Sa Majeste la Rose - Serge Lutens

I seem to be on a bit of a rose spree right now. Possibly, it has to do with the weather, I remember I was into roses at this time, last year, as well. Few raw materials gives me such a width of visions as rose scents. There are so many fragrances, yet they all manage to be so different. There are freshly sprung morning roses, complete with dew drops and a garden. There are pale pink shabby chic/country living/dainty teacup roses that are very nice indeed but somehow lack a lower body. There are the smoldering incense roses. Heavyweight Middle Eastern roses. Dark roses. Blood roses.

One excellent rose scent is Serge Lutes Sa Majeste la Rose. This is an almost rose soliflore (is there a technical term for "almost soliflore", I'd love to know), smelling first and foremost of rose with a skeletal background of other notes adding context and spine.

The intro is rose and rose alone. When applied super light it smells very natural, like smelling a rose on its stem in a garden. At the same time heady, innocent and sweet. But whenever wearing more than a single drop another facet comes out to play. Suddenly the scent toggles between its original pretty rosyness and something oily and metallic. The effect is the same as the picture on the right. Just as you either see the beautiful young girl or the old woman, but not both at the same time, I either get the pretty side or the metallic side of Sa Majeste la Rose, but not both. I find this type of olfactory dynamics very interesting, it makes me think of the mad genius stereotype. A person who's brilliant in some ways but also ravinly insane in others.

But oily metal is not something that should be done in excess, and fortunately it does fade, after a while. As Sa Majeste la Rose develops a luxurious honey note reveals itself. The honey somehow warms and opens up the rose, removes every trace of innocence. At this point we've got a sultry, sexy little thing, someone waiting in anticipation for her lover to arrive. And he sure does. As we're moving toward the dry down a note of gaiac wood emerges. I interpert it as very masculine and absolutely gorgeous. First time I noticed it I immediately assumed that it had to be something a male coworker was wearing. Which was odd, as I'd never noticed that any of them wear perfume before, ever. Who'd have believed they'd this good taste? Then I realised it was all me ;)

So, I enjoy Sa Majeste la Rose a lot. It's great for summer and it manages to sport just the right amount of interesting backdrops while still staying in the "lighter rose" category. A great feature is that it comes across very differently depending on how much is applied. It can be perfectly appropriate for work if applied lightly and more suited for ... other occasions when using more.

Offical notes: Moroccan rose absolute, gaiac wood, clove, white honey, musk

Vessel Parfums - Occult and my first ever DRAW!!!

Before I had kids my favourite past time was reading books. All kinds of books. I still love them but nowadays I've hardly ever get the time to read one from start to finish. I often get books at the library, feeling all excited, but at the time I get those mails telling me that I better return the books right away or get fined, I've usually haven't managed to even open them...

Last week though, I picked up a book named "Cirkeln" ("The Circle" in English) by Mats Strandgren and Sara Bergmark Elfgren. This book is really aimed at teenagers and tells a story about 6 high school girls who find out that they are witches with superpowers and only by working together they can prevent the upcoming destruction of the world. I probably would not have looked twice at a book like this if it wasn't for the fact that several reviewers have hailed it as the best thing since Harry Potter. And, was it that good? Yes!!! I haven't been able to put it down during the last few days, all I've been thinking about is "What will happen next?". The good thing about it is not the story about the paranormal stuff in itself but the portraits of the characters, the dynamics between them and their lives, going to school, in a God forgotten Swedish small town. I don't think it has been translated to any other languages yet, but keep an eye out for it any ways because I'm sure it will be.

I've also been lucky to been wearing the perfect scent while reading this book, namely "Occult" from Vessel Perfums. First note to stand out is sweet burnt honey. After a while there is incense. This reminds me of the type of incense my grand mother used to burn when she was trying to hide the fact that she had been smoking indoors. She claims that she quit smoking in the 80ies, but we still catch her with a cigar behind the house every now and then... But back to Occult, there is vanilla, wood, hints of soft leather and musk. In all, the notes are very gentle and well blended. If I'm to picture someone wearing this it would be a girl sleepwalking over a graveyard, hair blowing in the wind, she's wearing a long white cotton night gown and a silver cross around her neck. It would be perfectly innocent if it wasn't for that strange silvery smoke and strings of ectoplasm coming out of her mouth...

My only complaint is that Occult is rather faint and doesn't last that long on my skin, but, I suppose, one can always dab on some more.

Vessel Parfums is a relatively new company, founded in 2010, by Hollis Schwanz.  According to their website: "She was bored by the high volume of generic fragrance launches in the marketplace, and decided to develop a line of perfumes inspired by eras in time and the moods they evoke". Occult is their first fragrance release and it was: "Made to enhance the wearer’s personal mystery, not to coat him or her in a pre-fabricated narrative". One can only say YAY to that!

