All Invited! ♥ ♥ ♥ Sniff 'n' Speak Saturday, November 1, 2008 ★★★ SPICY

[sakecat22]

Late to the party myself. Been wearing a number of spicy scents over the past couple of weeks.

For Saturday - wore Possets Montana. This is supposed to be a tobacco scent, but on me - very strong cinnamon. Maybe a hint of pipe tobacco at the top. At the base - spices and vanilla. Smells like cinnamon spiced sugar cookies.

Today - Stephanie de Saint Aignan Berberiades Extreme. A non-foody, non- "Old Spice" spice. More market bazaar spice - with incense, some woods, a hint of cinnamon and ginger. Absolutely stunning and one of my most easily worn spices.

[Nukapai]

I just really want to add something: tested Tea for Two on my skin for the first time today when out and about - and the first 15-20 minutes are a very accurate olfactory representation of loose roll-up tobacco (specifically: Golden Virginia, which is slightly honeyed).

It then dries to more of a gingery/sweet/perfum-y scent, which is very pleasant.

However, I find the roll-up tobacco element interesting and unsettling at the same time, so I have to say that Tea for Two is not "my cup of tea". (Haha).

[Somerville Metro Man]

Well if I'm late, if I'm being preceded by Scentmother and ScentSis I can't be too late.
Even so I'm going to make up for being late by doing some extra credit since I wore a spicy scent today, too.
Ysterday: Frapin Caravelle Epicee
This scent was introduced to me by TwoRoads, my ScentFather,. This was one of my very early discoveries and I was wondering how I would feel about it after having not worn it for a few months. Happily I think I like it more now that I can detect more of the notes in it. This is a veritable spice cabinet on my skin as it starts off with notes of pepper, nutmeg, thyme, coriander, and cumin. As this progresses into the heart tobacco makes its presence known and smooths things out. This all ends up in a creamy woody base with hints of the spices coming and going. I think this is always going to be one of my favorite scents.
Today: Montale Red Vetyver
This is a study in contasts as this has all of the notes that make Terre D"Hermes so popular in the grapefruit top but Montale chose to add a counterpoint of pepper to it and it works amazingly well. This wears for hours and the pepper is alwys there and is delightfully balanced with the vetiver and grapefruit to make this very much more than a clone of Terre D'Hermes

[Asha]

Shiseido Feminite du Bois

Notes: (from Bois de Jasmin) cedarwood, orange blossom, rose, violet, honey, plum, beeswax, clove, cardamom, cinnamon

I used to own Feminite du Bois EDP, the original release by Shiseido. It is actually a Serge Lutens/Christopher Sheldrake creation, and originally came in a gorgeous dusky purple bottle with a curvy smooth shape that reminds me of a Brancusi sculpture. I have read several conflicting reports that it has been discontinued, or has limited distribution in countries other than the US, or some such. I also read a Serge Lutens news story or interview in which SL explicitly stated FdB would be re-released through the SL export line (can't remember where I saw it, and now I can't find it). I hope this is the truth, and I hope they don't mess with the formula or strength!

I never knew about Lutens before I started exploring perfumes in depth here on BN and other sites. I bought FdB simply because I loved it, and nothing else I was testing at the time came close to the complexity, modernity and originality of FdB. I later found out that SL sketched out some other fragrances inspired by FdB, and these are currently in the non-export line. Of the ones I tried, the following come closest to FdB, especially in the drydown: Bois de Violette, Bois et Fruits, Bois et Musc. Bois Oriental and Un Bois Vanille are supposedly also based on the FdB structure, but to me, these did not seem as similar in tone. Another Sheldrake creation which has the FdB drydown is Christian Dior Dolce Vita.

Upon first application, FdB is immediately spicy, penetrating, sharp and woody. I can smell cinnamon and clove, cedar, and something that makes the wood seem sweet and creamy--could be the beeswax mentioned in the notes. I do smell something that seems a bit like the deeply resinous and vaguely honey-like beeswax I have smelled in pure beeswax candles. To my nose, the cedar is very well done, not like pencil shavings or hamster cage litter. I have read that FdB uses Iso E Super, so this could be the reason that the cedar note has the smooth quality it does. Also, in the past, I remember FdB going through a sweaty cumin stage between the top and middle notes, but I am not smelling that today.

As it dries, the violet and fruits come out. The violet is slightly floral, not overly sweet, and is definitely not the candied violet in Bois de Violette. The fruit seems dried, like prunes or raisins. I am sure listing "prune" in the notes is not very glamorous, but the scent of prune-plums is one of my all time favorites, and I always loved opening a can of prune-plums in syrup so I could get the first whiffs. So, plum it is, but definitely not like the plums you get from the produce section of the grocery store. The beeswax is also a bit more prominent now. It seems to be a wonderful alternative to using resins or vanilla to pull things together.

FdB develops fairly quickly, and the drydown stage is gorgeous--mild cedar and spice mixture, and the lingering sweetness of beeswax. I would say cinnamon is the dominant spice note, and it gives the drydown some bite. However, the cardamom and clove soften the edges a little bit, fade into the background, and seem to almost become part of the wood more than the spice mixture. I don't know why I never realized before that the beeswax was the resinous unifier in this fragrance. The FdB base is so different than the typical amber oriental base of labdanum, vanilla and benzoin (or other resins). Upon further reflection, if the amber base were broken into resinous, woody and balsamic parts, I think all of these roles are filled by the beeswax, cedar and cardamom. Perhaps this is what Luca Turin meant when he referred to this base as an alternative oriental.

