Notes: Neroli, Calabrian bergamot, cardamom, nutmeg, pink pepper, green
leaves, cedar, gaiac wood, Haitian vetiver, Indian patchouli, amber.
Xerjoff is a house that I find fascinating in that it incites people towards fits of rage or complete ecstasy. I fall into the latter. Of course, not every Xerjoff is perfect but it is clear that the materials used are very high quality, even in the fragrances that don't quite work.
In my Xerjoff quests I have managed to accumulate all of their discovery sets (with the exception of Casamorati, which I am working on :) ). Recently I purchased the Shooting Stars series 2 discovery set: Masculine. I wasn't sure what to expect; I like unisex fragrances but many of the typical ingredients used in men's perfumerie don't work for me. I decided that if I purchased them and they didn't work on me, they would work on my husband, so I went for it.
Tonight I tried Nio for the first time. The intial burst of bergamot and neroli felt sweet and the spices added a mild, intriguing aspect. Unisex definitely came to mind......although this would smell incredibly sexy on any man, any woman could wear this comfortably in the heat of summer. The citrus actually increases in strength in the first few minutes. The green leaves add lush freshness to the composition, but it never turns leafy or overtly masculine. In the later stages, interestingly enough, the neroli shows up again (my skin amps neroli) but it's still kept in check by the citrus which has some incredible lasting power. The cedar is quite well-behaved as well, adding balance and a 'dry' element without marching all over the other notes.
I am shocked by how long the citrus lasts in Nio. My typical citrus experience is CITRUS (5 minutes)......sweet (2 hours).......wood or herbs (forever). Nio kept the balance the entire, long, duration of the fragrance, which for a citrus lover like me is a huge benefit.
Though some might find Xerjoff to be too pricey (especially the bottles, which I understand), I find it reasonable in terms of the Discovery Sets. Considering that I paid 212.00 for the set and there were 6 15 ml bottles in it, I only paid 35.00 per bottle, or about 2.25 per ml. I have paid that price for 15 ml decants of fragrances that were much lower quality that didn't have half the longevity.....therefore, I feel that the prices of the sets are fair for what you receive. If you can allow room in your budget for it, you should try these scents.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Etat Libre D'Orange Rossy de Palma : Review
It's been quite awhile since I made any posts; I had gotten my soap shop up and running again and then summer hits, and it becomes all about kids and frogs for awhile. The weather the last few days have made a turn toward the cool side and darkness is settling in earlier. It's time to break out the autumn fragrances.
Today, I am wearing Etat Libre d'Orange Rossy de Palma. Notes include Ginger, black pepper, bergamot, Bulgarian rose, jasmine, benzoin, incense, cacao and patchouli (as per http://www.luckyscent.com). It's interesting that I reached for this.......ELDO scents are usually not my favorite, and I rarely find a rose scent that I enjoy, let alone want to own. Rossy has kicked her way through all of my misgivings.
When I was growing up, there were some things that were just part of our home. There was always a bottle of 4711 laying around somewhere, lots of ivory soap, and a 3 piece set of Maja soap in my mother's drawer. The Maja box always fascinated me with its beautiful flamenco dancer, and the scent, though a bit intense for me when I was young, was a spicy floral blend that fit the image perfectly. The description that I read for RdP flashed me back to finding that soap box, so I was happy that it was included in the ELDO prestige coffret.
Initial impressions of Rossy de Palma include a blast of pepper and rose, but not an off-putting vintage rose. This rose is red, and alive, and surrounding you with little wisps of floral. For an hour, my arm smells of warmth and rose and smoke. The incense increases in intensity but never becomes overwhelming and tames the rose into a suggestion.
When it hits the drydown stage, Rossy turns around completely and you are left with a rich, sweet amber/musk/wood with a light overlay of rose liqeur.
I have never in my life wanted to purchase a rose-centered scent. This one has made itself sorely tempting.
Today, I am wearing Etat Libre d'Orange Rossy de Palma. Notes include Ginger, black pepper, bergamot, Bulgarian rose, jasmine, benzoin, incense, cacao and patchouli (as per http://www.luckyscent.com). It's interesting that I reached for this.......ELDO scents are usually not my favorite, and I rarely find a rose scent that I enjoy, let alone want to own. Rossy has kicked her way through all of my misgivings.
