Blanche Immortelle (Atelier Cologne)

Blanche Immortelle (Atelier Cologne) – 4/5
spicy floral – Jerome Epinette

Atelier Cologne’s third release in their gaudy “Collection Metale” (complete with bottles in micrometer-thickness electroplated metals) is actually surprisingly good, doubly so since immortelle is a tricky note to work with, and most compositions lean heavily toward a burnt-caramel sweetness.

Tabac (La Via del Profumo)

Tabac (La Via del Profumo) – 4/5
fresh tobacco – Dominique Dubrana

Tabac is quite literal: I cannot think of any fresh, green, tobacco perfumes at the moment, perhaps because they aren’t that common, but also perhaps because smelling Tabac tends to make you forget where you were and what you were doing before this ticklish, green, spicy-resinous tobacco leaf perfume invaded your nostrils.

The Infidels (Agonist)

The Infidels (Agonist) – 4/5
woody floral – Fabrice Pellegrin

The Infidels starts with a bright and chirpy citrus-fruity accord not very far from watermelon bubblegum (strange, I know, but it’s been done before: Antoine Maisondieu’s cheeky Encens et Bubblegum for ELdO), built around lemon and davana.

Venezia Giardini Segreti (La Via del Profumo)

Venezia Giardini Segreti (La Via del Profumo) – 4/5
jasmine ambregris – Dominique Dubrana

Part of the new Italian Series, Venezia Giardini Segreti is another jasmine sambac from Dubrana, this one more literal and direct, complete with the fresh green-floral opening. Soon, however, two distinctly different accords arise in the heart.

Sharif (La Via del Profumo)

Sharif (La Via del Profumo) – 4/5
resinous nutmeg – Dominique Dubrana

Sharif, the first of Dominique Dubrana’s perfume offerings that I purchased a full bottle of, opens on an intense nutmeg note, followed by a woody-resinous accord (that I would become very familiar with later on).

Mecca Balsam (La Via del Profumo)

Mecca Balsam (La Via del Profumo) – 4/5
smoky green – Dominique Dubrana

Mecca Balsam, named after the plant, opens on a pungent, inky-spicy and intensely green note.