November’s “Notes on Notes” is about oud, or agarwood. I don’t think I can provide a better or clearer explanation than this, from Sarah McCartney in her book “The Perfume Companion: The Definitive Guide to Choosing Your Next Scent”:
Oud is Arabic for wood, and you’ll also see it spelled oudh, aoud, and aoudh. An oudh is also a musical instrument which looks a lot like a lute. In perfumery, though, it’s a specific kind of wood from the agarwood tree, also called aloewood. Even more specifically, this tree must be infected by a species of mould, Phialophora parasitica, which makes it strongly whiffy.
Agarwood and its products; image from Researchgate.net.
Perfumer Geza Schoen offered this explanation to Allure magazine in its excellent article:
Natural oud, the scent (the essential oil) arises when a particular fungus places itself on an Aquilaria tree. A reaction creates a resin that slowly embeds into the wood creating agarwood, known as oud, which is then soaked, and using a distillation and evaporation method is developed into an oil.
That is how perfumers in the Middle East, India, and the Far East have traditionally made a essential oil that can be very costly. As many perfume-lovers know, oud has been a trend in Western perfumery for several years (6 Western commercial fragrances based on oud were launched in 2007, over 200 by 2019), but what we mostly encounter is a synthetic re-creation of that oil, which puts oud-based fragrances within reach of many more fragrance lovers. The qualities of oud that don’t attract me are when it is used heavily to evoke smoke or leather. A great reference for some fragrance-lovers, but not really me. However, I’ve read that there are many different facets to oud, in nature depending on the specific variety of Aquilaria tree and the environment where it was grown, so I’m sure the synthetic creations also vary widely.
I’ll be honest – I can’t think of many oud-focused fragrances that I like a LOT, though I don’t object to it as a supporting player. It may be that my nose is acting sensitive toward a synthetic, but that’s not usually an issue for me. And I’ve gotten weary of every other new fragrance seeming to have “oud” in its name! There is one oud-centric fragrance that I really do enjoy a lot, and it grows on me every time I wear it: David Yurman Limited Edition. It is a classic combination of rose with oud, and both are used with a deft touch. The bottle, by the way, is gorgeous, a heavy, faceted, dark red crystal flacon.
David Yurman Limited Edition extrait de parfum; image from Amazon.com
Launched in 2011, it is an extrait de parfum with central notes of oud and Taif rose. Top notes also include coriander, geranium, saffron, and raspberry, but the rose and oud notes appear immediately and carry through the parfum’s development, so the typical pyramid structre may not accurately describe it. Heart notes include violet and jasmine, though at this stage my nose is so distracted by the Taif rose and oud that I hardly detect them. Base notes add suede, musk, vanilla, and sandalwood. Interestingly, the notes list makes a point of saying “natural agarwood”, though that is no guarantee that the ingredient used isn’t synthetic.
I think this is a very skillful fragrance. The rose and oud could have been overwhelming, and they’re not, at least not with a controlled application, lol. This fragrance is all about gentle, rosy warmth with a bit of spice. The notes are well-blended, with saffron and fruity raspberry peeking through. The rose fades away sooner than the oud but it still hums softly in the background. DY Limited Edition reminds me a bit of Aramis’ Calligraphy Rose, and I wonder how it would compare to Calligraphy Saffron, which I haven’t tried. It’s not clear who was the perfumer behind DY Limited Edition, but I think it has to have been Harry Frémont of Firmenich, who created all the other David Yurman fragrances (the link will take you to a long interview of him by Richard Goller of the Fragroom blog).. He certainly knows his way around a rose, too, as a creator of Estée Lauder’s marvelous Knowing, as well as dozens of other scents.
Have you tried DY Limited Edition? Or can you suggest other oud fragrances that would appeal to a floral lover like me? Drop by Australian Perfume Junkies to see what Portia has to say about oud!
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, November 3, and I’m on my way to New England for a family christening! Our niece had her first baby this year, the first grandchild of this generation. The baby is my older sister’s first grandchild. I made her a bonnet from silk and lace from my sister’s wedding dress; I’m quite pleased with how it turned out, given that it’s my first real sewing project in many years.