When I was growing up, there were some things that were just part of our home. There was always a bottle of 4711 laying around somewhere, lots of ivory soap, and a 3 piece set of Maja soap in my mother's drawer. The Maja box always fascinated me with its beautiful flamenco dancer, and the scent, though a bit intense for me when I was young, was a spicy floral blend that fit the image perfectly. The description that I read for RdP flashed me back to finding that soap box, so I was happy that it was included in the ELDO prestige coffret.
Initial impressions of Rossy de Palma include a blast of pepper and rose, but not an off-putting vintage rose. This rose is red, and alive, and surrounding you with little wisps of floral. For an hour, my arm smells of warmth and rose and smoke. The incense increases in intensity but never becomes overwhelming and tames the rose into a suggestion.
When it hits the drydown stage, Rossy turns around completely and you are left with a rich, sweet amber/musk/wood with a light overlay of rose liqeur.
I have never in my life wanted to purchase a rose-centered scent. This one has made itself sorely tempting.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
I'm a huge candle lover. I have all kinds, from Slatkin and Yankee to Lafco, D.L. Company and Aquiesse. I have to say that I've found that, in general, the higher the price point the better the scent....not necessarily in terms of throw, but in general ambience.
One that I'm burning right now is Votivo Sea Blue Sky. The description from the Votivo.com website describes the scent as:
"The sensory delight of wide open spaces, dancing kites, foggy blue-gray seashores and the souls of dew-drench lavender buds and moistened, softened amber remnants- romance on the eve of spring.".
The first time I experienced this scent, cold-sniffed, I found it to be very heavy on the wood and woody-musk. I reached for it one day when the sun was just starting to warm up the ground outside and wanted something that didn't scream 'winter'. I let it burn for awhile,ignored it, and went into another room for an hour to do some work. Somewhere in the interim, a magical transformation occured with the scent of the candle.
When I came back into the kitchen, my living area, dining area and kitchen all smelled wonderful. You could finally make out the lavender buds, but just lightly, over the woodsy scent. It definitely gave the impression of an early spring day outside, when the leaves haven't peeked out yet but the earth is starting to generate that lovely spring, slightly damp, woodsy scent.
My favorite thing about Votivo candles is that as long as the wick is trimmed properly, they don't soot much, although sometimes the wax doesn't melt completely. For the most part, though, they make a reliable and consistently lovely-scented product. A- on this scent!!!!
One that I'm burning right now is Votivo Sea Blue Sky. The description from the Votivo.com website describes the scent as:
"The sensory delight of wide open spaces, dancing kites, foggy blue-gray seashores and the souls of dew-drench lavender buds and moistened, softened amber remnants- romance on the eve of spring.".
The first time I experienced this scent, cold-sniffed, I found it to be very heavy on the wood and woody-musk. I reached for it one day when the sun was just starting to warm up the ground outside and wanted something that didn't scream 'winter'. I let it burn for awhile,ignored it, and went into another room for an hour to do some work. Somewhere in the interim, a magical transformation occured with the scent of the candle.
When I came back into the kitchen, my living area, dining area and kitchen all smelled wonderful. You could finally make out the lavender buds, but just lightly, over the woodsy scent. It definitely gave the impression of an early spring day outside, when the leaves haven't peeked out yet but the earth is starting to generate that lovely spring, slightly damp, woodsy scent.
My favorite thing about Votivo candles is that as long as the wick is trimmed properly, they don't soot much, although sometimes the wax doesn't melt completely. For the most part, though, they make a reliable and consistently lovely-scented product. A- on this scent!!!!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Bois 1920 La Vaniglia : Review
bergamot, mandarin, mint, pepper, ginger, frankincense, patchouli and vanilla.
Every so often there comes a fragrance unlike any you've experienced. When I was searching for a new vanilla fragrance, I came across this one and couldn't find many reviews on it. The notes sounded intriguing and a little bit confusing. I ended up buying a bottle unsniffed.
