Fragrance Reviews by Jemimagold

I smelled Terre de Sarment recently at Les Senteurs in London and was very impressed. It is a wonderful manly sort of fragrance which has leather, birch tar and bergamot notes calmed down by a light floral overlay. In short, Terre de Sarment is quite elegant and my boyfriend loved it!

Here are the notes for Terre de Sarment, per The Perfumed Court: top notes of grapefruit, neroli and cumin; middle notes of incense, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange flowers and myrrh; and base notes of benzoin, amyris, vanilla and tobacco.

Amouage Gold smells very similar to their Dia fragrance with Gold being the lighter of the two lush floral perfumes and having a bit less of the spicy oriental notes. Thanks to the iris and violet notes, Gold has a "cooler" smell than Dia but they both share the same powdery base which is reminiscent of Chanel No. 5. Between the two Amouage perfumes, I have a slight preference for Dia probably due to the presence of bergamot (and the absence of iris) but neither of them are "me" at all. They both seem heavy and rather formal.

Here are the notes for Amouage Gold, as listed on The Perfumed Court: rose, jasmine and lily of the valley, apricot, lime and peach, silver frankincense, myrrh, orris,"rock rose of the desert", ambergris, civet and musk.

I was expecting a fresh peppery perfume from Lorenzo Villoresi's Piper Nigrum but instead, in the top and middle notes I experienced mostly whiffs of pungently fresh oregano and thyme. Piper Nigrum is one of the more astringent fragrances I've ever smelled and while it is not awful, it sure isn't very likeable. Once the base note finally appears, I will concede that Piper Nigrum has a distinct black pepper aspect but I am not crazy about the journey to get there.

If you want a superb and exciting pepper fragrance that you will never smell on another person, I'd highly recommend Ormonde Jayne's Isfarkand. For a stylish, English country house sort of pepper perfume, there is the faultlessly exquisite L'Artisan Parfumeur's Poivre Piquant.

888 is one of my current favorite perfumes but it is so artfully blended and unusual that I can't figure it out. For some reason, I always think I smell a bit of red or black grape in 888 (a la Mona di Orio's Nuit Noire). At other times it seems like a wonderful spicy mixture of white flowers (esp. orange flower) and white musk. The "official" information put out by Comme des Garcons is that 888 is meant to smell like gold but whatever it is, it always smells wonderful and "like me". And like a magpie attracted to shiny objects, I can't get enough of 888's stylishly flat gold bottle. Divine!

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes for 888: "Safraline (a molecular derivative of saffron, created by Givaudan), pepperwood, curcuma, coriander, geranium and amber."

I recently smelled Le Labo's Poivre 23 at the Le Labo counter at Liberty's in London and was pretty disappointed. From all the reviews I'd read beforehand and given its apparent emphasis on pepper which is one of my favorite notes in perfumery, I was sure I would love it. And I didn't. Not even a little bit.

To me, Poivre 23 is chiefly a sweet ambery fragrance to which has been added a glug of vanilla, dollop of tobacco and a meager sprinkling of pepper. It smells like an inexpensive, cheap-ish cousin to Le Labo's Patchouli 24 (which I like but in very sparing amounts as further explained in that review) and shares a number of the same notes.

If you want a quality "rev up your engines" pepper fragrance that you will never smell on another person, I'd highly recommend Ormonde Jayne's Isfarkand. For a stylish, red cashmere turtleneck sort of pepper perfume, there is the endlessly exquisite L'Artisan Parfumeur's Poivre Piquant.

Here are Poivre 23's notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: pepper, cistus labdanum, incense, sandalwood, patchouli, vanilla, gaiac and styrax.

Given all the mystique enhanced by odd names and at least one nose-scruncher in the Etat Libre d'Orange line (guess which one that is!), I was a little wary of "Je Suis Un Homme". Well, I needn't have been because it is a relatively tame fragrance that smells like a variation on the theme of citrusy eau de cologne for men. In fact, I am surprised that Etat Libre d'Orange bothered to make this perfume at all as it just doesn't have any shock factor.

Je Suis Un Homme is basically an inoffensive mixture of Petit Grain, Bergamot and Musk which is competent but doesn't knock my socks off. I think I'll stick with Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet, Roger et Gallet's Extra Vieille and Rochas' Eau de Rochas when I'm in the mood for a light citrus perfume.

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: bergamot, orange bigarade, citron, myrtle, cinnamon, clove, cognac accord, leather, patchouli and animalic notes.

Simply put, Le Labo's Labdanum 18 smells like an expensive sweet-ish amber baby powder from top note to base note. It is is similar smell-wise Houbigant's Quelques Fleurs and just as horribly cloying and awful. Le Labo makes so many wonderful, original perfumes and I am perplexed that Labdanum 18 is one of theirs.

From what I can find, here are the notes for Labdanum 18: "labdanum (cistus) with a slightly animalic notes".

Amouage's Dia is a lush, slightly heavy floriental-style perfume with aldehydes, powder, frankincense and a touch of bergamot. Dia is a warmer fragrance than its sister perfume Gold and mellows into a beautiful fragrance that reminds me something that an elegant woman living in London in the early 1930's would spray on prior to putting on her white fox fur stole and going out into the evening. Amouage Dia is perhaps even more beautiful when it has had a chance to dry down and is a close cousin smell-wise to Chanel No. 5. I liked smelling Dia for testing purposes but I can't really imagine wearing or buying it as it is a little formal for my lifestyle.

Here are the notes, from The Perfumed Court: Fig, Cyclamen, Bergamot, Tarragon, Sage, Violet Leaves, Bush Peach Blossoms, Rose Oil, Orange Flower, Peony, Orris, White Musk, Incense, Vanilla, Heliotrope, Cedarwood, Sandalwood, and Gaiac Wood.

After having heard all the praise about Byredo's Pulp, I couldn't wait to try it. The first time was this past autumn at Colette in Paris and the second time was a month later at Les Senteurs in London. Even now, I am still wondering ........ what is the big deal about this perfume?? On me, Pulp is basically a grapefruit scent which evolves into black currant, blackberry and various other fruits. It is powerful and smells a lot like those sharp-ish fruity perfumes created by Jo Malone such as her Wild Fig and Cassis (which I don't like).

I guess one of the other reasons I am also intrigued by Pulp is due to a story that I recently read on-line. Apparently a perfumista/bride-to-be wanted to have Pulp as the signature scent at her wedding and so obtained the church's permission to have several bottles of the not-inexpensive Pulp liberally sprayed before and during (hopefully discreetly) the church service so that her she, her groom and her guests would would forever associate Pulp with her wedding day.

Courtesy of The Perfumed Court, here are the notes for Pulp: top notes of bergamot, cardamom and blackcurrant; middle notes of red apple, fig and tiare; and base notes of cedar wood, praline and peach flower.

Bulgari Black starts off with a warm, almost rice pudding note. It is a velvety fragrance and though it is apparently for men, I could easily imagine wearing it myself. As it dries down there is a very faint rubber/leather smell which I really only found by having read about those notes. If I hadn’t, I don’t know that I would have detected them as they are not dominant notes in the composition. The best way I can describe Bulgari Black is that it is a soft yet translucent, vanilla musk fragrance with a mild hint of coconut, cinnamon and powder. Which doesn’t do it a lot of justice as Bulgari Black really is much more stylish and modern than these words indicate. It also reminds me a good deal of a current favorite of mine – Le Labo Aldehyde 44. And finally, no question about it, that is one sexy little bottle!

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes for Bulgari Black: black tea, rosewood, bergamot, cedar, oakmoss, vanilla, amber, sandalwood and musk.

Well, if anyone has a hankering for the smelling like Grandma’s mothball stuffed hall closet, look no further because Serge Luten’s Tubereuse Criminelle is for you! I scrunched up my nose so hard when I smelled this – it was teeth-gnashingly revolting. Tubereuse Criminelle’s vaunted top note is a cross between mothballs and the bitterness you get when you take a swig of mentholated Dayquil. Yeah, yeah, a decent tubereuse smell eventually emerges but I just could not get past that nauseating mothball initial note.

For a beautiful creamy floral without any olfactory pain, I much prefer Serge Lutens’ Un Lys to this.

As gleaned from various sources on the internet, here are Tubereuse Criminelle’s notes: menthol, tuberose, orange blossom, jasmine, vanilla, clove and banana.

La Perla Eclix is a sweet, soft lemon fragrance which definitely belongs in the “foody perfume” cupboard. I agree somewhat with others who have likened it to lemon meringue pie but I also detect smidgens of flour and vanilla notes so I am going to say that Eclix smells more like a lemon angel food cake. I think if I wore this with any regularity, I would start craving sweets! However, Eclix is certain to please a gourmand perfume afficionado who enjoys citrus. I was a bit surprised to learn that Eclix had so many “official” notes (see below) as none of them were apparent to my nose.

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: bergamot, blackcurrant leaves, osmanthus, waterlily, may rose, almond blossom, exotic woods, cocoa and white musk.

Guerlain’s Quand Vient la Pluie is yet another classic offering from Guerlain which showcases the super-sweet, vanilla-ish “Guerlainade” base to perfection. If you take that base and add black cherries and violets, that is what Quand Vient la Pluie smells like to me. I have to confess that I really don’t like this style of perfume and can’t imagine wearing it, however, for an incredibly sweet perfume, the notes are true and it seems to be of very high quality and well made.


Per The Perfume Court, here are the notes: Top:bergamot, orange blossom and rosemary; Heart: heliotrope, jasmine and violet; Base: patchouli, praline and musks.

Jo Malone’s Grapefruit perfume starts off sharp-ish but then is toned down with white flowers so that it becomes a very tame, light fragance. The vetiver in the middle and base notes give it some warmth and depth and is probably why some reviewers characterize it as a masculine perfume. Jo Malone’s Grapefruit doesn’t have the zing that I adore in Aqua Allegoria’s Pamplelune or the cheerfully unabashed zestiness of Frederic Malle’s Bigarade Concentree, but Jo Malone’s Grapefruit is a competent scent that will likely appeal to a man or a woman who doesn’t want to smell overly “perfumey” but wants to smell “clean”. Ho hum.

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes: grapefruit, tangerine, vetiver and rosemary.

Etro’s Shaal Nur is a dark oriental fragrance whose semi-acrid top note reminded me of Estee Lauder’s style of perfume – Youth Dew in particular. I also caught fleeting whiffs of saffron and amber which petered out after about 10 minutes. As the middle notes of vanilla and incense crept in and softened things up, Shaal Nur became a much more likeable and wearable fragrance. My overall impression of Shaal Nur is that it has a cozy “frankincense and myrrh” vibe and is definitely a fragrance for colder weather. Despite the listed notes below, I cannot say that I detected any citrus, rose or narcissus at all but then I dabbed it on which seems to produce different results than spraying.

In terms of comparison, if you like cuddliness of Shaal Nur, you would also enjoy Cristiano Fissore’s Cashmere for Women or the Ormonde Jayne line.

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes: citrus, rose, narcissus, karo karounde, jonquil, incense, vanilla and spices.

Eau de Rochas Pour Homme starts off a little sharp but in less than a minute, it opens up to become a lovely warm elegant men's fragrance. It is an elegant mix of citrus with dashes of cedar and vetiver.

For those of you who know and love Eau de Rochas, Pour Homme is a richer scent that I could easily imagine my boyfriend wearing in the fall whereas Eas de Rochas is chiefly a summery citrus perfume. Cap d'Antibes and all that.

Having said all this, it is important to keep in mind that Pour Homme is a very light fragrance and doesn't last all that long (maybe 30 minutes) so perhaps it would be a good choice for a man that is a little hesitant about smelling strongly of cologne. It would be awesome if Rochas were to offer an "extreme" version of this!

Here are the notes: vetiver, mandarin, grapefruit, verbena, mountain narcissus, cedar, patchouli, wild rose, ambre, myrrh and sandalwood.

I adore a good vetiver fragrance and was anxious to try Andy Tauer's interpretation. However, I found Vetiver Dance to be pretty disappointing.

Plainly put, Vetiver Dance is a soapy boring vetiver with hints of iris in the top note that gives it a rooty, almost depressing feel. Despite the listed notes, I definitely did not smell any pepper. I am huge pepper fan and adore Ormonde Jayne's Isfarkand and Frederic Malle's Angelique Sous la Pluie. If anything, Vetiver Dance is a "cold" vetiver as opposed to Guerlain's various Vetiver scents which are warm and confident. If anything, Vetiver Dance is a "cold" vetiver as opposed to Guerlain's various Vetiver scents which are warm and confident. Annick Goutal's Vetiver and i Profumi di Firenze's "Fresco di Vetiver" absolutely blow Vetiver Dance away in terms of creativeness and overall wearabililty. I'd save my money and pass on this.

Here are the notes for Vetiver Dance, courtesy of The Perfumed Posse: grapefruit, black pepper, clary sage, lily of the valley, cedar wood, ambergris, tonka and dark vetiver from Java.

Enslaved is a heavy, one-dimensional perfume that smells chiefly like old fashioned ladies powder, ie. loose powder in a cylindrical container that comes with a luxurious white powder puff. I detected a tiny bit of spiciness in the fragrance which I guess was the carnation and clove trying to get out but, it was firmly "enslaved" by the unrelenting Mistress Powder! None of other notes listed below were detectable. For comparison purposes, Enslaved reminded me a lot of that other cloyingly robust powder fragrance, Etat Libre d'Orange's "Rien" (aka "Dorian Gray").

In the powder/aldehyde genre of perfumery, I much prefer Hermes' Rouge or Le Labo's Aldehyde 44 to Enslaved.

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes: Bergamot, Orange, Lemon, Geranium, Orange Blossom, Rose, Ylang Ylang, Jasmine, Carnation, Clove, Oakmoss, Cedarwood, Vetiver, Patchouli, Labdanum, Ambergris and Musk.

I had really hoped that Chypre Fatal might be the fragrance to counteract my cursed luck in finding a Guerlain to love. Alas, it was not to be. I am a huge fan of dry chypre perfumes (Chanel's 31 Rue Cambon, Hermes' Caleche, Piguet's Bandit and YSL's Y are some of my all-time favorites) and I especially adore Caleche's mossy, almost citrus/astringent quality. However, Guerlain's Chypre Fatal has that sweet-ish Guerlain base that I find so sugary and cloying that it really takes away the pleasure of smelling the chypre notes. As the fragrance settles down to its basenotes, it acquires a non-descript "perfumey" smell that is just kind of average, department-storeish, etc... Ho hum. If I am going to veer towards the land of sweet chypres, I would much prefer to do so in the competent arms of YSL Yvresse or Dior's Diorama.

Here are the notes for Chypre Fatal, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: White Peach, Rose, Patchouli & Vanilla.

Miller et Bertaux's "Green, Green, Green, Green's" top note smells just like the scent of a freshly broken branch of a young tree mixed with a generous helping of fresh coriander. It is quite bracing and almost too sharp to my nose. However, after about 5-10 minutes, lemon verbena and jasmine arrive to prune back the sharp green claws and then it evolves into a soft lemony floral fragrance which is clearly well made. I detected a slight hint of vetiver in the end but this fragrance dies pretty quickly so you really have to be on the lookout for it.

Similar perfumes to Green, Green, Green, Green (what an annoying name!) are: a) Hampton Sun's Privet Bloom which is a tiny bit fresher and prettier, and b) Nanadebary Green which is warmer and has a more pronounced green tea note.

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: laurel, bay leaves, verbena, sap, coriander, jasmine, cedar, vetiver and musk.

Acqua Allegoria's Herba Fresca is a soft minty fragrance that smells like freshly torn mint leaves if you subtract out any possible sharpness. As the fragrance mellows, hints of thyme, marjoram and grass come through but it is all handled in an extremely light way. If I really put my mind to it, I can smell the green tea and lemona verbena notes. It reminds me a lot Comme des Garcons' Peppermint perfume except that Herba Fresca is a tiny bit sweeter. In any event, Herba Fresca conjures up wonderful images of a summer evening on a stone terrace at a farmhouse deep in Provence surrounded by a lush herb garden.

Here are the notes, courtesy of Sephora: Citrus, Clover Leaf, Italian Lemon, Peppermint, Green Tea, Lily of the Valley, Cyclamen, Pear Blossom. (SSS) 8/10

Montale’s Embruns d’Essouira is a refreshing marine/algae scent that I enjoyed very much. My first thought upon sniffing was thank goodness it was not another “faux beachy” scent, ie. another variation on the smell of Coppertone Sun Tan Lotion (Yoohoo- Bobbi Brown Beach, Philosophy!). In contrast, Embruns d’Essouira smells nearly exactly like the smell you experience when you are at the ocean sitting on the sand at the edge of the water, and the waves rush up around you tinged with green algae. It is also a much lighter style than I am used to seeing from Montale (another plus), and I thought it was pretty interesting and wearable. Finally, Embruns d’Essouira was good on me but I think it would really rock on a man!

Here are the notes, as gleaned on the internet: Iodine from the water of Essaouira, Moroccan Atlas sandalwood, spices, musk, Yemeni Oud, Oman olibanum pearls, frankincense, Egyptian balsam, Cystus ladaniferus and amber.

Simply put, Tan Rokka's Aki is the lovechild of Guerlain's L'Heure Bleu and Shalimar. Aki is a sweet-ish, predominantly amber/sandalwood fragrance with a great deal of powder and a smattering of spices. It is surprisingly strong so be sure to apply it sparingly as this is one of those perfumes that could easily end of "wearing you"! As compared to Aki, I much prefer Becker Eshaya's Golden Amber for amber, or 10 Corso Como or Diptyque's Tam Dao for sandalwood.

Here are Aki's notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: amber, patchouli, sandalwood and vetiver.

Acqua di Biella's Janca is a light fruity floral scent with dominant notes of peach and linden. Stylistically, it is very similar the floral perfumes offered by Annick Goutal such as Petite Cherie, Eau de Charlotte, etc.... It is not nearly as complex as the notes below would seem to suggest and I did not catch any iris - which is good since I don't care for its mustiness. Overall, I think that Janca could be a lovely casual fragrance to wear in the summertime as it wouldn't unduly amplify in the heat. Lastly, as is typical of this style of perfume, Janca does not have good sillage. It lasted about 45 minutes on my skin.

Here are the notes listed on the Acqua di Biella website: Florentine iris, peach, tamarind, mandarin, linden, osmanthus, magnolia, cardamom, musk, cedarwood and patchouli.

The top note of Heeley's Cardinal perfume was an astringent dry, soap smell that rushed through my nose to the back to my throat. I truly felt like I was tasting soap. Cardinal was that pervasive (or should I say, invasive?) And I applied it sparingly! After about an hour, Cardinal calmed down to become an austere, powdery green fragrance that reminded me a great deal of Balmain's Ivoire. At around hour 3, Cardinal became became rather nice but I am much too impatient to wait that long for a fragrance to develop.

I know Cardinal is much revered in certain perfume circles as a "reference incense" and all that, but I think that Comme des Garcons' Kyoto and Ouarzazate are much wearable and pleasant than this.

Here are Cardinal's notes, courtesy of LuckyScent: incense, cistus, grey amber, patchouli, vetiver.

Demeter is so good at creating ultra-realistic single note fragrances that it really makes it hard to write an interesting review about one of their perfumes. Riding Crop smells just like you'd expect it to- it is a warm, manly fragrance that smells just like a piece of new leather. Smelling it immediately conjured up thoughts of walking into a boutique that is piled high with all sorts of new leather equestrian goods.

I think Riding Crop could be very useful to layer with if you are into that sort of thing. But, would I wear Riding Crop on its own? Probably not. If I'm gonna smell like leather, I think Le Labo's Santal 26 and Heeley's Cuir Pleine Fleur are much more wearable and stylish (at least for a woman).

Here's the lone note: leather.

The Escentric Molecules line has been responsible for one of the most exciting perfumes I've ever smelled (Escentric 01's smoky lime/pepper/cedar rush) and also one of the most frustrating (Molecule 01's faint, disappearing cedar water on skin).


So, with eyes (and nose) wide open, I tried Escentric 02 which struck me as being very similar to Escentric 01 but without the lime or pepper, or stellar longevity. Escentric 02 definitely has a generous helping of ISO E Super- its cedary, woody notes are pronounced- but its real mission is apparently to showcase the synthetic molecule called Ambroxan. According to my internet research, Ambroxan is meant to smell like ambergris which is "a waxy substance occasionally produced in the large intestine of sperm whales". It'd be interesting to know who figured out that ambergris could be of such use in perfumery!

Anyways, to me, 02 has pronounced cedar/wood notes but it also has blended non-specific floral notes, which veer into a little musky/powderiness. It is one of the harder fragrances I've ever had to describe because it does not smell like anything I've ever smelled before, other than its cousin Escentric 01. In closing, thumbs up to Escentric 02 for being quirky, original and (thankfully) non-sweet with decent longevity.

Here are the notes, courtesy of Luckyscent: Ambroxan, vetiver, muscone, orris, elderflower.

I know others may love this but Voleur de Ciels smelled absolutely horrible on me. The topnote gave off awful wafts of cheapish amber and what smelled just like (I hate to say this but....) sweet-ish decaying, rotting flesh. Like the smell of a piece of raw meat that's been forgotten in the back of your refrigerator for 3-4 weeks. Oh dear, Voleur de Ciels was disgusting and I could not wash it off fast enough so I cannot tell you what the middle and basenote were like. Also, for some reason, Voleur de Ciels reminded me a lot of Neil Morris' Coral.


