What’s Up With The Perfume Embargo? – Status Report On The No-Buy

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Olfactoria

Almost three months ago I wrote a post about how I planned to change my perfume acquiring habits. Today is my birthday, a notable exception to the new frugality I imposed on myself.

Time to take a look back and see how it went and how I should proceed.

Most important things first: I do not enjoy not being able to buy what I want. Sounds pretty much self-explanatory, I am a very dedicated perfume lover after all, and taking away the “drug” is not appreciated, obviously. But, big but, I see the good side of all this clearly too. I discovered a lot of beautiful perfumes in my sample box, I didn’t have the time and skin space to try before. I started to really think about what I want and need in my collection, as opposed to what I want now, period.

London was a welcome respite from the no-buy, but I was very restrained there. I had an inner contract that I could buy whatever I wanted there, but only if it was not available over here, if I wanted it and it was cheaper here, I could have it upon coming home. Guess, what? Nothing was needed enough to be bought at home afterwards.

I came away from London with a bottle of Dior Mitzah, a duty-free bottle of Hermès Kelly Calèche Eau de Parfum and two Ormonde Jaynes, Frangipani and Ta’if.

Two more bottles were added to my collection in the past three months, Un Jardin sur le Toit, and Il Profumo Nuda, both gifts from my dear husband. Illuminum White Gardenia Petals, also known as Kate Middleton’s perfume, was a business expense, only the best for the blog… 😉 I almost forgot one bottle that just had to be mine, the very addictive (many of you are afflicted in the mean time) Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess.

So all in all I did not fare badly at all. Certainly no need to complain. The summer is going to be a long drought, since the next planned exception is only in November, when I go to New York (if all goes as planned). I may think about an amnesty period for our vacation in Italy in August, one has to do research after all…A series of posts “Olfactoria On The Road – Northern Italy” would not be so bad, would it?

My current wishlist is short. On it there is Chanel Coromandel, Penhaligon’s Amaranthine and Hermessence Poivre Samarkande. Parfum d’Empire Ambre Russe, Equistrius and Osmanthus Interdite are maybe’s, that are not pressing, but I would like to own them some day, the same goes for several Parfumerie Générale fragrances, my newest obsession.

We will see what today’s birthday dinner will bring… 🙂

What is on your current wishlist (the short list)?

Image source: vintagadbrowser.com
Posted in Ramblings | Tagged , , , , , , , | 53 Comments

Perfume For A Rainy Day – Review: Parfum D’Empire Osmanthus Interdite

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Olfactoria

I became interested in the Parfum d’Empire line after getting to know Ambre Russe and after Ines commented that it was one of her favorite perfume houses.

Research in my sample box turned up a forgotten sample of Osmanthus Interdite, I had not yet had the chance to even try. Well, now I did and I like it. I am glad my sample box yielded another gem.

Osmanthus Interdite was released in 2007 . Parfum d’Empire, as the name suggests, creates perfumes dedicated to great empires. Osmanthus Interdite is meant to represent China. (Ambre Russe stands for Tsarist Russia.)

Notes include chinese tea, citrus, osmanthus, rose, jasmine, musk and leather. The perfume was created by Marc-Antoine Corticchiato, Parfum d’Empire’s founder.

Osmanthus is a small, white flower native to Asia that has an interesting and distinctive smell of apricots. I really like this note in perfume. Be it the combination with tea in Hermessence Osmanthus Yunnan, with sparkly and spicy pepper and citrus in Ormonde Jayne Osmanthus or the sweet, almost jammy facet of osmanthus in Serge Lutens Jeux de Peau.

In Osmanthus Interdite I have found a happy, sweet, very fruity and simply delicious version of osmanthus. It is perfectly lovely.

Opening with a refreshing combination of citrus, green tea and osmanthus, the perfume is relatively linear, showcasing the apricot-sweetness of this astounding flower. The heart is bolstered by rose and jasmine that mostly serve to round out the star of the show, rather than having their own moment in the limelight. The drydown is softly musky, with a hint of leather, bringing to mind another Lutens fragrance, namely Daim Blond, although here it is a much, much softer and more muted leather-apricot combo.

Osmanthus Interdite is a great spring/summer scent, it is happy, carefree, but not without substance. It has a very good lasting power and the sillage is there, but not overpoweringly so. All in all, I am very happy with this perfume. It is my second winner from the line, so I will make sure to explore it further.

