Work, perfume, life

And not necessarily in that order. In fact, definitely not in that order. Not usually. 

The last week has been a bit of a hellhole for me, work-wise. Deadlines galore, working until 3 in the morning to get work done and then cranky bosses who don't seem to appreciate all of this. Office politics can be a nasty, nasty thing and I am so glad that I am now on holiday for two weeks. My sister is visiting us for a few weeks and I am taking this time off to be with her and my family. I only see my sister every other year - living in the Southern Hemisphere means she is far away, and we struggle to fund expensive flights more regularly than this. I left work on Friday having not quite finished everything, but you know what? Sod it...

I was in London last Wednesday and managed to fit in a quick stop at Les Senteurs, where I got some samples of Moni Di Orio's Les Nombres D'or line. I got Tuberose, Ambre and Musk. I also got a sample of one of Pierre Guillaume's perfumes from his new line, Fareb. A little stunner it is too, reminiscent of Pure Distance's M. I also tried Cuir by LT Piver, a little off the radar for me, but actually it is a nice leather indeed. I wanted a sample of Amouage's Opus V but was told I wasn't allowed one. Anyone know why this would be the case? In any event, on paper it is pungent and to my nose a little like Malle's Portrait of a Lady, without as much rose and more focus on oud.

So for the next two weeks my priorities are going to be life, perfume.... and no work! Hooray!

Boadicea Complex

Boadicea is a line that I approached with some trepidation, perhaps unfairly. It's strange sometimes, at least to me, how certain perfume houses gain an almost fanatical following, while others are either overlooked completely, or are received with ridicule. Perhaps ridicule is a bit over the top, but Boadicea has certainly met with some disdain in the blogosphere. I have found few, if any, favourable reviews. 

So I decided to order a sample of Complex, which has been described as 'the underside of an old car', 'something you would pour into your car to make it explode', 'sharply animalic', and 'a mess'. Hardly the sort of glowing descriptions that would usually make one scramble for the credit card!

The notes from Luckyscent include violet, labdanum, leather, basil, sage, musk and civet. On me the opening is a sharp blast of rubber, leather, plastic/vinyl and something green, dark and sappy like crushed stems. To call this a memorable assault on the senses is somewhat of an understatement. The early phases of development remind me very strongly of two other leathery fragrances that equally scare the wits out of me, namely Vierges and Toreros by ELDO and Cuir by Mona di Orio. I suppose one might call this a leather green chypre, but Complex is a bold, scary and severe whiplash of animalic leather that smells metallic, synthetic and yet at the same time bizarrely organic. It's hard to describe really.

The heart is as uncompromising as the top, staying intensely leathery, almost charred, with a deep woodiness to it that at times smells disturbingly like blood and fur to me. It's really no holds-barred stuff. Complex is a linear fragrance, but having said that, like some other very strong and long-lasting perfumes, I suspect the linear feel comes not so much from actually being simple, but rather that the playing out of development is so prolonged that it just feels that way. Complex remains leathery for the next few hours, to the point where I struggle to smell my skin where applied - it is relentless. However, deep into development, some eight hours later, I start to detect a green vetiver note every now and then, gleaming through the dark base like sparkling gems, and a couple of hours later the leather softens sufficiently to allow a little sweetening of the woods, a relief to the battered olfactory senses!

To sum up, Complex is not for the faint-hearted. If you like your leather strong, I suspect you might tolerate this, but only barely. If you don't, then watch out. I can't help feeling as if they missed a trick here - the far-dry down is actually very nice once the charred leather note is softened, showing glimpses of what this fragrance could have been, had it displayed just a bit more restraint and subtlety. Those of you who know my tastes will know that I usually like bold, challenging perfumes, and Complex is definitely that. However even Complex is a step too far for me. Even so, I was taken on a journey, albeit a macabre and scary one, and there's something to be said for that.

Image credit - Luckyscent.com

Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Cuir

I recently ordered a sample of Cuir, one of three in the new series  by Mona di Orio, which also includes Ambre and Musc. I was quite excited to try this, as I am usually a fan of leather fragrances. I'm not sure what I was expecting - perhaps something a bit like Cuir Ottoman or Cuir de Russie. Instead, di Orio's Cuir is an unabashed leather monster, at least on my skin. The Non Blonde recently reviewed this very favourably, emphasising that although this wasn't biker leather, it was certainly quite animalic. I agree on the animalic assessment. However, on my skin this is unapologetically leathery, with more than a touch of birch tar. Cuir wears dry and smoky, without ever a hint of any sweetness or variation on my skin. At one point it is so intensely leathery that it starts to smell a bit like plastic, almost burnt in a way. This phase is the most unpleasant for me, when it smells a bit synthetic. This eventually moderates somewhat, but that smoky fierceness never goes away. Cuir has got to be possibly one of the most linear leather fragrances I have worn. It doesn't vary much after the top notes fade, which in a way is nice, in that if you like leather, you are going to get a lot of it, for a long time. On the other hand I was hoping for something else to creep in, perhaps some vanilla, or patchouli, or incense; I don't know. When I was younger, I had the misfortune to have to go to a tannery for my work (the joys of being an auditor, I tell you). We were counting inventory of hides and skins, many of which were still in quite a raw state and lots of others at various stages of the curing and tanning process. The smell was very leathery, but with a metallic bloody smell. To a small extent, Cuir reminds me of this smell, and thinking about it, that slightly plastic, blood smell I get is not that far removed from Vierges & Toreros, by ELDO. 

Now I know that this review might seem to be painting Cuir in a slightly negative light, but actually, that's not what I'm trying to do. What I am saying is that Cuir, on my skin at least, is quite uncompromising and severe, and extremely leathery. Depending on your point of view, and your tolerance on the leather-skankmeter, this will either appeal to you or repulse, I think. I have a feeling that this is very much a skin chemistry thing. What I do know is that I don't find Cuir feminine at all, yet at the same time it is not really butch and masculine either. Nor do I find this sexy or kinky - in fact, I can't make up my mind about this and will need to test Cuir some more. What I do like about Mona di Orio is that she is isn't afraid to release some big, bold and frankly, sometimes some scary, skanky perfumes. I think if you do like leather, definitely give this one a go.