Here are the notes: wood, chypre, mint, jasmine, milky notes and leather.

Remember that inexpensive super-pungent 80's fragrance, "Jungle Gardenia"? Well, one of the best niche perfume lines have produced a reinterpretation. I know that gardenia is not one of the listed notes but to my nose, biehl's hb01 is a dead-ringer for it. One sniff and I guarantee you"ll be transported back to the days of big hair, shoulder pads and lots of makeup. Hb 01 is a big jolt of gardenia with a tiny bit of spice (cumin, maybe?) in the top note. The middle/base notes are basically tuberose and other white flowers which turns hb 01 into a close cousin of Giorgio (loud, vulgar, obvious floral).

As gardenia scents go, I much prefer Chanel Gardenia (understated stylish gardenia) and Monyette Paris (luscious, tropical gardenia) to hb 01. Or, if you just want a truly beautiful elegant floral perfume, I'd highly recommend biehl's mb 01 over this.

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: top: orange blossom, blackcurrant, peach, gardenia, green leaves, bergamot, Middle: rose, jasmine, lily of the valley, iris, tuberose, ylang ylang, Base: vanilla, cedar, sandalwood, musk.

I really did not see what the big deal was about Valentino Gold. It had an overall generic "sweet perfumey" smell that was utterly unremarkable. At the beginnning I think I may have caught a hint of mandarin but after that note quickly evaporated, Gold smelled like an average department store perfume. Even Fendi's Palazzo was more interesting than this! Methinks a certain Italian clothes designer sold his name (and reputation) to a giant beauty licensing firm for big bucks without caring what was produced....

Here are Gold's notes from what I've been able to find on the internet: Mandarin, Key West Lime, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cranberry, Ginger Water Lily, Sandalwood, Blue Iris, White Musk.

Gres Cabaret surprised me with its cheerfully sunny rose smell. I definitely prejudged it having found Gres' Cabochard's dry chypre notes to be a bit austere and thought Cabaret might have been some kind of Cabochard flanker. However, Cabaret has an upbeat rosy smell and the drydown features a slight hint of sandalwood and musk for enhancement purposes but at all times, rose remains the dominant note. Speaking to its modern-ness, if someone had told me that Cabaret was by Les Parfums de Rosine (a house noted for its rose scents), I would have believed them. In fact, it reminds me an awful lot of Rosine's Une Zeste de Rose. On the downside, Cabaret really did not last on me more than 20 minutes so regretfully I would not consider buying it.

Here are the notes for Cabaret, as gleaned on the internet: Rose, Lily Of The Valley, Peony, Incense, Blue Orris, Sandalwood, Amber and Musk.

Sage Onyx is a cloying, sickly sweet coconut/musk bomb that smells cheap but somehow manages to gets rave reviews on the MUA Fragrance Board when the "best coconut perfume" poll crops up time after time. I don't get the point of Onyx at all but then again, I'm in my forties. Maybe this Onyx is something the "tween" set enjoys... All I know is, I don't like this one bit. Get out the kitchen sponge 'cause I need to scub this off !!

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: dark coconut, oakmoss, tobacco and vanilla nectar.

I think that Le Labo’s Patchouli 24 (samples, decants, bottles or what have you) should come with a big flashing warning sign that says “APPLY WITH CARE”! This is quite possibly one of the most intense-smelling, longest lasting fragrances I have ever experienced (which includes Ysatis, Angel, Creeds, Montales, etc..). And as you can see from the volume of my perfume reviews, I like to think that I have smelled a fair amount of perfume.

When I first tried Patchouli 24, all I had was a small sample and lightly dabbed it on a small place on my wrist. Its top note of earthy smoke was readily apparent and reminded me a good deal of CB I Hate Perfumes Burning Leaves but was not quite as sweet. Then, as the drydown continued, wafts of dark, sticky vanilla began to emerge but with the smoke and some leather still hanging tough. I would say that patchouli is actually one of the least recognizable notes in Patchouli 24. Both my boyfriend and I were entranced by this dark and lovely fragrance so I purchased a spray decant.

Before Boyfriend and I embarked on a recent roadtrip, he generously spritzed himself with Patchouli 24 before getting in the car and man, was that ever an intense sensory journey! Accckk. I had to roll the windows a number of times to be able to breathe. Patchouli 24 is not a fragrance for close quarters and I think the car still smells of it . After we returned home, just for experimental purposes, I sprayed Patchouli 24 into a bowl of potpourri to see if it would last there since most perfumes evaporate pretty quickly when sprayed on potpourri. A week later and still counting, Patchouli 24 is proudly in evidence. Le Labo’s website calls Patchouli 24 “A scent filled with danger for those of us who like to walk a tight rope…” and that is certainly true if you cannot handle a tenacious perfume with monster sillage.

Here are the notes for Patchouli 24, as gleaned from the internet: birch tar, patchouli, styrax, and vanilla.

I like a dose of luxurious aldehydes now and then, and had good memories of smelling Vraie Blonde in NYC at Henri Bendel back in May of this year. My recollection was that Vraie Blonde was definitely the most pleasant scent in the intentionally weird Etat Libre d’Orange line which, upon reflection isn’t saying much, I guess.

Anyways, I purchased a sample to see if Vraie Blonde could be for me. Unfortunately, the top notes had that dreaded shampoo smell. A high-end floral and musk scented shampoo, but shampoo nonetheless. After 10-15 minutes, the powderiness of the fragrance emerged with peach and myrrh notes peeking out ever so slightly which made the composition a little more interesting. I got a tiny amount of patchouli in the end by really, really smelling for it. Lasting time: About 1 ½ hours. In conclusion, would I wear Vraie Blonde? Yes. Is there a similar perfume that I like a lot better? Yes – Le Labo Aldehyde 44.

Here are the notes for Vraie Blonde, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: aldehydes, champagne, rose, peach, white pepper, myrrh, patchouli and suede.

My first thought when I smelled CdG's Luxe Champaca was “Ooh, wow! This is beautiful!” And it is. It smells exactly like a lush, juicy, tropical white flower and is miles away from CdG’s usual minimalist, understated style. Simply put, Luxe Champaca is a very pretty, girly strong floral perfume. Since I’ve never smelled a champaca flower before, I am going to say that it smells predominantly of tuberose (and somehow jasmine, although that is not listed in the notes). I can also detect slight cardamom and pepper notes peeking in. However, Luxe Champaca is Miss Tuberose’s domain and she seems pretty determined to keep everyone else firmly in the background!

Caveat: I liked smelling Luxe Champaca on my wrist for testing/review purposes but given its strength and sillage, I don't think I would ever personally want to wear this, nor would I buy it. This is one perfume that would definitely wear me!

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfume Court: white pepper, angelica, cardamom, champaca, bird pepper, tuberose, white musk and iris wood.

I've recently begun exploring Comme des Garcons' incense line and have been impressed with their mastery of this genre. So, I was pretty jazzed about trying a sample "Monocle One Hinoki" (whatever that name is supposed to mean) which I bought when one of the on-line perfume decanters had a recent sale. A full bottle of this stuff is pretty expensive - it retails for $145 for 50 ml.

Anyways, I am sorry to say that Hinoki was a complete and utter let down. It smells EXACTLY like the smell you get when you enter a musty old wooden attic filled with decades old debris (broken wooden rocking chairs, dusty cribs, yellowing books- you get the picture!). It is really a shame that CdG is marketing Hinoki as a precious fragrance worthy of such an astronomical price tag. I did detect a bit of leather in the middle/base note when the musty note faded away but in general, Hinoki didn't stick around long. Which was just as well. For a leathery incense with a bit of verve, I would highly recommend instead CdG's Ouarzazate which is about a quarter of Hinoki's price and is much, much better.

Per The Perfumed Court, here are Hinoki's notes: hinoki wood, greenery, frankincense, moss created after soaking in a hinoki wood bath in Kyoto (?!?), turpentine, camphor, cedar, thyme, pine, Georgian wood and vetiver.

EO 02 is a zippy perfume from the biehl parfumkunstwerke line which would appeal someone (male or female) who enjoys light, unisex herbal fragrances with a twist. At first, it started off a little unpromisingly with a strong, perfumey, sharp green, almost generic “man’s fragrance” smell. But – it just needed time! Once it settled onto my skin, I became entranced. The thyme note was unexpected but a very intriguing addition to the composition, especially when coupled with fir and sandalwood in the middle notes. Rose and jasmine eventually appeared in the base which made it wearable for a female but still, it would be great to smell this on a man. I didn’t catch much of the base notes listed below- maybe a little patchouli if I really tried. Which is just as well since I am not much of a fan of heavy oriental perfumes. Overall, EO 02 was refreshing and I very much enjoyed it. Well done, Egon Oelkers!

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: Top: bergamot, grapefruit, galbanum, cardamom, coriander, Middle: thyme, davana, fir, rose, jasmine, carnation, Base: atlas cedarwood, patchouli, sandalwood, incense, vanilla, cinnamon, amber.

E0 01 is a very pretty perfume from the biehl parfumkunstwerke line that starts off quite sweet, much sweeter than the notes below would suggest. After a couple of minutes a warm spicy cardamom note starts to develop and I am slightly reminded of Aftelier’s Tango. From there, a pretty symphonic floral fragrance emerges along with unexpected but very charming hints of chocolate. The cocoa note is delicate but hangs around and that is the scent which keeps wafting towards my nose as EO 01 settles in for the long haul. The middle/base of EO 01 has a marked hint of powdery luxuriousness that I associate with aldehydes, a good example of which is Le Labo’s Aldehyde 44, and a bad example is Etat Libre d’Orange’s Rien. EO01’s final phase is comprised of warm, slightly spicy woods that are so well blended that it is hard to isolate a particular note.

In short, EO 01 is an elegant, gracious fragrance and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre of perfumery (which I do!). Well done, Egon Oelkers!

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: Top: tangerine, blood orange, cardamom, muscat, apricot, cocoa, Middle: rosewood, pimento, iris, orchid, lily of the valley, Base: styrax, vanilla, cinnamon, tonka beans, cedarwood, vetiver, patchouli.

At first blush, I thought Comme des Garcons's Vettiveru was a strong contender for becoming my favorite vetiver. Its warm yet delicate vetiver beauty has a wonderful overlay of floral notes which helps it avoid the harshness of Guerlain's Vetiver Pour Elle (and clearly Guerlain's very masculine Vetiver). I also would say that Vettiveru is a bit more ladylike than Le Labo's Vetiver. In any event, when I intially applied it, I found its light scent to be extremely pleasant. However, that is what leads to its downfall. The problem with Vettiveru is that after about 20 minutes, it settles into a very pale, almost soapy version of its once beautiful self and then quickly peters out. Such a shame!


Here are the notes courtesy of The Perfumed Court: vetiver, bergamot, neroli, and white cedar.

I am an admirer of Creed's Love in White and Jackie Onassis (apparently Oliver Creed's inspiration for Love in Black) so I was eager to try this out. My first thought was why "black" was even in the name as there is nothing dark or sinister about Love in Black. (Surely it is not because of JKO's hair!) Anyways, the dominant smell of the entire composition is violet. The top note has a bit of the floury/saltiness that characterizes La Artisan Parfumeur's Bois Farine which was an unexpectedly creative touch. The middle and base notes incorporate iris whose rootiness is quite evident and gives the perfume an unfortunate "sad" or "decaying" aura. It is hard to say which exactly but I found myself not liking the smell of this on my skin. The base note was a general sweet-ish floral smell and was evident on my wrist at least 4 hours after the initial application.

As compared to a fellow violet perfume, Armani Prive's Cuir Amethyste, I would give a big nod to Cuir Amethyste as it has a wonderful leather aspect that gives it an adult-like complexity and elegance. Love in Black, however, stays too sickly sweet for my tastes and chiefly reminds me of Howards violet scented gum chiefly sold in England or state-side at Cost Plus World Market.

If Creed's Love in White was skewered by Luca Turin and compared to a funeral arrangement in his "Perfumes: The Guide", it will be very interesting to hear what caustic witty comments he'll have on Love in Black. I am personally a Creed fan but they can do, and have done, much better than this.

Here are the notes for Love in Black: "night-blooming wilfdflowers" from the Greek isles, violet from italy, Virginia cedar, iris, clove, Tonkin musk, blackcurrant, and Bulgarian rose.

Nanadebary Pink is another one of those perfumes that has an incredibly devoted following on the Makeupalley Fragrance Board so that when The Perfumed Court had their 1st Anniversary Sale, I just had to get a sample to see what all the fuss was about.

I have now applied it twice and have pondered what to say in my review. At the risk of upsetting the diehard "Nana Pink" MUA gang, I can't help but ask "what is the big deal??" Pink is essentially an aldehyde perfume with a large dollop of nutmeg and clove notes thrown in. I guess you could say that it mostly smells like a fresh grating of nutmeg on top of the vat of Christmas eggnog combined with lashings of Mom's Elizabeth Arden's Red Door perfume wafting by as she scurries to the living room to make sure that the porchlights are on for the carolers. Pink's drydown is a pleasant enough vanilla-ish scent. Mrs. Beasley's homemade poundcake, anyone? With these perfume images and smells in mind, I can see why Pink might be a "comfort/cozy" scent for some, especially those who enjoy gourmand fragrances. (And, FYI, I am not joking about Red Door above - Pink is rather similar from what I can recall about it.)

Personally, if aldehydes turn you on, Le Labo's Aldehyde 44 easily surpasses Nanadebary Pink in terms of style, sophistication and quality. If you are looking for a spicy, special Christmas scent, I think that Caron's Parfum Sacre is much better made and more elegant.

Here are Nanadebary Pink's notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: nutmeg, coriander, Sicilian tangerine, bergamot, sandalwood, cedar, Indian amber and Bourbon vanilla.

Mb 03 is probably my least favorite in the biehl’s mb line but that is only because I am so enamored of mb 01 and 02. Mb 03 is predominantly an incense perfume which is similar to CdG Zagorsk but the chief difference is that mb 03: a) is smoother due to the addition of chamomile, and b) comes across as slightly more complex given its swirl of spices. The gentleness of mb 03 also had me thinking of CdG’s Palisander. After 10-15 minutes, mb 03’s sandalwood notes gently emerge in a dry aromatic way and combine nicely with the red pepper. Lest you be concerned about the red pepper aspect, I think it is extraordinarily well blended and serves to complement the other notes rather than overpower them (ie. this is not like TDC's Rose Poivree).

Mb 03 also has Mark Buxton’s trademark etherealness and is very much in keeping with his style of creating perfumes that stay close to the skin. By that, I mean that you really cannot smell it unless you have your nose right next to your skin. But, even with this closeness, it lasted about 2 hours.

Here are the notes for biehl parfumkunstwerke’s mb 03, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: roman chamomile, red pepper, elemi, cistus, cashmere wood, styrax, amber, incense, sandalwood, patchouli.

Mb 02 is another ethereal scent created by Mark Buxton for the biehl parfumkunstwerke line. Whereas mb01 is all floral gorgeousness, mb 02 is a little more sporty but still very elegant. Mb 02 has Mark Buxton’s trademark etherealness and is very much in keeping with his style of creating perfumes that stay close to the skin. From the top note I get lovely warm notes of bergamot and neroli which are charmingly leavened with violet. The violet then goes on to work very nicely with the fir balm to create a cheerful yet calming scent. I am not much of an iris fan but the small amount added is just enough to give the perfume gravity without launching a rooty “ashtray” accord that can sometimes accompany iris. In fact, mb 02 reminds me a bit of Armani Prive’s delicately exquisite iris masterpiece, Pierre de Lune.

However, the best comparison I can think of is that mb 02 is to mb 01, what Diorella is to Diorama. And those of you who know those Dior classics will know exactly what I mean. Well done, Mark Buxton!

Here are the notes of biehl parfumkunstwerke’s mb 02, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: violet, bergamot, tagetes, basil, carnation, violet, iris, labdanum, sandalwood, musk, fir balm, benzoe siam.

Guerilla 2 is a quirky little fragrance that I liked right off the bat but then, I tend to enjoy off-beat perfumes such as Escentric Molecules Escentric 01 and CdG Peppermint.

It is hard to say definitively what Guerilla 2 smells like and heaven knows, the name is no help. However, from this I get a fresh green/slightly citrus fragrance that has a touch of ginger and musk. As it dries down, a warm yet delicate vetiver note emerges. Guerilla 2 is truly a unisex fragrance, appealing to both men and women.

Here are the notes for Guerilla 2: bergamot, pink pepper,ginger, red pepper, curcuma, raspberry, tuberose, vetiver, cedarwood, and musk.

Biehl's MB 01 is hands down one of the most beautiful floral perfumes I have ever smelled. It has Mark Buxton's signture light touch and is smell-able only if you get close to the skin which I think makes it a very alluring fragrance. MB 01 is so well blended that it is hard to isolate a particular floral note but I can detect a generous helping of white musk which becomes the dominant note in the drydown, and softens and enhances the fragrance. It should also be said that MB 01 is a "warm" floral in the style of Serge Lutens "Un Lys", but in contrast to a "cold" (but equally beautiful) floral such as Frederic Malle's Lys Mediterranee.

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: jasmine, tuberose, champaca, gardenia, ambergris, musk and sandalwood.

Demeter's Salt Air is a light feminine fragrance that has marine notes as well as musk which gives it that “soapy clean” aspect that so many people seem to love. At the risk of being completely unoriginal, it is a pleasant little perfume that is best suited for the summertime and being outdoors. Also, you can’t go wrong with Demeter’s low prices. The only drawback to Salt Air is, of course, that Demeter perfumes have notoriously short lives although this one has better sillage than most. For those of you who know the CB I Hate Perfumes’ line, Demeter Salt Air is a kissing cousin to CBIHP’s Mr. Hulot’s Holiday. Salt Air would be a great gift for a teenaged girl that wants to smell "clean" or for a new mother that doesn’t want to wear heavy fragrances around her baby.

Here are the notes: marine, ozones, white floral, musk, driftwood, salt.

It's always amazing to smell a perfume that blows you away the first time you smell it and sends you running to check the full bottle price online. That happened to me with Armani Prive's Pierre de Lune, Dior's vintage Diorling, Dior's re-issued Diorama and now this quirky little fragrance, Escentric 01.

With Escentric 01, I get a rush of lime and pepper in the top note which then morphs into a lovely yet exciting warm vetiver/wood fragrance that is somewhat indescribable. Escentric 01 comes closest in smell to Ormonde Jayne's Isfarkand but Escentric 01has a touch less pink pepper and a bit more metallic/cedar in the middle and base notes. Escentric 01 also doesn't last as long on my skin as Isfarkand although I've read that on others, it comes and goes in waves. The last thing I should say about Escentric 01 is that apparently 65% of it is a synthetic aroma chemical called "ISO E Super" which is a base for a lot of fragrances made today. It kind of bummed me out to hear that my new love is mainly artificial but I think I'm just going to have to get over my prejudices. It is just too darn wonderful!

Here are Escentric 01's notes, per The Perfumed Court: wood, sweet pink pepper, lime peel, and orris incense.

PG's Bois Blond is a rich leather fragrance that features galbanum, as well as a touch of sweet-smelling hay. Somehow I get a slight feel of it being an “oriental” type scent which is probably due the amber that forms the backbone of Bois Blond. It is not as sickly sweet as Serge Luten’s Daim Blond (thank goodness!) nor does it have the delicacy of Armani Privé's Cuir Amethyste, and neither does it have the spiciness of Etro’s Gomma. Rather Bois Blond is an understated scent that when it dries down, it smells like a very expensive suede shirt in the palest shade of cream. Of all the scents I have smelled, I think this is closest in style and smell to Heeley’s Cuir Pleine Fleur. While I would not buy Bois Blond for myself, I can appreciate that it is a very well-made leather perfume.

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: galbanum, blond tobacco, amber, cedar, musk, cereals, grass and hay.

Creed’s Zeste Mandarine Pamplemousse seemed like a floral for about the first 3 minutes on my skin but then quickly evolved to become a near scent twin to Annick Goutal’s Nuits d’Hadrien. They both have the same rich cumin note which overlays a bed of bergamot and bitter orange. If had had to closely comapre the two, I would say that Nuits d’Hadrien is slightly more dry, aromatic and longer-lasting but I think one would have a hard time figuring out which was which in a “blind” smell-off. I happen to be a long-time bottle owner of Nuits d’Hadrien so of course I love the spicy, uniqueness of Zeste Mandarine Pamplemousse. It would be a wonderful scent to wear in the fall, as the leaves are turning deep shades of orange and red.

If you like enjoy this, also be sure to try Editions Frederic Malle’s Bigarade Concentree for a slightly different interpretation of spicy orange.

Here are the notes of Zeste Mandarine Pamplemousse, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: bergamot, lemon bark, mandarin and grapefruit.

Technically speaking, a “croquembouche” is a fancy French dessert which is a conical pile of hollow pastry balls stacked on top of each other, and held together with nougat. There are also ribbons of clear spun caramel drizzled up and down the pastry “tree” which gives it a festive, elegant look.

To me, Demeter’s Croquembouche fragrance smells like a cross between freshly made angel food cake and suntan lotion (hint of musk), which may sound icky but it is actually quite pleasant in an innocent, child-like way. I am not much of a gourmand fragrance person (no Lostmarc’h Lann Ael for me!) so the lightness of Croquembouche makes it wearable and enjoyable. Furthermore, as an aside, if you tossed a handful of fresh lemon zest into Croquembouche, you would have La Perla’s Eclix. Yum!

