Fleurage Perfumes, Part 2

Yesterday on Perfume Smellin’ Things I wrote part one of my impressions of Australia-based perfume House Fleurage.  Today I’ll finish up.

First, the Chypres:

Chypre is written of as being from a 14o year old recipe.  It doesn’t smell like something from that era, or perfumes were much better then (willing to take bets on that).  It opens with a lovely rosemary that’s almost immediately joined  by lavender and vanilla.  After a while, the whole Chypre thing really starts to swing into action, with the oakmoss and musk throwing off some sly but distinct sillage.  Yum..

Dandy Boheme adds bergamot to the lavender opening, then tuberose and a nutmeggy jasmine come in.  I would like it just for this stage.  What makes me love it is the drydown, which adds frankincense to the classic chypre base.  This one is written of as unisex, but I would not blame you if you don’t let your partner know.

Poeticus strikes a balance between Dandy and Chypre.  While those might be a bit challenging for the uninitiated, this one starts with lemongrass (one of my favorite notes) tinged with anise, it  features narcissus in the middle and the classic chypre drydown.

Passion is listed as a leather Fougere, but was included in the chypre bundle.  It has an interesting opening of clove and petitgrain, through rose and down to patchouli.  This one didn’t work on me; something on my skin made it loud.  I like it, but it’s not me.

The last in the group I was sent were Orientals.

Gypsy is, well, read the copy: “The Gypsy man – passionate, mischievous, flamboyant and completely comfortable with his masculinity.”  Well, yes he is.  He opens with pepper, cloves and a touch of anise, and he gets wilder and more sensual with spicy jasmine and a drydown of rosy sandalwood.  This is supposed to be a man’s scent, and I would wear it.  But it’s very rich, so much so that any woman could easily steal it, and should.

Vanilla Chai is vanilla chai- like and chai tea from the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.  The one aspect that’s left off, keeping it from being literal is the milky froth.  I’m very happy for that.  It’s sweet, spicy and very, very comforting.  I honestly hope (and this is in no way meant as an insult) that if Fleurage ever does sachets or room sprays that this is first on the list.  I can imagine some very sweet dreams coming from this..

Temple Flower is interesting.  It opens with lime and ginger before going to ylang ylang and jasmine.  It wasn’t my favorite; for me they almost cancel each other out.  It’s quietly pretty, which every line needs but I’m so enjoying some of the more flamboyant ones in this line it’s just not the one I’d lust after.

Yuletide is both aptly named yet the name is almost a disservice to the scent.  Yes, there the scent of oranges that remind me of satsumas in the stocking, the middle notes of spice that bring to mind mulled wines and a smoky drydown with frankincense, myrrh and a golden sandalwood remind me of the Magi.  Yet the whole is so much more.  The whole composition is so brilliantly handled that I would want to be wearing this a lot longer than just the holidays.  Is it wrong to lust after Wise Men?

Once again, I have to state that people like Emma Leah and Fleurage are really the future of perfume.  They’re brave enough to do what the big boys (no matter how talented the people they hire are) simply won’t: make perfume the way that great artists make art.  Not to a brief or to a focus group or to a committee, but a personal statement as to what perfume should be.  I respect all of these, like most and adore at least three..

Now for the good news: Emma wrote me that she indeed will ship to the USA, so all of these are available on her website.  I don’t know how much shipping is (or the exchange rate but I do know that the package she sent me was $17 just for the postage.  So I think we should still bug LuckyScent to carry at least part of this line.  Of course if you’re visiting Australia, I’d make a point to get to Melbourne and visit.

My samples were provided by Fleurage, the artwork is from their site.