Over the last two years I have been impressed with the number of new brands who seem to have the motto “keep it simple, keep it good”. Current market trends seem to match this. The list of brands doing this has kept expanding because there is an audience. I can add one more to that list; Kierin NYC.
Mona Maine de Biran
Kierin NYC was founded last year by husband and wife Mona and Didier Maine de Biran. They wanted their brand to capture the vitality of living in New York City. They mention a fondness for the street art of the city but that doesn’t make it through to the perfume. The bottles on the other hand are decorated with that street art. What they do get from the perfume are solid simple constructs. They collaborate with perfumer Mathieu Nardin who has had a touch with this style of perfume making especially recently.
Mathieu Nardin
I like all four of the debut collection but as usual there were two which I liked most; Santal Sky and Sunday Brunch.
Santal Sky was inspired by an afternoon in Central Park as you walk through the incongruity of this greenspace in the middle of the metropolis. M. Nardin interprets this with a keynote of sandalwood which he cleverly surrounds with three supporting notes to bring the most out of it. The first ingredient is saffron which provides a hazy glow to the sandalwood. Cardamom breezes across the combination like a wind from the trees. The final ingredient is a green vetiver tuned more to its grassier facets. If you enjoy sandalwood focused perfumes this is one you should try.
Sunday Brunch is the one of the debut collection which most closely reminded me of my days in NYC. I spent a lot of Sunday afternoons recovering from the night before at a table with mimosas and Earl Grey tea to help. M. Nardin finds that mixture of citrus and tea to still be the same. It opens with a sparkling citrus accord that mimics the effervescence of the champagne underneath. The Earl Grey tea accord matches ideally with that. Then a lovely lilting jasmine wends its way through the beverage collection tying it all together. Sunday Brunch is going to be a great summer perfume even if it isn’t Sunday.
Santal Sky and Sunday Brunch had 8-10 hour longevity and average sillage.
The Maine de Birans have done an excellent job at defining their brand with this debut collection. If you are also looking for simple and good Kierin NYC should be on your list of new perfume to try.
Disclosure: This review is based on samples provided by Kierin NYC.
–Mark Behnke
