Parfum d'Empire Azemour

Yesterday I wore Parfum d'Empire's Azemour again. My initial impressions of it, back in February can be found here. 

I still think Azemour is a very decent perfume, but find that my skin seems to eat it up very quickly. The initial half an hour is wonderful, with the oily, fragrant orange oil full of zing and zest. However, after that it dies down to a very muted, lightly spiced skin scent, at least on me. I've recently read reviews commenting on the cumin facet of this perfume and while I do detect some spice, including a touch of cumin, it is by no means a cumin-fest on me. Having said that, I have a high tolerance for cumin and love cumin-heavy perfumes such as Declaration and Kingdom, so perhaps it is just me.

What I need is an Azemour Intense, me thinks...

A midsummer night's nightmare

The 20th of June was the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. Forget about new-age druids dancing around Stonehenge, the bright rays of sun skimming the horizon. Forget about elfin characters and pixies gliding through verdant glades. Instead, if you live in the UK, the midsummer night's dream turns swiftly into the midsummer night's nightmare, as the wind howls across the land, threatening to tear up trees in full leaf and rain floods southern villages and summer music festivals. That's Britain for you.

Now that I've vented my spleen, frustrated at our lack of summer, I don't have anything more exciting to say, other than today I wore no perfume at all. It happens occasionally, especially when work hits its peak and for some reason, I can't bear to wear anything when I'm in a bad mood.

The good news is that I am not really in such a bad mood. It's Friday night and and at least we have a weekend to enjoy!

Scent of the day - Teo Cabanel Alahine

Teo Cabanel Alahine is a gem of a perfume, a sample of which I received kind courtesy of Cymbaline. 

I've read quite a few reviews of Alahine in the past and most describe it as a cozy, feminine amber-and-ylang perfume. I have to say that while it does possess warmth from the oriental-style amber, it does have a resinous 'tang' to it that is almost incense-like at times. I think it is a wonderfully balanced perfume.

I don't know what it is about Alahine, but it possesses something that reminds me (but nothing really alike) of Serge Lutens' Feminite Du Bois, but with less cedar-plum facets and more ylang-ylang and resins. There is something common to both though and I can't quite place it.

While Alahine is feminine, I have to say that I feel I have no difficulty in managing to wear this. At no point do I feel self-conscious. Today was a cooler, rainier day in England and Alahine felt very well suited to such a day. I see it as more of a cooler weather fragrance.

Scents of the day - DS & Durga Petitgrain and The Different Company Sel De Vetiver

Today was one of those rare days in England - a warm sunny day. I needed cheering up this morning, so sprayed Sel de Vetiver on one wrist and DS & Durga Petitgrain on the other. 

I've reviewed both these beauties before, so don't aim to say much here, except that I think Sel de Vetiver is an absolute modern classic. One of my all-time favourites. On a warm, slightly humid day, it sings and hums along, feeling refreshing without ever smelling like a hackneyed marine scent from the nineties.

DS & Durga Petitgrain hits it out of the park as well. It is a citrus scent that has excellent longevity and lasting power. Another thing I love about it is that the petitgrain smell lasts for the duration - it does moderate of course, but it still manages to retain an element of that zingy, slightly bitter petitgrain smell, lightly sweetened and rounded off with woods. Gorgeous.

Department store stinginess and Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire

I mentioned last weekend that while in London I popped into the House of Fraser store in Victoria, found they were having a Father's Day special and bought a bottle of Habit Rouge (very nice by the way). 

While paying for my purchase, I asked the lady behind the counter if she had any Guerlain samples she could throw in. She looked at me hesitantly and then said she could give me some Dior or Chanel samples instead if I liked. I replied by saying that I had tried a lot of Chanel and Dior in the past and was keen to try a few more Guerlains (very politely of course). Eventually she disappeared, rummaging through the drawers, only to re-emerge and state that they did not have any men's Guerlain samples. I replied by saying that I was perfectly happy to try some of the lady's samples. She disappeared again and at long last presented me with my package and said she had put some samples in the bag. 

Once I was out the store I looked in the bag, to discover two samples. One of which was actually a night cream or moisturiser of sorts. So make that one perfume sample. Namely, La Petite Robe Noire. Before moving onto the perfume itself, I have to say I was disappointed with the attitude of the sales assistant. I know I only spent £40 in the store, but honestly, could she have not spared a couple more samples, particularly as I asked her nicely? One would think these stores would want loyal, returning customers and go out of their way to please. When I was in the department store, I could literally count ten customers. There was more staff than paying customers. Could it have hurt to perhaps give me a smile, a thank you for purchasing and perhaps even make an effort? I know I sound a bit cynical and grumpy, but still.

Moving back to La Petite Robe Noire (the little black dress), I can't help but feel hopelessly underwhelmed by the perfume. To me it smells like a candied fruitchouli - it could have been released by half a dozen far less venerable houses than Guerlain. Unoriginal, too sweet and frankly disappointing. I don't expect to always encounter the Guerlinade, and I can understand Guerlain's need to modernise and move with the trends (no easy task for a house with such history and pedigree) but a boring dumb fruity cocktail is not the way to go in my opinion.

Layout change

I have been experimenting with some different blog layouts recently (not live) and am now trying something quite different to what I have used before.

I'd appreciate it if regular users (or otherwise - always happy to have new visitors) could provide me with some feedback on how easy it is to navigate and read generally. I'm not the sort of person who tinkers much with the visuals of my blog - anyone who has followed my musings for the last couple of years will know that I seldom bother with bringing in all the pictures and poetry. This is possibly down to laziness as much as anything else!

Today I did not wear any perfume. In a strange way (pathetic, I know) I feel slightly bereft and out of sorts. Could my perfume passion actually be an addiction?

Enjoy the weekend everybody.


Update:


Ok I haven't had much feedback, but irrespective, I am finding it difficult to navigate my new layout, so it is a change back to the old, with a slightly new background. I had high hopes... Sob.

Bex London

I mentioned just the other day that while at Les Senteurs in London, I picked up a couple of samples from the newly-released Bex London range, SE1 and EC2.

According to Bex London's website, the founder of the line is Rebecca Goswell, and the four perfumes (SE1, EC2, N6 and W1X) were developed by Francois Robert, the nose behind Lanvin Vetiver, Mary Greenwell Plum and a number of Rosine fragrances and the son of the recently departed great, Guy Robert. As the perfume names suggest, each perfume has been named after a well known London post code. 

