African Violets by Rachel Parker

There are so many times in my life where I ignore what is right in front of my face. The latest example of this character flaw occurred at the recent Elements Showcase. I spent two days talking with, and trying new perfumes from, many different exhibitors. It wasn’t until I was literally headed out the door as I was saying my good bye to Ulrich Lang one of the co-founders of the Elements Showcase that he reminded me he too had a perfume line. He asked me what I thought of his newest release, Lightscape. I hope I looked a little abashed when I told him I didn’t have the chance to try it. He quickly produced a sample for me and I put it in my pocket and headed to Penn Station.

It easily took me a couple weeks before I got around to giving Lightscape a try and once I did I felt even worse for not having tried it while at Elements Showcase. That’s because I would have told Mr. Lang this olfactory still life of violets and iris is the best perfume in his line. That he has created a worthy complement to 2009’s Nightscape. That Lightscape has a special kind of luminescence all its own.

I have liked all of Mr. Lang’s fragrances so far starting with Anvers in 2003 and its sequel Anvers 2 in 2007. As you can tell Mr. Lang is not as prolific as many of his contemporaries but his attention to quality means each one of his releases turns out to be very good. With Lightscape Mr. Lang wanted to create a fresh sophisticated fragrance. That is something many of his contemporaries do over and over again. What sets Mr. Lang apart is he chooses to look for fresh in the notes of violet and iris. Those two notes would very often be described as metallic and powdery, respectively. Somehow with Lightscape Mr. Lang has harnessed the glow within both of those notes and coaxed them to shine brilliantly.

Still Life of Iris by Van Gogh

The opening of Lightscape is bracing, as a zesty slap of galbanum and lemon grab your attention. Then the spectacular alchemy of violet flower, violet leaf, and iris come together to create a sunburst of fresh floralcy. When I concentrate I can tease these strands apart with my focus but Lightscape is much more fun when I turn off the analytical and leave only my experiential mind in charge. Then I just enjoy the freshly floral heart of Lightscape. For those who avoid the metallic harshness of violet or the powdery aspect of iris you should not worry those can only be found if you really put your mind to it and when wearing Lightscape you should try and just enjoy it. The base of Lightscape is cedar, cashmere woods, and ambergris. There is a bit of white musk but not enough to add even a shadow to Lightscape.

Lightscape has above average longevity and above average sillage.

So to make amends to my lack of interest let me close by saying to Mr. Lang; please accept my apologies for not trying Lightscape when I saw you because I would’ve told you it was one of the best few fragrances in the entire exhibition. I will definitely not make the same mistake next time.

Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by Ulrich Lang New York.

Thankfully my lack of interest was not held against me and Ulrich Lang is offering one lucky winner a full bottle of Lightscape. To be eligible please leave a comment naming your favorite fresh ingredient in fragrance. We will draw one winner on October 3, 2012.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

-Mark Behnke, Managing Editor