I continue to work through my recently acquired samples from Les Senteurs and today I tried Cedre Sandaraque by Parfumerie Generale and Angeliques sous la Pluie by Frederic Malle.
For some reason I was expecting to like the PG and find the Malle a bit of a letdown. Don't ask me why. Instead it panned out the other way round. While I didn't mind Cedre Sandaraque, it didn't wow me. I know perfumes can be slow burners and win one over in the long run, but initially I find it a bit bland. It has that PG touch of course - woods, slightly gourmand without being cloying and a strange berry/fruity note which while not department store fruity, is just a bit off putting, at least to me. Maybe it's the Sandarac note, which apparently is a resin obtained from a tree that grows in north-west Africa and has a slightly fruity, balsamic, warm aroma.
Angeliques sous la Pluie was created by Jean-Claude Ellena, but for some reason, while quite light and sheer, a J-C hallmark, this did not really smell to me like the work he has done at Hermes for example. It's a simple perfume, with a bit of pink pepper, angelica and cedar, but it smells lovely. I've read a lot of reviews that describe it as a very fleeting perfume, but on my skin it lasted all day. Yes, it was very much a skin scent, but gorgeous at that, and perfectly unisex. In the past I have steered clear of it, as it's name sounds so feminine to me. I wish I had tried it earlier!
