Fragrances -Les Parfums de Rosine - Rose Praline
zeynepd 5/19/2013 2:05:00 PM
I don't know if it's a chemistry issue or differences in the way we perceive scents, but Rose Praline was a huge disappointment on me. I like gourmands and chocolate notes but I didn't expect a huge chocolate cloud from it - it's a floral gourmand described as an old languid rose by the house anyway. Still, nobody had warned me about the geranium attack I would be exposed to. That's what Rose Praline is generally about on my skin; geraniums, cardamom, exotic teas and whatnot. But very little rose and even less praline. I find the top notes rather disconcerting. I don't like the sparkling bergamot combined with cardamom because it feels like drinking Early Gray tea together with cardamom chai. Soon a sweet accord is added but I can't understand where this fragrance wants to go. The heart is very strong geranium on me - slightly warm, slightly hissy, slightly bitter After some time, Rose Praline becomes a soft, vanillic scent maybe with some chocolate powder and a berry accord. This phase is pleasant but very forgettable. I'll pass. 2.5
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Styling Products -Kerastase - Elixir Ultime
zeynepd 5/19/2013 1:36:00 PM
Very very fragrant oil that smells like an expensive oriental tuberose perfume, and this is the main reason why I avoid using it most days. It's too much for me. It's good as a styling product that adds remarkable shine and softness to my hair and makes my almost fried ends more acceptable especially if I have had my hair blowdried. (It doesn't add much if my hair isn't styled though.) I can't say that it has done a remarkable job repairing my highly processed hair -especially considering the price. Still, it's versatile. You can use it before the shower and leave it for a bit, on wet hair during the shower or touch up during the day. I ask my hairdresser to mix a good amount with my hair dye once a month and that's how I'm planning to use it up. I'm not very impressed.
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Fragrances -Amouage - Dia for women
zeynepd 5/19/2013 9:19:00 AM
Beautiful, very elegant and sophisticated if you like clean, powdery aldehydes. In this case, talcum powder rather than your makeup bag. I like aldehydes of this sort; they evoke a feeling of vastness, stability, almost timelessness in me. Almost like a chic comfort fragrance. This is what Dia does on my skin, and it does it very well indeed. There aren't any sulphuric or chemical smelling edges. It is exceptionally soft and round for this genre and I like how abstract it is. I also enjoy the fact that there aren't any floral or animalic undertones here. It's probably less complex on my skin but I like its simplicity, like the subdued elegance of a well-made white shirt. This would be FBW for me in a world of unlimited access and finances, but in reality I don't know if I'll ever be able to spare money for it. Still, it's very similar to Rive Gauche on my skin, so I don't feel sorry for not being able to afford it. Medium sillage and lasting power of 4 hours.
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Fragrances -Creed - Original Santal
zeynepd 5/17/2013 3:26:00 PM
I love love Original Santal. It isn't the most complex sandalwood fragrance I have tried but I think it's still unique because it has a modern attitude that combines the serene depth of sandalwood with something witty, cheerful and perhaps even whimsical. Some houses combine milky sandalwood with a lot of spices in an oriental framework and the result is usually a heavy, figgy aroma on my skin (Santal Blanc, Santal Blush and even Tam Dao). I'm very happy that Original Santal's drier sandalwood does not do that. The fragrance opens with a surprisingly cheerful, vibrant fruity note that makes me think of the colour fuschia. The notes say juniper berry (I associate junipers with gin) but here, it doesn't smell like anything I have smellt before. After this nice surprise, I get a very neutral sandalwood; simple, accessible but confident at the same time. I enjoy catching slightly smoky, clean wafts of it throughout the day until it softens into a softer, sweeter, vanilic scent. I love wearing it to work, it makes me smile more.
