Scented Snippets New Fragrance Review: JoAnne Bassett Leather Collection / Pleasure Quintet
05/27/15 16:48:56
by: Ida Meister
atrbazan.com
It seems that I have an affinity for natural perfumes.
This stems [sic], no doubt—from the intoxication that the natural world provides. I'm bowled over by the beauty of absolutes, concretes, enfleurages, distillations, hydrosols and tinctures. The fact that I'm fortunate enough to smell them and appreciate them never fails to thrill me, and I'm grateful when someone creates exquisite perfumes with a sure hand and masterful comprehension.
JoAnne Bassett often flies under the radar. I suspect that it's because folks wonder what she does, why her perfumes cost as much as they do. It's not easy to produce botanical perfumes which are unique and don't all smell like The Summer of Love. Many fine materials are outrageously expensive.
[I don't enjoy admitting it, but frequently I sample works which begin to smell muddy and end up singing the same song—whether they intend to or not.] I never have that concern when JoAnne is the perfumer; somehow she fuses olfactory classicism with a wonderful twist of humor, pathos, or eccentricity [in the most complimentary way]. JoAnne is never boring.
Her leather quintet is a pleasure, because she's composed five completely distinct perfumes with personalities all their own.
Let's explore them, one by one.
Notes: Cambodian oud attar, frankincense carteri, frankincense freana, cedarwood, palo santo, cassie absolute
Arabian Leather was a complete surprise: I was anticipating something weighty and dolorous, not a shimmering golden sheath of second skin. How all the components conspire to meld seamlessly into this aura is a mystery. Arabian Leather glows. It feels metallic in some wise, a mineral-infused leather. It is a glamour with which to cloak oneself, easy to wear and to love.
Notes: copaiba balsam, benzoin, wild-crafted French lavender, gaiacwood, incense cedar
I'm besotted with English Leather; I'm clearly going to have to spring for a bottle of this. It smells nothing like the drugstore variety of English Leather [although I have very fond memories of that!]. Smokily sweet with herbal/floral tones, English Leather is elegant, rugged, comforting. It's both woody and spicy, soft and sturdy. You've smelled nothing like it, I promise. And it's so effortless; nothing could feel more natural to the soul.
Notes: birch tar, Bulgarian tobacco, cardamom, clary sage, St. John's wort
Hold on to your boots. Fill your pipe with Latakia! Woof. Russian Leather is a powerhouse; it's hairy, hoary, charred and roaring. The Cossacks are out and so are the Tatars!!! Tenaciously dark, profoundly smoky and rich, this perfume is for those who know what they like—and they like it potent. As raw as a fragrance gets while still retaining complexity, Russian Leather is true and real as a Russian winter. [Note to selves: be very careful in your dosage!] I love it. It's akin to the Lapsang Souchong of perfume.
Notes: Spanish sage – salvia lavendula, cistus, dark patchouli, ambrette seed, sandalwood.
Boots of Spanish leather. [Knowing how close to JoAnne's heart Bob Dylan is [and mine as well], what sprang immediately to mind was this song. <3 ] That's JoAnne's gift to us—this fine, amber-hued, beautifully tanned hide. Glove-worthy, even. Earthy, bold, refined: very different from Santa Maria Novella's Peau d'Espagne Estratto Triplo, which is gorgeously deep with intimation of sassafras. Spanish Leather possesses an astringency redolent of pine; it is loamy and wild-eyed, a beautiful savage creature astride an equine companion of similar inclination.
How does one choose just one perfume from among all of these offerings?
Notes: cistus, wild orange, vintage jasmine grandiflorum, Bulgarian tobacco, light patchouli
JoAnne tells us that we're in a leather-seated Bugatti on a summer's evening with jasmine and orange blossoms wafting in the air. I believe her. This is nothing like I projected: no iris, no buttery nebulous base. The florals are present, but they are subtext here. Tobacco and cistus reign supreme, creating a tenderly dusky fragrance with character. It's not a leather tyrant, but it isn't spineless either. There is a resolute self-possession to Tuscan Leather which I find very appealing, a quiet, distinguished confidence. Very unusual and decidedly wearable.
A blown-glass bottle created especially for the JoAnne Bassett Leather Collection
I'm so glad JoAnne sent me these samples! I'd definitely advise those adventurous souls among us to order themselves a sample set.
Then tell me which ones garnered your affections.
It won't be easy. <3
Portrait of JoAnne Bassett: Fragrantica. All other images courtesy of JoAnne Bassett.
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