Top Notes 
Aniseed
Mace
Mandarin orange
Orange
Pimento
Plum
Rosewood
Heart Notes 
Carnation
Cinnamon
Magnolia
Tuberose
Ylang-ylang
Base Notes 
Cedarwood
Musk
Opoponax
Sandalwood
Vanilla
Vetiver
Palonera
45 Reviews
Translated · Show original
Palonera
Top Review
24
from Hamburg
It has been a few years since I discovered the fragrances by Uli Schneider in the assortment of the Bruchsal perfumery Aus Liebe zum Duft, without really delving into them.
They were too unknown to me, and I could make too little of the name Uli Schneider, behind which I initially - mea culpa! - suspected a man, but not the Hamburg designer Uli Schneider, who, as stated on her website, "has been successfully selling exclusive women's collections worldwide since 1990."
It may be due to my fashion ignorance that I had not heard of her until now, even though she clearly operates in the tradition of houses like Joop and Sander, which set out from Hamburg to conquer the fashion world.
Yet while there are likely very few people in the western hemisphere who are unfamiliar with the aforementioned names, Uli Schneider's fashion seems to be reserved for a circle of insiders along the Rhine and Elbe, for whom she has opened showrooms in Hamburg and Düsseldorf.
I read that there are further branches in France, Italy, Belgium, Asia, and Switzerland.
To complement her collections characterized by "understatement and the finest materials, transparency, and clear lines," Uli Schneider launched the fragrance concept "two of a kind" in 2009, developed by the also Hamburg-based perfumer Kim Weisswange, featuring a "floral-fresh daytime companion" and "a stronger variant for the grand evening appearance," which presumably refers to the "No. 1," the first Schneider fragrance I encountered - at a time when Uli Schneider was no longer listed at Wuchsa, and I could find no way online to purchase the designer's fragrances.
Strange.
An olfactory flash in the pan?
Yet it is certainly not bad, Mrs. Schneider's No. 1.
A brief, almost aldehydic opening is quickly followed by almost unripe notes of peach and plum, which soon blend with a warm, rich bouquet of so finely intertwined flowers that hardly any of them can be separated.
At least not for me, not for my nose.
I think of the opulent floral fragrances from the eighties and nineties, of "Van Cleef" and "Gianni Versace," but also of "Enlèvement au Sérail" and the early classics that Francis Kurkdjian cites with him.
Dense and heavy and very elegant, the "No. 1" feels on my skin, without being too loud, expansive, cosmopolitan.
Tuberose, carnation, and ylang-ylang give the fragrance its distinctly feminine, mature character, yet they are so finely tuned here that no space is flooded.
A little wood provides support and stability, a drop of resin adds depth.
Thus, the "No. 1," when moderately dosed, qualifies as a daytime fragrance, although it is likely to truly unfold its full potential in the evening when the occasion is finer, and the clothing more elegant.
However, I would not see the "No. 1" as an extension of Uli Schneider's current fashion - it lacks the hip coolness for that.
I have no idea who has worn the "No. 1," who might still wear it.
Here, it seems no one owns it, seems no one knows it - and I will not wear it either, not beyond the test.
Perhaps because I do not live by the Elbe, nor directly by the Rhine.
Because I do not belong to the clientele for whom Mrs. Schneider sews her dresses.
And that's perfectly fine.
They were too unknown to me, and I could make too little of the name Uli Schneider, behind which I initially - mea culpa! - suspected a man, but not the Hamburg designer Uli Schneider, who, as stated on her website, "has been successfully selling exclusive women's collections worldwide since 1990."
It may be due to my fashion ignorance that I had not heard of her until now, even though she clearly operates in the tradition of houses like Joop and Sander, which set out from Hamburg to conquer the fashion world.
Yet while there are likely very few people in the western hemisphere who are unfamiliar with the aforementioned names, Uli Schneider's fashion seems to be reserved for a circle of insiders along the Rhine and Elbe, for whom she has opened showrooms in Hamburg and Düsseldorf.
I read that there are further branches in France, Italy, Belgium, Asia, and Switzerland.
To complement her collections characterized by "understatement and the finest materials, transparency, and clear lines," Uli Schneider launched the fragrance concept "two of a kind" in 2009, developed by the also Hamburg-based perfumer Kim Weisswange, featuring a "floral-fresh daytime companion" and "a stronger variant for the grand evening appearance," which presumably refers to the "No. 1," the first Schneider fragrance I encountered - at a time when Uli Schneider was no longer listed at Wuchsa, and I could find no way online to purchase the designer's fragrances.
Strange.
An olfactory flash in the pan?
Yet it is certainly not bad, Mrs. Schneider's No. 1.
A brief, almost aldehydic opening is quickly followed by almost unripe notes of peach and plum, which soon blend with a warm, rich bouquet of so finely intertwined flowers that hardly any of them can be separated.
At least not for me, not for my nose.
I think of the opulent floral fragrances from the eighties and nineties, of "Van Cleef" and "Gianni Versace," but also of "Enlèvement au Sérail" and the early classics that Francis Kurkdjian cites with him.
Dense and heavy and very elegant, the "No. 1" feels on my skin, without being too loud, expansive, cosmopolitan.
Tuberose, carnation, and ylang-ylang give the fragrance its distinctly feminine, mature character, yet they are so finely tuned here that no space is flooded.
A little wood provides support and stability, a drop of resin adds depth.
Thus, the "No. 1," when moderately dosed, qualifies as a daytime fragrance, although it is likely to truly unfold its full potential in the evening when the occasion is finer, and the clothing more elegant.
However, I would not see the "No. 1" as an extension of Uli Schneider's current fashion - it lacks the hip coolness for that.
I have no idea who has worn the "No. 1," who might still wear it.
Here, it seems no one owns it, seems no one knows it - and I will not wear it either, not beyond the test.
Perhaps because I do not live by the Elbe, nor directly by the Rhine.
Because I do not belong to the clientele for whom Mrs. Schneider sews her dresses.
And that's perfectly fine.
17 Comments
