>>>> Sniff 'n' Speak Saturday, May 5 >>>>FRUITY

I am wearing Byblos for this special day. It is described as a fruitty floral scent by osMoz.
Created in 1990. It was one of my favourite scent and my first bottle was given to me by my aunt when I was 17. It is very refreshing and sparkling. IMHO, this is the first generation of perfume which vaguely resembles the aquatic scents. Definately a keeper in my wardrobe!
Top note : Bergamot, Mandarin, Black Currant, Peach
Middle note : Mimosa, Lily of the Valley, Orris, Lily
Base note : Vetiver, Musk, Raspberry, Heliotrope

I chose Hanae Mori's Magical Moon for Fruity Saturday. The notes are: osmanthus, rose, sugarcane, coconut milk, vanilla, musk, sandalwood, cedar, agarwood, litchi, patchouli, pineapple, guava, star fruit, and orange flowers. Although I can make out every fruit mentioned, they are all subtle and support the major star, which is agarwood. Definitely not a fruit salad like my poor neglected Escada Pacific Paradise! Which I actually like to wear to the beach in summer--that's what it was intended for, I believe. I can wear HMMM anywhere and I like it in both hot and cold weather. I bought it 5 months ago and I'm already 1/3 through the bottle.

Aww, have a quick shower and restart your day with Rochas Femme. You, and he, deserve it...

Wearing New West for Her by Aramis - I am down to my last 1 ml of this stuff. I love it much better than New West (for men), due to its fruitiness: the most comforting melon scent on the market IMO.

Not fruit salad-y like some of the fruity/florals on the market (there are so many), but a melon scent that is like watermelon at the beach. Just a slight hint of saltiness in this also but subdued saltiness. I also get a little white grape smell but it fades quickly.

The Beach by Ava Luxe comes pretty close to replicating NWfH - albeit slightly more longevity. Perhaps when I finish of my NWfH, I'll replace it with a bottle of TB.

Eau Fantasque by Fragonard. A super grapefruit scent, very zesty

Yes fruity is a hard one for me too.

Then decided on Alpona by Caron.

Notes of grapefruit,orange,bergamot,jasmine,rose,myrrh,sand alwood,musk and oakmoss.

It is fruity in structure.

I'm playing w/ y'all today, & wearing Kenneth Cole Reaction for men! It has topnotes of green apple & watermelon, and basenotes of sandalwood, musk, & patchouli. However, on me the fruity topnotes stay prevalent throughout!

Moondeva and Quarry -- Thank you as always for your knowledge, insight and wonderful, pragmatic sense! How lucky we all are to have you both among our Basenotes family!

Fruity notes are traditionally my least favorite (with the possible exception of cherry and plum blossoms and blackberry/raspberry notes) -- anyone have any suggestions for me? I tend to be a woody/floral/oriental gal myself... But am always looking to expand my horizons!!!

Moondeva in particular, but anyone else feel free to chime in: I find myself drawn into a bit of a love-hate relationship with Patou's Sira des Indes... and I suspect the conflict in my soul is over the banana accord. On today's Fruity Sniff & Speak: Help?!?

Anyhow, for today's Sniff & Speak, I chose two. One from my collection, and one from my current obsession (as a Boston-area fragrance junkie who's finally nailed the local custom perfumer having released a retail line AT LAST!!!!)


On left side:

Ilana Jivago's 7 Notes : fruity pear and mango, floral orchid, jasmine and lotus, cinnamon, amber, sandalwood, and musk. Which is, of course, more than seven notes, but only if you count the individual listings, not how they're separated by commas!

On right side:

Neil Morris Fragrances Coral, which was sent with my sample pack of all six currently available NMF scents (the folks at NMF say Coral will be released on the web site later this spring). No description currently available, but for me it is a tropical fruit bonanza, and while I don't like tropical fruit, this is still a nicely constructed scent, IMO.

7 Notes was a gamble for me: I'd bought the fragrance blind for several reasons: I'd smelled Jivago 24K, and while it was not at all for me (because of all the jasmine and tuberose together - a truly deadly combination for me), I could tell she knew what she was doing as a perfumer; I was trying to find a scent I could wear that had jasmine in it, but NOT as a primary note, since I tend to kill all such scents (or more accurately, they smell funereal on me... it's JASMINE plus whatever else there might be in the scent, never mind that the jasmine is supposed to be in the background); and I was looking for something a little lighter than my favorites (which tend to be patchouli/incense/opoponax/amber heavy) for the warmer weather.

