Posted by Robin
on
4 August 2010
The short film that the Brothers Quay made to promote the new Comme des Garçons fragrance, Wonderwood, opens with the words “Someone who loved wood more than words can say…”, and Comme des Garçons describes the fragrance as a “positive overdose of woods, woody notes and synthetic wood construction (wood gone mad)”. They’re not kidding. Have they not yet made the fragrance that screamed WOOD loud enough to suit you? Then do try Wonderwood.
Wonderwood was developed by perfumer Antoine Lie, and it includes all the wood notes a wood freak could ask for, plus some spices to liven things up: Madagascan pepper, bergamot, incense, nutmeg, cristalon (a floral fruity note with rosy, plum and apple nuances), cashmeran, gaiacwood, cedar, caraway, javanol (sandalwood), sandalwood, vetiver, patchouli and oudh. What is smells like, mostly, is — you guessed it — wood…
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Posted by Kevin
on
27 January 2010
How unlucky for perfume lovers to live in an era when Mysore sandalwood has disappeared from fragrances. Let’s hope the over-harvested and endangered sandalwood trees of India are truly being protected and propagated for future generations. According to Serge Lutens P.R., the company bought its stash of Mysore sandalwood before stringent trade regulations went into effect, and it’s this “legal” Mysore sandalwood that supposedly enriches the Lutens perfume of the same name.
Santal de Mysore was developed by perfumer Christopher Sheldrake and released in 2001. I never smelled “original” Santal de Mysore so I don’t know how it compares to the new, surely reformulated, fragrance. Today’s Santal de Mysore contains, apart from Mysore sandalwood, “spices,” cumin, styrax balsam and “caramelized” Siamese benzoin.
Santal de Mysore starts off smelling edible, with a nougat-y and coconut-cream sweetness emanating from a faint “wood” note…
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Posted by Jessica
on
31 October 2009
When I heard that Bath & Body Works would be releasing a fragrance called “Twilight Woods,” and that this fragrance would evoke “a romantic walk in enchanted woods,” I imagined a blend of pine and cedar, a few drops of resin, and an ozonic note hinting at an oncoming snowstorm. When I later saw the list of notes, I realized that it would actually be a woodsy-fruity gourmand, with “top notes of Juicy Berry, Sparkling Mandarin, and hint of Coconut, heart notes of Creamy Frangipani, Soft Mimosa, Wet Honeysuckle, Wild Freesia, and Apricot Nectar, and basenotes of Oud Wood, Skin Musk Captive, Vanilla Milk, and Warm Woods.”
Twilight Woods is the newest addition to Bath & Body Works’ Signature Collection line, in keeping with the recent string of more complex, “abstract” fragrances (such as P.S. I Love You, as opposed to yet another Cucumber Melon type). It was developed by perfumers Harry Fremont, Jane Konnyu, and Honorine Blanc. This fragrance could just as easily have been named “Twilight Orchard,” because a ripe apricot note runs throughout its development…
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Posted by Kevin
on
13 May 2009
Two of my favorite rosewood-scented products, SABÃO PAU ROSA, Brasil (a soap) and Bois de Rose Eau de Toilette, “disappeared” about 10 years ago. I can’t remember the names of their manufacturers, but I remember their fragrances and have been searching for replacements ever since. The rosewood soaps were bright-red glycerin ovals wrapped in lime-green paper with black-and-white lettering. Bois de Rose was made in Provence and came in pale pink boxes decorated with an old-fashioned drawing of a rosewood tree.
The last time I wore Bois de Rose perfume was on a summertime New Mexico vacation with my friend Susan. I vividly remember our Bois de Rose-scented holiday adventures. After we checked into our rooms at a Taos inn, the owner, while delivering fresh towels, assumed we had switched rooms — SURELY, no man would have so many toiletry items lined up on the bathroom counter mere minutes after arrival. (I especially remember one of those toiletries. It was the Stone Age of self-tanners, and over breakfast one morning, Susan asked me, bluntly, as she looked at my brown kneecaps, grungy ankles and striped calves: “What’s wrong with your legs?” I offered ridiculous excuses…
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Posted by Robin
on
14 April 2009
French niche line Honoré des Prés debuted last year with five certified organic perfumes, all (Chaman’s Party, Bonté’s Bloom, Nu Green, Sexy Angelic) save one (Honoré’s Trip) from perfumer Olivia Giacobetti. As I’ve said here before, I don’t really care personally about the synthetic vs. natural debate — to the extent that it is a debate — but it’s been nice to see more and more choice for consumers on the naturals front over the past few years, and of course anything from Olivia Giacobetti is going to get my attention.
My early favorite of the five: Chaman’s Party, the woody-vetiver entry, of course. I have to note as an aside that the brand’s Ecocert status doesn’t stop them from issuing the same sort of breathless PR-speak as everybody else; Chaman’s Party is described as an “explosive perfume due to its top-secret ingredients with aphrodisiac properties”. I don’t know about all that, but it’s a wonderful vetiver, and like the recent Turtle Vetiver Exercise No. 1 from LesNez, I’d call it a must-try for vetiver enthusiasts…
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