics too!).

Anyways, I recently made it through my vial of China White, and decided it needed to find a home on my shelves. I had full plans on calling my favorite SA at Barneys LV, but with her out on medical leave, I had to wait. Lucky for me, one popped up on eBay, and I snagged it for almost half the retail price. Thank you, Sir eBay.

It’s such a mesmorizing scent. I don’t know what heroine smells like, but if this is it, I suppose I can better understand the allure. It has a gorgeous leathery aura – for those familiar with Nasomatto, many of their scents have an incredible note that shimmers and teases, much like aldehydes, but a whole new take. The leather in this one reminds me of Tom Ford Tuscan Leather (that many have said smells of cocaine.. perhaps my nose has a problem?). It’s a dry, yet powdery style of leather. There is a gorgeous floral note, almost creamy in nature like that in Costume National 21, combined with the scent of the lining of a smoker’s leather coat.

This one is, as they say, strangely addicting. It’s complex, strange, and completely wearable. My kind of scent.

I’ve had a sample of this for a while and will occasionally dab it on and enjoy it, but I’ve never really paid close attention to it until now.

Fleur de Liane opens up with luscious green notes. Imagine walking through a path surrounded by lilies in the morning after the first sun is hitting them. The smell of grass being mowed and the air filled with kicked up pollen and earth that you can taste. Though I can’t find it listed in the published notes, I get a distinct honeysuckle note (perhaps just the combo of lily and magnolia) that is strong and persistent. As it transitions, some of the melon notes come through, but not in a way I’m used to. There’s a stickiness to it, like pulling the flower off a honeysuckle vine to suck the liquid from it… jammy and tart, like a green apple Jolly Rancher.

It mellows to a soft, nicely crafted floral with the backdrop of crushed green vines with a velvety feel and a touch of earthy vetiver to keep it standing. It is in line with L’Artisan’s transparent feel, but it is by no means invisible. The dry down holds some great surprises – you’ll find some of the spice reminiscent of the pink pepper in Timbuktu, another from the Travel Series, and some of the zing similar to Piment Brulant’s opening. Duchafour’s signature is quite apparent. There is great presence all the way into the dry down in this; the evolution is pretty remarkable. I think this could certainly be unisex and anyone looking for a mouth-watering floral with crushed green notes on a bed of spices should add this to their list to try. The opening may lean slightly more to the feminine side, but the development of it moves it neatly back into the middle.

I don’t think this has gotten as much praise as others in their line, but don’t let that deter you. It’s a great release and is more than worthy of attention.