Micscent

As a newbie (meanwhile not so new anymore), I try to write a series of comments. This is the ninth part.

The motivation, the idea and the criteria
I'm a real fan of the scent of roses (in my youth my mother had Paris from YSL. I thought "the hammer") but the rose isn't exactly the first thing you come across as part of a men's fragrance. Nevertheless the rose is included in - as I think - more and more men's fragrances.
According to the following criteria I have therefore selected 12 of these fragrances and will comment and compare them one by one:
- Men's fragrance (except Desert Rose by Urban Scent as a unisex scent, I just had to use it)
- Rose as heart note (exception: Much Ado About The Duke from Penhaligon's, I was just in London at the idea)
- Published from the year 2000
- Rating of at least 6.0 with at least 40 ratings
- No Oud (not mine)

Fragrance no. 9 is: L'Homme Idéal - Eau de Parfum (*2016) by Guerlain
(so far: (1) Lumière Noire pour Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian, (2) 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract by Atkinsons, (3) Lyric Man by Amouage, (4) Colonia Ambra by Acqua di Parma), (5) Déclaration d'un Soir by Cartier, (6) Desert Rose by Urban Scents , (7) ManRose by Etro), (8) Much Ado About The Duke by Penhaligon's

The house, the perfumer and the shopping
Guerlain is one of the oldest perfume houses in the world. Founded in 1828, it was run by the family of the same name until 1994. The perfumer-chemist Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain opened his first house in 1828 at Place l'Etoile, today's Place Charles-de-Gaulle (for those who are interested: The square was renamed on 13 November 1970, a few days after the death of the former French President). In 1853, Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain donated his Eau de Cologne Impériale to Empress Eugénie on the occasion of her marriage to Napoleon III, thus becoming the official court perfumer. Four generations later and after the development of classics such as Shalimar (1925) and Habit Rouge (1965), the company was taken over by the luxury group LVMH in 1994. The great-great-grandson of the company's founder, Jean-Paul Guerlain, was the last owner and, until 2008, the brand's head perfumer. Alongside Mathilde Laurent, who - as described in No. 5 (Déclaration d'un Soir by Cartier) - had already worked with and for Jean-Paul Guerlain in the early 1990s, it was and still is Thierry Wasser, above all, who drove the further developments. He succeeded Jean-Paul Guerlain in 2008, becoming the first perfumer-in-chief at Guerlain not to bear the legendary name. Swiss-born Thierry Wasser (*1961), who designed L'Homme Idéal - Eau de Parfum here - together with the German Delphine Jelk, is one of the "outstanding personalities in the perfume art of today". With this description, he was honored for his life's work on May 12, 2019 at the German Perfume Awards. After an apprenticeship at the Givaudan Perfume School in Geneva, his first creation (for Givaudan) was Salvador Dali for Men in 1987. In an interview, he describes his work as a melodic piece of music.
I came across L'Homme Idéal - Eau de Parfum for my series rather by chance and I would like to thank Shuqush for the bottling.

The fragrance, the ingredients and the experience
Guerlain's creations are often said to have a slight "family resemblance" in the form of a common, classic "scent chord". This so-called "Guerlinade" is the "code name" for a mixture of jasmine, iris, tonka bean, bergamot, Bulgarian rose and vanilla. L'Homme Idéal - Eau de Parfum also quotes this tradition. The fragrance starts with an intense almond amaranth, (cherry) fruity note. In contrast to the sometimes tangy-nutty to slightly bitter, here it is quite clearly the sweet side of almond, complemented by the fruity side of bergamot. And in my opinion, a hint of cardamom and possibly also cinnamon is added at the beginning - slightly balsamic. The bergamot probably comes from Calabria, where Guerlain - by the way - has been switching to organic farming for a few years now. According to Thierry Wasser, many people do not know the scent of bergamot from nature, which in his opinion makes it mysterious. This is part of the concept here, "enveloping, seductive and mysterious" is how the fragrance should appear. Interestingly enough, the almond tree belongs to the rose family and almonds are known to be used in the production of marzipan. While rose water is occasionally added to round off the taste - i.e. in the production of marzipan - the (Bulgarian) rose follows here, also in a rounded form. The heart note, however, is determined by vanilla. The incense is added - and it does so in a wonderful and perfectly balanced way - which then slowly merges into the leather. The whole thing is framed in a further rounding off by soft sandalwood and the manel-like tonka. As a result, Thierry Wasser and Delphine Jelk have created two triads in L'Homme Idéal - Eau de Parfum, two three-tone chords: The classic "guerlinade" (enveloping, seductive) of (1) bergamot - (2) rose and vanilla - (3) tonka, and the wooden oriental (seductive, mysterious) of (1) almond and spices - (2) incense - (3) leather and sandalwood. And the "gourmand" of almond, vanilla and tonka combines the two triads into a melodic work of art, entirely in the intention of Thierry Wasser.

