Olivier Durbano M.oldavite 18:9 Review (Olivier Durbano) 2022 + golden green light giveaway

October 8, 2022October 8, 2022

Olivier Durbano M.oldavite 18:9 © Olivier Durbano

This is the forest primeval.
The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,

Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,

Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic,

Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.

Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring ocean

Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest. – Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1847

Green Light, by Olivier Durbano

In a quiet wood, the earth sleeps. Weary of its long journey to a destination it has never known, a tiny planet pitches towards the drowsy forests of Bohemia. The pale light of those still moments just before dawn filters through the trees and draws its rocky visitor homewards. Moments later, birds shriek a warning and scatter, and the night sky lights up, startled. Soon, the ground will blaze like a thousand hearths as molten glass spatters and the asteroid finds its final rest.

Moldavite is an incandescent, natural green glass with unusual patterning that is thought to have formed in the heat of an asteroid impact some 15 million years ago. Its intricately patterned surface and interior radiance can make it look like an extraterrestrial lettuce or green coral, a living stone. In the alchemical hands of jeweler-perfumer-poet Olivier Durbano, M.oldavite 18:9 is transformed into an auric fragrance that glows with alternating cool, mossy and warm, golden notes.

Olivier Durbano courtesy of the perfumer

Every aspect of Durbano’s perfume is imbued with meaning. Moldavite, is for Durbano a “messenger from another planet.” Like all of his creations, M.oldavite comes with a number; here, 18:9. Durbano describes the significance of 18 as “a feminine principle, the Shadows, the Moon, which represents all that is buried in each of us, and which precedes the light.” The number 9 symbolizes transformation, renewal, wisdom to refocus on the essential. Central to the fragrance is the herbal-sweet, celery-citrus scent of angelica. Durbano uses both angelica seeds and root in the top notes; and it is instantly recognizable on first spray.

Olivier Durbano display of Olivier Durbano M.oldavite 18:9 at Pitti Fragranze 2022 © Ermano Picco

This is one of Durbano’s most beautifully executed creations, a fougere-like green and gold cabochon. Each note segueing quietly into its partner, contrasting cool and warm aromas without fanfare. M.oldavite comes across immediately as primeval and woodsy, but its verdancy is gentle rather than acerbic or leafy. This effect is initially created by combining angelica — the herb of the Holy Spirit, as Durbano describes it – with palo santo, the holy tree. While these two notes have an ancient mystical significance in a number of cultures, they also, happily, blend beautifully together. Creamy and lightly anisic, palo santo hugs the herb’s woodland aromas into a calm embrace, and moss dots the landscape.

A fruity kick of pink pepper livens things up, followed by a pinch of star anise, anticipating the heart notes of lavender – herbal and slightly smoky – and balsamic frankincense, which wrap around that lovely angelica like old vine. They meld into a harmony of cool, off-sweet greenery, accentuated by hyssop. But coming up behind them almost imperceptibly are warming notes of elemi – Durbano’s signature – and nutty immortelle. M.oldavite begins to change from minty, forestal coolness to radiant, ambery balm. Mellow woody notes underpin soft resins, and M.oldavite18:9 becomes radiant, like light on silk in a Godfrey Kneller portrait.

Olivier Durbano M.oldavite 18:9 Display at the Gallery Olivier Durbano Poem Stones Perfumes, Place aux Aires – rue des Moulinets, Grasse – Historical center

Arriving at drydown like a soft landing, M.oldavite takes on some soapy musk and a subtle amount of vetiver, reminding me of its initial hints of the barbershop. Throughout M.oldavite’s development, I am struck by how seamless it is. Its aromas are identifiable yet without distinct edges, lending the composition a cocooning smoothness and olfactory glow. Like the patterned glass it is named for, Olivier Durbano M.oldavite shifts between darker, cooler facets and autumnal, golden ones. Olivier Durbano Moldavite 18:9 is serenely lovely and may be Olivier Durbano’s most soulful fragrance yet.

In the Beginning and Eternity

I am

Life

Light Perfume and vibrate

Be the fire

Be Light — Olivier Durbano

Notes: Angelica root, angelica seed, palo santo, frankincense, star anise, absinthe, pink pepper, rosewood, magnolia, absolute lavandin, hyssop, Haitian vetiver, immortelle, elemi gum resin, moss, musk.

Disclaimer: samples of Olivier Durbano M.oldavite 18:9 kindly sent to me by Olivier Durbano. My opinions, as always, are my own.

All photos courtesy of Oliver Durbano and Ermano Picco where noted.

Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

Editor’s note: Olivier Durbano was awarded the CaFleureBon Hall of Fame for 2020 by Ermano and Michelyn

Thanks to the generosity of Olivier Durbano, we have a 50 ml bottle of M.oldavite18:9 for one registered reader in the U.S., Canada , UK or the EU. YOU MUST REGISTER OR YOUR COMMENT WILL NOT COUNT. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what struck you about Olivier Durbano M.Oldavite 18:9, where you live and whether you have a favorite Olivier Durbano perfume. Draw closes 10/12/2022. Follow us on INSTAGRAM @olivierdurbano and @cafleurebonofficial and your comment will count twice.

This is our Privacy and Draw Rules Policy.

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