Here are the notes, as gleaned from various internet sources: vanilla, musk, caramel, honey and coconut.

Fragonard’s Soleil is a generic sweet-smelling “perfumey floral” with no obvious single note and seems targeted directly to the mass market, especially to the kind of person that wants a safe, inoffensive perfume. The boringness of the perfume is a real shame because Soleil’s bottle has a stylish hammered gold cap in the shape of a star which sits atop an artfully textured glass bottle and looks like something you might find in a chic little shop in the South of France.

According to Fragonard’s website, here are Soleil’s notes: jasmine, orange blossom, lily, rose, iris, wisteria, amber, sandalwood and musk.

Maharanih opens up with intoxicatingly rich notes of orange flower, sandalword, amber and perhaps a wee bit of pepper. Its drydown is measured as one would expect from a well-made perfume and the middle to base notes emit a soft patchouli-like earthiness. Maharanih would be beautiful to wear in the fall. In fact, it is very much an autumnal perfume with all that that implies. If Maharanih were a color, it would be a deep luxurious russet. Lastly, if you like Maharanih, be sure to give Becker Eshaya's Golden Amber and/or 10 Corso Como a whirl!

Here are Maharanih's notes as shown on the Luckyscent website: Bitter orange, geranium, lavender, cinnamon, sandalwood and amber.

MPG's Pour Le Jeune Homme is a deliciously aromatic, herbal, citrussy fragrance and I can easily imagine it being worn by those handsome well-dressed young men that one sees living the good life in Ralph Lauren's clothing advertisements. It smells expensive in a understated, elegant way.

However (yes, there is a "however" to my review), I am sad to report that Pour Le Jeune Homme has no staying power at all. It lasted about 20 minutes on my skin, which is even less than its scent twin, Etro's Lemon Sorbet. And, as I pointed out in my review of Lemon Sorbet, if you like this style/smell of this fragrance then you can do much better with Roger et Gallet's Extra Vieille cologne. Extra Vieille is very similar to MPG's Pour Le Jeune Homme and Etro's Lemon Sorbet but Extra Vieille has better staying power and comes at a much more attractive price. Plus, Extra Vieille also comes in soap, shower gel, lotion, etc... if you really want to ensure fragrance longevity. Stylish bottle and label too.

Here are the notes of Pour Le Jeune Homme which I found up above in zztopp's review: Top: Bergamot, lemon, brazilian, orange; Middle: Neroli, rosemary, nutmeg, coriander; Base: Musk, sandalwood.

I really wanted to like Eau d'Ete . From all that I have read about Patricia Nicolai by Luca Turin and perfume writers, she is well respected as a talented perfumer. I am also very partial to colognes and adore Eau de Rochas, Chanel's Eau de Cologne and Dior's Cologne Blanche, for example.

However, Eau d'Ete is not in the same category as those mentioned above. It honestly smells like spicy cinnamon/musk scented soap with maybe a dash of orange flower. If Eau d'Ete were a beautifully packaged $10 bar of soap, I would probably like it fine but as a perfume at perfume prices (and I know Parfums de Nicolai is one of the more reasonably priced lines), I'm going to have to give this a miss (although the sillage is excellent for a cologne-style fragrance).

Here are Eau d'Ete's notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: jasmine, lime, grapefruit, blood orange, cinnamon, balsam, musk.

I tried Shalimar Light because it was described by several perfumistas on the MUA Fragrance Board as a "great citrus" fragrance and I love citrus. In fact, it is probably my single most favorite note in perfumery.

That said, I honestly felt a bit let down by Shalimar Light as it is not a citrusy or lemony perfume. Rather, as its name implies, it is a lighter version of Shalimar and has its recognizable sweet-ish oriental and sandalwood notes. I don't care for Shalimar and Shalimar Light is not much better. Tsk, tsk. A dash of orange flower does not a citrus fragrance make.

Here are Shalimar Light's notes as gleaned from the internet: orange flower lemon, bergamot, jasmine, rose de mai, opopanax, tonka bean, vanilla, iris, incense, ambergris.

Le Labo's Bergamote 22 launches with the green smell of freshly cut branches and then evolves into a sunny, warm citrusy fragrance that is downright cozy. The middle notes are like burying your face in a bouquet of orange blossom flowers sprinkled lightly with amber pebbles. Bergamote 22 would be beautiful to wear on a summer evening but it also would be a definite "mood-lifter' in the dark cold days of late January.

The only thing I find disappointing about Bergamote 22 is its weak staying power- it pretty much disappears after 20 minutes on my skin. For this kind of price, I expect my perfume to stick around a while but when it is present, it is gorgeous.

Here are the notes, courtesy of Fishbone's website: bergamot, petitgrain, grapefruit, nutmeg, orange blossom, aspic, cedar, musk, amber and vetiver.

At first I did not care for Le Labo's Vetiver 46 at all. Something in the top note (petitgrain maybe?) gave me that same "elderly man" smell that I get from Dior Jules, which I find a little repulsive. But Vetiver 46 has been strangely compelling. I keep sniffing my sample over and over, and now I find it rather mesmerizing.

Vetiver 46 is a rich, smoky, earthy fragrance which reminds me a great deal stylistically of Comme des Garcons' Tea. It also seems to have aldehydes in the middle notes which softens the fragrance and gives it a sense of voluptuous luxury similar to Chanel No. 5. I also smell a touch of leather and what seems to be a bit of clove/metal/amber in the final drydown, similar to Comme des Garcons' Jaisalmer.

Vetiver is a hard perfume to totally figure out. However, I think it is fair to say that Vetiver 46 is a unique vetiver fragrance like no other. It doesn't have the sunny, astringent "captain of industry" manliness of Guerlain's Vetiver, nor the softer, girlishness of Creed's Vetiver. Rather, Le Labo's Vetiver 46 is a mysterious tall, dark handsome man wearing a deliciously soft, well-cut black cashmere blazer.

Here are the notes, from "Now Smell This": bergamot, black pepper, clove, cedar, vetiver, ladanum, olibanum, gaiac wood, amber and vanilla.

Rien, aka "Dorian Gray" is the last scent in my Etat Libre d'Orange Smell-A-Thon and I am getting weary of their nonsensical marketing material. Here is an extract from their description of "Rien": "Rien is a second skin perfume, a perfume that clings to the body and perseveres in the mind. Like venial sin on the verge of becoming mortal, irresistable and resolutely pervasive". Whatever.

In case you are wondering what this smells like in plain English, and despite the laundry list of official notes below, Rien smells like loose body powder for ladies, ie. the kind that comes with a powder puff. I sniffed it all the way to the end and the whole time it smelled like uninteresting body powder that Estee Lauder might have produced in the 1950's. I could tell that they added aldehydes to try and give it a sense of luxuriousness but that was overpowered by the strong smell of powder.

Similar to Dorian Gray but far outclassing it in terms of complexity and beauty is Le Labo's Aldehyde 44 and Chanel No. 5.

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: incense, rose, leather, iris, ciste, foam chene, styrax pyrogene, patchouli, amber, cumin, black pepper and aldehydes.

I approached Charogne with a degree of wariness since Etat Libre d'Orange's Secretions Magnifique was one of the vilest perfumes I have ever smelled. Also, ELdO's other name for Charogne is "The Beast" and who wants to smell like a beast?? Not me, anyways.

For all of the hoo-hah, Charogne actually turned out to be quite a docile, almost child-like creature. Its top notes smell like cherry and ginger, and remind me a great deal of POTL's Luctor et Emergo. Charogne is an intensely sweet fragrance and is definitely something for those who enjoy gourmand perfumes. (Other than Neil Morris' Afire. I am not one of them). Anyways, Charogne became more pleasant as time went on. It mellowed nicely and hints of vanilla and ambrette cropped up to ride it out to the basenote.

The marketing material for Charogne is so ridiculous that I just have to reproduce a snippet here: "A docile, consenting victim. The beast is actually not far away. He lies in ambush and, as the fine connoisseur he is, anticipates the moment he will take possession of her essence". (major eye-rolling here...)

Here are the notes, per The Perfumed Court: bergamot, pink pepper, leather, ginger, lily, ylang-ylang, jasmine, incense, vanilla, ambrette and animalic notes.

If I liked amber scents (which I generally don't), I think I would enjoy Idole de Lubin very much. It is a warm, well blended spicy amber-ish fragrance with a dollop of rum in the top note that could be very wearable on a winter's day. Idole de Lubin is essentially a gentle interpretation of spices and amber (Olivia Giacobetti signature light touch is evident) which is similar to Becker Eshaya's Golden Amber. It is miles away (thankfully) from its rocket fueled spice-cousin, Frapin 1270. I also think it should be said that Idole de Lubin’s bottle is a touch trashy, in a 1970's sort of way...

Here are the notes, courtesy of Luckyscent: Rum absolute, saffron, bitter orange peel, black cumin, Doum palm, smoked ebony, sugar cane, leather, red sandalwood.

Hampton Sun's Privet Bloom is one of the prettiest perfumes I have smelled in a while. It is a white floral that quickly morphs into a fresh green fragrance with a bit of zing that smells like freshly cut branches (in a good way!). Its ultra-realistic style is akin to those in the CB I Hate perfume line and, in particular, reminds me of CBIHP's "To See a Flower". Privet Bloom would also appeal to someone who enjoys Miller et Bertaux's #3 (the green one) which is very similar to Privet Bloom but has a touch more lemon verbena.

Privet Bloom is refreshing and perfect for summertime wear, especially in a hot or humid climate. Last of all, and perhaps best of all, it is moderately priced.

Here are the notes, per the Hampton Sun website: sea spray, dune grass, blue plum and privet blossom.

As other reviewers have noted, CdG Peppermint is definitely (and thankfully) NOT a "candy-cane" peppermint scent but rather the top note is the exact smell you get when you tear fresh mint leaves apart. I found that rather thrilling, from an olfactory point of view, but the middle and basenotes were just general green-ish notes that were pleasant but not particularly exciting. The sillage was ok- it lasted about 30-45 minutes on my skin. Although CdG Peppermint is not something I would personally want to wear, it would be a great scent for a candle (hint, hint!)


Here are the notes, courtesy of Luckyscent: curly mint, peppermint, bay rose, white pepper, cardamom, amber, white musk.

GS01 is similar to Geza Schoen's Ecentric Molecules Escentric 01 in that they both have a warm woody, cedary base powered by ISO E Super but GS 01 has a more green, herbal side to its personality. It is so well-blended that it is hard to isolate any of the other notes, even having the list available (see below). The drydown is mellow and very pleasant, and lasts a decent amount of time.

In short, GS 01 smells like something that Daniel Craig's James Bond would wear to the Hotel de Paris casino in Monaco for an evening of baccarat and martinis. It is an incredibly understated and stylish masculine fragrance that smells expensive but worth it.

Here are the notes, courtesy of Luckyscent; Dewdrop green, orange flower, green lime, carrot seeds, magnolia blossoms, basil, pink pepper, bay leaves, absolutes of white peach, freesia, water lily, rose, jasmine, davana, and cedar wood, vetiver, sandalwood, guaiac, basmati, musk, ambergris, moss.

There are families of scents that Comme des Garcons does extremely well (eg. Wood, Incense, Leaves- especially Tea) and then there are their fragrances that leave you wondering why CdG even bothered. So far, CdG's citrus/"Energy C" series has been more than a little disappointing to a die-hard citrus lover like me. CdG's Lemon perfume smells like "lemon-scented" dishwashing liquid. It is vaguely sweet and bland, and has no complexity or zestiness at all. CdG's Lemon is very similar in style to CdG's Citrico and I am shocked that there is a market for either of these, let alone both.

If you want a truly well-made citrus perfume, I would highly recommend Lostmarc'h Din Dan, Editions Frederic Malle's Bigarade Concentree, i Profumi di Firenze's Limone di Sicilia or Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria Pampelune.

Here are the notes, courtesy of Luckyscent: Bergamot, yellow lemon, citron, cardamom, angelica, incense, musk, vetiver.

The initial whiff of Comme des Garcons Tea perfume conjured up thoughts of an ancient wooden tea chest, blackened over time and filled with rare, carefully packed Lapsang Souchong tea leaves. It had an earthy, smoky rich smell that would be gorgeous to wear on a crisp fall day and would also be an excellent layering scent. There was bit of soapiness in the basenote which appeared to be white musk. If you are a fan of tea by Mariage Freres or Hediard, be sure and try CdG's interpretation of Tea.

In the interests of giving a complete review, I feel I should point out that that Tea's luridly green bottle is cheap-looking and an unfortunate marketing choice for this well-crafted perfume.

Here are the notes, courtesy of Luckyscent: black tea, zest of bergamot, rose petals, cedar wood, absolute maté.

I guess my love affair with Comme des Garcons perfumes had to end sometime and Citrico was the culprit, although I won't go as far as to say it has ended on a "sour note" (ha ha). After experiencing the intriguing and wonderful Comme des Garcons' Ouarzazate, Kyoto, Zagorsk and Jaisalmer, Citrico was a return to the world of mundane, bland perfumes which seem dumbed down so as not to offend any potential purchasers.

There is no zest or liveliness with Citrico. Instead, it focuses on emitting a light herbally lemon smell that is rather boring. In the herbal/dry aromatic sub-genre of citrus perfumes, Etro's Lemon Sorbet is better made and more complex than Citrico, but that old stand-by Roger et Gallet's Extra Vieille outshines them both. And is much cheaper!

Here are Citrico's notes, per The Perfumed Court: bitter orange, bergamot, neroli, cedar, sandalwood and lemon.

Ok- I'll be honest. The only reason I tried Nasomatto's Silver Musk was because I was enamored with Escentric Molecules "Molecule 01" and Luckyscent's website said that if you like M01, you might like Nasomatto Silver Musk. So, being the mindless perfume slave that I am, I bought a sample.

Well, I cannot say that I detect any similarities between the two. Silver Musk is a soapy, extremely clean smelling masculine green/musk fragrance with slight metallic undertones. Over time, it developed a slight "cigarette ash" note and then mellowed into a classic soft musk scent. Is it just me but does cigarette ash always seem to waft in when iris added? I've experienced that same smell in both Serge Lutens' Iris Silver Mist and Fath's Iris Gris.

Anyways, back to Silver Musk. On the whole, it was a pleasant enough musky masculine scent if that is what you want. The bottle is oh-so-stylish with its grained wooden top. A similar fragrance to Silver Musk is Bulgari's Pour Homme. However, if you seek a similar thrill to that of M01, look no further than Ormonde Jayne's Isfarkand.

Nasomatto Silver Musk's notes are impossible to find so I'm just going to list them as: musk and iris.

Some people may enjoy wearing the smell of old-fashioned lipstick but I am not one of them. Notice I said the word "wearing" because from a curiosity viewpoint, it can be very interesting to do a bit of time travel via smell. Frederic Malle's Lipstick Rose conjured up nostalgic thoughts of my grandmother's purse, rummaging around in my aunt's crowded cosmetics drawer and the most beautiful model ever- 50's model Suzy Parker, all very glamorous and happy memories. Lipstick Rose really does have that unmistakable rose and violet "lipstick" fragrance that I remember from the Revlon days of yore. "Cherries in the Snow" anyone? But as far as wanting to personally smell like a tube of lipstick, I shall politely decline the offer.

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes: violet, grapefruit, ambrette, coriander, tagette, aldehydes, rose, iris, raspberry, and heliotrope.

Le Labo Rose 31 came with such high accolades that I was naturally a bit wary. From my observations on the MUA Fragrance Board, it is one of those fragrances of which devotees have multiple back-up bottles lest it ever be discontinued, World War Three break out or other similar such tragedies occur. Now that I've tried it, I can understand why it has such a zealous band of followers.

To my nose, Rose 31 is cedary rose scent with a generous dash of musk and spices, and has excellent sillage. As compared to similar rose fragrances, it is a fragrance twin to Montale's Roses Musk and those who like TDC's Rose Poivree or Caron's Parfum Sacre might also enjoy this. As compared to Parfums de Rosine's pepper-rose offering "Rose Diabolo", Rose Diabolo is a teenaged girl whereas Rose 31 is a sophisticated woman.

I personally don't gravitate towards heavy spicy fragrances with intense sillage so I cannot go on and on about how Rose 31 has changed my life. Also, given its relatively high price, my little sample is plenty for me and I doubt I will get another once I use this up. However, it is plain to see that this is a high quality, artistic fragrance. Well done! Here are the notes, from The Perfumed Court: rose, cumin, pepper, clove, nutmeg, olibanum, cedar, amber, gaiac wood, oud wood, cistus, and vetiver.

For some reason, Luctor et Emergo generates feelings of near hysteria on the Makeupalley Fragrance Board so it was with a bit of trepidation that I reached for it at Aedes in NYC to try. I had no idea what to expect and upon spraying, was shocked that Luctor et Emergo is basically a girlish almond and cherry blossom scent. It was pleasant enough (I would take this over the intense Pierre Frapin fragrances any day) but I am still puzzled that a grown women (or man) would want to smell like this.

Maybe for some people, Luctor et Emergo conjures up happier days of eating grandma's homemade cherry pie. Maybe it is the gratuitously weird name that bears no relation to the actual scent. Maybe it is the peculiar beaker bottles that draw one to POTL's scents in general. In any event, Luctor et Emergo was a bit like the "Emperor with no clothes on" to me. Not much there once all was revealed.

From what I've been able to glean online, here are Luctor et Emergo's notes: sweet incense, vanilla, woods, cherry, almonds, marzipan, fresh grasses and white florals.

I smelled 06130 Lys during a marathon sniffathon at Aedes and my chief recollection of it was that it was a pretty cedary lily fragrance that did not last long at all. To me, if you are going to do lily, then for heaven's sake, do it right and trot out Serge Luten's Un Lys or Editions Frederic Malle's Lys Med.!

I have to be honest. Upon testing Chanel Gardenia, I thought it was very gardenia-like so I was more than surprised to read online after the fact that it doesn't have any gardenia in it, but rather it is meant to be "reminscent of gardenia". So much for my sniffing abilities!

Another confession I have to make is that I wore Jungle Gardenia back in the days of yore (I was 13!) and I have always like the sunny, unabashedly voluptuous smell of gardenia. Chanel Gardenia is a light, ethereal take on gardenia and is absolutely stunning. It is elegant, very pretty and the drydown is fine for an edt (lasts about 2 hours or so on me). It is not as complex as JAR's blue cheese/gardenia kooky masterpice "Jardenia" but then again, I think the folks at Chanel's aim was to create a light, wearable sophisticated "gardenia" scent that paid tribute to Coco Chanel's signature flower and produce a commercial hit. In both cases, they have hit the proverbial bullseye!

Here are the notes per The Perfumed Court: top notes of absolutes of jasmine, orange blossom, and tuberose, heart notes of clove, sage, pimiento, and base notes of musk, patchouli, sandalwood, and vetiver. Here are the notes, per The Perfumed Court: top notes of absolutes of jasmine, gardenia, orange blossom, and tuberose, middle notes of clove, sage, pimiento, and base notes of musk, patchouli, sandalwood, and vetiver.

Yuzu Rouge is light, uncomplicated citrus floral perfume that I find very appealing, especially in Houston's humid summertime. I like Yuzu Rouge much better than say Fresh's "Lemon Sugar" which has too much of a powder/Ajax note to be truly enjoyable. In contrast, Yuzu Rouge is a clean, bright mixture of citrus and rose. I just wish it lasted a little longer than 45 minutes on my skin. In fact, if you like the notes listed below but want something with more sillage, Parfums de Rosine's Une Zeste de Rose would probably do the trick. However, I plan to fully enjoy my sample of Yuzu Rouge while it lasts.

Here are the notes from Luckyscent: Japanese yuzu fruit, grapefruit, verbena, black currant and damascena rose.

I really wanted to like Harissa after reading that it had a strong blood orange note. I adore a good orange scent, and in fact Frederic Malle's Bigarade Concentree is one of my all time favorites. So, it was with much disappointment that I did not detect any orange note at all in Harissa. I vaguely got a smoky, spicy smell with a touch of saffron from putting it on but the whole thing died on my skin after 10 minutes and so I really don't know what else to say. I tried it twice and both times got the same results. In contrast, CdG's Jaisalmer lasted about 3-4 hours on my skin so I guess Harissa was just not meant for me.

Here are Harissa's the official notes, per The Perfumed Court: blood orange, red chili pepper, angelica, saffron, nutmeg, cardamom and tomato.

Jaisalmer is predominantly a cedar fragrance with lashings of vetiver and pepper which smells the same from the application all the way to the drydown. The pepper/wood combination reminded me a lot of 10 Corso Como which is chiefly sandalwood whereas this is cedar (to my nose, anyways). I also agree with a fellow Basenotes reviewer who described Jaisalmer as conjuring up “images of campfires and charred pieces of wood”. The pepper note reminded me a good deal of Ormonde Jayne’s Isfarkand. Lastly, although it is characterized as an incense fragrance, Jaisalmer does not have a heavy “churchy” incense smell. In fact, it is quite dry and aromatic.

