Now Smell This

Kenzo Amour Indian Holi ~ fragrance review

2008-06-02T02:50:00.000-07:00

Amour Indian Holi is Kenzo's new limited edition flanker for 2006's Kenzo Amour fragrance. It's named for the Indian Festival of Colors, and the original Amour juice has been reworked by perfumers Daphne Bugey and Olivier Cresp. Additions to the mix include rose, peony, and, wait for it......yep, pink pepper, the note du jour.

I liked the original Amour very much when I tried it in 2006, and I still do. I've been flirting with the idea of buying it and I may do so yet; wearing it today reminds me of what a perfect comfort scent it is for cool weather. Many people complain that it is too bland, but I find the vanilla-rice-pudding-blandness part of its charm, and the dark woods and incense in the base keep it from being dull (the original notes were cherry blossom, rice steam, white tea, frangipani, heliotrope, thanaka wood, incense, vanilla and musk).

I rather thought they'd do something more exotic with Amour Indian Holi. As much as I like Amour, it doesn't quite evoke the "couple's voyage through India, Japan and Vietnam" that it was meant to, and if it'd been up to me — and it never is, is it? — I'd have amped up the incense and thanaka wood and added a goodly dash of some spice or another.

Kenzo has gone in the opposite direction. You'll recognize strains of the original Amour in Amour Indian Holi, but the top notes are sweeter and fruitier, the woods and incense in the base are milder, and the peony-rose-pink pepper medley, while sheer, gives Indian Holi a more generic-mainstream-department-store-fragrance feel. It smells like it's been "pinked up".

I don't hate Amour Indian Holi, in fact, as pinked up fragrances go, it's rather nice. Still, we've plenty of pink on the fragrance counters already. I don't need it, but if you found the original Amour lacking, it might be worth a try. The bottle is adorable enough that I'd like to own it even though I wouldn't be likely to wear it.

Kenzo Amour Indian Holi is available in 50 ml Eau de Parfum. You can find it now at Nordstrom; presumably it will be in wider distribution shortly.

Juicy Couture Dirty English for men ~ fragrance review

2008-06-02T02:41:00.000-07:00

When I saw the list of ingredients for Juicy Couture’s new men’s fragrance, Dirty English — peppered mandarin, blue cypress, Calabrian bergamot, caraway, cardamom pods, marjoram, black leather, “Santal Fatal” accord (a mix of sandalwood, Atlas cedar and vetiver), agarwood, ebony wood, black moss absolute, and amber musk — my first thought was: “Why this dark, heavy scent now…so close to spring?” By late February, I’m yearning for crisp-bright scents, perfumes with lots of citrus, floral, fruit and ‘green’ accords. I needn’t have worried; though Dirty English’s mix of notes sounds hot’n’heavy, the cologne is light enough to be worn in spring, even summer.

Dirty English starts off with the aromas of smooth citrus-y leather and cypress, and mellow caraway and marjoram. I was hoping Dirty English would provide rude blasts of the promised black leather, black moss (surely this note would be weird and musty?) and agarwood, but Dirty English is a well-mannered, well-blended scent and I don’t smell anything out of the ordinary. (I’ve tried to detect the “Santal Fatal” accord but I smell only cedar, cedar, and more cedar.) Near the end of Dirty English’s development, agarwood does make an appearance, as does an overused fragrance note of late: satiny, vanillic ‘amber musk’. Dirty English is a mid-strength, sweet, wood scent and as I wore it I was reminded of (a milder) Yves Saint Laurent M7, (a sweeter) Gucci Pour Homme and (a cleaner) Tom Ford for Men.

I have no idea what the term ‘Dirty English’ denotes. I’ve looked at Juicy Couture products bearing the name (I like the Dirty English bulldog T-shirts) and assume the Dirty English clothing line is casual wear aimed at young men. I can say with assurance there is nothing “dirty” about Dirty English for Men Eau de Toilette. The cologne is described by Juicy Couture as “outrageously sexy”, “mysterious” and “magnetic.” I would describe it as “nice”…and tame. If you’re an old hand, or should I say an old nose, at perfumery, you’ve smelled many scents like Dirty English. Perhaps Dirty English is being marketed towards 20-something men who are moving away from the dated, rather simple-scented, ozonic perfumes of the past 10 years? (Starting last autumn, I’ve noticed that “fresh” ozonic men’s fragrances are not the norm anymore in new mainstream releases.) I do like Dirty English and would be happy to smell it on others or to wear it myself — but probably only if someone gave me a bottle; Dirty English has decent lasting power and non-annoying sillage.

Juicy Couture Dirty English was developed by perfumer Claude Dir. During its early release, scheduled for March, Dirty English will be a Bloomingdale’s exclusive. As of this posting, the scent has not been widely advertised and it is not for sale on the Bloomingdale’s retail website.

Update: Juicy Couture Dirty English will be available in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Toilette and in matching grooming products, including De-Funk Deodorant and Up With a Twist shower gel. (via Women's Wear Daily)

Ralph Wild by Ralph Lauren ~ fragrance review

2008-06-02T02:38:00.000-07:00

Another year, another Ralph. Ralph Wild is the fifth in the Ralph by Ralph Lauren franchise, and the tag line goes like this...

Welcome to the wild state, where the air is fresh and juicy, skin is warm and alluring, and you can let your true self run free...Go Ralph Wild.

The Ralph series, like the Ralph by Ralph Lauren sportswear line from which it takes its name, aims for a younger demographic than the regular Ralph Lauren line; the fragrances, geared towards 15-25 year olds, are generally pleasant if not startlingly original. Still, despite the fact that Ralph Wild was announced as a fruity floral, I expected from the "Wild" part that they might do something a little edgier and au courant with this one, perhaps a touch of something dark in the base?

