reviews – Page 11 – This Side of Perfume

Sotto La Luna: Gardenia by Tauer Perfumes

September 19, 2014

Notes: fresh spices, roasted coffee beans, mushrooms, gardenia, jasmine, rose buds, and woods.

I made the mistake of first sampling Sotto La Luna: Gardenia on an oppressively humid day in early September. The result was not pretty. This composition might be centered around gardenia, but it’s no soliflore. It’s a rich, creamy, and, at times, luxurious fragrance. But in the wrong circumstances (i.e. heat and humidity) it’s too overpowering. The vanilla of the base takes over, radiating a cloying and stifling sweetness. I had to scrub it off.

But, I had read some intriguing positive reviews of this fragrance (some excellent write-ups from The Scented Hound and Persolaise) so I didn’t want to simply discard this as a bust. Also, given that Sotto La Luna: Gardenia is an autumn release, I thought it would be a good idea to wait for less summer-like weather. I’ve now tried Gardenia several times since our first disastrous attempt to get acquainted, and I’m glad because there’s a lot to discover here.

Wearing Gardenia is like a journey through a forest. It’s quite green and sharp in the beginning as you still hover around the edges of the forest. As wear time continues and you trek more deeply towards the heart of the forest, it becomes more about the surrounding woods and soil. Gardenia petals peek out in a light wink from time to time, but the floral aspect here is mostly just a tease. Indeed, the core of this fragrance is really about the forest floor: the mossy undergrowth, the fallen leaves, and, as with any forest, the mushrooms.

The funky mushroom note pulls sour on me, but I actually don’t mind it. I appreciate a little sourness after the sweet vanilla bomb of my first attempt at sampling this. I honestly think the sour mushroom and earthy soil aspect adds some much needed balance and depth to this composition. The dry-down is a creamy, sweet vanilla that’s lightly spiced, almost like gingerbread. It lasts for ages, and luckily it’s very nice when not worn in extreme heat. But to me, this dry down would feel generic and boring if not for the weirdness that precedes it.

Sotto La Luna is meant to be a new series from Tauer Perfumes, of which this Gardenia creation is the first installment. Gardenia has definitely gotten attention and sparked a lot of debate. Considering the sharp divide of opinions, this is the type of fragrance you absolutely must sample for yourself if you’re thinking of purchasing. You may even have to try it multiple times for yourself, considering the kind of Jekyll and Hyde experience I’ve had with it.

If anything, I do admire Gardenia for challenging me. It certainly offers a wealth of experiences for one perfume: from the sharply verdant opening, to the light brush of floral petals, to the rich exploration of earthy notes, and finally the yummy gourmand-like dry down. That’s a lot to contend with for one perfume, and I’ll continue trying to come to terms with it all as colder weather closes in. I’ll also keep an eye out for the next installment in the Sotto La Luna series. At the very least, I’m sure it won’t be boring.

Samples and full bottles of Tauer Perfumes are available from Luckyscent, which is where I got my sample.

Image is from Fragrantica while info on notes is from Luckyscent.

Oeillet Bengale by Aedes de Venustas

September 2, 2014

Notes: bergamot, white pepper, rose, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron, tumeric, clove, tolu balsam, labdanum, ylang ylang, benzoin, vanilla.

Now that it’s officially September, crisp autumnal weather is on the way. (At least I hope so, temperatures here are still hovering around the 90s!) It’s always nice to start wearing fragrances with more spice and warmth at this time of year to make up for the shorter days and the slight bite to the air at night. One of the fragrances I’m most looking forward to wearing in the coming cool weather is Oeillet Bengale, which is a full-on bouquet, bursting with inviting florals and warm spices.

‘Oeillet’ is the French word for carnation, although the Bengale Oeillet is actually a variety of rose. Aedes de Venustas and the perfumer for this composition, Rodrigo Flores-Roux, make clever use of this floral play on words. Oeillet Bengale opens with a clove and pepper spiciness familiar to anyone who has sampled Caron’s Poivre, that exemplary and refined carnation bouquet scent. But Oeillet Bengale is able to reference Poivre, while still telling its own original fragrance story.

The rose here is an earthy rose, not necessarily dirty, but not refined either. This isn’t a bouquet of roses sitting in a vase on someone’s mantelpiece. Rather, this rose is still alive and growing. There is an herbaceous aspect to this composition alongside the spiciness. This adds balance, and also takes Oeillet Bengale’s story outside the confines of a refined home altogether, placing this fragrance in the garden.