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Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Un Bois Vanille
zeynepd 5/17/2013 3:01:00 PM
Fluffy, wearable comfort fragrance on the thick, milky side without much woods or fruit on me. Coconut, a note I'm generally careful about, is very present here, but somehow it doesn't disturb me. Likeable, but I don't crave it the way I crave some gourmands. medium sillage and longevity
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Fragrances -L'Artisan Fragrances - Timbuktu EDT
zeynepd 5/17/2013 1:48:00 PM
I have had a 15 ml. bottle for some time, but I have been able to appreciate Timbuktu’s real beauty only very recently. At first, I thought it was short-lived on my body, with a strange flowery opening leading to a soapy heart and then fading. Then I started noticing its mysterious and addictive smoke, an incense note of its own. Usually incense is a rather difficult note for me; I have come across it mostly in orientals and it usually says indoors and demure atmospheres to me. Here, on the contrary, it has this incredible vastness, a very different kind of mystique. Very airy, interestingly clean, endless. Accompanied with a deep, deep sandalwood. Incredibly serene and detached on colder days, like looking at the world from the sky. Things are in slow motion, time is suspended, worries of everyday life somehow disappearing. This is a strange feeling of serenity I associate with skydiving and floating in the air. Nevertheless, this feeling does not come without a paradox in Timbuktu. Sometimes, in addition to leather undertones, there is a dirt note from the patchouli that's very prominent on my skin. And sometimes a very noticeable campfire note. Both of them are satisfactory olfactory experiences, though not necessarily pleasant in an everyday sense. I feel very conscious of myself when I notice these on my body if I'm outside. Still, they have taught me to derive pleasure from things that I would easily hush aside some time ago. They disappear when it's cold. Timbuktu is a strictly colder weather fragrance for me with good sillage and lasting power, but I prefer wearing it closer to my skin and reapplying if necessary. It goes surprisingly well with the chaotic city I live in as well as the inner peace I work to nurture.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Frapin 1697
zeynepd 5/17/2013 1:13:00 PM
Bertrand Duchaufour is one of my favourite noses and given the long list of notes in Frapin 1687, I guess I was expecting something nearing the complexity of Amouage Jubilation. Unfortunately, my experience with my sample has been quite different so far. Yes, 1697 starts with a fantastic rum aroma with depth and flame. However, it quickly turns into a sheer but mellow concoction which is too tired and sweet on my skin with a lot of dried fruit and too little spice. I can sense something that attempts to add some depth to 1697 but unfortunately, it’s overshadowed by this sweetness on my skin. With just a dab, it becomes a bit more balanced with nice wafts of rum, albeit almost unnoticable. I hope Duchaufour works on this theme in the future and comes up with a delectable fragrance that works with my body chemistry:) 2.5
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Fragrances -Guerlain - Gourmand Coquin
zeynepd 5/16/2013 6:35:00 PM
I like Gourmand Coquin. I like the nose, the idea behind it, the delicious gourmand it is on others. Unfortunately, it doesn't reveal its entire beauty on my skin. A rich opening with rum and some (little) spice, a delicious scent like a rich biscuit and then dang, makeup. Wafts of gourmand notes from time to time, but on skin, a tired amber or tobacco. My skin eats this up. I'm kind of sad about this.
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Fragrances -Christian Dior - Dior Homme Intense
zeynepd 5/16/2013 6:30:00 PM
Delectable and wearable fragrance with a gourmand character that smells delicious on all sexes. Dior categorizes this as a woody aromatic but it has a lovely, chic cacao note on me. Dries down to a pleasant ambrette/tobacco fragrance with a nice depth. It has body but it's not too thick or cloying. Wears pretty close to skin but has good lasting power. I'm thinking of getting a bottle because the cacao note is very pleasing to my nose and I think it can layer well with a lot of things. Notes per Dior website: iris, ambrette, virginia cedar.