The conclusion, the comparison and the practical application
In Guerlain's L'Homme Ideal range, the eau de parfum is certainly the fragrance for the cooler months and evenings, perhaps (with its classical DNA) for evenings with classical music. In my series, it's most likely to join Colonia Ambra (see "A dozen roses for men - 4/12"). The rose is also here accompanying and rounding off. Seldom have I experienced the development of a perfume from the top to the base note so finely and yet so clearly. However, for my taste - especially for an eau de parfum - the fragrance could be a bit stronger in the haltbarket and sillage. In any case, L'Homme Ideal - Eau de Parfum is "enveloping, seductive and mysterious" and 100% a wonderful gourmand.

(1) Lumière Noire pour Homme - The noble softie
(2) 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract - The Elegant Briton
(3) Lyric Man - The "pure" rose
(4) Colonia Ambra - The "warm (rose) wood"
(5) Déclaration d'un Soir - The "olfactory emotion"
(6) Desert Rose - "The name of the rose"
(7) ManRose - The aesthete
(8) Much Ado About The Duke - The ambivalent classic
(9) L'Homme Idéal - Eau de Parfum - The Gourmand

As a newcomer here, I'm going to try my hand at a series of comments. This is the eighth part.

The motivation, the idea and the criteria
I'm a real fan of the scent of roses (in my youth my mother had Paris from YSL. I found "the hammer") but the rose is not exactly the first thing you come across as part of a men's fragrance. Nevertheless the rose is included in - as I think - more and more men's fragrances.
According to the following criteria I have therefore selected 12 of these fragrances and will comment and compare them bit by bit:
- Men's fragrance (except Desert Rose by Urban Scent as a unisex scent, I just had to use it)
- Rose as heart note (exception: Much Ado About The Duke from Penhaligon's, I was just in London at the time of the idea)
- Published from the year 2000
- Rating of at least 6.0 with at least 40 ratings
- No oud (not mine)

Fragrance number 8 is: Much Ado About The Duke (*2016) by Penhaligon's
(previously: (1) Lumière Noire pour Homme from Maison Francis Kurkdjian, (2) 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract from Atkinsons, (3) Lyric Man from Amouage, (4) Colonia Ambra from Acqua di Parma), (5) Déclaration d'un Soir from Cartier, (6) Desert Rose from Urban Scents , (7) ManRose from Etro)

The house, the perfumer and shopping
From a "corner BarberShop""" to a worldwide perfume empire. William Henry Penhaligon (1837-1902) was a barber and founded his business in 1861 in Penzance (county of Cornwall in England). In 1869 he moved to London and worked in a hammam in Jermyn Street, also as a barber. Jermyn Street in central London was famous for the shirt makers who lived there and the very exclusive hammam was visited by politicians, celebrities and members of the royal family. In 1872 William Penhaligon also released his first fragrance, it was "Hammam Bouquet". Inspired by the aromas of the Turkish bath, it is said to have been William Penhaligon's favourite throughout his life and is still one of Penhaligon's bestsellers today. In 1880 he founded the company Penhaligon's & Jeavons (Haircutters and Perfumers), since then Penhaligon's has been awarded several times as purveyor to the court of the English Royal House, most recently in 1988 by Lady Diana Princess of Wales. In 2015 the Spanish company Puig took over Penhaligon's. The company, which is still family-owned (now in its third generation), was founded in 1914 and, in addition to Penhaligon's, also distributes Paco Rabanne, Jean Paul Gaultier, Comme des Garçons, Prada and L'Artisan Parfumeur, among others. In 2016, Puig launched Penhaligon's, an entire collection of new fragrances - as "olifactory fiction". The fiction consists of a rather eccentric British aristocratic family. Each fragrance is accompanied by a short story to introduce us to the person behind the fragrance (there is even a small booklet "Penhaligon's Portraits - Into the wild"). One of the fragrances is "Much Ado About The Duke". And the list of Swiss perfumer Daphné Bugey, who created the fragrance, is as illustrious as the Puig brands. From "Armani Privé - Rose Milano" (brand new!) to "Rose 31" (from Le Labo) to Valentino's "Valentina Pink", the rose also plays a major role in her work. I had to buy "the Duke" in one of the small Penhaligan's boutiques - great!

