I’m a “honey-child.” I love to eat honey; I love the scent of honey in soaps, shampoos, lotions, candles; and I am a PROUD admirer of Serge Lutens Miel de Bois. I’ve been looking for a fragrance that showcases honey for a long time (Miel de Bois is as much about wood as it is honey), so I was happy to read the announcement of MAC’s two new honey fragrances.
MAC (Make-Up Art Cosmetics Inc.) has not been on my perfume “radar”; I didn’t even know the company produced perfumes. Africanimal and Naked Honey (in MAC’s Creations Hue line) were developed, perfumer(s) unknown, to showcase different aspects of honey aroma: spicy and floral.
I know many people who think 'honey' smells neither spicy nor floral, but “piss-y.” My friend Hilda who sampled Africanimal with me at Nordstrom exclaimed: “Cat pee!” about 30 minutes after spraying her arm with the fragrance. I don’t have any problem with honey notes in perfumes and never think “urine” when I smell honey accords! If you hate the scent of honey, you’ll probably want to ignore these new MAC fragrances.
Creations Hue: Africanimal
Africanimal starts with ‘warm’ intense honey, citrus and a light floral accord; there is also an undertone of ‘spice’ (well-blended) and sheer unidentifiable ‘wood’. Honey is the star of Africanimal. I was expecting Africanimal to be “wild” given MAC’s description: “an aromatic orgy…far from sweet” but Africanimal is tame. I’m happy for the tameness since I don’t want my honey obscured and overwhelmed by spices or woods (spices and woods I can get in any number of fragrances, “honey” is harder to come by). Africanimal is “sweet” (not gourmand) but it’s not too sweet that a man can’t wear it. As the fragrance dries down, there’s a lovely iced-oolong-tea-sweetened-with-honey phase and then Africanimal reverts to pure, piquant honey.
Creations Hue: Naked Honey
One of the great scents of springtime is the penetrating aroma of blooming black locust trees. I’m lucky; I have a black locust tree in my yard. The sharp, almost powdery, honeyed aroma of black locust flowers can be smelled on the air for weeks in May and June. I always think each spring: “Why, oh WHY, isn’t there a perfume to duplicate black locusts’ fragrance…?” Naked Honey comes close to duplicating the scent of black locust blossoms, and I’m grateful. Naked Honey is a “spring-y” green floral perfume that is suffused with bright-sunny honey notes; it is fresh, scintillating and it puts me into a great mood. Naked Honey is a simple fragrance, but simple in the best possible way: clear, emphatic.
Africanimal and Naked Honey blend well together; they have average-to-good lasting power and stay close to the body. I always apply light fragrances without restraint (10-12 sprays for most Eaux de Colognes); even with that amount of scent on my skin, I needed to reapply Africanimal mid-day (Naked Honey has more tenacity). I’m hoping these fragrances will be so popular MAC will extend their run but please let me know of any other honey fragrances that are worth a sniff. (No need to mention L’Occitane’s honey. Though L’Occitane’s Honey & Lemon soap is a staple in my house, I find their Honey & Lemon Eau de Toilette unwearable and unbearable.)
MAC Creations Hue: Africanimal and Creations Hue: Naked Honey are available in 20 ml for $25; for buying information, see the listing for MAC under Perfume Houses.
Note: lower right image is More black locust flowers [cropped] by access.denied at flickr; some rights reserved.
What about L’Occitane’s Gentle Honey Water? It’s quite different from the Lemon one. Ava Luxe also do a Honey which is really strong.
London: haven’t seen the Gentle Honey water in ages…assumed it was discontinued. I’ll look for the Ava Lux though…thanks, K
It was discontinued & replaced with the Honey & Lemon one–too bad!
I want! I want! I need! I need! Thank GOD these are reasonably priced. If my garage sale goes well this weekend, these will be in my possession by the end of next week. 🙂
Lamaroc: yes, nice that they are in 20ml size too.
MAC is having a 25% off Friends and Family Online that ends tomorrow….don’t wait…at 25% off they’re about $18 each!!!!
That’s ok, Tara, your post bumped it up higher. 😉
Oops..Sorry I read a little further down and you already knew this…… 🙂
I bought Naked Honey today!! A great price, a nice size and oooooooo does it smell good. I love the smell of locust trees and this is dead on. A sweet scent to be sure, but very lush. All of you are such enablers 😀
Hey Kevin: I received a sample of Miel de Bois a couple months back and quite like it. Naked Honey sounds pretty great, however, I’m not sure I can gather up the courage to step into my local MAC boutique. I am such a retail wimp. There’s always online shopping, though, right?
