My recent set of Love At First Scent broadcasts spanned the entire timeline of modern perfumery, from Fougere Royale via the 25th anniversary of Kenzo Flower to two brand new collections and the re-orchestration of Coty Ambre Antique. Here are links to all the episodes, followed by further thoughts on some of the scents: Coty Ambre Antique review — Vranjes showcase review — Kenzo Flower — Solferino showcase review — vintage Houbigant Fougere Royale review.
Petaloso & Tintinnio 6:45
Chiaroscuro 10:52
Mattutino 14:33
Meriggiare 19:01
Capogiro 22:44
Nottetempo 29:01
Intrigo 32:18
(All of the above composed by Eleonore Beurnier)
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Reverie Sur Seine (Nathalie Lorson),
The Au Palais Royal (Jean-Christophe Herault)
& Un Baiser Place Vendome (Shyamala Maisondiey) 16:12
10 Solferino (Antoine Maisondieu) 20:13
Folies A Montmartre (Jordi Fernandez) 24:55
Paris Radieux (Yann Vasnier) 28:51
Minuit Rue Princesse (Fabrice Pellegrin & Coralie Spicher) 34:35
Un Samedi A Paris (Tanguy Guesnet) 38:26
Coup De Foudre Quai Voltaire (Anne Flipo) 42:24
L’Ete Avenue Gabriel (Amandine Clerc-Marie) 45:39
Several from the Vranjes collection are worth your time. Meriggiare impresses with its consistently delicate balance of fairy-tale greens and lilac-inflected florals; there’s more than a shade of Frederic Malle En Passant in this limpid piece of work. Capogiro shows that it’s perfectly possible to make an overtly ‘masculine’ scent without resorting to the aggressive, woody-amber cliches to be found in far too many fragrances aimed at men these days. By adding a sweeping iris-like note to more predictably ‘male’ facets such as juniper and cypress — and ensuring the whole never becomes too strident — it presents an attractive take on calm authoritativeness. Nottetempo oozes old-Hollywood sensuality, thanks to its combo of plum, cherry, rum and vanilla. You can see Bette Davis’ sultry gaze peering at you through its shadows. And Intrigo is perhaps the best of the lot — a mercurial incense-leather-rose that one moment pumps out heavy animalics and the next is a bed of tender petals. It’s the highlight of what is a convincingly Italian collection — a range that evokes slow-paced, sunglasses-wearing insouciance.
In the same way that the land of Vespas and chocolate-filled cornetti is brought to life in the Vranjes portofolio, the spirit of Paris is conjured in the debut perfumes from Solferino. A brand founded by Inter Parfums — which has long been one of the industry’s major license holders and currently creates scents for Coach, Moncler and Montblanc, amongst others — it manages what is now the rare feat of presenting fragrances that are determinedly accessible without pandering to the lowest common denominator. In other words, they’re wearable, attractive and well put-together, which is part of why they come across as Parisian. The following are the most praiseworthy entries.
Un Samedi A Paris — Tanguy Guesnet’s cedar-heavy, hot-and-cold portrayal of snuggly intimacy, featuring strong echoes of the roasted, floury notes of Bois Farine.
L’Ete Avenue Gabriel — Tresor-like, violet-lipstick kisses showered across a rose that, in Amandine Clerc-Marie’s hands is plummy and sticky, but never overly sweet.
Coup De Foudre Quai Voltaire — something of a surprise from Anne Flipo, given that, in many ways, it’s a fairly old-school masculine: a charming, spicy, anisic fougere, heavy on cinnamon and patchouli.
Minuit Rue Princesse — with its saffron-date-oud structure, this is by no means an original piece of work, but the smoothness with which the various elements have been brought together by Fabrice Pellegrin and Coralie Spicher lifts it above most examples of the genre.
Paris Radieux — in delightfully retro-loving mode, Yann Vasnier gives us a white flower (gardenia + jasmine) that is suitably dazzling up top and both nostalgic and romantic in its central act.
Finally, we come to the re-make of Coty’s 1905 Ambre Antique, released by the brand in a limited edition of 1,905 bottles. A few people have asked me how similar it is to Spoturno 1921 by Christopher Sheldrake, but I’d say this particular question misses the point: the Spoturno is meant to be a return to Coty Emeraude, so if anything we should be asking how close it is to Shalimar, but perhaps that’s an issue best left for another day. Today’s Ambre Antique bypasses the luminous bergamot openings of both the Spoturno and the Guerlain to get straight into a classic amber heart, glowing with dense, golden unctuousness. A Klimt painting reflecting an auburn sunset. It’s heady, powdery, abstract, scandalous, quite beautiful… and, of course, tear-inducingly expensive.
Persolaise
[Review samples provided by the brands, with the exception of the Vranjes (except Intrigo), Kenzo and Houbigant, which were obtained by me.]
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