Coumarin & Tonka Bean: 17 posts

Baked cherries, almonds, sweet hay, cloves, vanilla and caramel… The aroma of tonka beans, the seeds from the fruits of the Dipteryx Odorata tree native to South America, has a fascinating complexity and richness. An important note in a perfumer’s palette, tonka bean absolute (and its main component coumarin) lends fragrances a unique facet. The oriental genre in perfumery is inconceivable without the candied almond and vanilla note of tonka. It is a common note to nearly all classical Guerlain fragrances and is an important part of the accord that gives perfumes like Shalimar and Chamade their voluptuous, baroque aura. 

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

One of my best olfactory memories this winter has been catching a whiff of Tonka Impériale on a scarf as I walked through the snowy streets of the city. Leathery and sweet, it was like a soft, tender veil against the cold, making me feel warm and comforted. Originally, I did not find this addition to Guerlain’s L’Art et la Matiere collection particularly interesting. It struck me as a sketch of Shalimar, essentially just an accord, rather than a complete perfume. Yet, I found that on skin Tonka Impériale is an absolute delight—it forms a beautiful, intimate aura of leather, almond praline and tobacco.

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

Although I enjoy the airy softness of Osmanthe Yunnan and the smoldering sensation of Ambre Narguilé, the only fragrance from the Hermès’s Hermessence collection for which I truly feel strong affection is Vétiver Tonka. Created by Jean-Claude Ellena, this composition is a startling tender vetiver melody. The pungent and woody root is often made even richer and smokier as in Frédéric Malle Vétiver Extraordinaire or the original version of Guerlain Vétiver. Or, in another extreme, it can be rendered as weightless and fresh as in The Different Company Sel de Vétiver. Either treatment can accent the fascinating tonalities of this amazing material, yet it is rare to discover vetiver transformed into a velvety, enveloping veil. This is exactly what Vétiver Tonka succeeds in achieving. …

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

Serge Lutens Chergui stings with hot spices that cover the skin like fine grains of sand, sharp, slightly abrasive and warm. Romantically named after the blood-boiling Moroccan wind that blows in off the desert during the summer, Chergui has the spicy intensity, yet its hot breath is tamed by the sweet and floral elements. Created in 2001 by Christopher Sheldrake, it is an Arabian Nights vignette in a liquid form.

The candied quality melts in the smoke whispers that fill the arrangement, like incense smoke seeping through the carved screens. The floral accord folded into the smoky layers of Chergui lightens density and sweetness, lending a voluptuous silky quality. The fine cured Virginia tobacco notes overlaid on the smoky leathery base give the composition a slightly masculine character, counterbalancing the sweet notes….

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

Between Guerlain Shalimar (1925) and Lalique Le Parfum (2005) there lies a period of eight decades, yet their oriental roots link the two fragrances. Indeed, it is fascinating to ponder how certain accords manage to endow the composition with a unique feel and an aura that is difficult to forget. Vanillin, coumarin and patchouli comprise the core of Shalimar, which spills into a cascade of warm and animalic notes after the initial diamond-like sparkle of hesperidic notes. The magnificent tour de force of the composition inspired its own family, including oriental fragrances as diverse as L’Artisan Parfumeur Safran Troublant (as well as Piment Brûlant and Poivre Piquant), Guerlain Habit Rouge, Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille, Cartier Must de Cartier and Christian Dior Addict, among innumerable others.

Lalique Le Parfum is the first oriental fragrance in the Lalique range, and while it relies on the classical vanilla, patchouli and coumarin accord, it is unmistakably a modern oriental fragrance….

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