The chemist who writes this blog is to no body’s surprise enchanted with the perfumes named after elements that Nu_Be has been putting out since 2012. Not only do they smell great but they have done an admirable job at capturing the essence of the element they are invoking. For 2016 things are changing. First the name of the brand is being changed from Nu_Be to One of Those. Second the first new release since 2013 is here, Curium.
The brand has begun a slow descent lower in the periodic table over the previous seven releases. With Curium we finally find one of the earliest radioactive elements discovered. In 1944 when it was isolated at the University of California at Berkley the team decided to name it after Marie and Pierre Curie the scientists who discovered the first radioactive elements.
For the perfume Curium perfumer Evelyne Boulanger was inspired by Mme Curie. Her attempt was to capture “a brilliant mind, strongly accurate yet vivid, joyful, and imaginative” The concept extends to using the botanical musk of ambrette to match the synthetic musk later on. In between there is a dense floral nucleus.
Evelyne Boulanger
Curium opens with that botanical musk provided by ambrette. When this is used correctly it provides a lovely opaque muskiness to the early moments of fragrance. In Curium that is exactly what it does. When I read the note list before sniffing it I saw a heart made up of violet and orris. These are one of my more beloved pairs of notes. Mme Boulanger chooses to make them a little less lush as if they are the radioactive nucleus emitting floral emissions periodically. It is an interesting effect. On one of the days I wanted it to have more presence. It steadfastly stayed at arm’s length. When wearing it for the second time on a much warmer day I was much happier with the restraint. This ends on a combination of vetiver and musk. The vetiver here is the most prominent note in the composition. It exudes its own kind of pulsing glow which the musks radiate outward from.
Curium has 10-12 hour longevity and moderate sillage.
As I wore Curium I was reminded that radioactivity is the decay of the nucleus of an atom. Curium feels like something on the verge of an entropic event. While waiting for that to happen the nucleus that is in place is mighty enjoyable.
Disclosure: This review was based ona sample provided by One of Those at Esxence 2016.
–Mark Behnke
