The Powdery Perfumes fairy alit on my shoulder last week, rustled her wings, and whispered in my ear, “Lorenzo Villoresi Alamut”. I stopped typing and looked up. Alamut? I remembered trying it sometime last fall. It was all right: warm, vaguely oriental, and powdery, but I wasn’t inspired to try it more than once. Surely I still had that vial somewhere?
I fished through my drawer of samples and came up with a 3 ml spray of Alamut and put some on right away. It was fabulous! Alamut felt like the olfactory equivalent of a down comforter with an amber silk velvet cover. It was elegant, beautifully blended, and inspired me to tidy up my hair and put on lipstick. I spent the rest of the afternoon with my forearm pressed against my nose. By noon the next day the vial of Alamut, plus another tiny sample I found of it, were gone and I was on a powder rampage.
I wanted powder perfumes that weren’t too sweet, but anchored by amber or wood. I remembered my decant of Kenzo Flower Oriental. Perfect! Not quite Alamut, but its blend of powder and incense was similar. I sprayed on at least twice as much as I ever had before. But wait! Here was my bottle of Caron Parfum Sacré. It has incense and powder, too! But as much as I adore Parfum Sacré it didn’t have quite enough powder and the pepper was too distracting for my mood. However, sitting right next to it was a big bottle of Molinard Habanita. When the Flower Oriental wore off, I Habanita-ed myself up and down.
“You smell like my grandma,” one of my friends said as we waited on our bicycles at a stoplight later that day. I told her that I’d been gorging myself on powdery scents and didn’t seem to be able to stop. (The “grandma” comment hardly offends me anymore, by the way.) “Do you have PMS?” she asked. “It sounds hormonal.” It was strange that I craved powdery scents now, just as the weather was heating up. I hadn’t been especially attracted to powder before. Give me leather, incense, the murky Caron base, a cloud of oakmoss any day, but not powder. Besides that, my usual hormonal cravings run more toward macaroni and cheese.
I’m not sure how long my powder binge will last. By the time this posts, the powder fairy may have flown off to the more fruitful haunts of the dressers of 12-years olds and the fancy apartments of elderly Parisian ladies. In the meantime, though, have any of you ever been suddenly seized by a type of scent that you never considered as “your” kind of perfume? What the heck is this all about? But more importantly for me at the moment, what do you think of the Eau de Parfum version of Alamut, and would you recommend it over the Eau de Toilette?
Note: image shows the "Fairy Glitter Powder Puff", available at mysticalfairies.co.uk or playtoyshops.
Oh, Angela… could you have a bun in the oven?! I am 6 months pregnant and all I am craving is powdery scents! It started a couple of months ago and I can't stop. Now I will have to search out this Alamut. I was never about the powder but now I am. My husband has been saying “I know you're having a baby, but do you need to smell like one too?” They say powder for men is the biggest scent turn off… and I think they may be right!
Me, pregnant? Nope, but you did give me a little scare. (Although I've been having the weirdest dreams at night, too, come to think of it.) Congratulations to you, though! I wonder how your perfume cravings will change once the baby comes? Diane of Dragonfly Scent Me went crazy for perfume the second she stopped breast feeding. Hey, maybe you'll finally find your HG!
I've heard that Teint de Neige (another Villoresi) packs in a lot of powder, but I've never tried that one.
A-
I too have recently begun to love powdery scents, which is probably very out of the ordinary for a man, but what can I tell ya? And Alamut is a big love of mine. I fell in love with it during Sniffapalooza this past spring. Its a stunning composition. And FM's Iris Poudre is another powdery scent that I just adore.
Great review!
-MD
Oh yeah, I can relate. My most recent 'fume binge was iris scents. Before that it was leather. I have never craved powdery fragrances, but having read your post, never say never, heh, heh!
Teint de Neige? Total powder, babe. Go for it while the feeling lasts!
Hugs!
Angela–
Perfume cravings are funny like that, aren't they? I went on a rose rampage yesterday, put on Ce Soir ou Jamais, Rose Essentielle, and Fleurs de Bulgarie on all at once. And even then it *still* wasn't enough. I usually don't *wear* roses a whole lot, once every few months, if that. I felt a little crazy. Maybe something in the air?