The fragrance, the ingredients and the experience
But once again back to the aristocratic family. The Duke Nelson has married London's most desirable girl, the Duchess Rose. However, his whimsical impulses make the tongues of society boil. The rumor is that his still young marriage is already at an end. The fragrance is accordingly ambivalent like him: a floral yet masculine, leathery-woody scent. The scent starts peppery, almost a bit "sprittig". Nevertheless very pleasant, but of course striking and angular. The distinct gin note reminds of "Juniper Sling" from the same house. But here the whole thing becomes softer very quickly, due to a wonderful, almost lovely rose. The latter only underpins and never takes a dominant role. Soon the woody note is added. Whereby I don't think it is cashmere wood (as one of my pre-commentators thinks) but a mixture of cedar and especially sandalwood and I think I can make out leather as well. The rose always remains in a discreet centre. And if ever there was a flower that symbolizes perfume, it would certainly be the rose. It has already played a role in all kinds of cultures. The ancient Egyptians considered the rose sacred to the goddess Isis, in the classical world the rose is associated with the goddess of love (Aphrodite or Venus) and in medieval Christianity the five petals of the flower symbolize the five wounds of Christ and are later associated with the Virgin Mary. Already towards the end of the Middle Ages the rose was cultivated for its fragrance in the Middle East.

The conclusion, the comparison and the practical application
Spicy and woody (like "Colonia Ambra", see "A Dozen Roses for Men - 4/12") with a subtle floral - i.e. rosy - quality makes "Much Ado About The Duke" an ambivalent classic. He combines the femininity of the rose with the masculinity of sandalwood and leather. The whole thing perfectly connected and balanced, chic and perhaps a little decadent, strong and invigorating as well as soft and supple. With good 100 ratings so far a 8.1, from me there is a smooth 10!

(1) Lumière Noire pour Homme - The noble softie
(2) 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract - The Elegant Briton
(3) Lyric Man - The "pure" rose
(4) Colonia Ambra - The "warm (rose) wood"
(5) Déclaration d'un Soir - The "olfactory emotion"
(6) Desert Rose - "The Name of the Rose"
(7) ManRose - The aesthete
(8) Much Ado About The Duke

As a newcomer here, I'm going to try my hand at a series of comments. This is the fourth part.

The motivation, the idea and the criteria
I'm a real fan of the scent of roses (in my youth my mother had Paris from YSL. I found "the hammer") But the rose isn't exactly the one you first come across as part of a men's fragrance. Nevertheless, I think the rose is contained in more and more men's fragrances.
According to the following criteria I have selected 12 of these fragrances and will comment and compare them bit by bit:
- Men fragrance (exception Desert Rose from Urban Scent as unisex fragrance, I simply had to add)
- Rose as heart note (exception: Much ado about the Duke of Penhaligon, I was just in London at the idea)
- Published from the year 2000
- Rating of at least 6.0 with at least 40 ratings
- No Oud (not so mine)
Scent No. 7 is: ManRose (*2017) by Etro
(previously: (1) Lumière Noire pour Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian, (2) 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract by Atkinsons, (3) Lyric Man by Amouage, (4) Colonia Ambra by Acqua di Parma), (5) Déclaration d'un Soir by Cartier, (6) Desert Rose by Urban Scents)

The house, the perfumer and the shopping

As a newcomer here, I'm going to try my hand at a series of comments. This is the sixth part.

The motivation, the idea and the criteria
I'm a real fan of the scent of roses (in my youth my mother had Paris from YSL. I found "the hammer") But the rose isn't exactly the one you first come across as part of a men's fragrance. Nevertheless, I think the rose is contained in more and more men's fragrances.
According to the following criteria I have selected 12 of these fragrances and will comment and compare them bit by bit:
- Men's fragrance (exception Desert Rose from Urban Scents as unisex fragrance, I just had to add)
- Rose as heart note (exception: Much ado about the Duke of Penhaligon, I was just in London at the idea)
- Published from the year 2000
- Rating of at least 6.0 with at least 40 ratings
- No Oud (not so mine)

Fragrance No. 6 is: Desert Rose (*2014) (as a unisex fragrance the one exception among the criteria)
(previously: (1) Lumière Noire pour Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian, (2) 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract by Atkinsons, (3) Lyric Man by Amouage, (4) Colonia Ambra by Acqua di Parma), (5) Déclaration d'un Soir by Cartier

