The Lost Perfumes: Kenzo Jungle L'Elephant and Le Tigre

This review takes us back to a time when mainstream perfumes still could have an edge that wouldn't pass a focus group's approval. Back then you could fine some weird juice even on Sephora's shelves, and know that it wasn't created with the thought of outselling Pink Sugar. The old days I'm talking about are the mid-late 90s. Can you believe it?

Fashion designer Kenzo Takada launched his first perfume (Kenzo de Kenzo) in 1988. He sold the house carrying his name to LVMH in 1993 but stayed there until 1999 (where have we heard this story before?). You're free to make the correlation between the scents coming from this house and the timeline.

The Jungle perfumes for women, L'Elephant and Le Tigre, were created in 1996 and 1997. The former is still in production and is even offered in a lotion and deodorant, but no longer sold officially in the US (some etailers still have it in stock, but the prices are creeping up). Le Tigre confirmed as discontinued, which is a bit surprising considering it's the more conventional of the two.

Months ago, March from Perfume Posse wrote a mini review of L'Elephant that caused several people to buy unsniffed. If I remember correctly, not everyone has ended up with their vanilla holy grail, because it's hard to be prepared for the stuff that comes out of the pretty bottle. You've smelled spices, vanilla and patchouli before, but this composition is so strong and unique that no matter how much I'm going to warn you here, it'll surprise you.

You spray, and the first thing you notice is that you didn't have to spray that much. It's very strong. The innocent mandarine part in the opening is a blink-and-miss. It's almost instantly replaced by a creamy vanilla and spice cloud. It's sweet, dark and Licoricey and feels like you're wearing a concentrated and maybe not so fresh chai. When I overspray the heliotrope becomes more dominant and makes the scent feel dusty. Supposedly, there's also mango somewhere in the middle notes, but, thankfully, my nose skips it. I guess it's supposed to add some Indian dessert vibe, but the chai is more than enough as far as I'm concerned. While it does somewhat settles into an ambery vanilla patchouli base that is a little less sweet and actually feels woody (the dusty element doesn't go away), the clove and cardamon tend to reappear and hit you unexpectedly. Have I mentioned how strong and long-lasting this elephant is?

It's also fascinating, oddly comforting and has gorgeous moments. I'm just not sure I'm brave enough to wear it in public.

Official Notes (verified through the Kenzo site):

Top note :
Mandarin, Cardamom, Cumin, Clove
Middle note :
Ylang-Ylang, Licorice, Mango, Heliotrope
Base note :
Patchouli, Vanilla, Amber, Cashmeran (an animalic amber)

Compared to the uncivilized Elephant, Le Tigre starts out very conventionally. A sweet citrus blast in all the fruity glory, but with something sharp and edgy (probably the grassy Davana) that makes it different from Fendi Theorema (and not as pretty). It remains fruity-floral for quite a while, until the cinnamon shows its face and saves the day. Sweet orange and cinnamon are quite irresistible, though had it been up to me, I'd make it much spicier. As a matter of fact, some of the elephant's cardamon could have made this perfume a lot more interesting. The dry-down is utterly gorgeous, though, with its Massoïa wood and a hint of sweet vanilla.

Notes from OsMoz:

Top note :
Bergamot, Kumquat, Davana
Middle note :
Osmanthus, Ylang-Ylang
Base note :
Massoïa wood, Cinnamon

The bottles are beautiful. Both the tiger and the elephant on the cap make me wish they were detachable so I could wear them as a pendant or a brooch.

Kenzo ads: Okadi.com

In which I eat my words: Regina Harris Perfumes

Back in June I tested Regina Harris' two fragrance oils: Amber Vanilla and Frankincense Myrrh Rose Maroc. It took me awhile to warm up to Amber Vanilla, but it soon became one of my favorites. I wear it often and enjoy its sophisticated play on old themes. In colder weather another layer is revealed and the amber becomes very sexy.

