The Beautiful Mind Series Vol.1 - Intelligence & Fantasy : Perfume Review

Today I've got a special review for you guys, one that I'm very excited about for more than one reason. First and foremost, today's perfume is absolutely summery which is wonderful as I've had a hard time getting excited about new summer releases lately and goodness knows I've been on the lookout since the season definitely calls for it (are you also having a really hot summer?). Second, this is a perfume which despite the fact that it was released this past winter hasn't managed to generate almost any reviews so I feel lucky to be able to give you a detailed review here on Fragrance Bouquet. And finally, this is a fragrance with not only a soul but also a story, and I definitely love to tell those!

The perfume in question is Intelligence & Fantasy, Vol. 1 of the Beautiful Mind Series, a new series of fragrances created by Geza Schoen (known best for his Escentric Molecules series). The Beautiful Mind Series can be seen as an anti-establishment move against the flooding of the perfume market with celebrity fragrances. As the name of the series suggests, these perfumes aim at honoring the mind and establishing it as the new sex-appeal, instead of bowing to celebrity and appearance. As such, each of the volumes in the series will be developed in colaboration not with a celebrity, but with a prominent mind. The choice for the first fragrance, Intelligence & Fantasy, was memory prodigy Christiane Stegner, who became Grandmaster of Memory by the time she was 12 and who'd go ahead and become champion at the Junior World Memory Championships thrice by the time she was 18. The goal in this collaboration was to create a perfume that would speak to both mind and heart, using memory as its conduit. According to Essenza Nobile's website (where I received my sample from) the result is a perfume that captures the essence of summer by evoking "the feelings of luck from realizing that the summer arrives in big steps as far as to these beautiful melancholic memories of it, when it comes to the end of summer".

To me this wonderful summer fragrance is best worn at sunset as, in my opinion, its beautiful development will suit the transition from the warmth of the setting sun and its golden light to the coolness of the moonlit romantic evening. The opening is astoundingly fresh and utterly addictive, a perfect refreshment for skin that's parched for a cool delight after a day spent at the beach. Do you know that moment, when you step out of the shower, hair still wet, getting ready to go out for a sunset drink on a summer island? (Oh how I long for that by the way!) This seems to me like the perfect pick me up to wear at that moment, femine yet fresh, sexy and playful. The scent absolutely encapsulates that moment for me. This opening is all about the mandarin, juicy and succulent, citrucy fresh yet lightly sweet, like a golden drop of dew. And green too, as the scent slowly gains in the bitterness of the crushed mandarin leaves. In all honesty, even if the scent didn't change one bit after this grand opening, I would still probably be as excited by it as I am now, so gorgeous is it. But change it does, and this is one perfume that will keep your interest going for hours to come - that's a promise. Conversely, this sparkly, fresh opening might fool you into thinking you can spray deliberately like you would a cologne - don't. As time goes by the scent becomes all the more exotic and warm meaning that a few hours later an overapplication will seem rather regretful in summery weather. The sillage too begins moderate, but gains progressively as time goes by. As the juicy freshness of the mandarin subsides, a calmer facet of freshness emerges, spiced with a sexy, piquant helping of pink pepper that smells gently peppery and resinous at once. Magnolia lovers should rejoice as well, as this stage features a prominent and beautiful magnolia note that serves as a cushiony embrace for the piquancy of the pink pepper with its lemony-powdery softness. The heart notes are glorious - the floral appricot scent of osmanthus bathed in the warm glow of hedione. Around here is where you should start to become thankful that you didn't overapply during that delicious, fresh tangerine opening by the way! Through the light, effulgent, girlishly feminine notes of osmanthus begins to emerge a far more ravishing, heady scent. The exotic feel of the perfume is amped tenfold as the tiare absolute debutes, tinged (ironicaly!) with the most innocent of rose scents. I find myself amazed at the curious use of rose here, as it is light as a feather, stripped of any hint of experience or wisdom and smells sweet and drunken, like the purest rose petal liquer. The humor in this combination of notes strikes me as incredibly intelligent and amusingly incredulous. And now you know why I suggested you wear this at sunset, don't you? Isn't this a magnificent transition to live through? A wonderful freshness to enjoy in the last golden rays of warmth, a playful transition into feminity at dusk, an exotic debut as the stars and the moon come out to play... This is a very long-lasting perfume and the floral notes will continue to lure with their exotic whispers for hours and hours. The difference you will notice in the drydown is a softer kind of sultriness (curtesy of the heavy dose of cashmeran) and a woody backdrop that is at once dry (cedar) and sweet (sandalwood).

