The Different Company Sublime Balkiss Review (Céline Ellena) + That Chypre Feeling Draw

May 18, 2020May 18, 2020

The Different Company Sublime Balkiss (Photo, Creative Direction, Digital Effects & Collage: Despina Veneti)©

As a passionate chypre lover, perpetually alarmed by rumours of further upcoming IFRA restrictions on the use of natural oakmoss, I’m always on the lookout for vintage bottles of my favorite classics, or for entirely new creations which promise to deliver that increasingly elusive, yet instantly recognizable, chypre feeling. After the phenomenal success of the highly enjoyable, archetypal “fruitchouli” Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel, and the escalating bans on the use of oakmoss in the last fifteen years, there’s been a considerable wave of “neo-chypre” fragrance releases, in which oakmoss is mainly substituted with patchouli (in several forms, fractions or combinations). My personal feeling is that the term “neo-chypre” has been broadened to the point of encompassing even fragrances that just don’t register to nose, mind and heart as chypres (white musk-dominated florals, or fruity/florals heavy on patchouli, woods or gourmand notes); however beautiful several of these creations may be, they seem to lack the multi-layered emotional impact of a true chypre, the complexity and enigma, the stark but divinely harmonious contrast between the bright opening, the resinous/floral heart, and the mossy base.

Vogue Magazine cover, 1918©

Thankfully, new, veritable chypres are still being created, often alluding to the past but not without modern twists (some of my favorites of the last decade would be Vero Profumo Mito, DSH Le Jade and Parfum De Luxe, Parfums Dusita Le Sillage Blanc, and Cartier La Panthère); several of these fragrances manage to elicit joy similar to that of wearing vintage masterpieces of the genre like Guerlain Mitsouko, Ungaro Diva, Chanel Cristalle, Dior Diorella, Grès Cabochard, Robert Piguet Bandit, or Carven Ma Griffe. As far as oakmoss-free neo-chypres are concerned, I tend to prefer those that achieve alternative, intriguing, sometimes even innovative chypre effects, like last year’s Masque Milano Kintsugi. An earlier, beautiful example of such a neo-chypre is Céline Ellena’s Sublime Balkiss, created twelve years ago for The Different Company.

Counter-clockwise: The Different Company’s co-founders, Master Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena & designer Thierry de Baschmakoff, current creative director/CEO Luc Gabriel, and independent perfumer Céline Ellena (First three photos courtesy of The Different Company, fourth one by Brice Toul)©

Co-founded in 2000 by Master Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena and luxury goods designer Thierry de Baschmakoff, The Different Company’s fundamental goal was to offer perfume creations born free of marketing codes or cost limitations, commencing with a collection of four composed by M. Ellena himself. When the latter was appointed Hermès’s exclusive In-House Perfumer in 2004, The Different Company company’s new CEO, Luc Gabriel, took charge of the brand’s creative direction and development, while Céline Ellena succeeded her father as the House’s perfumer, composing a total of nine fragrances within the next eight years. Since 2011, The Different Company has further embraced fine fragrances and candles created by Bertrand Duchaufour, Christine Nagel, Émilie Coppermann, Alexandra Monet, Corinne Cachen and Delphine Jelk, forming an overall aesthetically coherent olfactive portfolio divided into three different collections (plus some occasional limited editions). Revisiting several of the brand’s enticing offerings, my chypre-loving, verdant-yearning heart beat a little faster for Mme Ellena’s 2008 Sublime Balkiss (named after Balkis, Queen of Sheba), an ethereal, green and moist, fruity/floral of the utmost elegance, graced with a lovely chypre effect.

Mayowa Nicholas photographed by Txema Yeste for Vogue Spain, 2019©

The Different Company Sublime Balkiss opens with the tart/sweet fruitiness of deep purple berries (namely blackberry, blueberry and blackcurrant), ripened by the radiance of solar bergamot, and framed by the astringent, slightly animalic scent of the bushes’ leaves. A rather abstract floral bouquet of roses, lilacs, lilies of the valley and heather sprigs is slowly – and shyly – emerging, but it is not destined to become a protagonist. Patchouli, a more prominent player in the composition, is present in two forms (in essence and fraction oil), but handled in a delicate, light-as-air manner; it’s bright and clean, with a slight emphasis on its cocoa-like earthiness. To my nose, however, the true star ingredient of The Different Company Sublime Balkiss is none other than the violet leaf, the fragrance’s true catalyst. This marvelous raw material is given here all the space it needs to fully work its olfactory miracles, contributing its deep greenness to both the fruity top accord, and the patchouli base (helping create a satisfactory mossy illusion); furthermore, the violet leaf’s cool, slightly metallic vibe helps generate the fragrance’s distinctive, ozonic and aquatic aura that evokes brisk, fresh air, and crisp, pure rain.

Fiona Campbell-Walter wearing a Jean Dessès chiffon gown, photographed by Horst P. Horst for Vogue, 1952©

Discussing the fragrance with the perfumer herself, Mme Ellena confirmed my impressions: “The first and main concept I had in mind when I started working on Sublime Balkiss was twilight. I tried to create a contrast between natural materials, between light and dark; I wanted to get something soft, sensual and mysterious on the wearer’s skin, a kind of purple aura… The main ingredient, the backbone of the composition is the violet leaf, which I used like a hinge between the other materials. Violet leaf becomes the link between the red fruit accord of the top, and the chypre base. There is no heart. Nothing in between except violet leaves! Light on top. Dark at base. And violet in the midst.”

Rooney Mara photographed by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott for Vogue, 2011©

And yes, that chypre feeling is there, although the forests and mosses of Sublime Balkiss belong to the realm of the imagination: as if in a Vogue fashion photo shoot, the fragrance took me for a fantasy walk through a dreamy, impossibly well-groomed glade in the woods, where spectacularly beautiful women in long, silk-chiffon gowns are rustling their way across immaculate carpets of leaves.

Notes: Violet Leaf, Bergamot, Blackberry, Blackcurrant, Blueberry; Damask Rose, Lilac Bunches, Lily of the Valley ; Patchouli, Heather Sprigs, Cocoa Powder.

Disclaimer: I’d like to thank The Different Company for my travel spray of Sublime Balkiss. The opinions are my own.

– Despina Veneti, Senior Editor

Thanks to the generosity of The Different Company, we have a draw for a 10ml travel spray of The Different Company Sublime Balkiss for one registered reader in USA or Europe. You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Despina’s review, if you have a favorite fragrance by The Different Company or what your favorite chypres/neo-chypres are, and where you live. Draw closes 5/21/2020

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