I'm declaring 2018 my "Year of Fun"...in all things — food, travel, clothes, music, movies, books, even perfume. I'm in the mood for smiling, and today's two subjects, I thought, might make me laugh.
Kudos to the inspiration for Fort & Manlé Confessions of a Garden Gnome!1
One does not often consider the humble nobility of the garden gnome, and yet his stoicism in the face of the ever-changing seasons is, in its own way, quite beautiful. Confessions of a Garden Gnome pays tribute to this stalwart steward of your backyard, whisking us through a whimsically enchanting year's worth of weather in a single spray, an experience that proves to be as creative and delightful as any we've had in niche fragrance.
Confessions of a Garden Gnome presents a landscape tour of sprightly aromas: tangy grass, ripe, oily-pored yuzu peels, a fresh-cut bouquet of lily of the valley mixing with mango (it works!) There's also a wake-up accord that reminds me of gasoline and turpentine, maybe wafting from the garden shed? Fun? Check!
Fort & Manlé Confessions of a Garden Gnome Extrait de Parfum is $90 $190 for 50 ml at Luckyscent.
Snow falling in the Sahara? It sounds impossible, and yet once every several decades the residents of Ain Sefra in Algeria awake to the most exceptional of sights- pure white snow resting atop deep burnt-orange dunes and rocky outcrops in one of the world's most arid climates. The majesty of the sight almost defies belief, as if the laws of nature itself have been momentarily suspended to allow something beautiful and beyond comprehension to take place. This is the promise of Wonderly, a fragrance that depicts the hot energy of the desert meeting the purity of snow, where notes of mouthwatering fruit, bone dry incensed woods, silvery florals and enchanting vanillic myrrh weave together in a tapestry of such beautiful contrast that it seems as unlikely as snow falling in the world's hottest desert.
At first, The House of Oud Wonderly2 fits nicely in my 'fun' category. It starts off fruity (a characteristic of many fun scents), and this fruit acts as a glaze drizzled over the scent of fresh shortbread, flavored with almonds and vanilla (there are worse things in perfume life than smelling like a plate of cookies). Too bad the cookie crumbles really quickly — in less than 15 minutes — and all we're left with is the Givaudan aromachemical Cosmone.
Cosmone is a ready-made perfume for lazy perfumers or cheapskate perfume companies. It's STRONG: according to Perfumer's Apprentice and Givaudan, it lasts on a blotter ONE MONTH. It costs about a $1 per ml, and a little bit goes a long way. It's described by Givaudan as ...
...musky, warm, powdery...Cosmone is a very rich, intense and diffusive musky note with warm and powdery facets...reminiscent of Ambregris with sweet aspects of nitromusks. Thanks to its powerful and rich musk character, Cosmone gives an elegant touch to all kinds of accords...in musky, ambery, woody, oriental, chypre and fougere fragrances, but it also adds richness to floral, fruity, citrus and green notes.
In Wonderly, Cosmone (which smells just fine to me, if one-dimensional) rules the composition. Where's the oud? Where's the sandalwood? Where's the incense and iris concrete...sambac jasmine? They must either be present in the smallest amounts possible or they're mirages. Wonderly ain't fun...it smells like a rip-off.
The House of Oud Wonderly Eau de Parfum is $220 for 75 ml, also at Luckyscent.
The quick poll: what are your favorite FUN perfumes?
1. Listed fragrance notes of cedar, musk, Sicilian bergamot, coriander, yuzu, pink pepper, lily of the valley, mango, rose, violet leaf, ambergris, amber.
2. Listed fragrance notes of goji berry, apricot, neroli, almond flower, sambac jasmine, cedar, iris concrete, sandalwood, myrrh, Cosmone, vanilla, incense.
Note: top gnome image via Wikimedia Commons.
I love Garden Gnome, and I’m not letting my own garden gnome, Jeffrey, use any of it. I’m hoarding every drop of my sample, and considering a bottle.
Masha: Is Jeffrey as put together as the gnome photographed here? I need to find a gnome I guess!
I’m afraid my Jeffrey is a little pudgy in the tummy- the one above is clearly the Fabio of garden gnomes!
Masha: I know…and so CLEAN!
You say Fabio, I say Burt Reynolds. I’m clearly showing my age here but that pose is classic Playgirl Burt. LOL
Fabio indeed. I laughed out loud at that photo. I swear he looks like he was smoking that pipe with his eyes closed, opened them just for a moment and noticed that a winsome someone had crawled into bed with him. He’s removed his pipe, but not sure what to do next!!!
Fun perfumes… Dzing!
LTSG, agree (or it used to be…haven’t smelled it in ages)
I really liked F&M CoaGG for the first 20 min which is where all the green, florals, and citruses really popped. It went a little too sweet ambery on me after that. Love the name (also, it’s $190, not $90. Wouldn’t $90 be something?).
Elisa…ah! Will change that price (just like Luckyscent did, ha!)
Those rascals! Forgot to add my fun scent of recent is Hendley Amora-also fruity.
Elisa: that sounds like an ultimate fun scent.
I can’t help wondering where exactly this magical garden that grows both mango, yuzu and lily of the valley is situated and whether those countries/areas also use garden gnomes?
