Guerlain Coriolan - Unrecognized Quality

Hello and welcome back to my little corner of the interwebs in which I indulge myself and a small audience in my fragrance fantasies. Today I bring you something from a house I had known nothing of until watching a documentary on the contrasts between designer fragrance and private, niche fragrance houses. Coriolan by Guerlain is most certainly a contrast (I typed that while chuckling to myself) to fragrances of it's time. This is another daringly different scent and it's short-lived life on the shelf holds true to that statement because as most don't  know about this fragrance, with a storm of style, this one does not conform to a consumers society...but first, a little background.

The name Coriolan is derived from a legendary Roman general named Coriolanus. To quote one of my sources, "Coriolanus has inspired Shakespeare, Plutarh and Beethoven. He was the man who accomplished all of his goals, not because of his glory, but because of a woman he loved." Apparently the story of this man inspired Jean-Paul Guerlain to create a scent to celebrate such passion, strength and knowledge. Now on to the technical side of things.

This fragrance was released in 1998 and soon after was discontinued, the year in which is was discontinued as well as the reason remains a mystery to me. The presentation and bottle itself, while at first may seem feminine due to it's shape, begins to take a refined masculine tone once the fragrance itself is experienced. All of the shiny pieces you see on the bottle are said to be made of real bronze and when shone in the correct light, reflect that claim due to the rainbow of color that is shown while the top of the spray nozzle is engraved with Guerlain's symbol. When held in hand the bottle feels like something of a small gunpowder flask. Projection and sillage on this fragrance remain a bit of a mystery to me as well although I have received a few compliment only after two wearings. Longevity on the skin though is absolutely fantastic given the age of the fragrance, staying on my skin for over 8 hours while working. That speaks volumes of it's quality.

Top notes: bergamot, lemon leaf, neroli, sage.
Heart notes: ylang-ylang, absinthe, pepper, juniper berry.
Base notes: vetiver, patchouli, benzoin, everlasting flower.

In the end, I make my own conclusion about this fragrance and why it is no longer offered. To me, this is not an everyday fragrance. It is not fresh from either top notes or bottom notes to my nose. Instead it starts out rich and peppery with a hint of thick semi-sweet lemon leafs, progresses to an even fuller, richer statement while the pepper almost completely disappears and patchouli makes it's never-ending statement and VERY slowly dries out to a close romantic scent where the patchouli is met with the slightest earthiness of the everlasting flower giving it an almost tangible texture. Mid-way through this scent though, on my skin, I catch a whiff of what I can only describe as sex. I know it sounds strange but my god is it provocative. The rest of the notes are not important to me as this formula is so extremely well blended that one cannot possibly point out all of the notes within.

Absolutely elegant fragrance that never received the notoriety I believe it should have, and for that I am thankful. It is unheard of, unique and therefore another winner in my collection. Now we'll just have to see what the wife thinks when she gets back from her vacation. Thank you for reading!

Fragrances of Today (my opinion anyway).

It is now 10:55 in the morning, lovely weather today and a fairly good mood as well. I was just outside a few moments ago thinking about my daughter, my future son who is on his way and my wife who are all down in Arkansas for a few weeks. Out of the blue though I caught a whiff of the Original Vetiver I had put on last night around 4:45 in the evening and something occurred to me. Fragrance truly has become a fashion statement rather than a personal extravagance and I too have fallen victim to such trends.

While it's true that I will not wear a fragrance that I don't personally enjoy (why would anyone do that?) I have found that when it comes to big brand-name scents, I look for the, "will this get me noticed?" factor. In my collection of big-brand American scents, I own various kinds such as: Polo Black & Double Black (Deo, cologne and aftershave for both), there is also Tommy Jeans, Nautica Classic, and Banana Republic Slate and Classic. The point I'm trying to make with listing these scents is that they are obvious fashion statements in the big picture. Marketed towards fashionable young men and women who want to be noticed through something that projects an image...and this is not why I was initially interested in fragrance. Alas as stated before, I fell victim to it with the Polo series. Polo Black being the big winner on compliments.

My redeeming factor happened when I was searching for a not-so-well known scent in the States so that I could be set apart from all the Acqua Di Gio and Polo that everyone wears. Terre d'Hermes was that redeemer and over the course of a month it became my signature scent and everyone who knows me, knows me by that scent. It is mysterious yet familiar in it's earth-like tones and I feel like that compliments my personality perfectly. Two other fragrances since have taken me on the olfactory journey that I began searching for and that is what I believe personal fragrance is meant for. I suppose what I'm getting at is don't wear cologne/perfume for fashion, wear it because it makes you happy. Wear it because it takes you back to when you were a child or perhaps even to a place you wish to go. None of us can have the idealistic worlds we want, but perfumery and imagination can bring us closer than we ever thought possible.

Creed - Original Vetiver Review Video

Interlude (Creed Orignal Vetiver Conclusion).

