Outlaw Perfume: Daphne by Lord's Jester

*If you're new to the Outlaw Perfume Project, please read this first*

The first time I've smelled Daphne, the Outlaw creation of natural perfumer Adam Gottschalk of Lord's Jester, the lights dimmed and the room darkened. The intensity of this scent stunned me and for a brief second I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not. But it is good. Most definitely.

Daphne, the perfume, was inspired by the story of Apollo and the nymph Daphne, but the first image my mind conjured was an old illustration  for Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Here was the Black Forest of centuries ago, looming and menacing, full of unspeakable evil and nameless creatures. Winnie the Pooh doesn't live here, for sure.

But this fairy tale by Lord's Jester has a happy ending. As the scent develops on skin it softens, opens up and sweetens considerably. The heavy branches move let some light in and you can see the velvet mossy forest floor under your feet. Soon enough Prince Charming will see the walls of the castle's gardens and smell the roses that grew wild and entangled for 100 years. And there inside there is a beautiful princess waiting, asleep, in all her sweetness. Daphne becomes honeyed and smooth, a rich oriental chypre that is a joy to wear.

Daphne by Lord's Jester Perfumes ($65, 10ml EDT) is available from lordjesters.com. The sample for this review was provided by the perfumer.

Art: Illustration for The Sleeping Beauty by Gustave Dore, 1867

Parfum d'Empire- Wazamba

Saying "Wazamba" is almost as fun as wearing this 2009 Parfum d'Empire creation. Almost. It was a love at first sniff for both the husband and me, probably because as The Blond has put it: "Wazamba is as good as something Uncle Serge could make, but he would have killed it with cumin". It's true, really. Thankfully, Parfum d'Empire already  got the cumin out of their system in Aziyade (I sort of like it in theory, just don't want to wear it. Never ever, not in a million years).

One could sum up Wazamba as a dark fruity incense, but then one would be oversimplifying a complex and very interesting perfume.Wazamba takes you on a journey to a faraway place, be it West Africa as Parfum d'Empire states as the inspiration for this scent or anywhere else where your mind wanders when wearing a woody sweet incense and myrrh. For me, Wazamba moves in circles- the warm and cool notes morph into one another, fade and reappear throughout the day (and night. The lasting power of this one is "until you shower or beyond). The sweetness comes from several sources- the incense itself smells resinous and dripping with honey at times, but there's also a dried fruit compote (probably why we're reminded of a Lutens/Sheldrake composition. Think Arabie without the dirty souk or Bois et Fruits with far less"bois" and a healthy shot of incense).

The complexity is achieved by an almost green fir balsam note that interjects itself just when you think the incense is about to burn itself into ashy embers. It's sweet(ish) and cool, a little piny with a young conifer or two thrown in for good measure. The result is delightful and perfect for this weather. Highly recommended for incense fans.

 Wazamba (had to say the name one more time) and the rest of Parfum d'Empire line can be found at MiN New York, BeautyHabit and LuckyScent.

Photo: Urban West-African fashion by John Atherton, Dakar, Senegal, 1967