All posts tagged musk

New trend for 2018… layering oils!

flower-twist

Layering oils by Viktor & Rolf

The absolute last perfume-related item I purchased in 2017 gave me such hope for the future.  It was a rose-scented layering oil that is being produced by the Viktor & Rolf people to go along with their Flowerbomb eau de parfum.  It’s called Flowerbomb Rose Twist.  When Jackie, the fragrance consultant, told me about it, I was immediately intrigued and purchased it, untested.  The way it works is this… if you would like to accentuate the rose note of Flowerbomb, you apply the layering oil on your skin first and then you spray Flowerbomb on top.  Isn’t this a neat idea?  They also have Flowerbomb Jasmine Twist and Flowerbomb Musk Twist so you can punch up the jasmine or musk notes… or both… or all three!  Layering may not be a trend, actually, but it should be!

I tried my rose oil on many different perfumes in my collection with very interesting and promising  results.  It worked perfectly with Paris by Yves Saint-Laurent!  It added some optimism but also some gravitas (is that a contradiction?) and helped balance out the sad violet notes.  I always thought the roses in Paris were too pink anyway… this added red roses to the bouquet.  I also tried it with Chanel No. 5 parfum and although it was almost imperceptible with No. 5, it outlasted the parfum leaving me with a beautiful, red rose note as a basenote!  BONUS!

I tried it with Coriandre and I had the same bonus… no real difference to Coriandre but it outlasted my eau de toilette so I was left with a rose note in the early evening long after my beloved Coriandre  had gone to bed.  I even layered it with a 2018 purchase, Bulgari’s Eau Parfumé au Thé Bleu and I found it improved it greatly by adding lovely, optimistic rose notes to the violets. The fragrance consultant, Jackie, was kind enough to give me samples of the Jasmine and Musk Twists so I’ll get back to you over the coming weeks with more experiment results.

I must say that I wish the perfume companies would do more of this in order to put back some of the notes that they’ve taken out over the years.  At least give us a chance to turn back the clock a little, albeit it just for ourselves… much better than putting out yet another crappy flanker which nobody wants anyway!

Could you imagine adding an oakmoss-scented layering oil.  How about a vetiver-scented  oil!  An oud-based oil!  Sniff, sniff… I’m getting verklempt (yiddish for too emotional to speak).

Happy New Year everyone!   The future just might be… wait for it… rosier than expected!

 

4 Comments
by Normand Cardella on January 7, 2018  •  Permalink
Posted in General post
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Posted by Normand Cardella on January 7, 2018

https://theperfumechronicles.wordpress.com/2018/01/07/new-trend-for-2018-layering-oils/

Chanel : Les Exclusifs – Coromandel

Created by : Jacques Polge and Christopher Sheldrake

Date : 2007

Genre : Patchouli amber

Concentration : eau de toilette

After being addicted to Coriandre for a couple of weeks, I decided to try some diversion therapy and my magic closet did not disappoint.  I remembered having worn and loving Coromandel so I gave the patchouli-centric marvel another try and it seduced me once again.

Now, you must know that I have two friends who wear straight up patchouli and I really don’t like it.  I don’t know where they buy it and I haven’t asked them but it smells like some kind of headshop essential oil.  A former friend used to mix it in with his shower gel so that it really reeked when he got close to me.  Thankfully, we were only friends and our get-togethers were mostly restaurant affairs where he sat across the table from me so I could eat without the patchouli.

In contrast, Coromandel couldn’t be more beautiful.  Its perfectly calibrated amber heart of vanilla, musk, benzoin and frankincense is topped off with a gorgeous patchouli veneer that stays fresh and interesting for several hours.  There are moments at the beginning when the vanilla sings slightly out of tune but the patchouli seems to keep everything in check and the sweetness subsides almost as quickly as you notice it.

My eau de toilette lasts me all day long and I NEVER tire of it.

If you are looking for a bottle of Coromandel, Chanel has strangely retired all the eau de toilette concentrations of their Exclusifs line and are offering Coromandel only as an eau de parfum.  I don’t know how much it has changed to the original, mine dates back to circa 2010, but it is certainly worth a try.

When Coco Chanel first saw a Chinese coromandel she thought she would “faint of happiness” and so she decorated her apartment above the 31 rue Cambon atelier with several coromandels.  What a lovely way to live!

coromandel

From Coco Chanel’s apartment.

6 Comments
by Normand Cardella on December 10, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in Christopher Sheldrake, Jacques Polge
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Posted by Normand Cardella on December 10, 2017

https://theperfumechronicles.wordpress.com/2017/12/10/chanel-les-exclusifs-coromandel/

Chanel : Les Exclusifs – Eau de Cologne

Created by : Jacques Polge

Date : 1929/2007

Genre : Eau de cologne (best in class)

Concentration : eau de cologne

Chanel’s über-class Eau de Cologne was on my radar a very long time before I decided to spend the money to buy it.  I knew it would be good… although I didn’t know that it would be THIS good!  You see, I had tested a sample which I received from a mail order service several years ago and I remember it being perfection… but then I tucked that thought away in my memory and kept waiting for the right moment.  I don’t know why I waited so long.  I guess I got distracted.

According to the Chanel website, this 2007 version is Jacques Polge’s reinterpretation of the original of 1929.  Then the marketing copy goes on to say… “The highest-quality citrus fruits have been used in the composition of this cheerful and dynamic Eau de Cologne. Mandarin Orange and Bergamot unite their zesty freshness with airy notes of Neroli. A generous and deliciously floral Cologne, for a radiant celebration of summer.”  All of this is absolutely not true… or rather, it is true but highly understated.  This is THE eau de cologne… every other eau de cologne which I have tested in the past pales in comparison except maybe Hermès’ Eau d’Orange Verte and the Guerlains (of course).  Chanel’s bouquet of quality citrus oils composed of lemons, limes, and oranges literally dance around in the top and middle notes… it’s absolute perfection.  The floral heart acts as an out-of-focus backdrop and the musk drydown smells cleaner than clean laundry.  There is absolutely nothing bad I can say about this one.  Even the timing is right… two to four hours, which is what one would expect from an eau de cologne.

I’ve been layering this one with Chanel’s Pour Monsieur Bath and Shower Gel. FiveoaksBouquet suggested it might go well with Chanel No. 19 soap and of course, she is so right.  And you could add Pour Monsieur eau de toilette to it at the end of the day for an evening or Chanel No. 19… or No 5.  In fact, I don’t think there is any Chanel product that couldn’t be added to that exquisite quality musk (probably Firmenich’s Muscone, according to Luca Turin).

Anyone can wear this one… men and women of all ages.  It’s timeless.

So.. while trying to find an image of perfection, the “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” number from the movie Follow the Fleet (1936) came to mind featuring a quartet… Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Irving Berlin for the music and Bernard Newman who designed the gown!  When I think of perfection, I think of this number (even though the image is reversed, it is still perfect).

6 Comments
by Normand Cardella on August 2, 2014  •  Permalink
Posted in Jacques Polge
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Posted by Normand Cardella on August 2, 2014

https://theperfumechronicles.wordpress.com/2014/08/02/chanel-les-exclusifs-eau-de-cologne/

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