A Tuberose Project

The scent of tuberose is heady. It is potent, fleshy and sweet. I realized recently that long before I understood what a tuberose note smelled like, I’ve always gravitated toward tuberose-laden perfumes. Givenchy Amarige is usually considered a tuberose bomb. I don’t think of it that way, it seems equal parts tuberose, orange blossom and mimosa over a sultry oriental base, but given that there’s a hefty dose of tuberose in it, it makes sense that I found it and clung to it back in the mid-90’s and wore it as my signature scent for about five years. I mean every single day for five years. I recall sniffing all the available Miller Harris perfumes in a little boutique in New Hope, PA, one afternoon. After spending an inordinate amount of time standing and sniffing (the shopkeeper was giving me looks) the one I selected was Noix de Tubereuse. And, even though I now think it’s one of the most worthless tuberose soliflores on the market, I recall standing in Neiman’s one day and after smelling every Jo Malone fragrance on the counter, I walked away with JM’s Tubereuse in hand.

For the most part, I don’t seek out tuberose soliflores. I prefer my tuberose prominent but mixed with a blend of other white florals over an oriental type base. My favorites are, as mentioned above, Amarige, as well as Roja Dove Scandal, Divine, Noix de Tubereuse and Annick Goutal Songes (which, for the record, doesn't list tuberose among the notes, but seems tuberose-esque to me). These are all love or hate scents, I don’t think there are too many people on the fence about the fragrances I just listed.

I do occasionally wear tuberose soliflores, namely Frederic Malle Carnal Flower, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Tubereuse, Estee Lauder Tuberose Gardenia and Parfumerie Generale Tubereuse Couture. It’s usually during the warm weather months when I want to wear something that smells realistically and wholly like a tuberose plant.

Here’s my take on the tuberose fragrances I have in my collection. Not all are soliflores, but most are:

Annick Goutal Tubereuse: raw, realistic, unrelenting, unabashedly tuberose. Naked tuberose. For the tuberose connoisseur. Quite a bold fragrance, really.

By Kilian Beyond Love: A gorgeous tuberose. Sultry, sweet and perfect. I can’t explain why I don’t wear this one more often. I guess I must admit to being biased against By Kilian as a line. Their prices pissed me off initially and I never got over it. Since I obviously purchased this one I guess I decided it was, in fact, worth the price tag. It’s just perfect. Not especially sweet, a touch of freshness, just perfect.

Caron Tubereuse: This probably isn’t fair, because I’ve heard so many say this is a fabulous tuberose, but on me it smells like dill pickles. It just never changes from a sour, marinated vegetable into a pretty floral. It’s a pity because I just know there’s something good here.

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Tubereuse: sheer tuberose softened by vanilla. My favorite tuberose for wearing in public because it’s not strange, it’s simply beautiful. It’s manages to be an obvious tuberose yet doesn’t display too much of the flowers' carnal nature. DSH Tubereuse is a virgin, not a slut, like most of the other tuberose soliflores. But don’t get me wrong, this pretty virgin is worth checking out, she’s a gorgeous maiden.

Diptyque Do Son: a nice beginner tuberose or perhaps better classified as a tuberose for those who dislike the “challenging” bits of other tuberose scents. Do Son is a beautiful white floral, somewhat fresh and not especially indolic with good longevity and a little pepper.

Estee Lauder Tuberose Gardenia: This is another tuberose virgin, like DSH Tubereuse. Here the tuberose is gorgeous, luminous, bright and fresh, but it downplays the fleshy, carnal characteristics. I think this is beautiful and worthy of a space in anyone’s tuberose collection.

Frederic Malle Carnal Flower: the queen of all tuberose fragrances. Carnal flower is ultra green and realistic. Powerful, sexy, sultry, fleshy, sweet, lush and long lasting. Carnal Flower makes me imagine a gigantic Georgia O’Keefe painting of a tuberose (if she were to have painted a tuberose, that is). This O’Keefe tuberose is erotic and exaggerated.

Guerlain Mahora / Mayotte: Some say these are different, I say it’s too close to call. Both are slightly powdery, tropical tuberoses. Not my favorites but nice. I imagine these would appeal to those who want something more ‘perfumey’ as opposed to something strictly realistic. Mahora/Mayotte are impressionistic as opposed to photographic.

i Profumi de Firenze Tuberosa d’Autunno: This is a cool tuberose. Cool as opposed to warm. It isn’t particularly bright or fresh but simply a smooth realistic tuberose. It strikes me as an alternative to Tubereuse Criminelle which has always seemed a cool metallic tuberose to me. Wait for the dry down, because this shows it’s best side after 30 minutes. This is a great one which not enough people seem to know about.

Jo Malone Tubereuse: weak tuberose. The words “blah” and “waste of money” come to mind.

