My Favourites of 2011

Another year, and dozen bottles

Well, another year is almost past and my perfume cabinet is getting pretty full. One of my New Year's resolutions will be to go through it and take out bottles I never wear. They can be boxed up and moved to a dresser drawer or perhaps traded. Dan, who organizes the wonderful meet-up events at Noor, tells me he's planning a bottle/decant swap event for 2012. Perfect timing, because if I can't make more room in my closet, how will I buy the new perfumes on my wish list?

I sniffed a lot of perfume in 2011, most of it OK, some of it astoundingly beautiful.  In December, as I contemplated my Christmas list, I began to feel that there was nothing left for me to buy or ask for. I have so many great perfumes. As you can see from the photo above, I could wear what I have for the rest of my life and probably never run out.

So, here are my top 10 favourite perfumes of 2011.

1. Parfumerie Generale Papyrus de Ciane

Number 1 on my list and my biggest surprise of 2011 is Papyrus de Ciane. Dry, dark, mossy and green, this tribute to the famous Mousse de Saxe base is perfect. I was passionately obsessed with PdC for most of the fall; it was all I wanted to wear. It seriously interfered with me testing anything else, which was a surprise to me because I had originally tested the sample in 2010 and found it too bitter. How much difference a year can make! In 2011, I had to have a full bottle. My nose is definitely still changing.

2. Jean Patou Vacances

The early part of 2011 was all about vintage perfume for me. The wonderful Mr. Fritch at Fritch's Pharmacy in Kitchener introduced me to many old beauties and I was flattered to be interviewed for an article about vintage perfume in Maclean's magazine. My best purchase from Fritch's was Jean Patou Vacances. Not only is the bottle with it's green glass stopper beautiful, the perfume is a gorgeous green lilac that lifts my mood every time I wear it. It's a heart breaker too, because it's been discontinued and is notoriously hard to find. This is the only bottle I will probably ever have, so I treasure it.

3. Serge Lutens Five O'Clock au Gingembre

Fresh ginger and early grey tea. Spicy, warm, dry and yummy - Five O'clock au Gingembre was the perfume I wore while baking Christmas cookies this year with a good friend. I expect to continue to wear it often this winter.

4. L'Artisan Parfumeur Fleur de Narcisse (Exceptional Harvests Collection 2006)

At a perfume meetup at Noor this year, I met Bryna, who may be my perfume evil twin. What I mean is, she doesn't love what I love and lucky for me, she likes to trade! For a few samples from my collection she gave me a generous decant of Fleur de Narcisse. I had been coveting this limited release for a while. The daffodil smells like the volcanic soil it was grown in, as well as hay and leather. It's a day in the country in a bottle.

5. Chanel Bois des Iles

Chanel finally released its Exclusifs line in smaller bottles! I snapped up Bois des Iles which I had been dreaming of since 2008 but just couldn't justify the huge 200ml bottle. The new, smaller 75ml size is perfect. Now I can wrap myself in its creamy sandalwood and gingerbread cashmere scent anytime I need some comfort.

6. Lorenzo Villoresi Sandalo

My Dear Husband took me to Rome in the spring of 2011, and it inspired me to buy him a bottle of Lorenzo Villoresi Sandalo. I don't think this niche Italian perfumer gets enough love in the perfume blogs; he is very talented. Sandalo is a smooth and spicy sandalwood of high quality which is getting harder to find these days. I can hardly keep my hands off my DH when he wears it.

7. Frederic Malle En Passant

2011 was the year I met the charming Frederic Malle! He gave a fascinating lecture on perfume and the industry at Holt Renfrew. His niche line of perfumes really started the trend of celebrating perfumers, the artists who create the scents, instead of hiding their names like most mass market perfumes do. I purchased a bottle of En Passant by one of my favourite perfumers Olivia Giacobetti. En passant is a story told with transparent drops of water on lilacs and a soft dusting of flour.

8. L'Artisan Parfumeur Ananas Fizz

My first successful eBay purchase was a box of samples of Ananas Fizz. I think this perfume was discontinued because it's a love it or hate it scent. I didn't expect to love it, but the first sniff of fizzy pineapple from a sample received in a trade made me grin. It was one of my favourite hot weather perfumes in the summer of 2011. I had to have more, but when I went to buy it I realized it had long been discontinued. Luckily, I found the box of samples on eBay and with the help on a funnel and an empty decant bottle, I now have one of the few remaining bottles of Ananas Fizz in existence.

9. Parfums de Nicolai Vie de Château Intense

If you haven't tried any of Patricia Nicolai's perfumes yet, make it a New Year's resolution. She is a genius. Vie de Chateau is la dolce vita in a bottle. Sugared grapefruit, fresh-mown hay and soft suede gloves.