I think 7 Notes is an underestimated winner. The pear note came up on me very elegant and a bit sweeter than I expected, almost more apple than pear. And for those who may be avoiding this frag (as I was) for the tropical fruit/mango note: on me, the tropical note is both subtle and fleeting. Really a support rather than a front-runner. And the amber/sandalwood/musk base is, in my opinion, perfect. I hope to wear this one more often this spring and summer. It's a pleasure. I also think it's available on many of the discounted online sites. Go for it, friends!!!

As for Neil Morris Fragrances Coral, I have to state at the outset that I really do NOT like tropical fruit scents, which Coral most definitely is. However, I can recognize a well-constructed fragrance even if it's not for me. I think Coral is such a one.

Coral was sent to me along with my sample pack of all six currently available NMF scents (the folks at NMF say Coral will be released on the web site later this spring). While no description currently available, but for me it is a tropical fruit bonanza.

I am flying blind here, but here's what I smelled: an orange/other citrus opening, that almost immediately was accompanied and then overtaken by some sort of tropical fruit bonanza - passionfruit, then mango/papaya, and coconut! Like suntan oil coconut. I also get some vanilla, possibly sandalwood, and at one point, I swear I smelled lime jello (fleeting). To me, Coral is sheer tropics, with lots of palm trees, tropical fruits and suntan oil. Summer vacation (for some) in a bottle!

Enjoy.

I didn't put any fragrance on today as I was having a testing spree in Liberty's, but I did try some Daim Blond. although it is primarily a leather fragrance (blonde suede, quite literally), it does have an element of apricot.
Initially, the fruit note is sharp, as though unripe - perhaps even sour. But as the fragrance develops, it becomes smoother and sweeter, though in truth, the apricot plays more of a supporting role - it is not the star of the show.
An interesting fragrance, this, though not one of my favourite Lutens. I imagine this on an attractive, 40-something blonde in a soft, tan suede jacket. As a pale brunette, I need something a bit fruitier - Poison or Forbidden Fruits both tickle my fancy.

You haven't led me astray yet, dear Diva, so I hopped right over to FragranceNet and got a mini for mini clams!! Will report!! :bounce:

I wore Ralph Rocks today for our fruity S&S day. Another stupid name, another tacky bottle ... but you know what? Ralph Rocks is not bad! It smells tropical without the suntan oil, the passion fruit being the dominant note for me ... it's sweet and juicy and refreshing but it has a sun-warmed feel too. I could see myself wearing it this summer

Top Notes: Passion Fruit, Kiwi, Citrus
Middle Notes: Freesia, Orange Blossom, Hyacinth, Palm Leaves
Base Notes: Bleached Wood, Sandalwood, Amber


Tonight, long after Ralph stopped Rocking, I'm testing LAP Mure et Musc. I was inspired to give this a go since it is still fruity S&S day. For some reason I had convinced myself that I would never like Mure et Musc When am I ever going to learn to stop judging a fragrance by its name? I love this stuff! I guess I thought it would be like that B&BW blackberry scent, which I can not stand ... but no, not at all. The berry note is subtle and just enough to sweeten the musk ... this smells like sweet, clean skin ... only better.

That is what I love about these S&S days ... I tried two fragrances, that I might not have tried today and enjoyed them both ... next month? citrus? citrus is definitely NOT my thing ... but who knows? I might find a citrus scent that I actually like!

A fig feast for me on Fruity SnS day: I wore Philosykos, but layered it with Davidoff Good Life Woman to oomph up the sweetness. A fave combo of mine, giving Philosykos greater staying power without taking away its unique green, woody and earhty fig accord.
2 sprays of P and one spray of GL!

Notes in Good Life:
Top: citrus, ylang ylang
Heart: jasmine, rose, magnolia, fig leaves
Base: wood, fig milk, vanilla, amber

Notes in Philosykos: fig leaves, white cedarwood.