Hello all, just felt like writing a bit this morning since it's been near a month since my Creed Original Vetiver post (which I am actually wearing on my wrist right now). I will soon be reviewing a cologne which I received a generous sample of that lasted 3 wearings but for now I am waiting on the bottle to arrive so I can have an appropriate picture to provide with my review =). It is Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue. For now though I will finish up from what I had previously started on my Original Vetiver by Creed.

For me, Original Vetiver has become an at-home/car ride scent and it is very very much a staple summertime scent. I honestly cannot imagine wearing or smelling this any other time of the year, it just would not smell right. To sum up the elaborate imagery from the last post, the only other things I have gathered are (keep an open mind here) humidity and spice. Take the smells from my last post and combine those heavy natural scents with a hot and humid summer day. That is the clearest way I can break down the image of, "it's as if the sun appeared and instantly vaporized the moisture from within the foliage and brought it out to hang in the air around you," which is a direct quote from my last post. The spice obviously comes from the vetiver leaf oil and ginger which are used in this scent. Vetiver scents themselves when used in cologne/perfume are generally taken from the root rather than the leaf and thus you get a much woodier result. What seems to happen in this bottle is the leaf tones down the spice/wood and brings a bit of green/fresh grass scent into play.

It simply is remarkable.

The two boys left early that morning. Being so young, it seemed to him that he lived in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains and this trip he was taking with his best friend only brought him closer to what he knew as his majestic home. The promise of morning dew on the fresh grass, mid-mountain with the old log cabin. He remembers the front porch that ran along the entire length of it, the garden that sat in front and the descent which gave way to the small opening in which they began their adventures. As the day passed on the dew would hang in the air, wild apples littered the ground and baked openly in the sun behind the cabin, fallen just a bit too far from the shade of that lone tree. Each time he passed under it, the moisture from the air seemed to hold the scent in place. He remembers the time spent sitting in the open sun next to his friend in what they called the hay-field. The thick green grass waving under the breeze and a clear blue sky spotted with the occasional white cloud. On one side the mountain would slowly tower, it's skin completely immersed in greenery and tall, lush trees...the other was simply horizon made mysterious by an unforgiving forest. Only hindered by where the two boys' two-wheeled machines would take them...never did he realize how much he would appreciate what was before him.

...that is what this scent does for me, and this is why I wear cologne.

Creed Original Vetiver Pt. 1

Hello everyone, please pardon my tardiness on this post but a few weeks ago when I announced that I would review this scent I did not foresee the complexity of what floated within it's beautiful glass bottle. (If you would like to see the full size image, simply click the picture below)

I would like to say that this may be a two or even three part posting for reasons that will be obvious as I go on. First of all let me start with the presentation and functionality of this bottle. It is on a standard of it's own. The atomizer (spray nozzle, pump and tiny straw) should be something that every high-end, complex scent should have, it truly is that brilliant. Just below the pump spring sits lodged a small ball-bearing and it seems to disperse the liquid into the spray nozzle itself in such a way that it wastes nothing. No drips and no raindrop style, large, wasteful sprays. It simply is something you have to see for yourself and I will provide a clip of it being sprayed onto my wrist. Bear with me while I do my best to explain what the smells inside this bottle do for me. Mind you it will be quite detailed. 

The way in which this scent interacts with my skin and different environments is nothing short of astonishing. I simply can't begin to properly describe yet what this cologne does as the hours pass and it settles into your pores. Original Vetiver does not invade you or anyone else's nose, instead it gently opens your olfactory senses for a trip into a multitude of settings, memories and visions. Never have I been witness to a scent that so consistently changes back and forth and then moves on to something else without so much as a warning to it's transition. As any cologne/perfume enthusiast should know, there is always a list of defined notes for each bottle of scent which can generally help a less experienced wearer make sense of what they are smelling on themselves or another and Creed's Original Vetiver is no different because they are extremely proud of their ingredients. I will list the official notes later on but for now I will give my first impressions as well as some family and friend's.

The initial gathered opinions of family and friends have been nothing short of positive. "Rich, fresh, powerful, bright, green, and full of class," in my fathers observation. My brother told me that he caught the scent of woods even and used the word presidential. A colleague and very dear friend from work said, "it seems soft and very personal." When I open the cap I immediately get what I can only describe as the probably the freshest, most green scent possible from a manufactured cologne. As the open air makes contact it's as if the sun appeared and instantly vaporized the moisture from within the foliage and brought it out to hang in the air around you. It is simply incredible the imagery that is provoked upon smelling it before it's even on my skin! It is an instant transport to a sunny field at the base of an old, worn mountaintop of very thick, untamed grass everywhere with spots of decaying blades worked within each patch. I want to point out that occasionally you'll hear people describing things such as wine in such a way that make no sense to the ordinary and because of this, it seems to give them the trait of a fantastically bloated ego or even that of a snob. However, I am here to bear witness that someone truly passionate can appreciate beautiful craftsmanship and complexity and I write this with the absolute unbiased opinion that Original Vetiver is deserving of such notoriety.

