July 12th 2006, Osmanthus Phase Three
More osmanthus absolute this time, to assert the osmanthisism of the composition. I decided to be a bit daring again, but this time go with a material I am more familiar with: tabac blond. It has an earthy, dry leaf quality that is not unlike tea. It creates an illusion of black tea. I also doubled up the other base notes (used in the previous versions) – ambrette, sandalwood, green tea. The heart remains basically the same, focusing on osmanthus, with a couple of supporting notes that share some similarities: a tad of lavender Seville absolute and linden blossom absolute. This time I used only the ethereal wild orange top note, and omitted the clementine. It is just fruity enough to help the osmanthus out, but not too sweet to distract from the darkness of the osmanthus. It really showcases the phases of osmanthus – from peach/apricot, to leather and finally to a smooth green tea. The only thing I am not happy with yet is the lasting power, and so I will increase the concentration and see how it improves the perfume.
posted by Ayala Moriel @ 10:31:00 PM
4 Comments:
Dear A- fascinating about the helicrysum.Clementine is a luscious addition, but too short-lived. I like the inclusion of linden, and what it brings to the table; the tabac blond is a favorite note, both dry and honeyed. I still need to ponder how one can suggest the dark side without overpowering the apricot-y loveliness of this material.
Although I enjoy Osmanthe Hunnan for its effervescent, tealike beauty and refreshment, it's not exemplary for showcasing the opulence of osmanthus...maybe the davana will surprise over time.
Keep us posted with your travails- and enjoy the w/e.
CR, I agree about Osmanthe Yunnan. Although after a while the osmanthus peaks out (more towards the heart notes' drydown, and smells like the dryout of osmanthus, rather than its full bodied leathery apricoty phase), it is more of a citrus and tea scent. And also very fleeting, particularly when considering the price, one would want to get more longevity from a scent.
Ayala, this process is fascinating! I'm interested in this interpretation of "dark osmanthus." I've enjoyed wearing other osmanthus fragrances, but they generally are quite sunny and bright, or softened with other floral notes.
In your introduction, I laughed at the part about your notebook and all your hieroglyphs everywhere, on sticky notes, etc. I'm the same way about writing. My fleeting thoughts litter every room in the house. Thanks for sharing this with us. :)
P.S. I bought the Fleur de Shanghai. I love it! I think it will be one of my favorites always.
greeneyes,
Wouldn't want to sound critical of other perfumers, but the osmanthus scents I have tried so far had such a low dilution it was really hard to find the osmanthus in them. They were all very nice perfumes, but none brought to me the mysterious feeling of osmanthus absolute (as I mentioned earlier, I am not familiar with the living flowers). Osmanthus has such a complex, rich and complex aroma - peach, apricot, green tea, leather, powder... The leather and apricots together give off the texture of peach skin and soft suede. This is what I am trying to keep in my osmanthus soliflore. The suede feel. It is not as dark as other dark perfumes may be (no Habanita!). But it is going to be a relatively dark soliflore. The osmanthus has to be the most dominant note. Anything else has to be there to extend an aspect of the osmanthus, not to dilute it or change it...
Oh, those hieroglyphs! I just end up dumping them all in a box if I don't use them right away. If I ever run out of ideas one day, I am sure I will find a lot of old ones there, and I wouldn't even be able to recognize them, so it will feel like a new idea...
I am so happy you like Fleur de Shanghai! Definitley a favourite! When eBay runs out of them, we will have to organize a demonstration in front of YSL head office and force them to bring it back to production...
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