Nope. Ralph Wild stays firmly in the comfort zone: it is sparkling and youthful, and smells emphatically pink. The top notes are fresh and fizzy, with lots of sweet fruit (mostly strawberry; the other notes include watermelon, cherry blossom, pink peppercorn, red petals, jasmine, amber, sandalwood and musk), and for a brief time, it reminds me of a fruity soda. That fades into the blur of sheer, faceless flowers over clean woody musk that you generally find in a fruity floral geared towards the youth market.

If you're after a pink-ish fruity floral, Ralph Wild is pleasant and wearable. One of the things I like about the Ralph by Ralph Lauren collection is that while they're sweet, they're not usually overly so (Ralph Hot being an exception), and Ralph Wild keeps the candy under control despite staying remarkably fruity straight through to the end. There isn't anything in the least wild about it, and coming as it does at the tail end of the fruity floral trend, it can't help but smell a bit generic — is there anything much new that can be done with strawberry and "red petals" at this point? Personally, my favorite of the lot is last year's Ralph Rocks, which seemed to have a bit more personality, but Ralph Wild is fine for what it is.

Ralph Wild by Ralph Lauren is available in 30, 50 and 100 ml Eau de Toilette, and can be found at Sephora and department stores.

Thierry Mugler A*Men Pure Coffee ~ fragrance review

2008-06-02T02:35:00.000-07:00

Coffee and I go waaaaaay back. I grew up in a household where I had no set time for bed and no restrictions on what I read or watched on TV. I could also eat and drink what I liked (I was not allowed to drink, let’s say, whiskey or beer openly, but when I’d admit taking a nip here or there I was not punished). I would start my day with a cup of coffee — even in first grade (my grandmother thought coffee, cream and sugar were ‘health foods.’) My free-style childhood and almost constant high approval ratings by my parents and live-in grandmother have contributed to some character “flaws” to be sure (a famous L.A. psychic looked at my palm once and proclaimed: “I see…Buckingham Palace!”) and my early coffee consumption no doubt made me what I am today: a man immune to the effects of caffeine.

Still, I love the scents and flavors of coffee: fresh coffee beans, roasting coffee beans (an aroma you can easily experience in Seattle), brewing coffee, percolating coffee, espresso, coffee in chocolates, ice cream, cakes, cookies and custards. I never thought I would like the scent of coffee on my person. The idea of wearing a coffee perfume made me queasy, until I sampled Thierry Mugler's A*Men Pure Coffee. Almost as much as I detest A*Men, I enjoy A*Men Pure Coffee.

A*Men Pure Coffee was developed by perfumers Jacques Huclier and Christine Nagel and it contains Arabica coffee, patchouli, musk, moss, cedar and vetiver. A*Men Pure Coffee opens with a deep, roasted coffee bean note and segues to a dark chocolate accord. Slowly, A*Men Pure Coffee’s chocolate ‘dissolves’ into a sweet liquid coffee aroma. I can detect hints of coffee and chocolate from start to finish but as A*Men Pure Coffee develops on my skin, I also smell mellow cedar, musk and vetiver. As I wore A*Men Pure Coffee, I would ask people how they liked my perfume. This fragrance got raves from everyone and I was surprised that only a few “sniffers” detected the chocolate or coffee notes immediately. The usual response to A*Men Pure Coffee was: “I recognize something…but WHAT IS IT?” When I’d reveal “coffee” and “chocolate”…all screamed: “YES!”

The moment I put on A*Men Pure Coffee I thought: “This will go great with Serge Lutens Vetiver Oriental.” I was right; both of the perfumes become more interesting and complex when layered. I hate buying 100 ml bottles of any fragrance and I also hate buying wintry scents in spring, but after smelling A*Men Pure Coffee layered with my Vetiver Oriental I may have to buy a bottle. (A*Men Pure Coffee is only sold in a 100 ml size spray bottle/$65.)

Thierry Mugler A*Men Pure Coffee is a limited edition fragrance and will be available in the U.S. from mid-April thru the summer. (Why are all the recent men’s limited edition fragrances so much better than the permanent offerings in the same line?)

Ed Hardy Woman by Christian Audigier ~ fragrance review

2008-06-02T02:34:00.001-07:00

"Vintage tattoo wear" line Ed Hardy launched their first fragrances this year. The fashion line, from designer Christian Audigier, is inspired by the tattoo designs of Don Ed Hardy, and while I found the bottle a bit less inspiring in person than it was in pictures — isn't that usually the way? plastic always looks better in pictures — it's still a great design. I don't know that I'd wear a hoodie with the "Love Kills Slowly" skull and the "Life Love Luck" trail of roses, but on a perfume bottle it's fun, and it makes a nice change from the dreary parade of cookie-cutter bottles on display at Macy's.

The fragrance itself promised more fun. It was described as "super vibrant and sexy", and "vintage floralcy with a Rock'n Roll Edge" and a "dark eeriness". Anyone who reads here regularly already knows where this is going, right? If you want a strawberry-laced fruity floral this year, you've plenty of choice, and Ed Hardy will probably suit as well as anything else, but if you're looking for super vibrant, sexy, edgy or eerie, you'll have to look elsewhere.

