Profumo: Team Two's sampling impressions

I just got my package from Quarry :bounce:

Sniffing the vial Karo Karounde is truly strange. I don’t think I have the right words for what I am smelling so please bear with me. A bit of something very green (not quite a fig ) paired with a very ripe soft cheese. On skin it is like that for seconds then the green disappears, in a few minutes the cheese mellows and sweetens a bit but it stays more savory and almost salty than sugary. With a bit more time it seems like it is sprinkled with a touch one or more aromatic spices but nothing I know. There might be a sliver of ham with the cheese and spice. The dry down is mostly the spices. I am interpreting this in culinary terms but I can see how this would work in a perfume. It is a fascinating scent. I keep putting my hand to my nose to see what it smells like now. I will definitely try this again in a day or two I wonder if it will smell the same or my take on it will be entirely different.

African Queen Pink Panther
Parsley for seconds, then mint but its an unusual one, then the Karo Karounde begins to peak out but through a green herb curtain, The part that comes through the curtain is the spices. I am getting more of of a spicy almost woody smell here than in the single note. I am not getting ripe cheese or ham. I like this and will probably give it a full wearing tomorrow. I am also very curious about what other accords would work with Karo Karounde. I sort of wish this were a bit dirtier. But maybe a full wearing as opposed to a skin test will bring that out.

Day Two
Full wearing of African Queen Pink Panther with AQPP on one wrist and Karo Karounde on the other. Also have scent strips in wine glasses going for these two. I am fascinated by the Karo as a single note. I'm not sure I'd dare wear it in public till the dry down but that is the wrist that keeps showing up at my nose.

I am enjoying by AQPP. It is growing on me. I could definitely wear this. I cant wait to try the black panther version.

Mona Lisa First impressions meh or maybe ugh. At least on my skin and for my nose. Not a scrubber but getting close. Am I the only one who doesnt like this? On paper in a wine glass it is a little better. But still a bit too sour or something. I dont think I am objecting to the civet, I usually like that note. How much mandarine in this? Citrus rarely works for me and it sometimes it does strange things on my skin.


maybe it is a bit too demure for me Ill try it again later in hopes of puzzling it out a bit more.

I don't get much mandarine from Mona Lisa but something didn't work for me it wasn't really off just enough to not be a good fit for me. It is something of a puzzle though so I'll try it again.

Gringo (peppermint, patchouli, frankincense, vanilla, rose, castoreum, lemon)

I tried gringo on skin, Peppermint and frankincense with a hint of lemon maybe, it is not a harsh citrus more of a bakery lemon than lemon peel or juice. Here I am complaining about citrus last night and today falling for Gringo despite the lemon. This lasted really well and I like it. Need to give it a full wearing.

I had to get these and sniff to compare to Gringo.

Hindu Kush It also has the frankincense but with a heavy dose of woods. I like this but I think I might like Gringo even more than Hindu Kush

Persona a wonderfully soft vetiver with a touch of neroli and frankincense. So far Ive only sniffed the vial and paper. Will try on skin soon.

I'm going to start with the most difficult note of the batch, Karo Karounde.
This is the smell of rotting flowers and hay.
It smells like the bunches of flowers that used to fall off my trumpet vines onto my patio all summer. There were so many of them, I couldn't sweep them up fast enough. Then they would rot, and this is what they smelled like.
It also smells like a type of jungle flower that uses flies for pollination, hence it has to smell a little ripe and meaty.
And the worst part is, it has nuances of honey and urine.
Oh, I do not like karo karounde.

Wow, purplebird--I though KK smelled rather pleasant. It reminded me of the overripe melon note in Diorella. You are right to call it meaty, I think!

Maybe it is my memory association with all that work, sweeping up armfuls of slimy, orange, rotting flowers. Also I have had my nose inside jungle flowers before, and they are rank.
Today, I am going to keep with my theme of "difficult" aromas and review African Queen Pink Panther. Does this one have karo karounde in it? I think it does, if I remember the last thread correctly. I do not smell it specifically, but this perfume is not to my liking either.
To me, it smells of one thing:
A juniper bush in the sun. Now, juniper bushes are not unpleasant smelling, especially the berries. However, the needles give off a strong, weedy aroma with a slighty urine smell in the heat. When a person brushes against them (or has to prune them with clippers) they release this wild, uncontrolled aroma that is off-putting to me. I guess that is why I find this perfume difficult. It is wild. It is uncontrolled. It is not sweet, either. So, I say, regardless of the ingredients, it smells like a big, wild juniper bush.
Now, I have done with the craziest fragrances in the package. When this one wears off, I will go for my favorites.

purplebird, both of the African Queen fragrances smelled like gasoline to me, but the way you describe it makes sense. There is certainly an oily and pungent quality in the top and mid notes. The Karo Karounde is really masked by this, but it comes out later in the development, and by that point, the KK is in it is pleasant dry down stage.

