Euterpe by Herr von Eden : Perfume Review & Sample Draw

I promised you something special for today and I just know you will be as enthusiastic about this amazing perfume as I have been to discover it! Essenza Nobile surprises me with three different samples each month. If I like any of them, I review them, if I don't, I simply don't write about them. So far, since this relationship started, there've been some months when I haven't had anything to write about, once or twice when two of the perfumes grabbed my attention and some months when one of the three was the winner. Never so far however have I been so impressed with all three perfumes. While I hope to find the time to review all three of this month's perfumes soon, I am starting with my absolute favorite of the three, Euterpe by Herr von Eden.

It is easy to get disillusioned as a perfume reviewer: trying to keep up with the countless perfumes out there as well as the legions of new releases each year means that for every rose you dip your nose in, four dozen piles of trash make their way to the same olfactory receptors to get your spirits down. After a while you end up having to think twice even for perfumes that are actually worth something. Every once in a while however something comes your way that is so amazingly good that it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Something that electrifies you, something that makes you think "Yes, this is what perfume is all about, God yes, this is why I love smelling perfumes so much, this is why I chase after that high everywhere I go, every chance I get!". Sound familiar? These are the gems, and let's admit it while we're at it, these are the shining slivers of beauty that drive our addiction. Euterpe is one such beacon of beauty and hope for me.

I'd never heard of Herr von Eden, but a little search revealed that it is the brand of Hamburg-based Bent Angelo Jenson, a German who started his business not with perfume, but with clothes - suits in particular. Originally catering to men, his company has now extended to female clientele with modern women's collections, edgy eyewear and jewelry. The brand now includes three different perfumes in simple, chunky, masculine, slate-grey flacons bearing elegant Greek names: Euterpe, the muse of lyrical poetry, literally meaning "the pleasure giver", Eros, the son of Aphrodite and god of sexual love and beauty, and Eclipse, which aside from the obvious astronomical event it refers to, literally means "absence", a ceasing to exist.

Now, will you also, like me, find it thrilling if I tell you that Euterpe, with the delightfully feminine name smells like an archetypical masculine perfume? Yes, on the Essenza Nobile website it is listed as a unisex fragrance, while the Herr von Eden website itself assumes a Sphinx-like silence and refuses to comment on either a gender or scent description of the perfume. The Essenza Nobile website also lists it as a "true fougere". Believe none of it! Euterpe is the paragon of oriental masculinity and not even a modern one at that: it already smells like a classic. And it does a fantastic job of it too. Intensely, yes, intensely virile from the first moment you spray it courtesy of a strong, naughtily dirty animalic undertone that refuses to subside until the moment the perfume fully expires from the skin, Euterpe smells of retro brashness, hunger for sex and power. It smells of a man that'd make you feel like the world would come to an end (but who cares...) if he locked you in an erotic embrace. In other words, it smells totally unfashionable. And so very me.

The listing of the perfume as a fougere, if not correct, becomes comprehendible when one attends to the top notes: bergamot, lavender, lemongrass, rosemary, coriander and grapefruit, especially in combination with the patchouli in the basenotes draw a typical chypre canvas (even as there is no moss to be found). Yes, this is a strong impression, but not the only one. Let me explain - this side, the masculine side if you will, provides the sharp toothed, sexy bite of the perfume, something you can appreciate entirely when you consider exactly what the combination of rosemary, pissy coriander, dirty patchouli and animalic base do... They are the aggressive seducers. Add to this the oudh (yes!) which plays both fields from the base and you get a pretty good idea. But that's not all... The other side of Euterpe blossoms and seduces with a mouth drenched in sweetness, using orange blossom (honeyed, tender, in this instance) as a driving engine and carnation (a million kudos for respecting the past), ylang ylang (ditto), rose (again) and cinnamon as catalysts. But as powerful a composition as this already is, it would be nothing without its gooey, warm, nay, smoldering center: Tonka bean, sandalwood, Siam benzoin and vanilla kiss the perfume with soft sweetness from the base. As it dries down the now ambery, vanillic Euterpe smells more and more like a comforting cashmere hug. Imagine Ormonde Jayne's Tolu, but more complex and multifaceted. This comparison should also make clear that the intense masculine edge slowly dies down with the dry-down, even as the animalic edge doesn't. Finally, this amazing oriental gains its wings as a unisex. But who gives a damn about gender distinctions when a perfume is this good?

I know you'll want to have a whiff of this amazing, complex, involved gem so I'm holding a draw! Simply leaving a comment means you automatically enter. Winner will be announced in a week's time, next Friday.
Have a good weekend!

Official Notes:
Head: Bergamot, Lavender, Rosemary, Lemongrass, Coriander, Orange Blossom, Grapefruit
Heart: Rose of Palma, Cinnamon, Rose, Carnation, Ylang Ylang, Clyclamen
Base: Sandalwood, Bezoe Siam, Patchouli, Vetiver grass, Cedar wood, Tonkabean, Vanilla, Oud

Price: 119€ for 100ml or 89€ for 50ml via Essenza Nobile's webshop.

A Citrus Pixie in the Ionian

Once upon a time the smallest child of the large, noble citrus family set out on a trip across the seas. Its brothers and sisters were so grand, so revered around the world but the tiny, pixie-like child was hardly ever heard of. Oh sure, it was well loved -as the youngest and smallest often are - back home in China, where it was even considered a symbol of luck and given as a gift at the turn of each year. But the little child always heard of the grand tales its brothers and sisters lived around the world, bringing sun on each table, being adored for their health-giving properties and for their aroma fit to perfume kings and queens and it felt saddened to have to content with such a sheltered life in obscurity. Its potential was stifled, it decided, yes, so though it had no fame, it had craftiness and resilience and one day it found its way on a ship and never looked back. The Kumquat, for that was the little citrus pixie's name, reached Europe in the middle of the 19th century but it wasn't until the beginning of the 20th that it would find another place to call home. You see, adventuring is all well and good, but the youngest, littlest children of a family oft crave to be adored not simply loved and admired. So with this little one thus. One day it met a man called Merlin who promised it fame, glory and adoration for he knew just the right people to nurture it and help it lay roots and grow, grow grand and loved and adored and used every single day just like its brothers and sisters. And so the final trip begun. The destination was the beautiful island of Corfu and the people received the little golden fruit like an exalted miracle and planted it on the most fertile place they knew of on the island: the area of Nymphes. At the dawn of the 21st century, little Kumquat's name is still lost in obscurity in most places around the world, despite its very best efforts. But littlest of the citrus fruit doesn't mind! It got its wish granted: it changes hands every single day; every single day it is eaten and enjoyed, every single day it is drank and cared for. Nowadays, it's even used to perfume the skin. Just like it's brothers and sisters!


