What’s it like to be a perfume blogger? Sometimes it’s like this.
Van Cleef & Arpels Cologne Noire. I wonder sometimes whether a house, having released a line with two or three outstanding scents (Gardenia Petale, Bois d’Iris, and Muguet Blanc, depending) if the rest are guaranteed to be duds, if only by comparison. Notes of ginger, cardamom, pepper, bergamot, bitter orange, mandarin, woody notes. I’m having trouble putting my finger on what’s wrong with Noire, but something is. The whole seems much less than its parts – disjointed and odd, with an aggressive raspiness and a pickled note that reminds me of the difficult Chanel Les Exclusifs – No. 18? I tried to imagine whether I’d like this any better if it was at Macy’s and the newest offering from Britney. And the answer, sadly, is no. Why can’t I find those magnificent Dior colognes anywhere? Why is life so unfair? Why, why?
VC&A Orchidee Vanille – notes of mandarin orange, litchi, bitter almond, dark chocolate, Bulgarian rose, violet, vanilla pod, cedar, balsamic tonka bean and white musk. Luca Turin in The Guide frequently describes scents as having a “candyfloss” note, and he often mentions a particular aromachemical component, which I’m too lazy to look up. Orchidee Vanille is almost unbearably powdery at the top, after which it smells exactly like those weird, small bags of pre-made cotton candy that my kids buy at the corner market. Not cotton candy + vanilla — just cotton candy. It’s an interesting, sweet chemical smell, but not one I want to wear. If I want to spray on an interesting, sweet chemical smell, I’ll take Gucci Rush, thanks.
Cartier L’Heure Brilliante – notes of lemon, flaxseed, gin notes and aldehydes. Musette – I’m trying, I’m trying!!! Honest to God! It’s very pretty, an herbaceous cologne smell on me. I have no objections. I just didn’t fall wildly in love as you did. Don’t shoot me.
Cartier L’Heure Folle – this one was recommended by Carmencanada when I was doing my berry scent review last week. Notes: redcurrant, pink peppercorn, grenadine, blueberry, blackcurrant, blackberry, violet, leafy notes, ivy, boxwood, shiso, aldehydes. This is not berry nice on me. There is an unfortunate canned-grapefruit note (sour/metallic) on my skin I can’t quite get past. If you’ve ever eaten tinned citrus you know what I’m talking about.
Cartier L’Heure Promise – notes of petitgrain, fresh herbs, iris, sandalwood and musk. I … oh. Oh. Oh my goodness. Maybe I’ll talk about this on Wednesday.
Okay, your turn – what have you tried recently, maybe something raved about on the boards/blogs, that’s been a FAIL? Go ahead, pick a fight with a fellow friend on the Posse!
Sources for all: private samples/decants.
I tried VC&A’s Muguet Blanc last week and I had to wash it off. It turned completely chemical on me in a few minutes, and also gave my friend a headache. I am trying to get her to expand her perfume wardrobe and this was not the way to do it…
This is my first reply here-thank you for the fantastic blog,first post and hugely controversial it seems-I just got today 4 Tauers samples and was convinced I would love them,but the opposite happenned,the first one I tried-the highly praised L’Air de Desert Marocain literally made me feel sick-I could taste it at the back of my throat ;has to run to the kitchen and eat something and unfortunately Jaffa cake was the first thing I saw-the sweetness of it made it worse,the taste was almost liqoriche like,thanks havens I have had some green olives,lol.I don’t remember Reading any reviews that described any of Tauers perfumes as overly sweet,I was brave enough to smell the rest -Lonestar Memories and both Incenses but they seemed very similar,thinking about them actually makese feel a bit nauseus …I wonder what exactly made me dislike it so much,I would love to avoid this material/chemical/oil in the future,the only other time I recall smeing this note was at least 6 years ago in Yojhi Homme that my husband had to give away as it too was making me feel very sick…sorry I wanted to love Andys creation so much-loved all the reviews and his blog is very sinsere katyaxxxx
Hi Katya. I’m fairly new myself, so I can’t tell you what material/chemical/oil to avoid. I’ve got three of the Tauer samples you mentioned. While LAdDM didn’t make me sick, I sure didn’t like it at first. But I gave it some time and gradually I came to like it a lot. I don’t think if I need a full bottle, though. Incense Rose smells like medicine. I’ve tried to like it, to keep and open mind and so forth but it doesn’t work for me. You know how sometimes your mood and the weather has to be right for some scents. No time seems perfect for that one. Lonestar Memories is way too masculine for me. I’d like to smell it on a man, in passing. I want to like Andy too!
I posted last night then this morning on the way to work thought of more that were just unpleasant or generally vile.
To answer the greens question, the only worth wearing (to me) is vintage Vent Vert and I have stock piled. #19 is okay, but plays at being green. Sisley’s Eau de Campagne (or whatever) smells like 2 week old flower vase water. It’s not green it’s gruesome.
Balenciaga Paris is monster synth musk trying to pass off as violets. If the nicest thing people can write about it is “it’s perfect for the office,” that to me is the equivalent of describing your hideous, obese, insane cousin who you are trying to palm off on a blind date as “s/he has a great personality.”
Wazamba and Feuilles de Anguilles (pardon my lousy spelling) are twin gaggers. Wherz dat pine? Waz smells like dirt, but not vetivery dirt, more like something that got stuck in the grid of my running shoe. And Feuilles. On me and to me, Target potpourri trying to get all high end and falling down hard and flat.
And that new nameless thing by a design house Patty wrote about that smells like nuts/kinda Bois Farine-y? Smells like forgotten carrier oil gone rancid as it sits in the very hot trunk of the car of a massage therapist who is now in Barbados while the car is in long term parking at the airport.
G’night.
I disliked the new Serge Lutens (no surprise there), the VCAs, the Cartiers, Havana Vanille, Vanille Galante, the MFKs, all the Kilians except the oud scents – there have been very few “loves” in the last year in fact. The only things on my wish list right now are Tonka Imperiale and Kilian Rose Oud, and those are only there if some money happens to fall in my lap, I’m not actively saving for them out of rabid desire. But that’s okay for me… don’t have much of a need for more perfume anyway, and the budget has issues.
I’ve loved reading these comments because I was beginning to think that I was just an old curmudgeon who didn’t like any of the new-fangled perfumes. And one of the few I loved – Wazamba – I realized that I really only liked sniffing on the back of my hand because it reminded me of the Christmas trees of my youth. I don’t actually want to wear it and smell like a Christmas tree!
What a wonderful set of posts – it’s nice to know I’m not alone in having a turned up nose at Infusion d’Iris (or, really, anything with Iris as a major note, sadly enough). Iris just smells vaguely…annoying to me. As does Violet. And I like…(shameful confession here) many “clean,” soapy scents. “Wearable” is not a negative to me….My DH is not fond of perfume, and scents that don’t make him ask “did you just spray for ants?” rank high in my rotation.
