Fuel for Life by Diesel : Perfume Reviews

I looove Diesel. I love the brand, the ads, I love the clothes. The jeans are amazing – nothing like a Diesel pair to create, nay, sculpt that perfect derrière that will lift my mood and give me an instant boost of confidence. Oh yes, I swear by them. And lately, I’ve also been rather taken by Diesel accessories, ever since the Boule Bag stole my heart last year. (I am still kicking myself for not buying it the one time when I saw it in lovely, aged cognac brown – the purple didn’t move me in the same way and so I’ve remained Boule-less, *sigh*) Despite my infatuation with the brand, I’d never smelled any of Diesel’s previous perfumed offerings. The new Fuel for Life fragrances are everywhere right now though and dressed as they are in their little outfits, they simply beg to be touched, picked up and inevitably sprayed on the skin. How do they fare? Mighty well in my opinion.

Fuel for Life Pour Homme:

The notes are intriguing, mixing the traditionally masculine along with the unexpectedly playful. What pleases me most about this scent, is that everything is used in what I am tempted to call moderation, but really, is just the perfect dose. To give an example: Both the top and base notes employ an anis element – aniseed in the top notes and immortelle in the base notes. On paper, this might seem as though Fuel for Life Pour Homme delivers an ouzo-like, liquorice punch, but in reality, the result is a continuous, candied and at the same time almost salty, anis veil, not strong enough to pop-out as a stand alone note distracting from the composition, but as a lovely primer on the canvas, a constant upon the rest of the notes bloom. The fragrance is woody and herbal, with accents of lavender and vetiver making it definitively masculine. At the same time the anis and fruity notes give it an unexpected twist, modernizing the fougere base, making it delightfully contemporary. Even though it is not listed as an official note, I could swear there is oudh in the blend as well, leaving a lasting impression throughout the development. It helps along the lovely interplay between coolness and warmth, sharpness and mystery. What I love most about the scent? The vivacious, playful note of raspberry, which is carefully used, once again in just the right amount. It is not tart, overly sweet or chemical, but wonderfully soft instead - as though blended with clotted cream and a sprinkling of sugar. I have no doubt that I would hate this note had I found it in a female fragrance, but in this undoubtedly masculine blend it makes me grin with pleasure - not only because the idea of it in a male fragrance excites me, but also because it fits the composition so very well, giving it that something extra naughty.

Fuel for Life Pour Femme:

Fragrances dominated by patchouli can go either very wrong or very, very right in my book. I have previously elaborated on how previous bad experiences led me to shy away from patchouli and how I learned to love it, once I found the right perfume to ease me into its charms. Well, “ease into” is certainly a euphemism, putting it lightly, when the fragrance in question, the fragrance that opened my eyes to the beauty of this note, was actually L’Inspiratrice, a veritable patchouli queen. A more fitting phrase for that experience would have been “baptême du feu”, baptism of fire! I still consider it a difficult note though, and even houses I love have been found guilty of abusing it. (Matsuri by Annayake comes to mind...) Fuel for Life is another scent built around this ostentatious note, but one that manages to get it right. This is fruity patchouli, with a pleasantly sour opening. Once the top cassis notes fly off, we enter a world of beautiful, jasmine infused patchouli. The jasmine in this case is not overpowering – its allure is transparent, its thin tendrils gently enfolding the patchouli with affection. Even more exciting is the appearance of a green leaf note, which slowly imparts the impression of crushed fresh mint leaves unto the heart of the scent. My only regret is that this fabulous mint note does not have more lasting power, more tenacity. All too soon it disappears, taking the jasmine with it, leaving me with the feeling I didn’t get to enjoy either of them nearly as much as I would have liked to. Fortunately, the drydown is beautiful, and even though it does not manage to erase the memory of the vibrant mint, I find myself enjoying its powdery, dry finish. Befitting Diesel’s image, Fuel for Life Pour Femme is a patchouli most suited for day-wear, sheer and cheerful as it is. It is rare, I think, to find a patchouli that is summery, but this is exactly how I perceive this interpretation of the note to be. Summery and alive as well as feminine and sexy, I find Fuel for Life to be the daytime answer to all the nighttime patchouli vamps.

Images: Author’s own, www.wildoats.com, http://environnement.ecoles.free.fr and www.wildcrafted.com.au

Yukimi by Annayake : Perfume Review

When I was a child, time seemed to stand still. Each season was endless, each year lasted a decade. As I grow older, seasons seem to come and go in the most fleeting of manner, each one melding quickly into the next, a year gone in the blink of an eye. So have the seasons of Annayake passed before our eyes and we have invariably arrived to the last one, the longest stretch of the year, Winter.

Yukimi means “snowviewing”, and once again, the name bestowed upon this fragrance fits the composition wonderfully. I’ve never experienced coolness and warmth blending at once with such effortlessness, with no sense of dissonance whatsoever. And what is perhaps most curious is the overwhelming sense of quietness and stillness that this fragrance delivers.
It is the same sense of quietness I experience when I wake up in the morning with the unwavering certainty that it has snowed the night before, for every single sound in nature is eerily muffled. I love mint in fragrances, and its addition in Yukimi is utter perfection, boldly announcing crisp cool winds and steely light. The fruit in the blend quickly brings me back inside the warmth of the house, where mother is throwing rinds of mandarin oranges and peels of apples in the lit fireplace, thereby scenting the air with festive aromas. Cool musks, cedar and soft powder, enveloped by the warmest of amber, enfold me in a bubble no sound can fully penetrate. They form a safe cocoon, offering protection from over-stimulation and the demands of adulthood. Time stands still again, affording me the luxury of reflection.

The woman that will gladly dance among the falling snowflakes, the woman this perfume is meant for, is rare, uncustomary. She is a self-assured innovator. It is not by chance that my mind places her dancing in winter wonderland. Even though she is a grown up, her essence is that of a child. She sparkles, full of joie de vivre. For her, time will still bend, making every season last a lifetime, just so she can suck every single drop of life out of every single day. When snow falls, she’ll still try to catch snowflakes on her tongue. When she goes to bathe in a hot spring up on the hill, she hopes to encounter macaque monkeys, completely unafraid. When she walks home at night, she’ll stop to marvel at the light twinkling inside the stone snow-viewing lanterns, yukimi-gata – even though she has seen them countless times before. Her laughter is crystaline and clear, like snow melting on the first days of spring. Her perfume of choice is subdued, to counter and contrast her playful character. Her perfume is that of innocence and clarity, quiet happiness and sweetness. She chooses something that blurs the lines between her own sweet skin’s scent and the perfume itself. She chooses Yukimi, scenting her neck with a childhood her body has outgrown.

Pictures courtesy of: www.japaneselifestyle.com.au, www.japonia.org and www.hikejapan.com