Guerlain Vetiver

It may surprise you, but (I may be mistaken, but I don't think so) the first time I smelled Guerlain Vetiver was also the first time I smelled vetiver as a note. At the time it blew me away. Vetiver smelled foreign, yet familiar at the same time. Green, grassy, pungent, slightly smoky - it smelled exotic to me. Of course, at the time I hadn't even heard of Frederic Malle, yet alone smelled the unadulterated...

Amouage Library collection

Ok, so now we have Opus I, II, III, IV and V. A few days ago I said that I haven't been that impressed with the library releases, particularly Opus IV. I still stand by my impression of IV. I've tried it numerous times now and it just doesn't wear very comfortably on my skin. I haven't tried V yet, although the notes do sound fantastic. I wrote about II a long time ago. At the time I liked it, and...

Annick Goutal Encens Flamboyant and Ambre Fetich

I have to admit from the outset that I have some difficulties with the Goutal line. Some are intensely blowsy, floral and feminine; others are oddly citrus, and then, with Encens Flamboyant and Ambre Fetiche, the range veers into oddly incense. I say oddly, because both of these smell offbeat to me, straddling the line between compelling, and ever so slightly off-putting. Usually I would like this...

Sandalwood, and pickles?

This is not a very original post, since it is based primarily on what I have recently read on a number of other blogs. The perfume in question is Le Labo's Santal 33. Something that people have mentioned when writing about this perfume is a dill pickle note in the opening and this note seems to manifest itself in sandalwood prominent perfumes. Well, I read this and sort of dismissed it out of hand as being rather an odd thing to notice. I have tried...

A visit to London and Absolue Pour Le Soir

This weekend we went to visit our good friends who live near Canary Wharf in London. I popped into Space NK to test Francis Kurkdjian's Absolue Pour Le Soir. I first tried it in the very same place about 6 months ago and nothing has changed. I still love, love, love it. So smitten am I that I am seriously considering purchasing a full bottle. Am I crazy? I rarely get the impulse to blow £120 on a perfume, but my finger is just itching to type in...

Sample Hell

I know I have touched on this topic a number of times before, but my sample collection is now so way out of hand that I don't know what to do. The obvious answer is to give stuff away, spray or dab samples more generously and perhaps have a ruthless cull.All these options have crossed my mind, but I am a natural born hoarder and hate to throw away anything. Yesterday I brought home all the samples I had been hoarding at my office and I was flabbergasted...

Amouage Dia Men

It's been a while since I last wrote about an Amouage perfume. Readers of this blog will be well aware of my love affair with Amouage, although I have to say that recent releases have left me rather less inspired. Dia was one of the first perfumes I tried from the line and I love it still to this day.I wouldn't say that Dia is incredibly innovative. It smells very masculine, although with that trademark...

Cartier Roadster Sport

I am not usually a fan of sports fragrances, and even less so of sports fragrances released almost as a flanker of an original. They are usually generic dross that do little to inspire.When I received a sample of Cartier Roadster Sport last week from Mel, my friend at Hoopers Department Store, I felt a sinking feeling, certain that it was going to be crap. Well, lo and behold, it is rather good. I...

Blog subject matter

Regular visitors to my blog will hopefully be of the opinion that I write about a broad variety of topics. I don't claim to write with authority, and nor do I try to. After all, my blog is my hobby and most of what I write about is simply for enjoyment. I do try to mix it up though, with an attempt to write about specific perfumes, very often with comparisons to similar styles and also about perfume in general, or related quirks. Occasionally I include...

Farmacia S.S Annunziata Patchouly Indonesiano

Following on from my previous post, another patchouli perfume sample I ordered fairly recently is Patchouly Indonesiano. I know next to nothing about Farmacia S.S Annunziata and the name is so long-winded that this is the last time I will type it!The notes, according to Luckyscent, include patchouli from Indonesia. Yip, that's it, although I expect there is other stuff in there, of course. Because...

Il Profumo Patchouli Noir

I went through a bit of a patchouli craving a couple of months ago and ordered a number of samples from Luckyscent. One of them was Patchouli Noir, of which i had read some very good reviews.The notes from Luckyscent include mint, cedarwood, patchouli, poppy seed and vanilla. I suspect this is a relatively sparse list, but the two primary notes give you an idea of what is to come - essentially a strong...

Perfume for a long day and journey?

Today is a very early start as I am up at 5am to drive to Bournemouth for work. For those of you who aren't familiar with the UK, Bournemouth is a large university and resort town on England's south coast, in Dorset, situated to the west of Southampton.It takes about 2.5-3 hours to drive to Bournemouth from Tunbridge Wells, depending on traffic and my colleague and I are going only for the day. This means leaving at 6am and getting back at 9pm, with...

Gucci Guilty

Today I tried Gucci Guilty (for men) for the first time. Described by Gucci as an aromatic fougere, Guilty includes notes of lemon, lavender, orange flower, patchouli and cedar wood. I have to be honest, I don't really have much to say about Gucci Guilty. To be fair, it doesn't smell bad, but it is so yawn-inducingly bland that I don't have much of an opinion.It starts off smelling quite citrusy,...