I confess, I finally tried L’Occitane Honey & Lemon edt a couple weekends ago and LOVED it… much more than that new, insipid Bergamot Tea creation they just launched (a huge disappointment!).
PS: SOTD=Pulp. I smell delicious.
Joe: I’m with Pulp today too! (doesn’t Daisy deserve a GOLD STAR for her packaging skills? HA!) Glad you like Miel de Bois…but L’Occitane’s honey is harsh/chemical/cheap on my skin…a horror on me. And, hey, barge into that MAC boutique like you own the place!
SOTD : Pulp !!!
scent triplets today! Don’t we smell divine?
Btw, Kevin, thanks for reviewing these so quickly and, as usual, so well. 🙂
LaM: you’re welcome!
Sorry, back again. Just checked out maccosmetics.com and everything on the site is 25% off for today and tomorrow with offercode SAVE25. Hmmm, looks like I might have to break the credit card out of the ice block in the freezer. :O
Thanks for sharing! Oh, no, looks like you won’t be the only one misusing the credit card! I just can’t help myself.
LaM: thanks for alerting everyone to the discount…perfect timing.
Lol – I need the “edit” function so badly on this site. 😛 Just wanted to add that to use the coupon you have to order a minimum of $60. So I’ll be ordering both of these and some nail polish.
….aaaaand I need to read more carefully. The $60 mininum is for free shipping. No minimum for the coupon SAVE25. Sorry for the excessive posts!
I used the coupon and only ordered 2 items….Naked Honey and MV2…..$60 and up gets you free shipping.
ahh, ok….you type too fast for me!
LOL!
Love the review, as usual, Kevin. As for honey scents smelling like pee, this gives me an idea. I can’t wear perfume at work, but maybe if I wear one of the honey scents I can just say, “I’m not wearing perfume. That’s cat pee.Yeah, cat pee. Sorry, cleaned the litter boxes this morning.” (And how sad is it that I’d rather have people think I smell like cat piss than not wear any perfume at all?)
Miss Kitty..with a name like yours how can you give kitties a bad rap at work! Just say you’re sweetening your tea with honey or are on the “honey diet” and be done with it. (Sorry you can’t wear perfume to work!)
OH! the honey diet! Go with that one!
Kevin–you’re a genius!
Agreed. 🙂 Now watch, I’ll find out my coworker is allergic to honey, in addition to the “perfume allergy.” (In quotes because I don’t quite believe it.)
Brilliant, Kevin!
You know, you could run with this idea–“I’m drinking rooibos herb tea”, “I’ve been drinking Constant Comment tea, it must be the orange peel and spice you’re smellilng”, “vanilla cookies”, “rose-petal jam”, even “cotton candy.” The possibilities may not be endless, but you’ve still got a lot to work with.
yeah, and all you need is a couple of tea bags, a bag of cookies etc. to back up the story! That is actually a pretty good idea—I love constant comment tea…if nothing else you could keep on the corner of your desk a strong cup of constant comment tea just for the fragrance of it! Just brew a new cup every couple of days, it is quite aromatic 🙂 toss in a couple whole cloves while heating for extra scent…maybe even a dash of cinnamon…..or ginger…….
I was not interested in even the idea of these a couple of weeks ago when the “new fragrance” post went up. I like my honey only in baklava and tea, thanks. In fragrance? Count me out.
But if Naked Honey smells like locust blossoms, then count me in! Black locust trees grow wild here, and no flower smells more like honey than locust blossoms. I love them. JM Nectarine Blossom and Honey came close, but the nectarine was a bit floofy for me. Maybe I’ll have to try Naked Honey. Nowww… where is the nearest MAC?
(Note on the cat pee: every time someone cracks open a container of peach-flavored yogurt, I’m wondering if my ancient cat – she’s 17 – has missed her box.)
Mals86: peach “flavoring” does smell awful doesn’t it?????? MAC is usually somewhere in Nordstrom….
Gah, didn’t think to look in Nordstrom. For some odd reason, the stand-alone MAC store didn’t even have these when I was there last week. Hrmph. Oh well, I can always stop back.
The one in Uptown does. Right at the corner of Lake and Hennepin. I was there today and bought Naked Honey.