It was Harris' first creation, FMRM, that really didn't agree with my nose that first time I tried it. My impression of a very dated scent was so strong and so negative that I've left the sample untouched since then. Until last week. An unknown reason has made me dig out the vial and open it. I expected a blast of that ancient aroma, but was blown away. Instead of what I thought I remembered from that unfortunate first testing, I suddenly smelled exactly what the oil is supposed to be about- dark, beautiful incense that's lifted by an elegant rose. Last year, March has called it hippie oil sans patchouli, but I don't get anything hippieish from this scent. On the contrary, there's something gilded and baroquish about it, and all of a sudden I'm in love.

It's probably equal parts the change in weather and the shift in my taste towards the dark and different. I learned to love incense notes and to appreciate earthy scents. It's probably a good idea to save this bottle for the cooler months, but I'm going to fully enjoy it for what's left of this winter.

All Fragrances, Great and Small

Despite the lack of fragrance posts lately, I've been sampling and testing quite a bit, and adding several new ones to my ever-growing wish list.

L'Artisan Perfumeur- Premier Figuier Extreme: I love it, and it's no big surprise, as fig (or fig leaf) is one of my favorite notes. I've always been a fan of the Fig Leaf and Cassis line from The Thymes, but their cologne is exactly that- a very weak and flat juice and not an EdP. They really disappointed me when they discontinued their environmental oil, which I used in my lamp rings almost daily. But here, at last, is the real thing: deep, warm, rich but keeps its green freshness. It's both comforting and sexy, has a dark edge to it but very wearable. The gorgeous limited edition bottle in the picture can be found at Aedes. The regular bottle is available from Luckyscents, and I also spotted it at my local C.O. Bigelow in Paramus.

L'artisan Perfumeur-Dzonkha: This could be described as Premier Figuier's complete opposite. But I still love it. There's nothing comforting about its serious presence. It's a calm, confident, stony-faced scent, aware of its beauty and accomplishments. For me, it doesn't evoke a Bhutanese fortress (not really surprising, as I've never been there or seen one), but it makes me think of Midtown Manhattan on a cloudy grey day. Steel, skyscrapers and the concrete pavements. Either way, it's complex, cold and very unisex. Like many scents of this kind, I liked it better on my husband than on myself. However, he has found it a bit too bitter to wear comfortably.
A far better review of Dzonkha by Greeneyes can be found here.

Yosh- Winter Rose: This isn't a masterpiece. The reason I feel it needs to be stated is the fact that an 8 ml bottle of this perfume oil is sold for $200, which puts it right there with the most expensive of the JAR line (about $800 for 30 ml for Bolt of Lightning). However, this isn't a JAR creation. It's not as complex, interesting and well-blended and it doesn't give you the otherworldly impression that Mr. Rosenthal's work does. Don't get me wrong: It's a really nice one. It's rosy and spicy, and on my skin the cardamon was very dominant (I think I also detected a hint of saffron, though it's not a listed note). I like cardamon in chai, in rice, and apparently, I also like wearing it. But I don't adore it that much. It's a limited edition, only 250 bottles are available at Luckyscent.

Il Profumo- Encens Epice: I really loved this one. Not all incense fragrances work this well for me (I can't stand CdG's Zagorsk or the original Regina Harris). But this one has a lot to offer when it comes to spice and wood. Coriander seeds, cypress and a drydown of blond tobacco are making it smell rich and honeyed, cozy but with enough character to keep things interesting. It's a great cold weather scent, in my opinion, and can probably be worn by both men and women, though I used every drop of my sample without testing it on my husband. I tested the EdP, but when I get a full bottle I'll probably go with the oil.

