Must Read: 500 Greatest Modern Perfumes

Basenotes is turning 15 this September! 

To celebrate, they're revealing, hour-by-hour, the "500 Greatest Modern Perfumes" that were launched from 2000 till now. This makes for a fascinating read that reveals what the choices of members of this wonderful global community of fragrance lovers (which I've been part of since 2003), which originally began mostly as a grooming and fragrance forum (AKA discussion board) for men. Yip, those were the days before blogs and vlogs, YouTube and Netflix ;-) 

The list's order is not exactly important. Rather, look at it as a compilation of what members had in their fragrance collections (AKA wardrobes), wish lists, which ones were viewed and reviewed the most, and which ones received the best star ranking. For each fragrance selected, there's also a review by one of the members. So it makes for a very fun read! 

You'll find all kinds of fragrances here, from drugstore gems and celebrity frags to posh designers releases, niche and hard to find European fragrances and of course - the creations of artisans like me who make everything by hand, bottle by bottle. So far I've seen 4 of my perfumes there: Palas Atena, Fête d'Hiver, Indigo and Kinmokusei, plus one that I've reviewed (Poivre Samarcande). You can also join the discussion on guessing what would be revealed next, on this thread. 

It's like a snapshot of what Basenoters have been wearing and loving for the past 15 years. The entire list will be fully rolled out on September 25th. 

Kinmokusei Mentioned in Pivoines et Macarons

For the French speaking among you - here's a link to florist and garden designer Olga Campagnoli's article about osmanthus in her Pivoines et Macarons blog, which mentions Kinmokusei perfume right after Jean-Claude Elena's Osmanthe Yunnan!

Osmanthus is very much a fall flower: the fragrant osmanthus used in perfumery blooms just around this time of the year in Japan and China. And it has beautiful, golden-orange flowers too!

Now I'm off to burn some osmanthus incense my friend Noriko brought me from Japan...

Review on Associated Content

Chiza Alba of Associated Content talks about the advantage of using natural perfumes, as well as some of the financial and legal issues natural perfumers are faced with. She reviews Ayala Moriel Parfums - and in particular my perfumes Megumi, Schizm and Kinmokusei.

New Perfume: Kinmokusei

, originally uploaded by titanium22.

Ayala Moriel is pleased to announce the launch of our new perfume – Kinmokusei.

Kinmokusei is the new member of Ayala Moriel’s soliflore collection – perfumes that are celebrating the unique essences of flowers from around the world.

Osmanthus is a unique Asian flower, with a smooth and rich scent of green tea, apricot and suede leather. It is used to scent green tea as well as special confections and Chinese baked goods. The peak of the osmanthus flowers season is now, end of September until mid October, when the days start to become short, and rainstorms fight to take over the last sunny days. The osamnthus flowers falls to the wet ground and release their dusky aroma which fills the moist, air.

Kinmokusei is an unusual osmanthus soliflore is unusually dark and rich, and is as soft as suede. It opens sparkling with apricot, peach, wild orange and raspberry undertones; rejuvenates like cool green tea, yet unmistakably smooth and floral. The base is surprising – musky and woody, with underlining leathery note of cured tobacco leaves. Kinmokusei is the Japanese name for osmanthus, and also is pronounced like the name of an Anime planet.

Top notes: Green Pepper, Wild Orange, Coriander
Heart notes: Osmanthus, Linden Blossom, Green Tea, Jasmine Sambac
Base notes: Tobacco Leaf, Hay Absolute, Ambrette, Sandalwood Vanuatu

Kinmokusei is available from AyalaMoriel.com in:
8ml Pure Parfum $90
8ml Pure Parfum + 15ml Refill $180
1ml Sample $5