Sample of the Day - May 2012

Well, LIDGE arrived today...

...The bottle is awesome, although the cap is kind of lame. I expected as much though having experience with the women's L'Instant.

The scent is very interesting. I love the opening. Wish the lemon and elemi persisted longer - wouldn't mind a hint of incense that carried into the heart, but the way it transitions into that subtle neroli and the way the neroli combines with the chocolate to form an accord that smells much like those chocolate sticks filled with the orange jelly - very nice. I get some smoky vetiver, a good dose of patchouli, and a cedar accord that reminds me a bit of Rochas Lui and in some distant ways, Amouage Tribute and Pure Distance M. Not that it smells much like them, but they share a similar cedar/vetiver vibe.

The anise combines with the cocoa and it almost ends up smelling like chocolate syrup - like I squirted hershey's syrup all over my chest. This phase teeters on being too sweet (and I'd have to say that this scent is sweeter but also more mature than Play Intense, so kudos to those who said as much), but I don't think it crosses the line. Further testing required.

I really do love the thickness, the richness, and the darkness of the scent though. Most of my favorites are dark scents that have anise present in some way (Memoir Man and its absinthe/anise accord, Washington Square and the hints of anise from the tarragon, etc), and this feels like it could be my signature dark gourmand.

While there is a lot of subtle development as the hours tick by (on about hour 4 now), I can understand people like Bigsly saying there isn't much dynamism in the scent. I don't think I'd say there's not much dynamism, but that it's a different sort. There are no major shifts in heaviness, texture, color, etc. Instead LIDGE is like a pitch black iron cauldron filled with melted dark chocolate, and various elements - smoky vetiver and tea, jasmine petals, sandalwood, earthy patchouli - come bubbling to the top intermittently only to soon be replaced by something else. It's a very subtle dynamism, but the scent is not straight up linear (it's akin to the way Lyric Man is rose throughout, but various other notes are woven into that rose thread throughout its evolution).

Still, I would love for the citrus to linger longer. I'd love for a slightly lighter version as well - something more like Antidote in weight and feel; a medium, maybe even lightweight oriental. I am definitely going to be tracking down the EdT version of this as I think it will complement LIDGE wonderfully.

Based on this first test, I say that LIDGE is a very nice scent, and give it 4.25/5.

Couple more mini reviews..

Dior ambre Nuit- I am STUNNED. This is the most beautiful, almost perfect scent that I've ever smelt... and I've smelt many fragrances. Let me start off by saying that, I always wanted to dive into the Dior exclusive line, since I love there designer fragrances. I got a sample of Leather oud awhile back and hated it, it was disgusting...it was so animalistic and vile I cant explain it. I wanted to give them another chance and randomly chose ambre nuit as the next contestant. The second I smelt this my eyes opened, and i was amazed. This starts off with turkish rose, which is more masculine and it has this mysterious, elegant tone, which is carried out throughout the life of ambre nuit. Amber starts to makes its way to the fragrance, its a very sweet amber and it compliments the rose like crazy. I can detect some citrus, likely bergamot, at the top. The rose in this is amazing though, its unlike any other rose I've tried. Its marketed as unisex but steers more "manly" for some reason.Longevity is about 8 hours, projection is about 4 hours, so its normal. Its very elegant, dark and mysterious and you can tell Dior used very high quality ingredients in this fragrance. Demachy has created a masterpiece here. I simply can't say anything more other than to go and try this out if you havent already. I'm definetly going to go dive further into the Dior exclusive line. This fragrance has crawled up to number 1 as my most favourite fragrance, thats how good it is. Its obviously full bottle worthy for me. Unfortunatley its almost impossible to get a bottle here in Canada and noone is hosting a split now so I'm looking everywhere. If anyone wants to ship me a bottle or know of someone selling it please let me know

Amouage Jubilation XXV- This evokes quality. I've never smelt anything that is of such high quality, its something royalty would wear. This starts off with a bluberry like accor5d mixed with some spices. Cinnamon rises up and gives the fragrance some kick, everything is very tame in this fragrance, nothing screams out. I get some amber and some more citrus, woody aspects being incorporated. This is a very complex fragrance and is hard to pin point certain notes. People first getting into the game may not really be able to appreciate the quality, so I'd recommend experienced noses try this out. Longevity is about 10 hours and projections is about 4 for me. Overall a beautiful scent from Amouage and maybe when I'm rich and can full Amouage bottles I will get this. A split in the futue is evident for me.

