Washington Tremlett has launched Clove Absolute:
The thrilling and complex character of clove shines through in Washington Tremlett’s latest creation, which blends the precious clove absolute with honeyed florals and dry resins. The various facets of the naturally sophisticated aroma are revealed as the scent develops on skin...Mysterious, intense, immensely comforting, our new spicy favorite!
The notes include lemon, heliotrope, rose, incense, clove absolute, patchouli, vanilla absolute, cistus absolute and musk.
Washington Tremlett Clove Absolute is available now at Luckyscent; $175 for 100 ml Eau de Parfum. (via luckyscent)
Am I the only one who thinks the timing of this release might be a little off? I’ll put it on the “to try when the weather isn’t above 75 every day” list…sounds fairly nice though. Not sure about the holographic label…
It does sound more fall than spring, agree! Still, sounds awfully nice. I hate that label too.
I wonder if they feel they need 6 months of lead time for the buzz to build up, so by the time the “right’ weather hits, enough people have heard about it to drum up sales?
You are absolutely right–why do we need an “intense, immensely comforting” fragrance in May? (I kind of thought the same thing when I read about the Tom Ford release, too–seems very heavy for spring and summer.) I wonder if the manufacturers are worried about sales continuing to slip as the year goes on, so they want to get the sales for this year’s fall items up front. Sounds like this one will smell like Lebkuchen or gingerbread, not really what you’re thinking of in May.
All true, but I want to try it anyway…can always put it aside until fall. But I never understand why the release schedules are the way they are.
Sounds very nice! Way out of my budget, though.
It isn’t cheap, true.
I haven’t sniffed any of the Washington Tremletts yet, but this one sounds more interesting than the others. You’re right – it doesn’t sound like a warm-weather scent, but given how wintry the summers have been in the UK for the last two years, perhaps it’s not such a bad bet!
I’ve liked several of them — esp. the Black Tie, although that isn’t a summer scent either.
This sounds fantastic, as I am a fan of clove. I do wonder about it in warm weather, but hey, I like intense. It makes me think of PdN’s Maharadja, which has that cinnamon/clove note in it, and I think, well, it’s hot in India! It must work somehow…
That’s a good point; funny how a lot of food in hot areas is very spicy and aromatic.
I suppose if your insides are about 600 degrees, and your tongue is burned clean off from eating the spicy food then the 100 degrees outside your door seems less significant.
The reason, I heard, why people who live in hot areas like spicy food is that, somehow (sweat?), it cools the body.
I like spices in hot weather myself, so long as the base isn’t too heavy.
Finally, a scent dedicated to my favorite note!
Hope you’ll love it then!
Hey, I like the label!
This sounds interesting, but very strong.
And you’ll probably get to see it in person, so you can tell us if it’s lovely in “real life”
I like the idea of clove in perfume. I am intrigued by the idea of clove contrasted with white flowers, or very feminine flowers. Are there fragrances like that Robin?
What everyone else said. I want to try it, the label’s ugly (maybe it looks better IRL if it’s holographic?) and the release timing seems very odd.
Yep. To all of that.
This is a must-try for me, since I adore clove. The label takes me back to the sticker collections all the girls had when I was about 11, c. 1984 … everything was holographic!
Yeah, I remember all those stickers well. We called it “space tape.” But I don’t want that particular blast from the past on my expensive perfume!
Agree … I think it looks way tacky on the bottle!
Yes!
Ditto to everyone else who said: bad timing for a clove launch, ugly label and it’s expensive.
I love spicy but a perfume focused on cloves frightens me a little. Clove can seem nearly toxic! Like menthol. Of course this only makes me want to try it More.
LOL…exactly.
I want to try this…. but there are about 100 things I want to try first
There usually are.
I just got my Luckyscent email about this this morning and I REALLY WANT to try this asap!
May actually buy a sample from LS since I don’t see it anywhere else.
Timing may be strange, but I’m hopeful regarding the lemon top notes making it not too cold-weatherish.
Joe!! I was scanning posts to see if you showed up today—how’s the neighborhood? Are they letting you back in yet?
Still not allowed back in… but the wind has been blowing the fire further west into other people’s neighborhoods. The entire mountainside above the city seems burned — it’s a beautiful, cooler day, except for the column of smoke billowing this way and that. I’m fine and safe and no one’s really been very injured, but yeah, a big nightmare for the city and county.
These fires are so devastating to such a huge area. But I was glad to see you post ! I solemnly swear to never complain about Michigan wet stuff again!
This country has just come through a severe bush fire summer so I totally understand what you are experiencing. I love summer but that first smell of burning trees and I remember that winter maybe is not too bad. Goodluck
Joe – I was wondering about you, too. What a nightmare, but good to hear that you are safe!
Joe, did not realize you were so near the fires…keeping my fingers crossed for you.
