Tag Archives: Honoré des Prés

My summer perfume staples

Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume July 7, 2014 Comments: 14

During the last few years, several perfumes have come into my summer rotation and stayed there. 🙂 Of course, I don’t use only these, but these are the ones I use the most.

For the beach

Bronze Goddess – ever since it came out, it’s been in my rotation, along with the body oil that comes with it.

 

For work (when it’s not too hot)

Vamp a NY –  I find it a perfect combination of flirty but nice and very likeable (many people have commented on it smelling great)

For hot days when almost nothing works 

Eau de Cartier – which as probably everyone knows is the perfume equivalent of Gin and tonic (with lots of ice if you ask me)

and Pamplelune – with its zesty refreshing feel

For balmy evenings

Guerlain Mahora – well, I’ve been applying this for those evenings when I’m going out. Seductive and velvety. Perfect!

(I linked to Kafka’s review of it – I really enjoyed it and have no review of my own – shame on me)

So tell me what are your summer staples? I am always open to adding to my list, especially if you have more cooling choices.

By what I smelled lately (or read about), Nuit Andalouse, Cologne du Maghreb and Terracotta le Parfum might be joining the list…

I do love coconuts

World of Perfume September 2, 2010 Comments: 8

As I live in a country where coconuts don’t grow, it’s actually, now I think of it, a wonder how I seem to know forever now what it smells like. Probably since the first time I was taken for a beach summer vacation by my parents. The coconut note was quite dominant  in sunscreens then (well, it still can be found everywhere today as well). It was definitely the first tropical note embedded in my mind forever.

Unfortunately as I grew older and wanted to try and discover all kinds of cosmetics, I stumbled upon several different products pairing the coconut with vanilla and ending up with seriously upset stomach. That smell is also embedded in my mind as an example of how two things that smell so nice by themselves and sometimes together as well, can be made into an obnoxiously artificial and nauseating thing.

Ok, now that I put that off my chest, I can get to the subject of the post. Honoré des Prés. Or more precisely, Olivia Giacobetti. Or to be completely clear here – Love Coco.

After being lucky enough (and fast enough) to win a sample of Vamp a NY (and fall in love with it) from Grain de Musc and reading a really good review by Nathan Branch, I knew I had to get my hands on the coconut thingy. And I was right. 🙂 I just love it when I buy something unsniffed and it turns out a complete success.

It is difficult to describe a coconut perfume since, well, the most true thing you can say is that it smells coconuty (you surely didn’t know that?). 🙂
Luckily for me, even though the notes mention vanilla, my teenage nauseating experience was firmly forgotten with the first sniff of this joyful elixir.

I don’t know how many of you had the chance to use or smell coconut butter (which has some seriously good hydrating properties) but that is the closest smell Love Coco gets to. It’s not too sweet, it’s exactly like that coconut butter, like there is some bark mixed in with that milky-nutty lushness.

I feel a bit stupid saying this, but adding that coriander leaf into this mix was a stroke of brilliance. I mean Ms Giacobetti obviously knows what she’s doing. I would never guess that coconut smell can get this wonderful herbal sharpishness and spiciness. Makes me want to breathe it in more and more. And even though I forswore wearing coconut scents during my teenage years, I obviously found one that made me change my mind.

The good thing is, I cannot see myself wearing this outside summer, beach ambient so my bottle is going to last a while. That is, I’m hoping it will because I keep spraying my arms so I can inhale it during the day.

Notes: coconut, coriander leaf, vanilla.

Pic by: http://www.honoredespres.com/

SOTD: Vamp a NY by Honoré des Prés

Sample of the day, World of Perfume June 18, 2010 Comments: 8

What a better way to return to my blogging life than with this gem, I am sure I wasn’t the only who set her alarm to be on time for the 50 samples being given at Grain de Musc almost a month ago. 🙂 I didn’t want to forget and miss out. And I didn’t. Lucky me.

I should probably call it the sample of the week, I’ve been sampling for several day now, in small quantities so it lasts a bit (I’ll divulge why a bit later). And the sample is a large one (thank you H des P).

What I could find of the notes mentioned is rum, tuberose and resins. That is true but also not enough.
This has made me smile through the last week when smiling wasn’t something I was prone to do. I do have to say that I don’t find it vampy (which is a good thing because I probably wouldn’t like it so much) but actually, I find it sexy in a different way (I’m sure many see vamp idea as sexy).

For me, this is sexy the same way a girl/woman having fun at a party in the sun, smiling and laughing around a bunch of guys who are there vying for her attention is sexy. The completely natural, unforced in any kind sexy. The best kind.

And that is why I’m saving my sample. I’ve been thinking for some time what perfume am I going to wear to a dear friend’s wedding in a few weeks – and this is it. I knew that the first time I smelled it. It’s perfect for a summer day wedding at the seaside (I’m sure it’s perfect for many other occasions as well) – it is just so easily loved. And I know why that is so in my case. To me, it smells like L’Artisan’s Vanillia mixed with a lot of tuberose (I love Vanilia and I adore tuberose, so this is a direct hit for me).

Yes, I got the rum (although much more strongly on paper than on me) and it’s a particular smell, not really as boozy as some perfumes containing boozy factors are. And then, there’s tuberose and anything else that appears in Vanilia. 🙂 I think that is the best way of summing up what it smells like. And if you have a chance, try it.
Btw, Nathan Branch wrote a great review of another perfume from the We love NY series, Love Coco. From what I read there, I pretty much think I will love it, so now I’m wondering if that means I’ll love the carrot thingie as well. Probably. I really like carrots. 🙂
And last but not least, I think the marketing strategy that enabled people like me (bloggers who are seriously interested in new creations) to be able to get a sample just by reading one of the (best) perfume blogs is straight on target. I wish more companies would consider this tactic. The word will spread wider before this hits US and the way it’s going, it will have a seriously positive vibe. 🙂