Puredistance

At the beginning of this year (March) I was contacted by Puredistance, who offered me a sample of their more masculine offering, M, to review. After my review I posted a link to it, and went on with life. See here for the original review.Recently Puredistance contacted me again and asked for permission to have my article published in a book that they are making available as a PDF on their website. I was slightly taken aback, albeit safe in the knowledge...

When tuberose ain't so good

There are a couple of tuberose perfumes I've discovered recently that work quite well for me, namely L'Artisan's Nuit de Tuberose and Serge Luten's Tubereuse Criminelle.However, today I encountered tuberose in its worst and deadliest form - worn by a woman with abandon. I work with this woman, sweet lady that she is, but she has no idea. She sprays on tuberose (and I don't know what perfume it is, I'm too afraid to ask) like others use Bodymist and...

Scent of the day - two from Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

Today I sampled DSH's Gingembre and Cardamom & Kyphi. Both of these strike me as quite simple constructions, but not inferior.Gingembre I like because it doesn't conjure up foodie associations for me. While it smells like ginger, it isn't too sweet and confectionery-like, nor too zesty-zingy. Once the ginger fades, it smells to me like a mild amber. Nice.Cardamom & Kyphi is a little strange. It has a very realistic cardamom opening note,...

Favourites revisited

This past week was ever so slightly unusual for me in that I did not try anything new. Instead I wore some of my older favourites, which, thinking about it, is no bad thing.What amazes me about these perfumes (why does it amaze me, it makes obvious sense really) is that each time I wear them, the memories and associations they evoke come flooding back and I always get that sense of "mmm, now I know why I love this so much".Starting with Serge Lutens...

Amouage Gold and Ubar

It's Saturday, I don't have to work, or meet anyone, or pretend to be Mr-Grey-Accountant-I-am-a-cedar-and-icky-synthetic-amber-Man (not that I do anyway), so today I pulled out my samples of Amouage and decided to wear Gold (for da Laydees) and Ubar.Gold is good and powerful. Like a lot of the earlier Amouage fragrances, it isn't for the faint hearted. Described as a floral oriental, to me it may start quite floral and pushy, but dries down to a...

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm sorry, I know this is slightly late, but happy Thanksgiving to those of you that celebrate it. I hope you all have a great holiday weekend (do you get the Friday as a holiday as well? I hope you do!) and whatever you do, be sure to celebrate with some excellent perfume t...

Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady

Not having worn Portrait of a Lady for a good few months, wearing it today brought home the truth that this is one rose fragrance by Frederic Malle that I just don't quite get, or appreciate. I know it has its fans, but I find it a bit harsh, hinting at a synthetic clumsiness that depresses me.I know, I know. That seems grouchy, and probably unfair, but give me the superior, earlier Une Rose by Edouard Flechier any d...

Can you guess?

Can you guess which city this is?For a bonus point - name the area of this city.Double bonus - can you name the canine connecti...

Scent of the day - Serge Lutens Muscs Kublai Khan

This is the way to start the week, with a knockout from Uncle Serge. I haven't worn MKK for some time now, but wearing it again today reminded me why this one is so good. Musk for the musk lover, in my opini...

Scent of Sunday - Acqui di Parma Colonia Assoluta

It's not particularly appropriate I think for a chilly, slightly foggy November day, but Colonia Assoluta does at least remind me of warmer days. Like many of the perfumes in the Acqua di Parma line, Assoluta to me is basically a citrus cologne, albeit a very well done one. Liberty lists the notes as bitter orange, bergamot, verbena, cardamom, pink peppercorns, paprika, jasmine, rose, cedar,...

Sampling Sonoma Scent Studio

I've mentioned Sonoma Scent Studio in previous posts, but not for some time now. The samples that I've got lend themselves best to the cooler months, I think, with the exception of Incense Pure, which I could wear all year round.I've written about a few in the line before. For example, my thoughts on Wood Violet, Tabac Aurea, Sienna Musk and Incense Pure can be found here, while Winter Woods, Ambre Noir and Fireside Intense are here.I don't aim to...

Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist

Iris Silver Mist is another one of those exclusive, non-export Lutens perfumes one always reads about. It has gained almost mythical status in perfume and I had been longing to try it for a number of years.The notes include iris, clover, cedar, sandalwood, vetiver, white amber, benzoin, labdanum, musks and incense. What strikes me about Iris Silver Mist is how un-Lutens like it is. If you are expecting...

A store, a friend and Amouage

I have a friend at a department store in Tunbridge Wells. She shall remain nameless for the purpose of this post, but some of you who have followed my blog for some time might be aware that she has been very generous in supplying me with many samples. In turn, I have tried to return the favour a little by giving her various samples to try from my collection, many of which are not readily available at most stores. Over time we've swopped perfume...

CB I Hate Perfume Black March

Uh oh, its happened again. I've tried another perfume in this line that just does not do it for me. What can I say about Black March? It smells ok, for the 5 minutes that I can detect it on my skin. Another oil based perfume from CB I Hate Perfume, it has that curiously muted and flat feel that both Musk Reinvention and Burning Leaves had too.Black March smells slightly green, slightly cold, slightly fresh. If it had just some oomph, it might have...

Another visit to London

I was in London again this past Monday. Its weird in a way, because 3 months went by without a visit to the Capital, and all of a sudden I've been there 3 times in almost as many weeks.I had a client meeting in the City of London, in a room overlooking the massive domed roof of St Paul's Cathedral. If that isn't inspiring, then I don't know what is. Less inspiring is what has been going on outside St Paul's (and inside, but that's another matter)....

Scent of the day is...

Christian Dior's Leather Oud. To me its an indicator of quality when I keep on returning to a fragrance. Leather Oud just smells great. Smoothly animalic, warm, slightly leathery. Almost rosy in a way. While oud is present, this is by no means to me an oud-centric perfume. You little beau...

Penhaligons Juniper Sling

I'm a little late in getting round to trying Juniper Sling, and really, only weeks away from winter, this strikes me as far more appropriate for summer.Anyway, the notes from Penhaligons include cinnamon, orange brandy, angelica, juniper berry, cardamom, leather, black pepper, orris wood, brown sugar, black cherry, vetiver and ambrox.To be honest, I think this is a very well done perfume, understated, chic, yet just enough to keep it interesting....

Perfume Precis

I've been going through quite a few samples recently, following my purchases from The Perfumed Court (finally) and my visit to Les Senteurs in London.I thought I would summarise my experiences of these. Some I have written about in detail, others hardly touched upon at all. As some of you who read this blog know, I went on a bit of a Lutens bender in October, sampling some non-exports such as Iris...