bertrand duchaufour – This Side of Perfume

Woody Mood by Olfactive Studio

November 14, 2018

Notes: bergamot, ginger, clary sage, saffron, sequoia, black tea, incense, patchouli, leather, styrax, and cacao.

Woody Mood is my first experience with Olfactive Studio. I just couldn’t resist these notes for fall/winter and I ended up purchasing a full bottle! Olfactive Studio is a niche line that explores the connection between photography (visual) and our sense of smell (olfactory). I haven’t tried a wide range from Olfactive Studio, but I imagine that memory is usually the connecting factor between the photographic image and the fragrance composition. Each full bottle comes with a copy of the accompanying photograph so that you — now both the wearer and the viewer — can contemplate any personal connections that may or may not arise. As you might guess, the photograph for Woody Mood is of a forest:

The photograph is by Roger Steffens. I’m not much of a photography critic, so I will stick to discussing the scent here!

Woody Mood was created by the grand master himself, Bertrand Duchaufour. This feels like a pared down composition for him. Part of the reason Woody Mood feels minimalistic is because it’s very dry. There is no creamy vanilla or rich amber to warm up this composition. In the opening, I get ginger, black tea, and what I assume is the sequoia note. The sequoia smells very much like cedar to my nose. That means, this opening smells like woody, ginger tea without any milk or sugar. If you take your tea with lots of milk, or prefer your perfume rich and creamy, you likely won’t enjoy this scent.

I love a woody cedar note, so I enjoy the opening and mid-notes here. The composition remains on the dry tea and wood side of things on my skin. I get a little bit of incense, but nothing overly smoky. I get a dry, dusty patchouli in the base. The cacao note is also present in the dry down. It’s a yummy note, but it’s not decadent or a full gourmand chocolate. The base has depth but, again, it doesn’t feel rich or creamy.

I really enjoy Woody Mood and I find it to be a really interesting composition. I hadn’t realized how accustomed I had become to the pervasive vanilla/sandalwood base notes until wearing a composition that doesn’t contain any of these notes. Now, the drawback to all of this is that the longevity of Woody Mood is not great. The absent creamy base notes aren’t here to help the dry down last those couple extra hours on the skin. I get five hours of wear time from Woody Wood before it has truly faded. I’m happy to re-apply, but I know that poor longevity is a deal breaker for many in the perfume community.

I have to say, it’s nice to have a more minimal fragrance for Fall/Winter. I’m not always in the mood for an opulent Tom Ford Private Blend-esque experience. Woody Mood is crisp and dry, which feels eminently appropriate for November. I’m curious about other Olfactive Studio scents. I wonder if their other compositions have a similar issue with longevity or if this is a one-off. I’m not as into photography, so I don’t personally connect with that aspect of this line. Please let me know if you’ve tried anything else from this house and what your thoughts are!

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Woody Mood is available from Olfactive Studio and from Luckyscent. When I purchased my bottle, Luckyscent was offering 20% off on Olfactive Studio, so do check if that’s still going on.

Info on notes is from Fragrantica.

The Roger Steffens photograph is from Olfactive Studio. The photo of Woody Mood is taken by me.

Bombay Bling by Neela Vermeire Creations

February 26, 2015

Notes: mango, lychee, blackcurrant, cardamom, cumin, cistus, rose accord, Turkish rose, jasmine sambac absolute, Madagascar ylang-ylang, tuberose, frangipani, gardenia, patchouli, tobacco, sandalwood, cedar, and vanilla.

Each of Neela Vermeire’s fragrances represent a period in India’s history, and Bombay Bling is here to represent modern India. As the Neela Vermeire website describes it, this fragrance is: “the very modern, colorful, eclectic, esoteric, ecstatic, liberal, happy side of buzzing India.” Bombay Bling is certainly buzzing, as you may be able to tell just from glancing at the varied list of notes. Like other Neela Vermeire fragrances, this one was also composed by the inimitable Bertrand Duchaufour.

