Posted by Angela
on
29 March 2010
Lately I’ve been buying tuberose every few weeks to keep in a crooked, blown glass vase on my mantel. The stems are tall and plain, and the flowers look like plump stock or jagged-edged snapdragons. Sometimes the blooms even brown and tumble to the hearth when the night is too cold. But, oh, the scent. Orchids can keep the blue ribbon for beguiling appearance. Tuberose has it all tied up for fragrance.
I want to wear that smell on my skin, but I’ve had a heck of a time finding a tuberose perfume that suits me. I love the smell of Piguet Fracas, but on me it comes off like a girl scout wearing Versace. Serge Lutens Tubéreuse Criminelle is glamour in a silver cocktail glass, but too icy. Comme des Garçons + Daphne Guinness Daphne presents tuberose wrapped in enough incense and bitter orange that I love it, but I want more tuberose. Estée Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia is too Ladies Who Lunch. (I haven’t yet given Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower a fair try.) So when a sample of Histoires de Parfums Tubéreuse 3 L’Animale Eau de Parfum showed up in my mailbox, I yanked up my sleeve and spritzed it on…
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Posted by Robin
on
16 February 2010
Kim Kardashian, in case you didn’t know, is a “TV star, entrepreneur, model, actress, and trendsetter”, in addition to being “one of the world’s most idolized women”. So says Sephora, where Kardashian’s eponymous debut fragrance recently launched and is reportedly a top seller.
Kardashian said she wanted “something rich and creamy and sexy, but still youthful”;1 what she got was a big white floral, very similar to the recent Mariah Carey Forever, which of course was very similar to Marc Jacobs for women. Kardashian’s effort, developed by perfumer Claude Dir, is lusher than Forever, and heavier on the tuberose…
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Posted by Robin
on
5 June 2008
Bertrand Duchaufour might be my second favorite (living) perfumer at the moment (you regular readers know that Jean-Claude Ellena is still at the top of the list), so Magnolia Romana by Eau d'Italie was one of my “most looked forward to” fragrances this year. I was a little worried about the “summer ozone” and “water” notes (other notes include purple basil, lemon leaves, neroli, nutmeg, cypress, magnolia, Bulgarian rose, tuberose, lotus, cedar, hay extract and white musk), and I was right to be: I don't like synthetic “fresh” notes, and while Magnolia Romana isn't overwhelmingly “fresh”, it's just fresh enough to bother me.
Despite the fascinating list of notes, it reads as very nearly bland on my skin…
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Posted by Robin
on
24 October 2007
Michael was the debut fragrance release from Michael Kors. It launched in 2000, and was meant to…
…translate his style philosophy into fragrance. “Glamorous but simple, indulgent but practical,” explained Kors. “And chic. That’s the word I’m going for no matter what we do.” (via Women’s Wear Daily, 3/24/2000)
I can’t remember when I first smelled Michael, but I know I didn’t love it. It was too strong, too sweet, and too floral for my taste, and my feelings about Michael did not change radically after I became more interested in fragrance and my tastes expanded to include the headier white florals.
But I can’t even count the number of times over the past 7 years when I’ve asked someone what they were wearing because they smelled so nice, and the answer was: Michael. It happened again only last week, and I came home and sprayed some on, and then sat, puzzled yet again: I don’t like Michael. On me, anyway, and up close. But apparently I like it on most anyone else, and I have to say that several times while wearing it I was struck by that sense you get when you forget that you’re even wearing perfume and just notice, for an instant, that something nearby smells good…
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Posted by Robin
on
15 October 2007
Today is Blog Action Day, when “bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind”. Some 14,000+ 20,000+ blogs are participating. This year’s theme is the environment, so I’m highlighting a few of my favorite natural fragrances, and in the post below this one, you’ll find Pia’s review of scented cleaning items from Earth Friendly Products.
If you’ve never explored natural perfumery, now is the perfect time. For one thing, you’ve more choice than ever before: there are literally dozens of natural perfume lines, and anyone who thinks natural fragrances aren’t as sophisticated as those made with synthetics might be surprised by the range of offerings…
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