Reviews by Aznavour

    Aznavour's avatar
    Aznavour
    United States United States

    Showing 1 to 30 of 96.
    rating

    Fahrenheit by Christian Dior

    Love that bitter, fuel-like open and then the mechanical-floral drydown. This has always reminded me of Bulgari Black in that it's a commercial scent that pairs a weird industrial-like top with a comforting wood/vanilla/incense base. Well-done, wearable, affordable, and slightly unusual.

    13rd December, 2011.

    rating

    Louve by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    Mostly almond with a hint of cherries over a mild vanillic base. Will not win you any cool points with your ~edgy iconoclast~ perfume friends, but is nevertheless a well-made, easy-to-wear fragrance that's feminine but not cloyingly girly.

    12nd December, 2011.

    rating

    Loukhoum by Keiko Mecheri

    I guess you either enjoy smelling like baby powder, or you don't. Never thought I ever would, but here we are. Loukhoum is comforting and sexy at the same time, persistent but never overpowering, a cloud of talc above florals, almond, vanilla, and musk.

    In short: lovely, more subtle than it seems, tons of fun, pretty bottle, great value. What's not to like?

    24th May, 2011.

    rating

    Bliss by Bliss

    Just in case you wanted more of that melon note from Un jardin apres la mousson, Bliss has got you covered.

    Strictly speaking, though, it's not awful. And you won't be paying a lot for it, unlike the Hermes.

    4th February, 2011.

    rating

    Miss Dior Cherie L'Eau by Christian Dior

    Seriously, what's the point? It just smells generic-floral, generic-clean. Not really any "greenness" to speak of.

    The other one was at least fun.

    28th August, 2010.

    rating

    Vanille Extreme by Comptoir Sud Pacifique

    Wanna smell like cupcake? Well, here you go. Vanille Extreme is not high art, but it's pretty fun. Yes, it's synthetic-smelling and the juice has a tendency to turn rather quickly, but when it's on its best behavior, there are moments of unabashed vanilla pod deliciousness that I find super-relaxing.

    23rd August, 2010.

    rating

    Ananas Fizz by L'Artisan Parfumeur

    I feel like they tried to cut down the sweetness of the pineapple note by overloading the thing with synthetic woods. Result: a fruit note that loses its juicy quality and thus appeal, and then a flat woody base that carries a sour pineapple tinge.

    Interesting, but not entirely pleasant.

    23rd August, 2010.

    rating

    Kim Kardashian by Kim Kardashian

    I agree that for a celeb scent, it's not bad. But it's also a copy of Michael Kors Michael, which is the better of the two.

    23rd July, 2010.

    rating

    Citron de Vigne by Fresh

    For those lean times when you can't afford Un Jardin sur le Nil or #3 Green, green, green, and green... because it basically smells like those two.

    22nd July, 2010.

    rating

    Poopoo Pidoo by Ego Facto

    I think people have largely underrated this one, often comparing it to dime-counter commercial girly perfumes. But this isn't just a more expensive Pink Sugar. It's a perfectly nice fragrance that is mostly about that milky "rice powder" accord and the wood-musk base that carries it forward, creating a veil-like effect of rice-y musk that is delicate but persistant. It's never sugary and not floral at all. Perfectly wearable and furthermore, well-priced.

    21st July, 2010.

    rating

    Black Angel by Mark Buxton

    I feel that people are overthinking the Mark Buxton releases a bit...

    Black Angel's got a good interplay between the brightness of the citrus elements and the bracket of spices, especially in its open. The middle brings out more spice but it ultimately finishes as smoky-fruit-wood, emphasis on the fruit. It's at this latter point that, for me, it begins to resemble raisin-wood compositions like Botrytis, though Black Angel never comes off as dense or 'heavy.'

    At the end of the day Black Angel is a good fragrance. It's not angels singing the Hallelujah chorus, but it's well-balanced, has longevity, and is easy to wear. It's probably the nicest of the set, and is overpriced as usual, but what the hey, we're all overpaying anyway.

    21st July, 2010.

    rating

    Bois de Paradis by Delrae

    As advertised: dense, high-volume fruitiness undercut with wood. It's big and bold and well-done. I don't think there's a dud in the entire Delrae line anyway.

    But here's the thing about Bois de Paradis: somewhere in there is a wax-candle smell that just ruins the entire "exotic fruitbasket" effect, muffling the realism of the composition. And once you smell the candlewax, it's all over.

    21st July, 2010.

    rating

    Amoureuse by Delrae

    Amoureuse is a big -- and I mean BIG -- incandescent white floral: strong open, massive sillage, buttery-soft finish. Superbly blended and well-thought-out. It's glamorous, romantic, womanly etc etc hypoerbole etc... but maybe the most important bit of information here is that it isn't exactly easy to wear. It's not a casual fragrance by any means. You have to be woman enough to wear this fragrance, because otherwise it will wear you.

