Diptyque Eau d'Elide

Five years ago I completely dismissed Eau d'Elide. I went through the sample March of the Posse sent me, trying to figure it out, but could smell nothing but candied bitter orange and weirdness. Months later I woke up with the memory of Eau d'Elide in my head and nose, and not only did I get it, I was craving this odd perfume. A bottle was quickly purchased and all was well in my world. Then came the big mayhem of 2008 and Diptyque discontinued four of their most unusual (and under-performing) perfumes, including Eau d'Elide.



Diptyque released  Eau d'Elide in 1988, which should help us all appreciate it even more. Can you even imagine this oddball in the same universe with Eternity and Cool Water?  I would have loved to see my 18 year old self smelling Elide then for the first time (that year I wore Tamango by Leonard and Ted Lapidus Creation).



Eau d'Elide walk a fine line between being very foody and very outdoorsy. The candied orange peels here were cooked in lavender honey and were sprinkled with lavender sugar, instead of my mother's homemade vanilla sugar. Well, maybe there is some vanilla there. A whole unbroken bean. There are other aromatics there, with a sharp Mediterranean edge. I'm pretty sure I can smell thyme (or is it thyme honey?) and marjoram. Maybe a wild oregano, slightly dried in the punishing sun of a summer afternoon.



With all the candied fruit and honey you'd think Eau d'Elide is horribly sweet and cloying. It isn't, and it's not even feminine. This perfume is somewhat linear, which is probably a good thing considering how unusual it smells as it is, straight from the bottle. One needs to get used to the bitterness, dried herbs and candy.I can't blame Diptyque too much for discontinuing Elide, as I can't imagine it being a big or even medium seller. But I am sad this beauty was taken away from us (well, other than my lifetime supply, that is).



Notes (from the Perfumed Court, where samples and decants are still available): bitter orange, wild lavender, musk and aromatic shrubs.



Photo: mylovelylife-blog.blogspot.com

Copyright ©2006-2011 Gaia Fishler, The Non-Blonde. Content poaching is both illegal and ugly.

Parfums Monsillage- Ipanema Posto Nove

The best thing I found in Montreal (other than some fabulous patisseries) was Parfums Monsillage. A local perfume house that currently offers four fragrances. I came home with a bottle of Aviation Club and samples of the others. I have a feeling this is not the end of it.



Ipanema Posto Nove was inspired by the orchid sanctuary in the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden. It's a rich summer perfume, sweet and tropical, without crossing the lines into fruity-floral vulgarity and other perfume cliches. I guess it's the violet, sheer but prominent, that keeps things ladylike. It doesn't hurt that Ipanema Posto Nove smells of quality and a sure hand that created it. Violet perfumes often remind one classic perfumes of yore, but this Monsillage creation is very modern and is not likely to cause mayhem at the office.

I've been enjoying Ipanema Posto Nove the last couple of weeks. It's pretty and lovable and hits a similar spot for me as Uncle Serge's Nuit de Cellophane, only with violet. Monsillage perfumes, other than the eau de cologne-type Eau Fraiche are very long lasting on me and have a decent yet inoffensive sillage. I've been happily marinating in my milky violet bubble. It was the equivalent of a pretty floral sundress.



Notes: jasmine, rose, clove, coconut milk, violet, rosewood, mandarin, sweet fern, patchouli, cedar, incense



Ipanema Posto Nove by Parfums Monsillage ($95, 1.7 oz  EDT) is available from monsillage.com (payment accepted through PayPal) and in select locations as listed on the website.



Art: Cattleya Orchid And Three Brazilian Hummingbirds by Martin Johnson Heade

Copyright ©2006-2011 Gaia Fishler, The Non-Blonde. Content poaching is both illegal and ugly.

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Flora Nerolia

When Gueralin released Aqua Allegoria Flora Nerolia in 2000, the ad campaign said something about "The New Emotion". Someone who's only familiar with the newer part of the Aqua Allegoria line would probably raise an eyebrow, as very few of these perfumes seem to have any emotion going on, let alone a new one. But Flora Nerolia, a Mathilde Laurent creation (later attributed to Jean Paul Guerlain), has enough personality and, yes, even emotion to offer.



Flora Nerolia opens with a nice and rich neroli note. It's not quite as thick and sweet as the legendary one from L'Occitane, but enough to be both sunny, honeyed and satisfying. But soon things change in unexpected directions. Full bodied (and then some) jasmine, heady and more than a little indolic. It's a heat of the night kind of thing; quite voluptuous. However, if you think you know where Flora Nerolia is going, think again. There's a bunch of ideas going on there all at once- from honeysuckle and vintage French soap to incense, cold and churchy. All that, while there's still a lot of naughty jasmine playing its game on warm skin.



So, what is the new emotion promised by Guerlain (and am I the only one who wonders if they took this line from Here Comes The Rain Again by Eurythmics)? Actually, I'm not sure if the emotion is so new. The playful battle between sacred and profane, pure and filthy was not invented by Guerlain perfumers. But they did give it a fun and wearable interpretation, that was sadly discontinued by the Powers That Be several years ago.



For another review of Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Flora Nerolia see Perfume Shrine.

Photos of Madonna from her Like A Virgin video, found somewhere on the web. The Eurythmycs clip is from a 2007 live show. I think its phenomenal . The original that rocked my 13 year old world is here.

Copyright ©2006-2011 Gaia Fishler, The Non-Blonde. Content poaching is both illegal and ugly.

Profumum- Arso

When my scent twin, Tom, sniffed Arso by Profumum his socks remained firmly on his feet. The combination of smoke, cedar, leather and incense reminded him of a few too many other perfumes he and I already own. Tom mentions Annick Goutal's Encense Flamboyant; I'd also add CdG Zagorsk and layer with Knize Ten or even Etro Gomma. The thing is that Arso is pretty awesome. Seriously, smoke, incense and leather- where do I sign up and sell the kidney?



But Tom is right. Arso is well-made, smells like a million dollar, but even for the leather enthusiasts, there has to be something new that will send our hands to our wallets. And at this point of scent accumulation, Profumum isn't giving us that extra nudge, especially since the dry-down of Arso is more cedar and clean pine than anything else and I actually get the urge to infuse it with something far more wicked, such as Mona di Orio Cuir.



Arso is classified on Luckyscent website as a very masculine perfume. It definitely would smell gorgeous on a man (sorry, Honey, I used up almost all the samples), but my fellow smoke and leather-minded women who love to indulge would have a great time sampling Arso. But in the end of the day, I'd recommend to go with Mona's Cuir.



Arso by Profumum ($240, 100ml EDP) is available from Luckyscent.



Photo: Life.com, 1957

Copyright ©2006-2011 Gaia Fishler, The Non-Blonde. Content poaching is both illegal and ugly.