Issey Miyake, A Scent

Several weeks ago, when I was at Saks, I saw a pretty husky guy look up, down, and all around nervously before spraying on A Scent. It was the first I'd heard of the fragrance, so when he asked me whether it was for men or women, I really didn't know what to say, though I generally don't know how to answer that question anyway. Before I had a chance to, he'd covered himself in a cloud of the stuff, so maybe the question was a formality.

I've never been a huge Issey Miyake fan. I like Intense for Men okay. It's good for a kick, though I suspect I'd never wear it. I like F'eau Dissey but can't seem to figure out when to wear it and always want it to last longer or go somewhere else at some point. L'eau d'Issey for women is an interesting calone fragrance, with that salt-water effect Escape by Calvin Klein has. L'eau Bleue is probably the most interesting to me, a sleeper from Jacques Cavallier, part herbal, part coniferous, a little doughy.

I wasn't expecting much from A Scent, so I was very surprised. I'd received a sample of Estee Lauder's Jasmine White Moss, which it resembles, shortly before smelling it. I couldn't picture myself buying Jasmine White Moss--too soft, maybe, or too refined---whereas I was at the cash register with A Scent before I knew what I was doing.

As you might have read elsewhere, A Scent recalls green fragrances past, particularly, to my nose, those which feature galbanum prominently. I smell a history of green in there, with stops at Aliage, Balmain's Ivoire, Chanel No. 19, Givenchy III, and Jean-Louis Scherrer. A Scent is much softer than Aliage, overlaying its punch of galbanum with a significant whiff of jasmine. Brighter and fresher than Jasmine White Moss, it also lasts longer. It has a citrus aspect to it that never really goes away, and somehow feels stronger rather than weaker as it wears. It also gets deeper, and richer.

It was created by Daphne Bugey, the nose behind Kenzo Amour, the DSquared fragrances, and the more recent Kenzo Amour Florale, all of which are equally persistent and weirdly more pronounced later than they at first seem they will be. Amour is one of those scents that seems to have gone away, until it wafts up again. I wouldn't say it's a skin scent. I'm starting to notice bedrock similarities in Bugey's work, relationships which intrigue me, making me wonder at her artistry.

I like A Scent a lot. It has a happy but intelligent feel to it, and if the same guy asked me who it was meant for all over again, I would say the masses.

D'Orsay Le Nomade

Le Nomade starts off with a tart, sparkling lime note, making the fragrance seem almost dewy at first. I wish it lingered there longer because it's a unique note, but it's a pretty fantastic openings. After this, it moves along into woodier, spicier terrain, but it never really loses that tart disposition altogether. Some have compared it to Cartier Declaration, and while it's true they feel related, there are enough differences between them to warrant individual attention. Declaration is nuttier somehow. Le Nomade feels a little more floral, recalling the jasmine beatitude of Third Man, if perverted by the spice rack.

I liked Le Nomade instantly. It smells better than the majority of masculines I come across, and, like Third Man, has something about it which makes it feel a little more unisex, partly the jasmine, but also something else. It doesn't take much to veer away from "masculine", when you consider how homogeneous your average masculine fragrance is. Many of the D'Orsay fragrances date to the early 1900s. Le Nomade is practically a baby, at a little less than ten years old. It smells much older, and not just because it bears very little relation to contemporary trends in mainstream perfumery.

The D'Orsay website features the fragrance as part of its "Intense" series and lists the notes as follows: ivy green, cedar leaves, bergamot, lime, jasmine, geranium, cardamom, coriander, cumin, black pepper, vetiver, atlas cedar, sandalwood, balsam fir, sage, and liatrix. The easy way out would be to describe Le Nomade as a woody vetiver, citing the cedar, the sandalwood, fir, sage, etc. But the spices, the jasmine, and the geranium take the composition to an entirely different place. I've heard people describe this as a confused fragrance. D'Orsay doesn't help dissuade from that impression. "Where cultures collide," the website boasts, continuing:"the perfect blend of essences from Asian and African civilizations." Then again, that makes sense to me, as the overall result smells like a fusion of a spicy dish and a steaming porcelain cup of jasmine tea, side of lemongrass. Le Nomade is that rare thing, an eau de parfum masculine.