If you enjoy Diptyque’s Tam Dao, Diptyque’s Feu de Bois, Ormonde Jayne’s Isfarkand, CdG’s Ouzarzate or 10 Corso Como, Jaisalmer would definitely appeal to you. From what I’ve been able to glean from various sources, here are the notes: cedar, vetiver, cardamom, incense, cinnamon, amber, benzoin, pimento berries, guaiac wood and pink pepper.

Rose Alexandrie smelled just like a cherry "SweetTart" (ie a kind of candy). There was absolutely no subtleness about it, nor any rose note that I could ascertain. It is hard to understand how a fragrance house like Armani Privé can create an ethereal iris masterpiece like Pierre de Lune and then simultaneously churn out something this sweet and icky.

From what I’ve been able to find on the internet, here are Rose Alexandrie's notes: bergamot, yellow mimosa, rose and vanilla.

Opal is an honest, gentle little musky/floral perfume. Within 5 minutes of spritzing, it comfortably melted into my skin and felt like it belonged there. A bit further into testing, I got faint coconut and vanilla notes which were delightful. At this low price level, I'm astonished at how delicate and well made Opal is. A decant of this will definitely be part of my perfume collection for years to come.

Per the Sonoma Scent Studio's website, here are the notes of Opal: sandalwood, vanilla, musk, bergamot, and ambrette.

I did not care for Profumum's woody perfume known as Alba even though I generally like "woody" fragrances along the lines of Diptyque's Tam Dao and 10 Corso Como. To me, the wood note in Alba was obscured by pervasive soapy/powdery/musky notes that frankly smelled rather cheap. To be fair, I generally prefer more transparent sheer fragrances and Alba definitely was not that. Another thing I wonder is whether the soap/powder/musk combo is part of Profumum's base as their "marine" fragrance Acqua di Sale smells rather like Alba (and I did not like it either). These are the only two I've smelled from this line but they sure were similar.

Here are Alba's notes, as gleaned from various perfume websites: Musk, amber, aniseed, vanilla, wood, hazelnut.

I was predisposed to like "Mat Orange" given its tantalizing notes below. However, to my nose, it smelled like a bland orange blossom scented shampoo from VO5 or for those of you who grew up in the 70's, one of those orange milkshake concoctions from Orange Julius. Anyways, Mat Orange had no complexity or note development. It was just sweetish, boring, babyish orange so I was not unhappy when after 30 minutes it disappeared from my skin. Ho hum. If you love orange perfumes as I do, be sure to sniff Fendi’s Theorema (creamy orange), Frederic Malle's Bigarade Concentree (zesty spicy orange) and Red Flower's Guaiac (hippie chic orange) which all blow Mat Orange away.

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfume Court: blood orange, bitter orange, watermelon, passion fruit, apricot, mango, mandarine, lotus flower and crystal musk.

The name "Marshmallow" is extremely misleading as the perfume is anything but that. It is a musty rose scent that seems to have a large dollop of moody old iris. Out of curiosity and without any leading commentary, I asked my 8 year-old niece to smell Marshmallow on my wrist and tell me what she thought. Her answer: "It smells like a nursing home." And you know, it does.

Here are the notes, per The Perfumed Court: Rose, White Carnation, Vanilla Bean, Pink Musk, Cotton Candy and Jasmine.

I cannot think of any other way to say this. Izmir was absolutely horrible! I don't like gourmand notes on the best of days but this reset my bar of dislike as high about as it can go. Izmir is an intense concoction of overpowering coffee notes and is very similar to Bond No 9's New Haarlem. Both are equally vile. I tried to stick it out with Izmir for as long as I could to see if any other scent would emerge but it did not and eventually I had to run scrub it off. I get chills just thinking about this olfactory experience.

Per Neil Morris' website, here are Izmir's notes: Top: papaya, orange, cinnamon; Middle: fig, rose, geranium, coffee; Base: vanilla, agar wood, sea air and patchouli.

According to Micallef’s website, Black Sea has “lemon, spices and Mediterranean flowers”, however I did not find any of those notes when I smelled it. Rather, Black Sea has an odd clean/soapy scent with notes of carnation, clove, cedar and maybe a little saffron if I try really hard to get there. Another way to describe Black Sea is that it smells like very expensive church incense. Please don't take this the wrong way but I can see this being popular in Eastern Europe or the former Soviet Union.

Black Tourmaline was sent to me as a freebie with a fragrance purchase when I mentioned to the seller that I like perfumes with a pepper note. Well, I don't get a pepper note in this. What I do get is a tidal wave of patchouli and musk that is frankly aggressive and overpowering. The more I smell Black Tourmaline, the more I am reminded of the sillage of Polo and it actually kind of smells like an older brother of Polo. Let's just say that I would not be pleased if my boyfriend started sporting Black Tourmaline.

Per The Perfumed Posse, here are the notes: cardamom, coriander, cumin, frankincense, pepper, smoked wood, oud, leather, precious woods, musk, amber, moss, patchouli.

Institut Très Bien’s Cologne à L'Italienne is a wonderfully executed eau de cologne that comes in nearer the masculine end of the cologne spectrum. I am not sure if the petitgrain note was playing tricks on me but I could almost swear that I got a coffee note from it, in fact, the kind of the scent you get in Italy when your espresso comes with a peel of fresh lemon rind. Whatever it is, L'Italienne is unquestionably glamorous and conjured up thoughts of having my first cup of espresso at a cafe in Rome seated next to a well groomed, handsome Italian man. More seriously, if you like Parfums de Nicolai's Balle de Match or Patou’s Eau de Patou, you would like Italienne very much. As point of comparison, its sister Cologne à la Francaise is much more subtle and feminine.

Here are the notes courtesy of The Perfumed Court: lemon, bitter orange, citron, orange flowers, rosemary, neroli, iris, petitgrain and benzoin.

Institut Très Bien's Cologne à la Francaise is hands down one of the most beautiful fragrances I've ever smelled. It is simply that good. Cologne à la Francaise is an exquisite, ethereal mix of citrus and floral notes that is charming but never obvious. I would have to say that it is more feminine than its sister fragrance, Italienne, which has a good dose of petitgrain in case you've smelled that. As a point of reference, Cologne à la Francaise is similar in style and quality to Chanel's Eau de Cologne and Dior's Cologne Blanche- both winners in in the cologne class. Bravo!

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: Chinese magnolia, Israeli grapefruit, Sicilian white lemon, Calabrian citron, Sicilian bergamot, Mexican limette, Provence lavender, Moroccan rosemary, Provence verbain, Tunisian neroli, Siamese benzoin and Florence iris.

Institut Très Bien's Cologne a la Russe is a lovely powdery fragrance with notes of orange blossom, almond and vanilla which has a clean, high-quality smell. Scent-wise, it is nearly a twin to Dior's Cologne Blanche with Russe having a touch more powder and Cologne Blanche containing a tiny bit more citrus. Both are comforting and beautiful perfumes which would appeal to someone who wants to smell "clean". Personally though, if I could only have one item from the Institut Très Bien line, it would have to be the exquisite Francaise.

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes: Sicilian bergamot, Calabrian cedrat, Provence verbain, Moroccan romarin, Florentine iris, Siamese benzoin and ambrette seeds.

Afire is one of the most intriguing, irresistible perfumes I have smelled in a long time. It has top notes of orange and cinnamon which are reminiscent of the smell of really good homemade Christmas potpourri containing masses of dried orange peel. Then, the luscious buttery, salty caramel notes appear and I am reminded, of all things, of Diorama which is a fruity chypre. My guinea pig boyfriend took the obligatory sniff and said "incense" which I don't get at all, but frankincense is one of the listed notes so maybe the boyfriend is on to something. Last of all, the sillage is outstanding. I sprayed Afire on a scent strip and found it in my purse 3 days later with a very recognizable smell. I am enjoying Afire so much that I want to eat my wrist (and coming from an avowed non-gourmand, this should tell you something)!

Here are Afire's notes, per Neil Morris' website: Citrus, berries, caramel, frankincense, wood.

Secrète Datura is clearly a floral but does not smell like any flower I've ever come across, and is blended with a great dollop of warm musk and powder. I didn't care for its initial aggressiveness but after 5-10 minutes, it dried down to a pleasant gentle fragrance. Secrète Datura reminds me a lot of old-fashioned loose talc powder, furry powder puffs and pale pink silk ribbons. An elderly maiden aunt would be very pleased to receive Secrète Datura.

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes: Datura flower, sandalwood, vanilla and chocolate.

At first, I was not sure what the big deal was about Le Labo's Neroli 36. It seemed like a gentle orange blossomy fragrance that didn't have any special bells or whistles. But then, I wore it outside (which, in the summertime in Houston, is not insignificant) and Neroli 36 really came into its own as it melded into my skin in a charming way that is hard to describe. Neroli 36 didn't try to compete with the 90 degree heat but rather worked with it and subtly released its warm middle notes of musk and jasmine. Were it not for the prohibitive price and limited availability, I think Neroli 36 would be the perfect "beachy" scent, even above Bond's Fire Island, Bobbi Brown’s Beach, et al. As compared to a fellow fragrances, L'Occitane’s Neroli (too sweet) and Diptyque’s L'Eau de Neroli (rather boring), Neroli 36 easily takes the top prize.

Here are Neroli 36's notes, per The Perfumed Court: rose, musk, mandarin orange (slightly aldehydic), jasmine and vanilla.

I really wanted to like Quercus more than I did. I am a sucker for traditional, luxury items of quality and adore the classically stylish Penhaligon's bottles. My favorite genre of perfume is probably citrus.

But, Quercus, was just ho hum. It was a thin citrus fragrance with musky notes, none of which had much depth or complexity. It seemed watery and weak, and needless to say it did not last long on my skin. Smell-wise, Quercus reminded me a lot of CKOne and who wants to remember that?

I think the biggest obstacle Quercus faces is strong competition from fellow colognes. Its own sister Blenheim Bouquet is a wonderfully sunny floral chypre that leaves Quercus in the shade and raises the question as to why Penhaligon's feels the need to carry both fragrances. Also easily outclassing Quercus are Parfums de Nicolai's Balle de Match, Chanel Eau de Cologne, Eau de Rochas and Bulgari's The Vert Extreme.

Here are the notes from Penhaligon's website: Top- Cardamom, Galbanum, Lime, Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin; Middle- Jasmine, Muguet; Base- Sandalwood, Treemoss, Musk.

OK- I am going to *try* and be fairly objective at first. To my nose, Santal Blanc is gourmand/semi-leather fragrance with pungent top notes of sweet cinnamon and coffee. If you compared its first 15 minutes of life to other perfumes, you'd think it would be a kissing cousin to Neil Morris' Izmir, Bond New Haarlem and to an extent, Ava Luxe Silk and Milk. After the 15 minutes are up, the leather notes arrive but the cloying sweetness of the spices and Serge Lutens' candy-like base stays firmly put, and those odors end up defining Santal Blanc.

Emotionally speaking, I DETESTED Santal Blanc (along with SL's Louve, Rousse, 5 o'clock Ginger, Iris Silver Mist, Borneo 1834, et al)! It is difficult to imagine who would want to smell like the kind of flavored coffee beans you buy at Safeway. I am going to thump myself if I haven't learned my lesson by now to just leave the Serge Lutens line alone!

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes: Sandalwood, cinnamon, bark, benzoin, balsam, musk, rose, copaiba, jasmine and pink pepper.

Eva started off with a deliciously fresh herbal green note that had me thinking of comparisons between it and Miller et Bertaux #3. But then, the citrus notes wandered in and Eva turned out to be a citrus aromatic fragrance more than anything. Smell-wise, it is a cross between Etro's Lemon Sorbet and CdG's Ourzazate. While I liked Eva just fine, given the strong presence of vetiver, it would clearly be better suited on a man. I kind of wonder why Santa Maria Novella gave it such a decidedly feminine name as it is likely to put off any regular (read "non-perfumista") man!

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes: Citrus, bergamot, black pepper and vetiver.

To be candid, Gomma turned out much better than expected. The last Etro I tried was the singularly frightening "Anice" and moreover, the name "Gomma" sounded a bit like something like a creature from outerspace so I was unsure what my little vial might hold.

I am pleased to report that while Gomma is a bit odd, it is not unpleasant. In fact, I found the spiciness in its top notes to be quite intriguing and it had a lot in common with Aftelier's Tango in case you've smelled ever that (St. Lucia buns, "baked seashells", etc...). Leather then emerged from Gomma in an enjoyable, slightly old fashioned way and the dry-down was just fine. Overall, Gomma is not something I would personally want to wear but I am glad to have had the chance to smell it.

From what I've been able to glean on the internet, here are the notes: citrus fruits, artemisia, Mediterranean jasmine, leather, and amber.

Lalique's Le Parfum is a classic 80's style of a loud floral perfume in the tradition of Giorgio, Balenciaga's Rumba (JCE- what were you thinking??) or perhaps Chloe's Narcisse. Upon application, it was a loud floriental that shrieked "I am perfume!" Okay, already. However, just as I was seriously contemplating scrubbing it off my wrist, Le Parfum mellowed into a passably pleasant scent.

Personally, I think Lalique should just stick to glass-blowing.

It is inexplicable why, in the sweltering days of summer in Houston, Texas, I have had an urge to explore Comme des Garcons' Incense and Wood Series. It makes no sense and moreover, I did not grow up around incense (I'm not Catholic, Buddhist, Russian Orthodox, etc...) or any forests of note so these are not reference smells for me but wow, I am certainly enjoying these perfumes!

Comme des Garcons' Kyoto is the "prettiest" one of the incense series, an austere bunch of scents. It is most similar to CdG's Zagorsk but Kyoto is a wee bit more girlish and fruity incense whereas Zagorsk is uncompromising warm wooded incense. Another observation is that Kyoto is similar style-wise to CdG's Ourzazate in that they both start off powerfully and then gracefully scale back to become almost minimalist fragrances. If it weren't for today's energy prices, I would crank my air-conditioning way down, pull on a cozy sweater, spray on Kyoto and luxuriate in it! Winter can't come to the Gulf Coast fast enough.

Here are Kyoto's notes, per The Perfumed Court: incense oil, cypress coffee, teak wood, vetiver, patchouli, amber, everlasting flower and Virginia cedar.

Unlike Ines de Fressange herself, her Eau de Parfum is not especially charming or pleasant. In fact, it smells like your standard department store juice along the lines of say, Estee Lauder Dazzling Silver. Ines de Fressange's Eau de Parfum is a cheap/synthetic smelling "floral/musk" creation whose main purpose seems to be longevity and I can honestly say that it excels in that department. Shame that it is rather awful.

Before I even tried it, the name of Zagorsk made me think of stately Russian dachas, miles of dense woods filled with evergreen trees and deep within an ancient Russian orthodox church conducting ritual incense burning during their services. The actual smell of Comme des Garcons' Zagorsk fit nicely with my visualizations. It is very woody but also a dry, aromatic, incense fragrance that starts out strong but mellows out a bit over time. The best adjective I can think of to describe Zagorsk is "uncompromising", which is meant as a compliment.


Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes for Zagorsk: white incense, pine, pimento berries, hinoki wood, violet, cedar, iris and birch wood.

My first whiff of Vie de Chateau immediately conjured up associations of Edmond Roudnitska's masterpieces "Parfume de Therese" and "Diorama". It has the same classic perfume style as these fellow fruity chypres and uses a base which is astonishingly similar to Roudnitska's. Smell-wise, if you combined 3/4 of Parfum de Therese and 1/4 of Jolie Madame you would have Vie de Chateau. I Iiked this well enough but could imagine it being more "me" when I am in my 50's or so.

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes:grapefruit, hay, tobacco, patchouli, musk, fern, cut grass, oak moss, vetiver, and leather.

Here's a conundrum for you. How can one review a perfume that basically has no smell? Such was my dilemma with L'Antimatiere. I liberally applied it 2 separate times on my arm and underwrist area within the space of 20 mins. and the only thing I remotely sensed was a slight smell of musk/dryer sheet in the first 3 minutes. After that, I got the usual smell of my skin.

I'd be pretty annoyed if I had paid money for this rather than receiving it as a sample in a swap. To sum it up, L'Antimatiere is trying way too hard to be gimmicky and cool with its "disappearing fragrance", and is taking its poor customers for ride. An expensive ride at that...

Here are L'Antimatiere's alleged notes from what I've been able to glean on the Internet: white musk, amber, wood, mint.

Artemisia is a genteel floral perfume that calls to mind a scent that Maid Marian might have worn in the mid 1500's in rural England while roaming the countryside with Robin Hood et al. It wears nicely on the skin and has a pleasant, quality smell that highlights jasmine and lily of the valley in lovely traditional way. I think Artemisia would be a wonderful fragrance to give a young girl (ages 12-14) who shows a budding interest in perfumery. Last of all, who can resist such a classically gorgeous bottle?

Here are Artemisia's notes, courtesy of Penhaligon's website: Top Notes: Nectarine and Green Foliage; Middle Notes: Green Apple, Lily of the Valley, Jasmine, Tea, Violet and Vanilla; Base Notes: Oakmoss, Sandalwood, Musk, Amber and Vanilla.

I am truly mystified why someone thought it would be good to create a scent such as Blue Agava and Cacao, much less why anyone would willingly spend money to purchase it. Blue Agava and Cacao has a sickly sweet top note reminiscent of bubblegum and is overall, an intensely fruity mess. It became more tolerable as time wore on and it wore down. Some spice notes eventually appeared (but no cacao as far as I could tell) but overall, I did not find it pleasant or wearable. Afficionados of Satellite's Ipanema or Armani Privé's Rose Alexandrie would enjoy this.

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: lime oil, grapefruit, birgaradia, cardamom, red berry, agava flower, sea salt, orchid, geranium, white lily, cocoa, vetiver, cinnamon, musk and vanilla beans.

Bracing myself for an onslaught of viscous golden brown amber, I was happily surprised to find Golden Amber to be such a beguiling fragrance because I generally do not like amber. It has a vaguely medicinal-ish top note with hints of camphor (?) which sounds awful but it isn't. Golden Amber then mellows into a light wearable perfume with wafts of citrus that smell almost buttery at times. The sillage is quite acceptable as is the drydown to a soft, comforting musk scent. It's a good bet that if you like Golden Amber, you will surely like Mona di Orio's Lux.


Here are Golden Amber's notes: Amber, citrus fruits, jasmine, warm woods and musk.

Hugo Boss Woman is a soft, feminine fragrance that smells like a typical mass-produced perfume which is sold in "better department stores". If I didn't know that it was by Hugo Boss, I would have thought it was by Calvin Klein as it has that vague generic soapy, musky, dumbed-down smell that so many of his fragrances have (or had in the 90's. I now avoid them all).

Hugo Boss Woman is best described as the kind of perfume to be worn when going to dinner at your husband's boss' house for the first time. It is inoffensive, lady-like and likely to leave a casual smeller thinking that you are a clean nice person. Yawn.

Well, well, well. Of all the Armani Privé scents I've smelled to date (Pierre de Lune, Rose Alexandrie, Cuir Amethyste), Bois d'Encens definitely has the biggest personality. It opened with a whoosh of pink pepper and then evolved into a smoky woody fragrance which seemed light but showed a great deal of resolve to stay on my skin.

I would describe Bois d'Encens as a sophisticated scent which would be perfect in the fall, especially on a man wearing a Loro Piano charcoal gray turtleneck sweater. As far as comparisons go, this is similar to Ormonde Jayne's Isfarkand and Comme des Garcons' Ourzazate, both of which I liked a teensy bit more than Bois d'Encens, but I feel a bit churlish pointing this out as Bois d'Encens is definitely a top notch perfume.

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: incense, vetiver and cedar.

Garrigue is a French word that refers to aromatic shrubs commonly found in the South of France which grow in limestone soil. With that thought in mind, I set out to find out if MPG's Garrigue really smelled like that. The answer is - drumroll please - sort of.

Upon the first whiff, I was taken aback as Garrigue had a very pungent masculine note of bergamot that I was not expecting. But, after about 10 minutes it mellowed into a very wearable, unisex fragrance with soft notes of rosemary and unidentifiable assorted flowers. Therein lies the trouble with Garrigue. Its top notes are likely to put off all but the most "manly" women, whereas the middle/base notes will probably cause most men not to like something that ends up being rather feminine. For my money in this genre, I would probably prefer to wear Chanel Eau de Cologne or Institut Très Bien's Cologne à la Francaise and not have to deal with such an aggressive top note.

Here are the notes, courtesy of Beautyhabit.com: thyme, rosemary, sage, lemon, bergamot and orange.

Love in Paris is one of my guilty pleasures. Everytime I see it at an airport duty-free shop, it beckons me and I end up spraying it all over myself since I like it so much. But, I cannot bring myself to actually buy a bottle Love in Paris because it sort of has a stigma of being non-exclusive, non-niche, what have you, and nothing is more exciting than having something no one else can get.

From a pure smelling perspective, Love in Paris is a warm fruity fragrance of which apricot and rose are the most dominant notes. It has good sillage and is overall a very pretty, feminine perfume.

Here are the notes, courtesy of Fragranceshop.com: Roses, Peonies, Jasmine, Vanilla, Greens of Violet, Star Anise, Wood, Apricot.

If truth be told, Bulgari's Extreme The Vert is one of my all time favorite perfumes. I remember when it first came out and thinking that **this is elegance**. Its light tea fragrance is beautifully tempered with a tiny hint of leather which makes it truly unisex and appealing to men. The bottle is stylish and has a hefty weight that connotes *expensive*. Last of all, it can often also be found at Marshall's and TJ Maxx at a very nice discount.

