My old friend Balenciaga pour Homme

by: Mike V. Shilov

Recently I felt nostalgic about discontinued fragrances but today I'm happy to discover new and rediscover old beautiful fragrant names. Firstly, I've found and ordered on-line amazing Havana Vanille and Black Afghan. And once, surfing beloved Fragrantica, I found a real gem in the dust - Balenciaga pour Homme issued 26 years ago. Having read the description and passionate reviews, I started looking for it over the web and found it having a good bargain, considering its rarity.

photo by Mike V.Shilov

A bottle of Eau de Toilette and its olfactory pyramid recalled bright and self assured fragrances of the 80s: One Man Show, Furyo, Phileas, Lauder and my permanent companion since early adolescence Tuscany per Uomo. At that time perfumers still had free hands in their work, IFRA recommendations did not endangered to transform real perfumes into their pale copies. That's why trying Balenciaga pour Homme just brought by a courrier became a thrilling immersion into nearly forgotten feeling of real richness and deepness of a scent. Oak moss, leather, incense, patchouli, amber are just several treasures of this vintage masterpiece. Its age appear itself only with value of ingredients and there is neither retro-feeling in it nor stuffiness or &granny's coffer& effect.

Telling you that I'm struck and amazed, means to let partly truth, only emotional side of perceiving this newly opened old scent. Rational side is that sniffing it, I immediately felt the quintessence of what many modern niche fragrances want to create. Being less dependent of marketing dictate, they can afford themselves this level of sophistication and ambiguousness, this way of expression of a free talent, that was a standard in perfume industry before. But irony is that some niche brands look like excessively chic demi-mondaines wearing fur coats on naked body and others -like capsule H&M collections' fans who delude themselves with a sense of belonging to an Haute Couture world.

Against them a severe monolith of Balenciaga pour Homme looks like a reminder of "comme il faut", considering a certain level of upbringing, education and social status. This fragrance is sophisticated and elegant, multi-layered and intellectual. One can make sense of it as of conundrum listening to a finest trembling of perfume waives changing with your every move and with the time flow transforming into long sweet veil.

Malachite drop on the stopper adds an important accent to understanding the scent: it isn't smug, but full of joy and timeless beauty. I want to admire it again and again, - each time when I take it and push the spray button, seems that I see my reflection in a mirror. Its amalgam is a bit fade, but patina doesn't prevent from seing what is the most important: the only destination of a soul in a bottle is to find its twin soul among us.

Translation: Eugeniya Chudakova

Balenciaga Paris l'Edition Mer

de: Sanja Pekić

Balenciaga offre à son parfum Balenciaga, Paris, sorti en 2008, un nouveau visage avec  Balenciaga Paris l'Edition Mer , lancé en 2015. Une nouvelle déclinaison qui s'inscrit dans la continuité des flankers Balenciaga Paris L'Essence(2011), Balenciaga L'Eau Rose (2013) et Balenciaga L'Edition Reflets (2014). 

Un nouveau flanker qui s'inspire du bleu lagon des océans pour mettre la fraîcheur marine à l'honneur. La fragrance s'envole ainsi sur des notes de bergamote, yuzu et de feuille de shiso.  Le coeur s'enroule autour du muguet, aéré d'un accord iodé, pour évoluer sur un fond boisé, teinté de santal.

Notes de tête: Bergamote, yuzu, feuille de shiso Notes de coeur: Muguet, calone Notes de Fond: Bois de Santal.

Le flacon évoque l'océan de par sa couleur bleue . L'eau de parfum est disponoble en flacon de  75 ml.
 

Quadrille By Balenciaga (1955)

Quadrille is a perfume from the 1950s. More precisely, it was introduced in 1955. It came after Le Dix (1947) and La Fuite des Heures (1949.) The date appears little relevant in this case because I think that its creator was more interested in expressing atemporal qualities such as natural elegance, refinement and I would even say more unexpectedly, courage. A recent fragrance like Agent Provocateur connotes much more of the 1950s period to me.

What I particularly appreciate about this perfume is that despite it being marketed towards women, it successfully avoids the pitfall of encoding or stereotyping womanhood into a perfume.

The fragrance is very well balanced including both traditional feminine and masculine aromatic codes. Thus, it is a mix of dryness and sweetness, of spiciness, frutiness and floralcy, of austerity and sensuality.

I could perfectly see a man wearing this perfum; he would only need to apply it more lightly...

There is a sense of balance in it that is similar to the type of aromatic balance that can be found in Jicky by Guerlain except that Quadrille is even drier and less sweet. Jicky was initially created as a unisex fragrance in 1889 and I think that Quadrille can also be easily considered as a unisex fragrance.

The name is a little puzzling to me as I am not certain whether the word "quadrille" is a reference to a dance that was popular in the 19th century or to the meaning derived from the Spanish term "cuadrillo" used to designate the party of four people helping the "torero" during a bullfight. Judging by the aroma of it, I lean towards the evocation of a bullfighting ring rather than a ball dance room.

Originally from Spain, it is well-known that couturier Balenciaga sought  inspiration in the culture of Spanish bullfighting and, in particular, in the "jacket of light" worn by matadors. In 1947, he created boleros as evening clothes for women that were directly inspired from the emblematic outfit.

One can note that Balenciaga turned a masculine outfit into a feminine one because of the dominant civilian sartorial code which ascribes embroideries to the feminine wardrobe.

I am further encouraged to contemplate the bullfighting reference as I see the perfume as embodying both traditional feminine and virile virtues.

image: http://www.mimifroufrou.com/scentedsalamander/images/pedro_moreno_meyerhoff-thumb.jpg

It evokes to me the symbolic character of the toreador who represents, at once, a feminine and masculine figure.

