Fragrances -Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Perfumes - Jardin du Nil
sands1974 1/22/2007 6:15:00 PM
I think this is a beautiful scent and a wonderful way for a man to smell. There is something indeed tangy, sour, almost cloying about it (which does indeed not sound appealing and may indeed seem "off") but it keeps me coming back for more. The strange and wondrous thing about perfume for me is the way it can transport me, and after realizing that the disagreed with the previous reviewers I simply came to understand that something in my lived experience connects with this perfume in memory...maybe hiding under the bushes as a child feeling safe and looking up at the sky through the leaves and branches. Somehow peaceful, tranquil etc...it also has the affect of transporting me to what I imagine an Egyptian garden could smell like...unfortunately I have never had the experience of visiting one...I think this one is a question of taste. One more thing, a sales assistant that has suggested all manner of things to me, such as Jardin Blanc from MPG and Fendi classic perfume for women, brought me to this one. I am also influenced by the fact that Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, a perfumer I hold in high esteem, is especially interested in the scents of MPG and Jean LaPorte's virtual revival of a 17th century tradition in perfumery. These perfumes are simply evocative, and the geranium in this mind spans my mind from Spanish appreciations to my beloved and ultra stylish Grandmother June...Jardin du Nil is a little blessing and a jewel to me and should indeed at least be sampled (the best effect by the way imho comes from really immersing yourself in the perfume, or any perfume, from the bottle itself, assuming that it is a spray...).
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Mona di Orio--Oiro edp
sands1974 12/18/2006 5:51:00 PM
This to me is a gorgeous, ethereal, delicate but yet robust perfume in the tradition of Napa Valley Boheme...Mona di Orio's perfumes have been tricky for me because of what I see as slick and almost pretentious marketing--the packaging however is an exercise in almost pure luxury and I do love it, the boxes and the bottles. I would call myself a big fan of Mona di Orio and though admittedly sheepishly said, also a fan of the mystique surrounding her, as if by consorting with her perfumes we are reaching back into Istory, such as that of Roudnitska and Beaux before him, an Istorical line is being traced with Mona as its current incarnation. Oiro is di Orio's fourth perfume, after Lux, Carnation, and Nuit Noire...and in my opinion it is her best yet. Oiro means "Gold" in Portuguese, and to me this is a golden, vibrant light green (almost a tad neon-ish light green) perfume. Very contemporary and classical at the same time. Notes include (from the Mona di Orio website): Head: Green mandarin from Calabre, sweet pea, spices. Heart: Absolu jasmin from India, Oliban from Somalia, heliotrope, vetyver from Haiti, ylang ylang from the Comores. Base: Immortelle flower from Spain, cedarwood, musc, amber. The green mandarin is something I have never smelled in perfume before, and it is a zesty kind of bergamot citrussy smell that is most invigorating, mood lifting even. The rest of the perfume unfolds with fascinating surprises, like the sweet pea note mixed with spices in the top notes, oh just reading the list of notes gets the brain and senses working, a truly unusual combination. Knowing Immortelle flower only from Annick Goutal Sables and Victoire Gobin-Daude's Biche Dans L'Absinthe, I am surprised and pleased to find its pasty light brownness in the base mixed with cedarwood (to me the smell of the goddesses and gods) and di Orio's trademark amber and musc base mixture. This is the reason why I like French perfumes, and even perfumes like Boheme that have these same evocative qualities (by I believe perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, I believe to my knowledge the best the USA has to offer in perfumers:) create and strike a similar chord with me, HUMYN PERFUMES. The beauty of this Mona di Orio creation is that it even has a kind of dirtyness I find in all of her perfumes, like the smeared palette of paints used by Francois Boucher or even Rembrandt (or some darkness thrown into the Boucher) ...it's like we are getting a glimpse of the process and product with di Orio, and they have managed (I believe with the cooperation of her Dutch business partner Jeroen Oude Sogtoen) to raise a sort of fortress or even ivory tower which has at times elitist tones but manages to really scream the buttery envelopping gourmand richness of French perfume. Brava Mona! Inspiring...my only gripe is that on my skin I cannot smell the perfume and it's sillage yet enough, but this is my first day with a new bottle and I plan to strategically apply to get the desired effect, must be possible...As a ps. the pure white jasmine from India used in this perfume is supposed to match Grasse jasmine somehow in its exquisite qualties......
