Mona di Orio - Myrrh Casati

Picture: Marchesa Luisa Casati, (1881-1957)
Painting  1908 by Giovanni Boldino (1842-1931)
Wikimedia commons

Myrrh Casati is the first fragrance from nichehouse Mona di Orio created by another perfumer than Mona. After Monas untimely death in December 2011, the fragrances that was in line for release Rose Etoile de Hollande and Eau Absolue or the personal fragrance for Monas business partner Jeroen Oude Sogtoen Violette Fumeé, were launched. This difficult mission to compose the first non-Mona fragrance for the house of di Orio was given to perfumer Melanie Leroux. The new perfumes are launched in a subline called the Monogram Collection which also introduce new bottles and a new logotype for the Mona di Orio brand.

Myrrh Casati is inspired of the very wealthy eccentric italian early 20th century active Marchesa Luisa Casati, a musa for fashion and art. Myrrh is a timeless, dramatic and mysterious ingredient with ancient origins and therfore also maybe a tad eccentric.

Myrrh Casati starts transparent and in the higher octaves of the scale, a similar context as Serge Lutens beautiful La Myrrhe but with a slight spicy, smoky almost leathery addition. La Myrrhe is more of a pure myrrh perfume with the pronounced refreshing mushroomnote which lasts for a considerable time of the dry down, in Myrrh Casati the mushroomnotes last just for a while. In the middlenotes the licorice contribute to a sweet contrast to the very dry myrrhinterpretation of Myrrh Casati. There is also a smell of fresh loam and a quick glimpse of a drak green moisy moss and a quick passing note similar to pine needles. The licorienote is very well balanced and not as prominent as in Guerlain Myrrhe et Delires or Huiteme Art Myrrhiad. In the basenotes Myrrh Casati is deeper and the myrrh is surrounded by perfectly balanced spices, the cardamom and saffron are note detectable as separte notes, as also not the incense and patchouli. Everything is somehow perfectly balanced, restrained, elegant and wellbehaved.

Picture: Myrrh Casati in the new Mona di Orio flacon
Photo: PR Parfums Mona di Orio (c)

To me Myrrh Casati is calming and soothing, not recalling one of the Marchesas wild parties. The darker, denser and heavier Huiteme Art Myrrhiad would be more suitable in this context IMO. Insted it's recalling the same as Serge Lutens La Myrrhe a medival stonechapel, cold a bit moisty and mossy stone, with traces of the smell of balmy incense, myrrh and soft spices in the air.

Even if not original or not particularly distinctive from the other myrrhs mentioned in the post, the soothing and in the same time elegant qualities makes Myrrh Casati very attractive and wearable for many occasions year around. It's undoubtedly appropriate in style to join the perfumes created by Mona. Sillage is close and longevity over night. Not that I'm a specialist in perfume construction but to me, Myrrh Casati is better balanced then both Myrrhe et Delires and Myrrhiad. Finally I perceive it Myrrh Casati as a more restrained alternative to La Myrrhe.

Rating: 5

Notes: Red berries, pink pepper, cardamom, saffron, licorice, benzoin, myrrh, incense, patchouli, nagarmotha, guaiac wood

Mona di Orio - Eau Absolue

Picture: Eau Absolue by Mona di Orio
Photo: PR Parfums Mona di Orio, all rights reserved  (c)

Eau Absolue is a fragrance blended from one of the perfumeformulas which the great perfumer Mona di Orio left behind. As I have understand, many of the formulas were finished or almost finished even if we of course couldn't know if Mona would have done further improvements if she had to live.Eau Absolue, which is said to be finished already before last year realease Les Nombres d'Or Rose Etoile de Hollande is inspired of the Mediterrian landscape and I think that the composition has captured that olfactory image perfectly well.

