New Perfume Review Vilhelm Chicago High- Looking for the 20’s

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One of the more fertile inspirations for fragrance is the era of The Roaring 20’s. It allows for a creative director to imagine a time of rapid change. When gender roles were in flux and people smoked and drank in wood paneled rooms. I’m being a bit simplistic. There is a long list of perfumes based on this. The most recent example is Vilhelm Chicago High.

Jan Ahlgren

Creative director Jan Ahlgren has always enjoyed translating the glamorous past into perfume. For this he is considering the final days of this time. The stock market crash is on the horizon. There are enough callbacks to the kind of touchstones familiar to other fragrances. At first, I went along with it too. But on the second day I wore it I wasn’t reminded of the 1920’s. I was thinking this was more a 2020 kind of perfume. Instead of smoke-filled party rooms I was thinking of a craft cocktail party in an elegant loft.

Prince of Wales Cocktail

When I received the press release here are the list of ingredients in the top: pineapple, champagne accord, tobacco, and honey. You might look at that and think effervescence over the two sweet notes. Because that was where my head was when I first tried it, I saw the trees. What happened on subsequent wears was those notes coalesced into what I now perceive as a Prince of Wales cocktail accord. That cocktail is a sweet drink of rye and pineapple juice with a top layer of champagne. The first half of Chicago High smells just like it to me. The remainder of the development is a rich leather accord with patchouli and amber around. This feels like a nice leather wingback chair in a library. That is a timeless reference.

Chicago High has 8-10 hour longevity and average sillage.

I have enjoyed the renaissance of cocktail making in recent years. A part of it that draws me to it is the scents of the ingredients and the finished product. Chicago High feels like it hit the target of the 20’s just a century later than it was aiming for.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Vilhelm.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Vilhelm Body Paint- Putting the Super Back in Iso E Super

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If there is a set of ingredients which have defined modern perfumery in the first two decades of this century it is the synthetic woods. Ever since they became widely used in the early 2000’s they have become a staple ingredient. One reason is they add longevity which is prized by a segment of fragrance consumers. Because of that they are where far too many new releases end up; with a synthetic woody ingredient lasting over the final hours. Usually by itself. What has been lost from all of that is the incredibly unique scent profile they have. They have a desiccated quality like dried earth. In the early days that nature was used to make some great perfume. It has been awhile since I have encountered that use of these ingredients. Until Vilhelm Body Paint arrived on my desk.

Jan Ahlgren

One of the best new perfume brands of the last few years is Vilhelm. Overseen by creative director Jan Ahlgren he has curated an eclectic collection over the past five years. Through all of it he has worked with one perfumer, Jerome Epinette. Body Paint is the first by a different perfumer. Mr. Ahlgren asks Marc-Antoine Corticchiato to take over. Together they have managed to resurrect the rugged beauty of the synthetic woods.

Marc-Antoine Corticchiato

They chose to use two of the most ubiquitous of the synthetic woods, Iso E Super and Ambroxan, together. It has been so long since these notes have been used as anything but a long-lasting woody fixative, I was skeptical. M. Corticchiato removed that by putting the super back in Iso E Super.

The Iso E Super is present from the first moments. It has that dried earthen quality I mentioned before. M. Corticchiato provides a fascinating fruity contrast of crisp pear spiced with chili pepper. Droplets of the spiced fruit fall upon the dusty earth giving off little puffs of fragrant dust. In that dried earth are the spices of nutmeg and clove which begin to become more apparent. The dry nature of the Iso E Super is an ideal platform for this kind of spicy fruit accord. This is so appealing. Ambroxan adds even more aridity to the woods. Just as it might edge over into something too sharp M. Corticchiato adds in a pinch of oakmoss to keep it on the right side of that.

Body Paint has 16-18 hour longevity and average sillage.

If you think there is nothing new you could encounter from the synthetic woods in perfume; Body Paint proves that incorrect. What is also proves is if you use any ingredient to its best effect you can make something memorable. Body Paint reminded me why I loved the synthetic woods.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Vilhelm.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Vilhelm Moon Carnival- Sweet Tuberose

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The current landscape of new perfume brands is a minefield which has many casualties to claim. Even the best brands can succumb to something unexpected outside the bounds of the perfume itself. There are brands who have such a clear aesthetic right from the beginning I root for them to come through the other side of this process. One which has seemingly made a safe transit through the danger zone is Vilhelm Parfumerie.

