Fragrance Review: Ava Luxe Palisander “Heavenly Handel in a Bottle” + 15ml Flacon EDP Draw

It’s true-I admire many varieties of olfactory experience, and welcome them all.

[They enrich my life immeasurably!]

 

But my deepest self, my very being craves those elixirs which emanate light and warmth – Expansive aromas whose scented tendrils envelop me and my dear ones with generosity,

perfumes with open arms and open hearts.

I thirst for them like I do triple meter, they vibrate with a sense of consummation.


Ayurvedically speaking, you would think that a fiercely warm-blooded, predominantly pitta type such as I would desire coolness to balance myself; I do, sometimes.

I have my moments- but not now.

NOW, I yearn for communion with the season of brilliant melancholy, abundant harvest, home, and quiet reflection.


 

 

Care selve, ombre beate,

Vengo in traccia del mio cor!

 

Beloved forests, blessed shadows- I come in search of my heart!


Yes, this is a Handelian perfume, one which inclines your ear and shatters your heart…

Divine in its simplicity, that simplicity which belies all the layers lurking beneath its lovely façade.

 

Much like a kaleidoscope or prism, I keep holding Palisander up to the light to examine it more closely, because it spans the tightrope between the sacred and the sensual with such deft, sure footing.

I am charmed every time I anoint myself; and deeply stirred.

Serena has created a classic in this melody of haunting sylvan beauty.


Early on in our friendship, I mused that Serena possessed real genius with woody bases; her response was that they were among her most favorite things- and it surely shows, doesn’t it?

 

Brazilian rosewood is the Empress in Palisander, as well she ought to be.

She chooses Japanese Hiba wood as her consort, a member of the cypress family with a sweet cedar like timbre.

Hand in glove, their intense woodiness- sweet in itself- is flattered by the addition of delicate musk, tender amber and incense.

Vetiver carols a balsamic welcome; pink pepper and cinnamon inflame by means of scented sorcery.

The texture of this fragrance has taken on a sumptuous density, decadent yet contemplative.


As I write, I’m deeply appreciative of the soothingly sensuous aspect of Palisander on my arm; it radiates such delicious warmth, it makes me sigh audibly…

 

Many hours ago it was my companion in yoga, as I submerged myself in my practice with complete absorption and fervor; tonight, it will accompany the preparation of a savory meal, and the rolling out of butter-crust pie dough with the last Honeycrisps from the orchard as I bake with our eldest 😉

 

When sweet repose descends, Palisander will winsomely slip between the cobalt and white sheets, pretty as you please- coloring my Full Moon dreams with woodland delight.

 

Is this not ample?

What more could one ask of a perfume?



Sweet Serenochka has offered a 15 ml. bottle of her Palisander eau de parfum to a fortunate reader. In order to qualify for this draw, tell us about your favorite Ava Luxe perfume, what struck an 'accord' in Ida's Review or your favorite opera singerand why you want to win Palisander.We announce the winners on our site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize wil be just spilled perfume. Draw ends Oct 14, 2011 EST .


 

 

Ida Meister, Natural Perfume and Senior Editor

 

Editor's Note:  Peter Paul Rubens (June 28, 1577 – May 30, 1640) was a prolific seventeenth-century Flemish Baroque painter, and a proponent of an exuberant Baroque style that emphasized movement, color, and sensuality. He was probably born in Cologne Germany.  Ahhh fate has brought perfume, Palisander and Rubens together

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29 comments

  • Nice , i love Ava Luxe and my favorite to this day is LOVE’S TRUE BLUISH LIGHT, there are several others also, but i purchased my second bottle of this. Palisander sounds great.

  • I just died and went to heaven. You, angelita, Handel and sacred woods – what a trinity — oh my oh my oh my!
    I’m ashamed to say I’ve not yet smelled any of Serena’s offspring. Hopefully this might be my initiation.
    Love to you, always!

  • ida, your writing is truly ravishing.
    what a wonderful review!

    ava lux: i love many, but i *adore* incense.
    it is the closest to real pine-sap any fragrance has ever come to my nose.

    my favorite opera singer is, without a doubt, montserrat caballe. here’s one of my favorites (i defy you not to be in tears. that woman is in sublime control of her enormous voice here. that last “amore” quivering delicately on her breath … sends shivers down my spine.)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUe1RB24qU0

    why do i want to win palisander?
    god, after that review, who would *not* want to win it?