I'm chiming in after living for a few days with my batch of samples. First Lakeflower. I sprayed on a lot of this. First a rush of mixed, strong spices -- a little disorienting because I couldn't place them. Then ginger -- it reminded me of Gringo in that way, but in this case I'm enjoying it more because it has settled down into something fresh and delicious that I can't place in the background. I am getting a sense that the ginger has somewhat melded into some other element. This is a subtlely spicey, refreshing and probably completely unisex scent, a little bit incense-like, but not as strongly evocative of stony, holy places. It is a high-energy smell to me, dense but not voluptuous. The reason for the name escapes me, Profumo...can you enlighten us? Unless there is ginger, which might grow near water?

Karo Karounde, yes Purplebird, I too smell honey/urine. Also something hay-like and a sour smell that mades me think of tannic, citrus, molasses smell of tamarind. I love tamarind to eat, but not to wear! This is a fierce strange smell that I could see working buried deep within a complex perfume or as a kind of fetish smell -- so unique that you have to keep sniffing. I wouldn't dare it on date!

Dear Chestnut, a lot about the ingredients and the meaning of the scents of the soul is written in every description of them online, clicking on the perfume from "The scents of the Soul" page.
For "Lake Flower" see: http://www.profumo.it/perfume/prodotto.asp?pid=107

Oddly enough, yes, it improves with time.
And apparently other perfumes use this note. According to Perfumed Court, it is found in L'Artisan Timbuktu. According to Fragrantica, it is used in Cartier Panthere, Joop Berlin, a few of the Estee Lauder Pleasures flankers, Comme de Garcons Red: Sequoia, Paco Rabanne Pour Elle Metal Edition, Azarro Oh La La, Lavanilia Laboratories Vanilla Blossom, Cioccolato Mon Amour Bianco Classico, and Enrico Coveri Pour Femme.

Righto. Thank goodness someone else smelled the urine note. For years I thought that the reason my juniper bushes smelled of urine was because dogs had targeted them, but I realize now that it is a chemical that is intrinsic to some plants.

Now, on to my favorites!
I love Gringo.
Notes: patchouli, frankincense, peppermint, sandalwood, vanilla, rose, castoreum, lemon.

Before I looked at the notes, I identified the frankincense. This perfume smells like sticking one's head into a bag of frankincense resin and snorting the dust like cocaine.
It is rich, heavy, and high-quality. Anyone who enjoys incense fragrances ought to try this one, especially those who like Messe de Minuit.
And it satisfies my patchouli craving. The patchouli adds an earthy mustiness to the scent, and it brings with it its sweet, chocolatey undertones.
The mint and lemon freshen and lighten the scent. And the vanilla rounds it off with softness. I cannot smell castoreum, per se.

I borrow this description from Profumo's website:
"The result is a perfume that touches the soul by its intrepid sweetness and sensuality, adapted for a truly gallant and refinely elegant buccaneer. This is the soul of a real pirate that the stylist recognized his young and trendy customers were lacking. Through their clothes they wanted to appropriate only the image of an adventurous corsair, while this perfume exudes his very soul."

OMG. Hey, wait a minute. I'm a middle-aged woman from Nebraska, not a stylish young rakehell.
What does this say about me?
I am troubled.
Actually I am smiling.
Well, if I can't live the life, at least I can vicariously enjoy it in perfume.
Maybe...next reincarnation...

Ah! Yes! Thank you, purplebird7! I can remember that CdG Red: Sequoia does smell like sweaty gym clothes to me, at least at first. So I *have* smelled karo karounde before!

Catching up for the last two days I did full wearings of Persona and Mona Lisa

Persona was very nice. Vetiver with a touch of sweetness that I think is the combination of the frankincense and neroli. I could definitely reach for this when I was in the mood for vetiver which happens frequently in summer.

Mona Lisa better with a full wearing, The mandarine seemed more subdued. I am not sure that I like quite that much civet. This is clearly one I will have to work with a bit. Challenging and somewhat intriguing as well.

I'm O.D.'d on Sample C for the 3x3 Blind Sniff.
So I have to wait and shower before I try another fragrance from my package.
I know which one it's going to be, though.
Another favorite--Persona!

