the different company: 11 posts

Our recent talk about Mughal empresses, attars and roses reminded me of a perfume I’ve been meaning to review, but it somehow slipped my mind. I mentioned The Different Company’s Kâshân Rose for my FT article about the rose capital of Iran, The Roses of Kashan, but the perfume deserves more attention.

To be fair, it’s not the be-all and end-all of rose perfumes. Kâshân Rose is a bright, transparent composition that seems uncomplicated and linear. Leave the complex stories and intricate turns to the grand roses like Frédéric Malle Portrait of a Lady, Guerlain Nahema or Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin. Kâshân Rose is about sunlight and pink petals.

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Patricia on Acqua di Parma Colonia and other citrus favorites, from Parfums de Nicolai and Annick Goutal to The Different Company and Guerlain. 

Colonia by Acqua di Parma is a fragrance with a past. Created in 1916 as the first fragrance of a small perfume factory in Parma, Italy, it was first used to scent the handkerchiefs that men carried with them at the time. Later it was the darling of worldwide celebrities seeking Italian chic in the early and mid twentieth century. Acqua di Parma then fell on hard times but was revived, along with Colonia, in the 1990s.

I must confess a partiality for aromatic citrus fragrances. Like one who works out real-life problems at night through recurring dreams (being caught unprepared for an examination is a personal favorite), I repeatedly buy citrus colognes very similar in nature, the most recent of which is Colonia, purchased on a hot sunny September afternoon in the South of France.

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French niche brand The Different Company is releasing Une Nuit Magnétique,  a perfume created by Christine Nagel (now the in-house perfumer at Hermès). “I have created this perfume as a magnet that physically attracts. The materials I have chosen create contrast and affinity,” says Nagel in the press release. The fragrance is described as warm, bewitching and sensual.

“This sensual sillage opens with the freshness of Ginger and mischievous Blueberry, to better let the carnal flowers appear (Jasmine, Rose and Tuberose), sustained by a luxurious amber and woody base.”

Une Nuit Magnétique Eau de Parfum (16% concentration) includes notes of ginger, blueberry, bergamot, jasmine from Egypt, Turkish rose, tuberose, prune, amber, woods, benzoin, patchouli, and musk.

Available at www.thedifferentcompany.com and its retailers worldwide. 30ml, 50 ml (98€), 90 ml (153€, refillable) and Discovery kit 3 x10 ml. Via press release.

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

The garden inspired trio from The Different Company–Un parfum d’ailleurs et fleurs, Un parfum des sens et bois, and Un parfum de charme et feuilles—promised to be airy and subtle. I was envisioning fragrances that combined the light and elegant touch of Celine Ellena as exemplified by Sel de Vetiver and the spicy indolic radiance of Jasmin de Nuit. In many ways, my expectations were fulfilled as the fragrances do recall the refined quality of the preceding compositions without being overly delicate. At the same time, the more assertive touches are rendered as far too sharp against the more tame accords. While some of the scents are pretty, on the whole, they feel neither memorable nor original. At most, they come across as interesting ideas, rather than finished arrangements. …

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

Osmanthus, the tiny blossoms of a shrub native to Asia, have the scent of ripe apricots and jasmine soap, with osmanthus absolutes also possessing a pronounced leathery note that lends an alluring twist to the already fascinating aroma. By allowing osmanthus to dominate a composition and unravel its many beautiful layers, the perfumer can take a number of approaches. One would be to accent the leathery warmth of the note, as the perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena has done in Hermès Osmanthe Yunnan. Another is to highlight its citrusy top notes. Ormonde Jayne Osmanthus and The Different Company Osmanthus represent the latter treatment. …

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