Fragrance Reviews

The Fragrant Year in Review: 2009

01/10/10 14:25:36

By: Mark Behnke

2009 was a good year for perfume, I think. Although some of the worrisome trends that have been a drag on the industry as a whole still persist. The biggest of these problems, to me, is the unrelenting number of releases that are being put out. If you sniffed a new fragrance every day of 2009 you still wouldn’t have been able to try every new release. That makes for a marketplace where good fragrances have trouble breaking through. Not to mention all of the options available to a perfumista as the Internet literally puts almost any fragrance a mouse click away from being at your doorstep. If I have one wish for 2010 it is that everyone involved takes one step back and re-think whether we really need another flanker, aquatic or fruity floral.

Even so as I looked back over the year I found many things that made me excited about perfume all over again. The main reason I’m excited about perfume again are the three releases from the artist who is my Perfumer of the Year - Bertrand Duchaufour.

He released three distinctly different fragrances in the latter half of 2009. L’Artisan’s Havana Vanille is the one I can see staying with me for years to come and is also my Fragrance of 2009. From a nose who has so many memorable fragrances Havana Vanille is my favorite Duchaufour composition to date.

It has only gotten better and more complex on me the more I have worn it and that kind of construction has kept me reaching for it time and again. Coupled with the other two Duchaufour’s in 2009, Penhaligon’s Amaranthine and L’Artisan’s Al Oudh this was an easy decision for me.

That’s not to say that there weren’t other audacious attempts at multiple releases by some of our more talented noses. Mark Buxton, Francis Kurkdjian and Mathilde Laurent all released fragrance collections in 2009 and each of them had one home run within their collections.

Mark Buxton Black Angel, Maison Francis Kurkdjian Cologne pour Le Soir, and Cartier Les Heures de Cartier XIII Le Trezieme Heure were those winners. Each of these showed off the best qualities of the perfumer behind them. Another wish for 2010 is to see more of our most talented perfumers find a way to go off on their own where they can really try and push the boundaries in the future.

The template that Buxton, Kurkdjian, and Laurent are following is a well-known one that the best artisanal perfumers have been following; as that segment of the industry also had a great year.

There were a number of releases that showed the ability that a small artisanal perfumer has in pushing the fragrant envelope. None of those shined brighter than Soivohle and the artist behind that House, Liz Zorn.

2009 was a year full of amazing oudh based fragrances from many of the biggest names in the business but when I looked back over 2009 the most distinct oudh fragrance I tried in 2009 came from Ms. Zorn. Oudh Lacquer is a perfect example of what a perfumer like Ms. Zorn has the freedom to do, as one of the ingredients in Oudh Lacquer was a sink wood tincture that took a year to make. This is the level of dedication that this group of perfumers go to when creating their fragrances and it is why I keep seeking out their latest releases because it feels like this is where the cutting edge of perfumery is at the moment. My wish for 2010 is for these talented artists like Ms. Zorn to get more exposure.

There were some re-releases in 2009 and Amouage Ubar, and the fragrances which make up the Aramis Gentleman’s Collection are the best re-releases of 2009. The main reason for that is the IFRA mandated re-formulations did not materially change these new versions from their vintage versions and so they will live on. In the case of the Aramis Gentleman’s Collection I think all eight of these fragrances are among the best things available at the men’s fragrance counter in most department stores.

Havana, JHL, Devin, 900, Tuscany Uomo, New West for Him, Always for Him and Life are all excellent examples of their style and a great place for any man to start broadening his wardrobe. My wish for 2010 is for those who are struggling with the IFRA guidelines to try and re-formulate a classic to admit failure if they can’t make it work. I’d rather live with the memory than a pale imitation.

There were also some disappointments in 2009 and among those were Serge Lutens Fourreau Noir, Hermes Eau de Gentiane Blanche, John Varvatos Artisan and the D&G Anthology Series. All of these seemed derivative or a couple notes short of being what I wanted them to be. They all have their fans and this is where the difference in skin chemistry plays a large role in what works on each individual. For every thing that soars on my skin it comes crashing to earth on someone else’s. I hope every one finds a fragrance that soars on their skin in 2010.

Here are my favorite 25 fragrances from 2009 in alphabetical order:

Amouage Tribute Attar
By Kilian Back to Black
By Kilian Pure Oud
Cartier Les Heures de Cartier XIII Le Trezieme Heure
Comme des Garcons Daphne
Creed Windsor

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Dirty Rose
Diptyque L’Eau de Tarocco
Frapin L’Humaniste
Frederic Malle Geranium pour Monsieur
Ineke Field notes from Paris
Juliette Has a Gun Midnight Oud
L’Artisan Havana Vanille
L’Artisan Al Oudh

Les Nez Turtle Vetiver Exercise 1
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Cologne pour Le Soir
Neil Morris Earthtones #4 Red Sky
Parfums de Nicolai Patchouli Homme
Parfums DelRae Mythique

Penhaligon’s Amaranthine
Soivohle Oudh Lacquer
Tauer Perfumes Une Rose Chypree

The Different Company Oriental Lounge
Tom Ford Grey Vetiver
Ulrich Lang Nightscape

Full disclosure: I spent way too much time sniffing perfume in 2009 but I don’t think that’s going to change in 2010. Happy New Year!

Author: Mark Behnke (Somerville Metro Man)
Fragrantica Writer

Mark Behnke is based in Somerville, MA, a suburb of Boston, and is the writer for Fragrantica. By day, he works as a research chemist in a pharmaceutical company. By night, he has been a consistent poster on the forums at Basenotes.net under his nom de blog, Somerville Metro Man. You can also follow Mark on Twitter @SomMetroMan if you're curious to find out what he wears on a day-to-day basis.

memechose

I so loved reading this and i am with you 70% this was like the fifis of fragrance on fragrantica... I think you summed up the year very well. my list would be different obviously, but the two i chose hands down was une rose chypree and havana vanilla they tie for best of year en niche .
bertrand, yes he wins le nez.
I also was pleasantly surprised by natori, it would win designer and celebrity goes to the Queen...

NOW ABOUT FRUITY FLORALS. FRUITS AND FLOWERS... YES THE WORLDF PERFUME NEED SUPERIOR QUALITY FRUITY FLORALS liz zorn's writing lyrical poetry, Martine miccallef 's mon parfum and Guillaume's l'ouiseux de nuit ....elevated the group. i also think aqua de parma did a suberb job on magnolila nobile even though I cannot wear it...and ayala's purple dress and opus oils private blend orange blossom and cuir cordoba were fab. Ricci surprised me with his amazing calamity j

it was a good year...a very good year...

Jan
11
2010

CourtrightHer

Nice way to start the New Year with your excellent wrap up of the (last) year! Thanx Mark.

Jan
11
2010

jeca

Thank you, Mark, for sharing your opinion with us, I can agree with you about almost all your choices ;o))

It's really hard to try everything that was released the previous year, people make money in this field, and I appreciate your work on bringing truly interesting things into the light.

Jan
10
2010

pitbull friend

Great article, Mark! I only wish there were a way we could get some of these fragrance houses to stop producing so many. Theoretically, not buying them should do the trick, but sometimes I wonder whether it really does.

Jan
10
2010