Héliotrope Olivier Durbano 2012 Eau de Parfum

French jeweller/perfumer Olivier Durbano has an insatiable approach to his work. His eye-popping collars of semi-precious stones are constructed with both a masterful hand, and a keen consciousness of the raw materials he is working with. In 2012, Durbano chose the stone Heliotrope to feature in his work, and true to his own tradition, it also served as the inspiration behind his latest perfume release, which he revealed at Fragranze in Italy last month.

Heliotrope is known perhaps more commonly as Bloodstone, or Dragonstone; a variety of chalcedony which is chiefly a deep green colour, speckled with rich red jasper. Worn as a talisman to protect against the evil eye, and to aid with blood-related disorders, it has been a stone coveted throughout the ages by both Christians and pagans.
As with all of Durbano's perfumes - one can't help but recognise a hint of antiquity at hand. Not antiquity so much in the sense that his creations are like the classical pillars of perfumery, but rather "antiquity" defined in a primitive sense. Heliotrope is such a scent... one that commands instant reflection... it conjures scenes from archaic ages... of warring empires and primordial battles; of far-flung cities buried in the sand; of the prehistoric asclepions and sanctuaries of healing.
Perhaps more than any other of his accomplished perfume releases, Héliotrope not only memorialises this semi-precious stone, but also tells an ancient narrative.

One does not quite know what to expect when first applying this deep crimson juice, or perhaps if one does, I am almost certain their assumptions would be wrong. Heliotrope opens with a sharp mandarin accord, but it is instantly diminished by a combustable chilli-pepper warmth. A component of many fragrances from the Near East, saffron is a major player here... it is heady and piquant. It's texture is syrupy, almost medicinal in nature, which adds complexity and a sense of luxuriousness. I sense florals - angelica, magnolia, heliotrope - swimming at its heart, but there is also a curious sense of green.
A damp, sodden woodsy green, like the smell of the forest floor after a deluge. I've not smelled Nagarmotha as an isolated raw ingredient, but it is listed as a component here, and I recognise it from other scents like Amouage's Opus VI and Mona di Orio's Oud, and I feel it contributes to this grassy, woody, slightly astringent aspect. Notes of sandalwood and cedar also bring with them a bountiful sense of comfort.
As it develops, Heliotrope feels multi-tiered with layers of warmth and coolness... a huff of musk lends a luke-warm "organic" feel... like the smell of skin at blood-temperature. I ponder for a moment, wondering if this was a deliberate (and genius) attribute to include. Durbano's remarkable and much loved "house accord" of incense and tree resins makes a firm appearance in Héliotrope's drydown... lavish tendrils of myrrh, oliban and benzoin which furnish each of his perfumes with an exquisite earthy, mineralic quality.

There is something resolutely personal about how this perfume blossoms over time... it feels both intimate and curative. I imagine an ancient spa or asclepion with clay pots full of salves, unguents and balms that are rubbed into tired muscles and anoint the wounds of ancient heroes and heroines. Héliotrope, the perfume, stays true to the stone's metaphysical purpose... is indeed reparative and protective.

Once again, Monsieur Durbano's incomparable cognizance of stones and their spiritual meaning makes for a compelling and thought-provoking creation.
One of his very best.

Could it be that Héliotrope by Olivier Durbano deviates from his normal repertoire of gemstone inspired fragrances? Not so much. Most of us are aware of a flower called heliotrope, but there is also a mineral known by the same name, otherwise called bloodstone. The mineral form is usually green in color, with brightly colored red inclusions that resemble blood spots, hence the name bloodstone. Just when you think that Durbano has turned over a new leaf, or stone in this case, we are right back to his original love of gemstones and minerals. Héliotrope is a pleasant surprise for Durbano's Bijoux de Pierres Poemes collection.

