Posted by Jessica
on
21 December 2012
A few weeks ago, Robin posted an update to her much-loved post 100 Fragrances Every Perfumista Should Try, adding twenty-five more fragrances worth seeking out. Angela has pitched in with a tempting selection of 25 Vintage Fragrances Every Perfumista Should Try, while Kevin has expanded our view with a list of 50 Masculine Fragrances. And what’s my “beat” here on Now Smell This? I’ve always gravitated towards florals, particularly rose-based perfumes, so I’ll do my part with a run-down of some must-try rose scents.
True roses1
Annick Goutal was one of my “gateway” houses into perfume obsession, partially because it offers several rose-inspired fragrances. Rose Absolue is the most “true” rose of the group. It brings together essences of six different roses (May, Turkish, Bulgarian, Damascus, Egyptian, and Moroccan) into a radiant bouquet…
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Posted by Robin
on
8 November 2012
French niche line The Different Company has launched Aurore Nomade, a new fragrance in their “Collection Excessive” series (see Oud Shamash, Oud For Love)…
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Posted by Kevin
on
8 August 2012
With rare exceptions (most recently, the Arquiste collection), I’m almost always underwhelmed when a company releases a barrage of perfumes all at once (Keiko Mecheri, Robert Piguet, By Kilian, M Micallef — I’m looking at you…though you are far from being the only culprits). I think: Was the perfumer overwhelmed by too many simultaneous projects? Were the perfumes made to fill banal “slots”: citrus cologne slot, oud perfume slot, fruity-floral slot, oriental amber slot, white floral slot. Were the resulting fragrances “old” ideas that were just hanging around waiting for a bottle to fill, a desperate buyer to placate? I’ve been burned so many times after going to great trouble and expense getting samples, I’ve started ignoring these “group shows” of fragrances. I don’t have the time, or energy, to find and try so many perfumes all at once from a single house. I think we’d all prefer the release of one interesting, well-thought-out perfume to a cartload of forgettable offerings arriving in one ‘lump’.
The Different Company (sigh) just released four fragrances in their new L’Esprit Cologne collection, all by perfumer Émilie Coppermann…
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Posted by Robin
on
6 July 2012
I am a summer person. My favorite thing about spring is that it’s almost summer, and my favorite thing about fall is that sometimes, the summer days linger on longer than expected. I have nothing good at all to say about winter. But we take turns writing the seasonal Top 10 posts for Now Smell This, and somehow it has worked out that I’ve only done the summer list twice, in 2005 and 2007. Either one of those lists1 would take me happily through a summer even now, all these years later, and truth be told, summer is when I wear the least perfume anyway.2 Many days, a light layer of scented lotion is enough fragrance for me, and there are many more days when (horrors!) I wear no fragrance at all.
For this year’s list, I’ve avoided repeats by emphasizing post-2007 fragrances. Most, but not all, of my choices are unisex, and I’ve included niche and mainstream and indie, cheap and not so cheap…
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Posted by Robin
on
6 April 2012
French niche brand The Different Company will launch L’Esprit Cologne, a new quartet of fragrances: Tokyo Bloom, After Midnight, Sienne d’Orange and Limon de Cordoza…
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