SAUMA [Design as Cultural Interface] presents fifteen innovative contemporary design works from Finland. The exhibition includes an olfactory installation by visual artist Hilda Kozári, who in collaboration with Parisian perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour has created perfumes to represent three cities: Helsinki, Budapest, and Paris…
L’Artisan Timbuktu reconsidered
Timbuktu was released by L’Artisan in 2004; it was the second in a series of travel-inspired fragrances, the first being Jean Claude Ellena’s Bois Farine. Timbuktu was created by nose Bertrand Duchaufour, who was said to have been inspired by the West African practice of wusulan, a seduction ritual in which women “…concoct a magical salve, with scents of wood, spices, resins and roots. After first letting it macerate, they then let the potion boil away, while their skin absorbs the richly scented swirls of smoke.” (quote via osmoz). The fragrance notes are green mango, pink pepper berries, cardamom, karo karounde flower, incense, papyrus wood, balms and spices, patchouli, myrrh, benzoin and vetiver.
I tried Timbuktu shortly after it was released last year, and did not particularly care for it. My memory is that it smelled mostly of patchouli mixed with something sour and sweaty. Recently, a friend gave me a sample and suggested it might be worth another try. Lo and behold, this stuff isn’t half bad.
As befits a scent named for a city synonymous in the West with “the ends of the earth”, Timbuktu starts off exotic and spicy, with lots of peppery and resinous notes…
He says/She says: Acqua di Parma Colonia Assoluta
Acqua di Parma launched Colonia Assoluta in 2003. It is a unisex fragrance, created by Jean Claude Ellena and Bernard Duchaufour, and features notes of orange, bergamot, verbena, cardamom, pink pepper, pimento, jasmine, ylang ylang, rose, wild orchid, cedar, aromatic Thai resins, patchouli, white musk and amber. The “he” below is Marlen, one of the moderators on the basenotes forum, joining me for our third joint review.
He Says: One of my favorite warm weather scents, Colonia Assoluta offers a refreshing and refined bouquet without resorting to employing currently popular notes of tea and grapefruit, and without any ozone or marine accords…
Eau d’Italie by Eau d’Italie ~ fragrance review
Eau d’Italie is the debut fragrance release from the Eau d’Italie brand, the brainchild of the Sersale family, owners of the Positano hotel Le Sirenuse. Eau d’Italie was created by nose Bertrand Duchaufour, and the notes include citrus, magnolia, musk, incense, cedar, honey, and blackcurrant.
Eau d’Italie opens with bergamot and other citrus notes. There is light honeyed cedar, and hints of resins and incense. The floral notes are extremely subtle, as is the blackcurrant…
Lalique Flora Bella, Baldessarini Del Mar & more new fragrances
Flora Bella is a new “sunny floral” from Lalique and features mandarin, bergamot, pink pepper, daphne, frangipani, tuberose, vanilla, white musk, and amber. Lalique Flora Bella was created by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour, and is available in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum. (via osmoz & aufeminin)
Ghost Sheer Summer is a new limited edition by Ghost, with apple, pineapple, freesia, jasmine, sandalwood & driftwood…