Jerome Epinette (l.) and Jan Ahlgren

Founded in spring 2015 by owner-creative director Jan Ahlgren it has many of the things I believe are important to succeed. One is finding a perfumer who understands your vision. Mr. Ahlgren has done this in perfumer Jerome Epinette. Theirs seems like an ideal creative partnership. The perfumes they have produced speak to that. Another piece of the puzzle is to convey your style of perfume coherently. Mr. Ahlgren has coupled his love of Golden Age Hollywood with perfume of location as he has designed scents around places he has lived. Vilhelm is one of the brands where the press release represents the perfume in the bottle. Finally, the brand must continue to develop beyond its beginnings. In 2018 the perfumes with Vilhelm on the label have all taken on a “sweet” style that wasn’t evident in the earlier releases. The third release of 2018, Moon Carnival, completes that trend.

The backstory is about a man from Rio who falls in love with a dancer. Her favorite flower is tuberose. To display his love the man traveled the world. Each new bloom of tuberose he found he decorated the moon with. Messrs. Ahlgren and Epinette bring this story to life with tropical fruit and tuberose before landing on a subtle gourmand base accord.

M. Epinette uses passionfruit as an ingredient to locate us in the tropics. This is a beautifully balanced use of this seldom used fruity ingredient. The transition to the tuberose is begun with freesia and gardenia first. As the tuberose gains traction it becomes a compelling partner with the passionfruit. At this point I was imagining the Brazilian dancer from the story. What comes next is a clever shift to an opaque gourmand base. If you aren’t looking for it, you have to wait a bit for the fruity floral fireworks to settle a bit. What M. Epinette does is to take the fluffy sticky sweet marshmallow we all recognize and turn into a meringue-like version; light and frothy. Tonka bean adds a vanilla tint without becoming too treacly. Vetiver arrives as a woody foundation later.

Moon Carnival has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.

Moon Carnival adds to the Vilhelm style of “sweet” which is best described as subtly transparent. It affirms that this brand will keep evolving as it continues forward. The sweet tuberose of Moon Carnival is proof of that.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Vilhelm Parfumerie.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Vilhelm Mango Skin- What Tropical Should Be?

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If I describe a perfume with the adjective “tropical” I would bet manty of you are thinking of something dense with sweet flowers and fruits. It has always been a funny thing for me because having grown up in South Florida and traveling throughout the tropics that is not the scent of the actual region. It is the scent of cocktails served at tourist areas. My idea of the tropics is the scent of the fruit ripening on the trees. A lighter scent of florals reaching me as if on a breeze. Turns out that a perfume called Vilhelm Mango Skin agrees with me.

I’m sure you’re all tired of reading this but Jan Ahlgren the owner-creative director of Vilhelm is one of the great success stories of the last three years. Mr. Ahlgren has defined a brand aesthetic which allows him to find new ways to position the new releases. He has so far exclusively worked with perfumer Jerome Epinette. Another reason for the coherence of the collection overall. Earlier this year Poets of Berlin was the first perfume from the brand I would have called “sweet”. Mango Skin continues the sweet trend at Vilhelm but it is less sweet than that previous release.

Jerome Epinette (l.) and Jan Ahlgren

M. Epinette has always found surprising new ways to use different ingredients. The note list of Mango Skin is a roster of typical tropical components. M. Epinette uses violet as the linchpin to what is a fantastic perfume of the tropics.

From the first moments the mango is here. In the very early going this is the smell of a ripe mango on the tree. There is some green from the skin. M. Epinette adds orange to flesh out the mango. Then the violet adds a candied floral bridge to frangipani and ylang-ylang. Those florals are pitched at a transparent level which allows for the violet to act as connective tissue between the fruit on top and the florals in the heart. The last part of the construction is an effervescent blackcurrant accord bubbling up through the other notes.

Mango Skin has 6-8 hour longevity and average sillage.

Mango Skin is that combination of fruit and floral without being a typical fruity floral. The entire composition feels like a carefree day in the sun. If tropical could be like this all the time I’d be quite happy.

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

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Vilhelm Parfumerie Poets of Berlin- Fruity Woods

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My least appreciated style of perfume is the fruity floral. If you ask me to only have one half of that I would have said give me the floral. It isn’t that there aren’t fruity perfumes which retain interest, but it sometimes becomes difficult for a creative team to keep it from smelling like candy. Which is a shame because fruity notes offer some of the same promise that their floral partners do. The latest Vilhelm Parfumerie release, Poets of Berlin, shows how that is done.