The house, the perfumer and the shopping
The French Marie Le Febvre (*1976) began her career at the age of 13. During a student internship in a cosmetics company she met the perfume star Jacques Cavallier (who designed "Pasha de Cartier" and "L´Eau d´Issey" only a few years later (1992)). He gave her a small chemistry set for perfumers, with the order to keep a fragrance diary. After a week she gave him her homework and got a second, bigger box for it. At the end of the internship she had found a mentor. This childhood encounter initially led her to study chemistry. She then went to the famous perfume school ISPICA in Versailles - like most of the protagonists of "A Dozen of Roses for Men" - and wrote her thesis about the sweet grass vetiver. After her studies, she worked for international perfume houses such as L'Oréal, the LVMH Group and Estée Lauder. Together with her husband, Alexander Urban, who is an expert in fragrance raw materials, she opened the fragrance manufactory "Urban Scents" in Berlin Schöneberg in 2014. As far as the name is concerned, almost everyone probably had a different association at first! By the way, at this point I would like to mention the bottle for once: The midnight blue design (absolutely against the sunlight!) with a cap made of brushed brass comes from a glass factory in Dresden from the 1930s. A propeller is the label and documents the passion of the two owners for flying. I recommend the "Duftspaziergang Nr. 4" by TVSpee (https://www.parfumo.de/Benutzer/FvSpee/Blog/Eintrag/Berliner_uftspaziergnge_Teil_4_Dona_Herrera_Sancha_Pansa_und_die_Propellerflgel) to the shop in Berlin, which also houses a lot of art and in which Marie Le Febvre also creates custom-made fragrances for customers.

The fragrance, the ingredients and the experience
According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Marie Le Febvre's fragrance creations are "characterized by a reduced opulence that is expressed in the purity of the ingredients and the craftsman's attention to detail" Desert Rose, named after the desert rose, a plant that can also flower in hot areas, is a fine example of this. "Desert Rose" smells rosy from the start. The rose is only accompanied by a few other ingredients. On the one hand there are the spicy components cardamom and ginger and on the other hand the more sweet facets of salicylates and musk. Here we have to deal with an intense but in no case exhausting (Moroccan) rose. In addition to the spices mentioned I mean nutmeg, saffron and pepper. In the foreground (according to the scent pyramid), however, the cardamom belonging to the ginger family - here in contrast to "Décalaration d´un Soir" - is clearly reduced and the ginger itself. The essential oil extracted from the root of the ginger also smells fresh and fruity, but also has a balsamic and somewhat lemony note. Ginger oil also has a stimulating and euphoric effect. Salicylates are the salts of salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is found in essential oils and as a plant hormone in the leaves, blossoms and roots of various plants (e.g. the sugar birch) and, as ethyl salicylic acid ester, has a pleasant mintlike odor, which can be perceived beautifully here. (In North America, almost all chewing gum manufacturers offer the taste Wintergreen, which contains salicylic acid methyl ester, in addition to the classic flavours such as peppermint.). Like Lyric Man, there's musk in the base. And quite typically, an animal and a slightly sweet scent is combined. The "animal element" conveys the warmth and thus the sensations of security as well as sexual stimulation. The course of the fragrance remains very constant over the whole time (with me approx. 8 hours with a not too strong Sillage). Again and again I sniff and that for several days and weeks, but the scent cannot be "nailed down". A wonderful constant change, better still an ambivalence, which really makes the fragrance a unisex fragrance and therefore special androgynous. This without ever becoming arbitrary, but always stay special.

The conclusion, the comparison and the practical application
This rose is
- light and dark
- velvety warm and fresh
- filigree transparent and deep
- delicately mild and peppery
- sweet and spicy
- soft balsamic and sharp
- calming and stimulating euphoric < br />
- classic and modern
- feminine and masculine
This rose always remains ambivalent and androgynous. He or she does not send the wearer in a particular direction, but in all directions. Desert Rose" thus becomes the olfactory analogy of Umberto Eco's book title "The Name of the Rose". There the title refers to the last sentence of the book "Die Rose von einst steht nur als Name ..." (The rose of once only stands as name ...) Eco commented on this hidden quote: "The name of the rose sends the reader in all directions - not in any particular direction." The "hammer" for every occasion and for me a smooth 10!

(1) Lumière Noire pour Homme - The noble softie
(2) 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract - The elegant Brite
(3) Lyric Man - The "pure" Rose
(4) Colonia Ambra - The "warm (rose) wood"
(5) Déclaration d'un Soir - The "olfactory emotion"
(6) Desert Rose - "The Name of the Rose"

As a newcomer here, I'm going to try my hand at a series of comments. This is the fifth part.

