Category: perfume

What I Wore This Week

March 10, 2019

It’s Sunday, so that means I’m back once again with my round-up of my scents of the day from this past week. The weather seems like it may finally be turning to spring, which means I was able to mix it up from my heavier winter scents.

  • Monday: Honeysuckle & Davana by Jo Malone
  • Tuesday: Camaheu by Gabriella Chieffo
  • Wednesday: Rousse by Serge Lutens
  • Thursday: Figue Amère by Miller Harris
  • Friday: Tea for Two by L’Artisan Parfumeur
  • Saturday: Chanel No. 19

I have some more samples from January Scent Project to wear today, and see how they do in more spring-like weather.

What did you all wear this week?

March 2019: Collection Update

March 6, 2019

img_3687

As you may know, one of my 2019 resolutions is to be on a full bottle low buy for the year. I’m trying to acquire 7 or fewer full bottles for the year. For a non-perfume enthusiast, that would be a breeze! For those of us who love collecting, it’s more of a challenge.

There are a couple of reasons I decided to institute the low buy. Of course, I’m doing it for financial reasons. I just can’t afford to splurge on multiple full bottles this year. I have decided to allocate most of my perfume money to samples and discovery sets. I feel it’s a better use of both my money and my time when it comes to fragrance. I can use up the samples and work through my thoughts about the fragrance fairly effectively.

The other reason for my low buy has to do with the collection I already have. For the most part, I’m content with my current collection. I did an entire collection reorganization the end of 2018. If I purchase 10+ full bottles this year, I would have to reorganize again and ensure that I have space for everything. I like to keep the packaging whenever possible, including the outer boxes. This can get bulky and take up more space than I have in my apartment.

For these reasons, it just makes practical sense to be on a low buy. So, what have I purchased so far in 2019? As you can see in the photo, I bought Dark Amber & Ginger Lily from Jo Malone and a travel size of Hendley Blond. I used a Nordstrom gift card to purchase the Dark Amber & Ginger Lily, which was a big help.

I considered using the gift card to purchase a bottle of Diptyque’s 34 Blvd Saint Germain EDP but I’ve been a fan of Dark Amber & Ginger Lily for longer, and so it takes precedence. I’ll wait until next fall/winter and see if I’m still such a fan of the 34 EDP. I’m happy with my purchases so far for 2019. And I still have some leeway for spring/summer purchases!

Curating a collection can be a difficult thing. If you’re a true perfume collector, when do you feel satisfied with your collection? It’s a personal thing, and some people may never consider their collection complete. I’m at the point where I’m truly content with what I have. I don’t feel the need to be constantly looking for the next thing and get hyped about the newest release. I’m enjoying what I have and it’s a nice feeling.

________________

I purchased my Jo Malone from Nordstrom. Interestingly, they only have the 50 ml bottle available, not the 100 ml. I purchased Hendley Blond directly from Hendley.

The photo was taken by me.

Blond by Hendley Perfumes

February 27, 2019

img_3581

Notes: cantaloupe, jasmine, osmanthus absolute, suede, iris root, sandalwood, musk complex, and ambergris.

I recently did a write-up here about my first experience sampling Hans Hendley’s line, Hendley Perfumes. I mentioned that Blond was my favorite of the bunch, and I finally went ahead and ordered myself a 9ml travel bottle! On the website, Hans uses a few short phrases to communicate what Blond is about: “Panoramic Nostalgia. Disappearing Horizon. Velveteen Drift.” I’m quoting the description here because it’s more accurate than I even realized at first!

Blond opens for me with an intense and nostalgic iris. The iris note by-passes a carroty iris reference and goes right to pencil shaving territory for me. It’s like emptying a pencil sharpener. It reminds me of Meg Ryan’s line in You’ve Got Mail about the beginning of Fall being like “a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils.” I describe the iris in Blond as nostalgic because the pencil shaving association makes me think of art class in school. I think of a sheaf of loose leaf paper and manual pencil sharpeners. Plus, You’ve Got Mail is one of my favorite movies and it makes me feel nostalgic in general.

