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Sandra

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Hey there APJ! How are you doing?

Summer vacation has finally arrived in The Netherlands and this year we are blessed. The weather is so warm and sunny that we are in fact in a mini drought. Every day we are greeted in the mornings with the birds’ love songs and then we are rewarded with the musical chorus of crickets chirping in the evenings. This has been a truly stunning summer so far.

Atelier des Ors: Musc Immortel

For the last couple of days I have been basking in the glow of Atelier des Ors Musc Immortel. It is currently limited to Harrods in London, but I am hoping that it will soon be available to the rest of the world.

Fragrantica lists the notes as: grapefruit, clary sage, iris, patchouli, haitian vetiver, cypriol oil or nagarmotha, ambrette, musk and immortelle. Musc Immortel was created by Marie Salamagne in 2017.

When I spray Musc Immortel it opens with gorgeous herbaceous clary sage which is tempered with a cool blast of slightly bitter grapefruit. The grapefruit never veers too citrusy which is just perfect for me as I cannot handle citrus notes. Then Musc Immortel turns vegetal, herbal and balmy. I am off to a wonderful start.

It is when the iris note hits my brain cells that I can conjure up visions of all the glorious bearded irises that I have been able to see this spring. Iris is proving to be one of my absolute favorite notes. Iris perfumes can be powdery and sometimes sweet. However, the iris here is warm and earthy but not sweet, almost texturally tangible with its velvety smooth components. Because of this tactile quality, I find Musc Immortel quite sensual.

While the opening is beautiful, it is with the addition of patchouli that a slighty sweet woody vibe enters. I used to think that patchouli was not a note I could carry off very well, however, as I age, I find it much more appealing. The patchouli used in Musc Immortel is earthy and warm sending the iris into the background only momentarily. Vetiver is a difficult note for me but together with the patchouli I find that the bracing grassy notes that I normally associate with vetiver are no longer there. This vetiver is so incredibly smooth, green with a light touch of hinted citrus. Could it be the quality of vetiver that Atelier des Ors uses that makes the difference?

The long and irresistible dry down of Musc Immortel gives us a dusting of immortel. This rounds out the perfume bringing me comfort and the sense of light or the heat of a sultry summer day moving into the night. This is yet another sensorial delight for my nose and brain. This is an iris perfume kissed by woods and warmth. Adding to this sensual delight is the addition of musc. There is quite a lot of purring musc in this which makes the perfume sing.

I will treasure Musc Immortel until my sample is gone. Thank you to Megan from Atelier des Ors for sending me my sample and for giving me the opportunity to live with this for a few days.

I will wait with baited breath for this to come into wider distribution. Please Atelier des Ors, hear my pleas, this is something that should be shared and not limited.

How do you deal with limited perfumes? Do you seek them out? Or do you dismiss them outright because of their exclusivity?

Wishing you all a wonderful August wherever you are.

Oodles of fragrant kisses,

Sandra xo