Category Archives: World of Perfume

Bal d’Afrique – it’s your turn

World of Perfume April 7, 2010 Comments: 7

After wearing it for some time now (in really small and carefully applied quantities), I think it’s time to tell you what I think of it. The Bal’s turn has finally come.

Notes:

Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Neroli, African marigold, Bucchu

Mid: Violet, Jasmin petals, Cyclamen

Base: Black Amber, Musk, Vetiver, Moroccan cedarwood

OK, the notes are here but I don’t know where to start. First, I want to warn you to try it sparsely for the first time because this is one serious sillage monster. The other day I put 2 small sprays on and put another sample on my wrist but that was no use, I couldn’t smell what was on my wrist. I think this is the most heavy sillage perfume I own. I’m not much into sillage usually but I can live with this one.

I have quite a lot of notes on it, but the thing is, it still sort of escapes words. It has many faces, and I think I will keep discovering them.

Yesterday for example, the opening reminded me of cotton candy, in a good way.

Anyway, it starts so strong I have problems distinguishing what I smell (ok, I have problems until the end but I’ll get there). 🙂

It starts citrusy fresh but not in any cologne manner, I think the flowers subdue that citrusness and it’s just this strong, slightly sharp, floraly-sweet, happy and spring-like scent. And this is not even close to describing how it smells.

By now I’m used to that sharpness , it used to scare me because I associate that with musks that get stuck in my nose and won’t go away, but it never happens here. I do believe it is the musk-neroli combo that gives it this sharpishness but it’s really well done.

As it progresses, I keep getting upset because it smells complete, I cannot make a not stand out. I realized that there was a juicyness hidden inside it and kept looking at notes trying to find a fruit. This is where google comes in handy – bucchu is some kind of a plant that smells of blackcurrants. Yes! Something finally appeared out of this ball.

It really is a strange concoction, it’s fresh but not airy or light, it is sweet but not girly, it is serious but it is flirty as well.

In the end, I smell the amber and musk but cannot access cedar. I know other people smell it but I just can’t. I think it cannot get through the amber and musk on me.

Pic and notes by: http://www.byredo.com/

Laurell K. Hamilton: The Killing Dance

World of Perfume April 6, 2010 Comments: 2

This is the book where I can say Finally!!!

After being celibate for so long, Anita finally has sex with someone in this book (those who have read know but if there is someone who hasn’t I don’t want to spoil it).

And I did say just now finally but at some point during my first time through the series, I kept thinking it started turning into porn and not being supernatural crime-thriller stuff.

There was no sex before because if she slept with Richard, and Jean Claude having the same opportunities to woo her, that would put her in a somewhat sticky situation and Richard wanted her to see him shift before they sleep together.

Well, she sees him shift. And she also sees him go against his boy scout mentality and kill the pack leader (sorry for this spoiler) which goes completely against what he stands for.

There is also a new vampire in town (just visiting) who needs Anita’s help. Especially so after it seems that the three of them formed a triumvirate of power. Ok, not seems, they actually do form it and it’s going to land them in so much trouble later. 🙂

Of course, what else would one expect in Anita’s life but more trouble whatever choice she makes.
There is so much more happening in the book that can never all appear here, and while writing this I realized that all Anita Blake books are filled with a lot of stuff happening. Never a minute to take a breath.

Laurell K. Hamilton: The Lunatic Cafe

World of Perfume April 6, 2010 Leave a comment

I was lazy the last few days so I’m 3 books behind with reviews of Anita Blake. 🙂 Now is the time to fix that.

As you might be aware, Anita is by now dating the Master of the City and Richard, a werewolf alpha (not yet pack leader though). In this book, she is helping the police with some nasty murders while at the same time being asked by the leader of the pack Marcus to help find 8 missing shifters. And not tell the police which she is helping with some shifter murders that some of the shifters are missing. Complicated?
At the same time, she gets in some pissing contest with the sheriff department (they are all agressive idiots, but some are cunning). Anyway, the standard troubles follow her, as well as slowly getting a new enemy, Raina (Marcus’s lupa, werewolf partner – she is just evil).
With some help and threats from Edward (they are always considering what would happen if they really had to fight against each other).
And I just realized I shouldn’t do this to mayself in the future, I got confused now about which is the book that has that problem in the time passing by too fast (it’s the end of this, and the beginning of next).
What else I can say – the usual Anita stuff, dark, bloody, and very interesting (honestly sometimes she is just too funny). 🙂

Laurell K. Hamilton: Bloody Bones

World of Perfume April 6, 2010 Leave a comment

Like I said in my previous post, this book has some months passing somewhere in the fantasy world.

