Les Indémodables Part 2

artistic compulsories

ideogram.ai

When I smell a collection like this one, I pick them out of the sample box in no particular order and smell no more than, say, six in a given day. This means that when I do two posts, I am learning about the house style as I go along. Smelling this second batch, my impression was pretty much as for the first: “Damn, these guys are good.” However, the added data points led me in a different direction.

The names of the fragrances are Linnean, meaning in two parts, of which the first tells you what kind of beast and the second what species. Something peculiar is going on here. While the names Ambre, Iris, Cuir, Fougère, Musc and Oranger point to compulsory figures of perfumery, suggesting a series of homages to classical forms, the second parts—Suprême, Perle, Chine, Emeraude, Sables, Sirocco—convey no information whatsoever, like the word “Bourne” in Robert Ludlum book titles. In essence, the smeller is given a rough location in smell space for guidance, then asked to use their judgment for the last mile. That last mile is the interesting part. These compositions never quite land straightforwardly on the expected spot, but feel like they move instead two squares forward and one to the side.

For paid subscribers: reviews of Iris Perle, Ambre Suprême, Musc des Sables, Cuir de Chine, Fougère Emeraude and Oranger Sirocco.