Elogio de la Sombra

[JUNE 2024] Ancient smelling perfume that smells exactly as described: a once forgotten antique album recently uncovered containing memorablia of old-world flowers from a world that doesn't exist anymore, of which its once-meadows have long since been converted into a dilapidating small town that may soon become a ghost of itself. A rarity in perfume art for capturing the smell of airy dustiness of old libraries, or pressed flowers stuck in antique heirlooms of one's great-great-great grandmother. Chilling, ghostly, but paradoxically warm in depth and the evocative. Humbling and a token to wear, if one finds a bottle of Elogio De La Sombra (Fueguia) that nothing lasts forever. A Victorian-era pre-WWI esque memento mori in a bottle. Captures the same dusty, melancholic feeling of Guerlain's La Heure Bleue but none of any Guerlain's perfume-perfuminess. Paradoxical 20th/21st century ingredients alchemised to create this and you can tell if you find a bottle and its artful ghostly overcast, gusty uncanniness is striking. (Smells similar to Un Fleur De Cassie by Frederic Malle, so I'd say Elogio De La Sombra is the ghost ancestor residing within its living spaces. Also manages to smell *ancient* in comparison to my Crown Perfumery Malabar, which its production was actually from *1919*, lol!) I'd layer Elogio De La Sombra with any perfume, preferrably old-world vintage floral, to antique-ify the scent I am currently wearing much more further because of the former's sweet paper-y dust-like accords. I honestly hope Fueguia preserves this work of art, as much as the influence of Jorge Luis Borges has on this perfume and all writers inspired by the Magical Realism genre-- whose influence on melding poetry with prose, metaphor with literal is on par with the currently discussed Proust, as seen in 2024 Fragrantican articles. If you want an equivalent in musical form: Luciano Cilio's Dialoghi Del Presente. If you want a modern equivalent: Early mixtape-era Lana Del Rey, or Andrew Bird, and the cartoon Over The Garden Wall.

Both of us, me and my partner, love perfumes. Particular fragrance lines (brands) are more mine other "belong" to him (such agreement :-). Fueguia 1833 is my brand and I'm completely in love with nearly all fragrances created by Julian Bedel. So may be I'm not impartial enough to describe his creations. Nevertheless in this case, I hope, everyone will share my opinion. Elogio de la Sombra is very special. It is really like a poem. Full of happiness, sadness and very very nostalgic. It is slightly sweet, carrot cake like, probably as an effect of iris present during whole development of fragrance. However don't be scared it is far from gourmands. Iris is sweet but also slightly powdery and deep at the same time. It is also extremely well balanced by mimosa that works as down of birds, making fragrance similar to cozy blanket. But still something is going on in the heart - woods are jumping between clean freshness and dirty dusts (kind of animal fur smell). This woody nuances emerge continuously, every few minutes, and than are pushed down by mimosa and again emerge and again are gone, like in crazy dance. Such state lasts for hours. EdlS stays on my skin from morning to the evening with strong silage. Many friends ask me what I'm wearing even at the end of day. One of my friends thinks EdlS is dominated by jasmine.... I don't know why. My be this slight dirtiness which dives into flowers create such feeling. Nevertheless this only assures me that EdlS is masterpiece.

Per the brand's website, the notes are: Iris, Lemon, Rose, Violet, Jasmine, Chamomile, Cistus, Cedar, Sandalwood, Vetiver. I am absolutely in love with this. It's like a slightly green floral, with no one flower dominating to my nose. Opens fresh but the dry down brings out the creamy woody notes. This house blows me away with its natural-smelling notes.

I try to keep my reviews on here short & concise, but this one is really difficult to describe with a few words. For starters, it’s linear and dominantly dusty and earthy, yet there’s a floral akin to popular scented shampoo brands in the US (Pantene, Nexxus etc). You experience the floral and dusty/earthiness simultaneously, yet they are somehow clearly defined and apart. Second, there’s a note that’s somewhere between damp soil and aged leather. In fact, the sales person at the Madison Avenue location said that he and many others experience Elogio as a “floral-leather”. Regarding the florals: supposedly it’s Iris and Rose, but they are difficult to discern. It’s not white floral, not yellow floral, just “floral” in general, so to speak. There’s also a paper-like note that holds the composition together, as if flowers are wrapped in some type of shiny stark-white paper. As for the lemon; citrus is entirely unnoticeable. Lastly, there’s something melancholic about it all. It’s not bright and blooming, it’s dusty and wilted 🥀 - reminiscent of dried flowers pressed in an emotional diary

For me, this is a light, cozy, and feminine fragrance. It reminds me of tea with lemon, accompanied by a bouquet of delicate flowers. The lemon here isn’t sharp but soft and pleasant like a subtle citrus touch. The florals are very gentle: chamomile stands out in particular, but not in a medicinal way, it’s tender and warm. Rose, violet, and jasmine add a hint of sweetness, yet everything remains airy and light. The base is woody, but not heavy at all. Cedar, sandalwood, and vetiver create a sense of calm and cleanliness, as if you’re in a bright room with open windows and a fresh breeze. Overall, the scent is about silence, comfort, and inner harmony. It doesn’t shout or demand attention -it simply wraps around you softly.