Anywho, I really enjoyed Alamut myself. But have you tried Maquillage (Armando Martinez?) My new powdery lemm. Literally inspired by face powder. Found at Aus Liebe zum Duft.
OMG, I forgot about Teinte de Neige! TOTAL POWDER there, too!
Hi Angela! Well, I'm neither a 12-year-old girl nor an elderly Parisian lady (nor pregnant, lol!), but I'm a deeply devoted powder-lover. My favorite is Lorenzo Villoresi's Teint de Neige, pure powder heaven with rose petals and bits of heliotrope, but I also adore Keiko Mecheri's Loukhoum and Cadolle Le 9. My latest lemming is one of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz's new scents, simply called Powder.
Oh yes, Iris Poudre! Another beauty. You must smell like heaven itself.
Did you try the EdP of Alamut? It seems like the EdT has pretty good lasting power, but of course I'm curious about the EdP.
I've got to try Teint de Neige now! When I order my bottle of Alamut (it's starting to seem inevitable now) I'll ask for a sample of TdN.
Iris and leather. Both so gorgeous. I can completely imagine losing my head to them.
Must try! I wonder if it's too sweet? I like the ambery, woody feel of Alamut.
It's so strange to be seized with the need to smell something to the point where you just want to drink it down.
I've heard of Maquillage, and I was really curious about it. I think I just read something about it at Perfume Shrine. Thanks for the recommendation! I bet the combination of Lipstick Rose and Maquillage–one of each arm–would be great.
O.K., another vote for Teint de Neige. It goes to the top of the list!
I love it that you love powder. It's such a maligned note these days, it seems. Let's bring it back!
Mmmmm…I *adore* powdery scents, always have. They never fail to invoke an old-fashioned elegance, reminiscent of a simpler, more beautiful time. Yeah, I too find that they are very unpopular with my age group, who always dismiss them as “old-lady”-ish, but of course, their being a little out of fashion just makes me love them even more! I'm curious to try the Alamut now- nice review! For me, the supreme powdery scent will always and forever be my beloved L'Heure Bleue. And a newer one I'm mad for is Fifi Chachnil. And yes ,I totally know what you mean, Angela, about developing sudden affections for fragrances you don't normally like! I've been really liking- of all things!- some ozonic and marine-inspired scents this summer. Absolutely not my thing normally, but in the awful heat and humidity, they really do seem refreshing and clean. I've been wearing Acqua di Gio by Armani and 360 by Perry Ellis…*shrug*, lol…
Powder scents can definitely be sort of retro, but that's a big part of their appeal to me–and it sounds like to you, too. Like one of the scents mentioned in a comment above, Maquillage. Doesn't that name sound divine–glamourous but tender? And I really do love L'Heure Bleue.
Ozonic scents! I'd be surprised if it happened to me, too, but after this powder binge I'm like violetnoir and never saying never…
What fun reading this! I hate powder with a passion, so I'll add my vote for Teint de Neige. The second you see me blogging about how much I love Teint de Neige you'll know that the end of the earth is nigh.
Let me also recommend Demeter's Baby Powder, which is cheap, easy to get (buy one of their giant samples for $5 or something similar) and reminds me a lot of TdN.
My biggest change: after months of searching for increasingly outre perfumes, I realized I didn't own a single easy “comfort scent” and eventually fell in love with much of the Kenzo line. (love that flower oriental! Also Amour) Everything can't be leather and musk…
But if you like Flower Oriental, don't you get at least a little powder? You are so right about Flower Oriental being comforting. And it's definitely nice to have a scent that you don't have to feel you have to live up to all the time.
One more question: does Teint de Neige smells like baby powder? I'm not crazy about baby powder, but a deep, velvety sandalwood powder would be good, or else a girly make-up-y powder. You know, creamy powder rather than Johnson & Johnson powder (I bet all this sounds pretty disgusting to you!)
