I think the best series of flankers going has been the Thierry Mugler A*Men Pure series. Starting in 2008 with A*Men Pure Coffee it was followed by Pure Malt and Pure Havane. The fourth entry is out and it is called A*Men Pure Shot and the name and the A*Men base is where the similarity ends.
1999’s Chanel Allure Homme is still one of my favorite men’s mainstream fragrances. I was split on the two subsequent flankers Allure Homme Sport and Allure Homme Edition Blanche. Now the third flanker is here which seems to be a flanker of a flanker; Allure Homme Sport Eau Extreme.
Hermes’ in-house perfumer (M. Ellena) has captured the essence of many of perfumery’s most used “notes” in light and ephemeral creations called the Hermessences. What Jean Claude has done (and rather well, I might add) is to create “perfumed haikus” or poetry in a bottle.
Last year I was introduced to the scents of Jane Cate, of A Wing & A Prayer Perfumes, who was awarded the title of Rising Star in Natural Perfumery 2011 by CaFleureBon. What I like about Jane’s fragrances is that although they are definitely natural, they are an embodiment of Nature herself.
In Oud Shamash M Duchaufour wanted to create a sensual masculine and I thought he succeeded. You might think Oud For Love would be the flip side of that and an intensely floral heart could lead you to believe that was what he was shooting for. As I wore Oud For Love I found it more a study in three acts to see what different sets of notes could bring out from the oud.
In Part 1 I mentioned that Keiko Mecheri’s new Bespoke collection is perhaps the most individually unique set of perfumes she has created. In Part 2 I’ll review the remaining four fragrances Cuir Fauve, Soussanne, Tangeri, and Vetiver Velours.
