Parfum d'Empire- Wazamba

Saying "Wazamba" is almost as fun as wearing this 2009 Parfum d'Empire creation. Almost. It was a love at first sniff for both the husband and me, probably because as The Blond has put it: "Wazamba is as good as something Uncle Serge could make, but he would have killed it with cumin". It's true, really. Thankfully, Parfum d'Empire already  got the cumin out of their system in Aziyade (I sort of like it in theory, just don't want to wear it. Never ever, not in a million years).

One could sum up Wazamba as a dark fruity incense, but then one would be oversimplifying a complex and very interesting perfume.Wazamba takes you on a journey to a faraway place, be it West Africa as Parfum d'Empire states as the inspiration for this scent or anywhere else where your mind wanders when wearing a woody sweet incense and myrrh. For me, Wazamba moves in circles- the warm and cool notes morph into one another, fade and reappear throughout the day (and night. The lasting power of this one is "until you shower or beyond). The sweetness comes from several sources- the incense itself smells resinous and dripping with honey at times, but there's also a dried fruit compote (probably why we're reminded of a Lutens/Sheldrake composition. Think Arabie without the dirty souk or Bois et Fruits with far less"bois" and a healthy shot of incense).

The complexity is achieved by an almost green fir balsam note that interjects itself just when you think the incense is about to burn itself into ashy embers. It's sweet(ish) and cool, a little piny with a young conifer or two thrown in for good measure. The result is delightful and perfect for this weather. Highly recommended for incense fans.

 Wazamba (had to say the name one more time) and the rest of Parfum d'Empire line can be found at MiN New York, BeautyHabit and LuckyScent.

Photo: Urban West-African fashion by John Atherton, Dakar, Senegal, 1967

Parfum d'Empire- Fougère Bengal

Fougère Bengal should probably come with a warning label for people who hate immortelle. The opening is very thick and sweet. It packs some heat and spice that can take away all the air in the room if not applied judiciously, and the entire first encounter is dense, exotic and very very lush. This 2007 Parfum d'Empire creation can feel like two big perfumes mixed together: a herbal fougere and a spicy oriental battling each other for attention. And, boy, do they give a good fight!

Fougères are traditionally masculine compositions. Green leaves and lavender that can be quite astringent and cool and give that vibe many women would describe as "men's cologne". Fougère Bengal is far from being the first to pair these notes with a sweet tonka bean-vanilla base- Jicky is the most classic example, of course. Parfum d'empire took this a lot farther, though, and created something that might not always be the easiest thing to wear, but is absolutely worth trying.

Once the scary sillage dies down I can relax and enjoy the ride. I always say that a good perfume is one that takes you places, and this is one great journey. Parfum d'Empire is good at this- they took the fictional romantic version of Colonial India- think A Passage to India or Far Pavillions- and forge them into a perfume. Greenery, tobacco, hey and the endless sweetness that promises all the temptations of the East. It's a beautiful fantasy that lingers on the skin for long hours, no matter how political incorrect the story behind this empire might be.

Parfum d'Empire Fougère Bengal ($75, 50ml EDP) is available from luckyscent.com. Aedes and MiN NewYork have the 100ml bottles.

Photo of a British officer in Colonial India from miscellaneouspics.blogspot.com

Parfum d'Empire- Ambre Russe

Ambre Russe by Parfum d'Empire is the kind of fragrance that can distract me form my perpetual angst over perfumes of yore, their reformulations and the raising price of vintage bottles. It has everything I love and nothing I don't, it's rich and strong in a way rarely smelled these days and is all about spice, leather and ambery goodness.

I'd suggest one avoids spraying Ambre Russe in the car, because there can be breathalyzer issues if stopped by police. But once the very boozy top notes run their course, this perfume actually smells imperial and I can see the Russian connection. From the slightly smoky black tea* to the touch of leather, churchy incense and lots and lots of sweet and spicy amber, as dark as old palace rooms.

