Five Perfume Resolutions for 2023
Last year I had a plan. And a guide. An introverted’s guide to New Year’s Eve. Starring Ormonde Jayne (Ormonde Woman), Atelier des Ors (Lune Feline), Der Duft (Bubble), Xerjoff (Pikovaya Dama) & Sticky Fingers from Francesca Bianchi, the guide was published here, on CaFleureBon one year ago and is still very much valid.
This year, I thought I would make just some minor changes to my picks, and turn them into five perfume resolutions for 2023:
Perfume Resolutions for 2023 #1: Experiment, open your mind and nose
Ormonde Jayne Prive official image
“Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better” goes Beckett’s mantra. I pride myself on always keeping an open mind when it comes to fragrance. But do I open my soul to things my rational side refuses? Hmm, not so often. Besides roses, which I absolutely adore, I have always approached florals from a safe distance, seduced by their versatility, always willing to learn about them, but somehow always thinking in the back of my mind that florals are for me just to admire but never love. Ormonde Woman from Ormonde Jayne, my pick for last year is my mysterious witchy potion that contains everything that I love in a fragrance: warm spices, deep green mossy woods, and a dusky darkness veil of comforting familiarity.
AI generated image, Midjourney and photoshop by Nicoleta
Stepping away from the path always traveled, my resolution this year carries me to the flowery meadows, so my pick is Prive (created in 2018 by Linda Pilkington), that was a blind buy, on a whim, that I was sure I was going to pass forward and gift to a friend after maximum 2 uses. But surprise! Prive is a silky veil of perfectly rendered flowers, so eerily flawless, they seem to be an AI-generated bouquet that never withers.
Notes: Notes: Basmati Rice, Green Mandarin Oil, Neroli, Russian Coriander Seed, Freesia, Petitgrain Oil, Bergamot, Pink Pepper, Osmanthus Absolute, Magnolia Absolute, Champaca, Violet Accord, Ginger, Lily of the Valley, Blackcurrant, French Clary Sage, Jasmine Absolute, Gardenia Absolute, Orris Butter, Timbersilk, Vanilla Absolute, Musk, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean Absolute, Ambroxan
Five Perfume Resolutions for 2023 #2: Not everything has to be complicated. Learn to have fun!
Atelier des Ors PINK ME UP official image
Last year, my choice from Atelier des Ors was Lune Feline – a resinous, woody, dark, intensely sensual, and deeply satisfying dose of smoke that lit the same pleasure nerves as smoking once did. Guilt-free. This year, Atelier des Ors made my choice so easy with Pink Me Up. (Marie Salamagne, 2022). Pink me up is a frivolously delicious cup of champagne bursting at the seams with blackberry and roses. Plus it has gold particles. Inside the pink bottle! (insert “it’s so fluffy pretty I’m gonna die” audible here). Hedonistic, sparkly, loud, fun, and more bubbly than a teenage werewolf girl wearing pink Dr. Martens, this one is an invitation not to take anything too seriously and just have some fun.
Notes: Bergamot, orange flower petals, champagne NaturePrint©, Rose Centifolia, Blackberry, Iris, Patchouli, Musk.
Perfume Resolutions for 2023 #3: Use fragrance as a mood booster.
Der Duft Privilege, official image
Instead of the fizz of champagne and Bubble(s), this year I chose Der Duft Privilege (Nathalie Feisthauer, 2022) that Michelyn described as a path to an imaginary happy place in the Best of 2022 awards and in Karl’s top 10 as “Nature in abstraction”. I absolutely agree – this is an instant pick-me-up, elevate my spirit, bubble (sorry, I just had to slip in the pun) of comfort & joy that summons a haven that smells of fruits, soft woods, and musk.
Notes: Vegetal notes, Galbanum, Carrot seed, Blackcurrant, Rhubarb, Marine notes, Mineral notes, Lily of the valley, Iris, Cedarwood, Paraguayan guaiac wood, Palo Santo, Haitian Amyris, Ambroxan, Cashmeran, Ambrette, Musk
Xerjoff Marquee image courtesy of the brand
Perfume Resolutions for 2023 #4 Life’s short. Ride those unicorns!
Leaving behind the Ice Queen diamond cold elegance of Xerjoff Pikovaya Dama, which I only wear on carefully curated occasions and with very specific outfits, as I feel I have to “match” its energy, this year I say nope! I choose Marquee (2012)- an atmospheric potion with secret notes that elevates any Greta Garbo-ish “I want to be alone” pouty mood into an “all lights on me” unapologetically glamorous diva moment. So I plan to wear my rare and precious unicorns even when I’m in my Slavic Adidas tracksuit.
Perfume Resolutions for 2023 #5: Talk about what you love. Spread your light. Spay it Forward
Francesca Bianchi, Under my skin, official image
“Are my thoughts
revealed to others?
I dreamed my jeweled comb box
was open to the light.”
(Lady Otomo No Sakanoe)
Any declarative and public display of affection feels as “natural and effortless” to me as Data dancing without his updates synced to the mothership. Talking about my love for certain perfumes leaves me feeling as uncomfortable as having pages of my diary open, for everyone to see, and I usually quote Neruda’s poem: “I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul” when refusing to elaborate on certain topics. And although I understand that my inability of talking about my feeling without making jokes is a coping mechanism, it’s still difficult to make significant progress. For example, my favorite perfume of all time, my alfa and omega, is Magie Noire from Lancome – a perfume I still find impossible to put into words. Also, it was hard to write about Dolce Vita as that review is more of a trip down memory lane, and trying to unravel Black Orchid was more of an exercise of introspection. Overall, the last year was a concentrated dose of “exposure therapy” for me – in more areas than one – but only by taking the path less traveled, comes growth and light. And light can not only be maintained, but spread, I’ve gratefully learned. Previously, I chose the escapist Blade Runner-type irreverence of Sticky Fingers. This year I turned, again, to the magic (SUR)realism of Under my Skin, a perfume that has been my skin of choice for more years than I care to count, a perfume that raises mirrors, lights matches in the dark and makes you look. “I offer you explanations of yourself, theories about yourself, authentic and surprising news of yourself.”
Notes: grapefruit, lavender, black pepper, spices, Bulgarian rose, carnation, iris butter, musk, castoreum, ambergris, leather accord, costus, tonka bean, tolu balsam, Peru balsam, sandal Mysore, vanilla, tree moss.
May 2023 be a great scented adventure.
Nicoleta Tomsa, Senior Editor
Disclosure: All perfumes from my collection (except for Privilege, received from Der Duft, thank you so much!)
Photo of Nicoleta’s Xerjoff Marquee unicorn bottle
To start off the year on a positive note, I want to gift the remains of my unicorn bottle of Xerjoff Marquee (in the old, angular blue bottle, see perfume resolutions #4) to one registered reader in the European Union. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment about Nicoleta’s perfume resolutions for 2023, where you live and if you have any perfume resolutions for 2023. Draw closes 1/5/2022
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