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Fragrances -Chanel - No.19 Poudre
zeynepd 5/14/2013 7:53:00 AM
This is a modern iris + powder by Chanel, different enough from divine and dry No.19 - though, in my opinion, not necessarily better. No.19 Poudre opens with slightly bitter green notes together with something that hints at leather and adds some interest. However, it settles into its powdery iris heart in almost no time. To my nose, it's a clean, modern powder on the sweeter side and it's more like white musk than, say, a powder scent that hints at your makeup bag. The drydown is rather creamy and vanillic with some sandalwood. Both No.19 and Poudre have low sillage and weak lasting power on me. I wouldn't buy Chanel no.19 Poudre because I enjoy Frederic Malle's Iris Poudree much more than this. 3.5
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Bois 1920 Le Voluttuose Kimono Rose
zeynepd 5/12/2013 5:33:00 PM
I have been in the mood for a fruity, slightly manic, cheerful rose. Not necessarily very deep, but with body and a bit of fun. Bois 1920's 'voluptuous' 2010 release with fruity top notes like bergamot, mandarin, black currant and litchi (and a tacky pink bottle with a gold cap) seemed like a good idea - although 'Kimono' might add a bit more grace than I could handle :-) Very different in reality - and I guess body chemistry is important with this one. I get almost no fruit it. Yes, there is a kind of radiant bergamot which connects a light rose with a woody but perfumey depth, but altogether I cannot call this fruity on my skin. It has a nice green aspect and iris, iris and more iris on my skin. It becomes a powdery, soapy, woody musk very quickly on my skin. I can't say I'm impressed. I've also asked my mother to sample it because fragrances smell very differently on us. On her this is really more voluptuos with some depth from the patch, but altogether not very unique or charming. Projects low and longevity is not impressive for this price range. I hope it works better on others. I'll go to Caron's Delire de Roses or Rosine's Roseberry for my fruity rose fix. 2.5 at this price range.
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Fragrances -Bond No.9 - Fashion Avenue
zeynepd 5/11/2013 5:02:00 AM
This is a pleasant, balanced mimosa with some sweetness from blackcurrant. It is a well-behaved floral that might be easy to hush aside because it isn’t the most unique floral. However, I love mimosas and Fashion Avenue conveys a clear enough representation of them. I love Une Fleur de Cassie for a sultry evening fragrance, especially in the summer; Champs Elysees for mimosa a cheerfulness which never fails to lift my mood and Mimosa pour Moi for a very natural effect. Fashion Avenue doesn’t have a very clearly defined role like these, nevertheless it seems to fill a gap for me: It’s a modest, easy-to-wear mimosa that I can comfortably wear to work, dinners outside, seated concerts (because it doesn’t seem to disturb anyone) and whatnot. With some generous splashes it’s first very soapy and with a lots of aquatic hyacinth, but dries down to a friendly floral. Perhaps not as elegant or chic as some white flowers but optimistic and proper at the same time. I have been living on samples for a while and don't know if I'll buy a full bottle one day. However, I'd happily use it if someone gifted it to me. I'm also looking forward to sampling Park Avenue which has a chamomile note because that note reminds me of mimosas, too. Good lasting power and low to medium sillage on my skin.
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Fragrances -L'Artisan Fragrances - Mimosa pour Moi
zeynepd 5/10/2013 5:07:00 PM
Simple, very beautiful. That is, if you like this little, fragile looking flower because Mimosa pour Moi is a rather realistic representation of it with its pastel green stems. It is quite linear on my skin and I like it so. It's a calming, serene fragrance that doesn't project a lot, but neither does it go downhill if I spray a bir more than usual. Lasting power is not bad on my skin. I wear it in all seasons but its best friend is a wide brimmed hat.
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Fragrances -Christiane Celle Calypso - Mimosa EDT
zeynepd 5/10/2013 4:54:00 PM
Mimosa opens with a lovely, airy almond note on my skin. Then top notes get fruity. Bubblegum? Tangerine? After this bubbly greeting, I get a very nice tuberose with some sweet jasmin, but where's the mimosa? The scent then fades to a more or less indescript sweetness on my skin. I think this would be a nice, casual summer fragrance if it worked better with my body chemistry. However, I wish I could smell more mimosa.
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Fragrances -Annick Goutal - Le Mimosa
zeynepd 5/10/2013 4:40:00 PM
Annick Goutal's Le Mimosa is a pleasant peach fragrance that reminds me of Jo Malone's Nectarine minus the waxy note. This freash peach is prominent in top notes together with a strong anice. During the heart, it mellows a bit and I can sense an ethereal, evasive mimosa that could be so attractive if it were a bit closer to me. Then the peach takes the center stage again until the drydown where there is a slightly off burn-rubber note. I expected more from Annick Goutal. 2.5
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