Okay, okay, so evidently I shouldn't give up my day job to become a published children's author! But really, isn't the kumquat fascinating? For our summer vacation this year the bf and I visited Mykonos and Thessaloniki, but we really wanted to visit a place where we'd never been before so we picked Corfu. I must admit I had a few reservations at first: People would say things like "Oh, you're gonna love it but I am warning you, it is HUMID. You're gonna be hot!!!" or "You''ll get bitten by mosquitoes! There are too many mosquitoes there!". I was reasonably apprehensive, but decided to not be put off. And boy was that ever the right decision. Corfu is AMAZING. One of the most beautiful islands I have visited ever, and that says a lot considering I make a point of visiting a different one each year. Okay before I say anything else let me dispel these rumors first: From the places I visited this summer Corfu was by far the coolest: I didn't turn on the airco in the hotel room even once in the evening when we were sleeping. Oh, and I got zero mosquito bites too. Now where were we? Oh yes, how amazingly beautiful the island is! First let us consider that several princes, princesses, queens and kings have decided to make summer homes there. Does that say something about how beautiful the island is? I hope so. Off the top of my head the Danish royal family vacationed there, the Greek royal family, Princess Sissy built the most amazing summer house there and Tito of Yugoslavia used to stay at the guest house of the Greek royal family too. Most of these residences have been converted into visitable museums that I cannot recommend enough for a visit if you go to Corfu.
The island itself is incredibly colorful and green, with stunning architecture of multicultural influences: Greek, Italian, French and British. The nature of the island, combined with the beautiful architecture of the main city and the picturesque beauty of the scattered villages set against the backdrop of the crystalline Ionian sea and bright blue Greek skies fills the soul with a feeling of restfulness, contentment and joy. We Greeks would describe the vistas and the island life as "balsamic" and while this might easily be lost in translation in most circles, I know the audience that reads this blog can fully understand the soothing nuances implied and the happy, heart-healing feelings inferred.



But back to the little citrus pixie, the little fruit which so wanted to be loved. Reader, you better believe it found love on the island of Corfu! It's impossible to visit the island and not feel its presence. After Merlin brought the fruit to the island the Corfiots did indeed plant it at the most fertile spot of the island, acres and acres of it in fact. They planted it, loved it and made it their own. They made it the island's symbol in fact. Today 90-180 tons of the fruit are picked each year and the Corfiots, aside from using it in their dishes (both sweet and savory) make it into just about everything imaginable: Marmalades and jellies, preserves, teas, kumquat-flavored rahat loukhoum, glacés and liquers. All of these products are extremely ubiquitous and make obligatory gifts. That is, if you are a Greek from another place and you visit Corfu, you'd better bring back some for your loved ones! Why? Well, Kumquat only grows in Corfu - it doesn't grow anywhere else in Greece. Outside Greece too Kumquat is extremely rare. Consider that in all the countries I've lived in and all those I've visited I've only ever seen the fruit make an appearance only once. While I am sure it is common in Asia which is after all its home, it seems that even after all this time the Kumquat remains a well-kept secret from most people.

While I have not tried every single product featuring the fruit the island has to offer, I want to help you experience this golden little treasure through the products I did try. The most ubiquitous and most-oft bought as gift is the Kumquat liquer, an aperitif that tastes very sweet, yet light and smooth with the unmistakable exotic citrus flavor of the fruit itself rising to the palate with each sip. I cannot recommend this enough as an accompaniment to coffee; if you can stand to drink the gritty Greek coffee, all the better. The combination can't be beat. The glacés on the other hand are probably the best way to taste Kumquat if you really want to experience its nuances. The fruit itself has a sweet peel, but a bitter-sour flesh and as such is not for everyone eaten raw. Candied and glazed however, just like the Corfiots love to eat it, it becomes an amazing delicacy. The fruit is tiny as I mentioned before (about the size of an olive) and thus can be picked with the fingers and popped in the mouth. Prepared this way, the fruit gives all it has to offer in terms of aroma. The aromatic oils from the peel burst in the mouth and the inside is soft and gooey. The flavor is bitter sweet and extremely flavorsome. The best thing about it is that it leaves a beautiful freshness in the mouth that is very long-lasting. Vendors keep offering them to passersby, so as you might imagine our strolls through the island streets felt very refreshing indeed, with this beautiful aroma lingering in our mouth and nose even after having consumed the fruit.

For us perfume lovers the most exciting perhaps would be the Kumquat's latest incarnation. Yes, Corfu has started making perfume from its star product and I've scoured the island to find the best one. A word of warning: I've tried several different ones and they are not of uniform quality, nor do they all really smell like Kumquat or retain the Kumquat's scent for a long time. The one I am presenting here is the best one I found and one that truly smells like Kumquat throughout. The name is simply "Kumquat for Woman" and it is produced by The Land of Corfu Natural Products. If you visit Corfu and are interested in acquiring it, you can find the shop that sells it on 25, Filarmonikis & St. Spiridon corner. The focus is on the Kumquat (flesh, leaves and blossoms) and little to no other distractions have been added to distract the wearer from the star attraction. That sounds bizarre perhaps: how does the construction hold without a noticeable solid base, such as wood for example? I do not know, but it does and it holds. Even hours after I apply, all I smell is the Kumquat itself. That is not to say it does not have other things in it of course; all it means is that to me at least, they are indiscernible. From this I am sure you've already garnered the progression is relatively linear, but it is not without its nuances. The opening is very intensely citrusy, almost abrasive and to me at least, not very pleasant. After five minutes however my patience is very much rewarded: Suddenly I can smell the almost green freshness of the peel as well as delicate, beautiful sweetness. With time, the fragrance turns more and more away from the citrusy freshness of the peel and towards the hypnotic beauty of the blossoms. If you love white blossom scents this is definitely something worthy of experiencing as it smells like a cross between orange, mandarin and gardenia flowers at once. The fragrance proceeds virtually unchanging from here one, but turns more and more honeyed as it fades, as though the blossoms are leaving their last gasps under a layer of lightweight flower nectar. If I'm honest, I'll say that I was more impressed with the perfume offerings of Zakynthos/Zante. (Longtime readers might remember that the family operated perfumery there makes six different perfumes one of which, made by an indigenous variety of jasmine which the locals call "bougarini" left me seriously impressed.) But this is absolutely unique as well not to mention something that is very hard to find and of good quality in its own right. Being so linear, I'll be using this in layering combinations with my other perfumes to lend them a "Kumquat kick", thus turning memories of my holiday into a beautiful, perfumed collage of interwoven scents.

Images: kumquats via Flickr by orphanjones, kumquat liquers via wikipedia.org, images of Corfu by A. Alexiou, the blossoms of Fortunella Margarita (the species of kumquat grown in Corfu) via wikimedia.com

The Beautiful Mind Series Vol.1 - Intelligence & Fantasy : Perfume Review

Today I've got a special review for you guys, one that I'm very excited about for more than one reason. First and foremost, today's perfume is absolutely summery which is wonderful as I've had a hard time getting excited about new summer releases lately and goodness knows I've been on the lookout since the season definitely calls for it (are you also having a really hot summer?). Second, this is a perfume which despite the fact that it was released this past winter hasn't managed to generate almost any reviews so I feel lucky to be able to give you a detailed review here on Fragrance Bouquet. And finally, this is a fragrance with not only a soul but also a story, and I definitely love to tell those!

