SANDAL & PEONY by Sven Pritzkoleit

There will always be a demand for new and exciting fragrances from our favourite perfume houses, but quality is definitely sacrificed in many of the drives for quantity. If you bear in mind that some companies are releasing in excess of eight fragrances a year, then you can see how ideas might begin to dry up. Niche brands have a slightly easier job, because they’re not confined by trend, but even this market can find itself compromised when it starts chasing the accolades. One perfumer who manages to stay truthful to his style is Sven Pritzkoleit, and his latest Sandal & Peony fragrance shows that he is at the pinnacle of his game.

When we talk about fragrance you’ll often hear people refer to a company’s DNA, and how it travels through all of their creations. This can often be because of a certain blend of ingredients, as is the case with Guerlain’s Guerlinade, or even the deftness with which a perfumer uses a favourite ingredient. Things go awry when the overall impression of a company’s fragrances begin to smell indistinguishable from each other, and this is what is beginning to be seen in the both the niche and commercial sides of the industry. However, when we look at Sven Pritzkoleit’s creations it’s a perfect balance of familiarity and originality.

Sven likes to challenge the wearer through his choice of ingredients and inspirations, and you’ll never be able to second guess what you’re going to smell. His DNA feels like it includes the pull between richness and expansiveness, and always a piquancy at the top of his perfumes that is wonderfully engaging. This latter idea varies from citruses to aroma chemicals but, in my opinion, is what customers quickly fall in love with. The development of the fragrances on the skin never veer into a safe  “house style,” which many others do at the moment, but you know that Sven’s creativity is behind it.

When it came to creating the latest addition for the SP Parfums catalogue, Sven Pritzkoleit decided that he wanted to go for a traditional floral but to give it a very contemporary twist. This might sound like the usual claim by every other niche company, but Sven decided to take a classic bloom and infuse it, literally, with a booziness that makes it irresistible. He also very cleverly built it using definite accords, and it’s this that has resulted in the idea of a unisex floral that enables the wearer to actually pull out the particular notes that they enjoy. It’s an outstanding fragrance, and one that you really have to try.

Sandal & Peony opens with a note of blackcurrant but very quickly is joined by a Chartreuse liqueur accord. This wonderfully herbal aroma gives you that piquancy that I mentioned before, and when the scent of peony arrives it ensures that it’s not just another fruity floral fragrance. The peony is exquisitely smooth but the clever use of a sandalwood creme effect means that you have a sweetened woodiness for female tastes or a nod to refined shaving for more masculine audiences. The liquorice-like Chartreuse quality runs throughout the fragrance but a final touch of skin-like musk, one of Sven’s favourite ingredients, adds the icing on the cake.

Peony & Sandal is available from the SP Parfums website at sp-parfums.de priced at €38 for 7.5ml or €129 for 30ml. [Sample profited by Sven Pritzkoleit]

Posted by Stephan Matthews at 07:00:00

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Labels: Chartreuse, Germany, Guerlain, Independent, Niche, Sandal & Peony, SP Parfums, Sven Pritzkoleit