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Browsing by tag: illuminum

Illuminum Tomato Leaf ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 17 August 2012 25 Comments

tomato leaftomato leaf

Like many people, I first took notice of British fragrance house Illuminum when Katherine Middleton chose to wear Illuminum’s White Gardenia Petals on the occasion of her wedding to Prince William. At that time, Illuminum’s fragrances weren’t even available in the United States; over the past year, however, the brand has been making gradual inroads into the American niche fragrance market. Illuminum offers a daunting range of personal fragrances and home fragrances; Tomato Leaf, from the “Haute Perfume” line, is one that has made an impression on me.

Illuminum says that “a vegetal freshness is central to this green and pleasing scent,” which includes top notes of carrot seed, osmanthus and tomato leaf; heart notes of dew drops, seaweed and water lily; and a base note of musk. (Freesia is also mentioned in a description of the fragrance.) However, after wearing it three or four times, I’d file Tomato Leaf under “misleading names” and “not at all what I expected.” It begins with a really unusual blend of mint, ripe peaches and moist green leaves, like a summer salad assembled from ingredients freshly picked in a garden or purchased that morning at a farmers market…

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Illuminum White Gardenia Petals ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 31 May 2011 185 Comments

Wills & Kate kissing on the balcony

Almost as soon as word got out that Catherine Middleton1 wore Illuminum White Gardenia Petals during her wedding to Prince William, the fragrance flew off the shelves. Illuminum vendors Luckyscent (in the United States) and Roullier White (in Great Britain) have month-plus waiting lists for the fragrance. Illuminum is hard to find, leading me to wager that many of the White Gardenia Petals purchases are unsniffed.

I was definitely curious what White Gardenia Petals smelled like. With what would a prospective queen, dressed in Alexander McQueen, watched by heads of state from around the world, serenaded by choirs and trumpets, surrounded by a massive stone abbey impregnated with centuries of incense — with what would she perfume herself? Thanks to a decant from the industrious [Now Smell This reader] Daisy, I can now tell you. With something that smells like a scented panty liner, that’s what.

I wouldn’t write this if I thought the Duchess of Cambridge were a regular Now Smell This reader. I hope every time she wears White Gardenia Petals she feels the love and exhilaration she felt on her wedding day…

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