Ed Hardy Woman is not worth describing in much detail since I've already described Ralph Wild and they were clearly poured from the same vat — probably just as well, since bringing 1000+ new perfumes to market this year must be keeping the perfumers very busy and I'd hate to see them fuss unduly over the strawberry fruity floral category. I've worn Ed Hardy Woman and Ralph Wild together three times now, and while they're slightly different, I'm quite sure I'd never be able to tell you which was which in a blind test. I think I like the Ralph Wild juice a bit better, but I'd take the Ed Hardy Woman bottle over Ralph Wild's in a heartbeat.

Neither fragrance is nearly as good as Miss Dior Chérie, which at the grand old age of 3 has become the gold standard for strawberry fruity florals. I am wearing all three fragrances as I type, and the Miss Dior Chérie, while not exactly the epitome of Rock'n Roll Edge, does a better job of it than Ralph Wild or Ed Hardy. It is darned sweet though, and what edge it has comes largely from the relatively dark patchouli base; some consumers, no doubt, will find the freshness of Ralph Wild or Ed Hardy Woman easier to wear. I wish I'd paid more attention to the new Miss Dior Chérie Eau de Printemps, but I gave it only a very brief sniff — if anyone can comment on how that one fits in, please do.

Ed Hardy Woman by Christian Audigier was developed by perfumer Caroline Sabas, and the notes include apple soufflé, mango, wild strawberry, rudy red grapefruit, freesia petals, watery muguet, linden blossom, warm amber, musk, tonka bean and vanilla pudding. It is available in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum, and can be found at department stores or at the online discounters.

Jo Malone Kohdo Wood Collection ~ perfume review

2008-06-02T02:31:00.001-07:00

The Kohdo Wood Collection is the latest release from British niche house Jo Malone. There are two fragrances: Lotus Blossom & Water Lily (in the clear bottle, and meant to "to energise the body") for day and Dark Amber & Ginger Lily (in the dark bottle, and meant to be mellow and sensual) for night; both are limited editions inspired by the Japanese incense ceremony.

If you found the idea of fragrances inspired by Japanese incense to be a little "exotic" for Jo Malone, you're not alone. Jo Malone is a niche brand by virtue of their size and distribution, but the fragrances themselves are rarely what I'd call adventurous. In the event, neither of the Kohdo Wood scents turned out to be wildly adventurous, but they're a nice change of pace for the Jo Malone brand.

I'll start with my favorite of the two, Dark Amber & Ginger Lily. The top notes are citrusy spices, very strong and peppery, after that, it is a spicy amber-y concoction with sheer florals layered over incense. It is not entirely dark — I'd call it middling dark, and middling sweet as well — and while the opening is a bit strong, it settles rapidly. It isn't at all the sort of thing I'd reserve for evening wear.

They've done a lovely job with this one, and I'd very much like to know who the perfumer was. It strikes a nice balance; it's clean and smooth enough that nobody will accuse you of smelling like High Mass (Comme des Garçons Avignon) or Damp Basement (Etro Messe de Minuit), but it has just enough dusty-resinous-earthy stuff in the base to make me happy. It is easily my favorite Jo Malone ever. Figures that it is limited edition, right?

I bought it on the spot, thereby breaking perfumista rule no. 84, "Never buy a fragrance on the first sniffing". Why did I buy it? Well, I felt like it. Do I regret it? Yes. I like it, in fact I like it very much, and I'll wear it happily, but there are many, many things on my list that I wanted more than this (Diorissimo! In extrait!), and it is my second off-the-cuff purchase of the year. More to the point, it made me realize how utterly helpless I would be if all niche brands offered their wares in SMALL bottles at a REASONABLE price. $50 for 30 ml? Done. (The notes: black cardamom, pink pepper, ginger, night blooming jasmine, orchid, water lily, rose, black amber, white pepperwood, leather, patchouli, sandalwood and Kyara incense accord).

I figured that Lotus Blossom & Water Lily would be the simple, straightforward Jo-Malone-ish entry in the set, but it's surprisingly interesting too. It's a considerably more transparent scent, pale and summery and cool and clean. There's less spice, and just enough aquatic accord in the opening to annoy me (the notes: aquatic accord, grapefruit, bergamot, mandarin, lotus blossom, freesia, honeysuckle, water lily, jasmine, incense, amber, sandalwood, musk, aloeswood and guaiac wood). The flip side is that there's just enough incense and dark wood in the base to keep it from being entirely dull.

I like Lotus Blossom & Water Lily better than I expected, but I wasn't tempted to buy. Still, if you're looking for something pale and summery with incense, and you don't like Hermès Un Jardin Sur Le Nil, it is very much worth a shot.

As is the way with Jo Malone, neither of these scents are powerhouses. I found that both required frequent refreshing, and the Dark Amber & Ginger Lily did not perform any better on that score than the Lotus Blossom & Water Lily. They do layer together quite nicely. I was hoping that the Dark Amber would also layer nicely with Jo Malone Vintage Gardenia, a spur of the moment purchase from several years back, and one that turned out to be far sweeter than I care for. No such luck: the Vintage Gardenia eats up the Dark Amber and spits it out in short order. Oh well.

Jo Malone Lotus Blossom & Water Lily and Dark Amber & Ginger Lily are available in 30 and 100 ml cologne and in matching bath oils and candles. For buying information, see the listing for Jo Malone under Perfume Houses.