I’m excited — I took part this week in a NST splitmeet for the first time! I’ve received my 5 ml of Jacques Fath’s L’Iris de Fath eau de parfum from the NST splitmeet; haven’t worn it yet because I’ve been so busy this week and want to give it my full attention. Some of you may remember how I swooned when I got to sample the extrait de parfum when it was first released, at the boutique Jovoy Paris, in London. I am so, so tempted to buy the eau de parfum but I’m trying to behave myself and not rush into an expensive blind buy. Splitmeet to the rescue!
Portia and I will be posting a new “Notes on Notes” on Monday, so please drop by and share your own thoughts!
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
I apologize for not posting last Friday! I was helping one of our daughters pack and move all day Thursday and Friday, and it just got away from me. Earlier this week, I posted Portia Turbo’s and my latest “Counterpoint“, which I hope you’ll read if you haven’t yet. This month’s Counterpoint fragrance is Diorella. You might also like a past post I wrote about Meet Me On The Corner, Sarah McCartney’s Diorella-inspired fragrance for 4160 Tuesdays.
The roses I grow are having another flush of bloom, now that the weather has improved, and they are so fragrant! I’ve been especially noticing the fragrance of “Winchester Cathedral”, a beautiful pure white with a lemony rose scent, a lot like Jo Loves’ White Rose and Lemon Leaves, and “Princess Alexandra of Kent”, whose fragrance really does smell like perfume. Both are English Roses by the late hybridizer David Austin, who spent his life bringing strong fragrance back into modern roses by crossing them with heirloom roses. Winchester Cathedral has performed admirably all year, starting this spring, but Princess Alexandra has been the proverbial late bloomer. I’ve had her for a few years now, and never got much from her in the way of bloom, but I think I’ve finally figured out what soil amendments she wants in her pot, so she’s doing much better. I have high hopes for her next spring!
Winchester Cathedral rose
I’m excited — I took part this week in a NST splitmeet for the first time! I’ve requested 5 ml of Jacques Fath’s L’Iris de Fath eau de parfum from a kind NSTer. Some of you may remember how I swooned when I got to sample the extrait de parfum when it was first released, at the boutique Jovoy Paris, in London. I am so, so tempted to buy the eau de parfum but I’m trying to behave myself and not rush into an expensive blind buy. Splitmeet to the rescue!
Do you often take part in splitmeets? What has been your favorite “split”?
Welcome to the (late!) October installment of “CounterPoint”! I was thrown off by how early the first Monday of the month was, and various other distractions, but here we are, to discuss Christian Dior’s Diorella. Thank you, Portia, for being so patient!
Launched in 1972, Diorella is a “lemon chypre”, a narrow and specialized category of fragrance, given that chypres generally are a specific category. Perfumer Edmond Roudnitska created Diorella in 1972 at the peak of his powers, having already created for Dior the legendary fragrances Diorama, Diorissimo, and Eau Sauvage.
Diorella; image by Christian Dior.
Interestingly, Diorella was the inspiration for Meet Me On The Corner, a crowd-funded fragrance by Sarah McCartney of 4160 Tuesdays that she created to capture the vibe of 1970s chypres and named after a 1972 pop song.
Tye-dye girls, Doreen Spooner/Getty Images
How did you first encounter Diorella and what was your first impression?
Portia: When Old Herbaceous asked if we could do Diorella my first internal response was “Diorella? Sure I’ve heard of it but have no memory of ever seeing it or smelling it.” Dutifully I went to the DIOR box and rummaged around just to be sure. Lo and behold, there is a 100ml, extremely vintage looking beat up houndstooth box of Diorella EdT. There’s clearly been some leakage, the sprayer and surrounds have residue and some eating away of the silver. The moment I touched the very bleached out label it just fell off. This bottle is O L D. Even on spritzing I have no memory of smelling this beauty. So while I may have smelled Diorella in the past I’m coming at it as a newbie. First impression is that I’m really surprised that the top seems to be intact.
Old Herbaceous: My perfumista journey began when I read “The Perfect Scent” by Chandler Burr, then moved on to “Perfumes: The A-Z Guide” by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez. I was fascinated by their witty insights and their rating system of stars, so I started to seek out the fragrances they had awarded five stars, their top rating. One of those was Diorella, in its pre-2009 formulation. As I learned more about fragrances, I started to figure out how to find vintage fragrances (sadly, without access to the amazing Japanese flea markets that Neil Chapman describes in his blog The Black Narcissus!). I found an intact bottle of Diorella eau de toilette that dates from 2002, as best I can tell, based on its box, bottle, and batch number. It was a reasonable price, so I snapped it up.
