#ambroxan

Gozo (extrait de parfum) Jeroboam Nose: Vanina Muracciole

Floral amber

For the first time, the Parisian brand Jéroboam breaks its historical codes and swaps its black and gold for an Orange, which evokes joyful memories. The fragrance, a powerful woody and spicy floral scent that is perfectly mixed, radiates sensual floral facets tinged with subtle hints of spices on a base of musks, precious woods and modern notes of ambroxan.

It was on the occasion of the inauguration of the first Jovoy store in Qatar that François Henin met Abdulaziz Al Ajail, a well-respected and trusted social media figure from Qatar. AbdulAziz is always between flights, travels the world and takes advantage of each stopover to learn everything about his true passion, perfumery.

Eager for more discoveries, he is always on the lookout for a gustative experience, but also and above all for an olfactory one. Whether it is in plantations, secret addresses where there is real oud wood or perhaps a vintage perfume, or a perfume laboratory, he is always on the search for a new sensation to be engraved in his memory. By dint of meetings and discussions generally around a real Karak, Abdulaziz one day tells François about his experience of what he considers to be a glimpse of heaven on earth : the Maltese island of Gozo which has its own magical aspect.

At the crossroads of worlds and times, it contains vestiges of past settlements and of successive domination by the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Sicilians, the British or the French. Its coastal coves are like surreal postcards. In the evening, the winds seem to bring scents from both Africa and Europe. We are at the crossroads of continents, in Mediterranean land: generous, sunny and rich in flavors that are at once so simple, subtle and yet so rich.

The idea of transcribing his memory into perfume will quickly become a challenge between the two enthusiasts. As for all other extracts of Jeroboam perfumes, it is the independent perfumer Vanina Muracciole who will strive to transcribe the artistic vision of Abdulaziz in perfume.

Two years after the start of the project, Gozo took its first steps during an exceptional evening at the prestigious Al Hazm Perfumery Exhibition in Doha, Qatar. Now the precious nectar can be found in all Jovoy stores and in a handful of emblematic stores by summer 2020.

Kurkdjian gives us his first release as perfumer at Dior… and it isn’t something new. My thoughts on the reissued Eau Noire, Cologne Blanche and Bois D’Argent.

Is this a good omen? Recently appointed as the in-house perfumer at Dior, Francis Kurkdjian has decided to commence his tenure not by giving us a brand new creation, but by returning to the past. Many of you will be aware that in 2004, the house issued three exclusive compositions, under the creative direction of Hedi Slimane, who was the designer at Dior Homme at the time. The three were Eau…

Not A Perfume is...not a perfume. It is a gimmick, which you may think is either cheesy or avant-garde: a single aromachemical, Ambroxan.

It smells quite a bit different to me than either the ambroxan that came in the Perfumer’s Apprentice kit I ordered, or Escentric Molecules’ Molecule 02, also an Ambroxan-only “perfume.” Both of those were distinctly “brown” smells; they went on like whiskey and dried down to Bro Sweat.

I suspect the difference is a matter of concentration, and that Not A Perfume is lighter than either the pure stuff or Escentric 02. NaP is less “brown” than “beige”, and actually smells a lot like ambergris, which, of course, is what Ambroxan was originally intended to replicate before it became olfactory shorthand for the XY chromosome. NaP is salty, musky, faintly sweat-tinged, but still airy, like a windswept beach on a sunny day. And strangely creamy, like lotion. I find myself quite liking it. It gives a graceful, almost subliminal aura.

Notting Hill Hugh Parsons

Soft floral

Notting Hill is a city corner that never sleeps, full of life, colors and madness. The fragrance Notting Hill is inspired by this district of London. A fresh, intriguing and vital nuance that expresses energy, joy and a hint of madness.