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 rehash my thoughts again, except to state that with time Tabac Aurea has definitely grown on me. Strangely, I now detect its tobacco note quite clearly and find it such a comforting, yummy scent. While none of these is foody per se, they all smell delicious. I can't quite explain it.

Another thing that strikes me about Sonoma Scent Studio in general is how reasonably priced their products are and also how easy it is to purchase from their website. I also love how they offer so many different sizes. This is so refreshing compared to better known perfumeries that offer one size - 100ml or nothing. I hate that.

If you haven't tried anything from this lovely perfume house, I would urge you to do so. I'm confident you will find at least one perfume in their line that will wow you. 

Weekend musings

So, it is weekend again, and it was back to DIY again. The day started with fantastic weather, which could only mean one thing - get a roof on the Wendy House (playhouse) as soon as possible. To someone technically challenged like myself, this is no easy task. In the event, I managed to get the roof on by mid afternoon, but still needed to collect the felt (for waterproofing) from a friend who had a spare roll. By this time the sky was looking decidedly more murky, so with a sense of urgency we fetched the felt and after some cutting, cursing and tacking, got it done by 5.30pm. By the time we had finished supper the rain was pouring down. Phew! Thank goodness.

A lovely surprise awaited me today - a package from my friend Frida over on Bloody Frida! I'm sure quite a few of you know this wonderful lady already, who is extremely kind and generous. I sent Frida a few samples last month and she reciprocated by knitting my two daughters lovely berets and also sent me samples of Bond's Washington Square, Creed's Fleurs de Bulgarie and something I haven't seen before, Florida Water. Yo Frida - big thanks. I will post some pics in due course, once I locate my camera...

I didn't wear any perfume today because I knew that with manual labour it would disappear quicker than a refund of an MP's falsified expense claim. Yesterday I wore a couple of samples from the wonderful Sonomo Scent Studio. I've written about them before - Winter Woods and Tabac Aurea. In my original post about Tabac Aurea back in August or September last year I wrote that I couldn't detect all that much tobacco and mentioned an immortelle note that I didn't like very much. I've worn Tabac Aurea a few times since then and got the same impression. Lo and behold, yesterday it unfolded in a totally different manner. Right from the outset I smelled a beautifully rendered tobacco note, which was later joined by smoke and labdanum. I could still smell a little immortelle, but only just, and it worked well with the tobacco. I still find it amazing how perfumes can perform so differently over time.

So, have a good weekend all. I'm off to find my camera now...

Sonoma Scent Studio part 2

So, part 2 of my sampling of some of the Sonoma Scent Studio fragrances. My final three were Winter Woods, Ambre Noir and Fireside Intense. My general feeling about the line so far is that most of them would wear far better in the cooler months. I could particularly see myself sampling these again in the autumn. Nevertheless, I tried these on fairly warm spring days and these are my initial impressions:

Winter Woods - This opens quite dry, woody and spicy, with no citrus note embellishment. I think I detect a bit of incense, but mostly it is about light smoke, wood and spice. I thought I detected a floral note too, which seemed a bit rooty, so perhaps iris, but I honestly don't know for sure. It started to become quite sweet after a while, with what I think is a hefty dose of vanilla. I sort of like this, but I need to try it again in cooler weather. I couldn't quite figure out what was going on here.

Ambre Noir - this has to be the strangest amber perfume I have smelled. It opens with a weird, skanky note. It's hard to describe, but it smelled to me like slightly rotting vegetation, like stems that have stood in water for too long! It's one of those perfumes that is oddly compelling and repulsive at the same time, so certainly no lack of interest here. The amber seeps through soon enough, but it is a bone dry amber, no sweetness at all, and almost smoky. I think I detect a floral, rosy note, but again, quite dry, more like potpourri rather than dewy fresh. It develops a little like Rose Poivre or even Voleur de Roses, so I wonder if there's not perhaps a bit of patchouli in here as well. I need to try this one again. It's very strange, but a take on amber that I haven't encountered before, so I am quite excited about this.

Fireside Intense - I was scared that this would turn out like Tauer's Lonestar Memories. I don't mind that one, but I wasn't in the mood for scary, pungent birch tar, and thankfully this one turned out to be possibly my favourite of the lot. It opens with an almost boozy, cognac-like note and quickly becomes peppery, with spicy cedar and a faint birch tar accord. It is nice - smooth, rich and slightly smoky. I'm reminded a bit of Gucci 1 for men, the very pencil-cedar one, but richer, sweeter and more well-rounded. The sweetness fades in the heart, when the smokiness intensifies, but this is not an acrid smoke, but more like the fumes released from dying embers. I get a lot of cedar too, and what I think is guaiac wood. In the dry down it stays nicely woody. I'm getting a cedar and sandalwood combination, I think, and suddenly a number of fragrances spring to mind, such as 10 Corso Como and Let Me Play the Lion in particular. Overall, I think it is a lovely fragrance.

So, overall verdict? As I said above, I think a lot of these would perform better in the cooler months, but I like the overall style of the line. I think my two clear favourites are Incense Pure and Fireside Intense. The most quirky is Ambre Noir, while the slow burners may be Winter Woods and Wood Violet. I didn't care much for Sienna Musk I'm afraid, while Tabac Aurea reminded me too much of the Histoire 1740  perfume, with its immortelle feel, which I'm not a huge fan of.

