Immortelle: 11 posts

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

I will not even try to connect the Marquis de Sade (1740 refers to the year of his birth) to the elegant immortelle-leather composition presented by Histoires de Parfums, a French niche line established by Gérald Ghislain in 2000. Somehow, it speaks not of an 18th century boudoir but is rather an expression of the Folies Bergères of 1920s Paris where Josephine Baker performed her Danse sauvage. While it is dark and sensual, the aura of 1740 is really quite glamorous.

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

There is a very distinctive scent to blooming lavender that becomes obvious only when the sun is at its peak—dry, heady, reminiscent of caramel and toasted almonds. Once you smell it, it is impossible to forget. Its vivid sharpness becomes as indelibly imprinted in one’s memory as the expanse of hazy purple of lavender fields and the cobalt blue skies encompassing it all. When I first smelled Brin de Réglisse, a fragrance created for Hermès by Jean-Claude Ellena, I found myself astonished at the precision with which Ellena recreated the experience for me. Of course, it is the lavender of Ellena’s imagination as much as of my own, but I nevertheless enjoy the fragrance for its interesting juxtaposition of spicy lavender and the burnt sugar darkness of immortelle.

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

Immortelle, an everlasting dune flower with a distinctive savory maple syrup aroma, is not an easy note. It tends to dominate with its rich spicy warmth and dark sweetness. Annick Goutal Sables (1985) is brilliant, because it manages to build on immortelle without either twisting it beyond recognition or allowing it to assume a rustic demeanor. Even after experiencing the great immortelle compositions like Christian Dior Eau Noire and the playful ones like L de Lolita Lempicka, Sables still holds the crown for being the perfect example of a perfume based on immortelle. …

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

The most compelling aspect of Serge Lutens’s fragrances lies in their exaggerated character, whether it is the tannic bitterness of oak in Chêne, the hay sweetness of coumarin in Chergui or the mineral chill of iris in Iris Silver Mist. Chypre Rouge does not deviate from the jewel encrusted opulence that one can glimpse in other Lutens compositions; however, the finished result reflects a blend of various elements that can equally well recount the story of Scheherazade as well as that of Hänsel und Gretel. …

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

The contrast between the glitzy ornaments bedecking the Little Mermaid-like flacon and its voluptuous oriental contents is enough to make the newest fragrance from Lolita Lempicka, L, stand out in the crowd of placid summer editions and flankers (which, as I explained to my friend last night, are the perfume versions of movie sequels, and are usually just as disappointing). The burnt sugar and bitter herb redolent immortelle forms the main accord of L, which rests on the plush oriental base of vanilla, coumarin and sandalwood. The immortelle does not make it debut particularly often as the main note, and I can only think of a few fragrances where it unfolds in its sun burnt intensity, namely Annick Goutal Sables, Gobin Daudé Biche Dans L’Absinthe, and Christian Dior Eau Noire. Therefore, it was a surprise to pick up a bottle of Lolita Lempicka L and discover a bittersweet breath of dunes inside it. …

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