By Monday I will post my long anguished over review of Parfum DelRae’s Amoureuse, one of my great loves and biggest sources of writer’s block. In fact, I’ve been wearing it so much lately to eek out every last bit of literary love that I’ve managed to block out some of it’s smell. So, review up on monday. Until then, If you have smelled it, leave a comment for discussion. If you haven’t smelled it, get yourself a sample by some means or another, you will not regret it. Luckyscent has samples, the perfumed court and I also decant it as well.
Nectarine Blossom and Honey by Jo Malone
You know Oprah is excited about something when she sing/shouts about it and or gives it away. She “loves anything from Jo Malone!” which only further proves my theory that to sell lots of something or perhaps take over the world, you must first get to Oprah. I am thinking Jo Malone must do a few of her perfumes well, if we take the 1000 monkeys 1000 years and Shakepeare equation to heart, but Nectarine Blossom and Honey ain’t one of them.
The name Nectarine Blossom and Honey conjures summer and fruit orchards and white linen to my mind. The sort of thing you’d like to wear just out of the shower, playing with kids, outside or casually. Something lady like and quiet but pleasant. Kind of like a breakfast with tea and yogurt with Nectarines. delightful?
Well, I sprayed and got my nectarines. I was happy and egar for the rest of the compostion to unfold. Boy was I sorry. Instead of my summer day/evening I got summer orange juice morning breath. Yick. You know when you brush your teeth then have a glass of OJ? You know the after taste you are stuck with? That’s Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom and Honey. I felt complused to brush my teeth and swish a gallon of listerine.
This is an experience not uncommon for me and Ms. Malone’s creation. I have yet to find one I like despite the usual stop and sniff at Saks. Maybe I am missing a bottle.
So, unless you are a looking for a slightly more grown up Bath and Body Works alternative with a hefty price tag, stay away from the Jo Malone line unless you do some heavy sampling to find the monkey’s masterpiece.
Iris Silver Mist and a Versace Bright Crystal Scathe-er
I realize as a blogger I am late in the game. I rarely review new things that have just been released. I feel like much of the new release are crap geared towards people who just don’t care about what they wear or haven’t matured thier sense of smell yet. Don’t get me started on the “brand new versace bright crystal for her” the Saks SA attacked me with. I can some it up as a shrill, obnoxious, ruffled bright floral dress. Much like the one worn by one of the guests at the tarts and vicars party in the Bridget Jones movie. The one Bridget’s mother thought hadn’t recieved notice about the change of dress plans but did. It does suit Donetella Versace well though, esp if she worre such a dress. Yikes.
notes for Versace Bright Crystal Iced Accord, Yuzu, Pomegranate, Peony, Magnolia, Lotus Flower, Acajou, Vegetal Amber, Musk
— I looked at the notes and though oh! Peony, amber and musk! this could at least be interesting! but an ICED accord? Pomengrante?? I swear they looked at what’s the most popular Crystal Light (drink) flavor and thought “oh I bet if I throw in some flowers and pretend to put in an animalic, this will smell great. Or at least Britney will sub it out for her favorite purple drank.”
Where was I? Right . . . slow to the blogging game. So typically, I like to review things that are new to me that you probably have read about before, which isn’t really a bad thing. I loved to have millions of opinions on the perfumes I obsessively googled in the begining of my perfumista awakening. I focused on the list in the Bombshell Manual of Style, but now I am coming around to things I ignored before. Such as the Iris.
I first began to appreciate the Iris after finally “getting” Apres L’Ondee, the Iris baby head concotion of Guerlain that rocks my mama world. Next I tired Ormonde Jayne Orris Noir which wasn’t really Noir as I think of it, but nice most of the time and deserves a revisit.
Iris Silver Mist by Serge Lutens starts as agressive cloves and dirt. In cooking it is suggested you toast your spices before you grind them to bring out thier flavor. The opening is as though I slightly over toasted cloves and then dropped them into a pot of dirt in the garden to compost. You smell the cloves, the dark, slightly moist earth and the green leaves of teh plant in the pot. This is dark and strange for me, alludes to the oncoming of rain. Every so often a glimpse of pale lilac buttery mist creeps along through the earthiness and around the Cristalle-like green. Although most people find this a cool perfume, I find a little warmth in a slight animalic musk interlude. In the end I get woods and more Chanel Cristalle green, though muted.
If this perfume were a commercial, I’d set it in the woods. Green trees, dark earth and thunder. Cue the music and a pale Brunette Goddess glides through the woods dripping with rain, nude save for a pale lilac veil of fabric clinging to her wet skin and trailing behind her.
Like the commerical, the glorious iris only lasts about a minute on me, but it is a beautiful minute and unforgotten. Maybe a superbowl commercial? Not my favorite Iris, which title is currently held by Apres L’Ondee. I like to refer to Iris Poudre in Fredric Malle, as it stands up to my skin and emits a lady like, juicy leather tone. A very interesting addition to my decant collection. And for all purposes Yea Serge.
The King says : “nice but subtle” I think my skin devours Iris Only real issue is the look during this conversation.
Stranger “you smell nice”
me “thanks. I’m wearing Iris Silver Mist”
Stranger “Isn’t that a cheap soap brand. I didn’t think it would smell that interesting”
So this is the second official Iris Quest posting, look for more in the future. I have Fath Iris Gris in the drawer as well as Le Labo. Any other suggestions?
Look for a picture after the next computer restart.
