New York perfume boutique Aedes de Venustas is introducing a new fragrance in May 2015. It’s the 5th fragrance from the house, following Aedes de Venustas Eau de Parfum, Copal Azur, Iris Nazarena, and Oeillet Bengale. Palissandre d’Or is inspired by the Indian rosewood tree, but instead of offering a rendition of rosewood essence, it’s a fantasy based on the oriental woody theme. Created by perfumer Alberto Morillas known for his sensual and elegant compositions, Palissandre d’Or “sheds a new light on the immemorial scent of precious Oriental woods, in a smoldering palette of burnt sienna, lacquered red and molten gold.”
As the press release describes the fragrance, “crystal-clear ambrette – a natural musk with rose, pear and iris facets – brightens rich inlays of cool spices: pink pepper, coriander and nutmeg. Then, as the torrid heat of cinnamon rises, the scent opens up its heart to deliver its secret: a rare sandalwood extract from Sri Lanka. Subtly smoky, rose-tinged and creamy, it is made more luscious still by the milky warmth of copahu balm and a silken patchouli extract.
A bold trio of cedar essences add structure and texture to the lustrous blend. Clean, bracing Virginian cedar gives it vigor and tempo. The Lapsang Souchong tea facet of Chinese cedar and the Russian leather smokiness of Alaskan cedar – another rare new extract showcased by Alberto Morillas – carve burnished patterns into the fine-grained wood.”
Aedes de Venustas Palissandre d’Or Eau de Parfum will be available in 100 ml/$245. Also sold in a purse spray ($110) with three 10 ml refills ($195). Via press release
46 Comments
Carolina: Thank you for bringing this to my attention! It sounds absolutely luscious. I will sample, although the notes are so on point for me that a blind buy is tempting (please join me in reciting the Blind Buyer’s Song of Remorse). February 17, 2015 at 9:37am
Victoria: I love anything with woods, so this sounds wonderful to me too. I also loved many in their collection, especially Iris Nazarena and Oeillet Bengale. February 17, 2015 at 3:01pm
Phyllis Iervello: Most of my blind buys have been great with only a few exceptions. As far as this new Aedes scent goes, I would also blind buy it. February 17, 2015 at 9:42am
Victoria: I’m too timid to try blind buys, but a sample should be easy enough to order from Aedes, so one need not risk an expensive blind buy in this case. February 17, 2015 at 3:02pm
Karen: Sounds beautiful and luscious (maybe up until the cedar notes?), and very tempting. Plus the photo is just gorgeous! February 17, 2015 at 9:48am
Victoria: I’m curious how the fantasy of a rosewood would smell! February 17, 2015 at 3:02pm
Amalia: Absolutely beautiful picture! February 17, 2015 at 10:22am
Victoria: I also loved it! February 17, 2015 at 3:06pm
Katy: I am a fan of Mr Morillas so I look forward to sampling this! I love Virginia cedar EO and often mix it with moisturizer to layer with perfume or on its own. February 17, 2015 at 11:15am
Victoria: I use cedarwood oil to scent my closets. It keeps moths away and also gives a soft woody aroma to my sweaters. I love your lotion idea. February 17, 2015 at 3:07pm
Aurora: Your comment has just remined me that when my brother lived in Manhattan, the walk-in closet in the apartment was made of cedar and the smell was great.
