New Escentual Post: Red, Green and Gold – The Fragrant Colours of Christmas

I’m finishing this week as I started with another Christmas post. For my Escentual column this week I thought about the colours of the festive season (red, green and gold) and perfumes that captured these hues in unique ways that were in keeping with the spirit of the yuletide season. These 6 perfumes represent all that is Christmas from the rouge of winter spices to the golden gleam of bejeweled gifts. Please click on the image above to read.

I’ll be back next week with one or two more reviews and the 2013 edition of ‘The Candies’ – my annual perfume awards.

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New Escentual Post: Christmas Fragrance Gift Guide

Christmas is round the corner, lurking dangerously in the shadows, poised to jump out and catch you unprepared at the very last minute. OK that may be somewhat of an over dramatisation (drama queen? Moi? Never!) but it is true that the number of shopping days before Christmas are rapidly depleting!

This week’s Escentual post is a Christmas Fragrance Gift Guide to help you make the most of the remaining shopping days and pick a wonderfully scented gift for your loved ones, whether they be party girls or boys, rebels or lovely parents. Please click on the image above to head on over to Escentual to read the guide, and don’t forget to leave me a comment saying what some of your favourite fragrant gifts are.

I have also contributed three items on my personal wish list for Escentual’s #EscentualWish campaign. Tweet @escentual with the link of the Escentual product you most want for Christmas with the hash tag #EscentualWish and you could be in with a chance of having your wish granted. Escentual will be granting one wish per day and you can read the full info (including my wishes) and T&Cs here.

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New Escentual Posts: Movember Masculines Part 3 & 4 – Dior Homme & Fat Electrician

Movember Masculines Part 3 - Dior Homme — Movember Masculines Part 3 – Dior Homme

So Movember comes to an end and as another week of mo-growing passes my column over at Escentual takes a lot at another important masculine fragrance that represents just one facet of the modern man. This week’s scent is Dior Homme, a scent that many readers will be familiar with and whilst it may seem like an obvious choice, due in part to its high critical acclaim, it is most definitely worthy of the spotlight.

Dior Homme represents the sensitive man of today. It’s a highly stylish fragrance that speaks of well-groomed and sharply dressed young chaps, but it is by no means a vapid fashion scent for the masses. The softness of feminine notes makes Homme a truly interesting and comfortable fragrance amongst a sea of dull aquatics and faux-wood affairs. It is simply remarkable. Do click on the image above to read this week’s column.

In addition to this, for the very final week I’ve taken a look at the more contemporary and more than a little bit unusual ‘Fat Electrician’ by Etat Libre d’Orange. This is a John Waters, pencil-thin moustache of a fragrance and is also one of the most intriguing vetivers one can buy. Please click on the image just below the jump to view.

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New Escentual Post: Movember Masculines Part 2 – Kouros by Yves Saint Laurent

When picking the four scents for my ‘Movember Masculines’ series at Escentual, I knew that I simply had to include something from Yves Saint Laurent. This house, which is a shadow of its former glory for sure, is responsible for three of the most exceptional masculine fragrances out there – Kouros, M7 and Rive Gauche Pour Homme – and when it came to choosing the most iconic of this impressive bunch, Monsieur Kouros was difficult to ignore.

So this week I’ve taken a look at one of the most distinct, unique and divisive masculine scents one can buy. To add to that, Kouros is also one of the most unashamedly manly, conjuring up images of overly-tanned and smooth-chested lotharios who are as exuberant as they are audacious. Kouros is the king of the ’80s, and whilst he may seem a little bit dated now, he still reigns supreme.

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New Escentual Post: Movember Masculines Part 1 – Habit Rouge by Guerlain

In case you hadn’t noticed it is officially the month of Movember (yes I’m going to continue to bang on about it) and for the next four weeks The Candy Perfume Boy will be undergoing a masculine takeover. We’ll be looking at some new masculine scents as well as some of my personal go-to gentleman’s fragrances, whilst on Escentual I’ll be running a series of ‘Movember Masculines’ – taking a look at some of the best men’s fragrances on the market.

The first instalment in these moustachey masculines is a review of Guerlain’s Habit Rouge (the EDT) – a perfume that needs little introduction. To me, this particular man-scent is incredibly versatile and works as well on an equestrian in full livery as it does on a hip, leather jacket wearing man of today. Please click on the image above to head on over Escentual and read my thoughts on one of Guerlain’s very best fragrances.

