Reviews by tessera

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    tessera
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    Showing 1 to 30 of 99.
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    Spiritueuse Double Vanille by Guerlain

    Deep fruity vanilla with strong Cedar onset. Nearly ice cream, but still a skin scent rather than food. Lovely, but too expensive and hard to find.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    My Insolence by Guerlain

    Perhaps the patchouli spoiled the mix, but this one comes out dusty and cloying with a terrible musty smell, like perfume that has mildewed. Whatever they were trying for, it doesn't work on me. A mess.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Louve by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    Smells just like Turkish Delight to me: Almonds, milk, vanilla, some slight floral. Delicious, but very sweet and fades way too fast for the price of the scent.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Iris Ganache by Guerlain

    Iris, heavy cream, white chocolate. Sweet without being cloying. Iris with the stems on with a background of silk that is chocolate scented only. The chocolate is very much there, but not strong or too ‘chocolaty’. Surprisingly pleasant. This would be much better in colder weather, as I can see the sweetness becoming too much in very warm weather. A comfort scent all around.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Chypre Rouge by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    Foody and fun, but dry down has a very intense burnt note. It isn't offensive, but it's odd. Alot like a burnt incense note. I like it, but it's not really what I"d wear as perfume.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Insolence by Guerlain

    Lovely sweet candy violets and raspberries with vanilla and sandalwood undertones. Very pretty, but not Insolent in any way. Still, one of my favorites.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Cuir Beluga by Guerlain

    Starts out as a creamy vanilla/mandarin scent, very edible and softly lovely. I get no leather at all until the end, then it's so subtle that you almost can't call this a leather scent. Very nice, but on some days all I get is sweet vanilla, front to end, so the expense is not merited.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Gris Clair by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    Mostly sage and lavender on me. Very much a men's cologne, very clean and crisp. Great for a man with simplistic and classical tastes who doesn't want to wear the leather-heavy traditionals.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Aqua Allegoria Anisia Bella by Guerlain

    Goes on like grapefruit and anise. Dries down to a wonderful herby, light summery scent with that hint of anise still there and an unexpected blast of minty herbs. Very good summer scent.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Fumerie Turque by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    I actually get great staying power with this. Sillage is close to the skin, as perfume should be. If I want to blast my perfume all over the room I'll spend $10 on Red Door. (Not gonna happen.) Fumerie Turque is a very layered and complex blend with woods, vanilla, tobacco and smoke. It goes through oddly gourmand stages, but mostly is just as the name says: Turkish Smoke. There is a stage that I don't care for much where the wood is a little sharp and sour, but it lasts about ten minutes and then becomes divine again. Definitely a unisex scent, I get far more compliments from other women than men. While the men don't flock to it, I still find my nose glued to my wrist.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Un Bois Vanille by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    Call it chemistry, but this one doesn't work on. Yes, the vanilla in there smells real, just like extract, but the woody notes do something dreadful to the blend and while I can't say it is repulsive, there's something about this that I cannot abide. And it DOESN'T come off. Points for longevity, which is just too bad for me. Something in this blend gets right up my nose and twists my nose-hairs. It's pain. I can't get it off fast enough and it doesn't actually come off. Big big thumbs down for making me feel ill.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Clair de Musc by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    Very simple musk. Dry down has a few notes of powdery chocolate, but overall it's just a simple basic musk. Nice, but not for the price.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Chergui by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    Starts very well, but is rather soapy and very strong. Ends with a vanilla/sandalwood blend some of Serge Lutens scents have that is cloying and nasty on me. Scrubbed.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Rahät Loukoum by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    I don't get cherries or almonds, I get white chocolate. Waaaay too sweet on me, and yeah, nothing like Turkish Delight.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Muscs Koublaï Khän by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    Clean, soapy musk and barnyard. The two don't blend, but take turns: soapy musk and then hay and animals. Very disappointing for such an infamous and talked-about scent.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    La Myrrhe by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    Starts out like Camay soap and ends with a burning incense note. Clean and smoky at the same time. I really like it, but it is a strange one.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Jicky by Guerlain

    Jicky and me do not get along. I wanted to love this one for the history, the mystique, all the things perfume represent. And at first, I get that: A lovely, woody vanilla scent, all mysterious creamy incense and magic. Then the bug spray note comes in and kills it all dead. I can still sense the lovely bed of woody vanilla underneath, but over the top, forever and ever, is that sharp, offensive bug spray note.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Iris Silver Mist by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    Aloof and unfriendly. Extremely woody iris with notes of incense. There's no warmth and definitely a dirt note. While it's not a bad scent, it's definitely not an image I want to project. Too cold and snobby somehow.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Habit Rouge by Guerlain

    Sort of L'Heure Bleue for men. Lots of lemon to start, with an opoponax-powder that strengthens on dry down. Lovers of clear and crisp scents may find this too powdery. Still a very gentle and lovely scent, with touches of leather and floral just under the surface.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Bulgari Black by Bulgari

    Strangely edible while still being a fragrance. Smoky tea and woody notes, a creamy touch of something I can't identify. Very lovely, and probably drop-dead gorgeous in cold weather.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Arabie by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    A fruitcake for your wrist. This one smells like the Christmas holidays: Sweet, spicy, rich. I can see it being overwhelming for some people, but the right attitude can carry this beautifully. However, it IS a gourmand. Very foody.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Aqua Allegoria Winter Delice by Guerlain

    Very much men's cologne. Cold and slightly metallic, it doesn't warm up much, and when it does, just a little, I smell Christmas candle.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune by Guerlain

    Smells like sharp breakfast grapefruit on me and cat pee on my sister. Nothing here that works on either of us.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Aqua Allegoria Herba-Fresca by Guerlain

    Clean and minty, it ends up smelling like toothpaste. Oh, well.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    L'Instant de Guerlain by Guerlain

    Very light, lovely floral with vanilla base. It dries down to a very sweet vanilla, however, and can become cloying in the wrong weather. The EDT also does not last as long as I'd like. Reminds me very much of Champs-Elysees, as they share much the same feeling: Light, inoffensive florals with a sweet sweet vanilla base. Lacks the pop of Insolence's berries and violet and the powdery melancholy of L'Heure Bleue. Not my favorite Guerlain.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Mahora by Guerlain

    Way too heavy and sweet a floral for me. The tuberose and neroli together are just overpowering on my skin. Really puts me in mind of a brothel somehow. It is feminine and pretty, but it is in no way subtle or delicate. This one makes me feel like I'm ten years older than I am and overscented into the bargain.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Terracotta Voile d'Ete by Guerlain

    Lovely, light carnations, slightly perfumey. Doesn't have a lot of strength or longevity, however. Very very sheer.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Les Météorites by Guerlain

    Starts with violets and raspberries, but the berry fades off very quickly. Much more linear than, say, Apres'L Ondee, which is pretty linear itself. Really in the end it's a basic green violet scent on my skin, very much like Devon Violets, the old standby.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Attrape Coeur / Guet-Apens by Guerlain

    Unfortunately, this old classic smelled merely old fashioned on me. A powdery, old-style floral with nothing to catch my attention. It's okay, but it's not worth seeking out for me.

    12nd October, 2008.

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    Nahéma by Guerlain

    Clean rose with peach, not muddy like most peach/rose combos. Reminds me a bit of Arpege, actually, with that slightly tarry aldehyde scent. This has a Lemony edge. It's very nice, but while not precisely dated, it's not something I’d wear. Perhaps there's too much peach in it for my taste.

    12nd October, 2008.

    Showing 1 to 30 of 99.


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