The torero is dressed in a tight-fitting, luminous, colorful, and elaborately embroidered costume, in an era when masculine costumes are of a limited color palette bearing no frills. He holds a cape that appears almost like a feminine skirt with its flowing lines. Both the lines and the colors are feminine. The toreador further wears dainty ballet slippers and brightly colored stockings. At the same time, the toreador is wielding a sharp sword to kill the bull.

There is, to me, a yin and yang balance in bullfighting, because it is both a graceful, feminine dance and a masculine, martial confrontation with death.

A fascinating insight I got into the art of the corrida was when I saw how toreadors actually talk to the bull they fight, and sometimes very softly so, accentuating again this mix of the masculine and the feminine. Ultimately in the corrida, these distinctions evaporate because what is left is the universal human confrontation with the idea of death.

Quadrille is such a perfume. It says, "I am ready", it puts its foot down. May come what may, the person who is wearing Quadrille is determined, ready to confront all situations and be at ease in any one of them. In other words, that person possesses natural elegance.

Like the corrida and the matador, Quadrille is rigorous, disciplined, and artistic. Its gendered characteristics give way to the expression of a moral character.

Quadrille is sometimes classified either as a fruity chypre or as a fresh-mossy chypre; in truth, it is both.

At the start of the perfume, there is a very distinct licorice accord which moves later to the background of the notes, but will not leave the perfume. The fragrance seems to be of an amber color with touches of deep licoricey black and later, a transparent blue-green breath of fresh air will appear floating above the base notes.

After the initial outburst of licorice, the perfume becomes slightly sweeter and definitely fruitier. I can detect plum and a little later, peach. It smells slightly sour and sweet, like prunes do, as in Parure by Guerlain or Femme by Rochas which have also characteristic plumey chypre notes.

A discreet jasmine floral note emerges but fruits remain the dominant accord. The perfume thus warms up, expands, but at the same time appears structured, controlled thanks to its austere, dry notes: the clove and the cardamom. It really smells of aniseed and/or licorice. As the perfume reveals its character, its mettle, if you will, controlling its undeniable sensuality, it encourages mental focus in the perfume-wearer.

This last characteristic is also an intrinsic element of the corrida; the matador offers a rare example of an extraordinary intensity of focus in his engagement with death.

The drydown is warm, sensual and a bit dark due to the licorice-y background. At some point, you start catching a breath of fresh air hovering above the amber and musk, probably the green part of the aniseed. On good days, the aniseed maintains its green character and releases a strange and seductive accord in the drydown. It is strange because it contributes to a mixed effect of cold and warmth. The spices are sometimes so dry, I can almost hear them crackle, like the clove in burning Kretek cigarettes.

Quadrille may turn off some people at first who will find the licorice, clove, and cardamom too much to handle, but it is undeniably a distinctive and elegant fragrance which develops a superb, sensual drydown.

Notes include lemon, bergamot, coriander, plum, peach, clove, cardamom, muguet, jasmine, oakmoss, vetiver, ambergris, powdery musk.

You can buy the perfume, starting at $21.99, at 1st Perfume. 

Bolero by Balenciaga

Torero VI (salmón y oro) by Pedro Moreno-Meyerhoff
oil on wood panel
2003-2004. 

Image is from www.arco.ifema.es

Ho Hang By Balenciaga

Ho Hang by Balenciaga was created by nose Jacques Jantzen in 1971. It is classified as an aromatic fougère. The Eau de Toilette features top notes of bergamot, lemon, orange, basil, mint. Heart notes are rosewood, geranium, carnation, lavender, nutmeg, and pimento. Base notes are patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood, amber, vanilla, Tonka, labdanum, and musk....

Ho Hang offers a classic feel at first with its fougère accord, but at the same time it reveals certain rich nuances that make it be less predictable, more feminine, and Oriental. It has a lovely rosewood note that subtly warms up the perfume and gives it a delicate woodsy Oriental character calling to mind images of East Asian lacquered panels. Since no "Bois de Hô" note (Cinnamomum camphora) is mentioned one is not sure it was included in the composition but the material is known for offering a scent similar to that of rosewood and being an adequate substitute. If you like the exotic character of Kisu by Tann Rokka, you will find more of the same in Ho Hang. My Sin by Lanvin also comes to mind as another perfume that has affinities with this one.

Ho Hang unexpectedly develops a floral bouquet rich enough to make one wonder what that exotic floral perfume suffusing the air is before realizing one is wearing it. As far as I can tell, the sillage is very rich, exotic, and despite the masculine lavender cologne accord, can be perceived as gorgeously feminine (advert above discovered and added in 2013 proves it is by design and not just a subjective take on our part). Underneath the freshness and the floralcy there is a discrete powdery undercurrent that seems to be based on carnation and orris and reinforces the refined and feminine character of the fragrance. There is also a very true animalic accord; it smells exactly like the fur of an animal for a few moments.

Ho Hang is fairly light but very persistent, accompanying your dreams and still at your side in the morning. It is very well blended making the scent be more akin to a richly-woven tapestry than a theater stage where certain notes playing the parts of characters appear in dramatic succession and make you think about events in a story. Here one will have more the impression of finding an aesthetically and sensually pleasing finished object like an ajouré golden ball incrusted with precious stones that one will delight in picking up and bringing up closer to the nose to discover with added wonder that it contained a fragrant mix of incense, spices, woods, powder, and flowers.

You can easily find Ho Hang at numerous online discounters. 

Balenciaga Paris Eau De Parfum (2010): The Story Of Balenciaga In 3 Acts Or The Pure White Violets Of The Future

Balenciaga Paris is the new perfume of the renascent perfume house of Balenciaga, a project which was first announced in October 2008. The scent was launched for the press in December 2009 and released this spring 2010. Developed under the auspices of Balenciaga artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière (since 1998) and inspired by muse Charlotte Gainsbourg (in part), it would merit a more fashion-oriented report on it, but I will focus for this time on the olfactory aspects of the perfume composed by nose Olivier Polge.