Creative director of Vilhelm Parfumerie, Jan Ahlgren, has done a fantastic job of using musicians as inspiration but I must confess this time the connection has passed me by. In the press copy it says Poets of Berlin is inspired by David Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy of albums. I will leave it to better minds than mine to make the connection between a fruity woody perfume and Bowie’s Berlin portfolio. Once again M. Ahlgren calls on his collaborator on the entire collection to date, Jerome Epinette, to find a way to add something to fruity fragrance.

Jerome Epinette (l.) and Jan Ahlgren

The choice that is made is to take a combination of sweet and tart fruit ingredients and let them open with a crystalline sweetness before slowly adding in woody ingredients from light to heavy to provide unexpected depth to the fruit.

The two fruits M. Epinette uses are lemon and blueberry. When they first hit my skin, they project predominantly as sugary sweet reminding me a bit of those sugar-coated jelly candies. Then M. Epinette uses the green tinged woodiness of bamboo to turn my attention to the tart underneath the sugar. That green thread is picked up and amplified with vetiver which also notches the woodiness up a level, too. This is where the sweetness of the fruit returns to the foreground pushing back against the woods. Sandalwood and vanilla comprise the base accord creating depth to both the sweet and the woods.

Poets of Berlin has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.

Poets of Berlin is an excellent spring fragrance. I wore it on an unexpected warm day and it really sang on my skin. It is surprising that I am happier wearing fruity rather than floral on a warm day, but Poets of Berlin has made me crave fruity woods.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Vilhelm Parfumerie.

–Mark Behnke

Colognoisseur 2017 Year-End Review Part 2- Perfume, Perfumer, Creative Director, & Brand of the Year

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Yesterday, in Part 1, I took a broad view of 2017. Today I take a very focused look at the year naming my best of the best.

Perfume of the Year: Ineke Idyllwild– I met independent perfume Ineke Ruhland in April 2009. My editor at the time Michelyn Camen would introduce me to her in the perfume department of Takashimaya in New York City. She had just made one of the best perfumes I had tried in Field Notes from Paris. I was doing a bit of fanboy gushing. She smiled, listened to my insensate gibbering; then after I calmed down we began to connect. Ms. Ruhland has been one of my very favorite indie perfumers ever since I discovered her Alphabet series. It is a near-perfect collection of perfume. She continually produced releases until 2012 and then nothing. Two years ago at Pitti in Florence she had a stand where she was showing the next two letters in the Alphabet Collection “I” & “J”. “I” was one of my favorites of the entire exposition. I excitedly waited to write about it when it was released. And I waited. And I waited. Almost exactly two years later Idyllwild was released.

Ineke Ruhland

Idyllwild is emblematic of why I admire Ms. Ruhland as she takes a classic perfume style, fougere, then transforms it into something contemporary. From the typical lavender and citrus opening through a pine tree heart to delicate tendrils of smoke this is expertly blended. Supporting notes of green cardamom, rhubarb tea, and a fabulously delicate oud accord for her smoke show her skill. Ms. Ruhland combines the technical expertise with the artist’s soul to make Idyllwild my Perfume of the Year.

Rodrigo Flores-Roux

Perfumer of the Year: Rodrigo Flores-Roux– I can’t remember the first time I met Sr. Flores-Roux but the one thing I know with certainty he was smiling. While I don’t remember the first time, my most memorable meeting took place in October 2012. Sr. Flores-Roux along with Arquiste creative director Carlos Huber were presenting the new brand at the Mexican Embassy’s Cultural Center. I have never forgotten the following quote from his remarks that night, “Maybe I can cite a Mexican poet, Carlos Pellicer, who always praised the beauty of the Mexican tropics: the Mexican people have two obsessions: we are interested in death and we are in love with flowers. And as a Mexican flower lover, I always like to put a bit of Mexico in every perfume I make. It's not an accident I studied biology, specifically botany, and understand the secret language of flowers. It's also my last name!”