Tocca Perfume- Florence, Stella and Touch: Tocca's famous candles had many people eagerly waiting for the personal fragrance version. I don't use candles (a result of allergies and a house full of cats), so I wasn't familiar with the scents, only with their reputation. I was especially curious about Stella and its orange flowery goodness. I sniffed the bottle a couple of months ago and nearly bought it based on that. I'm very glad that I didn't. On the skin it becomes a very sweet orange confection. March from Perfume Posse described it as an upscale nouvelle cuisine orange creamsicle, and I agree. It's dessert-like until the drydown that is all musk and reminds me a lot of Valentino V Absolu. Nice enough, but doesn't rock my world.
Neither did Touch, with its fruity-floral boring composition that turned into a heady white floral and not in a good way. But the worst was Florence. March blames it on the cabbage rose note, but what made it into a horrible scrubber as far as I'm concerned, was the bathroom-worthy jasmine. It was horrible and hard to wash off. Florence has clung to my skin like nothing else in my memory and required lots of hot water, soap and hand cream until it was finally gone. I kept sniffing my wrist in panic that a trace of it might still be there.
If you must, both Sephora and Bergdorf sell them, as well as Luckyscents (link above).

Robert Piguet- Fracas: This fragrance doesn't really belong on the list, as it's a classic one from 1948. Also, I've sniffed it a couple of times in the past, so it wasn't really new to me. However, last week I decided to test it, so it is worth talking about.
The reason I avoided it for so long was my original impression that it smelled just like Chloe, my mom's favorite fragrance of all time. Through all the years of living in the same house as countless Chloe bottles, I've never once actually tried it. It was my mother's signature scent and so identified with her that I couldn't (and still can't) even think of giving it a try. However, two things have happened in recent years. My mother started to venture out of this tuberose comfort zone and Chloe had been demoted and degraded into a drugstore EdT (the original EdP in the milky glass bottle has been discontinued).
This is why my wrist has found itself sprayed with Fracas. And, I was right, It does smell just like the old Chloe, only with more depth and richness. It's a similar white floral combination (the infamous tuberose, orange, lily of the valley, jasmine, gardenia and a musky finish. It's pretty, but I can't be objective or adequately describe it. Also, I can't wear it. It smells like my mother.

Anat Fritz-Anat Fritz: This is a new one, created by a knitwear designer who is based in Berlin. As far as I know, here in the U.S. the fragrance is a Luckyscent exclusive. It's a typical cold-weather scent that starts with a distinct lavender note that doesn't completely go away even as the scent wears on. It is joined by vetiver and woods to create a very clean and dry experience. It can be easily worn by men as to my nose it lacks any of the traditional feminine notes and it isn't seductive or flirty in any way. But it is very pleasant, interesting and caused me to bring my wrist to my nose many times during the EdP long wear. But, it's true beauty is revealed when it's lightly sprayed on sweaters and coats. I think I need a bottle just to keep in my closet and make my clothes smell divine. The fact that I also like wearing it is simply a bonus.

Pilgrimage- JAR Perfumes at Bergdorf Goodman

Monday Morning has found me worshipping at the altar of the ultimate destination for all things pretty: Bergdorf's Beauty Level. Together with my husband, I visited the inner sanctum: The dimly lit cavern of JAR.

There are many fragrances I've been and still am curious to try. But nothing can compete with a line so exclusive you can only find at two locations in the world: Their Paris boutique and Bergdorf Goodman in NYC. It doesn't sell anywhere else, you can't order it online and there are no samples, other than teeny tiny decants that you can purchase on eBay. So what's left for a fragrance obsessed girl to do?

The answer is to make an appointment for a sniffing ceremony with one of the two nice gentlemen who are in charge of bestowing the JAR goodness on us mere mortals. Not only do they have perfect manners and a friendly personality, these two guys are supposedly the only people in the US who know exactly what's in those sacred bottles.

The seven fragrances are not just exclusive, but also kept as secrets, as far as their notes go. There's no record anywhere of what's inside, and the very few reviews you can find online are only guesses. In some cases, certain notes are pretty obvious- gardenia, carnation, clove, almond. Others are a complete mystery, as is the name of one of them- the jewel in the crown that is only marked by a bolt of lightning on the bottle.

