A Stimulating Pair -- DSH Cafe Noir and Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine

It's almost like a breakfast pairing, the brightness of  Orange Sanguine by Atelier Cologne and the astringent darkness of Cafe Noir by DSH.   For me the favorite meal of the day, a break that sets me up for facing the commute, and lately the two perfumes I have carried with me and applied as my energy may flag during the slosh of the grey days full of sleet and slushy slippery pavements.  Partly I think because they are work appropriate perfumes, since coffee and work go together like guitar and flamenco. And everyone, even the most corporate of souls, is pleased by the simplicity and brightness of citrus, especially on a dark cold day, or even a hot humid one for that matter.  Another part is that their inherent stimulating qualities and associations are calling to me; so I answer to my luck in having just the thing for me right now, close at hand.    They are both part of the traditional morning accompaniments of preparing for a new day, a couple of tip of the iceberg pleasures atop a very deep mass of memories and habits.

I like alternating between a pair of very different but conceptually connected perfumes during the course of the day or a few days, it adds to the associative pleasure of the notes and is an idea I would recommend trying sometimes.  I think these kind of pairings tend to come together spontaneously from among perfumes in the fragrance wardrobe at hand.  They each enhance the qualities of the other when worn one after the other.

Cafe Noir is a completely natural and handmade perfume, and begins with that clear aroma that wafts up from a cup of very good black coffee sitting beside you though it is far more decorative than that, drying down with a soft resinous floral and plummy accent becoming prominent.  It is evident your nice breakfast or cafe table has flowers on it.  The pepper and cinnamon notes sharpen the noir effect.  The notes are listed as top: bergamot, black pepper, cinnamon bark, pimento berry; middle: benzoin, Bulgarian rose otto, jasmine, labdanum; base: coffee absolute, tolu balsam, vanilla.

On skin it has something like a chypre astringency, a rich tangy and dark effect, as if a chypre was married to a good black coffee.  This is one of those universal types that can be worn day or night, male or female, relatable to a wide range of personality types from all across the social spectrum.  I can imagine it makes me sophisticated or part of the full time cafe life or someone sharpening my mental pencils for engaging in challenging conversation or work.  It is not indolent even if it is sensual in its display of attentive appreciation of specific energetic qualities.

Orange Sanguine is an excitingly true orange citrus with immediate lift off,  like a kick of the energy of vitamin C hitting the blood stream. I find this strong cologne almost gives a physical and mental buzz.  It is called an absolue and at 15% strength it gives of itself beyond what I ever expected from a cologne. The notes are listed as blood orange, bitter orange, jasmine, geranium from South Africa, amber woods, tonka beans, sandalwood.  The strength and longevity would lead me to believe there are some other than natural elements involved, and/or the notes have been skillfully tweaked by the most expert of chemist/designers of scent molecules.  It's a very interesting line, that they thoughtfully designed this variation on the theme of cologne.  I think the cologne form even adds an extra kick to the expansion of the scent around you because it evaporates so forcefully the action seems to enhance the citrus elements.  This is truly like a fresh squeezed juice of something like a hundred oranges, clementines and tangerines that evelope you in that peculiarly joyous effect that citrus has.  Over time it begins to deepen and the amber woods, tonka and sandalwood give a satisfying smoothness and depth, while holding the recent memory of the blast of sunshine-happiness factors.  I plan to obtain more samples of others in the line.  I'm also glad to see that they offer two different sizes.

More information on Cafe Noir at the DSH site.

Above orange and coffee themed photo from the Atelier Cologne site, with more information on Orange Sanguine.

Parfumerie Generale-Three Perfumes: Rare Matale, Corps et Ames & L'Ombre Fauve

The style of Pierre Guillaume/Parfumerie Generale is fascinating, highly individual and truly creative in the treatment of smell elements.  For me they begin with a thin veneer of business as usual that serves to invite you in to a typical fragrance experience, that then immediately plunges into a subconscious dreamland version of perfume, where blades of green, both soft as grass and gripping as the vines that pull down the porch, slice through the scent of leather or metal or brighten the light of what is associated with a flame in darkness, such as incense.

I find myself very drawn to his style of composition of fragrance.  I recall Querelle and Psychotrope, both of which were were for me precursors and door openers, normalizing experimentation with the concepts of putting together notes that then seemed impossible together, like the leather flower for Psychotrope, or citrus brightened earthy dirtiness of Querelle.  There is an emphasis on contrasts that seem to heighten the effect of each element all the more.  I got a poignant, even moody quality in the ones that I know.  I don't know the whole line, but what I have tried makes me want to know them all.   PG is not afraid of delving into the beauty of a certain kind of melancholy, like a piano etude by Eliott Carter, or Satie,  though there is always a whole hearted enthusiastic sensuality shining through; that is the natural antidote if one is needed.


