Today I FINALLY got to sample Stephen Jones. I'm usually quick to sample a new Comme des Garcons scent but I have been busy sniffing a lot of other new stuff and this release came at a busy time for me but when a very generous Basenoter gifted me a sample of it, I eagerly tried it today.
Aldehydes and I are not close friends. When I arrived at BN, I remember learning that aldehydes were majorly responsible for the overall accord of No. 5 by Chanel and I knew I hated the way that smelled (like hairspray - it irritated my nose). Many other Chanel fragrances feature strong aldehydes and I steered clear of them for this reason. Later on I found out that a Estee Lauder scent I loved (a feminine) also has aldehydes, White Linen. I was a little confused. 'No it doesn't', was my first thought. That's when I learned that there are many different types of aldehydes used in many different ways.
Stephen Jones is an example of this. The aldehydes are fluorescent bright and come charging out of the scent as soon as it hits skin. It glows.
Have you ever stood right up against the Clinique cosmetic counter at a department store and talked to a white-smocked sales associate - and the entire time you're drenched in white hot fluorescent light? Well SJ smells like that.
The connection to White Linen is strong (which is fine with me, since I love WL in the EdT). But, instead of transitioning to a feminine floral middle note, SJ is mostly violet. Violets, of course, smell very masculine. Barbershop-esque. The combination of the fuzzy aldehydes and the deep, tangy, soapy violet is the best part of the scent and this linear accord hangs around the entire time.
The other silly notes in the press release for SJ (magma, black cumin, synthesized cyber aldehyde) I don't smell. What I do smell is the I've-smelled-this-synthetic-accord-before (maybe in Odeur 53 or Play?) that smells like the interior of a warm copy machine. Seriously. The accord is very light and doesn't overburden the violet but faintly buzzes along in the background.
CdG asked Antoine Maisondieu to create a scent that smells like 'a violet that's been hit by a meteorite'. I think SJ smells like a masculine floral that's been heated (not burned...Burning Barbershop by D.S. & Durga) but instead the air around the heart of florals is charged with a flickering electricity. It sounds disturbing. It's not. On skin it's strangely calming - kind of like Maisondieu's Hinoki is for CdG.
Today was cool in Miami and the scent wore strangely comfortable. I think this would smell even better in warm weather.
I want a bottle. But, most likely I won't buy one. I mean it's an overall fun smell, but when I think about it I really don't need to own this. I already own a decant of a strange violet scent: Dans Tes Bras by Frederic Malle (which I reviewed here).
But if you're looking for sheer fun and a men's violet scent that doesn't take itself too seriously, (and don't mind dropping $175 on the 'hat in a hat box ' inspired bottle) then Stephen Jones is for you.
Aldehydes and I are not close friends. When I arrived at BN, I remember learning that aldehydes were majorly responsible for the overall accord of No. 5 by Chanel and I knew I hated the way that smelled (like hairspray - it irritated my nose). Many other Chanel fragrances feature strong aldehydes and I steered clear of them for this reason. Later on I found out that a Estee Lauder scent I loved (a feminine) also has aldehydes, White Linen. I was a little confused. 'No it doesn't', was my first thought. That's when I learned that there are many different types of aldehydes used in many different ways.
Stephen Jones is an example of this. The aldehydes are fluorescent bright and come charging out of the scent as soon as it hits skin. It glows.
Have you ever stood right up against the Clinique cosmetic counter at a department store and talked to a white-smocked sales associate - and the entire time you're drenched in white hot fluorescent light? Well SJ smells like that.
The connection to White Linen is strong (which is fine with me, since I love WL in the EdT). But, instead of transitioning to a feminine floral middle note, SJ is mostly violet. Violets, of course, smell very masculine. Barbershop-esque. The combination of the fuzzy aldehydes and the deep, tangy, soapy violet is the best part of the scent and this linear accord hangs around the entire time.
The other silly notes in the press release for SJ (magma, black cumin, synthesized cyber aldehyde) I don't smell. What I do smell is the I've-smelled-this-synthetic-accord-before (maybe in Odeur 53 or Play?) that smells like the interior of a warm copy machine. Seriously. The accord is very light and doesn't overburden the violet but faintly buzzes along in the background.
CdG asked Antoine Maisondieu to create a scent that smells like 'a violet that's been hit by a meteorite'. I think SJ smells like a masculine floral that's been heated (not burned...Burning Barbershop by D.S. & Durga) but instead the air around the heart of florals is charged with a flickering electricity. It sounds disturbing. It's not. On skin it's strangely calming - kind of like Maisondieu's Hinoki is for CdG.
Today was cool in Miami and the scent wore strangely comfortable. I think this would smell even better in warm weather.
I want a bottle. But, most likely I won't buy one. I mean it's an overall fun smell, but when I think about it I really don't need to own this. I already own a decant of a strange violet scent: Dans Tes Bras by Frederic Malle (which I reviewed here).
But if you're looking for sheer fun and a men's violet scent that doesn't take itself too seriously, (and don't mind dropping $175 on the 'hat in a hat box ' inspired bottle) then Stephen Jones is for you.