L’Artisan Tubereuse: weak tuberose with a medicinal sharp edge. Reminds me a bit of Caron’s Tubereuse, though not quite as much pickle.

Le Labo Tubereuse: mostly orange blossom, bright, fresh and sunny. If you want tuberose don’t look here.

Miller Harris Noix de Tubereuse: sweet oriental floral with emphasis on tuberose. Warm, spicy and old school. Not a photographic or realistic tuberose by any stretch but a floriental.

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Tubereuse: Lush, deep realistic tuberose with a soft ambergris dry down. This is a great one.

Parfumerie Generale Tubereuse Couture: sugary sweet tuberose with some green and a vanillic base. This one doesn’t receive enough fanfare for it’s beauty. I think it’s gorgeous. Some similarity between this and Kilian’s Beyond Love, in it’s take on tuberose.

Prada Infusion de Tubereuse: sheer beginner tuberose, fleeting, but pretty while it lasts. Seems like a "Martha Stewart" tuberose.

Roja Dove Scandal: big warm white floral with emphasis on tuberose. Not a tuberose soliflore but an impressive white floral for those who love tuberose.

Robert Piguet Fracas: white floral with emphasis on mostly orange blossom though it strangely gets billed as a big tuberose scent. It just isn’t so much about tuberose. It’s still gorgeous, but tuberose is a minor player.

Serge Lutens Tubereuse Criminelle: dries down to a exquisite cold tuberose beauty if you can last through the horrific moth balls at the start. And I mean *IF* because the first 20 minutes are awful.

Tom Ford Velvet Gardenia: very realistic tuberose which emphasizes some of the most unusual elements of tuberose; some say mushroomy, others say moldy, I just think it’s quite fleshy and not particularly wearable for me. It has been discontinued so perhaps most people smelled these off putting notes.

So, what are your favorite tuberose scents? I am always interested to smell a new tuberose...

Dandy of the Day: Sarah Silverman

Sarah Silverman is to satire what Julia Child is to cooking.

Sarah Kate Silverman is an American Emmy-Award nominated comedian, writer, singer, guitarist and actress.

Sarah is a gifted satirist who relishes exposing controversial societal issues such as racism, sexism, religion and homophobia. She’s so good at satire that I think there’s a whole segment of people that just don’t get her; they think she’s a jerk. Sarah is especially good at potty humor and nearly anything that one might consider uncouth. While Sarah is quite pretty, even beautiful, she doesn’t seem to emphasize this, or capitalize on it at all; she prefers to wear jeans, sneakers, tee shirts and her hair in a ponytail most of the time. This casual, carefree appearance didn’t stop Maxim from putting her at #29 in their 100 Hottest Women of 2007 issue. Sarah was even on the cover of Maxim (and, of course, she didn’t allow the photos in Maxim to straight-jacket her into any sort of sultry sex pot imagery, her satirical comedic charm was captured instead).

Sarah Silverman has openly admitted to battling depression and thanking Zoloft for her current emotional health. She’s such a funny seemingly outgoing and gregarious person that it’s hard to imagine her depressed, but there are so many people; actors, comediennes & writers in particular who are dealt the depression card.

In my mind, Sarah wears 3 different perfumes for 3 different moods. When she’s working, acting, socializing and “on” I think she wears Comme des Garcons Red Carnation. Red Carnation is hot, spicy, unusual and yet floral and pretty. This is Sarah’s public personae.

When Sarah is at home in her pajamas, writing, meditating and being alone, I think she wears Aqua di Parma Iris Nobile. Iris Nobile allows her to be introspective, to write, to relax and concentrate.

When Sarah is out with family, friends, running errands, going out to dinner or the theatre, she likes to wear Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’ American Beauty. American Beauty is the most beautiful pure red rose. Sarah is, at heart, a person who cares about other people and the world enough to write comedy aimed at breaking cultural stereotypes and helping people see the ugliness of sexism, racism, etc. She is an idealist and she loves the aroma of a pure and innocent red rose.

Tribute to the Indies

I'd like to express my gratitude for the indie perfumers. I’m focusing on the indies, not the niche perfumers, who seem to be an entirely separate category. Niche perfumers are usually well-funded and spend much of their production budget on sexy packaging, designs and bottle labels. The true indies, are usually one-woman/one-man acts, who are seriously passionate about fragrance. Most indie perfumers, to me, seem more adventurous than any large perfume house. They might have little financial backing but they are willing to take risks, because the juxtaposition of scents intrigues them. I love that indie perfumers aren’t necessarily concerned with what’s trendy, what the “it” note is that year (pink pepper!). I imagine indie perfumers to create what they think will be interesting.

To illustrate this point, an article in the New York Times from a few years back quotes Beth Terry responding to a question about the livelihood of an indie perfumer:

“….it’s not an empress's ransom, exactly, but enough to fuel a perfumer's creative vision.
I don't want to rule the world; I just want to keep experimenting.'' Recently, balmy spring days made her think of sangría. ''Don't you love that smell? Wouldn't you like to bottle it?'' Ms. Terry asked. '' I think I will,'' she said.