I think it’s been close to a decade since I was in that area, lol! I avoid Mpls like anything. I think my kids have turned me into an old person. But thanks for the tip! Never know when I might have to go that way, and if I’m there anyway… 🙂
There is no Nordie’s within four hours’ drive of my house… 🙁
Nordie’s is easy for me, 15-20 mins and right off the freeway. At least the ridiculously large MOA is good for something! Neiman and Saks are the nuisances, bc I’d have to go downtown, fight horrid traffic and one-way streets, and pay ridiculous amounts for parking. No thanks.
Count me in too! I wasn’t even interested until I saw the comment about black locust – we have them around here wild also and they are divine!! I think, almost better than a mimosa tree. Now I think Naked Honey may be an inexpensive unsniffed escapade! I also like honey in soaps too – I love these little faux bee & honeycomb soaps that I used to buy in Europe…so cute and wonderful!
AnnS: those bee soaps are great.
Today was my first full day of wearing Naked Honey. The honey phase doesn’t last any longer than it takes to spray it out of the bottle, so that is disappointing. However it does dry down to a nice, unusual scent for me that has lingered for a good six hours. I thought it scent was spice based, but after reading all of the comments again, is what I’m smelling Black Locust? I ask because I’m trying to educate myself. Denise
It’s now September and though it is still hot weather here, my bottle is almost empty. This scent has changed. It no longer has any “hang time” like it did. I don’t wear it daily, so it is not like I am accustomed to the scent and simply ignore it. I spray it in the bathroom, walk to the bedroom to dress and then step back into the bathroom. It smell stronger in the bath than it does on me. The scent is unusual and difficult to “pidgenhole” and I like that in aa scent. The decreasing hang time will prevent me from purchasing it again.
I tried Africanimal and liked it a lot. On me it was just a slightly peppery, quiet, easy-to-wear honeyed scent. Should’ve thought to try layering them, too!
For me Miel de Bois was just scary, but I will eventually go back and try my sample again…
Janice: they do layer nicely, but I like them as “individuals”…and DO try MdB again.
I have tried so hard to like Miel de Bois. I’ve worn it several times, and I’ll bust it out to try at least once more, but I seem almost incapable of loving it (my cat adores it, though). I do have a certain fondness for Burt’s Bee’s honey lip balm, though, so maybe these are worth a try. They might ease me into honey as a fragrance more gently than Miel de Bois did. 🙂
Rachel: right, these MACs won’t leave bruises on you like the Miel de Bois can do to some folks. They are much gentler.
I am going to have to find a way to try these, because I love the smell of honey, and I REALLY love Miel de Bois.
If you want a cheap substitute for MdB, I am going to recommend, as I always seem to do, a Demeter. Their Honey is like a simplified MdB, but not too simplified: it’s fairly complex, with elements of wood and pollen to it, and for the price you can’t go wrong.
R: thanks, I’ll try it!
loving this cheap thrills post, and pyramus’s tip on demeter.
Does black locust flower smell at all like honeysuckle? Because that’s seems very honeyed to me, too.
You know, I think locust blossoms smell more like honey than honeysuckle does. The locust trees bloom first (early May around here), and then the honeysuckle by early June, so you really can’t compare them directly, but that’s my impression.
Monsta: oops…answered your question to “selchie” below. I agree with Mals…locust flowers smell like honey; honeysuckle doesn’t smell honey-ed to me.
to me, locust blossoms smell like grape soda. I love them!
I love honey, but haven’t found a honey perfume I’ve liked all that much, let alone one actually in my price range. I’m definitely going to have to try these.
selchie: I think black locust flowers have more of a “bite” than honeysuckle (which is creamier). Certain acacias smell like black locust…if you’ve smelled those flowers.
While I know honey isn’t a listed note, on me, Léa Extreme has a very honey-like quality about it that intermingles with the musk and almonds. I’ve read the “cat pee” note in reviews for it on MMU, but it’s just honey-almond bliss with a touch of musk on me that gets warmer and a bit sweeter as it wears. I don’t even get the huge chocolate note many people have, just soft as a cloud sweetness and a huge dose of the snuggle factor.
I love to blend honey and amber in an incense powder blend before bed, and if I could find that basic but dreamy combination in a perfume, I’ll confess that I may pay a somewhat ridiculous amount for it. 🙂
Now I truly want to try Pulp (not that I didn’t before), only with my irritating tendency to love spendy items before even knowing the price, I’ll likely fall head over heels for it. My poor “buy” list is blissfully unaware of the economy, even if my perfume budget is acutely in the know.
