Fragrance Reviews by Madamemagenta

Got that pepper/citrus thing going on; if you smell it strait from the bottle, you might think, "bug spray". But this is a changer, and smells very different and well behaved on the skin. Decent staying power. Try before you knock it.

As the name suggests, casual, had-to-throw-something-on kind of stuff. Go buy some soap; You'll smell just as good for so much less.

"...but ours is one louder"
Shirley Temple kind of fruity notes with citrus. If you could smell the neon at the Flamingo in Vegas, this is what it would smell like. Nice idea, but so very, very loud.

Syrupy chypre.
I would expect this smell from something called J'ai Ose, but not something in a baby bottle! Half new century, half 1978, all messed up. Who were they marketing to?
it does last, and the right skin can pull it off...I just don't know who.

Sweet almond cookies. Oh, and some flowers and resins, too. Lasts, and gets more resiny with time. Not bad, but you may have more luck with Hypnotic Poison (both smell like Play-Dough on me).
NOTE: I sampled the parfum.

MAT; throws us another fragrance masquerading under a deceptive name. Awful lot of citrus, not so much mint. Dries down to something resembling EdC. Good scent for the squeaky-clean-scent types, and lasted longer than I thought.

Cocoa in the raw. Upon closer inspection, this is rather complex, another case of an elaborate recipe to make a seemingly straight forward scent. Great for folks who like chocolate scents without smelling like an eight year old. Fun.

Don't let the cherry embellished bottle fool you here...
There is a blissful little burst of cherry at the very start,but it disappears into an ozonic, melony, floral nebulosity. Perhaps not the most original, but certainly not unpleasant. Nice for summer. Lasted longer on my skin than I anticipated.

Took me a few days to come to terms with this stuff.
Unisex? Sure.
Girly? Not even.
This spicy, herbaceous cologne has a most complex personality; the kind that you don't know if you can get along with until you get to know it better, like some long lost crazy uncle.
Accords are conspicuous and it has impressive lasting power for an e.d.c.
Split personality cologne.

LIES!
I opened the parfum and sniffed the stopper (yes I know better) to find an intense blast of nutmeg. Hoping for more, I put it on and found a completely different odor... A white floral!
No fair!
It's not a bad white floral, and parades around with a rather macho herbal backdrop which keeps it from being too cloying. I also smell the "flower shop" of both the flowers and the cut and bruised stems. Don't overdo this one, as I suspect it will cause headaches in sensitive noses as many white florals do.
I just want the nutmeg...

Smokey, Milky Lapsang Souchong tea with honey and biscuits. Very pleasant, reminds me of mellow afternoons with a good book. Lasts longer than I thought, but not all day.
I'm not sure this is a good thing to smell like. Not sexy, not sultry, not playful, not fresh and clean. Then again, it's not a bad thing to smell like...

Nice harmonious herbal, although the anise and other sweet spices make it feel a bit feminine to me. Moderate lasting.
I don't think this is a landmark scent, but I admit I would want to know more about the man who wears this.

Spice caravan on a wet dirt road. My mind has gone wandering into where the guy wearing this may have been. Mmm.

Pink bottle and juice with a jumble of pink plastic crystals on top. Can't expect anything serious here, so I'll play along.
Rather a lot like a candy necklace to start, but without the overused syrupy fruits to back it up. Mellows to its resinous core, although it never really loses the candyness. Seems to last.
Another scent I have trouble figuring out whom the intended consumer is.

If the manufacturer claims their product is a "classic" I am immediately skeptical.
The truffle note is a stroke of genius, but it's strong enough to make me think of exactly what it is: fungus.
Heart and dry-down have a happy (unsweetened) chocolate vetyver harmony rounded with orchids and berries in such a way as nothing is too sweet; nothing to dry. Nicely rounded, and stays put for hours. Pricey.
Too pretentious to deserve a thumbs up.

Nice floral-oriental, except for the fact that someone threw Spree candies and fruit Loops in it. I feel like an eight year old parading around in her mom's dresses and heels.

Like honeysuckle?
Bright fresh honeysuckle and green tea and citrus fruits. Transitions are very subtle- is this a single accord fragrance?
I have met few scents that change so dramatically from person to person. Try before you buy.

GREEN!
Cucumber and honeydew with a little ozonic twist. Playful, casual, youthful. I can't fault it, because I feel it was honest with me from the packaging to the dry down.
This is an appropriate application of a limited edition.

Whimsical bottle and scent. If you're looking for serious, you won't find it here.
The top note: I have just walked into the candy shop in the old part of town that makes their own fudge and candied fruits and nuts, but also sells Nerds and Skittles. I assume it will continue to have childlike behavior...
...but am I wrong? dries out to a plate of sweets put out at the gentlemans club. Musks and woods put those insolent gourmande notes in their place, and round this stuff out nicely.
Very rich.

