So…. I got my bottle of MKK yesterday, and I’m in rapture, just careening about like a teenager in love.  My husband gets home, and I insisted he had to smell it when it first went on, just so he could see how it changed. I spritzed some on, he ran up the stairs with me following him, arm outstretched. I had to chase him all the way out onto the deck and convince him to sniff, though I warned him it was going to be bad.

The look on his face was hysterical, nose all wrinkled up, and he says, “That is the single most disgusting thing I’ve ever smelled. I hate you, don’t ever make me do that again.”  Then, to punish me, he made me see how far his new laser pointer could go in the dark (yes, we are super-nerds, though I’m not as enamored of laser pointers, even the high-powered ones, as he is).  It does go about a mile, but I’m trying to figure out how that will come in handy in a classroom?

The end of the story, after 30 minutes, I forced him to resniff MKK so he could see how it changed, and he did agree that it is the smell of humanity and that it wasn’t horrible anymore, just odd.

The cats loved it more than he did.   Silly kitties.

Round-up on the gossip — good Lord, where is all the good gossip?  No wonder my gossip game has been weak to quite weak, there’s not much to go on.  Most of my entertainment comes from Youtube now.  How can so much good stuff be stored in one website?  I need to spend less time there, I can feel my brain cells dying by the hundreds every time I watch another Japanese commercial

And I now have the first of my Season 2 of “Grey’s Anatomy” disks from Netflix and I’m still under the weather, so I’m going to curl up in this gorgeous fall weather we have been having, under my soft as a baby’s butt blanket (www.dreamalittledreamwithme.com – Joely is awesome) this weekend and enjoy Dr. McDreamy and Meredith’s sexual angst.   Y’all have a great weekend!  Mandarine Mandarin will be up for review on Monday and will be the sample giveaway for that day.

Patty

More samples!

Ichnusa — fig, wood, cut grass and myrtle.  Okay, I’m a sucker for fig scents, and this one is excellent as they go.  A little dry with the wood notes, not overly sweet or vanilla-ish like L’Artisan Premier Figuer.  I very much like it, but for the price point, I find PG’s Jardins de Kerylos to be just as good and for less money.

Fiori d’Ambra — ambergris and opium. What’s not to love here? Damn, I don’t even like amber, but this thing has got something pretty amazing seductive powers!  It’s like it crawls up your nose and slithers down your spine to… well, you know.  I don’t think I’ve got enough hotness left to want to wear this, but, Lord, if I were younger and back on the prowl, I’d team this up with some MKK and go slay men.  In the words of Queen of Ho’s, Paris… That’s Hot.

CB I Hate Perfume Musk — I’m just not a skank person, but after reading the comments on CB’s Musk, I was thinking I would hate this, so March graciously sent me a squidge just to find out.  I mean, I’m not going to wear it, it’s just not my thing generally, but as musks go, this one totally rocks.  Huh.  That’s a surprise for me  — picture a furrowed brow with an eyebrow cocked quizically because I don’t get why I don’t hate it. Then I’m thinking if this were paired with the Fiori D’Ambra and/or MKK, all men would just be prey to be toyed with.

Drawing for me this week (I know I need to draw for whatever I was giving away last week), what’s left of all four of the Profumum samples that I’ve reviewed this week.  Just drop a note to enter you in the comments, and I’ll draw next week for them!

Patty

Oh, the pressure. It´s so hard sometimes. Please. Feel my pain with me. I am too busy, busy like a bumblebee in fall, hellbent on a pleasure-buzz through the Candy…