Havana Vanille is generating such a hate-fest I feel I have to be the one to say I love it, find its construction impeccable, and have been wearing it a lot. But that may be because I don’t like vanilla-centric scents. With Amaranthine (and the next L’Artisan), it’s what converted me to Duchaufour’s new style, which I find much richer and carnal that before.
That’s funny– i like it too, and I dislike vanilla as a centerpiece. Doesn’t have the cloying thud that others have. Maybe it’s Vanilla for People Who Don’t Like Vanilla?
I agree with you both. I, too, am crazy about Havana Vanille and I’ve tried just about every high-end vanilla out there. For me, it’s the perfect grown-up vanilla, not overpowering, not too sweet or too boozy — just right.
Actually I think my nose has ‘changed’ – probably evolved more like it…I grabbed samples of most of the L’Artisans at the beginning of the obsession and was a bit bemused at the likes of Timbuktu and Dzongha; I could barely tell the difference and thought , oh, aftershave… but now with months of sniffage and a PhD in google and blog, I am going back, and with autumn approaching, I simply know I must have Dzongka. I can now see it as an iris theme, and I have fallen badly for iris.
Not recent, but an all-time epic fail: Shalimar. That stuff is my nemesis. I can’t wear it at all. Love Mitsouko, love L’HB, but can’t do Shalimar. (Jicky I can’t wear but at least appreciate as a masterpiece. Shalimar I can’t even “get.”)
Last big fail for me was Guerlain’s Tonka Imperiale. Given the listed notes it should have been love, but sitting in the middle of the thing was some giant simulated berry/grape note that WOULD.NOT.DIE. Ditto the Petite Robe Noire, which I knew wasn’t going to be a barrel of awesomeness anyway. I decided to get a bottle of SIP Tosca to scratch the itch that Tonka Imperiale should have filled.
Also, I reserve the right to defend Amouage Tribute’s honor–on me (a self-avowed leather-scent queen), it is the perfect leather, with some rather candied roses that fade in and out. >:/
Disteza, so sorry to hear this. Tonka Imperiale is one of the few Guerlains I can wear. But I’m glad the Amouage works — lucky you!
Oh, forgot to mention that so far, every single L’Artisan has been a big meh to me.
Oh boy, where to start…All Amouages except Jubilation 25 have been mystifying to me. I was not remotely taken with Attar, which smelled to me like any number of Montales yet without their elegance. Ubar was downright horrid: chemical, smelly, unwearable. Wazamba, from its notes, should have been a treasure, but I thought it was just plain ol’ stinky. Then there is that long line of perfumes that have attracted swoons and raves, which, while not my cup of tea, I can appreciate for their execution and/or cleverness. Iris Silver Mist, Tubereuse Criminelle and a number of Kenzos fall into this category.
I am always hopeful in a masochistic sort of way that any hyped, discontinued number will prove dreadful. Too often, however, it is love. Sigh.
Part-time lurker here chiming in.
FAILS for me include most of the Amouages (except for Ciel, which I haven’t tried yet as it is devilishly hard to find a sample of) and several ouds I have tried (Montale, Le Labo, L’Artisan, Bond No. 9, etc). Guess I’m just not an oud girl.
After hearing all the praise for the great ones, I decided I had been remiss about the classics (having tried a few years ago) and decided to revisit. Wanted desperately to connect with Shalimar (tried the EDT, but probably need to give the parfum a go) but she gave me an overdose of headache-inducing powder. Mitsouko smacked me up-side of the head with leather and Jicky nearly knocked my socks off with a double-barrelled whammy of bad breath/stinky feet. I appreciate and respect them all but it’s so sad that none of them can be mine. So I guess my perfumista card will soon be revoked …
Don’t feel shame. Look, at the end of the day we’re consumers. We want to wear smells that appeal to us, yes? I happen to like skanky scents. I don’t like rose. If I were a professional perfumer I expect I’d have to learn to rise above my personal preferences. But I’m not, and I don’t. I don’t see why you should have to. :)>-
Thanks for your kind words, March. I don’t feel quite so bad about my failings now. After all, there’s not much we can do about our body chemistry — just have to live with it and wear what works for you. Thanks to you guys, though, I have found the love for Havana Vanille, Cartier VII and a forgotten great, Organza Indecence (yum!) …
*weeps* Dior Ambre Nuit was my most recent huge disappointment. I was so excited and all the normal oracles predicted love, but it smells like pink pepper for five minutes and then heedeous, screechy woody amber for the entire heart… and no biscuits or floor wax or dirty hair or anything *sob, sob* The OJ Taire I can get get on the bus for, but this thing was a big letdown, considering how much I love Eau Noire and Cologne Blanche.
I hear you on the Ambre Nuit, except that in this case, I auto-hyped myself, because I lurve the Eau Noire so, very, much.
The AN, though? Usual cologne fare, nothing more, for me. Nice in a “been there, done that” way.
I haven’t even smelled AN. Not dying to now.
They are like so totally wrong and I am so totally right. Though it is ambery mensy predictably somethingy, but in a goooood way.
Well, it comforts me to know other people are enjoying it. Mystifies me, too – but it makes it easier to give my decant away. 🙂
The offending aromachemical is ethyl maltol. It’s one of only four components I keep in EXTREME dilution in my lab — because a 1:10 dilution just won’t control its raw steamroller power. If not carefully managed, it will EAT anything less intense. (The others are birch tar, synthetic civet, and tobacco.)
I wonder if you put those four together, would the smell kill us all? Probably. 🙂 😕
Homeland Security would come and take you away!:o
I’d like to try it out just to see.
Big fails with me or with my wife (which is the same, since if she doesn’t like it there’s little reason to wear it):
Wazamba — her comment was prompted by the strong smell of pepper: “no one should smell like a roast”.
Havana Vanille — too boozy for our taste.
Soivohle Vanillaville — medicinal! We couldn’t even bring ourselves to put it on skin.
Le Labo Oud 27 — we got none of the “naughty” stuff from this one, just a boozy woody note; I didn’t much mind it, but my wife didn’t like it.
1740 — I usually like it, but sometimes struggle with the caramel note. My wife doesn’t like it. I should never have mentioned to her that Histoires de Parfums connects this one with the Marquis de Sade…
And the champion: the By Killian line (except for the Oud ones, which we haven’t tried), which registers as immensely sweet for both of us. The rep at the Saks store tried really really hard, but nothing caused even a glimmer of acquisitiveness to be born in our hard hearts.
Of the recent VC&As, the most happily received at our place seems to have been Lys Carmin, which most everyone else disliked… We haven’t had a chance to try to Cartier Heures yet.