The perfume in question is Intelligence & Fantasy, Vol. 1 of the Beautiful Mind Series, a new series of fragrances created by Geza Schoen (known best for his Escentric Molecules series). The Beautiful Mind Series can be seen as an anti-establishment move against the flooding of the perfume market with celebrity fragrances. As the name of the series suggests, these perfumes aim at honoring the mind and establishing it as the new sex-appeal, instead of bowing to celebrity and appearance. As such, each of the volumes in the series will be developed in colaboration not with a celebrity, but with a prominent mind. The choice for the first fragrance, Intelligence & Fantasy, was memory prodigy Christiane Stegner, who became Grandmaster of Memory by the time she was 12 and who'd go ahead and become champion at the Junior World Memory Championships thrice by the time she was 18. The goal in this collaboration was to create a perfume that would speak to both mind and heart, using memory as its conduit. According to Essenza Nobile's website (where I received my sample from) the result is a perfume that captures the essence of summer by evoking "the feelings of luck from realizing that the summer arrives in big steps as far as to these beautiful melancholic memories of it, when it comes to the end of summer".

To me this wonderful summer fragrance is best worn at sunset as, in my opinion, its beautiful development will suit the transition from the warmth of the setting sun and its golden light to the coolness of the moonlit romantic evening. The opening is astoundingly fresh and utterly addictive, a perfect refreshment for skin that's parched for a cool delight after a day spent at the beach. Do you know that moment, when you step out of the shower, hair still wet, getting ready to go out for a sunset drink on a summer island? (Oh how I long for that by the way!) This seems to me like the perfect pick me up to wear at that moment, femine yet fresh, sexy and playful. The scent absolutely encapsulates that moment for me. This opening is all about the mandarin, juicy and succulent, citrucy fresh yet lightly sweet, like a golden drop of dew. And green too, as the scent slowly gains in the bitterness of the crushed mandarin leaves. In all honesty, even if the scent didn't change one bit after this grand opening, I would still probably be as excited by it as I am now, so gorgeous is it. But change it does, and this is one perfume that will keep your interest going for hours to come - that's a promise. Conversely, this sparkly, fresh opening might fool you into thinking you can spray deliberately like you would a cologne - don't. As time goes by the scent becomes all the more exotic and warm meaning that a few hours later an overapplication will seem rather regretful in summery weather. The sillage too begins moderate, but gains progressively as time goes by. As the juicy freshness of the mandarin subsides, a calmer facet of freshness emerges, spiced with a sexy, piquant helping of pink pepper that smells gently peppery and resinous at once. Magnolia lovers should rejoice as well, as this stage features a prominent and beautiful magnolia note that serves as a cushiony embrace for the piquancy of the pink pepper with its lemony-powdery softness. The heart notes are glorious - the floral appricot scent of osmanthus bathed in the warm glow of hedione. Around here is where you should start to become thankful that you didn't overapply during that delicious, fresh tangerine opening by the way! Through the light, effulgent, girlishly feminine notes of osmanthus begins to emerge a far more ravishing, heady scent. The exotic feel of the perfume is amped tenfold as the tiare absolute debutes, tinged (ironicaly!) with the most innocent of rose scents. I find myself amazed at the curious use of rose here, as it is light as a feather, stripped of any hint of experience or wisdom and smells sweet and drunken, like the purest rose petal liquer. The humor in this combination of notes strikes me as incredibly intelligent and amusingly incredulous. And now you know why I suggested you wear this at sunset, don't you? Isn't this a magnificent transition to live through? A wonderful freshness to enjoy in the last golden rays of warmth, a playful transition into feminity at dusk, an exotic debut as the stars and the moon come out to play... This is a very long-lasting perfume and the floral notes will continue to lure with their exotic whispers for hours and hours. The difference you will notice in the drydown is a softer kind of sultriness (curtesy of the heavy dose of cashmeran) and a woody backdrop that is at once dry (cedar) and sweet (sandalwood).

Vol. 1 - Intelligence & Fantasy can be bought from Essenza Nobile's webshop for 150 EUR per 100 ml. The bottle is essentially the same as the ones used for the Escentric Mollecules series, but wrapped in a lenticular foil on which Christian Stegner's face is printed. I must admit that I am not a fan of the bottle at all, however as you can surmise from my review the fragrance is top notch.

Images: Bottle - Essenza Nobile, Santorini Sunset - Flickr by . l i q u i d . b l u e . o c e a n, Rose Petals with string of water pearls - Flickr by audreyjm529

Miroir des Envies by Thierry Mugler : Perfume Review

When the Thierry Mugler's Miroir Miroir collection finally launched I could hardly contain my excitement; having read the pre-launch buzz online I was prepared to love every single one of the fragrances with seductive names. I prayed that Dis-moi Miroir would be my thing, just so I could wear the fragrance bearing that name. (Do you ever get that? Unfortunately I do, often. The fragrance mostly turns out to be something I don't actually fall in love with, darn it. Such is the case with Le Besair du Dragon as well - surely the most beautiful name EVER given to a perfume. The juice, while attractive enough, is just not special enough for me to buy although god knows I try every now and again.) Anyway, back to the Miroir Miroir collection. As you have probably guessed by now, Dis-moi Miroir was decidedly not for me, in fact none of the perfumes were, hence the laaaate review, ages after the launch in fact. Most of the perfumes in the collection are loud, shrieking in fact. The fact that they are also mostly linear in nature adds insult to injury: This deadly combination - loud, bombastic nature and linear progression - make them appear like brainless bimbos (I'm so sorry Thiery), too much make-up, too little cerebration between the ears. Thankfully it's not all bad. One perfumes in particular, Miroir des Envies, stands out among the rest. This are still rather linear and quite loud as well, but it does bear a certain attraction that has made me return to my sample time and time again throughout the past year so today I am finally giving it a review.