Oeillet Bengale is not meant to be a linear composition, and it develops beautifully on the skin. This means that the garden conjured up here isn’t static, and it isn’t only floral either. There are sweet red berries here, and after a couple of hours, I also get the impression of root vegetables. It sounds odd, but it’s not unpleasant. It puts me in mind of carrots being washed in preparation for baking a cinnamon-spiced carrot cake.

The dry-down is resinous, which I sometimes worry will smell too much like burning plastic on me, but the delicately smokey syrup is wonderfully complementary, especially on top of the spiced cake effect.

This fragrance is supposed to be quite strong on the incense, but it honestly doesn’t come through heavily for me, and Oeillet Bengale never reads strongly smokey to me. Which is probably a good thing, as wear time is pretty phenomenal. It’s one of those fragrances I can wear to bed and wake up still smelling traces of it in the morning, on my wrist, my pillow, and my sheets.

Aedes de Venustas is a New York fragrance boutique that carries trendy brands such as Byredo. Oeillet Bengale marks the third fragrance in their signature line, and is by far my favorite of their offerings. Full bottles of the Aedes line are quite pricey, although the packaging is certainly luxe enough (and they do offer a smaller and slightly less expensive purse spray size). It’s the quality of the fragrance inside that really counts, and Oeillet Bengale is definitely worth the extravagance. It’s going on my Christmas wish list.

Oeillet Bengale is available directly from Aedes de Venustas or from Barneys New York. Samples are available from The Perfumed Court. Aedes also allows you to request up to seven fragrance samples with an online purchase, which is how I obtained my sample.

Image and info on fragrance notes are from Fragrantica.

Pour Femme Intense by Dolce & Gabbana

August 21, 2014

Notes: green mandarin, neroli, tuberose, orange blossom, sandalwood, marshmallow.

It’s pretty obvious by now that I have just a little bit of a sweet tooth when it comes to perfume. So, is it any surprise that I would go for a fragrance featuring marshmallow as a note? Actually, it’s a surprise to me since I’m not the biggest fan of eating marshmallows (I prefer my hot cocoa without them). I thought Dolce & Gabbana’s Intense might finally be one scent that’s too gooey and sweet even for me, but that’s not the case yet.

Dolce & Gabbana launched their original eau de parfum for women, the aptly named Pour Femme, in 1992. They then launched a reformulated edition of it in 2012. Intense is meant to be, one assumes, a more intensely concentrated version of the newer Pour Femme. But Intense is a curious choice of name for this flanker because I don’t find it to be very intense.

Intense is the most consistently smooth composition from opening note to the last hint of the dry down. The mandarin gives a nice bit of zest to the opening. While I don’t usually care for neroli, I’m glad it’s here to elevate the composition and add a touch of the aromatic. Otherwise, Intense is a creamy marshmallow confection with the sandalwood adding some necessary stability and depth.

Intense is beautifully blended, and comes off as just the right amount of sweet for me. But, does this warm, comforting, dessert-like sweetness really give off an intensity? For me it doesn’t, and the most shocking lack of intensity comes by way of the fact that I only get around four hours of wear time out of this.

So, Intense remains a bit of a puzzle for me. There’s a good chance that it’s just my skin chemistry, but there’s an obvious disconnect between the idea of the fragrance and what I actually sense on my skin. I wouldn’t describe Pour Femme itself as a terribly intense fragrance either. There’s a strong red berry note that doesn’t appeal to me, and the marshmallow isn’t as delectably blended, making the fragrance a bit more sheer. However, (somewhat annoyingly!) it does last much longer on my skin: six plus hours.

In spite of myself and the mediocre wear time, I prefer Intense to the regular Pour Femme. In fact, I’m a little bit entranced by Intense. When I say it’s smooth, I don’t mean that it’s like silk. It’s not light, nor does it seem to project a sheen (is this perhaps where the concentrated intensity comes in?). Intense is rather like the most luxurious winter coat you can imagine, one that allows you to show off some style, as well as keep comfortingly warm. All I can say is, I’m ready for winter.

Dolce & Gabbana’s Intense is available from Sephora (so is Pour Femme if you’re interested in comparing) which is also where I got my sample.

Image and info about the notes are both from Fragrantica.

Cerebral yet Chic: Serge Lutens’ Bas de Soie

August 14, 2014

Notes: galbanum, hyacinth, spicy notes, iris, musk.