IUNX L´Ether – Which begs the question, is it better or worse to smell a fragrance knowing that when it´s gone, barring some miracle there will probably not be any more? I have never been able to answer this one. What do you think? (Look! An unopened bottle of Coty Chypre in Grandmas´s cool, dark closet!) Anyway, Coty Chypre´s easier to come by than the IUNXen. Notes are: myrrh, benzoin, rosewood, sandalwood, saffron, maple wood. L´Ether is sublime, and I drove myself nuts for half an hour trying to figure out what it reminded me of, until the obvious answer hit me like a perfume pie in the face: Passage d´Enfer! Another one of my best friend Olivia Giacobetti´s creations (I probably would have loved this entire line, except now I´ve heard that the waters lasted like, well, water.) I´m going to wear the rest of this decant and love every second, but the truth is, it shares 92% of its fragrance DNA with Passage d´Enfer – it is an airy, lovely incense. The other 8% is some delicate sweet note that, well, I do like more than my adored Passage – so now I´m experimenting with layering PdE with a faint but persistent floral note (that´s a tricky balance) to try to recreate the effect. Osmanthe Yunnan feels right but doesn´t last. Paestum Rose is too strong. Suggestions?

Esteban Sensuelle Russie – Colombina the Terrible dissed this as a blatant rip-off of/poor man´s Ambre Narguile – although, when I think about it, there are a lot worse things you can call a fragrance (a poor man´s Baby Phat Goddess, for instance.) But Colombina and I are going to have to disagree on this one – I´m totally on board with Mimi Froufrou´s characterization of this as “… a nectar fit only for the gods which would have accidentally or by design spilled onto a giant rough-hewn table made of fragrant cedarwood and as it slowly spread out would have mixed with tobacco and strange spices…” (here´s a link so you can read the rest of her mesmerizing review and I can retain some sense of dignity by not quoting the entire poetic thing, although I´d like to.) To me, Ambre Narguile is like drowning in a vat of excellent, dark amber maple syrup – it´s great stuff, sure, but you´re still gonna die. Sensuelle Russie avoids that effect and instead heads in the direction of Serge Lutens Chergui or L´Artisan Tea for Two, without the tea part. As Mimi noted, I get a lot of tobacco in the drydown, although it´s not listed in the notes. I find it massively comforting, which is more than I could say, ultimately, for…

Annayake Miyako — I tried, honest. There´s a meditative, calming incense, sure, and it is very pretty. But there´s something in the base I can’t get past. Everyone else on the planet finds it massively comforting, though, including Colombina at Perfume-Smellin’ Things, who almost made me buy a bottle unsniffed…

Opium parfum – Objectively, this is far superior to the EDT – with all its rough edges smoothed out, and a much fuller, richer presence, along with excellent lasting power. But … maybe it´s just habit. I like my regular ol´ Opium better. I miss its abrasiveness, those elbow-sharp notes that get everyone to move to the other side of the elevator at the mall if I´ve overdone it at Macy´s. I should try the EDP, though.

MPG Soir d´Orient – a funky, wild, musky, woody (oudh?) fragrance that´s like a cross between MKK and a chypre – and you know I mean that as a compliment. I refuse to look any more for this, because the note on the sample vial says “rare” and I refuse to fall in love with another rare thing. It´s like only dating men who are unavailable.

Serge Lutens Encens et Lavande - Patty sent me this. I smelled it when it first came out, and disliked it massively, ergo I am stupid. I admit that (as is true so often with our humorous friend Serge) I have to ignore it for a few minutes while it arranges itself. Then it moves past the all-lavender sachet and the incense begins to bloom. It makes me cry, though. There is something very melancholy about it, which is odd, because I consider lavender cheering. An excellent rainy-day fragrance.

Matthew Williamson EDP – Ack! This is, I assume, the same outfit that created (then discontinued) MW Incense, one of my greatest unsniffed lemmings? And they give us this? What kind of sick joke is that?

Robert Piguet Baghari – Nobody´s going to buy this, which is a shame, because it´s not going to test well in the department store. The opening is an aldehydic fusillade that reminds me very much of My Sin, and unless you like retro fragrances it´s going to put you off, it is so deeply out of fashion. But, please, try it anyway. After a few minutes it morphs into the most delicious scent … it is floral, and there is something unabashedly romantic about it – the feel of, say, Annick Goutal´s Passion or Grand Amour (although it´s a completely different smell). It is sweet, but sensual rather than cloying, and manages to be both a little grand and charming at the same time. Notes are: aldehydes, neroli, bergamot, violet, rose, jasmine, iris, amber, vanilla, and musk. I´d add this to my Girly list from Monday – one of the prettiest fragrances I´ve smelled recently, and I mean that as an absolute compliment. This is one for the days when you want to be the Princess, and doesn´t every girl (and the random boy) want to be the princess every now and again?