L'Eau Rare Matale is based on Matale tea from Sri Lanka,  but as is usual in the house style, it starts one way, like opening a box of strong black tea with very subtle floral highlights and then the other elements surface and become dominant, so that it resolves itself into a musky smokey burnt wood, laid on peppery earth, with dry cedar and vetiver.  There must be a very decent percentage of true natural essences in these since they behave in that characteristic way of holding close to the skin and being a rather more ephemeral than primarily chemical perfumes, but there is a lot of unusual note behavior going on too, so I am sure PG is using all his chemistry background to manipulate the moods this fragrance moves through.  PG as a chemist has experimented with using ultra violet light to blend or soften perfume notes, which does affect the scent molecules (who knew?) though not in these particular examples.

Corps et Ames is a chypre of immortelle and an exotic wood (Melati) with geranium, a leather accord and sandalwood.  What happens is the dusty/powdery strongly aromatic astringent quality of immortelle and geranium together are faintly sweetened  by the leather and woods, like a fine cognac.  Lately I keep finding that chypres remind me of strong spirits, like cognac or brandy. The contrast is like a dark background making something light look lighter and brighter.  The resinous effect contains by implication the sense memory of a burning sun, something we know in our bones, so for all the darkness and depth it is as warming as a hit of whiskey, yet much more sophisticated, soft, sensitive.  I think perfumers must play with the implications of the archetypes; we all know (even still) what the sun does, how things dried in the sun smell, and the luxurious feeling imparted by these precious notes in concentration and in a softened blend, holding close on skin evelopes the wearer in an personal aura of abstract yet natural sophistication.  It's like a wild animal's clean fur or the softest finest well-kept brushed suede, or a drink of strong black tea.  These perfumes definitely reconnect me with these luxurious natural material sensations, as all the best perfumes do.

Not to say these are all for serious times, or no fun. For me the notes of the amber, musk, woods, patchouli, incense of L'Ombre Fauve sounds like this would make a typically dark heavy perfume, but instead, somehow, tho it is certainly a noctural mood, there is a dancing quality to the spice that picks it all up and whirls it all around so the energy is uplifting and almost adrenelinesque in a sense of the  second wind.  It takes a lot of energy and strength to dance for a long time at night but sometimes dancing releases all stress so energy is released and accessible. It is the strength of these elements brought up and released by the spiciness that keeps it on a burning level of heat and light in the dark that loosens up the body for movement.

These perfumes contain many references and implications in their composition.  I keep finding this freshness contrasted against dryness, greens coming up through a resinous incense, a tailored strictness against the looseness of warmed up skin.  All of the Parfumerie Generale fragrances I have tried have been different, sumptuous, luxurious, and playful in their sophisticated manipulation of expectation and associations.  I look forward to trying more over time.

For more info, try the Parfumerie Generale site, or  Luckyscent, or search online for the many reviews of fellow fans of this line.  Above photo from Luckyscent.

Providence Perfume Co.- Osmanthus Oolong, Musk Nouveau, Ginger Lily

Providence Perfume Co. was kind enough to send me a small box of assorted samples, which I have been enjoying for the past week or so.  This is a well presented, completely hand made, fully natural perfume line, created by  Charna Ethier, a native New Englander, whose story I find inspiring.  I love when people just go ahead and do something when most would first seek validation or "permission"  from the taste-makers that be.  A number of natural perfumers are now trusting in their personal sensibilities,  with well developed ideas about what they want to do, and they make what they would like to see in the real world that wasn't there before,  and then find a way to get it out to the rest of us.  Charna, by study and respect for nature,  and instinctively drawn to the tradition of artisan made products of luxurious quality, has developed a unique style as a perfumer, grounded in the style and history of New England. 

All of the perfumes are immediately appealing straight out of the gate,  and have a strong undertow for me of a gourmand, consumable nature.   

Osmanthus Oolong has the fruity floral apricot tone of a delicate flower often used as an additive for tea, but in this perfume these effects are magnified so that the sweetness in the flower is most dominant while a deep astringent black tea is the background that heightens the brightness of the floral effect.   As it wears the floral becomes more ethereal and almost celestial in tone, alternately quiet and then rising up around the skin to reach my awareness from time to time as clear as a bell.  I find myself being surprised by wafts of it, like being visited by the spirit of the flower.  The notes as listed on the site are a variety of teas and gold Japanese osmanthus flower with sueded apricot leathers and a touch of powder. 

Musk Nouveau is an Art Deco style chypre composed of angelica, aged patchouli, oud, gold champaca,  coffee, sherry and black pepper.   This dark and astringent configuration results in the effect of something like a wad of never lit moist tobacco in a fine wool breast pocket, beside a very sheerly floral-scented scarf.  It was designed for both men and women.  The theme is carried out in the way the elements fit together in an orderly ascending progression/configuration, as art deco style often unfolds.  I can see the 20s era couples with their cigarette holders having a drink, their breath and clothing infusing the atmosphere around them, with a perfume like this rendering all the luxury vices that much more aromatic.