10. Jean Patou Joy

Let's end the list with Joy. Joy was a lucky find at Winners, where you can sometimes stumble on excellent older names in perfume that may have fallen out of fashion but are still of great quality and beauty. Besides Joy, I've bought Rochas Femme, Bvlgari Black and Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia at my favourite Winners. Joy is a classic and beautiful sparkling jasmine bouquet with a smoldering sexy base.

Coming in 2012

Just as I thought I was out, they pull me back in. Samples showed up in the mail and in my stocking that surprised me with their beauty and I am once again covetous. Huzzah sayeth the retailers. Right now I am wearing the heck out of these samples and will be reviewing them soon:

• Mary Greenwell Plum - Maybe the most beautiful thing I have ever smelled.
• Hermes Eau des Merveilles - Sexy perfect unisex skin scent
• By Kilian Liaisons Dangereuses - Green plum, cassis, rose, cinnamon and musk. Yum.
• Parfums d'Empire Azemour  les Orangers - If you love old-fashioned oakmoss heavy chypres, run, buy this now.

Happy New Year!

Summer Scents

What I wore on my summer vacation, 2011

Summer is its own perfume category. Hot humid days cry out for cooling colognes; languid summer evenings beg for pretty florals; garden-fresh green notes just seem so right and if you can't get to the beach, you can always smell like one. On my staycation this summer, I hung around the city during some of its hottest days. Away from the restrictions of the office, I was free to spray on whatever and as much as I wanted. So here is list of what I wore to beat the heat.

Cologne

Santa Maria Novella Acqua di Colonia
I first tried this in the spring on a trip to Rome. I was looking for a perfume that was quintessentially "Italian" and that would help me cope with the heat while we traversed the hills of Rome by foot. Acqua di Colonia fits the bill. It was originally created in 1533 by Dominican friars for Catherine de Medici. Its cooling combination of citrus, herbs and flowers feel as good as stepping into the Trevi Fountain on a hot day.

Floral

Penhaligon's Orange Blossom
A favourite of mine for sleeping in year round, this light, airy take on orange blossom starts with a pink pepper and end with a whisper of vanilla and wood.

Bvlgari Bvlgari Pour Femme
The perfect pretty floral perfume for a casual summer evening in a barely-there dress and sandals, Bvlgari Pour Femme is a carefree violet, rose and jasmine with a warm amber base.

Beach

Parfumerie Generale - Bois Naufragé
My beach in a bottle. This simple combination of wood, salt and ambergris makes my skin smell like I just went swimming in the ocean. The driftwood note and the salty-sweet skin note of ambergris combine with a pale "green plus coconut" fig-like note to make it seem like just the barest trace of suntan lotion is left on my skin under the salt.

l'Artisan Parfumeur - Ananas Fizz
Grapefruit and pineapple make this perfume a fizzy but not too sweet refresher. I find it somewhat balsamic and floral. When I wear it people say I smell like the beach.

Creed - Virgin Island Water
Virgin Island Water always makes me smile. Coconut, rum, lime and creamy ylang ylang smell like a tropical cocktail in paradise.

Green

Eau d'Italie - Jardin du Poete
The smell of fresh basil is one of the best things in summer. In Jardin du Poete, refreshing bitter orange and grapefruit shine down on the bright green of basil and cypress like a garden at high noon. Moody green angelica, musk and vetiver bring you down to earth in that same garden at dusk.

Parfumerie Generale - Papyrus de Ciane
This is a good example of how perfume tastes can change over time. When I first tried this scent last year, I wasn't really into it. Now I adore it. The main notes are galbanum, neroli, incense, labdanum, vetiver and a gorgeous dark, mossy Mousse de Saxe base. Not really a "fresh" green scent, but more of a dry, smoky, resinous green, I know Papyrus de Ciane will continue to be one of my favourites right into fall.

So what are you wearing this summer to beat the heat?



Photo: Chasing Water I by andreaffm

L'Artisan Parfumeur - Ananas Fizz

Welcoming the Heat


It's summertime in Toronto and that means humidity. Some days it's like walking through warm, wet wool. The funny thing is, I really don't mind; I love it hot. We have 8 months of winter here so I appreciate every moment of the summer.

Hot weather does, however, affect my choice of perfumes. On a sticky day in the city, I want to wear something sheer and refreshing. Ananas Fizz fits the bill. It's a cheerful, fruity floral that avoids cloying sugary-sweetness.

