Sumi

Elisire.
“A cosmos of sensations. A stellar constellation in a remote place where it feels and smells like paradise. An extraordinary journey for the senses, into the open, the grand and the exotic.”

Elisire, founded in 2015 as an independent conceptual perfume brand by Franck Saltzwedel, designer and artist, with an impressive biography and career in the perfume industry.
Franck Saltzwedel’s inspiration for Elisire is primarily based on his fascination with nature and the wonder of colors. This is reflected in both his unique bottle design and his fragrances.

I felt very drawn to the entire concept and wanted to get to know the fragrances.
And what can I say, my enthusiasm knows no bounds. Not only on a personal level, as it aligns with my taste. More than just enthusiasm, in today’s sea of fragrances, having arrived in the mainstream of niche with “been there, smelled that,” encountering something so special. No concept fragrances that are so creative and unique that they end up being unbearable. No 730th oud scent, no Arabian Nights Collection. No, here we find a classically elegant collection with a modern, innovative twist, in the highest possible quality. If Caron had been founded in 2015, the fragrances would look just like this.
For the collections, Franck Saltzwedel chose the best ingredients as well as the best perfumers. As is the case here with Jasmin Paradis, the legendary Alberto Morillas, who also created Poudre Desire (a wonderful iris scent) from the collection.

I chose Jasmin Paradis for my first comment on Elisire because I think, objectively speaking, it is the best fragrance in the collection.

Jasmin Paradis is meant to reflect a Mediterranean garden under a clear blue sky.

The fragrance opens with a bright freshness of bergamot, orange blossom, and grapefruit. According to the list. I don’t perceive any of the notes individually. It’s a bright aura that I sense, nothing citrusy, nothing piercing. On the contrary, the creaminess of the jasmine is noticeable right from the start.
As the fragrance develops, it transitions step by step, just like the color transitions of the bottles, floral-creamy.
Reaching the peak, we are now at the jasmine, a jasmine that is out of this world and that I have never smelled before. Bright and clear, rich yet subtle. Like a polished diamond. The creaminess and richness are almost tangible.
It is a nuanced jasmine accord, composed of Paradisone, the synthetic jasmine component, and two natural jasmine essences: jasmine sambac and jasmine petals. A masterpiece!

As recently heard from perfumer Hans Hendley, synthetics provide a framework for the fragrance, while the natural ingredients provide the beauty.
And even as a die-hard natural perfume lover, I can only agree with that. The elegance and complexity, as well as the natural longevity, would not be remotely possible with purely natural ingredients.

The base is again intended as a framework, from which I perceive the musk the most. But here too, the transition, in which the jasmine accord never gets lost, is a gradual one.

The most fascinating thing for me about the Elisire fragrances is the clarity of the scents and the seemingly effortless simplicity for the nose, which simply perceives the beauty behind which the complexity of the fragrances hides. Perfume art at the highest level. Class of days gone by paired with innovative elements.

The sillage is close to the body and the longevity is fantastic. I can still perceive the fragrance on me even ten hours later.

All fragrances are offered as extrait in 50ml bottles for the price of $250. They are currently only available at Bergdorf Goodman in New York and on elisire.com.
There is also very little to be found about Elisire on the web, which I find quite unfortunate and also surprising.

Great perfume cinema!

"It comes from Bosnia, Mylord, and the Bosnians cannot speak of anything, not even love, without dert* and sevdah*. Again, two unusual words had intruded into Isak's smooth English: dert and sevdah. Dert and sevdah, Mylord, Isak continued, are one and the same, and yet they are not. It is longing, it is desire, it is love, it is burning passion, it is frenzy, it is ardor, it is rapture, it is sighing, it is fervor. Dert is as red as blood, and sevdah is as black as bile. Dert is the wounded wolf, sevdah the wilting flower. And dert and sevdah are songs. For the Bosnians cannot be without songs. The song, Mylord, is for them what it once was everywhere: word and music. The Bosnians know nothing of sonnets and poems, a song is what is sung, and it is sung by beauty. Where is Bosnia at all?" Byron asked. Isak gestured with his hand in an indefinite direction. To the north, and then westward, he said. A gloomy yet beautiful land, Mylord, gloomy and beautiful, I too spent my youth there. A perfect land, as a Turk once said, where you dig, drinkable water springs forth, and wherever a seed falls, a tree sprouts. Nowhere is there sweeter water, nowhere more beautiful shade, Mylord. This Sintra you spoke of, Mylord, seems to me to be a perfect sevdah, but Bosnia is both dert and sevdah at once."
("The Infidel and Zulejha" Muharem Bazdulj)


