This will be fairly short and sweet. I promised Buffalo Gal I would give my impressions since she was kind enough to send me decants, which I've pretty well depleted now. :-[ I found these "reviews" difficult to write because these fragrances were very uninspiring for me. All of them very nice, but I just wasn't wowed by any of them like I thought I would be. No imagery, no music... But, here goes:
The first sniff of Barbara Bui and I thought I smelled opoponax so I thought this would be my new love. Sadly, it's got that intensely sweet white musk on drydown that seems to over-sweeten already sweet notes and overpower others. Barbara Bui is rich with heliotrope, amber, sandalwood, cedarwood, spices, jasmine and incense -- all good things and all things that I love. And yet, the strong, sweet musk makes for a very harsh drydown on my skin. With the right chemistry, I think Barbara Bui would be a gorgeous fragrance, however.
My first test of Oliban I scribbled down my impressions: citrus/very orange-y opening, patchouli obvious throughout, cumin undercurrent, vague rose, agarwood or heavy wood, definite incense (like Chaos/Anarchy, M7). Oliban is one of those fragrances that starts off one direction then, depending on skin and chemistry, I suppose, heads off in another direction. The opening is always the same, but sometimes the drydown is not. It always opens sweet orange-patchouli-wood-incense and becomes drier and more intensely those things as it develops. And two or three times, this is how it remained. The rose is tricky -- definitely there one second, yet definitely gone the next. Sometimes. Two or three of my tests, however, the rose was so obvious on drydown, when Oliban is a leather-cedar-rose with a hint of incense -- quite nice. I think I would name it Gentlemen's Rose. While not an exact smell-alike, Oliban still reminds me very much of Anarchy, M7 and a little Black Cashmere, though more subdued than any of them.
My first test of Gourmandises reminded me somewhat of L'Or de Torrente -- a very cedar-y rose. However, after two more tests, it's pretty much rose petal jam with just a hint of saffron, but it is unmistakably distinctly rose. While the opening is rich and sweet (and almost peppery), I really never get the praline or caramel I've read about, nor the powdery notes or white bitter almond. Perhaps I'm looking for Givenchy Pi or Hypnotic Poison strength bitter almond, I don't know... but I don't pick up the bitter almond. Very nice, but not remarkable.
I was testing from dab-on vials, so full-on spray testing may very well have produced different results. Thanks again, Buffalo Gal, for giving me the opportunity to test these fragrances! :-*
The first sniff of Barbara Bui and I thought I smelled opoponax so I thought this would be my new love. Sadly, it's got that intensely sweet white musk on drydown that seems to over-sweeten already sweet notes and overpower others. Barbara Bui is rich with heliotrope, amber, sandalwood, cedarwood, spices, jasmine and incense -- all good things and all things that I love. And yet, the strong, sweet musk makes for a very harsh drydown on my skin. With the right chemistry, I think Barbara Bui would be a gorgeous fragrance, however.
My first test of Oliban I scribbled down my impressions: citrus/very orange-y opening, patchouli obvious throughout, cumin undercurrent, vague rose, agarwood or heavy wood, definite incense (like Chaos/Anarchy, M7). Oliban is one of those fragrances that starts off one direction then, depending on skin and chemistry, I suppose, heads off in another direction. The opening is always the same, but sometimes the drydown is not. It always opens sweet orange-patchouli-wood-incense and becomes drier and more intensely those things as it develops. And two or three times, this is how it remained. The rose is tricky -- definitely there one second, yet definitely gone the next. Sometimes. Two or three of my tests, however, the rose was so obvious on drydown, when Oliban is a leather-cedar-rose with a hint of incense -- quite nice. I think I would name it Gentlemen's Rose. While not an exact smell-alike, Oliban still reminds me very much of Anarchy, M7 and a little Black Cashmere, though more subdued than any of them.
My first test of Gourmandises reminded me somewhat of L'Or de Torrente -- a very cedar-y rose. However, after two more tests, it's pretty much rose petal jam with just a hint of saffron, but it is unmistakably distinctly rose. While the opening is rich and sweet (and almost peppery), I really never get the praline or caramel I've read about, nor the powdery notes or white bitter almond. Perhaps I'm looking for Givenchy Pi or Hypnotic Poison strength bitter almond, I don't know... but I don't pick up the bitter almond. Very nice, but not remarkable.
I was testing from dab-on vials, so full-on spray testing may very well have produced different results. Thanks again, Buffalo Gal, for giving me the opportunity to test these fragrances! :-*
