Osmanthus Interdite
Parfum d'Empire (2007)

At the studio door Eva Fredrika Bonnier 1885

It's easy to dismiss Osmanthus Interdite on first encounter as yet another watery, pale tea floral (y'know weak white/green tea front and indistinct white florals burbling behind it in the manner of numerous spa offerings).
But then it rounds on the wearer in the heart phase, growing denser and dirtier, releasing the fruit pulp and old leather scent associated with osmanthus, against a custard-like background. It verges on the slightly sick-making aspect of the fruit spectrum (a bit like how a ripe papaya has an unmistakable hint of vomit to it), with the leather throwing its weight behind that impression, but is held in check by the fresher tea and aquatic tones. A curious, unusual thing that I can't say I've acquired a taste for yet.
However, there is one more step in its evolution and it is towards an airier fruitiness (lemony apricot), with the dirtier elements all but gone, the osmanthus clusters diffusing their lingering scent in a gentle breeze. This is the point of arrival this perfume was aiming for all along.

How odd!

On me this smells like a very weak and watery, not unpleasant but not inspiring, white floral. On my partner it is an intense almond-apricot cookie dough - completely different scents to my nose from interaction with two different skins.

Turin only gives it three stars and calls it a "dark osmanthus," which is as far from the truth as night from day. He mentions hay absolute, coumarin and tobacco leaf, which are not in the note tree.The five notes mentioned above do not convey its essence to me. It's a baffling scent, the first light one I've experienced from this house, which usually deals in rich concentrated oils.

The almond-apricot experience reminds me of L'Heure Bleue and Caron's Farnesiana, but even if I could experience this on my own skin, I'd stick with either of these other two, both less expensive and richer than Osmanthus Interdite.

I'll pass.

Parfum d'Empire Osmanthus Interdite opens with an utterly crisp and vegetal accord of musk, green tea, citrus and earthy osmanthus. The first approach is bitter-herbal, fizzy (vaguely medicinal), somewhat lemony (bergamot?) and gradually floral. This phase is bitter-pungent and intensely penetrating. Jasmine starts gradually to merge its substance with rose and hyper lush osmanthus in order to appoint an uncompromisingly sophisticated botanic floral accord (leafy and lymphatic). Progressively the aroma morphs towards a (just a tad) denser, more soothed and "solid" amalgam (is like to catch pollen and floral essence) despite the basic outcome keeps on being kind of grassy and musky. You will be actually encompassed by a musky floral pungent embrace extremely sensual and almost organic (kind of pheromonal and intimate). I get the comparison with the equivalent osmathus-centered concoction from The Different Company which is anyway more grey-mossy-laundry and finally less grassy-crisp in substance. Anyway both exude that sort of tea-mimosa kind of "fluidity" which seems a facet of a huger ideal "kaleidoscope of the olfactory sharpness". A great take on my favorite floral note (osmanthus) and an extremely sophisticated concoction for a deeply sensual kind of woman (elegant, impeccable, voluptuous, forbidding). Hands down, Marc-Antoine Corticchiato. Perfect for spring/summer.

Fresh, crisp, dense, white floral opening, evolving then in a round, fruity and uplifting tea-floral scent on Parfum d'Empire signature creamy-musky hay note. Beautiful evolution ending in a Daim Blond-like accord of delicate, floral fruity notes on suede leather. Osmanthus is often quickly referred as "tea" (as I just did above) while it has a much more powerful, deep, pungent fruity tone. Here it is not as bold as in other scents where it has a more prominent role (e.g. Osmanthus by The Different Company), but still you can easily feel its unique vibe – which is not only merely "tea" - perfectly and beautifully blended in a richer Oriental concoction, where all ingredients enhance and interact with the different facets of osmanthus, and it kind of disappears playing hide and seek: it is still there, but fragmented and multiplied like in a hall of mirrors. If you are familiar with Parfum d'Empire this is another peculiar, but still highly "recognizable" work in their own unique style – which I love. The projection is discreet and the persistence is light but long-lasting. I have heard that starting from Sept. 2014, besides the new packaging, they will also provide fragrances in a new more dense concentration - hopefully the more "delicate" ones like this or Equistrius will benefit from that.

8/10

Not bad but rather pale tea-floral. Watery, weak and really nothing special.

One of my highest moment of bliss in September arrives when I catch a sudden osmanthus scent in the air during a walk in the city streets. Since I discovered this tiny orange flower not many years ago- I often wonder how has it been possible to ignore it previously!- it has become one of my favourite floral fragrances, with its tea and apricot shades.
Osmanthus Interdite is by now my favourite take on the beloved flower: it starts citrussy effervescent, with hints of other summer flowers, then mellows in black tea and apricot notes (that succeed in staying away from jam or cheap shampoo effects!), to end in the softest and sweetest musky leather. Now, the basenotes are, for my taste, a bit too fruity musky, making the fragrance dangerously getting close to a certain banality… But, as the longevity is great, I can enjoy the top and middle notes for a long time! In short, it's a very warm and serene fragrance, perfect for an end of summer- early autumn day

Pretty weak fruity/floral, quite disappointing actually as I was really looking forward to trying this osmanthus..

Way too faint for me, with very poor projection, sillage and longevity..

Unremarkable, unfortunately..

This is a boozy, fruited osmanthus with a rich musky drydown. Although there are rose & jasmine notes, osmanthus is the star. I really don't care for osmanthus, so I appreciate the supporting cast. All of the bells & whistles help with the longevity, too.

Gorgeous, simply gorgeous. This is my favorite osmanthus scent. It smells fruity and floral and tea-like with a citrusy apricot undertone. A musky leathery base adds dimension and it's overall very smooth, creamy and refreshingly joyous. Just beautiful.

Comparing Osmanthus by Ormonde Jayne and Osmanthus Interdite by Parfum d'Empire.Impressions: OJ goes on very crisp, citrucy and candied at the same time, while PdE is soft, almost suede-like with earthy undertones (somehow it makes me think that this is how osmanthus pollen may smell like -- soft and dusky). OJ comes across as a light fragrance, almost a cologne, with osmanthus. Not being a fan of 'refreshing cologne' type of perfume, I have to say I prefer Parfum d'Empire's version.After about 30 minutes OJ has calmed down and is not as "in your face" as earlier. It's now pleasantly sweet and fresh. PdE is still going strong with the leather undertones; I'm not detecting much progression. Overall, I perceive PdE as more "substantial" and it's still my favorite of the two.

Never having smelled real osmanthus, I cannot say whether this is true to life or not.What it is is fruity, roundly floral and somewhat tea-like. I cannot pick out recognizable notes in this, but the whole seems vaguely familiar - I just can't put a name on it.Very pleasant, but not spell-binding, especially as it reminds me of many shampoos. It's just not as impressive as some of the other offers from the PdE line.Sillage and longevity medium, despite accidentally emptying a whole 1 ml sample on myself.