Currently Listening: Point of No Return by Expose
I love a good perfume sampler. It's a great way to try out a brand you don't know much about. I impulse bought this on in the line at Sephora for just $18. Atelier Cologne can be a little pricey for me (although there are varying sizes and price points and the do offer a "Discovery Set" on their website for $35), so this is a really good way to see if it's worth it.
Atelier Cologne was started by Christophe Cervasel and Sylvie Ganter. Here's a bit of their story. I find it sweet:
"We met for the first time in New York in 2006 and very quickly we fell in love. We discovered that we share the same passion for the legendary Eau de Cologne and that we were on the same on-going search for a Cologne of character, elegant and fresh at the same time with exceptional long lasting power.
Together, we decided to create the first fragrance house entirely dedicated to cologne. Our dream: to create colognes to be worn as Pure Perfumes. After many years in the making, our dream came true. We gave birth to a new olfactive family: the Colognes Absolues."
I had fun testing this one. I did one fragrance a night for 8 nights. The results are as follows...
Orange Sanguine: It was described as "Bitter and fresh blood orange from Italy with sweet sandalwood." I got a very pure scent of freshly squeezed orange juice with a herbal swizzle stick. The sad thing about citrus scents is that they burn off so quickly. Orange Sanguine was fleeting.
Clementine California: "Sunny composition built around clementine from California: fruity, green, and sweet." My nose can distinguish between many different types of citrus, but different types of oranges and clementines it cannot. To me it was a sweet citrus. Like walking though a citrus grove with a citrus and rosemary lollipop. When the citrus burns off, you are left with a bouquet of bright herbs, that I visualize being tied with raffia.
Vanille Insensée: "An unexpected vanilla from Madagascar, fresh and woody." This is the only one of the lot I have smelled before, so I knew I liked it. It's comforting like a hug. Very inviting yet sophisticated. It's like a milk punch made with good Bourbon and vanilla vodka.
Cafe Tuberosa: "An addictive espresso coffee accord blended with an elegant tuberose from India." I went MAD for this one! It's SO lovely, and unexpectedly elegant! Coffee and tuberose in equal parts. Reminds me of getting all dressed up to go to the bar at the Taj (my favorite bar here in Boston) and having the perfect cup of decaf as a night cap.
Santal Carmin: "Sweet, creamy sandalwood from New Caledonia with a bold accent of saffron." I like it objectively, but its' nothing I would choose to wear. I think the saffron makes the sandalwood smell brighter. Not the sandalwood profile I'm used to. I want to smell this on my husband. He has 2 bottles of fragrance, I'm encroaching on 100.
Oud Saphir: "Dark oud from Malaysia, smoky leather and sparkling bergamot." This one may have changed my mind on our, I found it to be GLORIOUS, I couldn't stop smelling my wrsit. Very "clean". The oud is nice and not heavy-handed. Often-times oud will make my head hurt. I think the bergamot makes it. It is "sparkling". It's such a departure from what I normally wear, but tastes change and evolve. It was a nice surprise. It's the perfect blend of woody, smoky and sparkling. I can't come up with an anaolgy for it.
Mandarine Glaciale: "An icy mandarin spiced by sweet ginger." This one way WAY too fleeting for me. Most likely my least favorite of the lot. I also wanted the ginger to be much more sharp.
Cedre Atlas: "Crisp blue cedar from Morocco enveloped by amber." This one confused me greatly. In my notes, all I have is "why does this smell like my beloved Jo Malone Orange Blossom?"
So that's it. My first real post back! I think I'm going to add bottles of Cafe Tuberosa and Oud Saphir to my ever expanding full bottle wish list. I have an Ormonde Jayne and an Amouage sampler to wade through, but I want to do a few single fragrance entries so I can live with things I little more and weave some better fragrance stories and analogies for you.
Until next time...OOO,
Kathleen
Currently Listening: Bootylicious by Destiny's Child
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