Pink Room No 1 by Carol
Many times in the last few years I have said that I don’t get along with roses anymore . My signature fragrance from the moment it was released in the early 80’s was YSL Paris . After almost 8 years I got tired of it . Don’t laugh. That was 20 years ago . After searching and smelling many fragrances , I realized I wasn’t looking for a signature scent anymore , the ONE . I wanted to smell EVERYTHING .. The last thing I went looking for was a new rose fragrance , and yet that is what I found.
The Pink Room No. 1 has held my attention since I first noticed it on Luckyscent . Not for the jus , for the packaging ! Yes the description sounded nice , but roses and I you know ..
And then , an adorable roll on came along and *bam* that was it , I. HAD . TO . HAVE . IT . As fate would work , Sarah Barton-King was to be at Sniffa Spring Fling so my plan was to buy her pink creation straight from her hand . Maybe sniff it first .
And I did ..
Can I say I love roses again ?
A rose petal is a very erotic thing. When you close your eyes and feel it , there is an aliveness that mimics human skin ; silky , cool , and soft. Much different than the rosebud , or the rose bush, the petals reveal no dirt , no green , just creamy softness . Leave them to dry a bit , and they become dusky , almost powdery, but retain that pearlescent quality . This is The Pink Room No 1 when applied to skin , cool and soft like cream on peaches….then a whole bouquet of violets joins in along with the rest of the meadow flowers , a romp in the sun with Bambi nuzzling your cheek .
Some vanilla and some warm furry moss make this so demure and so delicate that a tear runs down Bambi’s face when I leave…
Needless to say this will be my go-to scent this summer in Florida , and it lasts long enough to satisfy me . I would love to have the body powder and she also offers a rich light body cream .
Created by famous nose Guy Robert , Sarah told us at sniffa she asked him to become Marcel Proust having tea with his aunt in the garden.
” That was my total brief and we worked very closely on that and it somehow embodied identically the very thing that I wanted to achieve, The Pink Room in London.” she told me in a recent e-mail.
Sarah has just released No 2. Parfum Pour Toi .This creation was based upon a very deep brief to Cyrille Carles whose family works with Guy but Guy was too ill to work with Sarah on her second fragrance.
At lunch on Sunday during Spring sniffa , I was able to sniff a secret vial of No 3 , which is also a symbiotic relationship with Cyrille.This fragrance has yet to be released , I loved it . It reminded me of marshmallow patchouli , and I very much look forward to it’s release ..
photo credit :http://www.bridalwave.tv/2007/01/institute_of_co.html
That ain’t “rien”! Miller Harris L’air de Rien
Miller Harris produced one of the most interesting bits of perfumery in awhile. It’s tobacco and a little leather and a while lot of unwashed. Rien means nothing in french. I guess that is supposed to be a little joke for the following reasons
1. the air of nothing — should smell like nothing. The absence of smell? the absence of a perfume and the presence of the enviromental smells? LdR captures leather, tobacco and smoke, all enviormental smells to create an intellectual, warm ambience.
2. To cut short a lengthy explanation, I will get to the point — Shakespeare often used the word nothing or nil as a name for a vagina. If I had lots of time ans space and audience I would expand on the proof, but I don’t so just take my word here. So the perfume would be the air of vagina, which the animalics certainly give the juice. It’s very very naughty, yet it is still very cerbral. Much like a sexy scientist or librarian.
We start with the comforting smell of pipe smoke. swirling around a leather chair in your father’s library and then, two seconds later a whiff of dirty underwear and powder. The animalic in this smoky red flannel blanket is almost overwhelming. It is the musk of very dirty underpants. The kind worn while performing an intense workout, left on the body to dry and then worn out to dinner. Very Bold stuff. So bold that my tiny little decant needs a home away from it’s decant friends inside two plastic bags to tone down it’s siren’s call. It’s really that pungent. 
While the opening is daring and danger with a slight bit of red flannel blanket thrown in to fool you with comfort, the rest of the composition is a wonder. Green velvety oakmoss tinged with vanilla dances with a bit of amber to creat a sultry Oriental that is best worn when it is either cool outside or on a rainy afternoon in your library spent discussing Russian Literature naked. Wear a sweater or loll about on a tiger skin. This perfume is clothing enough.
Kings thoughts: “smells like red velvet. kind of dirty too”
LdR is a modern perfume done in a classical style. Sooner or later it’s tobacco-musk-oriental base will seduce me into a full bottle. In the spirit of the perfume guide, if there were only two words to describe L’air de Rien, they would be skanky librarian.
Other things that smell
It’s been kind of busy here with the King’s return from travel, so I’ve been soaking up the family time. Not much time to post.
So here’s some thoughts to tide my three readers over
Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez’s Perfume Guide — I read it cover to cover. Everyone is entitled to thier opinions, but leave my house of Caron alone!!! Nuit de Noel is magic y’all. I’ve ear marked many pages for new things to try. It was definately a fun read.
Eminence Stone crop Wash– inspiration for the post title. This stuff is made by a Hungarian organic skin care company. It’s doing wonders for my skin and, I can’t get over the smell. Juicy, Green, Clean and Fresh. Just a whiff gets me ready for the day as I wash my face. Love it! The rest of the line is wonderful too. Get a sample of the chocolate souffle mask–smells and looks like chocolate pudding but gives you a mini face lift.
Kerastase Chrome deep conditioner — smells EXACTLY like Bulgari Pour Femme. Good for those of you who love it. Bad for me who hates it. But it does condition really really well.
Dior Dune- mini review– nothing too unusual, very nice. However what grabbed me was the drydown, which smelled exactly like Le Labo Patchouli. mmm.
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