I am with your wife. Vanillaville definitely smelled too medicinal for me, and 1740 smells too treacly on my skin. I do love me the Havana Vanille, though.
Gag, the Kilians. Too, too sweet for me, mostly. (I have the same issue with several of the Tom Fords.) And I liked Lys Carmin, although nobody else did. Except you. Come sit by me.
I forgot to include the Killians and the TFs on my list. So not a fan of the whole schtick and the smells….
Field Notes, Al Oudh, Vanille Galante, Havane Vanille, Oud 27, anything Montale (bleurgh, blech and retch), and plenty plenty more as you saw on Friday. I’m no longer in love with Duchaufour.
Chanels, of course. I ain’t sniffed any of those exclusive VC&A or Cartier cuz, well, I ain’t got round to it/there are more important things/I’m a good for nothing schmuck/ my perfumista card has ‘part-timer’ stamped on it and may well have expired.
Duchaufour mystifies me — so murky and muddy. Not my sort of thing at all. Field Notes is I think the only Ineke I haven’t reviewed. It was impossible. Ugh.
I replied down there but just feel compelled to add: I guess before his recent releases, I couldn’t get into Duchaufour’s fragrances for the same reason that you guys don’t like it anymore. I find his latest work much more carnal, sensuous and unrestrained. He uses a similar approach to Jean-Claude Ellena, with whom he worked, but while Ellena sometimes gets so pared down his scents go mute, Duchaufour seems to have developed new layers of richness.
Can you tell I’m a fan?
Oh yes. For some reason, it’s the opposite for me, even if the iso e super effect wears on me a little in Timbuktu. I’m not so keen on the Eau d’Italies though, and I thought Baume du Doge (sp?) was unbearably rich and thick… and sweet.
Vanille Galante! How could I have forgotten about that one? It was like wiping myself all over with ham and icing sugar.
I am glad I made the acquaintance of, but am not enchanted by, Field Notes From Paris. There are some things going on in there that amuse me…oh, look, a cigarette trail just wafted by…ooh, that floral note hangs out just at the edge of where I applied…but there is a top shellacking of thick-cologne-I-don’t-like that just won’t leave me alone. It’s like going for a joy ride with a bunch of people, and you like or get along with everybody but one…but that one just makes you want to get out.
I’ll keep playing with it every now and then. You never know.
The MFK’s I already noted in my exchange with Musette the other day. I don’t need to pick any fights, of course; you don’t like that Amouage? that Guerlain? Send it my way. You KNOW there’s something on my shelf that isn’t getting the love you can give it; I’ll send it on to you. (With maybe a couple of ml subtracted into a vial, for me to play with over time and see if I can find the love after I evolve.) 😡
Field Notes I actually scrubbed. It was that horrible to/on me. And that’s the great thing about perfume (the rest of your comment): for everyone who hates it, there’s often a good home. /:)
I kept trying this and just couldn’t get it. It’s sometimes frustrating when reviewers can smell so much and you can smell so little.
MFK Aqua Universalis: Um, I get faded Clinique Happy.
MFK Cologne for Matin & APOM for Femme. Matin smells a lot like shaving cream from the 70’s and 80’s. Gillette, maybe? Never my favorite smell. APOM has the same note, so both of these were disappointing and vastly perplexing.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!
The MFKs I think of as good smells (sort of) rather than as high-art perfumery. As I think FK was kind of going for a generic nice cologne-y smell, in addition to the nice-house smell (like a detergent) I can’t say he was that far off the mark. Whether it’s worth hunting down under those circumstances is probably personal taste.
Well – you all will probably ban me from perfumista land but here goes ….. (hiding around the corner)
Serge Lutens.
(peeping around corner – is it safe to come out?)
Don’t get me wrong – some of the SLs are wonderful and I have a few bottles. But after a while they all seem the same to me and I just don’t want to wear them. I somehow tire of them in a way I never do with the Chanel or Guerlain scents that I love. I simply can never get enough of No. 5 or No. 19, L’Heure Bleue or Shalimar….
But I wear a favourite Lutens and after a few hours I want out, am bored, need something else. Still not sure quite what the ennui is but ennui it indeed is. And they start out nicely ….. Sigh. Or sob – not sure which.
I am with you, Kim. I have sampled probably about 8 SLs and while I find several of them intellectually stimulating, I haven’t come across one I actually want to wear.
I know what you mean. I drove the SL sales associates in Barney’s nuts, trying them on, begging samples, changing my mind. I walked out of one session, and went to a different store to smell Guerlains for comparison, and almost fainted when I smelled Vol de Nuit parfum–it was so beautiful. Josie at Neiman Marcus, the most knowledgeable perfume sales associate in SF, IMO, empathized, and said it is because the VdN is a finished work of art, and the SL line is meant to be minimalistic. The difference between Terry Riley and Beethoven, perhaps. I hugged the VdN close, spent two months worth of lunch money on it and wore it around everywhere. But kept thinking about Feminite du Bois, and finally, when I saved my money for a while and they had a special “event” with other gift with purchase goodies to throw in,went back for it. After another 3 hour session of not being able to make up my mind, I got it. I do love it, although it is one which requires a certain mood, which I happen to be in today. I am experimenting layering it with Body Time violet perfume oil, to try to get my own Bois de Violette vibe going. The Eau de Serge sample also likes being layered with peach or violet oil. I layered it with chocolate oil, though, and my husband was looking around the corners of the room, he thought the chihuahua had made a mess. Scrubbed quickly . . .:d
The Lutens … I hear what you’re saying. At the same time, though, I find that essential sameness (in some of them, not all) part of their appeal. I layer them, which is criminal, and I don’t care. They last and last and their sillage from, say, a coat is lovely.
FAIL: Cuir de Russie. Dear God. Cattle working pens, complete with raw cowhide, live cows, dust, mud, manure… (we raise cattle, I know whereof I speak).
Bois de Paradis. The opening is a freaky mix of mint+turpentine, and then it goes sugary. NO.
Une Rose. Please, please put down the stiletto, Rose.
Insolence, in whatever concentration. Screaming car alarms.
Divine edp. Eau de cesspool, with lemon and tuberose.
Re: Divine, I should add that I typically get along quite well with civet and castoreum, but here it just seems so wrong…
Mals, I’m with you on Russie and Paradis. Divine I either don’t know or have successfully repressed my memory of meeting. I feel like a weird Chanel-ite; I get along with just about every classic BUT the icons. (No 5? Russie? You may have; enjoy in good health.)
Une Rose I can do on the right day. Lipstick Rose, OTOH, feels like I am paying for the privilege of being on the hip side of an in joke, and don’t really enjoy the humor. Substantial cover charge, only one belly laugh.
