Hermes H24, Dior Oud Rosewood, Frederic Malle The Night and other reviews – Skin Time August 2021

Hermes H24

August tends to be a month in which I return to perfumes from the past rather than focussing on new releases. For reasons that don’t need to be reiterated, this tradition wasn’t followed last year, but thankfully, August 2021 has proved to be closer to what I would call normal. High on the list of the fragrances I wanted to get to know better was Christine Nagel’s Hermes H24*, and I’m pleased to report that I’ve found myself reaching for it with increasing enthusiasm. I’m aware that its vaguely unsettling juxtaposition of a pear-like fruit note with the metallic twang of sclarene has its detractors, but I’m won over. It’s not easy to create a piece of work that is ‘light’ without resorting to citruses, that smells novel without being inaccessibly outlandish and that displays impressive longevity without ever outstaying its welcome. But Nagel has pulled it off. And I hope her achievement is recognised. 

Nicolaï Cap Neroli,
Olfactive Studio Iris Shot
& the end return of Aedes De Venustas

A more traditional summer composition is to be found in Nicolaï’s Cap Neroli*. And that is in no sense meant to come across as a put down. If there’s one thing Patricia De Nicolaï knows how to do, it is to show off the value and relevance of tried-and-tested forms, and this scent is no exception. At its heart, rosemary adds a gently camphor-like tinge to neroli, which then connects to the silvery, elegant gleam of oakmoss. Delightfully non-cliched familiarity, perfect for carefree sauntering. (For comparable reasons, I’ve also made friends with the new Louis Vuitton Imagination, but as this scent will soon have an entire post devoted to it here on Persolaise.com, I shall write no more about it today.)

A similar sense of ‘you think you know it, but you don’t’ is a key feature of Olfactive Studio Iris Shot*, put together by Dominique Ropion. The carroty rootiness of iris is front and centre here, as it should be. But there’s also a more comforting, more maternal effect at play, perhaps achieved by the combo of the aldehydes with the ambery musks. One wonders if Ropion was inspired by his friend Frederic Malle’s Iris Poudre (created by Pierre Bourdon) to produce a scent that was equally faithful to its star material but pursued a course of warmth rather than of detached coolness. 

Speaking of iris, following some comments made on a recent-ish YouTube video of mine, I have now had it confirmed that the Aedes De Venustas range of perfumes has been relegated to history. Across a very brief period of time, the brand gave us several highlights of 21st century perfumery, including Ralf Schwieger’s Iris Nazarena*, which must surely be one of the finest iris compositions of the last 25 years. Its absence will be difficult to fill. 

UPDATE 23rd August 2021: It would seem that I was misinformed. Aedes is currently on hiatus while it carries out some behind-the-scenes changes, but it is far from dead, and we should see its wares back on our shelves before the end of the year. How wonderful to be wrong!

Chanel Paris-Edimbourg
& Dior Oud Rosewood

In those moments when I’ve wanted to move away from more diaphanous fare, I’ve taken to wearing Chanel Paris-Edimbourg* (notable for its austere, old-school contrasts between citrus and wood) and, more frequently, Dior Oud Rosewood*. I’m sure I’ve already stated that the latter brand’s Collection Privee range of ‘exclusive’ scents is now very definitely made up of two distinct sections: one consisting of more overtly commercial offerings and the other a playground for the somewhat bolder work that we came to associate with the range back in 2010. Oud Rosewood falls into the latter. Like a less strident version of the superb Leather Oud, with the addition of the fruity notes from Oud Ispahan, it presents a smoother, more restrained take on the material than we’ve ever had from the brand. Most importantly it proves that, contrary to the lamentations of his critics, Francois Demachy still has much to offer to perfumery. 

Frederic Malle The Night

And finally, speaking of less diaphanous fare, we return to Ropion and his masterful The Night** for Frederic Malle. Its cost makes this a scent that cannot be worn too often (at least not by us mere mortals) but this doesn’t matter a great deal when each outing is so profoundly memorable. I have little to add to my original review of it (click above) other than to say that it remains one of the most visceral, head-spinning and magnetic pieces of work I have ever had the pleasure of wearing. Just the other day, as she took yet another sniff of it from my wrist, Madame Persolaise closed her eyes and whispered, “This is just the perfect oud, isn’t it.” And she may well be right. 

Persolaise

* sample provided by the brand
** sample obtained by me

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