9 years ago
Suddenly there is a great commotion at Nimlot’s palace—the sound of many horses and camels outside. Much talking in the courtyard. A large company assembles in the great hall, among them many foreign men, two of them clearly princes. Translators are making such a clamor with their translations that no one can hear a thing. Prince Nimlot sits on his throne and calls the two princes forward, who claim to be Yasmin’s former and current husbands. Distraught and confused, Nimlot calls Yasmin to the hall. When she enters she almost faints. “Where is my son?” Walad demands. Nimlot replies, “We don’t know. Someone kidnapped him and his sister from her palace.”
Fizur, who is also present, realizes something is very wrong. Why is Ahmed not reacting to the news Yasmin has a daughter since, obviously, he must be the father? Why do they think Yasmin’s children are here? Smelling a plot, he turns to me, writer of plots that I am. The Valide Sultan, missing her grandson, has also been watching impatiently over my shoulder. She sees Fizur and yells to him, “The children are hidden in a nearby palace!” Then she informs me she’s hauling out her magic carpets from the Incense sniff fest and going to Nimlot’s palace herself! I forbid it. Stories can’t have that much deus ex machina, I explain, as Aristotle told us in his Poetics. “You a Persian want me to listen to a Greek!?” she fumes. “Apparently you’ve never heard of Spartans or the Battle of Marathon.” Exasperated, I order Fizur and the Valide Sultan back into the story.
It is morning. Yasmin is ready to name her finalists in the chypre sniff fest. Before starting, she asks, “Author have you thought of how to get me out of my predicaments?” I reply honestly, “Not yet because, unlike novels, sniff fests are published on first draft and can’t be revised to make the story better. We must live with blind alleys, hiccups, stray wonderings and mistakes. The conclusion of this story must unfold on its own and rely on the characters’ good will.” She informs me the Valide Sultan doesn’t have any of that. Neither does Prince Ahmed, who is still obsessed.
Realizing perfume is our only refuge, we begin. Yasmin points out we didn’t do the Mossy Woods accord properly. It’s oakmoss, amber and wood. We did oakmoss, amber and citrus. I try again: oakmoss (intoxicating by itself) amber (lovely but it mutes the allure of oakmoss a bit) and patchouli go on my hand. Well, okay, this is a different musty animal than a chypre. It’s in the ballpark, mind you, and we’ve smelt this a lot, but it isn’t chypre. I spray the reference, Chypre de Coty, on my other hand to show Yasmin why. A chypre soars, captivates, lures, entrances. A Mossy Wood keeps its feet agreeably on the ground. I add bergamot to the Mossy Wood. The result is a great deal better, but still earthbound. The key is a chypre’s labdanum vs a mossy wood’s amber. Now, let’s sort things.
THE TRUE CHYPRES
In this sniff fest they are surprisingly few, 16 precisely.
Amouage
Fate Woman
Balenciaga
Balenciaga Paris
Killian
Back to Black
Love & Tears
Caron
Yatagan
Clive Christian
V for Women
Coty
Chypre de Coty
D.S. & Durga
Sir
Dior
Miss Dior Original
DSH
Mirabella
Roja Parfums (2010)
Diaghilev
Enslaved
Nüwa (2013)
Roja
Unspoken
Tauer Perfumes
No. 08 - Une Rose Chyprée |
———
NO BERGAMOT
These chypres substitute something else for bergamot, often mandarin or another citrus. They still smell like proper chypres because of oakmoss and labdanum
Amouage
Memoir Woman
Carven
Ma Griffe
La Prairie
Life Threads Platinum
Naomi Goodsir
Bois d’Ascèse
Oriza L. LeGrand
Chypre Mousse (2013)
Parfums MDCI (2012)
Chypre Palatin
Oriza L. Legrand
Chypre Mousse (2013)
Sisley
Eau du Soir
Sonoma Scent Studio
Forest Walk
Incense Pure
———
MOSSY WOODS
These have am amber-oakmoss-wood accord per the Edwards Fragrance Wheel
Balmain
Miss Balmain |
Bijan
Bijan Women |
Cartier
Panthère de Cartier
Dana
Tabu |
Emanuel Ungaro
Diva |
Estēe Lauder
Azurēe | Knowing |
Fendi
Fendi |
Gucci
L'Arte di Gucci |
Halston
Halston |
Paloma Picasso
Paloma Picasso / Mon Parfum (Eau de Parfum) |
Robert Piguet
Bandit |
Serge Lutens
Chypre rouge |
Tommi Sooni
Tarantella |
Van Cleef & Arpels
First |
———
THE NEW CHYPRES
These have labdanum and patchouli/vetiver, the faux oakmoss
Amouage
Jubilation 25 Woman
Solange Azagury-Partridge
Cosmic |
———
THE EXILES
Per strict definition, these are neither a chypre, a mossy wood, nor a new chypre. Some are quite beautiful, but without labdanum or amber, not in the same genre.
Benetton
Colors de Benetton |
Caron
Lady Caron | Tabac Blond |
Chanel
31 rue Cambon | Coco Mademoiselle (Eau de Parfum) | Cristalle (Eau de Toilette) | Cuir de Russie (2007) |
Clinique
Aromatics Elixir |
Curve / Liz Claiborne
Liz Claiborne |
DSH Perfumes
Parfum de Grasse |
Estēe Lauder
Private Collection | Private Collection Jasmine White Moss |
Guerlain
Mitsouko |
Grossmith
Hasu-no-Hana |
Jean-Louis Scherrer
Jean-Louis Scherrer |
Ormonde Jayne
Tiare |
Paco Rabanne
Métal |
[I don’t have samples of some potentially splendid chypres, for example: Gucci pour Homme, Habit Rouge EdC, Knive Forest, Life Essence by Fendi, Monsier Carven, Versace L’Homme and many more. Type bergamot-labdanum-oakmoss into the search engine to find them.]