My Diorella
My first impression was “Yes, this is a true chypre!” I happen to love most chypres (I can’t think of one I have disliked yet), with their classic structure of citrus top notes, floral heart notes, and base notes that include oakmoss. Per Fragrantica, the structure of the original Diorella is: top notes of green notes, Sicilian lemon, bergamot, melon, and basil; middle notes of honeysuckle, Moroccan jasmine, peach, carnation, cyclamen, and rose; and base notes of oakmoss, vetiver, patchouli, and musk. While the top notes of my bottle have faded somewhat with age, the combination of citrus and green notes is still evident and lively.
2. How would you describe the development of Diorella?
Old Herbaceous: The top notes aren’t as vivid in my bottle as I’m sure they were when it was new, but they are vivid enough to indicate the lemony/green opening accord intended by M. Roudnitska. The melon and green notes have taken precedence in my bottle, including a lovely basil accord. I think the basil is what may have prompted Turin and Sanchez to declare that if Guerlain’s fragrances are desserts, Diorella is a Vietnamese beef salad. Fear not! It smells nothing like rare meat. I think I can smell a couple of the base notes right from the start, specifically the vetiver and oakmoss, humming in the background.
In the heart phase, I smell honeysuckle and jasmine. The jasmine isn’t heavy or narcotic, it stays light. The hum of vetiver and oakmoss becomes more noticeable, and soon they take over from the floral notes entirely. In the drydown and base stage, Diorella moves from fresh toward warm without becoming spicy, supported by patchouli and musk. It also lasts a good long time, surprising in a fragrance that also smells very fresh.
Portia: Fizzy opening with bright green citruses and aldehydes, leaning slightly waxy like putting your fingernail into the peel and getting that luscious burst of fresh and sunshiny goodness. The greenery is both camellia leafy and tulip stemmy, crushed to let their greenness explode.
As the initial heady notes calm, I have a very modern masculine waft of cucumber/melon intertwined with the bouquet. It’s a surprise to have something so stuck in my mind as a 1980/90s gym men’s changeroom smell be lurking so significantly in this epitome of female beauty. It does not detract from the femininity at all and makes me think of how many of the men would also swoon for Diorella.
I will say that Diorella is very cologne-ish. This is not a complaint, merely an observation. For some reason I was expecting a very fruity/mossy chypre in the style of Mitsouko. This is as far from that as you can imagine while still bearing many of the same notes.
The heart and base take a long time merging and there’s plenty of crossover during this time, plus the citruses are subtly tenacious.
The crisp, green, oily grassiness of vetiver is tempered by the earthy patchouli and moss but there is much more going on here. I’m getting wafts of quite astringent eucalyptus, the fresh green of shady creeks as you trudge through the greenery. There’s a cooling, slightly salted seaside breeze hiding below.
The last gasps are a very vegetal musk and sweet greenery.
Diorella is so tapestried and I think it will take a dozen more wears to even get a hold of what’s happening here.
3. Do you or will you wear Diorella regularly? For what occasions or seasons?
Portia: Honestly, now that I’ve found this gorgeous unicorn it might be too special to wear willy nilly. Though it feels like an excellent sunny day spritz and could give me blue sky reminiscences in winter, I think just holding the bottle and sniffing the cap will be all I’m capable of doing.
Old Herbaceous: I haven’t been wearing Diorella regularly, but it has been such a good fit for the beautiful October weather we’re having that I plan to keep it out and within reach for at least a while (keeping it in its box, of course, to protect it from light!). It partners beautifully with these crisp, sunny, dry autumn days, although I often think of it more as an early summer scent. Diorella works well for a whole range of occasions, from casual to elegant, from daytime to evening. It’s like a Diane von Furstenburg wrap dress, the kind that were so fashionable in the 1970s (my mother wore them) and that you could dress up or dress down, endlessly versatile but with a distinct, chic personality.