Eau de Absolue starts with an intriguing accord that reminds me of the bombastic opening barnyard accord of Homme de Grès but dimmed to a tenth in strength. This accord in Eau Absolue is also rounded and finetuned compared to the though and rough notes in the opening of Homme de Grès. In Eau Absolue soon a note that creates a texture close to smooth suede appears, this texture is also present in Mona di Orio Lux despite these two fragrances smells different. This suedenote tempers the herbal/spicy, citrus notes of the fragrance and seems to create more body and dept than in a regular cologne. Eau Absolue is a Edp version of a colognestyled fragrance. When Eau Absolue calms down, the pleasant barnyardaccord gives way to a balanced green slight herbal, fresh spicy accord where the note of bayleaf is in the center. The bayleaf is crisp and the fresh leathernote that bayleaves sometimes induce is clearly present and creates a wellbalanced contrast. This stage is like citrus and greenery are wrapped in smooth leather. In the basenotes the green, citrus and bayleaf-leathery impression remains, warmed up and deepened by musk and labdanum. In the base I also smell similarities with Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Vétyver especially a certain pleasant tartness from that fragrance. The longer I wear Eau Absolue, the more of LNd'OV I smell.

Overall Eau Absolue is an elegant, casual fragrance which is also very appropriate for officewear. It's werable year around even if spring and summer comes first in mind. Longevity on my skin is about a day which is quite good when it comes to citrus/aromatic fragrances. Eau Absolue is less citrusy and more smooth, herbal green than most offerings in this genre. Despite this, this fine, wellcarfted, highquality fragrance somehow feels as I have smelled it before, probably because of the similarities to LNd'O Vétyver which I experience in the basenotes. This slightly affects the rating of the fragrance.

Those who likes Eau de Rochas, Eau de Sisley 3, Annick Goutal Eau d'Hadrien and Hermès Eau de Cologne Orange Verte will probably also appreciate Eau Absolue.

Rating: 4

Notes: Bergamot, clementine, petitgrain, citron, Litsea Cubeba, geranium, vetiver,
bay leaf, pink peppercorn, cedarwood, musk, cistus labdanum

Thanks to Parfums Mona di Orio for a sample to try.

Tableau de Parfums (Andy Tauer) - Loretta

Picture: Loretta, the protagonist from the Brian Pera
"Womans Picture" movie Loretta

Loretta is a dark fruity floral oriental created by Andy Tauer for his line Tableau de Parfums. The parfumes in this line are created to match the characters in a serie of movies "Womans Picture" created by the filmmaker Brian Pera. Before Loretta the aldehydic Miriam has been released as also the very limited edition Dark Passage.

The story of the film is described as: "Loretta is a young woman who works as a maid at a motel. She is shy and withdrawn, but creates her own life in a fantasy world where she danced and falls in love with a man. She is sensual, sexy and seductive, but she has a secretive dark side."

Loretta starts with an accord dominated by sweet, almost jammy, dark ripe fruits where the plum is the prominent note. There are also  notes that reminds me of the scent of warm, dry and dusty leather accuented with a dry, dark and dusty touch of rose. As drying down, the dark plum takes even more the centerstage and further into the middlenotes the white flowers kicks in. First the orangeblossom dominates alterned by the tubereuse. The  farther in the dry down, the more the tubereuse becomes prominent to my nose. The tubereuse in Loretta is velvety, dark and thick, not transparent and light as a veil as in Jimmy Choo Flash reviewed earlier this week, the two fragrances are on the opposite sides on the scale. The tubereuse and the white flowers are sweetened by resins and by the dark jammy overripe plum even in the basenotes. There is also a hint of the typical  Andy Tauer labdanum-resin accord. 

Picture:Loretta in its unusual bottle.
Photo: PR  picture Tableau de Parfums

Loretta reminds me of fragrances like Rochas Femme (in swedish) with its dark plummy notes and dark flowers. The dusty and dry rose makes me think of Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Rose Etoile de Hollande as also the warm dusty note "dust on a lighted bulb" in Mona di Orio Carnation (short impressions in swedish). The dark, sweet, jammy notes of Loretta reminds me of another Tauer favorite Une Rose Vermeille (in swedish) a wonderful, sweet, bright lipstick red rose. To conclude, Loretta is a fragrance in the contemporary retro style, intriguing to wear, especially the earlier dry, dusty, plummy accords, comfortable but in the same time inspiring in the dark resinious basenotes. Loretta i suitable for the colder months but I'm convinced it will bloom beautiful also during warm and humid summerdays, as before and also after a thunderstorm.

