Starting to get a little bit excited now….
What do we think?
First things first, massive apologies for the lack of posts over the last week or so. Things have been busy in both good ways (my Perfume Lovers London talk etc) and bad ways (job hunting) and the blog has had to take a little bit of a back seat. Thank you for bearing with me and things should now run on their usual schedule!
I’m quite partial to the odd piece of clothing or accessory from British clothing brand Superdry. I currently rock a coat, couple of shirts and a rather snazzy pair of specs from their collection and I’m attracted to the brand’s laid back style which seems to be a mish-mash of Japanese graphics and vintage Americana.
As for Superdry fragrances, well up until very recently my exposure was minimal. I haven’t spent too much time with the brand’s first three scents (Dry, Double Dry and Dry Oil) but I remember them being relatively well done (one in particular was a nice take on Dior Homme) so it was with great interest that I accepted an offer to try the fragrances in Superdry’s Cologne collection.
The first two in the collection that I will be reviewing are Steel and Black. Both fragrances were released in 2011 and are designed to have “day-to-night appeal” and whilst they may not be masterpieces of modern perfumery, they easily fit the laid back, modern-with-a-retro-touch styling of the Superdry brand. Oh and they come in really cool Zippo lighter-style bottles too…
Just a very brief (post-it) note to let you all know that due to lots of busy (and […]
What do The Candy Perfume Boy and Clarins’ Eau Dynamisante have in common? They were both born in 1987 and turned 25 this year, that’s what! Such longevity in the perfume industry sure is something to celebrate and Clarins are doing so by releasing a limited edition bottle which sees Eau Dynamisante encased in a veil of red glitter.
Eau Dynamisante was first released by Clarins in 1987 and is innovative because it is not just a fragrance, it’s a skin treatment too. Clarins describe Eau Dynamisante as “an innovative feel-good fragrance created from an inspired blend of 14 aromatic essential oils and therapeutic plant extracts with the power to scent skin, invigorate the sense and moisturise and soften from top-to-toe.” It’s not just innovative though, it’s also very popular and every three minutes a bottle is purchased in the UK. Now that’s impressive!
Before spritzing on some Eau Dynamisante in preparation for this review I was absolutely sure that it would not be ‘my thing’. This pre conceived notion was based on the fact that citrus fragrances don’t really move me and I was convinced that I had tried it before and wasn’t wowed. I am actually quite surprised to say that I really like it and I think it is the perfect scent to combat the muggy, sweaty days of summer.
Parfums Salvador Dalí is an odd brand. They aren’t readily available in the UK but I always see them when scouring the discount stores for interesting things. I often find myself tentatively eyeing up their weird, surrealist bottles and wondering whether the juices they contain are as crazy as the vessels that contain them.
On one such recent trip to the discounters I came across the Salvador Dalí perfumes as usual and decided to refer to Perfumes: The Guide to see what our Perfume Oracles (Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez) thought of them. Only two Dalí fragrances received a high rating of four stars; Dalí and Laguna, the former of which is evaluated by Turin in the following way:
“[…] a big, handsome, strapping floral chypre somewhere between Amouage [Gold] and Bal à Versailles, though lacking the exquisitely rich texture of the former and the bold, striking structure of the latter.” [1]
Well, as you can imagine I was sold by the word “Amouage” and less than five minutes later I had added a 30ml sized bottle of Dalí Parfum de Toilette to my shopping cart (a steal at £10) and had checked out. A blind buy is a risky thing I know, but I figured that if I didn’t like the scent I could at least display the bottle somewhere and ogle it on a regular basis.
Released in 1983 Dalí, created by none other than the great Alberto Morillas, was Salvador Dalí’s first foray into the perfume market. Dalí’s wife and muse Gala was the inspiration behind the fragrance and it contains notes of rose and jasmine which were her favourite flowers. Parfums Salvador Dalí describe Dalí PdT as “a feminine fragrance, with character, created in the purest of tradition of opulent Chypre perfumes” [2] and I would classify it as a big ole 80s floral made with a soft touch.
The Postcards From My Collection Series (if it can be called a series) is where I get to showcase, through the medium of amateur, shoddily taken photographs, the residents of my perfume collection. I feel that I have got to a point now in my fumehead journey that I have built a solid collection that meets most (most) of my perfume needs. There is always room for expansion of course….
So, over the next few weeks we shall be delving into my collection and picking out my favourite pieces. Nigel is quite happy that I’m doing this because he is under the impression that I may do some tidying/dusting on the way. I don’t quite know how to break it to him that I may just avoid the tidying and that my interests lie purely with the perfume, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
This week’s edition looks at the most precious perfumes in my collection and includes my big bottles of treasured things and my little, tiny bottles of just-as-treasured-if-not-more things. They range from the über pricey long agonised buy to the much appreciated christmas present with a ton of sentimental value. Simply put: a varied, but wonderful bunch.
This evening Lady Gaga took to her Little Monsters website to debut the advertising image for her debut fragrance “Fame”. The image, created in collaboration with fashion photographer Steven Klein, depicts a nude Gaga holding the “Le Masterpiece” edition of her fragrance, whilst naked muscled men (try saying that with a mouth full) clamber up her body, conveniently covering her naughty parts.
I think it’s pretty fab. What do you think?
Never underestimate the power of Birgit of Olfactoria’s Travels. Having tried Chanel’ N°22 many times along my perfumista escapades I had never really found the love for it that I, and others thought I would. I mean it is a big aldehydic floral, and I’m sort-of into that kind of thing (OK, I love that kind of thing), but no N°22 never seemed to grab me, that was until an ever-persevering Birgit slipped a sample (and a number of hints, in an entirely non-pushy way I should add*) my way.
Now I will just put it out there that I have learned to love N°22, to me it epitomises the spirit of Chanel. It’s classy and elegant, but just that little bit rebellious. But whilst I enjoy it, I’m just not sure I’ll ever be running out to buy a bottle, my feelings very much lay in the ‘oh wow this is great but I don’t think I need it’ camp. That said, I am still definitely making my mind up about it and if there is one thing I have learned being a fumeophile it is that one should ‘never say never’!
N°22 was originally released in 1922, created by Chanel in-house perfumer Ernest Beaux (he of N°5 fame) it was intended as a lighter version of N°5. Chanel describes N°22 as “a skin scent […] full of grace […] (that) also bears the imprint of their (Chanel & Beaux’s) audacity.” N°22 now sits within the Les Exclusifs de Chanel line and I would probably rate it as my favourite Les Exclusif offering so far.
A massive thank you to everybody who entered the draw and left wonderful comments about what they have learned from The Candy Perfume Boy over the last year. It just goes to show how lovely my readers are and I really do value the interactions and discussions that we have here, they are great fun.
I have learned a lot since starting this blog, from how to create interesting discussion to how to deal with a anti-fragrance troll. It certainly has been a fun ride and I hope that over the next year The Candy Perfume Boy will continue to thrive and that the level of discussion will remain as excellent.
Anyway, the winner of The Candy Perfume Boy’s Birthday Giveaway is…
The Candy Perfume Boy 