April Aromatics

A selection of perfumes made by the German perfume house April Aromatics.

Mood Scent 4 Into The Woods – Our Last Mood Scent 4 Post!

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It’s time for our monthly Mood Scent 4 post. Where Megan (Megan in St Maxime,) Samantha (I Scent You A Day) Portia (on A Bottled Rose) and I write about a different subject relating to perfume each month. This time we chose to write about woody fragrances.  But before I continue with my picks of woody perfumes I have some news for you: this will be our last Mood Scent 4 post!

Last Call For Mood Scent 4!

Megan started Mood Scent4 4,5 years ago and we have decided to discontinue this project recently for various reasons. Some of us are busy with other perfume related projects, others will be focusing on something different. It has been a very interesting, joyful time writing together and inspiring to read each other’s picks on the same perfume subject each month.

I hope you have learned  as much as I did from reading our different takes on perfume. I want to thank Samantha, Portia and Megan for our exceptional time together on this perfume journey. Although it feels like it’s time for something different, I am a bit sad that this project has ended and will miss writing together. 

April Aromatics Precious Woods – Tanja Bochnig 

April Aromatics featured several times on Megan’s and my posts as we are both a big fan of Tanja’s work. This time I chose Precious Woods for our Into The Woods theme as it invites us to take a walk in a forest.

Berlin based perfumer Tanja Bochnig was inspired to make this fragrance when she scented an Indian forest after the rain. I believe she succeeded very well in invoking the scent, image and experience of a forest walk. Wearing Precious Woods makes me feel very down to earth, grounded and calm. Looking at the notes this is not surprising as one of the main notes is sandalwood from India and New Caledonia. Sandalwood fragrance has been used by all Indian spiritual traditions (Brahmin, Buddhist and Hindu) to induce a calm state of mind. There is a certain intriguing funkiness to this fragrance too making it interesting.

Hiram Green Arbole Arbole – Hiram Green

‘Tree, tree
dry and green.

The girl with the pretty face
is out picking olives.
The wind, playboy of towers,
grabs her around the waist.’*

Arbole, Arbole was inspired by this beautiful poem from Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. This is only a small part of the poem as it is too long to include it completely.  Garcia Lorca is very dear to me as he was one of my mother’s favourite poets.

Arbole, Arbole as a fragrance is as warming as a coffee with brandy on a cold rainy autumn morning. It smells like biting into a dry honeyed patchouli filled dark chocolate with vanilla powder and some frankincense sprinkled on top. Arbole, arbole was love on first sniff and has remained a favourite especially when it’s colder weather. I love it’s rich honeyed quality which can be found in Hiram Greens Slow Dive as well.

Adam Levine For Her – Yann Vasnier – 

I was inspired to blind buy this fragrance by Portia, who reviewed Adam Levine For Her on a previous Mood Scent 4 post. Samantha reviewed it as well on her blog several years ago. It’s a good example that excellent  fragrances don’t have to cost a small fortune.

Adam Levine For Her was created by French perfumer Yann Vasnier (also from Tom Ford Plum Japonais, Arquiste Anima Dulcis, Divine,  Keiko Mecheri and many latest Jo Malone fragrances).  This fragrance is fit for a tropical beach party with its soft creamy sandalwood, light coconut touch and spicy top. There is a hairspray note wafting in the air too.

Adam Levine is a singer, I have to confess I had to Google him but it explains the interesting bottle. The perfume costs less than 10 euro for a 100 ml bottle so grab a bottle while you still can as it has been discontinued.

These are the three woody fragrances I picked.  Have a look on Samantha’s blog I Scent You A Day Megan’s blog  Megan in St. Maxime  and Portia on A Bottled Rose!

What are your favourite woody fragrances? Did you enjoy your time together with us from Mood Scent 4? Did you try fragrances inspired by our posts?

Disclosure: All fragrances mentioned in this article were paid by me. Bottles which are sold now, could be different from the ones on the photographs. All photographs were made by me as well and are an artistic expression.

 

 

Mood Scent 4 Well Named Perfumes

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It’s is time for our monthly Mood Scent 4 post! Where Portia (on A Bottled Rose), Samantha  (I Scent You A Day), Megan (Megan In Sainte Maxime) and I write about a different subject relating to perfume. This time we concentrate on well named fragrances. Those perfume names which lead us to the “right”direction in the store or online and give us a well informed idea of what to expect from a scent.

