5 perfumes: A Summer Vetiver-fest

Posted by Kevin on 31 July 2019 21 Comments

What’s more wonderful than the scent of vetiver? Of the “Fragrance Notes I Cannot Live Without”, vetiver is in the top five. I started my vetiver love affair with one of the best vetiver colognes: vintage Guerlain Vetiver (to my nose, the contemporary version is wimpy and less vetiver-y than its old self). Other vetiver fragrances that won my heart were Etro Vetiver (discontinued), Frédéric Malle Vétiver Extraordinaire, Chanel Sycomore and Maître Parfumeur et Gantier Route du Vetiver (ummm ummmm ummmmmmm). But that list is skimpy; my vetiver beaus are too numerous to list here.

In June I ordered samples of some new(ish) vetiver perfumes, hoping that one or two might inspire lust…

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Eau d’Italie Rosa Greta, Ex Nihilo Rose Hubris, MCMC Fragrances Maine, Atelier des Ors Rose Omeyyade ~ short fragrance reviews

Posted by Jessica on 3 May 2019 11 Comments

I think many of us have a box or bowl of perfume samples that we’ve tried once or twice, weren’t quite sure about and plan to try again someday — the “purgatory basket,” as Robin dubbed it years ago. I can never resist trying rose-inspired fragrances, even ones that I have a sneaking suspicion I might not actually like, so I inevitably end up with more than a few semi-forgotten rose samples rattling around my desk.

Here are brief reviews of four scents I recently plucked from sample limbo and gave another wearing…

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Top 10 Fall Fragranced Things 2018

Posted by Kevin on 14 September 2018 40 Comments

While growing up in the hot and steamy South, I loved autumn and its coolness, and you’d think that after Seattle’s oven-like temperatures and dangerously smoky skies this summer, I’d be looking forward to autumn. Wrong. I’m already counting the weeks till spring and wishing I could move to Buenos Aires for the next six months and enjoy spring and summer all over again. Perhaps I’ve changed (emotionally?) but fall feels sad this year; I reckon it’ll be dark, sodden, the beginning of The End — the interminable winter months.

This year I’m going to avoid sentimentality, Japanese death poems, lethargic piano music and drama (I won’t be stoking my self-pity). I’ll tackle my negative autumn (and winter) moods with fun things…

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Ex Nihilo Fleur Narcotique, Sweet Morphine & Love Shot ~ fragrance reviews & a quick poll

Posted by Jessica on 8 December 2016 55 Comments

Ex Nihilo Fleur Narcotique and Sweet Morphine, brand images

This month marks my 10-year anniversary as a writer for Now Smell This, and I’ve been thinking back to my original impulses for applying for this fantastic gig. I love to write. I love fragrance. I wanted a chance to share my impressions of the perfumes I was exploring, from classics to the newest independent releases. On that latter point: for me, the gold rush of niche perfumery has gone from a thrill to a frequent frustration.

Be warned: this week’s review is a also bit of a rant. Ex Nihilo, a Parisian house founded in 2013 by Sylvie Loday, Olivier Royère and Benoît Verdier, has positioned itself as an “alternative” within the world of luxury perfumery, but I’m not too sure about that. I can’t help feeling that this brand embodies many niche fragrance trends that bother me these days…

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