One fragrance map I have seen places FdB in the fruity chypre family. I suppose if the definition of an oriental is something with an amber accord in the base, then this might not be the right category for FdB. However, it has the depth and complexity of an oriental, and in some ways also has the heavyness. I think it was ahead of its time, at least for US customers. And I can see why it might not do very well here--it is definitely not a superficial fragrance, and some may find it very challenging. Sillage and longevity are moderate, but since I love the creamy, woody, spicy drydown, I don't mind getting there quickly!

[Heartwood]

Now that SnS has passed I reached for my samples and tried something that I've been very curious about for a long, long time (there are at least a dozen on this list, but anyway)... Mitsouko edp. HELLO CINNAMON! I re-read the reviews and few people discuss the huge dollop of cinnamon that starts this off with a bang for me. It's slightly sweet, which I'm guessing is the influence of peach. I also get the bergamot, and although I can't tease out any floral notes, there is an overall powdery floral softness that I'll attribute to the aldehydes. The cinnamon moves on to a more blended allspice note, but make no mistake-- Mitsouko is SPICY!

[Asha]

Chanel Coco (EDP)

Notes: (from the BN directory)
Top Notes--Angelica, Mimosa, Frangipani, Mandarin .
Middle Notes--Cascarilla, Orange Flower, Bulgarian Rose, Jasmine .
Base Notes--Labdanum, Ambrette Seed, Opopanax, Benzoin, Tonka, Vanilla.

Coco has been a long time favorite of mine. It was released in the mid-80s, and I wore it in the early-to-mid 90s. At the time, my only other "signature" scent had been Coty's Wild Musk. I really wanted something more refined and mature with an oriental vibe--amber, musk and spice. I wasn't really looking for anything with strong floral notes, but Coco won me over with husky, boozy, spicy florals and an amazing amber drydown.

On first application, I smell aldehydes, rose, carnation and powder. The aldehydes are mild, and have the effect of brightening the composition. These are not the same soapy aldehydes that are in No. 5, rather, they are more fruity and citrus-like. The rose is dry and boozy at the same time. It is like a rose bouquet--some roses smell dusty, but sweet and powdery. Others smell like a fine rose liquor, complete with raisiny, spicy, sweet and tart qualities. The carnation is fresh and spicy, like a mixture of garden pinks which smell like cloves, and florists' carnations which have a sort of frosted rose petal effect.

As the aldehydes burn off, the rose and carnation come forward even more, and the sweet base of amber and vanilla start to deepen the impression of these two floral notes. The rose and carnation seem dark and mysterious. The boozy, preserved fruit quality of the rose is very penetrating, and taking deep inhalations, it feels like it goes straight into my heart. My experience with combining resins and rose is that the rose truly sings, and the combination of resinous base notes with the rose notes in Coco is no exception. The amber and resin base is a beautiful cushion which perfectly supports the rose. As the rose begins to fade, the sweet base seamlessly absorbs the rose and becomes more prominent. It is amazing that the spicy carnation keeps going strong through this phase, and is instrumental in the transition from top to middle to base.

The powder comes out again in the drydown, along with the spicy carnation, the dried fruit aspect of the rose, amber and resins. The vanilla and tonka are not dominant, but typically notes like this are very important in amber, and the amber accord is what I smell more than anything. I used to think that Coco had musk in the drydown, but I don't have that impression today. The overall effect in the drydown is floral spice with sweet, powder and delicately resinous amber. I find Coco to be gorgeous at every stage--even the drydown is amazing in its beauty. What a masterful use of natural and artificial rose notes by the perfumer--it gives such a vibrant "better than the real thing" quality from start to finish. It is as if the volume and saturation of a damask rose are turned up to the maximum. I love the intensity.

The EDP is a very long wearing, slowly developing fragrance. Sillage is enormous, and longevity is amazing--I have smelled Coco 10-12 hours after applying, and it is still more than a skin scent by that time. I have worn this fragrance in almost every form it takes: Parfum, EDP, EDT, powder, lotion and bath products. I think the EDP is one of the best, and it is also best on skin rather than paper or cloth. I didn't realize what a ground-breaking fragrance this was at the time I wore it regularly. It does seem a little bit dated (think big hair, big shoulder pads, big fragrance), and it shares some similarity with Estee Lauder Knowing (another big rose). However, it was Coco's spicy and boozy rose over a cloud of amber that stole my heart.

[anamari]

I am so late posting here but I did remember to wear something spicy on Saturday. Thanks to a sample of Youth Dew that Rtmara sent, this was my SoTD.

I remember hating this scent in my youth because I felt it spelled old lady to me. Lo and behold, I like it now. It started off being very strong, jumbled spice leather with a faint floral background, but after the drydown, I was left with a mossy leathery smell which was very nice. I don't think I would buy this perfume but it is nice to wear once in a while.