The best aromas of September, which will not tell ads
Text: Ksenia Golovanova
It’s time for many of us in the autumn reconsider your perfumery wardrobe and wrap yourself in scents that match the season. Known and not very good brands do not skimp on new items, and in the choice it is sometimes easy to get lost. At our request, perfume critic Ksenia Golovanova selected for us the best fragrances from those that you can hardly find out from popular sources.
Adjatay: Cuir Narcotique
The Different Company
In the perfumery tuberose firmly settled on the top of the food chain and easily "devour" any note, weak in spirit. The flower’s reputation is generally rather bad: in Victorian England, tuberose was forbidden to smell for unmarried girls, for whom its scent allegedly caused unauthorized orgasms, and our Silver Age decided that it was “disruptive” and “vampire”. A little more about the last: tuberose, if you smell, really gives fresh blood, and more - rubber and menthol. Only a perfume chord of similar strength and complexity can go along with it in the same harness, and in Adjatay it is found - it is leather with balsamic and animal tones, the inside of the jacket of the guy who rode the motorcycle with flowers in his bosom all night.
Efflor_esce
Nomenclature
In April of this year, the young brand Nomenclature showed at the Exsence Milan perfume exhibition four fragrances, the most striking of which was Efflor_esce. It is based on a paradison, a molecule with a voluminous and fresh aroma of flowers, and foreign flowers, luminescent: this could smell a radioactive bouquet for a space opera diva from the Fifth Element. Paradisone was previously used as a special effect in perfumery, for example, in the British brand Penhaligon's Iris Prima or in Acqua di Gio Essenza, but here it is brought to the fore and shines in every sense.
Grand soir
Maison francis kurkdjian
It is rumored that Grand Soir was made to replace Absolue Pour Le Soir, a flashy and challenging one, like the heroine Sigourney Weaver from the old Ghostbusters, in whom the ancient Babylonian demon moved. Grand Soir, at first glance, is completely different: it is an elegant amber scent. It is based on a warm balsamic chord consisting of labdanum, benzoin, vanilla and tonka bean. The fragrance is similar to the one that Amber could have if he had a pronounced smell: thick, sweet, frozen in time, like a prehistoric moth in resin. And yet something dangerous smoldering here at the bottom, as if the exorcism carried out by the rite simply drove all evil spirits deeper - there is an unkind fire in the Grand Soir, but it is reliably sealed in an ancient stone.
Secrets du paradis rouge
Jul et Mad
The new fragrance for Jul et Mad was made by Italian Luca Maffei, a rising star of perfumery. At the recent Pitti Fragranze perfume exhibition in Florence, several of his compositions were shown at once, including a pair of very good ones for the Laboratorio Olfattivo brand (they will soon appear in Aromatheka Moscow). Stated in the name of "red paradise" - Marrakesh, where the creators of the brand Julien and Madalina spent their honeymoon, and the "secrets" are no secrets, at least for those who have been to Morocco. Paradis Rouge smells like orange blossom and amla, a sweet paste of honey, argan oil and crushed almonds. The aroma is sweet, but its sweetness is truly Moroccan, exemplary - in a word, there is no reason not to try this honey cake.
Fleurs et flames
Antonio Alessandria
Fleurs et Flammes was first shown at last year's Pitti Fragranze, but they were brought to Moscow quite recently, so we will consider this fragrance to be new. "Flowers and Lights" are twisted around the lily, which was left on a summer night in a small room. The hosts went to watch the fireworks on the embankment, and from there, from the sea, they drew gunpowder through the windows: in the southern stuffiness, floral smells mixed with mineral ones. It turned out to be very sultry, caustic and slightly alarming - it still smells like fire - the aroma that is definitely not suitable for conversations at the cooler and in the queue for a complex dinner. Wear it at the weekend when all the surrounding space is yours.
OR ± Cashmere
Uermi
The Italian brand Uermi uses an interesting concept - imaginary fabric smells. It is also interesting with its obvious exhaustion: what will happen after all known types of textiles are finished? And this will happen, apparently, soon, because Uermi took a brisk start - there are already fragrances of silk, suede, denim, velvet, tweed and latex in the collection. The new "Cashmere" will be the happiness of any kinesthetic: here you will have both nut paste and rum, and amber chord - everything feels warm, soft and beige-golden. Worn very easily, like a good turtleneck, and in the same way can be the basis of a small but efficient wardrobe - perfumery.
Fauni
Angela ciampagna
Angela Champagna is very noticeable at the perfume exhibitions: thick eyes, heavy-rimmed glasses, dark-red, almost rusty curls. The perfumer reminds one of the witch aunt in Practical Magic, and the aromas in her are corresponding - thick, friable, light-tight infusions. More useful than tasty: smoky Ignes protects from fire, tart Aer berries drive over soul bile, anise Liquo protects good dreams. But the new Fauni is a love potion from ylang-ylang and gardenia, which, unlike the gloomy neighbors in the collection, came out radiant and transparent, like a drop of tar in the sun.
Photo: Luckyscent, 10 Corso Como, AEDES, Basenotes, StudiOlfattivo, Ambrer, Angela Ciampagna