Here is where we get to meet fairies for the first time in Laurell’s world (later she started writing another series that deals with fairy world, Merry Gentry series).

I don’t want to give away much details because first, if I start, I will just keep adding another and another, and I don’t want to tell you much about the book, it should be read.

But I’ll give a few teasers. 🙂

Jean-Claude and Anita come up against some new types of monsters (some of which are vampires but are just eeww and plain evil. And this time, the bad guys are actually stronger than they are (meaning Jean-Claude, Master Vampire of the city of St. Louis and Anita with her faith and guns – you can’t use a cross unless you are a believer).

So, the plot gets complicated again, I actually forgot how much until I read the book again, and in this one Anita actually gets offered something by a vampire she cannot refuse. And that’s as far as I’ll go. 🙂

I have a problem

World of Perfume February 20, 2010 Comments: 14

I realized it only today. I know that the Chicken Freak wrote some posts about de-cluttering and how to get rid of stuff, and now it seems I will have to give this some thought. As in how to apply it in my own life. I’ve been swapping for over a year now and I have so many samples and quite a lot of decants. That wouldn’t be a problem usually, but since I really like most of the decants I have, I tend not to use them. Which kind of makes no sense because what’s the point in liking them and keeping them on the shelf?! The problem is what if I use them up and decide I need a bottle? I can’t buy so many and I like having such a wide choice swapped decants give me. Anyway, today I decided I will no longer keep them so I wore my New Harleem decant 2 days in a row. It is one of my favorite Bond No. 9 scents (along with Chinatown and Lexington avenue).

So I’m going to talk about it today.

Notes: bergamot, cedarwood, coffee, vanilla, patchouli, lavender.

The notes really cannot prepare you for what you smell when you spray New Harleem on. To me, it starts with slightly citrusy burnt coffee caramel feel. I mean that in the best possible way, it does smell like coffee caramel but like the caramel was slightly burnt (I guess that comes from the patchouli). On me this caramel burnt feel is more prominent than on my boyfriend (I told him to try it since it is not listed as a feminine scent).

I’m looking at my notes now and realize that I haven’t mentioned cedarwood in them. Hmm, I was focusing more on the coffee/patchouli/lavender idea, cedarwood just went past me. The thing is, whenever I real lavender as one of the notes, I get scared. Lavender is such a strong and distinct smell that I’m scared will take over everything else. It never happens here, after the initial coffe/caramel feel subsides, it takes a while for lavender to become noticeable and it is never too much. Just right to give this relatively rich and sweet concoction and interesting twist. New Harleem lasts quite long and it took some hours before I finally got vanilla (still slightly tempered by coffee). But don’t let that coffee fool you – it is never too much. Now i think of it, I don’t remember smelling anything similar to this. Does anyone know of anything that comes close to this – I would like to smell some more variants of these notes.

I think I kill the roses

World of Perfume February 13, 2010 Comments: 6

This week has been really hectic for me so I didn’t have time to smell anything (let alone review it). I decided to remedy that today and since I loved Santal Blanc, I took out of my bag of samples Santal de Mysore by SL.

Notes: sandalwood, spices, cumin, styrac balsam, caramelized Siamese benzoin.

It opens very similarly to Santal Blanc (there’s no way you can miss the sandalwood), but since I associate sandalwood after SB with white, the way I smell this is white, woody and vanillic. And warm because there’s no way around cumin. But I don’t mind, I love the warmth it brings to perfumes.