Hanae Mori Magical Moon – Wow, can you imagine? Something to smell and love at Nordstrom instead of on eBay or at the Palais Royal… heck, they´ll even make you up a sample! Mimi Froufrou wrote the definitive review. Notes, from basenotes.net: Osmanthus Flower, Rose, Sugar Cane, Cotton Flower, Coconut Milk, Vanilla, White Musk, White Sandalwood, Red Cedar, Incense, Litchi, Patchouli, Pineapple Pulp, Guava Nectar, Star Fruit, Orange Flowers and Pink Berries. Okay, that sounds gaggingly sweet, but I swear to my nose it´s mostly sandalwood, cedar, incense, and osmanthus, with a little creamy, refined sweetness in the deep background. I am trying to find the right descriptor – restrained? Elegant in a highly mannered way? It bears some resemblance to the delicious SMN Citta di Kyoto, only more sophisticated. Go smell it. It´s beautiful. I´m waffling between the EDP (more woods) and the parfum (more incense).

And finally … Arielle Dombasle, the fabulous French model/actress/ hottie/chanteuse of the moment, said in the NY Times on Sunday that she loves fragrance – and her custom blend is a layering of Chanel Cuir de Russie, Clinique Aromatics Elixir and a cheap off-brand white musk (unspecified). Somebody out there have all three kicking around? Please try it and report back.

The winner of the bottle of Miso Pretty is … Chaya! Please send me your address under Contact Us.

flowers: k41.pbase.com

March

Got some new samples!!! Whee!  It’s been a while since I’ve got samples from a line that is completely new to me.

From Luckyscent, they are offering the Profumum line. I got a few samples, and I’ll do two of them today and two more on Thursday.

First is Thundra.  From the Luckyscent description “A solitary walk through a cool, damp forest, just after the rain. You can smell the rich earth as it drinks in the water, the bark on the trees, the carpet of fallen leaves and wild mint crushed under your feet. An unexpectedly cool and introspective rendition of patchouli, as peaceful and inspiring as the air after a thunderstorm has broken a heat wave. The warm earthiness of the patchouli is perfectly juxtaposed with the equally grounded, but chilly mint to create a unique and surprisingly relaxing fragrance. Thoughtful and serene.” 

Notes of leaves, mint, patchouli and white musk.  This goes on with a weird smell at first that I can’t quite put my fingers on, but the patchouli seems pretty dominant. Now, I normally am not crazy about most patchouli, but the description had me at walking through a cool, damp forest after the rain … this could be love.

This starts off pretty patchy, but while this develops, it starts to soften, the musk takes some of the mustiness of the patch out, and there’s a little hint of mint weaving its way through that musty smell. Still a bit weird for the first 30 minutes – like a dirty peppermint in your pocket — then it starts turning into the musty forest after a rain that is promised.  I’m impressed with this one, it’s well done. I’m not certain I have to have a full bottle, but it’s an unusual treatment of patch well worth smelling and it may eventually be love like Borneo is love.

Next was Santalum from Profumum.  The description from Luckyscent: “To put it simply, this is an extremely well done sandalwood. Deep, with a cello-like resonance, regal and reassuring— everything you want sandalwood to be. There is a bit of incense and a bit of cinnamon, but the star of this show is sandalwood in all its noble glory.”

I can take or leave Sandalwood most times, so I wasn’t enthusastic about trying this one, except for the cinnamon note that went along with the sandalwood and myrrh.  It goes with the sandalwood dominant, but it develops into not just a gorgeous sandalwood, but sandalwood with a spicy richness due to the myrrh and cinnamon. I’m not sure it’s one I need a full bottle of, but if you are a sandalwood fan who wants a twist, this surely brings a unique aspect to sandalwood unlike anything I’ve smelled before.

