Tag: bruno fazzolari

Au Delà by Bruno Fazzolari

December 5, 2018

Notes: coriander, neroli, jasmine, orange blossom, amber, resins, and oakmoss.

The original version of Au Delà was released in 2013. It is now Au Delà Narcisse, which is a different composition, and one that I have not yet tried. I’m currently working my way through Bruno Fazzolari creations, including his most recent one, Vetiverissimo. I debated whether to even write about the original Au Delà at this point, since it’s no longer available from Bruno Fazzolari in this formulation. I decided to write about it anyway because, if we’re not writing about discontinued or reformulated compositions, that leaves very little perfume left to talk about! I got my sample of Au Delà in the original formulations from The Perfumed Court, where it is still available.

As soon as I apply this to the skin, it’s like a rush of notes just blooming in front of me. I definitely get a tangy coriander in the opening. This coriander is green and sharp. It bites at your nose and your attempts to sniff it. I also get a heady neroli. It takes several minutes for this composition really settle into my skin.

The jasmine and orange blossom in particular feel a bit soapy. Not soapy as in clean, but rather, a literal bar of soap. I can sense those tiny decorative soaps that my Grandma still keeps in the soap dish in her powder room to this day. Au Delà conjures up all sort of memories like this. It has a distinctive old fashioned chypre smell, which many people might call “old lady” or “grandma.” For me, Au Delà is “grandma” in a good way, bringing up memories and associations that I have with my own Grandma.

It’s also warm, sensual, and animalic. The amber in particular stands out for me as Au Delà deepens and heads toward the dry down. This amber is incredibly warm and enveloping. I wish it were a blanket that I could just sink into. The oakmoss adds to that feeling, since it really has a texture here. It reminds me of a sponge — and not a beauty blender sponge, but a sea sponge! There is a touch of saltiness here which is giving me that sea salt association. This oakmoss also has a damp earthiness, like it has recently rained. It’s not a cool or refreshing rain though. It’s like we’re in the heart of a forest, where it’s still warm (from that amber) and a little bit decadent from the jasmine petals still unfurling in the background. Au Delà is simultaneously heady and deep, luminous and dense.

It has taken me two weeks to finish this write-up and I’m still not sure that I’ve really done Au Delà justice. It’s the kind of fragrance that can’t be easily summed up. It’s a throwback to the glorious chypres that have now been discontinued or reformulated. And now Au Delà itself has been reconfigured as Au Delà Narcisse, which I am curious to try! And yet, it doesn’t feel old fashioned or dated. Bruno Fazzolari can’t help but be modern. I may order a larger sample of Au Delà from The Perfumed Court just to savor it for awhile. This is one of those special fragrances that isn’t just something to smell, but a full experience.

______________________

I got my sample of Au Delà from The Perfumed Court. The photo of my sample was taken by me.

The info on notes is taken from Fragrantica.

Spring Irises

April 26, 2017

I’m not a huge floral fragrance person, but even I can’t help myself for spring. (Miranda Priestly voice: “Florals for spring? Groundbreaking.”) This spring I’ve been drawn to iris in particular. Iris is fascinating in perfumery because it has so many different facets. It can be powdery and almost makeup-y. It can be dry, earthy, and crackling. It can be all these things, and a pretty, wearable floral to boot. Here are a couple of iris scents I’ve been trying:

Iris Prima by Penhaligon’s

Penhaligon’s refers to this scent as “the regal Prima Ballerina.” The perfumer, Alberto Morillas, worked with the English National Ballet to capture the elegance and glamour that go into a ballet production. Surely plenty of blood, sweat, and tears go into these productions as well, but Iris Prima is firmly on the elegant side of things.

Iris Prima opens with iris right away, along with a gorgeous shimmering bergamot note. The bergamot here is what really drew me into this fragrance. It’s not sharp or biting like bergamot can sometimes be, but it adds just enough zest to lift the composition. It’s definitely a stage lights coming on type of feeling. I was expecting the iris here to lean very powdery for a backstage makeup vibe. It’s still on the dry side, but I find this iris much more classic floral than makeup. There is a hint of jasmine too, which amplifies the floral bouquet.