I've owned several bottles of Extreme The Vert over the years and adore it but for the fact that it just does not last! Argghh! Yes, even the Extreme version and yes, I have tried layering by simultaneously using the Extreme The Vert shower gel, shampoo, soap, etc... No luck. Extreme The Vert is kind of like one of those boyfriends that you love to pieces but he just doesn't love you back quite as much. Frustrating, to say the least.

Here are the notes, per The Perfumed Court: bergamot, bitter orange, orange blossom, Ceylon cardamom, pepper, coriander, Bulgarian rose, jasmine, green tea, and smoked wood.

Packaging is definitely the initial lure of the Smiley fragrance. The plastic sample pouch with its broad sunny yellow stripe and the smiley face just begs to be opened. Smiley is also marketed on the label as being a "psycho-tonic"/"anti-depressant" perfume, which means, I guess, that if you spray this on, you won't need Xanax. It is also a sad commentary on today's culture that we apparently need such a thing. Anyways, the hype is kind of intriguing and novel but, utmost, for me is how does the juice smell? Well, here goes. To me, Smiley is a pungent, relentlessly fruity, sweet perfume without much depth or zest. It smelled vaguely citrusy but I am hard pressed to isolate a particular note. Perhaps this will help: If you enjoy Apothia's IF or Bond's Little Italy, you would most likely be thrilled with Smiley's fragrance. Also, given its strong candy-like smell and the rad design, I would say that those Japanese teenage girls who wear babydoll outfits with Hello Kitty accoutrements up and down Tokyo's shopping streets would ADORE Smiley.

Here are the notes, per Now Smell This: bergamot, orange, cocoa, praline, curaçao, patchouli, myrrh and musk.

Un Zest de Rose is combines two of my favorites scents: rose and lemon together in a beautiful chipper little package. The top note has the fresh lemon zing of say Lostmarc'h Din Dan or Fresh Sugar (not Lemon Sugar) and then mellows out into a lovely fresh rose scent. It is an upbeat fragrance perfect for the summertime and the sillage is fine for an intentionally light perfume. The only thing I don't like about Un Zest de Rose is that it is a little pricy for its genre. If you like Creed's Virgin Island Water or the two perfumes mentioned above, you will like Un Zest de Rose.

Here are the notes, per The Perfumed Court: WIld roses, lemon bark, mandarin and orange blossom.

I'll be honest. When I smelled Sologne's top note, I immediately had it pegged as an expensive version as 4711. It has very much the same smell, ie. the same bracing citrusy top note and smelt like a cologne targeted to an upper class European man that wears Gucci loafers. But then, the exquisite floral middle notes wafted in and Sologne changed into a charming somewhat feminine perfume. The sillage though, is not great, but I was not too surprised given that it is a cologne. For comparison purposes, if you like Institut Tres Bien’s “Cologne a la Italienne”, I think you would be very pleased with Cologne Sologne.

Here are the notes, per Beautyhabit: Grapefruit, Lemon Verbena, Sicilian Bergamot, Neroli and Sandalwood.

Balle de Match starts off with a zesty, vibrant top note of grapefuit that is exciting and entrancing. Normally I don't care for the bitterness of grapefruit but this seemed different for some reason. Then, Balle de Match dried down into a lovely unisex cologne that was elegant yet sporty. There was not a discordant or unpleasant note in the entire sniffing experience. And, as a diehard FrancophiIe, I love the name! I really adored Balle de Match so it saddened me that its overall scent faded away after about 45 minutes on my skin. This was even more quickly than one might expect from a predominantly citrus cologne. The lack of sillage is a real shame because Balle de Match is a quality fragrance which smells wonderful during its brief 45 minutes of life.

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes: grapefruit, lime, pepper, incense, wood, musk.

In a word - WOW! I tried Monyette Paris this morning without too many expectations although it gets a lot of love on various perfume blogs. Well, I get it now. It was utterly and completely beautiful, and this is coming from someone that does not usually like sweet or girly perfumes. Monyette Paris smells like a divine mix of creamy gardenias splashed with pina colada ingredients of pineapple, rum and coconut. It is a warm, bright fragrance that kept beckoning me back for more and more sniffing while I was trying to protest that "I don't like sweet fragrances", yadda, yadda, yadda. Well, I gave up, gave in and now I am a Monyette Paris convert. The sillage is amazing (because it is an oil, I guess) and as of hour 12, it was still clearly identifiable on my skin. By the way, I would love to have this scent in candle form.

Monyette Paris reminds me a lot of Molinard's Iles d'Or given that they both beautifully combine flowers and vanilla without overdoing it. For a gardenia comparison, Monyette Paris is a girlish, beachy, vacation fragrance whereas Chanel Gardenia is more austere and appropriate for work.

Here are the notes, per Luckyscent: Tahitian gardenia, French muguet du bois, island vanilla orchid.

I wish I could like Mona di Orio's Carnation, I really do. But I just don't. Carnation is an oddly depressing old fashioned smell of leather and powder, but not in a good way. Two of the three times I tried this, I got the smell that you smell when you are near the rack of rental leather shoes at a bowling alley. Not foot odor but the smell of worn leather shoes. I was mystified as to how it could be called Carnation when it bears absolutely no resemblance to that flower's spicy smell. Then I read on-line that it is called Carnation because it is meant to be reminiscent of a "bloom on a maiden's cheek". Sheesh. What will those marketers and copywriters think of next??

Here are Carnation's notes, per The Perfumed Court: top notes of bergamot, clove and geranium; middle notes of ylang ylang, violet, jasmine and precious woods; and base notes of musk, amber and styrax.

Bahiana is a fragrance that, on paper, is meant for me as I typically like most zesty citrusy fragrances (Creed Virgin Island Water, Frederic Malle's Bigarade Concentree, etc..). I also have a lot of respect for the MPG line in general and think that they have some of the most beautiful perfume bottles around. Bahiana's translucent lime green cut glass bottle with its exquisite bejeweled cap is mighty fine.

However (didn't you know it was going to come to this?), I cannot get my head around Bahiana's weird buttered popcorn middle note! The top note is the obligatory rush of lime but then it morphs into this bizarre buttery, salty popcorn smell that is just not pleasant or wearable. I have tried this perfume 3 separate times and in each case, the popcorn note comes trotting out after about 15 minutes. Maybe they were trying to replicate a margarita scent in which case they should leave that to the good folks at Philosophy. So that I can end this review on a positive note, I should point out that Bahiana's base note is a pleasant enough little floral.

Here are Bahiana's notes per The Perfumed Court: Brazilian orange, lemon, tagetes, yellow mandarin, green leaf, rosewood, gaiac wood, amber, musk, coconut and elemi.

Lostmarc’h is a niche perfume line from Brittany whose particular offering named Ael Mat really does smell like their ad copy says: “sea, the heath, gorse, salt, and seaweed”. It is a slightly haunting yet clean fragrance and someone who does not like perfumes would probably tolerate it very well. In the drydown, it smells like Dove soap. Pleasant and inoffensive.

My least favorite in the Lostmarc’h line. Lann-Ael smells like an oatmeal cookie tinged with orange “drink” from a carton. In other words, smelling it transports me back to snack time at pre-school. This is just not how I (as a 42 year old woman) want to smell but Lann-Ael likely to be deeply admired by those who like gourmand fragrances.

DinDan is an uncomplicated non-sweet zesty lemon scent with a hint of lime. I think it is best described by comparing it to others in its genre. For example, Fresh's Sugar (not Lemon Sugar) is lemon with a dash of vanilla, whereas Mona di Orio's Lux is meyer lemon gently rounded out by amber and a hint of marshmallow at the very end. Then you have Guerlain's Philtre d'Amour which starts off lemony but then develops an intense petitgrain note that becomes aggressively masculine (and almost unbearable to someone who prefers a lighter fragrance). Of course, the gold standard of lemon scented fragrances is that old 70's classic, Love's Fresh Lemon Cologne, which is what DinDan resembles most closely in terms of smell and staying power. Hey DinDan, I’m digging you!

Although iris fragrances rarely work on me, a fellow perfumista highly recommended Iris Ganache so I decided to give it a whirl. During the first 10 minutes on my skin I was in love with Iris Ganache. The top notes smelled like the combined scent you smell when you walk into Laduree or Gerard Mulot in Paris and stand in front of their chocolate counter while next to you is a chic Parisian lady wearing a delicious iris-scented perfume. Absolute bliss. Then, the iris notes started creeping in and taking over and then their powderiness started to bug me. It reached a crescendo and after an hour, I had to wash it off. Which, I am very sorry about because for that first 10 minutes, Iris Ganache was a sweet slice of heaven.

The minute I smelled Parfum de Therese for the first time, I could tell it was created by Edmond Roudnitska as it is very similar in style and smell to one of my all-time favorites Diorama, which was also created by him. In fact, I did some digging around and had my hunch confirmed. Parfum de Therese and Diorama share a number of key notes which are: melon, plum and white florals.

In the actual testing of Parfum de Therese, I got a delicate orange blossom top note and then the buttery jasmine note that I love so much in Diorama came out and mingled beautifully together with rose and plum. I did not catch any cedar, vetiver or leather notes as others have and unfortunately there was not much sillage at all. Regardless, Parfum de Therese is beautiful, lady-like fruity chypre perfume that is likely to become a classic. Well done!

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes of Parfum de Therese: mandarine, melon, jasmine, pepper, violet-rose, plum, nutmeg, cedar, vetiver and leather.

I wish I could be more eloquent in my reivew but my thoughts were the same as the other reviewers. Etro Anice smells exactly like Good-n-Plenty's liquorice jelly bean candy. It is revolting and I had to scrub it off immediately. I just have to ask: who on earth wants to smell like this???

Here are thenotes, per The Perfumed Court: anise, bergamot, rosewood, jasmine, fennel, caraway, iris, vanilla, musk and amber.

I'm gonna have to be honest here. I passionately hated Estee Lauder's Azurée. And I hated it for several reasons. One is that it smells terrible. Azurée is a cloying fragrance with an extremely obvious synthetic overlay to the whole concoction. There is no discernible flower note or other kind of pleasant note for that matter. Sad to say that despite the involvement of Tom Ford et al, Azurée's re-issued perfume is a textbook artificial-smelling Estee Lauder fragrance. Youth Dew anyone? Dazzling Silver perhaps?

Which brings me to my next point. I hate that Azuréeis what the Estee Lauder company thinks the American woman wants to smell like. I envision EL's marketing and focus groups repeatedly tinkering with the juice and dumbing it down so that (in their minds) it will smell generically "sophisticated" to a housewife in say, Kansas, and will thus prompt her to buy it. I've never been to Kansas but hope that the good people there and the rest of America don't fall for this awfulness that is being sold as "perfume".

Here are the notes, per The Perfumed Court: Top note of orange blossom, Middle notes of Tahitian flower, gardenia and coconut; and Base notes of vetiver, myrrh and sandalwood.

It's always amazing to smell a perfume that blows you away the first time you smell it and sends you running to check the full bottle price online. That happened to me with Armani Prive's Pierre de Lune, Dior's vintage Diorling, Dior's re-issued Diorama and now this quirky little fragrance.

With Molecule '01, I get a rush of lime and pepper in the top note which then morphs into a lovely yet exciting warm vetiver/wood fragrance that is somewhat indescribable. Molecule '01 comes closest in smell to Ormonde Jayne's Isfarkand but Molecule '01has a touch less pink pepper and a bit more metallic/cedar in the middle and base notes. 01 also doesn't not last as long on my skin as Isfarkand although I've read that on others, it comes and goes in waves. The last thing I should say about Molecule '01is that it is apparently mostly made of a synthetic aroma chemical called "ISO E Super" which is a base for a lot of fragrances made today. It kind of bummed me out to hear that my new love is artificial but I think I'm just going to have to get over my prejudices. It is just too darn wonderful!

Here are the notes, per The Perfumed Court: wood, sweet pink pepper, lime peel, and orris incense.

Diptyque's L'Eau de Neroli is a watery little fragrance that smells predominantly of sweet orange blossom with hints of soapy musk which ensures, I suppose, that it remains completely inoffensive to anyone. I guess I was expecting it to have a little more earthiness and complexity, akin to Decleor's Neroli face oil which is swoonworthy. Anyways, L'Eau de Neroli was a letdown. Even though I liberally applied it, its sillage lasted on my skin about 30 minutes and overall, it seemed insipid and a little boring. From what I've been able to glean on the internet, here are L'Eau de Neroli's notes: bergamot, tarragon, neroli, geranium and beeswax.

If you've ever wanted to smell like ivy or a tomato leaf, Eau de Lierre is the perfume for you! The pungent green stem smell is much in evidence here and methinks that Eau de Lierre's creator has perhaps spent too much time in the hot sun tending to his/her verdant garden. I mean, who really wants to smell like this? Uh, I guess the people who wear Sisley's "Eau de Campagne" (another tomato leaf opus). On a positive note, Diptyque continues to have some of the most stylish perfume bottles around due to their unquestionably chic labels.

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: pepper, ivy, iris, white musk and "silky wood".

I bought a sample of Dior's Jules to try after one of the leading perfume blogs termed it a "holy grail", "must-smell", etc.. fragrance. I am also a huge fan of older Dior perfumes such as Diorling, Diorama, etc.. so I was pretty confident I would like Jules. Well, let just say that I am extremely underwhelmed and a bit disappointed. To be completely honest, Jules smelled like an elderly man to me and honestly, it had a "cheap-smelling" aspect to it. If I had smelled this blind and someone had told me it came from the sale bin at Marshall's I would have believed them. There are so many great men fragrances available today (Guerlain Vetiver, Creed Silver Mountain Water, FM Bigarade Concentree, Cristiano Fissore Cashmere for Men- just to name a few) that I could never imagine wanting any man to wear Jules. In fact, it turns me off in a major way.

From what I've been able to glean on the internet, here are Jules' notes: galbanum, black pepper, cedarwood, sandalwood, and Russian leather.

As far as pleasant little soapy musk fragrances go, Perfect Veil fits the bill. I am not a huge fan of this genre, preferring exciting over comforting smells, but given what they set out to do, Creative Scentualization achieved their goal. The notes in Perfect Veil are enjoyable, the sillage is good and there is no cheapness about it. A similar perfume in terms of smell and quality is Sonoma Scent Studio's Opal.

Here are the notes per Luckyscent: lemon, bergamot, musk, vanilla and sandalwood.

I was surprised at how much I did not care for the signature perfume from Hotel Costes. I admire and own decants of Diptyque's Tam Dao and 10 Corso Como, the two fragrances with which Costes is most typically compared and thought Costes would be a slam dunk. However, I don't find many similarities. To to my nose, Costes smells like a big bundle of cinnamon bark, with a bit of cheapish sandalwood/musk thrown into the middle notes. I had to wash it off before the base notes appeared as I was about to gag. Sorry 'bout that! (bad reviewer, bad reviewer!) I have heard that Hotel Costes liberally scents their entire hotel with this perfume and if that is the case, I think I'll be staying somewhere else next time my travel plans call for Paris.

Here are the notes, per The Perfumed Court: lavender, bay-tree, coriander, white pepper, rose, incense, woods and light musk.

Just as I was gingerly coming out of my citrus/floral comfort zone, Sequoia whacked me back in with wooden bat! I've recently begun exploring the Comme des Garcons line and fell in love with Ourzazate and deeply admire Jaisalmer so I thought Sequoia would be a piece of cake. Well, it is not.

Sequoia is evidently meant to appeal to a small, artsy sector of Perfumistas that want to smell unusual and different. In fact, Sequoia would be a perfect accompaniment to Comme des Garcon's austere clothes. It is definitely not a fragrance I would ever want to wear. The fragrance has an odd high-pitched, almost metallic smell that could be headache inducing if the juice were liberally applied. The woody "sequoia" note is present in what I think of as a vinegary note. In fact, I get that same spicy vinegary smell in Diptyque's Eau Lente. Lastly, given its heavy, woody qualities, Sequoia is probably more suitable for men than women.

Here are the notes, per The Perfumed Court: red rum, opoponax, kara-karounde from Guinea, Chinese agarwood and mahogany.

What an odd little bird Palisander is. I am not sure that I would have even known it was a "wood fragrance" had I not read up on it before purchasing and even now, I am still perplexed by it. Palisander is, in a word, shy. I reapplied it several times in an effort to coax up any sort of discernable smell. All I really get from it is a soft whiff of a new cork board or a new rubber eraser which I think is due to the myrrh. There is a faint wood smell too but overall, Palisander is an unusual delicate little fragrance that doesn't smell like much of anything.

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: red wood of the Brazilian palisander tree, red Virginia cedar, Japanese red chili peppers, Iranian saffron and Yemenese myrrh.

I was very interested to try the much vaunted and stratospherically expensive Clive Christian 1872 for Women, and eagerly dabbed it on from my precious vial sample. But like the song goes, my reaction was essentially "Is that all there is?

CC 1872 has a pleasant enough lemony/soapy scent which more or less smelled the same on my skin the whole time. After about 30 minutes, I noticed a slight bitter smell reminscent of "Off" bug spray. The sillage was fair at best. To be perfectly candid, CC 1872 is boring perfume with anemic notes that are unlikely to offend anyone. And perhaps that is its key selling point. There are plenty of other more interesting perfumes on the market that have a light citrusy smell. Unfortunately, I think CC 1872's chief attraction is the mystique of buying "the most expensive perfume in the world". To this point, the most noteworthy thing about CC 1872 is its price. From nosing around the internet, I've found that it is currently being sold for MANY hundreds of dollars and in return one will receive a 1oz of juice in a "handmade crystal bottle with 24-karat gold-plated sterling silver collar and engraved crown stopper". Hmmm.... What is that saying about there being a certain someone born every day....?

Per The Perfumed Court, here are CC 1872's notes: bergamot, tangerine, lemon, pineapple jasmine, lily of the valley, rose de mai, jasmine, orchid, cedarwood, sandalwood and patchouli.

Christiane Celle's Calypso Marine is a very pretty, oceanic, beachy scent that is completely in line with the kind of perfumes that Christiane Celle creates and does not go for the cheap thrill of overtly "tropical" notes. Her trademark is light, elegant perfumes that are perfect for wearing on holidays in hot weather. You will not find sharp edges, nor anything weird from Christiane Celle. There won't be any complex development nor overpowering sillage - but who wants that while on vacation anyways?? Simply put, Christiane Celle's Marine and her sister fragrances are what you want to wear while enjoying a poolside cocktail at the Hotel Guanahani (St. Bart's) wearing a pareo and Miss Trish of Capri sandals.

From what I've been able to glean on the Internet, here are the notes: bergamot, raspberry, nutmeg, bamboo, salty marine accord, patchouli, lotus flower, driftwood, sandalwood, soft musk and white amber.

31 rue Cambon is one of the most elegant yet versatile perfumes I have ever owned. It is a light chypre in the style of Diorella but does not have its intense citrus punch. Rather, 31 rue Cambon is a chypre/floral that smells very original and quite feminine, I think because of the lack of oakmoss. Other reviewers on Basenotes and elsewhere have commented on its notes of iris, rose, jasmine, sandalwood and pepper which I did not necessarily catch but maybe you will! In any case, A+ for 31 rue Cambon!

Liaisons Dangereuses was, to be honest, a letdown. The only other By Kilian I had smelled previously was "Cruel Intentions" which was an oddly fascinating ever-changing perfume slideshow. In contrast, Liaisons Dangereuses was a boring fruity plum chypre perfume that never really developed into anything complex or piqued my interest. I did not catch cinnamon which is supposedly one of its key notes. Fresh's "Memoirs of a Geisha" is quite similar smell-wise to Liaisons Dangereuses and blows it away in terms of creativity and sillage. And of course, price. Also, for some reason, 06130's Yuzu Rouge came to mind when smelling this and I liked Yuzu Rouge better.

Here are the notes of Liaisons Dangereuses, per The Perfumed Court: plum, geranium, cinnamon, sandalwood and musk.

Central Park is a very green scent that seems more suited to a man than a woman. It starts out with an intense new mown grass smell and then drifts down to become a "lighter green" if there is such a thing and more powdery. According to Bond No. 9's website, it has notes of bergamot, verbena and lime blossom. Central Park is not a bad scent, but for the price it is not great or unique.

At the risk of writing a terribly unexciting perfume review, Bobbi Brown Beach smells exactly like Coppertone Suntan Lotion as most of the other reviewers have pointed out. As far as "beach" scents go, I find Bond's Fire Island and CB I Hate Perfume's Mr. Hulot's Holiday a whole lot more creative and interesting than Bobbi Brown Beach. However, if you like the smell of Bobbi Brown Beach, then save yourself a lot of money and go buy a bottle of Coppertone at your local drugstore wherein you can also get the added benefit of SPF which will protect your skin! Just sayin'.

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes: sand jasmine, sea spray accord and mandarin.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the Barbara Bui Perfume as I am not typically a fan of "resinous/incense" fragrances. I didn't get those notes at all but then, I don't know that I have ever smelled resin or proper incense for that matter. I would describe the Barbara Bui Perfume as a light, well blended musky skin scent that also has notes of coconut, vanilla, milk, cinnamon and amber that lasts the right amount of time on my skin and is never overpowering. Of all that I have smelled in this genre, I think Barbara Bui Perfume comes closest in style to Cristiano Fissore's Cashmere for Women and to a lesser degree, Sonoma Scent Studio's Opal.

