Pulp and Chembur by ByRedo : Perfume Reviews

Word on the street is that Ben Gorham is one of us. Yes, the ex-professional basketball player is really a perfume junkie, a fragrance nut, just like us. Mr. Gorham founded his own company, ByRedo (By Redolence) in 2006, and started testing the scented waters first with high quality candles, room sprays, soaps and body products. Earlier this year, he launched his first personal fragrance line, a collection of five unisex fragrances in Eau de Parfum concentration, named Green, Chembur, Gypsy Water, Rose Noir and Pulp. While the company’s logo bears striking resemblance to that of Parfumerie Generale, and the bottles themselves are quite reminiscent of the ones in the Frédéric Malle line, the premise behind the scents sounds very promising: They are all based on Gorham’s memories, little snapshots of life, places and people, that nose Jerome Epinette was entrusted with, in order to encapsulate them into precious, scented liquid. Now that is memorable. And so are the two scents I’ve had the pleasure of testing more extensively, Chembur and Pulp.

· Pulp: Even though I don’t generally get along with overly fruity scents, one of my most surprising discoveries this year was that there are indeed certain fruity perfumes that will beguile me. The first one this year was Tigresse, which I am sure you are all tired of hearing me go on and on about by now. The second contender certainly has to be Pulp, a scent I felt a certain attraction towards from the moment I first smelled it. This is an intense, no holds barred, incredibly bright and colorful fruity scent that is bound to fill any old grey day with sunshine. It is as summery as they come and then some, actually managing to smell deliriously, ecstatically happy. The most attractive feature of Pulp –aside from its happy, sunny disposition, that is- is this lovely, jammy accord that makes it feel absolutely edible. Lovers of fig fragrances who have grown tired of the one-track-minded, single note scents populating the market like mushrooms in the last couple of years, will find a new friend in Pulp, which makes a striking, utterly green fig note its star attraction amidst all the psychedelic, exotically sweet extravaganza. The lovely interplay between fresh fruits, caramelized sugar and slightly dissonant minty undercurrents manages to keep me interested for hours, until finally the scent turns earthy and slightly woody. I am quite intrigued by the fact that this is marketed as a unisex fragrance – I can’t imagine a man wearing this to work for example. Then again, this is not a work type of scent anyway, so why not be daring? If you are after something youthful, luscious and fruity, this is most definitely worth a try!

· Chembur: Chembur is a northeastern neighborhood on the outskirts of Mumbai, India, where Gorham’s mother was born and raised. Throughout his childhood, Gorham paid several visits to Mumbai, often enjoying beautiful picnics with his family in Chembur. The memory of the temples and shrines, the incense in the summer heat and the colorful garlands of flowers are all encapsulated in this perfume, possibly the most beautiful scent this Stockholm-based niche line has to offer. The opening is marvelous, all zingy lemon that is at once fresh and marvelously oily, like rind shavings, balanced by a rising warmth and sweetness. The heart is pulsating with deep incense, dark and delightful, hugged by mellow resins. A sharp vetiver note I absolutely adore cuts through the softness like a dagger of sadness through the heart. The base notes manage to retain a burning incense quality, while at the same time interjecting some much needed solace with a deep, sweet, musky-myrrh accord. A truly beautiful fragrance that stays close to the skin, a slightly unsettling and very moving companion for the colder months of the year.

ByRedo fragrances can be purchased from Cow in Stockholm, Colette in Paris, Les Senteurs in London, Barney’s in New York and Skins in Amsterdam.

Images: www.byredo.com, Flickr, originally uploaded by Roswitha Schacht and Utpal.

Bois de Lune by Manuel Canovas : Scented Candle Review

On the day I returned from my holiday, just as I had closed the door behind me, the doorbell rang. Loaded with bags in the tiny corridor I whined loudly, believing the person behind the door to be my partner who had just dropped me off and was going to go looking for a parking spot. Tired, red faced with effort and with an expression just screaming “What?!” louder than words could, I opened the door to find my next door neighbor looking at me with a sheepish smile. Embarrassment. Seeing as I could hardly move my hands freely as it were, he gently plopped a large cardboard box on top of the teetering pile I was carrying and somehow made it balance. “This arrived for you before Christmas, but you were away.” he said. After apologizing for inconveniencing him, I closed the door with my foot and climbed up the stairs with more excitement than I had felt the whole day. Returning home after a gorgeous holiday is always a sad affair for me –even more so when the prospect of going home means Statistics Exams and inordinate amounts of studying- so finding a packet with mysterious contents upon my return was just the perfect antidote! To my great surprise, the packet was not from a friend or family but from TotalBeauty.com, an online beauty community I’d recently joined. A Christmas gift! No matter that I was receiving it with a slight delay due to my trip – in my opinion the timing could not have been better! Injected with a good dose of happiness, I opened the heavy, rectangular packet contained within to find a scented candle. My eyes instinctively closed, for the scent that reached me was pure bliss....