SE1 is meant to evoke the spice trade. SE1 is an area south of the Thames River, encompassing a fairly wide area, but includes some very well-known sites including the London Eye, Tate Modern and the South Bank in general. The South Bank is well known for its massive array of arts complexes, including the Royal Festival Hall,  Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery. When I first arrived in London in 2001, the South Bank already had these sites, but it still felt a bit like the poorer cousin of the northern side of the Thames. Just over ten years later, and the area has a buzz like no other, with cafes, restaurants and other attractions popping up all over the place. At the far end of this strip, towards London Bridge, lies the great Borough food market. The spice trade left SE1 decades ago, but the feel of the area in some ways doesn't seem to have changed - there are still many wharves and warehouses remaining, although most of these have been converted into trendy apartments or shops. Some say that when the wind blows right, one can still smell the spices delivered here over the centuries.

EC2, according to the advertising, is meant to evoke the rejuvenated artistic feel of London's East End. This may be true to an extent, but if one looks technically at this post code, most of the area it encompasses is actually the eastern half of the City of London, such as Barbican, Broadgate, Liverpool Street and the oh-so-trendy Shoreditch (or perhaps not so trendy anymore - fashions and fads change regularly). It is only on the far east and northern stretches that the district seeps into grittier (and rejuvenated) but really artistic areas like Hackney and Bethnal Green. Most of EC2 pays homage to the Bank of England, futures and the suited high life.

Anyway, so what do these smell like?

SE1 has notes of bergamot, citrus, cardamom, pimento, amber, seamoss, driftwood and Tahitian Vetiver. It opens, unsurprisingly, with quite a shot of citrus notes. They aren't industrial-strength citrus fortunately, so SE1 manages to avoid the cliched mens' cologne territory. As it develops, it becomes essentially a woody-vetiver fragrance. The vetiver note is not particularly strong, but has a hint of the vetiver in Vetiver Extraordinaire. SE1 is perfectly decent, and I enjoyed wearing it. I think it is a perfect fragrance for the warmer months, with its light, slightly dry woods, vetiver and light spices. To be honest though, it is hardly groundbreaking, and at £80 for a bottle (ok, not massively expensive by today's standards - £175 for a bottle of Kurkdjian's possibly over-rated oud perfume anyone?) I want these sorts of pricier perfumes to have a bit more 'wow' factor possibly. Still, as I said, not a bad perfume at all and it must be said that the tone of the perfume does capture the mood of water and wooden wharves quite well.

EC2 has notes of lemon, lime, grapefruit, juniper berry, bay, nutmeg, cedar, tonka, black pepper and amber. I found EC2 to be a bit more complex that SE1, probably due to some stronger spices and the sweeter base notes. I have to say that it was my favourite of the two. Like SE1, it ends up essentially as a spicy woody fragrance, with hints of oriental accords. It is certainly not sweet though, and the juniper and bay lend it a slightly aromatic feel that at times makes it smell like it is going to teeter over into bay rum territory, but never does. Les Senteurs says that it is a modern fougere, and thinking about it, I suppose it could be actually. Although I like it, I am not in love.

So I think these perfumes are worth seeking out, and I haven't managed to smell the other two yet, so can't comment on those, of course.

A serendipitous gift

I should qualify the title of this post by stating that the 'gift' I received in the post was not serendipitous in the true sense of the word. Rather, I received a perfume parcel that I knew I could receive, but had forgotten about entirely.

It's hardly the most earth-shattering story, but about a month or so ago, I 'put my name down' on Basenotes to receive samples from a perfume house called Dueto Parfums. I promptly forgot all about it, so was surprised to find a small perfume parcel waiting on my doorstep when I arrived home on the weekend. It contained simply four samples in a small bag. No message, no background information. It took me about an hour to work out why I had received it. Only after Googling 'Dueto Parfums + giveaway' was I directed to Basenotes, which is when the penny dropped.

Anyway, I haven't tried any of the samples yet, but the line includes City Oud, City Love, Golden Boy and their latest, Lady Cool. They seem to be based in Paris, but state that the concept came about by 'four citizens, living in four mega cities teamed up talents to create a new perfume brand', to 'design hype and cool perfumes for trendy people around the world'. I'd prefer to ignore the marketing crapola and concentrate on the perfumes themselves - the proof of the pudding is in the eating - I am not cool or trendy, but I do like a good perfume.

So watch this space...

A trip to London

My family and I went to London on Saturday, which was really a spur-of-the-moment decision, mainly just to get away from home and do something a little different for a change. 

London, as always, was extremely busy. Perhaps more so following the recent Jubilee celebrations. It was also the Queen's birthday, so the Trooping of the Colour was taking place down the Mall, so many surrounding roads and areas were closed off for the morning. My older child, Hannah, is currently learning about the Olympic Games and seeing as it is being held in London this year, she is also learning about famous London landmarks. Therefore we concentrated on walking past most of the famous sites, including Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, and of course, the London Eye. 

One thing that always strikes me when taking children to London is how un-user-friendly the London transport systems are, particularly the Underground. I know most of the system was built in Victorian times but it is an absolute mission to get anywhere without a hassle, especially when taking along a push chair and two young kids of course. Transport issues aside, we had a great time and the children also enjoyed going to Hamleys, which is a very large toy department store on Regent Street. 

Of course, being in London meant that I had to pay a short visit to two of my favourite perfume stores, Les Senteurs and the fragrance section of Liberty. Whilst at Les Senteurs I picked up samples of the new Bex London perfumes, including SE1 and EC2. At Liberty I tried the new Annick Goutal, Nuit Etoilee, which to my mind is very good indeed. It is very green, particularly at the start and reminded me of the smell of a lush garden, while later it dried down to a fir balsam and pine accord, which fortunately did not recall bathroom cleaning products. My description probably doesn't do it justice, but it is very nice. I see that Liberty is now stocking Santal de Mysore by Serge Lutens. 