The motivation, the idea and the criteria
I'm a real fan of the scent of roses (in my youth my mother had Paris from YSL. I found "the hammer") But the rose isn't exactly the one you first come across as part of a men's fragrance. Nevertheless, I think the rose is contained in more and more men's fragrances.
According to the following criteria I have selected 12 of these fragrances and will comment and compare them bit by bit:
- Men's fragrance (exception Desert Rose from Urban Scents as unisex fragrance, I just had to add)
- Rose as heart note (exception: Much ado about the Duke of Penhaligon, I was just in London at the idea)
- Published from the year 2000
- Rating of at least 6.0 with at least 40 ratings
- No Oud (not so mine)

Fragrance No. 5 is: Déclaration d'un Soir by Cartier (*2012)
(previously: (1) Lumière Noire pour Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian, (2) 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract by Atkinsons, (3) Lyric Man by Amouage, (4) Colonia Ambra by Acqua di Parma)

The house, the perfumer and the shopping
In 1847, Louis-Francois Cartier took over his master's jewellery studio in Paris, thus laying the foundation for today's Cartier. Starting from jewellery, a watch division was established in 1874, and in 1981 the first fragrances, "Must de Cartier" and "Santos", were added. The name "Santos" probably goes back to the pilot watch "Cartier Santos" developed in 1904, the first wristwatch with a leather strap. Since 1997, Cartier has been part of the Richemont Group, which also includes brands such as A. Lange & Söhne, IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre as well as Chloé and Net-A-Porter.
The perfumer of "Déclaration d'un Soir" - Mathilde Laurent (*1976) - studied biology and chemistry at ISIPCA ("Institut Supérieur du Parfum des Cosmétiques et des Aromes" in Versailles), where Francis Kurkdjian and some of the protagonists of "A Dozen Roses for Men" also studied. At the beginning of the 90s she met Jean-Paul Guerlain at a school party and asked him for an internship. He's supposed to have simply replied, "Why not?" This was the beginning of 11 years of work for Guerlain in which the reinterpretation of the cult fragrance "Shalimar" ("Shalimar Eau Légère") was created. She joined Cartier in 2005. Here she became the first female "chief perfumer" and creative director. "Olfactory shock", "instinctive beauty", "invisible jewellery", "freedom" and "overdose" are the keywords of her vision of a perfume.
For the bottling of "Déclaration d'un Soir" I would like to thank BruceLee. once again

The fragrance, the ingredients and the experience
Oriental, striking and peppery is the prelude to this "olfactory shock". The cardamom, in the canon of oriental spices, is the first voice. Cardamom, which belongs to the ginger family, brings the "invisible jewelry" as complementary perceptions - they are sharp and slightly sweet as well as flowery and fruity with citrus-like notes. Memories of eucalyptus and camphor awaken. Incidentally, cardamom was already used for perfumes in the first century after Christ. The other components are in agreement: The black pepper brings further sharpness. The cumin or cumin, which I announced in the commentary on "Lumière Noire pour homme", introduces the rose here - as there - and gives the fragrance a warmer base. This is absorbed by the nutmeg, which - after about an hour - together with the floweriness of the rose makes the scent more sensual and warmer. From my point of view, the whole thing is not sterile, but becomes an "instinctive beauty", unmistakable and special. The rose plays around more than it takes on the leading role and the sandalwood in the base brings - after about three hours - besides the warmth a light velvety, but also emphasizes once again the oriental basic tone of the fragrance.

The conclusion, the comparison and the practical application
"A stormy revelation" writes Chartier himself. And this fragrance is certainly not pleasantly balanced. Here the "freedom" was taken to redefine the consistently very traditional ingredients. This actually works - at least at the beginning - like an "overdose". And by the way this is - from my point of view - the consequent further development of the original fragrance "Déclaration" from 1998. I was shocked at the beginning and am now a fan of this fragrance. But that's exactly what Mathilde Laurent wants. Their fragrances are designed as "active ingredients designed to convey strong emotions". And that is the case here! So far an average rating of 7 out of 250 ratings. I must set an example and give a 10, not least for the consistent implementation of a vision.

(1) Lumière Noire pour Homme - The noble softie
(2) 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract - The elegant Brite
(3) Lyric Man - The "pure" Rose
(4) Colonia Ambra - The "warm (rose) wood"
(5) Déclaration d'un Soir - The "olfactory emotion"