Mona di Orio - Cuir (Les Nombres d’Or)

The best perfume news I heard lately came from Luckyscent/Scent Bar- they now carry the three new Mona di Orio perfumes, Les Nombres d’Or. Of course, it would have been even better if they got the entire line- I'm out of Chamarre and now kicking myself for not buying a bottle when I had a chance. But I can't whine too much when the gorgeous trio is here and readily available.

Cuir is another proof one can never have enough leather fragrances. It stands out even among my cuir-rich perfume wardrobe because like each and every one of Mona di Orio's perfumes, it's breathtakingly animalic. These perfume come alive on skin, develop and morph into shapes, feelings and memories. It is what perfume was supposed to be before the days of scrubbed clean and shower fresh scents. Cuir is everything I hoped it would be: smoky, raunchy, yet civilized. It's not as raw as a caveman or a biker dude, but also not quite the floral lined expensive handbag of Cuir de Russie. Mona's Cuir is urban and just elegant enough to make me feel like a million dollar, but it's also spicy, quirky (cuirky?) and quite out there.

The most important thing here is that Cuir smells really really good. It's glorious- from its opening notes that are on the masculine side with dry (though not tarry) smoke and absinthe to the way it softens and envelopes the skin. The animalic facet is stunning.  The husband's response was "mmmm... dirrrty", so with the right spouse Cuir is definitely sexy. It's softer than Gomma and Cuir Mauresque and doesn't have that new sofa smell of Cuir Ottoman. My sister still found it too much to take, but I adore this perfume style and find it comfortable and easy to wear- just like my DVF wrap dresses that respond and move with my body in the most flattering way without feeling restrictive.

All three Les Nombres d’Or perfumes come as an EDT, but I have no complaints about the lasting power-about 6 hours for Musc, 10 hours for Ambre and Cuir.

Bottom Line: Must love animalics.

Mona di Orio Cuir ($150, 100 ml EDT) and the other Les Nombres d’Or are available from luckyscent.com and its earthly incarnation in Beverly Hills (reviews coming soon. My brilliant scent twin, Tom, loved Musc, of course). My sample came directly from the company.

Photo: George Hoyningen-Huene, 1928

Untitled No. 3 by Sarah Horowitz

The first perfume to cure me of an acute aversion to violet was surprisingly not Apre L'Ondee (my appreciation for the Guerlain masterpiece came a lot later) and not even Uncle Serge's Bois de Violette. Instead, it was Untitled No. 3 by Sarah Horowitz.

The Untitled Series is a Luckyscent/Scent Bar exclusive- a commissioned limited edition range by several prominent West Coast perfumers. Sarah Horowitz is the creator of Creative Scentualization. I like her work quite a bit, but always found the Creative Scentualization perfumes to be a bit safe or too close to other favorites. But the abstract Untitled No. 3 breaks the mold and feels like a purple and green adventure.

This is a perfume oil, thus the development feels more like a spiral. It goes round and round in several directions but stays close to the core of the yuzu and violet that balance each other perfectly. It's not a citrus scent and not really a floral. The sweet anchor of creamy sandalwood-amber-musk is a beautiful and satisfying backdrop for the violet. One might not expect it from these notes, but Untitled No. 3 is not powdery at all and not overly feminine. Men who don't categorically object to perfume oils and violet notes might find that their skin brings out the darker spicy wood-incense aspect and would enjoy it quite a bit.

The Untitled Series is limited to 125 bottles of each scent. No. 3 by Sarah Horowitz ($65, 8 ml) was released  in 2006 and still available from Scent Bar in Los Angeles and their online store Luckyscent. I bought it about three years ago and my bottle is still fresh and full of life.

Image: Violet Flight, fractal art by Vicky Brago-Mitchell

Effulgent- Tauer Perfumes Incense Rosé (and a giveaway!)

Part of my process when writing a perfume review is finding an image that captures it. Sometimes it's an art work, other times it's a scene from a movie (an old classic, because that's where my heart is). Unless I have a very specific idea right from the start, I google ideas, feelings, keywords until I find just the right one. Preparing to write about Incense Rosé, I didn't have to do any of that. The kaleidoscopic arabesque that's on the flyer that accompanies the bottle is perfectly evocative of this lovely scent.

Oh yes, if there was any doubt: I love Incense Rosé. A lot.

Just as much as Incense Extreme is a stark, serious with the cleanest lines and notes, Rosé is joyous and exuberant. Clementine and bergamot are not necessarily notes one would expect to find in an Andy Tauer creation. But what they do here is lend a sweet, radiating quality to the Tauerade base. They open rich and almost boozy and don't fully leave until very late into the dry-down, when the very pretty and streamlined rose takes their place, filling and illuminating the gaps between the darker, incensy parts.

As the scent develops, the familiar labdanum and ambergris that form the dry Tauerade emerge. They are spiced and prettified, making the perfume just a bit more feminine than what we're used to, though not girly or predictably femme. It's just lighter, full of joy.

The big surprise for me was deep and late into the dry-down. After the incense, labdanum, orris, cedar and ambergris calm down, I'm left with one of the most gorgeous myrrh notes I've smelled this side of Diptyque L'Eau Trois. And it lasts forever. Both in the air after I spray it and on my skin. It's still faintly there after a shower and demands serious scrubbing to make it go away.

Incense Rosé will be available at Scent Bar in L.A. and their online store Luckyscent starting March 29th. On that Saturday, Andy Tauer himself will make an appearance at the store (click the link to RSVP), to talk about his work and demonstrate some of the ingredients that go into the bottle. I met him last year at the launch of Reverie au Jardin, and can't recommend enough that if you're anywhere in the Los Angeles area, try to make it to the event. It's a rare opportunity to meet such an artist, and a lot of fun because Andy in person is as charming as he is on his blog.

