All Invited! ♥ ♥ ♥ Sniff 'n' Speak Saturday, January 3, 2009 ★★★ ORIENTALS

[kaye dawn]

I went floriental today in Kenzo Flower Oriental, which to me is Kenzo Flower + a rich amber-incense base. It isn't floral to my nose after the topnotes go.

[Leesee]

The Must de Cartier stayed really, really green on me. "Green" and "Oriental"-- seems rather like round holes and square pegs, no?

[ChantillyLace]

Back home and now in Ispahan by Yves Rocher in the black bottle from the 80's. It is a Spicy Oriental and is one of the strongest frags I own. Very nice, has been collecting dust on the back shelf. SMM is right about going back to some old but goodies.

[Sybarite]

Ok, you guys are perfect to maybe help me with an oriental quest I've been on but yet to no avail. Who knows and loves the absolutely yummy gorgeous drydown of `Chanel's stunning Coco ? Now I just love that exact ambery base ....of that labdanum/ambrette seed/opoponax/benzoin/tonka/vanilla
magic drydown , and have been looking for that exact same drydown but in a mens fragrance, or a more unisexy one. As as much as I like Coco , I can't carry it off (unless i"m in drag, I suppose). Does anyone agree with me and or have a solution, I have been looking for ages now ???...Now that would land up being my HG. ...Help?!

[Sybarite]

I went floriental today in Kenzo Flower Oriental, which to me is Kenzo Flower + a rich amber-incense base. It isn't floral to my nose after the topnotes go.

Oh no , I don't get that at all with the drydown on my skin with Kenzo's Flower, on me the top is deliciousy lilc but then the drydown goes the most vile hairspray-ey white musk and that's it...just awful on me. But I really don't see that as an oriental, is it?

[Quarry]

Hey, whiffter ~ welcome ~ :wave:

I see you've posted this question in the male forum and gotten no answer yet, surprisingly. Wish I were able to suggest something. Keep the faith. I just know there has to be a perfect fragrance for you.

[Asha]

Ok, you guys are perfect to maybe help me with an oriental quest I've been on but yet to no avail. Who knows and loves the absolutely yummy gorgeous drydown of `Chanel's stunning Coco ? Now I just love that exact ambery base ....of that labdanum/ambrette seed/opoponax/benzoin/tonka/vanilla
magic drydown , and have been looking for that exact same drydown but in a mens fragrance, or a more unisexy one. As as much as I like Coco , I can't carry it off (unless i"m in drag, I suppose). Does anyone agree with me and or have a solution, I have been looking for ages now ???...Now that would land up being my HG. ...Help?!

Whiffer...nothing I have smelled has the Coco drydown. Granted I have only sampled about 400 frags, but nothing even comes close to Coco. Luca Turin did say in his book that Krizia Teatro alla Scala is similar. I have never tried it, but just scored a partial bottle from eBay. I can report back on this eventually.

In the meantime, the one frag that has come closest (in the drydown only) is Parfumerie Generale L'Ombre Fauve. I have only sampled it a couple times, but my impression is that it is a unisex light amber fragrance, and the drydown is stunning. I got some on my coat, and I can still smell it weeks later. It still isn't the same as Coco, but it has a similar aesthetic--it's worth a try!

Notes from luckyscent are: amber, musk, woods, incense, patchouli

The other frag which I had hoped to be like Coco was Love Comes from Within by Creative Scentualization. It is not in the directory, but I put the review in SotD and also in the notes section of my tried list (in my wardrobe). Unfortunately, LCfW did not measure up for me.

[Chestnut]

I had my husband sniff Mauboussin -- he loves it, and added "the best part is no flowers". Unfortunately for me, he really rejects obvious floral notes, and is much more of an amber/oriental/gourmand man. That said Mauboussin does contain plenty of florals but it's so stuffed with other heavy notes that I can see why he doesn't mind.

I've seen this pyramid:
yellow plum, bergamot or red tangerine
white peach, Indian jasmine, ylang-ylang and Turkish rose
amber, patchouli, Indonesian sandalwood, cedar, benzoic and vanilla

Since these are all favorites of mine, Mauboussin is a winter staple for me. It's a dark, caramelized, syrupy thing, brightened with fruit acids and sexy with honeyed tobacco. Like Patch 24, it dries down to vanilla sugar cookie. A real snuggler. Sillage is almost embarrassing and you need 24 hours to make it go away.

[Asha]

Serge Lutens Douce Amere

Notes: Absinthe (Artemisia absinthum) , cinnamon, anise, lily, jasmine, tiare, tagette, marigold, musk, cedar (from luckyscent)

When I first tried Douce Amere months ago, I was expecting more of a spicy anise scent--even the notes would lead me to this expectation. So, when I didn't smell anise, I asked, "Where's the licorice they are talking about?" Finally, after several wearings, I realized that Douce Amere has a candy-like licorice top note that reminds me very much of black jelly beans. I happen to love black jelly beans as well as real black licorice, so the appeal of this fragrance is not lost on me. Underneath the licorice I smell vanilla and mixed soft woods.

In the middle part of the development, the licorice becomes more attenuated, less candy-like and more herbal. I understand the absinthe association more now--living wormwood foliage smells dusty, dry, herbal, medicinal, bitter, and only vaguely licorice-like. This is what I smell in Douce Amere, except that the absinthe is offset by sweet vanilla-like and coconut-like notes and some vague, unidentifiable florals. The woody note has become a bit more sharp at this stage. Although cedar is listed, it doesn't have the "cedar closet" or "hamster cage" type of cedar note. It is much more creamy, and mimics softer wood such as sandalwood.

