Nostalgie, the newest fragrance from Sonoma Scent Studio targets those of us who clutch our pearls in one hand and our beloved vintage Patou perfumes in the other while kvetching about the State Of Parfumerie™. We love our aldehydes sparkling, our flowers opulent and our animalics roaring and grawling. Perfumer Laurie Erickson of Sonoma Scent Studio knows the feeling, but she also took pity on our nearest and not so dearest when she made these notorious notes just a tad more palpable to the modern nose.
Nostalgie goes with flowing skirts and red lipstick. It's not sinister in any way-- the gorgeous honeyed mimosa note is too sunny for that. I honestly feel that this is a very feminine and cleavagy fragrance. Not that it should prevent men from trying, but it brings out my inner Marilyn from the first go. Nostalgie is a synergie of notes and an idea. It's not a recreation of any classic perfume from the past, but it can easily sit on the same shelf as many of them. If I had to label it I'd call it a rich floral with a creamy animalic base. The floral notes come and go, too sneaky to be pinpointed and dissected. There's an idea of rose and an idea of jasmine, but you're supposed to be focusing on the atmosphere they create.
Everything is round and soft in Nostalgie. Think of it as a 1950s gorgeous figure, not a gym-toned Popeye's biceps (hello, Madonna). It goes with a black dress just as well as it fits a vintage floral print, as long as you're comfortable carrying it and smelling like you just came back from a Roman holiday (or maybe Paris).
Sonoma Scent Studio Nostalgie ($21, 5ml EDP purse spray) is available from sonomascentstudio.com. A sample was sent to me free of charge by the perfumer.
Photo by Richard Avedon for Harper's Bazaar, 1953, from myvintagevogue.com.
Notes: Aldehydes, Indian jasmine sambac absolute, Bulgarian rose absolute, mimosa absolute, peach, violet flower, violet leaf absolute, tonka, French beeswax absolute, natural oakmoss absolute, aged Indian patchouli, East Indian Mysore sandalwood, leather, vanilla, orris, myrrh, vetiver, and musk.
I just love your evocative reviews. So succinctly captures what it feels like to wear these scents, while also giving a sense of what they smell like. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI heard lots of love on the blogs about this scent, tried a sample and it was love at first sniff. I have several scents in my rotation from SSS, Laurie has the knack of creating scents that have a bespoke feel to them.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes. I agree completely.
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