Ananas Fizz does start fizzy! The opening is a mixture of grapefruit peel and pineapple. It seems green to me, like the pineapple is still green, not yet syrupy and ripe. It's also much drier than you'd think it would be, an almost acidic edge and the fizz of soda. Later, it becomes softer with creamy floral notes. It dries to a sheer woody veil with hints of pineapple. Unfortunately it only lasts about 3 hours on my skin, but I would happily re-spray this on all day long.

Created in 2004 by Anne Flipo as a limited edition summer scent, it was added to the regular collection the next year. Flipo created another perfume for l'Artisan that I love as well: Fleur de Narcisse as well as the very pretty La Chasse aux Papillons and Verte Violette. I like her work; it feels minimalist and transparent and as if all her notes shine through with their own light.

And here comes the pain, because Ananas Fizz seems to have been discontinued. I DMed L'Artisan for confirmation but haven't heard back. Isn't that just my luck? Why do we always fall for the ones that play hard to get? I only received my sample in a swap recently but I think I'm in love. So Ananas Fizz has been added to my growing "I wish I could find..." list.

Have a bottle of Ananas Fizz to trade? Let me know below.

House: L'Artisan Parfumeur
Nose: Anne Flipo
Notes: grapefruit, bitter orange, bergamot, pineapple, coconut milk, cedar, vetiver, woody notes

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Update - July 25, 2011
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L'Artisan Parfumeur did get back to me, but unfortunately they confirmed that Ananas Fizz is not on their "programme." They suggested I try their Invitation Créole candles, that the scent is similar. If I find some to sniff I'll let you know.

I did however, manage to find a great deal on eBay for a bunch of Ananas Fizz samples. When they arrive, I'll be decanting them all into one bottle. So I'm set.

L'Artisan Parfumeur - Fleur de Narcisse (Exceptional Harvests Collection 2006)

Falling hard for a sunny beauty

Fleur de Narcisse, 2006 was created by L'Artisan Parfumeur as one of their "Exception Harvests" perfumes. These special-edition perfumes were created in limited quantity from a particular natural harvest and are meant to showcase the material and also the region, the way that certain vintages of wine reflect in their aroma and flavour the soil they came from. Fleur de Narcisse features a heady absolute made from narcissus, hand picked on June 6th and 7th, 2005, from the volcanic soil of Lozère, France. Only 3,000 bottles were made.

Luckily, my local perfume shop has a bottle of this gem. I first took a sniff of Fleur de Narcisse about two years ago but I was unimpressed. I don't know what I was thinking, because I tried a few sprays on my arm again this weekend and I am gone, baby gone. Fleur de Narcisse is marvelous.

It starts with the tart green smell of black currants and leaves, then blooms into big, sunny daffodils. Narcissus is one of my favourite notes in perfume. It has a honey-sweet side but also a waxy, thick smell and an earthiness. The narcissus in Fleur de Narcisse does seem to have an ashy quality, like the volcanic soil they grew in, thanks to the use of a gorgeous smoky leather note.

But as soon as I have recognized leather and smoke a gorgeous sweet, herbaceous hay note takes over. For an few minutes it's as if I am standing in a shaft of sunlight in a warm barn. I can smell hay all around me and a leather saddle nearby. Then, the honeyed daffodils come back and leave me smiling. It's a cheerful perfume.

The next day the scent left on my sweater is almost gourmand. Maybe it's the honey-sweet narcissus and the spicy hyacinth lingering? But, although they aren't listed, it smells to me like the cinnamon sweetness of tolu or the sweet nuttiness of tonka.

In any case, Fleur de Narcisse is big hit with both me and my husband. It might have taken me a couple of years to appreciate it, but now I'm hooked and saving for a full bottle.

House: L'Artisan Parfumeur
Nose: Anne Flipo
Notes: narcissus, hay, hyacinth, violet leaf, blond tobacco, iris, blackcurrant bud, moss and leather

Painting: J.W. Waterhouse, Echo and Narcissus, 1903

L'Artisan Parfumeur - Côte d'Amour

Rosemary and sea salt sourdough waffles

Côte d'Amour is meant to evoke the experience of a trip along the Loire Atlantique coast. From the L'Artisan web site:

a soft caress of sea air and sand, of scents of golden yellow gorse, heather and broom, a sensual mixture of soft resin and floatwood … Reminiscent of sandcastles, shell collecting along the beach and riding your bike against the wind. Memories of childhood and holidays. Lazy, relaxing days. Its salty note, that wonderful odour marine at the heart of this eau de toilette, gives the fragrance all its personality.

Well, I'll give you salty. The first sniff of CdA smells like rosemary and salt and it has a sort of "breadiness" to it. My very first thought was "Oh, focaccia!" The salt note is strong and very persistent. While wearing it, everything I drink tastes salty.