In the drydown, vanilla, a tiny bit of licorice and mixed woods remain, continuing to give a sandalwood effect, which is sweet and only a tiny bit woody smelling to my nose. DA has a dusty and sweet powdery quality throughout the development, and overall is rather diffuse, especially toward the end. Other fragrances I would compare to DA are: Kenzo Amour, Kenzo Vintage Edition Peace (which is like Bulgari Black without the rubber), and most closely resembled by Keiko Mecheri Paname. All of these fragrances have a vanilla-powder sweetness with contextual variations, although Paname has a rather straightforward licorice note. DA is sweet, but the sweetness is offset by herbal pungency, resulting in an interesting twist on the oriental theme. I find Douce Amere to be more sophisticated than the comparison fragrances, but, in the grand scheme, it is not as sophisticated as other grand orientals such as Shalimar. I find the woody base notes to be very satisfying in Douce Amere, and for me, this is where many sweet/powder/vanilla/woody orientals fall short.

[Wordbird]

Oooooh, I love orientals. And winter is the perfect time to wear them. This is such a treat. Plus, I have now added some more (gosh, MORE?) ideas to my 'must try' list.

Because I was traveling on Saturday I had a limited choice, as I was away from my own 'blast from the past super-orientals' - Opium and Coco. But this was good, as it enabled me to wear something different: Borneo 1834.

Now this may be initially categorised as a gourmand because of the massive dose of cocoa it contains, but I'm with Luca Turin in calling it an oriental. It does have cocoa, but it has no sweetness. This is cocoa powder: dark and slightly bitter. This is married with a rich and dark patchouli to create something astonishingly beautiful and very definitely oriental. It has a deep pitch to it that I can only explain as one of those low contralto voices rare women have: Lauren Bacall or Kathleen Turner. It is mysterious, compelling and unlike anything else I have ever smellt. I think it could be the Habanita for the 21st century (not that the divine Habanita needs a replacement).

And because I am posting this late and because I am now home and have access to all my goodies (yipee!) I am writing with Caron's Narcisse Noir on my wrists. (Here are the Basenotes reviews http://www.basenotes.net/ID10210551/reviews.html ) This remarkable Ernest Daltroff creation from 1911 could not be anything other than an oriental. The opening reminds me of Vol de Nuit, but from there it just keeps unbuttoning its blouse until I start to feel I'm not quite woman enough for it. This was the perfume Gloria Swanson wore, and which she allegedly demanded was sprayed liberally around he set when she filmed the fabulous Sunset Boulevard. It does have a dated feel to it, but heck, we do retro here bigtime, don't we? Sniffing at my wrist yet again, I really get the comment from jeneveuxpastravailler about it smelling like bananas - there is something that I associate with overripe fruit. I guess that must be the indoles in the orange blossom.

I can't honestly claim this is my favourite perfume, but that's why I chose to wear it this evening, because I wanted to examine it. I know I find it a bit of a challenge and I pass it by in favour of others. I would say this is a perfume to wear in the evening in the winter. I tried it in the summertime but it was too much then. The drydown smells of fur coats. (Nope, I don't wear fur and never will, but... that's what it smells like to me.)

[ElizabethSimmons]

Drats! I can’t believe I missed it. I am beating my chest with my bare hands and slashing my shoulders with irons chains.

So, I’ll mark my calendar for next month. I’m ecstatic. Can’t wait.

Lovingly
Liz
:wave:

[mikeperez23]

I was busy all day Saturday and missed wearing an Oriental that day, but it's been fun reading all of your reviews/comments.

I did wear Shalimar parfum this past week (thanks Asha) and found it satisfying, rich and decadent but ultimately not as wonderful as the Shalimar Eau de Cologne I already own (along with the wonderful lemon-cupcake-with-icing Shalimar Light). Though, I still haven't given a proper wearing to the EdP.

[Asha]

Mike, is your EDC vintage? That is the only concentration I have not tried. My baby-diaper experience with the EDT is a huge demotivator to try the lower concentrations.

[Heartwood]

Elizabeth, it's absolutely not too late. I'm finally chiming in. Go spray something on right now and tell us how much you love it later tonight or tomorrow!

Yesterday I put on a sweater that I had worn Friday evening around the house for a little bit. The SL Cédre I had worn with it was still going very, very strong on the knitted sleeves, so I saw little reason to apply anything new (except maybe to experiment with layering, but nah). Leftover fragrance on my sweaters has actually started to become a pet peeve of mine this winter, but that should be another thread. So that's why I skipped SnS yesterday.

When I bought my new bottle of Bois d'Arménie, the SA included a mini of Shalimar edt. Somehow over the decades I've managed to miss out on Shalimar. I've tried eau Légère, and owned a mini of Samsara, but never ever sampled Shalimar that I can recall. I feel so embarrassed admitting this! I'd even feel sheepish listening to that interview with Luca Turin where he's trying his beloved "Sha-lee-MAR" in a drug store and loving it. How can I possibly pretend to know anything about perfume if I haven't tried Shalimar?! So that's what I wore today-- Shalimar edt. And now I know. Even though I have only the edt, it is magic. I didn't think it would suit me, but it's so lovely and impeccably graceful that I can't imagine anyone not falling completely in love with it. I'm humbled. I will wear this again and again until the mini runs dry. Then I'll get some edp!