Fragrance Reviews by veuve amiot

An oddity, this one. Starts out very sticky-sweet orangy - like the prefab orange lemonade that has nothing to do with orange, the fruit - but in its artifice lies its charm, as well. Almost immediately an oddly "dirty" note starts underpinning the sweetness, saving the scent from diabetic coma. A bit longer in the "dirty" note reveals itself as thyme. The thyme is quite overpowering on my skin, which makes this one unique frag: I can't think of any other scent with such a pronounced and true thyme accord. On the other hand, the thyme *does* come across as foody: I keep getting cravings for barbecue marinades.

A definite thumbs up for anyone who finds classis citrus frags unexciting - though it comes with a warning label: may not please every nose.

No reviews? Then let me be the first to say this is wonderful. I don't know nor care what dark amber or ginger lilies are supposed to be or smell like, but the resulting fragrance is enchanting.
It opens on a candied gingery note which slowly sinks in a pool of resinous smoothness, laced with incense. There's a clarity about the whole, a complete lack of powderiness that makes it feel very bright and awake. It was meant to interpret a tea ceremony, I believe, but I think this is a very seductive scent.
Lasting power is excellent, and on clothing it lingers for days on end.
Shame it had to be a limited edition. Thumbs way up.

This to me is the nicest out of the Thé collection - a minority opinion to say the least. I love the Rooibos tea opening. It's vivid, realistic, fermenting, compelling, off-putting, jammy and reminiscent of rotting autumn leaves all at the same time. AND it makes me want to spritz it again and again for that weird and wonderful opening.
After that, it segues in general fruitiness and lastly a musky base, neither of which enchant me like the opening does. Quite sweet, but wearable. Perfect for autumn.

I can do little else but add my voice to the chorus of praise. Tam Dao is absolutely lovely, and it's fast becoming my most worn fragrance. The irony is that I almost missed out on its beauty: I tested it in store twice and ended up scrubbing it off twice because I couldn't get past that noxious pine-and-cedar opening. I'm so glad I persevered and discovered the true creamy-soft beauty that lies beyond.

It's a one-note fragrance, but what a note! Depending on the day or humidity or temperature or I-don't-know-what, really - different aspects of it shine. Some days it's all creamy sandalwood and rosewood, others it's cedar and incense, and rarely the pine-green notes take centre stage.

Perfect for all seasons and occasions, this must always be part of my collection.

My favourite out of the Armani tin-can-line-up. It has that Armani "brushed steel" quality as Chandler Burr (I think...?) put it - a certain musky opacity. I don't really recognize the notes as published; it's more general semi-sweet fruitiness followed by general semi-sweet floral heart. Musky base which -on me- lasts quite some time. Very enjoyable winter frag, and conveniently adaptable to different situations.

The opening blast reminds me irresistibly of what I enjoyed in POTL Luctor et Emergo: a nutty, smoky-sweet resinous accord. That alone convinced me to buy it, and I do not regret it. It may not be the most sophisticated amber fragrance out there, but it's super enjoyable. Its sweetness *does* have the potential to get cloying, I have to pick the right day to wear it.
A cuddly blanket of a scent.

Highly underrated little frag, IMO. It's perfect for all seasons (despite the name) as a no-brainer scent: I can always throw it on when I'm not in the mood for anything else. While I find it hard to distinguish individual notes, there's a semi-sweet tropical flower bouquet going on supported by resinous notes, musk and (some) vanilla. Gets a little powdery in the dry-down, but certainly not too much so.
Expensive soap meets posh suntan lotion, in the best possible sense.

A mellow, pleasant, inoffensive sweet green floral. I do get some lavender on top, some citrus and the green may remotely be mint - but they are all an abstract and sugared interpretations of the real thing. It dries down to a canned musk.
A plasticky note accompanies the entire lifespan of the scent, which I can sometimes appreciate and which really irritates me on other days.

I received this one as a gift, and would most likely not have bought it for myself. As it is, I'll end up wearing it, but it won't be my top choice.