Burberry The Beat ~ fragrance review

2008-06-02T02:25:00.000-07:00

The Beat is the latest feminine perfume from Burberry, and in keeping with the iconic brand's ongoing efforts to stay trendy and of the moment, it is aimed (what else is new) at a young audience:

With model Agyness Deyn as its face, Beat is targeting a young, urban and hip crowd, said Burberry's creative director Christopher Bailey. "The mood of the fragrance is young, modern, energetic, dynamic, expressive, fun, vigour, verve and spiritedness ... All words that describe the mood, inspiration and sense of ebullience that we wanted to evoke." (via Cosmetics International, 12/14/2007)

The Beat is described as a sparkling floral woody fragrance; the notes feature bergamot, mandarin, Ceylon tea, cardamom, pink pepper, bluebell, iris, white musk, vetiver and cedarwood. It starts very bright, with tart fruit and juicy citrus. There is lots of pink pepper (can anybody remember what perfumes smelled like before pink pepper became obligatory?) and a teensy little pinch of cardamom. The heart is sheer bluebell-ish florals, still very bright; the base is cool and pale and summery, and smoothed over with a smidgen of iris. The ad copy calls The Beat "carnal, slightly wild", but that is the usual nonsense — there is nothing even vaguely carnal about it. It smells young and cheerful and clean, and is a pretty good match with the mood of the print ad.

There is also an "Elixir Parfum" version. It's a richer scent, with a heavier concentration of iris (you can smell the iris as soon as you spray it on) and a deeper, smokier tea note. The bluebell is there but less prominent, and the base, while still largely pale and cool, is warmer and earthier. It isn't carnal or wild either, but nor is it young and cheerful and clean.

I spent some time listening to the music that Burberry reportedly gave to perfumers Dominique Ropion, Olivier Polge and Beatrice Piquet to get them in the right mindset for The Beat (Kasabian, Dirty Pretty Things, Razorlight, the Arctic Monkeys and The Fratellis). It is par for the course, I suppose, that the music is far edgier than the juice they came up with? Presumably they're hoping to reach a wider audience than you'd get with a fragrance that evoked Dirty Pretty Things' Gin and Milk, and I shouldn't think anybody was going to go looking for edgy from Burberry anyway.

Instead, they've gone for likeable, and they've hit that right on the nail. The Eau de Parfum is youthful without loading on the strawberry candy (it doesn't smell like it's aimed at 'tweens), and while I wouldn't call it massively interesting, it's nicely done and a good fit with the Burberry aesthetic. I don't love it, but it didn't kill me to try it and I wouldn't mind smelling it all over town, in fact, I'd much rather smell The Beat all over town than any number of things. I found the Elixir Parfum considerably more tempting, in fact, it might be the first Burberry fragrance I've ever wanted to own. If you've been looking for a mainstream iris and found Prada's Infusion d'Iris too sheer and Bvlgari's Omnia Amethyste too pretty-charming, you might want to try The Beat Elixir.

You know that a brand capable of making beige plaid covetable is going to do decent packaging, and Burberry has come through on that score as well. The packaging is way cute. I like the Beat Eau de Parfum bottle (shown above), shaped like a hip flask and etched with a Burberry plaid design, just fine. It's easily as cute as the Burberry Brit bottle. The Elixir bottle (shown at right) is even more way cute; it's small enough to actually carry as a hip flask, and the plaid pattern is done in a metallic silver finish. I wanted one as soon as I saw it in person. I might just have to buy it.

The Beat by Burberry is available in 30, 50 ($62) or 75 ml ($80) Eau de Parfum or in 40 ml Elixir Parfum ($130); the body products include Shower Gel and Body Lotion. The Burberry boutique in my local mall had only the Eau de Parfum (and only in one size); Nordstrom had the entire range, including the Elixir. The Beat is expected to go into wider distribution over the next few months. I haven't seen the 30 ml bottle anywhere, and guessing that will be Sephora only?

Jennifer Lopez Deseo ~ perfume review

2008-06-02T02:23:00.000-07:00

Deseo is the latest fragrance from the Jennifer Lopez franchise at Coty, and the floral woody scent reportedly takes its inspiration from a "midnight walk in Lopez's garden moments before a thunderstorm set in"*. Deseo is that rare thing, a fragrance geared towards an older (well, what they actually said was "intended to appeal to a more sophisticated and mature demographic"**) audience than the earlier fragrances in the line. Given that most celebrity fragrances are geared towards a very young crowd (i.e., 'tweens), that doesn't mean they're reaching for middle-aged women, mind you, but still, it's nice to see a line reach for more sophistication instead of less.

Deseo starts out with a big diffusive fresh note — and anyone who reads here regularly knows there's nothing I hate like a big diffusive fresh note. The grapefruit-y citrus in the opening is sharp for a time, then it is very soft and subdued, and there is a blur of something vaguely greenish that must be the watery bamboo leaves (the notes: watery bamboo leaves, yuzu, bergamot, freesia, star jasmine, pink geranium flower, orange blossom, mimosa, warm amber, oak moss, musk, sandalwood, cedar, patchouli and mineral accord).

The heart is floral notes, blurred and indistinct, but strong. It is sweeter and creamier than the opening, and there are mild tropical fruit-ish undertones. The dry down is warmer and softer, and the ambery musk + mineral accord reads something like "warm sand" to my nose. It is not quite dark, but it isn't pale either, and there is lots of dry wood and some subtle earthiness.

Deseo reminds me of last year's L.A.M.B. L by Gwen Stefani. They don't smell alike, but they both seem to be trying to walk the tightrope between young, but not too young. The recipe: tone down the candied fruit, amp up the fresh notes, add a somewhat warmer base. L.A.M.B. L never went much further than that, and while it was perhaps marginally more "sophisticated" than Deseo, I found L's resolutely clean base rather dull. Deseo has more personality; the base isn't exactly skanky, but it's considerably more interesting (and sexy) than L's, and the longer it's on skin, the more I like it.

