aldehydes: 22 posts

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

Sicily provides an interesting example of using a heavy dose of aldehydes (effervescent aroma-materials made famous by Chanel No 5)  in a modern composition. Created by Nathalie Lorson for Dolce & Gabbana in 2003, Sicily rests its floral-aldehydic heart upon the vanillic oriental base. The result is an unexpectedly seductive juxtaposition of soapy notes and powdered honeysuckle, which gently allude to the sun tan oil before segueing into the creamy sweetness of sandalwood. …

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

Pure White Linen is a younger sister to Estée Lauder classic White Linen, a fragrance that should be mentioned in the course of any discussion of great American perfumes. The elegant simplicity of the composition created by the perfumer Sophia Grojsman in 1978 is fascinating. While White Linen appears to be built in bold blocks of aldehydes, florals, woods, amber and musk, the entire arrangement is so beautifully balanced that one cannot but admire its unconventional form. Pure White Linen weaves the elements of the original in such a manner that the resulting fragrance retains the classical Lauder character while nevertheless possessing the modern aesthetic sensibility. …

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

Rive Gauche, created for Yves Saint Laurent in 1970, is a warm cloud of silver dust slowly settling to reveal a lush rose. The starched crispness of aldehydes foils the metallic facet of the composition, all the while as if suspending the development in time. Like Rodin’s marble sculptures, Rive Gauche presents a tantalizing contrast between the polished ivory smoothness of its main accord and the rough haze surrounding it. The two extremes complement each other perfectly, resulting in an arrangement of breathtaking elegance. …

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

Melodrama was created by the perfumer Christopher Sheldrake (the nose behind Serge Lutens fragrances) for Space.NK, a perfumery in Covent Garden, London. It is a fragrance that pays homage to the 1920s, although its composition is closer to the aldehydic floral chypre like Millot Crêpe de Chine (1925), Weil Zibeline (1928) and Hermès Calèche (1961), than to the aldehydic floral like Chanel No.5 (1921). It marries the sparkling floral aldehydic canvas with the classical chypre accord, the mossy woodiness of which beautifully complements the sweet floral notes.

Beginning true to its name, Melodrama explodes with a firework of aldehydes that settle into an opaque veil over the top accord. A metallic green notes cuts through the aldehydic whiteness, allowing the floral notes to appear one by one. The sweetness of jasmine rises up to enfold the velvety note of bergamot, its sparkle dimmed in the white floral heart. …

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

Poignantly elegant and refined, Lancome Climat is a beautiful arrangement in which green notes are set against the lustrous glow of aldehydes and then blended into the waterfall of flowers. It touches with its ability to remain like a piece of gossamer fabric floating in the wind, while possessing a decadently sensual richness afforded by the animalic notes on which Climat rests its diaphanous form.

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