Nero Profumo's Best of 2014

Another year just passed and, as usual, we witnessed countless brands trying so hard to standout with their promises of luxury, exclusivity, quality, uniqueness and whatnot. Hundreds (if not directly thousands) of new launches, re-issues, re-launches. New brands, new perfumes, new formulae but, in the end, for the most part, the same old stories. In this more and more crowded playground, we've all tried to navigate in what has become an impossible to catch-up with scenario. We've tried to find our own standouts and our new favorites in a sea for the majority populated by forgettable juices presented in fancy boxes / flacons. Don't get me wrong, there have been several remarkable new fragrances this year but the *number of launches / good quality* ratio is getting lower and lower. Too much of everything. Too much. 

With that said, I still liked something like 40 (maybe 50) new fragrances. Bogue Profumo's Maai is definitely one of them. A grand animalic / floral chypre by one of the most interesting new perfumers currently on the market. Old-school, uncompromising and stunningly beautiful. Vero Profumo never disappoints and the new Rozy Voile D'Extrait gains a full mention amongst *the best of the best*. My third pick is for Masque Fragranze and their Russian Tea. A tremendous example that in order to make something remarkable, you don't necessarily need to deliver something weird or over the top. Wearable, easy to like, versatile and completely satisfying.

A bunch more that catched my interest includes Sadanne by Slumberhouse. Theoretically everything I don't like about fragrance but surprisingly working in its juxtaposition between berry notes, rose and animalics. Hermes finally delivered an Hermessence I would literally bath in. Their Cuir D'Ange has been a big winner in my book and I won't exclude buying the biggest bottle in the future. Angelo Orazio Pregoni and O'Driù kept on polarizing people and Pathetique worths a mention for being, beside controversy and personal tastes, a solid piece of perfumery and not simply a prank. Comme Des Garçons had three new fragrances and while I more or less liked all of them, their collaboration with controversial artist Tracey Emin and Serpentine Gallery get the prize for being their best this year. A little gem that, in the typical twisted style of the house, delivers a compelling mix of green notes, environmental suggestions and woody-incense. French firm Jardins D'Ecrivains launched Junky which was inspired by the much missed William S.Burroughs. A bizarre concoction based around hyper-green elements, hemp notes and incense. Jovoy tributed Sun Tzu's L'Art De La Guerre and it didn't disappoint. A bold masculine with an eye on the past on one on the present. Finally, Olfactive Studio and their Ombre Indigo. Beside being a tremendously wearable leathery fragrance, this one wins the prize for the most beautiful juice color to date…

For those who are not necessarily interested in novelty and are fine with something simply solid, Cuir Cannage by Dior delivered yet another take on classic leathers a-la Chanel's Cuir De Russie. Amouage presented their tribute to classic masculine perfumery with Journey Man. Cartier launched La Panthere, a sort of nu-chypre with a nice floral presence and what's possibly the best packaging amongst designers' offerings. Comme Des Garcons introduced Wonderoud and with it, yet another micro-variation on synth-oud. Not exactly exciting but so easy to wear and like.

A bunch of honorable mentions:

Serge Lutens -  L'Orpheline. This didn't grab me at first but kind of won me over with time.

S-Perfume - Musk-S. Sacre Nobi re-packaged and re-launched his infamous brand (responsible of gems such as S-Ex) together with four new fragrances of which Musk-S seemed to be the more interesting in its iteration of the *invisible-musk*.

Narciso Rodriguez - Narciso. Still one of the very few designer brands worth of attention.

Dior - Dior Homme Parfum. Basically an improvement on Dior Homme Intense.

In 2014 we've also witnessed a bunch of re-introductions / re-launches amongst which the most interesting from my point of view were Helmut Lang's entire range (finally!!!), the new version of Pascal Morabito's Or Black and the Le Galion line.

I've also discovered some (new to me) fragrances / lines I had previously left behind that gave me quite some satisfaction. Rancè and their L'Aigle De la Victoire has been a stunner for me. A skanky / animalic leather / oud combo with so much courage a no restraint. Resist Me by Liaisons De Parfums gained a special spot up there together with smoky-pillars such as Bois D'Ascese. Finally, the whole Abdul Samad Al Qurashi line. An immense range of arabic oils I suggest to not miss out for anyone into eastern perfumery or to those who simply want to discover a whole new world of fragrances..

Last but not least, I would like to mention a bunch of fragrances that for a reason or another I haven't been able to smell yet but I'm pretty sure they would have made their appearance in this article if I did. Unsound and their Ephemera project which involved perfumer Geza Schoen in a synesthetic collaboration with musicians Kode9, Tim Hecker and Ben Frost was probably the most exciting news about fragrance this year. Black Heart by Map Of The Heart has piqued my interest since it has been unveiled at Pitti Fragranze 2014. Beside the questionable design of the bottle, the juice sounds like something I would thoroughly dig. Eventually, the two new *missing-in-action* Humieck & Graef (Abime and Nouveau-ne). I'm still bummed by the fact they haven't hit the shelves yet…

That's all for this year, folks…catch you out there and have good holidays everyone.

