Creative Director Sara Carner and Perfumer Shyamala Maisondieu
Carner Barcelona, which launched its first fragrance in 2011, has enlisted Givaudan perfumer Shyamala Maisondieu to work her magic on their latest perfume Palo Santo. Mme Maisondieu is one of the noses behind many Tom Ford fragrances' including Velvet Orchid, the plumped up floral cousin to Black Orchid (she has also signed Incognito from Rouge Bunny Rouge and Charogne from Etat Libre d’Orange). In a departure from previous Carner Barcelona scents from Spanish born Creative Director Sara Carner, we leave the Iberian peninsula and journey to the dawn of time, when ancients communicated with their gods through smoke “per-fumus”.
Palo Santo was the sacred wood of shamans as burnt like incense as offerings to the gods
“A sacred wood steeped in magic and mysticism for thousands of years, releases an enchanting aromatic essence that swirls to life in a spellbinding blend that infuses earthy hints of wood and incense. Coveted by shamans for centuries, it is believed that this spiritual wood has the power to protect and usher in good fortune. A faint misting will cleanse the mood and raise spirits, invoking the true purifying virtues of Palo Santo.” (Carner Barcelona)
Gustav Klimt Philosophy
Palo Santo opens with delicately spiced, warm, cashmere like presence that is immediately calming then mesmerizes with the sweet and spellbinding scent of davana, which has been used both for religious purposes and an aphrodisiac for millennia. Then the gorgeous and I mean DIVINE aroma of rum seamlessly melds with guaiac wood, followed by a milky accord. Heavenly tonka transports the senses to a higher plane and takes on a caramelized sheen with just the right touch of sweetness to tantalise just and provides a foil for the woods that is perfectly pitched.
Woods Gustav Klimt
The dry woods dial down the blissful euphoria a notch. The quality of the vetiver is worth mentioniing as this a note that can make a break a perfume for me; here it has a slightly nutty inflection that satisfies and the cedar serves to amplify the woody deliciousness.
Lady at the Fireplace Gustav Klimt
Palo Santo evokes an early winter evening by a fire, wrapped in a cashmere blanket, after a day when you feel chilled to the bone. The flames are hypnotically mesmerizing, creating curls of smoke and strange shapes that transport into another dimension. There is a simultaneous sense of both the familiar and the primordial as if you are experiencing a hallucinogenic dream.
The Dream Gustav Klimt
Palo Santo is the perfect antidote to modern living. It intoxicates with a boozy sensibility, and then soothes the soul with meditative calm. Wellbeing radiates. Spray, inhale and feel a connection to the perfume gods, for surely they have answered your prayers.
Notes: Indian Davana, Rum Accord, Warm Milk, Paraguayan Guaiacum Wood, Venezuelan Tonka Bean, Moroccan Cedar Wood, Vetyver from Haiti, Dominican Republican Amyris
Disclosure : Sample received from Carner Barcelona. Opinions my own.
Editor's
Megan Paki, Editor and Editor of Megan In Sainte Maxime
Art direction Michelyn. Note: read our reviews of Cuirs a Fragrance Foundation Finalist, Tardes, D600, Rima XI, and El Born)
Palo Alto Carner Barcelona
Thanks to the generosity of Sarah Carner and Carner Barcelona we have a 50 ml bottle of Palo Santo for a registered reader in the US, EU and Canada. To be eligible, please leave a comment with what appealed to you about Megan’s review, where you live and if you have a favorite Carner Barcelona perfume. Draw closes 8/28/2015
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