The year that was 2020, is drawing to a close and in spite of all the friends and family we cannot  hug, natural disasters and Covid, the year brought us excellent perfumes. We look ahead to 2021 and hope.

Elena’s  2020 Top Ten Fragrances

 

Time felt so strange in 2020. It started out quite confusing, March felt to me like a never ending catastrophe scenario I was trapped in: experience of a full Covid lockdown 5.5. Richter earthquake is priceless, April like a blur, May ended before it begun, and Summer…where did Summer go? The rest of the months following dragged me to the end of this horrid year. As I floated through 2020, at first I had an impression that I didn’t get to smell to many new releases. Later on, when I checked out lists of perfumes launched, I realized that, all things considered, I did well. And yes, 2020 did bring us some fragrances to remember! Here is the list of fragrances I clung to, and I hope you have found your comfort-in-the-bottle too.

 Olivier Durbano Aram (Olivier Durbano): Aram – the newest addition to the One Alchemy Collection by Olivier Durbano smells like hope to me. It soothes my soul with green tea, vetiver, and rose, hugs me closely with inevitable incense and resins, and gently eases my mind taking me to ever-shifting sand hills made of dreams. Timeless, and guaranteed to lift your soul up. Hope in a bottle.

 Miguel Matos Perfumes Fado Jasmim  (Miguel Matos): Saudade. That feeling that’s hard to describe in any language other than Portuguese, a mixture of longing for things that were, might have been, never happened, and those we hope for. And Fado, a profoundly melancholic expression of one’s soul: this is what Miguel Matos gives us in a perfume that swept me away by a trembling Grandiflorum ranging from the floral, fruity and bright, to dark, well-restrained but still expressive animalic-leaning tones. So authentic, and touching.

 DSH Perfumes L’Or(ris) (Dawn Spencer-Hurwitz): My catnip of the year, highly addictive in the most positive way. An iris gilded with gold, sparkling with optimism in the opening, and featuring a heart of gold: a rich orris that’s velvety and opulent, embraced by jasmine and angelica is bound to make you smile, and later development is simply heartwarming. I was so struck by that sheer happiness L’Or(ris) made me feel that I had no other perfume on my mind for a couple of weeks, pulling out the small vial I kept in my pocket at all times. Contagiously optimistic.

 Masque Milano Madeleine (Fanny Bal):What looks like crisis to some, some turn into an opportunity. Masque Milano managed to develop and launch four perfumes this year, to overcome barriers of distance and social distancing by organizing on-line live launches with attendees from all over the world, and to change my mind (it happens, sometimes) – about gourmands. Madeleine (Le Donne di Masque Collection) is delicious in the most elegant and refined way. It’s all about joi de vivre filled with olfactory delights, with the most delicious tuberose, a lovely bouquet of white flowers, and Mont Blanc pastries with an amazing chestnut accord. My Proustian remembrance of all good things past, bringing back sweet memories. Beautiful, and a great example of great usage of aldehydes used to enhance florals, handled with style.

photo Roberto Greco

Perris Monte Carlo Mimosa Tanneron (Jean Claude Ellena): Mimosas were in this year, and what this year brought to me is a new-found love for mimosa-themed fragrances. One in particular was the trigger: Mimosa Tanneron, (Les Parfums de Grasse) a sample of which I held to like to the last rays of sunshine ever. Because it reminded me of the times spent in Grasse and its surroundings, because it shines like a diamond, with carefully cut facetes by a steady hand of a master perfumer. It is fluffy, without being overly powdery, sensual in it’s au naturel appearance, and glowing softly in the drydown. Country roads of Tanneron – take me there! Sunshine, sunshine, even in gloomiest days.

St. Clair Scents Pharaoh’s Passion (Diane St. Clair): I sailed down the Nile from Aswan to Luxor and back aboard a slow, cruise ship in less days than it took for this well-travelled sample to arrive to my address. Postal services suffered a lot in 2020, and this new release from Diane St. Clair reached me months after it was launched. Pharaoh’s Passion, inspired by Cleopatra – a woman that ruled Egypt as a pharaoh is linked to a discovery made in 2019, of an archeological site that was allegedly a perfume factory. Jars were found, with traces of aromatic oils, and Diane St. Clair made an opulent impression of what Cleopatra might have smelled like! Spices, florals, herbs, luxurious opulence, and smooth woods: Pharaoh’s Passion is mysterious like places yet unvisited, alluring like memories of those you travelled to and fell in love, and royally exuberant.