Not what I would expect from abottle that looks like a silver rain drop. Flowers, fruit compote and cookies. The anise is potent enough to make me think of other fragrances that exploited it first, so I struggle to justify the cost. Super cool bottle.
Bottom line: nice teen scent with a big price tag. Who wears this?

Cliche fruity floral. Demands layering for longevity. Cool bottle.

Knowing that Claude Dir is responsible for this concoction, I expected a more juvenile, casual scent. Then again, I'm a sucker for iris.
The first time I put it on I could barely smell it, and I will take into account a little olfactory fatigue that day. The second wearing confirms that this is subtle, and not for those who like their perfume to announce them from fifty yards (shame on them!).
I notice the orris and vanilla orchid most, combined with a hint of new casmere scarf. Not the most well rounded thing I've worn, but I find the powdery, buttery iris goodness balanced nicely. Seems to have some longevity.
All in all not bad: still feels casual (I suppose "no underwear" is casual), and I'm not sure it's worth the price. The good news is they claim no artificial ingredients or coloring. Yay.

What Castro would smell like if he were a drug lord. Macho, complex, tropical, rich. Very masculine, and very strong; the paradox is the summer notes with a winter potent strength. Please use sparingly.

You just went for a long ride when your horse decided to fall down in the herb/veggie garden. Earthy, rich herbs that mean business with manly, animalic notes to back them up. You will not like it if the smell of celery bugs you.

Like the odor itself, but most men I asked (with an unmarked blotter strip) thought it was a womens fragrance. Perhaps this was marketed to the wrong gender?
Cool packaging:)

Typical sugary, fruity gourmande. It's not bad; it's just not very original at this point. Bored now.

I admit I bought this one for the (parfum) bottle, which is odd because I don't care for most Jil Sander packaging.
Angel set the pace for this one, but it's much more subtle. Pleasent green accords mellow it into something you can wear in a crouded elevator without offence. Lasts almost as long as Angel, too.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis supposedly wore this; perfect match. Rose and geranium make it a little soapy to start, but the fruits help out. Soon it melts into a classy white flower with rich herbs and resins to round it into a warm, sophisticated floral-oriental. Not to modern, not to old school. Good lasting properties. Nice to wear with a cocktail dress.

Top note: galbanum, geranium, peach, plum, rose
Heart note: carnation, heliotrope, jasmine, myrrh, rose, tarragon, tuberose, violet, ylang-ylang
dry down: ambergris, moss, musk, patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla

Pepper!
And if you like pepper, no doubt you will a conspicuous, but not overpowering, peppery goodness. Give it a few minutes, and the complexity comes out; the most in the Hermessence line. It lasts, that is, if you can detect those last accords, like the last few dying embers in a bonfire that no longer give sufficient light or heat. I heavily question the value here.

Lovely. casual, in a sophisticated kind of way, like an Armani suit model at the beach with his shoes off. I feel like I'm having tea and pastries in a lush but simple herb garden. smells fine on me, but I need to find a manly chest to put this on:)
As with the other Hermessence fragrances, awful pricey for something that doesn't last very long...

Top note smells exactly like black walnut cookies my father would share with us. Cools down to a well behaved but conventional amber warmth. The good news: seems to last longer than other scents on the Hermessence line. The bad news: seems too juvenile and laboratory concocted for the price tag.

Suspiciously like high end YSL Baby Doll to me. Very old school thinking to consider rose unisex, and kudos to the metrosexual who wears it, But my frugal side says a fragrance with this price tag should last longer.

Tea, and sweet citrus, and dried fruits, and...
Hey! Where did it go?

What is this? Is it chypre? Is it fruity? Is it floral?
I like it when fragrances use unconventional harmonies, but this schizophrenic fragrance leaves me feeling bewildered. Feels very synthetic, very contrived. You may enjoy this if you like tuberose sans the sweet.

Bad behavior on the top note; intense for something that behaves much better after a few moments. Fruity and playful with warm woods to keep it down to earth. Like Baby Spice (the Spice Girl) with black leather stilettos.

Kudos for the packaging for the parfum. A red Rubik's Cube encased in a series of metal plates all held together with a red plug. Cool.

When I grab something in a hurry my impulse is Mikado. The truth is I love it. Chocolate dressed in Mme. Gres. The leafy herbs suck all the sweet out of notes that might otherwise be juvenile. Audrey Hepburn's chocolate.

Tread lightly... this is an unusual one.
This is about as rich as herbal perfumes get, and you're either gonna love it or hate it. Patchouli fruit compote. Lasts and lasts.

First: don't go near Marc Jacobs fragrances if you don't like white flowers.
The jasmine assault is harnessed by a lovely citrus/ powdery woods leash. Reminds me of the jasmine tea in chinese takeout shops. This is great when used in subtle amounts for intimate moments.

