A warm, spicy note of pepper opens L‘Original. The pepper isn’t sharp or bracing but has been manipulated in such a way that it smells green and herbal to me. It’s combined with a note of damp wood, like the smell of water flowing over tree branches that evoke the scent of the rainforest.

Rhinoceros opens with sour, aromatic bergamot and a boozy note of rum matched with an astringent note of leather.

After My Own Heart isn’t about notes and pyramids; it’s about the olfactory experience of lilacs: the leaves, the flowers and the stems all at once. It dries down to a soft, powdery floral scent that is wistful, romantic and a true harbinger of spring.

   Songe d’Un Bois d’Eté translates into ‘dream of a summer wood’, which explains why the heavy-sounding ingredients are transformed into a refined, beautiful, woody scent that showcases Middle Eastern notes in a very French way.

Photo - perfumeniche - Violas  Where I live winters are long and spring is short. Even when winter is mild, as it was this year, it’s still, well, winter. Days are short, nights are long and there is a compulsion to seek warmth and coziness.

Patchouli by Santa Maria Novella is the full-on patchouli experience. It opens with a raw, sharp, camphourous note that has dark, rich, and dirty undertones that are decidedly masculine.

HOMMAGE a l’Homme is a beautiful interpretation of a ride on the Orient Express, from the manly start, to the journey from Paris (violets) to Istanbul (oud) through to the debonair, urbane and sophisticated drydown.

En Passant opens with a bracing aquatic note that leads to a note of lilac. It’s a delicate spring scent that’s powdery, fresh, green and floral, with facets of two other spring flowers: mimosa and lily of the valley.

Néroli Outrenoir dries down to a tenacious skin scent that is woody, aromatic and gorgeous. A true piece of olfactory art and a beautiful fragrance to wear.