Wednesday 18 May 2011

Jacomo Art Collection: #08

After 40 years of perfume-making to modest international acclaim, US perfume house Jacomo enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance in 2010 with the launch of their colourful Art Collection series: a trio of perfumes launched to explore an olfactory dialogue between perfume and art. The fragrant threesome have each been assigned a number, and both individually and collectively offer something unique in the Jacomo gallery of scent.



#02 is described as a tactile Oriental Leather Gourmand, and includes notes of bergamot, tonka, vanilla, patchouli and suede. Graphic artist Cecilia Carlstedt drew inspiration for the packaging artwork from her time in New York.
#09 is a colourful Woody/Fruity/Spicy scent with notes of lemon zest, orange pulp, pink pepper, mango, cinnamon, praline and vanilla. Swedish watercolour painter Stina Persson is the artist commissioned for this release.

But of the three, I am particularly fond of #08 - a deeply aromatic eau de parfum that draws its inspiration from the vibrant and colourful cities of Bengal and Madras. Swedish illustrator/artist Daniel Egnéus created the artwork for the packaging which suggests strong links to the east.

#08 surprises with its asian-influenced opening of crisp ginger and black tea, through which a startling and enduring spicy cardamom accord emerges. It instantly speaks of the cuisine of northern India, and resolutely plays a preeminent role for the first 10 - 15 minutes. A milky accord in the heart of the perfume, coupled with warm notes of sweet cinnamon both furnish the perfume with a delicious 'iced chai latte' vibe. But there is abundant colour present too... luminous freesia, golden honey, and dewy fruit pulp all lend a vibrant lip-smacking quality to the scent.

To my nose, #08 is the olfactory equal to the religious Indian Holi Festival held each spring; a celebration in which brilliantly coloured powders and coloured water is hurled between worshippers. It is spirited, colourful, fun, and something in which both men and women can partake.



One would assume that more numerically-assigned fragrances might soon emerge from Jacomo in the Art Collection series. These offerings are rather exciting to explore, and seem to offer a 'niche' fragrance experience on a mainstream budget.

8 comments:

CurlyJo said...

Dimitri I love how your writings and topics take me to another total new world...poetic

Blog Author said...

Thank you Jo, you're very sweet for saying so! :)

David Toms said...

I will have to look out for this as I thought Jacomo was no more! Who can forget Silences!

Anonymous said...

I am glad to see this house being brought back from oblivion and with a concept that tries to connect perfume and art. I have very fond childhood memories from their Eau Cendree and I recently managed to find an extremely rare bottle of this.

What shocks me is that I recently read on the BeautyOnTheOutside blog that these new releases can be bought for 25$/100ml......!

Angela Cox said...

It's catching , this is the third discussion of this fragrance today. I love it it reminds me of a dessert a Persian friend used to make.

Angela Cox said...

http://www.cheapsmells.com/viewProduct.php?id=119553

This is a very good site , Bonkers buys from them , I have had no trouble . I know they send to Austria as Birgit mentioned it so probably many other places. They have Jacomo #8 in both 100mls and 50mls.

Blog Author said...

Thanks memoryofscent and Angela! :)

Aussie readers can find these in 100ml bottles here in Australia for just $25 from Perfume Connection, which is where I bought mine.
http://perfumeconnection.com.au/?action=view&id=12362926&category=7&house=48

I am pleased that the quality of these scents is "right up there", for so little money.

Anonymous said...

I love nr. 8 and my husband had to make a choice a couple weeks ago from 7 scents for me and chose this one...
And please let us know where we can buy Mona's Oud (I am happy to possess
5 Mona's and Nuit Noire on the "to buy list".
Les Senteurs is going to sell only the other three new fragrances.
Mischa