Now to the part everybody has been waiting for! I've been sent a small bottle of Occult that you can see in the picture above. It's fitted with a small silver pendant and a necklace string so it can be worn around the neck. As much as I'd love to keep it to myself I also love to help out new ventures, so I've decided that one lucky reader will be eligible to win my bottle. There are a few drops of perfume missing due to me making this review. If you want it, all you have to do is make a comment on this blog post and tell me why you want to try Occult. This is no essay competition, something like "It sounds nice" is perfectly acceptable.

More rules for the draw is that you can live anywhere in the world. Last day to make a comment is 2nd of September 2011. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced some time next weekend. I will not be responsible for damage or loss caused by postal services. Now, go ahead and make those comments and Good Luck!

Official Notes
Top: Laotian Beeswax, Black Plum, Somalian Olibanum
Heart: Texan Cedarwood, Haitian Vetiver, Leather, Amber, Indonesian Patchouli, Sandalwood
Base: Benzoin (Laos), Vanilla Bean (Madagascar), Civet, Opulent Musks

For more reviews of Occult, see also:
The Non Blonde
kjanicki-sotd

DSH - Perfum de Luxe

I've been meaning to try DSH perfumes for a while now and finally, this week, I managed to score a couple of samples from a fellow MUA swapper.

One of these was Perfume de Luxe. I had chosen it at random from a list of available samples and had no idea what to expect. The list of official notes, posted in the bottom of this post, is long, so I couldn't predict what it would smell like in real life. The only thing I knew, by reading up on the net, was that it was inspired by the Art Deco movement of the 1920´s and ´30´s.

First sniff conjures up the intoxicating scent of raisins soaked in rum. And maybe some aged sweet sherry. Yummy and boozy. This lasted for about half an hour.

Then I start getting sweet honey and candles. And I'm not talking about scented candles here, I'm talking about smelling good quality old fashioned wax candles close to the burning wick, getting the scent of warm running wax and smouldering twine. I don't get any of the flower notes individually but they are there, intermingled, in the background, crating a sweet surrounding for the candles to cast their glow upon.

In the very end the sweetness evades and I'm getting a faint, amiable, blend of amber and tobacco. A perfect end to a perfect day.

Mandy Aftel recently said, in an interview on the Eyliner on a Cat blog: "Luxury is an internal experience; status is an external one", and that is very true about my experience with "Perfume de Luxe". It wears close to the skin, there is nothing show-off-ish about it. It doesn't scream "Look at me, I can afford smelling like this". It's a perfume for someone confident and secure in herself that stands above such behaviour because she knows that she herself is the main attraction anywhere she goes. This perfume accentuates her in all her glory, it's not the other way around.


Official notes
Top notes: Bergamot, Clary Sage, Neroli, Petitgrain, Violet
Middle notes: Bulgarian Rose Absolute, Centifolia Rose Absolute, Chinese Geranium, Honey, Orris, Tuberosa, Ylang-Ylang,
Base notes: Amber, Benzoin, Brown Oakmoss, Labdanum, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Tobacco Absolut, Vanilla

Pic: Alfons Mucha

Orange Star by Tauer Perfumes

Orange Star starts with a bang, supernova style. There is orange peel, mandarins, aldehydes, honey and spices all over the place. I'm picking out cinnamon and cloves. It's sweet and syrupy and I keep thinking this should be pretty close to what you get if mixing Coca-Cola with one of those high quality Italians orange sodas in small bottles (San Pellegrino I think they are labelled), and then boiling everything down to a concentrate. 

Pretty fast the initial fruit frenzy of Orange Star calms down. What is left is warm and resinous. I'm getting a lot of resin actually, I'm a little curious about it as I haven't seen that in any other review. When I was a kid I used to play the violin and there is a note in Orange Star that reminds me a lot of the stuff you rub onto the bow, in order to get a sound. Also, there is still orange zest and some lemongrass that add a herbal bitter note. Half a day later there is resin and vanilla. I'm not catching any citrus or lemongrass right now.

This is my second Tauer, I've only tried Zeta before and I'm amazed about how much there is to discover in them. They both have such a distinguished style, it's difficult to explain, but these are big scents. Never a dull moment with a Tauer on your arm!

I'm rating it 3 out of 5. It's a big scent that everybody should try. I'm just finding that resinous note a little bit to much at the moment. Maybe it will work better in winter?