Here are the notes, per The Perfumed Court: spices, incense, jasmine, heliotrope, white musk, sandalwood, cedar and amber.

Ava Luxe's Milk perfume smells like vanilla cake batter to me. Which would be fine I were a foody-scent person and/or wanted to be devoured but in both cases, I'm not. L'Artisan's Bois Farine is about as far as I go with gourmand perfumes and it has absolutely no sweetness to it. The only other gourmand scent that seems similar to Milk in terms of quality and true-ness is Lann Ael from Lostmarc'h which smells like a freshly baked oatmeal cookie. Hmmm..... Wonder what would happened if you layered these two fragrances together?

To sum up, the best way to express my feelings for Milk is what Abraham Lincoln once said, "For people who like this sort of thing, this is just the sort of thing they would like. " Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes: milk, vanilla and musk.

I remember when Tiempe Passate was released in 1999 and thinking back then how wonderful and unusual it was. Since then, I have smelled a lot of perfumes, in particular some wonderful rose scents, and I am no longer in awe of Tiempe Passate. It starts off which a strong alcoholic note and then evolves into a passable rose scent. It is not bad, it is not great, it is just ok. I get a touch of cedar and salt along with the rose notes but honestly, Tiempe Passate is boring. If you want a stellar salty, beachy rose scent, I would suggest Rosine’s Ecume de Rose.

Fleurs de Citronnier is a very light lemon blossom fragrance from Serge Lutens that is nice enough but the main adjective that comes to my mind to describe it is "insipid" and at Serge Lutens' prices, I expect to be dazzled. If you'd like to try a truly beautiful lemon fragrance, l would suggest Mona di Orio's lemony amber masterpiece "Lux".


Here are the notes, per The Perfumed Court’s website: Lemon Blossom, Neroli essence, Tuberose and Musk.

Bois de Filao is pleasant light wood scent that thankfully does not seem to have the usually sweet vanilla CSP base. However, maybe that is the reason why it had very little sillage on my skin and disappeared after approximately 30 minutes. Shame because it seemed so promising at the beginning.

I'm not sure if my skin does not work well with Divine's perfumes or what (I've also tried Divine's Divine and Divine’s L'Homme Sage) but L'Homme de Coeur smelled musty and camphory on me, almost like a house that has been shut up for a while. It may have been the Iris note but whatever it was, it was not a pleasant scent on my wrist or that of my guinea pig boyfriend’s.

Here are the notes per The Perfumed Court’s website: Top: Angelica, Juniper Berries and Cypress; Middle: Iris; Base: Vetiver, Ambergris, and Deer Tongue.

Sage smelled like one of those scented votive bayberry candles that are sold loose at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $.99 each. I totally got a waxy note. It had pretty much the same aroma on my guinea pig boyfriend’s wrist so I am comfortable posting my (admittedly unconventional) assessment of it here.

Here are the notes per The Perfumed Court’s website: Top: Saffron, Mandarine, Cardamom and Lychee; Middle: Balm and Aromatic Woods, Patchouli; Base: Oak Moss, Amber and Incense.

Fresco di Vetiver is an exquisitely beautiful delicate vetiver fragrance that I would buy in a heartbeat if it had more sillage. For testing purposes, I dabbed my wrist as well as my boyfriend's wrist with a generous amount of juice and it unfortunately lasted only about 30 minutes on our skin. Beware! Fresco di Vetiver is one of those fleeting perfumes that will leave you desperately wanting more. Sigh....

Here are the notes, as gleaned from the perfume websites that sell it: Sicilian lemon, Spices, Javanese Vetiver.

If you like Guerlain's Vetiver and/or Vetiver Pour Elle, you would certainly enjoy Vetiver Sport but I would not think that you would need own this if you already had one of the other two. Vetiver Sport was created in 2006 and is a classic pungent vetiver with much less sillage than big daddy Vetiver. As for Vetiver Pour Elle, I used to have it but swapped it away because it just wasn’t “me”. I wish I had saved a bit because it would have been nice to compare Vetiver Pour Elle against Vetiver Sport as they seem quite similar as far as I can recall. In fact, I wonder if Vetiver Sport might be the non-duty free version of Vetiver Pour Elle.

Annick Goutal's Vetiver starts out with a very odd top note. As other reviewers have noted, the top note is a combination of Cognac, seaweed and iodine which was not particularly pleasant to my nose. Thankfully as it developed, Vetiver became a more accessible but still unusual vetiver fragrance. This is a very intriguing and wearable perfume although I am not sure if I would want a full bottle of this.

Here are the notes, as gleaned from various perfume websites: Cognac, seaweed, iodine, Burmese spices, rare woods, Javanese vetiver, patchouli, vanilla.

I am always a little skeptical of people who say “just smell perfume X because I say so”. This was the chief commentary on Theorema so you can imagine my mindset as I approached it. Well, I have been the one missing out all this time. Theorema is masterpiece of lush oranges with a touch of cream, amber and patchouli and has decent, but not great, sillage. Granted, Theorema does not have the zestiness of Bigarade Concentree (a fellow orange scent) but then again, it is not trying to be sporty. Rather it is trying to convey a sense of luxury, elegance and calm which it succeeds in doing. In case you are wondering how it compares to its Fendi sister, Palazzo, Theorema is much more subtle and has substantially less amber. In fact, Palazzo seems like a brash Theorema "wanna-be".

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes: California tangelo, sweet orange, jasmine, osmanthus, spices, cinnamon, pink pepper, cream, amber, macassar, Mysore sandalwood, gaiac wood, and musk.

I stumbled across Cuir Pleine Fleur when I was in one of my leather moods and ordered this unsniffed off a favorite decanter's website. I love vintage Diorling (aka "Leather Goddess") and so decided to do a comparison sniff-test.

Diorling (at least the vintage version) is full-on new Cadillac car leather whereas Cuir Pleine Fleur is a delicate floral/leather fragrance that is ethereal and heartbreakingly beautiful. It is very well blended and I could only barely catch the violet note. Cuir Pleine Fleur is quite soft and not too long lasting but I am so in love with it that I am willing to keep re-applying it. I don't believe my current decant will last long.

Here are the notes per LuckyScent: violet, mimosa, birch, soft leather notes and vetiver.

Jardins de Bagatelle is one of those perfumes that I used to love in the 1990's but it now smells heavy and cloying compared with fresh new beauties like 31 rue Cambon and Lys Mediterranee. Even Creed's Love in White puts this to shame and I know it is not the most popular scent on the MUA Fragrance Board.


I'm a bit sad about no longer admiring Jardins de Bagatelle because for a while, it seemed so Parisian and elegant to me. Now it just seems like an obvious sweet-ish floral bouquet of roses, jasmine, iris and tuberose.


Per Basenotes, here are the notes: Rose, Tuberose, Neroli, Gardenia and Magnolia.

This is just my kind of citrus fragrance: lemony, zesty, dry, spicy with a hint of rosemary. As Racheal Ray would say on her TV show, “Yum-o!” The only thing that bothers me though about Lemon Sorbet is its woeful lack of sillage and the way it leaves my skin after 30-40 minutes. I just want to yell, “Hey, come back, Lemon Sorbet. I really liked you!”

Here are Lemon Sorbet's notes, as gleaned from various perfume websites: lemon, rosemary, vetiver, bergamot, orange, lavender.

I am a huge citrus fan and I like everything from Light Blue, to Eau d’Hadrien, to Bigarade Concentree (plus I have many Diptyque candles) so I was all prepared to love Oyédo . Unfortunately, Oyédo was flat and disappointing with a distinctive overlay of sweetish powdery notes which obscured any meaningful citrus smell. To my nose, Oyédo is a close fragrance kin to my local grocery store’s house brand of lemon scented fabric softener, which is not a compliment.

There is no zing or fun at all with Oyédo . As I smelled it, I just kept thinking “generic boring sweet lemon”. Yawn. For comparison purposes, I spritzed Etro’s Lemon Sorbet on my other wrist which was decidedly lemony, spicy and stylish, in contrast.

I have had multiple bottles of Yvresse (née “Champagne”) off and on since the mid-1990’s. It is a fruity-floral fragrance as evidenced from the notes below. Given its marked fruitiness, I had never thought of it before as being a chypre until a fellow perfumista mentioned that, but now that I am looking for chypre notes, I can detect them in the drydown along with a somewhat yeasty fragrance. Mostly though, Yvresse is a sparking perfume that smells mostly like an effervescent concoction of nectarines and litchi to me.

A distinctive thing about Yvresse is that it is always in a good mood. Sometimes that relentless chipper-ness (kind of like having an incessantly optimistic friend around) is annoying but most of the time I find Yvresse to be a complement to my own good mood or it gets me out of an occasional funk. Also, I am not a perfume bottle person but I think Yvresse has one the most stylish bottles around. I find the heft, textures, sassy gold color and even the twisted metal detailing to be chic and charming.

Here are Yvresse’s notes, as gleaned from various perfume websites: Top: Anise, Nectarine, Mint; Middle: Blue Rose, Otto, Litchi; Base: Patchouli, Oakmoss, Vetiver.

I really wanted to like Fireside as I generally swoon over smoky, woodsy scents such as 10 Corso Como and Tam Dao. I've thought a lot about it and I think my discomfort with Fireside has to do with the omnipresent and discordant tobacco note which is simply out of place, that is, unless one is North Carolina tobacco farmer from the 1800's. To my nose, it is just not realistic to have tobacco dominate a scent meant to evoke a fireside. To me, the perfect interpretation of an indoor hearth is the smell of Diptyque's Feu de Bois candle (which I think may also be in perfume form now) and my favorite outdoor bonfire scent is CBIHP's Burning Leaves.

Here are the notes, per the Sonoma Scent Studio's Website: Indian sandalwood, Himalayan cedar, Texas cedar, guaiac wood, nagarmotha (Cyperus), birch tar, and myrrh.

Ecume de Rose is a very light rose fragrance in which I could smell aspects of salt, soap, ozonic notes and a little musk at the end. It is a shy little scent and does not open up much. I compared/sniffed this against Rosine’s Diabolo Rose which is a rose force to be reckoned with, whereas Ecume de Rose faded into the background in comparison. However, there have been days when I’ve have worn Ecume de Rose on its own and it was quite lovely. I think Ecume de Rose would be perfect on a hot, humid day when you want to be very lightly scented.

Here are the notes of Ecume de Rose which I’ve gleaned from various perfume websites: Top: Blackcurrant leaf, Sea lily. Middle: Dune roses, Artemisia, Rose Attar and Rose Absolue. Base: Vetiver, Ambergis, White musk.

Diabolo Rose is a lush, bold, true rose fragrance. Because I'd read the notes, I sniffed it a lot to see if I could detect the vaunted "minty" note. It was there but rather faint. It seemed like the mint was more of an accompaniment to accentuate the rosiness rather than to be a separate distinguishable note. I could not detect any of the other notes listed at the end of this review. Diabolo Rose seemed like a true soliflore to me. Going on hour 3, Diabolo Rose 's sillage is quote strong as opposed to its Rosine sister, Ecume de Rose, which was sprayed on my other wrist at the same time and is barely there. If you like Diabolo Rose and want to experiment with slightly more complex rose scents, I would suggest trying Caron's Parfum Sacre and/or The Different Company's Rose Poivree. Also, if you like Diabolo Rose, you should also smell YSL’s: A) Paris and B) Paris Roses de Bois as they both exude the same kind of rose intensity.

Per Fishbone's website, here are Diabolo Rose's notes: rose, bergamot, mint, bergamot, lily of the valley, peony, amber, musk and sandalwood.

Caleche was released by Hermès in 1961 and smells like a perfume of its time. It is a classic elegant chypre fragrance that starts off with a more astringency than say 31 rue Cambon or Y by YSL. However, after 15 minutes so, the floral and dry citrus notes smoothly emerge and then it becomes clear why Caleche is considered a masterpiece by Guy Robert. As for comparisons, I think Caleche is smoother and more wearable than Jolie Madame, Miss Dior or Bandit but for a newcomer to chypre-land, Diorella, Y and 31 rue Cambon are probably easier to enjoy. In any event, I find Caleche to be a very confident, sophisticated perfume that is the epitome of French chic. Excellent sillage, by the way.

Here are Caleche’s notes, as gleaned from various perfume websites: bergamot, mandarin, orange blossom, aldehydes, jasmine, lily of the valley, rose, gardenia, iris, ylang-ylang, oakmoss, sandalwood, cedar and vetiver.

I expected Peperoncino to have the peppery fieriness of Ormonde Jayne's Isfarkand (which I adore) but instead it was a relatively tame soapy masculine scent. If I tried really hard, I could smell the clove and black violet notes but the overall impression was one of soap. My guinea pig boyfriend had his arm sprayed with Peperoncino and (without prompting or commentary from me), said "this smells like Dial Soap". In addition to Isfarkand, another much better creation than Peperoncino which incorporates similar notes is the divine Cristiano Fissore's Cashmere for Men.

Notes gleaned from various perfume websites: Cayenne pepper, cardamom, clove, basil, neroli, black violet.

Hermes Rouge is a very ladylike perfume that belongs to the floral-oriental family. The most identifiable notes are powder, rose, sandalwood and myrrh.

Hermes Rouge is not an immediately accessible floral in the way that Serge Lutens' Lys Med is, for example. Rather, Hermes Rouge is a fragrance for someone who enjoys a touch of formality and glamor, and who has the self-confidence to wear a perfume that is not necessarily the latest thing. It is also a fragrance better suited for the evening, most likely in the colder months. I would imagine that someone who likes Caron's Parfum Sacre (or that old discontinued Ralph Lauren favorite "Tuxedo") would appreciate and enjoy Hermes Rouge. Overall, the best way that I can describe Hermes Rouge is to ask you to imagine burying your nose in the most luxurious scented old-school powder puff. That sensation of delicate softness is what this perfume imparts to my nose.

Enjoy is a light floral perfume with a hint of amber, patchouli and *I think* grapefruit. It has the same warm smell as its tomboy sister, Eau de Patou, but none of the rosy lushness that characterizes its girly sister, Joy. Enjoy is perfectly pleasant but while sniffing and re-sniffing, I kept thinking that it just lacked the vivacity and punch that one gets in say, Robert Piguet's Visa. A final thought I had when smelling Enjoy is that given its drydown to basenotes of patchouli, musk and amber, Enjoy might be better suited for a man. Good luck, though, trying to get your he-man husband/boyfriend past the girly purple color of the juice!

Champaca a well–blended delicate fragrance from which I could detect notes of orange blossom, pepper, tea and amber with an overlay of wood. It seems very cozy, elegant and warm, and is the olfactory equivalent of wearing a favorite cashmere sweater while going antiquing on a cool Saturday afternoon in the fall. I think someone who likes Mona di Orio’s Amyitis or Robert Piguet’s Visa would enjoy wearing Champaca

Ipanema is an extremely fruity-sweet perfume with a top note of bubblegum. The intense sweetness lasts about 15 minutes and then veers into the land of coconut and musk. The juice itself is an unfortunate shade of turquoise which ramps the "cheap and tacky" factor up a notch. Personally, I think someone at Satellite had one too many caipirinha’s when concocting Ipanema however, if you love Apothia's "IF", you will likely find Ipanema appealing.

Here are Ipanema's notes per Fishbone’s website: ylang-ylang, orange, grapefruit, freesia, sandalwood, coconut, tonka bean, white flowers, vanilla, sea accord, and patchouli.

I was extremely disappointed with Acqua di Sale. How hard is it to mess up a beachy fragrance? Well, here is a textbook example of one such disaster. First of all, there is waaaaay too much of that artificial cheap-smelling musk that just sticks in the back of my throat. The ozonic notes are flabby and anyways are overpowered by the musk. Also, it has some major sillage so be careful when applying it unless you are sure that this is for you. In short, Acqua di Sale is a synthetic-smelling poor quality perfume.

If you want a perfect beach scent, try CB I Hate Perfume's Mr. Hulot's Holiday which has a clean, realistic smell of beach, salt air, driftwood, etc... It blows Acqua di Sale out of the water (pun intended). Bond's Fire Island also puts Acqua di Sale to shame.

I remember wearing Nahéma twenty or so years ago and was interested to try it again now that I know a bit more about perfume. It is nice enough fragrance that smells like roses, powder and honey but to be honest, I am not as crazy about it as I once was. Nahéma just seems so one-dimensional and is a poor relation to the likes of Joy. It is nothing compared to a floral masterpieces of today such as Serge Lutens’ Un Lys, or Editions Frederic Malle’s Lys Mediterranee or Carnal Flower. In short, Nahéma’s time is unfortunately past.

With notes like the ones listed above, I was so intrigued that I had to try it. Ambre Russe is a heavy spicy, honied fragrance with a deep overlay of amber and incense. It is a heady fragrance and would be perfect for someone who enjoys a dark Oriental perfume. Unfortunately that person is not me but I can't help but admire Ambre Russe's beauty and originality.

I approached Bois Farine with a bit of trepidation given its much touted “bread notes”. I mean, who wants to smell like a loaf of bread? Upon spraying, the first note I got was oddly yeasty and sharp, and then it mellowed into a gentle floral overlaid with a light smell of Saltine crackers. It is oddly wonderful and compelling, and I found myself hoping that it stays on my skin for a long time. I then craftily offered my wrist to a male colleague (aka my perfume sniffing guinea pig) to do a blind sniff to see if he would pick up the Saltine note. He typically likes citrus (Creed Himalaya) or peppery (Ormonde Jayne Isfarkand) scents so I did not expect him to like it at all. However, he loved Bois Farine! He said that thought it was a wonderful scent for a woman and was something that “you only get to smell if you get really close”. As of hour 2, the sillage was still quite good.

As if all that weren’t reason enough to like Bois Farine, when I went to look up the official notes I saw that it was created by my idol Jean Claude Ellena, and upon reflection, can now see his subtle minimalist style.

Tam Dao is a warm sandalwood and cedar perfume which is very comforting and peaceful. It is clearly made of high quality ingredients and dries down beautifully with nary a jarring note. It reminded me a great deal of 10 Corso Como but the basic difference between the two is that Tam Dao accentuates sandalwood whereas 10 Corso Como emphasizes cedar. I am certain that if you like 10 Corso Como you will love this. In the name of research, I spritzed my boyfriend’s wrist with Tam Dao who gave it a “thumbs up” and said that Tam Dao reminded him a lot of Paul Smith’s London cologne for men.

From what I’ve been able to glean from various sources, here are the notes: sandalwood, cypress, cedar, herbs, pepper, rosewood.

Le Dix is a heavy, aldehydic old-fashioned floral with a lot of powder and some wood. I can see some similarities to Chanel #5 but Le Dix just smells inferior to me. I personally don't care for Le Dix or its sister, Rumba, but then I am generally not a fan of heavy floral or oriental perfumes. Le Dix is definitely more of an evening perfume and would be more appropriate for an older woman. Stylish bottle.

Cloying, annoying sweetish woody oriental. Ugh!

Cologne Blanche is one of the few perfumes that have recently knocked me off my feet. Expecting a citrusy eau de cologne in the style of Eau de Guerlain, instead I was wowed by the subtle top notes of orange flower and almond. The chief middle note was a gentle milky smell which then gave way to an exquisitely light vanilla note that literally seemed to melt into my skin. Dior’s Cologne Blanche is an ethereal fragrance and would be very nice to give someone who is “scared” of perfumes or who much prefers lighter floral scents. I think that Dior’s Cologne Blanche and Chanel’s Eau de Cologne are the absolute tops in the cologne genre.

From what I’ve been able cull together from various perfume websites, here are the notes: orange flower, almond, rosemary, vanilla, musk, bergamot, peach stones, “sweet nuts”.

Eau de Guerlain is a textbook, citrusy eau de cologne which is pleasant enough but is not terribly exciting. Eau de colognes are not known for their lasting power but this has even less than most. Price-wise, 4711 is a much cheaper than Eau de Guerlain and smells very similar. However, if you want an original and stylish eau de cologne, I would recommend Chanel Eau de Cologne (tea scented) or Dior Cologne Blanche (orange flower and almond).

Eau de Givenchy is a light green floral fragrance that has a distinctive touch of spearmint and ozonic/marine notes. I know that the spearmint aspect may sound odd and “gum-like” but it actually makes the perfume quite refreshing and cool. There are no citrus notes so Eau de Givenchy is definitely unlike other “Eau’s” out there. Finally, it would really appeal to someone who like Balmain Vent Vert.

Roses Musk is a very high pitched rose/raspberry/musk perfume that I liked at first but then its intensity and endless sillage started to bother me. It is also a perfume that “wears the wearer”, rather than the other way around.

Love in White is one of my very favorite perfumes – who cares that Luca Turin trashed it in his recent perfume book! He also ridicules Creed's packaging overall which I find rather odd. I think this bottle in particular, with its opaque whiteness, etched feathers and silver bow, is quite stylish.

With Love in White, I initially notice a mélange of orange flowers, almond and musk. After about 20 minutes, notes of sandalwood, vanilla and white flowers begin to appear in a soft well-blended way. The sandalwood and vanilla notes make this into an especially calming and comforting fragrance. In conclusion, Love in White is a soft, elegant fragrance that smells expensive and classy, in an understated way.

Virgin Island Water opens up with a zesty, sparkling lime note and then coconut, musk and rum start to appear and mingle, which create a sheer tropical fragrance. It is clear that very high quality ingredients were used to create this as it definitely has an “expensive” smell about it. Virgin Island Water would be perfect to wear pool-side at the Hotel Guanahani in St. Barts. It is casual yet quite chic.

