Fragrances -Etat Libre D'Orange - Like This
MelissaM 8/13/2012 3:53:00 PM
I received a sample of Like This this past winter and recently purchased a FB because I loved the sample so much. I'll reserve final judgment, because could be that wearing this heavy, heady scent in August is an ill-fated notion, but currently, I can only give it 3.5 stars out of 5. I do give Like This props for being the most unique fragrance in my entire collection. When I first spritzed it on, I was overwhelmed by a pungent, almost harsh, smell of burning sugar, immediately followed by the more mellower pumpkin note, which was tinged with a frisky zip of ginger. The citrus and rose was very subtle on my skin, and my nose had a struggle picking them out. However, interestingly enough, the immortelle is very prominent on my particular drydown; it manages to be both dry and rich at the same time, a combination of freshly hewn wood and maple syrup. The musk cleans everything up and prevents the fragrance from coming across as being *too* gourmand. My real complaint with Like This is that the lovely pumpkin and ginger disappear after only a few minutes, and it was these two notes that seemed to really pop when I tried the sample of the fragrance. Again, it could be that smelling this in warmer weather has affected my perception of the perfume, or even my skin chemistry. I might find myself revising this review once fall rolls around, because it really is truly fascinating.
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Fragrances -Etat Libre D'Orange - Malaise of the 1970s
MelissaM 7/13/2012 1:00:00 AM
Terrible. Just terrible. To first quote from the Etat Libre D'Orange website: "Blast off the last wafts of patchouli trailing after the Summer of Love ... Malaise gives off the metallic smell of the Iron Lady tearing down British society – 'There’s no such thing as society' – to sell off the rabble and rubble to the City." Great ad copy, folks. Only the problem with Maliase of the 1970s is that it's about as tame and generic as any department store fragrance can possibly get, circa not 1979 but 1986. When I first spritzed it on, my olfactory memory rapidly associated it with perfumes like Bill Blass' Hot and Paloma Piccaso, both heavy-handed fragrances so densely layered I never could pick out the individual notes. Such is the sorely misnamed Malaise. It's one big peppery aldehydic mess — an Eau de Starck Club kind of fragrance that wears its wearer long before she enters the room. The kind of fragrance that you still smell wafting in the air of the nightclub along with the fallout of Aqua Net, cigarette ash and tepid half-spent vodka drinks. Yet despite its overall loudness, it still manages to be oddly conventional, somewhat like Margaret Thatcher herself. I expected Etat Libre D'Orange to come up with something unusual, as par for the course for this perfume house and was sorely disappointed in Malaise of the 1970s. So glad that I didn't buy an entire bottle of this stuff. Do sample before you buy, because the ad copy doesn't begin to describe the end product. Notes: citrus, leather, amber, pepper, plum, aldehydes, patchouli, heliotrope and musk mallow.
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Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Cuir Mauresque
MelissaM 12/27/2010 1:56:00 AM
Wow. So I'm reading the reviews of Cuir Mauresque, and none of them resonate with the scent that I perceive when I first used my Lucky Scent sample. I'm not one of those people for whom leather works very well (Daim Blond + My Skin = FAIL), but Cuir Mauresque is one of those fragrances that I wouldn't know was "leather" unless you pointed it out to me. With my skin chemistry, the florals sing sweetly, and I do pick up a distinct orange blossom note. Cuir Mauresque is sweet, but not cloying ... I'd describe it as a "dulcet" scent, very sexy and very intimate, sort of exotic. Sweet incense. This is what I imagined Vivienne Westwood's Boudoir would be like. Cuir Mauresque did not fail to disappoint, and to think that I asked for a sample just on a lark!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Lea St. Barth - Lily
MelissaM 12/30/2009 12:19:00 AM
