Last Week In Perfume Land – Weekend Link Love

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Olfactoria

This Sunday is  spent in great exitement at the House of Olfactoria. Not because of anything scent-related though.

My husband has fallen in love with a car. Not a small sports car as could be suspected, thank God, but a big one! Yesterday the four of us, children’s safety seats and all, went for a test drive in a big, black Landrover Defender.

Great fun was had by all! 🙂

My husband is so enamored with the car, he even wants me to scent it! I should use the Annick Goutal Room Spray in Noel, so the car “always smells of trees”. Isn’t that lovely?

Well, he doesn’t have to ask twice, it will be my honor to make this the best smelling car in the city.

My only gripe is that is doesn’t come with its own parking space, which is not going to make my life any easier. 🙂

Now let us have a look at what was up in Perfumeland last week, many great posts are to be found, here are a few of my favorites!

Tarleisio bewitches us all with her writing skills, her latest addition to a series of great pieces is about a favorite perfume of mine – Andy Tauer’s Incense Extreme.

Krista of Scent of the Day takes a look at my favorite high tea – Serge Lutens Five O’Clock au Gingembre.

Persolaise is reviewing new Guerlains, always interesting, if not always as satisfying as one would hope (the Guerlains, not the review ;))

Olenska finds new love in an old perfume. As always, she provides us with a story beautifully told.

Suzanne’s Perfume Journal is a wonderful resource you should bookmark. Her latest review is also a Guerlain – Vetiver.

My friend Dee of Beauty on the Outside is on a lipstick kick – something I can absolutely relate too! For all of you who can use a little break from perfume, take a look at lovely lipstick on lovely Dee. 🙂

Image source: caradvice.com.au, some rights reserved, thank you!
Posted in Weekend Link Love | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Olfactoria On Perfume Smellin’Things

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Olfactoria

Saturday again! Head on over to PST for my new post.

Posted in Ramblings | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Definitive Oud-Post – My First And Last Look At The Hottest Note Of The Decade

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Olfactoria

I am no Oud fan. Never was, never will be.  There is no love lost between me and Oud. It may be the hottest note “evah” – I don’t care and I don’t see the fuss, to tell you the truth.

But before we all indulge in The Body Shop Oud Body Butter or Britney Spears Oud Loud or something, I thought I would take a look, try all the Oud samples I have amassed rather involuntary and then be done with it.

Agarwood Trees - I like them better that way 😉

Dee kindly sent me a decant of Bond N°9 New York Oud with the label saying: “If you don’t like this Oud, you don’t like any Oud.” Well, that is a good thing. Try one, you know it all.

So, with some trepidation, I sprayed it on my hand.

What do you all think? Do I like Bond N°9 New York Oud?

NOOOO! No, I really don’t.  Oud smells, harsh, screechy, it burns and tingles in my nose and seems always loud and aggressive to me.

Maybe if Andy Tauer made an Oud-dominant scent? Maybe there is a reason he doesn’t. Or Mandy Aftel? Maybe she doesn’t like Oud either? The note or the ubiquity of the synthetic version?

For me there are two kinds of Oud – the tolerable ones and the intolerable ones. It does not get better than that, sorry.

Okay let’s have a look at my samples:

Byredo Accord Oud – falls into the tolerable category, a nice sweet woody blend, that would be really lovely if it weren’t for the scratchy nose tingling presence of Oud.

Byredo Oud Imortel – oh my, this is immortal indeed, no amount of scrubbing will rid me of the plastic-y, oud-y fist that punches me out in under five seconds.

Tom Ford Oud Wood – tenacious and  – you guessed it – too oud-y woody. Aside from the rather longwearing citrus opening, I am not convinced.

Montale Oud Velvet – I had the least expectations about this one, Montale being notorious for its strong, in your face perfumes. But astoundingly this was the one I liked best. The Oud is smoother, velvet being a fitting description indeed, not so scratchy, not so rough and tingly. This is a dark green scent in my mind, I smell more pine than Oud. This is just fine. (I have to say I only dabbed this one, there may be a difference if sprayed!)

All those perfumes unites one element, I can’t find it in me to like – Oud. I guess they would be great perfumes if it weren’t for this one note. But that would rather miss the point then. 😉

As it is long clear to the astute reader, this is definitely no definitive post in any respect. Just my little nod to Oud, and a not very successful nod at that.

What about you? Is there a note you do not like, despite your best efforts? What do you think of Oud and its ubiquity? Are you a fan?

Now, may I please get rid of the overwhelming Bond on my hand? 😉

Image source: biolandes.com, some rights reserved, thank you!