As always, I dabbed it and tried to guess what I smell, and I got the sandalwood, cumin, and benzoin, but the whole spices thing just went past me. I read the review of this at NST and realized Kevin was able to differentiate all these spices and all I got was cumin. Not that there aren’t spices in there, but just I don’t really know what they smell like. 😦 Well, one more thing to add to the list of things to learn…

Even though I enjoyed this very much, I am more happy with Santal Blanc. This one gets too sweet on me and although I like the sandalwood, I prefer the less sweet version of it. This one seems to be the middle ground for me between Santal Blanc and Spiriteuese Double Vanille by Guerlain. And although I do crave a bottle of SDV (and given the price, it’s going to remain a craving), and have a bottle of SB, I don’t really feel I need a bottle of this. Or want. If I had it, I would use it, but I don’t really think at this point I’ll be getting one.

Which brings me to the rose. Maybe it was my subconscious working (there have been many postings on roses the last week – Valentine’s day being tomorrow) but when I chose Ta’if from my sample bag, I didn’t know it was a rose scent.

Well, the initial smell set me straight on that point. 🙂 Before I got interested in perfume, I had a bottle of Very Irresistible by Givenchy (the first and original one). I was totally in love with it and wearing it for some time before I learned it was actually a rose scent. And I always thought I didn’t like rose scents…

So, when I smelled Ta’if and it reminded me straight away of Very Irresistible, I knew it was a rose. And what a rose it is! It smelled intoxicating and I realized why rose scents tend to be so loved by some.

Notes: pink pepper, saffron, dates, rose oil, freesia, orange flower absolute, jasmine, amber and broom.

So, after getting my initial, oh, it’s a rose, I went in search of notes. What can I say? I didn’t get much further than rose. Actually, no further than that. I couldn’t smell any of the notes (this doesn’t seem to be my day for smelling). It is so well blended, it seems like a fantasy rose story that starts with intoxicating you and then you just enjoy the ride. Unfortunately for me, it didn’t last that long. I seem to have killed the rose in the drydown and it went somewhat sour on me. I still can’t believe that happened! It was so great and I already say myself ordering a bottle and then this happened. It wasn’t terribly bad but it wasn’t what it was before. I am definitely going to give it more tries because it might just be a bad day for my skin chemistry (please let it be that).

What I liked about this is that it is much less jarring than Very Irresistible and doesn’t feel like it enters the room before you but with you. I would say it is a terribly sexy smell and I wonder is someone going to wear it tomorrow? 🙂 To tease their partner terribly with things to come hinted by the intoxicating rose…

I wish I could.

Almost strangled by tuberose: L’Artisan Tubereuse

World of Perfume February 5, 2010 Comments: 18

The title might sound as if I didn’t like what I smelled and that would be very wrong. But it isn’t that simple.

I wonder what tuberose fans think of this one? I only dabbed it on my wrist and I got hit by a tuberose wall (for a lack of better description).

Notes: tuberose, ylang-ylang, coconut milk.

As you can see, there aren’t really that many notes to decipher but I still didn’t smell coconut milk. 🙂 It’s camouflaged in all the tuberose.

Anyway, my nose was almost glued to my wrist after putting it on – it actually smelled narcotic to me. And I think this is the first time that my mind instantly associated tuberose with smelling tropical. The smell is actually so strong and saturated that I could feel the imagined tuberose jungle lianas winding around me while I stand there dazed and keep smelling it.

And although I really enjoyed smelling it, I’m not sure I would be able to wear it. I just can’t imagine smelling like that (not that that might not happen, who knows what will be my favourite note year from now?).

I guess I did smell ylang-ylang because I got the feeling of tropical lushness. This is the first scent for which I can say that it grabs you by the neck and doesn’t let go with its intensity. I’m sure if you’re not careful with applying, you are definitely going to give yourself a headache. But you will probably be drugged by the smell, so you might not care. 🙂

Building a Serge Lutens collection: Santal Blanc

World of Perfume February 4, 2010 Comments: 12

More than any other line, Serge Lutens scents are slowly winning over any other line. Well, they actually already won and I’m not even close to owning bottles of all of those I love. That is one of the reasons I am very attached to my credit cards. 🙂

I swapped some time ago for a small decant of Santal Blanc and I totally fell in love with at first smell but didn’t give much thought to actually thinking about what is it that I love so much (probably due to the fact I couldn’t at first recognize any note out of it).

