Jul et Mad – Stairway to Heaven* – A cold, cloudy fragrance of aldehydes, red berries and musk’s that evokes Mure et Musc from L’Artisan Parfumeur minus the luminous blackberry note. Does a reasonable job convincing the wearer of its inspiration of hiking through the mountainous Himalayas. Doesn’t seem quite as approachable as the blackberry musk of the L’Artisan. Red Berries provide a hint of sweetness and colour to the otherwise grey outlook. Lasted 7-8 hours on skin. Not bad, and I will wear it again as it has something to offer, but I do prefer Cecile Zarokian’s other scent for Jul et Mad, the beautiful aquatic, Aqua Sextius over this mountainous adventure.
Maison Sybarite – Bed of Roses* – Maison Sybarite is a new French house that creates ethyl-alcohol free scents that use an oil in water solution that blends with the skin. All their scents are housed in Sustainable and environmentally friendly packaging. Spraying Bed of Roses was certainly a unique experience. From the sample sprayer it creates a fine mist that has an almost creamy, moisturising texture upon contact with skin. All this innovation is well and good, but if the scent doesn’t smell good it’s all for nought. Luckily the scent is a very well done powdery rose that initially has citrus touches of orange and bergamot, before the somewhat muted rose combines with a quite prominent powdery orris root note. It is fairly linear on skin. Being an alcohol-free composition I was somewhat sceptical on longevity, but no issues there as the scent was a powerhouse on skin lasting well over 10 hours before fading. Simple, well done, linear, Bed of Roses is an intriguing offering that piques my interest in the other 3 offerings from the house.
Parfums Dusita – Le Pavillon D’Or* – An understated green scent, with a slight retro vibe. Cooling, with an herbal fresh, peppery mint open before aromatic fig leaf combines with powdery orris root and sweet notes of honeysuckle and boronia which provide an interesting floral depth. An underlying creaminess from the sandalwood and heliotrope, balanced with a dry woody oak makes for a satisfying end to an interesting fragrant journey. 7-8 hours longevity on skin, without ever becoming overbearing. The greenness of the opening reminded me slightly of Geo. F. Trumper Wild Fern. Easy to wear and approachable.
Floris – Vert Fougere** – Does the world need another Fougere? Probably not, but this is an interesting take on the genre. Vert Fougere opens green, mossy and somewhat medicinal. The green, mossy tone of the scent comes from the galbanum note, while the medicinal feel from the lavender. Citrus notes of grapefruit and bergamot add freshness. There’s an interesting zing from ginger in the mid notes that softens the darkness of the green mossy galbanum. The base of the scent is smoky, earthy and woody with notes of patchouli, cedarwood and smoke becoming prominent as the fragrance progresses. 6-8 hours longevity for a unisex marketed scent, that like most in this genre leans on the masculine side.
Have you tried any of these new releases? What did you make of them?
Note – Bottle images courtesy of Fragrantica. *Sample sent to me by my perfume friend from Instagram Tete @niche_rare_fragrances. Thankyou Tete for the samples. **Sample obtained by the author.