The flacon nevertheless is a direct reflection of the cocoon dresses of Ghesquière which was once famously sported by American actress Jennifer Connolly. Rumor has it that she might have become the face of the new fragrance but for Ghesquière who insisted on having Charlotte Gainsbourg as its incarnation. The latter, a friend, was glad as she had secretly been wishing for it. By making this less commercial and less global choice, Balenciaga is accentuating the French context of the brand, its anchoring in Paris as a fashion capital natural to the essence of Balenciaga, founded by Spaniard Cristobal Balenciaga. This association came by through style affinities and personal ones rather than perfume connection since the French actress herself declared recently that it is the first perfume that she has ever worn and that it took her a while to entrust it to her skin. Gainsbourg is said to have had the last say between two final iterations favored by Ghesquière.

There were only four perfumes developed under the tenure of Cristobal Balenciaga before the couturier closed his fashion house in 1968 although many more were to follow until 2000 as licensed perfumes. The four original Balenciaga perfumes are Le Dix (1947), La Fuite des Heures (1949), Quadrille (1955) and Eau de Balenciaga for Men, his first masculine fragrance (1962).

Balenciaga Paris is an interesting exercise in historicized branding for which perfumer Olivier Polge played the part of court portraitist while finding enough room to add his own interpretation especially in the final evolution and meaning of the perfume.

The eau de parfum is in the end a very luminous, crystalline composition which seems to have wanted to capture only the white part of the light found in chypre fragrances and to have painted violets habitually seen as purple as the rarer kind of white violet....     

Balenciaga salon in 1954 by Mark Shaw

Act 1

A Nod to the Origins: Le Dix

The head notes are fresh, offering a verdant opening of violet leaves and flowers. As the scent unfolds so does the meaning of this introductory act: it pays homage to the great classic of the Balenciaga perfume house, Le Dix, which used to be one of the loveliest violet/iris perfumes available. It is a fresh take on Le Dix, literally and metaphorically speaking. Never did Le Dix smell so leafy and brisk although it would have smelled as spring-like and dewy.

The extrait or pure parfum of Le Dix was always a big cut above the eau de toilette in one of those cases where one cannot be satisfactorily substituted for the other. I am myself guilty of more plebeian tastes for Arpège by Lanvin for instance which always smelled best for/on me in its lighter incarnation. But where Le Dix is concerned, no hesitation: the extrait and only the extrait, if you can find a vintage version, is the way to experience the delicate and elegant aldehydic iris-violet composition signed by perfumer Francis Fabron in 1947 and which was inspired by who else but Chanel No.5 (I have to say "who" rather than "what". Perfumes have souls).

I discover next with interest that perfumer Olivier Polge further chiseled out and reinforced this affiliation in his new composition.

It also made me realize that I had probably smelled his perfume on a person on the street in a moment of olfactory shock when I got a haunting impression of it, perhaps by mere accident and through an association with a certain atmospheric ambience before actually testing it out of the bottle.   


Act 2

An Homage to Classical Haute Couture Elegance


What is the scent of haute couture, you might ask? One way to answer this question is to resort to aldehydes. It may literally not be the most authentic olfactory seal of a fashion house, but in terms of semiotics it is, thanks to the identification with Chanel No5. At Chanel's, rue Cambon at least, it did smell of the No. 5, which used to be sprayed into the premises each day before La Grande Mademoiselle went to work. And as stated above, perfumer Francis Fabron in his days decided to compose an aldehydic homage to No.5 when Balenciaga wanted to launch their debut fragrance.   

Balenciaga Paris, little by little evolves into a very retro aldehydic perfume à la Blue Grass (1935) by Elizabeth Arden due to its green note, with a dominant of the Aldehyde C12 MNA material which makes up the aldehydic component of No.5.

I remember a woman in heavy furs, her eyes made up like that of a retired ballerina with a straight eye-liner stroke under her eyes to make them look wider as if for an opera house audience and whom I passed by two weeks ago or so, who left a haunting trail as if from another era. I now think that she might have simply been wearing the new Balenciaga Paris. Her scent puzzled me then and I kept thinking about it as together with her appearance it projected something like the impression of a fossilized sillage and she was like a monument from the past able to walk and breathe. 

When I walked past her and looked at her catching this unusually retro aldehydic sillage, it struck me how well it matched her slow-moving pace - although she was not by all means a dodderer - her mink coat, the impression that she had been enshrined alive in an olfactory time capsule. The old-school vieille France atmosphere of her surroundings reinforced this impression that she must be living off an ancient stash of perfume or that a neighborhood perfumery kept in stock a rare discontinued fragrance impossible to find elsewhere. I kept thinking about her out-of-time sillage afterwards as I wondered where that unusual and arresting aldehydic harshness might come from. It became her very well by the way.

The perfume reminded me of a vintage Chanel No. 5, and I hypothesized, might be the discontinued eau de cologne version as the aldehydes were particularly heavily dosed. Then, smelling Sweet Honesty by Avon, I thought this could also approximate it. Finally fishing out my bottle of Blue Grass, it was the closest I could find to this strange, reverse-the-clock reference from the past.

As I smell again the heart of the new Balenciaga Paris I think it might be it. Olivier Polge has recreated an aldehydic core which feels like an incursion into the past, the scent of an evening satin purse with a perfumed handkerchief in it. The perfume has that mustard-y, horseradish-like harshness of old-school aldehydes and Aldehyde C12 MNA in particular. Or it might be that that immortal Parisian lady insists on importing Blue Grass from the United States.

image: http://www.mimifroufrou.com/scentedsalamander/images/balenciaga-paris.jpg

Act 3

The New Balenciaga: Crystal-Clear Violets


After these two first acts which linger on the past of Balenciaga, the third act turns towards the future and evokes it like a clean slate of possibilities.

