“These are fragrances which feel like stories being told just for you. They feel like they are translated rather than manufactured”.

SOMBRA GET’S AWARDED TOP 10 “BEST OF SCENT 2023”

Here is what Nicoleta @nicoleta.tomsa had to say about SOMBRA. Selected in here Top 10 for the “Best of Scent ÇaFleureBon Award” hosted by Michelyn Carmen for @cafleurebonofficial .

D:SOL Sombra (Marie Urban Le Febvre) is a mermaid call, a darker spectrum of sensuality that somehow manages to keep the essence of light – even in its absence – woven into its fabric. Dark, deep, and warm, this is an olfactive journey that plays on the ancient delightful triptych of oud-rose-saffron, contextualizing it through a cinematic and modern lens.

This German perfume is an absolute blast

See what german Fragrance Blogger, Kai Porten / kaiporten.de / has to say about D:SOL’s collection and our newest release SOMBRA. D:SOL’s first high-end OUD creation with a 25% oil concentration in tone-on-tone black matte bottles and a gold hexagonal accent on the side. Resolutely selective, the collection is composed of a triptych. SOMBRA is the first in place.

So far, D:SOL was known for understatement.

Sombra, meaning shadow, the first creation of the German brand's new Oud Collection, enters new, much bolder olfactive territory and is a journey from light to darkness.

I reckon Sombra will polarize and might not be for the faint-hearted, but to my nose, it is the most exciting launch of the year so far. Creative director Dennis Werner and perfumer Marie Urban le Febvre pushed the brand's boundaries without giving up one inch of its identity, and I have the greatest respect for that.

Photo: @olfactorynotes

What's the most daring fragrance you have?

When I think of what 'niche' is; this is it. An outlier, even within D:SOL's own line-up and one of the more interesting releases for 2023. I think Gallivant Accra is up there as well and it's in the same wide realm, but I can't think of a good reference point for Sombra. It's one you'll have to try for yourself and probably more than once. Not the easiest wear, but a big thumbs up.

"I wanted to merge both places, the sunny promise of the Balearics and the inspiring urbanity of Berlin."

"What is the scent of being kissed by the sun?" or "How do I capture this incredible light?" these were questions he shared with perfumer Marie Urban Le Febvre. It was she who worked with him to develop the three fragrances: "Tesoro" with a fresh orange note, the warmly woody "Terram" and "Herbes" made from the essences of Mallorcan herbs. "It was an intense, wonderful collaboration," Werner enthuses, "I felt it was like playing the piano with four hands."

Duftes Berlin: Some of the unique perfume labels of the capital city

Nothing reminds you of a person more than a scent. But what about a city? A city tells a story. Your story. The events of days gone by, of today, and perhaps of tomorrow. Paris has long been known for this kind of storytelling. Now the fragrance hype has also arrived in Germany - especially in the trendy metropolis of Berlin. There are some top-class perfume stores with a long tradition there, but also more and more young, ambitious fragrance lovers with their own labels who are literally shaking up the industry. We have caught the scent and present four hot Berlin perfume brands. Press the link to find out more.

D:SOL MMXVI - Scent stories of summer, sun and longing

Every now and then it happens that I get the ultimate tip for a niche perfume from a beauty editor friend behind closed doors. After all, the special should also remain special. Just recently it happened again so and since then we are heavily in love with the Berlin perfume label D:SOL MMXVI.

A nostalgic sigh for my long-lost Mediterranean end-summers

Terram fills the need for air and salt with the same natural touch you’d have in a seaside sitting. Neither excruciatingly realistic nor intensely abstract, this rather balanced exercise in herbs and commonplace ingredients reads spacious and piney, like a coastal breeze. Freeing.

it is an attempt to capture the warmth of human interaction and sunny feelings rather than simply a recreation of a location.

Founded by beauty expert Dennis K. Werner and fusing inspiration from both Mallorca and Berlin, the brand brings us a trio of scents which are - as the company puts it - simple, sunny, and sensual. Whilst this may be where they started, three better epithets may be “calm, considered, contemplative” because these fragrances dodge the sun-tan lotion, tropical flowers, and salty seawater vibes and bring us something a little more introspective and a little less disposable. These are scents for year-round wear and not just for vacation times.

Balearic shades of brown

The predominant color of 'Herbes' for me is brown in various shades from light straw to earthy medium brown. Sometimes I associate the rich yellow of damp straw, then a papyroid austerity of dry flowers, soon with the awakening of delicacies like cloves and candied orange peel in a country kitchen with old dark burl wood, but probably most often earthy and loamy nature imagery in various tones.

D:SOL MMXVI Herbes Eau de Perfume

Photo: @pieprz_blog

Which fragrance reminds you of summer the most?

Tesoro is the fragrant wind through orange trees, the sandy dunes of a desert and the leathery caravans riding through an exotic landscape.

Tesoro reminds us of a time when oranges were traded like gemstones; created by @marie_urbanscents, the center of the creation is definitely the precious citrus with its sparkling flesh and bitter green leaves, that combined with a lush and rough leather note gives this freshie an amazing depth. This has excellent longevity and from the fresh burst it slowly transforms into a citrus-infused musky leather blend which is just exquisite.

Tesoro reminds me of eternal sunshine; when I spray this I imagine the sun shining with its full power; the breeze in my face and the warmth present throughout. I think this fragrance perfectly combines a fresh coldness with an underlying warmth, and this duality makes this a fantastic experience.

I can’t get enough of Terram

I've worn Terram three times in the last few weeks. I never wear a fragrance that often. It is perfection; I am not saying that lightly. I don't know if the brand or the perfumer Marie Urban Le Febvre knows this, but they have a masterpiece on their hands. Please don't take my word for it though. Get your nose on Terram and tell me what you think.

I knew everything was just right

… The most intriguing part for me about Terram is the ‘ground upwards’ fade. Still sunlight soil rises through bright coriander, both nutty and green, to a waxen unfurling of magnolia petals exuding delicate tea aromas. A tingling of pink pepper is gently ozonic and while galbanum might seem odd as a top note, its ability to both fascinate and disturb is in keeping with Marie’s compositional methodology.

nonchalant intensity

… So I’ve always liked people who have an almost nonchalant intensity. I recognize them from afar; I can feel their obsession, their hard work, their attention to detail, their passionate love for beauty. And Dennis K. Werner with D:SOL MMXVI is all that and then some.

Minimally constructed on the outside and warm, sensual and sunny on the inside.

Herbes is a bottled holiday

… To me, Herbes is a bottled holiday spent in one of the characteristic Mediterranean gardens of Spain or southern Italy. The kind of perfume that makes you want to unbutton your white linen shirt to a point where it gets awkward.

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If D:SOL MMXVI was an epic solar epistolary love story, TERRAM would be the concluding letter. The heavy, velvet curtain pulled, like dark copper clouds, over the last flickering sunray on the horizon.

TERRAM by D:SOL MMXVI is the crepuscular, or as Dennis so aptly describes it, “the silent path”. It is the fragrant welcoming of a dual sunset: the one at the end of the day, and the “sunset” that heralds the end of summer. It is the most melancholic of the three, and I find it to also be the most evocative. Resoundingly cinematic and nostalgic in a mythological way.