Rickbr

At this point of the game, I see Zoologist Perfumes amongst the best of what the independent perfumery can offer. To me, the brand creator’s curator work resembles Frederic Malle’s. The difference is that Victor Wong brings into his brand the best of the indie perfumers that today are in the forefront of what fragrance has to provide in terms of quality and creativity. In addition, Victor and the perfumers also focus on bringing back the charm of a good story that a perfume can tell, something that today has been pushed aside to give focus to the storytelling (partly true) of the quality and nobility of the materials from which certain perfumes are made.

Nightingale is the debut of the Japanese perfumer Tomoo Inaba. On the website of the brand, you can understand a little more about Tomoo's background, a self-taught perfumer, a merchant of perfumery materials and a person that is passionate about writing on perfumes and the charms of the fragrances from the past. Tomoo Inaba says that Nightingale is inspired by the arrival of spring, the flowering plum trees and the songs of nightingales. It's also dedicated to a poem composed by one of the sisters of the Empress Fujiwara in Kenshi after she renounced her royal life to become a Buddhist nun. His sister gave her as a gift a rosary made of agarwood in a box decorated with plum blossom. Initially one of the creations made for his personal use only, Tomoo worked with Victor to launch it within the Zoologist line.

The first thing I realize as I apply Nightingale on the skin is that in fact this is a special and poetic perfume. A complex and remarkable composition, where its history is not just a mere excuse to fill a bottle with an empty aroma. Nightingale announces in fact the spring, but not as many perfumes do in an apathetic fashion. It represents for me the blossoming of life that spring seems to bring, with aromas connecting with the soul. And that is brought to the combination of the sacred and noble sides of oud wood, which does not steal the scene and is within the context of a mysterious classic chypre.

I do not know how Tomoo Inaba was inspired, but its creation immediately brings me to one of the most iconic perfumes of the history of perfumery, Shiseido’s Nombre Noire. The elegance and contrast of a sober and dry chypre base versus the beauty of the rose are revived here in a complex floral context that emulates the saturated air of spring. I find beautiful that the plums portrayed here have a white colored floral while there is a juiciness and a semisweet touch, which match the contrast of the aroma and taste of a plum.

And what about the base? Sober, dense, but with a kind of harmony and comfort that only years of practice allow you to reach. The combinatoin of moss with agarwood, sandalwood and even iris and musk undertones creates the feeling of a sacred wood, a beauty that seems to bring with it an aura of peace. It is a fantastic way to end a scent that is full of life. It's the kind of creation that simply inspires me to write. It's hard for me to control the words, because there is something special that deserves to be highlighted and honored. Certainly a masterpiece.

Hermès is an interesting designer in comparison to the other ones when it comes to the world of perfumery. While even the most classic bend toward the latest trends and trying to get the easy money from the young audience, the traditional brand of leather goods maintains a consistent line which is refined, more mature and with almost no perfume out of production. Even creations of little attention like Rocabar remains in production showing how refined is the offer of Hermès for both the male and female audience.

It is interesting how the perfume is constructed, a mixture of chypre with a dry resinous and spicy oriental feeling, something able to transmit a rough and at the same time velvety, texture something that seems to marry well with the inspiration of the tissue. If you watch the close aroma skin you notice a smell that brings to the mind a semisweet chocolate aroma, product of a very sophisticated patchouli. What projects, however, it is an aroma that mixes a smell of dry, cold and fresh spices, resins, citrus and an astringent smell of classic herbs.

Rocabar may seem at first a scent that disappears quickly into the skin, but if applied with greater generosity is possible to notice its sleek smell forming a sophisticated aura with shades of moss, wood, spices and resins. It's the kind of perfume that does not seek to attract attention, that exudes confidence, security and good taste. Not for many, but matches very well with those who seek this kind of more mature and sophisticated elegance.

An interesting aspect about the fragrances before the nineties and its simplification of the formulations is the richness in aroma details. Even perfumes that are even being adapted to current regulations continue to offer more complexity and nuances in aromas than many recent releases (provided they are properly reformulated, of course).

I remember a few years ago experiencing Bel Ami and being charmed with its leather, dense, classic, surrounded by aromatic resins and woods but with a sweet coconut nuance that appears at the end of its evolution and surprised by its lactonic creamy impression. The modernization made by Jean Claude Ellena which resulted in Bel Ami Vetiver left me apprehensive perhaps that the brand had also made the classic one a simple perfume, more transparent and more similar to some of the other Ellena creations.