Miroir des Envies (my favorite of the two, and yes, I fell for the one with the worst name out of the WHOLE collection. Wonderful.) is a bittersweet gourmand with an old-fashioned nature, completely unbefitting the current mainstream market, which if you know me, you know is not meant as a derision. In fact Miroir des Envies smells like an '80s perfume through and through which is a quite impressive feat considering it presents notes that weren't to be found on any perfume shelf in the actual decade itself. The opening is sueded and soft, presenting a gorgeous hazelnut note. This nutty impression is followed by a brief dash of cream. I would hesitate to say that these two beautiful notes disappear - for they actually don't - but unfortunately all too soon they are both overpowered by an emerging green note that seems quite dissonant. This greenness in turn brings with it a fresh impression. While my next remark is possibly misleading (for it ain't all that bad as it'll undoubtedly sound), it has to be said: this freshness is rather aqueous in nature, a salty freshness of almost marine quality. Such fresh notes have always troubled me personally, and are one of the reasons why I have not yet managed to take the plunge and spring for a bottle of Chanel's Allure Sensuelle. I bring this up right now for I think that while the two perfumes are nothing like each other in terms of smell, it can help illustrate what I mean with the dissonance I perceive here. As with Allure Sensuelle I am at a loss as to whether I should proclaim the combination of such dissonant notes as novel and genius or as cowardice - that is, why not commit to making a gourmand? Regardless, this whole conversation might be moot, for five minutes later (I jest not) everything has melded into one whole and the perfume proceeds in a linear fashion from there on. Fortunately, what you are left with cannot be called boring because it's so darn interesting. The salty freshness subsides enough for everything else to gain a voice and then it's all cuddly confidence, curves and sex-appeal. It is bittersweet and green and there's that sueded, bizarre softness in the background, like the green casing of a young, unripe almond. It is gourmand without being the least bit foody. It is sexy and daringly retro, unafraid to be different. It is definitely the most perfect miror of the Miroir Miroir collection. Most importantly perhaps, it is deeply unique.

Images: www.thierrymugler.com

Champagne, Recovery and a Sabon Review

Hello, hello, hello everyone! Before I say anything else, please let me thank you from the bottom of my heart for your beautiful, encouraging messages these past few weeks! They really filled me with warmth and lifted my spirits. I have now recovered almost completely. I can now go during the day without the nose cast (still have to wear it at night) and my ribs are hurting less and less. The most important was the head trauma of course, but it seems that no damage was done. I was really worried at first cause the pupil of my right eye was enlarged for some hours after the trauma but soon things returned to normal. My memory, reflexes and everything else were all great, and the doctors found absolutely no cause for worry at all. I managed to start studying for my last exam two days after the incident itself (out of sheer will-power probably)! I mainly stayed in bed to combat my burnout but studied hard and passed my last exam with excellent results: I got a 9.5! Moreover, I got a 9 for my thesis, which is absolutely unbelievable, since thesis results rarely surpass an 8 at our old fashioned university where the motto of most professors is “10 is for God, 9 for the professor, 8 for the student, if, that is the end-result is amazing” ugh! I am happy, can you tell?! Break open the champagne I say, I got my degree! I am hoping I’ll be accepted into the research program next year, fingers crossed. I’ve sent my application and I’m waiting for the reply with baited breath. I haven’t even applied to any other universities, my heart is so set on this one. The Social Psy program here is amazing… Anyway! I could go on about how amazing the people that work there are and how much I want to learn from them but I am sure with the good news out of the way, there’s something you and I both have missed much more than personal news huh? Yes, I am talking about a review!

So, the first review after my absence is probably a little unexpected (I mean, Sabon?), but yes, I’ve been playing with the brand for a while now and I want to get the thoughts I have in my head on ‘paper’ so to speak and out of the way, to make room for some other reviews/projects I’ve lined up. For those of you that are not familiar with the brand, Sabon is an Israel-based company whose boutiques are popping up all over the place, with obvious locations in Israel and the US, but also in Japan, Romania, Canada, Poland, Italy and of course the Netherlands, where the boutiques are currently mushrooming exponentially, with even student-city Leiden getting its own branch. I first got acquainted with the brand about three years ago, but never managed to give the brand proper consideration due to the overbearing attentiveness of the staff. I am sure you are all familiar with the type of customer service I am referring to, whether you’ve ever set foot in a Sabon shop or not. Basically, the moment you’d step in you’d be accosted by an overenthusiastic associate who bent over backwards to give you a hand-treatment. Oh dear. And then of course the all too familiar ‘shadowing the customer’ technique, even after you’ve made perfectly clear that you would like to look. And the yet even more familiar ‘voice an octave higher’ explanation of every product that incidentally caught your eye. No, that kind of customer service just won’t do. I ran away. Several times. Yes, I am persistent. I guess the fact that I am persistent also explains that three years later I had the opportunity to discover that they’ve managed to tone down their tactics considerably. They still watch and are ready to pounce if given the opportunity, but hand-treatments are no longer instantly offered and they seem to have grasped the meaning of “I’d like to look around please”.

So far so good. But what about the content? Considering that the company reports that its roots lie with soap-making and even goes so far as describing the first bars as mouthwatering, you’d expect that their soap bars at the very least smell good, but they don’t. I am not even going to bother saying much about them, they just smell bad, muddy, iffy and altogether unpleasant. Moving on to the second point of criticism: Sabon (at least here in the Netherlands, but most likely also internationally if their website promo is anything to go by) makes a big song and dance about how natural their products are. While the company does produce a range of products with a high concentration of organic ingredients, the vast majority of their products are made the good old fashioned way, with all that entails. Take a look at their body lotions for example and note in particular the ingredients triethanolamine and methylparaben. While I am most certainly NOT someone who requires that everything I put on my body is organic or natural (I buy what I like regardless and when it comes to facial skin-care especially I am all for the latest technology and lab results), I do mind it when I feel that a company tries to present itself as something it is not. The US website for example speaks of “time-honored remedies based on the finest natural ingredients” while the Dutch website describes the products as “Puur natuur kwaliteitsproducten”. All it takes to realize the lack of truthfulness in these claims is to look at the ingredients of the body lotions. At best what might be natural in there are certain palm oils and perhaps some essentials oils in the fragrance?

Oh man, this is turning into a rant. That was not my plan. I’d better get to the good part. The good part, dear readers is that they have a couple of really nice scents. You realize, we are not talking about masterful perfume compositions here of course. We are talking about bath and body products that smell really (really) addictive and are fun and delightful to use simply because they smell like something you crave. Disregard their tropical, marine and green products (shrieking), their musk (murky) and their violet (plain) and head straight for the gourmands. A possible exception is the Ginger Orange line which is very uplifting and natural smelling and is very energizing, especially in the scrub products. Nice to use as ancillary products when planning to perfume yourself with an orange blossom scent afterwards, and perfect for the summer. My personal suggestions are the Fig Coco line (very yummy and unique, not to mention undeniably perfect for summer), the Vanilla Coconut line (also perfect for summer and more importantly one of the very few times I’ve encountered this ubiquitous combo done with such balance, meaning that the coconut does not overtake the vanilla after five minutes) and finally the Patchouli Lavender Vanilla (aka PLV) line on which I’d like to throw a brief spotlight and of which I’ve ended up purchasing several products.

