Ex Nihilo Fleur Narcotique, Sweet Morphine & Love Shot ~ fragrance reviews & a quick poll

Posted by Jessica on 8 December 2016 55 Comments

Ex Nihilo Fleur Narcotique and Sweet Morphine, brand images

This month marks my 10-year anniversary as a writer for Now Smell This, and I’ve been thinking back to my original impulses for applying for this fantastic gig. I love to write. I love fragrance. I wanted a chance to share my impressions of the perfumes I was exploring, from classics to the newest independent releases. On that latter point: for me, the gold rush of niche perfumery has gone from a thrill to a frequent frustration.

Be warned: this week’s review is a also bit of a rant. Ex Nihilo, a Parisian house founded in 2013 by Sylvie Loday, Olivier Royère and Benoît Verdier, has positioned itself as an “alternative” within the world of luxury perfumery, but I’m not too sure about that. I can’t help feeling that this brand embodies many niche fragrance trends that bother me these days…

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UNUM LAVS ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 7 December 2016 17 Comments

Filippo Sorcinelli

I’ve “smoked” myself with incense perfumes since they first appeared on the market. I can’t believe it’s been over 20 years since Etro Messe de Minuit was released; I always think of it as the grand-daddy of incense fragrances and as my first ‘incense boyfriend.’ (Yes, in perfume years you can go from BOYfriend to grand-daddy in two decades.) Along with Messe de Minuit, I was a big fan of Comme des Garçons Avignon (2002) and Armani Privé Bois d’Encens (2004). All these fragrances, and today’s — UNUM LAVS¹ — are based on incense you would smell in a European Roman Catholic church.

The brand UNUM was founded by Filippo Sorcinelli (see image above). Sorcinelli is an artist, tailor and organist (his new perfume line SAUF has bottles in the shape of the stop knobs of the great organ of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris). LAVS (Laus) stands for Laboratorio Atelier Vesti Sacri and is the Latin word for “praise” (as in, Praise God/Laus Deo). Sorcinelli has made vestments for Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, and before delivery, these vestments were scented with what is now the perfume LAVS…

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Hiram Green Arbole Arbole ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 5 December 2016 29 Comments

stump-s

Although many people remain convinced that patchouli is distilled from the body odor of unwashed hippies, it’s actually a plant from the mint family. Hiram Green Arbolé Arbolé is a good reminder of that fact. Although it stars patchouli, the fragrance is dry and camphorous, with the feel of a living plant in an arid wind.

Arbolé Arbolé is named after a poem by García Lorca that begins, “Tree, tree / Dry and green.” That’s about as good a description of the fragrance you can pack into five words. Arbolé Arbolé’s notes include patchouli, cedar, sandalwood, vanilla and tonka bean. Like all of Hiram Green’s fragrances, it’s made exclusively of natural materials…

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4160Tuesdays Tart’s Knicker Drawer ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 1 December 2016 15 Comments

Model with Flapper Pillow and Pointy Shoes

I’m still happily working my way through a handful of sample vials from the independent perfumery 4160Tuesdays, and my latest crush from this house is Tart’s Knicker Drawer, a “floriental amber” with top notes of bergamot, orange, grapefruit and pink peppercorn; heart notes of raspberry, rose, jasmine, sandalwood, cedarwood, violet, tuberose and guiacwood; and basenotes of amber, musk, vanilla, benzoin and tobacco.

“Tart’s knicker drawer” is the phrase that 4160Tuesdays founder and perfumer Sarah McCartney’s grandmother used to describe women who wore too much perfume (and whose behavior was therefore questionable); McCartney created this fragrance after she’d spent a long day in her lab and was scented with the traces of six different perfumes-in-progress. When she tweeted, “I’m about to get in the E3 bus smelling like a tart’s boudoir,” she got so many enthusiastic responses (“Can I buy some?!”) that she decided to concoct a proper perfume inspired by the experience…

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Etat Libre d’Orange Attaquer Le Soleil Marquis de Sade ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 30 November 2016 16 Comments

Etat Libre d'Orange Attaquer Le Soleil Marquis de Sade, brand image

What a difference an ingredient makes. Last week I disparaged a fragrance that showcased one note (Iso E Super) and this week I’m doing just the opposite. Attaquer Le Soleil* Marquis de Sade by Etat Libre d’Orange promotes one ingredient, cistus labdanum (from Cistus ladanifer), but I thoroughly enjoy this perfume.

I wrote about the Marquis de Sade and perfume almost 7 years ago (Histoires de Parfums 1740 Marquis de Sade). I’ll quote myself:

Sade’s stories of torture, his endless diatribes against religion, his sexual fantasies involving pain, incest, degradation, humiliation and murder numbed me. Reading the Marquis de Sade’s dully written, repetitive tales made me sleepy and after awhile I began to laugh heartily at the absurdity of him and what he ‘preached.’ His philosophy didn’t appeal to (or interest) me. I was definitely not Sade’s audience.

I’m still not Sade’s audience but sometimes I feel I could have been his compatriot…

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