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

Pierre Montale’s creations quench the desires to travel over the temporal and spatial map, inviting one into the Middle Eastern souks and the Mogul palaces.  The tapestries of rose, sandalwood, oud and spices are woven as intricately as Scheherazade’s tales.  My favorite fragrances in the line are from the Aoud range, incorporating pungent and medicinal oud.

Aoud Queen Roses is a majestic fragrance of crimson roses veiled by dark earthy richness of oud.  At first, the composition is redolent not so much of a rose, as of a piece of heavy silk permeated with a scent of rose petals.  The silky sensation vanishes as a dry medicinal note of saffron turns rose softness into hot cinders.  The dark shadow of oud fills the composition with intensity and inscrutability, as the dusk fills the room in the evening distorting the outlines of familiar objects. The warm glow of rose is even more sensual and arresting against the dark pungent backdrop.

Before one overindulges into the intoxicating pairing of rose and oud, the composition transforms once again.  Now, it is suddenly dawn, with the first rays of sun turning the horizon burnished orange. The smoke of rose incense escapes through the carved screens, yet the petals remain on the cold marble floors. As the fragrance dries down, Aoud Queen Roses tempers the opulence of its dark rose heart, continuing its beguiling tale of seduction and mystery.

Available at Montale website, Aedes, Parfumsraffy, and First-in-Fragrance.

Painting: A Noble Couple Star Gazing, a Mogul illustration.  rubiyat.com 

As a Frédéric Malle representative from Barneys confirmed, Editions de Parfums line will soon feature several new products, including Angéliques Sous la Pluie cream and L’Eau d’Hiver lotion. Frédéric Malle lotions I have tried thus far were very impressive. They offer the same wonderful scent as the eponymous fragrances, in addition to wonderful emollient properties. Angéliques Sous la Pluie composed by Jean-Claude Ellena is a sparkling combination of effervescence and bitterness. It would be interesting to see whether the cream would extend the tenacity of this fairly light fragrance.

Moreover, a new home fragrance based on Vétiver Extraordinaire will become a part of the line sometime this year. The line is available at Taizo in Cannes, Dries van Noten in Antwerp, Natan/Treize in Brussels, Barneys New York, Isetan in Tokyo, Flinders Way Boudoir in Melbourne as well as directly from Editions de Parfums.

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

Angélique Noire created by Daniela Andrier is one of the three new fragrances released by the house of Guerlain for the reopening of their 68 Champs Elysées boutique. The compositions of these fragrances are radiant and refined, recalling the elegant precision of classical Guerlains as well as elements that are rather un-Guerlainesque. The resulting aura of these fragrances is redolent of neoclassism and heightened by some modern touches.

In a neoclassisist attempt, Angélique Noire takes up the bergamot-vanilla pairing of classical Guerlains and builds the composition around it. It opens with a spicy accord jeweled by tart sharpness of bergamot, which fades into the milky bitterness of almond. The peppery austerity of the top notes contrasts beautifully with the honeyed undercurrent that rises up to enfold the heart. Creamy vanilla punctuated by a dark citrus note is what forms the main facet of Angélique Noire. Its somber richness is transparent enough to notice a swirl of almond and spicy sugared angelica, with a whisper of bergamot lightening the vanillic veil. While Andrier did not create another Shalimar, the fragrance possesses a soft and gentle character, creating a sensation of warm silk and hot flower petals. Therefore, perhaps, it is more correct to classify Angélique Noire as a Romantic composition, rather than a Neoclassisist one, in its hazy and sensitive handling of the notes.

Currently, the fragrances are exclusive to 68 Champs Elysées boutique, however they can be ordered by emailing Antoine-Olivier Metz, the store manager, at [email protected]. 75ml is priced at 140 euros.