Perfumes referring to notes in fragrances like rose, tuberose, lily of the valley/muguet, neroli or vetiver can give us a pretty good idea of what to expect although this not certainty either. As some fragrances can be called one thing like orange blossom but unexpectedly smell different, for example Serge Lutens Fleurs D’Oranger smells highly of tuberose. I chose my favourite 5 well named fragrances starting with DS & Durga Portable Fireside.

DS & Durga Portable Fireplace 

Fragrance Duo David Seth Moltz and Kavi Hakuja create original fragrances with matching creative names for their New York based brand DS & Durga. Scented candle Portable Fireplace is one of my favourites from this brand. It smells like a complete fireplace in a candle for those who don’t have the luxury of one at home. I don’t have one living in the city of Amsterdam and love to burn this candle during winter. 

April Aromatics Rose L’Orange, Vanilicious  and Ray Of Light

Another brand with well named perfumes is Berlin based April Aromatics. As you might know, I am a big fan of Tanja Bochnig’s all natural fragrances (and so is my fellow Mood Scent 4 pal Megan from Megan in Sainte Maxime) as I have reviewed several fragrances before. The perfume names are not funny or teasing as DS & Durga but some are very well chosen.

Rose L’Orange smells like a big apricot coloured rose dripping of sweet candied orange syrup and a pinch of vanilla powder. Vanilicious smells like sticking your nose in a delicious shiny long vanilla pod, full of smoky, leathery bits leaving your skin as if it was dusted with light vanilla powder. Uplifting Ray of Light adds a sparkle to your grey rainy day with its vibrant sweet yellow lemon, crisp green lime and bitter bright green leaves from the lemon tree.

Hermes Un Jardin En Mediterranee

Hermes Un Jardin En Mediterranee was the first garden fragrance created by perfumer Jean Claude Ellena for Hermes to be launched in 2003. It captures different plants and trees from a Mediterranean garden, a fig tree with its large fragrant leaves, filled with ready to eat but not overly ripe fig fruits, cypress trees, lemon trees and a touch of spearmint.

Un Jardin En Mediterranee smells like a light aquatic sea breeze on a warm summer day, refreshing and light. It’s like a water coloured painting of an unripe green fig fruit with carefully chosen transparent blue colours. Very refreshing on a warm summer day. Jean Claude Ellena left out all the milk like and coconut parts of the fig fruit in this fragrance which make this scent different from other fig fragrances. I am not an avid fig perfumes lover but I like the freshness and water like quality of this scent.

When visiting the botanical garden in Malaga years ago, in Southern Spain along the Mediterranean sea, it struck me how well fitting this name was as all notes could be found in this garden, white oleander flowers, orange blossom, figs and cypress. The photograph with the small travel spray was made in this garden.

These are the 5 well named fragrances I picked.  Have a look on Samantha’s blog I Scent You A Day Megan’s blog  Megan in St. Maxime  and Portia on A Bottled Rose! I love to read their picks and see what they chose. Sometimes we choose the same fragrances which is great as we don’t know the scents we will pick.

 

Mood Scent 4 Zesty Citrus!

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It is Mood Scent 4 time again!  Our monthly blogging project where Portia (on A Bottled Rose) , Samantha  (I Scent You A Day), Megan (Megan In Sainte Maxime) and I write about a different subject linking perfume to mood or occasion. This time we picked zesty citrus in perfumes: lemon, Japanese yuzu, mandarine, grapefruit. oranges, limes, you name it. They can all be very invigorating and uplifting which is one of the reasons I love them in perfume. They can be energizing on grey rainy days and refreshing on hot days. For this post I chose fragrances I own and enjoy wearing regularly, starting with Untiled L’Eau.

Marghiela Untitled L’Eau by Daniela Roche-Andrier (2011)

Untitled L’Eau is a refreshing unusual bitter cologne style scent and a flanker of the popular Marghiela Untitled. The use of buchu and lentisque (also called mastic) make this fragrance different from other scents in this category adding a modern touch. Buchu is a flowering plant originally from the Western Cape in South Africa. While Lentisque (also called mastic) is traditionally grown on the Greek island Chios. It is a precious resin obtained from the mastic tree and used in the Greek liqueur Mastika and Greek ice cream. Buchu and refreshing spearmint are used in Untitled L’Eau instead of the traditional herbal rosemary and lavender which make this fragrance more contemporary. After a few hours L’Eau leaves a combination of clean shaving cream and bitter herbs on the skin.