Roberto Greco Porter Sa Peau – L’Objet Parfumant (Rodrigo Flores-Roux): Wearing One’s Skin is emotional, so heartbreakingly human. Exposing it, even more. It’s sometimes joyful and heavenly easy, and sometimes torturous. Always amazing, because life IS beautiful. Porter sa peau immediately upon smelling it for the first time went high on my The Best of 2020 list: the beauty of this composition left me breathless. Rodrigo Flores-Roux skillfully plays with different textures of musks, ranging from light and salty to warm and cuddly, and again, I’m thrilled by aldehydes handled with style. The duality of narcissus is superbly brought forward, and the push-and-pull sensation of radiance and warmth, softness and animalic tones is balanced elegantly.

Puredistance Rubikona (Cécile Zarokian):Elegant, as Puredistance tends to be with all the perfumes in their collection, but this time with Cecile’s skills tuned to perfection: Rubikona is definitely reflecting the brand’s line – timeless elegance, and burgundy-ruby colour as a theme. Its refinement is elaborate, accords and notes that constitute a wonderful floral bouquet placed at the center are blended with surgical precision. Above all – it is a beautiful neo-chypre with multifaceted floral aspects, refined sensuality of spices and a deeply warming soul made of patchouli. Elegance and opulence that makes you shine from inside out, even in your PJ’s during long, lockdown nights.

Cafleurebon 10th AnniversaryAntonio Alessandria ParfumsRusty Vibes (Antonio Alessandro): Antonio created Rusty Vibes as the fourth bespoke fragrance for Cafleurebon’s 10th anniversary, and it is divine! All elements clicked perfectly: an inspiration – photos by Alex C. Musgrave, the artistic expression characteristic for Antonio, and high quality of materials used. Original, expressive, and emotional, Rusty Vibes is a perfume that portraits life, translated by using forms that paint olfactory portrait of all things blooming at first, to fruits of blossoms, and then to first signs of decay, a rustiness that’s so comforting, like sunset’s of perfect summer days that make you feel complete. Beautiful.

Francesca Bianchi Perfumes Tyger Tyger(Francesca Bianchi): Just recently released, and it made my Top 10 list: if you wonder why I didn’t choose Sticky Fingers or Cuir Soyeaux (and that was a very tight race to the moment of handing this text in), I’ll elaborate. Because of Zeitgeist. And because of how Francesca handled the material she admitted to being a bit insecure of up to now. Tyger Tyger feels like Tina Turner singing We don’t need another hero (Beyond Thunderdome) in Mad Max 3 (Aunty Entity) – a villain that’s scary and beautiful at the same time, a warrior woman ruling through reason, fair – but also ruthless when necessary. Tyger Tyger – with it’s „post-apocalyptical tuberose“ fits that imagery perfectly: Francesca Bianchi has created a monster, tamed it, and put white flowers in it’s mouth to chew on. And it purrs, it’s breath smelling of honey and peach, later settling down to a smooth chypre accord. A confidence-boosting survivor-scent that’s easy to wear.

Elena Cvjetkovic, Editor and Author of The Plum Girl

Photos by Elena Cvjetkovic and brands mentioned.

Nicoleta’s 2020 Top Ten Fragrances 

As 2020 draws to a close, we hope you enjoyed our retros. Even if our brains are just 2% of our body weight, the brain consumes half of our daily carbohydrate requirements, glucose being its most important fuel. Under high levels of stress, the brain requires up to 12% more energy, leading us straight to the cookie jar. No wonder my 2020 list of perfumes is made (almost entirely) out of gourmand scents. This year I have stepped away from my beloved resins, patchouli, and “church-type” scents and have ventured far beyond my comfort zone – into the very comfortable and indulgent realm of gourmands. Almost exclusively, my list for 2020 is composed of comforting gourmands, (of course, with a few exceptions, for extra spice).

So, here are my 2020 Top Ten Fragrances perfumes, in totally random order (and I am sure I will remember others, immediately after I press send).

Francesca Bianchi Sticky Fingers: it’s not often that I buy a perfume IMMEDIATELY after sampling it, but it was the case with Francesca’s Sticky Fingers, as I needed to connect to its raw energy as soon as first sniffed it. For all of us who hoped the apocalypse would be more Mad Max in leather and less Couch Potato in fluffy pajamas, Sticky Fingers was the middle finger manifesto to the reality of 2020 and a fabulous escape to a parallel universe where everything feels badass and cool. Thank you for this one, Francesca!

