West Village niche perfume boutique Aedes de Venustas will launch Pélargonium, a new unisex fragrance, next month…
Comme des Garcons + Stephen Jones Wisteria Hysteria ~ fragrance review
Wisteria Hysteria is the second fragrance from British milliner Stephen Jones, working in collaboration with Comme des Garçons. I liked the first, 2008’s Comme des Garçons + Stephen Jones, enough to add it to my buy list but not enough to actually buy it: it’s among the many perfumes I would buy if I ever found it at a massive discount. Wisteria Hysteria — what a great name! — costs a little more and I like it a little less, so it’s not likely I’ll ever own it.
The first fragrance from Stephen Jones was meant to be a “violet that’s been hit by a meteorite”, but while the top notes were a little odd, in general I found it more wearable than the description might imply. Wisteria Hysteria tones down the oddness several notches while staying just inside the Comme des Garçons aesthetic…
Comme des Garcons + Stephen Jones Wisteria Hysteria ~ new fragrance
Comme des Garçons has launched a second fragrance in conjunction with British milliner Stephen Jones, Wisteria Hysteria (the first was 2008’s Comme des Garçons + Stephen Jones)…
Comme des Garcons Blue Invasion: Blue Encens, Blue Cedrat & Blue Santal ~ fragrance reviews
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….
Etat Libre d’Orange Putain des Palaces ~ perfume review
Let’s get this over with quickly so we can move on the fragrance itself: Yes, Etat Libre d’Orange Putain des Palaces’s English translation — as supplied by Etat Libre, at least — is “Hotel Slut.” And, yes, its logo (see below) is a phallic key inserted into a pink, ovoid lock. All right, we’ve got it, ha ha ha.
But “Hotel Slut” casts the wrong impression of the perfume. It sounds too cheap. After rejecting Truck Stop Floozy (not tony enough) and Penthouse Suite Slattern (really I just listed this name for the chance to use “slattern”), I think High Class Harlot is more like it.
Putain des Palaces was released in 2006 and was developed by perfumer Nathalie Feisthauer. Its notes include rose absolute, violet, leather, lily of the valley, tangerine, ginger, rice powder, amber and animal notes. For once, the list of notes is a good representation of the actual fragrance.
Putain des Palaces is an aldehydic floral juiced with ginger-spiked citrus and sandwiched between a whiff of body odor and a bed of supple stiletto leather…