I've not been overly impressed with St. Barth in the past. Lea and Lea Extreme failed to wow me, and Jala, falls in the "nice but nothing special" category. Lily, on the other hand, has a uniqueness that I didn't expect. I ordered it blind from Luckyscent after noting that some reviewers likened it to the scent of a mojito (which I adore). And yes, on first blast, it has that pungent citrusy, minty, cool-but-sugary aroma. However, the heavenly aspect of Lily is in the dry-down. After a couple of hours, Lily smells like a much softer version of a magnolia blossom--think *very* soft; there's no stridency to the scent at all. It also has a sweetness to it that's definitely not gourmand; it's more akin to freshly-hewn sugarcane. It's the nicest St. Barth scent I've smelled to date. About a 4.5 on my "I like" scale.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Lostmarch Lann-Ael Eau de Toilette
MelissaM 4/10/2009 3:08:00 AM
When it comes to reviewing fragrances, I tend to use a gentle touch. That said, the only thing that I found complimentable about Laan-Ael is its uniqueness. But for me, that was simply not enough. This stuff smells like it fell right off the CSP Amour de Cacao truck ... but what, that's not a chocolate note, it's ... buckwheat? Yes, buckwheat. Which, on it's own is kind of a nice idea until you pile on the sweet compote and maple notes. But other than these small differences, the composition is eerily the same in tenor and feel as the CSP. It's definitely a comfort scent ... it's like being hugged by someone with a beaming smile and a big, soft cashmere sweater. And hugged. And hugged some more. And then you notice that said person has maple syrup all over that cashmere sweater. Such is the sticky, cloying can't-shake-it-off-of-me resonance of this fragrance, and gosh, I SO wanted to love it. I can't even bring myself to use the rest of my large-sized decant. Putting this on at night was an ill-fated notion, too, as it's a clinger. I woke up feeling like I'd fallen asleep in a pile of pancakes.
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Fragrances -Guerlain - Insolence Eau Glacee
MelissaM 4/3/2009 6:50:00 PM
I really wish that I weren't the first person reviewing Insolence Eau Glacee, because so many people here do a much better job -- but I'll try my best! If you're on the fence about the original Insolence because you find it too "pink" or "girly," take a sniff of this, and it will change your mind. The Eau Glacee has been described as having an "icy edge;" however, I would say that it is a much dryer version of Insolence. The berry notes pop like crazy on this fragrance, but they are far less cloying; the "candied"-ness is taken way, way down to a bare minimum. I can't even compare this to My Insolence, which I found okay, but way too powdery. There's no powder in the Eau Glacee; it does have a teensy little bite to it on first application before it dries down. The juice is a pretty pale purple, and the packaging is like the original Insolence, which, of course, I find gorgeous. Unlike the original Insolence, I could feel comfortable wearing this to the office. It is still very distinct and does carry -- only a couple of spritzes should do you. ** Edited to add: The more I wear this, the more I love it -- the drydown just keeps better and better!
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Sarah Jessica Parker - Twilight
MelissaM 3/30/2009 7:50:00 PM
Hmm ... I want to give this a 2.5, but rounded it up to a 3 because it does have potential. How well you can wear Twilight depends on how well you can wear amber notes. Thus far, the only amber I've found that works perfectly for me is BBW Sensual Amber, because it has a "tanginess" to it. SJB Twilight is very light and powdery, and agree with the first reviewer in that it has a smokiness to it that I can't define -- but it's more the smokiness of a vanilla candle that's just been blown out rather than the smokiness that I associate with incense or pipe tobacco. The floral quality is very faint on me -- if I really open my nostrils and sniff hard, I can detect jasmine in the drydown. Other than that, I'd say it's a pretty powdery amber. Not as powdery as L'Artisan's amber, but definitely close to it. I'm hoping that it'll grow on me in time. Right now, I'm not loving it or hating it -- I feel very neutral about this scent.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Elizabeth Arden - Curious by Britney Spears
MelissaM 3/18/2009 1:57:00 AM
I got this as a sample with a produce that I ordered online and decided to give it a try -- Fantasy isn't that terrible, eve though I wouldn't buy it. Curious goes on nice, but the drydown was sooo familiar. I sniffed my skin repeatedly to try and figure out where on earth I'd smelled this before. And it came to me: Anais Anais. Not a dead ringer, but very similar, at least on my skin, and much softer. Not wretched, but nothing special. I agree with others about the lasting power -- this scent fades quickly.