4. Who should/could wear Diorella?
Old Herbaceous: Well, here’s what Luca Turin wrote on that topic: “Diorella was intended as a feminine and was the very essence of Bohemian chic, with an odd, overripe melon effect that still feels both elegant and decadent. The modern version, no doubt fully compliant with all relevant health-and-safety edicts since the fall of the Roman Empire, is drier and more masculine than of old, no bad thing since I have always seen it as a perfected Eau Sauvage and one of the best masculines money can buy.”
So there you have it! Diorella will work well for many perfume-lovers and can be spritzed for just about any occasion.
Portia: A truly unisex beauty that is cologne related but so much more. I need to go sniff a modern bottle to see if it still smells as good. Then if it does I might buy a bottle and wear it regularly through the warmer months. I’ll be most interested to read OH’s description of how it has survived.
Old Herbaceous: Borrowing again from Luca Turin with regard to the 2009 reformulation: “Great perfumery accords share with holograms the strange property of being damage resistant; the picture remains legible even though noise increases and fine detail is swept away. Diorella is one of those accords, and while the latest version is less caressingly decadent and lush than of old, it still conveys much of what made the original great.” Note that his comment is about the 2009 version; I think this is still the current edition, as I haven’t been able to find anything about a later formulation despite new IFRA restrictions on oakmoss. I wonder whether the oakmoss was already greatly reduced in 2009, with vetiver taking a more prominent role in the base, so more changes weren’t necessary.
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, October 13, and I’m looking forward to the delivery of a new embroidery machine! I’ve wanted one for years, and the Online Marketplace That Must Not Be Named had a great half-price deal on a high-end Singer machine this week for Prime Days. My always-generous husband agreed that could be my big Christmas gift, and it is on its way to me! I have a lovely sewing machine, bought 23 years ago when I thought I’d have more time to sew, which I’ve recently taken out of storage and am re-learning. The new machine will sew AND embroider, though I think I’ll mostly use it for the embroidery function. Yes, this is one of the hobbies for which I have more time in retirement!
Speaking of which, I visited a big chain bookstore yesterday for the first time in a while (I mostly go to a couple of small, local, independent bookstores) and saw a novel called “The Scent Keeper”, by Erica Baumeister. I didn’t get it, because I’m trying to use the Libby app to read more from our public library system instead of buying more books, but it piqued my curiosity. Have any of you read it?
I’ve been enjoying NST’s “community project” this week, which is to wear scents that remind you of India. It turns out that I have more of those than I would have expected, and some are true favorites, like Un Jardin Après la Mousson and Bengale Rouge. Some that I’ve worn this week I have had for ages but hadn’t opened yet, like Berdoues’ Assam of India, a lovely tea scent, and Jean Patou’s Sira des Indes, which Portia Turbo and I both wore yesterday, by sheer happenstance. Wearing Bengale Rouge reminded me again what a genius Liz Moores is — it lasts a LONG time, and it is a delightful shape-shifter. The final stage is truly “your skin but better”.
Assam of India smells to my nose just like a cup of black tea with lemon. I bought it a few years ago for a ridiculously low price when our local Anthologie store had it on clearance, but I hadn’t opened it yet. So this week’s CP was the perfect excuse! And I’ve always loved the parade of tiny elephants on its packaging, so I’m glad to find that the scent is also delightful.
Berdoues’ Assam of India; image from olfactif.com.
Have you recently tried any scents you’ve had for a while but hadn’t worn? I’ve learned not to open every new bottle of fragrance right away; I leave them sealed until I’m ready to really WEAR them, in hopes that they will keep longer.
Happy fall! Portia Turbo of Australian Perfume Junkies and I both forgot to post our “Notes on Notes” on the usual first Monday of the month, which was LAST Monday, October 2 (it crept up on us), so we’re a week off. This month’s Note for discussion is nuts. TBH, I suggested this because I wanted to write about the newest addition to my collection, this year’s Un Jardin à Cythère, which my lovely spouse brought me from his trip to London. It features a pistachio note.
Un Jardin à Cythère, by Hermès; image from Hermes.com.