The antiquarian aldehydic aspect of the perfume is prolonged into some additional tonalities which are in turn a bit banal (a rather ubiquitous synthetic ambergris note these days), unsurprising yet a little surprising still in this context note (fruity and fresh Melonal), and especially a very round, pleasant crystalline note of white transparent amber which corresponds to my impression of Ethylene Brassylate for its transparent ambery note. 

There is a hint of camphor wood-like aroma, a subdued medicinal Tiger-Balm like accord but very discreet, further softened by a doughy iris. Combined they are a bit strange, this said in a positive manner.

The perfume blends finally into a tart, crystal-clear, round and warm amber which melds well with the skin. The floralcy is not only about violets, but with a classic touch of rose-and-cedar and iris. The carnation is very downplayed. It manages to evoke a forest-y underbrush thanks to patchouli and violet leaves. Despite a few fleeting trite nuances, Balenciaga Paris finally settles into a luminous, sensation-renewing violet perfume seeking purity and white light. I find the association of amber-y roundness, transparent whiteness, warmth and intense purity very compelling.

The third act is that part of the scent which for me pays homage to Nicolas Ghesquière' vision for Balenciaga, the stylist's futuristic leanings. Here the violet accord becomes metallic, structured and angular, clean and whited-out almost like a daytime oniric vision of an immense glass and metal structure. I think for conceptual reference of Dans Tes Bras by Frederic Malle for this dose of alien violet, for this idea that the most romantic of little flowers from the Victorian era could still smell "relevant" (who cares really? But you know what I mean) and even bear the mark of an aesthetic of the future which is sensed, guessed at, but not completely conceptualized. These clear, pure violets smell of white light (citruses) and bespeak of a future that has yet to form. In a way for me it is the scent of creation, of possibilities; the smell of the white page. Conceptually again, it makes me think of the cellophane-like texture that Serge Lutens and Christopher Sheldrake worked on for Nuit de Cellophane, but further perfected, even more centrally defining.

Perfumer Olivier Polge, conscious of the historicity of the House of Balenciaga has managed to give us a sense of leafing through the pages of a history book with his delicate, pure and creative composition. Where the color white in perfume so often comes from a dose of white musks nowadays, Polge has replaced this commonplace sensation with white amber, like a labdanum that would smell as pure as spring water. From the freshened homage to the delicate violet posy of Le Dix, to the nostalgic scent of Haute Couture thanks to a revisit of the aldehydic family and finally through an evocation of white, luminous violets meant to embody the creativity of Ghesquière at Balenciaga, we are offered a perfume which is interesting, discreetly addictive and eminently wearable, all at once.

This is a perfume that the nose would probably not have signed without the involvement of and the brief from Balenciaga, but like an artist-artisan who occasionally becomes a court portraitist, he painted his arts patrons well and succeeded at the same time in making a contribution to the art of perfumery.

On the olfactory plane, Balenciaga Paris creates the possibility of an absolutely lovely translucid violet perfume made of crystal, as fresh as water, as white as lily and muguet.

Notes: bergamot, violet, carnation, cedar wood, vetiver, patchouli, moss, labdanum   

Balenciaga Rosabotanica (2014): Of Roses & Humanity In Perfumery

Blurring Roses and Styles

Of Roses and Humanity in Perfumery

Of the designer perfume launches of 2014, Rosabotanica by Balenciaga is one of the most obvious examples of a fragrance sold via stampeded market places like Sephora, which has been reconceptualized thanks to the more focused and conceptual codes of niche perfumery. Yes, the great paradox here is that niche perfumery is spilling into the mainstream...

Created by perfumers Olivier Polge and Jean-Christophe Hérault, who are exemplary personnifications of what professional perfumery is with important bestsellers to their credits, such as Dior L'Homme for the first and Paco Rabanne 1 Million for the second one, it is almost amusing to see the two industry noses opening up a playing ground for new olfactory atmospheres at Balenciaga, as if they were composing for an up and coming niche house.

We have always believed that the two domains are in fact contiguous and the lines often blurred but still, you can tell about some cultural differences and nuances between the two. Some Sephoras have distinct niche sections in their perfumeries with a store corner showcasing a few select brands. Rosabotanica could be living there instead of across the aisle with the other just-beautiful perfumes. Self-respecting, art-conscious niche perfumes wish to intrigue, surprise, and play with your expectations - Rosabotanica fits the bill.

For those who remember Le Feu d'Issey, Rosabotanica can be said to be structurally fitting the same niche void left within designer perfumery that it once held. There is even that same milky, lactonic accord which instead of coming across as purely regressive and comforting has been skillfully employed to create a sense of oddity and quirkiness - like in Le Feu. It actually borrows quite a bit from the niche opus Hermès Un Jardin Après La Mousson.

This Space-Oddity aspect is one well represented incidentally by the public persona of fragrance spokesperson Kristen Stewart. We think that by now everyone has gotten the memo about the blockbuster-to-indie darling's capacity for weirdness and her slightly strange aura, despite the fact that she looks like a pretty girl.

While the original Florabotanica (2012) in the series - by the two same perfumers - was trying harder to impress in the looks department than through the more discreet perfume creation itself, there has been a change of heart since then. Rosabotanica is keeping its very distinctive bottle design mixing elements of space ship design with baroque luxury tapestry florals, merging a Mod ambiance with a more refined version of The Little Shop of Horrors' carnivorous plants: the flowers on the glass face of the flacon could be growing there, or on an Avatar movie set. It is both futuristic and classic; the perfume has finally caught up with its external appearance.

The composition itself is now that of an offbeat rose dipped in creamy mint and bubblegum. It is surprising to the nose at first and then not just convincing but also easy to wear in fact thanks to the scent skin-enhancing qualities.

