Fragrances -Comme des Garcons - Red Series- Sequoia
zhoya 10/20/2005 2:29:00 PM
Still hoping to learn to love this fragrance, I continue to be disappointed. I LOVE hamstercage! I LOVE redwood forests! I LOVE cedar and pine and indeed anything coniferous... so why am I not loving Sequoia? On me the wood is overwhelmed by the resin (and yes, usually I love resin too)-- but in this incarnation, the resin has top notes of cat pee, middle notes of yerba mate, and base notes of intense pine NEEDLES. Not that there's anything wrong with green needles. Just that I really wanted this concoction to be more WOOD and less green. Have yet to meet a wood that does cedar so well as Ginestat Les Boise and the original hamstercage/lumbermill, the incomparable Gucci Rush. So I'll keep working on this now and then-- it is not an unpleasant scent. But if you're looking for the wood of the forest rather than the needles, this may not be the one for you.
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Fragrances -Annick Goutal - Eau de Lavande
zhoya 8/26/2005 3:12:00 AM
Okay, coming out of long reclusiveness because I need to put in a good word for this ignored little jewel. I've had and loved it for years-- and yes, I bought another bottle. A beautifully crafted lavender with edges that have been smoothed with the tiniest hint of vanilla. Clarifying, calming, soothing, close to the skin, sensual. Smells great on my lover too- a non-gendered scent. A complex, sophisticated, intelligent version of a lovely traditional scent. Okay, yes, I said sophisticated; but it also makes one yearn for a roll in the hay.
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Fragrances -Diesel - Green
zhoya 5/9/2004 10:32:00 PM
This is an odd one-- I'm commenting on the "masculine" version. The top notes are in-your-face lime. At first whiff I thought "boring after-shave" but within about a minute the spices began coming out, sharply and intensely. I sense a strong medicinal note here, in some ways reminiscent of comme de garcons, but much milder. Drydown leaves one with a most pleasant warm scent very similar to Creed Tabarome. Indeed, the entire scent is much like a Tabarome "light." It is milder and not as long lasting, but a quite pleasant fragrance on it's own. I couldn't find the notes but my guess is that it contains clove, ginger, anise, cedar, lavender, patchouly, tonka, with the previously mentioned overwhelming but fortunately fleeting topnote of lime.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Scrubs -Osmotics - Sugar Scrub Body Exfoliant
zhoya 2/3/2004 11:05:00 PM
My full-size tub has a good proportion of oil to sugar. ( I wonder if the other reviewer here got a bad sample)The scent is a bit sharp- sort of a lemony juniper smell. Results are why I would buy this again-- my skin feels divine.
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Fragrances -Creed - Tabarome Millesime
zhoya 12/17/2003 3:14:00 PM
This is a unique scent,distinctive and lovely. While I don't usually like any floral notes, the tobacco in tabarome provides the perfect balance. The drydown is delicious and long-lasting, unlike other Creed's. It is so definite and distinctive, conferring a sense of strength, elegance, and intelligence that it is most definitely not for the shy, cautious, or traditional.
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Fragrances -Jo Malone - Black Vetyver Café Cologne
zhoya 11/22/2003 4:20:00 AM
Okay, I said yes, I would buy this... but only because I will go thru it so quickly. As noted by all reviewers so far, it is indeed ephemeral. I'm going to try putting it on over some unscented lotion tomorrow and see if that helps. It is indeed lovely; goes quickly thru coffee, vetiver, earh, to a faint, sweet/earth smell. About 15 minutes start to finish, but OH THEY ARE LOVELY MINUTES!
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Fragrances -Loewe - DINNER by bobo
zhoya 11/10/2003 12:28:00 AM
Meat enchiladas with a side of Coke, served by a sweaty waiter. I can see that it might appeal as it is quite unique, but it never developed into anything further than the entree for me.
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Fragrances -Annick Goutal - eau d'Hadrien
zhoya 11/4/2003 4:28:00 PM
This is one of my favorites-- and I guess I must be very "masculine" whatever people take that too mean, because most of my favorite scents are described that way by folks posting here. I'm not sure what "masculine" means, as it has different connotations to each person, but I think people mean "not sweet." And yes, Hadrien is "not sweet," but certainly not sour either. And definitely not lemon pledge, though maybe the woody notes make people associate it with furniture? That said, it is lovely, confident, fresh, and clean with a scent of lemon, bergamot, fresh air,and green- from the cypress, I believe. It is much more complex than a Fresh Sugar for instance, and the dry down is delicious. It changes over the hours, with the woody notes becoming slightly more prominent as the day wears on. I love to carry a small roll-on with me to revive my spirits when I'm flagging. It is defintely a cool rather than a warm scent.