Carlos Huber (l.) and Rodrigo Flores-Roux at Mexican Embassy Cultural Center October 2012

That quote is an apt epigraph to sum up his 2017 perfumes where there was more than a little Mexico in them. It was literally a travelogue as no less than eight different perfumes had distinct Mexican inspirations. The three Arquiste releases for the Mexican department store El Palacio de Hierro were the best examples of his ability as a “Mexican flower lover”. Azahares is perhaps his best pure floral perfume ever. He would exercise his indie sensibility in the four perfumes he collaborated on for the small line called Xinu. Monstera is a raw green vegetal perfume which almost magically transforms to leather. This is the botanist at play. His final trip comes from the mainstream release, John Varvatos Artisan Pure. Here he uses a less complex palette to create the summer hillsides of Xalapa. That it is every bit as compelling as the other seven mentioned is a testament to the breadth of perfume he produced this year.

I’m not even including the three Carner Barcelona Black Collection perfumes, his continued work for Tom Ford Private Blend, and his three Palindromes for Santi Burgas. Every one of these confirms my choice.

I think Sr. Flores-Roux has been a runner-up every year I have made this choice. I am happy to name him Perfumer of the Year for wearing his love of Mexico in his perfume.

Runner-ups: Luca Maffei, Jerome Epinette, Bruno Fazzolari, Daniela Andrier, and Antoine Lie.

Jerome Epinette (l.) and Jan Ahlgren

Creative Director of the Year: Jan Ahlgren of Vilhelm Parfumerie– When I am asked, “What’s the brand nobody is talking about?” My answer for the last couple years has been Vilhelm Parfumerie. Ever since it’s founding in 2015 Jan Ahlgren has transformed his love of classic Hollywood, the places he loves in the cities he has lived in, and a generally contemporary aesthetic into a fantastic collection of nineteen perfumes. The 2017 releases of Do Not Disturb, Harlem Bloom, and Basilico & Fellini are some of the best in the collection he oversees with perfumer Jerome Epinette. That choice of working with a single perfumer has resulted in a creative ability to build upon each previous release. When I read the inspiration for a perfume in a press release I am way too frequently left scratching my head. That Mr. Ahlgren can translate his vision into a perfume which doesn’t do that is why he is the Creative Director of the Year.

Runner-ups: Frederic Malle (Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle), Etienne de Swardt (Etat Libre D’Orange), and Christian Astuguevieille (Comme des Garcons).

Brand of the Year: Comme des Garcons– If there is a pillar of the niche perfume sector it is Comme des Garcons. That they continue to innovate twenty three years after releasing their first perfume is amazing. In 2017 they opened with a reminder of their past as they released ten of their previous trendsetters in the Comme des Garcons Olfactory Library. I write Comme des Garcons is ahead of its time; the re-releases ask if time has caught up. The three new releases: Concrete, Andy Warhol’s You’re In, and Vogue 125 all show this is a brand which still has much to say. The past might have been amazing but the present is glorious which makes Comme des Garcons my Brand of the Year.

Runner-ups: DSH Perfumes, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Vilhelm Parfumerie, A Lab on Fire, and Parfums de Marly.

Part 1 was my broad overview of 2017

Part 3 is my Top 25 New Perfumes of 2017

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Vilhelm Basilico & Fellini- Summertime Fun with Fellini

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There are many perfume brands which use artists’ histories as a jumping off point to create perfume. There are more than a few who do it in a way where the connection to the past is more PR than perfume. One brand which has done an excellent job of turning these stories into fragrance is Vilhelm Parfumerie. Owner-creative director Jan Ahlgren seems to have a passion about classic film and the people who made those movies. For the latest release, Basilico & Fellini, he looks to a tidbit about the legendary director Federico Fellini.

Federico Fellini cooking pasta

The maybe true factoid cited by Mr. Ahlgren is that Sig. Fellini “requested extra basil with his meals for its aphrodisiac effect.” Some of what makes it more rumor than fact is a story written by Germaine Greer for The Guardian in 2010. In her writing about her visiting the set and spending time with Sig. Fellini during his filming of “Casanova” she speaks of the first night he visited her. She relates, “I would have made supper, but Federico was even more fussy and valetudinarian than your average Italian man, and insisted on making himself risotto bianco with only a single leaf of basil to flavour it.” That does not sound like a man who was had a strong belief in basil as an aphrodisiac.

Jerome Epinette (l.) and Jan Ahlgren

Working again with perfumer Jerome Epinette, Mr. Ahlgren wanted to create a green perfume of seduction. In some ways that sounds like a contradiction in terms considering that many green notes carry more than a little bite to them. With Basilico & Fellini three separate duets throughout the development result in a sensual green fragrance.