I initially found the vanilla in the dry down to be too overwhelming. I usually love vanilla in almost any form, but it seemed to throw the composition out of balance. Now that I’ve worn Iris Prima multiple times, I really sense the leather in the dry down. The iris seamlessly blends into the dry leather note here, and maybe that’s why I missed it at first. I also think this is one fragrance that benefits from being worn in warmer weather. The heat brings the nuances more to life here. I really enjoy wearing this one.

Feu Secret by Bruno Fazzolari

Feu Secret is a dry, woody, smoky iris, and a much more moody and contemplative composition. Orris root is the star of the show here, which means that this is less of a pretty iris right off the bat. It’s dry and earthy with a lot of depth, and there is a cedar wood note that blends in beautifully well. I love cedar, and I actually wish my skin would pick up more of the cedar note here.

I actually find Feu Secret more powdery than Iris Prima, which I did not expect! The orris root develops from a crackling dryness to a subtle kind of powder, and finally, to a suede-like smoothness as the composition reaches the dry down. Feu Secret lasts for hours (I easily get 8 hours here) so it takes some time to reach the dry down. And I personally wouldn’t wear this one in extremely hot weather. I’d love to try this in winter though, just to see how dry and earthy it can get. Feu Secret is another intriguing release from Bruno Fazzolari and it’s definitely worth at least testing out.

____________________

I ordered samples of Iris Prima and Feu Secret from Luckyscent. I ordered the samples at different times, but realized that I liked rotating these two in particular. Hence this iris-themed post!

Picture taken by me.

Cadavre Exquis by Bruno Fazzolari & Antonio Gardoni

July 14, 2016

perfume cadavre exquisNotes: blood orange, camphor, ylang-ylang, tagetes, dried fruit, star anise, chocolate, cypress, benzoin, vanilla, and civet.

When I first heard about Cadavre Exquis, I thought the name sounded rather morbid and I didn’t think I’d be interested in it. Then I heard it was a gourmand and, being the gourmand-a-holic that I am, I suddenly had to try it. As it turns out, the name isn’t actually morbid. It comes from a parlor game played by surrealist artists in the 1920s where each player would add to a story without knowing what the other players had added. The story would then be assembled at the end. Antonio Gardoni and Bruno Fazzolari adapted this concept to assemble a fragrance composition without knowing what the other had contributed. As you might imagine, the result is very interesting.

I wasn’t surprised to see camphor listed in the notes because the opening here is extremely camphorous, to the point of harshness. The blood orange also comes in like a sharp shock of citrus, so the opening here is not a gentle one! It’s sharp and medicinal. It had me wondering how this would develop into a gourmand scent. Fortunately, the camphor effect is short-lived, so you won’t walk around smelling like cough medicine while wearing this perfume.

The blood orange citrus gradually develops into the dried fruit note for me. There is also a yellow honeyed note, which I attribute to the ylang-ylang and the tagetes (otherwise known as marigold). This honey-fruit effect is very appealing. It’s soft and sweet without being too much. Then things amp up. The dried fruit takes on a boozy feel, like rum cake. And then my favorite, the chocolate, makes an appearance. This is a rich, earthy, and quite dark chocolate. This is a gourmand to sink your teeth into.

The civet in the base comes in to amplify the darkness, the earthiness and, it has to be said, the naughtiness here. The base of Cadavre Exquis is sensual, dirty in a sexy way, and verging on the rotten. Is this the morbid part? It will definitely be too much for some people, but I like a bit of civet. The vanilla helps to balance and keep things on the sweet gourmand side of things.

Taken as a whole, Cadavre Exquis is a weird one. It’s certainly compelling and never boring. The main question is: is it wearable? The answer is yes, it’s surprisingly very wearable. It’s wholly inappropriate for the 90 degree weather we’re having right now but, like the gourmand addict I am, I find myself craving it. Needless to say, a little bit of this goes a very long way. I would use some discretion about where you wear this one since it is so odd. But it’s strangely addictive and ultimately beautiful.

________________________

Cadavre Exquis is a collaboration between Bruno Fazzolari and Antonio Gardoni. The fragrance is limited edition and there were only 99 bottles produced. It appears there are still full bottles available on Luckyscent‘s site, which is where I got my sample.

The picture and info on notes are both from Luckyscent.