Basenotes - Reviews by Hema

United Kingdom

Showing 1 to 13 of 13.

Douro Eau de Portugal / Lords by Penhaligon's

First off, the citrus accords greet you like a good firm handshake with a dry down like expensive fine-milled soap from Bertie Woosters very own bathroom. The sandalwood is a typical gents sandalwood; soapy and masculine and overall its not remarkable.

Perhaps its because I work with men, but this fragrance is perfect for work. In a place where nobody notices anything, Ive had a surprising number of compliments from my fellow XYs…and then gone home to find my chick friends wanting to know what it is too. So it must be good.

Having been given a bottle, I’d never have bought it, but now that its nearing the end, I’ll miss it very much. What this frag taught me is that smelling clean and neutral is sometimes just the ticket.

13rd April, 2010.

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Fleurs d'Oranger by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

I was distracted from the overly sweet aspect (for me) of this creation only by its ability to transform me from mere mortal to Goddess upon the first dab. Im young and breathtakingly beautiful because of it. I think its true to say I saw/smelled my best self!

This is the opposite to that other Orange Blossom I worship by Jo Malone in that the flowers lie on top of an earthy and wood base (with much in between) that give this perfume its sweet complexity.

I soon turned from Goddess to Diva, however, as I found myself needing to keep sneaking more and more dabs from my tester bottle to keep myself in character for the evening. A very sensual frag, albeit one that I personally need to continually bathe in.

13rd April, 2010.

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Sa Majesté la Rose by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Nope, no old lady in sight with this one, no dead roses either. This could be the one to turn me back onto rose scents as I ADORE the scent of real roses.

This is bright, sunny and dewy. Just as I like my rose scents to be…as close to the real living thing as possible, stems included. (Some wet earth in the distance as though rain is imminent would have made this the scent of a lifetime but hey ho, maybe it would have deadened the lifelike aspect of the rose).

I was afraid it would dry down to simple woods but this one keeps going. Its now been four hours and I still feel like Ive got a vase of dewy roses near me.

13rd April, 2010.

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Aqua Allegoria Flora Nerolia by Guerlain

I was as mortified as ubuandibeme when they discontinued this. But it serves me right for buying it just once and in the stupidity of my former youth, I assumed it would be available in future! I would kill to smell like Aqua Allegoria again. One of those frags where people have to know what you're wearing because it stands out from the crowd. Its deepest green, bitter, floral...supernaturally unique.

13rd April, 2010.

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Ubar by Amouage

Hmmm...it was without a doubt the best quality perfume in the entire boutique and I wasnt even looking for an oriental. Its deep, sensual and mysterious...but not too much of those things, somehow. It sort of promises to 'take you there' and then stops three quarters of the way and turns into a soft rose. Great if you like a soft rose but I happen to detest it as it tends to smell a bit old ladyish on me.

That said, it is still a distinctive perfume, yes, but it does not quite satisfy. Agree with Trebor on this. I would put it together with Salalah, Aesop Mystra, Black Aoud...perhaps even Joop Femme, Midnight Poison for a fuller, slightly deeper descent into this perfume genre but really, Im after the big one which I havent found.

21st July, 2009.

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Le Chèvrefeuille by Annick Goutal

I plough through the Goutal range, trying to find a new favourite but I find myself drawn to this scent every time. Its blatantly obvious; the joy of it flows out of me and Im beaming uncontrollably. I thought I liked flower scents to smell just like the actual flower but to me this is more interesting because it is 'fizzy'. As if someone placed a handful of honeysuckle flowers into a bowl of fizzy water and then thrown in a few Refreshers sweets! It lends it an ethereal, dreamy quality which I find appealing in a fragrance though I wish the sillage could be improved. If they could invent a Chevrefeuille Soir or a twin sister for it, Id love to see if it could be perhaps a bit less transparent.

13rd May, 2009.

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Aqua Allegoria Mandarine Basilic by Guerlain

Wear it on a summer holiday, make it, 'code it' to a happy memory and voila! Its a tall glass of mandarin flavoured happiness surrounded by lush green meadows, a white hammock near some planted basil...or whatever you like. Quite delightful once you've programmed it to a memory, juicy and lush without being a teenagers fragrance. No, its too elegant for that. A firm favourite with me.

19th March, 2009.

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En Passant by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle

Cold, lilac. Better as an air freshener for grandma?

19th March, 2009.

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White Musk by Body Shop

Despite my fussy olfactory preferences and library of perfumes, my husband turns into a wanton beast when he smells this. Its a sad state of affairs as I just cannot, cannot bring myself to wear this. Its just a bit generic, nicey for me and reminds me of the 80s.

19th March, 2009.

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Black Aoud by Montale

The initial oudh kick was highly interesting, unique and downright stomping. So far, so great. However half an hour later, I was horrified when the drydown revealed a dried up bunch of red roses...and thats how it stayed. After having read many reviews, I had very high hopes and wasnt expecting to smell like a second-hand shop cheapy air freshener. I think its difficult to find a rose that doesnt smell of old ladies but sadly, on my skin that exactly what it dried down to.

10th March, 2009.

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L'Heure Bleue by Guerlain

A stunning name and much positive praise for this scent together with a real desire to find that this is also my ‘one’ was simply not enough to convince my olfactory senses. As smells can evoke strong memories, I expect we all have in common the memories of older style scents on our more senior family/friends when we were children so it has a certain comforting ‘roundness’. For me, it brought forth images of an old lady tending her lavender flowers, who, because of personal problems has to wear a lot of talc to, ahem…mop things up. A lady who bakes a lot of cakes and has been wearing the same apricot lipstick for ten years (which now emits that old lipstick smell); the odours of which all combine to give us l’heure bleue. I was really disappointed with this one, didn’t suit me at all.

3rd December, 2008.

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Orange Blossom by Jo Malone

When I first smelt this scent, I knew it was a winner because it was like finding oneself seated in the centre of an orange blossom; it has an other-worldly quality which I think you only usually get when you're touching and enjoying the actual flower in real life. I love the way it brought images of white flowers on naked skin to mind. It has an added softness to the original scent of orange blossoms which makes this very feminine. Absolutely stunning, I wore it on my wedding day.

2nd December, 2008.

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Joop! Femme by Joop!

I have had three different people ask me what Im wearing -thats a compliment in itself. Its a deep, dark, incense scent...and powerful. It also has a certain aniseed originality that I havent experienced from other oriental scents and this is what makes it stand out. The only other scent that I could compare this to is Midnight Poison by Dior -I would say it is like a softer, more 'friendly', perhaps more mainstream cousin to Joop! Femme.

2nd December, 2008.

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Showing 1 to 13 of 13.