Loretta is the perfect fragrance for those who like dark, mysterious and challenging flowers and as I'm among those, wearing Loretta was a real pleasure for me.

Rating: 5

Notes: Dark plum, fruit, aldehydes, rose, tubereuse, jasmine, orangeblossom, carnation, cinnamon, patchouli, ambergris, leather, sweetened orris root , woody/resinous notes, labdanum

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample of Loretta.

Best of 2012

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

When it comes to perfumereleases 2012 was a good year bringing some beautiful stuff to us Parfumistas.
Here are my top ten from what I have sampled of the 2012:s in no particular order:

Nuit Etoilée (Annick Goutal): NE was a growing liking for me, it unfolds it's full beauty in the summerheat.
Urban, woody-herbal to me.

Impossible Iris (Ramon Monegal): Probably this was released before 2012 but as the exceptional Ramon Monagal line was launched internationally this year I include it. An elegant iris that is amplified by a light berrynote and contrasting flowers. A harmonious blend.

Ivoire (Balmain): What a sucessful reformulation! I like this fruity and sparkling version even better than the stricter original galbanum-accentuated Edt which is a great classic.

Opardu (Puredistance) Dreamy, elegant, powdery lilac that captures the spirit of the Paul Poiret fashion of the 1910s. Already a classic in my book.

Chypre Palatin (Parfums MDCI): Retrostyled with the dry gunpowdernote that I appreciate so much. And some slight animalic notes lurking in the background.

Poudre de Riz (Huiteme Art): Boozy notes and subdued tropical flowers in a dry powdery context creates an elegant, retrostyled fragance.

Songe d'un Bois d'Ete (Guerlain): This wellbalanced spicy, leather, oud with a intricate note of jasmine and cardamom is my favourite of the Les Deserts de Orient trio. At the moment at least, Rose Nacree du Desert comes close and could take over some day.

Dama Bianca (XerJoff): Wellbalanced white flowers contrasted by a wheat-malt note over a beautiful base of vanilla. The elegant comfortscent of the year.

Oud Stars Al-Khatt (XerJoff): Elegant, creamy, white flowers with jasmine as mainplayer, interacting with a beautiful laotian oud. As Ubar in an oud-interpretation.

Rose Etoile de Hollande (Mona di Orio): A soft, dark, velvety, resiny, medium pink rose, retro in style. The last creation of Mona, named to her honour by her businesspartner Jeroen Oude Sogetoen.

Vero Kerns beautiful chypre Mito, the leather/tobacco Speakeasy (Frapin), the woody-spicy Bois Noir (Robert Piguet) and the Neela Vermeire Creations trio Bombay Bling, Trayeé and  Mohur should also be mentioned among the best of 2012.

If I had to choose just ONE it would be Opardu for its timeless features and its appearance. It's almost as I'm sniffing a classical floral-powdery Guerlain or even a classical Chanel in the style of No 22.

Top summerfragrances 2012

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Suddenly the bright and shining early summer month of June disappeared, the high summer month of July is over and sadly most of the summer is gone. Two weeks ago I also noticed the first signs of the late summer, the late evening suddenly was dark, not bright as in the beginning of the summer. One week ago the crickets started to play a true sign of the late summer. Fragrancewise I have worn just a few typical summerfragrances, most of the preferred ones up to day I enjoy the year around. Even if I almost sampling different fragrances and not have much time to wear my favourites, here they are for summer 2012:

Nuit Etoilée (Annick Goutal): Light herbal, slight smoky this one reminds me of a starry night in the asphaltjungle.