Bombay Bling opens with a mouth-watering green mango note. Fresh and juicy, it fizzes up off the skin until you can almost taste it. If you can tear your senses away from the mango note, you’ll also notice a splash of tart blackcurrant and sweet lychee rounding out the fruity opening.

A cloud of white florals sails in after the bright opening. Once these billowing white florals have settled down, I detect a hint of spiciness, which adds some depth. Next, rose blooms to really flesh out the floral accord. I detect cloves here as well, even though it’s not listed in the notes. Or perhaps it’s just the effect of the composition feeling more solid and anchored now as opposed to fresh and sparkling.

Vanilla gradually makes its presence felt, and it’s a sweet crème brulée vanilla. I love cedar, but I don’t get much of it in the dry down here. I do sense a subtle smokey patchouli, but as it has an incense feel, it stays light and quiet on my skin. The dry down here is as wonderful and edible as the top notes in its own way, but it really is a skin scent on me at this point. I just wish the opening and middle notes had a bit more longevity because they’re so delicious.

Neela Vermeire Creations runs quite expensive as a brand, but I’d love to own a full bottle of Bombay Bling someday. Some individual notes such as mango and rose standout, yet the composition is blended incredibly smoothly as a whole. The result is an extravagant, but harmonious perfume that never comes across as obnoxious or over done. I’ve tried Neela Vermeire’s Ashoka and Trayee (which I wrote about here). Those fragrances strike me as more moody, more pensive, whereas Bombay Bling is pure happiness. It’s an instant mood booster. If you’re in need of a pick-me-up after a long day, a spritz of Bombay Bling will do the trick.

Samples and full bottles of Neela Vermeire Creations are available from Luckyscent, which is where I got my sample.

Image is from Luckyscent, while the list of notes is from the Neela Vermeire website.

Mon Numéro 10 by L’Artisan Parfumeur

January 15, 2015

Notes: fennel, lime, aldehydes, pink pepper, cinnamon, cabrueva, cardamom, leather, incense, rose, heliotrope, musk, vanilla, benzoin, hyrax, and tonka bean.

The nose for L’Artisan’s exclusive Mon Numéro line is Bertrand Duchaufour. As is typical of Monsieur Duchaufour, Mon Numéro 10 is packed with different notes, and the list of notes copied above looks rather overwhelming. Even so, Mon Numéro 10 is not overwhelming as a scent. In fact, it’s quite simple. As many perfume reviewers have noted, Mon Numéro 10 bears a striking resemblance to Coca-Cola, cherry cola to be specific. What can I say, I like Cherry Coke, so it’s not a problem for me.

This is an incense-leather fragrance. As with all incense fragrances of late, it wears quietly on me. I wouldn’t say it’s quite skin scent territory. After initially applying it, the fragrance settles into my skin in a pleasant way, but with minimal projection. However, Mon Numéro 10 is spicy and warm, so I could see it projecting more strongly on other people.

Patchouli blooms on my skin fairly early on, along with a mix of cinnamon and I assume nutmeg, although I don’t see it listed in the notes. The aldehydes are to give some lift and ensure the fragrance doesn’t become too dense early on. There is also a soft rose note that peeks through, adding a floral aspect and some balance to the otherwise spicy composition.

I don’t wear a lot of leather fragrances, and I wonder if fans of more traditional leather fragrances dislike Mon Numéro 10. Because, there is no denying it, the drydown is leather and cherry cola. It’s as though all the spices swirl together to create a sweet syrup (in this case, Coke syrup). Despite the anchoring base of vanilla and tonka bean, there is something liquid about the composition at this stage, as though you’re pouring the fragrance onto the skin. The memory of the aldehydes lingers, adding an effervescent quality. This is the point at which you truly have cherry cola in perfume form. But, blended with the dark, cedar-infused leather, it makes for a nicely rich combination.

Bertrand Duchaufor initially created only one bottle of each fragrance in the Mon Numéro line, making it an outrageously exclusive collection. L’Artisan then opted to make Mon Numéro 10 part of the permanent line in 2014. There must be a reason that Powers That Be are fans, and I assume Mon Numéro 10 has some kind of mass appeal for it to be made permanent.