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Fragrances -Lancaster - Lovely Liquid Satin by Sarah Jessica Parker
MelissaM 3/18/2009 1:51:00 AM
Excellent! I really love the original Lovely, and because I'm almost out of my second bottle of it, I decided to try the Liquid Satin instead. This retains the "heart" of the EDP, but without any sort of "alcohol" smell. I didn't realize how sharp the perfume was compared to the Satin. While I still like both, I prefer the Satin. Note: This scent does really hug the skin -- unless you're practically on top of someone wearing it, you probably won't notice that they're wearing it. So if you want a scent that projects more, this might not be for you.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Bois et Fruits
MelissaM 3/14/2009 8:47:00 PM
This is a scent that I'll have to revisit again. My first impression upon application was that it was eerily similar to DelRae's Bois et Paradis. But the nice woodsiness soon dissipated to leave only the fruit notes behind. While they are nice fruits indeed -- smooth, dried fruits that are not too, too sweet -- I'm not sure if they alone can carry this fragrance. If I sniff really hard, I can pick out a smidge of musk, and the musk note tells me, "Hey, yes ... this is worth it!" But I'll have to give it another test drive to be sure.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Nuit de Cellophane
MelissaM 3/14/2009 8:41:00 PM
I am so glad that I tried this before I bought it sight unsmelled (and I nearly did). Nuit de Cellophane goes on beautifully -- the osthmanthus and apricot are very dominant in the initial phase, and quite delightful. However, the drydown is something very watery and vague, and not in a good way. There is a note in this that is highly reminiscent of the stagnant water in a glass of flowers -- the same problem that I have with most Creeds. This sucks all of the delirious freshness of the opening notes right out. Even without this pesky, pervasive note, I don't think that this fragrance would move me very much. It's nice in a innocuous way, but it isn't different. What on earth is happening at SL these ays? Wow ...
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Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Un Bois Sepia
MelissaM 3/14/2009 8:37:00 PM
VETIVER! Vetiver, vetiver, vetiver!!! Get it? Good. Mill around the men's fragrance counter at any mall department store, and this is what Un Bois Sepia smells like. To be fair, the drydown is a little more "unusual" (softer) than most men's fragrances, and there is less of a chemical/alcohol note present. But I wouldn't want to snuggle up to anyone wearing this, no sirree! I cannot believe that this is part of the SL line-up. Amazing. A really big "miss" from one of my favorite perfume houses.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Parlux - Jessica Simpson Fancy
MelissaM 3/10/2009 1:50:00 AM
I gotta confess, I tried this at the department store out of sheer curiosity. Jessica Simpson's Dessert line was way too teeny-bopper for me, and way too sweet. I was very pleasantly surprised at the drydown ... the florals and amber clung to my skin, although I did detect a distinct vanilla/cupcake note, far in the background. This is a sophisticated gourmand, a far cry from Taste, which I used once and never again. I ended up ordering it online for $24 -- probably not something to wear to the office every day, but I can see this being a good "date" scent.
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Fragrances -Lancaster - Covet Pure Bloom Sarah Jessica Parker
MelissaM 10/4/2008 4:31:00 PM
I loved Lovely and the original Covet, so I was anticipating another winner from Sarah Jessica Parker. But my first impression of Covet Pure Bloom was ... meh. I tested it while I shopped around the mall, then tested it again, just to be sure that I wasn't missing anything in the drydown. While I was shopping, I kept asking myself, "Hmm ... what does this smell like?" It evoked a fragrance of long ago ... then I finally pegged it: Covet Pure Bloom is a dead ringer for the old Silkience shampoo and conditioner! It's not horrible by any stretch of the imagination. It's actually quite nice. But it smells like something you'd pick up at the drugstore, to be honest. Nothing about it is really starkly unique -- like the original Covet. Definitely try before you buy, because this is completely different than SJP's first two scents.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Vincent Longo - Vincent Longo waterproof mascara
MelissaM 1/24/2008 10:44:00 PM
One thing I don't like about most waterproof mascaras is that it's almost impossible to get them off without using paint thinner. VL Waterproof is the perfect balance between waterproof and easy to wash off. It goes on very naturally, so I don't even look like I'm wearing mascara. Sure, it could provide a little more bulk and length, and if this is what you're going for you might be disappointed (my lashes are very thick to begin with). This is probably the best mascara I've used to date.
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