How does Osmanthus Interdite compare to the other osmanthus perfumes I have tried? It is softer and more feminine than the Hermessence and the tea note is less pronounced. It is fruitier than Ormonde Jayne’s version, whose opening is a lot harsher too.

Osmanthe Interdite is one of those instant smile inducing perfumes that are very good to have at hand when life throws you a curve ball again.

You can take a deep breath and think. “At least I smell great!”

Image source: parfuma.com, botanicalgarden.ubc.ca
Posted in Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Fruity, Musk, Parfum d'Empire | Tagged , , , , , | 35 Comments

Something Smells Funny Here – Perfume Mini-Reviews Part 2

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Olfactoria

Since the first part of this kind of post had such a positive feedback, here is another installment. Six small non-reviews of things that did not make the cut, for various reasons…

Perles de Lalique: is a spicy rose that completely lacks the dark tones, it lacks punch and power, it is too lovely, there is not enough substance to take it seriously, but it is not an easy to love happy go lucky scent either, it tries too hard to be something it can never be, instead of building on what it has. This inner conflict does not last long, you decide whether that is a blessing or a curse.

Chanel Gardénia: the Eau de Toilette version is a part of Les Exclusifs (there is an extrait available too now, which I would love to smell. See this outstanding review by Elena of Perfume Shrine) So, Luca Turin stated: not Gardenia. That is undoubtedly true, but what else is it? A sweet-ish, pink-ish, vaguely floral-ish, indeterminate sugar water sounds probably a bit too harsh, but there are way to many -ishes in there for me to come up with something more friendly towards this unoriginal-ish scent.

Andrée Putman Preparation Parfumée: is a quite nice woody fragrance for about 50 seconds and only if you come really close. But if you miss that window of opportunity, all that remains is the idea of a good smell rather than a perfume, the barest whisper of the scent of a place rather than a person, a vague and very, very quiet place of peace, beautiful but totally lost in this world. Too ephemeral, too delicate too survive. An Olivia Giacobetti creation that is heartbreakingly tender but ultimately unsuitable for survival outside the bottle.

Dior La Collection Milly-La-Foret: it pains me to put this here, because I have a very soft spot for this fragrance. It is a soft, fruity-floral musk scent, that is as inoffensive as they come. Which brings us right down to the problem. A run-of-the-mill floral musk in soft pink (part of me loves just that!) that can be substituted with approximately 124 perfumes readily available just about everywhere for a fraction of the price, has no business to be a part of an exclusive, expensive and supposedly highly artistic and unique line up that represents the heritage of a major perfume house. Sorry, Milly we are not meant for one another. (Looking for a similar, but better executed and longer lasting version? – This is it!)

Amouage Opus V: Iris and Amouage – that should have been a devastating combination for me. Sadly, it is not. I get too much oud and too much bravado in the opening that does not hold what it promises, strangely Opus V diminishes on me over the course of its development, there is an odd vanishing act going on that I have not really figured out yet, but this does not occur every time, some days it just relentlessly goes on and on about oud, oud, oud, oud… I am not done with it yet, but for now it is in the back of the review circuit again. As a penalty for not fulfilling my wishes. 😉

Honorè des Pres Vamp à New York: I struggle with this, because I do not like tuberose, as I have stated often before. But I like the following: Ines, who sent me this, Olivia Giacobetti who created it, Love Coco, the sister scent in this line AND most importantly every other note in this perfume, but the tuberose. That is not exactly true, I like the treatment of the tuberose in this perfume very much, it is as good as tuberose gets for me, and that this is still not enough, irks me. But what can you do? Not everything is for everyone, and the human experience is fluid, so we never know how this particular relationship will turn out in the end. I might get to be a vamp one day.

Stay tuned for mainstream mini-reviews upcoming soon!

Image source: VintageAdBrowser.com

Posted in Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Gourmand, Green, Spicy, Woods | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

Breakfast And Dessert: Review: Parfumerie Générale Tonkamande And Praliné De Santal

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Olfactoria

Pierre Guillaume, handsome creator (he probably hates having his looks commented on everywhere and every time, but, come on, he is exceptionally beautiful, and I say that from a purely aesthetic standpoint ;), also he is not exactly trying to keep himself out of the focus) of Parfumerie Generale, launched two new limited edition fragrances recently: Tonkamande, an aldehydic almond milk mélange, and Praliné de Santal, a scrumptious take on sandalwood in all its creamy glory.

