Pick a Pepper

I’ve always been fond of pepper. I pepper nearly everything I eat and the same goes for fragrance; a whiff of pepper makes a scent all the more intriguing for me. Supposedly, according to my horoscope, Aries people like pepper, along with the other fire signs (Leo and Sagittarius). I’ve been meaning to do a fluffy fun piece about the possible link between one’s zodiac sign and their choice of perfume but that’s still percolating in my mind for now. Peppery fragrances are wonderful for dreary days and cold weather so here are a few of my favorites peppers.

Diptyque Ofresia.
I reviewed Ofresia recently so I won’t bore you again, but this is a beautiful blend of freesia blooms and pepper. A sweet floral and pepper seems to me an unusual combination and the pepper stands out just as much as the freesia. I think it’s stunning and while I might tire of a fragrance that is singularly about freesia the addition of pepper keeps me sniffing myself all day ;-)

L’Artisan Poivre Piquant
I love the story of Poivre Piquant. The main notes of this fragrance are white pepper and milk. Poivre Piquant is based upon a tradition from Indian wedding ceremonies. In India pepper and sugar are placed on the bride’s veil to symbolize the hope of sweetness and spice in her upcoming marriage. The aroma of Poivre Piquant very much captures this idea of sweetness and spice – there’s an equal pairing of milk and honey with a soft whiff of pepper. Overall the fragrance is quite tender and comforting.

L’Artisan Piment Brulant
Piment Brulent reminds me so much of the book Chocolat by Joanne Harris. If you’ve read it you’ll remember the descriptions of “real hot chocolate” which were topped off with a dusting of cayenne pepper and other spicy ingredients. Piment Brulant contains notes of red pepper, chocolate, vanilla, musk, amber and cloves. It’s simply gorgeous, but not for the faint of heart – this stuff is as fiery as it is creamy.

Yves Saint Laurent Nu (the EdP, -not- the EdT which is quite different and not peppery at all). Brian introduced me to YSL Nu just a few months ago and it’s become one of my absolute favorites. Nu is a combination of incense and pepper. Nu is cooling, not fiery, but the whiffs of pepper are very much present.

And, no, I don’t usually sneeze while wearing my favorite peppery perfumes!

Diptyque Ofrésia: A Review

Diptyque fragrances are usually very true to what they’re meant to smell like. In perfume terms, nearly all Diptyque fragrances are linear (which means they don’t change much from initial spritz to dry down) and you can pretty much tell what you’re going to smell from the name. Diptyque’s Ofrésia is, as the name suggest, about the freesia flower.

Ofrésia is a shockingly beautiful fragrance. It isn’t just about the flowers but the whole plant uprooted and put into a bottle with a dusting of soil and a hefty dose of pepper. The addition of pepper is genius – it gives Ofrésia a tingly and lively quality that seems the perfect addition to an otherwise seemingly simplistic freesia soliflore.

I’ve had freesia growing in my garden the past few years. The smell of freesias are unmistakable, their aroma is sweet, green and slightly waxy. Ofrésia seems to be an exact replica of the natural scent of freesias, a photograph as opposed to a whimsical painting.

Ofrésia starts off with a near sneeze-worthy burst of sweet freesia and pepper. After about 20 minutes the pepper settles into the background and a green, stemmy, vegetal quality takes center stage. Ofrésia celebrates greenness over its sweet floral qualities so it is never a heady sweet thing. The pepper and slight woodsy notes happily hang around in the background to give the fragrance a very interesting zip – Ofrésia is not a boring scent. (In Perfumes: The Guide, Luca Turin writes that Ofrésia is “…a somewhat boring freesia accord,” and I can only disagree and imagine that if Ofrésia were created by Guerlain instead of Diptyque he would call it ravishing).

Ofrésia is a beautiful green fragrance with light airy freesia tickled by wafts of peppery woods.

Sillage: Average
Longevity: Excellent, easily 4-5 hours