There’s just some days where smelling fruity is just the tonic I need or perfect for hot weather, and it’s not easy to find such fragrances with staying power and sillage that aren’t anchored by a heavy floral base. Not that I dislike all fruity florals, but it seems as if once you’ve smelled five or six, you’ve smelled them all. But the alternative is something akin to lollipops that fades after an hour or less, which isn’t what I want, either.
I’m one of those Chocolate note getters with the Lea Extreme….smells like I rolled in melted chocolate. Gets a little overwhelming after a while. And yet the Lea smells like vanilla and almonds…yum .
oops, hit the button too soon….I still have a bit of the Pulp left from last week’s split…send me an email and I can get you a sample or just be bold and go for a smallish decant while it’s still available.
Absolute Scentualist: Hope you’ve tried “honeycomb” incense from Japan? I’ll post the name when I get home and find the box of it stashed in my incense box.
A.S.: sorry, the box is entirely in Japanese! The incense is by Nippon Kodo and the box is decorated with a honeycomb. I know they have a website so maybe it will be there (if it’s still in the line…I bought mine two years ago).
There is no MAC store nearby, and I don’t know if I should buy Africanimal unsniffed or not
Krokodilgena: don’t buy unsniffed! EVER!
I bought Opium, Kingdom, and Black Cashmere unsniffed and I loved all of them
Ambre Russe has honey, I’ll wear that and pretend it’s Africanimal until I forget all about Africanimal.
TH songs just leaked so I’ll have to save that $20 for the new single (and yes, it’ll be $20 for a single because I need to get the German version)
luckyscent doesn’t list honey as a note in Ambre Russe. It *does* have honey, right?
I swear on me, when I first put it on, it’s like HONEYHONEYHONEY
I’m not crazy, am I?
Tea for Two really smells like honeysuckle to me, but I haven’t ever seen anyone else say that. Maybe I am crazy.
Ambre Russe will be my Africanimal and Tea for Two will be my Naked Honey. There, I don’t need these MAC perfumes.
Should I wear Tea for Two when I go to Sweet Briar on Monday? I need to impress the admissions people so I can get into college.
I vote for NOT CRAZY. I smell it in Ambre Russe too: tea, booze, honey, it’s all there.
Really glad you found some “mysterious” and “edgy” new stuff to love!
Botrytis is also a honey perfume
heisey: I’ll put that on my ‘to sample’ list…the spice cake and candied fruit notes made me wonder if it was too foody for my “tastes.”
Bought Naked Honey yesterday and LOVE it…
datura: GOOD!
Oh, now I know where I can snag a spritz… and also where to find a soul brave enough to venture into our local MAC boutique. 😉
Thanks for the revs Kevin! I always shied away from honey scents since I worried that they might smell like the Honey Powder from Kama Sutra (cat pee indeed). But anything that smells like black locust blossoms will have me clicking over to MAC after work today.
BTW, for those of you that have issues getting to Nordies, have you tried Macy’s yet? Many of their stores have well-stocked MAC counters.
norjunma1: glad so many people love the black locusts….
I cannot wait to smell these. I’ve heard mixed reviews, but they were people who hate the smell of honey. I asked them why they even bothered knowing that ahead of time. lol
PerfumeSecrets: people LOVE to sniff stuff with ingredients they hate! Human nature.
Like Eddie Murphy and John Waters’s comments about people liking to smell farts.
Not to put too fine a point on it, eh…..?
Question to those who smelled this: does it smell ‘natural’ or ‘synthetic’? (If you know what I mean… a bit heard to explain)
Kess: these didn’t smell “artificial” to me…they were well done.
ok, you twisted my arm 😉
I bought naked honey… and MV3… and Violet pigment 😀
Bad, bad Bunny! Unsniffed and all… well, I don’t think I’d want to sniff the pigment or I’d have purple mucus for days.
Is MV3 the one with the black cap?
I was considering buying it along with Africanimal D: D:
but I’m just going to listen to this :19 low quality clip of TH’s new song and forget about them lololololol
yep the one with the black cap!
Bunny: I didn’t twist your arm..and I issue warnings about buying unsniffed all the time!!!! HAHAHA!
