Tauer Perfumes Verdant ~ fragrance review

Posted by Robin on 28 July 2011 45 Comments

Verdant is one of the three initial fragrance releases in the new Pentachords series from indie niche line Tauer Perfumes. If you remember, each of the Pentachords is to feature 5 synthetic molecules, no more, no less, no naturals. Tauer called the series a bit of a “mind game”, and I suppose limiting yourself in advance to a set number of materials is somewhat arbitrary, but I’ve no quarrel with it: whatever keeps the perfumer amused and challenged is fine with me; and surely the whole point of indie niche is that you can do what you want, right? As Tauer noted…

It’s a privilege to be smaller. I can do things Chanel can’t.¹

Indeed.

Verdant opens citrusy and green and bright, and then quickly turns dark and dirty…

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Parfumerie Generale No. 24, Papyrus de Ciane ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 3 March 2010 70 Comments

Ophelia

Bring on the stems, leaves, grasses — I’m always in the mood for ‘green’ fragrances. Green-tinged perfumes are refreshing and often “cool” in tone; they convey the idea of “growth,” especially new growth of plants. Spring is the perfect time for a green cologne to debut, and I’ve been looking forward to smelling Parfumerie Generale Papyrus de Ciane (No. 24).

Perfumer Pierre Guillaume has gotten a lot of online media coverage for Papyrus de Ciane and much of it references his use of a legendary component of early 20^th century fragrances: Mousse de Saxe. I’ll let others discuss the chemical composition of Mousse de Saxe and its reconfiguration for Papyrus de Ciane; my only “concern” is: How does Papyrus de Ciane smell on me?

Papyrus de Ciane’s “published” list of notes is varied (online at Parfumerie Generale only five components are mentioned: galbanum, broom, mild plant note, Mousse de Saxe, Silvanone® Supra (musk); in interviews, Guillaume has also mentioned bergamot, neroli, mugwort, cistus labdanum, lavender, clove, vetiver, incense and hedione.

Papyrus de Ciane begins with a mix of citrus, “white flowers” and delicious and strong galbanum (the galbanum crystallizes and turns soft and powdery fast); Papyrus de Ciane’s green notes are not wild and sharp…

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Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio ~ fragrance review

Posted by Robin on 11 January 2010 196 Comments

Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio perfume

I’ve been half afraid to seriously investigate the state of citrus these days. Have the new IFRA regulations destroyed my summer favorites, like Eau de Guerlain and Chanel Cristalle? If it turns out that they have — or will before they’re through — Annick Goutal’s new woody citrus, Ninféo Mio, will help to make up my new summer arsenal.

Like Annick Goutal’s last major fragrance release, Un Matin d’Orage, Ninféo Mio was inspired by a garden — in this case, a very specific garden, the Giardino di Ninfa (Ninfa garden) near Rome. The first thing you need to know about Ninféo Mio is that it’s green. Very green, from the start right through to the finish. The opening is sharp green citrus, rather acidic, and more dry than juicy — think Hermès Eau d’Orange Verte with more lemon than orange. There’s a fair amount of lavender in the early stages, and it adds an herbal cast to the scent, but it isn’t harsh or overwhelming; those of you who say lavender is a deal-breaker really ought to give this a shot anyway…

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Four (affordable) summer fragrances from Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

Posted by Robin on 17 July 2009 58 Comments

pink-grapefruit

We’ve had weird weather here this summer. Most of June was cold and rainy and more like April than June. At the end of the month, things finally shaped up, and the normal June weather — perfect warm sunny days with almost no humidity, followed by perfect clear and cool nights — hung around right through the middle of July. In that sort of weather, there’s no need to pack away your fall and winter favorites: you can wear any perfume you like.

Then just when I’d been lulled into complacency, summer started first thing yesterday morning, and with a vengeance: hot, humid, generally nasty, with the added thrill of a late afternoon thunderstorm. The Estée Lauder Jasmine White Moss I was wearing happily the week before? No way would I have worn that yesterday. So. Here are four unisex fragrances from the indie house of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz. Three greens, one citrus, and all four can make it through the nastiest summer heat.

Wasabi Shiso (Essence Oils collection)

Does a fragrance with wasabi + shiso sound good to you? I’m guessing that if it does, you’ll love this…

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Summer fun ~ brief reviews of six less-than-serious perfumes for hot weather

Posted by Robin on 2 June 2009 159 Comments

Six contenders for those warm summer days when a serious perfume just won’t do: Lostmarc’h Lann Ael, ElizabethW Sweet Tea, Comme des Garçons Soda, Gap Grass, Demeter Pruning Shears & Demeter Beetroot.

Lostmarc'h Lann Ael perfume ElizabethW Sweet Tea

Lostmarc’h Lann Ael ~ Gourmand-lovers looking for something edible that won’t overwhelm in the summer heat might want to check out Lann Ael from the niche line Lostmarc’h. It is most decidedly not my sort of thing, but something about it makes me smile. If the notes (buckwheat, cereals, milk, apple, vanilla) sound like breakfast, you’re on the right track: this is a dead ringer for my son’s favorite maybe-more-dessert-than-breakfast cereal: Cookie Crisp. It starts out airy and light, with crisp apple (thankfully or not, depending on your point of view, the apple doesn’t last), calms into a mild blend of sweet cereal grains and cookie dough, and eventually finishes off as a light, creamy vanilla…

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Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Tauer Perfumes Verdant ~ fragrance review

Parfumerie Generale No. 24, Papyrus de Ciane ~ fragrance review

Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio ~ fragrance review

Four (affordable) summer fragrances from Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

Wasabi Shiso (Essence Oils collection)

Summer fun ~ brief reviews of six less-than-serious perfumes for hot weather