*dert: Persian sorrow, pain, torment, suffering
*sevdah: Arabic longing for love, desire for love, infatuation


Oud Yusuf is Sevdah! There is an uncanny melancholy in this wonderful, wonderful oud. Memories of past, beautiful times, nostalgia and longing for beloved places and people who are no longer there. It has the ability to move one to tears. At the same time, it conveys a meditative calm and comfort.

Oud Yusuf is the most wearable oud of all that I know. Not just from Ensar Oud but in general. I would recommend this oud to any oud agnostic.
It opens with a slightly sweet, buttery note that is very hard to describe. There is an otherworldly floral quality to this scent that cannot be defined or compared. It is comparatively very bright, almost radiant. No stable, no animal, no workshop smells. Just balsamic beauty!

Oud is used spiritually in Asian and Arab countries, and according to tradition, it is said to be a scent of paradise alongside musk.
Ensar Oud names many of its ouds after prophets. Oud Yusuf is dedicated to the prophet Joseph. According to Islamic tradition, the most beautiful man ever created. And in my opinion, very aptly chosen for this oud.

For many, oud is just a raw material, not even a scent. For some, pure passion.
For me, it is Sevdah.

It is not very common for a perfume to touch me on such an emotional level. The first time this happened was with Vega. I felt completely stripped, down to my very core. But that is another story.
This is about Il Giglio di Firenze, which strikes at the deepest part of my mother’s heart.

My boundless love for the iris scent began with Shem el Nessim. Since then, I have tested countless iris perfumes, loved many, and purchased a few. I am still on a journey of discovery.
As versatile as the iris (-root) is used, one thing remains constant. It always presents itself as very noble, elevated, yet grounding, natural, and somehow belonging to one.

Some time ago, I delved deeply into the fragrances of Abdessalaam Attar (La via del profumo). A natural perfume brand from Italy, run by Abdesalaam aka Dominique Dubrana, a French Sufi, creating and residing in Italy. After extensive reading on the very comprehensive and diverse website (webshop, blog, and more), I was more than impressed. In addition to perfume psychology and perfume therapy, one can learn a lot of new things. You also get an impression of Abdessalaam as a person and his philosophy on perfume and life, which is more than impressive.
Abdessalaam’s opinion is that our love, as well as aversion to certain scent notes, is shaped by our past/childhood. Which is actually somewhat logical. Just like so many other things that we are and how we are, are also shaped in our earliest years of life.
So I looked up my favorite scent notes, which can be found on the website in the perfume therapy section, and the iris is described as a scent that babies produce on their heads in the first days of their lives, which promotes the bond between mother and infant. (Grenouille, from Süskind’s “Perfume,” did not possess this scent, which is why his mother abandoned him, and he spent his life searching for it.)
And yes, it actually seemed completely right to me. The iris scent smells like a baby. I had not noticed this before. However, I had never particularly questioned where my strong affinity for iris came from.

I was curious about Abdessalaam's interpretation of iris and ordered a mini bottle of Il Giglio di Firenze. The heart notes here are: iris absolute, iris concrete. Amber, frangipani, and mimosa play along but never challenge the iris. According to the statement on the website.

Now the mini bottle arrived, and within seconds of the first application, I was blown away. I had to sit down. So many emotions, a flashback of images and feelings unfolded in just a few moments.
This was it, the scent of unconditional love, the greatest moments of happiness in my life. The smell of life and love. Human closeness, tenderness, and security on a completely new and unique level. The time when I had my daughter, the greatest and most beautiful gift in my life, which changed everything. Beautified everything. Assigned me the most beautiful role in my life. The role of a mother. Mother of a wonderful human child.