I got samples of the two at Les Senteurs, when I was in London. They have been launched at the same time, so I am going to review them at the same time, although they only share a gourmand theme, other than that they are quite different.

Ultimately there is one I like, one I adore. Let us see what is what.

Tonkamande includes notes of almond milk, aldehydes, tonka bean, wheat, sandalwood, vanilla and amber. It starts – unsurprisingly – very aldehydic. The aldehydes and the milky notes put together give the impression of frothy milk, milk whipped into a frenzy. The equivalent of a Nespresso machine minus the coffee. Breakfast comes to mind.

Later the aldehydes recede and what stays is a powdery, soft baby smell. Tonkamande is deceptively soft, it is actually quite tenacious and has a lot more sillage than one would think at first. I really like the drydown of Tonkamande that is a not overly sweet (especially for PG standards, astoundingly unsweet), cereal-like woody amber, but the first hour of milk froth, hmmm, I was not sure about that in the beginning. I like a milk note, I always do when I encounter one, but the inclusion of aldehydes meant to make the whole thing light and airy, also succeeds in making it somewhat medicinal smelling to me at times. Tonkamande grew on me though. When at first I thought, I could easily dismiss it, I found myself wearing it as often as my sample allowed and craving more. The fizzy milk opening followed by the comforting drydown is really lovely.

Praliné de Santal and I also had a rough start, but not because I didn’t like it, but because at first sniff it is extremely reminiscent of Serge Lutens Jeux de Peau. I love Jeux de Peau, I own a bottle, but I did not need a second one with another name. After wearing Praliné de Santal for some time and a side by side comparison with the Lutens there are enough differences though to fully warrant a bottle of Praliné de Santal as well, should one not be under an embargo. 🙂 Praliné de Santal is generally softer, less ostentatious, more refined, less tenacious. In a word, there is exactly the difference between a PG and a Lutens that one would expect, if one is familiar with both lines.

Praliné de Santal includes notes of sandalwood, heliotrope, hazelnut, Virginian cedar and cashmeran. It has me at first spray. Praliné de Santal is incredibly yummy. It smells like roasted hazelnuts, pastry, buttery croissants and hazelnut cookies with a pinch of salt. Sounds familiar? Told you so! But after that inital dessert fest Praliné de Santal wanders into less openly gourmand sandalwood territory, the smoothest, creamiest, loveliest sandalwood imaginable and stays there, comforting, eye-roll-inducing and warm. Did I mention, I really like it?

First in Fragrance gave out the terrifying information that only 120 numbered bottles are available in German, Austria and Switzerland. That kind of Perfumista torture is not nice.

Praliné de Santal is something I am thinking very hard about, especially under that kind of pressure. 😉

And here come a couple of totally unnecessary, but lovely-to-look-at photos of PG in all his glory. Enjoy!

Image source: mimifroufrou.com, cafleurebon.com
Posted in Aldehydic, Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Parfumerie Generale, Woods | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

Angel Heath – Review: Lostmarc’h Lann-Ael

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Olfactoria

Lann-Ael (Breton for Angel heath) by niche brand Lostmarc’h has been a part of my collection for a long time. An unused part though. I bought a bottle (unsniffed!) when Katie Puckrick recommended it to me in a comment, and who am I to refuse such a tip? But when the bottle arrived, I took a quick sniff, was somewhat underwhelmed and quickly moved on to more exiting shores. Lann-Ael stood forgotten at the back of my closet.

Last weekend, maybe prompted by my horrifying, borderline-self-destructive experiment with Prends Moi, maybe because I was all alone, my husband being away for the weekend, maybe because I had a major hay fever attack and couldn’t smell as usual, what ever the reason, I found myself longing for gourmand, longing for Lann-Ael in particular. Out it came and on my skin it went. *deep sigh*

I didn’t let go of it for the entire weekend, and now on Monday I am wearing it still.

I cannot see now, why I didn’t like this from the start. Lann-Ael is such a comforting treasure. Lasting power could be better, but it is an Eau de Toilette and re-applying is a treat, so I don’t really mind.