Teardrop - I am so glad you are enjoying the samples ! Moelcules 03- not my fave either but I quite liked Escentric 01 - just not enough to buy a bottle.

Pilar & Lucy - To Twirl All Girly EDP

( Thanks www.luckyscent.com )
Notes : Gardenia ! Hooray !

Firstly ((( Primrose ))) - thank you for thinking of me and for this sample amongst other things.

Now what would you know ! I adore this little scent. The outstanding note in this is the gardenia - warm , bubbly , luscious , larger than life but a better gardenia than many other scents I have tried. So it opens as this huge lovely gardenia ,a kick of vanilla , a touch of coconut for roundness and some incense.
It smells very familiar but at the same time, it's not a common smell. I love this. Much better than Monyette Paris which was a total disaster on me and more luscious ,less green than Kai .

Teardrop - I really don't know . The first hit I got from this was gardenia . I was really surprised the gardenia note was so good. The same kind that Estee Lauder Tuberose Gardenia has but with added vanilla and incense and a little coconut. I can't do a load of coconut in my scents - I find it irritating ( L'artisan Premier Figue Extreme - you !!! )

The bottle is very froufrou from the picture. I really would like to get a bottle of the EDP but if I did, I would remove those fluffy things attached !
( I did the same with my Pleasures Bloom bottle by EL - I got rid of the flower attached. )

Teardrop *LOL* - " Great minds think alike ! "

I have now *got* what this reminds me of, Teardrop ! Ava Luxe's Tuberose Diabolique ! Very lovely but now I have placed the smell ,the lemming has flown off ....oh dear...........

Teardrop - absolutely- the whole Blood Concept thing is off putting to me too . My blood Type is B but it certainly did nothing for me.

Clive Christian
X Perfume for Women

I won't list the endless notes and I won't put a picture up for this scent. I'll just give you my impressions.
X is a peach perfume from beginning to end with leanings towards a gourmand scent at the very dry down .
It begins with this shampoo-esque peach note -bright and neon on my skin . It stays a bright peach for some time and then becomes a richer ,more delectable peach including the peach skin around about midway of the scent . I do not pick up muguet which is meant to be in there somewhere. At this point I thoroughly enjoy X perfume. To this point though, I cannot help but think that X is a bit of a let down because for all the expensive ingredients - it's another bombastic fruity floral .
So I wait . I love peach .
X is a loud perfume especially at the beginning and the dry down . The middle is a calm of that yummy peach and then it gathers up force again with a clean patchouli /woods and a vat of vanilla with the peach note coming forward again. Interesting !
However the vanilla is almost predictable . The combination becomes a loud mash and I am getting irritated . I would love to see peach ,sandalwood and something a little bit naughty included at the end - like civet.
I can see a sort of chypre concept as the dry down approaches. X perfume has a slight ' chewy ' quality to it like Gucci by Gucci ( brown bottle ) has which spells ' modern chypre ' to me. Before then , X is mainly just fruity floral.
The ingredients are very good IMHO and it's a fun scent . Peach shampoo is a very unfortunate association for me with this perfume which is terribly expensive and the vanilla is a disappointment for me. X has some interesting points but I would have to think 100 times before spending money on a scent that ultimately reminds me of a peach shampoo I used as kid.

I received a generous sample of Annick Goutal Nuit Etoilee (many thanks to the wonderful SA at Saks with whom I discussed growing herbs and elderly cats!), so I tried it over the weekend. I've been a bit obsessed with mint lately (mainly despairing that it doesn't want to grow in my small garden). I love using fresh mint in many of my dishes and adding it to lemonade and water, too, so the opening almost made me swoon: mint, mixed with citruses. I felt like a cat who's just been served catnip It is fresh and very summer-like, and it certainly isn't as dark as its name wants to suggest.

The bright, warm mint and citrus combination begins to dissipate, and this is when I sense green branches. It's supposed to be "fir," according to the description of the notes. To me, it smells like juniper. The mint continues to make an appearance here and there as the fragrance develops, but I really wish it were more prominent. The mint here is different from the sweet, grassy note in Herba Fresca, which to me is more of how idealized mint is supposed to smell. In Nuit Etoilee, it is more like the green leaf I love so much. This fragrance doesn't seem to last long, at least on me. It disappears after a couple of hours even though I sprayed generously, but it is interesting and different enough for me to consider a purchase, eventually. It is truly unisex.

I would actually love to find a fragrance that smells exactly like the "sweet mint"--this is what is the label said--that I planted: sweet, warm, and slightly spicy.