Estraven

Fruits, spices and flowers smoked over coal embers.

The somewhat heavy, pleasantly, pleasingly hot, comfortably humid dusk weather somewhere along the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Lazy leisure in a crowd of lively fuss. Regardless of the language they speak-familiar, animated people, the unspoken culture of loud but undisturbing chatter, everyone fooling around in their own bubble, while being aware of the racket surrounding them... The smell of the summer flowers in the air, whiffs of sea breeze, a market full of fish and spices somewhere not far, the flavours of booze and food being served...
The air heavy with aromas, heady and delightful. The music changes every few steps, depending on the scene. You find your own rhythm as you walk. The flustered evening chirrup of birds on trees lead the way to stray kittens playing under foot, not afraid of anything. You think "Peur de rien! Advance, little ones!" The loveliest of reasons around to put a smile on your face. The
Southwestern punches the smells on your side as you move. The air is intoxicating as you breathe it in. It gets exciting for no apparent reason with every step, the silk scarf around your neck becomes too much, you feel the sweat breaking through your skin. You take it off with one fell swoop, loop it around your hand, let it fly behind you, like the flag of your own fallen empire. The thought puts another smile on, impish this time. The murmur of the flock you're about to become one of accompanies you as you march on.
It's one of those moments when you feel like it's all a dream, but very much real and alive at the same time. One of the most blissful gifts of life. A very mundane, fleeting feeling of mere seconds, minutes if you're lucky, abstract and subject to a specific set of conditions in the space-time continuum.

This perfume smells like a single glimpse in that scenario. The kind of which you can perceive with all your senses. Like a rushed step passing by the scene I've just ineffectually tried to describe. One needs to breathe just in the right moment, have a bare face, her hair down, her eyes open, mind clear and her heart candid. That is the glift it sucks you into. Oliveira captured the perfect nargile scent, and made it into the most beautiful hidden gem of its own kind.

I am glad beyond words they brought it back.

There is not much to say. Nice mimosa accord that has been used before. Sunny and powdery, beautiful. But after the first pleasant impression, it feels boring. It's been done before and better. Mimosa by Réminiscence is superior to this one. It has been launched before and has the same mimosa, but is a much more complex and vibrant composition. I would have expected more from Ellena.

Very interesting composition. The new-age aldehydes mimick the smell of clean, sweet water and a blisteringly hot & humid day. What I get is a quiet tuberose and linden wafting off as one moves. The "metallic" signature of the brand runs through the spine, but softly. Hardly recognisable bitter herbs in between all those facets. Despite the florals & aldehydes, not quite my thing, but much better than most "Ohhh we put 3865% of the natural this and that in it, we are better than everyone!" compositions labelled as the exclusivity of all offerings on today's market. It manages to keep the interest up. At least for a while. It has its days...

Striking composition!
Where to start? Each and every one of the perfumes in Alûstre collection feels special. But this one outshines others by a bit, along with my favourite, Blossom Blanche.
Opens with a bright, bitter mossy start. Slowly emerges something reminiscent of... oud? At first thought, I am reminded of a beloved Middle Eastern cheapie; a rare female offering a dear friend gifted me, the rarity of which lies in its bitterness. It's a floral oud, which isn't graced by the overly abused, dense, heavy, unashamedly sugared rose. It's rather an unsweet, green bouquet, like a proper bundle would be. A real spring invoker; keeping the oud feel synthetic, not the florals, nice one! The bitter oud leads the way, then clears it for the final sing of the graceful flowers... This is in the same vein, but even more complex and arresting.
After the initial, sparkling green light falling down the horizon, something earthy and alive starts emerging. Cold at first, then it starts warming up; the bitterness allows a tiny little bit of sweetness in. Just from the slight heat, I imagine. Must be the cistus and ambergris. It's a very intricate composition, which finally dries down to such a seemly, almost dandy-like "beauty". Not really a fougère, not really a chypre... Swing swing swings in between so elegantly. What a stunner!!!

This whole collection still is, and I reckon will remain undervalued by many.
Every single scent is very well thought, constructed and executed as a beautiful product which stands out in its own right. Duchaufour at his best; another successful project he contributed to, that actually managed to present worthy new offerings in a sea of chaos, or mostly modern rubbish, if I'm not to be too polite. Right up there with the exquisite Neela Vermeire repertoire, in my opinion.

Now the mandarin & bergamot ones seem to be the shiners as I've seen. Considering how this market have been under a delusion of masculinity dominance, that is not surprising. However, this one captured my heart at first encounter. Don't let the note list trick you, this is not a gourmand floral. It's a lily of the valley [muguet, not "myoudjet" like those of you who studied at Sorbonne(?) like to pronounce it], gently wrapped by other white florals, carefully infused in fruity and warm notes, which give the perfume a nostalgic feeling, rather than a sweet, immature quality. The prominence between the florals is interchangeable, not one is heavier than the other. This is a very gentle, smooth, pleasant-spoken, ringingly feminine fragrance, hence requires a light hand in application, in order to fully see the delicate picture it paints. And the otherwise heady white flowers are subdued skillfully. They sort of float in a cozy infusion of a mixture of sweets and sours, which makes the composition exude a spring-like warmth throughout the wear. Chapeaux once again to Monsieur Duchaufour, for his incredible skills of playing with the fruits in a composition. The balance to my nose is perfect, and both the beginning, and the end of this perfume is muguet. It's the calmly throbbing heart. And I'm so very grateful for this beautiful feminine offering.
Like the rest of the collection, this also has both the timeless classic feel, and the modern quality of the main line of makeup the brand make. Which is also exquisite by the way. From their choice of nose to the distribution of scent genres and the design of the bottles, Alûstre did a great job many nowadays seem like they simply cannot be bothered with. Very well done and congratulations.