The phrase “bas de soie” translates to silk stockings in English, and it initially might seem like an odd name for this already odd iris/hyacinth composition. The immediate opening of Bas de Soie is so green, it comes off quite harsh. That’s some intensely green galbanum combined with the green-leaning hyacinth. You would be right to wonder where the silkiness is in all of this.

A soft, powdery floral forms gradually as wear time goes on. Interestingly, against this floral backdrop, a metallic aspect of the composition stands out. The metallic effect shimmers with an edge, and this keeps Bas de Soie on the cool, crisp end of the spectrum for me. I’ve read people saying this fragrance would do well in the corporate world because of the cool edge, and I can see that. I myself wore it to the doctor’s office, and it’s a quiet enough scent that no one noticed, but strong enough that I left the office still smelling like perfume and not like sterile medical supplies.

But Bas de Soie isn’t all razor-sharp harsh coldness. This is a well-blended composition and there is real depth here. As mentioned, there are some spice notes. The spice remains vague, but I get black pepper in the beginning, and some cloves as the fragrance develops. The spiciness has a sort of tactful restraint about it, like it doesn’t want to take over, but it’s still noticeable.

Also adding some depth is the galbanum, which evolves on my skin to become more resinous. After a couple hours of wear I get a kind of gummy sensation, as though I’m wearing a floral-flavored gum drop. It’s definitely weird, but I sort of like it. (I’d love to try gum drops made by Serge Lutens!) Sadly, this gum drop impression eventually dissolves, and a soft powdery musk takes over for one of the most gentle dry downs I’ve experienced – there’s the elusive silkiness.

I haven’t tried Uncle Serge’s other iris, Iris Silver Mist, so I can’t compare, but I hear they’re quite different. For its part, Bas de Soie seems like a quintessentially Serge Lutens fragrance to me precisely because it’s weird, and yet so fascinating. It’s a cerebral scent, one that compels you analyze it, and I think that contributes to its reputation as a “cold” fragrance.

Bas de Soie is not an easily lived-in perfume. It forces you to do the work of wearing it, but it is worth the effort. It reminds me of walking through Paris on a rainy day. You might be frustrated by the dampness and the never-ending rain. Then you look up and catch a glimpse of the Seine, all the bridges stretching across in an endless row, and it takes your breath away.

Serge Lutens fragrances are available from Barney’s and online from Luckyscent, which is where I got my sample.

Image is from Fragrantica while info about fragrance notes is taken from Luckyscent.

Uniquely Sweet: Vanitas by Profumum

July 31, 2014

Notes: vanilla, myrrh, orange blossom, sandalwood.

Ah, vanilla: the dependable foundation of so many yummy gourmand fragrances. I love gourmands in general, and, when in the mood, nothing hits the spot quite like a delicious vanilla. However, Vanitas is an unusual vanilla scent and an unusual gourmand, too. For starters, it opens with a bracing, medicinal dose of myrrh, which prompts me to wonder: is this even a gourmand at all?

The opening is tricky and even a little bit frustrating for me. Myrrh doesn’t always work well on my skin, and I still can’t decide whether or not I like it here. It’s definitely medicinal, and bordering on camphorous. Sometimes I think ah, that myrrh is so interesting! And other times I think no, it’s just giving me a headache. Maybe it’s fortunate then that the vanilla comes on very strong, interlacing a sweetness with the fortifying myrrh. The overall effect here is that of coldness, signalling that this is not a typical warm and cozy vanilla.

If this fragrance gives the impression of food, it might be of a milkshake made with vanilla bean ice cream, freshly blended, still frothy and bubbling. But then, maybe even ice cream is too heavy for Vanitas. This is a surprising vanilla composition in that it never develops that familiar creamy texture, not even from the sandalwood. Even though the sillage here is quite strong, Vanitas still manages to give the impression of delicacy.

The name Vanitas is appropriate then. In the arts, vanitas is mainly associated with still life painting. Vanitas themes and motifs are meant to symbolize the transient nature of life and of earthly pursuits. Bubbles are one such symbol used to convey the ephemeral nature of life. Vanitas the fragrance reminds me of bubbles, not in a fizzy champagne way, but in a pretty, fragile kind of way.

