Plumeria de Orris

This is a primarily orris driven scent as the name would suggest with touches of other notes such as apricot and frangipani, sandalwood, cedar, vanilla, and myrrh. It is fresh and bright in the opening with slight tropical nuances, but the focus is mainly on the orris, which is slightly clean and powdery, but never chalky or that overly lipstick or rooty vibe that this note often has. It has a very vintage feeling without seeming 'old' or geriatric in any way, in fact I find it exciting and fun to wear. It is an easier wear than Pikovaya Dana, another vintage-inspired orris scent, and no as grandiose as Roja's Pierre De Velay 23, which has a similar Channel #5 vibe with an animal base, but skews much more extroverted and showy. It is also more complex and satisfying that Xerjoff Apollonia, a minimalistic 'white scent' with heavy lipstick orris and white florals. This one is pure class, that brings to mind great actresses from the Golden era on beautiful summer nights. The elephant in the room is the civet, which is also featured in Pierre de Velay 23, and here it is a little more prominent but instead of creating some kind of harsh contrast it lifts the scent up and gives it a beautiful golden glow as if all the notes are hovering in space around you. I think without the civet it would have risked being too much like Apollonia, and indeed it does smell like Apollonia on paper! But on skin all the deeper notes come alive and embrace the composition in a magical cloud. On this note I am experimenting with Royal Barn and am surprised to see the same thing, ie the civet, far from making the scent challenging, elevates and frames the composition, making individual notes hang there in space and unifying the different stages and levels of the fragrances development. This is a welcome and new addition to my Areej Le Dore collection I was lucky to find on eBay, completely unopened for a reasonable price. Classy juice, sexy juice, fun juice, ticks all the boxes for warmer weather wear in office or on a date, male or female. A class leading orris without question!

Finally...I hate being so broadly negative about a great brand which has captured the imagination of perfumistas and a perfumer that respect hugely for his commitment to quality and respect for materials. All incredibly admirable, so it's nice when I actually think the end product is excellently crafted and wearable perfume. I think I'm in a stage of liking soft 'pretty' things at present and Plumeria de Orris is the closest thing to pretty on the AlD agenda for this collection. I'm also a little ashamed that none of the heavier oud or leather fragrances were doing anything for me, because I seriously like that stuff, normally. I actually thought that premiering Orris as a material was a little 'French' or whatever for AlD and Adam but this is a delight! The opening has that exotic, fruity floral but it's tamed by a mildly vegetal odour for a brief time a Really powdery drydown giving a buttery, sweet leather facet of Orris root. It is floral throughout but doesn't have as characteristic frangipani as some of the Bortnikoff's for example, although I totally get how that material is in here. The clever part is that it's clearly driven by the same animal core that all of these have but it's not too apparent until it's well and truly dired down, like past 10-12 hours. This speaks to a deft touch by adam in using Castor and/or civet replacer in this because it does exactly what it should, mild background duties and twined with the orris and florals, gives a perfectly light but still animalic muskiness. I thought it was excellent.

I’ve been wearing Plumeria de Orris by Areej Le Doré from a sample. I’m really really really liking this one. And that’s putting it mildly. It starts all fuzzy and powdery dusty, with a hint of apricot, not too much (I don’t like fruit salads in my fragrances), then in the next stage the civet shows its colours, but gently, not stinky at all. It’s beautiful. I’m a big fan of Guerlain, especially the classics (with the exception of Mitsouko, she and I just don’t get along). Now this is my personal opinion, but Plumeria de Orris almost feels like Mitsouko’s peach went dipping into L’Heure Bleue, which in the later stage gets intimate with Vol de Nuit. It is like a perfectly balanced blend of these amazing classics. Juicy in the top, with gorgeous orris, then there’s the vanilla and sandalwood adding to that “dusty velvet curtains” feeling I absolutely dig. It’s been a while since I’ve had a “love at first sniff” moment but this fragrance is haunting me. I’m contemplating buying a bottle, but, and here’s the big but, it doesn’t last on my perfume eating skin. After only a few hours I have to press my nose to my arm to smell it. I have maybe 1-2 wearings left in my sample. Mmmm. I’m adding it to my wish list and ponder some more. But damn do I love and want it. LOL.

Beautiful Powder Have you come across a fragrance that you recognized as quality but you didn't instantly love it? What about one that you then realized wasn't your "style" but you knew it could stretch you, even train you, take you on a different journey; one where you weren't in control. This is what this fragrance is doing for me. I have owned it for some time and finally ready to communicate my thoughts. I now rank it very highly and indeed it is a masterpiece but I recognize it is not for everyone and can lean feminine. The quality is undeniable and the presentation is pure luxury. Areej is a mastermind, unique brand and smell and there is a reason the prices skyrocket in the aftermarket. By design, they are not mass appealing and in there is where I discovered my challenge. I accepted it and finally appreciate the natural luxury of this beautiful flower scent. Russian Adam distilled many frangipani and orris and contains mostly natural. I get a unique nutty, powdery aroma with very little citrus and sweetness.It smells like nothing else in my collection and can be layered quite effectively to be more appealing to your palate. 4.24/5

Now a days we can rarely find plumeria trees, I remember we had a plumeria trees in my home when I was 15, mixing with Plumeria, frangipani and orris butter reminiscence the moment I used play or walk under that tree. A unique fragrance where you can detect the opening notes with plumeria and orris with a slight hint of apricot and powdery. As we move into the base notes you can smell a slight resinous myrhh which does become stronger though this does not diminish the flowery fruity orris glazed in honey and sandal wood accord. Also you can smell a very slight synthetic animalic civet note but it will play hide and seek. I would say its slightly lean towards feminine but unisex can be an appropriate state in my honest opinion. Not a beast in term of silage but I get longevity 8+ hours. Definitely a crowd pleasing and worth to wear on a sunny day. The most underrated release from 5th collection, probably the popularity of War and Peace has been eroded this great composition.