I never listen… probably because I have my fingers in my ears and am saying *lalalala I can’t hear you* 😀 lol
well, I couldn’t hear his warnings either…too busy laalallalalla-ing too…and I couldn’t READ K’s warnings because I was reading with one eye only …and I was squinting that eye a lot too…very hard to see the words “don’t buy unsniffed, EVER!” and the next thing you know: I bought it!! muwahahahha!
Daisy RUTH: tsk tsk tsk! And you just had an unsniffed disaster, didn’t you? Yep. Oh well….
Clearly I have an extremely short memory…..
I just visited the MAC site and was going to tell everyone about the ‘save25’, but someone beat me to it. 🙂 I’m so glad you reviewed these Kevin. When there is a well crafted fragrance available for a reasonable price to boot I’m thrilled beyond belief! I’m looking forward to trying these – especially the Naked Honey.
Rustic Dove: hope one of them suits you.
I have a well-deserved self-treat coming up hopefully and these are high on my list – possibly smell great and won’t break my little tiny minuscule ridiculous bank.
Tama: enjoy your treat, no matter what you choose….
Sniffed these at Nords the other day, found Africanimal sweet…way too sweet for me.
I typically don’t like honey notes in my perfume, but Naked Honey’s clarity feels very wearable. I could not agree with your review more. Lovely!
Trish: yep, Africanimal is the sweetest of the two…the more “opaque” shall we say….
I must give these a try. I am extremely interested in Naked Honey. Honey is a hard scent to balance. I like it in things but many “honey” fragrances are just too foody, often paired with chocolate.
Tokyomilk Parfum has Honey and The Moon. I have sniffed it but I can barely remember it ( I think I didn’t like it because it was too sweet). Serge Lutens uses honey a lot in fragrances as a note but as you said, they are often too woody or floral.
I do love honey bath products. L’Occitane’s are wonderful and I like Burt’s Bees Milk & Honey Body Lotion. I noticed that MAC has introduced honey bath products too.
Ajentorange: yes, there’s a body lotion/bath gel in these two scents I believe. Forgot about the Burt’s Bees…usually like their honey products, especially the lip balm.
Garden Botanika makes a honey citrus scent that smells for all the world just like the honey butter my grandmother used to make. It’s scrumptious. I love the shower gel.
Aparatchick: thanks…honey and butter…add some baked bread aroma and I’m drooling!
Double thanks; that sounds terrific!
Ooh, yum. Count me among those who don’t really like to eat honey. However, it is really good on a decadent buttered biscuit. With some fried chicken on the side, LOL.
I’ve always liked the honey in the Kiss My Face Calendula and Honey lotion. It’s really good. And Lush Flying Fox shower gel has a fun rubbery dark honey that is pretty sensational.
Tama: Calendula and honey would be great together for sure.
Hey Tama – I suppose there should be no surprise that I use this Honey Calendula lotion and love it too!
I *just* bought Tokyo Milk’s Honey and the Moon before these were posted on NST. And I own Ava Luxe’s honey as well. Surely my cabinet is well-stocked enough….
The TM honey scent has jasmine and sandalwood in it. Ava’s is more of a straight, waxy scent.
Honey & the Moon is very interesting! I love that it took its name from a Joseph Arthur song. I think it smells like a campfire, complete with singed marshmallows. I loved it but unfortunately sampled it about 30 times, at which point I started to find it cloying. Should’ve just bought it straight-out; it’s cheap enough!
Dewey eyed…I’ll try the Ava Luxe…and SHOULD try something by Tokyo Milk (never have)
Both honey scents sound really, really pretty. However, as I read reviews here and there, I began to wonder about — and became obsessed with — Deja Rose. Who’s used it? Is it good? What does it smell like?
*makes boo-boo lips*
Dissed: I can’t help you on that one….
Oh. Mah. Gawd.
Just this spring, I noticed some beautiful-smelling flowering trees near my house. I just couldn’t get over the scent, and ended up scouring the internet to find out what kind of trees they were. Based on pictures, I eventually determined they were Black Locust trees. From then on, every time I sniffed them, I wished so hard that someone would create a perfume that smelled JUST like those flowers.
And voila! Wow, I got my wish pretty quickly!
Thank you so much, Kevin, for describing Naked Honey as smelling like Black Locust flowers; otherwise, I would have never bothered to smell it. Right after reading your review, I headed to my nearest Nordie’s and sampled the stuff – it’s right-on! I knew I couldn’t wait long enough for an online order to come through, even if it would save me a couple bucks, so I bought a bottle then & there. Thank you SO MUCH for absolutely making my day! I am so glad that this scent has been “captured”.
