ScentFan

That's what the name translates to, pain. Douleur is a cacophany of scents that never actually blend, twisting the brain this way and that, not letting any single impression coalesce. And that may be the point. Was this meant to be an olfactory translation of pain--the inability to relax or to ignore sensation? After all, this is Bogue and the genius of Antonio Gardoni. Each of the elements is beautifully handled, naturally, but together they offer no repose. Is it Civet or Benzoin for goodness sake, Kelp or Lavendar, Spearmint or Melon? Douleir is all of them and more. It conjures an image of Gardoni lying in bed, unable to sleep, meds not strong enough to dull his distress. Restlessly he struggles to his perfume organ and lets it speak for what he can't escape--misery endured yet still after while ... the beauty of being alive. I have a decant and may not buy this Bogue. It's certainly interesting though. Hmm, wait. I looked it up on LuckyScent. Pain, yes, but not from illness, apparently. Gordoni consulted a tattoo artist and bondage master in designing it. Thus the pleasure/pain result. Ah well, let the genius creative mind play.

Whoa! I'm almost tempted to say--all you other perfumers, sit down and let the big dog hunt. What big dog? Roja Dove. I won't really say it only because there are many other perfumers whose creations I adore, but listen, folks! This is a masterpiece! Let me tell you how I came to own it.

Lately my husband has either won the lottery without telling me, robbed a bank, or has become a tad unhinged. He decided I should own the Roja Dove perfume I've spent the last 4 years and 5 months lusting for: Haute Luxe. Naturally I dress for the occasion: red dress, gold earrings, NO perfume, and we drive to Neiman Marcus, the only place that sells it in the USA. At the perfume counters I am greeted by name. These aren't mere sales clerks, they're my friends who, over the years, have spent hours swapping perfume stories & info with me as I sniff away. A brand manager comes out to greet me. I introduce hubby and tell her, "Today is the day." With no further info, she claps in delight, goes and grabs their only bottle of Haute Luxe for me. They know my obsession perfectly well. Each time I've visited for the last 4 years and 5 months since it arrived, I've pointed to this bottle and said, "One day I'm going to buy that." Yesterday was the day. Charles, my regular clerk, was with another customer but when he saw me and the Haute Luxe he grinned and waved both hands in the air.

Naturally, while we're there we have to sniff other things as well. Charles sold hubby on a cedary bottle of Oud for Greatness by Initio, a new brand at the store. Then the brand manager asked if I'd smelled Chypre Extraordinaire. No, I hadn't. She sprays a card. I lift it to my nose. When I sniff, my head literally flies back at the unbridled beauty of this perfume. I gasp and exclaim, "Oh my god!"

What was I smelling? A divinity of chypre, a bliss of light oriental, so expertly blended, so deftly composed that it sings into my nose, Oakmoss dominant in the base like it's supposed to be, thank you very much EU 2014. If I try, yes, individual notes can easily be discerned, but my brain doesn't separate them at first. It registers as a single incomparable olfactory glory. "How much?" I ask. She tells me the high price. Not as high as Haute Luxe, mind you, but it would be the 2nd most expensive perfume I own. "Well," I say, crestfallen, "it can be my new lingering obsession." I forgot my transformed hubby was watching.

Today he went back to exchange a pair of earrings that broke as soon as I got them home last night. I thought nothing of it when he returned with a Neiman's bag, since he left with one. I am still in total shock that it also held this beauty which so deserves the word "Extraordinaire" in its name. Is it as gorgeous as Haute Luxe? No, that one's an actual narcotic. Having smelled it, life simply can't be the same, IMO. Chypre Extraordinare is great in another way. It's what a 2011 Chateauneuf du Pape is to Rhone wines, what a good Armagnac is to brandy. The bright top notes give way to a heavenly floral-pulpy fruit middle, down to a woody-resinous-animalic treasure of a base. An hour after applying, it still intensely mesmerizes and I expect this to continue.

Roja Dove justly reigns. Yes, there are other perfumers out there, but on my perfume shelves, he is the King. Have you Tuberose lovers smelled his Tuberose? OMG! They've stopped making it but in thanks for yesterday, the brand manager is going to hunt for some for me. Hasten the day!

Only question? What in the world am I getting hubby for Christmas?

Thanks to Fluxit's Blog about 100+ Natural Perfumery Brands, I sent for a sample set from the first one on the list, 100 Bon. Frankly. I did NOT expect the clarity of notes and brilliance of composition that immediately flew up my nose. Good gracious, this is a wondrous perfume, the kind I search for. It doesn't have the longevity of some, but the initial volume is very good and it's well worth reapplying. The really masterful, non-acrid top note of citrus and herbs starts things promisingly off. The Lavendar/Clary sage heart adds sophistication to the overall clarity and the faux oakmoss note in the base, Patchouli/Vetiver, appealingly deepens things, Add Cedar and Vanilla and this scent earns the phrase "da bomb." It will thrill any perfumista/perfumisto with a nose for the inspired and the natural. Why filing my taxes? Refund! Renamed supplementary perfume budget. If the next one of the samples is this good, I'm doing a sniff fest of the entire line in the forum.

This masterful sillage monster is my kind of perfume, a conglomeration of richnesses—the Birch Tar and Lemon that give Shalimar Extrait its unique edge, the Oakmoss and Labdanum of our once grand, but now EU-enfeebled Chypres, the densely fruity, smoky allure of plum pudding. Use more than one spray and you will reek, but gloriously. I was gifted it blind and was not disappointed. Neither was hubby, source of the gift. Yes, it’s overdone, like midnight is on a snowy night, marshmallows roasting over a bonfire, but my senses yearn for such nights. Three sprays for me to permit marinating.

I tried to love this fragrance which House of Matriarch just re-marketed as if it were new and I fell for all the hoopla. It is leathery. Yes. It is dark. Yes. It is rich. All true. However, I am left with an indelible impression. Shoe polish. My husband said he shined shoes for extra money in his youth and that’s what came to mind. I smelled again and sure enough. An expensive bottle of shoe polish I probably won’t wear. Hate to say this because I love HoM. Putting on skin. Sniffing again just to be sure...okay, well, modification—beautiful shoe polish. Divine, actually. Smoky and woody plum pudding sort of thing for a bit. Maybe I’d wear it after all. To a seance at a castle in the dark of winter. No need to wear it to an orgy. Things will smell like this soon enough.