Now that we’ve organized things, next come the finalists.
Fizur, who is also present, realizes something is very wrong. Why is Ahmed not reacting to the news Yasmin has a daughter since, obviously, he must be the father? Why do they think Yasmin’s children are here? Smelling a plot, he turns to me, writer of plots that I am. The Valide Sultan, missing her grandson, has also been watching impatiently over my shoulder. She sees Fizur and yells to him, “The children are hidden in a nearby palace!” Then she informs me she’s hauling out her magic carpets from the Incense sniff fest and going to Nimlot’s palace herself! I forbid it. Stories can’t have that much deus ex machina, I explain, as Aristotle told us in his Poetics. “You a Persian want me to listen to a Greek!?” she fumes. “Apparently you’ve never heard of Spartans or the Battle of Marathon.” Exasperated, I order Fizur and the Valide Sultan back into the story.
It is morning. Yasmin is ready to name her finalists in the chypre sniff fest. Before starting, she asks, “Author have you thought of how to get me out of my predicaments?” I reply honestly, “Not yet because, unlike novels, sniff fests are published on first draft and can’t be revised to make the story better. We must live with blind alleys, hiccups, stray wonderings and mistakes. The conclusion of this story must unfold on its own and rely on the characters’ good will.” She informs me the Valide Sultan doesn’t have any of that. Neither does Prince Ahmed, who is still obsessed.
Realizing perfume is our only refuge, we begin. Yasmin points out we didn’t do the Mossy Woods accord properly. It’s oakmoss, amber and wood. We did oakmoss, amber and citrus. I try again: oakmoss (intoxicating by itself) amber (lovely but it mutes the allure of oakmoss a bit) and patchouli go on my hand. Well, okay, this is a different musty animal than a chypre. It’s in the ballpark, mind you, and we’ve smelt this a lot, but it isn’t chypre. I spray the reference, Chypre de Coty, on my other hand to show Yasmin why. A chypre soars, captivates, lures, entrances. A Mossy Wood keeps its feet agreeably on the ground. I add bergamot to the Mossy Wood. The result is a great deal better, but still earthbound. The key is a chypre’s labdanum vs a mossy wood’s amber. Now, let’s sort things.
THE TRUE CHYPRES
In this sniff fest they are surprisingly few, 16 precisely.
Amouage
Fate Woman
Balenciaga
Balenciaga Paris
Killian
Back to Black
Love & Tears
Caron
Yatagan
Clive Christian
V for Women
Coty
Chypre de Coty
D.S. & Durga
Sir
Dior
Miss Dior Original
DSH
Mirabella
Roja Parfums (2010)
Diaghilev
Enslaved
Nüwa (2013)
Roja
Unspoken
Tauer Perfumes
No. 08 - Une Rose Chyprée |
———
NO BERGAMOT
These chypres substitute something else for bergamot, often mandarin or another citrus. They still smell like proper chypres because of oakmoss and labdanum
Amouage
Memoir Woman
Carven
Ma Griffe
La Prairie
Life Threads Platinum
Naomi Goodsir
Bois d’Ascèse
Oriza L. LeGrand
Chypre Mousse (2013)
Parfums MDCI (2012)
Chypre Palatin
Oriza L. Legrand
Chypre Mousse (2013)
Sisley
Eau du Soir
Sonoma Scent Studio
Forest Walk
Incense Pure
———
MOSSY WOODS
These have am amber-oakmoss-wood accord per the Edwards Fragrance Wheel
Balmain
Miss Balmain |
Bijan
Bijan Women |
Cartier
Panthère de Cartier
Dana
Tabu |
Emanuel Ungaro
Diva |
Estēe Lauder
Azurēe | Knowing |
Fendi
Fendi |
Gucci
L'Arte di Gucci |
Halston
Halston |
Paloma Picasso
Paloma Picasso / Mon Parfum (Eau de Parfum) |
Robert Piguet
Bandit |
Serge Lutens
Chypre rouge |
Tommi Sooni
Tarantella |
Van Cleef & Arpels
First |
———
THE NEW CHYPRES
These have labdanum and patchouli/vetiver, the faux oakmoss
Amouage
Jubilation 25 Woman
Solange Azagury-Partridge
Cosmic |
———
THE EXILES
Per strict definition, these are neither a chypre, a mossy wood, nor a new chypre. Some are quite beautiful, but without labdanum or amber, not in the same genre.
Benetton
Colors de Benetton |
Caron
Lady Caron | Tabac Blond |
Chanel
31 rue Cambon | Coco Mademoiselle (Eau de Parfum) | Cristalle (Eau de Toilette) | Cuir de Russie (2007) |
Clinique
Aromatics Elixir |
Curve / Liz Claiborne
Liz Claiborne |
DSH Perfumes
Parfum de Grasse |
Estēe Lauder
Private Collection | Private Collection Jasmine White Moss |
Guerlain
Mitsouko |
Grossmith
Hasu-no-Hana |
Jean-Louis Scherrer
Jean-Louis Scherrer |
Ormonde Jayne
Tiare |
Paco Rabanne
Métal |
[I don’t have samples of some potentially splendid chypres, for example: Gucci pour Homme, Habit Rouge EdC, Knive Forest, Life Essence by Fendi, Monsier Carven, Versace L’Homme and many more. Type bergamot-labdanum-oakmoss into the search engine to find them.]
Now that we’ve organized things, next come the finalists.