Two More Bohemians: Opus Oils Giggle Water and Flapper

Today, I have a fresh batch of Opus Oils samples, and two more fragrances that I'm going to review from Les Bohemes collection, which, according to Opus Oils' website, is "a throwback to the age of Speakeasies and wild abandon". I happen to love the theme of the collection. We may not be living in The Great Depression any longer, but we're still in the thick of this Recession, and we need all the decadent tools of escapism we can get.

shake it up!

Giggle Water opens with a diffusive, cheerful note of orange blossom, and I can already tell that this is going to be a perfect summer scent. This is one of the brightest, happiest renditions of an orange blossom soliflore that I've found. Never coming across as dusty or antiqued, the florals retain a slight dampness that keeps them alive until the very end. For this reason, I consider Giggle Water to be much more wearable than, say, Penhaligon's Orange Blossom. The base notes of white musk and sandalwood are subtly rendered. I think creating a good soliflore is still a very worthwhile endeavor, there are a lot of people who still love them or are discovering them for the first time, so it's nice to see that this is being released onto the market today. Part of the reason it succeeds so well is due to Kedra's special touch with musks. She has shown restraint in creating Giggle Water, and it's that restraint that provides the blend with an impressive balance between bubbly levity and fixation to the skin. If there were any more musk or ambergris, it would overpower the orange blossom. Just as it is, it's a wonderful fragrance. Later on into the drydown, Giggle Water emerges as a warm embrace of a skin scent that retains a good portion of its orange blossom character for several hours.

Giggle Water notes: Tunisian orange flower absolute, Egyptian orange flower absolute, orange flower water absolute, bitter orange flower absolute, wild orange, mandarin, peach, honey, gardenia, beach found ambergris, white musk, sandalwood

fashionable friends

Flapper opens with a sparkling citrus sweetness that does not veer too much into fruitiness, but gently gives way to the intoxicating scent of datura and jasmine. The florals give the impression of being crystallized with sugar, and the fragrance progresses much in the same way as Giggle Water. The deliciously soft base notes rise up gently but rapidly to support the narcotic floral essences. There is never too much of any one thing in Flapper, it is balanced well and simply makes me happy. I need perfumes like Flapper in my life. Who couldn't use an instant mood-lifter?

Flapper notes: sweet lemon blossom, clementine, tangerine, pink peppercorn, perilla leaf, mango absolute, ginger lily, datura, gardenia, jasmine, vanilla, white musk, blond tobacco, tonka bean

I find it rather impressive that Kedra Hart, well-known for her rich, animalic perfumes, can also pull off delicate soliflores and light floral compositions with equal aplomb. Once again, I'm hooked, and I'll be back for more. 

Opus Oils Giggle Water and Flapper are available with either an alcohol or coconut oil base (I love these scents in the alcohol base). 1 dram bottles (5ml) are $35, larger sizes also available, as well as an eau de parfum version. 

[samples provided by the perfumer for review]