Basenotes - Reviews by flouris

United States

Showing 1 to 9 of 9.

parfums*PARFUMS Series 6 Synthetic: Soda by Comme des Garçons

I guess I should've researched this one more. I was expecting a dark soda (cola) type fragrance, instead it's akin to smelling like Ginger Ale. "Soda" has a bright, summery feeling to it -- green and somewhat sparkly, although it dries down fairly quickly and leaves something faintly rose/musk in its wake. There are better effervescent green frags out there, but this one isn't a total disaster either.

23rd May, 2010.

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Back to Black by By Kilian

No doubt about it, Back to Black is the masterpiece of the Kilian line - at least as of the year ending in 2009.

If you like the opening of Back to Black, the good news is that it only gets better. Personally, I'm a little iffy on the opening but it passes soon enough. The opening consists of raspberry and honeyed cocoa which is a bit too sweet for my taste but the sweetness mellows fairly quickly and leaves behind this golden smokey tobacco with undertones of tonka bean that is just to die for. It leans ever so slightly feminine but I wear it often and receive compliments, so I'd say this one is fairly unisex.

If you don't like tobacco notes or you're in the market for a totally average workplace scent, this is the last fragrance you should be looking at. This is a very special scent and the only Kilian that I think justifies its price.

Personally, as much as I like it on myself, I think it smells ten times better on a woman. It is by far the sexiest fragrance I've smelled on a woman - not in an overly sugary/annoying way but a very sultry and determined way. Probably my favorite release of 2009.

6th December, 2009.

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Black Afgano by Nasomatto

Putting all the press release silliness ("smuggled" ingredients, etc) of Black Afgano aside, this was a very highly anticipated release for me as I have been searching for a true cannabis/hashish note. Yes, I'm being serious, and yes, I love really bizarre/heavy/strange/smokey/weird fragrances. Black Afgano was highly anticipated in my world, but I must regretfully admit that Black Afgano smells pretty much nothing at all like cannabis, hash, resin, smoked cannabis, or anything even relating to that realm. It doesn't even smell like bong water, as some bloggers have written, although the juice is dyed a similar color in what I suppose is an effort to streamline the idea that B.A. is fragrant resin in a bottle.

What I do get is oud and tobacco absolute, from start to finish, in the most linear form possible. The sillage is rather weak but the duration is a monster. Oud and tobacco absolute, however, are some of my favorite notes - and I love ashen/tobacco type scents so this one still should be a winner for me, but it's not. Why? Because, frankly, it's just not that interesting to smell. It doesn't whisk me away anywhere or paint my imagination with scenes - it simply smells like oud and tobacco, and that's how it smells from the moment it hits my skin to the moment it leaves. It smells like perfume notes in an unfinished work, an incomplete fragrance... the base upon which something great could be built - but instead it was left as is.

Nothing about it really stands out for me, and that's the saddest part. The press releases, the juice color, the descriptions of "smuggled" ingredients, etc, etc all suggest one thing, but the actual odor of the juice itself is quite different. The concept was great, but it wasn't really fleshed out accurately.

6th December, 2009.

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Chêne by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

chromatone wrote in an earlier review of Chêne: "sun-baked car seat cushion and dry-rotted dashboard vinyl, with a healthy side serving of faded "pine tree" car freshener, rust, and antifreeze. Essentially it shared many tonal qualities with the interior of an older, unclean automobile left in the sun."

Upon reading this, I let out an "ohhhhhhhh yeah!"

Despite me being a shameless Lutens fanatic, I could never get into Chêne. It reminded me of -something- but I couldn't pinpoint what it was until I read the above excerpt because that is absolutely and precisely what Chêne smells like: a disgusting car that has been parked in the sunlight all day with the windows up. It is a nauseating smell. Sunbaked car seat cushion, that's all Chêne manages to evoke for me.

1st November, 2009.

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Fumerie Turque by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

This is one of the finest tobacco notes I've ever come across - powder-ish sweet/dry smoke.. almost the feel of being surrounded by a circle of smoke machines all going full blast. Very mysterious and nocturnal feeling without coming off as alarming. Unisex with ever so slightly below average sillage/duration compared to other Lutens fragrances. I find it incredibly impressive.

1st November, 2009.

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Acqua di Sale by Profumum

This is horrible, the first scent I've had to scrub off in a very long time. All I get is one big sweet chemical that is overwhelmingly nauseating. It is slightly cucumberish/licorice as others have mentioned, but it has this sickening synthetic sweetness that almost feels like it stains my throat with its smell. As with most truly bad fragrances, the sillage and longevity is extreme.

13rd October, 2009.

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Cruel Intentions by By Kilian

The oud and castoreum blend to create something very unique and, in my opinion, drop dead sexy. Not cute/lovingly sexy, but aggressive and borderline cruel sexy, yet there is a sense of refined sophistication bordering the entire fragrance. It is fantastic for the first few minutes, but then it does a virtual disappearing act. Sillage and longevity are freakishly minimal, but if you're looking for a very sexy (dominatrix style?) skin scent, something only to be smelled up-close and intimately, this could be almost narcotic in that aspect. Thumbs up, despite the virtual absence of any sillage.

10th October, 2009.

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Rousse by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

The Serge Lutens website sums Rousse up with one word: Racy. I think that's about as fitting as it gets. It's so unique, especially for a Lutens. Rousse starts with a candied cinnamon spice (think Red Hot candies) and pretty much stays that way for quite sometime before fading to a soft, amber/floral base that is linear/minimalist. It's simply a good smelling, well rounded, unobtrusive yet nowhere near boring, predictable or average smelling perfume. Racy and red.

10th October, 2009.

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Tea for Two by L'Artisan Parfumeur

Gourmand for a tea scent. Smoky sweet Lapsang Souchong tea with a dense slab of moist gingerbread leaning against the cup, inhaling the vapors of it all. It smells entirely pleasant but it's not something I'd really want to wear. It is a bit straightforward and lacking the complexity that turns good fragrances into wardrobe staples, yet the simplicity is what makes this a cozy and comfortable scent. It requires no dissection or analysis, it simply cradles your sense of smell. Ideal for cooler weather.

Neutral but leaning toward a thumbs up.

10th October, 2009.

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