They've done a nice job with Deseo. It isn't my cup of tea — the opening is too fresh for me and the heart is marginally too sweet — but it's wearable and as celebrity fragrances go, you could do much worse. I can envision a flanker that would be perfect, with the fresh note erased, the sweetness in the heart toned down a notch, the woods and mineral notes in the base amplified, and a tad more earthiness. They could call it Deseo Something Or Another — a really great name will probably come to me later, but for now my mind is blank. Do comment if you've got the perfect name.

I know lots of people love the bottle, which is meant to look like a diamond in the rough. I didn't much care for it when I saw the first pictures, and I didn't like it any better when I saw it in person. It's all a matter of personal taste, I guess. I do think the outer carton is nicely done.

Jennifer Lopez Deseo was developed by perfumers Ellen Molner and Jim Krivda. It is available in 30, 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum and in Desirable Body Lotion and Desirable Shower Gel.

* Quote via Cosmetics International, 12/14/2007.
** Quote via Women's Wear Daily, 9/28/2007.

Tommy Hilfiger Dreaming ~ perfume review

2008-06-02T02:19:00.000-07:00

Dreaming is the latest fragrance from Tommy Hilfiger, and is meant to appeal to "the Tommy girl grown up"* (but not too grown up: the target market is 18-30). According to Tommy Hilfiger himself...

Tommy Girl is a declaration of independence and Tommy Girl 10, a journey on the open road. Dreaming, on the other hand, captures the sophistication of a woman. It's sensuous, seductive, yet playful and unexpected.**

Dreaming was developed by perfumer Stephen Nilsen, and features peach, tuberose, freesia, white hibiscus, white woods and orris. It smells pretty much like it sounds — this is a fruity floral, sweet and sparkling in the opening, peppery white floral-ish in the heart, cool musky woods with a velvet finish at the end. It is pale and clean throughout, and I would call it "romantic and feminine" more than "sensuous and seductive", making it a good fit with its name and with the white-sheets-and-innocence ad imagery featuring model Mona Johannesson.

Dreaming is perfectly nice, and if there is nothing unexpected about yet another pale fruity floral, well, there you are. One of the hardest things about blogging your way through 800 new fragrance releases a year is finding something new to say about fragrances that don't smell new, and here I'll just give up and quote myself:

So: a very wearable, perfectly pleasant scent, and a good match with its relatively tame moniker. It is nicer, to be sure, than much of what I've smelled on the fragrance counters this spring, so it seems almost churlish to point out that it is neither exciting nor innovative, but there it is. It doesn't exactly ooze personality.

That's from last year's review of Miss Boucheron, and now I feel doubly churlish because worn side by side, Miss Boucheron handily wins over Dreaming in the "personality" department, and I'd call it way sexier to boot. Miss Boucheron actually turned out to be much nicer than lots of the fragrances that came after it in 2007.

The Dreaming bottle is fine but surprisingly basic. A little charm hangs off the neck of the Parfum and the largest Eau de Parfum (100 ml, shown); if you get one of the smaller sized Eaux de Parfum, you don't get the charm.

Tommy Hilfiger Dreaming can be found at Macys or Boscovs in the United States. It is available in 15 ml Parfum, 30, 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum, in a rollerball/lip gloss duo, a limited edition solid perfume pendant, and matching body lotion and body wash. The lasting power of the Eau de Parfum is fine; I did not try the Parfum.

You can learn more at the dedicated website, dreamingaboutyou, where they've also got an "automated dream interpreter", should you be in need of one. I tried entering the word perfume, but perfume is apparently not in the dream database, nor is chocolate. If you've been dreaming about rabbits, they "usually symbolize vulnerability".

* Via Women's Wear Daily, 12/11/2007.

** Via The Malay Mail, 1/15/2008.

Guerlain Figue Iris & Laurier Reglisse, the 2008 Aqua Allegorias ~ perfume review

2008-06-02T02:17:00.000-07:00

For those of you unfamiliar with the Aqua Allegoria range from Guerlain, they might be seen as "entry level" Guerlains; they are supposed to "showcase nature", and they tend to be lighter, younger and simpler in composition than the perfumes in the regular line. For the past few years they've been introducing two new Aqua Allegoria scents a year, and discontinuing those that don't do well. There are a few I really like (Herba Fresca, Anisia Bella, Mandarine Basilic), and despite the fact that some years they're just duds, I always look forward to trying the new editions. The 2008 entries: Figue Iris and Laurier Réglisse.

Aqua Allegoria Figue Iris is attributed to perfumer Jean-Paul Guerlain. I'll start right off with a disclaimer: I love fig and I love iris, but the combination doesn't entirely appeal to me, and I've yet to meet a powdery fig I could love. This one starts with a sparkling burst of grapefruit, nicely sharp and summery, and for a few minutes as the juicy fig joins in, I am in love (the notes: bergamot, grapefruit, violet, iris, fig, milky notes, woods, vetiver and vanilla). The heavily figgy stage doesn't last, unfortunately; it's mostly taken over by the iris, which comes on slowly but gets stronger with time. Eventually, it's a middling sweet floral with creamy-powdery iris and lightly figgy undertones. The vanilla is subtle, and the far dry down is earthy enough to keep this from being girly-pretty. It isn't my cup of tea, and anyone looking for tons of fig may find themselves disappointed, but it's very nicely done and the lasting power is good.

