Posted by Erin
on
29 April 2011
Blech. Despite being born a May baby, I have never been a fan of spring. I’m sure it’s different in the other parts of the world, but every year, people above the 39th parallel in Europe and North America stand on street corners at this time of year, leaning at a 75 degree angle into gusting drizzle, and insist: “It wasn’t like this last year!” Trust me, it was. The mud, the wind, the Easter snow or hailstorm, the false hope of that one giddy day near April Fool’s when the sun shone and the warm breezes blew, like in a laundry detergent commercial, before the rain and gray chill returned — it all happened last year. I am not a pessimist. It is merely that I believe in the motto of mothers everywhere: let’s not get worked up here. Crazed displays of Birkenstock sandals and patio furniture will only end in tears. I support measured celebrations of spring’s small pleasures. For one, it is ramp season. Perhaps you have received your tax return. The road salt has melted away and you can go to 2D movies without being subjected to aliens, robots or robotic aliens. And it is time for some of your freshest, prettiest, newest fragrances to grace the air.
Composing a Top 10 for this most uncertain of seasons, I have tried not to dwell on lost favorites or the flood of recent scents I’ve missed. Jean Patou Vacances, Gobin-Daudé Sève Exquise, and L’Artisan Jacinthe des Bois are all gone and it somehow felt irresponsible to include them in the list. I have vintage samples of the many spring classics that have been damaged or ruined by reformulation — Balmain Vent Vert, Caron Violette Précieuse, the silver fluidity of Diorissimo, the mysterious smoky-green of Worth Je Reviens, the original Dior Fahrenheit’s honeysuckle-and-wet-blacktop — and I use them sparingly and despairingly. I have not tried MDCI Un Coeur en Mai, Byredo La Tulipe, ElizabethW Magnolia or CB I Hate Perfume Wild Pansy and am trying to convince myself that I don’t need to do so. With no further excuses, my Top 10 of Spring…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Robin
on
4 February 2011
Fall? Bah, humbug. I’m a summer person. The best thing I can say about fall is that at least it isn’t winter yet.
That’s me a couple of years ago, opening the Top 10 of Fall by complaining that it wasn’t summer. Imagine how I feel now. There is nothing good I can say about winter except that at least it’s already part of the way over. So, let’s move on to the perfume, shall we?
Citrus. Angie recommends avoiding citrus in winter; instead, she says you should find a good tropical fragrance to psych yourself out of the winter doldrums. She’s right that citrus doesn’t really have the same effect when you’re wearing several layers of warm clothing, but it cheers me up all the same — some winters, I wear an awful lot of citrus. I’m including two in this category. Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Pamplemousse is cheerful, reasonably long-lasting, and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. As an added bonus, it layers nicely with just about anything. Aftelier’s Candide costs more (and is perhaps more accurately termed a citrusy floral), but it’s so happy, it makes me smile just to think about it…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Erin
on
10 December 2010
The certified organic We Love New York collection from Honoré des Prés is one of the best surprises of 2010. Like many others, I had issues with the line’s debut scents, launched in 2008 and developed by perfumer Olivia Giacobetti.1 My favorite of the first five was Sexy Angelic, a tribute to the calisson, specialty of Aix-en-Provence and possibly the world’s most divine confection. Sexy Angelic opens with a fresh, mouthwatering cloud of marzipan and crystallized melon… and then, swiftly, nothing. Within a minute or two, the top notes have completely dissipated, leaving behind a very faintly minty, showered-skin smell that lasts for approximately six more minutes. Even for all-natural eaux and in the context of Giacobetti’s ethereal Iunx waters, four of the original Honoré scents set new records for brevity. Unfortunately, the sole enduring scent, Chaman’s Party, seems to feature enough tulsi (aka holy basil) to remind me of those ayurvedic teas served at spas where you are instructed to always apply facial moisturizer with a counter clockwise motion. (Don’t let me discourage you from sampling it, though. It was a winner for Robin.) The experience seemed too mixed for 100 ml at $145, so with mild disappointment, I mentally filed the line away as one not likely to inspire a purchase.
But then, with the announcement of the We Love New York trio in March, I had to consider re-filing. From the note lists, which seemed to promise bolder, longer-lasting fragrances, to the painfully cute, coffee-themed packaging: everything about I Love Les Carottes, Love Coco and Vamp à NY caught the attention of wired perfumanity…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Robin
on
9 December 2010
It’s beginning to dawn on me that I will not clear out my sample backlog by the end of the year, in fact, I’m thinking maybe I will never clear my sample backlog. All the same, it doesn’t hurt to try, right? Here are a few more unrelated quickie perfume reviews.
Ed Hardy Born Wild
Ed Hardy’s fourth fragrance for women, Born Wild, is just what you’d expect — a sweet-ish, middle-of-the-road fruity floral in their signature tattoo-inspired packaging. The fruit du jour: peach. Born Wild is light (think spring/summer rather than winter/fall), clean and inoffensive, and the lasting power is reasonable enough…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Robin
on
24 November 2010
Do you love carrots? By which I mean, of course, do you love carrots in perfume? Because if you don’t, move on, nothing to see here today. I Love Les Carottes is one of the three fragrances in the We Love New York collection from French organic line Honoré des Prés, and they’re not kidding about the carrots. Perfumer Olivia Giacobetti reportedly spend some serious quality time with carrots while developing this one:
With this comforting wonder, Olivia has initiated, with love, by cooking, freezing, and cooking again the carrots from organic farmers in the streets of Harlem and by crossing the crudity of the carrot juice…
Read the rest of this article »