As it happens, apparently pistachio is very au courant in 2023, according to Harper’s Bazaar: “Why All the Cool Kids Smell Like Pistachio Right Now.” Writer Lindy Segal credits the trend to the ongoing fascination with gourmand fragrances, and a post-pandemic desire for fun. And it’s true that pistachios lend themselves to sweet and savory fun, from celadon green ice cream and the toothaching sweetness of baklava, to dishes of salted cocktails nuts and the messy joy of shelling roast pistachios out of a bag.
It turns out that although pistachio is having a moment, and it’s not a commonly used note, it has been featured in other fragrances that have been popular for a while, such as Tom Ford’s Soleil Blanc, Guerlain’s Une Petite Robe Noire Eau Fraiche, and even another of the Jardin fragrances, Un Jardin en Méditerranée. To my surprise, Fragrantica reminded me that it is a note in SJP’s Stash, which I had forgotten. I love Stash, and it couldn’t be more different from the Jardin fragrances, which I also love.
Of course, other nutty notes have been used in perfume, but even looking at the whole category, they’re not terribly common, except for hazelnut. Chestnut, walnut, even almond, aren’t nearly as prevalent as, say, various woody notes. Hazelnut appears as a note in several fragrances I own: Jo Malone’s English Oak and Hazelnut and Ginger Biscuit, Jean Patou’s Que Sais-Je?, Penhaligon’s Elisabethan Rose (2018); and others I know but don’t have: Zoologist’s Chipmunk, Jo Malone’s Oat and Cornflower, L’Artisan’s Mechant Loup, Guerlain’s Habit Rouge, among others. In all of these, hazelnut adds a certain sweetness without sugar, woodiness without weight.
Back to pistachio! I’m fascinated by how differently it is used in the Jardin fragrances. They were, of course, created by two different Hermès perfumers: Jean-Claude Ellena created Méditerrannée in 2003, and Christine Nagel, his successor, launched Cythère twenty years later. In UJeM, pistachio is a bit player, lending some depth to the basenotes, but subordinate to the dominant fig note. (By the way, fig and pistachio are a time-honored combination in various recipes, often partnered with honey and a soft, mild cheese like ricotta or mascarpone – yum!). UJeM is based on an actual garden in Tunis, and it includes floral notes such as orange blossom and white oleander, although the most prominent notes are fig leaf, cypress, cedar, and juniper, which form the base notes together with a touch of pistachio and musk.
Hermès’ Un Jardin en Méditerranée; image by Hermes.com.
In UJaC, Mme. Nagel puts pistachio at the very heart of the fragrance, pairing it beautifully with an accord of olive wood. In comments about her latest Jardin creation, she has said that her pistachio accord is based on her memory of the fresh pistachios she enjoyed on trips to the Greek isle of Kythira, twenty years apart.
Her composition is very clever: this is a garden without flowers. The citrus notes of the opening recall the island’s citrus groves, the pistachio and olive notes evoke the harvests of those important products, and an accord of dry grass captures the dry, sunny climate of Kythira. This is a truly unisex fragrance, despite Kythira’s fame as the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite, who rose from the sea foam off its rocky shores.
Birth of Venus/Aphrodite, by Botticelli; image from the Uffizi Gallery.
As it dries down, UJaC retains the nutty sweetness of pistachio, and one understands better why nuts like pistachios, hazelnuts, and almonds lend themselves so well to sweet desserts and combine beautifully with various fruits. Unlike peanuts, which combine with chocolate well because of the contrast between the two, these sweeter nuts harmonize with sweeter ingredients, the whole becoming greater than the sum of its parts. Think Nutella (hazelnut and chocolate), marzipan (almond and honey), and pistachio gelato (pistachios with milk and sugar).
Pistachio ice cream happens to be my husband’s favorite flavor, and although we don’t usually keep it in the house (both watching our girlish figures, lol), it is a regular though infrequent visitor. Usually the commercial ice cream is made with artificial flavoring, but we do have a local Italian gelato store that has been here for decades, and they make pistachio gelato from scratch, so now I have a yen to go try some! I know I can count on my dear spouse to come along.
The base of UJaC is supported by an accord of olive wood; if you’ve ever visited an olive wood craft workshop, you know that it does indeed have its own distinctive and pleasing aroma. I love carved olive wood and have well-used kitchen implements made from it, the oldest being salad servers we bought on our honeymoon in Provence. My favorite olive wood carving, though, is a little statuette of Madonna and Child, the Virgin Mary being another incarnation of the divine feminine. The wood is as smooth as satin, the grain beautifully suggesting the folds of fabric in her robe.