Posted in Fragrance Reviews, Woods | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Three Reasons – Review: Amouage Reflection Woman

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Olfactoria

I have already mentioned once or twice (or fifty-five times) that my husband is not very easy to please when it comes to perfume. He doesn’t like many of the fragrances I wear and actively opposes more than a few, so when he reacts positively to something I am testing – and without being asked even! – that is truly something to take note of.

Amouage Reflection Woman is one such fragrance.

I was wearing a little spray on the back of my hand one evening, a “getting-to -know-you” spritz, when my husband stopped mid-sentence and declaimed: “That is great! What is it?” Since such an enthusiastic reaction is virtually unprecedented, I had to take a closer look at Reflection, even if it wouldn’t be my first choice. But, having gotten a place in the review-testing rota thanks to my husbands endorsement, Reflection has certainly made an impression.

Notes include water violet, freesia, tropical green leaves, magnolia, ylang ylang, jasmine, amber, musk, cedarwood and sandalwood.

Amouage Reflection Woman starts out with a wave of flowers in/under water. It conjures up a drowned garden shimmering in pastel colors. The heart reveals a lot of magnolia, with a sharp edge, a little metallic rasping, before drying down to still waterlogged musky woods that hold onto the magnolia and the aquatic coldness for the longest time. It has a greater than average sillage and wears for at least six hours on me.

I have mixed feelings about Reflection Woman.

On the one hand, it has several things going for it:

1. The perfumer was Maurice Roucel. That fact alone elevates it by several places in my internal ranking.

2. The bottle looks beautiful. The theme of reflection is executed perfectly on this smooth, silvery piece of elegance.

3. It is light, fresh and perfectly appropriate as an antidote to heavy winter scents, something I crave at this stage of the winter, when the cold has been dragging on for months and I try to implore spring to come early by wearing the appropriate fragrances, actual weather outside be damned.

On the other hand, there are several things I am not so keen about:

1. The slightly overwhelming aquatic-ness of Reflection. There is no going around the fact that there is water everywhere. That L’Eau d’Issey -ish fresh watery note (that may or may be not Calone) is reminding me of the nineties and their overdose of Calvin Klein and Cool Water.

2. The price. This is priced as every other Amouage scent is, but somehow I cannot beat the feeling of being easily able to get something real similar for a lot cheaper. Like L’Eau d’Issey for instance. (Should I want that, which I don’t).

3. It is never a good idea to wanting to love something for some other reason than that you love it already yourself. Which is a complicated and linguistically inelegant way of saying: Don’t wear perfume for anybody else than yourself, if you don’t really like it anyway.

So after giving this perfume a lot of thought (and skin time), I cannot but come to the following conclusions:

1. I sincerely hope my husband is not reading this review.

2. I want to apologize to Calvin Klein, Issey Miyake, Davidoff and all their fans. I am sure you know what you are doing.

3. Amouage is a wonderful brand. I adore Epic, Lyric, Honour and Memoir and am keen to try the others, but Reflection, also maybe because it is so different in character to the oriental mainstay of the line, is not for me.

What about you? Do you wear perfume that is not really to your taste, because somebody close to you loves it? What do you think about the aquatic genre in general?

Image Source: Amouage bottle via michealjohn.co.uk, Water Sphere Pink Flowers courtesy of Photo8.com, Wallpaper of underwater flowers via http://wallpapers.leovacity.be, some rights reserved, thank you!
Posted in Amouage, Floral, Fragrance Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

Super-Special Patchouli And Yesteryear’s Rose – Review: Guerlain Idylle Duet

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Olfactoria

I was awaiting Idylle Duet rather impatiently for a mainstream flanker launch. Probably because I had already heard many good things about it and because I rather like Idylle, which is a nice fragrance if you don’t expect it to knock your socks off.

I called it “one of many” in my review from last fall and I am still of that opinion. Now what about Duet? Is it another chop of the same block? A step in another direction?

I got the full marketing treatment when I sought out Idylle Duet at the department store. A Guerlain representative was there and was obviously desperate for someone half willing to listen to her fascinating story of the latest patchouli harvest! Nodding at regular intervals and otherwise – desperate all right! – trying to close my ears to her hair-raising drivel (bringing to mind old traumata), I tried to concentrate on the scent I applied to my arm.

Notes include rose, patchouli, freesia, jasmine, lilly of the valley, peony and white musk. It was created by Thierry Wasser.

I wouldn’t have thought Duet to be related to Idylle, had I smelled it unknowingly.

