Stoned (2006)
by Solange Azagury-Partridge

A gorgeous, warm, rich, deep, spicy oriental in a classic, retro style. l totally get the comparisons with Shalimar; the bergamot & vanilla combo is certainly reminiscent, but to my nose there's more going on here. There's something both vegetal & animalic in the heart, & then a big, velvety, smoky labdanum note bursts through , & l'm swooning, this is fabulous stuff! The sillage is good, & after around 6 hours there's a nice nutty quality to the base notes.
l know that this perfume is so named because Solange is a jewellery designer, but for me it certainly has a narcotic feel, being both incredibly seductive & very calming. l must admit l love the look of the bottle as well.
l've now got myself a second, slightly larger sample of this, & l'm seriously considering dropping the cash for a FB. lt's expensive, but very high quality, & just the kind of thing l love to cozy up with on a winter's night!

28th January, 2012.

I get a Shalimar wanna-be on this one. I applaud that as Shalimar is a classic. This is a rich opulent bad girl vanilla. It has jumped naked onto a bed of powder and roses. It case you are paying attention it is throatily calling out for attention and love. The weird combo of bergamont plus vanilla (very retro) is not really my thing... I prefer Shalimar.

1st February, 2011.

Oh My Goodness. I adore this ! This is love at first sniff and *why* may you ask.... because this is so darned close in smell to Guerlain's Vol de Nuit parfum extrait except this has a tad more vanilla and musk. It is an absolute beauty. I heard that this is not long lasting but it seems teancious enough to me.
A dark oriental ,dusky, faintly powdery ,woody vanilla dark flowers and thoughts of vintage days. It's wonderful !

5th October, 2010.

This is yummy!! A cloud of powdery rose/jasmine with a vanilla bourbon drydown. I also catch the underpinning of Labdanum which give it some interest. It's quality stuff,,,and gets better with each wearing. Although a powdery rose,,,it could work on guys. It is sweet, but not cloying!! I like Cosmic too,,,more bergamot and myrrh,,plus the smooth florals (a chypre), but Stoned is more my style. The bottle is goofy,,but they do include an atomizer that seals the bottle too!!

22nd July, 2010.

I own and love Solange's other fragrance 'Cosmic'. The 'thing' that distinguishes Cosmic is that it's a bona-fide high-quality modern chypre, which is as rare these days as a family sedan with a small-block V8. It's sister 'Stoned' doesn't have a similar claim to fame, but what sets it apart from the typical fragrance is the unbelievably sharp construction (something else rarely found in modern fragrances). What's more, Cosmic's materials are superb and the notes are rich and warm.

Stoned is a classic floriental. The initial rose/jasmine accord has a touch of citrus and quite a bit of powder behind it. The floral accord is exceedingly pretty and just sweet enough - it never enters ditz territory. The first time I sampled Stoned I remember enjoying the initial notes over the course of about a half hour then going about whatever I was doing. When I next sniffed my arm nearly all floralcy was gone, replaced by a dry vanilla. Over the next few sampling I paid better attention and was uniformly impressed with the crisp movement from citrus/floral to a restrained vanilla. From the vanilic heart Stoned gets progressively more sweet, concluding with labdanum/amber base. As with the entire composition, Stoned does not project and stays close to the skin, but you can tell that this isn't a quality issue because the basenotes are as strong and distinct on the skin as the topnotes - this was clearly intended to be a discrete fragrance without loud sillage. In this aspect Stoned is different from many feminine orientals that tend towards the loud and bold (Coco, Shalimar, etc.). Stoned is an oriental that can be worn with subtlety.

Solange Azagury-Partridge is a high-end jewelry designer. Accordingly the Solange perfume bottles are themselves works of art. Stoned comes in a gorgeous red glass globe with a large buddha figure as a stopper. I've only seen pictures of the Stoned bottle, but I can attest to how striking the Cosmic bottle is in person. Therefore part of what you're paying for with the high retail price is the rare bottle. Even though the 100ml cost of the Solange fragrances is the same per/ml as that of the typical niche (Lutens, Parfumerie Generale), the price will stop a lot of people from considering a purchase. Perhaps if a bottle of lesser quality were available such that the cost came down there would be a lot more buzz about both Solange fragrances.

2nd September, 2009.