Persona's opening notes are pure happiness to me.
I love that vetiver, and the neroli adds the right amount of citrus without turning it too sour.
(Perhaps Profumo has the best source of neroli, because so many people loved Holy Water and Morning Blossom.)
I do enjoy every aspect of the bitter orange tree: orange essential oil, orange blossom, neroli, and petit grain.
If I could change any one thing about Persona, it would be to decrease the frankincnese. I have already decided that Gringo is the right vehicle for frankincense, it is much sweeter, and here I want to smell the vetiver more plainly, and perhaps let the neroli and spice come through more. Why? Because vetiver is a "clear" note to me, and it smells clean. In Persona, it is so fresh that it smells barbershop clean. And that is the best quality of this perfume.

My misunderstanding of the name of this perfume caused me some disappointment.
I am a bit dyslexic, and I thought it was Bois de Rose, which is Rosewood, which is a natural ingredient that I just love. I was prepared to smell a woody, lemony aroma like expensive, polished furniture.
However it is Rose de Bois, a spicy floral.
After my initial surprise, I did like it. To me, it is a quiet scent that doesn't project much. It is a skin scent on me, but pretty. Mainly it is a green rose, similar to a rose de mai, with some soft, woody cinnamon. Overall, it is calming and gentle, very safe-feeling and secure. The natural ingredients here all operate at the same level, none fighting the other for dominance, all humming along in unison. A harmonious combination, perhaps not as bold as I prefer my fragrances, but pleasing nonetheless.
Strangely enough, the aroma reminds me of a cup of tea with honey, probably why I find it so comforting.

Yum and Yuck
This is the story of two perfume ingredients that are as different as they can be.
Vanilla and castorium have almost nothing in common except for the fact that they are both used as bases in perfumes. And they elicited two different reactions from me.

Vanilla - This sample is much softer than I would expect. It's mellow aroma quickly becomes a skin scent on me. I find it reasonably complex, with tones of butterscotch and caramel, the hallmark of a natural vanilla. Synthetic vanillin is more "plain," and rather boring by itself, albeit easier to combine with other notes. This vanilla sample is lovely. I've smelled others that are stronger and more complex, but they can be more difficult to work with in a perfume. After a short while, I cannot smell this sample distinctly on my skin but it remains sweet (not overly so) and pretty. Yum.

Castoreum - This sample opens with a brief fecal note, and then progresses into a strong, oily, leather aroma. It also smells like fur, which may be a result of my association with a furrier's factory that I used to visit. Quickly, a bitter, rubbery quality emerges and then gradually dissipates. The smell of castoreum is warm and persistent but highly aggressive. It's harsh edges would have to be smothered in flowers for me to wear it. Maybe jasmine would do the trick because it is strong and indolic. Anyway, on its own, this is yucky.
P.S. My cat just sniffed my arm, looked alarmed, and jumped down and left.

It took me three days to review Mona Lisa, I had such mixed feelings about it.
If anyone had told me that I would tolerate a perfume with natural tuberose absolute and civet on myself for even a minute, I would have called him crazy. And yet, I willingly wore Mona Lisa several times. In combination these two ingredients smell more agreeable than they do alone.
I cannot say that I like this perfume, but I do not deplore it either. Last summer, for the Note Identification Project, both tuberose absolute and synthetic civet offended me greatly. One was rotten and carnal, the other was hugely fecal. I could not concoct any perfumes using them, no matter what else I added or how greatly I diluted them. Mona Lisa succeeds in hiding the worst aspects of those notes. The tuberose is hardly recognizable. I must attribute its taming to the mandarin, but, honestly, I do not identify any orange smell in this perfume at all. The three notes, together, seem to change each other beyond recognition. Probably the most off-putting part is the sulferic quality of the civet, which comes and goes. The ingredients are well chosen for one another, because otherwise I would have run for the shower by now. And I haven’t. I even considered liking it yesterday.

Today, it's on to Lake Flower. I have a yes and no reaction to this one. The listed notes are ylang-ylang, rose, and helichrysium. But what do I smell? Lemon and hay.
It is remniscent of oriental lemongrass.

I believe that I am not a fan of helichrysium. Last summer, in the Note Identification Project, I got a sample of that substance. It was a strange floral--strong and both sweet and sour at the same time. It also was harsh and haylike, with a bitter, aromatic, medicinal note. I didn't really smell the "maple" aroma that is supposed to be a characteristic of helichrysium. The sweet part smelled more like cut hay in the sun, a warm sweetness. Overall, it smelled rather wild and incongruous.