Une Rose really frightened me… I mean, I started feeling positively hunted after about an hour and just wanted to go hide under the bed. Ack.
And why bother with Lipstick Rose when you can smell like the whole purse (Cuir de Lancome), especially for 1/3 the price?
I put Ubar (which I like, dabbed) on my elbow Saturday and Divine on my wrist, just to compare. Divine was stinky, and Ubar not, IMO – although my middle kid, my go-to “Sniff this for me” control, liked Divine. He likes skunk in small doses, too, FWIW.
I agree about LR/Cuir. I love Cuir, and your comment is perfect.
Une Rose IS terrifying, but every now and again I like to trot it out and scare myself. I can smell one (sample) spray in the hallway for two days.
Shelley – HA! Indeed, my friend, that is why I love you. Though I may feel a little more affectionate towards something that can make me laugh or smile even once, I have huge buy-in on your description of Lipstick Rose.
Me, too!
xo your =)) >-)
“Cattle working pens, complete with raw cowhide, live cows, dust, mud, manure… (we raise cattle, I know whereof I speak).” So … you don’t like it? 😉 I don’t get that from CdR but I’ve gotten it elsewhere (that Jane Birkin thing?) and I don’t like it. At all.
Oh puh-lease. If I wanna smell that, all I have to do is walk half a mile to the pens. NO WAY am I paying Chanel $ for it. Really, really like CdL, though. And Jolie Madame.
Amouage Tribute Attar. Don’t shoot me. It’s… not bad, I guess. The jumbled contents of a Chinese medicine cabinet followed by barbecue-y aromas. And rose. It’s… interesting, but nothing I would pay to smell like.
Anything Ormonde Jayne. The big orientals (Woman, Man, Orris Noir) have a nauseating ingredient in common – can’t wear ‘m. The blushing blossoms have a headachy woody musk in common and are generally too sweet – can’t wear ‘m. The only tolerable ones are Frangipani and Tolu, neither of which interest me enough to want to own them.
Montale – why, WHY I would pay to smell like bandaid and shrill musk (or in the case of Steam Aoud: Thai fish sauce), I don’t know.
L’Artisan Havana Vanille. Remind me not to lemm anything, for it will only lead to disappointment. Eau de Plastic. Smelling the plastic in HV also heralded the age of Smelling Plastic in Everything Previously Not Plastic – so I resent it.
Oh yeah, z. you reminded me of my huge disappointment with OJ Woman. It’s an unwavering green blast that makes me irritable. I’d probably love it on a friend that I see only occasionally.
You’re not alone with the dollhead effect spreading wildfireish through anything with the merest smidge of vanilla…
God. The dollhead effect. How I loathe that.
Is it worse than the Topsy note??
What’s the Topsy note? 😕
The dollhead has not only invaded vanillas, but also musks, opoponax and ambers. :((
Don’t know if you’ll find this Zeezee, but March and I had a discussion about Osmanthe Yunnan, and that there was a flora, slightly violet note that just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger….. She said it “grew like Topsy”. Therefore “the Topsy Note”!
Sorry… floral ^
dollhead effect? spot on! thanks for making me able to name it!
I hate hate hate it when I detect some weird aspect (like a plasticky note, or rose) and then find it lurking everywhere. 🙁 Even in things I used to like.
And what is that mean generic men’s scent base note, very loud and prominent in the drydown of Diptyques Eau de Lierre and a cousin to the Creed male accord?
I tested a sample of Philosykos all weekend. Adored the scent. Disappointed with the longevity–two hours every time I applied. I read your archived fig posts and ordered some additional samples last night. Uh oh. I’ve got Figmania!
What is LOTV?
LOTV = lily of the valley
I must admit, I keep reading it as Lord of the Vlies.
Oh, I was Lord of the Vance.
Lord of the Vrings?
FIGMANIA!!!! Careful. It’s contagious. I think there are, at this point, at least two if not three figmania posts on here.
Philosykos lasts on me, but everything lasts on me. Which is mostly great, except when it isn’t. I’d love to hear what else you’re trying!
I loved the fig posts, March, read them and made a list! Then I did research–ay chihuahua. Hooked! I ordered four from Lucky Scent: LAP Figuier and Figuier Extreme, Heeley Figuier and PG Jardins de Kerylos. I’ll try these and then get Revelation, Fico di Amalfi, Io Capri and Un Jardin en Mediterranee. Must pace myself. I think. Maybe. Wondering if I need the Philosykos lotion too. Probably! Thanks March.
I also loved the fig posts. I ordered the Parfume de Nicolai fig tea fb unsniffed (small bottle), and it’s too ripe for me for this time of year; maybe later. If you want, I’ll send you a sample of mine…
You would? What a kind offer. Here’s an email address smaakest@yahoo.com
Try Michael Storer’s Fig, too
Thanks, Andrea. I haven’t heard of it–more to research!
He offers samples online on his site. Also that big gardenia of his, Stephanie, is quite something.
I too loved your fig posts March. I too made a list and ordered samples, and I can say unequivocally that every single one smelled like hot plastic on me! I guess whatever the fig aroma-chem. is, it doesn’t like me. 8-|
I actually love Philo for the green opening… (commented elsewhere on here about that), but I do like the fig development (moreso than some of the other figs I’ve tried).
On a side note, have you ever had a fig/goat cheese pizza? LOVE IT! 🙂
No! But it sounds delicious.
The sweet and savory balance each other so well. I need to find a good recipe online for it. The restaurant where I used to get it closed about six months ago… :((
I’m fairly easy to please. Even those releases that I won’t buy I often admire. That said, I think that half of the VC&A releases were either meh, or fails. I love Gardenia Petale, like Bois d’Iris, and admire Muguet Blanc, but the other three do nothing for me.
Among the FKs, I like Lumiere Noire pour Femme and Cologne pour le Soir, but the rest left me cold. I am puzzled by the reference to Bois d’Armenie for the latter. Call me crazy, but I get more of a resemblance to No 22, albeit the tiniest one.
Among my beloved Amouages, I cannot wear Ubar. I find it nauseating. Something about the LOTV, citrus, vanilla and civet. Some formulations of Shalimar can have this effect on me, but Ubar is much worse. Major scrubber.
Oh, and as I mentioned above, Coromandel reminds me of a household cleaner. A strong one at that.
Wow. Ubar would be tough to scrub, too. 😕
That Gardenia is spectacular — not only in and of itself, but because they’re aren’t a million other things like it, you know? I mean, for incense, or, say, oud, you can love that note so much but you have a lot of very fine choices.
I agree on the Ubar (though I like other Amouages). It smelled like someone had tried to spray a citrus de-odorising spray to cover up a bad smell – and failed.