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Aftelier cacao
sands1974 6/17/2006 8:35:00 AM
Simply, and apologies for a review lacking in content, but this is a holy grail for me...cacao and jasmine (neroli?)...BEAUTIFUL and complex, fbw for sure, price not withstanding. I really like Mandy Aftel's style, somehow "US American", very particular, refined, evocative...this for me is a sort of tropical chocolate mmmmm Amazing.....wearable and doesn't make me "hungry" in a negative way the way some cheaper chocolate scented candles do, this is a Perfume. More later....thank you Mandy!
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Fragrances -Parfums M.Micallef - Night Aoud edp
sands1974 6/9/2006 5:16:00 PM
Ah, my first aoud perfume (in my collection full bottle wise), this is a hard review to write because I am in love. How can one write about such a gorgeous perfume where the mustiness of aoud is so beautifully done? If I didn't know better I would claim this was a soli-bois ;)(instead of a soliflore). Some have called aoud medicinal, and in the line of Montale parfums it has that tendency (which I ADORE)--but in Martine Micallef's line aoud is given an elegant treatment, I haven't had the chance to sample Rose Aoud from Micallef or her original Aoud perfume, but I am guessing they have the same refinement that I smell in this creation. This is a powdery, fungal wood bending under hot sun, but making for a fragrance which to me is like skin oozing with pheromones--its like a hot snake slithering in the sand to me. This is a hard review to write because I am unable to pick out the notes except that I know there is a high concentration of aoud, the other notes and spices would be just guesses...cinnamon? How embarrassing. Maybe someone above can help me? Simply a holy grail for me and a beautiful bottle (light blue swarovski crystals!), beautiful packaging and a BEAUTIFUL scent. Thank you Martine Micallef.
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Fragrances -Montale - Blue Amber
sands1974 6/9/2006 5:04:00 PM
I am falling hard for Montale, their whole line, the incredibly stylish EDP line for women and men and the unisex scents, and the incomparable Aoud line...their newest fragrance, Blue Amber edp, has my bowled off my feet again. On the Fourseasonsproducts website I finally see the notes described: hesperides as topnotes which give an orangey swash or zing through the whole composition, combined with Italian bergamot and bourbon geranium, followed by a heart of coriander (a note exciting me lately), patchouli (always a favorite) and vetiver (a classic everlasting). With base notes of finest amber and vanilla extrait. This is one of my favorite "cup" scents, when I can follow, with my nose, the edge the sides and down into a delicious scented bottom of a fictive cup shape, super exciting to me. This amber is pure sex, and as an aside, it's fascinating how when talking to people about perfumes the details cannot avoid getting intimate in the best ways. Blue Amber is now my favorite amber scent, rivalling IPdF's Ambra del Nepal, etc. Sweet, sleek and lovely. The Montale image to me is classic, timeless and contemporary at the same time. It just makes sense to me. I think of a blue egyptian lotus when I think of this perfume.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Andrée Putman Préparation Parfumée
sands1974 6/9/2006 6:55:00 AM
The nose behind this very pretty edc is Olivia Giacobetti, and like all of her creations that I am familiar with it has a beautiful, impressionistic aqueous feel to it. Notes of pepper, wood (wet wood, driftwood, wood after the rain), coriander and waterlily. Buzzwords from First-in-Fragrance: serenity, discretion, clear harmony, energy, modernity, curiousity. The rather aqueous feel to the cologne reminds me slightly of "En Passant" from Frederic Malle, and Olivia Giacobetti's style, although not my own passion, is one I am beginning to appreciate more and more. This fragrance has helped me to appreciate coriander as a note, and is making me hunker for Jean Couturier's Coriandre for instance. For women or for men (and stated even for children), this scent is "clean cut" and perhaps even a little too contemporary for my tastes (heavy, syrupy animalic perfumes) but nevertheless noteworthy imo. I think Olivia Giacobetti has a lot of integrity and is obviously a perfumer of consummate skill. Like most of her creations this one in its present concentration does not have a lot of sillage and becomes a skin scent, envelopping the wearer. A fragrance with layers, from the crackling pepper topnote enhanced by the coriander leaf accord, leading down into a driftwood accord (I cannot place the wood note yet)and the beautiful serene fragrant waterlily. Smelling this for me is like finding a secluded pond or accumulation of water in a forest on a spring/summer/fall day, breathing in crisp air and visualizing the entire scene and being able to feel the edges and depths of the water, the surrounding wood, especially the floral growth, fresh bubbling smell and cupped edge layers floating up--the coriander and pepper frame the picture. Mary Cassatt?