Being able to create and bottle up whatever they please, is what allows many indie perfumers to make some unusual and stunning fragrances. Take, for example, Midnight Violet by Ava Luxe. Until I smelled Midnight Violet, I didn’t like violet scents. Ava Luxe (Ms. Serena Franco) took violets, and removed all the syrupy sweet powdery-ness and placed those delicate blue & purple flowers in a dense forest of damp earth, balsam, hemlocks, cedar and the dark of night. It’s as if she combined yin and yang, masculine and feminine, day and night into one fragrance. Violet is almost exclusively associated with uber-feminine girly perfumes. And earthy, balsam, cedar scents are most often associated with traditionally masculine fragrances. Ava Luxe has married the two and it works like a Shakespearian sonnet. I don’t mean to focus solely on Ava Luxe, I have a whole slew of indie perfumers that I’d to honor by listing them here but Midnight Violet sticks out for me because this is the perfume that allowed me to finally appreciate violet.

Here are the indie perfumes that I’m familiar with, I’m sure there are others, but let’s give a big round of applause for:

Aftelier
Aroma M
Ava Luxe
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (memorable website)
Creative Universe by Beth Terry
Dawn Spencer Hurwitz
Keiko Mecheri
Mandrake Apothecary
Michael Storer
Neil Morris (just discovered this week, where have I been?)
Possets Perfume
Sonoma Scent Studio
Soivohle' by Liz Zorn (adding on 7/15/08, Gail pointed this out to me in her comment and I knew I had forgotten someone!)
Strange Invisible Perfumes (SIP is now being carried at Barneys, is SIP still indie?)
Tauer Perfumes (Andy Tauer has hit it big time, Aedes de Venustas is now carrying his line, so can we still consider him an indie?!)

I’d love to know of more indies, I know this is a short list. I have questions next to some because they’re now being carried at exclusive shops and I wonder if this will take away their indie status and potentially impact their creativity?

Celadon: A Velvet Green, Perfume Review

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz created a limited edition perfume called Celadon: A Velvet Green. Celadon is among her Parfums des Beaux Arts, LLC collection. Let me begin by saying I'm not usually a "green" perfume fan, but since I'm carrying several of the Dawn Spencer Hurwitz (DSH) fragrances at The Posh Peasant, I figured I'd take this one out for a test drive.

Upon first application, I smell a burst of what I can only describe as "green," a combination of crushed grasses, plant stems, leaves, fern, perhaps aloe plant, moss and a smidgen of dirt. I almost always describe the smell of perfume by what it makes me visualize - so here's the image: I'm sitting under an enormous balsam tree, at the edge of a forest, carpeted in moss, on the coast of Maine. My Aunt has an old farmhouse in Maine, on Penobscot Bay, in a small town that time forgot called Brooklin. If you walk in the backyard at my Aunt's house you'll come to the edge of a very dense forest. I always marvel at the bright green color of the moss here, it's like a carpet, covering the entire underbrush, literally wall-to-wall. Celadon makes me think of walking into this forest. There's a crystal clear quality to the air and the smell of trees, plants, moss and earth make you want to take deeper and deeper breaths until you nearly hyperventilate.

Celandon is a gentle green, like new buds or new growth that's just pushing forth from the earth, still in it's infancy, still fragile. I wouldn't call it a refreshing green, there's nothing brisk, sharp or jarring about Celadon, it's all verrry gentle, soft and calming. Once Celadon dries down it becomes an even softer scent. I smell sheer musk, a whiff of hay, an ever-so-slightly detectable violet scent. There is something mildly sweet, perhaps it's the grassy/hay note, perhaps there's a floral note hidden in the base, but the slight sweetness never overtakes the overall soft budding greenness of the fragrance.

I must admit that this is a green scent that I will wear. I chose this particular fragrance today because it's 95 degrees in the shade and I couldn't fathom wearing anything floral or sweet or heavy. Celadon is very light, gentle and soothing. It wears fairly close to the skin but I keep getting whiffs of it from time to time so it has good lasting power (it's been 3.5 hours). I now have something other than citrus scents to wear in hot weather. This is the first time I have ever smelt a fragrance quite like this and I'm enjoying it to the extreme. I'm thoroughly impressed, way to go Dawn Spencer Hurwitz!

According to DSH website, the following are the notes for Celadon: A Velvet Green:

Composition
Top notes: Clover Leaf, Cucumber, Lime Peel
Middle notes: Green Grass, Liatrix, Orris, Orris Root
Base notes: Balsam Fir, Hay absolute, Narcissus Absolute, Tonka Bean, Violet Leaf Absolute