Leather: 44 posts

I keep misreading Bottega Veneta Eau Légère as Eau de Lingerie. Perhaps not such a strange mistake considering that it’s a silk slip of a perfume.  Sheer and delicate, it wears close to the skin, and just like a beautifully crafted lingerie, it makes me feel sexy and alluring. Designed as a variation (read, flanker) on the brand’s debut perfume, Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum, Bottega Veneta Eau Légère has a similarly elegant character.

Elegance is something I fully expected from Bottega Veneta, but I didn’t anticipate anything interesting from its flankers. Brands rarely spend enough effort to develop original ideas, and since the rewards for flanker launches are small, perfumers often have few incentives to try very hard. Bottega Veneta Eau Légère is neither avant-garde nor trendsetting, but it’s made well enough that it stands on equal ground as the beautiful original. It only depends whether you prefer rich and glamorous or gauzy and sophisticated.

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By a coincidence, the first time I wore The Afternoon of a Faun, the latest perfume from Etat Libre d’Orange, was to a ballet performance. I applied it earlier in the day and by the time I sat in the darkened theater it already melted into my skin. My companion leaned in and whispered, “I love the smell of theater, the mix of wood and floor polish… Oh, wait! It’s you!” And she was right, Faun smells like worn wood, or something antique and patina covered.

Created by Ralf Schwieger, the same perfumer who authored the brilliant Fils de Dieu, The Afternoon of a Faun is inspired by the ballet choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky for the Ballets Russes. It was first performed in 1912, with Nijinsky dancing the main role. Set to the score by Claude Debussy, L’après-midi d’un faune told the story of a faun who meets and teases a group of nymphs. The erotic subtext of the plot and the archaically styled dance ran so counter to classical dance that it caused a scandal, and Nijinsky could barely escape the angry fans.

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Tom Ford must love Guerlain Habit Rouge with a passion, because we have already seen its incarnation in Private Blend Bois Rouge, and now in Tom Ford Noir. You can compare this fragrance to others perfumes in Ford’s collection or to a dozen other plush orientals, but you only need to smell Habit Rouge for everything to fall into place. From the fizzy citrus top notes to the leather, tonka bean and vanilla inlaid drydown, Tom Ford Noir wears its Guerlinade well.

But Tom Ford Noir isn’t a boring copycat; it’s polished and well-crafted–Tom Ford is known for putting plenty of money into his perfumes–with enough darkness to satisfy most fans of rich, oriental notes. Women who love Guerlain Shalimar and all things “noir” should disregard Ford’s male oriented marketing and try the new fragrance. As much as I want to say that one Habit Rouge is enough, kudos to Tom Ford for taking such a classical idea and launching it as a mainstream fragrance. In contrast to the classical but dull Tom Ford for Men, Tom Ford Noir has plenty of drama.

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What is it about the combination of iris and leather that makes it so irresistible? Perhaps it’s the contrast between the austere iris–the earthy, half-frozen root, not the lush flower–and the salty sweetness of tanned hide. Perhaps it’s the natural harmony they form, since leather has some green nuances, while iris has a subtle hint of suede. In Cuir de Nacre, a fragrance from the collection by Paris jeweler Ann Gérard, the iris-leather duo receives an elegant treatment. It smells enveloping and effervescent, casual and chic.

Cuir de Nacre was created by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour, who also was responsible for Ciel d’Opale and Perle de Mousse, the other two perfumes from the line. Ann Gérard sold Cuir de Nacre previously to her clients as Pleine Lune, and the limited edition was so well-received that she decided to launch a trio of perfumes. Perle de Mousse and Cuir de Nacre captured my attention immediately for their refined, polished character.

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Ramón Monegal is both the name of a perfumer and a perfume house.  Monegal is a Spaniard with a strong background in perfumery.  His lineage is the House of Myrurgia, a preeminent Spanish house based in Barcelona—the family business—with which Monegal was associated until he decided to embark upon his own projects.  The perfume house has just entered the market in a big way with the release of 14 perfumes!

The most striking thing about the line overall is the stages of development each fragrance goes through. This came as a surprise to me, since many modern fragrances come at you in a rush of notes.  With the Monegal line, what you smell at first may be dramatically different from the various stages of the fragrance.

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