Rahele

Tavernier, Bernier, and Thévenot may have gone a bit too far north east in their explorations of Asia, or so is the impression I’m getting from Rahele. It’s one of the more striking presentations of osmanthus, the most ubiquitous of far east Asian roses, that I’ve smelled in a long time. The rich aromas, colors, and vibrant energies of India - that are so well depicted in Vermeire’s perfumes - aren’t present here as my nose interprets it; I find something much more proper, prim, quiet, soft, and detailed, fit for Chinese royalty perhaps. This is a good thing. Vermiere has shown she is capable of giving us very symphonic, colorful, and rich stories with Duchaufour as her narrator, and Rahele kicks-off that way, but the heart takes the opposite approach. The bitter orange, cardamom, and violet leaf opening is gorgeous. Oranges, beiges, greens, yellows and purples swing around you like stiff saris in a Holi festival dance. The osmanthus joins in almost immediately. In most depictions osmanthus comes across as gently floral, guava fruity, a touch leathery and woody, silky and slightly sweet. Here, the characters of the top steer the flower into a dry, stiff, and green presentation that is as captivating as it is energetic. Then the movement to the heart brings the osmanthus directly into pink, powdery, rose territory backed by an enormous amount of dry and starchy orris. The osmanthus and the orris keep the perfume balanced between blushing cheeks and a gentle smile, and cool formality. It's quiet, restrained, and has no desire to be opulent, pushy, or grandiose - quite the opposite. However, smell it at a distance; with a bit of air this heart diffuses quite gently but also quite powerfully into the air in a very beautiful way, but stick your nose straight to skin and be ready to possibly get a headache. It can be a bit tough to deal with very up close. We finish up with the NVC standard of a lactone heavy sandalwood base that has been directed to follow the heart’s mandate of providing some quiet spaciousness and restrained richness, with cedar and a big dose of mosses giving the otherwise thick and heavy sandalwood some stiff and aromatic pepperiness, and damp, airy woods. The moss does a lot of the heavy lifting. This is one of the least nuanced and detailed of NVC’s perfumes I have smelled so far; normally every one of NVC’s perfumes has every nook and cranny filled with some note or texture that gives an incredibly rich opulence. Not Rahele, but, again, this is not a bad thing. What you can smell is still very rich and sublime, but it leaves you with plenty of space to fully enjoy it without distraction. Relatively speaking, this is not a light, airy, effervescent and translucent perfume, but it is for an NVC. It's lovely. Rahele is one of the most elegant presentations of osmanthus I have smelled in a long time, but it is also one of the least compelling NVC perfumes of the NVC perfume line. This is a good thing, again; sometimes, a perfume simply should be pretty - no statements or grandeur needed. Vermeire and Duchaufour seem to have stepped out-of-line to give us a perfume a bit atypical but yet very familiar. Every smell of it is one that I enjoy, and it makes me quietly wonder what might happen next, even at the points I know that the journey is over. You cannot ask for much more than that.

This is lovely. It has grace and balance, you can tell there are high quality natural essences and it's quite an abstract blend that feels very refined. After the green/citric opening, which has noticeable cardamom, the general impression into drydown is of softness (osmanthus) and depth (leather and woods) with the freshness of cardamom woven into this softness to lift the perfume and lend it a green mildly spicy piquancy. The violet and violet leaf no doubt lighten the perfume. Not that any of these notes stands out individually, it's so well balanced. Jeca (review below) is right that it doesn't feel the same as Vermeire's previous creations, this feels more low-key, more reserved, slightly powdery (possibly iris effect and ambery notes) and generally less sensual, spicy or sweet than Trayee, for example. There are no sugary, ice-cream or vanilla notes here, which is welcome as sweet notes would spoil the subtle sensual mood of Rahele. I think it has something in common with Lubin's Black Jade, in the touch of cardamom, cinammon and the green edge against a rounded texture, but I find Rahele far lovelier. Also, there's something here that reminds me of the drydown of Coco Chanel, but not the wan, pasty soup that passes for Coco these days! It's the refined spices and osmanthus (those of you who knew Coco and Opium from the 80s will remember the way Coco was a subtler blend, where Opium was definitely 'in-your-face'!) It does feel more typically feminine to my nose, though it could give a dandified air to a gentleman in similar vein to, say, Penhaligan's Hammam Bouquet, though Rahele is less masculine than that. I think this would be perfectly suited to Autumn, with its warmth, soft texture and subtle musk. The mood is warm, refined and gentle in far dry down. Sillage soft to medium, longvegity many hours though it becomes low key after an hour or so.

I think this is my fave from NVC. It has some character. It's quite a mix of notes. First osmanthus, then leather then spices and fruit. The violet leaf and oak moss bring an intensity to the whole. It's a Chypre with an oriental twist. It's like the chiming of oriental bells in a warm humid tropical environment. This one could easily be worn by a guy more so than the rest of the range. It has delicacy yet is not weak. Spicy, bright, osmanthus and leather. With time the violet leaf fades back and it becomes a little sweeter. There is something about it that makes me think of the ineke and jana scents. I get average longevity and sillage at the most in this cool temperature room. A shame NVC is so expensive as I might have saved up and gone fb on this one.