Yeah, I think maybe the heat really is starting to get to me with the sudden liking for ozone scents, lol! The Maquillage does sound gorgeous- makes you think of some belle epoque beauty getting ready at her dressing table, powdering her porcelain shoulders and wearing some kind of extravagant, frou-frou peignoir…
Angela, TdN *is* a little baby-powder ish…NOT A LOT. DEFINITELY not a lot. It's got a cool, soft quality to it, too. And it's got longevity like nothin' else out there.
Maquillage is more like a combo between the smell of Chanel lipsticks and Guerlain Meteorites powder and Other Good Things powdery…very retro. I honestly like it more than Teinte de Neige–I find it more wearable. I'd offer to send you some, but I only have a sample myself…
One thing no one's thought about lately, either: What about Keiko Mecheri's Loukhoum? *That's* pretty powdery. Almondy powdery. Also very nice.
PS: Ya, had to add: Maquillage IS glamorous and tender.
(I just reviewed it, so it's really really fresh in my mind, and it's worse when the Lemming is New, you know? Like you've just discovered it so you can't stop talking about it…)
Oh yeah- one more must for powder lovers…if you haven't tried it yet, People of the Labyrinths newest, A-Maze is, well, amazing! Like a boudoir full of a dozen different kinds of roses, soft, powdery, velvety, ultra-feminine. Just got my sample from Aedes de Venustas today and I think I'm in love…
Yes! Perfect image.
ROFL, I know exactly the feeling of suddenly wanting to douse yourself in a perfume you never wear. I get that with rose scents…not that I don't like rose…I love it, but I rarely wear it. And then every so often, boom, I simply must have Le Maroc Pour Elle, Sa Majeste La Rose, or my all-time favorite thunderstorm perfume Voleur des Roses.
Speaking of L'Artisan, roses and powder, what do you think of Drole de Rose?
Where did you review it? I'd love to read the review.
I do know what you mean about the Brand New Lemming urge to share. That's kind of how I'm feeling about Alamut right now (and may well be soon feeling about all the other scents people have recommended today!).
Sorry cannot relate at all – powder is one note that sends me running to the sink to scrub it off.
One that comes to mind instantly: Amouage Dia for Men (Johnsons baby powder on steroids!)
Hiya Angela!
It's on my blog: arhianrad.blogspot.net (Winterstorming)
I've been really curious about that one! Doesn't it have a hint of patchouli, too? I've been interested in rose-patchouli scents lately, too (although not with same vigor as powder).
It's been so long since I've smelled Drole de Rose that I don't have anything intelligent to say about it. But if it has powder, I'll have to try it! I've been loving Voleur de Roses, though. I got a half bottle through a swap, and when it's cold and wet it's the perfect scent. I think my skin amplifies patchouli, though, so I have to be careful.
I adore Le Maroc Pour Elle, too.
Alas, I used to be a powder hater, too, until aliens apparently took over my brain! I'm terrified at what I'll glom onto next! The Amouage Dia for men does sound pretty scary, though.
Just thought I'd pipe in here too, lol. I tried Amaze for the first time yesterday…to me, it smells just like India! Rose, patchouli and saffron. Reminds me of the hotel lobbies in the fancy hotels. I couldn't stop giggling!
I just went back and tried them both on (V de Rose and D de Rose)…not sure about the dry down, but after about 5 mins, Drole definitely has powder, and a good touch of violet (although that's fading). The combination really is…quite grandmotherly! But in a very lovely sort of way
Loving my re-visit with Voleur though…such a wonderful scent, and it's about to rain here too! Yippee!
Thanks! I just checked out the review (it's great!) and want to point out that your blog address ends in .com and not .net, just in case anyone else is trying to get through.
Sounds terrific! I like Safran Troublant a lot, but I always thought it had a little too much saffron (reminds me of paella) and I hear Amaze has a little less.
Plus, I've always wanted to go to India!
The list of notes has the base as “agarwood, sandalwood, musk, and civet” – no patchouli, but yes, I also love the combo of patchouli and rose. And honestly, the drydown is very, very soft and it's a little hard to discern any of the notes listed, apart from the musk, which does come through at the very end. I've had it on for almost two hours now (it has great staying power, by the way) and to me, it stays very rosy-floral-powdery the whole way through.