Nero Profumo's Best Of 2013

From my point of view, 2013 has been a pretty interesting year for fragrance. Some expectations fulfilled as well as some very interesting new faces. Italy has done its part with what, in my opinion, is probably the best fragrance of the year: Montecristo by Masque. A sweaty/animalic concoction of spices, booze, woods and thick animalic musks that strikes for its tremendous character and immense beauty. Incredibly evocative, comfortable and daring at the same time. From the same house, Terralba definitely deserves a mention as well. Completely a different beast from Montecristo but nonetheless outstanding in its peculiar rendition of sand dunes and italian coasts. Extremely aromatic herbs and woods paired to a transparent and salty vibe throughout. Endless wearability and a great all-rounder. 

Nu_Be, which is known for their sublime quirkiness applied to very practical fragrances, delivered two of their most interesting fragrances to date: Mercury and Sulphur. The former is a crazy and avant-garde concoction of sparkling aldehydes juxtaposed to a warm sandalwood base while the latter strikes for its subtle animalic character paired to green and assertive notes such as vetiver and costus.

Beside all the controversy, O'Driù is still delivering pretty solid stuff and Peety gains a special spot in my list of recommendations for this year. A terrific spicy-woody-musky concoction that's vastly head and shoulders above the average quality available in today's niche offerings. French line Liquides Imaginaires introduces to a wider audience its former trio of fragrances Les Eaux-Delà enriched by a new series called Les Eaux Sanguigne. These fragrances, previously available only in very selected French stores, have been now re-launched also in user-friendly 100ml flacons of immense beauty. My personal standout is Sancti, a citrusy and sparkling composition built around a crispy frankincense base. Probably the most literal iteration of church-y incense to date.

On more *popular* territories, Tom Ford's Sahara Noir setted up a new standard for incense-centered fragrances by introducing what's probably the most straight-forward incense since Norma Kamali's infamous Incense. Neela Vermeire has setted the bar so high with her former trio of fragrances and I've been more than glad to discover my expectations for her Ashoka have been completely fulfilled. A trustworthy follower to her previous Trayee, Mohur and Bombay Bling with an incredible evolution from the top notes till the drown. Pure virtuosism.

Comme Des Garcons keeps on doing its own thing without disappointing. Both Black and Sugi have been two big winners in my book. The former is a viscous, and indeed dark, composition of incense, tar and unsweetened licorice which strikes for both its perfect balance and incredible versatility. The latter is probably my favorite in the Monocle series. A minimlisitc (as opposed to simplistic) concoction entirely based on bizarre synergies between few and pretty common ingredients that give birth to something absolutely novel. Kudos.

I will close this list with two fragrances by two houses that haven't impressed me in a while. Amouage seems to have found his way back to the old glory by introducing Fate Woman. Humongous, bombastic and absolutely perfect. Gucci, on the other hand, delivered *Forever Now* to celebrate the Gucci Museo in Florence. A collaboration with master perfumer Lorenzo Villoresi. Probably not a wower at first but definitely a grower after some wearings. Leathery, woody and spicy with a smooth vetiver base and soft floral patterns. It took me a while to completely get it but it has slowly become a favorite for this year.

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Honorable mention to Vero Profumo for enriching its catalog with the Les Voiles D'Extrait versions of all Vero's previous fragrances. Fantastic options for anyone who loved her Extraits but prefer spraying over dabbing. Etat Libre D'Orange delivers La Fin Du Monde which strikes as an incredibly solid and easy to wear take on iris with *that* quirky twist that has become the house's hallmark. Perfectly unisex, perfectly sized, smooth and endlessly wearable.

Interlude Man: Amouage's new Album!

Interlude Man drives me crazy. There are some aspects that I completely dig and others that I really can't get past. 

You're at a concert. The hall is packed with people waiting for the band to go on stage. Everybody talk to their friends and the overall result is the messy, cacophonic sound of thousand of people speaking at once but saying different things. You can't discern what they're talking about but you can clearly hear female voices mixed with male voices, someone is laughing hard, someone is screaming with excitement, others are calmly commenting the facts of the last few days. Everyone says something but you don't understand a thing, you just grab a bunch of words here and there but they make no sense at all. Well, this is how the Interlude Man opening acts on my olfactive sense. I pick hints of the spicy-oudy accord of Epic Man paired to a sweetish, almost gourmandic vibe and mixed with culinary herbs. A sparkling bergamot note serves as a slightly strident juxtaposition to the overall dark vibe but everything is so cacophonic to relust somewhat messy and confusing.

The lights on the stage start to play funny patterns announcing  the imminent start of the show. The general hubbub clams down and people focus their attention to the stage where the band's members are grabbing their instruments. The show begins, the crowd goes wild. This is the best part of the fragrance where a dark green earthy-herbal accord distantly reminescent of Memoir Man, is paired to the balmy quality of opoponax. Just magnificent. Moderately sweet, deep, dark and extremely addictive.

The show goes on and the band start to play a bunch of new tracks from their latest, partially successfull, album. Exaltation leave space to a bit of disappointment. You expected to hear more of the older classics but the band is now focused on promoting their news style which you're not very fond of. This is when Interlude Man introduces its drydown which is sweet, ambery, smoky and woody. Something we've already experienced in Opus IV, V and VI and something that seems to have become the new Amouage hallmark.

Downline: The show was somewhat good and at times funny, the band is technically perfect, some of their greatest songs still rock but, what seems to have become their new path is not completely convincing and feels a bit uninspired. Worthy the full price ticket? No, at least not to me. I'll check their next live shows on youtube first.

Note: The show lasted a good 11 hours (quite a perfomrace for a band) and the sound projection was awesome!

Rating: 6.5-7/10