Battle Orange
It's not a fair battle, actually. I'm not the biggest fan of citrus-centered perfumes in general, and orange in particular; but I knew that if anyone can hold my attention and keep my nose engaged it would be perfumer Ralf Schweiger who composed Orange Sanguine for Atelier Cologne. I doubt I'm ever going to spring for a full bottle of either, but as much as I admire and appreciate Jo Malone's work on her Jo Loves line, in this case she loses to Team Ralf.
Jo Loves- Orange Tulle
Orange Tulle is basically a very musky neroli fragrance with a nice herbal twist. The note list says mint, but every time I try it I swear there's also a hint of lavender somewhere in the mix. Much more unisex than the "Tulle" in the name indicates, and a bit too clean for my taste. Actually, now that I think of it, maybe it's the laundryish musk that makes me think of lavender in this context.
Orange Tulle Notes: Orange Flower, Mandarin, Mint Leaves, Neroli, Petitgrain, Musk.
Jo Loves Orange Tulle (£45.00, 30ml EDP) is available exclusively from joloves.com. Sample sent free of charge by the company.
Atelier Cologne-Orange Sanguine
The fun starts right from the opening notes. A bitter red geranium and a chewy orange peel announce that Orange Sanguine is not your average glass of Tropicana. It's very floral and enthusiastic, but also sweet and almost dirty-- tonka can do some interesting things. Eventually Orange Sanguine settles into a more of an aromatic ambery fragrance that on bad chemistry days smells a bit synthetic, but never boring. I think I like it better when I do the nose to wrist thing than when I catch a whiff of sillage in the air.
Orange Sanguine Notes: Blood orange, bitter orange, jasmine, geranium from South Africa, amber woods, tonka beans, sandalwood.
Atelier Cologne- Orange Sanguine ($60, 30ml Cologne Absolue concentrated at 15%) is available from Luckyscent, Sephora, and select department stores.
Image: Ladies Home Journal, July 1957, via myvintagevogue.com.
I like Orange Sanguine a lot, but not enough to buy a bottle. Mandarine Mandarin fills my orange needs.
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