Understandably, some people don’t enjoy the soft drink association present here in Mon Numéro 10. But I have to say, I personally love this one – enough even to go for a full bottle! I found it festive enough to wear during the holidays, while the warmth and quiet smokey incense makes it perfect for the cold, dark days of January. This is a delicious warm and spicy perfume that resists the urge to pull sweet or gourmand until the very end, when it goes full-on leather laced with cherry cola. The combination of leather/cola is more appealing than you might initially think. It works well, and is even a little bit seductive.

I bought my bottle of Mon Numéro 10 at Barney’s New York. Samples are available from The Perfumed Court.

Image and info on notes is from Luckyscent.

Trayee by Neela Vermeire Creations

November 6, 2014

Notes: Blue ginger, elemi, cinnamon, ganja accord, blackcurrant absolute, basil, jasmine sambac, Egyptian jasmine, cardamom absolute, clove, saffron, Javanese and Haitian vetiver, incense, Mysore sandalwood oil, patchouli, myrrh, vanilla, cedar, amber notes, oud palao from Laos, oak moss.

After hearing nothing but raves about Neela Vermeire’s fragrances, I decided I had to finally sample her creations for myself. I picked out Trayee because of the jam-packed list of notes. I figured, if nothing else, at least it wouldn’t be boring. I first sampled Trayee during the summer months and, while I liked it, I found it too overwhelming to really process. I’m glad I’ve revisited it now in late autumn, because it feels like the perfect time of year to let this smokey/spicy creation really breathe and reveal its nuances.

Neela Vermeire, herself a fragrance lover, teamed up with the famed perfumer, Bertrand Duchaufour, to create four fragrances that form the foundation of her French-Indian perfume house. Each of these fragrances takes its inspiration and theme from a period of Indian history. Trayee reaches back through the centuries to the Vedic period, and many ingredients used in Vedic ceremonies are featured in the notes here.

Trayee is perhaps a little infamous for its “ganja accord.” If this evokes more of a picture of college kids smoking in their dorm room for you rather than a sophisticated fragrance, don’t worry. Trayee is smokey, but the ganja accord works as an herbal and sharp green, with basil and green cardamom standing out. In fact, the opening of Trayee is kind of shockingly green for me (at first I thought I must’ve tried the wrong sample). Then the spices warm up and cinnamon appears, both sweet and hot. Cloves are there too, adding depth and leading into the more rich and creamy heart.

Trayee develops into a lovely comforting vanilla, with ginger to add some liveliness and sparkle. Little tendrils of smoke fade in and out, serving as a reminder that this isn’t just a comfort scent. For some reason incense and smokey fragrances in general have been reading very subdued on me lately. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it may skew my perceptions. I get very subtle incense here leading into the dry down, just enough to make me think of sitting in a church pew for a moment, but the intensity may be different on others.

The dry down here is gorgeous and lasts for ages. The vanilla and sandalwood come together, serving as an anchor. Both amber and cedar enter into the mix now to add some shading. The cedar in particular adds richness, while also giving that slight hint of dirty forest. Remarkably, this isn’t a heavy base, and I actually don’t get much oud at all. The amber gives the composition a kind of glassy effect, as though looking through amber glass: it’s sturdy, but translucent.

Trayee is a fascinating perfume with a lot of development in the composition. It definitely has a calming, comforting effect to it. But at the same time, there’s always more here to discover and analyze. It’s a fragrance that keeps you on your toes. I’ve worn Trayee during the day, and I think you can pull it off, but I’d avoid it for work functions. It’s certainly rich and elegant enough for nighttime wear, but it doesn’t have to be exclusively for going out. There’s a contemplative aspect to this perfume, which makes it perfect for anytime you’re in the mood to be inspired.

Samples and full bottles of Trayee are available from Luckyscent, which is where I got my sample. Neela Vermeire runs quite pricey so I definitely suggest sampling this line!

Image is from Fragrantica, while list of notes is from Luckyscent.