Jean-Claude Gigot

Musc Kalirii by Jean-Claude Gigot for Maison Incens 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

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Portia

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Hey Hey APJ Crew,

The lovely Kate Apted sent a Frag Care Package recently. In it were a bunch of new-to-me samples. A selection of Maison Incens, a Diptyque and a couple of Goldfield & Banks that I’m leaving till last because I’m so excited that a new Aussie house has formed.

Musc Kalirii by Maison Incens 2014

Musc Salirai by Jean-Claude Gigot

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, orange
Heart: Orange blossom, rose, jasmine
Base: Leather, vanilla, sandalwood, musk

Ahhhh, interesting opening. Yes I can smell the citrus but already the rose and leather are making themselves known with some herbal greenness that is sharp and cool like artemisia.  The white flowers are clean and sweet like marshmallow or chewing gum and Musc Kalirii reminds me happily of five star hotel lobby bathrooms through Asia.

Musc Kalirii Maison Incens Turkish_Delight WikiMediaWikiMedia

An interesting mix of musk, flowers and candy that veers towards Turkish Delight but without the oppressive sweetness of Keiko Mecheri’s Loukhoum. It’s dense and rich but here we feel space between the notes, space to smell rather than being punched repeatedly with it for 18 hours. Still, big enough to change the way food tastes in a restaurant though and projection is excellent if you sit still for a minute it creeps out and grabs people by the nostrils.

I’m having trouble placing a demographic for Musc Kalirii. It doesn’t seem sugared enough for the kids, not bakery or fairy floss enough for the gourmand lovers, not souk-isa enough for the Arabic inspired fragrance lovers and not weird enough for perfumistas. Having said that it does the job of fragrance and smells good to me, certainly is nose catching. I find myself drawn again and again to sniff myself when I wear it. There’s something completely other about Musc Kalirii that I would never have chosen to try for myself but I’m really glad I have.

Musc Kalirii Maison Incens dewet Turkish delight FlickrFlickr

Maison Encens has €139 and Sample Sets
Free World Shipping

Has anyone else fallen madly in love with a surprise perfume sent by a buddy?
Portia xx

Figue Aoudii by Jean-Claude Gigodot and Irina Zhurikhina-Nesa for Maison Incens 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

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Kate Apted

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Hi APJ.

I was inwardly devastated when my youngest son announced he will be moving to Canada when he turns 18. D, now 12, then added that he didn’t expect me to make the long journey to visit him; his awkward teenage way of saying he doesn’t want me to visit. Still, I hugged him and responded that I hope he finds Canada not too cold. As I always do when I hug him, I take a deep breath in of his skin scent. D has the most divine natural smell. I will miss that not being around.

When D was about 2, he wore the most adorable navy blue Clarks runners with yellow laces. I have kept one pair of those shoes because the smell of Dede and the rubber of the soles created a scent combo that is forever etched in my mind. I have even placed them in a sealed bag to preserve the scent.

By chance, earlier this year, I found a lovely niche house that has two fig scents in their repertoire. The first I tried is a crisp green fig, and the second gave me the most unexpected jolt of instant recognition. This gem of a fig is Figue Aoudii by Maison Incens.

Figue Aoudii by Maison Incens 2014

Figue Aoudii by Jean-Claude Gigodot and Irina Zhurikhina-Nesa

Figue Aoudii Maison Incens FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, orange
Heart: Fig, ylang-ylang, violet, iris, leather, cedar
Base: Agarwood (oud), sandalwood, amber, musk

As a fig scent, it is unique, particularly because of the addition of the oud note, which is not principally sweet or smoky. It opens with a strong, deep fig; much like the late season figs that drop onto the ground. This lasts only moments before the oud barges in to give a heavy hand, along with a striking dry leather note. The scent stays linear throughout the three hours of arm’s length projection I get. The ylang ylang is brought to the fore after that time and becomes a skin scent for another hour or so. The notes listed on Fragrantica include iris and bergamot, which I got nothing of, but I do detect a faint backing of violet in the first hour.

Figue Aoudii by Jean-Claude Gigodot and Irina Zhurikhina-Nesa for Maison Incens 2014

You are now wondering, rightly, what Figue Aoudii has to with my son’s declared intention of migrating and a pair of smelly toddler’s shoes? Figue Aoudii is reminiscent of the scent of D taking off his shoes as a child. I kid you not! (Pun most definitely intended.) So, should D actually move out of home, I have no sentimental reason to ask him for his pillow, or a toy he slept with, in order to keep his scent alive. I have Figue Aoudii!

Now that I have needlessly placed this connotation in your mind about a beautiful fig fragrance, let me assure you that it took quite a few weeks for me to understand why Figue Aoudii was so instantly recognisable. I wore it simply because it is sublime in the cooler months of autumn. The falling brown leaves and the last of the summer harvest of figs begs for such a scent to be worn.

Figue Aoudii Maison Incens schleichpost0 pixabayPDI

Further reading: Perfume
Maison Encens has €139/100ml (FREE World Shipping)

Do you have a fragrance that reminds you of someone you love? Or someone you once loved but have gone from your life?
KA