Year in Perfumes: Most Worn Perfumes in 2020
In a year when so much of the world found shared communion through pain, so many of us found ourselves re-evaluating our lives. I explored new places, felt (and feel) very sad, but I also found tremendous beauty through olfaction. This picture, taken in the summer of 2018 at KR Market in Bangalore, India, is a reminder to me what freedom, beauty and love can feel like.
Most worn perfumes: 2020
As some of you know, I started working on a side project at the start of pandemic, Petrichor, primarily as a way for me to track the perfumes I wear, create lists, etc. Eventually, I hope I will be able to do some more fun analytics with it (“What perfume notes do I gravitate towards?”, “If I like this scent, what other perfumes might I like?”), but for now it is fun being able to see simple overviews like what perfumes did I end up wearing the most?
My most worn perfumes this year are not necessarily my favorite perfumes, although there are significant overlaps. There are a couple of reasons for this: for a large portion of the year, I was away from home (still am!), mostly living out west in Montana, New Mexico and southern California, so I didn’t have a lot of my favorites with me (Stéphane Humbert Lucas Black Gemstone comes to mind immediately, and is notably missing from this list); additionally, there are perfumes that are going to be on my favorites list that I may not have worn as often as you’d think I would: for example, for being on my list of favorite perfumes of all time, I wore Tauer’s Au Coeur Du Désert only 14 times, while another perfume that’s not on my favorites list, Lubin’s Idole de Lubin, I wore quite a bit.
Senyokô’s Duo des Fleurs and Shalini’s Jardin Nocturne, both of which are some of my favorite perfumes are also my most worn perfumes. All this to say that there’s all kinds of reasons I wore one perfume more than another, my taste being a significant factor in informing my choice, but evidently far from the only factor. So here goes!
Senyokô Duo des Fleurs
Perfumer
Euan McCall of Jorum Studio
Notes
Rose de Mai, Jasmine Sambac absolute, Davana & Datura leaf, Rose otto, Jasmine flexile, Rose petals & Jasmine buds, Mysore Sandalwood, Musk & Mitti Attar
Senyokô’s Duo des Fleurs is olfactory homage to Léo Delibes’ duet, and it is remarkably on-point, and even if you don’t find this artistic congruence exceedingly delightful, its beauty transcends necessitating any fitting narrative.
Duo des Fleurs is one of the most beautiful perfumes I have smelled this year, a bottling of ephemerality, and it has been my most worn perfume this year.
More detailed review here.
Shalini Jardin Nocturne
Perfumer
Maurice Roucel, Symrise
Notes
Night blooming jasmine absolute from India, Assam Oud, Saffron, Mysore Sandalwood and Musk
Jardin Nocturne is a very evocative, nostalgic scent for me, and it’s one of the most beautiful scents I own.
On my skin Jardin Nocturne is fairly linear, but the jasmine and saffron seem to play a day-long game of hide-and-seek, but maybe it’s better understood as a dance – sometimes I find the jasmine more pronounced, but other times I sense the saffron even more, but maybe it’s just that my nose is alternatingly turning more or less anosmic to one or the other scent.
There is a fittingly resinous quality to Jardin Nocturne that gives it some heft – like heavy, scented night air – yet it comes across light – it really does mingle lightness with darkness, a brilliant olfactory sleight of hand.
More detailed review here.
Lubin Idole de Lubin
Perfumer
Olivia Giacobetti
Notes
Rum absolute, Saffron, Black Cumin, Bitter Orange peel, Doum Palm, Smoked Ebony, Frankincense, Sugar Cane, Leather, Red Sandalwood, Amber, Rock Rose
Idole de Lubin is a 2011 reintroduction of 2005’s Idole, created by the same perfumer. It’s unclear to me how much involvement Olivia Giocobetti had with this release, but it’s a really likeable perfume.
Idole de Lubin opens boozy, woody and spicy, with prominent saffron. As it dries down, it turns drier, with notes of smoked ebony and incense developing further, eventually settling into a dusty, powdery bed of leather and sandalwood. I like this a lot (clearly), but I would probably rate this a three-star: it’s very likeable, and is an a safe and relatively versatile pick, but it never wows me.
Fort & Manlé Fatih Sultan Mehmed
Perfumer
Rasei Fort
Notes
Bergamot, Red Apple, Petitgrain, Rose, Tulip, Iris, Vanilla bean, Benzoin, Amber, Ambergris, Cedar, Patchouli, Oud
There is a trend in the fragrance community of talking about “beast mode” scents: fragrances that have strong projection, sillage or longevity or all of them. There is nothing wrong with focusing on some qualities of perfume (including performance, generally speaking), but what’s interesting about this phenomenon is that it seems to be a statement of preference, because we don’t have any evidence of people seeking content on the opposite: “quiet scents”. I understand wanting a reasonable projection, for, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to surround yourself in your own scent? But “beast mode” suggests an implicit desire to dominate, take up more space and look outside for an acknowledgement of one’s existence.
