Tag Archives: frankincense

Coromandel – Chanel

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Coromandel – Chanel

Chanel Coromandel 2

Walk into a Chanel boutique anywhere around the globe, and you are immediately transported into a world of the utmost luxury. The stores are beautifully appointed and the staff is knowledgable about Mme Chanel’s indelible mark upon fashion, and indeed upon society itself. From the various biographies I have read of her, it is said that Mme Chanel understood the importance of imbuing her visitors’ experience within her boutique with a sense of grandeur and magnificence – to render the visit a flight from the ordinary.

It is this sense of precise luxury that Messrs. Polge and Sheldrake sought to convey in the Les Exclusifs line. While most would agree that they were successful in nearly all instances, Coromandel, named after the chinoiserie lacquered screens which Mme Chanel so favored in her personal decorations, seems to squarely hit the mark.

Part of Coromandel’s success is in taking patchouli, a note which many struggle with given its strong correlations to 1960s counter-culture and elevating it to luxury status. While Coromandel is proof that patchouli can certainly be used to enhance an exotic and sensual fragrance, in the wrong hands it can be heavy, earthy and perhaps slightly musty.

coco chanel by horst reclining coromandelCoromandel is a rich woody oriental based on a central theme of patchouli, with a haze of ambery powder and vanillic warmth. Coromandel’s initial citrus burst is short-lived and tempered by frankincense, a scent with exotic implications of faraway lands. The fragrance unfolds to reveal a warm base of patchouli and woods with a hint of powdery softness from benzoin, a resin with light vanilla tones.

While Coromandel has the warmth of a plush woolen shawl, it maintains a dry and slightly effervescent feeling which keeps it from becoming cloying, even in warmer weather. And unlike the patchouli superstar Angel by Thierry Mugler, Coromandel has only a whisper of the gourmand.

Unlike many of its exclusive sisters, Coromandel has a tenacious longevity and imposing character. Indeed, it possesses a nearly palpable presence, making me envision Mme Chanel reclining in her rooms above the 31 rue Cambon, clicking her pearls between her fingers, seeking inspiration in her possessions.

*As a side note, when Coco Noir was released, I imagined it smelling a bit more like Coromandel and a bit less like Coco Mademoiselle. 

Notes: Jasmine, Patchouli, Woody notes, Amber, Benzoin, Frankincense

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Serge Lutens – Fille en Aiguilles

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Serge Lutens – Fille en Aiguilles

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Vincent Van Gogh

 

It seems unbelievable that December is upon us. Winter calls to mind snowy evenings by the fire with a mug of warm spiced tea, after a brisk walk though a pine forest, where the cold night air traps a scent and suspends it in its icy fingers. And while it may not be even remotely cold where I live, the humidity has diminished, and the thermometer has been gracious enough to dip to the point where my favorite winter scents can make their debut.

Serge Lutens is the master of intellectual perfumes, ones which weave an olfactory story. Fille en Aiguilles is no exception, and yet it creates more a sense of atmosphere than a story alone. But how to create a fragrance based on the notes of pine, incense, candied fruit and spices without creating a cliché?

Released in 2009, Fille en Aiguilles is true to the Lutens/Sheldrake formula of combining disparate notes that cannot possibly belong together in any cogent manner, and turning up their more difficult aspects beyond the point of discomfort until they positively soar. Fille en Aiguilles starts out with a candied fruit note reminiscent of wintry holidays that will feel familiar to Lutens fans. It is rendered here with more subtlety than Arabie or Chypre Rouge, as though the intent were to envelop the wearer in a blanket of comfort rather than provoke or shock.

Botanical-Pine-cones

The fruit quickly fades to a forest full of pine and fir notes, warmed with wintry spices, which carry on the opening theme of candied fruit. Pine is a note I never imagined loving in a fragrance, as it could so easily become unimaginative, but here it is rendered with such elegance and creativity, it is difficult not to fall under its spell.

Then Fille en Aiguilles, which roughly translates to “girl in stilettos”, shows us her Lutensian edge with a bit of the camphorous halo many of us have come to love, though rendered with far more delicacy than in his explosive Tubereuse Criminelle. Detractors fear not, the effect is subtle and further subdued by beautiful frankincense. The combined effect is stunning, enveloping the wearer in a soft, smoky haze, much like a tender embrace on a cold winter’s night.

Notes: Pine Needles, Vetiver, Sugary Sap, Laurel, Fir Balsam, Frankincense, Candied Fruit, Spice.

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Guerlain – Chant D’Aromes

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Guerlain – Chant D’Aromes

chant-daromes21Chant D’Aromes was the first solo creation of Jean-Paul Guerlain after the retirement of his grandfather Jacques. Chant D’Aromes was released in 1962, before much of the social and political upheaval which would come to define the era. The name, roughly translated as “Song of Scents” is especially revealing for me, because within Chant D’Aromes, I detect the seedlings of all of the magnificent creations Jean-Paul would cultivate throughout his illustrious career. If Aime Guerlain was innovation, and Jacques contemplation, Jean-Paul would soon prove to be flirtation.

While overall, Chant D’Aromes gives the impression of a light-hearted floral bouquet with rich peachy undertones, within the opening notes, I detect the slightest sharpness that would be the unforgettable introduction to Chamade. As the seedlings begin to unfurl out of their sharp green hyacinth cases, the radiant fruity warmth of what would become Nahema is apparent. Chant D’Aromes also has a slight animalic note that would re-appear in many of Jean-Paul’s creations, subtle enough not to cloud the overall innocent impression of the composition, yet an unmistakable nod to the scent of the woman whom these flowers adorn.

While Chant is a lovely fragrance in its own right, it conveys all of the exuberance of youth not yet tempered by long years of experience. Chant is jubilant and smells of a celebration, as though Jean-Paul was able to distill a thousand disparate thoughts about love and perfume and harmonize them into a glorious nectar. While his later fragrances would achieve a level of sophistication comparable to that of his predecessors, Chant is a beautiful creation that captures the excitement and passion of a young man in love. This by no means is meant to imply that Chant is an amateurish creation – on the contrary, Chant D’Aromes reflects a level of craftsmanship that surpasses many of the perfumes available today.

chant_daromes_color_ad I am fortunate enough to have vintage versions of the extrait and eau de cologne which are similar in character, with the eau de cologne being slightly more powdery. I have not sampled the most recent reformulation, but understand that it bears a closer resemblance to Chant D’Aromes than prior attempts.

Floral Chypre

Notes: bergamot, mandarin, peach, tuberose, ylang ylang, , gardenia, honeysuckle, jasmine, helichrysum, iris, cedar and sandalwood, musk, oakmoss, frankincense, vetiver, and tonka bean.

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