Olfactics

  • Tonka Impériale by Guerlain

    I’m a real prune sometimes. Why would Guerlain need to release a tonka fragrance when it’s Jicky’s main note or a key player already in their oriental creations?  Jicky in the Eau de Parfum concentration is beautifully delectable, rounded and warm focussing predominantly on the tonka bean. Tonka beans are…

  • Dior Homme Intense by Dior

    Consider this: Take a perfume closely associated with femininity – Say, Shalimar. Then, modernise it with an updated rendition, aimed to appeal to a younger market from a totally different generation. Tweaking tradition, we get Shalimar Parfum Initial from Thierry Wasser for Guerlain in 2011. The iris, prominent; with the…

  • Gold Woman by Amouage

    Gold Woman by Amouage

    Gold Woman is the ultimate testament to fine perfumery. Facing unreasonable melancholia, perhaps due to my disappointment over recent fragrant releases, I scrambled over to what I describe as a perfect fragrance; smelling it as a means to gauge the nose. Angelically, upon first sniff of Gold Woman joyous memories…

  • Sunshine by Amouage

    Sunshine by Amouage

    I’m not entirely convinced that the concept of sunshine suits Amouage. “This is a new chapter for Amouage” said Creative Director Christopher Chong during his time in Australia late 2014. Bookended with Fate Man and Woman, Amouage has taken a new approach – an entirely new direction for their perfumes. From an…

  • L’Air du Desert Marocain by Tauer

    L’Air du Desert Marocain by Tauer

    Close your eyes and breathe in. Can you catch the desert air? Can you feel the piercing sunlight hitting the round of your head and attacking the vulnerability of your shoulders? After that, look up into the cloudless sky, and the dazzling sunlight will blind you momentarily as your eyes…

  • Vetiver by Guerlain

    Vetiver by Guerlain

    I will start this review with a question and an anecdote: Do we love classics because we have to? Some fragrances present themselves as a rite of passage in the perfume world. It’s a bit like an individual’s first legal beer or oyster served au naturel. I recall my twee sentiment…

  • Acaciosa Extrait by Caron

    Acaciosa Extrait by Caron

    The perfume I have reviewed for this post is a vintage Caron extrait of Acaciosa from an unknown, most definitely better era. The jasmine here is prominent, buttery in the presence of its peers. A galaxy better than the stuff available today (says Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez). The house Caron calls to…

  • L’Eau D’Hiver for Frederic Malle

    L’Eau D’Hiver for Frederic Malle

    In perfume, the theme of water and ‘watery’ perfumes has always interested me. Firstly, one must grasp the concept of water and its thematic odour profile. Water fragrances are fresh on the skin, and equally refreshing on the nose. These fragrances, typified by the likes of Polo Blue by Ralph Lauren…

  • Amber Absolute by Tom Ford

    Amber Absolute by Tom Ford

    Tom Ford offers no cheap thrills. His perfumes are thundering creations, approached forever with a tight hesitance. Amber Absolute is no exception, with an astonishing dense quality that concentrates the already concentrated – like cough syrup or honey. His perfumes are lavish and opulent, best served and doused sparingly and very…

  • Osmanthe Yunnan by Hermes

    Osmanthe Yunnan by Hermes

    What excites me with Ellena is his laconic approach to perfumery as well as his typical transparent fragrances, and Osmanthe Yunnan is no exception. It’s one thing to smell like an oxymoron – a ‘complete incompleteness’, but I think it’s another school of perfumery altogether when anything extraneous by Ellena’s standards…