Plumeria de Orris, from Areej Le Doré was released in 2019. The perfumer behind this creation is Russian Adam. It has the top notes of Apricot, Frangipani, and Orris Root, middle notes of Civet, Sandalwood, and Vanilla, and base notes of Cedarwood, Myrrh, and Vetiver.
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.