Juicy Fruit Gum. Is this how a man should smell? Not a bad odor, mind you, and best worn in warm weather, just not masculine.

Manly, in a man's man kind of way. I like to think this is what Robert Redford and Tom Selek wear. Exelent longevity if worn with after shave balm. Best in cool weather, I find the animalic notes overpowering in the heat.

I love the packaging...and that's it. I want to like a fragrance that has sage in it, but this is so forced, so pushy. Fragrance equivalent to taking a razor to your speakers and cranking the volume. Reminds me of 7" hairsprayed bangs and Swatch watches en masse. This is not a part of the eighties I want to remember.

Starts with a powdery, Christmas cookie assortment odor. Pleasant, nice quality, but doesn't hold my attention like it should.

Spicey for its time. If you like traditional E.d.C, this will be intense. A little raw, but overall good manly scent. Prance around in a little history:)

If you look up "Eau de Cologne" in the dictionary, it will refer you to this stuff. This is what cologne smells like, behaves like. Napoleon went through gallons of this stuff each month, which should tell you something about how long it lasts. A little bracing on contact, but good for stress.

Overdose of white flowers. Tin-like, metallic and chemical sensation that can be felt on the roof of one's mouth. Headache in a bottle.

I want to hate this stuff on principle...but I can't quite do it. Cotton candy in a hot pink bottle screams pre-puberty. Seems to last longer than some other "kiddie" scents. Awful pricey for something I would be embarrased to wear If I was just old enough to hold a job.

Based on a 1370 scent that was a gift to Queen Elizabeth of Hungary, and the first named scent with alcohol. Suspiciously like a Ricola cough drop, but in a good way. I hope they bring it back.

Floral and soapy. I feel like I washed up in grandmother's bathroom (she was a classy lady). Think of it less as perfume and more of it as history in a bottle.

Pow!! Candied oranges! Give it a few seconds...ahh. Warm, sweet ambery goodness to back it up. almost smells like a little raspberry dark chocolate in there, too. I wear it on cool summer nights. Not casual.

Mmmmm...chocolate.
WARNING: This stuff is VERY potent. Use sparingly! Long lasting, and has no flowers (if you have allergies), this is great for winter parties.

My dirty secret. I ride a Harley and play roller derby, but grapefruit and rose makes for nice daywear. Age 12 meets age 30 in a curious, yet effective twist.

Violets are easy to screw up, and this one teeters on the border. Very rich violets. I enjoy it on occasion, but definately sample before purchasing.

Did someone bring candied fruit to mass? Like Mata Hari in a modern club, modern fruity funk in a traditional resinous base. Sounds potentially disasterous, yet pulled off so well! Lasts and lasts, too!

Fresh tilled soil after the rain. Suprising how nice it smells on the skin:) Not a lot of staying power...

Gardenia, dried and thrown atop pot-pourri. Does to the nose what nails on a chalkboard does to the ears.
Much better if small amounts of lotion are applied alone.

Feels like Chanel does Ancient. Aldehydes on top of rich, complex florals and resins. Classic, will probably not appease a contemporary nose. I save this for very special events.

Layers upon layers of roses. If you like rose, this is a must.

I think of early spring flowers mixed with exotic tubers and rhizomes. Something in the middle reminds me of a sasparilla mojito. Effervescent, and worth hunting down. Superb:)

INTENSE. Very potent, very retro. Rich and mossy, nice structure, but I'm pressed to find an appropriate setting to wear it...

Dear Caron,
What did you do to My perfume? I used to find myself in an incense infused temple in springtime, and now I find some gas station attempt at a memory.
what the heck?

Smells like almond cookies dusted with sugar on some; smells like Play-Dough on others. Love the rubbery bottle.

Unconventional. I think of a warm, dry night in a gardenia grove on a fuchsia polarfleece blanket, sipping melomel. You won't smell like anyone else. Wear it to the club; please don't wear it to the office!

A late comer in the ozone movement, no doubt it suffered financially because of it. Like most ozonic scents, it has few fixatives, so if you want it to last, make sure you layer. Very, very wet.

Smells as though one went rolling in an herb garden, complete with mulch, mushroom compost and manure. I'm afraid my brother ruined it for me as he would put so much on it would permiate the whole house. The good news: it lasts, and you can get a better deal by getting it in BIG bottles.

They don't make stuff like this anymore. Creamy Mitsouko? More like sexy Mitsouko! Seems like a classic pre gas-chromatography had some contemporary warm goo droped into it. Definately worth cracking open that collector bottle!

I would be suprised if you would offend any one while wearing it. Once belived to help cure a cold, it does wonders for a stress headache due to its bergamot content. I keep mine in my medicine chest.