We met with Bob, the JAR guy (the ladies of Perfume Posse have raved about Franz, and Bob himself has told us that his colleague is an incredibly charming and handsome man. I really liked Bob, and didn't mind missing the Franz experience). He presented us with seven containers, each holding a piece of satiny cloth infused with a fragrance. The scents are presented in a certain order, from left to right, according to the creator's specific instructions (Joel Arthur Rosenthal, a world renowned jeweler, whose initials are JAR). But after the initial sniffage, if you ask nicely, Bob would let you re-sniff in whatever order you choose.

The following is my impression. It's not a real review, just how the scents felt to me either from smelling the cloth or from those that we tried on. Also of note: the fragrances are quite unisex. Supposedly, even the gardenia one. The idea appealed to me, because lately I've been gravitating towards more masculine perfumes and I love sharing bottles with my husband.

Ferme Tes Yeux: Others have described this as "barnyard" and animalic. I've smelled something on the wrong side of rotten. Bad cheese. Bad something. It wasn't anything you'd classify as perfume, and not something that I felt like checking again. My husband wasn't repulsed by it at all. He didn't get the barnyard reference, and he should know, as he grew up on a dairy farm. Or, maybe that's why he didn't mind the smell.

Shadow: It smelled dark and masculine. I think that there was vetiver and probably lavender. It smelled damp and musty in a pleasant way. My husband tried it on and it was sharp and good. Too sharp for his liking, though.

Jarling: My big disappointment. The initial sniffing wowed me. It was rich and sweet, but had a wicked twist to it. I thought it was going to be the one. But upon landing on my skin it was nothing but almond. Not a hint of another note. Sweet almond, like my mother's marzipan at first, but soon enough it became very sharp. It could have been made by Crabtree & Evelyn. Or by Method, and used for cleaning up wood furniture. I'm not making this up.

The one with the bolt of lightning: I'm definitely regretting not trying it on. It's probably not my thing- too "wet", earthy and green, but it was very complex and interesting, unlike anything else I know (but in a good way, unlike FTY). This is the most expensive one in this very expensive lot, and costs nearly as much as our car payments, combined. The scent and the price tag are not for the faint of heart.

Diamond Water: Sparkling carnations and a hint of clove. Definitely floral, but with some oriental spice. Very beautiful in its delicate sweetness, never cloying. It developed to be very carnation-like, with a soft, creamy musk dry-down that lingered for hours. Interestingly, on my husband it wasn't sparkling or floral. It had the green part of the carnation, and was deeper and creamier. I really liked it on myself, but absolutely adored it on him.
* edit: Here's my full review of Diamond Water.

Jardenia: They were not kidding with this name. This is a gardenia, the whole plant, including some of the dirt that gets caught up in the roots. It makes any other gardenia-like fragrance pale in comparison, and if you are a fan of the scent- this is your holy grail. Sadly, I'm not.

Golconda: Carnations and skin. It was amazing how similar Golconda and Diamond Water smelled on me. Bob was quite surprised at the result on my skin. According to him, it's not supposed to do that. Great. I broke the JAR. All kidding aside, this was really good. It lacked the sparks and glitter of DW, but blended better with my chemistry. To the point that I couldn't smell anything after a while, while Bob and my husband assured me that it's very much there.

It was an amazing experience. I liked the fragrances and was quite enamoured by Golconda and Diamond Water. But I couldn't make a decision on the spot. eventually, after living with the scents for several hours, DW has clearly become my favorite. I like the extra oomph that it has over Golconda, though they are very similar when I'm wearing them. But do I really love it so much that it justifies a purchase? I'm not yet sure. I enjoy perfume very much and I don't wear cheap ones. But considering the collection that I already have- do I really need another one that cost so much but didn't make me feel the Must.Get.It.Now thing that I have for other favorites? On the other hand, I really really liked it, and am certain to wear it a lot. Wouldn't I wear it as often if not more than a pair of boots (that I only wear during fall/winter and is one of several that I own)? More pondering is in order.

**Another edit (September 2008): I revisited the boutique and wrote about it here.

(Picture: Greg Geffner, Diagonal Bolt Hitting Queensboro Bridge)