Monday, December 1, 2008

An enabler's Madini

Now y'all may be familiar with Madini oils, which are of high quality and are sometimes discussed on discussion boards. I've got a bunch of small bottles and samples here, and I just got an email from the Talisman website, which has a 15% off coupon code going right now: HOLIDAY08. So here goes a late Black Monday post for you!

I find oils really fascinating, and I crave their viscous intensity sometimes during this cool, bone-dry winter we're having here in Austin. Oils don't have the note separation of alcohol-based perfumes, and they wear close to the skin, so the florals tend to flatten out, but the balsamic orientals bloom with body heat.

Olive Flowers: Some people call this Madini's version of Shalimar, but I could swear this smells like Vol de Nuit extrait, at a ridiculously tiny percentage of the cost.

Musk Gazelle: Spicy, salty dark musk. Some might smell headshop, but I tend to think this is a cut above.

Hanane: This one is weird. It's got a salty-sour musk quality that keeps me sniffing and wondering "what IS this?" that seems completely unlike it's parts: galbanum, jasmine, rose, patchouli.

Jasmine: A deeply green, almost smoky, fairly indolic jasmine. Flattens quite a bit on the skin after a little while, but remains unsweet and interesting.

Nardo: A rich, heady, camphorous, intense tuberose that tames itself on the skin pretty quickly. On me, the camphor lasts longer than the floral aspects, so kills the joy a bit.

Azahar: At first it's a slightly screechy orange flower, but calms nicely 'til it's green and just the tiniest bit honeyed.

Alma de Alma: Amber headshop oil balanced nicely with a sunny citron oil, but too sweet for me.

Henna: Starts out promisingly, smelling very similar to Chamade's sharp green hyacinth topnotes, but turns into a powdery sweet mess.

3 comments:

Rose said...

I don't know these but they sound good, especially the Musk Gazelle- anything salty pricks my ears!

BitterGrace said...

I'm so pleased to see the Madini oils get some attention. I think a lot of them are as beautiful as any of the classic perfumes in my collection. I like all the ones you mention, even Henna, but I also find Alma de Alma a little too sweet by itself. It's a fine blending scent, though.

If you like Olive Flowers, you might try Papillon and Chipre. Papillon is lighter and more floral, while Chipre has less smoke and more powder. Fez, contrary to what its name suggests, is a gorgeous floral, reminiscent of YSL Paris, with a woody edge.

Sorry to ramble on--can you tell I like these? ;-)

Aimée L'Ondée said...

Hi BitterGrace,
Yeah, I think Chipre might just up my alley, thanks!

You know, Henna smells to me just like Chamade at the beginning, and that part I love.

Thanks, and Happy Holidays!