Later on I passed a House of Fraser store and purchased a bottle of Guerlain Habit Rouge, which was on special, for Fathers' Day I presume. It was a snap-decision purchase, although I should state that I have tried and enjoyed Habit Rouge for a long time now. As regular readers will know, I don't buy full bottles of perfume very often, and when I do, funnily enough they are almost always mainstream fragrances. I don't know why. I think the only non-mainstream bottles I own are Gris Clair and Tam Dao, and one could argue that Lutens and Diptyque are hardly niche perfume lines these days. Still, when I buy a perfume, I like to think that I go for quality and I really do think that Habit Rouge is an absolute classic. Even nicer is that I am highly unlikely to smell like anyone else in Tunbridge Wells, which is a good thing as far as I am concerned.

Post-Jubilee blues

Following our four-day weekend to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee (which by the way,  was great save for the depressing grey and wet weather) I feel that this working week, which was only three days long, felt more like thirty three days. It's funny how that works sometimes - perhaps its the mental idea that the week will feel short, but in reality one tends to try to squeeze five days work into three, in my experience.

The good news is that it is weekend again! As with last week, I have felt myself slip into a bit of a perfume slump, feeling less motivated to write about perfume. I'm sure it will pass. I've worn some perfume and particularly enjoyed the new Mahon Leather by Floris (more to come on the Floris line next week). I also revisited Frederic Malle's Un Rose, which I am fairly certain is still my favourite in the line. 


I ended the working week by wearing Delrae's Panache. It's a really good perfume. It was created by Yann Vasnier, who has done some great work with Divine in particular, and is essentially a slightly spicy floral woody-musk, with vetiver, amber and honey to round it off. The wood is oak, which is a nice twist on the woody theme. Panache is one of those perfumes that improves with each wearing, I think. When I first smelled it, it was nice but hardly blew me away. As I wear it more, I've come to appreciate its understated sophistication. While it is quite floral, it is nicely balanced and easily gender-neutral.

Whatever you get up to this weekend, have a good one!

Annick Goutal Mon Parfum Cheri Par Camille

Do you ever encounter a perfume that the moment you sniff it, in whatever form, on whatever medium, be it skin or paper, you know that it is not going to be for you?

Well, I experienced this with Annick Goutal's Mon Parfum Cheri. I'll be totally upfront and state that I have not given this perfume a fair chance. However, the reason for this is that I can't get past first base - one sniff and I'm gagging. I know this perfume has received some very good reviews, but I cannot tolerate it. Why, you ask? It's difficult to put into words, but I feel as if this perfume is literally choking me, with a powdery, sneeze-inducing haze. 

To call Mon Parfum strong is an understatement. To give you some idea, I had a strip of paper sprayed with some and after throwing the paper away about 10 days ago, my suit pocket is still emitting this most awful, choking, cloying smell of Mon Parfum. It just doesn't fade.

The interesting thing for me is that Mon Parfum has notes of heliotrope, violet, plum, patchouli and iris but smells bone dry and very peppery, for want of a better word. Aesthetically I can visualise (or olfactorise?) what this perfume could be, but isn't, for me and I can also understand why others may find it compelling and lovely.

I will end by saying please don't take my word for it, but rather try it for yourself, if you haven't already. It may turn out to be wonderful for you. You may ask why I bothered to write about Mon Parfum at all. I really wanted to convey how strange it still is to me how some perfumes, no matter how good (or not) they are, can almost repulse me, or trigger a viscerally negative response. It is at times like this (and equally when  a perfume blows me away) that I truly believe perfume has a magical element to it.

A Jubilee Weekend and Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier

Well, today was the start of the Jubilee bank holiday weekend here in the UK, which means a four-day break and lots of festivities to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee, a 60-year reign as monarch. I can't say I'm complaining. Of course, this being England, the weather has now changed from gloriously sunny to much cooler and damp, which is par for the course for any holiday on the muddy isle!

I've had a bit of a quiet time this week, perfume-wise. I've worn perfume of course, but haven't really felt too inspired to write or note much for some reason. Yesterday I wore two perfumes from Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier, Eau des Iles and  Parfume D'Habit. The first is essentially a green coffee, herbal and woody fragrance, while the second is a woody-leather, to my nose. I find both of these MPG creations very complex, very masculine and, if I'm being honest, quite difficult to wear. If you don't like them, be warned: they both stay around a long time on skin.

I'll say one thing about all the MPG masculine fragrances I've tried, which include the two above as wells as Santal Noble and Iris Bleu Gris, and that is that they are uncompromising masculine. I don't generally like to genderise perfume, but I do find these ones very much like this.

What's interesting about Jean Laporte, the man who first founded L'Artisan before starting MPG (and now sadly no longer with us) is that I don't find much of a link, or bridge between the style of L'Artisan and MPG, in terms of actually fragrance. Aesthetically yes (both houses seem to have a quality, vision and integrity to me), but the perfumes don't seem inspired by the same person, although this could just be my personal perception.

What also interested me is I read that Jean Laporte was the founder of Sisley.

Madonna Truth or Dare

Madonna's Truth or Dare perfume has hit my fair town at last, and I felt I had to have a sniff. If truth be told, Truth or Dare is rather good as far as celebrity fragrances are concerned. I'm not an expert in this 'genre' but while I liked Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely, I think Madonna's perfume is a bit more daring and unusual, by these standards.

Truth or Dare was apparently '15 or 16 years in the making'. If I'm being honest, Truth or Dare is a nicely-done mainstream tuberose fragrance, but fairly light on the tuberose and I struggle to understand why it would take the better part of two decades to conceive of this idea, but perhaps I'm being unfair. There is something about it that reminds me a little of Honore des Pres' Vamp a NY, but only superficially. It too smells a little fleshy, a little bit like coconut. If anything, Truth or Dare has a rubbery note in it, to my nose at least, which if I understand correctly is a facet of tuberose.

I actually think Truth or Dare is a very decent perfume. It isn't groundbreaking, particularly original or daring, but having said that, it doesn't smell like other celebrity scents out there and thank the Lord it isn't a fruity floral.


Well done Madonna.

Weekend musings

This is the best weekend we have had in England so far this year, at least weather-wise. Warm, sunny weather prevailed, after weeks of rain and cool weather, so it was with great joy that we spent most of the time outdoors.

