Rose Profusion, Hiram Green Lustre

“Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose” goes a popular quotation from 1913 poem “Sacred Emily” written by Gertrude Stein. A statement of the law of identity which expresses the fact that just using the name of a thing invokes emotions and imagery associated with it on its own. Though when it comes to perfume it’s not as simple as that. For there are many different perfume and many different roses. Some are sheer and innocent, others are straightforward others are oriental or they come from the abstract world. Recently a new rose has bloomed, and comes from the garden of Hiram Green.

Lustre is a rose fragrance from the very beginning. The composition opens with a juicy and acidic, slightly astringent citrus blend that quickly reaches your sinuses and wakes them up. Then comes the rose. At first impression it’s fresh, still tinted with a citrus melange of oranges, lemons and bergamots. It unveils slowly, lazily, like anyone who just woke up but doesn’t want to get out of bed immediately. Short wait later floral facet emerges – warm and sweet, with a morning dew freshness. The scent is full bodied and lush, rose petals bathing in the rays of the sun that has just woke up.

On my skin this perfume develops an opulent bouquet of rose that feels rich and lush, like the best rose marmelade you can get. Despite the bright red color saturation of petals, Hiram Green Lustre stands definitely closer to a fresh end of the spectrum and is not oriental in any bit. Actually later on I seem to detect a verdant backnote of leaves and floral stems. At some point it even gets kind of minty, or more like geranium actually. After some time Lustre becomes more woody but never abandoning its rose identity. It just feels a bit more substantive and dry in the background.

The scent brings to mind wooden beads scented with rose (advertised as made of rosewood) I remember from my childhood. More subtlety slips into the structure of Lustre along with an iris accord. Silky smooth texture with a powdery finish make this fragrance slightly more feminine, like a boudoir filled with scents of cosmetics powder and lipstick. Further into fragrance development you might detect a little bit of frankincense which introduces some transparent & spiritual smokiness to this creation. There’s something magical about this perfume as it radiates with inner glow.

Purity and innocence are other words that come to mind while smelling Lustre from Hiram Green. In the fragrance world where more and more compositions seem to be overdone it is good to go back to the roots and create something more basic. The brand also draws a beautiful image to go with the perfume: “Imagine the sun rising over seemingly endless fields of roses in the heartland of Bulgaria. Soft, golden rays of sunlight tenderly encourage the delicate pink petals to release their delightful scent. […] It is a luminous and fresh perfume that adds sheen to your day. Life is golden.”

Looking back at previous releases from Hiram Green, Lustre creates the feeling of being the most simple among 8 fragrances that he created so far. A soliflore dedicated to Bulgarian rose sounds minimalistic. But there’s more to this than meets the eye so don’t be deceived. It’s a gorgeous rose to be worn on spring and summer days or any time you want to improve your mood. As it is the case of all Hiram Green compositions – Lustre is entirely natural and it lasts for hours, lingering quietly on the skin. Lustre is an eau de parfum and comes in 50 ml bottles of now slightly updated design.

Advertisement

All the pieces, Masque Milano Kintsugi

In modern world we often forget about the value of our posessions… As soon as something breaks down we tend to throw it away & we buy a new thing instead of trying to repair it. It might be an easy way but it generates waste and makes us forget to have some respect and care for our belongings. Japanese people however believe that every item has a soul and even if it breaks it can be still put back together. Such are the teachings of Kintsugi, a Japanese art of mending broken ceramics with gold. “Don’t hide your scars, show them proudly” says Masque while introducing their new perfume.

Kintsugi opens in a very delicate & transparent way which is very appropriate for a perfume inspired by Japanese culture. At first the composition is translucent but minute by minute it gets more color thanks to the warmth of one’s skin. Pastel pink hue of magnolia flowers surround the wearer with a sheer veil of scent. At first this veil is calm & watery, like a still surface of a pond in Japanese style garden. After a few moments it becomes more floral in a way that it reminds me of mimosa and osmanthus woven into a bouquet of white flowers. It’s a very tranquil and harmonious opening.

Silky petals of magnolia eventually begin to exude more citrus, lemony aroma that is very much associated with this flower and with spring season. This scent, combined together with the essential oil of bergamot, Kintsugi becomes more brisk, tangy and charged with a solar energy. It has the uplifting and sparkling vibe when you smell the perfume with your nose close to the skin. Some time later the composition develops a warm and salty facet of a rather delicious, savoury amber. Honestly it’s like a perfume version of a salted caramel. It provides a nice twist to this beautiful scent. After the arrival of amber tones and onwards the structure of Kintsugi starts to be a little bit heavier.

From the salty amber the composition transitions seamlessly into a suede note. The latter one is nice and fuzzy, with a very soft and almost plushy texture. It feels luxurious as the softest gloves. When I smell this part of Masque Kintsugi it makes me think of a very light brown color with some golden and copper tones. Afterwards a violet leaf note arrives. It makes the perfume more aquatic again by effusing its characteristic scent that is simultaneously fresh, green, ozonic and crispy. If you looked at the notes pyramid for Kintsugi you’d notice Rosa Centifolia among its heart notes, however on my skin it remained somewhat hidden and didn’t mark its own presence in a noticeable way.

The brand wanted their new perfume to be a chypre but with more strict regulations for oakmoss it was a hard task to do. The perfumer worked with raspberry leaf absolute which recreates a dark, murky greenness of the lichen in a surprisingly good way. By marrying it with moist & earthy patchouli the impression of chypre was complete. Kintsugi additionally features benzoin which gives it a nice balsamic, resinous feeling with a hint of burnt caramel. Vanilla absolute is like a cherry on top here, introducing an oriental vibe with a tad of sweetness. It’s a darker and chewier kind than an average vanilla. It adds some density and structure to this multi-layered fragrance composition.

Kintsugi by Masque Milano is this kind of fragrance that feels simple in its construction but turns out to be a really intricate being when it comes to notes interacting with one another. I really like the Asian influences included in the formula but in general this scent has quite a European vibe to it. Kintsugi was one of the fragrances that gave me the best 1st impression while smelling stuff at Esxence couple of weeks ago. Perfumer Vanina Muracciole deserves a lot of praise for creating this scent. Kintsugi is an eau de parfum that will come in 35 ml bottles. Does it sound interesting to you?