For my sweet tooth. What I love most about this perfume is that it managed to make me fall for it even if it belongs to all the categories I usually avoid: "delicate", "floral", "sweet". It's just likable like that.
Blush is a gentle, delicate jasmine/white floral bouquet tinged with some green - mint, to my nose. The tiniest hint of indole adds depth to the flowers, and that green keeps it from being overpoweringly sweet and instead makes it pleasant to all involved. A very spring-like, bright, carefree gem.
Of course, I can only take so much prettiness, and after two days in a row of wearing this I'd be begging for something raw or unpretty. But while the mood lasts, it's perfect.

This is one I have mixed feelings about. I have liked it from the moment it first came out, and have been among its staunchest defenders: "what watermelon? I get no watermelon!" - only lovely, cooling spices (cardamom, lemon grass, maybe a tiny bit of clove and nutmeg) after an opening of what has to be the most convincing ginger note in a long time. Fresh, juicy, not overwhelmingly sweet.
During the summer, I revisited it every once in a while, content with my observations still ringing true; cool, spicy ginger sorbet. After forgetting about this one and getting on with my perfume education, I recently found the sample again and put some on my wrist. Watermelon. Yikes. I'm not sure if it is the change in temperature or humidity, but it ruined the composition for me. I'll have to try it in warmer weather again, but I'll approach it with trepidation now.

Wonderful. The scent that sucked me into niche.
This is the truest almond note I've found in any perfume, and I've tried a few. The almond has a bitter edge, never veering into the candied cherry-Amaretto-marzipan sweetness that many almond scents suffer from. The almond fades quickly, too quickly for me (30 mins max), and is replaced with a fluffy, gourmand vanilla. Longevity on me is remarkably good for a L'Artisan - it lasts 5-7 hours easily. On fabric, it lasts days, and seems to retain more of the initial almond scent.

My warm weather staple, since discovering it last summer. The scent is pretty much as advertised: mint and tea. When sprayed, the opening seems slightly harsher -green and almost bitter- to me as compared to dabbed. I prefer dabbing in this case. It quickly progresses into a strong, recognizably minty scent, without much tea, at first. Tea comes into play about 45 minutes in, and never dominates on my skin. The mint never fully disappears and stays right into the dry-down, though it softens and sweetens, and perhaps gains a vanilla edge. This is THE most long-lasting fragrance I've ever tried; on one occasion, it survived 48 hours and 3 showers.

I experienced Ormonde Woman not so much in terms of notes (which are unusual to my nose, and I can't identify them individually), but rather in terms of similarity to other fragrances. The opening is *exactly* like The Body Shop's discontinued Pink Pepper/Poivre Rouge, my autumn/winter staple. It progresses somewhat differently, though: it takes on a faint similarity to a refreshing sweet scent overlaid on that dark oriental base, reminding me of perhaps a Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger scent for a few minutes. The drydown is lovely, warm but not too sweet - and although still very like my Pink Pepper, it sits quieter and lasts longer.

Instant headache potion.
I owned and loved this for a few months when I was 13 or 14, back when it was fashionable. I'm not sure what happened, but overnight I couldn't wear it anymore. I think it is the cloyingly sweet woodsy note that burns itself into my brain and attempts to fry it. Sadly, I now am at the point where I can get physically ill even smelling the *cloud* emanating from someone else wearing it on the street or (god forbid) in a closed space like a train.

Total Amaretto upon spraying. After the initial sharp, sweet, candied (almost synthetic?) almond note has faded, it turns into a vaguely medicinal concoction on my skin - which has nothing to do with almonds and everything with a memory I can't quite put my finger on. Cough syrup, an alcoholic bitter... something similar to that. Unpleasant.
As the scent progresses, I'm picking up the original almond opening again, but mellowed, powdery and devoid of all the sugar and the candied wetness. This is the part of the scent that I like best, I wish it would smell like that for the entire duration. Alas, it fades soon into an inoffensive musky odour.

It's a wild ride, I'll have to give it that. It has me intrigued, but I can't say it's an entirely pleasant experience.