Big disappointment was Knize Ten. I love love love Bandit and was so looking forward to Knize Ten since reading a post about how great a leather it was. Sadly no. On me it smellt of burnt rubber…so gross.
VCA Bois de Iris was a big disappointment too. I put it on and…nothing. I could barely smell it even after applying it liberally in many spots. I wound up accidently dumping iy on the carpet and no one noticed.
Knize Ten does smell like burnt rubber, with a bit of sweet. I thought it would be my “Vienna” scent and it wasn’t. Knize Sec is quite nice.
The VC&A registered mostly as “nice” to my nose, no more, which came as a letdown after the raves… ditto on the MFK in general.
But, hands down? The Montales. Yup, the whole 6894 of them. Horrible, shrieking messes, with about as much subtlety as a monster truck show. I couldn’t believe how much I hated every single one of them (and I tried tons just to make sure!), considering how much the perfumosphere in general likes ’em. Can’t even begin to understand the appeal! 😕
The Montales. Heh. Well, first of all they do a lot of ouds, and those aren’t of particular interest to me. I own exactly one bottle of Montale — Jasmin Full — which is impossibly ripe and which lots of people hate. But on the right day, nothing else will do.
Count me firmly in the camp of Montale loathers too! But I can’t say they were a let-down: I cringe every time I pass the shop, which wafts mightily into the place Vendôme!
Si Lolita,- had high expectations after all the praise it got, and Nuits de cellophane and J’Adore in the exclusive edition, also B.Mischka. All smelled cheap and loud. Cote d’Amour (L’Artisan) wich smelled of wet cement and old vanilla ice crusts on me.
Bond No 9 – most of the scents are totally uninteresting and smell very chemical. I own only 2, and only like three others from the huge range.
Some of the Montales are shockingly screechy and generic.
I do like the Amouages, though, except a few like Reflections and Cirrus (was that it?) in a way you appreciate your Rolls Royces – hefty, purring, colossal, solid, rich.
Could go on. The more I sample the more difficult it gets to statisfy me.
I love reading all the comments, because people respond so differently to fragrances. I can’t bear the maltol candy-floss effect but then it is a looooooooong time since I was 13, which just has to be the target age group, doesn’t it?
Being a Guerlainiac since birth, I am happy to let many of the latest releases pass me by as I know they won’t be for me, but everyone said how wonderful the Cartier Treizieme Heure was so I duly tried – ugh! Tea, tea, and more tea. I don’t even like to drink it, let alone smell of it.
I love Eau Noire (my Other Half is suitably drenched in it today) and Knize Ten (his other huge favourite); for Bois des Iles you just have to get the extrait, preferably vintage, I’m afraid!
Yes with you Fi on the Guerlains – except, I am finding that I am inexorably starting to warm up to what they are trying to do with their Matieres and Charnels, and the odd stolen sniff of things like S d Sophie and QVlPLuie have started to bring about a reconciliation after the shock and awe of the last couple of decades!
Still, their prices and marketing strategies are puzzling (like Lutens and the Bell Jars if you don’t live in Europe (last I looked they still have not fired up the US site?)).
Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman have some of them online – check out the Guerlain trunkshow 🙂
I have two words for you – Tonka Imperiale. It’s magnificent – and I was getting ready to give up on all new Guerlains as well. Hated SDV, Idyll was just okay, even Mon Precieux was just okay – but Tonka Imperiale gives me hope that the House of Guerlain will be great again.
Cynthia – I’m dying to try that one. I hope the Empress of Enabling will host a split!
I love it so much that I’m probably going to buy an FB AT FULL PRICE – what’s up with that?
The new, sugary/gourmand Guerlains do nada for me. I did however wind up with a bottle of Idylle. It’s massively pleasant. I know it smells like Narciso, and I don’t care. (Actually it’s classier.)
Um, the Fail List is long-there are very few recent/new loves in my perfume life.
Cross off the FKs pretty much as a group-very nice, fairly dull. I got a bottle of the Lumiere Noire Women, and now find it just OK-on to a better home.
The Van Cleefs had a few pretties-especially the Gardenia-but since I don’t love that note on me, they go into the admire-on-others pile. Especially the vanilla doo-dad. Chemical spill it is /:)
The Cartiers were only so-so on me. Even the populat Trezieme-a dead ringer for LL Patchouli, and just really birch tarry.
The Amouage Attars-Homage was a nice citrusy rose oil-and I’ve got loads of those at tiny prices. Tribute is smoked meat on me-not a bad smell, but I’ve got several in that category already, prefer one the of CB Smokey scents.
In the love/like heap: El Aoud-cumin fest, and interesting (not for work!); Amouage Epic for Women-FB -worthy, magnificent; Mecca Balsamy-a blind purchase from Kevin’s description and a great success. And I’m hoping that Papyrus will give me a green jolt, please =:)
Homage on my skin goes through at least 462 stages before it fades away, oh, maybe 36 hours later? It’s a rose-colored magic carpet ride, which is what makes it so thoroughly lust-worthy in my book.
I wish I got what you get @-)
Yes, so do I – any alternatives?
You really work the ouds, the incense, the woody scents … a lot of the “difficult” vintages. 🙂 Many of those new scents we’ve discussed and you listed seem too wan for you, my dear. So no huge surprise.
There are so many!
The biggest disappointment “of them all” was Homage, by Amouage.
It is not *bad*, but the notes (all except the rose) are jarring and reminiscent of household products. Reminiscent? Each phase was a dupe of one cleaning product or another – and no, I don’t use fancy dish soap, or laudry detergent, if you’re wondering…Really overhyped, IMO.
Another disappointment came from the VC&A and Cartier collections: there are bloggers whose taste I used to trust blindfolded… well I learned to be much more critic on what I read.
Last huge disappointment: Bois des iles. Like it, I get loads of soapy aldehydes, a whisper of woody promise…. but the sandalwood never comes. Nor the ginger bread… Nothing comes, actually. It just fades, uninteresting…I tried the current edt, and I do use my sample form time to time for the office, but my search for the woody HG continues…:(
Aw, Zazie, does that mean me? :((
As Fox Mulder used to say: “Trust no one”!
Oh, it was not only you on the VC&A and Cartier…. At a certain moment every trusted blogger was praising them…and I was seriously questioning my nose! I liked only one in each collection: BdI and XIII, but I found the rest very “meh” – actually, most of the others were monsta-scrubbers: The Cartier Iris, the orchidée vanillé…shrudders… And I am not a fan of the Half-a-dozen releases to begin with.
(BTW, It is true that usually your advice is the one that weighs way more for me, because of a kind of perfume related “affinité élective” … No reviwer can get me more excited on a new release – or more disappointed – Oh, that gardenia petale!!!
But this just shows how much I value your judgement, doesn’t it? 😡 )
:”>
That was supposed to be a blushing emoticon.
