Mizensir Eau de Gingembre, Celebes Wood, and Perfect Oud (Alberto Morillas) + The 3 You Should be Wearing Draw

August 4, 2021August 13, 2021

Mizensir Eau de Gingembre, Celebes Wood, and Perfect Oud (photo courtesy of Aedes Perfumery©)

Firmenich master perfumer since 1998, Francois Coty Award winner in 2003, Fragrance Foundation Lifetime Perfumer Award ten years later, Seville native Alberto Morillas has certainly led a storied life. He has created some of By Killian’s best fragrances, including Good Girl Gone Bad (my favourite tuberose perfume) and Musk Oud, some three dozen for Bulgari including Omnia and Blu, and (along with Harry Fremont) the genius behind influential classics such as CK One – often labelled the world’s first genderless fragrance – Armani Acqua di Gio, Flower by Kenzo, and the brilliant M7 for Yves Saint Laurent. But after creating memorable scents for the world’s most famous couturiers and high-end niche brands, Morillas struck out on his own, founding Geneva-based Mizensir in 1997 with his wife.

Alberto Morillas, image courtesy of Alberto Morillas©

At first, Mizensir focused on scented candles; but in 2015, Morillas added 15 perfumes to the line. I’m quite glad he did. Having smelled most of the Mizensir line, the first thing that struck me was the delineated, almost origami-like construction of each fragrance, and the clean balance of notes that make these perfect to wear year-round. If that sounds appealing, here are three of Mizensir’s best. Each is not only wearable but delicious in the heat.

Mizensir Eau de Gingembre, image courtesy of Mizensir©

Eau de Gingembre (2015): If ever there was a scent begging to be worn in the steamy, stupefying torpor that is summer on the East Coast, it is Mizensir Eau de Gingembre.This is a dip in a Swiss lake for the skin: refreshing and as sparkling as sunshine glitter on the water’s surface. I absolutely adore the smell of both fresh and dried ginger, so I get verrrrry cranky if a ginger fragrance strikes a false note. Nothing to fret about here. Eau de Gingembre has one of the most delectably realistic fresh ginger notes in all perfumery: green-tinged, zesty-spicy, bracing. I cannot stop raising my wrist to my nose.

But Morillas knows there’s more to a great ginger scent than ginger alone. He girds this zingy root with piquant, juicy citrus notes that accentuate the summery feel of the perfume, and tiny dots of fir-like cypress and flowery neroli give Eau de Gingembre a lovely green floral accent. Morillas then grounds the composition in a smooth, light woods accord rather than the usual predictable soapy musk which keeps it buoyant and spiky. Splash on this gorgeous tonic with abandon and welcome the next 90-degree humidity with a great big smile.

Notes: Essence of Calabrian bergamot, ginger extract SFE, Tunisian neroli, petit grain, fig leaf accord, Cypress essence, white wood chord.

Mizensir Celebes Wood, image courtesy of Mizensir

Celebes Wood (2018): Reading the note listing of Celebes Wood, you might be forgiven for thinking you’d wandered over to Xerjoff by mistake – these are hefty, resinous, luxuriant ingredients. But gives Celebes Woods a sniff and you may be surprised at the dexterous touch these rich notes are given. It opens with a generous pinch of sharp, dusty-green, young cardamom seed. The aroma has such astonishing verisimilitude that I ran to the kitchen to compare that top note with an actual just-cut seed (it measures up potently). Some frisky bergamot and white pepper add tart and pungent counterpoints that, along with the judicious choice of Clearwood, keep Celebes Wood aloft from sinking into the off-sweet resinous notes that follow.

If part one of Celebes Wood is all about spice and zing, part two is a retreat to the seraglio. Here, balsamic, sticky-animalic styrax, bodily labdanum, milky tonka, and chewy vanilla curl up together, sprinkled lightly with cinnamon, its rich, sweet aromas smelling like a dish of Middle Eastern sweetmeats in a Parisian nightclub. Surprisingly, this opulent amalgam of notes never gets at all heavy. And more surprising still, tonka begins to dominate while the cardamom circles back for an encore. The overall effect is lactonic, woody, restrained and sensual. Sporting a generous amount on my wrist in tonight’s heat, Celebes Woods is elegant, comforting and sophisticated.

Notes: Bergamot essence, cardamom essence, geranium essence, essence of cinnamon, essence of cistus labdanum, essence of white pepper, absolute tonka bean, styrax essence, Clearwood®, Madagascar vanilla absolute.

Mizensir Perfect Oud, image courtesy of Alberto Morillas

Perfect Oud (2016): Now, that’s a big claim – a perfect oud, smack in the middle of the longest ongoing oud craze the world has seen since the Middle Ages? Well, Morillas certainly gives those other ouds a run for their money. Perfect Oud is outstandingly balanced between oud’s classic medicinal-animalic character and the smokiest, darkest leather this side of Beaufort thanks to an unafraid dose of the burnt petrol smell of cade. But the real brilliance of Perfect Oud is Morillas’ deployment of bergamot in the top and rose and iris in the middle. The fruit and loral notes, carefully timed, hoist what could have been a severe, sooty fragrance, keeping it approachable and just aerated enough to stand up to a bit of heat. While I probably wouldn’t reach for this in the height of July, give it until the balmy days of mid-September get broken in and you may find you agree with its cheeky moniker.

Notes: essence of bergamot, essence of coriander, essence of Bulgarian rose, concrete iris, oud accord, Alaska cedar essence, cade wood essence.

(photo courtesy of Aedes Perfumery©)

Mizensir fragrances offer an opportunity to see what a master artist does when there’s no brief to fill and the canvas is blank. They are well worth a visit.

Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

Thanks to the generosity of Aedes Perfumery in New York City, we have 10 x.07 samples of each Mizensir perfume including Mizensir Eau de Gingembre, Celebes Wood, and Perfect Oud for one registered reader in the U.S. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about these three Mizensir fragrances based on Lauryn’s reviews, was one “calling your name,” and if you have a favourite Mizensir perfume or candle, Draw closes 8/7/2021.

Do you have a favorite Alberto Morillas perfume which was not created for Mizensir? (Michelyn has two: Gucci Mémoire d’une Odeur which was one of Ermano and Michelyn’s top fragrances of 2019 and Aedes de Venustas Palissandre D’Or)

Karl Bradl and Robert Gerstner Owners of Aedes Perfumery

Thank you Karl and Robert of Aedes Perfumery for the beautiful photos and for the draw: WE LOVE THIS STORE

This is our Privacy and Draw Rules Policy.

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