I’ll admit it, I am currently going through a slight addiction phase with the PLV range of products. They got me one day about a month and a half ago when I tried the hand cream just for fun. I couldn’t stop smelling my hands and yet I immediately disregarded any thoughts of buying it since one, I didn’t need it and two, wasn’t the smell rather childish? Well forget it, I splurged for the hand cream, the lotion, the shower gel and body dew a week later. Have been wearing them since. I guess a crave is a crave after all, childish scent or not. But why did the scent seem childish? I’ll get to that in a second. First let me tell you that this note combination is absolutely delicious. I guess loving this scent does take a love for lavender as it definitely has a large presence but it is an absolutely necessary presence as well. It makes the scent if you will, by tempering the sweetness of the vanilla and the deep sensuality of the patchouli. The vanilla too is very pleasant, avoiding the usual candy-floss/cupcake connotations despite not smelling natural. The patch is subdued and soft, meaning these are gourmand products you can enjoy in the summer as well (I know I am) especially since the lavender adds its fresh resonance throughout. All the products in the range I’ve tried so far produce the same linear scent, so if you like it you can build your own little collection of things to layer and enjoy. I have to say that I most enjoy the shower gel and the body dew. The former because it makes shower time such fun with its delightful scent which I love and the latter because it is my first non-alcohol based spray perfume and I am enjoying the delights of misting my hair without fear of drying. As for the reason why the scent smelled childish to me - I finally figured it out some days ago after being puzzled for so long. Bizarrely, as you certainly wouldn’t expect it from this scent, when the notes of PLV merge together and are perceived as a whole they somehow manage to produce the scent of pistachio ice cream - my favorite flavor when I was a child. Or maybe I’m just imagining things - I haven’t had ice cream in four years and pistachio ice cream in at least a decade!!

Finally, would I repurchase? Well, to be honest, I think it’s just a phase I’m going through. Well, maybe not when it comes to the shower gel, I currently can’t contemplate showering with anything else. Okay, no, that’s a lie, I would exchange it for a tube of Ormonde Jayne’s Tolu shower gel in a heartbeat. But I AM seriously attached to this shower gel. In all honesty though I am very disappointed in the ingredients of the body lotion - triethanolamine and methylparaben are not ingredients I want to be putting on my skin on a regular basis. So no, I would not repurchase this ever again unless the company changed the formula. And you know how it goes, when one product goes the chain breaks. Once the lotion is gone the shower/lotion ritual loses a big chunk of its allure. Without the lotion the body dew too loses out as alone it lasts, oh, about five minutes. A disappointment, n'est-ce pas? But it’s summer, and summer is all about summer flings you know. So forgive me this little one a while longer!

Images: Flickr by (A3R) angelrravelor (A3R), www.sxc.hu,

Fun in the Tub: Double Duty Shower Gels

I’ll have to admit, I’m not one to easily spend my cash on shower gels. It goes without saying that the difference between a 3€, a 15€ or even a 20€ shower gel is vast and considering the fleeting, ephemeral nature of the scent in most (whether expensive or cheap), it is no wonder most of us decide to save on shower gels and splurge on something lasting (like a real perfume!). Not all shower gels deserve to be sniffed at however. In fact, once you fall for a couple of good ones, it’s quite easy to become addicted. So what is the definition of a good shower gel? One that cleanses without leaving the skin dry obviously, but what’s important for the definition in a perfume blog after all is the next part: one that manages to scent skin for long periods of time, leaving a beautiful perceptible layer of perfume on the body. We all know that most (if not all) drugstore shower gels manage to scent the skin for, oh, about three seconds, but the problem is that a lot of high-end gels don’t show any improvement in performance either. And that’s cause to get angry: Noone (bar those who’ve money to burn perhaps) wants to spend upwards of 10€ (or dollars) to have their steam smell nice for five minutes.

Fortunately, I’ve weeded out some of those that definitely do work double duty, cleaning and perfuming the skin at once, and that’s what this post is about. Hopefully there can be a part 2 and part 3 in the future as I discover more gems like that. Before I give you my picks, a question: Do you shower in the a.m. or in the p.m. darlings? Because these little beauties are definitely worth a shower after dark, preferably just before donning your nightdress (or do you sleep in the buff, you naughty thing?). I’m saying this cause one of the biggest pleasures I’ve found with these is that not only do they offer me a softer, lower in volume fragrance as I am ready to drift off than a normal spray perfume would, but most importantly, that they saturate the fabric of my PJs, babydolls etc., so that I wake up in the morning cocooned in a light cloud of perfume and soft, warm sleep-scent. Not to mention that the following night when I pick up my nightdress it still smells heavenly! An added bonus is that having showered in the evening you can start the day with a new perfume without worrying about them clashing.

• Arpege: Probably the softest of the picks, but oh-so-pleasurable! In the shower gel, Arpege’s aldehydic, fizzy blur is washed away and the white floral notes are downplayed. Their song becomes improbably soft, allowing the woody base notes to take over. The result on the skin is the most beautiful sheer layer of creeeeeeeaaaamy (yes, sorry, it is wonderful and it makes me quite exclamatory) sandalwood tinged with woody vetiver and soft, barely-there touches of white blooms that feel sexy, like satin.

• Aromatics Elixir: This chypre floral makes for a shower gel that transforms the steam in your bathroom into a perfumed cloud fit for the steam bath of an exotic queen. Revel in its spicy, thorny rose scent and be prepared to have other household members be magnetized towards the bathroom as the scent attempts to lure everyone close: it rises up and fills the air like magic. Once dry, your skin will exude the beautiful signature scent for hours and hours. Simply unbeatable in terms of intensity and true-to-the-scent form.

• Prada pour Homme: This is the one that started it all for me, the one that was so good it put me on the quest for good shower gels that linger. Forget about the “pour homme” tag if you’re a woman and go out and buy this if you enjoy clean musky scents. You can’t get a better shower gel than this in the clean musk category, and that’s a promise. Prada pour Homme is like a tender embrace that keeps blooming, infusing fabrics that come into contact with the skin with beautiful perfume. Although it is very true to the perfume itself, I find that the shower gel is sweeter and warmer and yet far more lightweight it terms of presence. It is one of my favorites.

• Neonatura Cocoon: Will you think I’m a heathen if I say I much prefer the scent of the shower gel to the real perfume? This one is a beauty, readers. Well, if you like patchouli that is! Rest assured, if you do, this one will be a winner. And it is cheap as well! While the perfume presents coffee and patchouli in a pas de deux of equals, blending them perfectly so that both are ‘heard’ just as loud, the shower gel silences the coffee note down to a whisper and allows the vanilla/tonka-tinged patchouli to do its solo. Lovers of the original fear not, the coffee note will still assert its presence here too, but it is soft and muted. In my eyes that’s a good thing: I don’t really want to smell like coffee in certain places. Aherm, what was your dirty mind thinking? I was talking about the armpits! This one gives and gives by the way. You’ll still be able to smell it for a few hours still the next morning. I use this very often, so often in fact my boyfriend thinks it is my natural smell, bless his innocent heart. He once came upstairs while I was showering and exclaimed: “What is this beautiful smell? It smells like you!”. It just goes to show, how long-lasting it is and how it perfumes the skin.