Ambre Russe is sweet and has a nice dose of non-foody vanilla, but it never becomes cloying. It is perfectly unisex as long as one enjoys wearing other solemn and non-girly ambers (Josef Statkus, Ambre Sultan, Ambre Fetiche, Ambre Precieux or Ambre 114). This is a warm scent, almost smoldering, perfect for fall and winter (though I like it all year round). The fragrance has excellent sillage and tenacity, it draws people, husbands and pets to come closer and sniff. Most of them respond favorably.

Ambre Russe by Parfum d'Empire ($75, 50ml EDP) is available from luckyscent.

Art: Maria Feodorovona, Empress of Russia

*Still in this Russian tea mood, the lovely Jane of Daly Beauty just reviewed another favorite, Russian Caravan Tea by CB I Hate Perfume.

Parfum d'Empire- Osmanthus Interdite

I recently realized how much I love osmanthus as a summer perfume note. I adore it in Uncle Serge's Nuit de Cellophane, I skip the stairs two at a time wearing Ormonde Jayne Osmanthus and it looks like I might need a full bottle of Osmanthus Interdite by Parfum d'Empire because it has everything I love- from the tactile velvet of the honeyed apricot note to a very leathery musk dry-down.

An osmanthus flower doesn't look all that impressive. It grows in clusters of tiny white or yellow florets- cute but nothing more. I don't think I've come across a live osmanthus, so I can't comment on the way it smells other than in tea and in perfume. Harney & Sons (harney.com) have a wonderful Osmanthus Oolong tea that has a round and satisfying fruity aroma while still retaining the strength and richness of oolong. It's as far from a wimpy fruity non-tea as Osmanthus Interdite is from an apricot body spray.

Parfum d'Empire's collection was inspired by the empires of yore, some more questionable than others. While this is not my favorite theme (emperors are usually more Palpatine than the Childlike Empress), at least in the case of Osmanthus Interdite the Chinese connection is clear, even if it's China from a romantic westernized fantasy. A secret garden inside an imperial palace, flowers and fruit artfully engraved on vases and ornaments. It's very very pretty. I especially love how despite the very low sillage the perfume is warm and enveloping; the leather note is smooth and soft.

This Parfum d'Empire creation is very low-key compared to the more famous apricot and suede perfume Daim Blond (Lutens). The latter gets in your face and waves its iris note, making sure your nearest and dearest are aware of your superb taste in fragrance. Osmanthus Interdite is a lot more reserved which makes it easier to wear in summer. My only complaint is the lasting time- less than four hours is not my idea of perfection and the only reason I'm still living on samples and haven't succumbed to the allure of a full bottle (yet).

Osmanthus Interdite ($75, 50ml) is available from BeautyHabit.com. Luckyscent carries the 100ml bottles ($110) as does Aedes, though the price is inexplicably higher there ($130). Someone should clue the Aedes guys of this little issue.

All art by Carol Chambers (carolchambers.biz)

Parfum d'Empire- Cuir Ottoman

Someone wrote a few years ago either on one of the blogs or a perfume message boards that wearing Cuir Ottoman is like wearing your leather couch. I think they meant it in the best possible way. Personally, I think of Cuir Ottoman as wearing a supple, exquisitely cut leather jacket over a feminine dress- a vintage floral print or ethereal silk.

I never got the Parfum d'Empire obsession with empires and emperors of yore. Naming a perfume after the Ottoman Empire makes as much sense to me as doing the same for Palpatine and his Galactic Empire. But that quirk aside, there is something about Cuir Ottoman that evokes a romantic westernized idea of that part of the world, like a sepia photograph from the turn of the (previous) century. But this perfume is mostly about iris and leather, a weird synthetic note that appeals on the same level that causes some of us to enjoy the smell of a gas station, a hint of ripe fruit and a vanillic drydown.

Cuir Ottoman is just weird enough to be interesting, but never crosses the "do I like it because it's odd?" line. No, this is one of the best smelling leather perfumes I own, on all its quirks. I find the powdery iris aspect very appealing and the vanilla-benzoin of the base very sumptuous. While the first instinct regarding leather scent is to only wear them between Labor Day and Memorial Day, I find that it develops nicely even in the heat of summer and never turns sour.

Cuir Ottoman ($110, 100 ml) , like the other Parfum d'Empire scents, is available from MiN New York, Luckyscent and Aedes.

Photo: Leatherist on Flickr.