Raspberry

Nicolaï Rose Oud Perfume Review

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Photograph: Esperessence

Rose Oud is very soothing for the heart. Especially when you are suffering from heartache or confronted with difficult emotional situations in your life and want some elevation of stress/anxiety in a soft and gentle way. 

Interestingly Patricia de Nicolaï made Rose Oud as a powerful very rich deep fragrance (see video) But Rose Oud wears very close to my skin. It is more the light stroke of a rose. Caresse in French. Caresse de Rose would have been a better title for the fragrance.  I can only scent Rose Oud when I smell my wrist very closely, at less than 5 cm. Which is a pity but I reapply several times during the day. Longevity is not very good either. Very powerful rose perfumes on my skin are Guerlain Nahema edp and Maria Candida Gentile Cinabre.

Although I love rose fragrances I find it hard to find rose perfumes I wear regularly.  They can either be too the linear like Jo Malone Red Roses, too uplifting like the spicy Amouage Epic or Majda Bekkali Mon Nom Est Rouge or too activating like Maria Candida Gentile Cinabre.  I have found Rose Oud to be very appealing and  wore it quite often last summer. Of all my rose fragrances, this is the one I used most.

Rose Oud could give an uncomplicated impression at first sniff. But I find it an interesting modern, elegant, radiant and subtle fragrance.  You can wear it when you do not want others to smell your fragrance for example at your office or for a job interview.

What do I smell?

Personally I do not scent any oud in Rose Oud but some other male bloggers (Chemist in a Bottle and Geurengoeroe) say they do. At the beginning I get a fruity peach note probably due to the osmanthus. At the same time I get a lot of aldehydes the first few minutes adding lightness and brilliance. The aldehydes are not used in a retro vintage style like Antoine Lie in Rien Intense but in a more modern 21th century way.  What remains afterwards is an oily fragrance according to Perfume Shrine due to Nargamotha/Cypriol*. I get a sweet raspberry/rose note as well which is very similar to the Oliver and Co Santalum scented candle.

What does it do ?

Rose Oud is very soothing for the heart. Especially when you are suffering from heartache or confronted with difficult emotional situations in your life and want some elevation of stress or anxiety in a soft and gentle way. I used it a lot when my mother was in the hospital last summer. Part of this soothing effect could be a result of the usage of cypriol or to the calming effect of the rose.

Which image do I get ?

I get the image of the fur of my cat, Rubio as caressing him has a similar calming effect on me as wearing Rose Oud.

Composition: (according to the official Nicolaï website)

Top note: raspberry, davana, osmanthus

Heart note: rose, lily of the valley

Base note: agarwood, patchouli , sandalwood, musk, amber

Fragrance family: according to Patricia de Nicolaï chypre due to the rose and patchouli absolute (I would say floral chypre with fruity accents due to the raspberry or fruity chypre, Michael Edwards classifies it as a rose soliflore which makes sense)

Sillage: 1/5

Longevity: 1/5

Fragrance: 4/5

Overall: 3,5/5

Origin of bottle: my own,  Nicolaï is sold in The Netherlands by The Perfume Lounge and Parfumaria, both sell samples.

* Nagarmotha/Cypriol is a plant of the Cyperaceae family belonging to the papyrus family. Cypriol essential oil is harvested through steam distillation. Lotus Garden Botanicals states on its website that its fragrance has similarities with vetiver and oud. The essential oil is used in aromatherapy and is said to have an emotionally calming effect. According to an article of Swiss perfumer Andy Tauer most of the oud in perfumes are bases often made with Cypriol.

Give away: we are giving away a 2 ml sample of Rose Oud

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  3. Draw will close september 3, at 12.00 PM Parisian Time
  4. We will contact the winner by mail, announce it on our website and on twitter, if you are the winner please check your mail and other folder
  5. Worldwide draw

 

Oliver & Co Santalum Scented Candle

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According to his website Oliver & Co Spanish perfumer Oliver Valverde created his scented candle Santalum in 2010 together with four other candles, Ambrarem, Tuberosen, Terralium and Muskal. Ambrarem, Santalum and Tuberosen are still in production at this moment. The design of the container was simple and stylish to change in 2013 into a more futuristic and personalized one, inspired by space ships. I preferred the older packaging as I find it more suited to the fragrances. Oliver Valverde made the futuristic packaging to contrast the fragrances.

Santalum 3Like Oliver Valverde himself, these candles represent their own style both in packaging and fragrance. Compared to his perfumes the scented candles are less outspoken. Their throw off is marvelous and one of the best I have encountered so far to the point that the scent can be overwhelming at times. I tend to burn some of them (Ambrarem and Tuberosen) no more than one hour for this reason. All details, from the packaging to the design and fragrance are thought through and made by the perfumer himself.

One of the things to keep in mind when buying a scented candle is its size. Most of the scented candles are 190 grams (for example Diptyque) but Oliver & Co candles are 225 grams Santalum 2so they last longer. These scented candles include a wooden lid (where some other brands charge for them) and the containers can be re-used easily. So far I have used scented candles in the scents Tuberosen, Santalum, Silver Fir and Ambrarem. They are tempting to collect and easy to re use as their colours are beautiful with all different designs.

The most important thing remains its fragrance though. I believe Santalum to be my favorite one but have to admit it depends on the weather and season. The same as the scented candle Ambrarem, I wish Oliver made a perfume from it. Tuberosen and Santalum are suited for summer as they are  based on the summer/late summer flowers rose and tuberose. Silver Fir and Ambrarem are both very appropriate for cold winter weather.

What does Santalum smell like to me:

A beautiful feminine elegant light ethereal rose and raspberry fragrance which would make an excellent perfume and reminding me of Nicolai Rose Oud. If you like Nicolai Rose Oud Eau de Parfum you will probably like this scented candle.

What does it do ?

It brings softness,  soothes and relaxes.

Official notes: Sandalwood, Raspberry and Rose Petals

Burning time according to label: 50/60 hours

Size: 225 gr

Longevity: 5/5

Projection: 5/5

Price: 50 euro (sign up for the official newsletter as Oliver & Co has regular sales)

Disclosure: all candles mentioned in this article were bought by Esperessence

Photograph: Esperessence