Héliotrope opens energetically with a spicy profusion of chili pepper, ginger and angelica root, along with a splash of racy red mandarin. Just as this intensely colored perfume implies, the fragrance has a fiery nature right from the start. To further intrigue, Héliotrope is laden with smoldering incense and resins. Smoky incense is a common thread running through all of Olivier Durbano's fragrance. Incense is a welcome meditative accompaniment for such a vivacious concoction. You might take notice of a few conspicuous peppercorns sitting in the bottom of the bottle. They are a gentle suggestion of the spirited personality within Héliotrope. Durbano's fragrances have been known to include notes that have a medicinal or piney accord, and I'm uncertain as to their origin. Disconcerting at first, this antisepticness settles into the fragrance just in time for the heart's floral pageant. While the linear spicy parade marches on, the heart initiates with a pleasurable blend of flowers. There's vanilla-like heliotrope, citrusy magnolia and pleasant, woody, earthy nagarmotha with its cinnamon and frankincense traces. All of these beautiful florals unite perfectly with a warm, cozy saffron, giving the heart of Héliotrope a subtle Oriental vibe. The base of Héliotrope is rooted in incense, musk, woods and amber. This is a perfect balance for this spicy floral potion giving it substance and a morsel of complexity.

I was unsure about my opinion of Héliotrope upon first testing. Eventually, I found it to be soothing, like a nice hot toddy accompanied by a roaring fire. The spice suggests neither masculine nor feminine, and is a bit predictable from start to finish. Longevity is very good, and it lasted the entire day. While you may not expect much from these "jewelry designer one minute, perfumer the next," types, Durbano's newest offering is a pleasant surprise.

I'm not so fond of this brand signature profile, that usually puts incense and spicy notes on its creations.Something on their final result in this casa and being salty, weird for me but in Heliotrope it seems to work. At first you don't get the heliotrope, only a mineral incense and a peppery and dry green aroma.As it develops on skin you start to smell the sweet almondy heliotrope, slightly reminding you cherries, with a sweet oriental myrrh and benjoin tonality, that gives it a very slightly fruity and sweet incensed hot aroma to the heliotrope. Altough it has a pink color, it seems to me more masculine than feminine.

While a heliotrope note is listed in Durbano's Héliotrope, this is intended as an olfactory ode to the stone of the same name. This semi precious stone, also referred to as the "stone of Babylon" by Albertus Magnus for its alleged magical properties, is also known as bloodstone, was used over the ages as an amulet for longevity, a talisman for success, and a preparation to treat ills and melancholy. It's really worth reading more on its fascinating history. The color of the fragrance matches that of the blood-red flecks that embed the dark pyrite-green stones.

The scent itself, built primarily around olibanum, elemi, and myrrh, is perceived by me to be a dry, scorching incense to start, well-suited to warm late summer and early autumn days. There is also this nuanced pimento spiciness, reminiscent of hot paprika, and the overall sensation in the heart evokes sun-baked dunes and sticky maritime pitch pines. There's a chewy, green-needle exudate concoction, blended with orange zest and frankincense burned as some cabalistic ritual. The heliotrope note that appears in the note pyramid may merely be just the power of suggestion to those who sense it, but there is little in the way of almond-cherry-powder.

The balmy, lightly sweet woodiness lies closer to the skin after an hour, though it persists as sort of an aura that reignites with some perspiration (I love when fragrances do this). I also smell distant spiced biscuits, almost like speculoos (Biscoff) among the incense and woods, which I rather enjoy here, and I am not one to seek out anything that smells confectionary or of a sweet comestible.

After the first impression - a three minus - true enthusiasm has now taken hold. Once again, a very special specimen from the Durbano brand. In the first hour, the sillage is quite strong and it exudes an iron-rich, red fruit scent. I perceive a cherry, a cocktail cherry, slightly sweet, with a delicate hint of marzipan. The iron-rich character is constant, metallic, but never cool. A hot, rich metal with a depth that touches me to the core. Pleasant shivers run down my spine; I want to sink into the deep dark red of the heavy bottle. The base of woods and warmth lasts long, but the aura retreats just above the skin. Just enough to satisfy me as aromatherapy. It's lovely that there are still such fragrances to discover :-)