Plum Quest 2014: Plum Cider or No.31 Arquiste for J.Crew

Had you told me I would be stepping into J.Crew to sniff perfume this year, I would have probably looked at you puzzled. J.Crew and I don't exactly intermix, but this year they did something that piqued my interest. They had Arquiste make them two perfume and they centered those perfumes around a really interesting historical event: Peggy Guggenheim hosting the first modern art show to showcase women in the United States, it happened in 1943. That is the sort idea I like, a perfume centered around women doing something interesting, I am rather sick of romance, seduction, sexiness, and the usual monikers of perfume themes that are directed towards women. Give me a perfume that showcases the awesomeness of Rosie the Riveter, Ada Lovelace, Hedy Lamarr, or Maya Angelou. I guess what I want is what men get in the perfume advertising: being dynamic.

So how does No.31 smell? The first thing I think of is cider, if cider were made with plums. There is a wonderful fizzy plummy spiced cider quality happening in this scent. The good news this is not at all childish smelling, it is grown up and quite classy. There is an elegant restraint to the sweetness and the Bulgarian rose note in the middle brings a hint of wine to the composition. It all sits on a modern chypre base but thankfully this is not a fruitchouli scent. The Bulgarian rose note keeps the fruit notes from taking over and provides a nice floral middle that rests on the rather nutty chypre base. Overall this is an excellent fall scent, I wish the longevity was a bit more, but at $25 the little roll-on is a steal. If you are looking for something interesting at the mall definitely give this one a try.

Try if you like: Bois des Iles by Chanel, Osmanthe Yunnan by Hermes, or Lush's 1000 Kisses.

image "Shades of Picasso" by Gilbert Adrian

Plum Quest 2014: The Jolly Rancher plum scent aka Prune Jasmin by Laurence Dumont Les Senteurs Gourmandes

Jolly Rancher candies bear no real resemblance to the fruits they are based on. Somehow the makers of Jolly Ranchers have distilled the strongest qualities of flavor and scent we associate with those fruits so that when we eat one we immediately think of the fruit they are based on but know also this is not in anyway like that real fruit.

Laurence Dumont Les Senteurs Gourmandes' Prune Jasmin is the Jolly Rancher variation on the plum note. In no way does it resemble a real plum but somehow when you smell it you think, yes, this is plum, but the more you think about it the more you realize this is neon version of plum. This plum scent never varies what you get is bright Jolly Rancher plum with a hint of vanilla and it stays. This scent is powerful, you will get wafts of it, and hours later the plum is still blaring. I smell no jasmine in this, although at times I think I get a waft of that modern caramel note that can be found in La Vie Est Belle and Flowerbomb. So if you want a hyper-candied version of plum try this scent, if you are wanting something more layered and realistic steer clear of this one.

Try if you like: Flowerbomb, La Vie Est Belle, or Viva la Juicy.

image by Markus Jans

Plum Quest 2014: Wood Violet by Sonoma Scent Studio

We grow a lot of plums in California. Now that I think of it we are probably the state that grows the most plums. The Santa Rosa plum was created in California. We are a plummy state. Going to the farmer's market here at the right time of year is like being in plum land, the sheer variety is amazing. So getting to the point: I know plums. In fact I like plums enough that I want a well done plum scent, something that bursts with plumminess, which if you are a perfume lover know is bizarrely rare to find. So I have started my plum quest, a search to find the plummiest fragrance I can get (reasonably). For an idea of what I am going to try or what I have deemed not plummerific enough check this post.

So the beginning of this quest has started with the wonderfully local Sonoma Scent Studio's Wood Violet. I would like to add how proud I am to know that this amazing perfumer is from California and creating some of the best niche fragrances out there. The quality is amazing and what I love about her perfumes is that they always feel finished, there is never a point where I think well this note feels off or the depth isn't right, they feel so wonderfully classically finished.

Wood Violet opens with one of the plum rich beginnings I have ever smelled in a perfume. This is a rich plum note, at full ripeness, the point where the honeyed flavor of a plums is the most intense. This opening is hyper realistic, I have frankly never smelled a plum opening quite so realistic. This opening stays around for quite awhile and yet what will catch you off guard is that violet comes in so smoothly, perfectly melding with plum that you are rather shocked when you realize it has fully taken over. What I find so interesting is that Laurie Erickson makes this transition so utterly seamless and they way she does it is by emphasizing the banana leather note you smell in violets and plums. The scent begins its middle stage where the violet is reigning queen, the plum is still there giving the scent a rather velvet depth, but now the scent is about violet. The scent finally ends on a warm cedar-y musky dry down at this point it is very akin to Serge Luten's Feminite du Bois but Erickson makes it even smoother there are hints of violet leaf  and a very tiny hint of spices that keep the scent very rounded.