The brief was to aim for a novel, experimental rose accord which would be very natural and vegetal-smelling while being defined by modernity and contemporaneity. The perfumers counterpoised a hyacinth note to the rose one to deconstruct it a bit.

Rosabotanica opens on both a fresh and peppery sensation in the top notes while the curious rose accord is immediately apparent, both rich and traversed by cool mint and then warmed up by milk. The lactonic effect is said to rest on a green fig leaves accord which adds also a very subtle fruity hint of sweetness. The "mint" is not listed but its provenance can be ascribed to a camphoraceous facet of cardamom. When you step back from the details, it mostly smells of a minty and milky rose with light and round hesperidic accents. The perfumers themselves describe the scent as,

"a very vegetal rose, enchanted and spicy, sublimated and softened by a touch of citruses and white woods."

There is a tension in perfumery creation which is that nature is the mother of all inspirations, yet it is also important to step away from it lest you be called a slave to it and a plain, unimaginative copist. There is nothing more boring, after a while, when you a smell a perfume which is only a perfect copy of a beautiful rose. Yes, you might be colored impressed at first, but then you will be wanting conversation with an intelligent, sentient human being; and perfumes are human, this is why we can be so touched by them. They are roses with emotions. Or they can be dreamt roses. A rose in perfumery is closer to the rose in Le petit prince by Saint Exupéry than the one held by its roots in your garden: it has been filtered by imagination and desire.

Nevertheless, perfumers and perfume lovers alike love nature. The vegetalism of the rose in Rosabotanica is that deep link with nature, reasserted. At the same time, the composition has been carefully crafted so as to create an imaginary rose, one which can only exist in the eye of your mind.

Where Rosabotanica is good at is at creating a sense of satisfying renewal of olfactory sensations. It makes you stop and inhale deeper to grasp its personality. A comparable perfume like the rose + mint Les Parfums de Rosine Diabolo Rose (2007) is a priori niche in branding, yet more classical in its personality than Rosabotanica.

While the composition here is said to be complex, it translates as a simple and well-circumscribed idea, a trait of archetypal niche perfumes. The complexity of the scent is revealed almost instantly and does not evolve very much overtime. It is light and tasteful. Like some of the most recognizable niche scents, it cannot boast of a very long development and change of moods in its life course. It therefore somehow gives up one type of complexity for another one, the conceptual one. It abandons what some of the best designer perfumes are good at: adding on the complexity of time, moodiness, secret nuances. Is this saying that Rosabotanica is a bit stereotypical in its aesthetic choices? Maybe. What is most assured of leaving a lasting impact are perfumes made by personalities benefiting from the luxury of time, not by schools of thought. But below the level of masterpiece, Rosabotanica can be called an accomplished perfume.

Balenciaga B. (2014): Meaningful Olfactory Patchwork

B. Balenciaga is, you understand - or misunderstand perhaps - from the first moments, a rose perfume at the core but one which comes with twists. You are however not encouraged to think of the new scent in this way as no rose is mentioned at all by Balenciaga - or Alexander Wang, their new art director. It may be that the liquorishy and fruity, pear-like quality of ambrette seeds allied with iris manages to create the illusion of an invisible rose, or it may be that a rose is so necessary to round off anything in perfumery that you just add it without feeling the urge to spell it out. But there you go, it smells of a rose both familiar and twisted...

In the top, there is this Edamame twist which imparts a green, vegetaly nuance to the crystalline treatment of the rose. You maybe wouldn't recognize the vegetable as such if you didn't know it was present but you happen for once to remember this creative choice which bears the signature of Wang, who loves Japanese cuisine - the restaurant Daruma-Ya in New York City in particular. The Edamame note is instantly recognizable as you smell it bringing up a vision of frozen bags of little hairy and green vegetal croissants from Trader Joe's releasing their characteristic scent, after having been microwaved. This cool / warm contrast is in fact one which was sought out by the fragrance developers.

This novel nuance soon fades into another green range of scent, the anisic one - the latter also not mentioned. Wang did emphasize however that he has a taste for pungent green scents. Anis is a time-honored note in perfumery to add an asymetrical sensation which will smell a bit weird as in L'Heure Bleue, or more recently Dahlia Noir by Givenchy. All the while, the invisible rose retains its pink pigments and fruitiness. The rose accord is quite good at conveying the sensation of a plump, generously fruity rose dipped in pear liqueur. Lily of the valley is the flower of reference but it is not very prominent to my nose.

From the deeper notes of the fragrance arises a little bit of ambergris - Cashmeran wood is listed - for warmth and animality. Alexander Wang said in an interview with W Magazine that they added "masculine, woodsy notes."

It is this accentuated contrast between a crystalline, vegetaly green top bridged by rose and apposed to a fur-like base which determines the personality of B. most to me. Going back to Alexander Wang's comment, you could say that it also sums up the fashion designer's personality,

"I've always been attracted to scents with strong green notes, and we also added a darker woody flair to it,"

This creates this odd sensation of a fresh, brown mink fur coat just taken out of the fur fridge after the end of summer and scented with fistfulls of Anis de Flavigny candies left in the pockets, outside of their tin boxes. B. is quite vegetal and anisic, but also warm and animalic.

The composition intuitively conjures up a house precedent, the minty rose of Rosabotanica. Because the visual codes are so different for the two fragrances, it takes you a while to realize that the two perfumes are actually from the same house. Nicolas Ghesquières was more baroque visually. Alexander Wang privileges purity and minimalism.

As is de rigueur in perfumery creation for fashion houses, the current creators have integrated olfactory codes that have been popular previously for the house. Apart from the green and cool rose twist of Rosabotanica and B. Balenciaga, there is also the link to Balenciaga Paris with the clear violet facet of the fragrance which lingers on the skin long enough to remind you of that other predecessor - and its even more distant post-WWII violet-infused and precious powdery forebear, now sadly discontinued, Balenciaga Le Dix (1947).

