Strenesse Strenesse 2001

Today, I want to tell you about one of my favorite fragrances.

Strenesse and I became quite good friends in 2001. I believe it was in October when I held the very slender bottle with the milky liquid in my hands at Douglas.

Somehow, the creamy milky consistency of the perfume piqued my curiosity, and so I decided to test Strenesse.

Strenesse envelops me with a warm, creamy almond scent that initially smells a bit like coconut, even though there is no coconut in it. The fragrance remains very warm, and shortly after, a few lily of the valley and jasmine flowers join in, but only very subtly in the background. The whole thing is surrounded by fine vanilla and warm sandalwood, and I immediately think of a large bathtub filled with pleasantly warm water that smells of almond blossoms and vanilla blossom oil.

Strenesse is a “sweet” scent, but it doesn’t exhibit that intrusive sweetness and heaviness, as the vanilla stays very much in the background and the almond blossom remains creamy and soft. The sillage is present but not annoying, and a few sprays are enough to smell good until the evening. I constantly receive compliments for this wonderful fragrance ;-)

I tend to wear Strenesse more in the autumn or during the cooler months, although I also use it in summer (like today) in cool temperatures and continuous rain. It is no longer in production, but it is still available online, and the prices are reasonable.

I hope that the almond blossom and I can enjoy many cozy autumn and winter days together for a long time!

... and an old kitchen cabinet from 1930. My grandma was a master not only in cooking, but also in baking cakes. For special holidays, she baked "Frankfurter Kranz" (do you know it?). We kids were allowed to do the lesser tasks and then lick the bowl.
The kitchen cabinet, a monster from around 1930, had many doors and drawers. The drawers were made of ceramic, with handles. On one side of the cabinet, she stored dried herbs in the drawers, and on the other side, cake spices. There was the drawer with vanilla sugar (scraped pod, soaked in sugar for years), cinnamon, sugar, flour, semolina, etc., and the compartments with sweet and bitter almonds (whole!). Peeling and chopping them was the task of us grandchildren (after they had been blanched). Grandma was meanwhile baking a Gugelhupf. The recipe is not revealed, family secret! Just one thing: raisins were added, which had soaked in a liter of rum for 2 days! One piece of cake was enough, and you had no worries anymore!
She cooked real vanilla pudding (not the stuff from a packet!). And with a lot of cream, butter, and some of the chopped almonds, a buttercream was made. The cold Gugelhupf was cut in half twice, filled with vanilla-almond cream, and then covered with vanilla-almond buttercream. The remaining almonds were roasted in good butter and thrown all around the cake!
Can you now imagine how the scent smells, or do you need the pyramid? A woman wearing this scent smells exactly like a "Frankfurter Kranz"!

Strangely, this scent seems to have a calming effect...
I wore it happily for many, many years, but it "held me back" in my development...
My twins loved it; it was their "Mom" smell.
A piece of fabric was sprayed and given to them;
fears of loss, homesickness, or sadness were banished.
Through this perfume, I created the aura of a good mother (which I was not)
Too cozy, too comfortable, too motherly, too peaceful...
PeaceJoyCake - NO - no more, this scent was a perfect mask
and it served me well, but I deceived my environment with this fragrance.
For that, I am grateful. BUT:
my life now needs new
olfactory challenges...
My children will turn 30 in January.
They no longer need a mom...
and I no longer need "Strenesse."

I would claim that Strenesse EDP could well be a playful variant of Angel, Angel Innocent. Those who do not like this direction will not find joy in Strenesse. I once had Innocent (blue bottle) and experienced the same issues as with Strenesse.

Strenesse was developed by fashion designer Gabriele Strehle with a lot of passion. The already successful designer wanted to create something mysterious, magical, and veiled. According to the motto: What is truly exciting is what you cannot see, it arouses curiosity. What cannot be explained stimulates the imagination. I see it that way too, and that's probably why I was drawn to this fragrance.

The bottle, unfortunately not pictured here, is made of clear glass, cylindrical, and rational. A fingerprint is embedded in the cylinder, making it feel great in the hand. The sprayer in my bottle is the best I've ever had, and that needs to be mentioned here.

The twist with this fragrance is the liquid; it is slightly milky - very innovative for 2001, and the bottle appealed to me so much that I absolutely wanted to get to know the scent. Somehow, the memory of almond milk is present, and that was also intended by Ms. Strehle. Everything worked out with Kalix, dear Gabi - at least up to that point. By the way, Strenesse EDP was a blind order.

Initially, I was thrilled; the first spray, mhhh, it was so completely different.
Almond milk, which you press out of almond kernels, is wonderful; you can drink it, apply it to your skin, and now in this fragrance... But everything turned out differently. Gabi meant well; the almond aroma dominates, but the essence of iris, vanilla, and amber deepens the almond note, slightly fruity, a bit sweet, a little restless, with a hint of licorice; the floral influences remain very subordinate to me. I wouldn't want to deny the quality of Strenesse.

At times, I really feel like I'm only smelling a single fragrance note; it is indeed the almond that dominates here extremely, but this note has, in my opinion, a synthetic fragrance molecule attached to it that I simply cannot pinpoint. After a while, this led to the fragrance becoming somewhat annoying and exhausting. I tried it again and again, always with the same result. This fragrance simply hovers above my skin; it does not seek a connection with me at all; it practically stalks me. It was the same back then with Angel Innocent.

Strenesse EDP is quite difficult to obtain today. I believe this fragrance was never intended for the mass market, but rather for special people. This fragrance is definitely striking, rare, and extraordinarily different. However, I find it hard to say which type of woman it would suit, or man?

So, Fran, now it's your turn!

Gabriele Strehle creates fashion that looks good on both my mother and me.
Sporty - elegant is how I would describe her style.
My favorite parka is from Strenesse - casual and stylish.
That's why her fragrance had to come into the house.
The bottle is straightforward and uncomplicated like her wardrobe - but the scent is unexpectedly soft - almost romantic.
Mmm - the almond milk is soft and aromatic. Very feminine.
The peach adds a slightly sweet, fruity note - but very subtle.
Jasmine and heliotrope are friendly and cheerful.
The vanilla gives a delicious sweetness.
A multifaceted feminine fragrance with style.
I wear it as fondly as her clothing.