I wore it for the first time a few days ago. The initial blast was one of heat and a lovely, creamy (read: creamy, not bakery) vanilla. Almost like someone had made a weird condensed milk sorbet with a hot ginger, mint and fruit. In a few minutes the ginger, citrus, pepper and frankincense combines to create a delicious, sweet yet hot melange of yumminess. You can sense the heat through the fragrance, which is so interesting, as I find that spicy usually doesn't really translate into anything but nutmeg or cinnamon, but in this fragrance the heat is almost tangible and I am reminded of incense and Christmas at church. The vanilla becomes more like extract lingering on the edges of the dancing spices and fruit, but it's definitely still there. This phase lasts about an hour and I love every minute of it. Finally, a spiced scent that I can wrap my head (or nose) around.
When the scent finally settles, a lovely, sweet, vaguely creamy vanilla is lingering, with the vaguest touch of patchouli. The frankincense is still there leaving a vaguely incense-like trace.
This is a truly beautiful fragrance, and I feel that as more people try it it's going to be very popular. I'm surprised that I haven't seen it mentioned more but it's definitely worth a try, and in my case I am thrilled to own a full size bottle. Gorgeous!!!!!!
Every so often there comes a fragrance unlike any you've experienced. When I was searching for a new vanilla fragrance, I came across this one and couldn't find many reviews on it. The notes sounded intriguing and a little bit confusing. I ended up buying a bottle unsniffed.
I wore it for the first time a few days ago. The initial blast was one of heat and a lovely, creamy (read: creamy, not bakery) vanilla. Almost like someone had made a weird condensed milk sorbet with a hot ginger, mint and fruit. In a few minutes the ginger, citrus, pepper and frankincense combines to create a delicious, sweet yet hot melange of yumminess. You can sense the heat through the fragrance, which is so interesting, as I find that spicy usually doesn't really translate into anything but nutmeg or cinnamon, but in this fragrance the heat is almost tangible and I am reminded of incense and Christmas at church. The vanilla becomes more like extract lingering on the edges of the dancing spices and fruit, but it's definitely still there. This phase lasts about an hour and I love every minute of it. Finally, a spiced scent that I can wrap my head (or nose) around.
When the scent finally settles, a lovely, sweet, vaguely creamy vanilla is lingering, with the vaguest touch of patchouli. The frankincense is still there leaving a vaguely incense-like trace.
This is a truly beautiful fragrance, and I feel that as more people try it it's going to be very popular. I'm surprised that I haven't seen it mentioned more but it's definitely worth a try, and in my case I am thrilled to own a full size bottle. Gorgeous!!!!!!
Marc Jacobs Curacao : A review
blood orange, bitter orange, lime, mandarin, violet, pear, apricot, white moss, amber, musk, and sandalwood.
Marc Jacobs splashes were something I wanted to try for awhile. The Perfumed Court had some great sales over the month of December and I figured it would be a good time to try them, so I purchased some (and managed to get a huge bottle of Pomegranate at Marshall's for 22.99). Curacao was intriguing to me, because I'm a big fan of the liquer, and the color. I'm a sucker for any blue scent.This fragrance gives the impression, at first, of just being another fruity-floral. At first I was afraid. Very afraid. I got a big, fruity disastrous mess that singed my nose hairs. Is it citrus? Is it pear? Where is this going???? What is going on? *panic* I need some soothing tea.
I didn't get orange at all. My skin amps anything pear so mostly I was getting this weird cloying fragrance. I decided to ignore it and went back to it a half hour later.
At this point, it was mostly pear and apricot with some violet-ness. Violet is one of those notes that can take over completely, but it does add balance and in this case I was grateful that it was tempering the pear.
When this fragrance finally burned off its top notes, the result was shocking. The lasting impression of Curacao is a lovely, slightly mossy aquatic with an appealing musk base. It's not heavy at all and has turned into a quiet skin scent.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
L'Eau des Hesperides by Diptyque : Review
I go through spates where I try to find the perfect 'x' fragrance. Most recently it was a search for my perfect vanilla, but just prior I was looking for my perfect citrus which resulted in a frenzy of citrus decant purchases. L'Eau Des Hesperides by Diptyque was one of these decant purchases. Bitter orange and lemon, thyme, rosemary, peppermint, immortelle, musk and wood. Far be it from me to be seasonal....I decided to spray it on this morning, as the post-holiday season is upon me and all I'm feeling is lethargic, so a peppy, zingy fragrance is on the menu.