Created in 2007, Lann-Ael includes notes of buckwheat, cereals, milk, apple and vanilla. From the notes list alone, you can imagine what it smells like and be properly horrified. It must certainly be a sweet, sticky, childish mess? No?

Of course it is not. Lann-Ael is simply lovely. Soft, light, cuddly-cozy, comforting, foody -yes, but in an enticing way. I don’t mind smelling like cereal at all.

But aside from the cereal idea, Lann-Ael takes me back to a place of comfort, a place of safety and – no other way to put it, despite the risk of severe cheesiness – innocence. Lann-Ael smells child-like, tender, loving and – here we go again – innocent.

I want to take the hand offered and take a walk through the wind-blown heath the name suggests, the air is cold, but smells delicious, I am warm in my jacket and the hand guiding me is big and warm as well. I used to go on such walks as a small child with my uncle, but I pretended he was my guardian angel. Lann-Ael takes me back to that place, the fields of Upper Austria as well as that place inside, of child-like trust, fantastic possibilities and the feeling of utter safety.

I am glad there is still such a place in my memories.

Needless to say I am enchanted with this perfume and of course I want to explore the rest of the line. Do you know the brand Lostmarc’h? Which one should I try next?

Lostmarc’h is available at First in Fragrance.

Image source: luckyscent.com, Photo of Breton heath via geo.fr
Posted in Fragrance Reviews, Gourmand, Lostmarc'h | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

Monday Question – What Would You Do Differently In The Perfume Industry?

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Olfactoria

Imagine you get to be creative director of a perfume brand of your choice – which one would it be?

How would you overhaul this brand?

What would you do differently?

In which direction would you go?

What are your plans for the next two years?

My Answer:

I would want to be creative director of Guerlain. And – this is fantasy, remember – I would have total creative freedom from LVMH and their corporate pressure.

I would want to try to take Guerlain back to its days of glory. I would stop catering to the mall folks and concentrate on pleasing my main audience, the perfume connoisseurs, the lovers of classic perfumery, the niche loving people. I would hire an in-house perfumer to take things in hand, to give Guerlain a unified stable of perfumes based on the great treasures they already have in their archives and build on that. There would be one or two releases a year at most, but those would be big affairs. Must-attend high-class events at Versailles or the Parisian Opera House.

Who would be a great Guerlain perfumer? I could imagine Maurice Roucel working for Guerlain. He has that sense of opulence and the grand sweep. He could create masterpieces in a style that suits him, at least in my humble opinion.

I can’t wait to read your answers. There is so much creative potential among the lovers of perfume, let us harness that today and put our ideas in writing!

Posted in Monday Question | Tagged , , , , , , | 47 Comments

Last Week In Perfume Land – Weekend Link Love

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Olfactoria

I am alone this weekend, my husband has flown to London, the lucky guy. I would rejoice in the fact of a weekend alone, but as we know I am never alone…

The kids and I will go to the zoo, weather permitting.

Last week in Perfumeland the world saw a review of Kate Middleton’s Wedding scent on this very blog, lol.

Dee on Beauty on the Outside wrote a wonderful piece about my most favorite perfume ever, Frapin’s 1697.

We can thank Vanessa from Bonkers about Perfume for another massive lemming, Lalique Flora Bella, impossible to find, but a Duchaufour I want to try, come hell or high water…

Persolaise secured a spectacular guest writer for his blog, natural perfumer par excellence Mandy Aftel writes about the different ways to smell and talk about natural perfumes. Fascinating article.

Victoria on EauMG reviews an interesting jasmine perfume by an indie brand from Seattle.

Tarleisio of Scent Less Sensibilities wrote a fantastic piece about – what else? – perfume and how it is sold as well as received.

Have a wonderful Sunday everybody!

Posted in Weekend Link Love | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Olfactoria On Perfume Smellin’ Things

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Olfactoria

You want to know how the slimming fragrance worked? Head on over to PST today.

I hope to see you over there!

Posted in Ramblings | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

My Marlboro Man – Review: Juliette Has A Gun Calamity J

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Olfactoria

Okay, so Juliet shoots sharp these days, apparently. What is she going to do with that gun? Who is on her list? And what the heck has perfume got to do with that?

