Chienoir

Very honoured to be the first entry on this perfume because Chenoir is absolutely fantastic! It’s a valuable lesson In understatement for Indy perfumers who seem to insist on this murky, witchy, brew approach whereas Amanda thinks in structure and simple accords, coming together to make far more than the sum of their parts. This is basically a transparent, herbal, green fragrance with an old meets new Chypre sensibility. The bergamot and oakmoss providing the classic elements delicate, flora muguet and modern woods in the base providing the modernised contemporary elements. There’s a light resinous warmth in this too. The lasting impression is made by the oakmoss and far from being an oakmoss fragrance I’d say if you really want to smell something which unashamedly places it at the centre of the composition, then I can honestly say you’d be hard pressed to find anything better? Certainly not from an Indy perfumer, these days. I love Chenoir it’s fantastically fresh and wearable, but interesting and truly like nothing else out there. The price is fantastic for the quality and I get to support a UK perfumer. This deserved the Golden pear. Just get it! You will not regret it.

If I smelled this on my husband I would probably get pregnant. It's a very sexy scent, reminds me of long summer days in the countryside.

It's a really nice unisex fresh scent but doesn't really project or last.

I got it and couldn’t wait to try it, boy it smells good. But performance is REALLY bad, and I’m not a sucker for performance as I’ve learnt to appreciate subtle scents. I don’t know if the bottle needs to macerate a little more. Will give it more time and I will keep it any way. The scent is citrussy, green and mossy. After 30 minutes the citrus notes fly away and you're left with mossy greenness. I don't actually get the other notes.

How long does it take to create an award-winning chypre accord? At least two years, according to the British perfumer behind the critically successful Chienoir, Amanda Beadle, @bedeauxx on Instagram. Chienoir (pronounced Shen-wah, I think) was the winner of the 2018 Art and Olfaction Awards, which celebrate excellence in independent and artisan perfume from all over the world, and it's easy to see why. For the chypre accord in Chienoir, Amanda fused opoponax (instead of the typical labdanum) with patchouli, oakmoss absolute, and bergamot, a blended quartet of natural ingredients that took over two years to perfect. Taking the opportunity to attend an event (July 2023) where Amanda showcased Chienoir, it was clear from just smelling the isolated accord just how much work had gone into balancing these four key ingredients. (Other notes include neroli, sweet orange, pink pepper, tobacco, juniper berry, and musk.) Chienoir was created to represent "the essence of an English vineyard: mossy woodland, green vines, white flowers, and the deep, chalky, downland terroir." For me, Chienoir is like standing at the top of a vineyard during the golden hour, surrounded by the wide expanse, the moss, and the woodlands. As you look down across the vines from an elevated location, the sun, setting in the distance, casts its sepia hues across the landscape, and the earthy scent of nature fills the air. The sparkling citruses of neroli, sweet orange, and bergamot create that feeling of resplendent evening sunshine. The patchouli is earthy like soil and really speaks to the idea of terroir and the mineral aspect of the earth imparting its qualities into the produce. The aromatics of pink pepper, juniper, oakmoss, and musks give it the sense of being out in the open air, of oxygen, as if all of a sudden you find yourself bathed in nature. It’s incredibly durable as a fragrance, and in testing, it has given me over twelve hours of enjoyment with a hefty sillage. I'm not sure why others are complaining about the performance; you only need a couple of sprays of this. I love the fact it retails in sizes of 100, 30, 15, and 2 ml, which gives everyone the opportunity to try this critically acclaimed perfume. Follow me on Instagram: @TheScentiest