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.

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.

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?

Guerlain Tonka Imperiale

Thanks again to the generosity of Cymbaline, I have been trying a sample of Tonka Imperiale on and off for a few weeks now. When I first spray it on, I am immediately reminded of Spiriteuse Double Vanille, without the booze and less smoky. My sample of SDV does not last on my skin. I don't know why, but thankfully Tonka Imperiale has more presence for me.

I'm no expert, but if I'm correct, Guerlain has historically used vanilla and tonka a lot in their perfumes, being essential components of their famous Guerlinade. Jean-Paul Guerlain is quoted in Michael Edward's book on French Feminine Perfumes, saying something along the lines that in his opinion there are very few really great perfumes that don't contain some vanilla. I guess that is subjective; I can think of quite a few incredible perfumes that don't have vanilla in them, but I digress.

What I like about Tonka Imperiale is that it smells smooth and sophisticated. It's opening is gloriously thick and vanilla-ry, suffused with a touch of smoke, and there is a hint of almond in there as well. It wears quite light though once the top notes fade, in the sense that it is perhaps a bit more transparent than SDV, but more interesting, if that can make sense. Once the base is reached, the amber and tobacco notes do show through, always interlaced with the tonka/vanilla accord, but it is by no means a forceful fragrance. Wearing it, I feel comforted, yet suave at the same time. I'd venture that Tonka Imperiale is on the linear side, but it is high-class, top-quality stuff from start to finish. So far it is by far my favourite in the L'art et la Matiere line. 

According to Fragrantica, Tonka Imperiale contains notes of tonka, rosemary, spices, white honey, vanilla, almond, woody notes, amber and tobacco.

Two rose scents of the day

For some reason I've been on a bit of a rose kick recently, as you might have gathered. Perhaps this follows from my posts on rose last month, which made me think a bit more about roses.

Anyway, today I wore Ormonde Jayne's Ta'if on one wrist and Guerlain's Nahema on the other. Ta'if is hard to peg down. It is a rose fragrance, obviously, but it has more going on than just that. I can't quite figure it out yet. It is quite a sweet rose perfume, without being cloying, as there are also wood and resins that temper the sweeter notes. I like it.

As for Nahema, this was the first time I have worn it. It is a very complicated perfume, starting with quite a brash and piercing rose note, then becomes dustier and more aromatic, before morphing into what I think is a rose chypre, but I could be wrong. There are a lot of aldehydes in here too, if I'm interpreting the perfume correctly. 

Both perfumes are long-lasting. I sprayed on both around 10 this morning and they are going strong 10 hours later. Ta'if and Nahema are nothing like each other, but if I were to choose one, probably on the basis of it being more intriguing, I would take Nahema.

Scent of the day - Guerlain Vol de Nuit

Thanks to the generosity of Cymbaline, I have a sample of Guerlain Vol de Nuit in extrait. I tried it for the first time yesterday. Like a lot of the older Guerlains, I find it has a very vintage feel, for want of a better word. 

Vol de Nuit has been described as a very green fragrance that becomes quite sweet and powdery. In the formulation that I have (dabbed from a vial) the greenness does not really come to the fore. The opening is fairly muted, with a slight leatheriness that reminds me fleetingly of Habit Rouge. As the fragrance develops, it does become powdery, but not overwhelmingly so and while I can detect some vanillic Guerlinade, it is not cloyingly sweet by any stretch.

It's only my first encounter, but there is an understated elegance about Vol de Nuit that does hearken back to earlier times and I can certainly see this growing on me with subsequent tries. I'm not convinced I like Vol de Nuit as much as L'Heure Bleu and Mitsouko, but it is still lovely.

Image credit - http://fimgs.net/images/

Mitsouko

To write about Mitsouko with any degree of authority is pointless. So I'll cut to the chase and state that while I have tried the EDT (presumably the most recent formulation) on numerous occasions, I haven't tried any others. I like the EDT and have always found it very unisex actually.

Recently Cymbaline sent me a sample of a vintage formulation. I'm not sure which, but wearing it for the first time today I am struck by how strikingly different it is to the EDT. The EDT is dry, almost dusty, with the faintest hint of peaches. The version I'm wearing today opens with a fat, rich peach and rose note. It is bigger, bolder, richer and more feminine than the EDT. I'd liken the affect to be like full fat milk versus semi-skimmed. 

As the vintage perfume develops, it starts to reveal characteristics in common with the EDT, but has a more old-style feel of oakmoss and is never as dry, and more sweet than the EDT.

I can see both having their place, on my skin. The EDT is definitely more man-friendly, but the vintage version I have is more voluptuous and complex. Fascinating....

A brief look at Shalimar

I'm not intending to write about Shalimar in any great detail, suffice to say that I have enjoyed it for a number of years, having bought the eau de parfum for my wife. I wear Shalimar regularly and don't find it overtly feminine. I love its combination of rich, sumptuous vanilla, smoky oppoponax and zingy citrus. Today I came across the eau de toilette at Boots and without really thinking gave myself a spritz. What struck me most was how different the opening is to the eau de parfum. It starts much lighter and with a much fresher and modern citrus. It was not until about half an hour later that I started to properly recognise it as Shalimar. Opinions differ, but many people seem to think the parfum extrait is the best concentration of Shalimar, while some mention the cologne. I haven't tried either, or any vintage versions, so can't comment. However I definitely prefer my eau de parfum concentration to the eau de toilette. 