So, the other day after feeling so low I decided to visit Martimex (used to be my favourite perfume/skincare store – maybe will be again) and see if they have Douce Amere before the bottles disappear forever. They didn’t but I saw Santal Blamc and while discussing some other things with the very helpful SA and buying some of them, I decided I will be going home with SB. 🙂 And since I did, it was time to give it a proper sniff and review.

Notes: white sandalwood, cinammon, fenugreek, pink pepper, rose, jasmine, orris root, musk, benzoin, copaiba balsam.

I’m still struggling a bit with it because to me it is complex and not easily broken down into notes. It starts with this warm sandal feel but it has much more depth than those words imply. The slightly warm feeling reminded me of cumin but it’s not exactly that – cumin has a “distinctive” warm smell while this just smells slightly spicy and warm (my guess fenugreek and musk?). Anway, smelling it without notes, I would never have thought of cinammon and then afterward I thought I smelled it through this white sandal spicy warmth but cannot say that for sure. I started to think of it as warm and cuddly but although it comes close to being that, it doesn’t actually get into that category. There is a spicy/woody edge that just doesn’t let it get there and I appreciate it. It exactly fits with me when I want to smell warm and approachable but strong.

I find it rich and deep, I guess all those bottom notes give it that quality. Honestly though, I don’t know where the jasmine and rose are – probably blended so well into the structure that my untrained nose just can’t get them. It took me a while (although it shouldn’t have) to figure out that the slightly boozy-vanilla hint was coming from benzoin (I know that usually!).

It really isn’t an easy perfume for me to get to the bottom of – I got the feeling like it has this quality of its ingredient notes being wet. Not an aquatic note but more like some of the ingredients were wet when getting into the formula. And it gives it even more depth and body. This wetness dissipates later and I’m left with a drydown of benzoin and sandalwood hinting at some saltiness coming from orris (that would be my conclusion).

And since I mentioned my collection, it already has: Cedre, Serge Noir, Chergui and now Santal Blanc (I also have Feminite du Bois but that is a special category). Those that I know I will buy (eventually) are: Douce Amere, Fille en Aiguilles and Fleurs d’Oranger. But since I haven’t smelled all of them, you never know what else might come along.

DSH round-up (so far)

World of Perfume December 18, 2009 Comments: 3

I’ve been wanting to write this for days but it’s pre-Christmas time and free time usually dwindles to non-existant in that period (at least for me). 🙂

When I ordered last from DSH site, I didn’t realize I actually ordered so many samples. I was a bit surprised when I started unpacking them but I’m not complaining – there will be things to try and try and try… 🙂

So, let’s start:

Silver Fir

I actually had a couple of samples that I almost thought had mixed labels. 🙂 This was one of them. It is the season so I smelled several fir scents lately when this one came along and in the opening instead of fir, I got citrusy fresh opening. 🙂 I was wondering what was happening and then I took a look at the notes and realized I could smell the spearmint and grapefruit/bergamot. 🙂 Then this went through a phase that was a strange sweet vanilla? which I didn’t like and subsided into a lovely drydown.

Festive

Top notes: Spice Notes

Middle notes: Fir Needle, Spruce

This was the other scent I had on my other wrist and the one that made me think someone mixed the labels because I got a strong fir note from this. I thought I was smelling lavender and rosemary at the beginning but then realized it was probably me mixing it with fir scent. 🙂 I mix notes a lot in my head.

I really liked this one because once the fir subsides what you are left with is the atmosphere of the name. Very appropriate – like having a party around a Christmas tree, one where you smell sexy. Incredible really how she managed that.

Winter White

Top notes: Raspberry

I wasn’t exactly thrilled with opening of this one – reminded me of marzipan and flowers. I guess that can be attributed to the white chocolate (which I’m not a fan of in real life) and raspberry combo. Later, the chocolate was nice but the whole idea is too powdery for me and I’m not really into that. It’s not too much though and I will wear my sample because the chocolate ends up smelling great. And calory-free. 😉

Gingembre

Cookies, cookies, cookies. Here in Croatia (and around) we have soft cakes that are made of some kind of thin sponge cake, with orange jelly covered in chocolate (jaffa cakes). I don’t think there is any ginger in those but the opening of this reminded me strongly of that. No wonder, mandarin, ambrette and cocoa. It starts a bit alcoholic and herbal sweer and then I get my jaffa cake association. This one is as edible as they get and totally yummy. I would never have guessed I would contemplate wearing something that reminds me of food so strongly and smelling like cookies, but you never know what awaits you around the corner. 🙂 Anyway, I will smell like Gingembre this Christmas but not of cookies all the time, some clove, and labdanum and sandal as well.