Lake Flower also has the same unrefined aspect for me. It is unpredictable, wafting between warm and sweet and fresh and tart. Yet neither the sweetness nor the sourness is familiar, as it would be with common, edible substances like vanilla and lemon. Therefore, it is challenging. I don't know if I like it or not.

And now, one more review: something that was not in my package for this test but which Quarry sent from her own collection. I enjoy this one very much:
Hindu Kush is an appealing spicy Oriental fragrance and an all-natural frankincense perfume that anyone who likes incense ought to love. It starts with a conglomoration of exotic spices, both pungent and sweet, each appearing quickly at different intervals. The incense is high-quality and rich. At the base is a thick, deep labdanum--a dark amber--smelling of wood and, in combination with the spices, a bit smoky with subtle, maple nuances. Altogether, it creates a mystical, adventurous, rather sexy fragrance.

So, my favorites are Gringo and Hindu Kush.
And I appear to find animalics unpleasant on their own, but I don't mind them if they are almost undetectable, hidden within the fragrance.

I don't usually choose rose-centered scents, but I do enjoy rose in supporting notes, so it is no surprise that I start to groove with Rose Des Bois when, after around twenty minutes, the fresh, clean rose note meshes with the fuzzy warmth of spice -- yes, I get the cinnamon mostly -- and soft, radiant wood. The "bois" part is excellent.This is too rosy to be "me", but such an affable crowd-pleaser that I still really enjoy it. It's a cuddly skin scent on me too, Purplebird -- very little projection, but extremely long lasting, which is rare on my skin -- I woke up smelling it on my forearm. This seems, in its spirit, somewhat similar to the Rosines, at least my favorite, so far, Rosa Flamenca, but much-longer-lived.

Yes, a wood-rose is a good-rose!
I like Les Rosines, too!

Yay, I found the thread! I wasn't posting on bulletin boards during Lent, but I was sampling and taking notes the whole time. I may be highly impressionable, but I really do get the mood and sensations that the creator of these scents associates with them in his website's descriptions. I find the purity of most of them mentally and physically grounding, aromatherapeutic, and emotionally affective. Even the fragrances that I don’t particularly care for are still interesting as olfactory experiences, so I've been enjoying the sampling very much. Here are my impressions of Quarry's first batch (excepting Castoreum, which I haven't tried yet tho' will soon).

Lake Flower
Minty-herbal, woodsy and natural. Very fleeting impression of smoked wood. I like this one a lot. It’s like lying in the grass by a lake in summer. I find it calming and uplifting simultaneously. I love helichrysium, apparently. I have found myself reaching for this one on quite a few occasions as I've gone about my day.

Gringo
Also struck me as minty-herbal, citrussy, and woodsy. It lasts a fairly long time, and equally wearable by a man or a woman. I definitely get an island pirate bay-rum vibe. I get an impression of spices (clove? Cinnamon? Nutmeg?), and a bit of citrus peel, and the camphor quality of patchouli. The perfumer says it’s a fragrance for buccaneers, and I pick up on that free-wheeling mood when wearing it. I LOVE it! When wearing Gringo I feel like vacationing in the Caribbean. This is another very easy to wear fragrance, imo, and happy-go-lucky.

Rose des Bois (Fablier)
Rose + lemon? Or verbena? + something wonderful that I can’t identify but that I find addictive, something woody but also resiny. Maybe a touch of nutmeg as well? Also, it develops into a richness that makes me think there is musk, but I don’t know if the perfumer uses musk. Anyway, I really enjoy it. I think this one is very fine.

Samurai
Smells like cedar and I’m not sure what else. Has a mountainy purity and minimalism to it, so I can understand the name. Then becomes sweet on the skin yet still woodsy. Very, very nice.

Tartar Leather
Similar to Samurai in that it’s woodsy and has a sweetness. I get cedar again, but every time I think I’m smelling cedar it turns out to be vetiver - so what do I know? I suppose I just have cedar trees on the brain. The sweet base, which is in a lot of these fragrances, is lovely. Definitely unisex, as is Samurai, Lake Flower, Persona, Gringo. The leather is subtle, not overly strong. So nicely done!

Karo Karoundé
Smells like wood smoke and some kind of sickly sweet flower or herb. As it warms it smells more like wildflower honey, but I didn't get a urine note. At first I thought, “not for me!” because the impression of wood smoke was overpowering, but with a little time on my skin I began to find it more appealing. A warm bees’ waxy honeyed quality took over. Smells like honeysuckle, or some very sweet blossom growing nearby as I ride my bike on an early summer afternoon, when the air is sweet with growing things.

