Mona Di Orio, Les Nombres D'Or: Cuir, Ambre, Musc

These last two weeks I’ve been wearing the three new scents by Mona di Orio of "Les Nombres d'Or" new line: Cuir, Ambre, Musc, which will be in stores next September (but friends who were with me during Esxence, last March, have already had a thrilling preview...).
Mona has created her three new fragrances as a tribute to three accords central in modern perfumery, namely leather/cuir, amber and musk, Sort of Golden Section of perfumery. But wait, there is nothing "intellectual" in them: this time Mona has changed direction a bit. Her scents are generally characterized by a huge olfactory culture behind them, that you can actually feel. They’re structured, complex, sophisticated, not easily understood, requiring a minimum of culture to recognize their artistic value. But these three are different. Much clearer and straightforward. I’d almost say more "playful", and certainly more easily sold. With Jabu Mona had already shown the intention to explore joy and pleasure rather than the cultural side, and I don’t’ dream of criticizing her in the least: the ability to "play" convincingly on different registers identifies a talented author. For this reason they remind me of the Les Orientalistes line by Annick Goutal, but with overall different characteristics (longer lasting on skin and more delicate).


I especially like the Cuir. It’s rough, shadowy, smoky, untamed. It opens with a bitter and pungent sensation, an interesting accord of absinthe and cardamom; then a heart of leather and cade wood (which I suppose gives the roughness), then fragrance is sewn, rounded and finished by opoponax and castoreum. I also smell an incense note that maybe there isn’t (probably a side effect of absinthe). The result is dry, charming and disturbing at the same time, restless like a slender, nervous black horse with a shiny coat.
The Cuir is rough as much as the Amber is soothing: it reminded me closely of the velvety feeling of Amber Antique by Coty. Missing almost all top notes, it gives its best on the skin only a few minutes after spraying, with cedarwood, ylang ylang, benjoin, Tolu balsam and vanilla absolute. The global feeling is soft and poudrèe, comforting and sensual together, and although may not be considered completely original, is extremely refined. I’ve been wearing it with pleasure, cheerfully emptying the generous decant.
Musc instead is a curious take, because the feeling it conveys is not so obviously “musky”; I’d rather define it delicately flowery and sweet. Not “the musc you’d expect”, then but one which needs a test on skin. It presents an angelica root note that –I’m discovering in this period- I just adore, and I realized that it’s found in all the most ethereal and delicate scents I know. The Musc fragrance revolves around that note, combined with neroli and rose to convey the flowery feeling, and to heliotrope and tonka bean for the sweet one. Not my type of musc (d’you remember the topic about “sweaty herdsmen”?), but I guess it will find many fans, especially among those who love skin scents.
Guido of Profumo / ProfumImport will officially present them at the next Pitti Immagine Fragranze, in September. I recommend you to go and try them all!
Pic: here