Smell Bent – Walk Of Shame & Mocktail

Hey guys Have been pretty busy recently so sorry for the lack of updates.
Anyway! I ordered two bottles from the Smell Bent sale and they arrived the other day
One was Dead of Winter which I reviewed before (a great anise with vanilla, musks, heliotrope and a white-chocolate-vibe) and Walk Of Shame (a blind buy). Walk of Shame is described on the Smell Bent website as:
“overcast skies, the chill of cold concrete, a waft of bodega blossoms and a bit of morning-after musk”. The few reviews I’d read had described it as safe – slightly minty, with a hint of floral-soap – generally clean. So I wasn’t expected an avant-garde beast of a thing like it sounds don’t worry But I do really like it!…
Mocktail is a sample I got with the order…

Walk Of Shame opens with a subtle pink pepper, an almost aquatic carnation (translucent clove-y floral), a chlorine-like, muted mint… and a similar vinyl accord to Skai by Comme Des Garcons. OK, so it sounds crazy – but it’s not. It’s a subtle, almost ozonic spice – cool, slightly mentholated – a touch of smoke… but thankfully has underneath it a sweet, cream of something that bulks it out just a touch – it’s minimal from the get-go, and a little mysterious (the kind of thing you’d ask someone for an opinion on and they’d have no idea what to say…).

It’s one of those fragrances with such muted topnotes it smells from the start like it’s been on your skin for hours. I don’t normally like that – but having read reviews on this one, I expected it to be a subtle musky thing not too dissimilar to what I expected from Commando (but instead got a powerfully sweet, animalic musk that I love!).

Walk Of Shame gets sweeter as it goes on, the pepper and carnation tame down considerably, the mint is “just there”. If anything it reminds me a little of The Smell Of Weather Turning by Lush (although that was unbearably loud on my skin – something rare!) – it has the same damp, slightly smoky, other-worldly feel that is hard to pull apart.
The concrete accord? Only in the same way that people claim Narciso Rodriguez For Him has (a touch of violet leaf?) – but yet again, that one was horrifically strong (and all-round gross). I don’t really get it – unless I try to…

I think I get touches of saffron, a little suede, and a heavy tonka-laden musk in the base. The suede as I read somewhere else online (and agree with), has a Tom Of Finland by ELdO feel to it. Very soft, very safe – it’s more of a sensation than a smell – something I’ve wanted for far too long in my wardrobe. It begins to smell like last-night’s cologne (or someone elses) over warm skin, slightly diluted by a cucumber note… I know it doesn’t sound like me… it isn’t… but the subtly unique combination is something that I’ll wear a ton <3 Nice one!

Mocktail opens kind of hideous… I get a similar, plasticky, very-loud fruit bundle to the peach in Saddle Warmer. Quickly undercut by a ton of sour, bitter citrus fruits (blood orange, apple, maybe a touch of pineapple?). Hugely synthetic and intense – it throws itself off the skin with an almost aldehydic-intensity. I have no idea what I’m smelling underneath but something is soiling Mocktail – it smells like rot.

There’s a cleaning-product-style lemon piercing the top of Mocktail that drags right through to the heart. If you’re enjoying the citrus accord then you’re lucky because it’s sticking around for a hell of a long time (a feat in itself!).
Underneath is an unidentifiable bitter resin and woody accord that smells like a mixture of harsh, heated plastic, and fuel. The painful thing about this review is that I sound like one of those people on Fragrantica who use the most immature, idiotic descriptions about a perfectly fine fragrance… this is hard to describe though.

At times, I think I kindda get on with it! I get glimpses of it from afar when it smells like being on holiday, arriving at the airport in some sunny country. At these points I get bitter orange, plastic and strong dry woods – then up-close I get the chemical experiment that I struggle to keep on my skin.
As it begins to settle it gets a little musky, a little sweeter (tonka again?), with this bizarre dried wood that doesn’t quite smell like cedar – and a very, very bitter amber – all wrapped in an unmistakable burnt-plastic smell. Interesting, but not for me

Oh and just to brighten the post a bit more – I’ve been super busy tattooing this week booking in a lot of my own designs, so, hope you like ‘em!

Unfinished

Vis Et Honor – O’Driu

It’s been so long since I’ve wrote about an O’Driu fragrance. I got drawn to them again recently – wearing my bottle of Leva regularly <3
This one is one hell of an odd-ball (well… they are all!). So here it is.

Up top, Vis et Honor opens with a bitterly green, camphorous blast of lavender, an astringent narcotic accord riddled with a briney olive-like scent (more black than green: more Sienne L’Hiver than Leva). The lavender vanishes in no time, where a smoky herb bundle begins to dominate. It smells like a burning stick of dried out herbs, along with the most pungent chamomile – overbrewed and nose-clearing, it hits the back of your throat with a sting.

This herb basket settles into a mint… well, it doesn’t settle at all – but a mint comes into focus in full force, heated by the smoke and warmed by the chamomile – it is a mineralic and hot mint, earthy almost. Paired with an absinthe/liqourice (sweetening Vis Et Honor just a tiny bit), what seemed like a complicated overload at the beginning manages to fall into place. I find that a lot with the O’Driu’s – they are literally impossible up top, to know what you’re smelling, and also to predict the direction it will take. A mint/anise was not expected…

The expected cool quality of these two is replaced with a burning, almost boozy sensation, like the feeling in your stomach as a spirit hits it. You’d expect a super-clean thing with the overload of mint and anise, but the smokiness that begins to evolve into a castoreum/leathery scent keeps it human and a touch soiled. It quickly interlocks with your skin smell as it begins to tame at this point, smelling smoother and warmer – a touch of salt, a gorgeous incense followed by O’Driu’s fantastic vanilla and a hefty dose of oakmoss (and pine?). MMMM!

