Else Francesca Dell'Oro 2023
1
Sepia Tone Bottled
Sepia-tone bottled. The smell of old photographs with worn edges, books with pages yellowed by time, antique furniture, and garments. A full ashtray left on the table with a dirty, half-full glass of whisky next to it, the smell still lingering in the air.
Else from Francesca Dell'Oro, composed by Michele Marin.
Here is a fragrance that impressed me recently. Something that rarely happens these days. If I remember correctly, the last time I was so captivated by a new release was when I was trying Rauque from Roberto Greco, and we all know how that one did. Else was another one of those "wow" moments the first time I smelled it. It made travel back in time a few decades.
The perfume is built around the well-known Mousse De Saxe base, hence, it triggers a strong feeling of vintage and nostalgia, although, some twists and modern touches pull it out of the monotonous. It unfolds like a spicy-oriental-leathery-chypre infused with a prominent "smoky ashtray" accord. The ashtray vibe is one of the few ways I perceive tobacco accords in perfumes, with a few like Luten's Fumerie Turque coming to mind, yet here, it is far more tenacious and holds strongly throughout. I think this effect is incredibly well-placed and gives Else a strong personality. The second aspect that pulls it out of the ordinary is the way Marin uses the vanilla/amber accord to keep the perfume from going too bitter and dull. That, together with the licorice, provides a constant sweet and warm sensation to maintain the harmony.
The opening is fiery, smoky, and warm. The blast of spices with the ashy tobacco accord and the licorice hit hard, and feel like gulping down a shot of whiskey. Sharpen the mind and warm the chest. As for the floral component, I pick up the carnation that also helps to perpetuate the spiciness of the composition and the retro vibe. The orris adds texture with its chalkiness. The base is dense, as you'd expect from an Oriental playing on the Mousse De Saxe accord, and it smells of wood, leather, moss, benzoin, vanilla, and smoke.
What I find utterly fascinating about this creation is how it evokes this Sepia shade throughout. Nothing about it smells contemporary, and somehow it never calls back any of the vintage perfumes I can recall. It makes me think of my grandparent's furniture and clothes, an old hotel lobby, or smelling those old photographs and books with yellowed pages. All of that, perhaps, and a dirty ashtray to spice things up. It is powerfully evocative of times when people were taking things slower, and the emphasis was on quality and not on quantity.
Else is a fabulous release and a time machine for those who want to go back to those times for a quick break from the nowadays haste.
IG:@memory.of.scents
Else from Francesca Dell'Oro, composed by Michele Marin.
Here is a fragrance that impressed me recently. Something that rarely happens these days. If I remember correctly, the last time I was so captivated by a new release was when I was trying Rauque from Roberto Greco, and we all know how that one did. Else was another one of those "wow" moments the first time I smelled it. It made travel back in time a few decades.
The perfume is built around the well-known Mousse De Saxe base, hence, it triggers a strong feeling of vintage and nostalgia, although, some twists and modern touches pull it out of the monotonous. It unfolds like a spicy-oriental-leathery-chypre infused with a prominent "smoky ashtray" accord. The ashtray vibe is one of the few ways I perceive tobacco accords in perfumes, with a few like Luten's Fumerie Turque coming to mind, yet here, it is far more tenacious and holds strongly throughout. I think this effect is incredibly well-placed and gives Else a strong personality. The second aspect that pulls it out of the ordinary is the way Marin uses the vanilla/amber accord to keep the perfume from going too bitter and dull. That, together with the licorice, provides a constant sweet and warm sensation to maintain the harmony.
The opening is fiery, smoky, and warm. The blast of spices with the ashy tobacco accord and the licorice hit hard, and feel like gulping down a shot of whiskey. Sharpen the mind and warm the chest. As for the floral component, I pick up the carnation that also helps to perpetuate the spiciness of the composition and the retro vibe. The orris adds texture with its chalkiness. The base is dense, as you'd expect from an Oriental playing on the Mousse De Saxe accord, and it smells of wood, leather, moss, benzoin, vanilla, and smoke.
What I find utterly fascinating about this creation is how it evokes this Sepia shade throughout. Nothing about it smells contemporary, and somehow it never calls back any of the vintage perfumes I can recall. It makes me think of my grandparent's furniture and clothes, an old hotel lobby, or smelling those old photographs and books with yellowed pages. All of that, perhaps, and a dirty ashtray to spice things up. It is powerfully evocative of times when people were taking things slower, and the emphasis was on quality and not on quantity.
Else is a fabulous release and a time machine for those who want to go back to those times for a quick break from the nowadays haste.
IG:@memory.of.scents