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New Escentual Post: The Apopcornalypse is Nigh – Etat Libre d’Orange La Fin du Monde Perfume Review

Extra! Extra! Read All About It! The Apopcornalypse is Nigh! That’s right, you heard me – ‘The Apopcornalypse’. The human race has long fantasised and obsessed over the end of days, having written, sung and even created movies about it. Now it’s time for the perfume world to join in and represent their version of the apocalypse through the medium of olfaction.

The punky pop art perfumer lovers over at Etat Libre d’Orange (in collaboration with perfume Quentin Bisch) have created their perfumed version of doomsday – the aptly named ‘La Fin du Monde’ (The End of the World) – centered around the slightly baffling note of popcorn, and for Escentual this week I have put together my thoughts on this judgment day scent.

If that doesn’t convince you to head on over to Escentual (by clicking the image above) then perhaps I should say that they are also giving away 5 x 50ml bottles of La Fin du Monde in a special competition. So hurry up, you’ve got a review to read, a competition to enter and a comment to leave! Let me know your thoughts.

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New Escentual Post: A Guide to Orientals

As you may be aware, I do like a good ‘guide to‘, and one of the luxuries bestowed to me by the wonderful people at Escentual, is that I get to not only write my guide to notes series here on the TCPB, but I also get to create a number of guides for a range of perfume genres too. So far we’ve taken a look at the humble Chypre, a genre of perfume that is aloof and mysterious and this week’s post takes a look at another famed style of perfumery.

This week the focus is on the mysterious and exotic world of the Oriental. Much like last time, I have picked three fragrances to represent the evolution of the genre – from the classic to the modern and the contemporary. So, if you are looking for a bite-size guide to the Oriental then all you need to do is simply click on the image above to head on over to Escentual!

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New Escentual Post: Crabtree & Evelyn Floral Waters

It will come as no surprise to you that I am a lover of florals, they are after all the genre of fragrance that I tend to bang on about on a regular basis. I’m also pretty flexible in terms of which florals I like, harbouring soft spots for both the simple solifores and big buxom bouquets that announce themselves with a large degree of bombast.

Crabtree & Evelyn (a brand that I’m not overly familiar with) have released a Heritage Collection, in which they have launched three floral waters that hark back to the golden age of perfumery. These three floral eau de toilettes – Florentine Freesia, Old World Jasmine and Venetian Violet – are more than just simple floral ditties and feel surprisingly well done for the price.

This week’s Escentual post is a review of my two favourites from the collection (Old World Jasmine and Florentine Freesia), both of which present their respective flowers in interesting ways. Please click on the image above to head on over to the Escentual blog and read my review. Don’t forget to leave a comment whilst you’re there!

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New Escentual Post: A Guide to Chypre

Chypres have always struck me as one of the most interesting perfume genres. They manage to capture a strange idea of beauty, where the sharper and more angular aspects of perfumery are celebrated. I suppose that you could say that they aren’t classically beautiful and its the asymmetry in their composition that ultimately makes them so beguiling.

For this week’s Escentual post I’m taking a look at the chypre, mapping its evolution through three ‘reference’ perfumes; the classic, the modern and the contemporary. This is a first in a small ‘guide to’ series for Escentual, where I’ll be casting a fragrant spotlight on a number of perfume genres.

To read the piece, please click on the image above to head on over to the Escentual blog. Whilst you’re there, do make sure to tell me what your favourite chypre is, and what fragrances you would pick to represent the classic, modern and contemporary interpretations of the genre.

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New Escentual Post: Autumn Wardrobe Essentials

So October is finally upon us and it’s beginning to be that time of year where we shelve our sparkling summer scents and reach for the emergency hammer to break out those warmer fragrances. Themes for the seasons are auburn spices, deep resins and glimmers of gourmand deliciousness, and if you ask me autumn is most definitely the best season fragrance-wise.

This week’s Escentual post takes a look at my ‘Autumn Wardrobe Essentials’ – those fragrances that I consider to be my staples for the season. So, please don your chunky knitwear and head over to the Escentual blog by clicking the image above. Don’t forget to tell me what your autumn staples are!

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