Estee Lauder Private Collection Jasmine White Moss

There was a discussion on POL recently started by cubby titled “Estee Lauder Fragrances, Why do they last so Long?” Estee Lauder perfumes do have the most wonderful longevity, don’t they? Many of the comments mirrored this sentiment and expressed their gratitude that Estee Lauder is committed to quality fragrances (“best bang for the buck” is what one POLer wrote).

Last year I was pleased by the launch of Sensuous – a mainstream fragrance that ventured into wooded territory. I was happy because EL was launching something different from the usual fare at Sephora and it made EL seem brave. Ultimately Sensuous left me cold, it was an utter snooze, but I’m still happy that EL went for it.

I was cheering for Estee Lauder again this year with news of Private Collection Jasmine White Moss. A green chypre for 2009 seems very brave to me. A green chypre also seems like a nod to us perfume fanatics, because, who else would be in the market for this sort of fragrance, but us, the complete fragrance junkies?! I mean, this is NOT a fruity floral, nor another Angel wannabe (this trend seems to have ended), or another safe clean floral number to bore us to tears.

No offense to others who have reviewed Estee Lauder Private Collection Jasmine White Moss (henceforth EL PCJWM) but I don’t see any reason to make side-by-side comparisons between it and other heavy hardcore chypres from thirty years ago. When I reviewed Cristalle Eau Verte and Mitsouko Fleur de Lotus I made comparisons to the original fragrances for obvious reasons but with EL PCJWM I wore it all by itself and made no such comparisons.

My initial reaction was “wow, this is really oakmoss-y.” The first 15-20 minutes spotlight oakmoss, and while I know it isn’t the real deal (given the maddening IFRA restrictions), this smells like good oakmoss. I went to Neiman’s first thing this morning with the intent of sampling EL PCJWM and then running several other errands, having lunch and doing a bit more sniffing later in the afternoon. I kept sniffing my wrists throughout the delay, evaluating and taking note of it’s development. It reminds me a bit of the original EL Private Collection as well as Azuree in it’s galbanum green-ness (as March on Perfume Posse also suggested). Call me the contrarian but I really love EL PCJWM, and I think I love it precisely because it is a modern chypre. To give you a point of reference, EL PCJWM reminds me a bit of an airy, less dense and complex, Ralph Lauren Safari.

Once the fragrance dries down the oakmoss and aldehydes burn off and what you have left is a soft green floral. The jasmine is obvious at the start but after time passes it becomes mostly a mixed floral affair. It’s a lovely composition. It’s a weightless, carefree and easy-going modern chypre. I don’t find fault with it because it’s much less smoldering than chypres of years past, I like it for it’s faceted yet wispy quality. Similar to the way I ended up liking Shalimar Light, while I’ll always love original Shalimar, there’s a place in my heart for modern chypres, for lightness, and simple beauty. The galbanum & vetiver notes (I think) keep the fragrance from straying into “sweet” territory and it stays nicely dry throughout.

After lunch and other errands I returned to Neimans and Nordies and sniffed a whole bunch of other perfumes. Everything else just seemed mediocre. EL PCJWM really stood out, this is a winner, so I bought myself a bottle. I decided it was that good.

Taken from the Estee Lauder website:
Notes: Black Currant Bud Absolute, Galbanum Absolute, Bergamot Absolute, Aerin's Jasmine Sambac Absolute, Estée's Ylang Ylang Absolute, Estée's Jasmine Absolute, Violet, Orange Flower Absolute, Orris, Patchouli Heart Absolute, Vetiver Absolute, White Moss Mist Absolute (an Estée Lauder exclusive).