Now to the scent. The very first thing you smell is as if you are sticking your nose into a glass of cognac, as someone described on the profumo website. The same cognac note can be found in Prada’s Infusion d’Iris Absolue, but much stricter and present for much longer.
After just a few moments, however, a buttery note expands, and that is the buttery baby note, the scent experience. More iris is not possible! Here the scent is at its most intense. All the mentioned feelings come at me like an explosion. This impression lingers for quite a while. Then the mimosa comes in and adds just a floral hint, which for me represents absolute tenderness. The moment when you lie in bed next to your baby and gaze at it for hours, inhaling it and loving it even more.
I cannot distinguish amber and frangipani individually. Just that a slight minty note, very subtle, keeps appearing in between.
I perceive Il Giglio di Firenze more as a scent than as a perfume. A scent that I need entirely for myself. For moments of the most beautiful memories and bliss.

This is also how I imagine the pure scent of the iris root. Unfortunately, I have not yet smelled it pure.
Despite the full load of iris, the scent remains very close to the skin. So close that after a few minutes I have to bring my wrists to my nose to fully experience the scent.
The longevity is very low. After two to three hours, I can only smell a hint on my wrists. Iris is a strong scent carrier, and even with a hundred percent natural perfume, I had hoped for more sillage and longevity.
As a bonus, I received a leather/gourmand scent (which is not listed here) that was worlds stronger.
Nevertheless, I recommend this unique iris scent to all lovers, not just mothers. Because we are all children now too. And I encourage everyone else to take a look at this wonderful perfume brand with a diverse selection and to get to know things from a new perspective.

Blue Lotus is a very complex amber-like scent that is completely different from anything one might imagine under this fragrance category. But actually, it is much more than that.

Teone Reinthal, who offers her beautiful creations made from 100% natural ingredients under the same name, is based in Australia and sells her fragrances through her website. She is an artist and lecturer and discovered the art of perfumery through aromatherapy during a difficult time in her life.
Today, among other roles as an aromatherapist, it is very important for her to separate her perfumes from aromatherapy and to see them for what they truly are: complex, artistic creations that can compete with all the great, classic perfume houses.
Surprisingly, there is not much to be found on the www about Teone, and her level of recognition does not seem to be widespread, as is the case with many indie brands.
I personally became aware of this brand through Eva and her pretty bottles from Teone. French vintage crystal bottles with wonderfully cute ribbons. Check them out, absolutely delightful :))

When I then learned that these were natural perfumes (I have developed a great love for natural perfumes) and the scents sounded very interesting, my interest turned into a buying impulse. A blind buying impulse. The most intriguing to me were Blue Lotus and Quintessence.
I emailed Teone, and after our nice communication, I ordered Blue Lotus, solely for the reason that Blue Lotus was offered as a perfume oil in addition to EdP, while Quintessence was only available as EdP. Since Teone could only ship the oil version internationally, the decision was practically made.
After I placed the order late Saturday night, I received an email from Teone the next morning, saying she was mixing a mini bottle of Quintessence as a perfume oil to send along with my order. Wow! Now that’s what I call customer love!
Overall, the communication and the entire handling were simply wonderful and lightning-fast!
I can really only recommend it.
I have had similar experiences with other small, mostly one-man brands, and that is one of the reasons for the attraction to them. These people put so much love and passion into their work that it truly touches you.

So, now for those who just wanted to know what Blue Lotus smells like.

I had no clue how blue lotus smells. In my mind, the only association was lotus-Asia-floral-fresh. The description of the fragrance on Teone's website actually focused on a special ylang that Teone had come across and was so excited about that she wanted to compose a fragrance from it right away. Again, I had the idea of receiving a lush, floral, but extraordinary scent that I couldn’t fully imagine, yet it sparked tension and curiosity.
In my further communication with Teone, she referred to Blue Lotus as an amber fragrance. And I was baffled! Amber and I do not get along at all. Amber is for me a sticky, gooey, one-dimensional, and heavy mass as a perfume that does not resonate with me. 99% of all amber fragrances smell the same to me. I feel the same about sacred, monothematic incense fragrances. They all smell the same to me. Equally bad.
And at that moment, I almost regretted my order.