I honestly hope you enjoyed reading this first entry on what promises to be the most exciting cologne I've ever owned. Join me next time as I find a way to write a more discernible and comprehensive entry into this amazing piece of work.

The House of Creed

Hello, to those reading, I am simply making a quick entry to both sate my enthusiasm and inform a few people who keep in touch with my hobby of scents. I recently announced on my facebook timeline that I indulged in one last high-end fragrance for the year as a special treat to myself before my next child makes it's appearance. As I await the arrival of the fragrance, which I won't reveal until I find I know enough about it personally, I wanted to give a little information as to help illustrate why I am so utterly excited to receive and review it.

As the title suggests, it is from the House of Creed which was founded in 1760 by James Creed. Since then the technique used in the private yet world renowned perfumery has been revered as the scent of royalty and reserved for only the highest of the high-class society. James Creed and his technique quickly gained such notoriety as to become a favorite of Queen Victoria and soon after was appointed as the official supplier of fragrance to the crown. As the fame of his fragrances' sophistication, originality and quality continued to rise so did the demand. As one article states, "Creed quickly became the fragrance of choice for all the Courts of Europe: from Napoléon III to Empress Eugenia, Francois Joseph to Elizabeth of Austria-Hungary, and Queen Christina of Spain."

Now all the way down the line in our current time, the house has reached it's sixth generation in perfumery with a man named Olivier Creed who has made his way by not only releasing Creed's most popular scent, Aventus, but also by making his line of fragrances available to the public. Anyone who knows me will understand that I appreciate timeless pieces of history and this is bound to be one of them that I cannot let pass. Not only from the name do I derive the timeless tradition...but the scent on it's way to me was worn by one of our most adored U.S. Presidents many years ago.

I hope you'll join me on my next review which has generated enough hype in me it could be likened to a gamer's obsession with obtaining his masterpiece collectors edition box on it's first day of release =).

Eau d'Orange Verte Concentre

Well it's been far too long and I had all but forgotten about this blog I started until recently when I received a compliment while wearing the scent in my original post, Terre d'Hermes. This time I will be bringing you another scent from the Hermes line, a newer cologne based on the original recipe from Hermes which is in turn influenced by an ancient recipe. I'm talking about the wonderful summer scent called Eau d'Orange Verte Concentre. In English this simply means green orange concentrate.

Originally this scent was a simple cologne with plenty of natural notes such as lemons, mandarin oranges, papaya and mango and finishing with a distinct patchouli and oakmoss mixture. To someone who samples a range of high-end fragrances, one could appreciate this cologne and it's different changing notes mostly because they are so noticeable when worn close to your nose or smelled often from one of your body's pulse-points. The, "Concentre," version I have is all of what I have described with added longevity, meaning it will last much longer on your skin.

First and foremost I must admit that the sillage, meaning that after you've left the scene the scent lingers, is not a selling point for this cologne and if you're looking for something that's projects for a full workday then this is not for you...but please read on as you may yet be swayed.

I received this particular scent as a gift from my father a little before Christmas last year and of course I had to open it and try it on right in front of everyone. I was so struck by the clarity of each note, each one discernible and obvious as it traveled through each stage...which brings me to the most exciting point for my experience. I've sampled many scents, both male and female (on other women of course for the latter) but none have EVER struck me as being so simple while maintaining such class! Every single bolstering note in this bottle is directly on point with it's designers description and it's so brilliantly done. This cologne does not offend anyone, it wears close to the skin for a FAR more personal experience for both you and a loved one. I absolutely cannot see nor begin to understand why anyone would complain about this scent if they are looking for a personal experience.

In closing I will type out my personal experience in the exact way it happened as it is extremely personal to my memories.

When I was younger I lived in East Tennessee and family was a big part of life, especially on the weekends. I can remember going to my grandparents (father's side) quite vividly and even more-so I remember the house and what was in it. Picture with me a single-story house with a nice sized living room, a large wall-length window behind a couch, coffee table in front and a soft, fabric recliner to the right. Next to it sat a sort of end-table with a lamp on it which housed a dim light. Everything else in the room was wooden; regular tables, coffee table, desks and floor, even the television had wooden trim around it if I remember correctly. Both of them smoked as well so at times there was a smoky haze which the sunlight pierced in the evening. Lastly, my grandparents had personalities to match giants. I mention this because the most important notes in Eau d'Orange Verte bring me back to that house. The bottom (longest lasting) notes of oakmoss and patchouli are deep, smoky and remind me of old but well-kept wooden furniture with just the slightest tinge of musk. It's almost as if those notes were intentionally kept close to your skin so as to make you want to smell yourself in order to relive those reminiscing moments. Pure, fresh class in a bottle. Thank you for reading.