  • This is indeed a terrific review. It makes me feel as if I need to try Palisander right this very moment!

    My favorite Ava Luxe: Midnight Violet. I have only a drop or two left in a small vial. Oh, how I adore its dark earthiness.

    My favorite opera singer: Well, instead of choosing Montserrat Caballé (her performance of Casta Diva has moved me to tears more than once), who may gain the most votes here, I will choose Marie-Nicole Lemieux, a wonderful contralto, whose voice I could listen to all day long.

    Here is a recording of her singing L’Heure Exquise. And yes, I chose that song because of the Annick Goutal fragrance!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJbqgQxIXA4

  • I like and own Madame X and Palisander would be appropriate for these fall days. As an opera singer I used to listen to and like SArah Brightman despite of her rather commecial direction. But in fact, she is an opera singer.

  • What a great review!

    I think I have a couple of Ava Luxe samples around but have not yet tried them. I want to try so many – her output is overwhelming.

    I don’t have a favorite opera singer – I have enjoyed seeing several greats in person, including the tempestuous Kathleen Battle, Placido Domingo – okay, maybe Frederica von Stade. She is a lot of fun, and I saw her in a pants role or two as well as more traditional fare.

  • marcopietro says:

    Thanks for this great article,
    sorry, but I never tried Ava Luxe fragrances.
    Anyway this one sound to me simply fantastic!
    I like many singers, but at the moment my favorite is Anna Caterina Antonacci.

  • What a beautiful review! I have not tried any Ava Luxe perfumes so I cannot comment on my favorite. However, after this review I am intrigued by this line! Ida, I loved reading that you incorporate perfume into your yoga practice! Maybe one of these days you can write a review on fragrances appropriate for each dosha :). My favorite opera singer is Kathleen Battle. I performed with her at the Met in the opera “Werther” over 30 years ago (as a child I was a member of the Metropolitan Opera Childrens Chorus). Aside from possessing that incredible voice I remember her to be a very kind and gracious person and I was happy to see her rise to success in the opera world.

  • You make this sound so tempting, Ida! I’ve noticed Palisander as your SOTD several times and been very curious. Sounds like just what I’m looking for this Autumn. I have and love Angel Face, and adore the powdery almondy aspect of it. This season, though, I’m really loving woody fragrances and love how you say Serena possesses “real genius with woody bases.” Beautiful!

  • I really like Ava Luxe- soooo many to choose from! I love Heliotrope – it’s a beautiful powdery scent. I’ve also sampled #23 (i think) and it was a wonderful incense scent. Palisander sounds perfect for fall – wood, incense… a must try! As for opera singers, can’t say I have a favorite. But I do love Delibes Flower Duet from Lakme, and the East Village Opera Company has a terrific version worth seeking out.

  • Ah, the glorious Ava Luxe. I have so many of her perfumes; she, Lyn Harris and Andy Tauer seem to make scents that chime with me unlike any others. Maybe it’s their way with wood and spices. Little bottles of Ava’s Mousse de Chine and Bois Exotique are always in my handbag and when the winter comes, her Madeline will join them; in summer it’s her No 23.
    I think you can safely say I’m a fangirl. 🙂

    Opera? Well, I’m still a baby in those stakes, but hit me with any Mozart and I’m happy. And I still have joyful memories of singing Handel’s Messiah when I was a kid in the church choir.

  • My favorite Ava Luxe is Rasa. I wear it often and get a lot of compliments. Your review is what made me want to try this, especially where you said the fragrance was soothingly sensuous. I can’t say that I have a favorite opera singer but I am most familiar with Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti (I have several of his CDs). I would love to win Palisander.

  • I haven’t sampled as many AvaLuxe as I would like to try besides cashmere musk which was a skin scent. Where to begin?
    Opera is really not my favorite musical genre but Maria Callas has a similar astrological chart to mine (so I have been told) and she was sensational as Medea

  • tomatefarcie says:

    I’m not familiar with Ava Luxe, but what a repetoire! I’m in a violet phase so I think I’d like Midnight Violet,
    I’m partial to Leontyne Price, actually cousin to a friend of mine’s mother. She had great courage coming out of the deep south to the Met and a big voice range.

