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Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Perfume Review: Parfumerie Generale Ligne Chapitre II. Part 1.

Having been favorably impressed by the first eight Parfumerie Generale scents, I was excited to learn about their new collection. I am happy to report that the seven new scents are just as wonderful. They are sumptuous, smoothly-blended, interesting and supremely wearable.

Aomassai. I have noted in my review of the first Parfumerie Generale collection, that I loved the fact that most scent seemed to have a “twist”, a little unexpected something that made them fascinating and unique (for example, a sweetly gourmand Musc Maori had a surprisingly animalic quality that I found captivating). Aomassai’s twist is in the very beginning. Parfumerie Generale describes the scent as Oriental Woody Bitter, inspired by Southern Africa and the art of Baoule tribe…after reading this, the delicious, edible caramel-like top notes came to me as a shock. Before I could catch my breath, however, the luscious sweet dessert was gone and the promised wood accord started to unfold. Apparently Wengue (Wenge) wood is the core of this scent, a note I am familiar with from Karan’s Wenge and Black Cashmere, but to me the wood in Aomassai smells more like pine. Not pine needles; there is nothing redolent of a Christmas tree here, but of pine bark and of the pungent, thick and wonderful pine balsam. Add to that a hint of incense, subtle hints of bitter orange and even subtler traces of that gloriously gourmand beginning, and you can understand why I was immediately smitten with Aomassai. Full bottle worthy? Absolutely and urgently!

Brulure de Rose. I must admit that straightforward rose scents do not excite me. My mind is capable of appreciating a beautiful soliflore, but my nose is bored. For me to fall in love with and to wear a rose scent, it has to have additional and just as prominent notes (that is the reason why I adore most scents in Les Parfums de Rosine line). Brulure de Rose is a wonderful example of how a rose scent must be executed to suit my taste. This is an opulent, darkly-sweet fragrance, in which the rose appears as if surrounded by fragrant, smoky fumes of a fire made of aromatic wood and amber, of sugar, vanilla and spice. In a way, the scent makes me think of Turkish Delight with its honeyed, rosy smokiness …however Brulure de Rose is less sweet, more smoky and dark than Lutens’s Rahat Loukoum or the powdery-saccharine Keiko Mecheri’s version of the delicacy. Full bottle worthy? Definitely!

Harmatan Noir. Inspired by the Sahara, this is a dry, dry, dry and spicy mint tea scent. Complex and rich, it starts with the woody note that has a slight incense undertone and is accompanied by stunningly austere patchouli. The aromatic, pitch-black tea accord becomes apparent in a short while; it has a smoky aspect somewhat reminiscent of Lapsang Souchong, but is actually darker and smokier than Lapsang. This is the kind of tea that is brewed for hours, till it is darker than the Sahara night…it does have a very perceptible mint note, but, to my delight, the mint-ness is not overwhelming, it does not take over the scent as is so often the case with many mint tea fragrances. Full bottle worthy? Certainly!

Tomorrow, the other four scent in the second Parfumerie Generale collection.

As for the question of where to find these fragrances, they are available on Parfumerie Generale site. Unlike the first eight scents, these are not sold in individual 7ml “micro-flacons”, but it is possible to buy them as a set of 7ml bottles, for €60.00. The full size bottles retail for €75.00-€135.00 depending on the scent and the size. The line is also available at The Perfume Shoppe in Canada, they do ship to the US.
*
The images are from parfumerie-generale.com.

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21 Comments:

Blogger Marina said...

Mimi,
They are! These first three, especially Aomassai, made me seriously swoon :-)

11:54 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

These sound just wonderful. The Brulure de Rose is especially intriguing , as I like the idea behind the "Loukhoum" style, but the Mecheri is so horribly sweet it's ruined for me.

The Aomassai also sounds like something I would appreciate. I have found that even a somewhat girly-girl like myself can like fragrances with no apparent flowers in them. :-)

2:10 AM EDT  
Blogger Sexy Sadie said...

I want it all!

3:36 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Flora,
If you like Loukhoum-style scents, I think you will really appreciate Brulure de Rose. It is sweet, but not as sweet as Mecheri's and the sweetness is certainly balanced and made interesting by the smokiness. Delicious stuff.

8:49 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Sadie,
I want them all too! ;-)

8:50 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Christina,
I have no doubt whatsoever that you will like Brulure de Rose. I am 98% sure :-)

8:50 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am patiently waiting for the review of the other four... *twiddle-twiddle* Thanks for reviewing these Marina and I can't wait to try them for myself =)

9:57 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

*shriek* I NEED the Rose one. They sound divine!

10:06 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Monica,
I hope you'll try them very soon, because the package left on Friday afternoon! :-) Would love to know what you think!

10:07 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Valerie,
The rose is beautiful!

10:08 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ohoo! More stuff for the list! I can't wait to try these. I guess I'll have to try a sample of everything... Would you recommend starting w/ set I or II first? (BTW- I'm waiting impatiently for my Guerlain Vetiver to arrive!)

10:32 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Sybil,
I loved several scents in the 1st and several in the 2nd collections...you know, they have a 15-piece set of 7ml bottles (both collections in one)...Just sayin' :-D

11:43 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Patty,
You can't avoid PG any longer, these are gorgeous!

11:43 AM EDT  
Blogger NowSmellThis said...

Gracious, all 3 are full bottle worthy?? That is quite a record! I have only tried a few of the new ones so far, and only briefly at that. Perhaps I'd best not try any more!!

1:11 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

R,
Yes, all three plus Iris Taizo (will rave about it tomorrow). :-) But out of all 4, Aomassai is the most full-bottle-worthy for me.

1:17 PM EDT  
Blogger Caitlin Shortell said...

Dear Marina,
Iris Taizo in particular sounds right up your alley. I can't wait to read your review of it. I want all of these. I wish they sold samples in addition to the miniflacons.

4:11 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Cait,
Iris Taizo *was* right up my valley. For once the description did not deceive :-)
I also wish they sold samples. Or at least that the individual mini bottles were available for this collection too.

4:15 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Now that I've started commenting (see comment for Mr. Colombina's post), I can't shut up! lol.
Brulure de Rose sounds heavenly. Yet another rose scent I want.

8:09 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Dear Newproducts,
Welcome, welcome, please keep commenting! :-)

Brulure is stunning, I was smitten.

8:11 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

Well of course I could not wait to try the decant you gave me of Aomassai.

Oh my!

What an opening! There's a particular candy that we used to get at Christmas that very much reminded me of this opening, sweet, creamy, toffee-like. Skating just this side of cloying. As you write, it's only there long enough to shock and intrigue before being subsumed by a wonderful woodiness and incense. I smell pine too- fresh hewed and uncured. I'm less than a half hour into the development, but I am also getting hints of vetiver, licorice and musk?

Wonderful, wonderful! I will be getting a bottle of this one!

7:22 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

T,
Isn't it such a unique scent? Love it and am so happy you like it too!

7:54 PM EDT  

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