A Trick of Light: Jour d'Hermes by Hermes

How do you make a floral that does not scream floral? Well I would go talk to Jean Claude Ellena because he has just done that and that is where this fragrance makes the most sense as in why I really like it. To explain it better, I should mention that I am not the woman who gravitates towards fragrances called floral, there are floral notes I love, but scents marketed in the floral category are usually not my ouvre.

Jour d'Hermes is such a wonderful trick though, starting off with a stemmy green milky mango rhubarb green peach skin grapefruit note that catches you with its zippy tartness yet strangely creamy quality. The scent moves on to opal like floral middle where facets of flowers move in and out of focus much like an opal in sunlight as you tilt it to see all the colors. I get rose then jasmine followed by sweet pea. Then a warm musk comes out just lifting the flowers up enough that the scent blends to the skin, at this point the fragrance is somewhat hide and seek, at moments I get rose then a shift to ylang-ylang or tuberose, and then a shift to gardenia all the while it maintains a gauze of musk. Some days it is very earthy on me with vetiver quite obvious other days it becomes a rather balmy tropical gardenia scent with the tart musk to never let it stray to much.

This scent is a changer and never in the same direction in a row. It is fantasy floral and in my mind it is the scent of the lovely flower rununculus that has no scent but has incredibly layered petals.

The amazing image above is from No Wordz Photography.

Perfume Review: Tom Ford/Estee Lauder's Azuree Soleil

Where to begin with Estee Lauder's Tom Ford Collection Azuree, a seasonal offering of makeup and fragrance, that was inspired to some degree from Estee Lauder's own Azuree collection. Well, I'm not going to start there, many have already done it and have written wonderful posts about the history that inspired Azuree Soleil, the fragrance of Tom Ford's collection. Rather I will say that Azuree Soleil inspires in many an image of the perfect coconut tropical scent in the most tasteful of ways, but my thoughts differ on its gourmand imagery, it is not a perfect glass of coconut water, but something all together more savory; Thai green curry. It should be noted I cannot wear most fragrances that go into near savoriness due to the fact that near savoriness is most often supported by cumin note and I am one of those people that when a cumin note is applied to the skin it is all bad. But then again Thai green curry is not the average curry it is made up of beautiful aromatics: kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass, ginger, basil, coconut cream, chili. These are scents that do not necessarily scream savory. When I first applied Azuree Soleil I was hit by a rush of spicy zest and woodiness, that reminded me a great deal of Origin's Ginger Essence (I suspect this opening is due to the citrus,woods, and vetiver mixing) and it also reminded me of some dish I had eaten. It took me a few days to realize that reminded me of Thai green curry. This image does not last through out the scent but at the very beginning, the scent goes through stage at one point a creamy gardenia coconut scent, then becoming a creamy floral caramel scent, but then the woods arrive again blending with the gardenia to make a wonderfully tropical yet earthy scent.

Ava Luxe's Midnight Violets

(above thee Beau Brummel)

Notes: Violet, Blue iris, Orris, Earth, Black hemlock, Galbanum, Pink pepper, Cinnamon, Cedar, Sandalwood, Incense, Wood balsam, Moss, Civet, Cashmere musk. On the website she says this is for both men and women and I can believe. I think there is some definite inspiration from Balmain's Jolie Madame in this, what it doesn't have is the sweet gardenia/violet banana middle or the leather/asthtray note in the dry down. The violets are subdued and other wise the woods and incense take over with the galbanum bringing that note of harsh green soapiness. This definately has a chypre quality running through it but a bizarre hint of creaminess (which i can only assume comes from the cashmere musk and sandalwood). This would be lovely on a man; of course my perfume dream is to smell Jolie Madame on a man. The earth note runs strongly through this and the cedar definitily has its moment. Overall this is a smoother more approachable version of Jolie Madame, but does not lose the qualities that make Jolie Madame unique and wanted by those discerning few. A lovely earthy violet scent. Now to find a man to wear.

Datura Noir part. 1

I'm going to admit it now, I rarely wear tropical scents, what can I say I rarely think I can pull off the sunny lushness that tropical scents often have going for them, and yet Datura Noir by Serge Lutens is one of the few tropical scents that I can. I suppose if I were to sum this scent up it for its character it would be "a gothic tropical scent, a moodscape of the icy arctic meeting falling petals of creamy luscious tropical flowers." This is the scent of a jungle at night with the coldest white full moon in the sky illuminating everything in its brilliant silver light. And yet this scent is softly narcotic there is no screeching gardenias or tuberoses, the tuberose in this is mellow and edged with a buzzing green note, the osmanthus is the more promenent floral giving off its gentle greeness with its hints of apricots soaked in cream, the coconut is subdued never reminding of sunscreen but rather the scent of freshly cracked coconut, and the hint of bitter almond through out giving it that hint of high pitched sweetness that is cold and wonderfuly sweet. Datura Noir is a soft scent yet has a sharp edge with its unheady narcotic quality.