It’s been nearly seven years since Neela Vermeire added a scent to her main range, causing some to wonder if she’d ever treat us to a new creation. But she is now back, and she’s more than made up for the long drought: Eshal (composed by Bertrand Duchaufour) is a glorious return to form. I reviewed it in a recent set of Love At First Scent episodes, in which I also covered releases from Guerlain, Dolce & Gabbana and Bulgari, amongst others. Here are links to all the videos, followed by time-stamps and some further reflections on some of the perfumes: Guerlain Rose Amira, Aesop Aurner, Chloe Nomade Lumiere D’Egypte, Bulgari Amunae, Bienaime Monsieur reviews — Coty Muguet Des Bois, Halston 1-12 reviews — Etat Libre D’Orange Nostos review — Dolce & Gabbana Devotion pour homme review — Neela Vermeire Creations Eshal review.
Bulgari Amunae (Sophie Labbe) 4:12
Aesop Aurner (Celine Barel) 15:51
Chloe Nomade Lumiere D’Egypte (Cecile Matton) 26:24
Bienaime Monsieur (Patrice Revillard) 34:00
Guerlain Rose Amira (Delphine Jelk) 39:26
Coty Muguet Des Bois (Henri Robert) 2:40
Halston 1-12 7:48
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I can’t say that many of the above are especially inspirational; I suspect that most, like the Bulgari and the Chloe, will soon find themselves consigned to the great discontinued heap in the sky. Bienaime’s Monsieur treads a fine line between retro cologne cliches and more modern, gender-fluid sensibilities (kudos to perfumer Patrice Revillard for achieving this balance) but as I said in the video, this is precisely the sort of scent that struggles to find an audience: by its very nature, it must be familiar and innocuous, which means it doesn’t attract much attention to itself. I shall observe with interest how Aesop Aurner fares, as it’s something of a departure from the brand’s usual style. And I confess that I hope Devotion pour homme turns out to be a success, so that other mainstream houses are persuaded to take an equally bold approach with their masculine releases.
However, they all pale before Eshal. Neela Vermeire has explored tuberose before (in the heavenly Pichola) but here she and Bertrand Duchaufour pull the flower in a greener direction as well as towards more bitter territories. It’s this latter facet, achieved chiefly by turmeric, that makes Eshal particularly remarkable: the optimism conveyed by the green elements is convincing precisely because it’s filtered through the more knowing, more worldly-wise restraint conveyed by the spices. In other words, it’s the sort of optimism we need for our exhausting, perplexing times. Do seek it out.
Persolaise
[Samples provided by the brands, with the exception of the Dolce & Gabbana, Coty and Halston, which were obtained by me.]
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[…] all the predictable nonsense that men tend to receive from the mainstream. Interestingly, the new Dolce & Gabbana Devotion pour homme also features coffee… so perhaps this is perfumers’ way of saying that men need a wake-up […]