    21st July, 2010.

    rating

    Clean Ultimate by Clean

    Starts off appealingly green and citric, then after twenty minutes becomes a bunch of non-descript white florals, which then quickly disappears into floral soap. Pointless.

    21st July, 2010.

    rating

    Fierce for Men by Abercrombie & Fitch

    To be honest this sh*t makes me want to die every time I have to pass through the noxious clouds of it reeking from A&F stores.

    21st July, 2010.

    rating

    Hesperides by Fresh

    A nice realistic grapefruit, then segues about thirty minutes later into soap. Uncomplicated, friendly, and refreshing. Really nice for what it is, but still overpriced.

    3rd May, 2010.

    rating

    Index Bergamot Citrus by Fresh

    There's really nothing bad going on, but the thing is: it smells like something you'd clean your bathroom with.

    3rd May, 2010.

    rating

    Harajuku Lovers - Love by Gwen Stefani

    AWFUL. Like nauseating cough syrup in perfume form.

    23rd April, 2010.

    rating

    Blue Agava and Cacao by Jo Malone

    I don't think the cacao phase in the beginning is as awful as others say (though I agree it smells more like cocoa powder), but once that passes this HUGE, cloying cloud of muskiness descends and it's a total scrubber from that point on.

    23rd April, 2010.

    rating

    Grapefruit by Jo Malone

    Bright, refreshing open of light, non-sweet grapefruit... and then it just becomes a clean soap smell. Why bother?

    23rd April, 2010.

    rating

    Gold by Donna Karan

    I get a blast of amber and clove in the beginning, which is a little startling, but then it all dries down to creamy, pollen-y stargazers. LOTS of them. You're gonna love it if you love lilies and it'll give you a headache if you don't.

    The eau de toilette has nice depth and pretty good tenacity; I chose that over the eau de parfum, which is deeper all around but not any more ~revelatory~ or anything.

    20th September, 2009.

    rating

    Olène by Diptyque

    I didn't find Olene to be all that indolic. It has a realistic jasmine note at the beginning, but it's intertwined with honeysuckle which cuts down the headiness. It's nice but not especially pretty, and I personally found it to be kind of sharp and thin, especially as it dried down.

    19th September, 2009.

    rating

    Pulp by Byredo

    The hype is totally well-deserved for maybe twenty minutes, where Pulp really is as juicy and, um, pulpy as the ad copy says. But it peters off swiftly after that, having a brief tart, passionfruity middle stage that reminded me of MPG Fraiche Passiflore and then becoming vague fruits over musk. It's still very nice, but I don't think it's worth the price they're asking.

    IMHO anybody looking for a niche fruit-bomb would be better off buying Perfect Nectar, which I've found very similar to Pulp, especially in the middle and drydown. Pulp undoubtedly excels in that opening salvo, but that's about it.

    15th September, 2009.

    rating

    Private Collection Jasmine White Moss by Estée Lauder

    Not the best judge as all these oakmoss (or "oakmoss," I guess) centric fragrances smell really alike to me. The jasmine doesn't really register except maybe at the open, after which all I could do was compare it unfavorably to No. 19.

    Worth a try, but probably not worth the price point. The detailing on the bottle is also not as good as the photos make it out to be.

    3rd September, 2009.

    rating

    Tuberose by Jo Malone

    Fracas Lite, or Fracas minus the aldehydes. A less heady tuberose that's slightly more green. Longevity's pretty impressive for a Jo Malone, 5+ hours on me.

    3rd September, 2009.

    rating

    D&G L'Imperatrice 3 by Dolce & Gabbana

    Watermelon shampoo body mist -- end of story.

    27th August, 2009.

    rating

    D&G L'Amoureaux 6 by Dolce & Gabbana

    Citrusy-something over what I'm pretty sure is Iso E... so basically, Light Blue Extra Light.

    25th August, 2009.

    rating

    Shalimar by Guerlain

    The current eau de toilette opens a bit fuel-like, a bit bitter and dry, progresses to wood and then ends up smelling vintage face powder. I don't hate it but I didn't experience rapturous visions of exotic princesses or anything.

    25th August, 2009.

    rating

    À la Nuit by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    Exactly as described: the jasmine to end all jasmines. Would've been perfect except I dislike the drydown, which to me is like a resiny honeyed musk.

    18th August, 2009.

    rating

    Blanc by Paul & Joe

    Very friendly pastel fragrance. I agree with Myspunge that it's "cuddly," but don't mistake it for smothering. It's very faint and becomes increasingly soapy over time. It's alright.

    6th August, 2009.

    Showing 1 to 30 of 96.

Latest Threads

Partners


  
Useful Links

Read, View, Friend, Follow

Get in touch

Basenotes.net
BCM Box 1111
London WC1N 3XX
United Kingdom