Aqua Allegoria Laurier Réglisse, developed by perfumer Marie Salamagne, is my Aqua Allegoria pick for the year. This is a bright, citrus-orange blossom fragrance with lots of greenery, right up my alley. Like the Figue Iris, is is nicely sharp and juicy in the opening. The licorice is strong only for a very short time, but it lingers long enough to provide a nice bite (the notes: bergamot, orange blossom, licorice wood, bay laurel, violet, galbanum and amber), and the woody-musky dry down stays green all the way to the end. Laurier Réglisse is drier and closer to unisex than Figue Iris, and doesn't last nearly as long — isn't that the way? — although given the price, hey, just spray on some more. This one goes on my "buy when it shows up at discount" list, where Mandarine Basilic has been languishing since it launched last year.

Although I didn't like the Iris Figue, objectively speaking (yeah, like I'm objective, ever) I think this is the best Aqua Allegoria set since I started paying attention in 2004. I know many of you haven't tried them yet, but please speak up if you have — I'd love to hear what others think.

Guerlain Figue Iris and Laurier Réglisse are available in 75 and 125 ml Eau de Toilette. The larger sizes can be found now at Sephora for $50 each.

Guerlain Eau de Shalimar & Shalimar Light ~ perfume review

2008-06-02T02:13:00.001-07:00

Before moving on from yesterday's discussion of Guerlain Shalimar to its newest offspring, Eau de Shalimar, it is worth taking a moment to consider how Shalimar fares in today's youth-oriented perfume market:

I thought it smelled very "old lady" and not in a good way.

I get the vision of a bleached blond in mommy jeans who doesnt feel she is worth a nice fragrance.

On my skin, this stuff smells like musty old women.

I don't smell vanilla, I smell a sour, old-fashioned scent that is a bit putrid.

I love fine french perfumes but this stuff is the essence of old age.

Speaking from my lofty position as a perfumista and a bleached blond in mommy jeans...no, seriously, I'm not quoting those remarks* in order to elicit an onslaught of holier-than-thou perfumista scorn, but simply to acknowledge the truth: to women raised on Clinique Happy and Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue and whatnot, Shalimar might reasonably be compared to, as another reviewer so delicately put it, vomit.

Shalimar Eau Légère / Shalimar Light was, so far as I know, the first attempt by Guerlain to update Shalimar for the modern consumer. It was developed by perfumer Mathilde Laurent and launched in 2003 in very tight distribution. It became more widely available (and arrived in the US) in 2004, and after that, things get a little confusing. At some point, either in 2004 or in 2005, Guerlain apparently tinkered with the formula, and while I've smelled both versions, I've never smelled them together, and the two decants I've got on hand at the moment are probably**** both from the later, post-tinkered-with version. Many people felt the original, pre-tinkered-with Eau Légère was the better of the two, but I can't comment on that — for a comparison, see Victoria's review at Bois de Jasmin.

While hard-liners might scoff at the very notion of cleaning up Shalimar to appeal to modern tastes, even my possibly lesser-version is pretty charming stuff. The bergamot opening is more fluffy and candied (comparisons to lemon frosting are right on target) than Shalimar's, and the base is far less skanky. The smoke is pretty much gone, and the whole thing is brighter — Shalimar Eau Légère is lively, rather than sexy-mysterious — but the basic structure of Shalimar is still there (ok, somewhat there), and more to the point, it smells pretty darned good. Like it or not, it's a far sight easier to wear than Shalimar in extrait, and personally I find it more appealing than the Shalimar Eau de Parfum.

And so, on to Eau de Shalimar. The question about Eau de Shalimar is simply: why? Did Shalimar Eau Légère / Light not sell? Mind you, Eau de Shalimar isn't massively different from Shalimar Light (if you're not obsessed with such matters, you might not notice any difference at all**), but it's a bit more "clean and fresh" in the opening and a bit more pallid in the base. It's still a pleasant enough scent, but the change, however minor, inches the juice that much closer to the sort of thing you could reasonably use to scent those pre-moistened towelettes*** used to clean your fingers after eating ribs. This is not your mother's Shalimar, indeed. What I would love is a Shalimar Eau Légère Extrême (HA!): a bit more bergamot and a bit less lime-y 7Up fresh stuff in the opening, a teensy little dash more skank and smoke in the base.

Guerlain Eau de Shalimar is available in 50 ml Eau de Toilette spray; the notes include lime, bergamot, orange, rose, jasmine, iris and vanilla.

* The remarks are from the Productville reviews at MakeupAlley, and I should point out that the positive reviews for Shalimar there far outweigh the negative. Shalimar's 3.8 Productville rating (out of 5) might not accurately reflect Shalimar's widely acknowledged position as one of the greatest perfumes of all time, but nor is it dismal. And I can only assume that Shalimar still sells, otherwise, it would no doubt have been discontinued.

** And in case anyone wasn't reading carefully above, I'm not 100% sure which version of Shalimar Light I have. It is possible that Eau de Shalimar is the same as the more recent version of Shalimar Light. If anyone has smelled Eau de Shalimar and post-tinkered-with Shalimar Light and can comment on the distinction, please do!

*** And here I must link away to the Modern Moist Towelette Collecting website. Who knew?

**** Update: as of this moment, it appears that the decant I used to describe Shalimar Light above was probably the original, pre-tinkered-with version. That makes the whole post even more confusing than it already was, but you know, Shalimar Light is no longer in production so the whole issue is moot for most people.

Baby Phat Fabulosity ~ perfume review

2008-06-02T02:10:00.000-07:00

Fabulosity is the latest fragrance from Kimora Lee Simmons' Baby Phat line. A representative from Coty described her first scent, Goddess, as "kitschy and over the top"; perhaps they were referring to the packaging and advertising, as I found it pretty standard fare: a fresh, clean-ish floral, fairly sheer yet still too sweet for my taste, and not particularly memorable (in fact, I believe I commented here recently that I had never tried it on skin, but I was wrong — there is a whole paragraph on it in my testing notes). Apparently, it "succeeded beyond anyone's expectations"*, so there you are.

