Winner for last week’s Guerlain (or some other choice of Guerlain or Frederic Malle samples) is BBLISS!!! Hit the Contact us button over there on the left and send me your address and let me know which two you want.
Aomassai, an oriental Woody bitter. The promotional bit:
“Redolent of many-coloured wood, inspired by Southern Africa and the art of the Baoule tribe, with a surprising fusion of tangy and luscious notes in the heat of a ritual flame… A fiery breath of caramel and toasted hazelnuts, enriched with spices, fans the flames of vetiver, balsam wood and bitter orange. Bewitching spirals of incense, mingled with liquorice, surround a blazing core of fragrant Wengue wood, dried grasses and resin.”
Huh. Patty’s briefer ad copy: “I’ve been crawling through a muddy forest after a night of jumping over the bonfire at a kegger.” (Not that I have any personal experience with that) But I really do NOT mean that in a bad way. This is woody goodness. I don’t get much of the caramel and toasted hazelnuts throughout, though I get a little whiff of that in the early notes. It’s just roots and wood and twig and leaves, and it is an addictive little thing. Do I love it? Yes, yes, I do think I do! I’m going to give it a run of the man-units in the house and see what they think (oh, no, no go there, it’s all MINE!!!). You can get this at the Parfumerie Generale website for 75 Euros for a 50 ml bottle or 125 Euros for a 100 ml bottle.
After I crawled through the forest and was scraping the mud from my shoes and picking the leaves from my teeth, I saw a beautiful store on the lake with the sun setting behind it (well, it was a street and maybe a fountain instead of a lake), and that store was Caron Montaigne. Launched in 1986, with notes of mandarin, bitter orange, cassis, jasmine, narcissus and mimosa, spices and vanilla, she is elegant and perfect. If you do not like that Caron base, this is probably the least Caronish base of the Carons and may work, and it really is exceptional. Now I just have to patiently drum my fingers until Caron has its sale, hopefully soon, except this looks like it is only available in Paris? No! Cuuuurap, I don’t speak French, I can’t go to Paris! I got my decant from the always wonderful Diane at Dragonfly Scent Me, who carries all of the Carons, I believe.
What shall we give away this week? Suggestions in the comments, please.
So strange, Sybil. I would have hated it if the gourmandy notes in the beginning would have stayed and intensified. Once they faded, I really liked the oddity of it.
I actually tried a bunch of PGS from Dragonfly Scent Me. Aomassai was practically gourmand on me, I got so much caramel, and vanilla in the drydown…
I still think Montaigne might be worth a drop.
Robin, I agree. I think on one day I love this, but I’m fairly certain that a week from now, I might very well despise it, but I have to give them kudos for making it interesting.
Thanks, Justine, great ideas! I have a few of the Bonds, the ones I like, of course. 🙂 But I think they are the best of the line.
BBliss, I’m liking some of the PGs in the second chapter and hating some, so I think it’s a mixed bag. I think the sampler pack would make most people happy for size without having to put out the money for a full bottle.
Angela, did you have the parfum or the EDT? I keep seeing EDTs around and want to pick one up, hoping it will be close enough to the parfum and maybe a skosh less potent, which would lend itself to more extravagant day wear.
Ina, sweet milkiness with tree bark, yup, still sounds like my kegger story. 🙂
Sariah, I did the survey, and I didn’t like the results, so I got that second chapter sampler pack. 🙂
Oh, that would be good!
Cait, we’ll get to hear what you think about the amousaiaiwie soon enough, though, as long as you don’t care if it was a go-between that sent it and not the proprietor. Your fertile imagination should provide an interesting take. Some of the PGs I found completely revolting, though. More on one ofthem on Friday.
Cait, you can head up the Perfume coven. 🙂 I didn’t find Montaigne almondy or tightlipped. It’s not an easy girl, for sure, but not totally buttoned up at all, just like a upper crust lady with her top three buttons undone on her crips white shirt.But I sniffe3d it again, and now I can smell some almondish in there, but it’s not listed in the notes. I thought Farnesiana was the more gourmandish Caron?
Dusan, that Aoumsassietieo (the letters!) is really different. I had to grow into it, and I really like it now, but I’m not entirely certainly I’ll like it next week, it’s just one of the freaks for sure.
Hermes sounds like fun!
Elle, no!!!! Oh, please tell me that won’t happen. Montaigne is pretty potent, but I never let that stop me from slopping it on. 🙂
Patty, I dunno — Ina swore to me that Miss Rocaille was the least Caron-ish of the Carons, and it still blew up on me… I’m gonna stick with the men’s department!:o)
I’ve just really wanted to use that clown. Sorry.
Still trying to make up my mind about Aomassai. It is interesting, at least! And might be wonderful, or not 🙂
I think it would be interesting to do a giveaway of opposites. Sort of a ying/yang theme. Something fruity or floral and then something leathery or tobaccoish. For the English instructors out there, yeah, I just made that word up.
I also think a Bond No. 9 giveaway would be interesting. There are so many perfumes in that line, and to my untrained nose they are all different from each other.
Wow – this made my very mundane week – feels like I just won the (Guerlain) lottery (now wouldn’t that be a fabulous thing!).
I’ll click on the Contact link and thank you Patty for the fun!
Curious about Parfumerie Generale – they never seem to sound too exciting to me, but have great reviews. I did get some suggestions from them, but wasn’t moved at the time to pursue. I’ll have to dig up that email…
I used to wear Montagaine–loved it–then suddenly I’d had enough of it and gave my bottle away. Now, thanks to your review, I wish I had it back again…..It’s one of the few Carons that doesn’t turn wet-cardboardy on me after a while. (And then there’s Sacre. I’m hoarding my little bottle of extrait so that it and a few boxes of Luna bars will see my through the apolcalypse.)
Hey there. Have you done the little survey on Parfumerie-Generale website? It’s like your personal perfume consultant. My suggestions were Aomassaï, Brûlure de Rose, Harmatan Noir. I definitely need to try the Aomassaï it sounds great.
For a giveaway – how about some of your favorite spring/summer scents?
I love Aomassai! I get mostly sweet milkiness and tree bark. Sort of like Chene with caramel. Yes, Caron Montaigne is all that but I can’t wear it, sadly – just too much.
Heheh, I like your lyrical rendition of Aomassai. Let it languish there until the proprietor sends me free samples of the entire line! Ha. You guys talk about fragrance decrees? I hereby initiate the idea of fragrance curses by fragrance brujas. I will be the head of the coven.
Ok, and uh, yeah, I like the review and Montaigne sounds nice though isn’t it almondy and tightlipped?
Congrats to BBliss!
*flushes his degree in hypnosis down the toilet*
What about a Hermes giveaway, have you done that one already?
That Aomassai thingy sounds wonderful!
Each time I think that all I need is the 7 pack sampler of the new PGs I read another rave review and live in terror I might have to buy multiple full bottles. And I adore Montaigne, but in microscopic amounts as it is so powerful. I heard a nasty rumor from a fairly good source that the NY Caron boutique was no longer going to have sales. I am praying that someone who has been there recently will say this is not true.