Frances Shoemack and Isaac Sinclair of Abel Perfumes
From Vintner to Perfumer is not that big a leap if you think about it. Both depend on growth seasons and the fickleness of Mother Nature, both use “profiles” and “notes” to describe products. Without your sense of smell, the taste of wine wouldn’t exist, and both end products can be forgettable or sublime; dependent on ingredients, weather, and the finesse, skill, and grace of the Winemaker/Perfumer.
Abel Perfumes Golden Neroli, White Vetiver, Cobalt Amber, Gray Labdanum, Red Santal and Green Cedar
At the September 2017 Pitti Fragrance Fair in Florence Italy, indispensable and knowledgeable Çafleurebon writers Ermano Picco and Danu Seith-Fyr extolled the exquisite creations of Abel Perfumes, a new Amsterdam-via-Australia-via-New Zealand collection. Company owner and former winemaker Frances Shoemack (she shares winemaking with our Contributor Danu-Seith Fyr) collaborated with perfumer Isaac Sinclair (a student of Master Perfumer Maurice Roucel) to create Abel Perfumes, an inaugural line of five100% naturals and the new Green Cedar released this year. And if you have any doubts about the tenacity and staying power of natural scents, Abel Perfumes is here to school you with these three non-gender specific fragrances, that are now available in the USA!!!.
Detail from a painting by Sr. Editor Gail Gross©
Cobalt Amber (2016):“Midnight in Paris meets Copenhagen chic. Sensual and elegant on women, leathery musk on men. Perfect for either, best by night.”Chic indeed. Wearing Abel Perfumes Cobalt Amber, a contemporary riff on amber is akin to walking on a warm beach where the sand is dazzling white and powdery soft. This spicy and beautiful amber-based Eau De Parfum, with its cooling gin martini note of juniper, warmed by the inky depth of cacao and tonka, would not be out of place under an umbrella at an oceanfront resort, or strolling the quayside promenade on a balmy summers eve. The epitome of chill amber. Apply some on each pulse point and watch your lover lap it up like a kitten who found the cream.Notes: pink pepper, cardamom, juniper berry, cacao, tonka bean, Peru balsam, amber.
Art by Sr. Editor Gail Gross©
Red Santal (2016):“Fire blazing in the dark, glowing, winter gardens full of heaving darcey bussell roses, Sicily in January….”Abel Perfume’s Red Santal is hands down, sandalwood done right. Warm and enveloping yet cool as a Caribbean breeze, Red Santal is smooth like a Marvin Gaye ballad that rocks you right down to your soul. The cloves and pepper keep things spicy and the bergamot adds just the right amount of zing that’ll keep you going like an energizer bunny. It is both sensual and meditative, and a true joy to wear. Notes: Clove bud, black and pink pepper, bergamot, ginger, thyme, East Indian, West Indies, and Australian sandalwood.
Photo by Sr. Editor Gail Gross
Abel Perfumes Green Cedar (2018): “A southern escape, and those sounds, the sounds of this place, echoing in my mind, velvet curtains hiding the stage, lack of light, radiant shadows, perfect melancholia, embraced…”. Like opening an aromatic hope chest stowed in a cool basement, dust motes swirling and waltzing in faint beams of sunlight, Abel Perfumes Green Cedar is a cool wood-filled breath of fresh air. Our small island house is surrounded by both Cedar and Madrone trees, and there is something holy and other-worldly in their presence. Cedar has been beloved and venerated since the time of the North Coast First Nations people, used in cleansing rituals, meditations, and as we still do, brought into the house; their aromatic needles filling our rooms. Green Cedar captures the very essence of the natural world, and wearing it is akin to anointing your skin with the life-force of the forest. Notes: Magnolia, cardamom, guiac wood, cypriol, Texas & Atlas Mountain Cedar.
Disclosure: Many thanks to Indigo Perfumery for the samples. The opinions are my own.
–Robert Herrmann, Senior Editor
-Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief who thanks Sr. Editor Gail Gross for the use of her paintings and photos!
You can find Abel Perfumes at Indigo Perfumery and at Twisted Lily. Read Danu’s reviews here
Thanks to our friends at Abel Perfumes we have one 50 ml bottle of Abel Perfumes Green Cedar, Cobalt Amber or Red Santal (reader’s choice)
or
a sample set of five Abel Perfumes (includes Abel Perfumes Gold Neroli, Grey Labdanum, Red Santal and White Vetiver only) for one registered reader anywhere in the world , so be sure to register if you have not done so. To be eligible please let us know what appeals to you about Robert’s review of Abel Perfumes Green Cedar, Cobalt Amber and Red Santal, where you live and which you would choose should you win (50 ml or the sampler). Draw closes August 5, 2018.
We announce the winners only on our website or on our FaceBook Page and use our Blog feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.