Time to Diversify

For years, I have been stuck in a rut of perfume: I consistently buy and use the same type of perfumes over and over. I love spice, incense, oud, rose and sometimes creamy and gourmand scents. It seems I do not come out of those preferences anymore as I used to do when I first started exploring perfume.

Well, with the coming of a gentle Spring, I had an overwhelming desire for florals. Besides the rose, I avoid most other flowers. The rosey Quelques Fleurs Royale has been in my collection for years: it had a more feminine retro vibe than a lot of my fragrances, with nuances of rose and powder.

(photo via neimanmarcus)

Ispahan, which I bought specifically for the name and bottle, has a very smooth blend of floral notes, but there is my favorite base of benzoin and tonka, which make it similar to a lot of the perfumes which compose my “rut.”

(photo via lheuredete)

So I started my exploration with the easy-to-love Flora Rosa, a fresh and citrusy rose, and slowly began to head in the direction of other florals. The new Misia appealed to me for its retro character, and when I first smelled it, it had a strong rose and powder note, so I went back to it. That is where I was stopped cold by the intensely violet opening.

I use and love Meteorites powder, and if you know the smell of those little balls of delight, you know they smell like powdery-violet perfection.

(photo via chicprofile)

Soft and sweet, the violet in Meteorites is not overwhelming and just smooths into skin, leaving a trail of scent. Misia was, on the other hand, an in-your-face violet, with bitter orris root and a hint of iris but none of the rose beauty I remembered from my first sniff. If I wanted a floral perfume this time, Misia was definitely not going to be the one.

I started sniffing other florals to see if any other perfume would satisfy my cravings. I went out of my comfort zone and as a result, discovered the fantastic Gardenia, an almost drunkenness-inducing floral with sweet fruits and a bit of tropical vanilla. Normally, I would not even sample a perfume with white flowers but Chanel’s Gardenia is magical and I would have missed out if I did not smell it.

Equally special is the blandly-named Beige.

I fell for its honey opening. It is so smooth and sweet and so unobtrusive that you can spray it with ease without getting that “chocking on alcohol” feeling. I smell something grassy and cool before the freesia comes out and stays. I wish the honey note stayed longer and the freesia was more powdery but this perfume is the epitome of contrasting notes. The honey is just slightly sweet, not overwhelming. And the freesia has a sharper edge that gets more rounded with the sweet and grassy notes.

The lasting power of Beige is surprisingly strong on me while the sillage is moderate. Usually I have to carry the bottle with me because I have to reapply throughout the day, but with 7 sprays of Beige, it stays for many hours.

The price, as we know, is high and the whole Excusifs line reminds me a lot of the Hermessence line: you won’t be getting Montale strength and power but you will be enveloped by a more refined cloud of soft perfume. There is a kind of genius in that.