Fragrance Reviews by rasputin

I had forgotten that No. 5 debuted before Guerlain SHALIMAR (1925), because No. 5 definitely smells more "modern" to my nose.

People say they don't "get" No. 5.... I feel that No. 5 is all about that urinaceous musk note in the base, and all the other notes are simply the dazzling camouflage leading to the unveiling of the musk...

No. 5 smells like a woman who bathed herself, powdered herself, and peed herself, in that order.

What's amazing about No. 5 is its curiously "vacant" quality.... there are so many notes going on in this fragrance, yet they combine to form a scent which is none of its components; rather, it's a kind of diaphanous veil....

Perhaps the masterstroke of No.5, IMHO, is that vetiver in the base... it is a kind of stern resiny-woody quality which imbues great serious to the overall fragrance.

One thing which must be said about No. 5 is, it always surprises. Everytime you catch a whiff of it on yourself or others, there is always that initial surprise; "Oh! What IS that?" And any fragrance which can command that response is well on its way towards being a classic.

I have long thought that the powder note in CHANEL No. 5 is a dead-ringer for DESENEX Foot powder. I cannot retract that critique, because it most certainly does smell like DESENEX... Or maybe it's vice-versa....

Another interesting quality in No. 5 to me, is that curious middle-note, which to me, smells something like salted butter, or buttered popcorn. Or maybe even roasted cashews. It's a totally unexpected salty-sweet buttery note--- it smells 'horizontal' to me, whilst all the other qualities in No. 5 smell 'vertical' to me!---- which provides the gateway to the basenotes....

DZING! is one of those scents which is famous and infamous for both the same things: Cotton candy + sawdust + gasoline + wild animal excreta.
Both the haters and lovers of this amazing fragrance will usually detect these very frankly... But this just proves that beauty is in the nose of the beholder... For many, this curious foursome of notes conjurs up funfairs and circuses; other people cannot get past one or two of the notes... This is a fragrance for Advanced perfume lovers only... it's modern and evocative in evety way. In a way, mixing animalic notes with balsams and sweet vanillic components is a time-honored formula in Western perfumery... This one just does it with a new postmodern twist...
I do agree tat this fragrance is too evanescent... But were it any stronger, folks might just start wondering where is the tiger who peed on you.
Love it!

A previous reviewer called this one VERY WEARABLE, and that is exactly right... It is a modern, light Oriental just perfect for summertime. It kind of smells like a 1960's sandy beach babe or sorority girl to me... in the best way. More women of all ages need to be turned on to this unique, beautifully balanced and blended fragrance.

A great, great modern Oriental. Surprisingly natural smelling for a big mainstream fashion house.
The opening notes are amazingly balsamic and natural. Those who love the great Orientals in history will find this a must-have. I love the quirky flacon, too... The lettering looks as though it was done with one of those old DYMO tape labellers... intentionally designed to look a wee bit "cheap"... but in a tongue-in-cheek, <> way. Bravo.

Oh, pshaw! Forget all the hype you've read about sex! SECRETIONS MAGNIFIQUES is a delightful, modern "skin scent" which smells tenderly sweet like milk... I don't get saliva, sperm or cootchie... No no no! In warm weather, this will be a lovely, lovely little milky "kiss" of fragrance, suitable for M or F. SM will "find its market", as they say, and there will be a few out there who will treasure this endearing little fragrance as much as I.

This one just may be a new quirky masterpiece. It is a most dignified melange of dirt, peat moss, mushrooms and old leather. It may be thought of as the cutting edge answer to old scents like Creed TABAROME.
I do not get any of the "naughty" elements sometimes ascribed to this frag; instead, I get an English rugby team in June of 1917... leather, earth and tobacco.

Gentle, intelligent, and luxurious in the extreme... The pure parfum is the way to go here, although, granted, it's very expensive (circa $165 US).

A burst of sweet mandarin and bergamot, followed by seas and oceans ofr tender, sweet, almost fruity violets. All seated upon a bed of earthy, animalic musk, castoreum and civet. Yes, the civet does imbue the scent with a cow-pattie like quality, but to me this quality is pastoral and reassuring, not repulsive. The overall effect is like old leather boots striding through a spring flower garden where violets grow and cattle have grazed.
A gem of a scent to love and treasure forever.

The measure of a "nose" is how well he or she can appreciate challenging fragrances... the fragrances which do not demand to be loved immediately ... the ones which contain some "dissonance", as in jazz music... KOUROS is definitely one of those fragrances. Among the fresh notes of lime, honey, amber and leather are indeed notes of civet and musk which are not unlike tomcat's piss. And therein lies the magic of the fragrance. People who truly know and love the finest of fragrances know that purely "sanitary" scents are a little bit boring... the best fragrances have a hint (or two) of the salacious about them. A soupcon of raunch. KOUROS does remind me a bit of Creed ORANGE SPICE, but the Creed is so heavy-handed and cloying... KOUROS lingers in just the right way. If anything, KOUROS's spiritual ancestor is the original SHOCKING! by Elsa Schiaparelli in the 1940's, another scent which was "shocking" because it also had a provocative note not unlike urine. Legend has it that Schiaparelli sniffed the culottes of Parisian ballerinas as inspiration for SHOCKING! KOUROS, while modern, was really a nostalgic fragrance in many ways when it emerged in 1981.

I like ANGEL. This is one of the few fragrances I know in which the masculine version (A*MEN) smells very similar indeed to the feminine version. In fact, as a reviewer here has noted, the feminine version may even be more assertive than the masculine version. Certainly the feminine version has a more pronounced menthol and bitter cassis note in the head, which to me, greatly offset the sweetness of the candy notes. This fragrance really is genius... I think that patchouli goes surprisingly well with the sweet notes; I love patchouli, and will never complain that a fragrance has too much of it. It is possible that this fragrance-- as with, say, POISON or KOUROS in the past-- is a great fragrance suffering from its own popularity. A fragrance can lose a bit of its cachet when everyone cottons onto it.

Nothing I can say can add to what has been said here, although I can honestly say that everyone here is correct: both the lovers and avoiders of this fragrance. Perhaps that's a hallmark of a truly great fragrance, in that it can withstand both praise and rejection... This is especially true of LHB. It is so magnificient, it is a whole mindset unto itself. Utterly unlike any other fragrance you are likely to try, it could only have been composed by one of the most sensitive, discerning noses in history. It has been said that LHB is melancholy, adn that can scarcely be argued; it's not gay in mood. It is old-fashioned, but only in the sense that all the fragrance components are utterly natural smelling. This is-- pardon the snob appeal-- a fragrance for people who truly know and love fragrance and the psychological magic it can wreak. It is like a bottled sigh... or a bottled soul. I suppose it is Oriental, but it almost reads as a Fruitee to my nostrils... no doubt on account of the Orange blossom/bergamot attack and the cherry-like quality of the Heliotrope-- a major note in this fragrance. Unlike other more traditional Orientals, however, it does not posses a santal note that I can perceive, although patchouli is definitely present. As mentioned above, there is a darkish note au fond of the mixture, which is certainly vetivert. I also feel there is some menthol in the midrange of this fragrance, as well as perhaps another note which, on its own, would be brackish or medicinal-- but mixed delicately and ingeniously as it is, it merely buoys up the floralcy, and confers a nut-like warm "shelf", midway through the development of this fragrance. I can honestly say that this, and SHALIMAR, are my two favorite fragrances of all time, bar none. I am a man, and wear both of them quite comfortably and willingly. LHB is a majesty, a work of art, a classic.