Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Vetiver Oriental
freskagirl 1/18/2007 9:08:00 PM
I love vetiver, and (generally) the deeper and darker the better. I get no thrill from Guerlain's Vetiver, for example, which I find too clean, almost soapy-smelling. In the vetiver spectrum, Vetiver Oriental is definitely darker than Guerlain's, and darker than Lorenzo Villoresi's, a favorite vetiver which has a wonderful woodsy edge. Vetiver Oriental is not quite as dark as the smoky Le Labo Vetiver, and certainly not as dark and powerful as the (practically unwearable) mack daddy of them all, MPG's Route du Vetiver. I tend to wear vetiver scents in the summer; their earthiness makes me feel cool. Vetiver Oriental is a vetiver I enjoy wearing in the cooler months. It is earthy and rooty, yet has a dry dark chocolate aspect that makes it feel very refined.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Candles -Claus Porto - Tabaco - Tobacco Candle
freskagirl 1/17/2007 11:06:00 PM
The Claus Porto candles are truly some of the most beautiful I've seen. They are 10.5 ounce soy candles poured in clear glass containers etched with Art Deco designs, and nestled in tissue paper in beautiful gift-worthy boxes (also with Art Deco designs) with magnetized lids. And at $30, they're quite inexpensive compared to many high end candles. Best of all, the scents are gorgeous, and the candles have a strong throw. Tabaco (Tobacco) is a rich, honey-sweet, spicy tobacco scent that reminds me very much of the wonderful Lorenzo Villoresi Tabac room scent.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Candles -Claus Porto - Alface - Almond Candle
freskagirl 1/17/2007 10:49:00 PM
The Claus Porto candles are truly some of the most beautiful I've seen. They are 10.5 ounce soy candles poured in clear glass containers etched with Art Deco designs, and nestled in tissue paper in beautiful gift-worthy boxes (also with Art Deco designs) with magnetized lids. And at $30, they're quite inexpensive compared to many high end candles. Best of all, the scents are gorgeous, and the candles have a strong throw. Alface (Almond) is a powdery almond scent, more on the sweet than the bitter side. I also have and love the Tabaco candle. Next I may buy the Vetyver candle.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Santa Maria Novella - Crema Per Le Mani
freskagirl 1/17/2007 9:41:00 PM
I like this almost as much as the wonderful SMN Pasta di Mandorlo. The texture takes a little bit of getting used to--it's thick and pasty, almost waxy, and takes awhile to absorb. Only a very little bit is needed. The scent is a strong, slightly herbal/floral lemon, and it tends to stick around. I prefer the almond scent of Pasta di Mandorlo. But this cream really does work wonders! I developed what appeared to be some kind of contact eczema on one hand; with just two applications of Crema per le Mani and it disappeared entirely. And it really does seem to work almost immediate magic on my hangnails, too. I love the old school heavy ceramic apothecary jar packaging.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Sonia Rykiel - Rykiel Woman Not for Men Perfume For Women
freskagirl 1/17/2007 9:22:00 PM
I love this stuff despite the hideous bottle and silly name (Not for Men! As if there were droves of men desperately wanting to wear women's perfumes. It's actually the other way around, I think.) This review is for the EDP; I've heard the EDT is much more floral. I'm a pepper-lover, and I get quite a lot of pepper from this at first, then a soft, slightly vanillic leather drydown. Pepper and leather might sound harsh, but this is a soft, indeed rather ladylike (hence the name?) scent. I found my gigantic 4.2 ounce bottle (probably the biggest in my collection) at Marshall's for about $18.00.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Andy Tauer - L'Air du Desert Marocain by Andy Tauer
freskagirl 1/10/2007 11:22:00 PM
I wouldn't have guessed from the listing of notes that this would become a favorite, but this perfume has rocketed to the top of my list. Rather than smelling the individual notes, I get a sense of dryness and slight sweetness tinged with spice. It's beautifully-blended, long-lasting, and truly evocative. It delivers exactly what it promises, and there's not much more I could ask for in a perfume.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Profumum Fumidus
freskagirl 1/10/2007 10:27:00 PM
I didn't like this, but I don't think I hated it as much as the previous two reviewers. The notes made me think of Alan Cumming's eponymous fragrance (well, the scotch note anyway), but it smells nothing like that. It smells like Liquid Smoke added to Maitre Parfumeur et Garnier's Route du Vetiver. MPG's RdV is a great--if really intense--vetiver scent. Adding Liquid Smoke to it is unnecessary and downright icky.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Parfumerie Generale - Cuir Venenum
freskagirl 1/10/2007 10:04:00 PM
It's 1985. I'm in my local album/head shop trying to pick out a Clash album. The hippie that runs it is burning some cheap-smelling fruity incense. I am wearing a brand new Wilson's leather motorcycle jacket and chewing some Grape Bubble Yum. I like everything about this memory...except the scent. Leather and fruit just don't go together (and that goes for Fruit Roll Ups, too.)