Rahele opens sharp and citrusy-green, and then delicately floral. It feels like a springtime tree just barely starting to bloom. It’s distinctly “perfumey” too, in a Frenchified way. Then I get a sheer layer of wood and spice, a little peppery, a little cardamom-y, vaguely tan in tonality. It blends interestingly with the florals and citrus – French feminine perfume meets Indian spice and fragrant wood. Duchaufour’s signature heavy/light effect is in evidence here; it feels like many layers of sheer gauze, dense enough for the “color” to show clearly but light enough to feel weightless and modern. A few minutes in, the florals progress to a poignant rose, like a concentrated ruby tear of some mythical tiger that weeps pure rosewater. Now we’re in cardamom-rose mode: ruby-red and tan, still with that sheer-yet-vivid gauzy texture. Yes, the rose is damasconey and the cardamom is legible, but this isn’t really a “spicy rose” in the Marrakech Intense style; it’s far more delicate and nuanced. Finally, Rahele warms up a bit with some resins and a nod to “patchouli” – it’s a (sheer) mellow brown aura, still touched with that ruby-red rose. The whole progression is over in about three hours, but it’s beautiful while it lasts.

As a long-time lover of Daim Blond, I really like the rather similar Rahele by Neela, though there are a few notable differences between them. Rahele was seemingly an attempt at the now rather oft-repeated osmanthus+leather fragrance, but on account of the fruitiness of osmanthus landed in the stone fruit leather genre which is a lineage very distantly related to Mitsouko, Femme and so on. Here, amidst Bottega Veneta and Daim Blond, Rahele is notable for its somewhat terpenic quality, again likely coming from osmanthus absolute, which gives a faintly smoky-medicinal "edge" to the scent. The floral is more complex than I really allow, with a soft bubblegum-like violet/rose backing up the thoroughly tanned base. It's surprisingly masculine for what I'd ultimately designate a feminine scent, but overall I prefer Daim Blond for being both fruitier and more leathery and less bogged down in what feels like supererogatory detail.

1st time wearing - Opening so good I want to say I love it without waiting for dry down. After a bit I get intriguing juicy wafts without a fruit note, which is interesting. Unfort, it has 0 lasting power. Pass. 2nd 8:20 - spices and fruit. Might be more of a fruity rose than an actual fruit. 8:40 - settled quickly into a spicy floral that smells familiar but well done. Not blowing me away. 9:23 - guh. Now it is doing a whole cardamon and vanilla thing. WTH? There isn't any vanilla mentioned anywhere. Gross. 9:26 - I'm an idiot. The office manager is baking cookies in the other room. 1:42 - had a lot of meetings, wasn't paying attention. Barely there skin scent now. I think I'll be passing the rest of this sample on. Not for me.

An interesting floral woody musk inspired by early French travelers in India. This is one of the lesser offerings of this eclectic brand but perfectly captures its India meets Paris sensibilities. The perfume opens with aromatic notes of osmanthus, green mandarin, cinnamon and cardamom. The dense floral heart is violet, jasmine, iris, magnolia and rose. The perfume settles on a mossy powdery bed of oakmoss, sandalwood, cedar, patchouli and leathery notes. The feminine leaning perfume has moderate sillage and projection and good longevity. A pleasing and somewhat unique scent but not particularly exceptional. Enjoy!

The new Neela's perfume is quite different from the rest of the line. I do not get anything oriental in it. It is a perfect fit for the fall time, because along with very tender floral note of osmanthus, which is close to what I grow in my yard, it has a pronounced leathery nuance and oak moss, – and it nostalgically smells like golden leaves and naked branches. A beautiful fragrance and a quite one. UPD: with time I get a lot of cedar (pencil shavings) powdery nuance.

The Neela Vermeire brand is French-perfumery-with-Indian-characteristics but Rahele feels like an outlier in the range as it's so straightforwardly French: a big iris-osmanthus-rose woody floral scent in the classical style, say, of the house of Caron. It's beautiful, mature, tasteful and powerful and definitely makes its presence felt. There's nothing bohemian or edgy here just confident, bourgeois evening statement perfume. It keeps the audience at a little remove, not a perfume for seduction but a scent projecting status and an aura: success and self-assuredness. Scent-wise plenty of soapy iris, powdery sandalwood and patchouli provide the woodiness. There's waxy leather too and even some vetiver for lift in the old style. The flowers: rose, a little jasmine of course, very traditional. The twist is the osmanthus, powerful and fruity with the whole apricot thing going on, contributing to the leather note too. And there's a hint of something greener, perhaps a whiff of violet leaf, just to maintain brightness. All blended to perfection. While I'd say Rahele is fairly conventional in styling it is a grand sort of a perfume. It will appeal to those who love big vintage woody florals.

