Honey

Parfum d’Empire Eau Suave

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Garden flowers by Elizabeth Murray

Garden flowers by Elizabeth Murray

When I first smelled Eau Suave I wasn´t as thrilled as I was with Yuzu Fou, another perfume by Parfum d´Empire. Yuzu Fou was like nothing I had tried before,  an instant boost of citrus energy. But after using Eau Suave a few times I began to get more fond of it.

Eau Suave was created in homage to the rose collection of Chateau of la Malmaison from the Empress Josephine de Beauharnais, first wife of Napoleon de Bonaparte. The Empress grew many kinds of roses in Malmaison and was very passionate about them.  Especially three kinds of roses were kept in mind by the perfumer Marc Antoine Corticciato while making Eau Suave, the Rose Josephine, the Rose de Venus and the Rose Pourpre.

Eau Suave means smooth water. Smooth, honeyed and even double it certainly is. It may appear a straight rose perfume but it isn´t. There are more layers to it.  Different aspects of roses maybe like the Empress Josephine herself. She had a wonderful garden and loved roses, all very lovely in itself but passionate and sensual as well. Josephine had a passionate affair with Napoleon. They wrote love letters from which many of Napoleon´s letters still exist. 
Some mention spicy notes in Eau Suave. A hint to the birthplace in Martinique of Josephine of Beauharnais ?

I am still double about this rose scent.  It may not stand out as a rose perfume if you have a lot of them. But after a while, it might be a perfume to grow very fond of. As a garden which develops in time and you grow fond of during the years. So who knows, just give it some time. *

Suave reminded me of a beautiful song by Luis Miguel called Suave. It accompanies the perfume quite well. Listen and enjoy !

Thanks Elizabeth Murray for letting me use your beautiful picture.

First published: March 2012, reedited September 3, 2015

*During the 3 years after I wrote this review I have grown quite fond of Eau Suave and posses a bottle now. What I really like is its honeyed quality much more than its focus on rose.

Do you own fragrances you have grown fond of in the last years, which did not impress you at first ?  If so, tell us which ones !

Ramon Monegal Cuirelle My first leather perfume

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Ramon Monegal 1

Searching for Spanish perfumes I came across the Spanish perfume house Ramon Monegal. Ramon Monegal is the perfumer of Ramon Monegal perfumes. He is fourth generation of the family that founded the company Myrurgia in 1919. Myrurgia is best known for its old fashioned Maja soap with the Spanish dancing lady and perfumes like Alada. After years of working for other famous designer brands like Adolfo Dominquez and Massimo Dutti, Ramon Monegal makes his perfumes since 2009 in artistic freedom. This has always been his dream. He wrote an interesting fictional novel this year called La Perfumista.

Ramon Monegal 4

Fortunately I was able to smell most of the collection of the 16 Ramon Monegal (RM) fragrances. Three perfumes are only available in their beautiful luxury store in Barcelona. The line includes leathers, roses, vetiver, patchouli, iris, ambers, musks, woods, tuberose and a light orange flower. It is a very wide range. As if Ramon Monegal sampled ideas for his perfumes for years in his Moleskine booklet and took them out some years ago to develop for his own perfume house.

Personally I prefer his oriental perfumes like Ambra di Luna, Mon Patchouly and Cuirelle. The white floral Cotton Musk got my attention as well.

Ramon Monegals perfumes are developed in a classic artisanal masculine way. My personal impression is that the perfumer Ramon Monegal knows very well what he is doing and how to make perfumes. When I smelled Ambra di Luna I was reminded a bit of the classic Guerlain perfumes Mitsouko and Shalimar. It is as if Ramon Monegal made it winking to both the ladies Mitsouko and Shalimar adding some honey smoothness.

 

Other Ramon Monegal perfumes gave me this classic and smooth feeling as well. His perfumes might appeal both to men and women over forty who prefer more classical artisanal well made perfumes. I can even imagine the former Spanish King Juan Carlos or Queen Sofia wearing his perfumes. Especially Entre los Naranjos (between the orange trees) might be an excellent eau de toilette for former King Juan Carlos, very Spanish, spicy and strong, like a strong cologne. My father really liked Entre los Naranjos.

Some of the Ramon Monegal perfume names are surprising as they are a bit different than their name might suggest like their Cuirelle. Personally I am not a fan of leather perfumes and I was put off a bit by the perfume Cuirelle, because of its name. But when I tested the perfume I was a totally surprised. This was not a leather perfume but a very smooth soft oriental perfume. The official Ramon Monegal website says that it is not a leather perfume but an interpretation of it with cat like flexibility.

Ramon Monegal made Cuirelle and Mon Cuir because of his love of the real leather. Personally I do not smell the leather note but it reminded me more of liquid caramel. It reminded me especially of the perfume Musc by Mona di Orio . Mona di Orio´s Musc is not the typical musc perfume as you would expect but a much more accessible musc perfume as Cuirelle is a more accessible leather perfume. Cuirelle is now one of my favorites of Ramon Monegal and my first ‘leather’ perfume. I enjoy wearing it especially when it is a rainy cold day. It is like putting on a nice smooth leather coat on your shoulders.

Try Ramon Monegal when you prefer perfume houses like Mona di Orio, Ormonde Jayne, Teo Cabanel or the classic Guerlain perfumes. If you are more into modern perfumes and modern perfumers this might not be something for you although it certainly is worth a try.

I like the fact that Ramon Monegal is a Spanish perfumer and his Spanish heritage is noticeable in his perfumes. This makes his fragrances special compared to other perfume houses.

Have you tried a Ramon Monegal fragrance ? If so which one ? Or which one would you like to try ?

Cuirelle eau de parfum:

Longevity: about 4 hours

Sillage: it becomes part of your skin

Perfume group: soft oriental

Notes: Somali incense, Indonesian Patchouli, Vetiver Bourbon, Green Cedar Wood, Cinnamon, Extract of beeswax.

Photographs : courtesy of Ramon Monegal projects, www.ramonmonegal.com.

Origin of sample: pr sample

Originally published: August 2012

Re edited: August 3, 2015