The very first association B. Balenciaga made me think of however lies outside the fashion house. There is a major referencing for me of Dahlia Noir by Givenchy signed by perfumer François Demachy, where the anis has been amplified while the ambergris makes a new appearance.

The overdosed anisic facet is like a new wave washing over the familiar formula to the point where the perfume permutates and becomes something else. It has reached that tipping point where olfactory quotes are discernable and a central inspiration can be found, but at the same time it has stylistically taken enough risk to create a qualitative jump.

B. Balenciaga is signed by perfumer Domitille Bertier of IFF who clearly managed to establish a good balance between faithfulness to the house codes, discreet innovation, and an homage paid to an admired predecessor from outside the house, again, I would stress, Dahlia Noir.

It may sound complicated and patchwork-like, and it is, except that as in this case, it works as a coherent whole. In the best tradition of the folksy creation of patchworks reflecting a story over several generations, B. Balenciaga integrates familiar motifs; a reference to an admired modern classic discovered on a trip ouside the confines of one's village, which struck the imagination; an object of exotic curiosity - edamame; and patient, collaborative sewing of the different parts which make up a meaningful and rich patchwork, one made up of history, and sometimes soul.

In this sense, B. Balenciaga despite all its sleek designing is in spirit an art-and-craft object born from a creative dynamic characteristic of popular culture.

It reminds you that even if the surface language of designer perfumery is elegance and personal talent, it is deep down a very popular object reflecting the sharing spirit, collaborative endeavors and inter-generational craftsmanship of the "sewers" who are all sitting around the same work table stitching up a new fragrance.

It is all really a question of balance. B. Balenciaga for me has managed to find a sense of equipoise and artful balance which makes it worthwhile to seek out rather than think of it as blatant plagiarism, as it happens. There is enough personal effort put into it that it balances out the visible borrowings. It is uncommon that a fragrance developer will divulge their fragrance template but it happens as in the case of Tory Burch Eau de Parfum.

In the end, the hedonistic factor remains as B. is an enjoyable fragrance to wear with an artful and well-balanced combination of qualities, if not endowed right out with unambiguous originality. It is not individual enough an effort for that to take place but it manages to convince you that, yes, they might be onto "a new olfactory direction" with this inspired green woody and rosy theme.

La Fuite Des Heures By Cristobal Balenciaga

La Fuite des Heures, also marketed under the English name Fleeting Moment, was created in 1949 by the great perfumer Germaine Cellier who also gave us Coeur-Joie by Nina Ricci, Bandit by Piguet, Elysées 64-83, Jolie Madame,Vent Vert, and Monsieur Balmain by Balmain, amongst others. Her style can be characterized as bold, forceful (Bandit, Vent Vert) yet also capable of creating infinitesimally subtle nuances (Coeur-Joie). Today, one can find traces of her more forceful, almost primitive style at times in Mona di Orio's work, while her originality can be found again in Olivia Giacobetti's creations. La Fuite des Heures contains both her primitivist and softer romantic sense of nuances.

Like the picture La Danse (The Dance) by Fauvist André Derain who was a friend of Germaine Cellier and for whom she posed, it is an ensemble of bold and graceful lines and as it turns out, seems to be colored with the same color tones: the brown of the amber, the grey of ambergris, the dark brown of leather, the chartreuse green of the anise, the darker green of thyme, the yellow of the hay, the mauve of the violet or orris, the golden hues (for me) of jasmine......

Regarding the historical context, there seems to be little immediate available information concerning La Fuite des Heures without delving deeper into primary sources. The Société Française des Parfumeurs (French Society of Perfumers) however describes the perfume as being based on a rich jasmine and thyme accord. We were lucky enough to find a bottle of the parfum extract and so we will offer an olfactory description of it together with our impressions. La Fuite des Heures, or The Fleeting Hours literally translated, was Cristobal Balenciaga's second perfume following Le Dix, named after his new boutique address in Paris located 10, Avenue George V which he opened in 1948. For the couturier, perfume is said to have been but "fashion breathing all around us." Within the perfume heritage of the brand of Balenciaga, which went on longer than the fashion activities of the house, La Fuite des Heures makes one think of Quadrille for its unconventional mix of masculine and feminine elements and its dry aromatic character. But where La Fuite des Heures smells very original and natural, Quadrille, by comparison, seems suddenly affected, shallower, and too easily resorting to the effect of sophistication and polish that a classic coded use of aldehydes can offer. This happens only if you compare them side by side. On its own, Quadrille is beautiful. 

La Fuite Des Heures appears to be a woody herbal and floral composition with hints of leather. Its beginning is forceful, liquorishey and herbal and its drydown is soft and round, more woody and floral although the herbal character remains throughout. The first impressions immediately brings to mind aromatic memories associated with traditional household French herbal remedies such as Elixir Bonjean and Eau de Mélisse des Carmes Boyer. 

There is an amberey rush at first that seems to layer two kinds of amber, warm sweet amber and ambergris, with its distinctive colder saltier marine tones, slowly and more surely unveiling the chartreuse green accents of a kitchen garden full of aromatic herbs that normally and more conventionally impart interest to edible concoctions. This is followed by another rush of dry dirty herbal notes. It smells almost bad but not quite.

The curtain then opens on the memory of a summer day during one's childhood spent flat on one's stomach, the nose being tickled by aromatic herbs while chewing on a blade of hay looking at the insects getting much busier and noisier than oneself. Later the bell would ring for dinner and a cold-hot herbal soup would be served perfuming those days from then on. The fleeting hours of a nonchalant afternoon turn into a substratum of meaning in adulthood. As delicate and fragile as herbs or hay in the summer, time takes on the smells of those aromas to convey the passing of time. 

