Lubin - Idole

Bon Voyage

Pierre Francois Lubin founded his perfume house 1798, just after the French revolution. His first products were scented ribbons and powders and and Eau de Lubin which made him popular with Empress Josephine of the Imperial court, which led to other commissions for kings and tsars.

The perfumes sold by the house of Lubin today are not the same venerable formulas, but the company strives to create an atmosphere of history, and precious materials around its new perfumes. Lubin Idole was created in 2005 by Olivia Giacobetti. Idole tells us a story of romantic travel over the Indian Ocean to Madagascar, on a ship full of ebony and spices. There you meet natives who offer you rum and sugar cane, rub you with precious balms and invite you to dance with them around the smoke from their fires. Afterwards you lie back on the deck of your ship and gaze up at the brilliant stars in an ebony sky, with your leather bag as a pillow.

Idole is very boozy. It opens with a spicy rum that is joined by fruity woods in the heart and a smoky leather note in the base. It's unisex and would be great on a man but don't be afraid of the pirate-themed notes if you're a girly girl. Giacobetti keeps everything transparent with light shining through the layers as she is famous for doing. It stays close to the skin. My only complaint is that it fades too soon. I would love to try it in a spray instead of the little dabs from my sample.

I have a thing for bucanneer perfumes. I've tried Caravelle Epicee and L'Eau de Navigateur, but Idole is the first one I think I could run away with. I also love the bottle.

House: Lubin
Nose: Olivia Giacobetti
Notes:
Top: Rum absolute, saffron, bitter orange peel, black cumin
Middle: Doum palm, smoked ebony, sugar cane
Base: Leather, red sandalwood

p.s. The Lubin website is another one of those flash sites I hate. Please stop. It's not fun, it's a hassle. Look into HTML5 and stylesheets.

Bulgari - Omnia

Gingersnaps on a fresh plank

Today, for a refreshing change I'm sure, I'm going to review a non-niche perfume. Bulgari's Omnia is one of my favourite perfumes ever, and you can buy it at Sephora, or at Shopper's Drug Mart. I got my bottle on sale at Winners.

Or, at least you could. I just checked Bulgari's website and they don't even mention the original Omnia anymore. Just the flankers, Omnia Amethyst, Omnia Cristalle and Omnia Jade. I highly recommend picking up the original Omnia in the brown bottle soon, if you get the chance.

In Perfume, The Guide, Luca Turin gives Omnia four stars and says its construction is original and influential. Why are they cancelling this?

Anyway, back to why I love it. Don't read the list of spice notes and wood and think that this is going to be too heavy for you; Omnia is sheer and transparent. It's a perfect woody, fall perfume. Omnia as impressive sillage, and lasts like crazy.

It's fairly linear. The opening has a juicy feeling from the mandarin, and there is a tea note as in all the Bulgari perfumes. But mainly, Omnia is the wonderful melding of three notes: a fresh spicy gingersnap, a creamy "white chocolate," and a wood note like a buzz saw. The wood turns what could have been a boring sweet gourmand into an amazing dry, warm scent. The wood is like fresh sawdust. Combined with the spices and white chocolate, the wood reminds me of a freshly sawed maple plank. Sitting on the plank is a plate of warm gingersnap cookies.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find some bottles to hoard.

House: Bulgari
Nose: Alberto Morillas
Notes: mandarin, saffron, ginger, cardamom, Masala tea, lotus, clove, cinnamon, white chocolate, sandalwood, tonka, guaiac wood (from Perfume Posse)

Photo: kidmissle

Ormonde Jayne - Ta'if

Roses and honeyed dates with a hot dry wind blowing by.

From the difficult to describe (see Nuit de Tuberose) to the easy. Ta'if is a comfort scent, easy and pretty and great in the heat or in the cold.

From the Ormonde Jayne website:

Ta´if, a town rising 5000 ft above the shores of the Red Sea and overlooking the Arabian desert, is renowned for its plantations of Ta´if rose.

To this desert rose, Linda Pilkington added honeyed dates and saffron - gorgeous and perfect notes with rose. It's like eating a middle-eastern dessert with hands perfumed by rosewater. To keep it from being too sweet or foodie, a touch of pink pepper, like a dry desert wind, rolls over everything. The base is sweet, warm amber.

House: Ormonde Jayne
Nose: Linda Pilkington
Notes: Top: Pink pepper, saffron and dates Heart: Rose oil, freesia, orange flower absolute and jasmine Base: Broom and amber


Photo: labradolci