Basenotes - Reviews by ludwigslady

United States

Showing 1 to 7 of 7.

Vintage Naturals 2009 Geranium by Demeter Fragrance Library

I grow scented geraniums among my roses to ward off fungal diseases. They also help cover the the bases of my rose bushes with their dense growth of texured leaves. I pluck leaves and rub them between my hands to get that gorgeous tonic fragrance boost.

Now there is Vintage Naturals Geranium. It starts off strong and settles into a lemon geranium scent. It morphs into a rosy geranium and then mellows to a true geranium. There are many different geranium plants from apple, mint, even chocolate for the garden. Demeter has designed this fragrance to grab the three nicest ones as I described. It also does an excellent job of being a natural perfume while still having the refinement of 'normal' perfume.

Please try this. If you have a garden and love your old-fashioned geraniums, I think you really will enjoy this.

29th September, 2009.

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Rose d'Homme by Les Parfums de Rosine

Hmmm. Very interesting reviews. The women love it, the men disregard it.

When I try to imagine the kind of man who would wear this I keep coming up with the description "self-possession". It is a quality that is different than confident or self- controlled. The self-possessed man never needs to assert himself but there is nothing weak or soft about him. You always have the nagging feeling that this man 'sees' things that others miss, that he has wisdom and purpose in his life. This man loves one woman only and she alone can take in his scent, amplified by 'Rose de Homme'.

One caveat. I have grown roses for about 10 years. I have grown varieties very new to very, very old. Each one has its own scent with its individual overtones and nuances. I love roses. I estimate that I have tried over 200 rose fragrances over the past three years. I have found four that I will own. This is one of them. My husband, unfortunately, has allergies to most fragrances. If this passes his sneeze test I will ask him to try it, the first fragrance in 16 years of marriage! I will wear it if he doesn't...

Okay, okay, the notes I go through are...uplifting (but not sharp) beginning, a well-rounded rose floats in, then a very gentle spice (clove, perhaps) then a soft sandalwoodvetiver accord. Nothing 'dirty' in this scent. Nothing from traditional men's fragrance repertoire. I haven't smelled anything like it. Thank you, Rosine for understanding roses.

21st July, 2008.

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Yerbamate by Lorenzo Villoresi

There is only one true master of sillage - she is a mistress - Mother Nature herself. When you pass by an aged orange tree in full bloom, brush against scented geraniums as you weed your garden or open a window surrounded by honeysuckle flowers. Those are the memories I carry as I hunt for fragrances...the way the air carries a scent to you.

Yerbamate is the closest to Mother Nature's sillage I have found from a bottle. It has that quality of earth, sun, grass, herb, flower, smoke and sugar wafting on air. How does Villoresi do it?

On my skin, it stars with moderate hay, lavendar and green notes. The citrus is light and momentary. A slight, clean smoke emerges and swirls in with the herbs for awhile. My drydown isn't powdery as described, but it is herbal with a hint of burnt sugar, like you would have on the top of a creme brulee.

I love this fragrance. Mother Nature in a beautiful green elixir.

3rd July, 2008.

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Victorian Posy by Penhaligon's

Old fashioned, but not musty. Rosy but not drugstore cheap. And dry, dry, dry. I have worn this fragrance for about six years and enjoy it because it is nostalgia in a bottle. It is the fragrance of a favorite great aunt, the one who gave you the really exquisite handmade Barbie doll clothes from those 1950's patterns. She's the one who gave you tea parties and you felt oh so grownup as you sat with her.

On me, it stays a true, dry rose with a distinct powder note like a rose talcum. It is an interesting hot weather fragrance for a nice change when the citruses are too predictable to wear.

It's also a near perfect marriage of fragrance to the image its bottle invokes. That simple (Victorian!) label and blue grosgrain ribbon. What comes out of the bottle onto your skin is just what should.

12nd June, 2008.

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Cabaret by Grès

So often I have sampled a wood fragrance and wished there were some flowers to enhance it. Then I would try a floral and realize that I wanted more wood to balance it out. I especially have been hunting for rose-based fragrances where rose is the part of a wonderful whole. Cabaret is it! It blends so perfectly into my skin that I am not aware of it as something I'm wearing, but it is there. The woods in Cabaret remind me of a sandalwood fan I once had. The scent would fade and I would run fine sandpaper over it to release the fragrance again. It was a fragrance I had never experienced in a bottle before and, although I have sampled many sandalwood fragrances, haven't found it until Cabaret. It is a smooth scent, comforting, sexy in a womanly way and one you need to get close to appreciate. My husband, well, he certainly appreciates it...

10th June, 2008. (Last Edited: 11th July, 2008.)

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Geranium Bourbon by Miller Harris

Yummy. I get a blast of geranium right from the garden. It quiets down to a green floral for me. There is rose, but garden rose, not 'perfume' rose. It goes on a calm, happy journey through green florals with a touch of very subtle wood. It is a centering fragrance in my experience. I have also begun mixing it with other fragrances. I've tried it with Rosine's Roseberry and with DelRae's Bois de Paradis. It heightens all of Roseberry's greenness and somehow gives the DelRae a more opulent quality. I enjoy Geranium Bourbon because it is a floral without being flowery. Give it a try.

13rd April, 2008.

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Roseberry by Les Parfums de Rosine

Roseberry is my first purchase after a very long hunt, sampling perfumes for over a year. It is beautiful, green and fresh. I don't get any berry or, for that matter, much rose in the classic sense. Roseberry starts off very green with crushed leaves and grass and light rose. The 'blast' of these notes backs off after awhile and a warm, fresh, ladylike green bouquet takes over. It is this moment I wait for and it I love it. This is very uplifting and balancing fragrance. For some, it will not be complex enough, but that is why I love it so much. My family loves it and so do my friends. If you like soft green fragrances or light chypres, give this one a try.

13rd April, 2008.

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