Description
“Rahele (traveller) is the newest fragrance, an ode to exotic travel, an olfactory journey in the company of 17th Century French visitors to the East.
Tavernier…Bernier…Thévenot…the names still resonate in the imagination of armchair travelers today, as each man left a detailed record of his adventures, showing us Mughal-ruled India through a European lens.
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689) was a French jeweler of Belgian descent, an independently wealthy gem merchant who funded his own travels to the East, particularly to India. His book Les six voyages is still considered an important point of reference by historians. His trade in precious stones and pearls took him to the court during the construction of the Taj Mahal. On one of his voyages, Tavernier bought a gigantic blue diamond in Golconda which he subsequently sold to the Sun King, Louis XIV. The Tavernier diamond, or French Blue as it came to be called, was a centerpiece in the French crown jewels. According to legend, the precious stone was stolen during the French Revolution, only to turn up many years later in London, recut as the Hope diamond.
Francois Bernier (1620–1688) was physician to the eldest son of Shah Jahan and, more widely, to the court during his 12-year stay in India. He saw various rulers, was an astute social observer and contributed greatly to the understanding of court life and life in India generally through his book Travels in the Mughal Empire, AD 1656-1668.
The third traveller, Jean Thévenot (1633-1667), was a linguist and botanist. The travels of Monsieur Thévenot into the Levant describes in detail his observations during his travels. This book was the first part of his Voyages and was published while he was alive. The other two parts of Thévenot’s Voyages were published posthumously.
Tavernier and Thévenot actually met in India for a brief period, and Bernier and Tavernier’s paths crossed as well. All three travellers were some of the best
social historians of their times who witnessed court life and splendors first-hand and wrote about their insights into the mystique of India.” – a note from the brand.
Rahele by Neela Vermeire Creations is a Floral Woody Musk fragrance for women and men. This is a new fragrance. Rahele was launched in 2016. The nose behind this fragrance is Bertrand Duchaufour. The fragrance features osmanthus, woody notes, indian spices, herbal notes and floral notes.
582152 – :
1st time wearing – Opening so good I want to say I love it without waiting for dry down. After a bit I get intriguing juicy wafts without a fruit note, which is interesting. Unfort, it has 0 lasting power. Pass.
2nd 8:20 – spices and fruit. Might be more of a fruity rose than an actual fruit.
8:40 – settled quickly into a spicy floral that smells familiar but well done. Not blowing me away.
9:23 – guh. Now it is doing a whole cardamon and vanilla thing. WTH? There isn’t any vanilla mentioned anywhere. Gross.
9:26 – I’m an idiot. The office manager is baking cookies in the other room.
1:42 – had a lot of meetings, wasn’t paying attention. Barely there skin scent now. I think I’ll be passing the rest of this sample on. Not for me.
314272 – :
Bloody roses, & violets razor sharp.
Blood rose, saffron, oranges, & violets. It has that slight of leather but not dominant, and some osmanthus, Majorly it is quite violets, & sharp roses.
This has a similarity with “Timbukto” by L’Artisan & quite sharp as “Coeur Couronne” by Herve Gambs.
Fairly done.
andrej-tajkin – :
This is lovely. It has grace and balance, you can tell there are high quality natural essences and it’s quite an abstract blend that feels very refined.
After the green/citric opening, which has noticeable cardamom, the general impression into drydown is of softness (osmanthus) and depth (leather and woods) with the freshness of cardamom woven into this softness to lift the perfume and lend it a green mildly spicy piquancy. The violet and violet leaf no doubt lighten the perfume.
Not that any of these notes stands out individually, it’s so well balanced. Jeca (review below) is right that it doesn’t feel the same as Vermeire’s previous creations, this feels more low-key, more reserved, slightly powdery (possibly iris effect and ambery notes) and generally less sensual, spicy or sweet than Trayee, for example. There are no sugary, ice-cream or vanilla notes here, which is welcome as sweet notes would spoil the subtle sensual mood of Rahele.