Then I googled blue lotus and learned that this Egyptian lotus has an amber-like scent. Aha.
Now I awaited the delivery and could not have been more surprised when I finally dabbed it on.
I thought, oh, an attar as it should be. Warm and filled with positive energy. It immediately reminded me of Ghoroob from Arabian Oud in terms of composition and that exuberant, sunny energy.
The opening has a slightly green-fresh, spicy quality. A full load of flowers comes into play immediately, and the amber aspect resonates in the background from the start. Over time, the amber aspect becomes stronger and displaces the freshness. It gets warmer and more exotic. A woody note joins in, and at this point, the scent is so complex that it is hard to distinguish anything individually.
And it is not an ordinary amber fragrance, but something that, while going in that direction, is very pleasant and lively and, in its own way, exotic, sunny, life-affirming but never becomes too heavy.

The longevity is, as is fitting for a natural perfume, poor. From the third hour onward, the scent retreats significantly and only smells woody, but never dry. And after 5-6 hours, it’s game over.

In general, I find Teone's fragrances very energetic, positive energy! Each of the scents I have tested radiates a liveliness, almost cheerfulness. I have never experienced that before, and it excites me greatly.

Conclusion: When I grow up, I want to become a natural perfumer too.

Ensar Oud is truly the Sultan of Ouds. Nowhere in the world can you find purer, higher quality, and more beautiful Oud than from Ensar. This is not just a personal opinion but the widely known opinion of people who are knowledgeable in this field. Many high-quality brands like Amouage have sourced their Oud for their attars from Ensar. And Ensar creates Oud out of deep conviction and passion. And you can smell it.
In addition to the pure Ouds that Ensar Oud offers, there is also a category of Oud Perfumes. Here, attars, precisely Arabic Mukhallats, and perfume blends are offered. In this case, Ensar's Oud is combined with other fragrance notes to create complex perfumes.

Not too long ago, I received a sample pack of Ensar's creations from one of my favorite perfumes. A thousand thanks again for that.

As impressed as I was by "Borneo Zen" and the unique "Oud Yusuf" (Oud Yusuf has this magic that brings one to tears), when I first applied Sultan Rose Attar, it completely blew me away.

From just a few ingredients, according to Ensar, the ingredients include a thirty-year-old rose oil from the Omani Sultan Qaboos, Ensar's Oud Mustafa, Rosa Alba, and a mix of various vintage sandalwood oils.

I love Oud, and here it is clearly noticeable, but I am more of a Mukhallat lover. I love roses, but I can perhaps only name a handful of rose perfumes that I would wear. Most of the time, I prefer roses in perfume as supporting characters.
Sultan Rose Attar is a full dose of roses, and it is heavenly. These roses are out of this world and are the absolute main character of the composition, without making it a trivial, kitschy rose soliflore. Surrounded by the right dose of Oud and sandalwood, this fragrance is a masterpiece. Perfection. And incomparable to anything else. It couldn't be put together better.
The roses are lush, almost juicy. There is a buttery creaminess that one knows from iris perfumes. I appreciate the influence of the sandalwood.
However, there is also a hint of something lemony that always resonates in the background. It lightens the whole thing and brightens it up.

Actually, words do not do justice to this wonderful fragrance. You can smell the pure richness of the finest possible ingredients. It smells natural and has a vintage vibe. In fact, it is also 100% made from natural ingredients, like everything else that Ensar Oud offers.

If there is something to criticize, I would wish for a longer lasting scent.
I would also wish for a beautiful crystal bottle, like Amouage's attar bottles with a glass applicator, for this price. It was delivered in these small standard glass bottles with plastic applicators, which are simply not worthy of the fragrance. IMHO.

3 grams for $350 and worth every cent.

One should truly love real Oud to feel this beauty. Therefore, I don't think every rose lover would experience it the way I did.