Fabulosity is the one I'd tag as over the top. Canada's National Post recently described it as "...an out-of-control Mr. Soft Cone truck...crashing into a Kool-Aid stand", and that's pretty accurate for the top notes, which are mostly sweet, syrup-y fruit over a megadose of vanilla (the notes: plum, orange blossom, tiger lily, "mysterious forbidden fruit", damask plum skin, Chinese osmanthus, coconut milk, purple violet, Tasmanian honey, vanilla absolute, patchouli and amber). Regular readers know that my tolerance for sweet fruit is minimal, so let's just say that I did not enjoy Fabulosity's opening.

Most of the drama is in the top notes, though. Fabulosity settles quickly, and then it's a relatively quiet blend of unrecognizable floral notes, vanilla and warm woody musk. The coconut is subtle at most, but it does lend a creamy finish. Some of the fruit remains (and while it is plummy, I'm guessing the "mysterious forbidden fruit" is in fact a patented Grape Kool-Aid accord), but it isn't overdone, in fact, my main complaint about Fabulosity's dry down is that while it's pleasant enough, it starts to verge on bland after 90 minutes or so.

Still, it's a wearable enough fragrance. I wore it next to a random sample of new-ish celebrity fragrances, including Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy, Sean John Unforgivable Woman, Jennifer Lopez Deseo and Mariah Carey M, and Fabulosity more than held it's own. The dry down is easily as sophisticated as any of those, perhaps even marginally more so. It goes without saying, I'd guess, that if you're looking for elegance and sophistication, you can probably do better — and at the same price — by eschewing the celebrity name and looking elsewhere, but if you must have a celebrity name on your perfume, you'll do as well with Kimora Lee Simmons as you will with anybody else.

Baby Phat Fabulosity is available in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum and in matching body products. I haven't seen it at any of the online discounters yet, but I'm sure it will get there eventually.

*Both quotes in the first paragraph are from Women's Wear Daily, 2/1/2008.

Vera Wang Bouquet ~ perfume review

2008-06-02T02:08:00.000-07:00

Bouquet is the newest fragrance from Vera Wang. It joins her signature bridal collection:

Explaining the inspiration behind the scent, the designer declared: “For me, flowers and fragrance are the perfect expression of love and commitment, and a bouquet symbolises that union. In the hands of a radiant woman, a bouquet can be magical.” (via moodiereport)

I was rather surprised by the ad visual (shown); the model is wearing a bridal gown, but she looks a bit edgy for Vera Wang, no? It certainly isn't the pretty-in-pink kind of imagery we saw for Vera Wang's last bridal fragrance, Truly Pink. Truly Pink wasn't astoundingly original or anything, but it was nicely done and very wearable (I'd wear it if it fell from the skies), and not quite so conservative as the original Vera Wang fragrance, which strikes me as so overwhelmingly bridal that I'd have a hard time wearing it in anything other than a bridal gown.

Bouquet opens with citrus (rather sharp for a few minutes) and watery fresh notes tinged with green (the notes: dew drops, bergamot, black currant leaves, paperwhite narcissus, honeysuckle, lavender musk, cedar, iris). The heart is blended floral notes, very fresh and crisp and green, and the lavender, while soft, adds a bit of interest (and shades of the au courant "touch of masculine") in the dry down. It gets just slightly powdery at the end — is powder obligatory for brides? — and while it has a more modern, less resolutely bridal feel than the original Vera Wang scent, it doesn't really stray from the Vera Wang "romantic and feminine" comfort zone. It is about the last thing I'd think to put on the bride in the picture, who I can imagine spraying on Guerlain Jicky and then knocking back a few at the reception.

Bouquet is fine and it didn't kill me to wear it for a few days, but as with so many recent mainstream department store offerings, I had the dispiriting feeling that I'd smelled something very like it, and fairly recently. I could have written my first novel in the time I've spent over the past year figuring out what all these new scents smell "just" like, and I've given up — what's the difference? If you're looking for something inoffensive to wear to your wedding, Bouquet will do; if you'd like to wear something romantic and feminine but with a bit more personality, check out Angela's article on Wedding perfumes or just take my advice and wear Ormonde Jayne Frangipani.

Vera Wang Bouquet was developed by perfumer Loc Dong. It is available in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum and in matching body products.

Vera Wang Flower Princess ~ perfume review

2008-06-02T02:04:00.000-07:00

Vera Wang launched Princess in 2006 as the line's first youth-oriented scent, and as near as I can tell, it did very well indeed. Flower Princess, new this month, is Princess's first flanker, and is largely geared towards the Asian market. It reportedly "encompasses the kawaii movement of Japan — a cultural obsession with cute, adorable, spirited items"*. How it encompasses the kawaii movement isn't clear to me, as the only change to the bottle itself is in the color of the writing (they didn't even bother to add the word "Flower", so it still just says "Princess"). They did add some flowers to the outer box, perhaps that is kawaii? Or can a smell encompass the kawaii movement? At any rate, Flower Princess will be a permanent addition to the Vera Wang line in Asia; in the US and elsewhere, it is a limited edition.

