Annick Goutal has released a new Eau de Parfum concentration of Mandragore. It is available in a spray bottle, or in the gorgeous butterfly bottle shown at left.
I am looking forward to trying this; I liked Mandragore but the lasting power was not impressive in the Eau de Toilette…
Today Marlen and I are comparing notes on Ormonde Jayne Tolu. Tolu has notes of juniper berry, orange blossom, clary sage, orchid, Moroccan rose, muguet, tolu (a Peruvian tree resin, see picture at right), tonka bean, golden frankincense and amber.
He says: Being a huge fan of orientals, especially those that highlight amber and vanilla notes, Tolu was an instant love-love relationship…
New at perfumebay: Thierry Mugler Alien, Chanel Allure Sensuelle, Kiehl's Original Musk, Liz Claiborne Soul by Curve.
New at sephora: Demeter Fragrance Library scents in Black Russian and Chocolate Covered Cherries.
Trouble, the last major feminine release from Boucheron Paris, is a sensual oriental fragrance composed of citron, digitalis, jasmine sambac, precious woods, vanilla amber and blue cedar. The perfume comes in a full range of scented products including shower gel, body cream, body milk and a dry oil spray. The dry oil is my favorite of the moisturizers. It does not have the rich texture of the cream, nor does it sink in as deep as the body milk, but it is by far the most convenient to apply — the fragrance is infused into a blend of magnolia, sweet almond and camellia oils that spritzes easily into a light layer and is rapidly absorbed with minimal mess or fuss…
Timbuktu was released by L’Artisan in 2004; it was the second in a series of travel-inspired fragrances, the first being Jean Claude Ellena’s Bois Farine. Timbuktu was created by nose Bertrand Duchaufour, who was said to have been inspired by the West African practice of wusulan, a seduction ritual in which women “…concoct a magical salve, with scents of wood, spices, resins and roots. After first letting it macerate, they then let the potion boil away, while their skin absorbs the richly scented swirls of smoke.” (quote via osmoz). The fragrance notes are green mango, pink pepper berries, cardamom, karo karounde flower, incense, papyrus wood, balms and spices, patchouli, myrrh, benzoin and vetiver.
I tried Timbuktu shortly after it was released last year, and did not particularly care for it. My memory is that it smelled mostly of patchouli mixed with something sour and sweaty. Recently, a friend gave me a sample and suggested it might be worth another try. Lo and behold, this stuff isn’t half bad.
As befits a scent named for a city synonymous in the West with “the ends of the earth”, Timbuktu starts off exotic and spicy, with lots of peppery and resinous notes…