I’m very happy to have added Un Jardin à Cythère to my collection. It hasn’t displaced Un Jardin Sur le Nil or Un Jardin Après la Mousson as top favorites, but it isn’t far behind. Have you tried it yet? What did you think? And make sure to hop over to Australian Perfume Junkies to get Portia’s Notes on nuts!
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, October 6, and Portia and I both forgot to post “Notes on Notes” on Monday! October 1 just crept up on us, so we’ll post our thoughts on notes next Monday, October 8. So sorry! The notes in question will be nuts, in honor of the fall season and all the nut-gathering that is going on in the Northern Hemisphere, including in my garden. We have both grey squirrels and chipmunks in our back yard; in fact, I think we have a whole chipmunk city under one retaining wall. I actually like the chipmunks, I think they’re very cute and we had them in our back yard when I was growing up in Connecticut. I don’t like squirrels much, mostly because they constantly raid the birdfeeders and hog all the seed.
So, since we’re a week off in “Notes on Notes”, please share in the comments below any particular nuts you’d like one or both of us to discuss!
What fragrance(s) are you wearing these days? I’m on a kick with my Jardin collection; earlier in the week I was enjoying Un Jardin en Méditerrannée and yesterday, I wore Un Jardin Sur Le Toit and my husband liked it very much, so I’ll wear it again this week!
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, September 29, and I can’t believe September is almost over! Thankfully, we’re about to enter the season of what is usually the best weather here: October. Unfortunately, the warm, dry weather has also brought with it an explosion of ragweed pollen over the last week, though it seems to be diminishing. A week ago, I couldn’t stop sneezing and needing to blow my nose. Not a happy situation for someone who loves fragrance!
Sneezing!
So I’ve been commando, scentwise, for several days. The good news is that it wasn’t COVID, although my dear spouse had it last week, and I got the updated vaccine this week with my flu shot. The bad news is that I haven’t done much in my garden this week in spite of better weather, because I’ve mostly stayed inside to avoid the pollen. This has, however, provided the impetus for me to start using my sewing machine again. I have a very nice Husqvarna Viking Lily machine, one of the last models actually made in Sweden, that I haven’t used since our third child was a toddler (that’s a long time, lol!). But I got it cleaned and serviced this spring, and now that I’m fully retired, I’m getting back into sewing. Just in time, since my older sister’s daughter had the first grandchild in our family this spring! I’ll be traveling back to New England for the baby’s christening in November, so I have an opportunity to try making a small gift for her while getting reacquainted with my Lily.
The one scent I did wear earlier this week, to a neighborhood event, was the Chanel No.5 Eau Première I got on my last trip to Europe with my husband. It is just beautiful, and I’m so happy to have it! I can still smell traces of it on the top I wore.
I think I mentioned that I got a few samples of other fragrances when I went to pick up the Jo Malone Ginger Biscuit for our older daughter’s Christmas gift: the new Dioriviera, Tom Ford’s new Myrrh Mystère, and a couple of Aerin’s Rose de Grasse Premier fragrances. Of the latter, the Rose de Grasse Parfum is really lovely — a strong, beautiful, classic rose with great sillage. I didn’t much care for Myrrh Mystère, but then again, it’s not really my type of fragrance and I think some will love it.
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, September 22, and I have SCORED! Last Christmas, our oldest daughter (27) fell in love with the scent of Jo Malone’s Ginger Biscuit from a mini I had, but I didn’t have a bottle to give her and it had been a limited edition. I looked online and the prices were astronomic. I looked for similar scents but none seemed quite right. Then last weekend — tada! Someone in a Facebook fragrance lovers’ group posted that it was being reissued for this year’s holidays and it was available on Saks.com! But by the time I saw this post, it had vanished from the website and other comments said it was sold out.
