Hi Hi APJ Crew,

There is no reason why but today’s fragrance slipped through the cracks and I never smelled it before. Luckily I was in David Jones (Australia’s loveliest Department Store chain) and my mate Gary at the Libertine counter was wondering what I hadn’t smelled from the Robert Piguet range. Normally I grab and sniff them immediately since Joe Garces, the Piguet CEO (I think he’s still there), came down to Australia and talked us through the range. He was so intensely in love with his product and fiercely proud of it that it made me really appreciate Robert Piguet in a new light. Now I try to give every one of their frags at least a sniff.

Alameda by Aurélien Guichard for Robert Piguet 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Lily, rose, orris
Base: Patchouli, amber, castoreum

WHOOSH! So Alameda opens with a bright, fizzy, sugared orange. It reminds me a bit of the Liberte by Cacharel opening but a little less in your face. There is a warmth to Alameda that is quite vanilla/animal and it’s there right after the burn off of the fireworks. I love this fragrance. My nose gets a lovely refined orris and the whole scent becomes creamy and earthy for a while. Imagine if the softest, finest cashmere scarf feeling was a fragrance: This smell is what I imagine it would be. Both ultra luxe and elegant, warm, inviting yet not bold, not a statement fragrance. Alameda is the smell of coming home to love, now a honeyed sweetness that is mildly naughty, lived in, and perhaps some breathy lily has joined the fun.

From here we get a very clean patchouli and the base notes swirl around together for a while. Alameda stays like this for a while, it’s sexy and wearable. I could imagine it being worn by guys and girls and being a hit for both sexes. There’s a beadhead-ish-ness about Alameda that I find particularly inviting, a whisper of sweat and sleep in the little curls of hair at the back of a head in the morning.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

No mention of musks in the notes but I think there are. My nose may be playing tricks but there is a very nice clean musk vibe that sits well beside what I imagine is the castoreum. The amber is absolutely non confrontational, smooth, warm and creamy. To be perfectly honest I think the short note list has a load of glaring omissions but as you know my nose tends to get a bit wonky. My head is telling me that some of this creaminess could be coming from a sandalwood and something else a little lactonic, also a lovely almond meal smell. Then all that’s left is a beautiful amber that fades to skin.

So here’s a weird moment. Alameda is not on the Robert Piguet site. I have also trawled the web looking in most of the usual places, retail and discounters, and could only come up with two points of sale. OK I have information from Nick at Libertine. “I think Alamedia is exclusive to the UK but after smelling it I begged for our market to have it. I love it. It’s been such a big seller so far.”

Photo Stolen Flickr

Further reading: Parfumistan and Katie Chutzpah
Libertine Parfumerie has $239/100ml including Australian P&H
Selfridges & Co has £135/100ml

I used the last of my generous sample tonight to write this piece. I can definitely see a bottle of Alameda in my very near future. Thanks to Gary at the Libertine counter in David Jones Market St Sydney for my sample.

Have you tried Alameda? If so what did you think? If not, which of the Robert Piguet line do you like?

Portia xx