On Saturday Hannah, my older daughter, was invited to a friend's birthday party, held at an indoor play centre, of all places. Luckily they had an outdoor play area, with seating, which is where we spent most of the time. Afterwards we went back to the host's house (we know the family well) for a BBQ with a few other families, and spent a lovely evening enjoying good food, hospitality and wine. We only got home at 10.30, which is very late for the kids and fortunately they were so so tired that they slept until 9am the next day, which is unheard of!

Today the weather was even better, if that could be possible. We spent the morning in the park, playing, had a lunch at the park cafe and then some ice cream. The kids splashed about in the paddling pool at home in the afternoon, followed by another BBQ. It's the first time I've got it out of the shed this year and it is looking very rusty and uncared for. Fortunately the rust and grease from 2011 was burnt off and 'sterilised' and the meal itself was very nice.

I didn't wear much perfume this weekend. In fact, I only wore perfume once, yesterday afternoon, being ELDO's Fat Electrician, which is a vetiver-focused fragrance. I find that in the heat, especially when playing around with children and so forth, perfume disappears from my skin faster than the government with my taxes.

On a general theme, I thought I would quickly list some of the books and music I've been enjoying recently:

Books:

  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

  The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (creepy, but compelling)

  Fab, an intimate life of Paul McCartney - Howard Sounes

Music:

  Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - pretty much everything

  Bon Iver - Bon Iver

  George Harrison - Everything Must Pass

  PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

  Rolling Stones - almost everything, but particularly Sticky Fingers and Let it Bleed

So, that's it, my exciting weekend!

Hermes Voyage D'Hermes Parfum

In a post of mine in March, here, I mentioned that Hermes had released a parfum version of Voyage. Well, I tried the parfum version for the first time today and I have to say that in my opinion the original perfume wins hands down. It isn't that the parfum is bad, but to my mind it deadens the notes that made the original a curious, yet compelling pastiche of the Hermes aesthetic. The original was fresher, lighter and more vibrant - usually not the sort of things that appeal to me, being a fan generally of darker, stronger compositions, but it worked.

The parfum smells sweeter and more leathery to me, although various fragrance sites state that the parfum version brings rose and amber to the original. I think it is the amber that makes it sweeter and heavier. Perhaps I should try it when the weather is cooler, as it may appeal to me more. As I said above, it isn't a bad perfume by any means, but I prefer the original.

Scent of the day - ELDO Rien

Whew, today was a scorcher here in the United Kingdom, which, reading between the lines, means that we got into the low twenties (celsius). On this muddy isle, a day in the twenties means shirts off, skimpiest skirts on, sandals and general bizarre behaviour. Not for nothing the old saying 'only mad dogs and Englishmen enjoy the midday sun'. Or something like that!

Today I revisited Rien, a perfume that is rapidly becoming my favourite ELDO fragrance. I've only worn Rien in cooler weather, but on a warmer day, woah! It becomes one of the skankiest, seedy, sultry and most kinky perfumes I've encountered. It's essentially a floral, spicy leather fragrance, containing a melange of hard-hitting ingredients including incense, patchouli, styrax, amber, mousse de chene, labdanum, iris, rose, leather, cumin, black pepper and aldehydes. 

I am fairly certain that Rien is a sillage monster, which is why I only dabbed a tiny bit on each wrist. It was still very prominent and full of character, and bloomed in the warm weather. But oh, what a wonderful perfume in my opinion. It is complex, sensuous and with the aldehydes even has a hint of vintage about it. I find Rien a very sexual and sexy fragrance. It just smells like passion and lust to me.

This comes highly recommended.

L'Artisan Dzing

Today I wore L'Artisan's iconic Dzing, a perfume of genius if ever there was one, in my humble opinion. I can't believe that I wrote about Dzing more than two years ago, here. It feels like just the other day. 

Reading my review on 13 May 2010, I don't think much has changed. Dzing still smells and wears pretty much like that. It still amazes me how Dzing manages to convey the smells of the circus. Who needs Demeter or CB I Hate Perfume? One thing that strikes me now is how musky Dzing actually is. It has loads of musk in it, which with the leather creates a distinctly animalic accord, not sexually animalic to my mind, but of animals in an enclosure. Amazing.

If I'm not mistaken, I read a while ago that L'Artisan had or were thinking of discontinuing Dzing. I don't know if that is  true, but if it is, that is a real shame because Dzing is one of the most innovative and compelling perfumes I know.

Weekend - back to basics

This weekend I made a point of wearing two perfumes that I actually own. To call this post 'back to basics' is possibly an insult to Hermes Terre D'Hermes and Gucci Pour Homme, as neither is basic or simple really. They are both, to my mind, examples of what can actually be achieved in the mainstream perfume market. What makes me rage inside, sometimes, is why more of these sorts of perfumes aren't released. I think what I mean by back to basics, is returning to something I usually take for granted, and shouldn't.

I've owned a bottle of Terre D'Hermes for about four years now. I wrote about Terre a couple of years ago and mentioned that I seldom wear it these days due to a negative association I have with the fragrance. It isn't Terre's fault - I wore it on a day when I was very stressed, going for an important job interview and every time I've worn it since, it reminds me of that stress and tension. As time passes, those association are fading and I was able to wear it this weekend with some pleasure, and realised all over again what a great fragrance it is.

Why, you may ask. What makes Terre so good? I can think of a number of reasons, but one simple reason is that it smells like no other perfume on the market. As simple as that. It doesn't smell generic, it doesn't smell like it has been done before. For me, that is enough to state that it is one of the few modern mainstream men's classics out there. In simple terms, it smells of orange, mineral vetiver and bleached woods, but it goes together so well.

What about Gucci Pour Homme? Well, sadly it is now discontinued. The one Gucci men's fragrance that I actually like, and I bought the very last bottle at Hoopers, one of our local department stores. I'm sure it can still be had at certain fragrance discounters, but I imagine it will become quite scarce over time. Gucci Pour Homme is essentially a calm pepper, woods and incense perfume, with some sweetness in the dry down from the amber accord, but I would call it a very woody smelling perfume. While I wear it happily in the day, whenever I spray it on, it feels like it should be worn out for the evening. It just smells sophisticated and complex enough for a special occasion. 

I know both of these fragrances are for men, but irrespective of gender, I would seriously recommend you try both if you haven't before. Terre is easy to find, and a best seller for Hermes, but you may need to search a little harder for Gucci Pour Homme.

