Posted by Jessica
on
29 August 2010
Ah, the summer fling. I was never very good at short-term romances; I always got too attached. Still, late August seems like the right time to test out a few scented frivolities on a whim. I can love them and leave them, or if I feel a lasting chemistry, I can purchase a full-size bottle for fall. Wiggle Perfume has been one of my recent flirtations. I recently went through a set of samples from this indie perfumer based in Olympia, Washington, and several blends caught my fancy.
Bee (shown above) is “a honey-sweet outdoorsy blend” with additional notes of gardenia, neroli, cut grass, oakmoss, and woodsmoke. On the skin, it’s primarily a true-honey fragrance, and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s been on the hunt for a honey-based scent. The creamy-woodsy accent of the other notes keeps Bee from straying too far into Pooh-Bear territory, so it ends up being a rich but not candy-like gourmand. It also has amazing endurance: it lasted through a nine-to-five day on my wrist…
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Posted by Robin
on
4 February 2009
Coming soon from Avon, another collaboration with designer Christian Lacroix (see 2007's Avon + Christian Lacroix Rouge & Noir). The new oriental fragrance for women is Absynthe, inspired (obviously) by the green fairy.
The fragrance notes include absinthe, freesia, green anise, orchid, saffron, narcissus, ancient woods, ebony, musk, myrrh and amber…
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Posted by Robin
on
13 January 2009
The new By Marc Buxton line from perfumer Mark Buxton debuted last year with seven fragrances. Seven strikes me as excessive given the glut of product on the market at the moment — why not two or three really wonderful scents, with more to follow later? Everyone in the industry seems to agree there are too many fragrances; nobody seems willing to release fewer fragrances. Ah well, at least it isn't twelve or fifteen, right?
The fragrances are meant to disclose “the personality through color code”, and on the Mark Buxton website* you can find the fragrance that suits you best by looking at a series of color blocks, then clicking on the color that appeals to you most. I don't know that there is any fool-proof method of selecting suitable fragrances online, but I didn't find this system particularly helpful.
Of the seven fragrances, two of them (Black Angel, Sounds & Visions) left me entirely cold…
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Posted by Robin
on
28 June 2006
L’Artisan launched Fou d’Absinthe earlier this year. It is said to be the first fragrance from L’Artisan to be marketed specifically to men, although there are certainly other “masculine” fragrances in the line; it also introduces a new bottle design that will eventually be used for all of the L’Artisan fragrances. Fou d’Absinthe was created by perfumer Olivia Giacobetti and features notes of frozen alcohol, absinthe, blackcurrant buds, angelica, star anise, four spices cocktail (pepper, clove, nutmeg, and ginger), patchouli, pine needles, cistus and fir balsam.
L’Artisan describes the opening of Fou d’Absinthe as…
…a steely grip of icy-cool alcohol, enveloped by an explosively aromatic bouquet composed of absinthe, a green, slightly bitter note, tingling spirit of angelica and crispy spring-like blackcurrant buds that give way to subtle fruitiness.
I have never tasted real absinthe so I have no idea how close the fragrance is to the drink, but the top notes do in fact evoke an alcoholic drink of some sort…
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