Schmifty: GLAD it worked out for you!
This must be all part of the Great Cosmic Plan…..last week I was at the nursery looking for a nice flowering tree to add to my landscaping and I was completely entranced by this very cool baby tree with clusters of white flowers that smelled really nice….anyone want to guess what kind of tree it was? yup, that was an easy one.
Daisy: you live on a farm, right? All parts of a black locust tree are poisonous (except the flowers). Any horses, cows, pigs, etc., eating the seed pods or leaves can get VERY sick or die. I will NOT have that on my conscience!!!!!!!
Thank you for the warning. There are some black locusts in our neighborhood, and I have a small child who’s still in the stage of picking up stuff and putting it in her mouth.
K– I think you are mixing me up with Mals, who has moo-moos to worry about. Or, you have a FABULOUS memory and are recalling that I mentioned growing up on a farm…..I live on one acre in a somewhat “rural” subdivision now….I had enough of shovelling guano, hauling hay bales and birthing animals as a youngster! Now I have lovely, lush green grass (no hoof divets anywhere) and mulched flowerbeds and every tree was chosen by me, except this one red mulberry tree that sort of just appeared but is now 15′ tall. I just don’t keep any Foxglove since it’s bad for my kitties.
But I thank you for being concerned about the health of my animals……..
It’s probably not very good of me to imagine the creepy guy across the street coming over to gnaw on the bark a bit though…..I mean, he is a real pain….
daisy: HAHA! “Well, officer, one minute he was standing there licking the sap and the next he was in cardiac arrest. MY hands were full of decants to ship…I was unable to give CPR!”
Ah Kevin, good advice about the black locust being poisonous….And (boo hoo) no foxgloves for me either!
On the flip side…when I was a girl my granny showed me how to eat the nectar of honeysuckle. What fun & easy to do – hold the stamen and pull back the petals, and there is a small drop of nectar at the base of the stamen that you dab on your tongue.
We used to do that, too… standing outside waiting for the bus in the last weeks of school, “eating honeysuckle.”
Yes, Kevin – thanks for the reminder about black locusts being poisonous. Every time we have a windstorm, the guys are checking fence lines all over the farm to make sure that a) no fences were broken by falling trees and b) any wild cherry or locust trees are immediately removed so that their leaves/fruits aren’t available to poison any cattle.
I just chomp off the end and suck it right out – no delicate petal-licking for me.
Kevin, I haven’t tried those incense sticks yet, but am really intrigued. Amber resin and honey powder together are just yummy, and it’s always great to discover new incense.
I do have a Macy’s here in town, and they do have a MAC counter. Maybe I’ll be able to take these two for a test drive to see which I like best… Which will probably be both. For the price, really, you can’t go wrong.
There’s the odd chance they may not be to my liking, then the challenge will be getting out of the fragrance section without buying something, which is about as likely as my walking out of a gourmet chocolate or tea shop empty-handed. No doubt leaving a perfume counter without purchase is, for me, a sure sign of the apocolypse. lol
Absolute Scentualist: (see above for incense note); thankfully the MAC counter in my Nordstrom is not “really” close to the perfume counters…but I did score about 11 samples as I ambled thru the store.
Yup, I hear that. It’s as if my wallet wiggles it’s way right out of my purse all on it’s own…..
L’Occitane Honey range was the most intoxicating honey-scented product range. I loved the bath foam in the winter and the cleansing lotion and everything!
When it was replaced with honey-lemon, one Occitane SA haughtily told me “Madam, it’s too bad you miss the honey flavor, but we have too many clients who love the new fragrance to be fussed about the lost Honey fans.” In fact the honey-lemon fragrance develops horrendously on me.
Kevin, would you know of fragrances using linden tree flowers or acacia tree flowers? I love jasmine as a flower but can’t stand jasmine fragrances – on me anyway. However I’d quite happily wear linden flower or acacia flower. Why no one seems to notice them and stick to pink pepper and grapefruit is a mystery.
Nile Goddess, Check out the Eau de Fruits ‘Pear-Linden’ by Fruits&Passion. You should be able to find them fairly easily with a quick on-line search. I know it sounds like a fruit cocktail but it really has a lovey honey scent. Very reasonably priced as well!
