| | Rose Absolue by Annick GoutalA weak, one-note, overly sudsy rosewater fragrance. I simply do not understand the love for this - not only is it bad, it's terribly overpriced for what it delivers. 27th October, 2010. |
| | Memoir Woman by AmouageMemoir Woman smells like several of the louder, cruder jasmines got together, smoked a lot of cigarettes, drank a lot of wine, and passed out on the bar-room floor. The top notes are a Glasgow kiss of the most grape-y jasmine possible with a neon-lit tuberose giving her added heft. If you imagine Dior's Poison and Serge Lutens' Cedre splashed on simultaneously you're half-way there, but soon enough a curious burnt tobacco smell comes along, not unlike the accord in ELDO's Jasmine Et Cigarette mixed with stewed fruit in the style of Bhiel's AL02 . As it dries down it becomes quite smoky, woody and resinous, but the florals persist to the last whiff. 17th October, 2010. |
| | The Smell of Weather Turning by Gorilla PerfumeRosewood and mint and something... smoky, leathery, and maybe just a little bit indolic? I really can't stand this accord. It reminds me of ELDO's Charogne meet's Tauer's Lonestar Memories; like someone with bad breath chewed spearmint gum and spit it out onto a dirty bar floor covered in sawdust. It's not dirty per se, it's just that the notes themselves lend themselves to some very negative assocations. This truly makes me wretch; I feel queasy trying to inhale and describe it, in a way not too far off the way the infamous Secretions Magnifique effects me. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so strong and piercingly sweet in addition to smelling so %#@! weird. 8th October, 2010. |
| | No. 22 by ChanelThe top notes are extremely aldehydic here; fizzy, sharp, and astringent. If you know aldehydes, you know the drill, and this is about as much an aldehyde bomb as you'll find this side of White Linen. In fact, in more than one way it resembles a hybrid between White Linen and No. 5 in its trajectory from bubbly top notes through floral heart to sudsy base. 4th October, 2010. |
| | No. 18 by ChanelSomehow I was expecting... more, a lot more, from a Chanel Exclusif. I mostly smell an aldehydic, tart, and daintily sweet rose note that's almost uncannily like Gres Cabaret stripped down and brushed lightly with ambrette. 3rd October, 2010. |
| | Les Nombres d'Or - Cuir by Mona di OrioIt's the lovechild of Yatagan and a vat of birch tar, I swear. It's dirty. It's smoky. It's meaty. And oh yes, it's very strong. Prepare to smell like a BBQ convention, as this leather sticks its burnt-bacon tongue right up your nose and doesn't let go. 2nd October, 2010. |
| | Tilda Swinton Like This by Etat Libre d'OrangeWhat's this - ELDO does Serge Lutens? Well, it sure smells like one, specifically Five O'Clock Au Gingembre meets Fille En Aiguilles, minus the pine. 2nd October, 2010. |
| | The Infidels by AgonistI'll give it to The Infidels - it's not something I've smelled before. I find the accord a fairly linear thing, a big, urinous powder-puff the like of which owes something to Kouros in its animalic qualities, but here its something greener; namely, it's blackcurrant bud, nestled on a soft, powdery base. If, like me, you have a high tolerance for "weird" in your fragrance, you just may find this skanky-sour/pretty-powdery combination entertaining. I do, I'm left wishing there was more to it after the first hour or so. 2nd October, 2010. |
| | Carillon Pour Un Ange by TauerThe top notes are incredibly intense on my skin - just a little dab and one is awash in a cloud of bright green florals. Muguet is implied, but its much less sweet than real muguet or most muguet soliflores; almost astringent, yet not harsh. The green note reminds me of poplars in spring, when their new leaves are still scented. In the heart, a lovely honeyed moss accord emerges, supported quietly by rose and something a little animalic. The animal note is not loud; this is neither skanky nor leathery, and in fact is much more clean than many classic green chypres. Deep into the base, a warm musk, labdanum, and amber support the accord without taking over. ( For those who felt somewhat cheated with Une Rose Chypree's remarkably non-chypric oriental drydown, fear not - this is green start to finish! ) 29th September, 2010. |