What versions of Shalimar have you tried, and which is your favourite?

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

A birthday weekend (and Spiriteuse Double Vanille)

Some of you who read my blog from time to time may have detected a slight apathy towards Guerlain's Spiriteuse Double Vanille. The issue I have with this fragrance from a venerable perfume house is not the actual smell, idea or construction. In fact I actually do like it, while it lasts that is. I mentioned it before - I think my skin chemistry plays havoc with SDV as it barely lasts an hour, if that. However today was a little different. I splashed about half a vial of the stuff on my wrists, determined to give it a better chance. And you know what? It does last a bit longer on me, albeit still fairly subdued. 

I must say that conceptually, this is a lovely perfume. Arguably no one understands the use of vanilla in perfume more than Guerlain and this fragrance is an ode to vanilla. Lots of people mention the boozy aspects of SDV but I honestly do not detect much booziness at all. I get a lot of good quality vanilla that smells like the best cooking extract money can buy, a teeny weeny bit of booze to start, and just enough subtle smoke and incense to cut the vanilla. Ultimately SDV is a very simple perfume, understated and oozing sophistication and quality, but this simplicity is deceptive, as it is actually quite complicated to deliver this in the fashion Guerlain does.

As a side note, when I first put on SDV today, my wife mentioned that it smelled like a synthetic apple! Later, when I got back to the house, she walked up to me and said that I smelled gorgeous, like best-quality vanilla extract. Believe me, coming from her that is a major compliment indeed and probably as good an endorsement of SDV as there can be!


Oh, and the birthday weekend in the title? It was my older daughter Hannah's fourth birthday yesterday (the 15th). Happy birthday my little darling!

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

Guerlain Bois d'Armenie

At the risk of possibly being lynched, to date I've found the L'Art et la Matiere line distinctly underwhelming. Admittedly I've only tried Bois D'Armenie and Cuir Beluga, but as with Spiriteuse Double Vanille, these all strike me as very subdued and slight on my skin. Now, I am not saying that all perfumes have to shout and stand out, but I need a bit of bang for my buck. They all smell quite similar to me too, with a sweet vanilla accord, which, while very well done in that Guerlain fashion, is not enough to sell me. Look, Bois D'Armenie is very nice. Although quite sweet, it has enough of an incense/labdanum/smokiness to cut the goo and deliver an understated and fairly sophisticated take on incense. As the fragrance develops I do detect even a slight leatheriness, which is appealing. Funnily enough, when I was making notes, I wrote that Bois D'Armenie reminded me ever so slightly of Bulgari Black in style, without the rubberiness, and it has that coziness of vanilla with the hint of smoke. I've now read that Annick Menardo created this fragrance and perhaps it's no coincidence then that she also created Bulgari Black.  Bois D'Armenie is suited to cooler weather and having also worn it back in the summer, certainly on my skin I can vouch for this. It was appropriate for a cool, drizzly autumn day. 

Despite some of the positives, I still can't help but feel that some of Guerlain's latest offerings, Bois D'Armenie included, lack a bit of substance. They feel a bit unfinished to me, and slightly one-dimensional, certainly compared to some of their classics. I know there are plenty of you out there who would disagree, and I'm happy to agree to disagree. It's just my opinion after all. 

Anniversary treat

Some of you may recall that my wife and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary last month, and part of the 'pact' was that we'd each treat ourselves to something that is dear to us. In my wife's case, it was another set of knitting needles. She is an avid (one might even say compulsive) knitter. Well, no shame in that. After all, what am I if not at least as compulsive a 'fumehead? Anyway, I've spent a few weeks musing over perfume choices. At one stage I was comparing and considering buying one of Dior Homme, Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan and Creed Bois de Portugal. Well this week I eventually plumped for Guerlain's L'Instant and Gucci Pour Homme. Why the change of heart, you ask? Well, the three I originally tested did not go down particularly well with my better half. While I have no issue with testing loads of challenging samples, they only last a short while, whereas full bottles of perfume stick around much longer, so I didn't want to force-feed my wife a scent barrage that she doesn't like. 

So why L'Instant and Gucci Pour Homme? Well, L'Instant is not that far removed from Dior Homme really if you think about it. Both have cocoa notes, and I'm sure I detect iris in L'Instant. They are both gourmand-ish without being too foody-cloying. Admittedly, L'Instant has more vanilla and a patchouli note, but the combination Guerlain-style is brilliant in my opinion. I ended up choosing the Guerlain because I felt it had more depth and subtleties that I didn't get in Dior Homme. As for Gucci Pour Homme, I've long enjoyed it out of a fairly bog-standard crop of mainstream mens fragrances, as it stands out from the crowd as a woody incense with some originality, which is a blessed relief. Even more compelling is the fact that it is being discontinued and I wanted to grab a bottle before its too late. It's quite sad really, as in my opinion it is the only worthy one in the men's Gucci stable at present, yet it clearly isn't doing well. 

