Our Friday community project this week: wear something green.
As always, do chime in with your scent of the day even if you aren’t participating in the community project.
I started the day with Sous Le Buis by Gobin Daudé. Sadly, the juice from my aging bottle is not in perfect shape, so I’ve put some Miller et Bertaux No. 3 Green, green, green and green on too. I smell like grass and shrubbery…
Corsica Furiosa is the latest from French niche line Parfum d’Empire, and it centers around mastic, native to the island of Corsica, where perfumer Marc-Antoine Corticchiato spent part of his childhood (he was born in Morocco and spent part of his childhood there as well). It is perfectly named; the PR materials refer to a “a verdant blast” and that’s exactly what Corsica Furiosa is all about.
The “verdant blast” starts off with plenty of lime-y citrus. It’s resolutely, unapologetically green and smells strongly of the outdoors, untamed, in high summer: there are grassy notes and an overdose of tomato leaf, some almost-sneezy black pepper, flashes of peppermint and other green herbs, crushed pine needles and plant sap (the listed notes include mastic, eau de vie, wild mint, tomato leaf, pepper, honey, hay, cistus and oakmoss). And yes, pretty much all at once…
The soliflore, reinvented around a remarkable flower, rare in perfume making, the hyacinth. A fluid, profound and richly-faceted flower, velvety, green and crisp, quickened by an unexpected ingredient with a fiery temperament, incense. The spicy aromas of a great perfume in a paroxysm of pure sensuality. Unsuspected mystery and depth.
«By blending notes of incense and an amber base, I imagined a hyacinth with a bold temperament, far from the idea of the emblematic, romantic flower. Supra Floral signals a seductive perfume for women and temptation for men.» Olivier POLGE1
The Thierry Mugler Les Exceptions series launched earlier this year, although they’re still very tightly distributed. Supra Floral was the first that caught my eye when I read about the collection, hyacinth fragrances being rather thin on the ground as it were. I bought an extra bottle of L’Artisan’s Jacinthe des Bois when they discontinued it so I’ve still some left, and there’s always Guerlain Chamade, although that one is not a soliflore. And there’s Tom Ford’s Ombre de Hyacinth, which made so little impression on me that I can hardly remember what it smells like. Do comment if there’s a lovely hyacinth soliflore I’ve forgotten…
Providence Perfume Co has fast emerged as one of my favorite indie natural brands. I don’t like everything they make — Mousseline Pêche was not my cup of tea, and neither was Moss Gown, which sounded like it ought to be my cup of tea. Branch & Vine, their latest release, might as well have been tailor-made to suit my preferences, and to suit this time of year, when summer is winding down and I’d just as soon it lasted a bit (ok, much) longer.
Branch & Vine was inspired by a summer garden — “Verdant leafy greens, a tangle of tomato vine. Hints of muguet mingle with mimosa, jasmine and cooling violet leaf” — and that’s just what it smells like: greenery, not too bitter and not too heavy, sweetened by a few flowers along the way…
A New Perfume, the latest from Comme des Garçons, is a welcome thing: I miss Comme des Garçons. They haven’t done anything under their own brand since 2010′s Wonderwood, and they haven’t done anything that I loved since their 2009 collaborative effort with Monocle, Monocle Scent Two: Laurel.
That was a quick summary I wrote when I reviewed A New Perfume [real name: Comme des Garçons Eau de Parfum] early this year, and since I didn’t love A New Perfume, or whatever you want to call it, it still stands. They’ve done four fragrances since then: a trio for their Play diffusion line, and the new Amazingreen for the regular line. In keeping with my penchant for giving away the ending, I didn’t wholeheartedly adore any of this set either, but I liked all of them better than the New Perfume thing.
Comme des Garçons’ Play line launched in 2002, and features t-shirts, cardigans and other casual basics / accessories; most of the clothing would look like it came from the Gap but for the addition of the Play logo — the red heart with eyes that they also used on the first Play fragrance (2007). That fragrance had a likewise “casual basic” feel, which carries over into the new trio — Red Play, Black Play and Green Play…