Sadly, it’s out of my price range too, but my how I’d like a whiff of this, it sounds just wonderful. I’ve never been exceedingly concerned with my scent fitting the season though. I hate hot weather anyway – I’d be downright resentful if I let it keep me away from a gingerbread-y Brit Red or something.
Is Brit Red gingerbready?
I love gingerbready… I might have to try it
I love it, krokodilgena. It’s rather sweet, what with the tart rhubarb note, and for me the patchouli keep the finish warm and sensual, instead of defaulting to candy. It’s among my personal faves. If you try it I hope you find it enjoyable!
Love Brit Red too! And I agree it does not turn into “candy,” it’s sweet without going there. Don’t get a whole lot of gingerbread from it though … But I agree you should try it, krokodilgena!
I adore hot weather, but a good gingerbread perfume makes me happy too!
I’ve actually smelled this and it is not overpowering at all. It’s a very nicely done clove scent, you could even get away with wearing it in the early summer (though I probably wouldn’t reach for it if the temps were much over 22C/72F). But since I already have and love FM Noir Epices, I’ll probably just stick with that.
Good to hear, thanks!
No clove fan here, I’m afraid — too many bad high school memories of clove cigarettes! Even the smidgen of clove in Rêve en Cuir made me gag.
Wow, wonder if people still smoke those? I kind of liked that smell.
Hey Robin Ava Luxe makes a clove cigarette scent- Kreteks- with notes of clove, cinnamon, cardamom, tobacco leaf, amber, sandalwood, & incense
I should try it, thanks!
I love cloves —always makes me think of mixing up henna for some mehndi —all day I boil black tea leaves, lemon slices and a huge handful of whole cloves—-I think it smells divine!
yeah, I’m gonna have to sniff this one, holographic bottle design aside….stay inside, turn on the A/C and wear all the heavy perfumes I want!! at least until I get that darn electric bill…..
Except the electric bill will seem like nuthin’ compared to the perfume bill.
My samples of this are now ordered, btw. This has been the most fast-acting lemming ever, I think.
You’ll smell it before me then — do report back!
That does sound wonderful!
I like the sound of this! It does fit into my weather frame- maybe its been aimed at the southern hemisphere! We normally get the northern hemisphere fragrances 6 months out of season- ie Elizabeth Arden Pretty just arrived in our shops & it has to be a spring fragrance!
Maybe that’s it.
I was joking- of the perfumes you review probably only about 10% make it to our shores- this is one that wont! But I do like fragrances that include clove.
Sorry, it went right over my head!
I like the sound of those notes! The bottle is attractive, too, but agree with those who don’t like the label. Spicy in warm weather can be OK, I think, if the fragrance doesn’t have a heavy vanilla or ambery base. I’m testing Shaal Nur today (Robin, I think you like this one?), and I’m very much liking its spicy aspect on this warm day. ‘Course it also has a nice light incense, herbs, vetiver, etc. etc.
Yes, Shaal Nur is a great scent
This is another one of those brands that never cross the Atlantic — I didn’t even know it existed.
But I’m stumped as to the composition: the essence of clove is practically all eugenol, and eugenol, though an essential compound in about a million fragrances, is most definitely on the list of super-restricted ingredients. For instance, Caron Poivre can literally not exist in its original form under the new guidelines.
So there can’t be that much clove essence in Clove Absolute.
It’s supposedly a UK brand, although who holds the fragrance license is a mystery to me. And of course it doesn’t have to have any clove absolute in order for them to list it in the notes, right?
It’s the “Washington” that got me thinking this was a US brand… And, no, it doesn’t have to have any clove essence at all, though I don’t know what they’d use in its place to create the smell…
I don’t know what it is! It’s distributed by French Look, so it presumably comes from your side of the pond somewhere? But who knows.
It sound good but the heliotrope concerns me, seems like it might make it hypersweet. and add some unnecessary powder. I love clove, enough to want it fairly unadulterated. Not that I can afford this!
I’m not a huge heliotrope fan either…hopefully this would be spicy enough that it would cut the sweetness.
all the washington tremlett fragrances intrigue me, and this one is no different. it’ll very likely be in the next sample batch from lucky scent, whenever it is i get around to that. i’m always wary of rose, as it’s not my favorite scent in the world, but i’m learning to be tolerant of it when used really well.
Have you tried any of the other WTs?
My samples of this arrived in record time on Saturday from LuckyScent.
So now I can report… I was underwhelmed.
I was expecting something that would evoke mixing lemon & clove essential oils together, or a lemon pomander or something. It was darker than that, and not the same blast of spice that I get from opening a jar of cloves. In any case, I can put my wallet away for now, unless I actually buy some lemon & clove oils to mix up my own batch of that scent I had imagined in my mind.
Oh, I also ordered a sample of PdN Maharadjah, and that was deliciously dark and spicy, more on the masculine side (not much trace of sweetness). Lots of zingy black pepper and, I believe, clove. I don’t know if I need a bottle, but it would be a good spicy scent to sample for those who are looking.
Thanks Joe, knew you’d beat me to it.