Roberto Greco says:
Œillères - L' Objet parfumant is a limited edition of 519 pieces created under my artistic direction by the French perfumer Marc-Antoine Corticchiato after two years of hard work, the amount of time required to achieve the desired effect : an anti-flower fragrance.
Œillères fragrance notes
- pollen, hay, chalk, flesh, lavender, chamomile, broom, hay, mushroom, pollen, styrax, cumin, animalic musks
Latest Reviews of Œillères
Oeilleres is the first perfume in the current line of three, released in a limited number by photographer Roberto Greco. The nose behind this is one of my favorite perfumers, Marc-Antoine Corticchiato, the master of Agrestic perfumes, creating once more, an agrestic wonder.
Roberto calls this perfume an anti-floral, but also a half-animalic perfume. To me, it is certainly anti-floral, as it shies away from using any tangible floral materials, opting for the shrubs, the "flowers" of the fields. But the other part of it, to me, comes across as a portrayal of the inevitable decay and death of living matter and the inevitable process of the body's degradation. Behind the conceptual, however, Oeilleres is an agrestic perfume through and through, and a beautiful one at that. And there is something in the base that almost comes across as "alive".
It really makes me think of waking up in the morning, before sunrise, and taking a stroll through the fields, starting and getting the work done early for the day. The early morning air is crisp and cool even during Summer, and so is the bracing opening of this fragrance, as eucalyptus and lavender provide an almost mentholated, fresh, and cold opening. But as the sun's rays start to warm up the landscape, so do the spices, mostly cumin with its humanistic smell, again, hinting to the human condition, and then the various field florals like chamomile which supports the eucalyptus and its medicinal flavor but also bringing in a more soothing touch, broom, clover, and sweet hay. Pollen permeates the air as insects start their rounds from flower to flower. The heart of this perfume is all about the dry, herbaceous, sweet, and honeyed aroma of these beautiful yet misunderstood plants. In the base, smoky resins, and lots of musks, together with cumin come along to create the impression of leather, or rather, human skin. There is also a strong oiliness to the perfume at this stage, which only helps to ground that imagery. Thick, sweaty human skin. Wrinkled, and sweated by the hardships of fieldwork and ages. The evolution is steady and certain, and the composition is vivid at all times. There is beauty in nature, and there is certainty in decay. If you ask me, I always preferred the field florals and the shrubs to roses, tuberose, or jasmine. I find more comfort in them, and maybe that's why I love agrestic smells so much.
IG:@memory.of.scents
Roberto calls this perfume an anti-floral, but also a half-animalic perfume. To me, it is certainly anti-floral, as it shies away from using any tangible floral materials, opting for the shrubs, the "flowers" of the fields. But the other part of it, to me, comes across as a portrayal of the inevitable decay and death of living matter and the inevitable process of the body's degradation. Behind the conceptual, however, Oeilleres is an agrestic perfume through and through, and a beautiful one at that. And there is something in the base that almost comes across as "alive".
It really makes me think of waking up in the morning, before sunrise, and taking a stroll through the fields, starting and getting the work done early for the day. The early morning air is crisp and cool even during Summer, and so is the bracing opening of this fragrance, as eucalyptus and lavender provide an almost mentholated, fresh, and cold opening. But as the sun's rays start to warm up the landscape, so do the spices, mostly cumin with its humanistic smell, again, hinting to the human condition, and then the various field florals like chamomile which supports the eucalyptus and its medicinal flavor but also bringing in a more soothing touch, broom, clover, and sweet hay. Pollen permeates the air as insects start their rounds from flower to flower. The heart of this perfume is all about the dry, herbaceous, sweet, and honeyed aroma of these beautiful yet misunderstood plants. In the base, smoky resins, and lots of musks, together with cumin come along to create the impression of leather, or rather, human skin. There is also a strong oiliness to the perfume at this stage, which only helps to ground that imagery. Thick, sweaty human skin. Wrinkled, and sweated by the hardships of fieldwork and ages. The evolution is steady and certain, and the composition is vivid at all times. There is beauty in nature, and there is certainty in decay. If you ask me, I always preferred the field florals and the shrubs to roses, tuberose, or jasmine. I find more comfort in them, and maybe that's why I love agrestic smells so much.
IG:@memory.of.scents
I am surrounded by pollen, propolis, weeds and reeds, all manners of flora and fauna, as if to escape from the madness of humanity. The sun warms my face, I learn what a zephyr really is as it attempts its escape in the cool air, and chamomile, daisies, asters, tansy, yarrow, gesticulate and release their comforting, sedative balm. The sound is that of Eastern Bluebirds, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Bobolinks, Tree Sparrows.
There are desiccated wildflowers and herbs, faded colors, and all is hazy and languid. I am sitting on a bale of hay with timothy grass in my mouth and a tear forming in my eye as I watch the cows ruminate in the pasture with their sweet eyes.