Sonoma Scent Studio

I mentioned in a post not that long ago that I had finally ordered some samples from Sonoma Scent Studio. Well, they finally arrived and I am now excitedly trying them out. This post is more a general description of my initial impressions of the line and if I do any detailed reviews, these will be published later. Firstly, I want to emphasise how lovely it is that a niche, indie line can be so reasonably priced, and secondly, how refreshing it is that you can buy Laurie Erickson's perfumes in a number of different sizes. I have purchased only small samples, but one is also able to purchase 5ml, 17ml and 34ml sizes, which makes absolute sense and I wish more perfumers would do this. I can only speak for myself, but I am far more inclined to buy say two or three 5ml or 17ml bottles than I am 200ml or 300ml vats that I could bathe in.

Anyway, on to the fragrances. I purchased samples of Wood Violet, Tabac Aurea, Sienna Musk, Incense Pure, Fireside Intense, Winter Woods and Ambre Noir. I haven't tried them all yet, but so far, my initial impressions are as follows:

Wood Violet - I am pleasantly surprised by this one as usually I am not a huge fan of the violet note. Even in this case, I am not convinced this is full bottle worthy for me, but the violet is cleverly balanced with Himalayan Cedar, so although the violet does dominate in the first half of development, the cedar is well present in the latter half and it makes a nice partner with the violet. There is plum in here as well, which at this early stage is not that noticeable to me, but I have not experienced this note much, so perhaps I am not quite attuned to it yet,

Tabac Aurea - funnily enough, this was the one I thought would be a huge winner for me, and it turns out that I am luke warm about it. It is nice, but it smells like a dead ringer for Histoire de Parfums 1740, aka Marquis de Sade. This is all about leather, patchouli and tobacco, but I find the tobacco quite light. Although not listed, I can almost swear that I detect an immortelle note in here; either that, or the combination of notes eerily creates the impression of immortelle. Either way, this smells very similar to me to 1740. As I said, I don't mind this, and in fact I don't mind 1740, but it doesn't blow me away.

Sienna Musk - again, this one leaves me luke warm. I usually like musk, but this particular style of sweetish musk, combined with the cinnamon note, does not do much for me. I know Sienna Musk has a lot of fans and I will give it another chance, but it is not really me. It reminds me a bit of the musk sweets I used to get in lucky packets when I was a small boy, slightly sweet, slightly talcy, even a bit powdery.

Incense Pure - of the four I've tried so far, this is the clear winner. If you like incense, this will not disappoint. This has got to be possibly the most linear fragrance I have ever tried, but don't let this deter you. The incense here is clear, effervescent almost and literally sings on my skin in the opening. It isn't particularly churchy or gothic and there is almost a resiny herbalness to it, like the smell of rosemary and pine combined, but in a very classy manner. The incense is there from start to finish and a gorgeous incense it is. In a way, Incense Pure is quite sheer and transparent even, but not really light. It's hard to describe, but the name Pure really does it justice. It is pure and unadulterated incense.

Once I've tried the others, I will post my initial thoughts on them too. So far, I do admire what I have tried. Some of them might not quite be me, but I can't fault Sonoma Scent Studio for being innovative and releasing some interesting product.

Plague or perfume?

Guess what folks? I is a sick puppy. I started getting some severe stabbing pain in my ribs on Wednesday and shortness of breath. At first I thought I'd pulled a muscle between the ribs, but after seeing the doctor I have ben diagnosed with pleurisy! Yikes, this sounds like TB or the plague no? Well, in actual fact pleurisy is an infection and inflammation of the fluid and lining of the lungs. The pain, which feels like being stabbed in the ribs, is caused by the friction of the rubbing of the two membranes or linings. Believe me, not nice. So now I am on a course of strong antibiotics and have been ordered to take plenty of rest and painkillers too. The weirdest thing is that nothing preceded this and I am perfectly healthy (I think). If it hasn't cleared up by Monday I might need to have a chest x-ray and a blood test.

On a brighter note, I've finally ordered some samples from Sonoma Scent Studio in California and I eagerly await them. Dammit, why aren't they here already? I haven't been doing much ordering recently, due to budget constraints, but for some reason sales associates at my local department stores have been flinging samples my way, but a lot of them are duplications of what I already have. I should say no thank you, but I appear to have a compulsive need to collect samples! This week I was given all the Tom Ford masculines (not the private blends), Aqua Di Parma, VC&A Oriens, Dior Miss Cheri, some of the Pradas and I'm sure there's more.

I haven't done a lot of testing the last few days for obvious reasons, but I did try Uncle Serge's Douce Amere and Tom Ford Black Orchid. I like Douce Amere and there are rumours that this is to be discontinued, which is a shame, because it is a well-crafted scent, with absinthe, anise and a nice herby kick. I think it's perfect for a spring day as it is quite refreshing. Black Orchid is interesting. Although a feminine scent, I found it quite wearable for a man, with a very interesting opening. Its quite floral, and the opening packs a punch, but the dry down is smooth and lovely.

I had a look in my wife's closet the other day (as one does, ha ha) and found a couple of perfumes I forgot she had. One is Poeme by Lancome and the other is Volupte by Oscar De La Renta. I might just give them a go, although I suspect they will be too much for me to wear in public, but that won't be a problem considering my current condition. All I need to get now is a bell to wear around my neck, or is that a millstone!

Have a good weekend y'all.