Some of you might be surprised that I ended up with two mainstream fragrances rather than something more niche. I suppose I am too. I can't really explain it, except that I really like both of them and they stand out as examples of how mainstream mens fragrances ought to be done.

On a final note, a big thank you to Melanie from Hoopers, who must have been so glad that I finally purchased something, after all the cadging of samples over the last two years! Honestly, she has been so good to me and I love sharing perfume stories with her and generally chatting over the odd lunchtime. She threw in all sorts of extras by the way - samples of both the new Amouage Memoir fragrances, 5ml each of Acqua Di Parma Colonia and Cartier Delice, plus a score of other samples and soaps. Very generous I think.

Guerlain - L'art et la Matiere and Spiritueuse Double Vanille

I recently ordered and received some Guerlain samples from The Perfumed Court. I was particularly interested in trying some of the  more exclusive fragrances, from the L'art et la Matiere range, for example. I ordered Bois de Armenie, Cuir Beluga and Spirituese Double Vanille (SDV). It was only later that I realised that SDV is not in that particular range, but fairly exclusive it still is, or to me anyway. I'm not sure if anyone from the UK is reading this, but is it just me, or are these sorts of fragrances really hard to find here? I mean, Guerlain is only a two-and-a-half hour train journey away, is it not? Again, these are probably carried at one or two of the large London stores, but I'm not personally aware if they are. Anyway, onto the fragrances. I'm not really sure what to say. When I recently ordered these and some of the Chanel Exclusifs, for some reason I thought the Guerlain ones would in all likelihood impress me, while I was prepared to be let down by the Chanels. In fact, it was the opposite way around and Chanel pleasantly surprised me while Guerlain left me feeling well, not let down exactly, but underwhelmed. It's not to say that these were not good, but they just did not do enough to hold my interest. My main issue was with longevity - I was dabbing, but even so, they were very subdued on my skin, SDV in particular being the guilty culprit. I ought to say that I don't judge the quality of a fragrance purely on longevity, but when you are paying these sorts of prices, one (or I in any event) would expect a bit more than a whisper. So below are my initial impressions. Like with all the perfumes I try, I will give them a second chance, because you never know what another day's wearing might bring.

SDV - this opened quite boozy and with loads of vanilla. Within a few minutes there was a nice vanillic, woody smell left on my skin, but decreasing in strength by the minute. Within an hour I was left with a faint vanilla accord, but I had to sniff really close to detect this. I wore SDV on a warm, muggy day, so perhaps this had something to do with it. To be fair, I don't think this is the sort of fragrance (at the risk of pigeonholing) that is suited to summer. I should really be wearing this on a cold, damp autumnal or winter day. Perhaps I didn't apply enough, I don't know. I do know that SDV has a lot of fans and conceptually, I can see why. It did smell good, for the hour that it lasted.

Cuir Beluga - I didn't keep any notes for this one, but it was very nice. It was a fairly subtle, leathery scent, quite sophisticated and not too powerhouse leather. What I enjoyed most though was a slightly salty, briny note that came through every now and then. Perhaps this was ambergris, but it blended surprisingly well with the leather.

Bois d'Armenie - this started with quite a sweet, boozy, vanillic hit and for a short while I wondered if I had been given another sample of SDV. However it quickly tapered off to a surprisingly dry, incense accord, with perhaps a hint of bergamot that created a slightly spicy interlude. The incense is very smooth, sophisticated and is not particularly gothic or church-like. There's a bit of amber in the background, slightly sweet, which might be labdanum and what I later realised is probably benzoin. At this stage I noted a similarity to Profumo's Mecca Balsam. It also becomes slightly dusty in feel, almost like the odor of books that have been stored for a while and have gathered dust, but not mouldering away. What I find really interesting about Bois d'Armenie is that far into the dry down it becomes much sweeter again, with vanilla at the fore and I even detect a slight boozy return. It's like it has done an about turn. The vanilla is very nice and reminds me a bit of SDV again and even slightly of Havanna Vanille by L'artisan. There is a faint lactonic milkiness at the very end.

I think of the three, Bois d'Armenie struck me as the most original and I particularly liked the way it ended up almost back where it started, after a journey of incense. SDV was disappointing and I will need to try it again to prevent it being sin-binned. Cuir Beluga is nice (what a bland word) but other than that brininess that I liked, it could to my nose be pretty much any smooth leather on the market. It's well done and I certainly like it but I probably expected a bit more.

I think what I find a slight letdown overall is that with such interesting possibilities, with strong and slightly mysterious ingredients, they all wear a little light and unobtrusively. I expected them to be a bit more assertive and it's probably no coincidence that the one I liked the most, Bois d'Armenie, did have the best longevity and sillage, but having said that, it was still relatively subdued.


Image credit: 2.bp.blogspot.com