Hey, thanks for the mini-review and comparison! Sometimes the rose-violet combination can feel like too much–YSL Paris and Rose de Rosine, I'm looking at you. But other times it's divine.
It's too warm here today for Voleur, although I am wearing Samsara EdT, so who am I to talk?
Have you tried Flower By Kenzo (which I find much powderier than the Oriental version)? It's amazingly beautiful. As much as I try to tell myself that scent is inherently genderless, I can't bring myself to wear it outside the house, because it's so floral and so powdery; but sometimes I do wear it for my own pleasure because there's just nothing that can touch it.
I smelled Flower once, a long time ago, and I can tell that I'll have to give it another try! At least it's one that relatively easy to find. One of the reasons I like the Flower Oriental so much, I think, is the incense.
I like to think of scents as genderless, too, but I can see where floral, powdery scents might feel like too much in public. But, as you say, you can still wear them at home!
Agarwood–now that's interesting in a rosy-flowery-powdery scent! I love the agarwood in 10 Corso Como.
Hmmm, I'll have to give that Alamut another try, I don't remember much about it at all. I think I have at least two samples of it around here somewhere. Flower Oriental, though, of course, is just my thing. Glad to hear it is yours too….
I'm currently having this yen for – gasp! – florientals. Sweet ones, too. You'll be pleased to know, no doubt, that I finally get the appeal of Sacrebleu. It just came to me one day. I sprayed it on and went “Huh! So that's what all the fuss is about.” Also totally digging March's Courtesan, which is lighter than the PdN, but somewhat in the same spirit. (BTW, I promise to post on EB today. I've been so negligent… Haven't seen you around too much, lately, either. Are you really busy?)
That's so funny about Sacrebleu–I had a couple of days of Sacrebleu recently after having shelved it for a while. I was thirsty for the fruit, I guess, and then the incense-y drydown. It's slightly powdery, too, come to think of it. Must have been a precursor to my powder binge. Such a strange craving with summer coming and all.
Courtesan is really musky on me, strangely enough. I do like it, though, and it made me realize that I don't have a lot of musky perfumes.
I'm so glad you'll be posting! I've been checking faithfully. I've been around, but busy, as I'm guessing you've been. I'm hoping to see a little light at the end of the tunnel, though. (I still manage to squeeze in reads of my favorite perfume blogs while I drink coffee, even if I don't have time to comment.)
PBI. It would make sense: the man needs to learn to take second place for a while, when the woman has a baby. Developing a liking for powdery scents would be a way for her to make him move away gradually.
Fascinating observation! Maybe it gets him used to the idea of a baby, too.
Indeed!
I don't get powder from Oriental. I know the aspect of the scent you're referring to, but somehow mentally to me it translates to “comfort” without being “powder.” That probably makes no sense, but there you have it. And the incense is quite strong on me, which I don't think it is on most folks.
Funny you asked: I would say (having powdered my share of butts) that TdN and Demeter do *not* have what I think of as a distinctive Johnsons medicinal smell. They don't smell like medical powder, more like face powder.
Heliotrope is as close as I get to powder. Guerlain's dirt cheap Meteorites fragrance online smells like their delicious makeup; Terracotta gives the same effect with a little less sweetness. And Apres smells a bit like powder, of course, but I pretend it doesn't.
Aha!!!! MUSKY!!!! Waiting for someone to get musky…. Ina got high-end fruity-floral.
You've definitely tipped me to buying some Meteorites. I've seen the bottle online for next to nothing, but I always wondered if it was too violet-y. But smelling like Guerlain makeup? Sounds divine. I like Terracotta, too, although I don't seem to wear it much.
Heliotrope is powdery to me, too, except maybe in Etro Heliotrope where I think it smells a little more like plastic.
And thanks for the heads up–from a butt-powdering expert, no less!–on the Demeter and TdN.
I can smell the musk a foot from the vial. On me it's musk-ahoy! Heck, I'm going to put some on right now.
The search started out for a green summer fragrance and wound up spraying. . .orientals. Ambery orientals. With a big sweet hit. No idea where it came from, it's such an obvious winter choice. Except I don't even like sweet fragrances. Powdery? Huh. Maybe Haie Fleurie? It's been a long time.