I think it has something in common with Lubin’s Black Jade, in the touch of cardamom, cinammon and the green edge against a rounded texture, but I find Rahele far lovelier.
Also, there’s something here that reminds me of the drydown of Coco Chanel, but not the wan, pasty soup that passes for Coco these days! It’s the refined spices and osmanthus (those of you who knew Coco and Opium from the 80s will remember the way Coco was a subtler blend, where Opium was definitely ‘in-your-face’!)
It does feel more typically feminine to my nose, though it could give a dandified air to a gentleman in similar vein to, say, Penhaligan’s Hammam Bouquet, though Rahele is less masculine than that.
I think this would be perfectly suited to Autumn, with its warmth, soft texture and subtle musk. The mood is warm, refined and gentle in far dry down.
Sillage soft to medium, longvegity many hours though it becomes low key after an hour or so.
slo270Negeltzex – :
Neela Vermeire Creations with perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour have over the years since the House was launched created perfumes that are inspired by India but with a French Flair and chic. The new fragrance Rahele (2016) is no exception. Travel is what Rahele means and this fragrance was sparked by three 17th Century French travelers to India. Jean Thévenot, Francois Bernier, and the man responsible for bringing the premier crown jewel of France to King Louis XIV and what became finally the Hope Diamond, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier.
Rahele is a foral woody and earthy fragrance that rises to an interesting level of stylish sophistication. It is bright, pure and ozonic to my nose. It does remind me of travel, that wonderful smell you experience when you first exit an international airport and breath in the air of a strange foreign city. It has a blend of both Western Europe and the Asian sub-continent. It is fluid each time I wear it. Some times I am in Paris and other times I am in Jaipur.
We begin our trip with a bright almost ripe yet on the edge of green mandarin. Cardamom which falls on the spicy side complements the citrus. Then from Ancient markets comes the once rare and precious spice note of cinnamon. I love how this plays against the slightly metallic violet leaf note in the opening.
The midway point of the trip with Rahele is a pure lush Indian garden after the monsoon. A peachy exotic Osmanthis is surrounded by the reddest of rose, a velvet rose in fact and completely devoid of thorns. A fleshy sensual magnolia note hovers above this garden, It is moist and nearly dripping in the heat and there in the heart of this rises up a sweet almost hypnotic jasmine. The kind of jasmine that lifts the senses in the night. The earth below is introduced with purple notes of violet and rooty dry Iris. At this point the flower notes shimmer and move forward and recede in the most interesting way.
When we reach our final destination in the base there is a somber smooth finish of patchouli leaves that are packed in layers of oakmoss, silky aromatic sandalwood and resinous crisp cedar. This nearly finishes the perfume but all is not over. The dominating note here and what constantly rises though out the fragrance is a refined supple leather note. It never over powers the perfume but rather carries the perfume in subtle grace. It seems in the first hour to suddenly die, yet by hour two and beyond it returns to tease and tantalize for many hours to come. It in fact it undulates on the skin. This is pure magic and quite interesting.
Indeed, subtlety is the hallmark of this elegant fragrance. By no means is Rahele ever overpowering or demanding. It is suggestive, intuitive, and lightly sensual. A perfect fragrance for both discerning men of taste and chic women of elegant refinement.
(FOR THE STORY INSPIRED BY RAHELE CHECK OUT MY BLOG SCENTS MEMORY)
miw275Unlogrere – :
The new Neela’s perfume is quite different from the rest of the line. I do not get anything oriental in it.
It is a perfect fit for the fall time, because along with very tender floral note of osmanthus, which is close to what I grow in my yard, it has a pronounced leathery nuance and oak moss, – and it nostalgically smells like golden leaves and naked branches. A beautiful fragrance and a quite one.
UPD: with time I get a lot of cedar (pencil shavings) powdery nuance.