Nu_Be is the perfume line of Fluid Ounce, a Parma-based company. They debut with five fragrances: Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Carbon and Oxygen…
Etat Libre d’Orange Je suis un homme ~ fragrance review
Over the holidays spent at home, I found myself wearing LOTS of perfumes — named Chanel No. 5, Jean Patou Joy and Dior Diorissimo (vintage, both), Molinard Habanita and Lalique de Lalique. All of a sudden, I felt I needed to stop shaving, to put on some work boots, and to wear a manly cologne — nothing fancy, but a salt-of-the-earth, dare I say, conservative fragrance. I reached for Etat Libre d’Orange Je suis un homme.*
I tried Je suis un homme years ago; it was like-at-first-sniff. And what’s NOT to like? Though its emblem is a penis-barreled gun, Je suis un homme is a comforting scent to me…not menacing in the least. Je suis un homme is masculine, warm and fuzzy; it’s sexy, but I don’t like to write the word ‘sexy’ in connection with a gun (Etat Libre d’Orange: retire the penis-pistol…if you want another penis besides the spurting one used in the Sécrétions Magnifiques ad copy, make it less aggressive, maybe zero in on the naked crotch of an ancient Greek or Roman sculpture?)
Je suis un homme’s opening is bracing…
Blood Concept Red +MA ~ new fragrance
Italian niche brand Blood Concept has launched Red +MA, a new unisex fragrance…
Etat Libre d’Orange Secretions Magnifiques ~ fragrance review
Sécrétions Magnifiques burst (seeped? dripped? spurted?) onto the perfume scene in 2006. Though I’ve been intrigued by many Etat Libre d’Orange perfume descriptions, I’ve not had any luck with the fragrances. The perfumes are usually rather mild compared to their PR claims, names and artwork. On its packaging, Je suis un Homme features a handgun with the barrel in the shape of a firm penis, but it smells like Hermès Bel Ami — calm, reserved and a tad conservative. The woman Rossy de Palma is bold and quirky; her eponymous Etat Libre d’Orange fragrance is an Eau d’Italie Paestum Rose clone. Tom of Finland? About as raunchy as an éclair. Belatedly, I’ve found that Sécrétions Magnifiques does live up, in part, to its name (keep the sécrétions, nix the magnifiques).
Breast milk, blood and semen are but a few of the ‘inspirations’ for Sécrétions Magnifiques. Nourishment, preservation and orgasm comprise the Sécrétions Magnifiques manifesto; the perfume salutes the human body and its fluids…
Comme des Garcons Wonderwood ~ fragrance review
The short film that the Brothers Quay made to promote the new Comme des Garçons fragrance, Wonderwood, opens with the words “Someone who loved wood more than words can say…”, and Comme des Garçons describes the fragrance as a “positive overdose of woods, woody notes and synthetic wood construction (wood gone mad)”. They’re not kidding. Have they not yet made the fragrance that screamed WOOD loud enough to suit you? Then do try Wonderwood.
Wonderwood was developed by perfumer Antoine Lie, and it includes all the wood notes a wood freak could ask for, plus some spices to liven things up: Madagascan pepper, bergamot, incense, nutmeg, cristalon (a floral fruity note with rosy, plum and apple nuances), cashmeran, gaiacwood, cedar, caraway, javanol (sandalwood), sandalwood, vetiver, patchouli and oudh. What is smells like, mostly, is — you guessed it — wood…