Basenotes - Reviews by MeryMer

United States

Showing 1 to 14 of 14.

Lady Vengeance by Juliette Has a Gun

This is a just picked, beautiful deep, ruby red rose. The undercurrent of patchouli spices-up the deep floral making it sexy and provocative. This scent is not candied or powder-room rose; it is a dozen antique roses wrapped in a black silk bow.

I adore this very deep rose scent. It could be versatile enough to wear day or night and last a long time.

Unfortunately for me, I sour this perfume. After 20 minutes I kill the rose and it just smells like dirty patchouli. After a couple of hours I start smelling like a cat box. Most depressing, because this would have gone straight to my wish list!

4th August, 2010.

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Vanille Extasy by Montale

I detest vanilla! On me, they turn to dank, smothering, and powdered-sugar. Overall though, I was impressed with this perfume.

This is a big, creamy vanilla perfume that stays vanilla until the end. However, it is well-balanced, sweet but not overly so. This scent captures the warmth, richness, and subtlety of vanilla beans that many other perfumes do so poorly. Even on me, it stayed very nice and creamy with only a hint of that baby-powder note I hate so much.

There was also a vinegar note that became apparent as the scent warms; it is a bit off-putting. However, I'm not sure if the scent was trying to sour (typical of what vanillas do when they come within 400 meters of my skin) or it was some other scent that balanced the sweetness of the vanilla. Either way, it smelled like light vinegar - yuck.

On the whole, this is the only vanilla scent that wouldn't be torturous for me to wear!

2nd August, 2010.

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Fougère Bengale by Parfum d'Empire

This is an interesting one! It has a very definite curry and vinegar note right up front. The vinegar subsides almost immediately, but the curry note remains throughout. It is a very spicy, warm scent. In fact, it smells much like an Indian restaurant would smell; fragrant, very slightly sweet, and earthy.

I usually like gourmands and since I over-sweeten most perfumes, I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, the sweetness and warmth came off as pure maple bacon on me. Seriously, I smelled like I had just fried up a big skillet of maple bacon! Not unpleasant, just too weird for me. After about four hours, the subtle, sweet floral laced with green spice began to emerge and it is quite lovely. However, I can't justify smelling like maple bacon for four hours to get a very light, close floral.

I can see how this perfume would be brilliant on someone. However, I would probably just get myself accosted by very hungry carnivores. However, it is certainly beautifully created and interesting enough to be a fun try.

1st August, 2010.

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Mackie (new) by Bob Mackie

A floral scent with a distinct patchouli and creamy vanilla undertone. As is the norm with most department store quality perfumes, I turn it into a powdery, dank, nauseating smell. What is this ingredient that my skin hates so? The synthetic musk, vanilla, one of the fixatives used in American fragrances???? I don't know, but it makes makes me sick to my stomach. One thing I will say for it, it has staying power, because I can't wash it off!

Even before the scent starting stinking, it was uninspiring (at best) on me.

30th July, 2010.

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Enlévement au Sérail / FK3 by MDCI

This perfume is really outstanding! It does remind me of vintage Guerlain, without the excessive powdery notes.

It opens with a big blast of very nice citrus. Then the beautiful, high quality florals begin to shine through. While this perfume looks like a rich floral at the surface, just underneath is a thread of something not at all tame or lady-like. There is a hint, just a swift moving tease, of a much more sexy scent. It really is a breathtaking and seductive perfume.

The contrast between carnal and romantic are balanced nicely with the earthiness of the very light touch of patchouli.

Unfortunately, I tame this one down too quickly and it starts to smell like a very nice, expensive floral on me. It was such a disappointment after the sensual chase of the first hour of wear.

I rarely give positive reviews to perfumes I wouldn't wear myself, but this one is really that good. It is exciting, Intriguing, beautifully constructed, and stylish. I just couldn't bear to make this femme fatale into a housefrau.

29th July, 2010.

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Lann-Ael by Lostmarc'h

Well, I usually can't wear sweet/vanilla scents because I make them sickening sweet. However, this sweet scent is done better - sweet not cloying, vanilla-ey not suffocating.

However, It is S W E E T !

The first note smells like sugared almonds. As it warms, the very distinctive cream scent appeared. Milk & honey is balanced with something that reminds me of crisp apples and some other spicy and/or earthy tone I can't put my finger on. It is so subtle all I can detect is that something is balancing the sweetness just a bit.

Overall, it is one of the few sweet fragrances that doesn't make me feel like I am fighting to the death with an orchid flower akin to Audrey Jr!