Piment and Chocolat

This is definitely my favorite of today’s round-up. I cannot describe it in words that will bring this forth as it deserves. I already mentioned it the other day and I need to repeat that. This is thick, dark, hot chocolate mixed with chili to better warm you up when you drink it, only this one will be drunk through the nose and enjoyed guilt-free. If nothing else of the ones I mentioned today – try this one.

Lumiere

I will have to give more nose-time to this one. I got the bergamot and cinammon but I kind of spaced out on the rest and just the list of notes makes me wonder how in the world did I manage to skip through the rest. So, no actual thoughts on this one yet, sorry.

On to the last two I thought got mixed up as well.

Three Kings

There is no listing for this on the DSH site. So, no notes for this. I thought it was going to smell like myrhh and incense (in the very hard to breathe church way) but I was completely wrong.

It smells more green and sharp – ish, I thought I got some smoke/incense but couldn’t be sure (it was wafting barely through). My thought on notes ran like this: vetiver and benzoin?, perhaps labdanum, galbanum and oakmoss maybe, I think something smells celery like. 🙂

We’ll see eventually how wrong I was. 🙂

Twelfth Night

Middle notes: Laurel Leaf, Patchouli

As you can see by the notes, this one has the notes I thought Three Kings should have. 🙂 I thought I smelled vetiver but realized that could be the patchouli + laurel combination. And I could smell myrhh and incense. It’s not a happy and festive scent like those mentioned before but it is interesting.

It’s incredible how DSH can evoke specific feelings/atmosphere and still manage to make one long to wear such a scent.

Some I love completely, some I like in the beginning and some I like in the drydown more. But there is something to like in all of them. I just have to say I think that is some great talent Ms Hurwitz has.

My favourite Serge Lutens perfume

World of Perfume December 10, 2009 Comments: 7

I found my favourite SL fragrance. Not that I don’t like the rest – I actually haven’t smelled any of them (except Chergui) that I didn’t like and wouldn’t mind wearing. It is really strange after you read this that the only SL bell jar I have is actually Chergui. 🙂 I blame it on the SL and the SA working in the Paris boutique. And if you are ever there, don’t smell the strips, they are not helpful at all. I smelled all the Bois and didn’t particulary like any. Now when I keep getting samples of them, I wonder how come they didn’t smell this nice when I was there…

Anyway my favourite is Fille en Aiguilles and I better find a large decant soon (I’m spending much on Christmas presents so I’m not buying myself a bottle – yet).

Notes: vetiver, incense, fruits, pine needles, spices and luminous woody-oriental base.

Ok, so it’s not possible to really describe any fragrance – one can get the idea out of the description but until you actually smell it, it is a vague idea you have in your head. After reading the reviews of this I understood there would be pine in it but I didn’t think it would smell nice. I thought it might be too strong. I really should know better than to doubt Mr Lutens creations. 🙂

There is a signature in some of SL creations, especially of the woody line. This one has it as well but that pine needle note and the fruit make it perfect in my opinion (ok, vetiver and incense help as well).

It starts off like boozy pine smell with lightly burnt wood from the fireplace (only wood you would find there, not the smoke). And I couldn’t believe it when I got the incense (I’m really proud at being able to discern it), especially because I was never a fan (to put it mildly). I love it here – but it is not too strong so I guess that’s why I like it.

I kept wondering about the fruit in this – first I thought it might be more of the candied sort (in the beginning) but then I got this tangy-juicy vibe so I thought maybe some tangerine and pomegranate? I don’t really know, I wish someone would tell me if I’m right or wrong.

Anyway, why I love this is because it is like a breath of winter fresh air over the woody-oriental loveliness of SL creations.