I adore scented candles – I have mentioned some of my favorites before, like L’Occitane’s Pumpkin Chestnut delight and Floris’ Lavender sweetness. However, I rarely splurge on scented candles myself. Why? Well... Alright, I’ll admit it: I find good candles too expensive. The cheaper alternatives do not smell nearly as good (as a matter of fact they most often smell terribly cheap) and their throw is practically non-existent. There is a single exception to this rule (you’d be shocked), but that is a story for another day! Instead, I prefer to burn scented oils. With a little research for the right quality and the perfect scent, I have everything I need in order to create a wonderful home ambience in the most economical way. One area I do not hesitate spending money on though, is buying presents for my friends, and for those that have a taste for it, a luxury candle is a great gift. And one, I have to say, I love receiving myself. Proof being the wonderful candle I received. Days later, I am still as overjoyed to have it as I was the moment I opened it. I pass in front of it on my way to a different room and somehow find myself lifting the lid to steal a whiff of the wonderful aroma. Like a child with a new toy it can’t resist, I find myself looking forward to lighting it when I come home, while I’d normally save the higher end candles for occasions when I am expecting friends. Yes, that’s how good it is.


I’ve gotten carried away, haven’t I? I haven’t even mentioned the name of this wonderful candle that has me waxing lyrically. Its rather poetic name is “Bois de Lune” and it is by Manuel Canovas. I’d never heard of Manuel Canovas before, but apparently it is a French fabrics and tapestries house, also offering a line of specially designed home fragrances. So far, the line is offering nine different candles and having smelled Bois de Lune I’ll admit I am most curious about the rest as well. Each time I smell Bois de Lune, I am slightly taken aback: I can’t help but wish to call this a dark, dark scent. The first impression is that of extremely fragrant, rich black tea and this is a note that remains predominant. It is however, tea engulfed in marvelous woody goodness: deep, dark, stately, like the paneling and furniture of a dimly lit lounge at a gentlemen’s club, where brandy and single malt whiskey is quietly sipped. The mental imagery is rounded off with the ever-present light smokiness of this candle’s scent, evocative of a yet unlit, expensive cigar. To me, this is a marvelously comforting smell, one that I am quickly becoming quite addicted to. A slightly scary thought, since this could turn out to be an expensive new habit. The packaging of the line is simple, understated luxury, adorned with the pattern of shagreen, in a different color for each scent. The candles themselves come in elegant frosted glass jars, and the large ones are capped with a golden lid that will help keep the dust away as well as extinguish the flame. The candles come in three sizes, Large (6.6 oz or 200 gr.), Medium (4.2 oz or 125 gr.) and Votive (1.2 oz or 35 gr.). The price for the large candle is 60$ (approximately 60 burning hours) and refills for the large size can also be purchased (5.8 oz for 45$).

Do let me know if you, like me, hesitate before buying an expensive candle, or whether you happily indulge and treat yourself and your home to luxury scented goodies! Also, have you smelled any of the other candles in the line? I am very curious, especially about Brune et Or.

Images: Author's Own

Palisander by Ava Luxe : Perfume Review

Ina, over at Aromascope made a post some time ago which sparked a discussion on straightforward perfumes. As I stated at the time, I believe that straightforward, linear perfumes can sometimes be a blessing, because you do not have to think too much. Too, sometimes what you are looking for can only be satisfied by a simpler creation, without too much fuss around it. I know I personally have a number of such little loves at least. Although not all of Ava Serena Franco’s fragrances are linear (some are far more complex than I had imagined before trying them), a lot of them satisfy those cravings for a clean, straightforward blend. Her line is fun, the service is amazing and I often find myself visiting her website to order samples as a pick-me-up gift to myself that will invariably bring me a lot of pleasure when it arrives.

I woke up today planning to write a review of Incense Musk, in order to continue the theme of incense I started with Miyako, but when I visited the website I found that it has been discontinued. Not wanting to write another “you can’t have me” teaser, I first considered writing about Passage d’Enfer, but then I realized that in the process I had actually become more interested in writing about an Ava Luxe scent, than about an incense fragrance in general. After perusing my sample collection for a while I decided to settle on Palisander, a delightful autumnal scent, perfect for when the leaves turn copper and the wind starts baring wintry fangs.

Palisander, conversely one of the more complex Ava Luxe fragrances I have sampled, has a strange earthiness when it is first applied on the skin. An earthiness so strong in fact, that it manages to instantly evoke images of subterranean growth, roots of trees and fibers of plants growing deep in dark, rich soil. There are leaves there too, dropped on the forest floor. They have seen countless rains and are now laying there lifeless, wet, decomposing...Becoming one with the earth that bore them. As the oil warms on the skin, the earthy scent disappears, leaving almost no trace behind. It is replaced by a heavy, woody sweetness. When I originally sampled Palisander, six months or so ago, I found the first whiff of its sweetness frightening - I thought I might have to scrub it off immediately. I do sometimes experience an extreme sense of sweetness from some woody fragrances and essential oils and it is something I honestly can’t stomach. Thankfully, I decided to be brave and let it sit on my skin for a while and this was rewarded: I found that this time the sweetness is anything but nauseating. Yes, the initial entrance is rather grand and dramatic, but it quickly becomes obvious that it is not going to be overpowering: despite its headiness, this is a rather sheer sweetness, one that graciously agrees to dance instead of a solo, together with all the other elements of the blend, one after the other. It becomes a constant, which is at first partnered up with a strange, slightly medicinal freshness, a remnant of the erstwhile earthiness. Then later on, with sensuous amber which eradicates any sense of freshness there was still to be found and allows a beautiful, enveloping warmth to bloom on the skin...until finally, it becomes smoky; dark, intense and almost incense like. There is also something else there: after some hours of wear I find Palisander to take on a peculiar animalic quality; the smell of desire heating up a cold room in winter, like a glowing ember.

Images courtesy of: www.galeriabali.pl, www.csun.edu,