Basil as a focal point had me thinking of earthy herbal types of accords. What has made many of the Vilhelm releases so enjoyable is Mr. Ahlgren and M. Epinette like to color outside the lines of those expectations. There is basil right from the moment you spray it on. What is surprising is the way it stays at a kind of lush state. The ingredient M. Epinette uses for this effect is dragon fruit. Dragon fruit when you eat it is sort of bland along the lines of a kiwi. As an essential oil it also provides little strong presence. Instead it modulates the basil from getting so in control you would smell nothing else. It also provides a nuanced sweetness, too. As much as I like the opening the heart pairing of green fig and violet is what really pulled me in. The creamy green fig supported by violet is fantastic, it arises from trailing a tiny amount of the basil along with it before becoming violet and fig alone. The base is vetiver and what is described as “green hay”. Which might be as simple as vetiver lending some of its grassiness to coumarin but it seems like there is also something else besides those familiar notes. Because the hay does seem less dried out than it normally appears.

Basilico & Fellini has 12-14 hour longevity and average sillage.

I tested Basilico & Fellini on some very warm days and it was delightful under those conditions. This is another excellent addition to the Vilhelm Parfumerie collection. One which promises some hot fun in the summertime.

Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by Vilhelm Parfumerie.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Vilhelm Harlem Bloom- Craving Relief

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It is a funny thing how when you have a steady diet of something you begin to crave something the opposite. Just think of after you eat some chocolate the idea of some crunchy salty chips sounds good. As we get to May of every year after having smelled numerous fresh spring rose perfumes I begin to want a rose perfume with less fresh and more power. I know it is coincidence but just as I really start to need a perfume like this one arrives in my mailbox. This year it came from Vilhelm Harlem Bloom.

I am not sure what the creative process is between Vilhelm creative director-owner Jan Ahlgren and perfumer Jerome Epinette is. What I do know is Harlem Bloom is the seventeenth release from a brand which has stood out as one of the best new brands of the last two years. There is not a dud in the entire collection. It is also an impressively broad collection which I believe is testament to the breadth of M. Epinette. Which allows Mr. Ahlgren the opportunity to go anywhere his creativity desires.

Jerome Epinette (l.) and Jan Ahlgren

Harlem Bloom is based on the neighborhood Mr. Ahalgren calls home when he is in New York City. Just in my thirty years of visiting New York City regularly I have seen the transformation of this historical part of the city. Long gone are the days where you were warned not to go above 125th Street. Now it is one of the most vibrant areas in Manhattan. Harlem has indeed bloomed. For the fragrance Mr. Ahlgren envisioned a deep rose-centered fragrance to represent the brownstone he lives in. M. Epinette adds in five specifically chosen notes to bring that rose to life.

The rose M. Epinette chooses is a rich Turkish rose. This is the rose which carries a spicy character among the petals tilting it away from powder and more towards decadent. In Harlem Bloom M. Epinette uses those five notes to enhance that vivacious nature. First it is the peppery woodiness of angelica seeds and the toasty spiciness of saffron. These insert themselves into the rose to create a sumptuously spicy rose. There is also some violet that becomes apparent after some time which almost seems like the signal for the base combination of ebony wood and leather to come out. This is a more animalic leather which matches the rose for power. The dark wood is the foundation for these two accords to interact upon.

Harlem Bloom has 12-14 hour longevity and above average sillage.

If you’re still enjoying you fresh spring rose fragrances; continue on. When you have that craving for a rose with something more to it give Harlem Bloom a try; it will scratch that itch.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Vilhelm.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Vilhelm Do Not Disturb- Bungalow Nights

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In the 1920’s the bright young things were writers, artists, and designers. After a Great Depression followed by a Great War those bright young things were up on the silver screen. The Hollywood Dream Factory was humming as the 1950’s dawned. Those movie stars were what the public wanted to hear about. As this new-found celebrity was thrust upon these pretty people there weren’t really any rules. So, they made up their own.

If you were of a mind to go catch the new celebrities one place you would end up is The Beverly Hills Hotel. More specifically it was the bungalows spread throughout the property which was where the action was. Bungalow No. 7 is Marilyn’s. La Liz and Dick loved, lost, loved, and lost in Bungalow No. 5. The bad boys were in Bachelor’s Row; Bungalows No. 14-21. Even Howard Hughes had his own which nobody knew whether he was there except for select hotel staff. It is fascinating to look back and think about anything like that happening in this TMZ world. Owner-creative director of Vilhelm Parfumerie Jan Ahlgren also shares my affection for this time.

