At the Jovoy opening I had the opportunity to try Affinessence, a perfume brand I had heard a lot about. Affinessence was founded in 2015 by Sophie Bruneau and initially introduced four fragrances all focusing on base notes.
The initial Base Notes Collection included four fragrances: Cedre Iris, Patchouli Oud, Santal Basmati and Vanille Benjoin. They were all born out of the creator’s passion for base notes, “With a higher molecular weight, base notes are the heaviest notes in a perfume. This gives them exceptional qualities: intensity, extreme persistence, a particularly sensual warmth on the skin (and on natural fabrics such as cashmere) and incomparable trail.”
As of 2017 there are 2 new additions to the line:
Musc Ambre Gris is a unisex Oriental fragrance that features ambergris, black musk, tuber, mate, patchouli and haitian vetiver.
I love ambergris in a fragrance, it has the unique quality to blend animalic warmth with deep aquatic freshness and its combination with musk brings out a more fuzzy and playful aspect. The other notes help highlight the « hot and cold » effect it tries to create and emphasise the depth by adding their aromatic trail.
Cuir Curcuma is a unisex Leather fragrance that features turmeric, myrhh, sandalwood, patchouli and leather.
Leather combined with, the rarely used in perfumery, turmeric creates a contrasting milky – spicy – leathery blend that exudes luxury and sensuality with a mild edible character and while Myrrh, Sandalwood and Patchouli offer their distinctive scents, leather takes over the composition, turning it into a deep and intoxicating bold scent.
All the base notes fragrances have a very strong character and although I’ve enjoyed wearing them on their own, either on my skin or spraying my scarf, I have quite a few ideas how to layer them with other fragrances from my collection; I suggest you experiment yourself.
If you love base notes as much as I do and notes like ambergris, musk, sandalwood, iris and leather trigger your nose and emotions then these are a must try.