Years ago, when I reviewed the Cire Trudon limited edition candle, Merida Arquiste, I lamented the fact that I couldn’t think of a good guava-centric perfume “out there” that could match Merida’s fruit note. Now, Atelier Cologne has launched Pacific Lime.* Though (I assume) no guava was harmed in Pacific Lime’s manufacture, the fragrance’s notes conjure the aroma of a pink guava at perfect ripeness…
As I strolled in downtown Seattle at Christmastime, the cold, moist air was scented with pungent whiffs of “fragrance” — a fragrance I would buy if it came in a bottle. No, I wasn’t smelling snickerdoodles baking in ovens, espresso, chocolate or evergreen trees; all around me floated the scents of thousands of sweet box flowers, horse sweat and…yes…horse merde. A mounted police officer’s horse relieved herself right next to the blossoming plants and created a superb floral musk bomb. (Parfum d’Empire: get on the case!) While relishing this “street accord” I thought to myself: “How many people would enjoy this scent as much as I do?” Maybe you have to come from horse-loving, plant-loving Virginia? Or England? Or just notice the floral notes in horse manure and the fecal facets of certain flowers?
When I smelled this enlivening perfume I was headed to Nordstrom to get a whiff of Paris-Deauville by Chanel — a cologne in the new Les Eaux de Chanel line…
In my last review I paired a neroli fragrance and body lotion. This week, I’m turning my attention to lemon, that commonplace citrus whose scent has become (unfairly!) linked with household cleaning products. I recently purchased some organic lemon essential oil to use in a class and once I’d opened it, I couldn’t stop sniffing it. So bright, so radiant, so satisfying! Here, then, are two very different products with lemon-centered scents that have entered my current rotation.
Acide is a contemporary interpretation of a classic Eau de Cologne, developed by perfumer Will Inrig for French menswear brand Éditions M.R…
This year, French perfume company Fragonard is celebrating verbena with the release of Verveine.* Much of Fragonard’s PR has to do with Verveine’s perfumer:
Céline Ellena envisioned a magical formula…. Verveine is closely tied to the cycle of nature and the daily life of a perfumer who searches for inspiration in her plant garden. The perfumer drew inspiration from the plant’s natural environment to create three worlds of scents to describe it: sun, earth, and water…
Following a path through the olfactory universe of hesperidia led me into a vast world, dotted with surprises, with citrus fruits. Finger lime, Buddha’s hand fruit, Eureka lemon…. So many unusual varieties of citrus appealed to me, but it was the smoky and distinguished black lime that finally stood out as the key note. — Christine Nagel
When Hermès announced Eau de Citron Noir I was thrilled. It was (maybe) full of things I love: citrus galore, black tea, guaiac wood. My nose itched for a sniff but, wisely, I didn’t just up and buy Eau de Citron Noir before smelling it. It has become my most recent and glaring example of the distance between desire and description — and reality.
Black lime (the dried fruit) as a perfume note intrigued me the most. These hard, charcoal-colored limes are used in Middle Eastern cuisine, and have a complex aroma: musty, fermented, charred, sweet and sour (think citrus-and-sugar-spiked rice vinegar); they smell like the inside of a well-used, wooden Indian spice box that’s held a variety of spices for decades…