MFK Gentle Fluidity Silver – I’m a little late to the party with Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s latest releases. The two releases, Gentle Fluidity Gold and Gentle Fluidity Silver, share the same notes but in varying different degrees. The notes are juniper, nutmeg, coriander, musk, woodsy notes, amber and vanilla. It’s an interesting concept on paper, but in Gentle Fluidity Silver at least, it’s not well executed. Silver is the fresher of the two, with juniper to the fore. Unfortunately, it descends quickly into shower gel territory. There’s a sharp metallic nature to the fragrance that I just can’t get past. File this one under Bleu de Chanel and Sauvage. It lasted eight hours on skin.
MFK Gentle Fluidity Gold – Gold brings sweeter notes of amber and vanilla to the table. I like this one better than Silver, but it borders on sickly powdery sweet. It’s not one that’ll have been reaching for the wallet to purchase a full bottle. This is a longer lasting and better projecting fragrance than Silver. On first wearing I enjoyed, 10 hours longevity from Gold.
Atkinsons 1799 Tulipe Noire – I’m a huge fan of Atkinsons. I enjoy the sweet tobacco of the Odd Fellow Bouquet and the chocolate, rum combo in The Pirates Grand Reserve. Their latest release, at least in comparison is quite boring. A white floral, tuberose and jasmine, with added freshness from rhubarb, that failed to excite me. Didn’t really project for long and lasted only 5 hours on skin. Not one of the brands best.
Miller et Bertaux Menta y Menta – Miller et Bertaux are an underrated niche house. Their fresh offerings, including Study # 17 are firm favourites. Mint is one of my favourite notes, so I was looking forward to testing this one. So, is at thumbs up or thumbs down? Thumbs up, but with a caveat. The initial spearmint burst reminds me of Guerlain Herba Fresca, there’s a tea note in here that recalls Heeley’s Menthe Fraiche. The only disappointment was I didn’t get the coffee note promised in the base. Menta y Menta is more of a mint tea scent, with the mint holding well into the base of the fragrance in its 4th or 5th hour of wearing. Certainly, one I’ll be wearing again, to see if I can eke out that coffee note.
Van Cleef & Arpels Santal Blanc – The latest entry in Van Cleef & Arpels higher end line is Santal Blanc. Fig and sandalwood are the dominant notes. They combine in a creamy concoction, that recalls such fragrances as Philosykos and Zadig and Voltaire This is Her. A well-executed, long lasting fragrance that gets better as it goes along. However, it isn’t my favourite from the house and if you own the Diptyque and Zadig and Voltaire fragrance an unnecessary purchase.
All samples were obtained by the author.
Note: Bottle images, courtesy of Fragrantica.