Richard Ibanez: 2 posts

Divine is a perfume brand from the region of Dinard in the north of France. It’s niche in terms of distribution, which is pretty much only the Dinard shop in Brittany and a couple of online retailers, but if your definition of niche is avant-garde and quirky, then Divine doesn’t fit. The collection is classically themed and understated. What makes Divine such an appealing brand is quality and polish. Nowhere is it more obvious than in its latest release, Spirituelle.

Created in collaboration between Divine’s founder Yvon Mouchel and perfumer Richard Ibañez, Spirituelle is a rose. If you use perfumery jargon, an oriental rose, which merely means a rose laced with spices and incense. Since rose has a perfect affinity with dark, rich notes, there is nothing particularly unusual about Spirituelle’s theme. It hints at its sultry personality, but it’s still understated and soft. The allure of Spirituelle unfolds when lulled by its mild charms, you wear it to the office and suddenly, in the middle of another long, stressful day, find yourself wrapped in layers of petals and amber. It lingers for many hours on skin, changing ever so slightly, but every facet, every layer of it is delightful.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

For the background on Nelly Rodi, please see Part I: Nelly Rodi: Incense, Rhum, Cardamome, Cacao.

Parfum 5: Gimgembre
Richard Ibanez of Robertet, the nose behind Les Parfums de Rosine Rose D’Argent, together grapefruit, saffron, red currant, nutmeg, ginger, incense, patchouli, vanilla, and amber to produce a sweet shimmering fragrance. The top notes of grapefruit fizz like a glass of champagne, before a wave of spicy sweetness begins to embrace the composition. Laced with spicy ginger, the fragrance produces not so much a sensation of inhaling the aroma of freshly cut ginger root, as biting into ginger candy. Its lasting power is remarkable, but unless one likes very sweet fragrances, the sugariness of the drydown overwhelms the spice notes.

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