A day too late I am wearing Roma by Laura Biagotti for fruity day. It is an oriental-vanilla, but to my nose it is very fruity and fresh, suitable for a warm day. The notes are according to osMoz:

Top note : Pink Grapefruit, Black Currant, Mint, Hyacinth

Heart note : Jasmine, Rose, Lily of the valley, Sandal

Base note : Vanilla, Amber, Musk, Civet

Perhaps it is the Mint making Roma so very fresh, but there is also Pink Grapefruit and Black Currant.

Great combo! I shall definitely try this this summer! I love both of these scents.

Two other great 'figgy' combo's:

Ava Luxe Wild Black Fig + Davidoff Good Life For Women

Diptyque Philosykos + Jo Malone Wild Fig & Cassis

I have read that Ava Luxe Fig Leaf is a great dupe for Diptyque Philosykos, so may be another great alternative for layering to extend Philosykos longevity without altering / compromising the scent. I am eager to try her other Fig blends (Fig, Fig Wood) as I already own and love her Wild Black Fig and Forbidden Fruits (pomegranate & figs) parfums.

A, I have a sample of Fig Wood: it was once called Bois de Figue - one of my first AL samples! It is deeper, huskier and less summery than Philosykos. Black dried figs on spicy sandalwood...I think you'll like it

I found Fig Wood a little too 'creamy' for my tastes - almost like fig ice cream...slightly too feminine for me. Reminded me of womens cold cream.

Perhaps then, you ladies will like it.

My grateful thanks to Donna! I was utterly stymied about what to wear to the opera last night, let alone something fruity, and she inspired a solution to both. I wore every last drop of my Alpona sample, an unbelievably rich and lush extravagence that I cannot regret at all. Alpona must be quite an adept chameleon, considering how many men love it and can wear it well, because on me it is amazingly womanly. And btw, I persuaded Mr. to wear what was left of his Divine L'Homme Sage and we smelled wondrous together

Somehow, fruity scents are not very popular on the boards. Too chemical since very few of fruit fragrant oils can be distilled? Too sweet and cloying? Too juicy? Dunno here, but I had hard time choosing: I have a truckload of fragrances with fruity notes, but they are mostly fruity florals, fruity chypres or fruity orientals. And then it dawned on me! For our S'n'S day I chose one of my first loves in fragrances, Salvador Dali Dalissime (1994), created by the nose of Marc Buxton who did Chopard Mira Bai, which resulted in some similarities although these two are not exactly the same.

Top: Peach, cassis, apricot, plum, raspberry (some sites also mention pine-apple, lychee, blackberry);
Heart: rose, jasmine, orris, lily of the valley, freesia;
Base: musk, sandal, vanilla, tonka bean.


Although in the same tonality as Yves Rocher Peche (LE and hard to find now) and Morris Gocce (I wonder if anyone remembers this one?), Dalissime is all about apricot, sun-ripened, warm and sweet. It is not at all complex or particularly outstanding, but it is very comfortable for running errands, gardening, cooking, being the girl next door, wearing cotton dresses or working work as I did yesterday. The smell of peaches and apricots is somewhat similar, although apricots are greener, tangier, lighter and not that sweet. There are not very many fragrances where this note is done in a natural manner despite the fact that apricot kernels, or "almonds," are excellent source for perfume carrier oils (like in Burt's Bees Apricot Oil for Babies). The fragrance stays almost linear, without many changes during its wear, but it shows interesting nuances: I could feel little hairs, juicy flesh and hard kernel all during many hours that it lasted, and it changed somewhat from transparent to powdery vanillic, staying gentle, defenseless and a bit naive. The bottle is pretty in its own Dali-like weird way and the price can't be beat!

For trivia lovers: apricot's botanical name is Prunus Armeniaca, or Armenian Plum, and in Latin it is praecox ("ripens prior to plums"). In Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania who fell in love with donkey-headed Nick Bottom, a weaver and an amateur actor, orders her elves to "Feed him with apricocks and dewberries...". Personally, I miss apricot nectar, a fruit drink popular in Europe where I was growing.

And I miss musse, too.

So, If it's Libby, Libby, Libby, on the label, label, label, etc. Never noticed them, though, need to check! Thanks, Q!