Vanitas is something of a riddle for me. The vanilla is quite sweet, but the myrrh keeps me from thinking of this as edible. Similarly, the fragrance as a whole comes on quite strong, but still somehow creates an air of fragility. Perhaps it’s the “chilly” aspect of this particular vanilla, creating a cold atmosphere that feels like it could shatter. It never does shatter; the fragrance fades away in a gentle cloud of swirling vanilla that clings to my clothes and my sheets.

I think I admire Vanitas more than I actually enjoy wearing it. But who knows? This atypical vanilla has room to develop in interesting ways. (And I may go for a milkshake anyway.)

Profumum is a niche Italian fragrance line. It’s available from Luckyscent in the US, which is where I got my sample.

Image and fragrance notes are from fragrantica.

Avant Versailles; Arquiste’s Fleur de Louis

July 24, 2014

Notes: iris, jasmine, African orange flower, Virginia cedar, orris, pine, rose.

Fleur de Louis opens with a wicked sharpness, a blast of cool pine and orange blossom. I initially thought I had applied the wrong perfume, since this wasn’t at all what I expected. Where is the floral? I wondered. If this doesn’t sound appealing, don’t worry, the opening is very short-lived. The harsh greenness melts away as quickly as it arrived, letting iris and jasmine unfold in its wake.

Frankly, I don’t mind the opening. It’s fitting since this fragrance is inspired by royalty: the Sun King, Louis XIV. It’s as though the brashness of the pine serves as a trumpeting signal to wait for the iris, the true star of this show.

A soft powdery floral atmosphere settles in, casting a spell of quiet comfort and lasting for the rest of wear time. This has a luxurious feel, but it’s not the gleaming luxury of Versailles. Fleur de Louis is not about opulence. There are no aldehydes in this composition, so the powdery effect remains subdued throughout wear time. Nothing about this composition is particularly loud or sparkling, and yet it’s not exactly sweet either. There is a bitterness from the orris, and I like the way this functions as a subtle reference to the sharp opening. The cedar and the rose are here to add some depth as wear time goes on, but neither note is particularly dominant. It’s an extremely well-blended composition.

Fleur de Louis is meant to represent the moment Louis and his bride, Maria Teresa, first met before their marriage. At this time, Louis was not yet the Sun King that we know from history. Indeed, the opening of this fragrance perhaps suggests the brashness of a young man, while the softness of the iris might convey a flicker of nerves upon meeting his bride for the first time.

There is a traditional feel to Fleur de Louis – it’s no trendy fruity/floral or rose/patchouli. This classic feel makes it easy to imagine the traditions that come along with royalty. The good thing here is that you don’t have to be a Bourbon king to pull off this fragrance. It’s extremely wearable, even in these dog days of late July.

The real effect of Fleur de Louis is the mood it sets. This fragrance is beautiful, but in a quiet, almost contemplative way. There is nothing boastful here, which makes it interesting that it’s based on Louis XIV. Fleur de Louis is not the fragrance of someone in the full-seat of absolute power, this is Louis before Versailles. Once it settles into the skin, it’s a quietly beautiful perfume that leaves the wearer time to think, to consider. It is a fragrance for someone on the cusp of bigger things.

Full bottles of Fleur de Louis are available from Barney’s. I got my sample with a purchase from Aedes de Venustas.

Image and info on notes is taken from fragrantica

Dualities at Work: Parfumerie Generale’s Djhenné

July 17, 2014

Notes: grey lavender, mint leaves, seringa blossom, cocoa beans, blue cedar, wheat absolute, myrrh, blonde leather accord.

I’m a fan of lavender (especially for summer), so I was pleased to discover that Djhenné opens with this note. However, this lavender is not of the bracing, sharp variety. This is a suave, herbal lavender that introduces the fragrance with a cool elegance. The mint and seringa blossom enhance the herbaceous aspect, and lend an almost soapy feel to this opening.

But Pierre Guillaume ensures that Djhenné never tips over into the “clean” category. The concept of Djhenné is constructed around dualities. Monsieur Guillaume imagines this fragrance as an oasis in the middle of the desert, or, in his own words, as a “warm shadow.” The cool/warm and dry/wet contrasts are obvious in his language here, but they play out in a bit more of a subtle way in the fragrance itself.

Djhenné goes very quiet after the initial opening. My advice is: just wait. The first time I tried this, I had to force myself to stop sniffing my wrist every thirty seconds and just let it settle in. If you’re patient enough, you’ll eventually notice hints of cedar wafting around you. It’s very arid at this stage, and you can begin to see the desert of Guillaume’s vision taking shape around the oasis of cool lavender.

