Jasmine: 63 posts

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

By Kilian is a brand with a marketing stance that I should not like—uber-luxurious packaging and unnecessarily complicated names that border on romantic triteness. Yet, when I first discovered their fragrances, I was blissfully unaware of any of this. I simply saw the sleek black bottles on the shelf at Aedes perfume boutique, sprayed a few fragrances on blotters and then spent an entire hour smelling everything from the collection. By the time I was finished, I was very much impressed. I enjoyed the elegance of the compositions, their luminous, vivid quality and memorable character, whether the salty lavender of A Taste of Heaven or the luscious coconut laced tuberose of Love. Since few scents make me melt as readily as does jasmine, Love & Tears : Surrender went straight to my heart. A radiant jasmine, its appeal to me lies in its beautiful pairing with galbanum and oakmoss, a juxtaposition between white petals and green leaves.

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

With all the new launch samples piling up on my desk, I instead find myself reflecting upon my old favorites. I have always admired the work of Isabelle Doyen for Annick Goutal, whose contributions range from the startling simpilicity and power of Eau du Fier, to the ethereal beauty of Eau de Ciel, and to the baroque richness of Songes. Un Matin d’Orage feels like yet another page in the Annick Goutal album, a rendition of gardenia that blends the starkness of photorealism with the mystery of abstract art.

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

A few years ago I had a revelation about Coco Chanel. Sure, I had read several books about her and her fashion contributions, but it was only at the Chanel exhibit at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that I began to understand her ability to reinterpret shapes and structures, to appreciate her novel construction techniques and spectacular use of seemingly muted colors like white, black, ivory, grey… And of course, beige! …

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

White jasmine, black jasmine. New love, old flame. That is how I think of Sarrasins, the newest fragrance from Serge Lutens’s exclusive range, and À La Nuit, the 2000 launch. Given the deep purple color of Sarrasins, one is led to expect a dark and sonorous rendition of jasmine. However, nothing could be further from the truth—Sarrasins is radiant, almost see-through, from its initial burst of citrus and wintergreen notes to the dry, leathery base. By contrast, À La Nuit has a remarkable heft, given its high calorie oriental base of vanillic balsams and resins. …

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

Cutting the banana jam sweetness of jasmine with the smoky tobacco is a genius idea. The result is not the fragile flower petals, but the leathery richness of cured tea leaves. Perhaps, for this reason, Jasmin et Cigarette (now called Jasmin et Tabac) created by Givaudan perfumer Antoine Maisondieu for Etat Libre d’Orange is one of my favorite fragrances from the line. It is unpredictable and thus surprising….

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