Fatih Sultan Mehmed is a skin scent, and at times I do wish it projected a wee bit more, but I must admit, in addition to being delectable, one of the reasons I reach for it so often is precisely because it’s a skin scent. Fatih Sultan Mehmed is not a simple scent in its composition, in fact it’s complexity is beguiling, but it is simple in the sense that, unlike its namesake, it doesn’t demand attention or occasion – you could wear it anytime and be pleased about your little secret you find yourself enveloped in, which is why it very quickly became one of my most worn scents.
Frassaï Verano Porteño
Perfumer
Rodrigo Flores-Roux
Notes
Calabrian Bergamot, Cardamom, Clementine, Sicilian Cedrat, Southern Magnolia, Imperial Jasmine, Alhelí, Vetiver, Ambrette Seed, Argentine Maté
The blending of citrus with jasmine is impeccably beautiful. The jasmine, here more floral in the floral-fruity-indolic spectrum, is central to the composition, and yet it’s the backdrop of a wider collage of a fragrant early summer afternoon.
Consensus around a subject can tell us more or less not just about the subject but also the context surrounding it. In this case it’s rather sweet that so many people find Verano Porteño to be “happy”. It’s as if the context within which one may interpret this perfume and the perfume itself have garnered an innocent, uncontroversial adoration that feels rather universal, and this one time I’m happy to concede to no further analysis of the aesthetic pleasure I derive from my experience of it.
More detailed review here.
Tauer Perfumes Au Coeur du Désert
Perfumer
Andy Tauer
Notes
Cumin, Coriander, Petitgrain, Cedar, Patchouli, Amber
What more can I say about this sequel to Andy Tauer’s cult hit L'Air Du Désert Marocain?
Au Coeur du Désert is spicy, soft, airy, and feels dry, almost arid, sitting on a bed of lightly honeyed, sun-kissed amber. Amber-heavy perfumes often turn powdery on my skin – and it’s unclear to me if there is actually any amber in here – but on my skin, this turns dusty, which I quite like.
More detailed review here.
Auphorie Miyako
Perfumers
Eugene Au & Emrys Au
Notes
Apricot, Yuzu, Peach, Japanese Golden Osmanthus (Kin Mokusei), Jasmine Green Tea, Leather, Precious Woods (Hinoki, Cedar, Sandalwood), Patchouli, Katsura Leaf, Silken Musk
Auphorie’s Miyako is an osmanthus-centered (Kin-Mokusei) scent like no other: tart, peaches and apricots lead the way to showcasing the floral, leathery facets of osmanthus, supported by the delicate scents of hinoki, cedar and sandalwood.
More detailed review coming soon.
Senyokô Migration de l’Arbe
Perfumer
Euan McCall
Notes
Clary Sage Absolute, Juniper Absolute, Cedrat, Grapefruit & Yuzu, Elemi, Mastic, Guaiac, Magnolia, Osmanthus, Pomegranate & Nigella Damenscena Absolute, Ambergris, Tobacco Absolute, Seaweed Absolute, Vetiver, Cabreuva, Patchouli, Fir Balsam, Cedar, Oakwood & Deertongue
What does a migrating bird smell like? I don’t know, but it’s as if Euan McCall with Migration de L'Arbre is able to induce a kind of synesthetic experience in the wearer: an olfactive tapestry of what it set out to do: “conceptualizing the relationship between the bird and the tree, man and nature.” It’s possible to describe this scent using notes, but this perfume is better described through evocation than the ingredients that create it. Stunning.
More detailed review coming soon.
Guerlain Songe d'un Bois d'Été
Perfumer
Thierry Wasser
Notes
Saffron, Cardamom, Bay Lead, Jasmine, Patchouli, Myrrh, Cedar, Oud
I really adore the spicy opening of cardamom and saffron with a pronounced bay leaf note. The resinous heart with some floral nuances (jasmine) is brief, and it eventually settles into a sweet, almost-gourmand on my skin, resinous base of cedar, oud, myrrh, and patchouli.
I noticed that depending on where I apply the perfume, the treble-like screechy notes of cedar comes out stronger (which I like), and I wish it came out even more. Great scent for the cool nights.
This scent is currently discontinued, but if you try your luck, you just might be able to find something on eBay.
L’Artisan Parfumeur Timbuktu
Perfumer
Bertrand Duchaufour
Notes
Mango, Pink Pepper, Cardamom, Incense, Papyrus, Karo Karounde, Vetiver, Myrrh, Patchouli, Benzoin
Anyone who has explored perfumery for any length of time has probably come across L’Artisan Parfumeur’s legendary Timbuktu. Inspired by Bertrand Duchafour’s travels to Mali in West Africa, Timbuktu opens with a uniquely fresh, green and spicy notes of green mango, pink pepper, and cardamom, with hints of incense brightening it further, thoughtfully supported by smokey vetiver and resins. I find Timbuktu to be pretty versatile, and have worn it on cool days and nights in New Mexico, and now in just-right Los Angeles.
