It was hard coming up with an idea for the accompanying photo.  I finally decided on an image of a talc that’s quite well known here in Italy but have to put off setting up the studio and taking pics because there’s just too much to do.  So the pic will either have to be inserted later (probably not) or this will simply have to be a post sans pix.  Sometimes you gotta prioritise.

Notes in the powder family that I’m going to be evaluating are: cedarwood, vanilla, ion one blend and benzyl aldehyde.  Let’s dig in!

Cedarwood: the opening is soft and tender, impressions of wood, a forest, faintly green.  I’m noticing an impulse to force an association but I have to resist it and allow myself to willingly accept this note for what it is. Soft, gentle and powdery, I would describe it as plumes, tendrils that waft through the air, but there’s definitely a softness there that could be described as powdery.  Towards the drydown there is also a hint of spice, oddly enough I think the powdery aspect lasts longer than the wood facet in cedarwood.  Volatility: low

Vanilla: it starts off with that tell-tale raisin quality that is unmistakably vanilla for me, fruity, soft and round.  I also get cognac, woody, casky, complex and a bit animalic.  In the drydown it’s still very fruity and rummy, but now starting to fade a bit.  My nose is beginning to lose the powder trail, it’s drier now, less sweet but very warm.  Volatility: low

Ionone blend: (we were instructed to evaluate this for no longer than a second and not to inhale but to waft!) soft, powdery, magical! Hints of floral, soft, much less perceptible through my right nostril for some reason.  Floral, with fruity nuances, gentle, cool.  Drying down it is fruity and floral with a woody nuance, much more noticeably powdery now, billowy, and still pronounced on the strip.  Volatility: low

Benzyl aldehyde: opens with a bitter almond impression, marzipan, with a bite.  Sharp, bitter, gourmandy, desserts.  Sharp, warm, almond extract, baking pleasures, cherry and coffee come to mind.  In the drydown it’s still very almond, vanilla, but not too bitter, warmer.  Volatility: mid-low

And that’s a wrap of the powder family.  Coming up this week: Spicy and Amber families.  I’m off now to test my nose on the chemical components in common between Jasmine grandiflorum and Ylang Ylang extra.  Class is definitely getting harder.

Wishing you a wonderful start to your week!