Diluted, rosewood is quite good for the skin, only on the T zone though, not for dry skin. It sounds indeed very interesting to sample this new release, I’d like to explore more woods this year including in masculine fragrances as I’ve got a little more competent with florals already. February 17, 2015 at 4:02pm
Aurora: ‘reminded’ sorry. February 17, 2015 at 4:03pm
Michaela: Rosewood oil smells beautifully, too. February 18, 2015 at 5:24am
Victoria: Rosewood is one of those unsustainable oils, tied to the destruction of rosewood forests, so whenever I see it in bio shops, I worry about the provenance. Usually, the synthetic version is used in perfumery, but either way, it’s a striking and complex material. February 18, 2015 at 6:31am
Aurora: Thank you for highlighting this issue about rosewood, Victoria, will avoid purchasing it from now on. I find that palma rosa ess. oil can be used instead; now I hope there isn’t a similar problem with it. February 18, 2015 at 6:55am
Victoria: Palma rosa is a sustainable crop, and it smells delicious. I believe you can find sustainable rosewood oil too (made from the by-product of the precious wood industry, which uses replanted, sustainable trees), but it requires a search, and I rarely see properly certified oils on sale. February 18, 2015 at 7:34am
Amer: I might be wrong but I thought rosewood oil is mainly linalool, a major constituent of lavender and also cheap to manufacture. To my nose the oil in a blend bears a resemblance to clary sage (again might be my impression but would love to hear your opinion on the matter). I have found a very good substitute though in ho-who, the leaves from the camphor tree. Unlike other linalool rich oils this also has the tea-like drydown of rosewood and it is a sustainable source since the tree is not harmed during harvesting.
Only rosewood fragrance I’ve ever smelled was palissander from the CdG red series. Wonder how they compare. February 19, 2015 at 8:17am
Amer: ho-sho not ho-who… lol February 19, 2015 at 8:18am
Victoria: Yes, it’s full of linalool, but there are other trace materials, and the whole is much more interesting than just linalool. Even though, of course, even linalool on its own is a versatile and important material.
I loved Palisander from CdG, and you’ve reminded me of it. February 19, 2015 at 1:24pm
Michaela: I had no idea. Good to know, thank you! February 18, 2015 at 8:22am
Ariadne: This perfume indeed could be a blind buy…..YUM to the max! What exactly is the photo of? I work with pathologists and it looks like one of their slides of cell structures. Is it a slice of rose wood trunk under the scope?
If anyone comes a piece of vintage rosewood furniture buy it. It may be very Victorian in style but that stuff can be worked into any decor and the wood itself gives unending pleasure to look at and touch.. February 18, 2015 at 6:02pm
Victoria: My husband said the same thing, that it looks like a cell structure. Your guess is as good as mine. 🙂 I gather that it’s a fantasy vision of a piece of wood. February 19, 2015 at 4:15am
Michaela: Interesting! How do you practically use the cedarwood oil? Keep an open bottle in the closet or scent a paper with it or…?
I use it a lot in homemade soaps, the scent is calm and low but irt works as a preservative for the other scents. February 18, 2015 at 5:24am
Victoria: I sprinkle it on cedarwood chips or I rub the wood inside the closet with pure oil. You don’t need much to scent a small enclosed space. February 18, 2015 at 6:37am
Michaela: Can’t wait to try it! Thank you for the tip! February 18, 2015 at 8:23am
Tatiana: I like much of Alberto Morillas’ work. Like Karen, I think this sounds luscious up until the mention of cedar. I hope there isn’t too much of it, as it tends to overwhelm everything else on my skin. Still, I think I will seek out a sample to sniff. February 17, 2015 at 11:34am
Victoria: Morillas’s work is so distinctive, and I can’t wait to see how he reinterpreted the woody oriental theme. February 17, 2015 at 3:08pm
Hannah: This sounds good. Hopefully I’ll go to New York this summer, and I’ll try it then if I do. February 17, 2015 at 5:23pm
Victoria: I’m sure you’ll have a great trip and will have many interesting new things to discover. February 18, 2015 at 6:31am
Kate: This sounds intriguing. I am not terribly knowledgeable about individual notes, but I once had bottle of Chanel No. 18 which features ambrette prominently. It interested me but I couldn’t come to love it; I found it very dry and vegetal. Given that ambrette should have rosy and iris-like facets, I wondered whether I might have some kind of anosmia that prevented me from appreciating this perfume properly (I love rose and iris!). I wonder if this is possible.
