Category Archive: Unisex

Procrastinating With Perfume – Histoires de Parfums Tubéreuse Trilogy Perfume Reviews

Tubéreuse Trilogy

Finally after lots of hard work, late nights and multiple cups of tea (Lavender Earl Grey if you’re interested) the dreaded University assignments have been completed and I can spend some time on the writing that I enjoy!
 
Thankfully the kindness of fellow perfumistas will always get you through any situation and thanks to the lovely Ines of All I am – a redhead, who after reading my Guide to Tuberose, insisted that I tried a number of other tuberoses, I have had the opportunity to distract myself from my work with perfume. My ability to procrastinate is rather impressive, in fact it is so impressive I had to include it within the title of this post.
 
Anyway, on to Histoires de Parfums! Included in my sample care package of tuberoses (and a few other goodies) was all three fragrances in the Histoires de Parfums Tubéreuse Trilogy. Now, as you all know I’m a sucker for tuberose so the idea of a trilogy was rather exciting to me, so imagine my surprise when, upon trying all three I discovered that none of the scents were particularly tuberose-centric at all. That’s right, these three tuberoses aren’t really tuberoses, a fact that would be disappointing to me if they weren’t so good, tuberose or no tuberose.
 

A Golden, Shimmering Sunset – Mona di Orio Oud Perfume Review

Golden Sunset

Oud is the latest addition to Mona di Orio’s Les Nombres d’Or collection, which focuses on creating perfumes centred around a single note in an intelligent and creative way. The fragrances within the collection are; Oud, Vanille, Tubereuse, Vetyver, Musc, Ambre and Cuir. The names may lead you to think that these fragrances are typical, single note scents, but that is far from the truth, each one is very much a composition with an interesting take on the eponymous note.

Les Nombres d’Or

“Seven sensational yet easy, relaxed fragrances from the Mistress of Perfumery.

Inspired by the ancient aesthetic theory of the Golden Ratio, Mona has created a suite of eaux de parfumss which have all her signature notes of glamour, mystery and romance but which are constructed with with the ultimate luxury of classic simplicity.” [1]

Oud in particular has received a lot of positive hype in the perfume blogosphere since it’s release earlier this year. Enthusiastic reviews from the likes of Olfactoria’s Travels and Eyeliner on a Cat, bloggers who’s opinion I hold in high esteem, had raised my hopes for this scent and I couldn’t wait to make my merry little way across to Les Senteurs in London to try it.

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Eau de Nesquik – Parfumerie Générale PG04 Musc Maori Perfume Review

Nesquik Bunny

My introduction to Parfumerie Générale has been somewhat of a baptism of fire. Up until very recently I had ignored the line completely, not because I didn’t like the sound of the fragrances, in fact I have read lots of positive reviews, there are just so many lines to keep up with and sometimes my brain has to skim over some just to keep up with the rest.

Anyway, as I was saying, I had an interesting introduction to the brand. Firstly, I received some samples from the lovely Birgit of Olfactoria’s Travels which I have been slowly exploring over the last couple of weeks. I also had the pleasure of being talked through the line by my good friend Nick who works in the specialist perfumery – Les Senteurs. Having smelled most of the scents from the line (albeit briefly), I have to say that I am really pleasantly surprised and I owe Pierre Guillaume a massive apology for ignoring the line for so long.

I hope to review a few of the Parfumerie Générale scents over the next couple of weeks, but I thought I would start with one of the most interesting fragrances in the collection, PG04 Musc Maori.

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Clash of the Titans – Serge Lutens Muscs Koublaï Khän vs Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur Perfume Reviews

Animalistic

As Autumn and Winter draw in, it becomes time for us Perfumistas to have a wardrobe reshuffle. We put away our lighter, airier perfumes and drag out our rich orientals, warm woody florals, mouthwatering gourmands and our musks. In autumn and winter we look for those fragrances that bring us comfort when it’s cold and those that match the colours and festivities of the cooler seasons.

Muscs Koublaï Khän (Serge Lutens) and Musc Ravageur (Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle) are two of the most popular musk fragrances on the market, in fact they have reached cult status amongst Perfumistas and love them or hate them, nobody can deny that they are both formidable characters.

Despite the fact that they are both so popular and are both musk fragrances, Muscs Koublaï Khän and Musc Ravageur are two very different fragrances, in fact the similarity stops with the ‘Musc’ in both of their names. In this review I’m going to put pitch these two ‘Titans’ head to head to see which will be the victor and earn the accolade of ‘King of Musks’.

