Reviews by latelittlesleeper

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    latelittlesleeper
    United States United States

    Showing 1 to 15 of 15.
    rating

    Knize Ten by Knize

    Mmmm, how is this not universally loved by the ladies?

    I find Knize Ten to be a beautifully balanced, smoky, tarry leather and tobacco scent. In a way, it reminds me of Miss Balmain, but it's the much smoother, much more wearable version. While Miss Balmain is just unrelentingly tarry, Knize Ten's ambery and slightly powdery sweetness really wears well and balances out that almost herbal tar note. I don't find it particularly masculine, especially compared to feminines like Miss Balmain. I do find that it has aged much better than MB and the modern day Cabochard, which both seem to have been reformulated to completely unwearable scents. I hope more women give this a try!

    7th February, 2011.

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    Halston by Halston

    I love a little drugstore Halston with a dab of rose attar. It creates such a perfect tarry-balsamic-leathery rose. Just gorgeous.

    2nd September, 2010.

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    Comme des Garçons 2 Man by Comme des Garçons

    A great woody incense. I get a lovely salty-smoky leather note in the middle that I wasn't expecting. I wear both this and Gucci 1, and agree they are similar in style. Woody and smoky but not overly bleak-dry (like Black Tourmaline), sweetened with spices.

    Since I'm a lady, I layer it with a soft, gourmand vanilla. The two balance each other out and are delicious and nuanced together, like a fireplace and nog and a warm blanket. Comforting.

    10th April, 2010.

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    Gardenia de Tahiti by Lenthéric

    I have a vintage bottle of this that is down to the last few mls. This is a gorgeous true Gardenia, very lush, sweet and slightly waxy. It's off-set by a juicy coconut note that gives it that lushness. I'm not sure what it is, but there is something animalic in the dry-down. I wish I had the notes for this! My bottle isn't perfect, there is a mustiness in there because some of the notes broken down, so I'd love to find an unopened bottle to work with. I'd definitely purchase it, if I ever came across it. All in all, a tropical Gardenia scent that I find wearable. Even with the mustiness from aging, this doesn't smell too old fashioned. If there was ever a plain pretty Gardenia scent, this would be it.

    9th March, 2010.

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    The One for Men by Dolce & Gabbana

    Usually when I wear men's scents (and I wear a few!) I have to sometimes wait out the initial soapy barbershop notes for the spice and dry down. I don't have this problem with The One! At one point, it blooms very very close to barbershop but somehow just avoids it. The light spices and orange blossom in the middle notes help keep The One sweet and wearable, and it only gets better (and spicier) as it dries down.

    The final, well-balanced finish of spice, salt and tobacco is delicious and on my skin, it lasts beyond ten hours. It will last all day and night if I don't shower. Gorgeous, powerful scent.

    On an interesting note, I wear a lot of vintage women's perfumes, from Cuir de Russie to Tabac Blond, Patou's Joy and 1000, Shalimar, Balmain's Ivoire, Mitsouko, etc etc, and The One has been the only fragrance so far that my husband has taken a sniff at and complained "You smell like an old lady!"

    Do with that what you will.

    24th November, 2009.

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    Joy by Jean Patou

    This review is for the edt, not vintage.

    I've read through some of the reviews here and can't help but laugh outright at the "It smells like a dewy spring morning!" ones. I am amazed that such a strongly animalic scent can be seen as 'spring morning' like. I don't know what it is up with my skin and Patous, but both 1000 and Joy come out all civetty on me. It's not necessarily a bad thing (I love me some skank), but it just isn't the spring morning green rose I expected.

    I do get roses, and they're rich and earthy and just slightly sour. After an hour or so, the rose and civet calms a little and there's an unmistakable sweetness, just ever so softly sweet. I wonder if it's the peach.

    When the rose and civet fade, I start to really scent why Joy is so well-received. It's a gorgeously opulent scent, very full-bodied. And yet, somehow still subtle. I can definitely see how this could become a staple on my table, especially in the fall.

    24th November, 2009.

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    Kai by Kai

    Weird, I didn't get Gardenia at all out of this. It was a true Mock Orange scent to me. It was very powerful on my arm where I just barely dabbed it and sat there, all cloying mock orange for an hour and a half. And then it just barely started to dry down. It's still mock orange, but softer and spicier.

    I used to smell my neighbors mock orange bush and wish I had a perfume that captured that lovely, sweet scent. But now that I've found one, I don't actually think it's a good idea. It's just not very wearable.

    21st November, 2009.

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    Gold by Donna Karan

    I don't wear a lot of lily scents because I find the lily a little cloying on my skin and, more often than not, headachey.

    That said, I am digging Donna Karan Gold. I have the EDT, which is light and wearable. It starts out spicy and green, and then a soft, fresh lily blooms and stays around until the final, warm patchouli dry down. I do get that cucumber note people are talking about, but I think it's from the watery-quality of the EDT, along with the fresh, herbal green notes. This lily isn't sweet or cloying, it's aiming for that uncut, garden lily scent and succeeding. I think this would be gorgeous on a man; its greenness lends itself to a certain unisex-feeling.

    Its understated quality is sophisticated, definitely made for an adult woman, which is kind of refeshing these days!

    13rd November, 2009.