Does anyone know of any other scents where ambrette features prominently? I’d be interested in testing this idea 🙂 February 18, 2015 at 4:52am
Victoria: Le Labo’s Ambrette? Have you tried that one? February 18, 2015 at 4:58am
Kate: I haven’t, actually, but if it’s a fair representation I really must try and get hold of a sample. Do you happen to know if this is a common anosmia, Victoria? February 18, 2015 at 9:16am
Victoria: It contains a fair bit of natural musk, so this must be the reason. I even know some perfumers who don’t smell it very strongly. February 18, 2015 at 12:34pm
Michaela: Sounds very good! And the picture is beautiful. February 18, 2015 at 5:26am
Victoria: Looking forward to May! February 18, 2015 at 6:36am
JoDee: Just last week I tried Oeillet Bengale, my first to sample from Aedes de Venustas. The idea of a rose disguised as a carnation piqued my interest. I thought the scent was lovely and in a way reminded me of the treatment of the de Rosine scent, Ecume de Rose. I will look forward to sampling Palissandre d’Or and understanding ambrette from a different angle. My only other ambrette samples have been the Le Labo and Chanel 18 both of which struck me as very, very soft/gentle fragrances. February 18, 2015 at 11:05am
JoDee: Although I will add about my sample of Chanel 18, the top note is bold and strange (it smells like tequila to me, but I’m quite new at smelling fragrances). After about 5 minutes it relaxes to the gentle scent I mentioned. February 18, 2015 at 11:26am
Victoria: Since Kate mentioned No 18, I went and sprayed a bit on a blotter. I can totally see what you mean by tequila! 🙂 February 18, 2015 at 12:38pm
Tara C: It smells like a gin tonic to me! March 6, 2015 at 4:11pm
Victoria: That sounds intriguing! I love the smell of gin & tonic. March 7, 2015 at 8:49am
Victoria: I love Ecume de Rose perhaps more than any other rose from Rosine, although Un Zeste de Rose also comes close. February 18, 2015 at 12:37pm
Brainfodder: Thanks for sharing this exciting news – it sounds glorious! My skin really behaves with No 18 so am very much looking forward to trying this woody ambrette:) Am hoping the pear doesn’t kill it for me – fresh fruits can be a bit tricky… Roll on May!
I’ve drenched my way through 4 samples of Oeillet Bengale since December – how I love every second of it!
Shame about the slightly wince-worthy £185 100ml Liberty price tag… how I wish they sold the purse sprays!
Neela Vermeire’s Trayee also has me hooked and glued to my wrist, dreaming of something larger than a sample. And Viktoria Minya’s Eau de Hongrie curled up by the fire mmm… Iris Poudre under soft woollens. December was a pretty spectacular month for fantastic sample discoveries – some big new perfume loves 🙂 February 18, 2015 at 2:34pm
Victoria: It’s expensive and the packaging must cost a lot. It’s almost a rule for niche brands to slap high price tags in order to be in the luxury sector. On the other hand, Aedes fragrances are actually among the most carefully composed, with high-quality materials and unusual compositions, so while you pay a lot, you don’t just pay for the brand (as in Tom Ford). February 19, 2015 at 4:13am
Brainfodder: Yes, that really comes across in this fragrance – quality, creativity, attention to detail, pride in the product and outcome. I’d like to support and celebrate some more of that approach please… in a 50ml bottle 😉 February 19, 2015 at 8:53am
Victoria: I love those 30 and 50ml bottles. But not sure how much of a price reduction once can expect if they sell 30ml in refills for $195! Frankly, the high prices in niche might in some cases be justifiable, but on my budget they aren’t feasible. February 19, 2015 at 1:27pm
Lucas: It does sound very appealing and attractive.
Looking forward to try it in May. I was really into their Iris Nazarena, Oeillet Bengale or even Copal Azur February 21, 2015 at 11:02am