orange, originally uploaded by blaueaster.

There are two floral notes that remind me of a flower shop – carnations and freesias. There may be the occasional lily-of-the-valley in springtime that has scent in the flower shops too, but only these can be found almost year around, and actually have a scent besides flower-fridge-aroma. The other thing they have in common are their close relationship with spices – carnation’s eugenol makes it smell very much like cloves, and freesias have a generous dosage of freshly ground green and white peppers.

Dyptique’s Ofresia is a scent that just showed up in my mailbox one day, waiting to be appreciated. I liked it right away – for its simple freshness and pleasant presence. Without being ambitious, Ofresia is the best freesia I ever smelled, with all its peppery spiciness and green freshness. It is also sweetened with a very subdued vanilla base note, which is probably why it is one of the most wearable green perfumes I ever tried*. Ofresia is cheerful, dewy and lighthearted. It can make you feel like the orange background of the photo above, or like freshly ground white and green garden.

* I seldom reach for green perfumes. I love green scents in nature, but when bottled, I often have an adverse reaction to extreme greenness, despite my efforts to make peace with them.

Whale Watch, originally uploaded by Weffie.

Things you may find while passing might be the least expected. I passed through to smell the lilacs of En Passant, and in a short snatch, a-la the chess maneuver by the same name, I found myself searching for whales on a misty day on the Sait Laurent river… Unsuccessfully, needless to say, but enjoying the fjords and the moist mist…
The heady, innocent and slightly powdery spring-like scent of white lilac quickly leads my nose to the subtly fragrant branches and stems bearing blossom-vines. These transform into an olfactory green fig leaf scent, and than in a split of a second you find out that you just jumped, head first, into a chilly ocean – smelling the fresh air of the ocean breeze, with its slight saltiness, and the clean, fine mist meeting your face as you watch for whales on the fast-loating boat…

With notes of white lilac, cucumber and wheat, Olivia Giacobetti has created an abstract lilac perfume that is more of a subjective interpretation of the flower rather than an effort to re-create the scent of the fresh blossom. Its ozone and marine cucumber notes are not my personal favourite and the wheat adds to a certain flour-y powdery yet green nuance that is nevertheless interesting and original on its own. However, the result of the final drydown is surprisingly disappointing in its ozonic-oceanism and its reference to l’Eau d’Issey of all perfumes.

Top notes: White Lilac
Heart notes: Fig, Cucumber
Base notes: Water, Wheat, Violet Leaf

Fall-In, originally uploaded by Ya Ya.

Today was unusually hot, and I was wearing Ormond Jayne’s Frangipani Absolute: A light and much less sultry and creamy interpretation of the magical tropical paradise flower.

Frangipani starts with a breath of citrus and with linden blossom which together resembles faintly the unusual scent of pomelo blossoms. The head notes quickly give way to the green-waxy scent of the pure frangipani absolute. You will not find any of the creamy fruitiness that the fresh flowers possess, none of the sun-dreaming coconut Tropicana with lays of flowers and sun warmed exotic skin. Rather, this is a tame fresh floral of a frangipani bush blooming in a Northern garden illustrated by cool bubbling brooks and structured paths – where you can get a muted whiff of the tropical flower and admire its whiteness.

Water lilies at the heart give a modern and watery twist and a hint of jasmine adds just a smidgeon of depth as well as a forgiving impression of narcissus (narcissi can be very cloying to the point of stench when are smelled from a gunpoint). The base, besides the signature Ormonde Jayne musk, consists mainly of cedar, which adds a dry quality that makes Frangipani Absolute so wearable in the hot sun…
Overall, it is a rather light and quite heady floral – however, delicate enough so that those who shriek to the sound of the high pitched floral arias will like or at least be able to listen to the song till the last notes. If you love the seriousness and complex forms of Beethoven you may get bored though with the ease and light heartedness and simple melody of this Mozartesque perfume. It’s fresh and never cloying and is very pretty, however – at the same time also feels distant and a bit too abstract. In Frangipani Absolute, it is almost as if the perfumer describes the whiteness of the flower rather than its scent.

Top notes: Linden Blossom, Magnolia Flower, Lime Peel
Heart notes: White Frangipani Absolute, Jasmine, Rose absolute, Tuberose absolute,
Water Lily, Plum, Green Orchid oil
Base notes: Amber, Musk, Cedar, French Vanilla absolute

p.s. Please note that the flowers in the picture are NOT frangipani. These are jasmine flowers.