Patty

It has crossed my mind that, given my recent posts, some of you may be thinking I don´t like a fragrance unless it smells like I´ve taken a tumble in the barn, or stepped in something. Today´s post is dedicated to a random list of favorites that are more or less unabashedly girly. Some of these I wear mostly in summer, and some are more fall and winter, but even the summer ones I reach for occasionally on the darkest days, just for their magical cheering abilities.

L´Artisan La Chasse aux Papillons – an SA told me this is one of their most popular scents, and it´s probably the one that smells the most mainstream. I believe the name means “chasing butterflies,” and that´s what it´s like – joyous and ethereal. Citrus, linden, orange blossom, a hint of green, and some white flowers. If giggling had a smell, this would be it.

Blue Q Miso Pretty – okay, I admit, I didn´t even get the noxious wordplay when I bought it. I was too busy enjoying its light, summery burst of peony. Possibly the silliest, girliest thing I wear.

Malle Carnal Flower – intense but not a skank factory. Tuberose and a wee dollop of wintergreen that gives it a florist-shop freshness. A bit much in my climate in summer, but perfect on cool fall days. Varga girl.

L´Artisan Fleur d´Oranger – orange blossom heaven.

Serge Lutens Fleurs d´Oranger layered with Clair de Musc – I love this combo. The Oranger is sweet to the razor edge of cloying, and the Musc is derided on the fragrance boards as not special enough for the money. I apply very lightly, wait for the bloom, and waft just enough sillage that several people have asked, what is that delightful thing you´re wearing? Luscious girl.

Ines de la Fressange – this used to be available at Sephora, and it´s still around at various discounters for less than $30. It´s outside my regular parameters because it´s pretty much a fruity-floral. But it´s such a pretty fruity-floral that all is forgiven.

Apothia If – a sweet burst of white florals, light citrus and musk that disappoints only because both concentrations disappear on me in 20 minutes. But maybe I just can´t smell it even though it´s still there.

S-Perfume 100% Love or 100% Love {MORE} – rose, chocolate and incense combined into an improbably addictive confection. I love this in winter. Mysterious girl.

Jil Sander No. 4 – I´ve been waiting all summer for weather cool enough to put this on. The most “classic” smell on this list, a scent as comfortable as my favorite cardigan. Sweater girl.

Berdoues Violets de Toulouse – candied violets. I wear this to bed pretty regularly. Is it Niche Perfumery? Um, nope. And I´m okay with that.

Novaya Zarya Carnation – Marina´s find for me. Carnation, straight up. Happiness in a bottle. It´s also some ridiculous price ($5?) online. What is not to love?

Muelhens 4711 – I keep a bottle in my refrigerator during the summer and splash it on like the cheesy cologne it is. I can barely remember my life before this scent, so part of my fondness is just nostalgia, but it´s a great, old-fashioned petitgrain cologne. Technically not a girly scent, but included on the general principal of cheeriness.

Malle En Passant – Lilacs, rain, blah blah blah you didn´t think I´d leave this one off, did you? No skank and feminine in an interesting way, assuming it doesn´t make you want to slash your wrists. Hey, just be thankful I´m not nattering on about Apres L´Ondee. Melancholy girl.

Annick Goutal – Petite Cherie, Passion, Gardenia Passion, Chevrefeuille… you pick one, I can´t. I know they´ve been around long enough to approach cliché status, but as far as I´m concerned AG hung the moon. There are some that don´t smell good on me personally, but there´s not a single one I can think of that I actively dislike. Romantic girl.

What are some of your favorite girly fragrances?

Today´s giveaway is … Politically Incorrect! Yep, I bought three bottles of Miso Pretty on clearance – one for me, one for P, and one for … you! Leave a comment below if you´d like to be entered in the drawing, and then click here for Scentzilla´s review, followed by some lively commentary on whether the packaging (not the smell) is offensive, and you can ponder whether I´m massively dim for not noticing. I´ll announce the winner on Wednesday.

Varga girl: dollmarket.com

March