What I truly love about the world of fragrances is the fact that each time you decide to immerse in the sea of scent you might find fascinating new things. Niche perfume market is so varied and full of creativity. Sure – some ideas are great, the others are weird, to use the mildest word here. Perfumes come in different concentrations, shapes and sizes. One time you might be captivated by something extraordinary and with a high-end packaging and design. The other time it’s the simplest thing.
One of those simple things that I fancied during my trip to Florence was Uer Mi Fragrance Collection (Uer Me reads as “wear me”) This Italian niche perfume line which debuted last year decided to go along a new path and decided to create fragrance interpretations of casual fabrics each of us wears on a daily basis. In the collection consisting of 7 fragrances you will find olfactory interpretations of denim, velvet, silk, tweed, latex and the object of this review – Suede and Cashmere. If you ever wondered how these fabrics smell, here’s the answer.
Lets start with NO±Suede. This material is not particularly new in perfume creations but at the same time there are not too many good fragrances with suede there. With leather, yes, but not with suede. This composition opens with a sharp note that instantly brings the vision of tanner shop. It smells kind of chemical and unnatural. But after 5 minutes this bad impression subsides and you can smell soft and fuzzy suede accord combined with the warm spiciness of saffron and dry-fruity aspect of plum note. The latter one smells a little bit sugary as well. The longer you wear Uer Mi Suede the more it grows on my skin. After some time it reveals a quick and refreshing floral tone coming from lily of the valley but in just a blink of an eye it transforms into more substantial guaiac wood note. The drydown smells of incense and labdanum. To me it also smells of black pepper but that’s not mentioned in notes officially. Suede from Uer Mi is warm, cozy and modern. It’s a scent you can wear with a suit or elegant jacket. But not only as it feels casual at the same time. Sillage of this composition is moderate and so is its lasting power which should last for around 6 hours on you.
Then we have AB±Cashmere. This fragrance begins with an unusual combination of osmanthus and olibanum. It smells very refreshing, like a green tea at first but in no time it becomes more mineral, more resinous and balsamic. This is the perfume in which ethereal floral tones entwine with night-time smokiness of oriental resins. Later on Cashmere reveals patchouli note which adds depth and rounds the entire composition. A little addition of jasmine makes this fragrance feel softer and more gentle. The best part happens after 2 hours when ambergris and sandalwood appear on my skin. Together they bring this amazingly soft, cuddly and enveloping sensation that really feels like a huge cashmere sweater. Bergamot adds a bit of zesty vibe to this Uer Mi fragrance as well. It might not be mentioned in official composition but to me Cashmere also has some delicate saffron, vanilla and possibly some iris as its finish feels quite powdery. Comparing this to Suede you could say that first one is more masculine while the second one has a more feminine character. Longevity and sillage or Cashmere are similar to Suede.
Concept of Uer Mi Fragrance Collection is nice and I liked the scents. I don’t really care if they’re mostly made of synthetic ingredients or not (as far as I understood their representative well this collection is a modern take on perfumery with the use of synthetic molecules.) Fragrances in this line are all eau de parfums, coming in very simple 75ml bottles. 10 (or 15ml?) travel sprays are also available. The outer packaging is just a plain gray box. Inside the box each bottle is wrapped with a pouch made of corresponding fabric. Suede is a work of Antoine Lie, Cashmere is from perfumer Jean Jacques. What do you think of this idea for a perfume brand?
Chemist in the Bottle 