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Wednesday, November 05, 2014

Bruno Fazzolari- Au Delà - Narcisse des Montagnes


*There's a special draw at the end of this post*

Don't call it a flanker.

Au Delà - Narcisse des Montagnes is a limited edition perfume, a variation on the original Au Delà theme of a classic green floral chypre. Perfumer Bruno Fazzolari created it around a gorgeous raw material: Narcisse des Montagnes absolute, which in this interpretation of the note smells sweeter and softer than the crunchy hay that usually accompanies narcissus. There's still enough edginess to this Au Delà incarnation: a dark green undercurrent that runs just beneath the surface and creates a tension and some drama against the ambery base.

My list of perfume regrets includes not buying  a bottle of the original Au Delà from its first batch. Bruno Fazzolari's gorgeous chypre is now sold out. It will be back when the right ingredients are available again, but I'm still kicking myself for waiting. How many real chypres on all their mossy elegance can one find these days? Well,  Au Delà - Narcisse des Montagnes definitely adds to the very short list. It has a vintage sensibility, which as Bruno Fazzolari explains, comes from his love of mid-century aesthetics. You can smell it, and you can also see it the screen print  Fazzolari (who is a visual artist as well as a perfumer) created to accompany the fragrance.

via brunofazzolari.com

It's very different from the artist's abstract work (you can see some examples in my overview of Bruno Fazzolari's perfume line), and goes perfectly with the perfume. I see both as almost-feminine-but-not-quite. Green floral chypres used to be marketed as women's perfume, but the modern nose perceives many of them as unisex (oh how I hate this word!), if not downright masculine. The bitter greenness of galbanum next to a velvety oakmoss appeals to men  and women alike, making everything from Vent Vert to Caleche gender-free.

It's the same with Au Delà - Narcisse des Montagnes. The perfume balances well all its aspects, never becoming too sweet, sharp, floral, or green. It is somehow softer than the original Au Dela, but only by so much. The main impression is of elegance, understated chic, and a very careful construction. As I smell a certain kinship with both vintage perfumes (I was thinking of Via Lanvin, which also makes a good use of narcissus) and modern artisan perfumery (Moss Gown by Providence Perfume Company), I feel we're all very lucky to have this kind of perfumers working among us, using precious materials and creating true luxuries.

And now for the draw:
One lucky winner (US only) will win a sample of Au Delà - Narcisse des Montagnes AND the beautiful print by Bruno Fazzolari (you can read about the process of making it on the artist's blog). To enter please tell us about an artwork and a scent you personally connect with it.

Bruno Fazzolari-  Au Delà - Narcisse des Montagnes ($96, 1oz ) is available at Twisted Lily and directly from brunofazzolari.com. The sample for this review was provided by the perfumer.

Top image: model Suzy Parker in a photo by Georges Dambier for Elle, 1953.

24 comments:

  1. Caravaggio's Conversion on the Road to Damascus and Balsamo Della Mecca.

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  2. Starry Night and Arpege. I can't explain why, it's just is.

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  3. I always connect Chanel No.19 with Rene Magritte's work. --Dora the Explorer

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  4. I've always liked Hope by George Frederick Watts. A scent I connect with emotionally (although it's not my favorite) is Shalimar. My Nana wore it all the time and my mother hated it because it reminded her of Nana.

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  5. I love Ormonde Woman and I picture the Klimt paintings of trees in a forest when I wear it. This fragrance sounds totally divine; excellent question too!

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  6. I had to really think about this and do not really connect artwork and scent. I think that the Taj Mahal is the most beautiful building in the world and connect it with Shalimar. I also connect Apres L'Ondee with the Impressionist school of painting but not with any specific work.

