
Parfumerie Generale has launched two new limited edition fragrances, Gardenia Grand Soir and Bois Naufragé:
Gardenia Grand Soir (shown) ~ “In Gardénia Grand Soir, Pierre Guillaume has captured the flower at its most natural…”

Parfumerie Generale has launched two new limited edition fragrances, Gardenia Grand Soir and Bois Naufragé:
Gardenia Grand Soir (shown) ~ “In Gardénia Grand Soir, Pierre Guillaume has captured the flower at its most natural…”

Bring on the stems, leaves, grasses — I’m always in the mood for ‘green’ fragrances. Green-tinged perfumes are refreshing and often “cool” in tone; they convey the idea of “growth,” especially new growth of plants. Spring is the perfect time for a green cologne to debut, and I’ve been looking forward to smelling Parfumerie Generale Papyrus de Ciane (No. 24).
Perfumer Pierre Guillaume has gotten a lot of online media coverage for Papyrus de Ciane and much of it references his use of a legendary component of early 20th century fragrances: Mousse de Saxe. I’ll let others discuss the chemical composition of Mousse de Saxe and its reconfiguration for Papyrus de Ciane; my only “concern” is: How does Papyrus de Ciane smell on me?
Papyrus de Ciane’s “published” list of notes is varied (online at Parfumerie Generale only five components are mentioned: galbanum, broom, mild plant note, Mousse de Saxe, Silvanone® Supra (musk); in interviews, Guillaume has also mentioned bergamot, neroli, mugwort, cistus labdanum, lavender, clove, vetiver, incense and hedione.
Papyrus de Ciane begins with a mix of citrus, “white flowers” and delicious and strong galbanum (the galbanum crystallizes and turns soft and powdery fast); Papyrus de Ciane’s green notes are not wild and sharp…

Parfumerie Generale will launch their latest fragrance, No. 24 Papyrus de Ciane, in February:
Woody, green, build on a contemporary interpretation of “Mousse de Saxe”…
My “to review” list is now so alarmingly long that I try not to look at it at all for more than a few seconds at a time. Yesterday, in despair, I decided to cross out all of the niche fragrances I wasn't even interested in smelling again and could barely remember from the first try (scents that “fill my head with a deep, profound, Zen-like nothingness”, to quote March at Perfume Posse). All of those samples were thrown into the purgatory basket, where they may end up living out the rest of their days unless either a) I get more productive or b) the fragrance industry gets less productive.
Felanilla — and let's not even talk about the name, 'kay? — is one of the latest fragrances from Parfumerie Generale, and it did make an immediate impression. My testing notes from the first trial say simply “Shalimar“, not because it's a dupe, mind you, but because it struck me as something like a modern niche meditation on the Shalimar theme…
Parfumerie Generale has launched two new fragrances, Felanilla and Drama Nuuï:
No. 21, Felanilla: (shown) ~ a soft, spicy oriental; “Ferociously luxurious. A feline Vanilla on the coat of Iris and Saffron”. With notes of vanilla, saffron, iris, banana wood, hay and amber…