• Opium: The smell that rises in the steam of your shower might be quite true to the scent, but what lingers on the skin is a far more innocent, soft rendition of this classic. You might be surprised, but this one is just perfect for summer nights when the perfume would be too heavy, but you’d still crave its luxurious oriental eroticism. The heat makes it bloom from the skin. Don’t wear this before bed - wear it before going out on a sweltering night instead, with just a light shift on top. Mmmm. The creamy floral notes of dreams tinged with spices under a luster of cleanliness. Perfect.

Touch me Not: The rotten vegetable of choice awards for shower gels go to Philosophy. I splurged on their Pumpkin Spice (just to feed my pumpkin obsession, you know the one that’s been going strong for the past three years or so?) and was sorely disappointed. I’ll tell you what: H&M shower gel scents last longer on my skin and they don’t cost 19€ (or 16$, take your pick, they’re both bad). Zero lasting power for a hefty price tag. Beware.

Images: Flickr by Steve Jurvetson, Clearly Ambiguous and superfem

Kabuki by Tokyo Milk : Perfume Review

Tokyo Milk, just like Bloom Essentials Archive and Lollia is a line created by Margot Elena Wells. Although Lollia, with its romantic feminine appeal already found considerable success (it made it twice in the list of Oprah’s favorite things and was claimed to be one of her favorite gift ideas), it was with her latest line, Tokyo Milk, that Margot Elena piqued the interest and won the hearts of perfume lovers. And that’s no surprise: unlike the dainty, accessible image of Lolia and its focus on floral and fruity notes, Tokyo Milk’s image is edgy and esoteric, a niche curiosity. The scents too have turned quirkier, with notes such as tobacco, woods, teas and spices enhancing the modern blends with an idiosyncratic charm that’s most definitely hard to resist for those of us always on the lookout for something new and fresh to smell.

I’ve smelled about half of the line’s fragrances and they have all, without exception, been extremely gregarious and brash, bringing their message across at full steam. Subtlety and balance is clearly not something that is being aimed for with this line, but while this might sound like harsh critique, it is actually not meant that way: Tokyo Milk’s perfumes have a particular kind of charm and these characteristics seem intended, an attitude that seems to say “I don’t take myself too seriously, but I am terribly charming, aren’t I? Go on then, buy me for a bit of fun, won’t you?”. Given their character, their image and their cheeky charisma, I get the feeling that while many of these have the potential to be hits with older perfume lovers as well (e.g., Poe’s Tobacco for tobacco lovers/collectors), the line will, as a general rule, be more popular with the younger crowd.

Unfortunately, while these are relatively cheap in the USA (either in boutiques where they are sold or via e-tailers), they are quite hard to find here in Europe and more extravagantly priced to boot. I was lucky enough to come across a big sale while in London this past summer, where all of the brand’s perfumes were being sold for about 7 GBP instead of the usual 35 (!! - about 53 USD). The line features many gourmands and since I was at the peak of my vanilla love-affair at the time I had great fun playing around trying to choose one. In the end I went for Kabuki, an exceptionally unique, playful and (perhaps too) youthful scent. The longevity isn’t great (about 3 hours) but the scent makes up for it with its upbeat personality. Kabuki is a rather linear scent featuring a soft, velvety vanilla backdrop full of innocence upon which the other notes seemingly explode. The opening is very citrusy, smelling like an overdose of crunchy white sugar drenched with lemon juice and decorated with the aromatic shavings of the rind. It might seem bizarre that I list the white sugar as a note and even more so that I call it ‘crunchy’ of all things, but yes, Kabuki does smell like sugar and manages to translate the texture as well. Having been a mischievous child who used to cut a lemon in half, dip it in sugar and suck on it until my lips were puckered and red to my parents’ amusement, I feel justified to attest to the realism of this interpretation! Cutting down the sugary-sweet feel of the scent, the addition of bitter grapefruit notes bring a modicum of balance, as well as bringing a sense of maturity to the otherwise playful appeal of the perfume. While I can’t quite make out the purported jasmine notes, Kabuki truly has a very pronounced lychee note and an extremely realistic one at that. I can’t help but think of spring when I smell this scent, perhaps because its happy, exuberant personality is so efficient in bringing across that ‘not a care in the world’ feel the optimistic air of spring always brings in my heart. While this is completely unsuitable for those that don’t like sweet scents (it is very sugary) those that enjoy gourmands should definitely give it a try. While it is undoubtedly sweet in the most toothsome manner, it is quite light and not heavy or overbearing. Wear without fear, even when the weather is warm.

Images: www.wikipedia.org and www.tropicalfruitnursery.com

Apple & Cinnamon and Enchanted Night by Brise : Scented Candle Reviews

In this blog I’ve reviewed perfumes cheap and expensive, rare as well as common, never hesitated between the revered and the reviled and took pleasure in declaring my love even for those that were once well loved but now mocked by many (hello Joop!). But I have to tell you, I’ve been feeling quuuuuite sheepish about reviewing the cheapies I’m about to put under the spotlight today. In fact, I’ve debated with myself about it for more than a week already, often contemplating the eternal “But what will my readers think!?”. Silly huh? So anyway, as you see, I got over my inhibitions, cause I remembered you all love good scents as much as I do. I knew this couldn’t go wrong!

So, the subject matter today is cheap-thrill candles and I’ve chosen my two favorites: Brise Apple & Cinnamon and Brise Enchanting Night. If you’ve had bad run-ins with Johnson’s Glade/Brise products in the past, trust me, I completely understand. Not all of the line’s candles are created equal. In fact I’ve had my share of gag-worthy moments (I’m looking at you I Love You candle) with some of them. I think the line fails miserably when it comes to exuberant, fresh, fruity and fruity-floral smells altogether in fact. But the real surprise is how good it does gourmand, oriental and woody scents: real good. Exceptionally so, trust me. Two of my absolute favorites are Apple & Cinnamon (sold as Pomme & Cannelle in most European countries) and Enchanting Night.

Apple & Cinnamon is the candle I always, always have at home and my trusty standby for all those occasions when I invite people over for coffee or tea. I light it about an hour before my guests arrive and by the time they come in the whole house smells as though I’ve been diligently slaving over the oven to produce the perfect apple pie. It creates the warmest atmosphere and feels absolutely cozy and inviting. Importantly, it always manages to extract spontaneous compliments on how good the house smells. The scent is not only gourmand but beautifully spicy as well - aside from the obvious cinnamon it features a rich clove note that brings to mind festive winter treats.

Enchanting Night on the other hand is more of a private pleasure for me - I light it just for myself when I want to indulge in a quiet evening at home. The scent is probably my favorite in the line for it smells exactly how I wish my house would always smell: private, familiar, sexy. Enchanting Night indeed has an incredibly sensual scent, but the genius of it is that even though it has potent throw and as such adequately perfumes the area, it does so thoughtfully, quietly. It might sound like a contradiction, but yes, the scent it produces is both potent and subdued. How to explain this better? I guess what I mean to say is that it’s never in your face: you can pay attention to it if you like, or you can just ignore it and go about your business, only to notice it again later when it suddenly dawns on you how good the house smells. The actual smell is like an overdose of coumarin (think of newly mown hay and tonka bean sweetness) with beautiful, subtle accents of violet. Oh yes, you see now why this is totally me! Even more attractive is its heavy musky base which smells very much like the musks used in Gaultier’s Fleur du Male.