"Misguided angel hangin' over me
Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory
Soul like a Lucifer, black and cold like a piece of lead
Misguided angel, love you 'til I'm dead"
-Cowboy Junkies
Oellières grows more animalic and visceral over time, but ever more beautiful. Styrax and castoreum, unctuous, oily, furry, musky, adorned with sweet clovers. The chamomile calm persists and all is textured, impasto painted, tactile, running one's fingers over the beauty of impermanence: blossom inevitably leads to decay, and the cycle begins again. To wilt is as beautiful and precious as is to bloom. As dusk swallows the day, I hear the whip-poor-will.
If one enjoys raw naturalism in fragrance and the more agrestic qualities of Yatagan, Aromatics Elixir, the styrax heavy dry down of Bel Ami, they will likely appreciate Oellières.
There are desiccated wildflowers and herbs, faded colors, and all is hazy and languid. I am sitting on a bale of hay with timothy grass in my mouth and a tear forming in my eye as I watch the cows ruminate in the pasture with their sweet eyes.
"Misguided angel hangin' over me
Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory
Soul like a Lucifer, black and cold like a piece of lead
Misguided angel, love you 'til I'm dead"
-Cowboy Junkies
Oellières grows more animalic and visceral over time, but ever more beautiful. Styrax and castoreum, unctuous, oily, furry, musky, adorned with sweet clovers. The chamomile calm persists and all is textured, impasto painted, tactile, running one's fingers over the beauty of impermanence: blossom inevitably leads to decay, and the cycle begins again. To wilt is as beautiful and precious as is to bloom. As dusk swallows the day, I hear the whip-poor-will.
If one enjoys raw naturalism in fragrance and the more agrestic qualities of Yatagan, Aromatics Elixir, the styrax heavy dry down of Bel Ami, they will likely appreciate Oellières.
ADVERTISEMENT
Oeilleres opens with a camphoraceous eucalyptus underpinned by aromatic lavender before moving to its heart. As the composition enters its early heart, the eucalyptus remains, now joined by significant natural smelling cumin spice and a strong, almost mossy olive-oil accord supported by slightly herbaceous chamomile. During the late dry-down, the olive oil accord recedes then disappears, as does the cumin spice, unveiling a woody, leathery styrax base note, with hints of supporting soft musk through the finish. Projection is excellent, as is longevity at around 11-12 hours on skin.
Oeilleres is a tough composition to describe. There are a lot of floral components, but the composition does not smell floral at all. In truth the primary standouts begin with cumin spice that thankfully does not present itself like body odor as in many other compositions, instead coming off quite natural smelling, like one might expect to find in a spice cabinet. Another is what can best be described as an "olive oil" accord, quite similar to the one frequently found in most of the early O'driu releases by Angelo Orazio Pregoni. There is a moss-like characteristic that melds with the olive oil accord, but this is not oakmoss instead presenting closer to the smell of tree moss or maybe a synthetic version of it. Finally, the styrax (benzoin) does not present itself as balsamic and floral as it frequently does, but rather as almost a cedar wood and leather hybrid undertone that works quite well during the late dry-down. While describing Oeilleres is difficult, deciding whether the end result works is much easier, and the answer is definitely "yes." I doubt this is a composition one would reach for often, but outside of the extremely limited edition (and availability) O'driu releases you would be hard-pressed to find anything on the market similar. The bottom line is that while the $215 per 50ml bottle Oeilleres is a bit of an oddball offering that will not garner mainstream attention, the "very good" to "excellent" 3.5 to 4 stars out of 5 rated release will surely appeal to and is recommended to perfume enthusiasts who dig Odriu's early offerings and/or find their tastes bent to the more inventive side of the spectrum.
Oeilleres is a tough composition to describe. There are a lot of floral components, but the composition does not smell floral at all. In truth the primary standouts begin with cumin spice that thankfully does not present itself like body odor as in many other compositions, instead coming off quite natural smelling, like one might expect to find in a spice cabinet. Another is what can best be described as an "olive oil" accord, quite similar to the one frequently found in most of the early O'driu releases by Angelo Orazio Pregoni. There is a moss-like characteristic that melds with the olive oil accord, but this is not oakmoss instead presenting closer to the smell of tree moss or maybe a synthetic version of it. Finally, the styrax (benzoin) does not present itself as balsamic and floral as it frequently does, but rather as almost a cedar wood and leather hybrid undertone that works quite well during the late dry-down. While describing Oeilleres is difficult, deciding whether the end result works is much easier, and the answer is definitely "yes." I doubt this is a composition one would reach for often, but outside of the extremely limited edition (and availability) O'driu releases you would be hard-pressed to find anything on the market similar. The bottom line is that while the $215 per 50ml bottle Oeilleres is a bit of an oddball offering that will not garner mainstream attention, the "very good" to "excellent" 3.5 to 4 stars out of 5 rated release will surely appeal to and is recommended to perfume enthusiasts who dig Odriu's early offerings and/or find their tastes bent to the more inventive side of the spectrum.