My concerns proved not to materialize once i had the chance to use Bel Ami again in the skin. The reformulation that resulted in the current version seems to me to have a dry and serious aura and brought the fragrance more into a fougère than chypre direction, making it come closer to other perfumes of the its time, the eighties. The current Bel Ami still has the classic smell of drier leather, but not very smoked and without the sweet coconut nuance. I notice in most evidence the smell of spices and a combination of herbs and astringent citrus aromas, which are what shape my perception into a Fougere perfume.

But as I said at the beginning, Bel Ami still has a lot to offer and even at the end of its evolution is possible to see the perfume win ambery oriental nuances. There is a combination of amber with a velvety musk and a slight hint of vanilla that perhaps curiously brings me the aura of some current compositions that explore these elements within the oud theme. I do not remember if this aspect was present in the original, but it shows an interesting addition and matches with the composition as a whole. Bel Ami is like the perfume evaluated yesterday, Rocabar, a more mature and sophisticated creation and a scent that seems to focus on a very specific audience rather than trying to please everyone. Even reformulated easily beats many current releases.

Equipage was the first masculine perfume launched by Hermès in the 70s and the impression I have is that the house has spared no effort to create it. They chose a very talented perfumer and creator of beautiful classic for such a task, Guy Robert. The Guy Robert perfumes seem like classical symphonies, well orchestrated, creations of very good taste independent of the sex audience. And as Bel-Ami, Equipage is another creation able to withstand the time and the necessary reformulations without losing its beauty.

It is not necessary to know the year of creation of Equipage to realize that we are facing a perfume of the past, created at a time when well thought and slow aromatic evolutions were valued instead of linear aromas and instant gratification of perfumes of today. Equipage is full of detail and has that retro sophisticated air that for some may seem dated but for me it is something increasingly rare to find.

The opening has a balanced hint of dry aldehydic touch with a citrus scent that appears very quickly. They work for me as messengers of the hot spicy and enveloping richness of this perfume. The combination of cinnamon, carnation and rosewood gives the fragrance a spicy, sweet and almost liqueur aroma, which reminds you of a hot and delicious drink for a winter day. The aroma of herbs and fir help secondarily to balance that liqueur and floral spicy smell that formes.

In the final stage Equipage brings me the wealth of perfume bases of the past, who have always had a shareable impression due to the balance of woody aromas and vetiver with slightly animalic and powdery musks. It is an abstract and subtle finish, but with a great duration and noticeable for a long time and is a way to end a good perfume that seems to have been thought in the little details to be an excellent first male perfume for the brand.

I see Eau de Narcisse Bleu, launched in 2013, as one of the most unusual Colognes within the Hermés line. Firstly, the choice of Narciso, one of the most expensive flowers in perfumery when coming from nature and not from a synthetic composition. Narciso precisely conveys a more retro aura and the chosen theme is a fresh, modern Cologne, so protagonist of a vintage aura is at least curious. And second, the color choice, both in the name as the bottle, since Eau de Narcisse Bleu at any time te passes this olfactory sensation.

On the contrary, we have here an ode to the color green and a modern cologne indeed. Eau de Narcisse Bleu takes the Ellena olfactory signature and is heavily based on a combination of materials that give it a woody, mineral and transparent feel. The Galbanum used in perfume helps to strengthen the green aspect, adding a light touch of fresh earth and cut grass. There iris nuances in composition reinforce this earthy look and give a light powdery hint to the composition.

The Narcisso is for me perhaps the most difficult part of being identified, as though naming the composition is used very moderately, I believe that both for its high price as the restrictions on its use. The smell of the flower is revealed more in its green nuances and slightly spicy ones and its more floral aspect ends up mixing easily to the orange blossom scent in the heart of the composition.

Despite the peculiar choice of the protagonist and color, the aim to create a modern and woody colony is reached easily and gracefully here. Eau de bleu Narcisse has a grassy and green aura very interesting, worked well transparently to join the woody and mineral base. It is a medium-length cologne, 4-6 hours in the skin, and a Concentré version of its aroma would be welcomed.