I'm often asked about the best way to try and learn about niche and artisan fragrances. My advice is to start with something extra wonderful that would change the way you think about perfume. This is definitely a great place to begin.

I have a couple of samples to give away. Please leave a comment if you're interested.
Bonus entry if you can guess the reason behind the title of this post, Effulgent (obscure pop culture reference, nothing to do with perfume).

The sample I've been using, as well as the ones for the giveaway were sent to me by Andy. Samples and bottles of Incense Rosé and the entire Tauer line are available in the US from Luckyscent ($90-$100). For European distributors, please see Tauer Perfumes website.

Image: Deszö Bödi for Tauer Perfumes. To read more about the artist and this creation click here.

Two Perfume Addicts Walk Into Scent Bar... or: How I bought Bois 1920 Extreme and learned to love geranium

The impromptu business trip my husband had in Los Angeles gave me a perfect opportunity to:
a. Escape the miserable weather
b. Meet my scent twin, Tom
c. Visit Scent Bar

What could be better?
All of the above plus eating heavenly macarons that taste like Paris. But more on that later.

Over the last decade I've met several online friends from various web sites. But Tom and I share something special (other than perfume addiction, love for elliptical trainers and certain way of looking at the world): We smell alike. I'm not sure if it's perception, skin chemistry or both, but we're definitely scent twins. I go on many sniffing adventures with my husband and have always made liberal use of his skin to test more perfumes than my limbs allow, but if I want to know exactly how something smells, I need to spray it on Tom. It's quite amusing, really, and Tom, who is every bit as charming, funny and witty as he in his writing , is a perfect twin.

My husband might not fully admit it, but I suspect he was just as eager to play with the pretty bottles in the store. He knows what he likes (spice, insence, vetiver) and what he doesn't (marine notes), which helped him find and fall in love with L’homme sage by Divine. It is, indeed, divine, and I'll have to spend some time exploring its rich goodness soon.

In the mean time, Tom and I were all over the place, going far out of our normal comfort zone. We tried Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon, a perfume with notes that should send us running for the hills (cassis berries, lemon geranium, turkish rose), only to discover that it's beyond gorgeous with our jaded chemistry. He bought a bottle and I would have done the same if I hadn't given my left wrist another sniff and realized that while I couldn't remember what I sprayed there, the nameless scent was the most beautiful thing I came across that day.

Tom checked my wrist and commented, "you just found your holy grail and lost it". No way. I was not leaving the store without my mystery perfume, so I started tracing back my steps until I found it: Bois 1920 Extreme. It went home with me.

Masculine scent? Who cares? No wonder my scent twin is a guy (and I'm ordering the Miller Harris soon. I need it for spring)

Now for those macarons... Read Tom's post about them in his blog and his account of our meeting on Perfume Smellin' Things.


Fern photo: WCS

Reveries- Tauer Perfumes Reverie au Jardin

There are several variations on the theme of summer fragrance. The one that seems to be very popular lately as seen in the Estee Lauder/Tom Ford bastard child, Azuree, and in Bond's Fire Island is all about memories of sand in your bikini and SPF-less suntan lotion. It has its charm, but it's just not for me. I also stay (far) away from most scents that boast aquatic notes, as they usually remind me really cheap mall scents (or maybe it's just my Jersey imagination).

My summer love is for dark, shady greens baked in the afternoon sun, maybe with a hint of dust, earth and more than a little South European charm, as seen with both Annick Goutal's Eau d'Hadrien and the far less popular L'Eau Trois by Dipyque.

Andy Tauer's Reverie au Jardin is a gorgeous addition to the second group. It's not really Mediterranean, and the greens are less wild. Instead, the afternoon sun has warmed and enveloped a well-tended flower and herb garden. It's rich and beautiful, has the most haunting lavender note I've smelled since Gris Clair, and manages to transport you to that place and frame of mind that was Andy Tauer's original intent.

I was among the lucky ones who got to meet Andy last Saturday on his visit to NYC. There's nothing quite like listening to a great artist describing his passion, inspiration and deconstructing his work into its components, especially when said artist is very charming and funny. Andy brought with him ten samples of some of the pure notes that make Reverie. It was fascinating to sniff each one of them and examine how they all blend in the final composition. His French lavender was unlike any I've come across. I grow several types of this flower in my back yard, but a Jersey-grown French lavender smells different than the original thing.

(Insert your favorite Jersey joke here)

The lavender isn't limited to the top notes. It's there all the way through the drydown (just like in Gris Clair), where it plays well with the oakmoss, vetiver and tonka beans. I know some people who object to lavender perfumes because they remind them of their spinster Aunt Tilly. But this perfume is far removed from girdles and mothballs. It's a very unisex scent. The Blond wears it just as happily, and it has a whole new twist on his skin. He promises to write his own review soon.

On my skin it's not manly at all, and the frankincense-rose combo gives it the pretty angle. While the fragrance belongs in the clean/green category, there's much more to it. There's depth and magic there, and that special something that I find in all the other Tauers.

The sillage isn't too aggressive, which makes it very suitable for a summer day. It won't linger in the elevator long after the wearer has left. The drydown stays close to the skin for a few hours, even more when I use it apply jojoba oil first.

Reverie au Jardin, as well as the other Tauer Perfume creations can only be found at LuiLei in Brooklyn (worth the visit for the great selection of niche fragrance and skin care, as well as for the friendly service) and Scent Bar in LA. The latter is hosting the West Coast launch party of Reverie this week, where Andy will be giving his presentation. Those who cannot get to either store in person, can still order samples online.