Jerome Epinette (l.) and Jan Ahlgren

Mr. Ahlgren tasked perfumer Jerome Epinette to create a perfume which was all about that time but modern enough to be worn by a contemporary Liz or Marilyn. One thing I admire about the way M. Epinette interprets a brief like that is to keep it relatively simple. There are other perfumers that would have gone for shoulder strutting power. M. Epinette goes the opposite way looking for something more intimate. That moment when the door of the bungalow is closed and the persona can be dropped, a little bit. Just make sure there is a Do Not Disturb sign on the door which is also the name of this new perfume from Vilhelm.

I am not sure many would have thought of carnation as the core of a perfume like this but because M. Epinette was going for intimacy it works. Also, carnation is a key component of some of the great classic vintage perfumes so it provides that vintage vibe without overpowering.

Do Not Disturb opens with that carnation displaying its spicy floralcy. It has a classic feel which is deepened by the addition of clove to amplify the piquant nature of the carnation. Ylang-ylang is used to give a bit of a boost to the floral side of the carnation. Blackcurrant bud provides that sticky green effect which completes the vintage part. Do Not Disturb would have gone even deeper if this was a scent of the 1950’s. Because it is of the 2010’s M. Epinette uses a Haitian vetiver and papyrus as a way of drawing out the green thread begun with the cassis while adding in some expansiveness over the last part of the development.

Do Not Disturb has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.

These kind of story perfumes from this era seem to be a strength of Vilhelm in these early days of the brand. Do Not Disturb is another strong fragrance born from Mr. Ahlgren’s desire for his brand to be something a little vintage and a little modern when looking back. I know it’s impossible but I can imagine smelling a trail of Do Not Disturb somewhere along Bachelor’s Row or just behind a feminine figure with Marilyn’s laugh. This is an excellent evocation of the time and place.

Disclosure: this review is based on a sample provided by Vilhelm Parfumerie.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Vilhelm Parfumerie Dirty Velvet- Latin Quarter Vibrations

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The last of the Vilhelm Parfumerie Fall 2016 collection has been released. I have admired all three of these perfumes as they show a brand expanding their offerings with intent. Creative director Jan Ahlgren and perfumer Jerome Epinette have collaborated well and this collection shows the working relationship is top notch. With the latest release Dirty Velvet they finish 2016 on a high note.

jan ahlgren

Jan Ahlgren

M. Ahlgren has been treating us to olfactory interpretations of his favorite places in Paris. With Dirty Velvet he was inspired by his preferred hotel in the City of Light, Villa D’Estrees. The hotel itself sits on the edge of the Latin Quarter where the Sorbonne and many other universities within Paris are located. The conjunction of college life within one of the great cities of the world almost always produces a section of the city which is lively. Not sure why M. Ahlgren likes this part of Paris so much but Dirty Velvet captures the vibe of the Quartier Latin.

Jerome-Epinette

Jerome Epinette

M. Epinette starts off with pomelo which provides a muted tartness that sharpens its focus over time. It leads into a rich tobacco leaf. This is the deeply narcotic with a hint of menthol kind of tobacco. M. Epinette then matches a fig accord which focuses mainly on the ripe fruit with sparkles of green. This is a rich opulent accord that becomes even better as sandalwood and vetiver come into play. The sandalwood provides a dry woody platform for the tobacco and fig to rest upon. The vetiver picks out the threads of green making them more prominent. The final piece of the puzzle is a salty skin accord. This is where it all stays together for hours.

Dirty Velvet has 10-12 hour longevity and moderate sillage.

I have tried four Vilhelm Parfumerie releases this year. I have enjoyed this minimalist architecture M. Ahlgren and M. Epinette have created. It allows for well-chosen raw materials to stand out. This is a technique M. Epinette has become very adept with. Dirty Velvet is my favorite of this year’s offerings because it goes deeper than any of the previous releases I’ve tried from Vilhelm Parfumerie. Once it comes together, about an hour in, the final mix is just a pleasure to be surrounded by.

Disclosure: this review was based on a sample provided by Vilhelm Parfumerie.

–Mark Behnke