L'Eau Des Hesperides opens on a bright, true citrus blast with almost a peppery green-ness, which quickly mellows to a....dare I say it?........lemon Razzles gum scent. Luckily, this nostalgic trip to 4th grade fades quickly as well. It doesn't disappear completely but it quickly tempered by the herbs which gives the scent a vague aura of very expensive soap. I love the thyme as it adds a 'dryness' to the scent and keeps it from becoming too run-of-the-mill.
A half hour later all obvious sweetness has dissipated and I'm left with the faintest whisper of floral underneath tame, dry wood and still, thankfully, citrus.
This is a lovely scent. I love L'eau de Tarocco, and it's obvious that these two scents share a common lineage, like they started on the same train and then at a common stop they both got off and went to different destinations. Whereas Tarocco is warmer due to the saffron and is scent that I could easily see wearing in cooler weather, Hesperides has a definitive warm-weather vibe to it due to the bitterness that the Mediterranean herbs impart. Definitely unisex, and in my eyes, a bargain.
L'Eau Des Hesperides opens on a bright, true citrus blast with almost a peppery green-ness, which quickly mellows to a....dare I say it?........lemon Razzles gum scent. Luckily, this nostalgic trip to 4th grade fades quickly as well. It doesn't disappear completely but it quickly tempered by the herbs which gives the scent a vague aura of very expensive soap. I love the thyme as it adds a 'dryness' to the scent and keeps it from becoming too run-of-the-mill.
A half hour later all obvious sweetness has dissipated and I'm left with the faintest whisper of floral underneath tame, dry wood and still, thankfully, citrus.
This is a lovely scent. I love L'eau de Tarocco, and it's obvious that these two scents share a common lineage, like they started on the same train and then at a common stop they both got off and went to different destinations. Whereas Tarocco is warmer due to the saffron and is scent that I could easily see wearing in cooler weather, Hesperides has a definitive warm-weather vibe to it due to the bitterness that the Mediterranean herbs impart. Definitely unisex, and in my eyes, a bargain.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
LUSH Sympathy For the Skin : Review
Ahhhhh, LUSH. I have had an on again/off again, non-committal relationship with them for a long time now. There are a few products that I find myself returning to: I love the Olive Branch shower gel, as well as Happy Hippy, and their Godiva solid shampoo is amazing. However, there is one product of theirs that has always been a standout for me, and an absolute staple in my cabinet.
My heart is palpitating just saying it:
Sympathy for the Skin.
SYMPATHY FOR THE SKIN!
This lotion has it all. From its very subtle, barely there vanilla bean scent that layers beautifully with just about everything to its smooth, velvety, moisturizing-yet-light texture, this cream is perfect. It's a great hand lotion, fantastic for making my desert-dry legs look smoother, wonderful for all over moisturizing...I've even been know to use a dab of it to de-frizz my hair and when I'm out of my Celestial moisturizer I use it on my face with great results.
Every so often there are rumors that it might be discontinued. I find that hard to believe. However, if that ever occurs my life will be over as I know it.
Price is rather high, but a jar tends to last me about 5 months which is fair. I love the little vanilla bean flecks in the lotion....it looks so delicious!!!! I also love how it never overpowers anything.
SYMPATHY for the SKIN!
Hooray!!!!
My heart is palpitating just saying it:
Sympathy for the Skin.
SYMPATHY FOR THE SKIN!
This lotion has it all. From its very subtle, barely there vanilla bean scent that layers beautifully with just about everything to its smooth, velvety, moisturizing-yet-light texture, this cream is perfect. It's a great hand lotion, fantastic for making my desert-dry legs look smoother, wonderful for all over moisturizing...I've even been know to use a dab of it to de-frizz my hair and when I'm out of my Celestial moisturizer I use it on my face with great results.
Every so often there are rumors that it might be discontinued. I find that hard to believe. However, if that ever occurs my life will be over as I know it.
Price is rather high, but a jar tends to last me about 5 months which is fair. I love the little vanilla bean flecks in the lotion....it looks so delicious!!!! I also love how it never overpowers anything.
SYMPATHY for the SKIN!
Hooray!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)