On The Nose Perfumes  packaging courtesy of the brand

Our ÇaFleureBon EIC Michelyn Camen is well-known for casting her ever-vigilant eye on the latest, most promising perfumers, fragrances, and brands. When she recently spotted independent natural perfumer Gabrielle Durand of On the Nose Perfumes, Michelyn brought her collection to my attention. Gabrielle kindly sent me a sample set which exceeded any expectations which I might have harbored. Six Extraits in all, and every one a delight. I don’t express this cavalierly: often, a brand will offer a few very good perfumes, but they aren’t all necessarily equally noteworthy. In this case, they are. So instead of choosing just one for review, I chose two: On the Nose Perfumes Thorny Issue, a multifaceted rose chypre – and Honey Trap, an aptly-named indolic daydream.

 

Gabrielle Durand of On The Nose Perfumes

Gabrielle Durand, the Creative Director and perfumer behind On the Nose Perfumes – has been enamored of fragrance since childhood. She had considered the possibility of creating perfumes herself over the years, but had been deterred by the various opportunities and options available to her. When Gabrielle became aware of The Institute for Art and Olfaction’s Summer Intensive perfumery program, participation (and travel to LA) wasn’t feasible at that time. Then COVID reared its ugly head, and the program went online in the summer of 2020 – at which time she enrolled. It became clear that working with synthetics didn’t feel as satisfying as Gabrielle had hoped – and she decided to pursue natural perfumery instead. Since then, she has taken a ZOOM class with Mandy Aftel, studied with a number of well-known perfumers, and completed the Perfumery Art School UK’s two-year diploma in natural perfumery under the tutelage of Isabelle Gellé-Marchant. Naturals have become her passion, and she has been very forthright in explaining some of its ins and outs through her blog.

In the interest of contrasts, I found myself drawn to Thorny Issue and Honey Trap for several reasons. Each one is sophisticated and complex, but their characters are divergent. To call Thorny Issue a rose chypre is a pallid misrepresentation – and  On the Nose Honey Trap is singularly adult in its wanton appeal.

Mood Board for Thorny Issue courtesy of the perfumer

Let’s commence with Thorny Issue: I love the name, the well-placed brevity of wit. This chypre is sumptuous and inclusive; it never oversteps into blowsy territory. A cornucopia of aromatic materials is taken into account here, running the fragrant gamut from resin to blossom to spice and wood, including handmade tinctures of civet, hyraceum, and aged Madagascar vanilla. Several of its components possess a jammy nature, such as black hemlock, and raspberry leaf; others wax verdantly balsamic (upcycled cypress, galbanum); still others are gloriously floral (multiple rose absolutes and ottos including an upcycled rose; jasmine; the crisp green of violet leaf). I find Ms. Durand’s implementation of both tobacco and immortelle to be particularly skillful: they bloom and present themselves as chalorous, dry, and balsamic – qualities which enhance this remarkable chypre in a measured, elegant fashion. On the basis of a blind sniff, Thorny Issue might well be taken to be the work of a much more experienced perfumer; it is that polished.

Thorny Issue Notes: cypress absolute, black hemlock absolute, violet leaf absolute, raspberry leaf absolute, galbanum resinoid, rose absolutes and ottos, rose leaf absolute, jasmine auriculatum. cool and warm spices, immortelle, tobacco, exotic woods, and handmade aged Madagascan vanilla, civet, and hyraceum tinctures. 4 upcycled materials (rose, cypress, sandalwood by-absolutes and an upcycled rose otto).

Mood board for Honey Trap

On the Nose Perfumes Honey Trap is an impossibly risqué indolic floral sheathed in furry animalics – one of which is all about the bee.  Beeswax in any form (it appears here as both a tincture and an absolute) is a deeply honeyed material which whispers of illicit assignations from the get-go. It is heavy and coumarinic, possessing notes of hay, immortelle, tobacco, flouve, and chamomile – and can be tricky to work with, as well as expensive. Gabrielle underscores its sultry character by wedding it to labdanum and an aged civet tincture. Honey Trap’s solar appeal arises from an intuitive use of mimosa and orange blossom (they, too possess an indolic edge); heliotropin shares some of mimosa’s sunny aspects, which are echoed by honeybush, with its tealike and violet tones. Linden, aged vanilla, and rose complete the composition’s sweet seduction. This extrait begins effusively and assumes a serene richness which becomes drier over time. Those who are not fond of honey-themed perfumes may be overwhelmed by its exuberance, but it was not created with them in mind. Honey Trap is for hedonists, pure and simple.

Honey Trap Notes: handmade aged beeswax, civet, and Madagascan vanilla tinctures, labdanum, heliotropin, beeswax absolute; mimosa absolute, orange blossom absolute, rose absolute, honeybush CO2, linden blossom CO2

 

Sample set generously provided by the perfumer – many thanks! My nose is my own…

~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor

 

Thanks to the generosity of perfumer Gabrielle Durand, we have one 15 ml flacon of either On the Nose Thorny Issue or Honey Trap for one registered reader in the continental USA. To be eligible, please leave a comment regarding what sparked your interest in Ida’s reviews and which perfume you would prefer to win. Draw closes 1/31/2025

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