Bois des îles, I feel ya. No gingerbread or sandalwoody goodness for me either, and my sample is the extrait! Which, according to several eminent noses, ought to be an experience somewhere in between an orgasm and heaven.
I’m pretty much done with Chanel anyway.
Sorry to hear that. I get the wonderful gingerbread and sandalwood right off the bat with Bois des Iles. Parfum extrait definitely makes a big difference in Chanel but then I am a huge Chanel perfume fan so clearly biased.
Same here with the Bois des Iles extrait sample! All I got was that rubber balloon note that was similar to Diorissimo. I’ll take SSS Champagne de Bois for a fraction of the price!
wait. you get ‘rubber balloon’ from Diorissimo? I’ve got to go back and check this out. It’s one of my go-to scents for Spring but hey! it’s Spring somewhere isn’t it?
…isn’t it?
xo >-)
Y’all feel free to send those BdI extrait samples over here, I’ll give ’em an appreciative home. :d
And I’ll send you my VC+A Bois d’Iris. Which is very nice, actually, except that I can only smell iris in it for about twenty minutes. Before that it’s pepper, after that it’s cedar and vetiver. And the next morning it smells exactly — but exactly — like Tumulte.
I’m with you, Zazie,
I tried on Homage (just a little bit) on my way to church, and I felt like it kept getting bigger and bigger BIGGER as I sat in the pew. This little kid kept turning around and looking at me, and I tried to wrap my coat around myself so those around me couldn’t smell it. It was HORRIBLE. I tried to like it because I know it’s expensive, but it just doesn’t work for me.
I’m with you on the Homage as well. It smelled really sour on me, and not in a good way. I just didn’t get it.
And none of the VC&As or Cartiers or MFKs has moved me even close to buying a bottle yet though APOM pour Homme is probably the closest. XIII was just too close to Patchouli 24 and, even though I acknowledge it may be a slight improvement, I can’t justify both. I also like the complete artificiality of Muguet Blanc (probably because I don’t like Diorissimo) but not nearly enough for a bottle. I wouldn’t call them disappointments or fails because most of them were at least OK. I just expected more.
Same for me. Camel dung without roses. But I’ve read in some thread that it seems to have a stability problem.
Ok, I wrote a bunch of stuff, then lost it, now I’m cranky and it’s late, so in brief:
* I kinda like the OV to satisfy my vanilla cupcake craving, but I’m not saying I’d buy a bottle.
* Add me to the Havana Vanille hatefest; something just ain’t right even though I’m on the L’Artisan & Duchaufour cheer squads, and enjoy SDV.
* MFK Cologne p l Soir is a sour, pissy mess on me.
* The grand prize goes to L’Eau Serge. W.T.F.???!!!!! I can handle some clean musk (e.g., love Gentiane Blanche), but this stuff … good grief!
Agree on MFK Cologne p l Soir.
I was told it could be a dupe of Bois d’armenie….
If it is so, I should scratche the Guerlain off my “to try ASAP” list…
Actually, the only MFK I could like is the APOM pour homme. Just because I like cedar and orange blossom…
Yes, yes! Why I don’t like Havana Vanille: it’s vanilla and Band Aids, I swear.
And Homage was so pedestrian to me! Am I crazy??
Some left handed praise for HV: I liked it. I liked the boozy rum note, then the vanilla and spices. . .with band aids. Then, I *love* the way Band Aids smell 😀 I just don’t need a FB; for my vanilla rush, I reach for Vanille 44.
Wonder if my Band Aid love note is the same thing I like in oud? janjan, do you dislike oud scents? There is something weirdly medicinal in oud (and someone else in the comments noted HV smells like a medicine cabinet). The only ouds that hit me as too fierce were those at the Arabian Oils boutique in London, just the pure ouds (Cambodian, Indian, etc). When they were blended, they were lovely to my nose. Be well.
As a rule, I get kinda queasy from more straight-up vanilla scents. But, continuing the “straight up” vibe, I am an intermittent cocktail afficionado. Which may explain why I, too, like Havana Vanille. I wonder if for some people, it isn’t like they expected a soda, or at least a liqueur, and instead got whiskey. Neat.
Huh. Everyone’s hating on HV. I like their old Vaniglia (sp?) much better. I haven’t rushed out to try that Serge. :d
Peanutbuttercup,
I can’t WAIT for you to try that Serge. In fact, I recall thinking ‘WWMT’ when I first smelled it. The answer was not pretty 8-x
it’s just so…….uh…..
xoxo >-)
I’m pretty easy to please but like many of the bloggers derive puzzlement from some of Luca’s top picks, (e.g. Knowing which I found in a sale shelf at the local K-mart and put in the smallest room in the house as air freshener, and Oud Cuir d Arabie WHOA baby, probably my only scrubber so far!) Can’t love slitty-eyed thin lipped Bandit, or Musk KK on myself from which I definitely get the funkyman vibe! I’ve never liked Joy or No 5 in my past perfume life or this one. I just got my decant of Mysteriouse, and everyone’s going to scream, but at the moment I’m doing a sniff-off between it and Daphne, and yup, to me they share DNA. I adore XIII but I could not wear it because it smells exactly like Lapsang Souchong tea…I find the CdG Incenses too masculine, likewise the wonderful L Air DM. But its just a taste thing, I’ve always liked the heady, lush, sweet, oriental, the highpitched white florals that are in now are right up my alley!
The working title for XIII La Treizième Heure *was* Lapsang Souchong, so you’re spot on!
March, the “candyfloss” material is called ethyl maltol (one of its commercial names is Veltol) and it is present in spades in several of the “pink” Guerlains, the Elixirs Charnels especially. Orchidée Vanille is by Randa Hamami who did Cruel Gardenia for Guerlain and smells like something Sylvaine Delacourte might have turned down.
The Cologne smells like Mark Buxton is only as good as his art direction.
I’m surprised you get canned citrus from the Cartier which is very berry indeed for me, and pretty natural smelling, though berries are really not my style — but testing it out didn’t make me want to gnaw my arm off, which is saying a lot. Not going to pick a fight about it though. I admire the three Cartiers you don’t like but it’s the other two, XII and XIII, that I truly love.
I’ll be trying the Cartier again — I have a decent decant and who knows, it might have been the wrong week. XIII I loved and wrote a review of when it first came out. XII … eee, I have to check my label, which is that? :”>
Also you made me laugh with “smells like something Sylvaine Delacourte might have turned down.” That smarts. Also: “The Cologne smells like Mark Buxton is only as good as his art direction.” I very much like some woody things he’s done for other folks, but recall being underwhelmed by his personal line.
Chanel Coromandel. I had heard such lovely things about this. On me powered dirt. On my neighbor is is everything wonderful.
