The Ten Best Fragrances of 2021 from CaFleureBon Deputy and natural Perfumery Editor Ida Meister and Sr Editor Lauryn Beer were very different from each other and included many natural perfumes, Italian fragrances and perfumes from the U.K. as wel as American artisans
A limited edition, Sarah Horowitz-Thran Tapestry for American Perfumer smells like a concatenation of the lovingly familiar and the unexpected; it manages to evoke the sort of fragrance Sarah would compose, while incorporating an element of risk. It is this contrast which creates a finely nuanced and intriguing perfume which feels perfect for the current season. I feel that her description of a tapestry woven in rich, deep shades of amber and green is spot-on in its accuracy.
Phoenix Botanicals Water Nymph by Irina Adam is hypnotically, strangely beautiful and completely its own fanciful creature brought to life in a photorealistic sense.
Jo Malone Silver Birch & Lavender personifies Coco Chanel’s opinion that simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance – pristine in an argentine fashion, all shimmer and sleek freshness. A well-tailored item retains its value, and in the skilled hands of senior perfumer Yann Vasnier of Givaudan, this cologne not only mirrors the crispness of the season, it will work perfectly well year ‘round: tonic in spring, refreshing in summer, and elegiac in the autumn.
Aftelier Perfumes Joie de Vert is akin to being lured into the forest initially by the song of the woodthrush, only to discover that it has flown and now you are being serenaded by the owl as daylight retires.
With Euan McCall’s newest perfumes, Jorum Studio Elegy and Pentimento, one feels a wistful nostalgia which saturates them each with a luxurious neo-classicism bordering on tender melancholy. They couldn’t be more different from one another – which constitutes part of their charm.