Ginger Lily is a sheer touch of gardenia like fragrance, with the ginger aspect tempered by bitter orange, all resting lightly on an amber base with mango, cloves and ylang ylang.  The zesty ginger and amber cloves are predominant, so that the spiciness makes this both a feminine and masculine that works well in winter since it has the warmth to carry a sheer floral into a cold atmosphere. 

As a trio they could also be layered, not on top of each other but rather beside or on different areas such as the neck and arms. Especially the Musk Nouveau as a chypre contrasting and well balanced by Ginger Lily as complementary.

I like that it comes in a variety of size/price ranges from $25 to $68 to $110, and that there are well thought out sample sets available to try the range at reasonable cost.

The Providence location of the company speaks to me personally, because I recall a couple of summers spent there at the end of my high school years, with friends who had rented one of the magnificent British Colonial houses which at that time were within our limited financially pooled reach.  The hilly streets were full of complicated domestic architecture, and I enjoyed the old gardens and details of many British Indian colonial porches.  These perfumes remind me also of the New England Far Eastern trade connection, and that this and other older port cities of the area made their first fortunes bringing back teas and spices and other consumables to the American market.

Above illustrations:
 Chinese stamps depicting osthmanthus fragrans

Ginger Lily from Floridata, who offers the image as a free wallpaper for your computer.

Self Portrait in the Green Bugatti (1925) by Tamara de Lempicka. Oil on Wood. Private Collection
see link for interesting story on this era and artist.

Bruno Acampora Profumi

This line was a surprise and new to me, even though it has been in existence for more than thirty years and is well known in Italy. Now recently become available in the U.S., and it is about time. It is strongly Italian in its aesthetic, of a certain era I remember well, through its films. I am thinking Fellini, Bertolucci, Antonioni.

Bruno Acampora apparently was one of the beautiful people of the era, of the so-called jet-set, continuously moving from beautiful place to beautiful place all over the world. There is an Andy Warhol portrait, which is the trademark of a certain type of person, time and place. The perfumes in the line were created in the mid 70s into the early 80s. They carry the feeling of those times into the present day, by which I mean the embrace of guiltless hedonism, referenced back to the ancient Roman resort of Capri. This is a good place from which to start in creating fragrances.

I was introduced to this perfume at the Fall Sniffa perfume event, at Bendels. They made a strong impression, which is saying something in the midst of a massive perfume and sensory overload. Samples were running very low, and certain solid perfumes were sold out already, but I was able to get samples of the Musc and Jasmine. These are perfume oils, in aluminum vials stopped with corks, and there are written directions provided to help you turn them into an eau de parfum if so desired. Everything comes in a solid perfume version, and it is obvious right away that the quality and density of the scent they hold is rich and strong. While there is a very high percentage of natural essences in these fragrances, it does not appear that they are all strictly and entirely natural perfumes. (The information on the site is mostly in Italian.) Many aspects of both Musc and Jasmine bear the marks of a high component of naturals in the action of the drydown and in complexity of single notes.

Both the Musc and the Jasmine turn animalic after a few minutes, in the sense of something catlike there. A cat relaxing in the sun, after washing thoroughly. They are redolent of the corporeal, very material and tangible, not ethereal in any way; there is a strong sense of the body in both of them. The Musc seems to grow in strength as time goes on, a true musk, the scent of a clean strong animal, and is actually a perfect balance to the Jasmine, (I can see wearing one on each wrist) which starts out true to the floral form but burns off the jasmine headiness to settle down into the green/subtly indolic aspect of the flower. The Musc (1975) notes are listed as Musk, Rose, Violet, jasmine, Cloves, Amber, Patchouli penang, Sandalwood. The Jasmine (1978) notes are listed as  Jasmine, Cyclamen, Cloves, Ylang Ylang.

I am still thinking of those few moments I was able to try the solid perfume version of Sballo, but it was sold out with no samples available, so I will have to check back soon to see if it could possibly truly be as wonderful as I remember. An earthy floral, the base of vetiver, hay and sage gave the top floral notes of rose geranium violet lily and neroli an astringency that was smoothed by the musk, patchouli and sandalwood mid tones. There was a sense of wind-swept strongly aromatic summer country air.

All of these are wearable for masculine as well as feminine.  There's that ancient Roman/modern Italian hedonist flavor for you.

Bendels is currently the place to try these things in person, otherwise Luckyscent has them online, and a sample set of all seven.


Above images. top from the Bruno Acampora site, next Dionysus on a wild cat, an ancient mosaic; last, the beautiful Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita by Fellini.