Pic: phenomenica.com

Zeta by Andy Tauer

The only thing I ever recall winning in a lottery or drawing was a can of Coke I got at a lecture at the computer club (Lysator) back in University. I suppose that was their evil scheme to lure people to come to those lectures. But now that has changed, Olfactarama hosted a drawing of 3 Zeta samples over at her blog and I was the lucky winner of one of those!

Zeta is labled to be a linden blossom themed perfume. We do have linden here, but I can't recall them ever smelling much. But I suppose there might be different kinds, some more fragrant than others. So I'm a bit handicapped reviewing Zeta, but lets try anyway. It starts out pretty heavy. There are tons of dewy honey laced white spring flowers. I also thought about honeysuckle and sweet yellow apples. There is beeswax, old fashioned nivea skin creme and oily orange in there, adding weight. To you wine nerds, if Zeta would be a wine it would be a Sémillion.

After an hour or so it lightens up and most of the heavy sweetness disappeares. No more honeysuckle. Now I'm starting to love Zeta! I wouldn't say it's so much about how linden blossom actually are, more about how they would be in a very perfect world. Still very delicate but a tad sweeter, fresher and gentler, somehow.

This is not a scent that makes me walk around sniffing my writs all day, discovering different notes and thinking about how they are fitted together (like the Serge Lutens I've been trying lately). This scent is more about being enveloped in a small cloud of spring air, very energizing and inspiring, nudging me towards new ideas and encouraging me to try out fun stuff that I normally wouldn't do.

I'm rating Zeta 5 out of 5. It's a scent I think everyone should try at least once and I'm very grateful I got the opportunity!
 

El Attarine by Serge Lutens

Living in Sweden, there are some flower notes that I've no idea how they smell in real life. Immortelle, one of the main notes in El Attarine, is one of them. I can't pick it out since I've no idea how it smells, I just have to trust other reviewers on the net that's it in there somewhere.

Actually, I've had a hard time picking out any notes in El Attarine. Sometimes it just smells like my skin has gotten sweeter. Sometimes I feel like I'm followed by a ghost, the perfume is all around me, but when I smell my wrist there is nothing there.

What I do pick up is sweet honey, I love the fact that this is a sweet perfume without any traces of vanilla and coconut. For a short period of time, there is a rash cumin note. There is also a healthy dose of musk. There are traces of flowers and spice, but nothing cool or fresh. El Attarine is all-in warm and golden.

I just can't bring myself to love this one. Compared with all others Serge Lutens I've tried, El Attarine has the least personality. It lacks character. Maybe this is a scent that comes to live on warmer days days, we've had cold and rainy weather when I've tried it on or maybe we just aren't meant to be. I'm rating El Attarine 3 out of 5.

Chergui by Serge Lutens

Chergui is named after a wind that blows in the Moroccan desert. It is supposed to be persistent, very dry and dusty, hot in summer, cold in winter. I think the idea to create a perfume inspired by the chergui is stunning. Before I've tried on the perfume my head is full with vivid pictures out of Arabian Nights; rubinesque harem ladies cooling off by the pool, bedouin musicians playing intricate tunes outside their tents at night, camel caravans carrying riches beyond imagination... 

Now, if I return to reality, I haven't been to Morocco. The only desert I've visited was in Rahjastan, in India. The major scent note I remember is dust. A dry chalky scent when the sun warms the sand to the point that it burns your skin when touching it. There are dry, scarred shrubbery smelling a little herby. Animalic scents from camel dung and sweaty camel fur all around (I was on a camel safari). Sometimes spicy curries stewing over small, wood kindled, cooking fires.

So, what does Serge Lutens Chergui have in store for me? Initially there is honey and vanilla. These are backed by traces of smoke, which adds character and keeps the sweeter notes from getting cloying. While the scent plays on, the vanilla is ever present and on and off I feel soft amber and musk. It feels like a sweet whisper, close to my skin.

So how can this have any relation to the Moroccan desert wind? I think of it as a dream of how desert life would be without all the dirt and grime. Just the sweet, soft and the pleasant remains. The honey note comes from piles of sweet confections. The smoke whirls up in the air where friends share a water pipe. The only scents coming off the camels are from their cargo of sandalwood and vanilla while musk tell tales of secret amorous encounters behind harem walls. The only one who knows is the ever swirling desert wind.

This is the most expertly crafted Oriental I've tried this far. I personally don't feel comfortable wearing vanilla, so I'm rating it 3 out of 5. That doesn't mean this is a bad scent, it just isn't a scent for me, but for anyone (of any gender) who's into orientals, I consider it a must try.

Pic: "The terrace of the sergalio" by Jean-Leon Gerome.