Untitled L’Eau feels like immersing yourself in an herbal cold bath on a very warm summer day, the sun is shining through a lightweight sheer white curtain in a 19th century Parisian apartment with high ceilings, the ancient bath tub has been filled with fragrant herbs, sweet mandarin and lemon. Mint leaves the skin tingling and refreshed in the July summer heat in the city. Untitled L’Eau is my personal favorite on warm summer days in Amsterdam as it is a very refreshing scent and feels like taking a cold shower, in a good way.

Notes include lemon, mandarin, galbanum, buchu, spearmint, orange blossom, lentisque, patchouli, frankincense and musk

April Aromatics Ray Of Light by Tanja Bochnig (2014)

Bright crisp lime and sweet vibrant lemon with bitter leaves of the lemon tree make Ray Of Light a very uplifting fragrance. It is a very encouraging and cheerful fragrance. Wearing Ray of Light feels like hearing a dear friend whispering cheerful words in your ear on those days you need help to get things done or get in a happy mood. Pure joy in a perfume bottle for those moments you could use something cheerful, which I can imagine, many of us could use at the moment.

Notes include lime, lemon, pink grapefruit, orange, bergamot, galbanum, mint, vetiver and tobacco.

Atelier Cologne Pomelo Paradis by Ralf Schwieger (2015)

Pomelo Paradis is an uplifting fragrant scent created by perfumer Ralf Schwieger (from Frederic Malle Lipstick Rose, Aedes de Venustas Iris Nazarena, several Atelier Cologne creations and Gallivants latest release Bukhara) In Pomelo Paradis peppery, radiant, juicy, tart and bitter grapefruit and sweet mandarin enhance the fresh heart of roses. The grapefruit is incredibly realistic with its acidic, bitter sweet and light sweaty touch. The fresh rose bouquet is lightened by a touch of refreshing green mint. Pomelo Paradis is a must try if you like grapefruit centred perfumes and very uplifting on grey rainy days. If you want to enhance the grapefruit in Pomelo Paradis even more, you could layer with Zarko Perfume pink molecule 090·09.

Notes include pink grapefruit, mandarin and black currant, orange blossom, mint and bulgarian rose, vetiver, amber accord and iris.

Atelier Des Ors Blanc Polychrome by Marie Salamagne (2020)

Blanc Polychrome smells like very bright juicy lemons and white recently washed cotton sheets drying on a sunny warm Mediterranean roof terrace. It is incredibly uplifting and summer like making you wish for carefree summers at the beach in Southern France or Spain. Unlike many other perfumes with citrus fruits as its leading stars, the sparkling lemon and sweeter mandarin last several hours on skin. The drydown is a very clean white musk.

Notes include mandarin, lemon, rhubarb, solar accord, petit grain, jasmine petals, fig leaf, lavender, Ambroxan, moss and musk.

Olfactive Studio Still Life by Dora Baghriche-Arnaud (2011)

Still Life is a sparkling, festive and very joyous scent which smells like a small group of young people having a party on an urban New York roof top on a hot sunny summer day. You can hear the buzzing sounds of the city and smell the citrus and boozy sweetened rum from the cocktails with a touch of spicy pepper. Still Life leaves the impression of salty particles on the skin after having a swim in the sea.

Notes include yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit), elemi, pepper (pink, black and Sichuan pepper) star anise, galbanum, dark rum, cedar and ambrox.

These are the 5 zesty citrus perfumes I picked. Have a look on Samantha’s blog I Scent You A Day Megan’s blog  Megan in St. Maxime  and Portia on A Bottled Rose,  to read they choices too! It is always a joy to read their picks and see what they have chosen.

Leave a comment, I love to read your zesty citrus perfumes!
What are your favorite citrus perfumes? Do you prefer lemons, limes or grapefruits in fragrances?

Disclosure: All fragrances or samples mentioned in this article were bought by me personally. Photographs were made by me as well and are an artistic expression. Bottles which are sold now, might be different from the ones shown on the photographs.

 

 

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