But just when you think this is settling down into a dry woody accord, a taste of gourmand sneaks in. The cocoa here doesn’t add up to a dessert-like chocolate for me. I think the wheat note helps to soften it out, and the gourmand aspect takes on the feel of chocolate milk paired with a shortbread biscuit. It’s nothing hugely decadent, but rather like a small sweet treat. Moreover it adds some much-needed depth to the heart of this composition.

The blond leather accord of the base comes off as more musky to me than anything else. Still, it’s nice, and there is a touch of dirtiness about it that acts as a clever counterbalance to the soapiness of the opening. This stage lasts forever, too. It fades so slowly, I can still detect hints of it while getting ready for bed.

I’ve already used the word quiet in this write-up to describe Djhenné, but it’s apt. This fragrance really has a pensive, reserved feel. It’s not that Djhenné doesn’t have a lot to say, the multiple developments it goes through during wear time are fascinating. It simply refuses to be rushed or loud about the story it has to tell.

I’ve worn Djhenné a few times on days when I wanted something peaceful and restful, and it fits the mood perfectly. Although there’s an elegance here, I wouldn’t wear this for a night out, maybe only for a dinner with one or two other people. There is something undeniably intimate about this perfume, and it remains predominately a skin scent on me. Between this and Taormine, I’m coming to appreciate the allure of soft, warm fragrances for hotter weather. We all need comfort scents, even during summer. And perhaps the ultimate duality of Djhenné is that its strangely compelling nature ends up being comforting.

Samples and full bottles of Djhenné are available from Luckyscent, which is where I obtained my sample.

Image and info about notes is taken from Luckyscent.

The City at Dusk: Cologne du Maghreb

July 10, 2014

Notes: citrus accord, cistus, ambreine, cedarwood, java vetiver oil, bergamot, lemon, neroli, orange blossom, lavender, rosemary, rose absolute, rose essential oil, clary sage.

Cologne du Maghreb is easily one of the most buzzed-about releases for this summer. Originally released in 2011 as a limited edition for the holidays, it sold out. Now Andy Tauer has brought it back for wide release, and he’s done it in the traditional way of cologne-making: using only natural and raw botanical ingredients. To be honest, I was a little bit intimidated to try this one. Would this long list of notes all come together, and would the all-natural approach work with my skin?

The answer is, it worked right away. The opening of Cologne du Maghreb is a bright, crackling citrus medley that fairly jumps off the skin. On me, it pulls very green, like sour limes and tart green apples. It’s refreshingly sharp, and slices like a knife through oppressive summer weather. This hesperidic opening is what you might expect from a cologne, but, after about twenty minutes or so, this fragrance takes a turn for the unexpected.

I thought the lavender here might also bring a sharp, refreshing aspect to the fragrance. Instead, the lavender and vetiver work together to bring an herbal effect, softening the opening, and balancing the composition. Cologne du Maghreb has a grassy feel at this point, like strolling through a park.

The cedarwood creeps in so gradually that I almost didn’t notice it at first – that is, until you can’t help but notice it during the dry down. The cedar brings a moody aspect to the composition, like dimming the lights after a long day. By this point, the juicy citrus of the opening has receded, and the fragrance has a dry, but warm feel to it. It’s a little darker than I expected for a cologne but, I have to say, I love it. Sensing that first waft of dry cedar is my favorite part of wearing this fragrance.

I took Cologne du Maghreb with me on vacation to New York. Summer in the city is no joke, the heat during the day is relentless. By evening the city is ready for the cooling of hazy dusk, and I found I enjoyed wearing Cologne du Maghreb most at this time of day. It was a good pick-me-up to spritz on before heading out to dinner, and the cedarwood dry down lends a sultriness that’s lightly sexy, but not too overwhelming for this weather.

Although this is a great scent to wear during the summer, I can see it working throughout autumn too because of that appealing hint of dark moodiness in the dry down. Cologne du Maghreb never turns into a full-bodied woody oriental (it’s only a cologne concentration, after all) but it hovers on the edge, and that flirtation is what makes it delicious.

*This write-up is based on a sample generously provided by Jeffrey at Hypoluxe, Tauer Perfumes’ US distributor.

Samples and full bottles of Cologne du Maghreb are available from Luckyscent.

image is from Tauer Perfumes promotional material, and info on notes is from Luckyscent.

Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle: En Passant

June 25, 2014

Notes: lilac, cucumber, wheat, watery notes, and petitgrain.

In continuing my exploration of florals for this spring and summer, I had a hunch that En Passant would be a perfect kind of gentle (but still interesting) floral for me to try. I was a little bit surprised when I first sampled En Passant because the opening is gorgeous, but not exactly gentle. Rather, it is a headlong plunge into a garden right in the midst of blooming lilac bushes. Olivia Giacobetti’s creation for Frederic Malle’s curated line is the most startlingly realistic floral that I’ve come across.

En Passant could work beautifully as just a linear soliflore, but Ms. Giacobetti has added in a few other notes to spark some interest. I was a little wary of possible weird ozonic notes from the watery accord, but fortunately that isn’t the case. The cucumber helps to keep the composition cool and lush, so that the watery notes here give off a herbaceous feel, conjuring up the image of fresh rain drops sitting on green leaves.

A piercing hint of mint also develops on my skin even though I don’t see it listed in the notes. It could just be my skin chemistry, perhaps the cucumber playing tricks on me. Whatever it is, it’s entirely welcome, as it keeps the composition fresh and makes En Passant excellent to wear during hot and humid summer days.

Despite the watery influence, I don’t think of En Passant as a sheer fragrance. The realism of the lilac note lends a tangibility to the composition. There is also the wheat note, which becomes apparent a couple of hours into wear time, and is the reason why I wouldn’t say this is a completely linear affair. The wheat gives off a sort of doughy, baking bread effect.

The dry down here with the fading floral and herbaceous notes, plus the light baking bread influence, reminds me of a boulangerie/patisserie in Paris that I used to pass by (and often stopped in!) on my way to the Luxembourg gardens. I suppose that’s the whole point of this fragrance and its title, it is truly en passant.

En Passant and other Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle can be found at Barney’s. I got my sample from The Perfumed Court.

image and info about fragrance notes are from fragrantica.

Summer Holiday; Keiko Mecheri’s Taormine

June 19, 2014

Notes: Sicilian petit grain, Calabrian bergamot, Italian citron, bitter almond, aromatic accord, subtle floral heart, leather accord.

Evocative of a Sicilian getaway, Taormine opens with a bright inviting warmth. I’ve never been to Sicily myself, so I’ll have to rely on the perfume and my own imagination to paint this picture. The hesperidic opening is lightly aromatic and just a touch herbaceous. It sets a sultry mood, like a salty sea breeze blowing onto the patio at cocktail hour. However, Taormine doesn’t open up into a big salty, beachy scent. I think that’s a good thing, because what it does instead is a little bit more interesting.

For me, the almond note is the star of this composition. It starts sneaking in about fifteen minutes after application and lingers for the rest of wear time. The almond is interesting because, while it adds a touch of sweetness and some depth to the aromatic citrus notes, it’s not enough to turn this into a full-blown gourmand scent. Instead, the almond keeps this composition dry and grounded, which helps make Taormine a lovely summer scent.

The leather in the dry down here is gentle. It reminds me slightly of Bottega Veneta’s Eau de Parfum, which is all the rich leather of Milan fashion week, high heels and handbags. However, the leather of Taormine is a little more comfortable and lived-in, like the shoes you wore down to the beach earlier, now covered in a dusting of sand.

Taormine definitely has a comforting feel, but there’s also a complexity to it, and, in that, a quiet elegance. I sometimes tend to think of summer scents (and especially the citrus-driven colognes) as being more sharply acidic and more simple in character than this fragrance is. With Taormine, Keiko Mecheri shows us that summery fragrances can be both soft and complex, and completely season-appropriate.

I can easily imagine wearing this fragrance while on vacation: relaxing during the afternoon with a book, or going out to dinner on a sultry evening. The only flaw is that I wish this one had a little bit more staying power. It’s very much a skin scent on me, which is fine. I get around 5 hours wear time from it, but I’d love for it to go just little bit longer, especially in warmer weather. Believe it or not, this is actually the first Keiko Mecheri scent I’ve tried. I’m happy with this as a first choice, and I’m looking forward to sampling more!

Taormine was originally released in 2010 as part of La Collection Hesperides. I’m not sure if it was intended to be a limited edition, but both samples and full bottles are still available from Luckyscent (which is where I got my sample).

Image is from fragrantica while info about fragrance notes is from luckyscent.