The iris note remains present throughout wear time, but the composition begins to develop on the skin pretty quickly after the immediate opening. The suede note comes in and it reminds me of the Hermès leather note in Galop, in that it’s both soft and refined, but also contains quite a bit of depth. The iris is central to Blond, but the suede is what carries the composition for me. It’s the anchor.

After a couple hours of wear, I feel like I’m really in the heart of Blond. I actually sense the cantaloupe note here! It’s a fresh melon note, but it has the cantaloupe-like density of texture. This texture melds together with the soft osmanthus and suede. My nose can’t pick out the jasmine note individually. I do, however, sense the sandalwood kind of peeking out underneath the suede.

I love Blond because it comes across as very pretty and refined at first sniff, but there are so many layers to uncover. I didn’t make the Hermès comparison lightly. Blond is elegant like the best of classic designer scents, but there’s also a lot going on beneath the surface, in true niche fashion. It’s so enjoyable to wear a scent and pick up on different layers and nuances as you wear it.

I want to purchase the full 50 ml Blond flacon at some point, but I’d like to finish one or two in my collection before adding another full bottle. I’m planning a couple of short trips for spring and this 9 ml size will be perfect to bring with me, so I think this was the right choice at the moment. I still have some Hendley scents to explore for myself, but Blond is the stand-out for me.

____________________

I purchased my bottle directly from Hendley Perfumes. The list of notes is also via Hendley.

The photo of my 9 ml bottle was taken by me.

What I Wore This Week

February 24, 2019

Hi everyone! I am back with my weekly round-up of what I wore this past week! Lots of Chanel and Jo Malone this week, which are perennial favorites for me. I’ll have to see if I can mix in a little more variety next week.

  • Monday: Wood Sage & Sea Salt by Jo Malone
  • Tuesday: Chanel Les Exclusifs Misia EDT
  • Wednesday: Hotel Costes EDT
  • Thursday: Chanel No. 5 L’Eau
  • Friday: Clementine California by Atelier Cologne
  • Saturday: Honeysuckle & Davana by Jo Malone

Today I’ll be testing some samples from January Scent Project, which I am really excited about!

What did you all wear this past week?

Now Sampling: 19-69

February 23, 2019

19-69 is a Swedish brand founded by Johan Bergelin. The line was first launched at the beauty cult favorite pharmacy, Colette, in Paris in 2017. This house has been on my radar for about six months, as I’ve seen various people on social media posting about these fragrances.

Then, I noticed that a few of the fragrances are now available online at Nordstrom. A sign that the brand might be breaking into the mainstream US beauty scene? Of course, the problem is that you can’t sample online from Nordstrom. Luckily, Twisted Lily also carries 19-69 so I ordered a couple of samples to test.

Capri

This one is going to be an absolute stunner in the high summer months. It opens with a mouth watering orange citrus note. I was all set to compare Capri to Atelier’s Orange Sanguine, but Capri really develops and comes into its own on the skin. There’s a yellow floral anchoring the heart. And there is definitely a hint of green galbanum that I am simply crazy about! It dries down to a very pleasant cloud-like musk base. I don’t see it being too heavy or overbearing for summer wear, and I’m really enjoying it in these cold mid-winter months, too! There are currently no comments about this one on fragrantica, and I expect that to change soon.

Rainbow Bar

I liked the sound of the woody, vétiver, and cypress notes listed for this one, so I also picked this up as a sample. If you’re at all into a cedar wood note, you’ll love Rainbow Bar. It feels like a base note-driven fragrance to me, in that I sense the cedar and vétiver right away, with the other notes weaving in and out. I also get some nice wear time here: about 7 hours with just my little splash sample. I’m sure you’ll get nice projection and longevity with a couple of spritzes from the full bottle. Rainbow Bar is meant to evoke the West Coast. Indeed, it reminds me of Woody Mood from Olfactive Studio, which also evokes the forests of California. I’m not considering a full bottle of Rainbow Bar for myself because Woody Mood currently fills this spot in my collection. However, it’s a quality composition and well worth sniffing, particularly for any cedar lovers!

*As of this morning, I received an email from Luckyscent announcing that 19-69 is now available there as well! So there are plenty of options for sampling this house now.