It sounds like you and Tigs caught the same bug! Flowerly orientals. Well, I always love them. I suppose when the weather REALLY heats up I'm going to have to put all this powder and big-scent stuff away and focus on completely different scents. But isn't it strange to find yourself attracted to something that you don't like almost on principle? Watch your back for the powder scents. They're sneaky sons-of-a-gun.
Now that's funny! I love Alamut and was very disappointed when it was more or less labelled a “meh” fragrance by most bloggers. I find it both sensual and comforting. And I absolutely adore Flower Oriental and my more-than-beloved Habanita. But I would term all of these sensual and don't find any powder in them at all. Teint de Neige on the other hand is powdery – I admire it but wouldn't wear it, and for me, the ultimate (unwearable, even though it reminds me of my mother) powder scent is the sadly ignored Blue Grass by Elizabeth Arden.
One should never say never in perfume – I dislike floral and aldehyde scents, and here I am, practically wallowing in Acier Aluminium and slowly building a collection of rose fragrances. And actually, vintage Chanel 5 is starting to grow on my. HELP!!! I don't need another pocket of lemmings! They're cluttering up my place as it is, and they're more voracious and more expensive to feed than any other pet I know of! (The proliferate like lice or rabbits, as well – I have entire lemming families popping out of the woodwork).
I think powder scents are given a bad rap really. There are many great classics of perfumery that are powdery like L'Heure Bleue & No.22 that come to mind. Even No.5 smells sort of powdery to me as well. I also love Talco Delicato I Profumi di Firenze which is really pure baby powder but real expensive smelling baby powder, IMO. There was a thread on POL about powdery scents and why some folks feel they are dislike them or why most people turn their noses on them because they are powdery. I think otherwise.
Kenzo Flower is nice. It's one I wouldn't wear for some reason. But if I can wear Talco Delicato, why not Flower Kenzo? Go figure!
Maquillage is one of my creations. I am the maker. Juvy/Ahrianhad was being really nice here giving me some press on it. I appreciate her kind words here.
I wanted it to be a scent that evoked a woman's boudoir with beautiful crystal perfume flacons and glass powder jars around it. It's rosy/violet in nature. I was told originally that it smells like Lipstick Rose. But my scent doesn't have the waxiness of LR FM. At the time when I made it, I didn't know what Lipstick Rose smelt like so I was rather flattered it being compared to a highly regarded scent by a very influential niche perfumer company.
Yep, my scents are up for sale on First in Fragrance.
How about the ultimate blending of powder (some) AND aldehydes AND flowers–Chanel No. 22?
I know what you mean about the lemmings, and I'm groaning along with you. Even the cost of samples alone is going to drive me to take another job! I guess that's the price of finding more and more scents beautiful. And I really agree and about never saying never!
Were your ears burning with all the praise of Maquillage? I know I can't wait to try it now. I hope you get in distributor in the U.S. soon. It's crazy to think of ordering something from Europe when you are so close! (Perfume Shrine says Nevada.) Are you listening, Luckyscent?
Being compared to Lipstick Rose is really high praise, too! I like the waxiness in it because it really does make it smell like a lipstick, but I can very much imagine it without the waxiness, more like–well–make up powder.
Thanks for the recommendation of Talco Delicato. Another one for the list.
I had contacted Luckyscent.com about seeing if they were interested in selling them. But they never responded back to me at all. I figured they figured I was a bit too unknown to even other. Which in all reality is true.
I was glad that Georg of FIF took a chance on me. But as in all things, there's no guarantee they will be a success. It's just cool to be on a highly regarded site like FIF.
I do live in Nevada.
But I'm a Southern California boy, born and raised and always will be. Moved here due to long LTR I'm in. If I had it my way, I would've never have left Southern California even with all it's flaws now.
With any luck Luckyscent, or another perfume e-tailer with a good reputation, will step forward once they see the attention you're getting. But FIF is a huge coup, that's for sure.
I know what you mean about LTRs and sacrifices. Still, I have family in Nevada, and it has its own charm. I hope you get back to southern CA soon.