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    By Man by Dolce & Gabbana

    I once received a sample that just said "BY D&G" on it and always assumed it was the woman's scent they'd given me. So I bought a little bottle of the women's version and was disappointed. It just wasn't as lovely-soft-musky as the sample I had. The women's version has this top-note of spice that is off-putting, chemically and irritating. The dry-down is nicer, but it just wasn't what I thought it'd be. I assumed that the bottle I'd bought had gone over or something!

    WELL, recently I saw a little bottle of BY for men at the perfume shop I frequent so I bought it. In the car, I popped the top open and was very excited and pleased to find that old, sample scent I loved. So this whole time, it was the MEN'S version I loved! No wonder.

    This scent is definitely unisex. Though the musk gets a little barber-shoppy, it's sweet enough and soft enough for a woman.

    6th November, 2009.

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    L'Eau Ambrée by Prada

    Like Prada's Infusion d'Iris, L'Eau Ambree stays close to the skin and has a very soft, slow, powdery buildup. When I first sprayed it, there was only a light powder-scent and something like the pale reminder of amber, a little bit sweet but fleeting.

    I didn't think much of it and sampled something else in the inner crook of my other elbow. (Kenzo's Power)

    Now, an hour later, I'm surprised by the incredibly gorgeous haze of scent. L'Eau Ambree warms up a lot and as it warms, it begins to radiate a very delicious (though not exactly gourmand) amber that tones down the powdery notes. There's a slight spice, some sweet (but not saccharine) woods, but nothing dramatic. It is a gorgeous, very gentle scent with little sillage but wonderful lasting power.

    I usually like a scent with a strong sillage, so at first I didn't think I'd like L'Eau Ambree. But as it wears, I feel sort of charmed. It's beautifully done, and just because it stays close to the skin doesn't make it anything less or weak. It's a very personal scent, one meant to only be revealed to someone who is close to you. This isn't a fragrance powerhouse, it's a delicate, quiet scent. There's something old-fashioned about it, like the softly-scented powders my grandmother used to keep on her vanity that would add just a fine, soft aura of scent to her skin.

    I felt similarly about the Infusion d'Iris, which I thought was incredibly well done though understated. I think these are misunderstood scents, judged for their shortcomings and not for their virtues. Prada is offering a stellar alternative to the typical fruity-floriental, watery sheers that pervade the market. L'Eau Ambree is perfect for a young woman just starting her perfume journey, or for those fragrance wallflowers who don't want a lot of scent rolling off of them. But it's also worth the attention of any true perfumista willing to appreciate the small, whispery story it's telling.

    Also, I can't see why this isn't a unisex scent. A man who isn't scared of a little powder should definitely be able to pull it off.

    5th November, 2009.

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    Sicily by Dolce & Gabbana

    This has become one of my top-ten. The opening is all slightly-soapy aldehydes and citrusy-bergamot, which gets a little powdery in the dry-down but not annoyingly so. Underneath the soft-fuzz of the aldehydes is something that adds a touch of floral-sweet. Sicily walks a fine, gorgeous line between retro-aldehydes and modern sensuality. It's perfume-y but still wears very lightly for me. I find it sexy and interesting enough to wear in the winter and fall, even though I usually only reserve aldehydes for the summertime.

    4th November, 2009.

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    Habanita by Molinard

    This is my signature scent. I never thought I'd have one until Habanita. Close to the skin, it's all pungent green, leather and smoky, slightly-rotten tobacco. But from further away, the smell is all slightly-sweet, vanilla-tobacco and it's very nice. Even my husband, who never seems to notice perfume, always thinks I smell good (and says so) when I wear Habanita. I think he just assumes *I* smell like that. SILLY HUSBAND.

    3rd November, 2009.

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    Marc Jacobs for Men by Marc Jacobs

    Ohhh, I forgot the coconut in this when I purchased it. Whoops.

    It's not too outlandishly coconut cream on my skin, and the fig is pleasantly new and sweet without being sharply green or saccharine. It's also not one of those men's scents that screams "I AM MAN, ALL SPORT AND/OR BARBER SHOP!" so it's very wearable for a lady.

    Actually, I prefer this over Lola, Daisy and any MJ scent for women I've smelled yet.

    29th October, 2009.

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    Dior Homme by Christian Dior

    This has a slightly sweet (but not gourmand) vanilla note that takes center stage on me, but it's tempered by the powdery iris so it's very soft and stays close to my skin.

    What I love is how the cardamon and vetiver cut through the sweet with a nice, almost lemon-grassy freshness that I assume is what makes this a masculine scent and not a feminine.

    I love it! Sometimes when I try a men's cologne, I have to suffer through the initial ALPHA-MALE synthetic sport notes, but not here. I can imagine this would be lovely on a man, but on a woman, it's very wearable.

    15th October, 2009.

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    Aromatics Elixir by Clinique

    I love this perfume, but it comes up all soft, herbaceous roses on me, is rarely cloying after the first top notes and has a very velvety, light sillage. Which I find strange, because most reviewers complain about its overpowering sillage and say you would do best to walk into a mist of it, instead of spraying the skin directly.

    I've never found this to be the case! After the very strong topnotes, this fades beautifully into a skin scent for me. If I want it to be stronger, I have to layer or reapply. I don't mind it though, because it's the first rose scent I've found myself able to wear. It's not sweet or too green, and the animalic notes cut through just a little to give it a wilder, less-garden-variety rose scent. Sadly, though it is lovely, i don't get any patchouli.

    Anyway, it's a favorite in my rotation.

    13rd October, 2009.

    Showing 1 to 15 of 15.

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