Okay, so I spoke too soon. They seem to have discontinued this particular scent recently. Very sad…so sorry.
Frangipani by Ormonde Jayne has some linden in it, although it is not a major note.
Nile Goddess: one of my favorite linden perfumes is d’Orsay’s Tilleul…also Provence Sante has a linden and a year ago I tried Aftelier’s Linden Blossom fragrance. All very nice.
Provence de Sante Linden is sooo nice and pretty cheap. Here I go again: I like Tokyomilk Parfum in Waltz. I was a big linden kick a few months ago but I still can’t find anything that truly resembles linden honey.
La Chasse aux Papillons by L’Artisan has linden
Well: I, too, looked up Black Locust to see if it would fit into my landscaping plan. Too big, in the end, sniff. As for it’s toxicity, well, my lilies are deadly to cats, but mine wouldn’t be tempted to nibble them, so…Read about the scent of honey, picturing it dribbling from hot bread with butter and was salivating. Instead of eating something, visited Nordy’s online and ordered the Naked Honey body lotion, body wash, & perfume. Can’t go wrong at those prices! Just ordered “narciso rodriguez for her” after deciding John Varvatos wasn’t for me – something of an unwelcome undertone in the dry down. So, am well stocked for the summer. These fragrances are real sea changes for me – I have Belle en Rykiel, Elixer Patchouli, Flowerbomb, Tom Ford Purple Patchouli. Ah, nothing like a new man in your life…my little dog, Frankie.
Phyllislechat: LOVE Purple Patchouli and there’s nothing like a dog for a mood boost…even perfumes can’t compare!
Well of course I will have to stop by the MAC counter and give these a whiff next time I go to Macy’s. I think I will have to revisit Miel de Bois as well. From what I vaguely remember, I didnt like it at all, but sometimes certain fragrances need a second visit…to take a liking to it, or as is so often the case with me, like it at first…and then NOT like it on second sniff. That guy Carlos from Bklyn is so fickle! 🙂
C: indeed you are! I think if you like either of the “honeys”…you’ll choose Africanimal.
Kevin, I will have to try these. I am a honey fan anyway, but you got me with the black locust reference! that’s an amazing smell.
Will echo someone (Pyramus?) up there that Demeter Honey is surprisingly good — complex and pollen-y and faintly ripe, not some plasticky sweet thing. Dawn Spencer Hurwitz (DSH) Lush Honey is an intensely sweet, addictively peculiar thing that makes me think of mesquite honey.
march: oh lala! that Lush Honey sounds GOOD…must find a sample.
SO late to the party, but just wanted to say, great review Kevin and thanks. I was under the impression before I read this that Africanimal would be less sweet than Naked Honey so I’d prefer Africanimal, but now your review has shown me I should definitely try both. Ta!
I love MV2 and MV3.
Interesting article and commentary. I’m not a honey fan, in general. I don’t get cat pee, but there’s something else in honey that doesn’t please my nose. However I have and like a few fragrances that contain the note. Only one is “honey-heavy”, and that is Flora Napa Valley Cielo. I admit to enjoying that one once in a while!
Oh, I forgot about Cielo! That is a great one. I need to dig that one back out.
Good lord, you guys, I just bought both honeys, as well as MV2 and MV3. I need an intervention.
Wow, quite a little buzz going on about this review kevin.
sorry for the bad humor.
But on a creepy note, does the model look like she’s covered in blood or is just my display settings?
OwenGreen: must be red clover honey! HA!
Kevin, your eloquence set me off on a little honey field trip yesterday: went to sniff the two MAC offerings (I agree with Owengreen, the ad is disturbing–though it references all sorts of interesting performance art! Karen Finley, most notably). Anyway, I enjoyed the two MACs but was ambivalent, so I went to sniff Miel de Bois (having not liked it at all about a month ago). Next to the two MACs I found I loved it, but ended the day uncertain…then I went to dinner, and I must have accidentally spritzed some of the Miel de Bois on my thumb, because every time I brought a piece of bread to my mouth I got a huge dose of it–and could not get enough! I can’t recommend compulsively sniffing your fingers while at a hip eatery, but it made my meal so much more intriguing…and now I want more. Still ambivalent about the MACs though–the Africanimal completely disappeared on me within the hour, but I liked its opening spice; Naked Honey was very *pretty* on, but as it wore, the specificity of the honeysuckle (or Black Locust) dissipated into a less precise “sweetness”. But for the precise, I am impressed! Plus it lasts and lasts…
Curious: has anyone tried CB I Hate Perfume’s Wildflower Honey accord?