The original Princess fragrance was supposedly geared towards 18-24 year olds, but based on the advertising (and the juice) I'd guess they were shooting at a much younger ('tweens and under) target. I'll add my usual disclaimer here: I'm not only way past the target age for Princess, I'm way past the target age for most any fragrance; as near as I can tell, perfume brands are not interested in women over 30. And my second disclaimer: I didn't like the original Princess, not even a little. It's probably no worse than any other sweet fruity floral geared towards 'tweens, but sweet fruity florals geared towards 'tweens aren't my thing. Victoria's review of Princess at Bois de Jasmin pretty neatly sums up my own feelings:

The composition plays by all of the rules of a girly fragrance—its sugary sweetness is comprised of fruity notes and vanilla, its sheer base is laced with musk and amber, which bear little relationship to their animalic predecessors. Princess is a cocktail of pink fruits sweetened with vanilla and topped with a dollop of frosting. Although it is probably in the sophisticated league of Barbie fragrances, like many perfumes of its type, Princess is difficult to imagine on anyone over 12.**

Now, generally what happens to flankers geared towards the Asian market is that they get pinkified: they usually end up lighter, sweeter, fruitier and girlier than the originals. In the case of Princess, which was already about as pinkified as you can get, they florified it instead. Yep, in a rare case of truth in fragrance nomenclature, they added more flowers. The opening is simply more flowers, less pink fruits. It is a little citrus-y, a little green and a little sharp, and as advertised, smells first like watery-fresh orange blossom, then like watery-fresh rose-ish blended florals (the notes: green ivy, tangerine, water lily, orange flower petals, Moroccan rose, jasmine sambac, mimosa, apricot skin, amber, precious woods and musk).

While Flower Princess is quite different from Princess in the opening, after about 30 minutes, they're not so very far apart. Princess is a little more musky, Flower Princess a little more floral and fresh. There aren't any dramatic changes after that 30 minutes; both scents just get progressively weaker.

I don't love Flower Princess, and it seems to me that you could do much better for a girly spring-time floral. But if forced to choose, I'd take Flower Princess over the original Princess. It isn't what I'd call sophisticated, but it is a bit less girlish than Princess, and it takes a bit longer to fade to a basic vanilla musk.

Vera Wang Flower Princess was developed by perfumer Harry Fremont, and is available in 30, 50 and 100 ml Eau de Toilette and in matching body products.

*quote via Women's Wear Daily, 1/4/2008.

** Now don't go screaming at me because you're 52 years old and wearing Princess. I've already said I don't care what anybody wears.

Hermes Un Jardin Apres La Mousson ~ perfume review

2008-06-02T02:00:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many of you have had this experience: you read about a new fragrance. It sounds perfect. You start to build a smell-picture in your mind. You wait, and then you wait some more. It finally launches, but is only sold someplace inconvenient (there are few phrases in perfumespeak more dispiriting to me than "exclusive to Saks"). Finally, you get your hands on it. You spray, and — oh! It is not at all what you expected.

Un Jardin après la Mousson is the latest from Hermès and the third fragrance in their Jardin series, and it isn't the first of perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena's creations to surprise me in this way, although more often than not, I manage to adjust. I liked Osmanthe Yunnan as soon as I smelled it, but it somehow wasn't what I thought it would be, and I could not help but feel a sliver of disappointment. By the time I reviewed it I was feeling much more positive, but even then, I had no idea that it would turn out to be one of my favorite summer fragrances. Likewise, I didn't get the spunky leather I was hoping for from Kelly Calèche, but my respect for Kelly Calèche has increased dramatically since its release; I've worn it often (and quite happily) this spring.

So. My first thought on spraying Un Jardin après la Mousson was: cantaloupe! Followed shortly by: New West! I liked New West back in the day, but I just wasn't prepared for a melon-y aquatic note, and I wasn't entirely enthralled. Luckily, within seconds a whoosh of dry spice churns the melon into a froth (the notes: cardamom, coriander, pepper, ginger, ginger flower, vetiver accord). For a brief time, it reminds me vaguely of the spiced melon in Frederic Malle's Le Parfum de Thérèse — the Mousson could be the pale-fizzy-soda summer version*. The spices don't linger, though, and neither does the fizz. Twenty minutes in, I'm smelling transparent, indistinct florals over what is left of the cantaloupe, and a soft, dry base that recalls the "warm rocks" mineral note of Terre d'Hermès, minus the smoky gunpowder part. The vetiver accord is subtle and more clean than earthy.

Un Jardin après la Mousson is much quieter than the others in the Hermès Jardin series (2003's Un Jardin en Méditerranée, 2005's Un Jardin Sur Le Nil). That's ok with me; you regular readers know I'm a Jean-Claude Ellena fangirl, and his pared-down style suits me to a T. But...so far, I don't adore Mousson. I don't hate it, nor does it leave me entirely cold, as Paprika Brasil mostly did. But I'm not feeling the love.

It's a shame, since I now own lots of it (more dispiriting perfumespeak: "Sorry, we've only got the 100 ml size"). Admittedly, I haven't given it much of a chance, but since a few days of wear has done nothing to increase my ardor I'm going to set it aside for a month or so. We'll see how it wears in the heat of summer. So far, the reviews elsewhere seem to be markedly more positive than mine (I already linked to Victoria's review, and the early reviews on MakeupAlley give it five lippies out of five).

An aside: it does layer nicely over the Terre d'Hermès, and also works well with a tiny drop of The Different Company's Sel de Vetiver.

Hermès Un Jardin après la Mousson is available in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Toilette, and I believe matching body products are to follow. I don't know if it is sold in Hermès boutiques as yet (please comment if you've seen it there), but Saks Fifth Avenue does have it in stock. Update: Un Jardin après la Mousson will reportedly be exclusive to Saks and Hermès boutiques until September 2008.

* And I suppose it is heretical to wish for a Diet Thérèse, but it strikes me now that such a thing, if done right, would be lovely to have.