| | Lust by Gorilla PerfumeYlang-ylang and a whopping indole note, a bit of jasmine, and not too much else. Very linear and rather synthetic, a little too sweet, and not particularly dirty unless you find indole dirty ( to me indole overdoses like these smell more akin to magic markers than dirty animalic notes like civet, but it's not unpleasant ). 29th September, 2010. |
| | Orange Blossom by Gorilla PerfumeThis is very similar to Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino ( which in turn, is a kissing cousin of Comme des Garcons Anbar ), with a stronger neroli and petigrain vibe at the opening. It's almost a little crude smelling at first, its intensity some across as a little abrasive. In the drydown it becomes more floral, bolstered by some clean, ambery musk. 29th September, 2010. |
| | Jarling by JARI love the top notes - five spice powder! It's a lovely anisic accord built, I suspect, around some star anise. It's not intense and licorice stick-like, but powdery, spicy, and lightly sweet. Soon it becomes partnered with a marzipan almond note and a dollop of heliotrope, and as the spice fades out interest continues in the form of a warm civet note. 29th September, 2010. |
| | Womanity by Thierry MuglerFig, caviar, manatees? Well THIS fragrance managed to stir up a little trouble prior to release! 15th September, 2010. |
| | Nuit de Tubereuse by L'Artisan ParfumeurThe top notes come on with almost an assault of dry peppery astringency, before they fade to reveal a fruity-floral pinkness of tuberose very closely akin to that in Nasomatto's Narcotic Venus and Michael Kors for women. However, this is a very brief respite before a curiously dry, fizzy, almost acrid woodiness lurches forward, gaining in intensity minute-by-minute at the expense of anything floral. The flowers drowned in a woody tsunami, in fact, and at times I smelled an almost disconcerting barbecue-like quality before the drydown lead to something leaner, paler, and if possible, even more arid. It's complex and multi-faceted, but very unpleasant; odd, but not good odd. 7th September, 2010. |
| | Love & Tears, Surrender by By KilianLove & Tears is most distinctive in its top notes; a vibrant, intense, watery botanical accord distantly related to vintage Cristalle and Odalisque. I'm reminded of the fresh-floral burst one smells on applying orange flower water, but I smell no orange flower here - Love & Tears is jasmine at every stage; an extremely pure floral accord. 7th September, 2010. |
| | Vanille Extreme by Comptoir Sud PacifiqueMostly a very loud, very synthetic smelling vanilla note. It becomes a little more creamy in the drydown, but that may just be it fading slightly, as all in all it smells like artificial vanilla extract amped up to the nth degree. No nuances here. 22nd June, 2010. |
| | Jardenia by JARAfter dozens of different fragrances, I've found "it"; "the one"; the gardenia fragrance that is my holy grail gardenia. Alas, it's extravagantly expensive and difficult to obtain, and I'll probably never own a bottle. But, I can dream. 18th June, 2010. |
| | Pois de Senteur de Chez Moi by CaronFor those seeking an authentic sweet pea fragrance, you can safely give this a miss. Like many old-fashioned florals, this is more of a perfumey, abstract floral than something that smells like an actual flower of some kind. The florals are more vibrant initially, just the faintest hint of pineapple edge on rose jasmine, more so rose, and very, very powdery; the latter quality increasing with each hour. It's a very heavy fragrance, almost waxy in some ways. I this sense, the only fragrance I can directly compare it to is Amouage's Gold for women. 2nd June, 2010. |
| | Fourreau Noir by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal ShiseidoThe lavender comes on soft and fades rather quickly to me. There is something very fougère about the fade of the top notes from lavender to powder, but Fourreau is more of a gourmand to my nose - perhaps the most the most tasteful evocation of a doughnut dusted in powder sugar around, but with a hint of something dark and cool that prevents it getting too sweet. 30th May, 2010. |