Persona
Vetiver, Frankincense, Neroli
Wonderful! The combination of these ingredients is so wearable and refreshing. Frankincense in this combination of notes is approachable, less formal/churchy, while it adds mystery to the vetiver and neroli. I found this scent grounding and it seemed to orient me internally (meditative). Vetiver struck me as looking backward, nostalgia; neroli was refreshing and stimulating; and frankincense added depth and mystery. I got an impression of pine or fir branches, the green neroli, woodsy vetiver, and spicy frankincense combining to give this impression.

Vanilla
Like a nice quality vanilla extract. I only tested it once, so probably need to give it another try. Not much more to say about it at this point.

Mona Lisa
Civet, Tuberose, Mandarin
This is a lovely and pure, if short lived, fragrance experience. The tuberose is gorgeous – started off rubbery, then I got some menthol. And it almost smelled edible. And there was something old fashioned about it (in a good way) that made me think of a floral that my mother or grandmother would have worn, when fragrances were made with quality ingredients. I didn't smell the civet, or if I did I didn't get a fecal aspect in this. The mandarin gave it a juiciness. I actually liked this better than Fracas, which is an old friend I don't wear much anymore.

African Queen (Pink Panther)
Has a lemony-verbena and mint impression. Also something woodsy (patchouli?). I was expecting something more opulent and grand, given the name. Reminds me of Lake Flower a bit. Very enjoyable. Another one I can see myself reaching for often.

Aiona has generously sent me her set of Profumo samples, so even though I'm not officially part of a sampling group, she asked that I post my impressions to Purplebird's thread.

BTW, if you missed the Profumo's sampling group initiative, but are curious about the scents, join our Natural Perfume sampling group.

Rose de Bois -- This is my favorite by far in the set I got from Aiona. Rose is not very pronounced, or at least 'concealed' by cinnamon, woods, and vanilla. It's sweet and spicy at the same time, with the rose lending a crisp floral aspect. It's like wearing an all-natural Guerlain. Longevity is good so far (it's been an hour since I put it on, and it's still going strong, although I sprayed more generously than I typically do). Fantastic!

Castoreum -- This one is interesting. I put it on with a dabber and rather cautiously, expecting something skanky and unwearable. Instead, it was pleasantly leathery and floral. However -- a big but -- I think it gave me an allergic reaction akin to hay fever. Within minutes, I was sneezing, had a runny nose, watery eyes. The symptoms subsided when I washed it off. I've not been brave enough to try it again.

African Queen Pink Panther and African Queen Black Panther -- This was fruity/minty, with the 'fruit' note reminding me of the scent of freshly picked blackcurrants, warm and fragrant right off the bush. This must be the 'Karo' fruit that's part of the composition. I was also getting a 'pissy' note someone mentioned (so it's not just me). It was strangely alluring and not unpleasant. I will have to test these two again -- Black and Pink Panther seemed pretty similar to each other.

Acqua Santa -- The bottle was nearly empty, but I was able to get one spray out. This reminded me of a citrus-incense composition. Light and refreshing, although also somewhat churchy. It seemed a bit dissonant - 'churchy' + citrusy. I did not really have enough to test it fully, but would be a good one to try for incense lovers.

More next time!

Update on African Queen Pink Panther and African Queen Black Panther: I'm having a hard time finding the differences between the two. Pink Panther is perhaps sharper/brighter and more incense/minty. Black Panther is a touch sweeter and softer. I can't say which I prefer -- they are both quite interesting. Found this descriptions from TCP: "African Queen Black Panther is another variation on the African Queen fragrance and features bucchu betulina (a new essence he received from South Africa that has an undertone of clary sage and a slight tobacco note) in an animalic fragrance." Ah, it's beginning to make sense -- what I thought was 'mint' is probably clary sage, and tobacco came across as incense to me. I typically don't really like tobacco fragrances, but this was not quite "tobacco-like" and more incense. Don't get much 'animalic' either (unless it's the 'pissy' note that I mentioned earlier --> but I think that was actually part of the sage/mint that I was smelling). Overall, quite alluring albeit unusual.

Karo Karounde -- hmm, that was not quite the fruit note I expected from smelling Pink Panther/Black Panther. Upon the initial application it reminded me of the smell of salami, or more precisely Russian salted pork fat ('salo') - salty/peppery/meaty. Seriously! A quick search on the internet revealed that I was confused about it being the fruit note (why did I think that?); it's actually a flower, which I'm guessing is not a perfume ingredient I want to smell, at least not in large quantities, unless I want to feel all nostalgic for 'salo.' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salo_(food)) Luckily it was pretty short lived.