It were thoughts like these that had distracted me and also put me off JHAG, to use the cooler acronym, for a long time. I like the bottles, adore the velvet hat-box  packaging, but I never felt the urge to smell them, although they are readily available here. Too much marketing cutesy for me.

I knew that Dee loves their scents though, which elevated them considerably on my appreciation scale, but still not enough to try them, until that fateful day in March when Dee sent another goodie bag and in it I found a generous decant of Calamity J. Fully expecting disappointment, I sprayed and was able to convince myself I did not like it – for about two minutes, then I was toast.

Calamity J was created in 2009 by Romano Ricci and includes notes of patchouli, iris, amber, musk and vanilla infusion.

Ambers and I, a never ending story of love, infatuation and desire. There are few and far between ambers I do not like, so Dee knew what she was doing when she sent Calamity J.

The reason why I was able to think I don’t like it in the beginning, is that the top notes of patchouli are quite harsh and totally stern, stark and un-sweet. But not for long. Calamity J develops into something furry, soft, cuddly and purring, but sitting on a leather couch, maybe even wearing leather boots, gun holstered, but ready to pounce at any minute. Calamity J smells like Danger on its lunch break.

Not a complicated perfume, Calamity J is straight forward and to the point, he he does not fuss around, he is simple and rough around the edges.

Calamity J is unsentimental, unfunny, very cool, but has a big, soft heart of gold that he tries to conceal underneath his worn and dusty leather garments. And yes, you read correctly, HE. Calamity J is a man to me. But I would not want a man to wear it, I want to wear it.

Calamity J is my secret love affair, my extramarital adventure with a dangerous cowboy, who takes himself very seriously, who has a southern drawl and calls me Ma’am, who is maybe not the most educated of them all, but who is devastatingly sexy and does not even know it.

Now excuse me – danger awaits…

Image source: fragrantica.com, vintageadbrowser.com
Posted in Amber, Fragrance Reviews, Juliette Has a Gun, Leather | Tagged , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Will You Marry Me? – Review: Floris Wedding Bouquet

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Olfactoria

As I mentioned on Monday, I only fell under the spell of the Royal wedding hysteria on the day itself. I watched and I was smitten, instantly I reverted back to the little girl I once was, who spent years pretending to be a princess (either Lady Diana or Grace of Monaco, although sometimes I had to be the Empress Sisi of Austria, one has obligations after all) and dedicatedly practicing the royal wave to my people in front of the mirror.

Since Kate Middleton’s, sorry, the Duchess of Cambridge’s actual wedding scent was a bit hard to come by instantly, I used the downtime to branch out into wedding scents in general and happened upon something more easily obtainable and a lot more royal too – Floris Wedding Bouquet.

Floris is a venerated British perfume house that has not crossed my field of interest before, truth be told. It always struck me as rather traditional, conservative and a little unadventurous. That is still my opinion. But that is exactly the appeal of Wedding Bouquet. I was on the lookout for something classy, old-fashioned almost, a little quaint and understatedly elegant. Wedding Bouquet is all those things.

“Created exclusively to celebrate the marriage of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton, Wedding Bouquet draws inspiration from the most acclaimed Floris wedding fragrances of the past whilst introducing a modern twist using a white flower theme. Jasmine to signify eternal love –Lily of the Valley says ‘you have made my life complete’ – Orange Blossom conveys innocence and marriage – Stephanotis signifies happiness in marriage.”

-from the Floris website

Wedding Bouquet starts with a lovely lilly of the valley note enhanced by citrus, but soon calms into a very soft white floral accord that is as far from heady and cloying as I am from being the Kaiserin. Wedding Bouquet is very quiet, soft, refined, demure almost and keeps close to me, but it is very charming. It dries down into a warm and creamy sandalwood and musk base that may not be the world’s most imaginative accord, but it smells elegant and sophisticated. It is a more grown-up version of Illuminum White Gardenia Petals.

I am very taken with this little perfume, it is absolutely appropriate for daily wear, but festive enough for a real wedding. I would have worn this on my own wedding day, had I known it then (it is husband-approved too!). I am certainly going wear it in two weeks time, when I attend the wedding of a friend.

If you are married, what perfume did you wear on your wedding day? If not, what would you want to wear?

Image source: floris.com, vintageadbrowser.com
Posted in Floral, Floris, Fragrance Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 41 Comments