Orange Sanguine
Atelier Cologne (2010)

Orange Sanguine - blood orange, of course. But more tangerine and mandarin as top notes, and that early stage is very good indeed. After that... nothing much happens. There's a touch of musk, a whisper of wood. It disappears before it can develop, and the promise of geranium and then cedar are not delivered. Longevity is low and it dies away to a whimper. Crisp, clean, and orderly while it's with you, but I was expecting more, and it's up against scents of the same price and genre that will deliver.

Geranium isn't something I normally go for, due to many unfortunate encounters with your stereotypical freshie colognes. But there is something special in here. It's a bitter, juicy, vibrant orange without a hint of unnatural sweetness, with a flawless transition into geranium and pepper - there's a certain softness that I would not expect from notes that are so harsh on me in other fragrances.

Overall, I like this, but there are a lot of base notes that add a musky smell that I feel detracts from the fresh clear orange juice of the top notes. It's like breakfast juice and clean perfume. Definitely would shine best in hot weather.

Alchymia. Perfumare. Magnum Opus.

Transcendental Blood Orange via geranium

For me this scent is a piece of conceptual aromatic art, based on the blood orange—geranium axis, with the geranium serving as a counterpoint to the blood orange. This counterpoint functions to all open up the blood orange, stabilize it, sustain its presence over time and – most importantly – transport the essence of the blood orange into a separate ethereal space, which can be accessed via the mental idea of the blood orange. In other words, just as in musical counterpoint a note becomes perceived only through the mediation of another, the geranium breaks the immediate perception of the blood orange and makes this possible only through the conceptual mediation of the idea of the blood orange as an absolute essence. “Orange Sanguine” is an epitome of how our perception of a perfume and our conception of it mutually mediate each other. I perceive the idea of the essence of the blood orange just as much as the actual/physical blood orange. “Orange Sanguine” is a peculiar and alchemical harmony with an almost transfixing quality, based on the mirroring tensions of the blood orange and geranium on one hand and the perceptual and conceptual experience on the other. This is admittedly quite stunning and I would humbly assume that it most probably wasn’t the initial idea behind Ralf Schwieger’s creation.

“Orange Sanguine” is not very complex; to the point that it might not be considered a perfume in the conventional sense. It has little to no development. And I know it is not that natural either, since it lasts far too many hours in its linearity on my skin. However, fortunately for me, whatever synthetics are used, they blend in very smoothly so I can tolerate them easily. And I find the result of the transcendental quality achieved in “Orange Sanguine” so impressive that I cannot bring myself to vote neutral (let alone negative) for it. Again – this is more of an art perfume than perfume as such. But one that happens to also smell very nice, and not have this experimental and meaningless self-purpose of postmodernism.

One might say that I am reading too much into this perfume and projecting onto it. I will not argue, but I will answer. And here is my answer: in art the subjective experience of the receiver prevails over the subjective intention of the creator. I appreciate how a perfume makes me feel, regardless of whether this was what the perfumer had in mind.

And two final notes. I love experimenting with layering perfumes and I am more or less confident that “Orange Sanguine” will be an excellent partner to a variety of other scents. This is a big plus for me. I am also somewhat tempted to let my imagination free and explore the possible character of “Orange Sanguine” if it were to have more of the black pepper in it and osmanthus in addition – or perhaps instead – of the jasmine. But this would turn into a new perfume altogether.

Atelier Cologne, Orange Sanguine:
Composition: 9/10
Complexity: 4/10
Development: 4/10
Naturality: 7/10. This is based on how it feels to me and the fact that it doesn’t disturb me. Apart from that, I know it is less natural than it feels.

This scent has a vibrant and watery orange juice-like aroma. I agree with ClockworkAlice's assessment that it functions more like a cologne, so reapplication is necessary at least once throughout the day. After the orange fades, the fragrance settles into a dry down of geranium and light amber.

While I appreciate the uplifting quality of this scent, I personally prefer Pomelo Paradis. Regardless, I think this fragrance will remain one of Atelier Cologne's bestsellers. However, with the brand's closure in North America, it remains unclear what the future holds for the brand.

Yes, the opening is pretty remarkable with its re-creation of fresh orange juice. After about an hour, it settles and becomes more floral and loses most of its sparkle. That's unfortunate because the performance makes it feel more like a Demeter fragrance in that way.

The drydown lasts a decent amount, about 5-6 hours. Projection is never that loud, so it's more of an up-close scent.