Hermes Rocabar

I was at my local Fenwicks department store today, who are celebrating their beauty week. I saw a few weeks ago that they are now stocking Rocabar, which I haven't personally come across before, but they didn't have a tester until recently. I've tried Equipage numerous times but Rocabar has eluded me (I'm still on the lookout for Bel Ami, but I am not convinced I will find it here in the UK - if anyone from the UK is reading this, a heads-up would be appreciated).

Anyway, today I tried Rocabar for the first time and I have to say that I really enjoy it. Released in 1998, the notes according to Basenotes are juniper berry, cedar needles, lavender, nutmeg, cinnamon, cyprus, atlas cedar, virginia cedar, balsam and vanilla. Reading these notes, one would be led to believe that Rocabar smells intensely woody and piney, with spices and an oriental twist in the base. I don't personally think that it wears as woody and piney on skin as I thought it would. And I'm grateful for that. I am not a massive fan of very piney fragrances and Rocabar's coniferous accords are well balanced with warm spices and a slight sweetness-and-resin from the balsam and vanilla. 

Many Basenotes reviews complain that Rocabar is too sweet and cloying. I don't know where that comes from, because on my skin it is not very sweet at all, as the woods and spice tone down most of this and it is very well balanced. In fact, I think it is the use of vanilla and balsam in the base that makes Rocabar so enjoyable, particularly as this stops the piney accords from dominating. I have to admit that Rocabar does smell a tiny bit dated - it smells more like a very well done 1980's perfume than something released only two years from the new century, yet is not forceful and hairy-chested. It smells smooth and classy, no surprise coming from Hermes, who do understated luxury very well indeed. I think Rocabar is fantastic, and I'm so glad that I've finally tried it. Highly recommended wearing.


I should point out that the Rocabar I tried is no longer in the bottle pictured top left. It is now in the slimline Hermes bottle common to the main range, for example the 'Un Jardin' perfumes.

Image credit - http://www.basenotes.net/

Antonio Banderas - Antonio

I received a bottle of Antonio Banderas Antonio as a gift a few years ago. During that time, I have worn it a little, but to be honest, I can't say that I find it very good. It isn't terrible, and to be fair, doesn't smell like a hundred other humdrum masculine perfumes out there, but it translates as quite synthetic on my skin, in the sense of smelling of chemicals. 

Every time I wear it, I do a search on the internet to try find reviews of Antonio. In the four years of trying, I still haven't found anything written about it, other than brief, generic blurb on discount perfume websites and on Banderas' own website. The perfume is under license to Puig, no surprise considering Banderas is Spanish. 

Fragrantica categorises the perfume as a woody floral musk, listing notes of musk, pepper, fir balsam, cashmere wood and citrus and apparently won the 2007 Fifi award for Fragrance of the Year Men's Popular appeal! 

On my skin it does smell very citrusy and green. Later on, I detect some very synthetic, fuzzy musk and a sweet note that originally made me think of this as a tobacco fragrance. 

If anyone has tried Antonio, please let me know. I'd love to know what people think of it. If you haven't tried it, I'm more than happy to give you a generous sample of it.

Serge Lutens Arabie

Could this be one of the good Uncle's most polarising fragrances (let's not even talk about Miel de Bois)? Arabie was the first Lutens perfume I ever tried, way back in the 'misty times' of 2007. It set the tone for what I initially thought applied to all the Lutens perfumes - that oft-talked about syrupy, stewed fruit accord. Arabie has it in spades, but over time, as I've got to know and love the Lutens line, I realise that in actual fact not that many Lutens really have that accord. At least, I don't think so.

To this day, I still don't know if I like Arabie. It is strong, forceful, long-lasting and very distinctive. I get the feeling that it is likely to wear someone rather than the other way round. Yet, in a strange way, I do like it. I think once the initial stewed fruit and spicy blast calms (which admittedly is a while) it becomes a very complex and nuanced perfume. Through all the spice and fruit is essentially what I perceive as a fruity leather fragrance, although this accord is not mentioned and I could be wrong. I suppose the intense spiciness of the fragrance just makes me think of leather. I think for most people, this could be a love-it-or-hate-it fragrance.

Like some of Lutens intense and challenging perfumes, I don't think I could wear Arabie frequently, but I do like trying it on occasion. One thing is for sure - it takes no prisoners.

Serge Lutens Chergui

Oh dear, I wasn't expecting this. I used to like Chergui. A lot. I haven't worn it for some time now, but trying it again today, it came across cloying, over-sweet and just a bit nauseating. It's always been a strong perfume on me, like most Lutens, which aren't known for their light, fleeting sheerness. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that today was quite overcast, humid and rainy at times, which just seemed to amplify all that Chergui-ness, like a suffocating and scratchy blanket.

For some reason, every time I smelled Chergui today, I wished I had sprayed on Costamor's Tabacca instead, which on my skin manages to seem dry yet sweet at the same time, and thus very well balanced.

Scent of the weekend - 10 Corso Como

This weekend I wore 10 Corso Como, consecutive days. It isn't often that I do this, but it is testament to how good a fragrance 10CC really is. 

I had a look back over my blog, and see that I've mentioned 10CC in passing on at least six occasions, perhaps more, yet have never written about it in any depth.

Named after the address of a Milanese fashion house, 10CC used to be the rage on the perfume boards, but it seems to be mentioned far less often these days, unless I'm just not reading the relevant posts. I think this is a shame, as 10CC is a very good perfume indeed. Luckyscent lists it as being more feminine than masculine, but to my nose, this perfume is as genderless as you can find. The notes include sandalwood, frankincense, musk, rose, geranium, vetiver and what is described as rare Malay oud wood oil. Now, considering all I have read recently (and knew, mostly) about how rare it actually is to find any perfume containing genuine oud, I am not sure how rare and genuine the Malay oud oil is in 10CC. Not that it really matters, mind you. I have to be honest and state that I don't detect an oud accord in 10CC, but that isn't to say it's not there.

In a nutshell, 10CC smells like a very smooth, sophisticated blend of sandalwood and incense. I know the notes list geranium, rose and musk, but for most of the life of this perfume, it plays out as very woody, with very little floralness about it. When I first used to wear 10CC, I found that it smelled very quiet, a skin scent. It's strange how olfactory perceptions change over time (bearing in mind my recent post on Guerlain's SDV) because today 10CC smells quite prominent on my skin. I would never call it a loud fragrance though - it is very smooth and classy. 

