Anise & Licorice: 16 posts

These past few days I’ve been waking up to cold, foggy mornings, and the idea of getting dressed and going outside seemed unpleasant. Just on Monday, I was tempted to break off my engagements and stay at home, wrapped in a warm sweater. As I made up my face and sipped coffee in a hurry, I imagined how good it would feel to make a cup of tea and jump back into bed with a favorite book. The best I could do before I braved the cool air was to spray on something redolent of summer.

And summer has been on my mind a lot, an Italian summer in particular. After a couple of work related trips to Italy, where the fall hasn’t even started, I came back to Belgium in love and yearning for the sun. Italy was the first place I visited abroad, and as I lived with an Italian host family as a student, it was my first immersion into another culture. My warm and generous host mom taught me to cook, to wear red and to tie my hair into a neat bun. But as work and family obligations piled up, my trips to Italy became fewer and fewer, until 10 years lapsed since my last visit.  Returning Italy reignited our love affair. Even Italian, which I thought to be long displaced by French, has resurfaced in my head. So these days I save money for my next visit, read Cesare Pavese, bake biscotti and track half way across town to my favorite Italian deli to buy some prosciutto, dry cured ham.  But the best way for me to get a dose of the Italian sun is through perfumes.

As I drew up my list, I realized that the fragrances  I selected were not just reminiscent of an Italian summer, they were perfect for cold and rainy days. If you’re longing for some sunshine or just want to something beautiful and uplifting, I hope that you will enjoy my choices.
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The curious part about sampling a lot of fragrances is that contrary to my expectations, my tastes have gotten more eclectic, rather than more constrained. When I started writing articles here at Bois de Jasmin, I had very strong opinions on what I liked—jasmine (hence, the name of my blog!), iris, sandalwood and what I avoided—vanilla, fruit, anise. Well, seven years later, I realize that I like vanilla sweetened perfumes as much as I enjoy heady jasmine and cold iris perfumes. When I first tried Rochas Alchimie a few years ago, I didn’t even give it much chance. It contained every single thing I thought I disliked—rich vanilla, sweet caramel, juicy red berries and a sprinkling of sugared anise seeds. I thought it would be best as a dessert, not as a perfume.

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Fragrances that can truly go from morning to night are quite rare, especially if one would like a sheer, understated sillage. Either one is wrapped in a thick scent veil all day long, or else there is hardly anything left by the end of the workday. Jo Malone Vanilla Anise is a rare exception, a transparent fragrance with a decent tenacity. Moreover, in contrast to many other Jo Malone fragrances, it has a beautiful body and a memorable drydown, despite being gauzy and light.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

As much as I love the complex perfumes that are the olfactory equivalents of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, I am always looking forward to Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria collection, which tends to feature much more lighthearted fare. The selection runs the gamut from ingenious Pamplemousse to lovely Herba Fresca to decidedly dull and un-kiwi like Tutti Kiwi. This year’s Laurier Réglisse and Figue Iris caught my eye with their unusual and potentially brilliant pairings—bay leaf and licorice, fig and iris. I felt as curious about experimenting with these ideas in the kitchen as about smelling them on my skin. …

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

The licorice colors the 2006 limited edition fragrance from Caron Eau de Réglisse. The lovers of Caron’s complex and dark compositions would be disappointed were they to seek the same intrigue in Eau de Réglisse. It offers neither the richness of Tabac Blond, nor the sensuality of Narcisse Noir. However, sparkling and fresh like a sip of Pernod, Eau de Réglisse accomplishes what the best of summer fragrances do—it makes one forget about the heat and humidity. …

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