Vol. 1 - Intelligence & Fantasy can be bought from Essenza Nobile's webshop for 150 EUR per 100 ml. The bottle is essentially the same as the ones used for the Escentric Mollecules series, but wrapped in a lenticular foil on which Christian Stegner's face is printed. I must admit that I am not a fan of the bottle at all, however as you can surmise from my review the fragrance is top notch.

Images: Bottle - Essenza Nobile, Santorini Sunset - Flickr by . l i q u i d . b l u e . o c e a n, Rose Petals with string of water pearls - Flickr by audreyjm529

Eau de Sisley 1, 2 & 3 by Sisley : Perfume Reviews

While most brands seem to be churning out perfumes at a pace that is hard to keep up with and even harder to take seriously (does this sort of strategy actually work I wonder? Do big-brand perfumes manage to make the marketing money back without ever being allowed to reach a sort of mythical, romantic status?), Sisley has been setting and following its own pace for decades, releasing a new perfume about every…16 years. All three of them have been stellar. Now, in just half of the time that it has so far taken the company to release a new scent, they have produced not just one, but three brand new perfumes. The fragrances in the trio, a collection of fresh eaux de toilette are simply named Eau de Sisley 1, 2 & 3. But neither the simplicity of the names nor the sudden, so far unprecedented for the brand faster-paced concurrent releases are indicative of a compromise in the quality of the end products. Sisley remains stellar in the perfume department: all three are simply wonderful!

Eau de Sisley 1: This should be evoking a “sunkissed summer dress, brimming with the mystery of a summer garden.", but thanks to the darker character of the aromatic, bitter, evergreen scent of juniper berries, 1 has the most masculine opening of the three. The opening is most evocative of the perfect gentleman’s fresh cologne (think Eau Sauvage, which it resembles in the opening, not in terms of scent but of character). Once the dark, sophisticated bitterness of the top notes flies off, 1’s masculinity gives way to a completely unisex composition. The sun shines through almost blindingly with delicious notes of citrus fruits. Sweet juicy lemons form the golden yellow canvas that is accented with the sexy warmth of grapefruit and the sparkling aroma of lime and tangerine. The lemon scent becomes tarter as time goes by, but the scent itself becomes ever calmer and smoother. The main impression changes from sunny yellow to a field of green. In fact, the scent becomes greener and greener with the passing of time. The slightly astringent feel of green tea blends seamlessly with a green accord that smells like freshly cut young grass with all its lovely milky, deep aspects and hay simultaneously. There is a slight floralcy, a delicate sweet scent of jasmine but it remains subtle enough to be a mere suggestion, mostly functioning as a lovely sweet impression. The drydown is a smoother, less floral and rather muskier interpretation of the lovely green accord.

Eau de Sisley 2: The most romantic of the trio, 2 begins with a subtle, creamy and slightly soapy aldehydic floral cord of bergamot and honeysuckle. In fact, the opening is truly reminiscent of Yves Rocher’s Chevrefeuille, albeit far more intense and infinitesimally chicer in character. While 1 is spring and summer in fields of green with no urban constructions in sight, Eau de Sisley 2 is a wonderful demonstration of spring city-chic. Spring, a season in which clothes can be airy and sensually light, but still allows for longer sleeves and tailoring, unlike the more unforgiving summer season. The spicy yet smooth hints of cardamom lend to this air of sophistication and the honeysuckle underscores the romanticism of the scent. The heart is unabashedly floral, with fruity hints. Water lily and cyclamen aldehyde with its fresh, cucumber-lily of the valley green scent lend a watery, aqueous overtone to the heart notes, over the subtler undertone of dewy rose. The overall feel is slightly sharp and bracing, while there is a smoother, creamy undercurrent very evocative of expensive moisturizing cosmetics. The transition from the aqueous floral notes to the woody base notes is eased by lovely vetiver which combined with slightly smoky cedar make the drydown darker. In all honesty, this is my least favorite of the three, even though it is still beautiful. The problem is that I keep hankering after the magnificent opening with its chic honeysuckle romanticism, so I tend to resist the sharp turn it takes as time goes by. I am generally not a fan of watery notes (although there are few exceptions), but this is not the problem in the case of 2, since they are subtle and fitting. My problem is the fruity sharpness in the blend. I would have been in love had it retained its 70’s floral romanticism. However, restrained application will serve lovers of floral-aldehydic perfumes well: if you allow the creaminess of this scent to shine through, you’ll have a refined winner in your hands.