There is a dominant rose note complimented by the much touted “super-special rare patchouli previously never used in a fragrance” (How stupid do you think I am, good woman?). The rather sparkling and luminous floral accord I like in the original Idylle and that gives it its character is absent here and I am not sure if the new emphasis in Duet is enough to entice me. I got the impression of the whole thing being rather thin and a bit sour. I don’t want to trash it, but I am hard pressed finding less harsh words.

The other recent rose-patchouli fragrance comes to mind of course, but comparing Portrait of a Lady with Idylle Duet is rather like comparing Beethoven’s Ninth played by the New York Philharmonic with full choir and world-class soloists with “Freude, schöner Götterfunken!” sung by my son’s Kindergarten group (and they are not bad, mind you, just a bit hampered by overexitement and a few weak links ;))

Thankfully I now know that “Mister Wassler” [sic] personally saw to it that Idylle Duet was only made of “a few select roses harvested last year and therefore long gone” and if I didn’t buy this precious gem right now its presence at the store tomorrow could not be guaranteed any more (You don’t say! I strongly suspect this is true for everything!)
Despite the enthusiastic and learned observations of this heartwarmingly dedicated Guerlain SA, I did actually resist buying Duet and it was not hard to do. (To her utter disappointment and incredulity: “But it is limited Edition…”).

I must say I rather like the box Duet comes in, it is the same style as for the excellent Shalimar flanker of 2010 Ode a la Vanille. The bottle is the same in shape as for the original Idylle, but it is rose-gold rather than yellow-gold and the juice – yes, it is pink! It comes in 35ml Eau de Parfum.

There is also a extra limited Edition within the limited Edition (gotta love that!): a Swarowski-crystal embossed flacon presented in a silk-lined wooden box. So if you really love Duet, here is the way to spend some extra money on it. 😉

On a side note: Wouldn’t it be a grand idea for Guerlain to actually train their employees?

I am sure the lovely, if a little overly made-up Guerlain representative I met at the department store would have had the mental capacity to reproduce in an understandable fashion the correct information pertaining to a perfume, a perfumer or an entire perfume house. It cannot be an issue of this singular woman, because haven’t we all met one or more of this species?

I am sure, aside from the hardworking “Mr. Wassler”, there are people at Guerlain who know what they are doing, wouldn’t it be a good thing for a company to employ people who get the tools to do their job properly? Wouldn’t that improve the image of said company (and it is not only Guerlain, ha, I wish it were limited to Guerlain!) enormously?

But obviously I have not the first idea about how business is done, so I better forever hold my peace.

Patchouli - sadly this image only shows the regular variety...

And I’ll leave Idylle Duet to those who appreciate super-special patchouli.

Image source: perfume-bg.eu, kynadi.com, some rights reserved,thank you!
Posted in Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Guerlain | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Hidden Gem – Review: Guerlain Cologne du 68

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Olfactoria

I received a sample of Guerlain du 68 with something else, so I never actively sought it out. I applied it expecting a fleeting citrus cologne in the classical manner. That is something I like well enough, but I don’t find it worth the money and effort most of the time, due to its fleeting nature. (That is why I love Atelier Cologne so much, inspired idea!)

But I was in for a surprise with Cologne du 68.

It was created by perfumer Sophie Labbé in 2006 and was exclusive to the Paris store, but is in slightly wider distribution since 2008. Cologne du 68 is named after the house number of La Maison Guerlain on Champs Elysees in Paris. It is supposed to have 68 notes, that may be true or not, in any case 68 are listed on the package.

They are as follows: bergamot, green mandarin, citron, clementine, cedrat, blood orange, limette, grapefruit, basil, fennel, star anise, lavender, bay leaf, cypress, elemi, thyme, myrtle, bigarade, mandarin petitgrain, lemon petitgrain, pear, violet leaves, ivy leaves, gentiana, sap, blackcurrant, freesia, lily of the valley, hazelnut leaf, cyclamen, cardamom, coriander, black pepper, pink pepper, nutmeg, ginger, jasmine, frangipani, magnolia, orange blossom, peony, rose, carnation, ylang ylang, lychee, fig, blackberry, immortelle, lentisque, opoponax, amber, benzoin, vanilla, cistus, heliotrope, iris, tonka bean, sage, musk, patchouli, agarwood, cedar, sandalwood, vetiver, vegetable musk, praline, myrrh and moss.

Cologne du 68 opens as hundreds of other colognes do, with an invigorating burst of citrus notes. The top notes are amazingly bright and clear, like a soprano singing a Schubert Lied in C Major. But soon the surprise creeps in in the form of increasing minor-ness to stay in the musical simile. The tone changes, the perfume becomes darker, muted, lies in shadow. There is a strong anisic note together with dark green leaves that lend Cologne du 68 a gravity that is unexpected. It continues to change towards warmth and spiciness, cardamom, coriander, pepper, nutmeg and ginger make up a spicy cocktail that suffuses the floral notes now emerging, before leading Cologne du 68 into a lovely (and fairly long-wearing) drydown that is dominated by a warm and creamy, Guerlain-typical gourmand amber-vanilla-wood accord.