  • I want to win Palisander becaue I want to become familiar with her work. Sounds enticing when in the descripting words combine communion , seasons and meloncholy.
    I was an opera child. I was”forced to learn culture appreciation”. My favorite was not Maddona in Speed the Plough but it was Michael Crawford in the Phantom of The Opera. I can still recite the CSD start to finish:) So, I am now coming back in touch with the hair raising effects and goosebumps I got when I heard certain notes and pitches. Fragrance can be so similar to opera in the mixing and accords, notes, openings. I would love to be the winner. THanks xo

  • What a beautiful review with the enchanting voice of Leontyne Price!. Unfortunately I never had the chance to smell any Ava Luxe perfumes, now I’m really intrigued.

  • I am another lover of Midnight Violet. I don’t have a favorite opera singer, but my favorite book with an opera singer in it is Bel Canto! And I have to echo Harper…what a glorious review of Palisander. I will have to try it, one way or the other.

  • To name my favourite opera singer I will have to choose two. A “classic” and a more contemporary one. For my “classic” choice, and at the risk of sounding totally “cliched”, I’m afraid I will still have to go with the inimitable magnificent Madame Callas. Who’s deep rich tone & timber of voice was completely unique. And to me, heartbreakingly beautiful.
    For my contemporary choice I’ll have to go with the incredible woman who’s astounding near 4-octave vocal range, probably makes her the best vocalist in the world. And, no surprises, often been named the “Maria Callas” of our generation.The magnificent and incredible Diamanda Galás. Not only operatically trained but so much more, and her own composer to boot.
    If Baroque Opera and it’s beauty were analogous to heaven. Then Diamanda Galás’ “Gothic opera” and heart-stopping voice is like the hell of suffering on earth.
    Granted, she’s not always easy to listen to. But her unique profound voice and extraordinary music is nevertheless absolute genius.

    And the reason I’d luv to win Palisander, is because I share Ava’s luv for “woody notes” and it indeed sounds divine. I’m also a great admirer of her compositions. Though Palisander is one I’ve not yet had the pleasure of sniffing.
    (Thanx for the draw !)

  • I am an Ava Luxe fan from way back when it used to be Ava Aromatics:) The evolution of her scents has been a fun ride. I probably own 25 or 30 from the line, but have not tested Palisander. My favorite AL scents: Shisha, Kama and Rasa. Thanks for the draw:)

  • I have not tried any perfume by Ava Luxe, but this one sounds just right up my alley: woods, incense, musk…
    Ida’s review is great, and pictures are very well chosen.

    I don’t know much about opera singers, but I have always liked Placido Domingo and Ainhoa Arteta. Sarah Brightman is a wonderful singer, but I have listened to her in Phantom of the Opera and other independent songs, instead of operas.

    Thanks on the draw!

  • I have never tried any Ava Luxe perfumes so winning the draw for Palisander would be a good place to start and the review certainly makes it sound a beautiful fragrance. I love the music of Handel and for me Natalie Dessay is the singer I most love to hear singing his music.

  • I have only experienced a few, but her milk is a wonderful warm nutty fragrance that I enjoy layering with.

  • My favorites from Ava Luxe are Midnight Violet and Loukhoum. They last forever, and they suit my different moods.

  • My fav. Ava Luxe is Oppoponax Intense…amazing stuff! But I’ve been wearing No. 23 this week…

  • Jean Proctor says:

    I actually have two Ava Luxe perfumes that I really love and they are Heart of Glass and Skin2: HoG for the piercingly sweet undertone and the warm fragrance that develops and doesn’t let go or fade as the day (or night) wears on and Skin2 for its beautiful, individual muskiness. I couldn’t recommend either of these two highly enough for customers that are new to Ava Luxe, or just want a fragrance from their usual to try.

    Containing notes of musk, incense and cinnamon, the description alone makes me want it. I am totally intrigued as to how it will smell on me. This description makes me need the fragrance.

    As to why I’d like to win Palisander, just reading about it intrigues me. It sounds so beautiful I almost want to cry. I don’t actually have a favourite opera singer so in this instance I cannot compare an olfactory experience with an auditory one.

    If these words seem a bit too much for some readers, then so be it, but this is how reading this review and formulating my answer has made me feel in trying to express my desire for this perfume. Yes, I love perfume and I really would like to win this one…

  • I would love the opportunity to try this scent. I’ve never tried anything my Ava Luxe. I love how Ida’s review took us through how Palisander accompanied her throughout her day and how it enriched her daily tasks. I’d love to experience the same!