Havana Vanille. I came close to buying a full bottle unsniffed it sounded go perfect. Luckily a decant came first. I keep trying but it is less than nice on me.
Thank goodness for decants!
Hi Janet,
I’m between the love it and hate it stage (or hate it and love it, if you will)with Coromandel. It was soooo heavy on me, I felt like pig-pen in it. However, it had the “best” sillage of anything I’ve ever worn. I could follow the proverbial scent trail back to my desk… It was so nice in the air, just not pleasent on me.
Best,
R
One of my friends told me that Coromandel smells like a popular household cleaner on her. So now, that’s all I smell if I spritz it. I can’t go near it!
Coromandel is pretty rough and, I think, sort of love-it-hate-it. I find it unbearably abrasive, but lots of folks feel otherwise.
I don’t find it rough…just unpleasant. Very mannered, possibly pretty, not at all like anything I want to wear.
So Hiker Chick– Is sour cow sweat a bad thing for a true perfumista? That was rhetorical . . . but now for my meh. Knize 10. I read the rave reviews, and thought it sounded perfect for me. Couldn’t find it anywhere, could not land one on the ‘bay, so purchased a small decant from Perfumed Court. In the Guide, Turin talks of a little surprise, strawberry kiss on the lips– for me, the strawberry was the nose of a chronic martini drinker trying to kiss me after one or three martinis, and a cheap cigar. Leathery, yes, this guy’s gums are leathery. Yuck.
Knize Ten I also failed to appreciated, as did someone below, I think. :d Love your description.
Hey, I love me some cow sweat! The more, the better. But sweet fancy muffins, stop feeding the herd fermented cabbage!
And, must say…leathery gums…eew. You’ve trumped my pickled cow note.
Havana Vanille. What the hell *is* that? Sounds so good on paper, but it’s pure evil on my skin. Those boozy notes just stick in the back of my throat, and make me feel as though I’ve drunk too many rum and cokes. I don’t like SDV either, so I guess I should have known, right?
I wasn’t wild for it either. It goes sort of banana-ish, IIRC.
Ugh… I agree – it’s kind of vile. Not as vile as Spiriteuse Double Vanille, but doesn’t work for me at all. It probably wouldn’t have been so disappointing if I hadn’t been frothing at the mouth about it for months before it finally hit the U.S.
Creed – the entire house. I don’t get it – I mean, they’re okay, but not for that price. And don’t get me started on Bond No. 9 – they’re all either “meh” or smell like either cat urine or hot feces on me.
Nope, we CAN’T TALK ABOUT CREED on here, or we’ll get flamed by the fanatics. 😉
bwahahaha – at least I didn’t make disparaging remarks about Britney Spears. Although reading the comments that Brit-brit fans left for Katie Puckrik on Youtube is kind of hilarious.
Really? Come on!
OK flame me: I hate that men’s Creed accord. What in all world is it?
Havana Vanille was vanilla syrup on a first aid kit on me. ewww. >:p
Those beautiful Diors are found at Colette =P and they are popular.. except for Eau Noire. I would know since I’ve hosted splits of Ambre Noir, Cologne Blanche, and Bois d’Argent in the last month.. muhahhaa
And Eau Noire is my favorite of the bunch-weird and wild 😮
Sigh. I love that thing so much.
I should horn in on a split, I don’t want a quart of each either. It’s irritating, they used to be pretty easy to find around here. And then they all disappeared.
horn in ;;)
Yes you should “horn in” =P I really think splitting is the perfect way for OCDs to fully enjoy his/her OCD-ness while benefiting those that can care less whether the label on their bottle is on straight or not..
I desperately wanted to love the sample of Coze that I received from Lee from a drawing a few weeks back…however,on me, it smells like olive juice straight from the jar (which I used to drink when I was young). The smell does conjure wonderful memories of being at my grandmother’s, it’s just not something I would wear in public. :”>
Olive juice. I want me some of that (and thanks for your mail – too slammed here to do anything but say I appreciate it!)
It’s quite the heart-warming and tantalizing scent, and, although a short-cut to a man’s heart is his stomach, I’d much rather smell gourmand than olivand. 😉
Oh, and no problem regarding the reply. My musings aren’t expected to be the center of the universe. 🙂
They could well be, though!
I’m going to have to go with the new Balenciaga Paris, but Carmencanada explains it so much better than I ever could here: http://graindemusc.blogspot.com/. Sheer unadulterated meh =;
Picking fights with fragrance friends! Look what March started! I read CC’s comments and while I agree that Paris is a bit thin, I still like the metallic violet aspect. I guess that it will have to join my list of “guilty pleasure” fragrances. The ones that sell like hotcakes but don’t quite make the cut with the hard-core crowd.:d
Hey, I am ALL FOR guilty pleasures. March the Maleficent decrees: any one of us who does not have something on our shelves that might be viewed as a bit “pedestrian” is Not A True Perfumista.
😡
What March Said. I have a whole shelf o’ those and you will have to pry them from my cold, dead hands (Lemon Sugar, anybody?:d
xo >-)
Y’all are l-)s and I love you for it.
I’m most partial to l’Occitane’s Lemon Verbena.
Mm, sorry, not pedestrian enough. Try again. Hugo Boss?
I love, love, love, Clinique Happy. I also own a bottle of Happy To Be. Pedestrian enough for ya?:”>
Teutonic sport I do not do…. Erm… Body Kouros?:d
Erm. Sand and Sables?
Hear, hear!!! =d>
Oh, I ain’t no perfume snob. Give me Quartz or give me death!
Balenciaga Rumba! Lock the door, turn on salsa and pretend I’m Celia Cruz, wig and all. Plus it smells like beeswax after an hour! Someday I’ll have the grapes to wear it outside.
Ola, amazing, isn’t it? On me all raspberries and snuffed candle, soot and all.
It’s pretty and all, but I just want more…more…something. But man you killed with that Tarantella. Thanks for giving me an overwhelming desire for something else I can’t have. Okay, I really need Sigh Guy here.
Oh dear, I’m gonna get a lot of hatin’ for this one but…
PdN Fig Tea = sour cow sweat
There. It’s done. You don’t have to say anything, people, my head’s already in the oven…
Naturally, this begs the question; Is it Fig Tea, or is it me?
LOL! Aw, I love the scent of cows (and horses). But yeah, I don’t want to smell like them either.
I love the smell of straight-up livestock, too! Give me some Dzing! and stick me in a barn and I’m all over happy. There is just this very supernatural sourness that springs forth, kind-of like someone TIPPED the cow then forgot about it for a week and the poor thing couldn’t right itself. And then maybe an alien interfered. I don’t know. It is, quite frankly, a shocking scene.
It’s you.
