08/28/2011
Apicius
222 Reviews
Apicius
4
Exclusive and Rare
Richard is an insiders' tip. This perfume is an exclusive fabrication for Beauty Affair, a niche perfume shop in Düsseldorf/Germany. And Richard is the christian name of its owner. You should hurrry up a little if you you want to get acquainted with this scent – it is already on special offer, and obviously the last flasks are currently being sold.
With such an exclusive, limited-lot production, you can be sure that no compromises have been made. A personal wish has been realized here with paying no attention to marketing strategies. Richard is all about fig leaf – and in a very special way!
The note fig leaf is somewhat strange. The fig tree seems to have an intense green scent, which is mostly associated with the south, with sun, warmth and Sicily! Usually, fig leaf is combined with citric and other fresh notes, in order to emphazise a mediterranean airiness. A well known example of this style is Philosykos by Dyptique – you get the direct impression of sitting under a canopy of green fig leafs! To give you an idea if you do not know fig leaf yet – just bruise some fresh leafs from the next bush between your fingers. Fig leaf is the green note itself.
But there is also a different way to handle fig leaf. Instead of emphazising the fresh, green aspects, one can instead contrast this note with something darker, so the leafiness is somewhat shaded. A concept like this seems to me more artistic than just pushing the freshness into the extreme.
Richard has this more sophisticated style, and I know of very few others: the discontinued Salvatore Ferragamo pour Homme, the recently published Bois Naufragé by Parfumerie Générale, and the intense Royal Gold pour Homme by Charriol, where the fig leaf covers just the top note. In all these cases the character of the fig leaf was transmuted – from fresh into elegant. I suppose, it is basically vetiver which is responsible for this alchemy.
However, I am not able to give a conclusive statement about all the other notes. Unfortunately, Beauty Affair did not give me any information. Perfumes by Micallef are not so plain simple that you can discriminate many ingredients. So, I regard Richard as an example of that fig leaf – vetiver style, and that's it! Personnally, I dislike the ususal fresh fig leaf style, but I love these darker and deeper combinations!
Elegance and airiness are the two attributes that characterise Richard. The perfumer must have been well aware that the rare fig leaf is unfamiliar to our noses. Accordingly, he handled it with caution. Richard ist anything but indecent it is rather tender than strong and stays near at the skin. The sillage is only average, but in this case, that is good. With such an unusual note, you have to be careful not to spoil your interest in it. It should be too bad if you'd get fed up because your perfume is too intense.
So, Richard now competes with my long time favourite Salvatore Ferragamo pH. In dicrect comparison Richard is the more delicate, discreet perfume – but Salvatore Ferragamo simply shows more vetiver and fig leaf. But why are the most beautiful perfumes either limited or discontinued?
With such an exclusive, limited-lot production, you can be sure that no compromises have been made. A personal wish has been realized here with paying no attention to marketing strategies. Richard is all about fig leaf – and in a very special way!
The note fig leaf is somewhat strange. The fig tree seems to have an intense green scent, which is mostly associated with the south, with sun, warmth and Sicily! Usually, fig leaf is combined with citric and other fresh notes, in order to emphazise a mediterranean airiness. A well known example of this style is Philosykos by Dyptique – you get the direct impression of sitting under a canopy of green fig leafs! To give you an idea if you do not know fig leaf yet – just bruise some fresh leafs from the next bush between your fingers. Fig leaf is the green note itself.
But there is also a different way to handle fig leaf. Instead of emphazising the fresh, green aspects, one can instead contrast this note with something darker, so the leafiness is somewhat shaded. A concept like this seems to me more artistic than just pushing the freshness into the extreme.
Richard has this more sophisticated style, and I know of very few others: the discontinued Salvatore Ferragamo pour Homme, the recently published Bois Naufragé by Parfumerie Générale, and the intense Royal Gold pour Homme by Charriol, where the fig leaf covers just the top note. In all these cases the character of the fig leaf was transmuted – from fresh into elegant. I suppose, it is basically vetiver which is responsible for this alchemy.
However, I am not able to give a conclusive statement about all the other notes. Unfortunately, Beauty Affair did not give me any information. Perfumes by Micallef are not so plain simple that you can discriminate many ingredients. So, I regard Richard as an example of that fig leaf – vetiver style, and that's it! Personnally, I dislike the ususal fresh fig leaf style, but I love these darker and deeper combinations!
Elegance and airiness are the two attributes that characterise Richard. The perfumer must have been well aware that the rare fig leaf is unfamiliar to our noses. Accordingly, he handled it with caution. Richard ist anything but indecent it is rather tender than strong and stays near at the skin. The sillage is only average, but in this case, that is good. With such an unusual note, you have to be careful not to spoil your interest in it. It should be too bad if you'd get fed up because your perfume is too intense.
So, Richard now competes with my long time favourite Salvatore Ferragamo pH. In dicrect comparison Richard is the more delicate, discreet perfume – but Salvatore Ferragamo simply shows more vetiver and fig leaf. But why are the most beautiful perfumes either limited or discontinued?