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Fragrances -Annick Goutal - Sables
zhoya 11/1/2003 4:38:00 PM
This is a new one for me, and very different from my other Goutal scents. This is a more Serge Lutens kind of scent. I've only been wearing it a day, so maybe my opinion will change... So far, it is complex, sweet but in a deep dark way, reminiscent of maple syrup, but not at all cloying. The dry down has been delicious, and lovely with my skin. It is softer than my first whiff- which was just a bit overwhelming. This is just a lovely soft unique fall scent. It is warm, earthy, and comforting. Similarities to SL fumerie turque (which I adore!), but quieter; for me turque blazes with a deep heart while this more gently sustains. More like walks in the autumn woods,sparks popping from a low fire while it's raining outside, whispering with your lover in the night.
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Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Fumerie Turque
zhoya 11/1/2003 4:06:00 PM
Yes, yes, yes! Powerful, sensual, confident. Oh my, yes!!!! Like Victoria F, I find the initial tobacco smoke is a bit much for me, but just wait... so complex, so unique, conjures and inspires a communing with spirit (your own, the Great, others.) And perfect for the fall with it's fullness and earthiness. **** Damn! I've figured out that this is what's been givng me nauseating, sinus-type headaches... and it was so lovely... but definitely take this for a test drive.
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Fragrances -Kenzo - Jungle L'Elephant EDP
zhoya 11/1/2003 2:29:00 PM
This one I'm not quite sure if I'd buy again, though it is indeed lovely and unique. It reminds me of something and I can't yet place it... It is softer than my usual favorites, spicey, sweet without being cloying. The bottle itself is worth the price, though-- the shape of the glass, the elegant lines, the simplicity, and, of course, the elephant. Definitely glad I have it, but not sure how often I'll wear it. For some reason, along with all the "exotic" aura, it still reminds me a little bit of "old lady perfume" on the dry down.
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Fragrances -L'Artisan Fragrances - Mechant Loup
zhoya 10/30/2003 2:31:00 PM
I have to come down in the "love it" group, though this is one I had to try a few times to make up my mind. But who could resist the mystique of an evil wolf? I was lured, caught, and captivated by the wolf.I hate using word like "masculine" and "feminine" to describe scents (I'm a sociologist) but do understand that most understand these words to mean "not sweet" versus "sweet or flowery." So this scent is "not sweet" (though my SO at first whiff said "too sweet," which I think is kind of funny, because whenever I wear it, he says "mmmmmm...deliciosa.")Enticing, intense, intelligently complex, intriguing, not subtle, not sweet.It does conjure up feelings of something slightly dangerous but irresistable lurking nearby. Makes me feel sexy, confident, very smart. Definitely a keeper, and definitely not for sheep-- the wolf is not timid, but sly.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Chergui
zhoya 10/20/2003 11:55:00 PM
It's all been said about this exquisitely sensual scent. But I noticed I'd never reviewed it, and as once of my very favorites, this is an oversight that must be righted. Deliriously erotic, deep, heady, sweet, addictive... And for those of you who like a little more spice than sweetness, try layering a bit of Villoresi piper negrum with this... and just wait--- I promise, even if you're initially overwhelmed, this dries down to something wondrous.
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Fragrances -Diptyque - Elide (Eau d"Elide)
zhoya 10/6/2003 8:47:00 PM
An odd fragrance to rate... and for some reason I think I love it. Not much staying power, but I do get all the scents it claims-- bitter orange, lavender, etc, and I too get a brown sugary kind of smell. But definitely not too sweet. Not sure if I'll buy it again, but it is definitely unique, which I like.
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Fragrances -Diptyque - L Autre
zhoya 10/6/2003 8:43:00 PM
A huge thumbs down... sounded intriguing but thank goodness I bought a sample from ebay. Like your house would smell if you had a huge curry fry-up and then left it out to rot, with all your doors and windows closed, for 3 days. Does that sound bad enough? It is. Edited 10/21... okay, what's up with this? My lover finds this intriguing, and identified curry, cardamom, cumin... made me keep smelling it til I admitted it was interesting if you let your nose ripen to it. I still get a strong odor of sweaty armpit with this, and I notice my SO left it here rather than taking it home, but I now acknowledge that this is not as simple as I'd thought at first whiff.
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