2018 First-Half Recap

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Before I plunge into the fall releases starting to show up in my mailbox I want to recap the world of perfume for the first half of 2018. Especially here in the Poodlesville HQ of Colognoisseur.

For those who have followed my writing for the over ten years I’ve been doing reviews I am sure you’ve tired of my whining about too many spring roses. Guess what? This year I got my wish. I’m not sure what caused the change but even a perfume called Miu Miu L’eau Rosee was not a rose. That one was a very nice lily perfume. I got Bvlgari Magnolia Sensuel. I got Nest Wisteria Blue. I got the neroli of Commodity Nectar. I got the crazy blackberry of Gucci Guilty Absolute Pour Femme. I got Jo Malone Jasmine Sambac and Marigold. Yes, there were plenty of pretty roses, but the spring of 2018 found new perfumed ways of celebrating the season.

One of those ways was the return of the classic ambrette-iris-musk so embodied by Chanel No. 18. There were many of these, most of which I liked. There were two which stood out for taking this classic accord in a modern direction; Diptyque Fleur de Peau and A Lab on Fire Hallucinogenic Pearl. Perfumers Olivier Prescheux and Emilie Coppermann, respectively, found a way to freshen this triad up. In Mme Coppermann’s case it was by incorporating the De Laire base Iriseine; which made this one of my favorites of the first half of 2018.

Christine Nagel

Christine Nagel continued her strong showings for Hermes. If there was a last question left for her it was, “How would she make the Hermessences her own?” She released five in the spring. They were all good, but it was her move towards an “essence de parfums” oil-based formulation where she confirmed her stamp on this collection. Cardamusc is another favorite of 2018, so far.

The independents also thrilled me in the first six months of the year. Dawn Spencer Hurwitz finished her Haiku Series for DSH Perfumes with Tsukimi and Shimotsuki. Among the very best work of hers I have experienced.

Hiram Green Slowdive was a textural marvel as a tobacco accord traverses a viscous mixture of honey and others.

Sarah McCartney’s 4160 Tuesdays Freeway is So Cal car culture in search of an exotic sorbet. Sounds odd but it is fabulous.

Andy Tauer provided a contemporary version of the “golden age” in Tauer Les Annees 25.

There were three other perfumes which really caught my attention so far in 2018.

A Lab on Fire And the World is Yours by perfumer Dominique Ropion is perhaps my favorite from the brand ever. The opening bergamot, neroli, and cumin accord is spectacular.

Louis Vuitton Nouveau Monde is the leather perfume which should have Louis Vuitton on its label. I may be a bit let down by the others in this collection, but Nouveau Monde, and perfumer Jacques Cavallier, gives me the leather I wanted.

The leader at the midway point of 2018 is Neela Vermeire Creations Niral. The collaborative energy between creative director Neela Vermeire and perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour has always produced excellent perfume. Niral is better than that. The iris shimmers over a subtle leather accord. I still haven’t got enough.

This covers what I was able to write about in the first six months. Just in the next couple of weeks I have some reviews coming which are also among the best of 2018.

As always, thanks for reading.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review DSH Perfumes Shimotsuki- Moonlit Snow

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Independent perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has such a diverse imagination I am always impressed when I receive a new package of her latest releases. Within are usually three very different types of perfume. I must admit for the past year one of the seasonal releases has been more anticipated than the other. Last spring Ms. Hurwitz began her Haiku Series with Gekkou Hanami capturing the cherry blossoms of spring under the moonlight. Since then with Tsukiyo-en and Tsukimi she has provided similar moonlit vistas for summer and autumn. Which meant winter had to be coming. When my package arrived, I opened it and looked for the vial with the Japanese name, what I found was called Shimotsuki.

I have mentioned in my previous reviews within this series how much I have come to appreciate Ms. Hurwitz’s Japanese aesthetic. Of any of the four Haiku releases Shimotsuki might be the most equivalent to the actual poetic inspiration. Shimotsuki is meant to capture the diffuse light of a full moon on the snow. The way moonlight interacts out in the Maryland countryside has always been an enjoyment as I spend time on my back porch during full moons. The winter version on a snowfall is special as the moonlight is doubled by the reflection off the white stuff. It is the ultimate light diffuser and amplifier. It is also coming in the depths of winter when the smell of the outdoors is scrubbed clean of all that vegetal green floral interference. The light comes with a diffuse cleanliness. This is all captured in Shimotsuki.

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

The chill is provided by yuzu and a familiar Hurwitz ingredient, rice. In the past when she has used rice it is accompanied by steam or powder. In Shimotsuki it is accompanied by the citrus making it seem frozen in place. The moon is represented by artemisia which is named after the goddess of the moon. Ms. Hurwitz adds seaweed underneath the sage-lite nature of artemisia to provide a light green patina. Out of that arises the slightest hint of the spring to come as a lilting hawthorn arrives along with the sturdiness of hinoki wood. As the moon moves across the sky allowing the light to dim and fade with the dawn sandalwood, orris, and white musk combine to form an accord heralding the changing of the light.

Shimotsuki has 8-10 hour longevity and moderate sillage.

There are only a few perfumers from whom I would want a bespoke perfume from; Ms. Hurwitz is one of them. If you had asked me when I first discovered her fragrances I would have desired something spicy and floral. Now after this final Haiku I realize I would desire something Japanese-inspired and simple. Shimotsuki is as good a closing of the loop of the Haiku series as I could have imagined; austere perfumery which leads to beauty.

Disclosure: this review is based on a sample provided by DSH Perfumes.

-Mark Behnke