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  7. Already got a sample of this last week, so don't want to be entered into the draw, but just wanted to say how glad I am to see your review of it - it really is one of those incredibly beautiful, exquisite perfumes that simply stops you in your tracks. I also am glad you linked to his blog about his process for creating that image. Artists/perfumers who actually take the time and pay that much attention to detail and excellence make me very, very happy. I'm constantly thinking of images when I sniff perfumes, so, despite not being in the draw, just wanted to mention a couple - I associate Iris Silver Mist very much with Kaiho Yusho's (an artist from Japan's Momoyama period) Pine and Plum by Moonlight screen (particularly the six panels of the right hand side) - it has the very quiet, almost dream like feel I get w/ ISM. And when I first sniffed Onda in my mind I instantly saw Soon Woo Chun's (a contemporary Korean artist) Nature Mandala, Number Nine - gorgeous, rich, earthy colors and a fluid, contemplative mood. Oh, and am wearing it today, so Parfum de Therese is to me in sync with Pierre Bonnard's The Open Window.
    Anna

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  8. Leonardo Da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine reminds me of Guerlain's Tonka Imperiale. [email protected]

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  9. Weekend by PdN and Claude Mone's "Lady with parasol" - high sky, wind caressing your face and blooming flowers! Dream come true!

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  10. Maybe I'm being obvious, but Van Gogh's painting of irises always makes me think of either Silver Iris from Atelier Cologne, or Iris Poudre from Frederic Malle.

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  11. This sounds yummy.

    Are and perfume are not a connection I usually make, but how about Manet's Olympia Cats and Keiko Mecheri Ume. Both are plummy with a little attitude.

    Cheers,
    Minette

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  12. P.S. Manet's Olympia Cats is by a woman named Eve Riser Roberts. See... I had to google paintings by artists to find one that made me think of a perfume! And it wasn't even one by someone famous! Ha!

    xxxx,
    Minette

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  13. This print reminds me of the cut outs by Matisse. It has the same feel, imo. The perfume I would associate with it is 31 Rue Cambon. I feel beautiful when I wear it, the same way the Narcissus feels about itself! lol

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  14. Both Au Dela and Narcisse des Montagnes sound wonderful. I connect my current favorite, Moon Bloom, with Van Gogh's Cafe at Night, Arles, though there may be a Gauguin that suits it even better.
    Caroline

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  15. When I wear Mon Parfum Cheri, par Camille (EDT!) I feel I'm in the art deco world of Tamara de Lempicka's Young Girl in Green.

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  16. Cepes et Tuberose and Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights

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  17. My great artistic/scent connection is Nikki de Saint Phalle. I have her magnificent first edition perfume bottle, as well as several of the EDT and lotion bottles. I used to have a bracelet that was released with the gift set, but I wore it to death. I've never found a fragrance like it, and adore her art legacy.

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  18. Chagal's Lovers in Moonlight and Molinards Habanita

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  19. Histoires de Parfums' 1876 (Mata Hari) always reminds me of Tamara de Lempicka's The Pink Shirt. A soft boudoir moment grounded by the solid shapes of art deco; a luscious rose scent made human and brought to the skin by musk and cumin.

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  20. Annick Goutal's Encens Flamboyant reminds me of the feeling I get looking at paintings by the Russian artist Levitan, especially his "Over Eternal Peace." Their pristine landscapes and domed churches, like the Goutal perfume, are introspective but convey a sense of great spaciousness and freedom (whether physical or spiritual). Sublime.

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  21. Jean-Georges Béraud's Elegant Soiree, the one with the three couples dancing with each woman in a different colored dress and Amouage Gold Woman. They're both pretty glamorous and glittery to me. Here's the link to the painting http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=64125

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  22. i love this photograph by Sharon Core that looks so much like an old dutch still life, paired with Ninfeo Mio by Annick Goutal!

    http://www.yanceyrichardson.com/artists/sharon-core/index.html?page=8&work_id=2125

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  23. The portrait of madame X by John Singer Sargent reminds me of the original Agent Provocateur :)

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  24. I love Brassai's photographs of Paris by night and I love wearing Tuscan Leather when I am out at night.

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