Carnation: 20 posts

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

I find it easier to describe Vitriol d’Oeillet, the newest fragrances from Serge Lutens, by describing what it is not, rather than what it is. It is not a romantic perfume nor is it an austere perfume. It is not modern, yet it is not old-fashioned either. It is not femme fatale nor is it a wallflower. It oscillates between woods and spices, and only occasionally does Vitriol d’Oeillet veer into the floral domain. Sometimes it is a spicy carnation, but a moment later it turns into a prim English tea rose.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Like any fragrance house with a large and diverse range, Le Labo has a number of hits and misses in its collection. The generic blandness of fragrances like  Fleur d’Oranger 27 and Neroli 36 exists side by side with the striking renditions of Patchouli 24 and Oud 27. In fact, when Le Labo offers something successful, it is truly memorable and dramatic. Would one have expected Rose 31 to be a dark, moody composition where roses completely melt into the smoky woods? Would one have anticipated Aldehyde 44 to be a vision of edgy glamour? Likewise, Baie Rose 26 is a fragrance I find fascinating, and in a word, addictive.

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The rainstorm… Après l’Ondée, which translates from French as “After the Rain Shower” seems like a radiant and exquisitely graceful composition, and yet there is the suggestion of a brooding darkness hiding in its opulent layers. My own relationship with it is complex; it is both a fragrance that served as a gateway for my intense passion for everything Guerlain and a scent of nostalgia. It reminds me of my first year in the United States, when feeling displaced and homesick, I would walk around Marshall Field’s, the large department store in downtown Chicago. The Guerlain counter, with its large booklet describing each fragrance, drew my attention. I was determined to find a perfume that would be mine because Guerlain had always fascinated me.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

A perfumer of Italian-Spanish descent, Mona di Orio has recently offered three fragrances under her eponymous line, Carnation, Lux and Nuit Noire. A protégé of Edmond Roudnitska, according to the online sources, Mona di Orio is a perfumer whose perfumes bear a classical fingerprint, much like Balanchine school ballet dancers possess certain stylistic and physical characteristics.

The perfumes blend brightness of the top accords with the sonorous richness of their oriental bases, the tapestries of musk, amber and tonka beans. Lux fuses the accord of Eau Sauvage into a vanillic base, with an almost Guerlinesque result. Nuit Noire is reminiscent of a cross between Chergui and Bal à Versailles. They are not weightless compositions; instead, they have intensity and density, and these qualities would no doubt find appeal among the diehard fans of oriental genre. It would be a stretch to say that any of these compositions are reminiscent of Edmond Roudnitska’s luminous and breathtaking arrangements. …

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Carnations set in gold, Guerlain Metalys is a composition that respects classical canons, and yet the result is a modern floral crowning a soft oriental base. Alight with amber, the fragrance captures the same golden glow that bathes the figures and the landscapes in the paintings by Titian.

The metallic note hiding under the flower petals in the heart harmonizes the cold aldehydic top accord with the warm Guerlinade base. While the carnation dominates, the lily-like sweetness of ylang ylang and the fruitiness of jasmine are woven into the floral accord. The spicy petals peel away slowly to reveal the core of the composition, accented by the same metallic brilliance that gives Paco Rabanne Calandre and Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche a distinct touch. Yet, in Metalys, the metallic note conjures visions of burnished gold, rather than polished steel. Its illusory fragility is contrasted elegantly with the layers of creamy vanilla. …

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