Wood Violet is most definitely inspired by Feminite du Bois but where as FdB becomes a cedar spice musk story, Laurie Erickson decides to run with the violet, and let it be the major player in the story. Along the way she also decided to emphasize the role of the plum in doing so she created a riper lush scent that emphasizes the magic of a well done violet scent.

Try if you like Feminite du Bois by Serge Lutens, Jolie Madame by Balmain, or Lolita Lempicka by Lolita Lempicka.  

image from Sarahmet

Bemoaning the Lack of Plum Notes in Perfume or Plum Quest 2014

This weekend I made a plum clafouti for dessert and once again realized that the scent of ripe plums un-roasted and roasted is a beguiling smell. They have a sweet understated almond tinted scent that is uniquely their own and sadly rather underutilized in perfume. I feel like I might be on the verge of a fragrance quest this time for plums. Seems just right for this time of the year too, I have always associated plums with early Autumn, although in reality I suppose they are really a summer fruit, but the plum varieties with dusky violet skins have always reminded me of Autumn. So a list so far of perfumes with a plum note that I want to sniff:

Violet Disguises by Imaginary Authors
Do by MikMoi
Ume by Keiko Mecheri
Rose Volupte by Sonoma Scent Studio
Wood Violet by Sonoma Scent Studio
Prune Jasmin by Laurence Dumont
Moulin Rouge by Histoires de Parfums

Scents with a plum note that don't meet the plum need (perfectly good scents but just not plummy enough):
Femme by Rochas
Feminite du Bois
Mauboussin
Natori by Josie Natori

Not to leave you hanging here is the recipe for the plum clafouti, absurdly simple, and wonderfully celebratory of the beauty of plums: http://www.epicurean.com/featured/plum-clafoutis-recipe.html

photo by the amazing Katie Quinn Davis at What Katie Ate

The 80s called and they want their perfume back or Miss Dior Le Parfum and believe it or not that first part is not a put down.

I think we shall begin this review with what this perfume reminds me of and I just want to add I do love this film, Working Girl, trailer below.

Miss Dior Le Parfum is such a throwback to the big perfumes of the eighties it takes you a few moments to fully comprehend what is going on because your nose is in a bit of a shock. Let's just say that the relationship with the current Miss Dior fragrances is that it hints at strawberry in its fruit notes and that is about it. Now on to what Miss Dior is actually related to: Mauboussin's Mauboussin and the original Fendi fragrance. 

Miss Dior Le Parfum starts big with amber spiced fruits, there is a hint of strawberry but I would say it is mainly plum, think fruit compote made with dried fruits and cinnamon. This is where the relationship to Mauboussin can be smelled, that heady rich amber fruit opening is definitely a call back to that iconic scent. Then Miss Dior Le Parfum gets dry, powdery dry, while the spicy amber fruit remains it is suddenly  in the background, what comes forward is dry woods with a heavy lean towards cedar with the addition of rose that smooths out the rough edges. This is the stage that reminds me of the original Fendi, that big bombastic cedar incense of a scent that demanded reverence and tribute when you wore it. It is not nearly as bombastic as Fendi but the dry cedar is prominent with spices that says this is no shrinking violet of a scent. Eventually Miss Dior Le Parfum comes to a dry down that reminds me of amber and exquisite makeup powder with hints of rose and vanilla that has been sitting in a cedar chest. 

I know Sigourney's character wear's Shalimar in Working Girl but I think she would have worn Miss Dior Le Parfum had it been available at the time. Her character is an awful awful person, but dammit I love Sigourney, and she played the role so perfectly. 

So thank you Miss Dior Le Parfum for going down the road of big hair and big scent of the 80s and for not really cleaning it up on the way there. You are a rather unexpected delight. 

image provided by Fanpop

Should You Find Yourself With Fruit Trees and The Preserving Need

For the last few years I have told myself I would preserve the lush fruit that comes every summer from our bountiful fruit trees. The closest I had come to this was this last winters lemon curd and cranberry curd experiment that went really well. Finally this summer though I have actually made preserves. I made apricot preserves and cinnamon plum preserves. What was shocking was just how easy it was. We still have a ton plums so next I want to try a vanilla plum preserve and well other variations. Hmm, maybe I can find a chutney recipe with plums. The recipe I used was from one of my new favorite blogs Just Hungry at http://www.justhungry.com/2006/06/weekend_project.html. I highly recommend you use the almond pit option. As for me I can't stop marveling at the gorgeous golden orange jars I have waiting to be eaten. My favorite way to enjoy apricot preserves being in an apricot almond butter sandwich on dark whole wheat bread. I need to go get almond butter.