Fragrance Reviews by fleursdumal

Originally intending to buy the EdP, I decided instead to plump for the Le Parfum satin spray after reading glowing reviews of it here. We must be smelling a different product. Yuk! What a horror. "Satin" is about all they could call the consistency since it defies description; a slightly greasy look and feel; it certainly isn't perfume proper. It could pass for a perfumed deodorant. Probably as a result of its slightly gloopy texture, it has no depth or staying power at all; if my nose is more than a couple of inches away from my wrist, I can barely smell it. It dries to almost nothing and can be wiped off the wrist. Spraying it on my clothes, it fares slightly better but not much. The smell is thin and linear; it lacks all of the body, cleanliness, warmth and complexity (such as it is) and of the EdP and instead dries to a trickle of dirty, stale vanilla fudge. Basically, I smell as if I've been baking toffee cookies including the fetidity of kitchen silage. Yuk! Avoid unless you have money to burn. It is going back on ebay!

When I first sniffed this, I nearly gagged; it is sickly synthetic; STRONG. Seriously pungent in the YSL style. I resisted spraying it on myself in the interests of good taste and the people that I was travelling on public transport with. On another visit to the department store, I decided to give it a spray and forgot about it. Later that day, I found myself strangely drawn to its warm woodiness. It is one of those fragrances that you spray on a card and leave in a pocket or a handbag for a few days and begin to wonder what the nice smell is wafting upwards..

After about an hour or so, when the worst excesses of the sickly sweetness has died off, the warm woodiness of the patchouli and vetiver begin to appear. Leave it for longer and it smells even better. But beware, only a long distance spray is required or a soupcon on your clothes otherwise you could clear a room pretty quickly. I have a little tester, but whether or not I will indulge in a full bottle remains to be seen; it has major headache potential and a weighty price tag.

Judging by the ad campaign, elle is targeted at a 20 something market. However, I think it is suitable for almost any age as long as it is sprayed sparingly...

With the exception of Chamade which my mother used to wear back in the early 70's, there are few fragrances that stimulate the memory for me more than Eau de Calandre (there is a similarity between the two fragrances; a kind of olfactory purity). I can still remember seeing the heavy, silver edged, masculine and expensive looking bottle shining on the shelf behind the sales assistant in a perfume shop in belgium back in 1982 and desperately coveting it; it was The One For Me; nothing girly or samey about this fragrance. Even now, the sight of that bottle brings back the same feelings of awe and mystery that I experienced as a teenager. I remember having a tantrum because my mother wouldn't buy it for me.

I was prompted to repurchase a bottle a few years ago after my mother reminded me of it and the memories of that day came flooding back.

Calandre is so unique and possesses all the elements that I love. It is what I call a masculine fragrance for a woman; uncluttered, clean and unfussy green aldehydes with Vetiver/Sandal base notes but it also has warmth and non-confirmity written all over it; it is the exact opposite of the current crop of bland and onesizefitsall frags currently littering the department stores.

There is something magical about Eau de Calandre. It is a silvery, sparkling, timeless classic.

Just the words Jolie Madame get my pulse racing. If I was a poet I might just be able to do it justice but I can only give impressions, moods and images. It conjures up a dark place; a forest at night, the colour midnight blue, something earthy and velvety, with a steely metallic edge. It is austere, mysterious, all embracing and very mercurial. And leather, leather, leather. It has no beginning or end. I love the gorgeous chunky glass bottle with the simplest of labels; it needs no more. Pure Class.

Er.....yeah, several thumbs up.

Boring. A generic kind of powdery floral that wouldn't be out of place at Yardley. Like many a Guerlain, its starts off all promising complexity but dries flat as a pancake. Thin, watery and one dimensional, especially as it is only available in the EDT, from what I can gather. Can't imagine the sort of woman who would want to wear this - its very ageing.

Begins with a warm and complex guerlinade waft but then in fairly short order it all goes terribly flat and thin and then something horrible happens; the return of Old Lady vintage 1933. Some fragrances simply do not last the distance despite my attempts to believe in them. Try it and ask someone who isn't a perfume addict what they think...you will get an almost universal thumbs down.

This is one of those fragrances that I love and want to wear but its just tooo much; I was scared to go out in public wearing this stuff...I certainly never dared wear it to the office - I would've cleared the place, it is sooo strong and cloying. A perfume has to pass the acid test, namely, can I wear it, at all, anywhere?? Otherwise it sits in the box like a pair of shoes that I love and look at longingly once in while but which are just too uncomfortable to walk in. Instead I bought Michael Kors - a tuberose for a civilised environment. Ok it doesn't have the elevated, mythical status of Fracas but I can actually wear it without offending anyone. Fracas' reputation proceeds it but unless you're a real obsessive or somehow you have the skin type that can work magic on almost anything, then I wouldn't recommend a major purchase...a definite try before you buy, IMHO.

Infusion d'iris is destined to become a Classic. It is simply beautiful. It seemed too floral for my taste on first whiff but I fell in love with its understated seductive charm almost immediately. Definitely a new signature scent for me.

One of the most complete fragrances I have ever smelled; nothing is missing and it could not be improved upon. There is complexity but not in an obviously structured top note, drydown manner; rather I would say it is fullsome; all of the notes are present. Fresh and clean yet warm and inviting, feminine and masculine, light and dark, youthful but wise, sophisticated but approachable and like all the best fragrances, deceptively simple and effortless. In a word CLASS. Perhaps for that reason it is very versatile and easy to wear; I can't imagine an occasion where you couldn't wear it. If you prefer something bottom heavy with a dark note, it may not be for you; I say MAY; however, I defy anyone not to love this, even the hardcore oriental and patchouli crowd. It is not moody or changeable; it stays near to the skin and is reliably consistent from first spray; it doesn't morph into something completely different that rears up unexpectedly and makes me feel unwell...

I hummed and hawed for some months about whether to purchase after much loitering and spraying in the department store; I decided I couldn't live without it. It is one of the most expensive perfumes out there but unlike many others, it is worth the heavy price tag. Sheer genius. Put it on your xmas list and expect to be complimented.