I keed, I keed! First off, I’d say particularly with the PdNs, if you care at some point you should dig up a second sample/bottle — I think their stuff can be “off” occasionally. Or not. It’s not like there aren’t a million other things to smell. Fig-Tea doesn’t smell a thing like fig to me, although I have a bottle. I wouldn’t like it if it smelled like sour cow sweat on me, though.
No, no, I am adult enough to admit my short-comings; it is me, indeed. I’ve also had to give up on OJ Ta’if, which very nearly broke my heart. It was the same foul, sour, pickle-y monster note. I’m confused, however, as Eau d’Ete is sheer perfection and I will be springing for another bottle (which is unprecendented.)
I can only conclude that, just as others’ skin devours a note routinely (looking at you, musk-eaters!), mine adds a rather unfortunate kimchee note. And that simply MUST stop. Perhaps I should try another bottle. Or wait for menopause to change my chemistry. One or the other…
You’re not alone on the Ta’if. It goes sour in the base on me. I’m starting to recognize some common bases in several of the releases of the past few years.
Don’t know if this will help, but I’ve been spraying Ta’if on my hair. It seems to remain true there: I wore it yesterday and have just touched my hair and smelled the heavenly aroma on my fingers! I guess it’s because hair is just hair, whereas skin has oil/ph factors which can turn a perfume.
I have tried Infusion d’Iris SO many times and I am just starting to realize that I… uh… I don’t think I like it.
Don’t hit me.
I won’t. All I get is wan soapy iris. Yawn.:-<
and it’s pee-pee on me :-&
… what I asked Melissa. :d
So … in a bad way? 😉
Yeah. I like soapy sometimes. I usually don’t like wan. I don’t think it’s wan, soapy pee-pee, but I’ll try it sometime again to see!
Lots of folks don’t like iris, and lots of folks don’t like THAT iris. It took me awhile even to be able to smell it.
I still can’t.
xo >-)
None of the VC&As did it for me… I liked the Iris for the 2 seconds it lasted, but I seem to be anosmic to whatever it’s made of, because it completely vanished. Wazamba was vile, Amaranthine smelled like 10 other things in my sample heap, and Havana Vanille was dull as dishwater. But I’m the fragrance Philistine who doesn’t comprehend Guerlains or SLs or Amouages or PdNs, so what the hell do I know?!
I was with you on Bandit but then you lost me at “doesn’t comprehend Guerlains or SLs or Amouages or PdNs” @-)
I know, I know… where do I turn in my secret perfumista decoder ring?
It’s OK, I’m still with you on the Amouages. Lyric – my magic book says “light rose,nice enough…” Jubilation 25 was better but, I mean, after all the hype – the DISAPPOINTMENT!!
I think it’s still all good if your disappointments are equalled by the wow surprises.
Honestly, though — I can see how the entire Amouage line could not be someone’s “thing” — to me most of them are of a type. However, given the packaging and the price and the reverential way they’re talked about, I wonder if it makes the disappointment even worse. FWIW although I’m quite fond of some of them, I’ve never been tempted even to buy a decant. They don’t seem to be fragrances I want to actually put on.
I am with you on the Amouages – in face, I was gonna list those as my most epic FAILs, though ‘epic’ only refers to my response v. the hype+cost.
VC&As didn’t do much for me. The muguet is nice but it’s already been done by Coty (the vintage MdB is slammo!)
I am not at all surprised you don’t like Brilliante. I love it but I am not blind to its faults – there’s a sharp/thinnness to it that requires some judicious handling; e.g. I just decanted some and the act of decanting put me off it for awhile. I packed the bottle up in its elegant box and put it away until that shrewish note recedes from the back of my sinuses.
My recent FAIL has been Attrape-Coeur. Given how many of my Twins love this I was expecting to fall down in a swoon. Instead I got :-& which was very surprising but it’s awfy sweet on me. Candyfloss sweet. ick.
xo >-)
I’m working on Brilliante! I am! I do wonder if I’d like it a bit better when it warms up outside.
Heh. Yep, we bring up Guerlain and DOES NOT COMPUTE.
Same here on the Amouges and the PdN. I just don’t understand the love they get. But then I wear L’Heure Bleue in the heat of summer so what do I know?
I think the only time I really dig L’HB is in the summer. But I love several PdNs, and Lyric and Ubar…
The Dawn Spencer Hurwitz scents are just horrid on me – my testing notes for Nourouz (? formerly Tamarind paprika) say damp clothes,old shoes…I’ll not even tell you what they say for Oeillets Rouge.
To end on a happy note today I’m wearing Bandit after reading about it and it’s brilliant and green and unclutteredand delicious.
So it’s not all bad!
Fiona
“Uncluttered” is such a great description of Bandit! It’s like a cold, sharp blade cutting through all the flotsam.
Perfect!
Ditto! ( and we know how I love a blade)
xo >-)
Papyrus de Ciane. Galbanum is something I can’t get enough of; love that bitter punch ya in the noze green. When I read about this one, I Googled until my fingers were tired, trying to see when it was going to be released so I could snap it up-full bottle, unsniffed. I managed a sample a few weeks ago. *long silence* Ummm, no. It was mildly green, kind of like when you’re doing a water color, you have a jar of clean water and the first color you rinse from your brush is a pale green. If galbanum was present, you coulda fooled me. There’s no reason for me to lie and say I know what papyrus smells like, ’cause I don’t. This smelled vague. Greenly vague, not even vaguely green. I was deeply disappointed and like a spoiled kid (I am admitting this in public), I threw my sample across the room in a fit of pique. It’s probably under the bed-where it belongs.
Could you tell me your favourite green – the real oil colour kind? I’m on a bit of a green kick here in the humid summer.
That’s odd. I tried it again yesterday (after wearing for several days before interviewing Pierre Guillaume) and was again struck by the sharpness of its green note. It’s actually not meant to smell like papyrus, the name is just poetic.
I’m curious to know: what scent gives off a real green note for you?
This sounds great, PG has become a favorite house to me!
I love green too, and now I am finding all the info, realise that it is in so many things I always loved, from Caleche to Fidgi in the olden days to now loving Cristalle au Verte, Unicorn Spell, that Green green green I’ve only sampled so far…Chan19 greenish but rather soft compared to those more avant garde statements?
Unicorn Spell was noted as having a green bean smell, an amazing topnote in the spirit of the liniment in T Criminelle, but I swear that in the time from sampling to my buying FB, the bean is not nearly as snappy!
The green bean smell comes from galbanum. In the Unicorn Spell it’s not attenuated so it comes to the fore.
My favorite green is Diptyque’s Philosykos… I know it is more categorized as fig, but I love the way the opening smells exactly like leaves and trees (and I’m not generally a green fiend).
I laughed at this. I am not the Queen o’Galbanum, but one thing you don’t expect it to be is tepid.