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Satellite Padparadscha
sands1974 6/8/2006 9:53:00 AM
The first sandalwood I actually ADORE. Padparadscha is the sexiest perfume I have smelled in a long time, perhaps what Frederic Malle's Musc Ravageur had wanted to be (read orange-y sexy musk/skin scent). I would call it more than anything "biting", a fragrance you can really sink your teeth into, undoubtedbly suited equally for a woman or a man, sexy on anyone I can think of and not overly stylish or exhibiting pretense...genuine. The notes have been described beautifully below, I can only add that this perfume (and it is edp, 100 ml at a Great price) is worth it, no hype, a true gem, and indeed rather a skin scent. The notes (amber, musk, cedar, sandalwood, juniper, pepper) balance each other beautifully, making this also especially an accessible scent, very pleasing, not difficult imo. It is a scent that says "yes" to me, it's encouraging somehow and despite an oriental quality works for me in hot weather too. Indeed, the amber is not very present to my nose but acts as a soft counterpart to the orange-y spiciness which to me comes from the cedar, juniper (fresh and bracing) and pepper overlaying the musk and sandalwood which keep me sniffing my body where sprayed. I haven't been this intrigued by a pepper scent since Caron's Coup de Fouet (pepper leading into carnation). A keeper. I like the accessibility, the oomph from the spices, and especially that musk/sandalwood combination which makes for a perfume that enhances my skin, does not feel artificial and is "pleasant" in the best possible way without being boring. An happy Smile! full of promise...
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Maria Amalia edp
sands1974 5/14/2006 6:23:00 PM
At first I thought I was being sold a "snob product", being offered a primeur, the first person in The Netherlands to buy this new perfume...Maria Amalia made me think of the royal family's new baby Amalia, and the press release regaled a tale of the strident, courageous Maria Amalia...what was this new perfume from Italy? Being offered a strange ornate bottle, sitting there with pale yellow juice amidst all the other great offerings at Shu Uemura in Amsterdam, the SA Karien looking at me expectantly to see what I thought...it was not an immediate blooming WOW but a more introverted sense of being transported...the packaging imagery conveys tales of maidens and fighters, courtly love, fin-de-siecle romantic imagery, neo-classical painting...and I must say that the imagery fits the fragrance quite nicely: Top notes of cardamom balm, and aromatic gingerroot, Heart notes of may rose flower, cinammon leaves and powder of the nutmeg nut, and in the Base myrrhe, resin of incense, rosewood and patchouli wood. All of this calls to mind forest imagery for me, skin and erotic smells of love, something precious and intimate and earthy and organic. The smell itself is slightly bizarre, but captivating, my husband said "What...?!" when he first smelled it, and has now come to regard it as quite special.It is resinous and slightly sweet somehow, almost irritatingly seductive, something that calls you but keeps moving away, a true perfume challenge. Overall a decadent and strange perfume, and one that I would liken to Josephine from Rance 1795, not in the way it smells but in the extraordinary complexity and strangeness and refinement of its compositon and effect: the incense is very present as is the woody undertone, the patchouli is soft but balanced and persistent, and the spices (cardamom, gingerroot, cinnamon leaves and nutmeg nut powder) seem to complement and uplift the may rose in a similar way as hawthorne blossoms balance the compositon of Josephine... Overall a winner in my book, a stunner, and a keeper. An impulse purchase that I feel (now, after the fact) confident about, a rare Resinous perfume (not flowery despite the rose at all). I want to classify this as a dry woods perfume: arid, sultry, brooding, firey, earthy--I hope to see more reviews of this to test my interpretations against those of others. This is a perfume for discussion (on all levels, including the rare fact that it seems to come almost from nowhere, internet yields little result on its origins). An enigma?