To put it short: I love it.

It is a wonderful, surprising perfume, that grabs me in every phase of its development, as different as they are.

For me Cologne du 68 is a sleeper hit among the modern Guerlains. Shame it is not in wide distribution, I would recommend everyone to try it. It is perfect for both genders, and adequate for most occasions. A true gem!

Picture source: Alastair Miller via dailymail.co.uk, gemstone courtesy of Photo8.com, thank you!
Posted in Citrus, Fragrance Reviews, Gourmand, Guerlain | Tagged , , , , , | 27 Comments

White Is Not Necessarily Innocent – Review: Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Olfactoria

This recent post by Dee, reminded me of my not so fruitful relationship with white flowers.

Too loud, too much, too big, to indolic, too old, too mature, too cheap even…those are adjectives that come to mind when I think about, let alone smell white flower perfumes (not all of them of course, but starting with A La Nuit if you want to try Jasmine is probably a bad idea and can be scarring!)

But ever the good blogger, I thought I could not let a whole section of perfumes be unexplored and went out to look for a white floral I could love.

Guess what? I found it!

First in line to try was one from a line, I have had very good success with: Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle. I tried Carnal Flower. It is beloved by so many, I thought it would work for sure. Let us just say: we both tried, but it didn’t work out.

Above mentioned Serge Lutens A La Nuit is best forgotten quickly. Not a good match, more like a knock out in under five seconds.

I found my white floral by accident. I was in a CCO (Cosmetics Company Store, the outlet store of the Estée Lauder group) making a quick sweep for good Clinique skincare deals or maybe a nice new lipstick, when I saw Estée Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia.

You know me already – it was the bottle of course! Such a pretty bottle, and such a great find, I have not seen Tuberose Gardenia in a long time at the department store. And there it was, lovely bottle and all, deeply discounted to boot. Of course I had to spray it, fully expecting to have a scrubber on my hands (literally).

I left the shop, moving on with my day, but over and over my hand went to my nose, I loved what I smelled. And – the fragrance being relatively linear – I continued to love it and so did my husband. (That rare occurrence of not hearing “That stinks!” probably enamored me even more with Tuberose Gardenia.)

So before we left the Outlet center, I quickly went back for a bottle of Tuberose Gardenia, I am not one to let a bargain get away from me. 😉

Tuberose Gardenia includes notes of neroli, lilac, rosewood, tuberose, gardenia, orange flower, jasmine, white lily, carnation and vanilla.

In was created in 2007 by perfumer Harry Fremont, tying in to the 1973 classic Private Collection, which was allegedly Estée’s own signature scent.

Tuberose Gardenia is a bright white, sparklingly brilliant white floral that manages to dazzle without hitting you over the head.

The opening is a soft but instantly present combination of green aspects conjured by neroli paired with the soft breeze of lilac, before segueing into a creamy arrangement of white florals. I can make out the green side of tuberose, orange blossoms and lily. I think it is the lily that seals the deal for me, since this is the only white flower I have always loved. But that would be taking away from the beauty and gorgeous creation that is Tuberose Gardenia. It never leans into “too much” territory, although it it not shy or mute. It has excellent sillage actually (like all the Lauders) and wears – linear after the first few minutes –  for hours and hours. The late drydown is a softly sweet woody vanilla that retains the last hints of gardenia for a long time.

Tuberose Gardenia makes me feel incredibly luscious, if that word can be used for a person. 🙂 I feel grown-up, like a woman, Tuberose Gardenia is brilliantly white, but not innocent. It is rich and full-bodied and self-assured. It makes others (i.e. men) go “Ahh!”. That I like. It is conscious of its body, but wears Chanel to showcase it, not Dolce&Gabbana.

I have finally seen what others see in white floral perfumes. I think it is called sexy. 😉

Tuberose Gardenia is available in Eau de Parfum (30 and 75ml) as well as in perfume strength (30ml). The Eau de Parfum bottle has the hammered gold cap you see in the upper picture, the perfume in the second image, has a Hoffmann inspired gem-encrusted top that is stunningly beautiful. I would wish the perfume came in a smaller size though, 30ml of pure perfume seems like a quantity I could never use up and is also fearsomely expensive that way. Too bad. That solid though, hmmm…

Image source:  Gardenia Jasminoides by Mr Subjunctive via http://plantsarethestrangestpeople.blogspot.com, Beautesse.at, mimifroufrou.com, thank you!
Posted in Estée Lauder, Floral, Fragrance Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

Monday Question – Are You A Perfume Missionary?

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Olfactoria

Are you a zealot when it comes to converting others to perfumedom?

Do you like to inspire others to wear certain scents?

Do you love to go shopping for perfume with others?

Do like to spread your love (and knowledge) of perfume among the uninitiated?

My Answer:

To put it shortly: No, I am not.

I am delighted if I find out about a friend being into perfume too, and I love nothing more than a good chat about perfume, but I don’t talk about it to others who are not into it. At all. I do not try to convert anybody, I do not even make a single suggestion, but I love to give advice if asked.

I don’t know why I am not only not spreading the word, I am positively secretive about it. Probably because people often perceive perfume as being superficial or insubstantive, which couldn’t be further from the truth, as we all know. I suspect there is not just a little bit of snobbism in my being mute about perfume in my everyday life. Part of me thinks, if you don’t know about it, it is your own fault and in ignorance thou shalt remain. 🙂

No so nice of me. It is part self-protection (“I don’t want to be seen as superficial.”) and part snobbery (“You have no idea, so I look down on you!”).

But I guess I am putting out the word after all, since I am writing a blog! 😉

What about you? Are you on a mission or more into the esoteric idea of perfumista-dom?

Picture source. gomonews.de
Posted in Monday Question, Ramblings | Tagged , , | 27 Comments

Last Week In Perfumeland – Weekend Link Love

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Olfactoria

What I miss incredibly are Sundays spent in bed, reading, talking, napping…no more. we are up at five in the morning, as on any other day.

In a few years, with lots more crow’s feet and bags under my eyes, I will sleep in again, until then I’ll take a look at the last week in Perfumeland. Why don’t you come with me?

The interesting question about what really constitutes a skin scent is asked over at Beauty On The Outside, how do you define the term and what is your favorite skin scent?

Please read this lovely piece by Brian on I Smell Therefore I Am about his sweater 😉 Now you want to know more, don’t you? Only so much: “Today’s scent is tomorrow’s déjà vu.”

Victoria of EauMG reviews an intimidating Amber that turns out to be amazing.

For all Luca Turin fans Bois de Jasmin compiled these links to recent media coverage of olfactory science, very interesting read!

Ines of All I Am – A Redhead is reviewing a DSH perfume that sounds yummy!

This Blog Really Stinks is a new one by Jen, who is a veteran beauty blogger who ventured out to Perfumeland, let us welcome her! In this post she takes an ambitious look at no less than thirty (!) rose scents.

Here on Olfactoria’s Travels the last week brought a peek into a new line, Bissoumine, a look at an old Favorite and a newfound love.

What is your ideal Sunday? Isn’t sleep overrated anyway? 🙂

Image Source: myvintagevogue.com

 

Posted in Weekend Link Love | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

What Makes Me Run For The Shower – Thierry Mugler Womanity

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Olfactoria

This is no real review, since I only tested Womanity on skin once, but I wanted to write down my thoughts anyway.

I never approached Womanity since it launched for several reasons.

I am a terrible snob, I despise the look of the bottle, I hate the name and the marketing campaign for Womanity and I read the reviews without once experiencing that familiar tug of want.

So, at the department store the other day, I am not sure what got into me, but I watched myself approaching the bottle, applying to a scent strip and bringing it right up to my nose.

Lo and behold – I loved that first whiff of Womanity on paper. I smelled lots of bread among the fresh top notes, fig was there, a sweet and salty see-saw that was strange but compelling.

I risked a spray on my hand. Enter the first disappointment: the bread note that I so absolutely adored, was way muted on skin, here the “regular” notes dominated.

Soon disappointment number two crept in – during development the scent grew more and more conventional, conventional in the sense of uninteresting bordering on annoying. The compelling and unique combination of unusual notes I had experienced on paper and on skin for the first few minutes (if muted, but still there) was completey gone and in its place was a thin fruity-floral with an odd salty cast.
I was glad to scrub it off after five hours, true to form for scents I don’t like, Womanity seemed pretty tenacious. 😦

I would think that is a fitting image for Womanity!

All in all, this was a case of trust your first instinct, Womanity is not for me (just like Angel, aaargh!).

For real reviews check out:

Now Smell This

Bois de Jasmin

EauMG

Pere de Pierre

Perfume Posse

How about you? Did you like Womanity? Dish!

Image source: basenotes.net, vintageadbrowser.com, some rights reserved, thank you!
Posted in Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Gourmand, Thierry Mugler | Tagged , , , , | 23 Comments