Chanel Coromandel

As some of you may know, I am working my way through the Chanel Exclusifs samples I recently received. Today I am wearing Coromandel, a fragrance that is apparently inspired by the Coromandel Laquer screens that Coco Chanel had in one of her Paris apartments. I've read differing views, but it seems like Coromandel was created by Jacque Polge with some input by Christopher Sheldrake. The theme of Coromandel,...

Chanel Bois des Iles

I recently ordered a number of the Chanel Les Exclusifs from The Perfumed Court and I'm looking forward to trying them all. The reason I tried Bois des Iles first is because I read somewhere that it bears similarities to Egoiste, which I own. The notes for Bois des Iles are Aldehydes, coriander, bergamot, neroli, peach, jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, ylang-ylang, iris, vetiver, sandalwood, benzoin,...

Sonoma Scent Studio

I mentioned in a post not that long ago that I had finally ordered some samples from Sonoma Scent Studio. Well, they finally arrived and I am now excitedly trying them out. This post is more a general description of my initial impressions of the line and if I do any detailed reviews, these will be published later. Firstly, I want to emphasise how lovely it is that a niche, indie line can be so reasonably...

Summer = Citrus

I should just say that generally speaking I am not a huge fan of the citrus fragrance family. I very often love a citrus opening, then it fades fast, leaving me smelling faint woods and musk at best. Some citrus fragrances are excellent - take Eau Savage for example - and have stood the test of time, but there are others that seem to just clog up the shelves at many department stores, all like each...

Etat Libre D'Orange - Fat Electrician

The picture to the left is not the one used for the Fat Electrician marketing, but as I'm in a silly mood, bum cracks it is. Speaking of silly, perhaps I'm just a grouch, but I do find a lot of the ELDO marketing a bit silly, bearing very little relation to the fragrances themselves. Having said that though, how many perfume ad campaigns actually do? Fat Electrician is primarily a vetiver fragrance,...

Guerlain - house of cards?

I find it quite difficult to write about anything Guerlain. So much has been written before, that for me, a bare novice, to add my tuppence worth seems almost sacrilegious. I mean, what could I possibly add that hasn't been said already? Then again, perfume is an art, and like any art, it garners both praise and criticism, from novice and expert alike, and so therefore I will comment accordingly....

The Different Company - Sel de Vetiver

Following my recent bog on vetiver, I thought I would follow it up with a review of Sel de Vetiver, by the Different Company, one of my favourite, yet eclectic vetiver fragrances. The listed notes are grapefruit, cardamom, geranium, lovage, Haitian vetiver, patchouli, iris and ylang-ylang. This note list is quite unusual, at least to me. I haven't seen lovage, geranium, iris and ylang-ylang listed...

Oud you like to try some?

I find the whole subject of oud and its uses quite fascinating, but I also find it quite irritating. The reason for this is the exclusivity associated with genuine oud. What I am really saying is that I yearn to try some proper ouds but the price point is insane and my wallet barely stretches to sampling niche fragrances, let alone  a wood prized by Arabian Sultans and Oil Sheiks. To date I have...

A post about vetiver

Vetiver was one of the first perfume notes I fell in love with. When I first smelled its use in Guerlain Vetiver, I was shocked by its smell, but in a good way; I had never smelled anything like it before and I was smitten. I went on a bit of a vetiver bender for a while after that, gradually acquiring samples of Vetiver Extraordinaire by Editions De Parfums Frederic Malle, Route de Vetiver by Maitre...

Hoopers department store pamper party

You may recall from one of my earliest posts that we have two department stores in Tunbridge Wells. Hoopers is situated right across from the train station in a prominent position. It is in a lovely, old-fashioned Victorian building, and inside, although modern in product, it retains an atmosphere of a slightly earlier age. Although there are obviously lifts and compliance with fire and health &...

Plague or perfume?

Guess what folks? I is a sick puppy. I started getting some severe stabbing pain in my ribs on Wednesday and shortness of breath. At first I thought I'd pulled a muscle between the ribs, but after seeing the doctor I have ben diagnosed with pleurisy! Yikes, this sounds like TB or the plague no? Well, in actual fact pleurisy is an infection and inflammation of the fluid and lining of the lungs. The...

Dzing! - L'Artisan Parfumeur

Image credit - stegosauruspress.files.wordpress.com:trapeze_artists_in_circusDzing was launched in 1999 as Desir de Cirque and was created by Olivia Giacobetti, a lady well known for her fairly ethereal creations, who has done a lot of work for L'Artisan and more recently, Honore des Pres. The notes for Dzing! are listed as ginger, white cedar, fresh toffee caramel, daffodil, saffron, benzoin, musks...

Geste - Humiecki & Graf

I'm not sure what it is about Humiecki & Graf, but both their name and the name of lots of their fragrances sound very slavic and depressing; perhaps melancholy would be a better word. There seems to be a fair bit of negative blog press about them, although a few people also think that this is about as niche as it gets, so I thought I would give Geste a go. The notes list is short and sweet -...

Let's try some Histoires de Parfums - Ambre 114 and 1740 Marquis de Sade

I've had a little box of samples from Histoires de Parfums for over a year now. This is a funny line - they all sound really great on paper, yet when I tested them, most didn't translate onto skin. This line flies a little beneath the radar I think. I know they've recently released their tuberose trilogy, and Marquis de Sade seems to garner some praise, but overall they seem to languish a bit in the...

Winter has returned to the muddy isle that is the United Kingdom. After two glorious spring weeks in late April, the last week has been grim, cold and frankly, awful. The picture to the left is not quite how things look in England right now, but it does represent the mental state of my mind, which has reverted to winter blues. On that note, I haven't had much inspiration for blogging this weekend....

Le Labo Iris 39

I might have said it before, but although I like the concept of Le Lebo (poncy ultra-exclusive nothwithstanding), many of their fragrances leave me feeling slightly short-changed. I know this house has many fans, and I do enjoy Oud 27, but there are not many that have truly blown my socks off. The notes for Iris 39 include Iris, patchouli, rose, ylang-ylang, musk, violet, ginger, cardamom and civet.Iris...

Serge Lutens - Fleurs de Citronnier

I'm usually  a little nervous of any flower theme by Serge Lutens. His perfumes are big and bold, often oriental and last for hours. I love the smell of lemon blossom, a smell I can easily identify with, as I grew up with a lemon tree in my garden, and my association with this flower (and orange blossom for that matter) lies with late spring, when it is just starting to warm up sufficiently to...

Muscs Koublai Khan and other musks

Perfume notes (from Luck Scent) - vegetal musks, costus root, labdanum, grey amber, vanilla, patchouli, ambrette seed, moroccan rose)This is a post mainly about Muscs Koublai Khan by Serge Lutens. I am a huge fan of this line anyway, but have only sampled very few of the non-export line, which are only  available in Paris. Ok, I'm only across the channel, but first, I don't travel to France very...

Ego Facto - Sacre Coeur

Perfume notes (from Lucky Scent) - aromatic notes, Chablis accord, fruit notes,  ginger, patchouli, leather, tobacco. Image credit: Projectvisual.net - sacre-coeur-morningWhen I first looked at the notes for Sacre Coeur at Lucky Scent, I felt this was a fragrance that would really work for me. The notes were appealing and I wondered what the chablis accord would smell like. I don't know,...