Eau de Rochas has long been one of my favorite Eau de Colognes. It starts off with clean, green, citrusy notes and then becomes slightly more grounded in the middle and base with the very slight addition of patchouli whilst keeping the citrus notes dominant. Eau de Rochas is something I could envision wearing poolside at the Eden Roc Hotel in the South of France, should I ever have the opportunity! Also, in case the thought of patchouli alarms any “light” fragrance lovers, let me just say that I am generally not a fan of patchouli but it is what make Eau de Rochas unique and gives it that touch of pizzazz.

I have rarely anticipated smelling a perfume as much as I did Borneo 1834. The idea of experiencing Lutens’ take on ancient spice markets and bazaars of old Borneo was irresistibly intriguing. Hoping for a dry-ish spicy chocolate fragrance, what I got instead was an intense smell of cheap fruity tobacco, eg. the loose kind that gets packed in a hookah pipe. Borneo 1834 never let up for at least 4 hours and was, to be frank, annoying.

Well, my string of admiration for Diors had to end sometime, I guess, and Miss Dior was the proverbial straw. On the other hand, maybe I am just not able to understand its charms. Anyways, to me, Miss Dior smelled very powdery, oakmossy and ***ahem*** “old-fashioned” (I believe that is the politically correct term nowadays). As far as comparisons go, it is very similar to Ma Griffe but not as pleasant/interesting as Ivoire. Good sillage.

I have to be honest, I tried Carnal Flower on two separate occasions at the Frederic Malle store (in their “smelling cabine”, no less) and did not find it to be anything special. Then I spoke with a friend who worships Carnal Flower and upon finding out that I had only smelled it in the air and on a paper strip, she made me promise to smell it on my skin and to that end, kindly sent me a sample. Well, mea culpa. Carnal Flower is exquisite and lives up to all of the accolades it receives.


The funny thing is that while I “know” it is tuberose, it does not smell like the tuberose I thought I knew. Normally I find tuberose to be a bit offputting in a heavy/overpowering way. Carnal Flower, however, was refreshing and absolutely beautiful. Whilst sniffing, its shimmering beauty reminded me very much of its sister, Lys Méditerranée. In fact, I dare to say that Carnal Flower is the tuberose version of Lys Méditerranée but with a dollop of that white musk/“Coppertone sun tan lotion” smell thrown in for comfort. In any event, I am a happy convert to the shrine of Carnal Flower!

Lys Méditerranée is a beautiful olfactory essay on the lily. As reviewers here and elsewhere have noted, it smells like the rush you get when you open a florist’s cold refrigerator full of fresh white lilies and stick your head for a deep sniff. As the perfume develops, it becomes slightly tempered with a touch of a “green stalk” note but regardless, the lily note always stays true and clear. For comparison purposes, I also tried Serge Lutens’ “Un Lys” on the other wrist. It is a creamy warm lily whereas Lys Méditerranée is a cooler, slightly more shimmering lily. Last but not least, it has just the right amount of sillage.

I was astonished to learn that Rumba was created by Jean-Claude Ellena as it is in NO WAY representative of the sheer, elegant fragrances that I associate with his minimalist, subtle style (eg. Bvlgari's Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert, Hermés' Un Jardin Sur Nil, Frederic Malle's Bigarade Concentree and L'Eau d'Hiver, the Hermessence line, etc..).

Rumba is a loud voluptuous floral animalic oriental perfume that smells like one of those cheap air fresheners that dangle from a rearview mirror. As if all that cacaphony weren't enough, the drydown is reminiscent of a poor quality "incense cone". One way to think of Rumba is to imagine her and her cousin, Giorgio, noisily chewing gum, walking around in designer jumpsuits with metallic high heels, big hair and lots of jewelry.

Mr. Ellena- Please tell me what possessed you to make this??

Dior Star is a light well-blended floral perfume that would perfect to wear in the summer. Despite the notes listed above, I thought I detected jasmine and sweet pea, however I certainly caught the cozy hint of white musk at the end. One thing to keep in mind, though, prior to purchasing Dior Star is that it has very little sillage. It stayed on my skin for about an hour and then quietly drifted away.

Forever and Ever is a freesia and jasmine combination that is nice but honestly, it is a little boring. I think it would appeal to someone that wants very clean-smelling light fragrance for summer.

Cruel Intentions is an oddly mesmerizing perfume which accomplished something that no other perfume has ever done for me before. As strange as it may seem, the notes truly scroll by in ever-changing fragrance slideshow. Here is what I was able to catch, in order of appearance: sweetish rose, mustiness, earthiness, patchouli, vetiver, leather and cedar. Cruel Intentions was clearly composed by someone with a terrific sense of humor who delights in surprises.

The sillage was ok. It lasted about 2 hours on my skin.

Andree Putman's Preparation Parfumee is a cool, casually elegant fragrance which evokes thoughts of beaches in Pacific Northwest. It starts out with a distinct cedar/pepper/coriander note and then rather than veering off to a cozy log cabin in the woods like 10 Corso Como does, Preparation Parfumee takes the path to the beach on a cloudy day and settles herself near a pile of driftwood in quiet contemplation. Lovely scent but as other reviewers have noted, it does not last too terribly long.

Pierre de Lune is light, understated and kind of hard to get acquainted with, rather like when you have to make an effort to get a shy child to warm up to you but but once you do, it is very rewarding. There is no one dominant scent note. This is a perfume that evokes a sense of coziness and comfort. In a good way, it smelled like a cotton towel fresh from the dryer (without the involvement of Bounce or other fabric softeners) or my skin fresh from the shower, before putting any perfume on. I was quite suprised by the "warm" aspect of Pierre de Lune since normally iris is a cold scent to me. It would be a great perfume to give someone who likes light fragrances or who is kind of scared of perfume in general.

I was suprised by L'Air du Desert Marocain - it really did not smell at all like what I was expecting. In fact, I halfway wondered if I somehow erroneously had received a sample of Andy Tauer's Lonestar Memories instead given the notes that I caught.

It started out smelling like spicy amber incense and then in the same fashion as Tauer's Reverie au Jardin, L'Air du Desert Marocain did a 180 and started emitting notes of smoke, cedar and old leather. Other than the intial incense note, it did not remind me of Morocco at all (which I've visited). Rather, L'Air du Desert Marocain evoked thoughts of a taciturn, weather beaten cowboy pulling off his burnished leather boots by a crackling cedar bonfire.

I was suprised at how much I liked Visa. I love Piguet's Bandit (in moderation) and hate Fracas (just too much) so I was a bit apprehensive to see whether Visa would evoke strong scent feelings as well.

As for the top/middle notes, I caught orange blossom, bergamtot, neroli, amber and just a touch of oak moss for depth. Visa seems similar to Annick Goutal's Nuits d'Hadrien but without the spicy cumin notes.

Overall Visa is a warm, elegant scent that would be appropriate for many occasions, casual or dressy. I also think it could work in all four seasons, even the hotter months.

Ma Griffe is an pleasant soapy chypre that iseems like a younger, more innocent cousin to Ivoire. The most dominant notes are vetiver, galbanum, moss and gardenia (just a hint). Ma Griffe is a lady-like scent that I'm not sure that I would really want to wear as it has an inescapable old fashioned aspect to it. To my nose, there are a lot better smelling, more interesting perfumes out there than Ma Griffe.

To my nose, YSL's Roses de Bois is an exact scent twin to YSL's Paris. In fact, I really wished I'd had some Paris handy so I could have figured out the difference between the two. In any event, Roses de Bois is a deeply sweet rose jam scent that is quite elegant. I think it is great, but then I am a huge rose fan!

Diorissimo is the quintessential ode to Lily of the Valley and has, perhaps, a touch of Sweet Pea. I was surprised to learn from Luca Turin in his "Perfumes: The Guide" that all lily of the valley fragrances are reconstructions since no extractions from the flower are possible. Which makes me admire Diorissimo even more as it impeccably replicates the heady scent of lily of the valley. Diorissimo is a beautiful, elegant fragrance and would well suit someone who enjoys a velvety, rich white floral.

Sous le Vent is an astringent chypre with agressive notes of oakmoss, galbanum and bitter citrus that I personally found to be very off-putting. It is a close twin to Coty's Chypre de Coty. In either case, I cannot imagine wanting to smell like these perfumes! Thankfully, Sous le Vent calms down eventually - I had to make myself resist scrubbing it off (ah - what I do in the name of perfume reviewing!). However, as chypres go, I easily prefer Chanel's 31 rue Cambon, Dior's Diorella, Hermes' Caleche or even Piguet's Bandit over Guerlain's Sous le Vent.

With Nuit Noire, it felt as if Mona di Orio was trying to do a modern take on a classic type of perfume. Nuit Noire is a powdery floral that has a touch of musk but I couldn't pick out any specific middle notes. Reading the notes listed up above was surprising- I definitely did not get ginger, clove, cinnamon, etc. The base note, however, smelled like just like red grapes.

I kind of see where Mona di Orio was trying to go with Nuit Noire but honestly, it is just not a likeable scent.

My first whiff of Stella conjured up an impression of a beautiful rose fragrance and I immediately wondered why I hadn't tried it before. The top notes of Stella are sheer warm roses with a touch of lemon verbena. Gorgeous.

However, after 15-20 minutes into the testing, the Stella scent kind of died on my wrist and there was really nothing left to smell. I've never had this happen with an EDP before and it was very strange. Tried it twice and got the same reaction both times.

Kenzo Amour is a pleasant, if slightly boring, vanilla/almond/powder/floral scent with an overlay of white musk. I think it would appeal most to a girl aged 12-15 who just wants to blend in with the crowd and smell "sweet and clean". I much prefer Kenzo’s “L’Eau” and “Parfum d’Ete” to this.

“So New York” is a sweetish citrus fragrance that is stolid and boring. It has touches of amber and musk that are not well blended and seem to be mashed together with the bergamot notes in a clumsy way. In the spirit of broader testing, I gave my sample of “So New York” to a male colleague to try (he loves "Chez Bond", by the way) and he did not like it at all. In fact, he politely went to scrub it off his wrist shortly afterwards.


There are much, much better well-crafted citrus fragrances out there than “So New York”, notably: Annick Goutal's "Eau d'Hadrien", Bulgari's "Extreme", Frederic Malle's "Bigarade Concentree" or Chanel's "Eau de Cologne".

I am a huge citrus perfume fan but even I don't get the hype on Carthusia's Mediterraneo. It starts off smelling like Lemon Pledge. After 10 minutes or so, the sweetish chemical top notes disappear and one is left with a tolerable citrus floral scent without much sillage. Lastly, given the mediocrity of this particular scent, the high price is rather annoying.

For my money, I'd take ANY of the following over Carthusia's Mediterraneo any day: Annick Goutal's "Eau d'Hadrien", Bulgari's "Extreme", Frederic Malle's "Bigarade Concentree" or Chanel's "Eau de Cologne". These are all top-notch, interesting and well-crafted citrus perfumes.

I had high hopes for "Divine" after reading the positive 4-star review of it in "Perfumes: The Guide" which called it a buttery floral. I tried this on my skin on two separate occasions and detected no butter note at all (as opposed to Diorama which definitely has a lush creamy butter note). Instead, "Divine" is a heavy floral animalic that smells like a cheap, blowsy cousin of Givenchy's Ysatis. For my money, I would take Ysatis every time over this as it is elegant, well-blended and classy. Unfortunately, Divine is not any of those things.

"Union Square" is a soapy inoffensive little green scent with a hint of musk that I had really hoped to like given all the adoring comments about it on the the various perfume blogs. Instead, if I had smelled this blind, I would have thought that “Union Square” was a new offering from the Clinique line. It would fit in nicely with Wrappings, Aromatics Elixir, etc... Union Sqaure is not bad per se, it is just disappointing coming from a perfume house that (a) has the means to hire talented perfumers and (b) charges extremely high prices. Union Square is definitely not worth the price.

When I dabbed this on, I was expecting a classy mix of white flowers with perhaps a touch of fizzy champagne. Instead, “Park Ave.” smells just like “Body on Tap Shampoo”, that classic beer shampoo from the 1970’s. Lasts about an hour on the skin.

Bandit starts off with a green peppery note and then develops into leather chypre fragrance with extraordinary sillage. It is *the* perfume to wear when you need a boost of self-confidence as it is strong, sexy and devil-may-care, but yet it is ladylike. If you like Mitsouko or Jolie Madame, you will understand and appreciate Bandit. However, if you like Anais Anais or Flowerbomb, this is unlikely to be the scent for you. Final cautionary note: A little bit of Bandit goes a very long way!

At first I thought Acqua showed promise. The first whiff evoked thoughts of a sunny day in Capri with its marine and ozone notes. After an hour, it inched its way to being a nondescript "sweet white floral blend". With Acqua, it seems that Missoni took the easy way out and decided that it would be best for it to smell like like a combination of generic sweet flowers or “watery bubblegum” as a fellow reviewer on MUA noted. I have had shampoos that smelled a whole lot more exciting than this.

Louve is a sickly sweet sugar bomb that ends up smelling like musk.

The only thing "shocking" about this is how shockingly awful it is. It has dusty musty notes of rose and incense, overlaid by a cloying scent of dark honey which gets to the back of my throat and just sticks there. Another way to understand Shocking is that it smells like the closet of a spinster great aunt where she saved every rose corsage and honey jar that came her way. After 10 minutes of wearing Shocking, it is clear that this is a scrubber (and gargler) par excellence. Ugh!

I got an eagerly awaited sample of Iris Silver Mist and on me, it smelled like an ashtray. A luxurious ashtray owned by an elegant lady in the 1950's but ashes all the same. By the way- it lasts a VERY long time....

With advance apologies to everyone who knows what "champaca" is or smells like (I've never heard of it), Tango's top and middle notes smelled to me like a warm Swedish-style spice bread with notes of honey, saffron and cardamom. It was definitely more like a European-style baked good than an American one because in places like Germany and the Scandinavian countries, their pastries seem to have half the sweetness of similar American-style desserts. With Tango, think of an authentic "Lebkuchen", "St. Lucia Bun", etc...

After an hour or so, Tango evolved into a beachy, sun-tan lotion, white-musk scent (in a nice, soft unassuming way). At that point, I could definitely envision sitting on a wind-swept beach in Northern California or Oregon at sunset, wearing a cozy soft sweater next to a crackling bonfire after a long languid day of sun-bathing.

I loved Y on my very first testing and cannot believe that I am only just now smelling it for the first time. I have seen it in the stores for ages and am not sure why I always passed it by. Definitely my loss!

Y starts off as a beautiful light chypre fragrance and dries down into a lovely light white floral scent with decent sillage. Lovers of 31 rue Cambon, Ma Griffe, Ivoire, Diorella and/or Caleche would be well pleased with this. Y is sexy in an elegant way and very classy. I would be pleased to own a bottle of it one day.

Bolt of Lightning is the most expensive one in the JAR line at 530 euros for a bottle of 30 ml extrait. It starts out with unidentifiable cool green notes and then after about 45 minutes evolves into the smell of grapebubble gum (the penny kind in the individual red and yellow wrappers). The light powdered sugar dusting that covers the gum is also well evident in the notes. After an hour or so, it changes into a very light white floral fragrance with a decided touch of gardenia. All I can say is, I am glad that I only purchased a tiny sample of this. At that price, I would be furious about smelling like grape bubblegum!

After sampling Bolt of Lightning and other JAR fragrances, I just had to visit the JAR store in Paris (not affiliated). The following is a brief account of my visit:

No appointments to smell the JAR perfumes at the JAR store on rue Castiglione are necessary, unlike the rules to view JAR’s jewelry line which is sold at a different location. Anyways, you arrive at the JAR store, ring a bell to request entrance and then are ushered by an immaculately dressed man into a silent room which has one small round table and two chairs. The room is sparsely decorated in the French ancien regime style and is painted a dark aubergine. The ceiling has an elaborate crystal chandelier and, as a touch of whimsy, a mural of a thunderous dark sky with a giant lightning bolt. Bottles of each JAR perfume sit nearby on an elevated lighted stand which seems like an untouchable shrine. I did not dare go near them. Once you are seated, you notice that on the table are a number of glass containers which look like covered petri dishes and each contain a piece of crumpled fabric doused in scent. The JAR representative’s role is to silently open each glass container one at a time and hold it up to you for a sniff of the saturated fabric. He is extremely courteous even though he will ONLY tell you the name of each perfume and nothing else. JAR’s policy is that they do not reveal any notes or comments about their fragrances. It is all meant to be a big secret, I suppose. So there you are, sniffing the contents of each glass container and you want to have a conversation about what you smell with your companion but somehow you get the feeling that it would be uncouth to say anything in the presence of the JAR representative about the perfumes.

On the whole, the JAR fragrances are extremely idiosyncratic and very expensive (for a 30 ml bottle, they range from 220 - 530 euros), and would not appeal to the mainstream consumer. For example, I cannot imagine what the average person would think of the distinct dill pickle notes in “Shadow”. However, I get the impression that the weirdness and cult-like secrecy is by design. It is almost as if the JAR perfume line is a side hobby for Joel Arthur Rosenthal and he really doesn’t care if his perfumes sell or not. There is certainly no pressure to buy anything but given the silence and somewhat forbidding atmosphere, you do not feel like lingering either. We thanked the JAR gentleman who graciously shook our hands and then left the strange little world of JAR perfumes.

Golconda is probably the most wearer-friendly perfume in the JAR stable. It has definitive notes of clove, carnation and chocolate which are blended nicely into a warm, rich floral fragrance. In short, it is an elegant spicy “floriental” perfume and I would think that Golconda would appeal to a lover of Must de Cartier or Serge Lutens Borneo 1834, for example.

After sampling this and other JAR's, I just had to visit the JAR store in Paris (not affiliated). The following is a brief account of my visit:

No appointments to smell the JAR perfumes at the JAR store on rue Castiglione are necessary, unlike the rules to view JAR’s jewelry line which is sold at a different location. Anyways, you arrive at the JAR store, ring a bell to request entrance and then are ushered by an immaculately dressed man into a silent room which has one small round table and two chairs. The room is sparsely decorated in the French ancien regime style and is painted a dark aubergine. The ceiling has an elaborate crystal chandelier and, as a touch of whimsy, a mural of a thunderous dark sky with a giant lightning bolt. Bottles of each JAR perfume sit nearby on an elevated lighted stand which seems like an untouchable shrine. I did not dare go near them. Once you are seated, you notice that on the table are a number of glass containers which look like covered petri dishes and each contain a piece of crumpled fabric doused in scent. The JAR representative’s role is to silently open each glass container one at a time and hold it up to you for a sniff of the saturated fabric. He is extremely courteous even though he will ONLY tell you the name of each perfume and nothing else. JAR’s policy is that they do not reveal any notes or comments about their fragrances. It is all meant to be a big secret, I suppose. So there you are, sniffing the contents of each glass container and you want to have a conversation about what you smell with your companion but somehow you get the feeling that it would be uncouth to say anything in the presence of the JAR representative about the perfumes.

On the whole, the JAR fragrances are extremely idiosyncratic and very expensive (for a 30 ml bottle, they range from 220 - 530 euros), and would not appeal to the mainstream consumer. For example, I cannot imagine what the average person would think of the distinct dill pickle notes in “Shadow”. However, I get the impression that the weirdness and cult-like secrecy is by design. It is almost as if the JAR perfume line is a side hobby for Joel Arthur Rosenthal and he really doesn’t care if his perfumes sell or not. There is certainly no pressure to buy anything but given the silence and somewhat forbidding atmosphere, you do not feel like lingering either. We thanked the JAR gentleman who graciously shook our hands and then left the strange little world of JAR perfumes.

Shadow is definitely the oddest scent in the JAR line. The recurring notes to my unsophisticated nose are dill pickle juice, mustiness and hay with a leavening of lavender and maybe eucalyptus towards the end. Yes, that all seems weird but it is not a “scrubber”. I had far worse experiences with Guerlain’s “Philtre d’Amour” and Miller Harris’ “L’Air de Rien” where after 5 minutes I was running for the scrub brush at my kitchen sink. But back to Shadow. Throughout its life on my skin, it kept that same weird high pitched sour/cool whine which was not awful, it was just deliberately strange. I would love to know how many bottles JAR sells of this in a year. I cannot imagine who it would appeal to.

After sampling this, I just had to visit the JAR store in Paris (not affiliated). The following is a brief account of my visit:

No appointments to smell the JAR perfumes at the JAR store on rue Castiglione are necessary, unlike the rules to view JAR’s jewelry line which is sold at a different location. Anyways, you arrive at the JAR store, ring a bell to request entrance and then are ushered by an immaculately dressed man into a silent room which has one small round table and two chairs. The room is sparsely decorated in the French ancien regime style and is painted a dark aubergine. The ceiling has an elaborate crystal chandelier and, as a touch of whimsy, a mural of a thunderous dark sky with a giant lightning bolt. Bottles of each JAR perfume sit nearby on an elevated lighted stand which seems like an untouchable shrine. I did not dare go near them. Once you are seated, you notice that on the table are a number of glass containers which look like covered petri dishes and each contain a piece of crumpled fabric doused in scent. The JAR representative’s role is to silently open each glass container one at a time and hold it up to you for a sniff of the saturated fabric. He is extremely courteous even though he will ONLY tell you the name of each perfume and nothing else. JAR’s policy is that they do not reveal any notes or comments about their fragrances. It is all meant to be a big secret, I suppose. So there you are, sniffing the contents of each glass container and you want to have a conversation about what you smell with your companion but somehow you get the feeling that it would be uncouth to say anything in the presence of the JAR representative about the perfumes.