I love 10CC because it contains both a lovely sandalwood and an incense accord, two of my favourite notes. I find that sandalwood and frankincense go very well together anyway, considering the long use of sandalwood in incense and they combine to create a very calming and peaceful perfume.

If you haven't tried 10CC before, I would strongly recommend trying to find a sample. I read a few months ago that some people think the formulation has changed and that it doesn't smell the same or as good anymore. I couldn't vouch for that, as I've only ever tried one source of it, but to me it smells fantastic as it is.

Image credit - http://fimgs.net/

SOTD - Parfumerie Generale Hyperessence Matale

There is something about Hyeressence Matale that has me intrigued. I have written about it fairly recently, here, and I still stand by my opinion that it is a fairly straightforward fragrance, but smells amazing. It is green and citrusy to start, even mossy, and feels perfect for spring. While that is nice, it is the phase when the smoky tea accord emerges that most seduces me. The tea accord smells a bit like incense to me, which makes me think of this fragrance, ultimately, as quite meditative and calming.

Hyperessence Matale is a great tonic for the end of the week. Bring on the weekend!

Scent of the day - Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille

Is it just my skin, or is Spiritueuse Double Vanille frustratingly shy? Perhaps I have developed the nasty olfactory habit of wanting all my perfumes to be strong, but SDV is positively (negatively?) a wilting flower on me. I love the ingredients, I love the idea, and I love the smell, when I can smell it.

It takes some serious close-up wrist-sniffing to detect it and when I do - yum, yum, yummy! Certainly a skin scent on me, unless my sample was diluted. I find that a lot of the modern Guerlain perfumes I've tried are like this on me, including Cuir Beluga and Bois d'Armenie. The frustrating thing is they all smell so good, but so subtle. Too subtle in my opinion.

Has anyone else out there had a similar experience with SDV and friends?

Amouage Library Collection Opus VI

As I have mentioned a couple of times recently on this blog, Amouage's latest in the Library Collection, Opus VI, has really struck a chord with me, making it by far my favourite of the Opus range and certainly one of the best recent releases from Amouage, in my opinion. It is no secret here that I am a fan of Amouage, so I should state that my opinion is possibly biased, but in any event, a perfume house that has so many perfumes that appeal to me must be something special. I don't know why the other Opus perfumes haven't appealed much to me. I think part of the issue is that none of them has that 'something', or the wow factor. In fact, thinking back on Opus I, II, III and IV (I haven't tried V enough to form a fair opinion) I struggle to distinguish between them and if someone had to ask me right now to describe each one, I couldn't.

Opus VI, on the other hand, struck an immediate chord with me the moment I first sprayed it on a card, then on skin. The notes include sichuan pepper, frankincense, St Thomas bay, periploca, cypriol, patchouli, ambranum, Z11, sandalwood and cistus. I think what immediately strikes me about the notes is Amouage's openness about the ingredients. No fancy-schmancy bullshit about all-natural ingredients gathered personally from remote reaches of the world. Cypriol is derived from a grass-with-rhizomes, as I understand it and has a slightly animalic, spicy-musky accord, while Z11 is a new (or fairly new?) synthetic compound that has an amber profile, as does ambranum. The effect is a perfume that to me smells woody, resinous, slightly smoky/leathery and, of course, amber-like. Amouage state that Z11 gives Opus VI a bone-dry feel, and while I can appreciate that, Opus VI does not smell that dry to me - there is some 'sweetness' from the cistus and sandalwood, but it does smell gloriously woody. 

The opening has that that trademark Amouage frankincense accord and throughout the duration of wear, Opus VI to me has hints of, or a nod to Epic, both the men's and women's versions, without the oud or tea notes. 

What I find quite fascinating about Opus VI is that it smells like a totally new take on the amber genre of perfume. It does smell like an amber perfume, yet it feels totally modern and unlike any other amber perfume I have encountered. Opus VI is well-balanced too. Like all Amouage perfumes, it has stellar lasting power, but is not that forceful. At the end of the day, it smells amazing.

If you haven't tried Opus VI yet, I would highly recommend getting your hands on a sample.

Image credit - http://www.punmiris.com/

Scent of the day - Prada Amber Pour Homme

I wore Prada's Amber Pour Homme today. I've tried it a few times before, but I have to admit that despite the enticing notes, Prada's perfumes haven't done very much for me. There is a note that all their perfumes seem to have, mainly in the dry down, that just doesn't appeal to me.

Anyway, Amber Pour Homme has notes of mandarin, bergamot, cardamom, patchouli, tonka, vanilla, saffron, suede, vetiver and orange blossom. In theory, this combination ought to have me in raptures, as these are all notes that I love. In practice, the fragrance dries down to an over-sweet amber that promises a lot, but just doesn't deliver.

In fairness, I don't think it is a poor fragrance, but I wish that it was a bit drier, with a touch of smoke and more resinous. When I wore it, I had a steaming cup of coffee next to me and I suddenly thought how nice this fragrance could be if Prada perhaps added a shot of a coffee note to the original. It certainly smelled very good with the coffee aroma close by!

In closing, I should perhaps state that I do prefer Amber Pour Homme to the Infusion d'Iris, which is even sweeter and more cloying on my skin.

Sunday Star - Orange Star

Apparently the earth is extremely close to the moon at present and it looks up to 30% bigger than usual. The 'supermoon' as it is being called, is actually a full moon known as a perigree full moon and is about 356,400 kilometers from earth, rather than the usual 384,000 kilometers and causes higher than usual tides.

That's all good and well, but is only exciting if one can actually see it, which here in the UK, with our present weather, is remote, considering the grey, drizzly skies! Anyway, moons aside, today was more of a star day for me, as I wore Andy Tauer's Orange Star, which while I found perfectly easy to wear on a hot summer day, works equally well on a cold and wet day. In fact, it was just the tonic to lift the mood, with its peppy orange accord. As some of you who have tried this will know, Orange Star is no ordinary citrus scent, with the zesty and sweet mandarine and clementine balanced by a rich and vibrant ambergris, tonka bean and vanilla accord. It is a curious, yet brilliant fragrance, in my opinion and nothing else smells quite like it. 

