Posted by Kevin
on
8 February 2012
Imagine seeing a friend in person after almost fifteen years apart — perhaps gray hair and wrinkles will startle you, or you’ll be amazed at how unchanged he is, or how your friend has finally learned to dress (no more neon colors, chicken-sized athletic shoes, or gym pants).
I’ve not “seen” (or smelled) my old flame Etro Magot1 since 1998 — back in the day we were very close, in fact, Magot was once all over me. After an affair that lasted a good two years, Magot went his way, I went mine, and I never thought of revisiting that “relationship” till now.
“Original” Magot’s fragrance notes2 were lime, lemon, tuberose, jasmine, iris, lavender, clove, peach, vanilla, cedar, patchouli and musk. I remember Magot as a dark, intense Oriental perfume — a fragrance that went from a syrupy brew of flowers and spice to a rich, opulent powder-house of peach-saturated patchouli, amber and oak moss.
My old “beau” has changed…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Kevin
on
1 February 2012
Olivier Durbano’s Citrine fragrance has been on my mind since I first smelled it last fall, and it’s in the running as a candidate for my first full-bottle purchase of 2012 (that is, if treating myself to a Frederic Malle candle, $95!, does not win out).
Citrine is in the Durbano “Parfum de Pierre Poèmes” line, and it includes fragrance notes of lemon, orange, mimosa “buds”, ginger, pink pepper, incense, myrrh, carrot seeds (“sprouting” in many scents lately), musk, rosewood, gaiac wood, beeswax and amber.
Citrine opens with pungent, “hot” citrus, as if the heat of ginger root and peppercorns has been added to lemon juice (don’t wear this if you have a sore throat!) There is a floral sweetness in the opening…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Kevin
on
25 January 2012
I own way too many perfumes. A good portion of my “collection” these days is made up of summery, citrus colognes. Here in the chilly, damp Pacific Northwest, and especially after a mega-snowstorm like we experienced last week, I am entering a ‘danger zone’ (a time period when I am REALLY susceptible to buying light, bright citrus-packed fragrances, perfumes that remind me of summer or my years living in Southern California). Who cares that I already own enough sparkling lemon-orange-lime-bergamot-grapefruit-kumquat scents to last a decade; isn’t there room for one, or two, more?
Enter Tauer Perfumes Cologne du Maghreb, an all-natural fragrance, that includes notes of bergamot and lemon essential oils, neroli oil, orange blossom, Moroccan cedar wood, cistus ladaniferus, rosemary, lavender, rose and clary sage. I like every fragrance note listed for Cologne du Maghreb and expected to enjoy the perfume, too.
When first applied, Cologne du Maghreb produces a dusky, dark, “art-studio” aroma…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Kevin
on
19 January 2012
I’m still playing catch-up with last year’s fragrance releases. (Who am I kidding, I’ll never catch up with 2011 releases, or 2010’s…on and on.) Sisley launched its first men’s perfume last autumn: Eau d’Ikar (a fragrance containing lots of mastic), and I’m just getting around to sampling it.
In addition to mastic, Eau d’Ikar includes fragrance notes of lemon, bergamot, bitter orange, carrot seed, iris, jasmine, herbs and spices, tea, amber, cistus labdanum, sandalwood and vetiver.
Eau d’Ikar opens fresh and lemony, and it reminds me of “original” Monsieur Balmain with its warm and balmy citrus aromas. Next up is a strange — and strangely addictive — accord of orange, mastic, iris and a spicy green/herbal note…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Kevin
on
11 January 2012
The perfume line Arquiste is the brainchild of Mexican architect/designer Carlos Huber (a k a Nate Berkus’s boyfriend); the name “Arquiste” represents the ideas (ideals?) of “architecture,” “history” and “art” and the perfumes in the collection reference historical moments, from the meeting of Louis XIV of France and María Teresa of Spain in 1660 (the fragrances Fleur de Louis and Infanta en Flor) to Alexander Pushkin’s death-by-dueling in 1837 (Aleksandr).
I decided to tackle the two ‘Mexican’ fragrances in the line first, because Mexico and I go way back (and have always had a happy relationship)…
Read the rest of this article »