On the whole, the JAR fragrances are extremely idiosyncratic and very expensive (for a 30 ml bottle, they range from 220 - 530 euros), and would not appeal to the mainstream consumer. For example, I cannot imagine what the average person would think of the distinct dill pickle notes in “Shadow”. However, I get the impression that the weirdness and cult-like secrecy is by design. It is almost as if the JAR perfume line is a side hobby for Joel Arthur Rosenthal and he really doesn’t care if his perfumes sell or not. There is certainly no pressure to buy anything but given the silence and somewhat forbidding atmosphere, you do not feel like lingering either. We thanked the JAR gentleman who graciously shook our hands and then left the strange little world of JAR perfumes.

You know the taste when you first bite into an Almond Joy (or better yet a "Mounds" with no pesky almond to disrupt things)? That coconutty, almondy, sugary sweetness that briefly makes your teeth ache? Well, that is what Jarling smells like during the very first minute that you apply it. After that, Jarling develops into a lush tuberose fragrance with a hint of cherries of all things. It has a middling degree of sillage. At this kind of price (320 euros/30ml), I would have expected a bit more complexity and lasting power.

After sampling this, I just had to visit the JAR store in Paris (not affiliated). The following is a brief account of my visit:
No appointments to smell the JAR perfumes at the JAR store on rue Castiglione are necessary, unlike the rules to view JAR’s jewelry line which is sold at a different location. Anyways, you arrive at the JAR store, ring a bell to request entrance and then are ushered by an immaculately dressed man into a silent room which has one small round table and two chairs. The room is sparsely decorated in the French ancien regime style and is painted a dark aubergine. The ceiling has an elaborate crystal chandelier and, as a touch of whimsy, a mural of a thunderous dark sky with a giant lightning bolt. Bottles of each JAR perfume sit nearby on an elevated lighted stand which seems like an untouchable shrine. I did not dare go near them. Once you are seated, you notice that on the table are a number of glass containers which look like covered petri dishes and each contain a piece of crumpled fabric doused in scent. The JAR representative’s role is to silently open each glass container one at a time and hold it up to you for a sniff of the saturated fabric. He is extremely courteous even though he will ONLY tell you the name of each perfume and nothing else. JAR’s policy is that they do not reveal any notes or comments about their fragrances. It is all meant to be a big secret, I suppose. So there you are, sniffing the contents of each glass container and you want to have a conversation about what you smell with your companion but somehow you get the feeling that it would be uncouth to say anything in the presence of the JAR representative about the perfumes.

On the whole, the JAR fragrances are extremely idiosyncratic and very expensive (for a 30 ml bottle, they range from 220 - 530 euros), and would not appeal to the mainstream consumer. For example, I cannot imagine what the average person would think of the distinct dill pickle notes in “Shadow”. However, I get the impression that the weirdness and cult-like secrecy is by design. It is almost as if the JAR perfume line is a side hobby for Joel Arthur Rosenthal and he really doesn’t care if his perfumes sell or not. There is certainly no pressure to buy anything but given the silence and somewhat forbidding atmosphere, you do not feel like lingering either. We thanked the JAR gentleman who graciously shook our hands and then left the strange little world of JAR perfumes.

I really liked Jardenia and wish I could come up with a bunch of fancy notes and adjectives to describe it but to me, it is basically a creamy gardenia perfume with a touch of blue cheese at the beginning. Which may sound gross but it isn't. I think it actually helps frame the gardenia note and keeps it from becoming too one-dimensional. It also acts like a hook later on in the development as it keeps you coming back to see if the cheese note will suddenly re-remerge (sadly, it doesn't). Another way to explain Jardenia is that Jardenia is to gardenias what Serge Lutens' Un Lys is to lilies. Well done, Mr. Rosenthal!

After sampling this, I just had to visit the JAR store in Paris (not affiliated). The following is a brief account of my visit:

No appointments to smell the JAR perfumes at the JAR store on rue Castiglione are necessary, unlike the rules to view JAR’s jewelry line which is sold at a different location. Anyways, you arrive at the JAR store, ring a bell to request entrance and then are ushered by an immaculately dressed man into a silent room which has one small round table and two chairs. The room is sparsely decorated in the French ancien regime style and is painted a dark aubergine. The ceiling has an elaborate crystal chandelier and, as a touch of whimsy, a mural of a thunderous dark sky with a giant lightning bolt. Bottles of each JAR perfume sit nearby on an elevated lighted stand which seems like an untouchable shrine. I did not dare go near them. Once you are seated, you notice that on the table are a number of glass containers which look like covered petri dishes and each contain a piece of crumpled fabric doused in scent. The JAR representative’s role is to silently open each glass container one at a time and hold it up to you for a sniff of the saturated fabric. He is extremely courteous even though he will ONLY tell you the name of each perfume and nothing else. JAR’s policy is that they do not reveal any notes or comments about their fragrances. It is all meant to be a big secret, I suppose. So there you are, sniffing the contents of each glass container and you want to have a conversation about what you smell with your companion but somehow you get the feeling that it would be uncouth to say anything in the presence of the JAR representative about the perfumes.

On the whole, the JAR fragrances are extremely idiosyncratic and very expensive (for a 30 ml bottle, they range from 220 - 530 euros), and would not appeal to the mainstream consumer. For example, I cannot imagine what the average person would think of the distinct dill pickle notes in “Shadow”. However, I get the impression that the weirdness and cult-like secrecy is by design. It is almost as if the JAR perfume line is a side hobby for Joel Arthur Rosenthal and he really doesn’t care if his perfumes sell or not. There is certainly no pressure to buy anything but given the silence and somewhat forbidding atmosphere, you do not feel like lingering either. We thanked the JAR gentleman who graciously shook our hands and then left the strange little world of JAR perfumes.

I received a sample of 10 Corso Como as a freebie. I tried it on a cool, crisp morning without much in the way of expectations and it totally wowed me! Cedar is the predominant note in 10 Corso Como but it is tempered with sweet sandalwood, musk and light incense. Having mentioned the incense, I must say that I normally find incense off-putting (no Bond Chinatown for me!). However, 10 Corso Como did not have that effect at all. Rather, the incense note was warm and woody, kind of like incense that you might find burning in a sophisticated apartment in Milan in October.

I found 10 Corso Como to be very similar to Ormonde Jayne's Isfarkand, only with a bit more warmth and without the pink pepper rush.

In closing, 10 Corso Como is an expensive smelling scent that would be the perfect to wear in the fall, just as the leaves are turning and you snuggle into a Loro Piana cashmere sweater for the first time that season.

I went to the Ormonde Jayne store in London with my boyfriend and the kind SA gave us a number of samples, including the Isfarkand for him. Well, I must shamefully admit that I have become so addicted to his sample of Isfarkand that I have ordered a full bottle of it for myself.

There is just something about the short intense pink pepper top note that thrills me. The scent then quickly dries into a warm, peppery, cedary, lime fragrance with a slight bit of vetiver and amber that is refreshing and unique. In short - Isfarkand is fabulous and when wearing it, you will never smell like anyone else.

If you want to smell like one of those sickly sweet jellied orange candies in the shape of an orange slice, Bond No. 9's Little Italy is for you!


If, on the other hand you enjoy wearing an orange scent but want something more complex and sturdy, I would recommend Editions Frederic Malle's Bigarade Concentree. Or, if you like idea of a light fruity citrus scent, Apothia's Velvet Rope certainly has more pizazz.

Diorama is one of the few fragrances that have left me speechless at first sniff. Another was her cousin, vintage Diorling. In fact, I looked down at my Diorama edt sample again to make sure that I was not smelling the Leather Goddess that is vintage Diorling. Anyways, the white floral notes of tuberose and jasmine came classily strolling out along with a hint of leather. Then emerged just a tiny smidgen of spices (saffron and/or cumin perhaps, but only a minuscule amount) all luxuriously wrapped in full fat, creamy, honest-to-God fresh butter. My words cannot do this fragrance justice. All I can say is that by the end of the 3rd hour, Diorama had dried down into a luxurious buttery floral leather scent that is simply hands-down gorgeous. I would adore to own a bottle of this!

Ivoire smells like a greener, lighter version of the chypre classic Bandit, if Bandit also had a bit more soap and powder added to it.

I had the extreme good fortune to try vintage Diorling edt recently and was totally taken by surprise. I thought Diorling would be another chypre tiger coming out to bite my hand but instead it is the most lovely polished leather scent. I just want to keep re-applying it to my arm!

Diorling took me back to childhood and my grandparents who always had Cadillac cars (hey- I'm from the South). Diorling smells just like their Cadillac's leather interior which I loved as a child. It felt so secure and warm in the back seat of their car. My grandparents were also big into roadtrips and would always take me along. I would just snuggle up in the pillowy back seat and read by the back seat light enveloped by the comforting scent of luxurious leather.

For comparison purposes, I also tried the current edition of Diorling. which has nowhere near the class or lushness of the vintage Diorling. In the current edition, the leather is very toned down and I get mostly a chypre-floral bouquet tied together with a bit of leather string. Also, it does not last long (1- 1 1/2 hr.)

Before testing Je Reviens, I really had to make myself not negatively prejudge it. The juice (parfum, I believe) I was given to test was, after all, an intense shade of bluish-green reminiscent of crème de menthe and looked quite unappealing. I even wondered if it would stain my skin (it did not, by the way). But, I decided to dab it on and was pleasantly surprised. Je Reviens is a very light scent and I could detect notes of jasmine, bergamot and violet as well as a bit of clean hay, all of which really never changed as the fragrance dried down. Je Reviens reminded me of something a 14 year old girl in Missouri would have worn in the early 1920’s, wearing a starched white eyelet dress and demurely reading in the parlor on a Sunday afternoon. As I kept smelling it, I also thought how glad women back in the 1930’s (Je Reviens was created in 1932) must have been to have such a pleasant, easy-to-wear scent available as an antidote to the more aggressive scents of the time such as Dana’s “Tabu” and Coty’s “Chypre de Coty”.

I have been intrigued by Rose Poivree ever since I first smelled it. It smells like an elegant old rose fragrance to which dashes of smoky peppers and berries have been added. It dries down beautifully and leaves an elegant rose scent behind. It would be so interesting to experience how it works on a man. In my opinion, Rose Poivree is wonderful, unique and another Jean Claude Ellena masterpiece.

I was very disappointed with the Hamptons. I was hoping for an elegant riff on salt air, sea water, beaches, trees and maybe even a produce stand or two. Instead, it smells like a cheap knock-off of Creed's Silver Mountain Water that retails for $19.99 at your local drugstore. Simply put, Hamptons does not have the elegance or lovely drydown that SMW has and I really cannot wait to wash this off my wrist!

I found Jolie Madame's strong oakmoss-chypre-leather top note off putting and thought here we go again, another Bandit or Chypre de Coty tiger. After an hour it calmed down and I could detect the famous "violet notes" but Jolie Madame is not something that I personally would ever want to wear.

Jolie Madame was created in 1953. While sniffing it, I got to thinking that no wonder the 1960’s and 1970’s came along and there was such a dramatic sea change in fashion, style and tastes from that of the 1950’s. Give me a snappy Eau de Courreges or Calandre any day. Rive Gauche would also fit the bill for something sophisticated yet wearable. Jolie Madame just seems old-fashioned, fussy and annoyingly “proper”. I just have to wonder, did women back in 1953 really want to smell like this?

I had heard so much about Yosh's perfumes and I love Stargazer lilies so I was all prepared to have found a new love. It was bottled in an adorable, tiny little crystal flacon with clean lines (think early Chanel No. 5 bottle) and promised good things ahead. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

On me, Yosh Stargazer smelled like a cheap, knock-off lily fragrance which was cloying and needy. It keept shrieking, "smell me!". It only came in an "oil" so my wrist felt uncomfortably slippery after putting it on. And talk about long-lasting. This scent would not go away! Even after 6 hours, a hot shower and scrubbing my wrist with a buf-puf and soap, it was still annoyingly there. I hope whoever buys Stargazer smells and tests it first to see if they can live with it because for $130/1 oz. it is not cheap.

If you want a true and perfect lily fragrance, my suggestion is Serge Lutens Un Lys or Frederice Malle's Lys Mediterranee.

ps: Lest you think I am a Yosh hater, I adored Sottile by the way. Oil or no, it was a fabulous earthy rose fragrance.

To me, Shiso smelled like camphor wood and powder, and then drifted down in an hour or so to level out into a soft cinnamon incense fragrance. I could definitely envision an ancient Kyoto teahouse (where geishas typically entertained). It smelled like something that a dignified, sophisticated Japanese lady might have worn years ago.

Bigarade Concentree is one of my top-five favorite perfumes but then I must disclose that I am a huge citrus fan! (Other citrus loves are: AG Eau d'Hadrien, Fath Green Water, Mona di Orio Lux, Fresh's "Sugar" (not Lemon Sugar) and Chanel Eau de Cologne). And, I am a huge JCE admirer. I first smelled Bigarade Concentree at the Editions de Frederic Malle store in Paris on the Left Bank on a cold November day and had to have it.

Yes- Bigarade Concentree smells like a pungent tangerine at first but then if you leave it on and smell it a little more, the cumin and cedar notes start to peek out and it then calms down into a luxurious, warm citrussy smell. I would love to smell it on a man - I think it would have such class, such as how Guerlain's Vetiver always smells perfect on a man to me.

In short, Bigarade Concentree is a superb fragrance and it never fails to make me happy or get me jump-started! Full bottle worthy - always.

I tried Diorella for the first time ever today. I have the current Diorella on one wrist and a vintage Diorella on the other. The current one seems a little more sparkly and light than the vintage one but otherwise they are clearly the same fragrance.

I love the lemony top note with just that right hint of bergamot. Too much bergamot and it starts smelling too "manly" for my tastes. Then it evolved into a lovely floral scent tinged with green and the current one lasted a decent amount of time (3-4 hours). The vintage maybe 2 hours.

When I first smelled iDiorella, I kept thinking of Cristalle. It has that same lovely "green" scent that Cristalle has but Diorella is w/o the fizziness that I associate with Cristalle. I don't get the Parfum de Therese comparison that others have suggested. PdT is a whole other animal to me.

I can see wearing this in NYC on a summer's day. You know, when you have to wear a "work outfit" but it is hot and you want to feel refreshed but sophisticated. This is the ticket!

Well, well, well. This is gorgeous stuff. The notes were so well blended that I literally cannot describe it as anything other than bring creamy and having a a light woody fragrance. Amyitis was exquisite and long lasting. As of hour 5, it was still there (in a good way) and was like having a light cashmere blanket on my wrist.

I think this would be perfect to wear in the Fall on a Sunday afternoon, just as the leaves begin to turn and there is a new crispness in the air.

I had such high hopes for L'Air de Rien. Somewhere I read that it was a must-try and had "sweet and salty" notes which I found intriguing. Also, someone whose perfume opinions I really trust loves it so I was pumped and hoped that I was on my way to finding a new love.

Well, I've tried L'Air de Rien now on 2 separate occasions and this perfume does not love me. Nor do I love it. In fact, I had overwhelming visceral negative responses to it. On me, it was cloyingly sweet and overpowering. The musk-amber-oakmoss combo was not pleasant and within 5 minutes, I was at the kitchen sink trying to scrub it off my wrist with the kitchen abrasive pad and dish soap. Even with vigorous scrubbing, I kept smelling that sickly sweet musk-amber note and felt like it was following me around all day.

I had the fortunate experience to try a sample of this rare fragrance yesterday. Right at first, I caught a fragrant, billowing thyme note. Then, clove and carnation notes started coming through which reminded me of Caron's Bellodgia which I am not overly fond of. But then it softened into a beautiful twin of Parfum Sacre which I love. I plan to do a compare/contrast between the two sometime soon.

Thebes would be a wonderful fragrance to wear at Christmas-time. (Maybe it is the myrrh note that makes me think that??) Anyways, Les Larmes Sacrees de Thebes seems tailormade for very special occasions!

Black Rosette smells like Bandit's little sister to me. It has a wierd medicinal camphor smell at first but then mellows out quickly and the scent of a soft old leather suitcase gently comes through. I don't think I ever caught a rose note - maybe because it is so expertly blended. Would be interesting on a man, I think.

Has a light sweet lemon top note - kind of like "Lemonheads" candy. It is pleasant but I am not sure what all the fuss is about or why it merited a full review on the PErfumed Posse. Anyways, the gardenia note surfaces and it becomes velvety and lush. It has good sillage. However, in my view, JAR's Jardenia and Mona di Orio's Lux blow this away

At the risk of offending lovers of this scent, it honestly smells to me like being in the Paris Metro and that cleaning fluid they use there. It has a green clean-ish smell that is indefinable and not bad - just odd. The SIP website says it has mimosa, french lavender, indian plumeria and galbanum but I could not detect any of that. I found it very annoying after a while.

Prima Ballerina has a little sharpness in the beginning but it fades away quickly. There is deinitely a top note of rose and lime. Sage is also there but very faint. It is a very "green" fragrance. It reminds me of lush tall green trees and shrubbery in Mississippi where I am originally from. I like it but would not want to smell like this all day.

Trapeze- This smells like a spicy little carnation. It was not complex at all but with SIP's Tour d'Ivoire on my other wrist, I certainly preferred smelling this.

Narcotic was intensely strong and "green" at first. I got a whiffed of uncooked rice - you know that musty/dusty smell you get when you open a new bag of white rice? Anyways, shortly thereafter the Tuberose note came ROARING out! It became overwhelming and very annoying. I gave me a headache so I then tried to wash Narcotic off my wrist but the scent would not go away. Ugh.

Palazzo has a warm ambery scent and is a very typical Fendi fragrance to me. I could faintly smell the orange blossom but mostly it seemed like a very well blended amber to me. Palazzo seems like it was made for an Italian woman, aged 55-65, who is permanently tanned and wears lush fox fur coats. Very long lasting, by the way.

Reverie au Jardin is one of the more interesting fragrances I have smelled in a very long time. The top note is a sparkling green fir scent but that changes in 3-4 minutes. At that point, the scent morphs into a lovely warm, powdery lavender scent that is beautiful and enchanting. Wow! This is FB worthy in my opinion.

I really wanted to like Philtre d'Amour. The reviews of it elsewhere were so glowing and I usually like citrus notes so I thought this would be for me. Sadly, it was not. It starts out smelling like a piece of lemon hard candy with a sparkly touch. Then then nice lemon note left and it becomes more of an aggressive masculine type scent - perhaps the petitgrain? Anyways, it kept intensifying and after 15 minutes I wanted it off my skin. It just became annoying! And that lasted for about 8 hours. Ugh.

Maroc Pour Elle starts off with an unidentifiable spicy top note that seemed very mysterious. It definitely evoked thoughts of the medina I went to in Marrakech a long time ago. As the scent opened up, I then caught notes of incense, orange blossom and verbena. I am not an incense gal and so would not want to wear this myself but I certainly appreciate the artistry and effort it took to make such an unusual perfume. Andy Tauer is a very talented man!

Vine has a strong earthy vinegary smell that eventually calms down into a nice, inoffensive floral that actually does not last all that long.... The top note reminded me a lot of JAR's Shadow perfume with its weird pickle juice note. I would never wear Vine (this was just a SIP sample I tried) but I respect the fact that the perfumer is trying to do something different and creative.

(Note: I have also posted my review on MUA)

This smelled like a vanilla-musk-ozonic combo to me. It reminded me a lot of Salvador Dali's Laguna which a friend of mine used to wear. Anyways, it is a pleasant gentle fragrance that I think anyone couls wear. The problem for me with Sogni di Mare is that it does not have much "ooomph" to it, in contrast to AF's signature scent which has that unmistakable high octane zippy freesia note and AF' Floret which has that gorgeous strong sweet pea scent. Sogni di Mare is just low-key and would be perfect for someone that wants to blend in with the crowd.

(Note: I have also posted my review on MUA)

This is a "holy grail" fragrance for me and is one I return to time after time despite having a number of other way more expensive perfumes on my perfume shelf. I will even admit to stockpiling it! I fear that BR will discontinue it and so I have 3 full bottles of it in my fridge and a number of the minis scattered around. As other reviewers have noted, "W" is a great classic yet modern white floral. When I wear it or spray it in my house, it gives me that "calm, competent, all is right with the world" feeling. It also reminds me of a cool breezy evening in San Francisco driving through the Presidio, about to have a sophisticated evening somewhere in the City. If I could only have one fragrance, this just might be it.

(Note: I have also posted my review on MUA)

I had this years ago and it is such a distinctive scent. Its zippy high octane freesia note is not for everyone but then again, this is a unique perfume that is not trying to be all things to all people. It is great in the summertime if you are wearing a crisp white shirt having a margarita (or 2) on a sunny patio somewhere. It is also a v. strong scent so make sure you know that before dousing. The best memory I have of this scent is wearing it when I clerked for a law firm back in the 80's and this mousy nerdy male atty came up to me and told me that my perfume smelled "exciting". (?!?) That's Antonia's Flowers for you!

(note: I have also posted my review on MUA.)