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Fragrances -Rochas - Femme
sands1974 2/27/2006 6:12:00 PM
I am in love with Femme and think that Edmund Roudnitska is now my favorite historical perfumer. Femme is rich, round, and plummy, only sorry that this is an edt that I have and that it has been reorchestrated--when I get a vintage bottle I will try to add to this review. For now this is an HG scent, along with Bandit from Piguet, Carnation from Mona di Orio, Biche Dans L'Absinthe and Seve Exquise from Gobin Daude, and Minuit from Dawn Spencer Hurwitz--and two more, Keiko Mecheri's Myrrhe et Merveilles and La Nuit from Paco Rabanne. This is the category that Femme falls into for me. Hope you enjoyed reading this list (always love to see what's intriguing people). Femme is like a devilled prune with orange coulis/sauce opening up a hole via my skin to my soul. It is, like all Roudnitska's creations, one of the most unusual perfumes I have ever smelled, and it opens my mind and makes me happy and uplifted.
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Fragrance -Guerlain - Mouchoir de Monsieur
sands1974 12/11/2005 7:18:00 AM
The only Aromatic/Fougere as yet in my collection, I bought this one to learn from. Wrote that I would buy it again, but not sure, it depends on how my collection deepens with time...The opening citrus accord reminds me of both Diorella (and therefore Eau Sauvage) from Dior and Rose d'Homme from Les Parfums de Rosine. Definitely a refined, sophisticated fragrance, a pleasure to experience as it is so spot on in its take on masculinity at the beginning of the last century, fascinating to me where other men's scents leave me cold. Perhaps a sort of Rudolph Valentino scent, with Brylcremed hair and moustache, it's actually a lilting fragrance. I do agree with frenchy below who describes the chlorine/bleach undertone in this in the drydown, something about how the vanilla mixes with the other basenotes listed (thank you!) in Dunanda Falls' review. I would certainly suggest this to fragrance connoisseurs who want to explore the Aromatic/Fougere family of fragrances, one I often personally find a mish mash of the other fabulous families--sort of reminds me of digestion of a fine meal in a both off putting and at the same time seductive way (!), a sort of Dinner by Bobo idea of a meal/scent that is both uplifting and comforting, a skin scent that would work well in most weather, and is actually quite discrete (maybe a bit TOO discrete for my tastes, which normally run towards heavy unusual "feminine" scents)--nevertheless and all said, a fascinating piece of history and IMHO a grand landmark, helping me to appreciate yet another facet of Guerlain. BTW I love the Jicky reference in the review below, must be the lavender and fresh notes, slightly different than Jicky but one could see the element of time and fashion involved in the creation. Strangely enough, this one could have been worn by Salvador Dali, a fabulous perfume supporter in his own right, without a problem. Glorious and worth checking out.