The strange thing is that the smell of Orange Star actually reminds me of a scent from my childhood, which I can't quite place. It makes me think of summer days and swimming pools for some reason, without any obvious connection, but what I do know is that it makes me feel happy. Very happy.

A Serge Saturday

Following on from Borneo 1834 on Friday, today I thought I'd remain in a Lutens mood and wear Amber Sultan by Serge Lutens.

I don't have much to say about Ambre Sultan that I haven't said before. It is still my favourite amber perfume, what I call my gold standard. Having said that, the recent Opus VI by Amouage is quickly moving up the rankings! What I especially like about Ambre Sultan is that it is not a sweet and powdery amber, my least favourite. Rather, it is herbal and dry, and complex too - continually evolving. The herby opening can be quite weedy at times, in the literal sense of the smell of weeds, but I love Lutens openings with a twist, so this doesn't put me off.

I don't find Ambre Sultan a particularly cozy and comforting amber. I find that it is easy to wear in all seasons, without ever becoming cloying, which some of the sweeter ambers are prone to doing in warmer weather, in my opinion.

Another great perfume by Serge Lutens.

Scent of the day - Serge Lutens Borneo 1834

Today was chilly and drizzly in England, or at least where I am. I don't know what it is about weather and perfume, but for some reason cooler, damp days often make me want to wear patchouli perfumes. I wouldn't say that patchouli is necessarily a comforting, cozy note. In fact, patchouli can often be quite a challenging note. However, Borneo 1834 from Serge Lutens manages to make patchouli cozy in my opinion, without sacrificing any of the 'integrity' of the characteristic patchouli accords that patch fans know and love.

I wrote about Borneo 1834 a long time ago, in April 2010, see my review here. In many ways, my opinion of the fragrance hasn't changed. It still starts with those cocoa and camphor notes, then sweetens ever so slightly, then slowly seeps into a gorgeous, rich and smooth woody patchouli dry down, smelling plush and polished. I emphasise the words plush and polished, because to me Borneo does evoke the smell, feel and even 'vision', albeit olfactorily, of a room filled with old, polished furniture or panels. And perhaps that is where the comfort of this scent arises - to me being in an old room filled with beautiful, polished furniture, is comforting.

I've worn Borneo a lot over the last two years, and every time I wear it, I am struck by what a brilliant perfume it is. It really is. To my mind it is one of the masterpieces in the Lutens line and one of the best patchouli fragrances out there. Even if you aren't a massive fan of patchouli, I would recommend that one at least tries it. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Attar Bazaar Mysore Sandalwood

I received a sample of Attar Bazaar's Mysore Sandalwood oil courtesy of Cymbaline, who I met recently in London.

I had never heard of Attar Bazaar and was interested to find out after visiting their website that they are based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They have a host of interesting oils, ranging from rose  to sandalwood to musk, and a lot in between.

The Mysore Sandalwood oil, according to their website, is a very high-grade oil and judging both by what I smelled on skin and the reviews I have read, this is very true. Like most oils, the sandalwood takes some time to warm up on skin, but when it does, the most gorgeously smooth sandalwood aroma wafts up. The oil is quite linear, and does not evolve that much, but I wasn't expecting that anyway - I was interesting in smelling unadulterated sandalwood - and what one gets is a very contemplative, woody accord, with just a touch of pepperiness and perhaps a little smoke. 

After smelling this one, I am now really keen to try a few others from Attar Bazaar. Do any of you have any experience of this company and its products, and if so, what do you think?

Image credit - http://www.attarbazaar.com/

Diptyque Boulevard 34 Saint Germain

I only recently encountered Diptyque's Boulevard 34 Saint Germain, which is stocked at my local Space NK store. I vaguely remember seeing some reviews of this fragrance about a year ago, then it all went quiet. 

The '34' range (I can't be bothered to write out the full name again) was released to celebrate Diptyque's 50th birthday and is meant to 'recreate' the smell of the Diptyque shop, in the sense of a nod to each of the signature styles of perfume over the years, including fig leaf, blackcurrant, rose pepper, citrus, geranium, tuberose, woods and eucalyptus. Pictured top left, the bottle is really gorgeous, in my opinion, and has a stunning black bakelite magnetic lid. Very chic and tasteful. Also very unusual is the atomiser tube, which is covered with a sheath that is meant to resemble Diptyque's candle wicks.

So what about the fragrance itself? After wearing 34 today, I had a look at some of the reviews in the blogosphere and was surprised at the luke warm response to it. Two in particular felt that it was a flat and unimaginative perfume that had too much of everything 'Diyptyque' and nothing to make it stand out as innovative. People felt this was disappointing considering this perfume is meant to be a celebration of the Diptyque heritage. While I can see some sense in these opinions, I must confess that I think 34 is a really good fragrance. True, it isn't groundbreaking, but it does what it says on the tin, which is to present a perfume typical of the chic and sophisticated Diptyque style, with a nod to the heritage of the house. 

The most notable characteristic of 34 to me is how spicy it is. Having only recently tried Viktor and Rolf's Spicebomb, I am struck by how similar they are in the first half of development, except that 34 is a bit more refined and a touch more spicy. The spices smell like cardamom mainly. I really like this spicy phase, but it is the dry down that is gorgeous in my opinion. It ends up as a smooth, woody fragrance, almost leathery at times, with a hint of smoke and spice, perhaps even a smidgen of tobacco. If that isn't good, then I don't know what is. 

Image credit - http://www.amandarijff.com/

Happy May Day

Happy May Day to everybody. If you're wearing Lily of the Valley today, then I hope you are enjoying it.

I'm not, because I don't have any Lily of the Valley perfumes in my possession, funnily enough, or not.

May Day started grey, dank and miserable here in the UK, but thankfully it brightened up considerably to the extent that by evening time, it was glorious. Now I am hoping (praying?) for a good summer.

In keeping with May Day traditions (not), I wore two great perfumes by Serge Lutens, Rose de Nuit and Santal de Mysore.

Image credit: http://www.ukstudentlife.com/

Scent of the day - Angeliques sous la Pluie

After days of seemingly endless rain today we finally had a day that verged on glorious, a fitting end to April, with the darling buds of May beckoning.

