The newest fragrance from Christian Lacroix is in touch with the feminine fashions of the new season. Composed by Françoise Caron, it is based on rosewater and rose de mai from Grasse, with the top notes of green tangerine, freesia, rosewater; heart notes of orris, rose from Grasse, heliotrope, and base notes of tonka bean and patchouli. The bottle is inspired by vintage flacons.

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

A burst of sharp fruity aldehydes is not an opening that would I expect of Menard L’Eau de Kasaneka created by a Japanese perfumer Shuji Suzuki, a fragrance described as spicy floriental. A wave of candied orange rind swells up before softening into creamy sweetness underscored by ginger candy and a dusting of nutmeg. Rich powdery heliotrope, or rather heliotropin, lends its sweet and buttery character to the composition, creating an association with a dessert that is a cross between violet scented candy and a cherry pie. The heart of the composition cannot be described in any way other than cloying.

However, the drydown is rather pleasant, with its softly powdered base of sandalwood and cool vetiver. The sweetness is toned down substantially, and the fragrance embraces the wearer gently, like a soft cashmere scarf. Ambrette (or hibiscus) seed is considered to be the closest substitute for animalic musk. Lending fragrances tenacity, it smoothes the base notes with its elegant and sensual feel. In L’Eau de Kasaneka, it is a soft anchoring point that brings balance to the composition. If there is a reason for me to own L’Eau de Kasaneka, it would be a lovely bottle designed by the famous Japanese painter Shozo Shimada.

Notes include hamanasu (Japanese rose), basil, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, bergamot, orange, carnation, heliotrope, jasmine, ambrette seed, sandalwood, vetiver, cedar, vanilla, musk.

Print: Cherry by Shodo Kawarazaki, 1951. www.japaneseprintsandbooks.com/ kawarazaki10.html

Guerlain L’Instant de Guerlain is now available as a holiday edition called L’Instant de Guerlain Eau de Noël. The fragrance will feature a note of iris, lacing the L’Instant de Guerlain composition of citrus, magnolia leaf, musk and amber.

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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See Tania’s reviews of Nelly Rodi’s 1-4.

My cold was even worse when I tested these than the previous four. Therefore, forgive what is bound to be bad smelling on my part. Instead, pay attention to the ravings of my poor husband, forced to cough up opinions on smells when he’d rather be watching Most Extreme Elimination Challenge.

#5: GINGEMBRE
The first flare is a big bright citrus and ginger, reminiscent of Origins Ginger Essences, which gets me so excited, and then, just to upset me, it collapses immediately into an ordinary cloying fruity-floral grapefruit-rose with an unnecessarily heavy amber base and a bit of something like Thymes Ginger Milk trying without much success to be heard. Why, oh, why? Naturally, this is the strongest, most powerful scent in the whole batch. I can’t even wash it off.
…
Second opinion from the husband, after forcing him to sniff my knee: “It’s like a flower arrangement in a bar.”

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