I don’t use perfumes for “fun” but if I did, I would probably be looking at getting my fun from perfume names (ELDO, Demeter and A Lab on Fire come to mind) or perfume packaging (maybe Harajuku Lovers or House of Sillage).
Undina…a magical gnome garden for sure.
They make Cosmone sound very interesting and exotic, but I must confess I have a hard time detecting the difference between the handful of musk aromachemicals I own. The only difference with Cosmone to me is that its pricier than most (its a fairly new molecule and, like with medication, somebody has to pay for all that research) and that it has a sourness to it.
I really like Velvione, but maybe its because the name sounds nicer than, say, ethylene brassylate.
Des esseintes, the extreme powderiness of it sets it apart for me…but would probably avoid perfumes where I could easily detect it.
Both Mugler Cologne and good old Angel are always fun to me – I just can’t take them seriously (in a good way).
I am intrigued by Garden Gnome as well . . .
Nicolasix…I can see those two as being fun — but not for ME!
Arielle Shoshana immediately comes to mind. Imaginary Authors Saint Julep is also a lot of fun, and refreshing in the summer.
Nice post!
Nancy: dying to try the Arielle Shoshana scent; must get myself in gear and order samples.
That’s also the first one that came to mind! In a similar vein, Bombay Bling – fun name, fun mango notes
Kevin, fun post and fun poll!
1) Agreeing with LTSG: Dzing!–for its circus inspiration and its actual creation.
2) Carthusia Mediterraneo–for its refreshing combination of lemon and tea that smells (too briefly) of how I’d like to smell while spending a summer in an Italian villa on an Italian coast.
3) Bvlgari Black–for its hockey puck bottle and unique vanilla/leather/rubber/amber notes that all combine into a cold weather comfort scent for me.
4) 1000 Flowers Reglisse Noire–for the fun of wearing a relatively sophisticated licorice fragrance.
5) Bruno Fazzolari’s whole line for wearable creativity!
springpansy: good choices…I used to wear the he** out of Carthusia Mediterraneo (it didn’t last 10 minutes but there were a fun 10 minutes).
I will say that I like the bottles. Now I must sniff Wonderly to find out what Cosmone smells like. I feel a lot of fragrances are made in this lazy way these days, with one aromachemical that sort of smells like bits of the good stuff that real perfumes used to be made off. Get off my lawn, Cosmone!
Speaking of fun things, in the course of my research today I ran across a website called Bad Hebrew Tattoos. Yes, it is amazingly easy to fall afoul of linguistic or orthographic errors with hilarious results:
http://www.badhebrew.com/2010/03/wake-up-your-butterfly-is-burning.html
I’m dying to know what kind of research had brought you to that site…
Genealogy! Talitha Cumi was a rare women’s name in the 1800s. I may actually be related to someone with that name, so I guess that means I’m entitled to the tattoo (corrected).
Noz: Wonderly will give you an orchestra/center seat at the Cosmone show. HAHA! That site is priceless.
Best wishes for your “Year of Fun”.
That is a wonderful lens through which to look at a new year!!
sunnlitt: thanks!
Honore des Pres Vamp a NY always makes me smile. There’s a pronounced bubblegum note peeking through the tuberose and assorted resins that immediately improves my mood on the darkest of days. The packaging is fun, too, a take-out paper coffee cup. I often toss out perfume packaging but this is one I’ve kept. The other two perfumes in this series, Love Coco and I Love Carottes, are similarly good natured.
Kathryn: a fun grouping!
Slumberhouse Sadanne is one I consider fun. It’s a rose scent but I get strawberries – not candied ones but somehow wild.
I also think Zoologist Bat is fun; it’s creative and weird and I always expect to get funny looks when I wear it!
Katrina, love Bat!
What a great idea to declare a year of fun! It reminds me of Abraham Lincoln’s quote about people being just as happy as they make up their minds to be.
For fun perfume, I enjoy Kerosene Black Vines, L de Lolita – licorice in both, plus L has that salted caramel note; Gucci Rush is fun to wear to with it’s over the top sultry fruity hairspray feel, or maybe it just reminds me of fun times.
ringthing: so true…Eau d’Hadrien always makes me think of fun times…should stock up on scents like that.
Bendelirious: cherry and iris dance up a storm.
AnnieA: wow…I can’t even IMAGINE that combo…just sniff it sometime.
I have to confess that I’m smitten with that fun Garden Gnome bottle!
Two lines that seem to embody ‘fun’ for me are Comme de Garcons and CB I Hate Perfume. CdG’s Synthetic and Sweet series are definitely quirky, and yet somehow very wearable. I love CB’s collaboration with actor Alan Cumming (2nd Cumming!); the peaty, earthy, whisky-tinged fragrance really does remind me of the cool and rainy summer I spent in beautiful Scotland. Memory of Kindness, At the Beach 1966, In the Library, and Black March always bring a smile to my face and a memory in my mind.
LisaInDenver: yep…those lines are very fun and the quirkier the better. Demeter scents can be fun, too.
SOTD L’AP La Haie Fleuri du Hameau. Haven’t worn this in a while, but it’s still a beauty. Honeyed jasmine and flowers near a horse stable on a warm, summer’s eve.
Oops! Wrong thread!
Elisa: The gnome mesmerized you…don’t cha worry.