Ormonde Jayne Tanger:“La Route de Soie” is the series of 7 fragrances created by Linda Pilkington to celebrate 20 years of successful activity. The whole series is an interconnected experience of evocative, cinematic, and beautiful perfumes, made out of liquid wanderlust. My favorite: Tanger – a fragrance that seems simple in construction (happy sunny bright neroli – bergamot- ylang – amber combo) but complex and deep in effect, as it has an uncanny ability to be a “blank slate” of positive energy you can draw from.

 

Francesca dell’Oro Need a name: I feel connected to many of Francesca dell’Oro creations – Page 29 and Envoutant being long time favorites. Need a name is a wonderful warm spicy number that plays on contrasts – being both cozy (woods, jasmine, pepper) and also filled with adrenaline (zesty lemon, mandarin, and grapefruit). The fragrance has a sensual vagueness about it as it taps into a certain kind of olfactive nostalgia mixed with happiness that I love to explore.

Maison Tahité – Officine Creative Profumi Vanilla2 : Maison Tahité has picked one of the most versatile and complex notes to base its fragrant portfolio on – vanilla. If Sel_Vanille is a very original, salty, aquatic take on vanilla, I adored Vanilla2 for its “more IS more” construction: a deeply deep gourmand, with an extra sweet dimension of delicious pralines, balanced by a relaxing talcum powder note. Overdose of sweet indulgence, yes, please!

Masque Milano Madeleine (Fanny Bal:) A very posh dessert is at the center of Madeleine’s composition: the delicious Mont Blanc pastry (a sweetened chestnut puree topped with whipped cream). The milky sweetness is surrounded by a floral elegant bouquet and powdery almondy notes and tied together with vanilla to create a sophisticated, modern, and exceptionally well-tailored gourmand. A must-try.

 

Zara’s  “A sweet pastry in Paris” (Artisan collection 2020):  Winter is coming. Bring forth ye creamy gourmands! If you crave an uncomplicated delicious vanilla lemony treat, give this Nathalie Lorson creation a go. The notes are simple as the recipe for Sansa’s famous lemon cakes: sugar, lemon and vanilla. Absolutely delicious fragrance at a deliciously friendly price.

Der Duft  Monopteros (Anselm Skogstad): One of the coolest brands I had the pleasure of discovering in 2020 – Der Duft (click here to read about Bubble and here for Cinematic) Monopteros is a conceptual perfume done without the over-conceptualization stiff-upper-lip aura about it. Notes are a bit scary, I must admit, but the result is a sheer joy to experience on the skin, balancing between sweet and spicy, airy and deep, keeping your senses on edge and veering away from conventional. It’s coherent, unusual, free, fun, and ORIGINAL.

Sarah Baker Perfumes Flame & Fortune (Sarah Baker):  Feel the sudden urge to quote Metallica here:  “Give me fuel, give me fire / Give me that which I desire, ooh!” A seemingly innocent oriental – floral, drunk on Mezcal, (no worm in sight) sets fire to the flower shop. Motor oil, burning bouquets, labdanum, charred fruits, spices, and citrus peel. It’s dramatic, it’s cool, it’s smokin’ but still has this proper, almost angelic attitude of “Who, meee?” –Nicoleta Tomsa, Editor 

ÇaFleureBon 2020 Top Ten Fragrances Draw:

Thanks to the generosity of one of our Hall of Fame awardees, Olivier Durbano there is a draw for one registered reader for one registered reader of  15 ml of Olivier Durbano Aram if you reside in the U.S., Canada , UK or the EU. What did you think of Elena’s 2-020 Top Ten Fragrances and  your thoughts on Nicoleta’s top perfumes 2020. Draw closes  January 1, 2021

Follow us on Instagram: @cafleurebon  @theplumgirl @nicoleta.tomsa

Part 1: Michelyn and Ermano: Overview of the “Best of Scents 2020” (there are still draws open here)

Part 2. Michelyn and Ermano: Top Ten Fragrances 2020  (Draws open here)

Part 3.  Ida and Despina: Top Teen Fragrances 2020 (Draws open here)

Part 4. Lauryn and Dana: Top Ten Fragrances 2020  (Draws open here)

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We announce the winners only on our site and on our Facebook page, so like CaFleureBon and use our blog feed, or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume