Monthly Archives: April 2011

Wish I’d get to a coast soon – Costes by Costes

World of Perfume April 7, 2011 Comments: 8

I’ve been hearing about Costes for a long time but somehow never got around to sampling any of their offerings. Until a little sample of Costes (edt I believe) arrived in a swap.
And then again it took me ages to try it. I rather don’t think about the amount of samples and decants I have and have not talked about (or sniffed at all).

As I always do, I tried it without checking the notes beforehand. Just for an instant, it wafted a little suncreen smell I recognize but can’t place as which particular bottle it might have come from. And besides, it disappearing so fast, it’s not really important.
What is important is that it starts off citrusy and lavender-like and well, strong. Here is where I need to clarify that not all lavender notes smell the same to me. Some take on a masculine character that is in my mind reminiscent of firs and greenery. Like this one. I also thought I smelled incense but wondered later if I was wrong because I couldn’t find it afterward.

Notes: lavender, bay-tree, coriander, white pepper, rose, incense, woods, light musc.

Yes, seeing the notes, I realize why I’m thinking of green lavender. 🙂
While looking for notes, I also came across the fact that this was made by Olivia Giacobetti. It seems she pretty much can’t miss out with me. I like this one very much, even though I don’t consider it as great as some of her other creations. And when I say great, I’m thinking more in the line of complex and changing.
Because after that initial green fresh blast, it goes into peppery freshness tinged by lighty sweet rose and pretty much stays there.

For someone who thought that roses are not friendly to her in perfumes, I somehow ended up loving them in all the myriad of variants they come out. I don’t know though what those variants are called and they are rarely named in notes so I still haven’t learned to distinguish them by names. But it seems Ms Giacobetti knows them inside out as this isn’t her first rosey perfume I tried, and I admit I love Eau Egyptienne a bit more than this one.
But having said that, if I had a bottle of this, I would be spraying it quite often, and at this time of the year too, as it’s fresh, optimistic, lively and extremely easy to wear even though I’m thinking some people might object to pepper as I find it quite obvious. But it’s just that little thing that adds a bit of sexy zestiness to it.

SO, one last thing I need to say about this is that it’s easy to smell the notes (I didn’t smell all of them but most) and to follow them through the scent but they don’t work in there for themselves, there is a synergy in there that makes the sum of the notes you recognize and smell, into a little work of art that is easy to wear.

Notes and pic by: http://www.luckyscent.com/

Strange lands – MPG Jardin du Nil

World of Perfume April 5, 2011 Comments: 8

Where to start?
Is it just me or do some of the perfume names sound extremely similar? Btw, this one came out in 1988.

Also, it’s been on my mind these days so I need to get it off my chest (has no connection to the rest of the post though).
I remember discovering the perfumeland (I love how Carrie put it) and getting lost immediately. I started reading THE blogs (you all probably know  from your own experience which) and there were all these names there – of perfume houses, perfumes and perfumers I’ve never even heard of but everyone else seemed to know who were they all talking about. All these abbreviations, like SL, Fem du Bois, MPG, FM, ELdO, etc. were complete mistery, not to mention the fact that getting the perfume name connected to the right house was way beyond me.
And here I am, a few years later, writing a blog and discussing all these things in abbreviations. And I thought I would never, ever, be able to gain this knowledge.
Basically, what I’m saying is – when you want to do something and it’s something you like, there is no limit to where you might go. And I just feel like I started. 🙂

OK, on to my strange discovery.

I have problems putting my thoughts into words now. The perfume itself is strange (until the drydown) and what it made me realize isn’t that strange but it’s something I never considered before.
You see, when I applied Jardin du Nil, I thought my sample might have gone off. So, I went searching for notes and all relevant information, only to come across the fact that other people might not have termed it so diplomatically and had much more colorful phrases to describe the opening of this one. 🙂

So, it seems my sample isn’t off, just strange. And I’m bursting to tell you that although that strange is almost unwearable (well, certainly for some), I love the fact that Jean Laporte was so brave, as well as MPG, and released this.
Notes: citruses, geranium, mint, tincture of rose, jasmine, vetyver, patchouli, amber.

Believe me, these notes do not prepare you in the least for what is to assault your nose once you apply Jardin du Nil. 🙂
I know I make it sound awful but I am just so intrigued by it. I will keep smelling my sample over and over.

But to get back on to the perfume. It starts for me like a citrusy, acidic, bitter and aquatic something. I thought the acidic/bitter part was due to the perfume going off, but it seems that’s normal. 🙂
And then I went in search of notes and realized what it was that I was smelling. The rose tincture! Beside the citrusy notes, I’m sure you all know the smell of stale roses in a vase. That’s what’s giving this the strange acidic feel that is a bit nose-assaulting. But once I realized it, I didn’t mind the smell. Well, I didn’t even mind it before because I was intrigued.

After this initial strangeness, I’m guessing we’re entering the more docile waters of the Nile, where the rose is more dark and lightly boozy, underscored by mint and then later by vetiver and jasmine hiding somewhere in the night so you can’t be completely sure it’s them but you can guess who in the company is yet unaccounted for.
The drydown reminds me of Paestum Rose’s drydown and is nowhere near the intriguing strangeness of the beginning but is probably the part most people enjoy the most or never get around to smelling. 🙂

Found another one – Under the Arbor by CB I hate perfume

World of Perfume April 3, 2011 Comments: 14

It’s finally dawning on me that if I want to find something new and interesting to wear (for any purpose really), I only need to dig deeper into the recesses of my perfume collection and I’ll be sure to find something that fits.
I know why I skipped this one, I thought it might be similar to Black March which I love to smell but can’t wear so I just didn’t feel the need to try Under the Arbor.

That is, until a few days ago while on the lookout for spring scents.

If I imagine sitting under the arbor (I’m not imagining the grape one which was the starting point for this one), I’d imagine sitting in the shade of a large tree, on a bed of grass, enjoying the warmth of the sun safely away from its rays and smelling the  nature around me.

Under the Arbor doesn’t transport me there actually. And definitely not into a summer day.
It starts for me smelling of bark and grass in the morning, when it doesn’t smell sweet but more earthy. I didn’t realize it until this one came along, that when spring comes, I need scents that are grounding and not too exuberant as spring is exuberant itself, so I need something to temper that and make me feel alive at the same time.
And what better way to do that then bring one into contact with nature?

Notes: crushed grape leaves, weathered wood, green moss, cool earth

At some point it reminded me a bit of Black March due to the whole earthy vibe but while I can’t wear the earthiness that is Black March, I can wear this one. Because even though it doesn’t transport me into a summer day under the arbor, it does something even better.

As the perfume progressed, I got the distinct feeling that the sun was gaining height and the spring air around me started warming and with it the sweetness of air got stronger. It is as if you sat under that arbor in the relative spring coolness of the morning and reclined there in the peace of nature while the sun kept rising and warming your little spring paradise.

Honestly, that is one of the better experiences you can smell bottled. 🙂

Notes by: http://www.cbihateperfume.com/
Pic by: http://www.visnjan.hr/

Mary Balogh: a Secret Affair

World of Books April 1, 2011 Comments: 8

Sometimes I wonder what do people who read my blog for perfume reviews think of my taste in books? 🙂
I know some people are ashamed to admit to reading romance but I don’t know why – it’s one more thing that makes you who you are.

Anyway, I had a bit of a revelation today as I was chatting with a friend regarding horoscope and she took a look at my natal chart and laughed. It seems my horoscope shows I have an urge to escape reality through my hobbies and woe to anyone trying to separate me from them (luckily, my boyfriend is very supportive of both my reading and my perfume habit – but you know about the perfume part already).
So, if you consider that I need to escape reality and stress of everyday life, I don’t think my choice of books to read is that strange.

Well, this tells you nothing about the book. 🙂 I’ll start with, it made me cry. And that doesn’t happen often. Actually, it did happen recently with one of the Steven Burst’s books but also deservedly.
It’s been awhile since that happened – and I’m usually the laughing stock of anyone who watches a movie with me that makes me cry.  I honestly can’t help it. And it happens more with movies than with books.
So, a book that made me shed a tear is a good one. 🙂

I’ve had a period when I discovered Mrs Balogh’s books and went through all I could find. It’s been awhile so I forgot why exactly I loved her books so much but this one brought it all back.
I won’t go into details about the story, it’s on every other blog and book cover out there. I’ll just say that the dialogues between the two main characters are some of the best I’ve ever read in a romance novel. I loved them!

The story is great and a novel one (I’ve read so many romance novels that some seem like plagiarism) and I have nothing more to add. If you like reading romance, I highly recommend this.