Cologne Friction (Parfums de Nicolaï): The ultimate, green, grassy, cologne for lazy summers. Perfect for vacation in the archipelago or just anywhere. And for looking at a game of tennis.

Corps et Ames Eau de Toilette Apaisante (Parfumerie Generale): A 1970s inspired chypre-light featuring the verbena note. An airy and bright interpretation of the original CeA Edp.

Rebel (Antonio Visconti): A soothing, refined patchouli with delicate notes of dark and dry chocolate.

Cristalle Edt (Chanel): There is (almost) nothing like this citrus-mossy classic when it's comes to summer casual chic.

Impossible Iris (Ramón Monegal): Year around elegant-chic. Has made a rapid career and is now among my most appreciated irises.

Rose Etoile de Hollande (Mona di Orio): Monas lovely rose is an olfactorial masterpiece is a multifacetted creation that reflects both the brightness and the dark sides of the rose.

Amoureuse (Parfums DelRae): Whith it's dark, almost decaying flowers blended with cardamon, Amoureuse is a beautiful gem suitable for alls seasons. Love it.

Ubar (Amouage): There is a golden shimmer surrounding the white flowers of this fine Amouage classic. Always right to wear in it's understated elegance, the quiet sister among Dia and Gold.

Black Oud (Montale): This classic dark rosy, leathery, patchuli oud becomes creamy in texture when worn in warm and humid weather. And never fails to attract compliments....

Mona di Orio - Les Nombres d'Or Rose Etoile de Hollande

Photo: Mr Parfumista (c)

Rose Etoile de Hollande is maybe not Monas last creation but as a formula that she has worked on for several years and was finished before her tragical death last December, it's a deserving tribute to a great perfumer. A perfumer that is my most preferred.

- Pink rose with some of the to the rose oils typical rubbernote in the top/early middlenotes, but the rubbernote is gentler than in for example Annick Goutals Rose Absolue a high quality rose soliflore.

-Later on in the developement REdH is like a almost dry not especially sweet gourmand scent. This stage reminds med of Andy Tauers wonderful Une Rose Vermeille (minus the sweet jammy rosiness). In it's texture and the feeling REdH is close to Les Nombres d'Or Musc with some powder (minus the crackling dry gunpowder powderness) from Les Nombres d'Or Ambre. In the base there is darker, spicy, resiny, velvety dry notes. A fine, gentle leather note is also shining through. In the last stages it feels retro in style, with dark and dramatic facets, like a well mannered Rochas Femme. There is also a slight dusty note that reminds me of the "dust on a glowing bulb" note (minus the glowing) in Monas first creation of her own house: Carnation.

- REdH appers to me as softer and gentler then many of the earlier Mona creations. The sillage is close, almost as a skinscent but with occasional wiffs of the beautiful, pink rose on it's deeper and darker background.

- REdH conveys the sensation of soft cashmere and angora to me. It's clearly feminine in style.

- I tested REdH in summer but I also think it will fit very well (if not even better) in the cold season. Tender but in the same time sparkling like a little far away twinkling dimond star a starry winternight. A star like Mona.

- Monas companion, Jeroen Oude Sogetoen, has dedicated the name Rose Etoile de Hollande to Mona. Mona is the Star of Holland, Holland where their perfumehouse is domiciled and also where Mona have her final restingplace.

- To summon it all up: I love this rose, it fullfilled my very high expectations, but as always I could trust Mona handling one of my favouritenotes. REdH is not as dark as I had expected but that is absolutly not a disadvantage. On the contrary, darker roses are often more rough in characher. This one goes from bright to medium on a dark, contrasting background, it's one of those fragrances that demands attention during the whole developement which to me is the essence of a fine perfume.

Rating: 5

Notes: Aldehydes, white peach, bergamot, rose, cloves, geranium, leather, patchouli, cedar, heliotrope, vanilla, benzoin, amber, peru balsam.

Thanks to Parfums Mona di Orio for sending me a sample to test. REdH is avaible at Aus Liebe zum Duft.