__________________

I ordered both of my 19-69 samples from Twisted Lily. I took the labels off because I spilled from both sample vials (another reason I prefer spray samples) and the label ink started smearing. These scents are different enough from each other that I can easily identify them even without the labels!

The photo of my samples was taken by me.

Honey Oud by Floris

February 19, 2019

Notes: honey, bergamot, patchouli, rose, oud, amber, labdanum, musk, and vanilla.

I have to confess that I’ve been growing tired of oud as a trendy note in fragrance for several years now. There are some great oud scents (I love Diptyque’s Oud Palao) but Western fragrance houses acting as though oud is some sort of new raw material — when it has been used for centuries in various different Eastern cultures — is problematic and tedious. I begin my write-up this way because it needs to be addressed, and also to say that I was not at all prepared to fall for Honey Oud.

Honey is truly the star of the show here. The honey is distinctive, pretty, and smooth. It’s edible but does not cross over into gourmand territory for me, not even with the vanilla present here. I have not smelled a honey note quite like this before: so true to honey and yet so pretty to wear. I don’t want to eat this honey but I do want to wear it as much as possible.

The oud is really a supporting player here. It supports the rose in the heart notes. The patchouli is more present to my nose. It’s dry and spiced, giving the rose a spiced edge. The honey lends the rose a smooth, almost velvety texture. I can picture drops of honey on a rose petal here, it’s so artfully done.

The dry down is mainly vanilla to my nose. It’s a smooth vanilla, with a little bolstering from the musk and amber. Again, I can’t pick out much oud by itself here. This may be a con of this fragrance to some people. If you’re really mad about oud, you may find yourself seeking more of it in this composition.

Honey Oud is definitely full bottle worthy, although perhaps not at full price. I would purchase a decant or a full bottle of this at a discount, if I could track it down reliably on ebay or fragrancenet. I find the name very “trendy” but the actual fragrance less so. Honey and vanilla? It doesn’t sound terribly exciting and, yet, the resulting composition is just plain delectable.

_____________________

I ordered my sample of Honey Oud from Indigo along with my Sylvaine Delacourte and Jardins d’Ecrivains samples.

The info on notes is via fragrantica.

The photo of my sample is mine.

What I Wore This Week

February 10, 2019

I’m back with my weekly scent of the day round-up! It was very warm at the beginning of last week and then the temperature plummeted again, so I tried to adjust my SOTD accordingly.

  • Monday: Clementine California by Atelier Cologne
  • Tuesday: Chanel No. 5 L’Eau
  • Wednesday: Magnolia Nobile by Acqua di Parma
  • Thursday: Chanel No. 19 EDT
  • Friday: Mon Numéro 10 by L’Artisan Parfumeur
  • Saturday: YSL Cinéma

This will post will be going up while I’m at yoga class. The yoga studio I go to has this white tea and ginger aromatherapy oil that smells amazing, so hopefully that will be my scent of the morning! Other than that, I will be test wearing some samples this afternoon.

What have you all been wearing this week?

Now Sampling: Parfums MDCI

February 9, 2019

I recently ordered a couple of Parfums MDCI samples from Luckyscent. I had tested Invasion Barbare from this brand ages ago and LOVED it. The price point has kept me away, but I admire Parfum MDCI’s aesthetic, particularly the flacons with the replica bust toppers. I wanted to revisit this house and, hey, there is no harm in sampling, right?

Vêpres Siciliennes

This opens with a yummy candied fruit note that almost reminds me of a Serge Lutens. Some heady white floral notes join in, and we’re off. This is a glorious floral composition that is not for the faint of heart. I always thought that my skin chemistry doesn’t get along with big florals, but I’m glad I tried this because it proves me wrong! This is a glorious jasmine, tuberose, orange blossom, and a touch of rose to deepen the floral heart. It’s sumptuous, decadent, and a little over the top. I like the fact that the composition feels balanced though. The citrus fruit notes add a hint of sour zest, which is unexpected, but works well. And there’s a textured musk in the base. Vêpres Siciliennes feels like a fruity/floral the way it should be done.