The herbs seem not so much blended into the perfume as made to figuratively appear in the imagination of the perfume wearer as slightly withered herbs on which the sun and the wind would have left their marks. The floral notes make their presence felt as a field of wild flowers dancing playfully in the wind. There are stacks of hay nearby with their blonde smells. The jasmine rounds off the notes rather than appears showcased.

The heart of the perfume develops a prominent cool green anise note with sweet undertones. It is reminiscent of yet another French specialty this time based on anise, Anis de l'Abbaye de Flavigny.

The base smells like hay warmed up by the sun. The perfume softens down to very mellow woods with facets of fennel, hay, even sweet caramelized yellow onions with yellow peach undertones. It smells like a day in the summer spent in the kitchen garden.

The drydown is extremely soft, fruity-woody, slightly leathery and peppery. It seems to smell of violet or orris or both. The sweetness seems to derive from a very subtle vanilla. The drydown especially is particularly multi-faceted which makes one think that there is an important proportion of natural essences.

La Fuite Des Heures is a very original and adult perfume, the perfume of one who has fully lived one's childhood and in which maturity contains that childhood instead of reliving it. The dried herbs were made part of a perfume that is both very feminine and very masculine in keeping with its author's strong personality. In fact, judging by today's standards of marketable perfumes, it is astonishing to think that La Fuite Des Heures was meant for a wider public than the perfumer herself. It is so personal as to make one think that it was made for Cellier's nose only and then only made more widely available.

This impression is probably not too far from the truth as if there ever was a perfumer who did not make compromises with ambient "good taste", that would have to have been Germaine Cellier. The originality and authenticity of the perfume derives from the impression that it seems to have been inspired by first-hand sensations, directly motivated by ingredients intimately known to the perfumer, rather than by social codes. It also shows her lack of prejudice regarding a separation between low-brow gourmand, edible notes and perfumey ones. Swiftly filling the symbolic gap between kitchen cupboard and perfumer's lab she has created an early discreetly gourmand-medicinal perfume resting more on savory notes than sweet ones contrary to what is overwhelmingly the case today. La Fuite des Heures is a perfume both innocent and seductive, strange and beautiful.

Pegada de Monstro: As Três Vidas de Rumba - Uma Comparação

É difícil evitar o choque quando alguém lê o nome Jean-Claude Ellena na mesma página de Rumba ou First. Mas sim, estas foram algumas de suas primeiras criações, ele que é considerado o rei do minimalismo em fragrâncias. É como dizer que Donald Judd foi quem construiu a Disneyland ou Mies Van der Rohe desenhou Versalhes. First e Rumba são exemplos perfeitos do estilo Barroco nos perfumes. Demasiadas coisas ao mesmo tempo, demasiadas notas (algumas até são redundantes), demasiados acordes e projeção explosiva. Mas por enquanto concentremo-nos naquilo que considero como um dos mais fortes perfumes que eu já cheirei, na mesma força de Amarige, Tabu, Poison e Obsession.por: Miguel Matos

É uma sobreabundância de opulência—até esta frase é exagerada. Rumba é a fragrância mais densa, espessa, doce e esfumaçada que Ellena fez até agora. E eu gosto dele, é claro. Este é um perfume que eu raramente uso, mas quando estou numa de fazer a linha extravagante e me sinto com vontade de esmagar toda a gente em volta, não existe alternativa. Tem de ser Rumba e eis que estou no paraíso da fruta esfumaçada. Rumba foi lançado em 1988 por Balenciaga e foi um grande êxito dos anos 80. Neste perfume tudo é grande. E é por isso que eu gosto dele. Mesmo que eu tenha tendência para me sufocar nele nos primeiros cinco minutos. Um elemento de surpresa: ele até que funciona bem com clima quente, por mais paradoxal que isso possa parecer.

Algures no tempo, a casa Ted Lapidus conseguiu os direitos de produção e venda de Rumba com seu próprio nome numa jogada nunca antes vista na indústria de perfumaria. O frasco é o mesmo, mas ele diz Ted Lapidus em vez de Balenciaga. E é a versão Lapidus que ainda podemos encontrar no mercado, 27 anos mais tarde. É um clássico e o bestseller feminino da linha Lapidus.

“Algumas fragrâncias nasceram para serem lendárias. Esplêndida e misteriosa, Rumba foi a primeira fragrância de sedução e, na altura de seu lançamento mundial em 1988, causou uma verdadeira revolução, introduzindo uma identidade olfativa totalmente nova. Mais que um perfume, é uma pegada opulenta, fascinante, inimitável e inesquecível. Uma combinação de sensualidade confiante, feminilidade incarnada e potente intensidade que deixou uma marca indelével na história da perfumaria”—Diz Ted Lapidus muito bem em seu press release. Opulento ele é, gourmand avant la lettre, e quanto a ser inimitável, conheço uma fragrância que chega bem próxima de Rumba: Regine's. Apenas mais suave. Ou Montana Parfum de Peau, mais especiada.

Este é um chipre animálico orgulhoso e exuberante, frutal, gourmand, esfumaçado, resinoso, de composição oriental. Consegue ser tudo ao mesmo tempo, exceto fresco. E para mim isso funciona. Não é um perfume atual, de maneira alguma e eu consigo imaginar muita gente fugindo dele. Mas sua ameixa incensada e caramelizada é tão convincente e luxuosa que torna Rumba único e insubstituível. É uma pena que seja um perfume esquecido porque ele merece algum apreço, agora que as marcas nicho estão se aproximando cada vez mais dos cheiros intoxicantes, este poderia ser um deles. Como diz Barbara em seu livro Scent and Subversion, “talvez Rumba seja o perfume que fez Jean-Claude Ellena voar para os braços do Minimalismo do Perfume, como um alcoólico em tratamento depois de um fim de semana de loucura.”