GreenFigsea…didn’t know about the CB I HATE PERFUME honey accord…another add to “the list.”
oops, I meant for the “price”–egg on face.
Well, I gave them a fair try. Africanimal..that was different. Unlike greenfigsea, I couldn’t get it to go away…washed my arm 3xs and 4 hrs later it’s still stronger than when I blithely spritzed it on. Thought it smelled interesting in the bottle and was looking forward to the honey scent developing. Unfortuntely for me the scent developed into a raging ‘barfed up a bar of soap’ monster I still can’t get off my skin. The Naked Honey was very pretty in the bottle…did smell very much like the black locust everyone commented on. Again unfortunately it didn’t continue…it’s still a pretty bright floral…but on me it just smells like floral soap. Not really even a passing nod to honey at all. I will continue the quest for a wearable honey scent and plan to check out some of the alternatives suggested above.
I will be very, very, very happy to try both of these fragrances. I love honey, I also love to eat it and in my perfume. I love the idea of 20ml bottles for MAC’s perfume. If these fragrances are as good as their makeup and eyeshadow… oh I will be drooling over them. Thanx for this article, Kevin!
Well, now that I’ve recv’d my Naked Honey box of goodies and tried each, I’ve decided…eh. Doesn’t last, don’t care for the fragrance – it just smells too ordinary and banal. So, I’m thinking…someone else may like the body wash, body lotion, and little bottle of fragrance . I know it’s “unsanitary” but they’ll be boxed and sent out to the first person who requests them, gratis. I’ve moved on to Lolita Lempicka’s summer fragrance “L” in it’s funky little bottle (too funny – so theatrical), love it, and to LaVanilla. Also Narciso Rodriguez for Her is working out nicely, and Chanel Gardenia, picked up on ebay. My email is Phyllislechat@Yahoo.com re: the offer.
I’ve sent you an e-mail, telling you that I would gladly give your Honey a good home. Denise
I took my Naked Honey to my knitting group tonight for review. No one fell in love with it. One woman tried it on her skin and liked the way that it went through actual distinct phases and wound up being more sweet on her than me. On me, it did smell like honey on the initial spritz. However it quickly changed to spice, perhaps cardamon? It wasn’t quite cinnamon. My nose is not educated, so I can’t pull out notes like you guys can. Denise
Kevin: just got my Naked Honey today – you were absolutely dead on with that review – quasi honeysuckle, mostly black lotus. I love that green sap in it! Nice nice nice. You have a great nose! Look forward to more reviews.
AnnS: GLAD it worked for you!
These were, of course, sold out in my local store by the time I got around to sniffing so I have done my initial Q3 damage and ordered both plus the salve. I have them both on and am liking the way I smell. The Naked Honey is practically an HG – something very linden-y (probably the lotus but I’ve never smelled that) and sunny and warm, like I am out in the sun even if I’m not. I was unsure about the other one but decided what the heck and actually am enjoying the far drydown quite a bit. Had to get the free shipping, after all – lol.
to me the smell of honey and beeswax is just heavenly. There a “honey centre” about 3/4 s of a drive north of here that sells absolutely anything to do with honey – they even have a see-through display of bees doing their thing making wax and honey. I hope its alright for the bees, but they seem o.k, I hope. Anyway the smell of the place when you walk in is beeeutiful. I have a nice ‘natural moisturizer that smells of beeswax from there. Iv’e just noticed, doesn’t Danas Tabu smell a lot like a rich, dark honey?
Well, on reflection, Tabu doesn’t really smell like honey. It might have a honey note in there but the scent on the whole is not remininscent of honey. I want to try the MAC honey scents now! (having just commented on my own comment, I now feel like I’m having a conversation with myself, which feels a bit weird)
I’m loving Naked Honey as a cozy fall scent. It’s warm and comforting… and a lot cheaper than other scents that I could be getting in to. 🙂 One spritz lasts about 12 hours on me, so I really don’t have an excuse to go searching for similar scents. Saving up for the new L’Artisan scent- and MAC’s helping me do it!
I love the scent of honey, it smells so sexy & sensual. This product would overwhelm if I came in contact with a female wearing this perfume. Makes a great gift for a special woman.