These candles burn beautifully and cleanly to the very end. They never smoke and I’ve never had to tediously trim their wicks. They just do their own thing and they do it well, and they do it for the cost of no more than four euro, no less. My only complaint is that since a few years ago SC Johnson decided to change the appearance of the pots and partnered up with Sleever International to produce the new designs, which change seasonally (well, at least here in Europe - I believe the U.S. candle holders look different). I am not impressed. I might be burning a cheap candle, but I sure don’t want it to look like I’m burning a cheap candle and these designs are… well. Let’s just say they don’t do it for me. I much preferred the old, clean, simple candle-holders. But alright, I’ll forgive you, Johnson, if only you bring the Pumpkin Pie and the Vanilla scent here in little Holland too! Will you? Please?

Do you have any favorite cheap candles? Most importantly, do they have a good throw? Before I discovered these I always considered cheap candles as worthless, cause nothing seemed to have the power to scent a room and only smelled good in the pot before lighting it… If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Images: www.scjohnson.be and www.sxc.hu

Royal Water by Creed : Perfume Review

It’s normally hit or miss with me and Creed, but to be honest, I didn’t know what to make of this one at first. I doubt I would have given this the time of day had I just sniffed on a blotter; Royal Water takes its sweet time to unfold to its full splendor and the skin’s warmth makes the perfect catalyst. Still, I’ll tell you it is not an easy perfume to love: Royal Water can’t decide on its gender, daydreams endlessly (not pointlessly however!) before it reaches its destination, can’t make up its mind on whether it is cool or warm and generally teases the wearer endlessly. And yet, instead of finding it insufferable, I find myself inexplicably charmed. Do you know… the feeling is not unlike being manipulated by a talented lover with a sinister touch that knows exactly how to stroke a body while refusing to let it climb over the edge. You understand then, this is a perfume that gets better and better with time. The question is, do you have the patience?

The opening is old fashioned and rather severe, a true eau full of citrus. Along with lemon, the official notes list green mandarins and clementines which would have you expect something altogether juicier and perhaps sweet, however this is an exceptionally dry perfume. After this entirely neutral, unisex blast of clean freshness Royal Water takes a rather unexpected turn, slowly manifesting itself as a beautiful classic fougère, gentlemanly and proper. Undeniably green (yet never aggressively so), the fern theme is interpreted with astute perfection. The perfume’s cool, indifferent character is underscored by a peppermint note which adds superbly to its blasé attitude. I know peppermint is a make-or-break note for many but I will vouch for the fact that here it is rendered very carefully and only serves to add a frosty undercurrent, never once screaming for individual attention. I get not a single whiff of the resinous green warmth from the purported juniper berries in the heart notes: Royal Water continues to be aloof and cool as a cucumber even as it progressively has the completely opposite effect on me - cool and aloof it might be, but it keeps on intensifying, slowly changing and I find myself slightly breathless, awaiting the outcome… Which is mysterious in and of itself, for this is not my type of perfume at all! What is this perfume laced with, anyway?! Again, this strange scent takes me by surprise by suddenly gender-bending its way to femininity as it quiets down to a mysterious softness. From ferny green coolness, Royal Water has transformed to gentle ambers, spices and sexy musks, touched by a whisper of something that smells indistinctly floral and improbably feminine. Despite these warm notes the perfume still somehow manages to retain its exceptionally dry character - how, I don’t know. Regardless, it refuses to show even the slightest sign of sweetness or fullness. This in essence is the theme that ties all the changes Royal Water undergoes together: Despite how different it smells now, its beautiful, haughty dryness disallows it from succumbing to throwing away the mask of cool detachment, despite its obvious climactic arousal. In this respect I can imagine this perfume would be worn beautifully by a woman to compliment a provocative outfit or lustful curves, for it denotes an air of unavailability, thus making it a perfect balancing factor. Having said that, it can just as easily (and beautifully) be worn by a man. One word of warning however: don’t let this one be sprayed on clothes: the cumin note which remains rather quiet (and only apparent in the drydown) on the skin manifests itself fiercely on fabric and lingers, smelling rather sweaty and unpleasant as cumin often tends to do.

Note: I was sent this sample by Essenza Nobile, where it is sold for 125 E (75ml). To visit the Essenza Nobile webshop click here.

Images: Royal Water bottle via www.creedfragrances.co.uk and fern via Flickr by Nick Coombe

Miyabi Woman by Annayake : Perfume Review & Draw

I’ve got something special for you today, something I’m quite excited about - the first review of Annayake’s newest fragrance, Miyabi! There’s a history of paying attention to this brand here on Fragrance Bouquet and I’m glad to have been able to have access to the perfumes in order to provide you with what I hope is a rather comprehensive picture of the entire line. So, the moment this became available here I procured a small quantity for review.

The news of these new perfumes’ release (one for men and one for women) broke out a while ago, but perhaps a less known fact about them is that their release is a celebratory mark for the brand’s 10-year anniversary. The gorgeous identical bottles (black and silver for him and ivory and gold for her), so elegant and at the same time easy and restful on the eyes, are meant to be a modern interpretation of the inkpot and brush, thus paying homage to the brand’s Japanese identity by evoking the art of calligraphy. The boxes in turn, are meant to evoke fusuma, the sliding rectangular vertical panels that separate interior spaces in traditional Japanese houses. The name -Miyabi- on the other hand, is harder to decipher: often interpreted by westerners as “elegance” or “elegance in beauty”, miyabi is in fact a highly complex construct, heavily influenced by culture. As such, it is very difficult - if not impossible- to offer a satisfactory translation. Without diverging too much from the topic, I will attempt to offer a brief explanation. Miyabi refers most notably to perfection, as in perfection in color, beauty, form and balance. Inherent in this notion however, is always the concept of transience - the passage of time itself. When it comes to a person, miyabi refers to their refinement and specifically their refinement of taste, their ability to discern elegance in everyday objects and to subsequently derive pleasure from them.

Now on to the perfumes themselves. As with most of the masculine perfumes in the Annayake lineup, I have to report that Miyabi Man is, in my opinion subpar. With notes of sandalwood and tonka in the base and sumptuous spices in the heart I imagined this would be a beautiful oriental but unfortunately the experience was that of a generic fresh masculine. Perhaps it is the cucumber freshness of the violet leaves that so put me off in my brief test and perhaps I should give it another try, but reader, I had to scrub this one off fast. Hence my focus only on Miyabi Woman today in any case, which I’ve been testing for a week now and which I am quite enamored with.