É possível comprar Ted Lapidus Rumba na Internet e ele não é caro. Mas você pode também ter a sorte de encontrar a versão original de Balenciaga. Portanto, qual deles escolher? São muito diferentes? Eu tenho ambos e tentarei diferenciá-los. Direi desde já: eles são diferentes, mas não muito e são ambos bons. E depois há também Rumba Passion...

VINTAGE RUMBA DE BALENCIAGA VS. RUMBA DE TED LAPIDUS

A abertura em Rumba de Balenciaga vintage é desde logo densa e esfumaçada, com uma explosão doce de ameixas. É comos e alguém tivesse deixado secando sobre uma núvem quente de incenso. A abertura na versão moderna Ted Lapidus Rumba é mais fresca e as notas frutais são mais abstratas. Não é um aroma tão denso nos primeiros minutos. Enquanto a versão de Balenciaga pode sufocá-lo imediatamente, a de Lapidus deixa respirar. A versão moderna não é tão profunda, intoxicante e obscura. Isso pode ser bom o mau dependendo daquilo que procura. Eu prefiro a quase asfixiante abertura do vintage, mesmo que por vezes ela me impeça de usá-la. É bizarro como na formulação vintage as notas de coração surgem logo nos acordes iniciais. Talvez isso seja devido à oxidação das notas de topo, mas eu sinto isso em meus dois frascos vintage. O efeito é tão forte que poderíamos pensar que tem oud lá dentro. Os florais no Rumba vintage concentram-se na tuberosa e no cravo. As versões modernas têm menos cravo. A fumaça é de charuto, doce e espessa. Tudo isto vem embrulhado em fortes acordes de couro e mel. Somos conduzidos através de uma viagem gourmand, oriental, esfumaçada e doce onde tudo é demais (esta é uma característica do jovem Ellena, pois First também pode ser descrito como “mais é mais”). A versão moderna de Rumba por Ted Lapidus tem todos os efeitos presentes na edição original menos uma dose de animálicos, embora eu ache que há mais oxigénio entre as notas, e isso o faz mais fácil de usar. Se não consegue encontrar Rumba de Balenciaga, você terá uma visão bem próxima na versão de Lapidus, por isso se jogue. Mas se você quiser matar toda a gente em sua volta com uma pegada monstra de incenso e flores super doces (e uma enorme tuberosa) com frutas isso você consegue de forma mais eficaz com o Rumba vintage. Conclusão: uma boa reformulação, não exatamente igual, mas muito próxima.

RUMBA PASSION

“Inspirado nos irresistíveis ritmos Latinos, Rumba Passion é uma melodia de notas sensuais que acariciam e estremecem na pele. Uma apaixonada abertura dá o mote em notas efervescentes de bergamota que dançam com o aveludado aroma do alperce e da davana. De coração vibrante, a flor de laranjeira e o jasmim acertam o passo com uma faceta profunda de rosas, revelando toda a complexidade, o raro e imperial caráter deste buquê floral. Notas de base pulsantes de incomparável sensualidade bafejam numa sillage de mel, e patchouli abaunilhado. Mais moderna e jovial, esta nova fragrância é enriquecida com essências naturais que preservam a pegada radiante da versão original e coloca a feminilidade num pedestal. Uma elegante e magnética interpretação da lendária criação, trazida à vida com nova paixão”—Ted Lapidus press release

Para ser honesto, não vejo grande relevância nesta edição. É um flanker que fica próximo da estrutura da edição-mãe, embora menos rica. Pode ser apenas um pouco mais suave, mas a longevidade é épica: mais de 12 horas. De novo, isso pode ser bom ou mau, pois eu muitas vezes me canso de uma fragrância e esta é gritante até seus murmúrios finais. Em Rumba Passion há um reequilíbrio das notas originais. A fumaça é um pouco dissipada e os florals são aumentados. As frutas ainda lá estão. A tuberosa continua gritando alto, embora as notas oficiais mencionem flor de laranjeira apenas. Considero Rumba como uma ousada fragrância unisex, mas este Rumba Passion é mais apropriado para o lado feminino, diria. O aspeto frutal ganha em proeminência à medida que o perfume se move desde um animáloco anos 80 para uma típica fragrância frutal experimental dos anos 90. O ambiente barroco ainda se mantém, numa composição mais simples e mais sintética. Ele não é tão complexo e com o tempo se torna impossivelmente doce ao ponto do exagero. Uma ideia de chiclete vem à mente na secagem e o aspeto animálico desaparece em favor de um pronunciado tom de âmbar e baunilha que segue os doces florais brancos. No geral, a doçura da edição-mãe é amplificada ao extremo e devido à menor quantidade de fumaça ela se torna numa sobredose sintética de açúcar no final. Perfeito para quem gosta de Joop Homme, por exemplo.

Rumba de Balenciaga
Notas de topo: bergamota, ameixa, mangericão, pêssego, flor de laranjeira, framboesa e mirabelle
Notas de coração: mel, jasmim, tuberosa, cravo, heliotrópio, magnólia, gardénia, lírio do vale, orquídea, malmequer e rosa
Notas de base: ambergris, baunilha, couro, fava tonka, patchouli, almíscar, sândalo, cedro, ameixa, estoraque e musgo de carvalho

Rumba de Ted Lapidus
(lista oficial da marca)
Notas de topo: bergamota, notas verdes, mangericão
Notas de coração: jasmim, flor de laranjeira, mirabelle, rosa
Notas de base: musgo de carvalho, sândalo, âmbar, patchouli, notas animálicas

Rumba Passion de Ted Lapidus
Notas de topo: davana indiana, rosa, bergamota
Notas de coração: ládano espanhol, flor de laranjeira
Notas de base: baunilha, patchouli indonésio, mel