A lot is going on here and unfortunately, neither it's harmonic to my nose nor it makes sense to my brains. The best part of this composition is the opening - the cardamom, apricot, iris and leather combination reminds me on Serge Lutens' Daime Blonde which I like quite a bit. Soapy rose in the heart and on my skin too metallic dry down leave me confused and uninterested.

Nope. It’s a big mess to my nose. Sharp, so many edges. Not enjoyable at all. Maybe on someone else’s skin this would blend out better. I’m really not sure what’s going on here!

Neela Vermeire Creations with perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour have over the years since the House was launched created perfumes that are inspired by India but with a French Flair and chic. The new fragrance Rahele (2016) is no exception. Travel is what Rahele means and this fragrance was sparked by three 17th Century French travelers to India. Jean Thévenot, Francois Bernier, and the man responsible for bringing the premier crown jewel of France to King Louis XIV and what became finally the Hope Diamond, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier. Rahele is a foral woody and earthy fragrance that rises to an interesting level of stylish sophistication. It is bright, pure and ozonic to my nose. It does remind me of travel, that wonderful smell you experience when you first exit an international airport and breath in the air of a strange foreign city. It has a blend of both Western Europe and the Asian sub-continent. It is fluid each time I wear it. Some times I am in Paris and other times I am in Jaipur. We begin our trip with a bright almost ripe yet on the edge of green mandarin. Cardamom which falls on the spicy side complements the citrus. Then from Ancient markets comes the once rare and precious spice note of cinnamon. I love how this plays against the slightly metallic violet leaf note in the opening. The midway point of the trip with Rahele is a pure lush Indian garden after the monsoon. A peachy exotic Osmanthis is surrounded by the reddest of rose, a velvet rose in fact and completely devoid of thorns. A fleshy sensual magnolia note hovers above this garden, It is moist and nearly dripping in the heat and there in the heart of this rises up a sweet almost hypnotic jasmine. The kind of jasmine that lifts the senses in the night. The earth below is introduced with purple notes of violet and rooty dry Iris. At this point the flower notes shimmer and move forward and recede in the most interesting way. When we reach our final destination in the base there is a somber smooth finish of patchouli leaves that are packed in layers of oakmoss, silky aromatic sandalwood and resinous crisp cedar. This nearly finishes the perfume but all is not over. The dominating note here and what constantly rises though out the fragrance is a refined supple leather note. It never over powers the perfume but rather carries the perfume in subtle grace. It seems in the first hour to suddenly die, yet by hour two and beyond it returns to tease and tantalize for many hours to come. It in fact it undulates on the skin. This is pure magic and quite interesting. Indeed, subtlety is the hallmark of this elegant fragrance. By no means is Rahele ever overpowering or demanding. It is suggestive, intuitive, and lightly sensual. A perfect fragrance for both discerning men of taste and chic women of elegant refinement. (FOR THE STORY INSPIRED BY RAHELE CHECK OUT MY BLOG SCENTS MEMORY)

Rahele feels like a shockingly saturated impression of Indian Spring. Again, it's a very well-blended composition that pushes Osmanthus forward, combining Violet and Iris. The opening is a pure flash of light and mandarin; later, it gets a bit more controlled with cinnamon, allowing the scent to shine by balancing everything back and giving a great aura of clean flowers. I find it very intriguing how so many powerful flowers seem to work together rather than fighting for space. The secret might be the contrast with spices and more earthy tones underneath. They aren't taking over; they're just protecting the backbone of this luminescent work. Imagine a fluorescent screen of transparent light and a solid darker background. The magic of the balance continues in the composition, creating a pleasant shift towards something that resembles a light suede, still with all the sweet and flowery characteristics. I can feel the rose coming out in this phase, almost taking center stage in the middle. Here, unfortunately, it goes way too safe, in my opinion, placing the scent into very obvious territories. However, this same phase makes it wearable for any occasion and any gender. Even though it's clearly a feminine scent composition on paper, this is a great, kind, and natural scent for a man too, using most of the flowers that we usually find in singular accords in other very well-known perfumes. Rahele is a much better work than most commercial attempts to combine all these elements together. Despite the fact that it could have been quite a mess on paper, it manages to please you, but to me, unfortunately, it goes way too safe on the drydown, giving the impression of an obvious "flower suede" – a very calm and easy scent that any gentle woman can love and resonate with. typical smell that a grandma would love to make her signature scent, not in a bad way. At the same time could be a secret weapon of a man that love the Rose, Suede, Sweet accord at the end, there is nothing woody, or rough leather about it, is just "kind" to your nose.

Bloody roses, & violets razor sharp. Blood rose, saffron, oranges, & violets. It has that slight of leather but not dominant, and some osmanthus, Majorly it is quite violets, & sharp roses. This has a similarity with "Timbukto" by L'Artisan & quite sharp as "Coeur Couronne" by Herve Gambs. Fairly done.