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Parfumerie Generale - Coze
freskagirl 1/10/2007 9:57:00 PM
Dark, peppery, dry and dirty. The sweetness in this is a dry and dusty undertone; it is not at all cloying. The pepper smells like a hot red pepper, almost like the pepper in CdG Harissa. I, too, can smell the ashtray accord that another reviewer mentioned (weirdly, I only smell it on the tops of my wrists), but it's somehow pleasant. Definitely a scent to check out if you like perfumes that are dark and/or dry. I haven't liked any of the other PG scents I've sampled, but this one was insta-love.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Lorenzo Villoresi - Vetiver
freskagirl 4/14/2005 1:08:00 PM
Another scent from Lorenzo Villoresi that I love! This is a dry, woodsy vetiver; it's not as citrusy as Guerlain's. I get a lot of the rosewood up front, with some lovely black pepper, and then a delicious, purely vetiver drydown. Gorgeous!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bath Treatments -LUSH - Bollywood Bath Bomb
freskagirl 3/22/2005 5:28:00 PM
I love this spicy new bath bomb! The scent is orange and black pepper, mainly, with a touch of ginger. Turns the water golden-orange. Mine had a leaf of some sort in it, which was a little disconcerting and unexpected. I *think* mine had the candy bindi on it, but it must have melted in the bathwater. Strongly-scented...this is now up there with my other favorite LUSH bombs: Jingle Spells, Avobath, Gingerman, and Big Blue.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -LUSH - Smitten
freskagirl 3/18/2005 12:29:00 PM
Hm...I was as excited as everybody else when I heard about Smitten, but I have to say--and this is from someone who is normally a LUSH fanatic--I'm not that impressed. I find this stuff *very* greasy. I use just a tiny amount and it still takes quite awhile to absorb; not very practical for a hand cream. The scent is lovely--just like Snowcake--but disappears on my skin fairly quickly. Mickswicks.com makes a much better body souffle in a Creamy Marzipan scent that is very close to Snowcake, and that's what I'll buy rather than repurchasing this. [UPDATE: I'm pushing this up from 2 to 4 stars. Yeah, it's greasy, even when I use just a little, but it leaves my hands really soft, and beautifully-scented. The scent of Smitten is slightly more Play-Doughy than Snowcake soap, but still wonderful.]
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Hermes - Poivre Samarcande (Hermessence series)
freskagirl 3/17/2005 7:07:00 PM
I'd say my experience with Poive Samarcande is very similar to helg's. I love peppery scents (Piper Nigrum being my favorite), and this is pure peppery goodness. There's a bit of ambery, spicy warmth to it as well (the skin scent drydown that helg mentions), and I'd love to give it another lippie, but the scent disappears on me very quickly. (For reference, Ambre Narguile is my favorite of the four Hermessences, and it and Vetiver Tonka are the longest-lasting on my skin. Both Poivre Samarcande and Rose Ikebana seem to disappear rather quickly.)
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Hermes - Vetiver Tonka (Hermesessence series)
freskagirl 3/17/2005 7:03:00 PM
An unexpected combination of these two notes, Vetiver Tonka starts out with a sweet vanilla/tonka blast, and then morphs into a lovely, citrusy vetiver. The tonka pretty much disappears on me as it dries down, lending just a slight sweetness to the vetiver. Overall, I find this more of an earthy/fresh scent than a gourmand one--which is fine by me!
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Demeter - Earl Grey Tea Pick-Me-Up Spray
freskagirl 3/17/2005 6:58:00 PM
Hmmmm...I must be drinking the wrong brands of Earl Grey tea, because this stuff smells *just* like Earl Grey to me! I absolutely love the scent. It's more perfumey than true bergamot is, but most Earl Grey teas I've drunk have that slightly perfumey quality. This is a fresh yet comforting scent to me. I'd give this 5 lippies, but as with all Demeters, it lasts about 15 minutes then disappears.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No