However, there is a Saks not far from here, so on Monday, I went there and asked if they might have it. The lovely sales associate showed me the tester they had (!) and looked in her computer system, then said it was slated for a “soft launch” for the holidays in October but would most likely show up at the start of November. She said she would hold a bottle for me when it arrived, so I left my name and phone number. Well, just two days later I got a phone call from her, saying that a couple of bottles had just come in and she had one for me! I told her I’d like to come get it on Friday, which she said was fine. So I went this morning and picked it up! There was a brief moment of panic when the bottle was not where she had left it, then a colleague said he had moved it and she found it. Hurray! It is now safely wrapped and ready for gift-giving, either for our daughter’s November birthday or this Christmas. I can’t wait to surprise her with it! FYI, Nordstrom says it also expects to get it for the holidays, if that’s easier for any of you to reach than Saks.
This past Monday, I posted another “CounterPoint” collaboration by me and Portia Turbo; we discussed Caron’s Infini, a late 20th century classic. If you haven’t read the post yet, please do, and share your thoughts in the comments! We’ve mapped out the rest of our posts for 2023, and we’ve got some great ideas, so stay tuned.
Tomorrow is the official first day of fall. Our hot weather has finally broken and we are having cool mornings with comfortably warm, sunny days. The best is yet to come — around here, October weather is usually even better (the first half of September can still be very humid and hot). My husband has just recovered from COVID and is off tomorrow on another work trip, back to Las Vegas this time. Since I couldn’t go with him to London, he kindly brought me back a bottle of Hermès’ latest “Jardin” fragrance, Un Jardin à Cythère. It is really lovely, and I’m so happy to add it to my collection!
I haven’t been buying much fragrance for myself lately, since I have so many bottles and my collection will outlast me long before I use them up. I do still have a monthly decant subscription, which I enjoy since it adds variety and access to some very expensive fragrances I wouldn’t otherwise try (the cost for a decant doesn’t vary). What’s on your mind, fragrance-wise or other?
The intended recipient of Ginger Biscuit, in earlier days.
Happy Monday! Today, in our monthly “CounterPoint” collaboration, Portia of Australian Perfume Junkies and I consider Caron’s classic Infini.
The Infini many of us know is the 1970 formulation, which reused the name of an earlier Caron (Ernest Daltroff) fragrance from 1912. It was conceived of at the height of the race between the US and the Soviet Union to explore space and land a man on the moon. The goal was for Caron’s new fragrance to encapsulate a new modern era and an “infinite” future. The bottles for both the perfume and the parfum de toilette embody that sense of sleek, technical modernity, with the mathematical, angular perfume bottle and the smooth, silver-topped spray bottle of parfum de toilette.
“Caron’s futuristic project was apparently fifteen years in the making, as the perfumers searched for the most indefectible equilibrium of sharp green florals, woods, aldehydes, and musky animalics. The result – unseamed, flawless – is in my view one of the finest scents ever made.”
Notes are listed as: top notes – aldehydes, narcissus, muguet, jasmine; heart notes – iris, rose, tuberose, lilac; base notes – vetiver, sandalwood, musk, tonka bean, amber.
1. How did you first encounter Caron Infini, and what was your first impression?
Old Herbaceous: I first encountered Infini in the last few years, when I was already deep into my perfume rabbit-hole. I had been looking up fragrances with notes of narcissus, one of my favorite flowers and fragrance notes, and Infini kept appearing in various posts and lists as a classic to try if you like narcissus. So eventually, I found a vintage bottle of parfum de toilette (the version launched in 1970) for a reasonable price, and it was mine! It did not disappoint. I love the strong green aura that is present from the very start, with a noticeable narcissus accord lifted airborne by a hefty dose of aldehydes and enhanced by notes of jasmine and lily-of-the-valley. The last two floral notes are truly supporting players; they bring more green freshness and add to the slightly narcotic effect of the narcissus, but that’s the extent of their contribution (given that vintage fragrances do tend to lose some of their top notes, my impression may be affected by the age of my bottle).
To my nose, Infini definitely smells like a scent of the 1970s, when there were several successful strong green and herbal fragrances on the market, perhaps echoing the momentum of the environmental movement during that decade, which began with the first Earth Day. It fits right in with major loves of mine from that era, like Chanel’s Cristalle and No. 19, Aromatics Elixir, Silences, etc.
