Highlights from Esxence 2012 (1)





Me and Neela Vermeire at her stand

In a business where till the last year there was the perception of being in a kind of happy island, today there are the first evidences of the economic slump. Fortunately the crisis doesn't bring only negative aspects but in some case it can turn into a stimulus for who has a creative mind and emotions to tell. This is the case of Neela Vermeire that I finally had the pleasure to meet. I already told you about Trayee, Mohur and Bombay Bling and talking to her I had the double check of how the fragrances are really part of her interior world. I admire the masterful hand of Bertrand Duchaufour but here what you breath is Neela's India and I'm sure she got compliments from the perfume lovers like me.

Speaking about Maître Parfumeur and about great passion, the creativity goes on in the feminine way: I really enjoyed the new extrait de parfum Maria Candida Gentile presented here as a preview. Impossible not to fall with the playful and coquettish seduction of Burlesque where the iris-patchouly accord teases the nose like a blood orange red ostrich feather. By the way looking for some optimism, one of the emerging trends seen in this edition is the return of citrus, will it be grapefruit, mandarin, orange or lime, they are not zesty but fruity, soft and pulpy.

Unusual, fresh and velvety by the osmantus-incense duo, Gentile puts in a good mood with its luminous citrus opening. What impressed me though is Lady Day, tribute to Billie Holiday where orange flower paints in narcotic sweetness and a whiff of sensuality the white petals of this deep green and stylized gardenia. Not being a lavender guy in general, finally I've been amazed by Luberon inspired by Provence, a very particular lavender morphed into liquid petals floating in a flowerdust golden ocean. Ah, that naughty flowerdust... I'm sniffing the paper since yesterday and I look forward to try it on skin and tell you about that.

Another great perfumer and woman, another trend. Whether they come from the garden like garbanum or geranium or from the yard like mint, rhubarb and basil or again whether they are spiced like cardamom and coriander, green notes are still a great theme in many compositions. A noteworthy one this year is Patricia de Nicolaï's Eau cHic that finally I had the chance to smell. Classic style and refined clearness are the strengh of this cologne based on spearmint and a velvet carpet made of geranium leaves playing here like an harmony miles away from toothpaste-like sensations. Also due to the off seasonal heat of these days, I couldn't help but thinking of wearing it during the summer and enjoying its freshness on the skin.