Burberry Brit Rhythm ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 25 September 2013 36 Comments

Burberry Brit Rhythm, ad & bottle

Burberry just released Burberry Brit Rhythm for (young) men; it’s a flanker to Brit for Men (2004) and marks the beginning of Burberry’s in-house perfume development (adieu InterParfums). Though InterParfums is gone, silliness remains: Brit Rhythm was “inspired by the music in the brand’s DNA” — huh? what’s so musical about a trench coat? (I own a Burberry trench and have probably done some singing while wearing it…though I don’t think I was inspired by my coat to burst into song.) Burberry also produced an unmusical Brit Rhythm video that looks more like a lead-up to a fashion show than a rock concert. Do young guys still aspire, by the millions, to rock-singer status? You’d think so judging by mainstream perfume advertising.

It took three perfumers to come up with Burberry Brit Rhythm: Dominique Ropion, Anne Flipo and Olivier Polge…

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Jardins d’Ecrivains Orlando ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 18 September 2013 18 Comments

Vita Sackville-West

“…some we know to be dead even though they walk among us; some are not yet born though they go through all the forms of life; others are hundreds of years old though they call themselves thirty-six.”
— Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Imagine living for centuries and only aging 36 years. Oh, and starting out your existence as a man, then waking up one morning as a woman (thus experiencing “love” — sex — both ways). If that scenario intrigues you, and you are also amused by or interested in Old Queen Bess, cross-dressing, the struggle to write something “worthy,” exotic locales and gypsies..and much more…read Orlando.

Since the perfume, Orlando, inspired by Orlando the book, is by Jardins d’Écrivains (writers’ gardens), I will vouch for Virginia Woolf’s green-thumb connections — both her husband, Leonard, and the woman who inspired Orlando the book (Virginia Woolf’s one-time lover) Vita Sackville-West, were serious gardeners — Leonard on a small scale at Monk’s House, Vita on a grand, aristocratic scale (visit Sissinghurst Castle, her house and garden in England, if you’re ever near it).

I like the Jardins d’Écrivains perfume line (I especially admire George), and Orlando has become my second-favorite from the collection…

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Neela Vermeire Creations Ashoka ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 11 September 2013 16 Comments

Though based in Paris, Neela Vermeire Créations’ perfumes are inspired by India: the Vedic period (Trayee), the British Raj/Mughal Empire (Mohur) and modern India (Bombay Bling). With its new fragrance, Ashoka, we’re promised a glimpse of Buddhist India. (It’s funny that Mauryan Buddhist emperor Ashoka, as an older man at least, would have probably been dismissive of those earlier perfume ideas: he rejected sacrifices of animals and what he deemed the “empty” rituals encouraged by the Vedas; he would have fought both domination by outside forces — the Brits — and blind faith in “tradition”; and he certainly would have shown disdain for the “foolish” antics, the flash and cash, of Bollywood.)

In honoring (or channeling) Emperor Ashoka,¹ Neela Vermeire Créations, utilizing the talents of perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour, has incorporated many standard Buddhist elements in its Ashoka perfume: a temple (sandalwood, incense, styrax), the symbol of purity rising from the muck (pink lotus, white lotus), and fig (a tree under which Buddha meditated and reached enlightenment).²

Ashoka begins on my skin with a striking sandalwood note…

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Top 10 Fall Fragrances 2013

Posted by Kevin on 6 September 2013 103 Comments

fall leaves

I’ve experienced autumn in several places. When I was growing up in the ‘tropics’ (Virginia), the arrival of autumn was marvelous — no more steamy heat or mosquitoes. One of the first signs of autumn was the arrival of glass jugs of amber-colored fresh apple cider, for sale at orchard stands along almost every road. I tried to find an apple scent for this post (and for my perfume “collection”) in honor of apples and cool weather, but I was unsuccessful. Any suggestions? (Donna Karan DKNY scents need not apply.)

My early college life in New York City proved the Big Apple was not much different from Virginia in summertime, except for the added smells of simmering garbage on the streets. But autumn in New York was great; all the food cart aromas, even the exhaust fumes, smelled nicer mixing with the cool, marine air surrounding Manhattan, and the autumn leaves in Central Park added a dry, “woodland,” hay-like scent to the crisp air.

When I lived in L.A., autumn was pretty much like any other season (warm and sunny), except for days when the ferocious Santa Ana winds made autumn feel like I was standing in front of an open oven door…and the oven temperature was at 450° Fahrenheit. I’ve never in my life been more lethargic than during hot weather in Southern California, nor have I reached for cooling Eaux de Cologne more, applying them morning, noon and night.

Now I live in the Pacific Northwest…

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Comme des Garcons Blue Invasion: Blue Encens, Blue Cedrat & Blue Santal ~ fragrance reviews

Posted by Kevin on 28 August 2013 16 Comments

Comme des Garçons Blue Invasion

As Robin here at Now Smell This and I decided who would review the new Comme des Garçons Blue Invasion trio of perfumes, she said: “I thought they were all nice, but maybe CdG needs to get out of this woody/incense sandbox? They have done some really great stuff…but even their weirder stuff is no longer surprising. Maybe there are no surprises left?”

Robin and I have three points of agreement:

I like the new Blue Invasion perfumes;
I agree Comme des Garçons has driven the woody incense genre to a dead end (or at least into a cul-de-sac, where it goes round and round and round);
I also wonder if there are many surprises in store for me as a dedicated perfume sniffer.

Now, to Blue Invasion….

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