Ambre Russe by Parfum d’Empire is a perfect example of what the brand stand for. It’s a timecapsule to an experience, a nostalgic look into the past and an artfull rendering of emotion and place/time. Ambre Russe starts of with a boozy mix of champagne and vodka, starting the Russian ball at an aristocratic feast in the time of the Tsars. It goes into an oppulent mix of amber, black tea, leather and warm spices all covered in a light mist of smoky incense. It’s not only a fragrance, it’s a wearable work of art that transports the wearer to a forgotten place. The black tea is subtle, the amber and spices aren’t overly sweet, but more like a velvet cloak covering you in a silky veil of beauty and decadence. because of the crispness it can be worn even on the warmer days in spring or colder Days in summer. I highly recommand trying Ambre Russe and most of all the brand Parfum d’Empire because it deserves more love.

A modern yet classic sweet-spicy-tobacco fragrance. It evokes in my opinion: the modern dandy, sophisticated, classy, a person who lives his life in style and doesn’t concern himself with hustle of modern life, he is detached yet highly involved with life, but hard to graag. He comes to Paris to enjoy it’s gifts, yet dissapears as fast as he had appeared and retraites to his estate in the country side. He wears the scent on a monochrome dark blue outfit or his suit and gives off a soft scent trail.

The mix of coffee, tobacco, sweet spices and anise is a beautifull combination. Think all the sweet tobacco-vanille combo’s but done the right way, perfectly balanced and made unique with the touch of anise. it’s a masterfull fragrance done by a master of evoking memories and scenes: Julien Rasquinet.

It’s a scent that softly tells you his presence, he doesn’t concern Himself with yelling, he’s in control, balanced, yet oppulent and indulgend.

Torino22 is a spicy yet fresh/clean scent. the matté and eucalyptus comes through quiet beautifully with a nice saffron/woody base. It’s a gorgeous scent that lingers but doesn’t intrude and gives you an aura of sophistication without screaming for attention. I’m not always a fan of specific lines and the same goes for the Torino line, but 22 stands out as a little piece of artwork. The combination of spice with clean/fresh and deep woods is done fantasticly. it reminds me of summers in the south of Europe, going from museums to the dinner table and a splash in the pool, all done in style.

Spice Must Flow is a fantastic fragrance combining warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, cardemom with a leathery sensual rose and incense. EdlO makes another fragrance which stands away from the trends, yes it is a rose scentered unisex scent, but it is softer, less loud and oud heavy. It is complex, yet simple and absolutly refined. And unisex without going a bit one way or the other. It can be worn by a gorgeous woman in a red dress and a man in jeans, a linnen shirt and a suède jacket. It‘s more about: does this scent suit you? or not?

I really love it because of this, it tells the story of the silk roads, I imagine the bazaars of Istanbul meeting the refined bars of Venice, the harsh warm desert meeting civilization with fragrant buildings, opulence and beauty. But i too give in to the whole Dune-thing, yes I can imagine the Arakis of the Freamen smell like this. but that’s all too the imagination of the wearer and the one who interacts with Him/her/them.

overall i think this is a triumph of Mathilde Bijaoui. EdlO strikes again as a fragrance house that doesn’t need to live by trends, but sets the road. SMF has a medium to soft sillage, a medium projection and a 10h longevity. Which is perfect for everyday wear or just an evening/night.

Deified by Xerjoff is a wonderfull fragrance, mixing Middle-Eastern sweetness, sticky, spicy fresh apple with Western leather and woods. If you try and view it apart from the commercial/rock’nroll story you get a beautifull more male leaning warm, fresh spicy, leathery, slightly tobacco, apple scent that gives you a modern interpretation of a 19th-20th century Bohemian. Dressed in middle-eastern fabrics, living in a grand house filled with all kind of objects from all over the Mediterranean and Levant, he lives a full life, filled with excess and opulence. It’s a dandy, but not one that shouts or seeks the world’s view, he just does his thing. He loves to relax with a waterpipe, a good book and excellent food. He just loves life.

deified gives a great longevity, certainly a whole day, settling in clothes for longer. But not in a sticky, ambery paste way, but more in hints of it’s apple tobacco, leathery feel. It’s bright and sweet at the same time, yet Woody and leathery. When and how often Do you wear it? That’s up to you and the vibe you want to give. It suits any occasion, just don’t wear it when it’s more that 25C. And know that it really isn’t some Davidoff Cool Water one suits all scent.