| | Nuit de Cellophane by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal ShiseidoNuit de Cellophane smells rather nice - fruity, tea-like osmanthus, done a little more softly and transparently than most osmanthus soliflores I've smelled. Not groundbreaking, but I can see spritzing this on in the heat and enjoying it. I'd give it a neutral rating, all in all, if it weren't for the very disappointing longevity and sillage after the first hour or so. 28th May, 2010. |
| | Sarrasins by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal ShiseidoFirst thing's first - that color! Yes, it is a truly alarming shade of purple. The pictures don't prepare one. 28th May, 2010. |
| | Tubéreuse by CaronThere's something eldritch about Caron's tuberose. If the cool serenity of Carnal Flower feels unapproachable at times, Tubereuse is downright uninviting. The lavish charm associated with the flower has been dessicated to a somber reserve. Mr. Fraysse has created a saturnine soliflore, to be sure... 27th May, 2010. |
| | Parure by GuerlainPlease delete this review - I had my samples mixed up! Sorry Parure. 19th May, 2010. (Last Edited: 7th October, 2010.) |
| | Prowl by Neil Morris FragrancesI may be the only one to smell this, but Prowl reaches my nose as an osmanthus soliflore. Bright, sunny florals, hints of tea, and a big fruity apricot combine to give this impression strongly, but here there's of a certain thickness and richness I've yet to encounter before - osmanthus fragrances have a tendency to hit my nose as thin and high-pitched, but not Prowl. Fruity-florals aren't my thing, but this hits the spot in an almost unique way; the only comparable fruity fragrance I know is the obscure AL02, a similar but much darker and more oriental composition. 13rd May, 2010. |
| | Dark Season by Neil Morris FragrancesDark Season is a lightly spiced spruce that quickly sinks into an ambery-oriental accord based around patchouli, labdanum, and a subtle vanilla. Spruce is tamed here, and the sharp, sinus-clearing qualities of essential oil are minimized in favor of an edgeless conifer note. The base is handled deftly, never becoming the thick, oriental swamp it could be with those notes. 8th May, 2010. |
| | Jil Sander No. 4 by Jil SanderFor the first few minutes Jil Sander No. 4 is something rather harsh and soapy on my skin, not quite the searing floral detergent of Caron's Narcisse Noir, but none the less something sharp and rather unpleasant. 7th May, 2010. |
| | Rubj by Vero ProfumoParfum Extrait: 6th May, 2010. (Last Edited: 14th June, 2011.) |
| | Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia by Estée LauderIn a world of fragrances that fail to live up to their promising names, Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia delivers just that - an extraordinarily pleasing and faithful rendition of the two flowers, in a warm, rich, and fundamentally linear style. Gardenia is a little more to the front and center of the picture, and this is one of the truest around. The cheesy, mushroomy quality that makes gardenia gardenia is neither missing ( as in so many gardenia fragrances ) nor overdone ( here's looking at you, Velvet Gardenia ). The tuberose is creamy rather than edgy, and it lends its strength to the accord, giving it a certain heft gardenia doesn't have on its own without fully asserting its distinct personality. 6th May, 2010. |
| | Fleurs d'Oranger by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal ShiseidoOn my skin, this is a linear orange flower fragrance, only two other notes - jasmine and tuberose - playing accompaniment. All the facets of orange flower are here in their glory, the expansive floral note underpinned with honeyed, wine-like citrus hints and the subtle, dried-sweat warmth of human skin. And yes, plenty of indoles here, though not on the sledgehammer level of A La Nuit. If there is cumin, it's astonishingly well-integrated into the accord - I'm rather sensitive to the note, yet here, it's beneath my radar. 6th May, 2010. |
| | Odalisque by Parfums de NicolaïI've now tried Odalisque in two formulations, modern, and vintage, and what a difference they make. 4th May, 2010. |
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