Eau de Sisley 3: My absolute favorite of the three! Oh, this is beautiful! I did not get a basil note in 2 where it is actually listed as an official note, but I get a huge blast of basil in 3. Rustling the leaves of the bushy basil releases a most fragrant, slightly camphoraceous aroma in the air, with extremely subtle hints of licorice and clove. This fabulous experience is magnificently replicated in the opening of 3, joined with spices and sparkling bergamot. While 1 and 2 both manage to successfully impart the sense of a sunny day, 3 is to me the slightly cooler summer dusk, that particular window in the long days of summer when the sun is setting but the sky is still white instead of flooded with colors of orange and mauve. Osmanthus lovers rejoice, because this is a particularly lovely, uniquely soft rendition as offered in the heart notes. The fruity aspects of the blossom are wonderfully complemented by smoooooth, creamy apricot and peach. The fruitiness of the scent is gently hugged by the milky green scent of crushed fig leaves, possibly the most genius addition of a note in this scent as it projects it to perfection. Surprisingly (I don’t know if it is just me, but this is strange), I get more lemony accents with the passing of time, instead of indentifying them in the opening. The drydown retains traces of the lemony freshness still in fact, but rounds them up with the sweetness of vanilla and a glorious musk scent that is rendered earthy with hints of vetiver. Absolutely perfect.

Chypre lovers looking for a summer scent will love Eau de Sisley 1, while lovers of Patricia de Nicolai’s Eau Turquoise and Vie de Château will love Eau de Sisley 3. I'd classify both 1 and 3 as unisex, eaux fraîches type of scents, while 2 is decidedly feminine.

In terms of longevity and intensity, 2 is not only the most intense but also the most long-lasting – no need for reapplication here. It is followed by 3, which albeit not as intense, develops beautifully and has the perfect projection (in my opinion) for a summer scent. 1 tends to stay closer to the skin and will need reapplication often throughout the day. Considering its dazzling freshness, I don’t necessarily consider this a shortcoming: its scent dictates it should be worn as a fresh, cooling cologne as need arises during hot weather. The bottles however ARE expensive, so that makes it rather uneconomical, if not downright off-putting.

Lastly, I'd like to close this post with a smile, a thank you to Sisley, for paying homage to their chypre roots and remaining green in a decidedly pink, fruity-floral world.

Evening Edged in Gold by Ineke : Perfume Review

After having already spent almost a decade in Europe, residing and working in England, The Netherlands and France, the Canadian-born Ineke Rühland’s heart found its true calling in Versailles, where she trained at IPSICA to become a professional nose. Currently, Ineke lives and works in beautiful San Francisco, creating her Abécédaire, the alphabet of perfumes. After A, B, C and D, the alphabetical collection’s most recent addition is, of course, the letter E, in the form of the absolutely stunning Evening Edged in Gold.

Few perfumes manage to inspire me already from the first sniff, most actually inviting introspection and careful consideration along with inarticulate murmurs of appreciation rather than coherent speech, but Evening Edged in Gold delivered its beautiful message with such lucidity that I found myself instantly describing it, singing its praises, to the nearest available ear – a stunned salesgirl. Today, hopefully with less crazed urgency, but certainly with just as much passion, I wish to describe its beauty to you.

The opening is heartbreakingly gorgeous, the fragrant osmanthus besieging heart and senses alike with its beauteous accents of fresh apricots and jammy plums with unparalleled erotic intensity, until they can but succumb. The fruity aspect is deep, dark and slightly abstract in nature, like the scent one would find upon opening an antique wooden cupboard used for keeping fruity liqueurs and preserves. Soon, the mellifluous intensity of the fruits recedes, giving way to creamy, exotic floral notes tinged with a mild cinnamon scent and rounded with the earthy, spicy yet sweet aroma of saffron. And although I hardly need any more coaxing to fall in love with this scent, seeing as I am already in its thrall, what comes next truly seals the deal: a beautiful, ever so slightly bitter note of suede leather starts rising from the skin, buttery soft and subtle, with absolutely no inclination towards aggressiveness. The inclusion of this note reveals the genius of this fragrance: In a perfume so romantic, so chic and sophisticated, so wistful of an erotic ideal under the twinkling of the stars and the sweetly yellow light of the moon, in creeps the very unorthodox scent of leather, seemingly uninvited. But you will have to believe me when I tell you it works like magic! Instead of drawing attention to itself or the perfume, it brings all the attention back to the wearer, for it magically emulates the feel of the skin itself, tricking the mind, breaking the boundaries between the perfume and the body’s own skin-scent. The result? Beautiful depth and a certain muskiness that create the illusion that the soft fragrance is being exuded by the wearer herself. To me, this translates as the feeling of owning the perfume, making it mine, instead of it wearing me. These feelings, as peculiar as they sound, are echoed in SweetDiva’s blog as well, making it clear that Evening Edged in Gold weaves a particular kind of magic...

Ineke Fragrances are available for purchase on the official website and perfumistas located in Belgium and the Netherlands can find a comprehensive list of points of sale near them on the International Brand Services website.


Images: www.ineke.com