Pêche Cardinal

The name is a play on words, as it translates to Cardinal Sin, but pêche also means peach. And peach is undoubtedly the star note here. I find this composition very pretty and refined for something named Cardinal Sin. I would expect something a little more wild with a name like that. However, it makes sense when you think of this as a peach fragrance. There is also a milky coconut that melds perfectly with the creamy tuberose heart. There is a plum note to bolster the fruitiness, but peach remains the stand-out. This reminds me of Kilian’s Liaisons Dangereuses, also with a gorgeous peach note. I found that scent more sensual and truly carnal than Pêche Cardinal, which is interesting. Of course, it could just be my nose and my body chemistry. It’s all so subjective!

Turns out, there is some harm in sampling because it’s safe to say that I am head over heels for both of these scents! My tiny splash samples from Luckyscent are rapidly disappearing. I’m adding both to my full bottle want list. I will need to make room — both financially and physically in my collection — and finish a full bottle of something else first.

Both of these scents are well worth sniffing. They both come across as balanced and high quality compositions. They are very “I feel pretty” type of scents for when you’re in that kind of mood.

____________________

I ordered both of my Parfums MDCI samples from Luckyscent.

The photo of my samples was taken by me.

George by Jardins d’Ecrivains

February 4, 2019

Notes: neroli, bergamot, heliotrope, coffee, tobacco, Peru balsam, musk, and myrrh.

George by Jardins d’Ecrivains is named for George Sand, or Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin. She published her first novel, Indiana, in 1832 under her nom de plume, George Sand. In addition to writing, she was also famous for wearing men’s clothing and smoking tobacco, both of which were forbidden for women at the time. How to go about making a fragrance that would encapsulate this whirlwind of a woman? Where to even begin?

The perfumer, Anais Biguine, figured that a good place to start would be with George’s famous tobacco. The scent actually opens for me with neroli and tobacco. It’s kind of a sharp, stinging opening. I honestly didn’t like it at first sniff. However, it settles into my skin nicely after a few moments. I get just a hint of coffee blended with the tobacco. Coffee is one of my favorite smells and notes, so I really wish there was more to it here. If you’re not a coffee fan, you’ll be able to wear this scent because it’s blended so well.

The heart of the composition is actually where I detect some lovely heliotrope. A couple hours into wear time, the tobacco backs off and makes room for a delicate heliotrope note. George is very pretty at this stage. It really surprised me after the challenging opening. But it’s fitting that this composition would feature so much transformation and development, as George herself did.

The dry down is mainly musk on my skin. I can’t make out any resinous notes of myrrh, but that’s fine. The interesting part is that the dry down is not sweet. There’s no vanilla or creamy sandalwood soften the composition or make it more likeable. The musk here is definitely a substantial animalic note. It’s not trying to play nice. And yet, there is still a touch of delicacy left from the heliotrope.

The only let-down is the longevity. By hour 5, George is gone from my skin. I hear that this is a reoccurring theme with the Jardins d’Ecrivains line, so it’s something to take into consideration when sampling or purchasing this line. George is well worth smelling and owning. It’s an intriguing, challenging, and thought-provoking composition. It’s not on my full bottle list right now simply because of practicality. I need to better organize my collection before purchasing new full bottles!

__________________

I ordered my sample of George from Indigo along with my Sylvaine Delacourte samples.

The info on notes is from Fragrantica.

I took the photo of my sample with the painting “An Elegant Tea Party in the Artist’s Studio” by Madeleine Jeanne Lemaire. I like to imagine George Sand making her way through this refined party, the scent of tobacco trailing behind her.

What I Wore This Week

February 3, 2019

Hi everyone! I’m back with my weekly round-up. And this week I’m back to keeping track of my scents of the day, although I will do my nighttime scents once in awhile. The weather has been absolutely frigid with the windchill, so my main goal this week was to feel as warm and cozy as possible!

  • Monday: Chanel No. 5 EDT
  • Tuesday: Floris Honey Oud
  • Wednesday: I layered Costes EDT with Mon Numéro 10
  • Thursday: Elizabeth & James Nirvana Bourbon
  • Friday: Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles
  • Saturday: Hendley Amora

And today I’m wearing No. 5 L’Eau. Thankfully, the weather is much warmer now and we’ve even gotten a bit of sunshine. Not a moment too soon, as I was starting to get a serious case of cabin fever!

What have you all been wearing this week?