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Fragrances -Paco Rabanne - La Nuit
sands1974 11/14/2005 5:54:00 PM
Luca Turin loves it, my friend Semira sent me the blog link, and now I love it too...even with all the much more expensive fragrances in my collection, the niche items, this fragrance makes me happy and keeps me coming back. Scenteur7 on basenotes lists the notes as: Citrus, Basil, Rose, Oakmoss, Honeyed Woods, Leather, Patchouli. A gorgeous combination and a fine patchouli use. Can be had for around 10 dollars in the 30 ml size excluding shipping (in the USA, have not found on a European website). Worth more. Classic 80's, released in 1985 and supposedly discontinued...Class. "From Spanish designer Paco Rabanne, who has dressed stars such as Jane Fonda and Raquel Welch, comes La Nuit, a rich chypre scent from 1985. Threaded with citrus, basil, rose, oakmoss, and honeyed woods, La Nuit achieves mellow depth with the earthy aroma of leather and patchouli. A classic chypre fragrance, La Nuit is sensual and sophisticated. In French, "la nuit" means "the night." Indeed, La Nuit is a lovely, full-bodied fragrance, perfect for elegant evening wear. "© From Jan Moran's review in Fabulous Fragrances II La Nuit Is Classified As A Luxurious, Woody, Arid Fragrance. (fragrancex). Michael Edwards classifies it as a rich "dry woods" fragrance in Fragrances of the World... http://lucaturin.typepad.com/perfume_notes/2005/09/la_nuit_paco_ra.html see this link for the review that got me hooked.
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Fragrances -Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Perfumes - Jardin Blanc
sands1974 10/11/2005 2:28:00 PM
I think I have found my first holy grail....in the most unexpected way and the most unexpected of fragrance categories: white flowers, jasmine and tuberose to be more precise. Nestled away in the corner of Amsterdam's Shu Uemura, trusty SA Carien has done it once again, saw me sniffing the pure Jasmin from MPG and produced the only product I had not yet smelled: Jardin Blanc. The name would not draw me, the fragrance family would not draw me, nothing about this fragrance had me written all over it. But it is the strangest fragrance experience I have ever had. My nose has been developing over the past year's quest into fragrance, and the one thing I thought I could not wear was white florals. Too intense, heady, headache inducing on me. But this one is a stunner. A perfect fragrance blending jasmine, honeysuckle (finally discovered honeysuckle in a perfume!), tuberose and lilac, with a vetiver and tolu base, adding spicy sweetness and earthy grounding...the stems leaves and roots of the plants...The reason I am writing this review is that I thought it was the worst fragrance decision purchase I have ever made, but now realized that I had simply just stepped outside of myself and discovered something so close to me that I was ignoring it--Mandy Aftel describes how jasmine is an antidepressant and aphrodisiac, and I think she must be right. No matter how much I spray it on it just blends right in with my chemistry and being, it FEELS like me. Notes in composition from Aedes.com: The enchantment of jasmine, honeysuckle and tubereuse. Flowery. Top Note: Mandarin, myrtle, leafy green; Middle Note: Ylang-ylang, clove, jasmine; Base Note: Sandalwood, tolu, vetiver. It is a beautiful and ethereal composition, the highest chakra, and for someone who shies away from white clothes and tight high end fitting garments I think I've finally found something I would have never thought to add to my collection, something that has taken me by surprise, it doesn't scream or shout, it simply says "me".
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Fragrances -Les Parfums de Rosine - Rose de Rosine
sands1974 6/28/2005 6:25:00 PM
My favorite rose ever, period. Evanescent, ethereal, just perfect. A true beauty that deserves to be sampled. A tip because the staying power is somehow medium at times (but give it a try to see how it reacts to you, please): under armpits (!) with non scented deo or so and then on the armpits and inner sleeves of your blouse or shirt. Gives you and others pleasure. Just please seek it out and see what you think for yourself. A true beauty, queen of perfumes. Top notes: Violet, marigold, ylang-ylang, rose. Heart notes: rose, jasmine, iris. Base notes: tonka bean, benzoin resin, Peruvian balsam (musk). [4 exquisite sorts roses: from Bulgaria, Damascus, Turkey, and Greece...all French-ly concentrated and genius scientist mixed!] Mmmmmmmm.