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More Foody ‘Fumegasms’ – Thierry Mugler A*Men & Womanity Le Goût du Parfum Perfume Reviews

Le Gout du Parfum

Last week I tried, and raved about Thierry Mugler’s new Alien Le Goût du Parfum. Since then I’ve had the opportunity to try two more fragrances from the ultra-limited series; A*Men and Womanity (I haven’t had the chance to try Angel properly yet), so I thought I would do a quick follow up post on how they smell. Are you ready for another ‘Fumegasm’?

In case you missed it, the idea behind Le Goût du Parfum , as mentioned in my last post, is:

The concept behind Le Goût du Parfum (The Taste of Fragrance) is simple – take the already bold, and mostly gourmand structures of four Thierry Mugler scents (Angel, Alien, Womanity and A*Men) and add a ‘Taste Enhancer’ to each. Le Goût du Parfum creates “a genuine parallel between Haute Cuisine and Haute Parfumerie.” To achieve this parallel Mugler enlisted leading Michelin-starred chef Hélène Darroze to create an “entirely Muglerian Meal” based on these four new limited editions.

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Navigations Through Scent – Molton Brown Lijiang and Iunu Perfume Reviews + Sample Giveaway

Navigations Through Scent

“A brief history of perfume, told through five distinct fragrances. From lost worlds, along ancient silk and spice routes to a brave new world.” [1]

We’ve seen it many times before, a mainstream house releasing a series of fragrances based around a single concept. Sometimes it works really well (see Guerlain’s L’Art et la Matiére line or Chanel’s Les Exclusifs) and sometimes it fails epically (see Dolce & Gabanna’s Anthology line).

Usually lines launched with multiple fragrances are a bit hit and miss, they tend to have one or two ‘greats’, more than a couple of average ones and a their fair share of clangers. So it is with trepidation that I approach any new ‘collection’.

I am very familiar with Molton Brown’s line of shower gels, hand creams, hand washes and body products (which I think are generally very good btw) but I have to admit that I’m not overly familiar with their stand-alone fragrances, so this collection could go either way for me.

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Going for Gold – Amouage Gold Woman & Gold Man Perfume Review

Gold

“Two of the most rich and lavish perfumes of all time.”

Gold Woman and Gold Man were the first fragrances to be released by Omani fragrance house Amouage. The house was founded by His Highness Sayyid Hamad bin Hamoud al bu Said and in 1983 Amouage hired famous french perfumer Guy Robert to create two of the most rich and lavish perfumes of all time. His brief? “Put whatever you like in it, no matter how much it costs.” [1]

Both fragrances showcase silver frankincense, an ingredient the country is famed for, and whilst they have a distinct middle eastern feel they are also undeniably french in their style. Unlike almost everything from the 1980’s, Gold Woman and Gold Man do not feel dated in the slightest, they are both timeless classics that mark an important beginning from a venerable house. They have stood the test of time.

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A Truly ‘Noir’ Fragrance – By Kilian Back to Black (Aphrodisiac) Perfume Review

Dita Von Teese

I have started a love affair with By Killian, the line of perfumes that is, not the man himself (although he is rather dashing). Having been introduced to the line only a few weeks ago, I have found myself spending lots of time pouring over my samples, oohing and ahhing each time I spray one on my skin.

So far I’ve only had very limited exposure to the line (a total of five) and out of the ones I have tried, Back to Black is by far my favourite. Back to Black is everything a perfume should be; complex, high quality, long lasting and most of all – dramatic.

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Everything Changes – By Kilian Sweet Redemption (The End) Perfume Review

Sweet RI have to admit that I’m a bit of a newbie when it comes to By Kilian, I have pretty much dismissed the line up until now, predominately due to the high prices (a rookie perfumista error, I know) but my financial restraints prevent me from considering über expensive fragrances, so I don’t try them just in case I fall in love, which is pretty much always the case.

But thanks to some excellent reviews by my Evil Scent Twin, Birgit from Olfactoria’s Travels I have found myself officially intrigued. I wanted to see what all of the fuss is about so I managed to blag a few samples from the By Kilian counter in Harvey Nichols.

Seeing as I’m such a latecomer to the By Kilian party, it seems fitting that I should start at the end, with the last fragrance in the L’Oeuvre Noire (The Black Masterpiece) collection, Sweet Redemption (The End).

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