That being said, I would just never wear this out... It smells like sugar cookies and a glass of milk. Nice enough, but waaay too sweet and not enough depth or spiciness. The only time I could even imagining wearing a scent like this would be to seduce Santa Claus!

29th July, 2010.

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Kelly Calèche by Hermès

I am in awe! This scent is just amazing, unique, and I actually love it.

At first, there is a distinct "plasticy" smell, but as soon as the perfume dries, it disappears. At first, the smell reminds me of my mom's purse when I was growing up. Leather, forgotten tubes of make-up, bits of paper, and of course, the floral of mom's perfume. Weird? Maybe, but beautiful!

The leather smells, soft, warm, well-warn, and subtle. On me, the leather begins to fade a bit and the scent becomes clean, soapy, and a bit masculine. Then, the floral begin to emerge. The floral is soft, sheer, and not sweetened at all. It smells like a floral should - warm, slightly green, and a wisp of the flower without the sugar.

I have to say, I am in love! Many perfumes turn on me and I bring out too much sweetness in most florals and vanillas. This was the first leather I have tried and I am impressed. The leather is subtle and earthy without smelling like a horse. The florals are green and light without being cloying. The more masculine, soapy notes actually work well on me. I will be buying a bottle of this!

27th July, 2010.

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Iris Ganache by Guerlain

The first scent to come through was sugared flowers, think rock candy sweet. The over-sugary notes faded quickly and turned to a more creamy white chocolate sweetness, tons of floral, and banana candy. Disappointingly, the spicy notes never came through on me.

Finally, some powdery notes came through. In the end, I smelled like baby powder. Expensive baby powder laced with white chocolate and white flowers to be sure, but still not my cup of tea.

This one was too sweet, too white, and too powdery for my liking. However, on someone who brings out the spicy notes and mutes the sweetness, it may be delicious! Guerlain perfumes are beautiful and this would be a wonderful signature scent for the right person. It's just not me!

27th July, 2010.

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Bergamot Truffle by Inspirations by Payard

A gourmand fragrance with distinct notes of cocoa, vanilla, and citrus. It is unlike anything I have tried so far and very complex. It warms and changes and is very, very long lasting. I really wanted to LOVE this perfume, but I tend to make vanillas overly sweet and cloying.

On the right person, the scent may hit the right combination of bitter, warm, and floral-sweetness. On me it just became musky and powdery-sweet.

26th July, 2010.

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Calypso Homme by Calypso Christiane Celle

This one is now a unisex and called Calypso Tangerine.

And that is what it is, simply Tangerine. It has a slight green undertone, but this disappears quite quickly. It is simple, non-complex, and very light. For the summer, I wouldn't complain about smelling like fresh tangerines, but the fragrance lasted less than 2 hours and is very light.

Someone who creates more lasting power and is looking for a fun and fresh summer sent may love it. It's not very expensive and would probably work wonderfully as a young person's first "fancy" perfume, but I didn't love it.

26th July, 2010.

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Private Collection - Un Crime Exotique by Parfumerie Generale

This smells like a frosty fall day, christmas dinner, and cloves all wrapped up - a truly unique perfume. It smells overly spicy at first but mellows to a really complex yummy flavor. I wanted so badly to love this perfume, but after about 15 minutes, it smelled like potatoes! Darn my weird chemistry...

Even though it didn't work on me, I would reccomend this as a must try.

2nd December, 2008.

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Wild Hunt by CB I Hate Perfume

After this scent dries down it is loamy and rich with a sweet undertone like a meadow after a spring shower. It is absolutely brilliant!

However, as you spray it on, before it dries, the smell is gag-inducing. It smells like long-buried, rotten potatoes that have been unearthed by crazed zombies - absolutely horrible...

Since it is water based, the good part of the scent doesn't last long. The pain and suffering of the 1st notes are not worth the hour of wear time.

2nd December, 2008.

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Chocolat by Il Profumo

This is one of my favorite perfumes (haven't tried Angel yet though). It is cocoa that is not overly chocolate. It is deep and spicy that mellows well. It is expensive and I wish I could find some other scent that I loved as well. So far, I haven't found it.

2nd December, 2008.

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Romance by Ralph Lauren

Well, my body chemistry didn't turn it, which is saying a lot. But, I don't get the fuss over this perfume. My co-workers love it so I tried it. It starts out way to floral for my liking and, on the drydown, becomes very antiseptic. It smelled like drugstore aftershave. Certainly not horrible, but much, much less than all the hype.

2nd December, 2008.

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Showing 1 to 14 of 14.