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Fragrance -Les Parfums de Rosine - Rose d'Homme
sands1974 5/16/2005 3:35:00 PM
The male rose (rose for men), this one is just about as beautiful as they come!! Roses, lavender, vetiver...a tremendous mix. Add (info from luscious cargo website...):as a topnote symphony lemon, bergamot, and precious woods (all clearly present to my nose), then heart notes of hay and lavender (also there), followed by a base of superior unclassifiable rose blended with patchouli and the vetiver...so delicious and superior that I spray the backs of my hands before sleep to keep this next to us in bed. Luscious cargo lists the perfumer as Francois Robert, and not directly Marie-Heine Rogeon, but I take it they're working together to develop the line. I do not yet know Francois Robert's other works and would be grateful if anyone on MUA can assist me...I'll be looking. The best feature possibly of this smashing scent is that it is an eau de parfum, with 20% juice, and for someone used to only finding pleasure in the section labeled "scents for women" which was fine by me, finally there is a breakthrough perfume made for men with the exquisite qualities that make women's perfumes so irresistable and attractive. The staying power is good and it seems to be sort of a skin scent, a good friend here on MUA suggested a thin layer of vaseline on wrists and inner elbows to help retain the scent. In the hair and under the arms (not too heavy here!), chest and back of neck and knees is a full treatment. This stuff is pure gorgeous IMO...I'm in love with all the Rosines, and this one and Folie de Rose have my fullest attention. Rose d'Homme would work good in all weather and occasions to my nose and sense and the lavender (and vetiver) make it truly comforting and relaxing. It has all the invigorating elements of a summer field (and in the winter it could warm you in the beautiful snow and ice) with the sizzling hot and cool sexiness of the sun and moon (and stars) in the sky...heaven and earth. Needless to say this one is now my HG signature scent...(has got me reconsidering the use of aftershaves and a wish that, like Villoresi, Rogeon might extend her male line...finally male toiletries extended to the highest level of perfume art, classic fresh lemon/bergamot/woods, vetiver and lavender strewn through glorious rose with just the right hay heart and patchouli drydown to keep it interesting!). Overall simply otherworldly. EDIT: For total correctness thus far, here are the notes as they are listed on Aedes.com, I'm wondering which the correct version is as I tend to agree with the first description I found above...Top Notes: bergamot, citrus, patchouli, vetiver. Heart Notes: vanilla, lavender, leather. Base Notes: jasmine, mandarin, rose.
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Fragrances -Gobin Daudé Parfums - Jardins Ottomans
sands1974 5/16/2005 8:13:00 AM
I'm writing a rare review for something I wouldn't repurchase but which intrigues me nevertheless. What I love so much about Victoire Gobin Daude's perfumes is that her descriptions of her products seem to match the qualtities of the perfumes exactly. I find them truly artistic and they paint pictures for me. I believe that the description of this one has been very adequately detailed below, so I won't repeat it except to say red earth and orange trees, a spicy orange fragrance with a lemony bite. I am not a huge fan of orange fragrances but this is the best I've smelled. Another unusual point for me of Gobin Daude perfumes is that although they are edt they seem to have very good lasting power on me, I've discovered especially that this one lasts in my hair, I can smell it the whole day when it's spritzed there. It's cooling, soothing, sunny and uplifting. I love the description below of this one being edible, and I agree (can't say it better than the reviewer below!). Mysterious and brilliant, these perfumes should not be discontinued, they are true masterpieces and due to a high price perhaps, lack of commercial success and backing (?) is forcing them to stop production. They are already fairly difficult to locate. I personally would love to see what Victoire Gobin Daude would continue to develop if she stayed around on the market for longer and I sincerely hope we haven't seen the last of her in the perfume world. Thank you for Jardins Ottomans and the other 4 as a reinvestiture of my belief in fragrance as a luxury which is not a luxury.
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