Hey Hey Niche Nerds!!
My mate Michael who writes for APJ is often turning up with unexpected gifts of fragrant decants. A lovely and generous soul I am lucky to have such a buddy in the same city. Today’s perfume was a very large decant gift the other night and I have been spritzing with abandon. Thanks Michael!!
Clove Absolute by Washington Tremlett 2009
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Amalfi lemon, lime
Heart: Clove, heliotrope, rose
Base: Incense, vanilla, French labdanum, patchouli, musk
From Wikipedia: Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, Syzygium aromaticum. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world.
Funny story! Well funny for me. I get a soy sauce smell in the first opening waft from Clove Absolute, it’s salty, tangy and a little bit burnt. Every time I spritz it the opening jumps up and takes me by surprise for about 5 minutes, it’s excellent. The cloves, lime and lemon then take over and already the vanilla pods are bursting through behind them. Though this is not the sweet biscuit and bakery scent that most gourmands are it certainly is foody. Is it possible to be foody and sensual concurrently?
My nose reads only the food elements at front and centre, everything else plays support and extra work. Clove Absolute has a definite Eastern-ness about it that is not perfume related but life smells related. There is also an oiliness, a sheen to it, a glistening, scintillating magic. I love to wear Clove absolute and have found myself reaching for it a few times since I was gifted a very generous 5ml, quite a bit of air in the atomiser now and I think it will be well and truly emptied through the Australian winter.
Dry down is sweet and warm, the patchouli/vanilla/amber/musk all mushed in together making a beautiful soft skin scent that lasts more than 12 hours completely smellable. I want to smell this on Jin but am too selfish to even give him one spritz of something I enjoy so much.
AWESOME!! You should try it.
Photo Stolen PlusEssential
Further reading PerfumeSmellinThings and PerfumePosse
FirstInFragrance have Clove Absolute €140/100ml or €4 sample
Do you have fragrant fairies that gift you interesting new scents? I have a couple and they are often spot on with my taste but always opening my nose to new olfactory vistas.
See you tomorrow,
Portia xx
Australian Perfume Junkies 
I not only have fragrant fairies (Neil, Daisy, Undina) but I am a fragrant fairy many times over!!!! What a gorgeous bottle!!!
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Totally, right. Doesn’t it feel good to play Fragrant Fairy!!
Portia xx
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It is always nice to get (and give) unexpected (and expected) fragrances by mail. The postal regulations have cut this down, unfortunately, but occasionally one sneaks through. 🙂
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Oh yes. The post Nazis have certainly changed the game for us. Having said that I have come home to some FABULOUS postal arrivals.
Portia xx
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I don’t think that I’ve ever smelled a clove perfume. How fun to try something so interestingly different. Thanks to your fairy and for your introduction of a new perfume.
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So welcome Stebe. You have tried clove but probably not main note. Plenty of the Orientals have a clove note, I bet there are a couple in your collection.
Portia xx
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I’ll have to go back and check the notes. That does make sense that it would be a regular in the orientals. Thanks P!
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This is a new one to me. I would be afraid of it being a big ham that I am, and you know how well cloves go with ham. seriously it sounds really interesting. I am going to have to keep an eye out for it.
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Hello beautiful Laniere. HA HA HA! Ham. NOT! You would smell delicious in clove, no Porky Pig refs at all.
Portia xx
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Such an eloquent description. I love how you said it was a ‘life smell’, my perceptions about perfume just keep opening wider and wider. I love the smell of clove, my mother used it so much in cooking and it reminds me of holidays.
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You will be blown away by this MaryP if yoiu have such vivid recollections of your Mum’s cooking. Get a decant and then come back and tell me how it made you feel please.
Portia xx
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The perfume jargon is interesting and it certainly makes me want to smell it. I probably will prefer the real thing as usual, but thanks for a great story x
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Heya Suzanne,
This is a really interesting reworking of the theme, you may still prefer the EO but I wonder if you may love this too. Remind me next time we catch up.
BTW I went to the Self Realisation Centre in LA and thought of you the whole time, even bought the book.
Portia xx
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Great news all round x
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I love Clove Absolue (I have a bottle that’s now pretty low). The spicyness of it just takes my breath away each time I spray it. (plus the bottle is quite lovely with those gem-like stones in it)
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YAY Ines,
I didn’t know anyone else who has this. The stones are cute aren’t they? Yes it is a BLAST of spices!
Where do you wear it?
Portia xx
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😀 Now, that question made me think of a number of replies. 😉
I now wear it rarely during winter to make myself feel awake and warm (spices make me feel warm).
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I have been enjoying it back in this frosty cold Sydney late Autumn Ines. In place of a fire.
Portia xx
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