Portia: When I first got crazy about perfume Infini was not in demand and it seemed like there were gallons of it online for next to nothing. Out of interest I bought a small parfum in that outrageously brutalist bottle. It was love at first sniff. While smelling antique it also smells wholly new and modern. Perfumey but also like it’s trying to forge a new path from very well used ingredients. Coming from the same year as CHANEL No 19 it’s interesting to smell two so disparate sisters with quite a few parallels. No 19 being the more stoic and Infini feeling like a fun, flirty sibling.
2. How would you describe the development of Caron Infini?
Portia: Today I’m wearing vintage parfum and Parfum de Toilette. That aldehydic narcissus opening has always smelt more like fresh carnations to me. Not the perfumers trope of carnation but buying a bunch at the florist. Cool, green tinged, powdery and crisp. The heart is very sweet amber floral for me with reminders that narcissus is the major player here. My question is why aren’t oakmoss and some kinds of animalic noted? Or galbanum? The sweet, furry, resinous dry down lingers and i can smell faint traces of it next morning. A soft, powdery waft of gorgeousness long gone.
Old Herbaceous: Whenever I smell fragrance with a strongly aldehydic opening, what comes to mind is Luca Turin’s approving comment about my beloved Chanel No. 22, which has even more of a dose of aldehydes than its predecessor No. 5: “Stand back and watch the whole thing lumber off into the sky after a three-mile takeoff roll.” In the case of Infini, the aldehydes actually evoke the idea of an aerial vehicle taking off, as if it were a gleaming silver cartoon spaceship, a mid-century zeppelin, or a sparkling hot-air balloon. This balloon, though, carries a hefty load of daffodils and greenery. And while no one has listed galbanum as a passenger, my nose suspects it is along for the ride as a stowaway.
Hot air balloon; image by frigamribe88 at redbubble.com.
3. Do you or will you wear Caron Infini regularly? For what occasions or seasons?
Old Herbaceous: I haven’t been wearing it regularly, but now that I’ve dug it out of my collection for this post and our weather has cooled down, I’m going to include it in my fall rotation this year. The green fragrances I love so much are ideal not only for springtime, but also for this transitional season, when the oppressively humid heat gives way to cooler, drier air and the sky regains its vivid blue hue. September may be my favorite month although spring is my favorite season; having spent so many years in education, my own schooling and my later career, September always feels to me like a fresh start, like the hopeful beginning of a new school year. Besides, it is my birth month so for me personally, it is actually the start of a new year. Crisp green fragrance notes suit my mood in September.
As for occasions, I agree with Portia that Infini can dress up or dress down. To me, it has more warmth than No. 19 so it feels less standoffish, although it can still contribute a certain air to a soignée outfit.
Portia: Infini is a staple in my wearing rotations. Being such a pronounced beauty it’s perfect for nights working in drag. It slips seamlessly from summer to winter and always feels comfortable, elegant and just a little over the top. Infini fits afternoon BarBQs, lunch, fully dressed up or down. Though it’s not a shapeshifter itself it never feels out of place.
4. Who should/could wear Caron Infini?
Portia: Wearable by both sexes but I think you need to be a certain person to wear Caron Infini, especially the vintage formulas. While I think it could easily be a fragrance to confer extra confidence the wearer would have to be savvy enough about fragrance to understand that it can be used as such. Most general public in modern times could find it too far from what they know or smell in department stores. That’s my thought, happy to be proven wrong.
Old Herbaceous: Definitely a unisex option, excellent for both men and women. It reminds me a bit of Geoffrey Beene’s Grey Flannel, launched in 1975 as a traditionally masculine fragrance, though I wouldn’t say they smell alike. They do have a number of notes in common; but where Infini, targeted at women, has “perfumey” aldehydes among its top notes, Grey Flannel has citruses; while narcissus is dominant in Infini, it plays a supporting role to the violet accord in Grey Flannel. Just as women may smell wonderful in Grey Flannel, men may smell wonderful in Infini.
Miguel Matos at Fragrantica ha/s written about the latest version of Infini, launched by Caron in 2018, pointing out that it has nothing to do with the Infini of earlier decades. Indeed, it is a floral fruity gourmand. I wish Caron all possible success; but I also wish they wouldn’t reuse a name for a fragrance that differs so egregiously from the classic fragrance linked to that name. Have you tried any version of Infini? What do you think of it?
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 