After the top notes, CdA becomes salty and woody and lightly floral from a few inches away. But if I smell my skin too closely there is something sour. Looking for an image, I found the perfect one in someone's photo of their savoury sourdough waffles. That's what CdA smells like to me - with a lot of salt.

Côte d'Amour a "certified organic" perfume from L'Artisan Parfumeur.


House: L'Artisan Parfumeur
Nose: Celine Ellena
Notes: salt flower, green tangerine, pink grapefruit, dune immortal flower, rosemary, cypress, gorse blossom, rose, broom, heather, maritime pine and floated wood.

Photo: Savoury basil and sea salt sourdough waffles by foonus

L'Artisan Parfumeur - Thé Pour Un Été

Jasmine tea with lemon

Thé Pour Un Été has a short list of notes and a simple concept that's been done before (see Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert), but the result is a very beautiful and satisfying perfume. 

TPUE was created by Olivia Giacobetti, the nose behind some of my favourite perfumes (like Philosykos.) I find that I'm starting to gravitate to her work and that of a couple others.  In her perfumes, the notes shine as naturally as they do in real life but also melt into perfect harmonies with each other.

TPUE starts with a realistic sweet tea note with lemon. I immediately thought of iced-tea. I don't really smell the mint, but there is a certain leafy greeness to the opening.

After the tart lemon fades the jasmine comes out and the tea morphs into the smell of jasmine tea, exactly as I remember it from university when I drank gallons of it. The jasmine and tea notes weave in and out - sometime I smell one and then the other. TPUE stays with these two notes - there aren't any real bottom notes - until they gradually fade away.

Or do they? At first, I thought this wasn't a long-lasting perfume - I believed it was gone by lunch. But TPUE is one of those tricky perfumes, the kind you can't smell if stick your nose right up to your skin but you keep catching whiffs of it floating in the air, hours after you thought it was gone. Stray notes of jasmine in the air like far off music and the tannic smell of tea.

House: L'Artisan Parfumeur
Nose: Olivia Giacobetti
Notes: tea, jasmine, bergamot, amalfi lemon and mint (Fragrantica)

Photo: Fenchurch

L'Artisan Parfumeur - Nuit de Tubereuse

Jungle love on a hot and humid night in Paris.

Nuit de Tubereuse is a complex and narcotic scent. I find it very hard to describe, more than any of my other perfumes and I've been wearing it for days now.  So I have had to repeat imagery from other bloggers who seem to get this perfume better than I do. According to L'Artisan Parfumeur, NdT is supposed to be the smell of a summer night in Paris, but it's not a city at all to me, more of a jungle. (The blog Muse in Wooden Shoes mentioned "jungle" first, but it's so true and I can't get it out of my head.)

NdT begins with a sharp, sour note and an edge of decay. I don't like it for the first minute. That brief unpleasantness morphs into sweetness. It's sort of the smell of mango and gentle spices. The smell of mango has an undercurrent of decay, something rotting on a jungle floor, along with a juicy tartness up top.

The tuberose, with it's bubblegum sweetness, comes out to join the mango a few minutes later and creates what Now Smell This described perfectly as the smell of Juicy Fruit gum. Just a little. But the indolic notes of tuberose and orange blossom and yland ylang are there too, making it tropical and sensuous.

This is the part I like best. As the tuberose and other indolic flowers take over, the perfume is warmed and grounded by sandalwood and musks. It becomes very, well the only word for it is humid. That fits right in with the notion of a jungle at night, but I suppose it also suits Paris in the summer - a city that locals flee during the hot, sticky months. And a city, I have been told, with a distinct lack of air conditioning. In tribute, I chose an image from "An American in Paris," the scene where the lovers meet for a late night walk along the river - a place to escape the humidity of the city. Also a place, I imagine, that would have had some of the damp smell of decay that I get from the beginning of the scent.

NdT becomes a sweet, fruity, spicy, woody, musky skin scent. The smell of a languid, humid summer night with a lover. The mango keeps it lighter than most tuberose perfumes, giving it the feeling of being composed of layers of light, transparent silks. It lasts for a long time, I even smelled a lingering sweet woodiness a day later, after a shower and a swim. I imagine it in colours of peach, orange and brown.

House: L'Artisan Parfumeur
Nose: Bertrand Duchaufour
Notes: cardamom, clove absolute, pink berries, pepper, citrus fruits, tuberose, orange blossom, ylang-ylang, rose, mango, tuberose root, angelica, gorse, sandalwood, pallissander, musk, benzoin, styrax




Picture, An American in Paris