Feeling in a light-hearted mood, I decided to wear Angeliques sous la Pluie. Just saying that name makes me feel good. I've reviewed the fragrance before, see here. What I said then still holds true, except that today it was even more of a skin scent than previously. This time I also detected a lot more musk. The strange thing about this perfume is that it is so light that you really do have to hold your nose right up to your skin to detect it, yet it genuinely does last all day.

In a way, it is perfect for spring, capturing that most fleeting of seasons.

Roja Dove Diaghilev and 400th post

I've had a teeny bit of Roja Dove's Diaghilev for close on six months now, possibly even longer, yet I have never tried it. Courtesy of Carol from waftbycarol refer to this link for her great review. I'm not sure why I hadn't tried it until yesterday. Possibly it is a case of increasing numbers of samples, with the inevitability that some get missed. I had it in a drawer at work, but every time I looked at it, I thought that I would struggle to pull it off in a work environment, having read that it is a chypre in the grand old style.

I needn't have worried. Like other classic chypres (and Diaghilev obviously isn't, in the sense that it was only created in the last couple of years) it can be worn by a man, in my opinion. I wear Mitsouko quite often, although I must admit that it is easiest to wear the current eau de toilette, which I think is the most man-friendly, for want of a better expression. Anyway, I digress.

Diaghilev surprised me in the sense that it was full-on chypre goodness, with plenty of florals and oakmoss, yet had a sensuousness (perhaps an almost oriental feel) later on in the base, no doubt as a result of the vanilla, and patchouli possibly. Like Carol mentions in her review, there is a definite  animalic-ness to it, which makes it feel quite classic and vintage in feel, despite its recent heritage. This is possibly no surprise, considering Roja Dove's love for a lot of the classic perfumes.

I was wearing Caron's Nuit de Noel a few nights ago and was struck by the similarity between the two, at least to me. While the Caron perhaps differs slightly by having that distinctive Caron base (by the way, I can find a definite correlation between Nuit de Noel and Tabac Blonde, ignoring the smoke and leather aspects, but that's another story) they are both essentially excellent old-school-in-feel chypres, which can't be a bad thing.


Sorry to be so vulgar as to not only keep tabs on my post count, but also to have the temerity to draw attention to it, but today is my 400th post. I'm not obsessed with post counts, but having reached the 400 milestone I was struck by how quickly time flies - it really does seem sometimes like it was just the other day that I posted for the first time on From Top To Bottom!

Scent of the Day - ELDO Antihero

I am seldom left without an opinion (or a strong one) when it comes to ELDO's perfumes. There are some I like and some that, quite frankly, I don't.

Trying Antihero today, I should state from the outset that a lavender-dominant perfume has to have something different to attract me - if I want the true smell of lavender, unadulterated, I would prefer during the summer to stand next to my path lined with lavender bushes in full bloom.

Two lavender perfumes that I do really enjoy both are by the same house, Serge Lutens, namely Gris Clair and Encens et Lavande. I also quite enjoy Caron's Pour Un Homme and Jicky.

Anyway, Antihero smells very lavender-y straight from the vial. The opening is also very much dominated by lavender, to the point that the perfume smells nose-searingly of the essential oil. After that, it smells a bit synthetic. I gave the perfume time to settle down, then when I smelled it again, I was struck by a smell that quite frankly smells like halitosis. I kid you not, and it is the first time I have smelled such an accord in a perfume; not a welcome one, mind you. I thought this would be a deal-breaker, unsurprisingly, yet this bad breath phase only lasts a few minutes, following which Antihero softens to a musk-and-lavender base that is not a million miles removed from Pour Un Homme actually, without ever smelling exactly like it.

I have to say that Antihero is a strange fragrance. I need to try it a few more times to see if that bad breath note comes back...

Scent of the day - Mazzolari Lui

Today I revisited a patchouli fragrance that I have often referenced to, yet for some reason have seldom worn over the last year, namely Mazzolari Lui. 

You can find a review of mine from a couple of years ago here. I'm not sure what more I can add to this, considering that since that review I have probably tried a dozen excellent patchouli-dominant perfumes, probably more. To be honest, Lui still strikes me as one of the best. Having said that, if you aren't a fan of a strong, distinctive patchouli note, then I'd be surprised if you will like Lui. 

Lui is animalic, fur-like, musty, earthy and dry. Then in the dry down it becomes warmer, slightly sweeter, almost polished in feel, without losing its sexy, distinctive character. Lui means 'him' if I'm not mistaken, but to me Lui is not necessarily that masculine. Personally I often find that patchouli has a more masculine character about it anyway, particularly the stronger ones, though that isn't to say that I think a woman can't wear patchouli. On the contrary  I would positively encourage anyone to try Mazzolari Lui. It is that good.

Fenwick fumeheads

I've mentioned a few times on this blog that I regularly visit the two department stores in my hometown, Tunbridge Wells. 

Over the last few weeks I've got to know a little better three of the lovely ladies who work in the perfume section of Fenwick. It's always refreshing when I meet people who actually enjoy and appreciate the products they sell. I am not cut out to be in any retail business, but if I were, I think I would struggle if I could not be excited by my product. Not everyone is like that of course - walk through any department store in a big bustling city and you will encounter just as many people who couldn't give a monkeys about it. I'm not judging, but just saying...

Anyway, Fenwick has got in some interesting perfumes recently. I think it must be difficult sometimes to cater to varying tastes. Fenwick stock a lot of very mainstream perfumes and there is nothing wrong with that at all and they also try to get in some of the more interesting lines out there which I reckon must involve  a fair amount of judgement  in trying not to stock something that is so niche that it doesn't sell, particularly in a smallish town, albeit a fairly affluent one.

It is nice to see that they are stocking Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino, which I personally think smells great. It is a citrus cologne, but has good lasting power. Also new are two Creeds, Bois de Cedrat and Zeste Mandarine Pamplemousse, both perfect for spring weather, speaking of which, has deserted the UK, quite sadly. Also in is Boucheron Jaipur and Jaipur Homme, which I haven't seen a lot of in recent years. Jaipur Homme is an oriental, and used to be talked about quite a lot on the Basenotes boards a few years ago, but doesn't seem to garner as much attention these days. Another fairly recent addition is Uncle Serge's L'eau Froide, which I prefer to the original, with a more interesting twist of icy incense.

So, to my friends at Fenwick's perfume department - keep up the good work, and enjoy the samples!