In my impression, this is a rather strange perfume in the sense that it does not follow the classic pyramid structure. Top notes for example, seem to be entirely absent: Miyabi instantly plunges the senses in a deep, velvety cocoon of softness. But Miyabi does not fit the bill of a linear perfume either. Its changes, albeit incremental are certainly discernible. Let me diverge for a moment however in order to give you a really good picture of this perfume. When I last visited Paris and had my first encounter with Paris-Moscou, I felt like this was one of the most unique gourmand perfumes I’d ever smelt. I was completely taken (and taken aback) with this incredibly fluffy, soft-as-clouds note that instantly made me think of a marshmallow (click here for my original description). Yes, I am still desperately in love with Paris-Moscou, I still think it is one of the best soft gourmands out there. But… it is not quite as unique as I thought it was. I’d never smelled a Britney Spears perfume till this summer, but something possessed me this past July while waiting at an airport terminal somewhere and I gave her Fantasy a try. Lo and behold, the beautiful marshmallow note, fluffy and sweet. Not nearly as refined as the Guerlain, definitely the drugstore version, but the note was there. Apparently, Guerlain didn’t quite get there first. Fast forward to yet another airport where I smelled Kenzo’s airport exclusive, 5:40 PM In Madagascar. That note again! Please be aware that I am not claiming all these fragrances are twins, just that they all contain this extremely compelling, beautiful new note that suddenly seems to be proliferating and that they all seem to be focused in highlighting it significantly. You obviously see by now where I am going with this… Yes, Miyabi is built around this note. This beautiful, mysterious note that smells of gorgeous whipped vanilla and fluffy, soft marshmallows. For the first hour or so of the development, it is beautifully supported by fragrant peach and an indistinct flowery mélange which is in turn hardened (read: balanced) by smoky cedar. As time goes by, the fragrance mellows as the tonka and ambery base notes come through more distinctively. The volume of the fragrance also drops considerably, radiating more quietly from the skin. Slowly, it transforms to a sweet woody aura, hugging the skin with sandalwood and musk. When considered as part of the lineup, it has to be said that Miyabi diverges considerably from the house style. The rest of the fragrances seem to have a clarity and translucency (even when the type of perfume would not lead you to expect such, e.g. a lactonic gourmand) that this one lacks. However the fact that it incorporates one of my favorite new notes (almost certainly a new aromachemical which produces this mysterious fluffy, vanilla-marshmallow effect) and that it does so elegantly, makes me enamored with it. The end result is a comforting yet peculiar, in other words interesting and delightful at once, at least if you are a gourmand lover. Lovers of Kenzo’s Amour and 5:40 PM In Madagascar and fans of Guerlain’s Paris-Moscou should definitely give this one a try.

Annayake has a rather limited distribution and never even makes it to certain countries such as the US, so I am offering a sample draw. If you are interested, simply leave a comment and you’ll be automatically included. Winner to be announced in a week’s time, next Wednesday.

Images: Fusama screens via Wikipedia and marshmallows via Flickr by John-Morgan

Geranium pour Monsieur by Frederic Malle : Perfume Review

Happy New Year everyone! I am hijacking the first part of this review to thank you all for your lovely wishes and the warmth you’ve shown me through your messages in the past month after my attack. I am fine now. I spent three days in bed, not really wanting to travel to Greece - I was so down I didn’t feel I could go celebrate the holidays with my family. However, after just two days with my family, my spirits were lifted and my emotional as well as physical wounds healed. I had a lot of writing to do for the university through the holidays unfortunately, and although I finished delivering papers yesterday, I now have to study for one more exam and my thesis group is beginning later this month. Wait, WHAT? Oh darlings, this year is truly kicking my ass. No matter, as long as I don’t have to be writing day and night like I have been doing for the past two weeks, then I am here, dontcha know? :) Yup, that’s what I call commitment! What can I say, I love perfume and I love you so forget about rest (or shopping), here I am, ready for another review. Enough about studies and pressure and all that: Let’s just pause and breathe in the rarefied air of Monsieur Malle!

It has to be said that Geranium pour Monsieur is not going to be everyone’s favorite: with a rather toothpaste-like, strong mint-spearmint opening, it is unlikely to float everyone's boat. Not a universally accessible scent thus, but an extremely innovative, unique and beautiful one nevertheless. The mint opening is supremely cool, like an icy breath, perfect for cooling down in the evening with a couple of spritzes after a gloriously sunny, hot day. Give it five minutes and the mint loses its toothpaste qualities and calms down to an herbal, bitter-sweet breeze of freshness with gentle camphoric undertones. A slight earthiness, too, struggles to emerge, bringing the senses on the cusp of delicious anticipation.

The heart notes are dominated by geranium. If you haven’t smelled geranium essential oil (Pelargonium Odorantissimum), do it now: any perfume lover that wants to train his or her nose to better pick out notes can start successfully with this one. Its scent is extremely pungent and extremely unforgettable. Alone and in good quality high concentrations it is rather unpleasant, smelling profusely of citronella and leaving a rather sour, dry and ever so slightly earthy trail. The reason I so eagerly suggest it as an early tool to train your nose, is that once you smell it, you won’t forget its scent again, preparing you to readily pick it out in complex compositions. In Geranium pour Monsieur the dose is just right. Yes, it is used generously, so that the end result is instantly recognizable as a composition in which the geranium note steals the starring role, but it is used with such consideration along with the supporting notes, that it shines brightly, jubilantly, youthfully, all its harshness beautifully tempered by the lovely bitter-sweetness surrounding it. So let’s return to those supporting notes then: the mint is unbelievably still there, providing quiet freshness and a cool breeze. Its herbal aspect is underscored by a dill note (oh yes, don’t laugh, I am quite serious), whose inherent soft anise aspects are enhanced by sweet fennel and barely-there anise. You see how genius that progression goes? From the is-it-there, is-it-not anise aspect of dill, to the stronger aniseedic scent of fennel, and finally, to the oh-so moderately used anise? Beautifully considerate, isn’t it? The result is beautiful too, balanced and calm - never a spiky note. Finally, hints of clove and cinnamon underscore the sweetness gently, provide a good bit of dark spiciness to the mix and enhancing the quietly camphoric impression.

The drydown is pure glory. The freshness dies down to a whisper and allows itself to be superseded by clean musks (think fresh sheets), but the beauty truly comes from the round voluptuousness provided by the sweet ambers: soft incense rises through a cloud of yummy, vanillic Siam Benzoin and beautifully balsamic storax. It is all gorgeously rounded off by creamy-sweet sandalwood. Despite this being a predominately masculine scent, it really can work like a charm on a woman. While its signature is definitely masculine, at no point is it even close to aggressive. Proof positive of how well it can work on a woman is Sniffapalooza’s Karen Dubin. She bought this while on our trip and her sillage was so magnificent I had to immediately ask her what she was wearing. Do give this one a try, it might just surprise you. If I am honest, I’ll even admit that I like it better on women than on men. Hey did I say this out loud? Apologies in advance to all the Monsieurs reading my blog - Sorry guys, we’re stealing this one from your shelf!

Images: toothpaste tube via Flickr by twenty_questions, Geranium pour Monsieur flacon