Painting: One of the neoclassisists, Pierre-Paul Prud’hon. Head of the Virgin for Annunciation. 1811. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia. abcgallery.com

The JAR Parfums boutique is already opened at New York’s Bergdorf Goodman, and it is a beautiful spot. The corner that was previously owned by Guerlain (about to be relocated to its own boutique) is now a vision of dusty rose and purple, with the bolts of lightning decorating the ceiling. The front table of the boutique holds the fragrance bottles arranged on suede pillows, with a large round jar holding perfume soaked chamois placed besides a corresponding bottle. The JAR presentation is to let one first smell the fragrances (the names are displayed on each jar) and then to decide which to sample on the skin.

Among the madness of Bergdorf beauty department, JAR boutique strikes me as serene and calm. The notes of the fragrances are not revealed, which is an interesting concept, which goes at odds with the common way of marketing perfume. However, Joel Arthur Rosenthal, a famous jeweler, is not a conventional persona, therefore the usual is not something one can expect from him. He wants people to form their own impressions of the fragrance, rather than walk away thinking about a list of notes. In the end, what really matters is the scent itself.

Whether or not one cares for the JAR concepts, the prices or the fragrances, the compositions are constructed from high quality ingredients, and it is impossible not to notice that aspect. Golconda is made from the most amazing carnation absolute that scintillates like a handful of precious jewels. Shadow dries down to the smoothest sandalwood I have encountered. Even my least favorite of the line, Jardenia opens up with a fantastic magnolia note, all white petals, cured leaves, leather and salt.

Bolt of Lightning has been my favorite since I first tested it in Paris. Encountering it again at Bergdorf Goodman, I am amazed by the beauty of the composition, which starts out as radiant and green, like a scent of a garden on a hot summer morning. The blinding sunlight, the scents of leaves, soil and flowers are felt in warm green burst of the top notes. Since I have started my tuberose love affair, I tested a fair number of various absolutes and wore many of them through the summer, alone and diluted to 10% concentration. Not surprising that inhaling Bolt of Lightning, what I notice the most this time is the rich tuberose blooming in this garden. At first, it just sheds a few petals that become tangled in the green grass. The heart revels in the cascade of tuberose blossoms which are shimmering and stunning, as if the pure gold of the sun is distilled into the essence that comprises the fragrance. The dark menacing aspect of tuberose is where one is led in the drydown. A green note weaves in gently, yet it is the dark sensual tuberose that takes the center stage. Dark and mysterious, it must one of the most fascinating tuberose fragrances I have tested.

Photo: JAR, Butterfly brooch in silver and gold with rubies, sapphires, amethysts and diamonds.  

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

Commencing the tradition of distilling a particular essence and creating a composition around it, L’Artisan Parfumeur is going to launch Fleur d’Oranger in October of 2005, a fragrance created by Anne Flipo—the nose behind such fragrances as La Chasse aux Papillons, Verte Violette, and Un Zeste d’Été—from the flowers, twigs and leaves of the Tunisian orange tree.

When the orange blossoms unfold their white petals, the scent that fills the air cannot be described in any way, but as an essence of sunshine. Its soft sweetness underscored by luscious opulence is sustained by a lovely green note that almost fades into citrusy verdancy, without ever managing to part ways with the floral heart. Fleur d’Oranger exhibits the radiant exuberance of the orange blossom brilliantly, with just a touch of emerald lushness of leaves heated by the sun. As the first scintillating floral notes subside, a delicate resinous note resurfaces, adding a pleasing tenacity and depth. The delicious white petals become suspended in the mélange of woods and leaves, yet their clarity and sweetness remains unobscured.

For a gauzy confection, this is a remarkably tenacious fragrance, lasting on my skin for several hours. Although it is a fairly linear composition, I find Fleur d’Oranger to be a successful orange blossom rendition, without either soapy or musty quality that is often associated with the orange blossom soliflores.

The fragrance is a limited edition, released in a 100ml (3.4oz) bottle. Packaged in the beautifully embossed wooded crate, the bottle will be of the traditional L’Artisan shape, but with the delicate floral design and the fragrance name engraved in the glass.  .