Deified is a Fragrance that is grounded, grown up, yet fun and whimsical. it’s different, a bit weird, but in the most beautiful way. Ignore the commercial talks and make it your own.

The Need To Fly starts of as a crisp tonic bases summer cocktail, with fresh spices. After one hour it reminds me a bit more of absinth, with a crispy fennel/anise combined with some fresh woodiness. At the end, an hour or 4-5 into the fragrance’s life you get a soft skin like woody freshness with a very soft like leathery note. It is a very lovely daily scent that gives the wearer a nice evolution in fragrance. It’s a lovely crisp fresh fragrance that comes to it own on a lovely warm day.

Tero is a briljant scent, it’s not a gourmand, not a spicy nor a woody scent, it’s it all at the same time and it takes the best of all the different kinds. It opens as a peppery spicy scent, with sweet and opulent notes of cinnamon, sechuan pepper and slight pepper notes, going into a sweet-salty caramel with deep, warm woods and ambery base. To me it’s a hidden gem, it’s a masterpiece of perfumery by Carlos Benaim and lets the audience engage with a scent that is not purely 1 sort. It’s oriental meets west, warm woody, spicy scent of indulgence and opulence.

it comes to its own in winter as in summer, it depends on what vibe you want to get. Its longevity is out of this world, it gives projection, but not in an intrusive way. it’s elegant, bohemien and opulent at the same time and it takes you on a journey, as a masterpiece fragrance should.

Nostos is to me a very beautiful and perfectly balanced Rose-Oud fragrance.

It’s not loud or very punchent, it’s more refind, understated and more ”in control” then perhaps a oud-maracuja. The Oud is ronded and the rose is also more like Moroccan Rosewater then the rose is Portrait of a lady. And all bound together by a saffron note, that makes it into a beautiful balanced scent. I think this is a french take on the middle-east, it combines a European understatement with strong Middle-Eastern ingredients.

As with allot of EldO: After a few hours (+- 2-4h) It becomes more of close scent, and maybe there lies, in my opinion, it‘s only fault. The projection could have been better, it shouldn’t be loud, but a bit more of an aura around the wearer for a longer time would have made it perfect. But this aside, it’s a fantastic scent, that gives me like a mix between a Souk, a french town and a slight old churchy vibe. i love it. And because of it‘s restrained ellegance, you could wear it anytime, any season and on any occasion.

Julien Rasquinet made an unsweetend, uncompromising take on incense. The sharpness of the vetiver takes real centre stage in Inscense Crush, the spice notes are very soft and only sometimes break through the wall of Incense and vetiver. I don’t notice the leather note so much, but get allot of smoky, ashy notes. It reminds me of visiting an old french monastry, maybe a Greek-Orthodox one, where there are 4 monks that keep on their traditions in a vast empty monastry, where the halls always small of the incense used in the masses. Combined with the smells the gardens and the freshly mowed grass.

It really gets to the essence of what Rasquinet’s perfumery is all about: evoking memories.

Do i love to wear it? No, the sharpness is to brash and hard for me personaly, but do I love the memorie it evokes? Absolutly! It just makes clear what a master-perfumer Julien Rasquinet is.

a beautiful fragrance, Well balanced sweetness with lots of spices. It tickels the senses and in my opinion is a very beautiful female fragrance. It reminds me of Feminité du Bois, but far superior.