A pinch of fenugreek adds a subtle curried spice, but nowhere near as pungent as in Ladamo. It keeps the fragrance warm, with a bit of spark on the skin. Labdanum shows up and stays up, a thick, sticky black layer of resin that anchors the remaining touch of liquorice and mint to the skin. The incense/castoreum/vanilla creating a smooth, smokiness underneath (I hope this is coming across as clear as it can! – complicated I know).
The spiciness of fenugreek has touches of clove and saffron too – I love a good saffron note and it’s as smooth as can be here!
Drying down, it’s extremely soft on the skin with a furry texture – with enough bite to keep it fascinating start to finish. I’d have bought this one when I was in CampoMarzio70 were it not for the exceedingly high price tag. Still – if I had the money, I’d snap this up in no time. Gorgeous.

To sum up that complicated thing I just wrote there, the development to my nose:
Top: Lavender, olive, chamomile, smoke, salt
Middle: Mint, liquorice, clove, saffron, fenugreek
Base: Labdanum, castoreum, vanilla, moss, pine

Vis Et Honor 50ml EDP O’Driu – 270 Euros www.odriu.com

Antonia – Puredistance

I love the opening to Antonia. It is a beautifully intense, green, floral, soap. Undoubtably soap – no easy way to go around that one. I like soap notes these days – not sure why… Maybe I was too young to like it before

Anyway! It’s hard to describe this beginning… I get hints of violet, hyacinth, jasmine, rose and carnation atop green – smelling almost aldehydic and abstract. The violet-tinged jasmine (clean!) seems to dominate – along with the slightly pepper-y hyacinth, the rose bulking it all out underneath (very clean and translucent), and the carnation adding a subtle clove-y spice that pairs exceptionally with the snap of bitter greens. The greenery of galbanum and listed ivy, brings to mind Bandit by Robert Piguet - only much more feminine without the isobutyl quinoline underneath – but I definitely smell a similar accord.

The squeaky bar of soap underneath is something that isn’t going anywhere so if you don’t like it, that’s it for you unfortunately. However the shapeshifting florals should be enough to keep in interesting. I get hints of lily of the valley popping up, the carnation disappearing and reappearing, the rose getting more potent than vanishing. Then after all that I kind of stop over thinking and realise it smells exactly the same as five minutes ago. Stop tearing this one apart Freddie!!!

Ok. I don’t love it. Bummer. But it’s nice – I can’t help but think if it came from the house of Comme Des Garcons and was called “Soap” – it would be judged differently. Maybe that’s unfair – it’d still be a beautifully balanced perfume – but after the initial complicated arrangement of the classical opening (read: dated), it settles into this relatively linear fragrance with a drydown that is much less interesting after the one hour mark.

The floral soap leads all the way through until the end, the florals blended impeccably so that nothing dominates. The greenery settling into something smooth – what started cool and crisp ends warm and mellow when a vetiver joins in. It sweetens a touch with some vanilla – which brings in a kind of ylang-ylang style tropical floral accord but extremely minimal underneath the leading florals. Still – the warmth from the drydown is undoubtably gorgeous and the fragrance reminds me of Bandit, with the leather underneath replaced by a few sprays of Guerlain’s Lys Soleia (vanilla/ylang ylang/lily). In the drydown I realise that sprayed from a drugstore bottle, I wouldn’t give it a second sniff (at this point of the development). I don’t consider it a masterpiece, but it is a nice perfume that I’d enjoy wearing (although tire of quickly as the day goes on).

Antonia 17.5ml Parfum Puredistance - $198 Luckyscent

What you do get, Puredistance, is my number 1 spot for horrific advertising.

Vintage: First EDP by Van Cleef & Arpels

I say vintage… all I know is my bottle is oldish. I don’t even know if the fragrance has been reformulated much… I don’t think so… anyway
I noticed I reference this fragrance quite a lot (both here and on my YouTube channel). I’m not too sure why, it’s not exactly a favourite of mine, but I do get drawn to it every now and again.
I also have a massive jasmine plant growing in my bedroom which is literally stinking out my whole apartment (beautifully of course!). My narcissus is practically a brown crisp with dead leaves that I can’t quite bring myself to throw away yet – and considering the two main florals I get in this are jasmine and narcissus, this is probably a good time to write about it

First opens aldehydic and soapy – very old-school, with a fruity astringency up top that smells intense and dated. A touch of peach, a bit of honey, and a faint indolic accord that pretty accurately conjurs a narcissus accord – only with a big bar of soap rubbed over it.

The development is very slow – which is very nice. The aldehydic opening hanging around for a lot longer than expected, the “soap” practically producing suds in my nose until they let the florals underneath become a little more dominating. The leading jasmine is nice – a hint of indole adds to the old-fashioned feel of First rather than add something challenging. The narcissus and jasmine pretty much merge together at this point and round out into a very smooth, honeyed floral accord.

I get a touch of carnation and clean rose – a bit of warmth and spice but minimal underneath the pastel florals. There’s a hint of dewy greenery, the slightly de-sweetened honey note still going strong – a dry woodiness underneath smells physically hot on my skin with a bitter edge that smells a little like glue. Yes PVA glue.

A civet/jasmine combination could easily turn my stomach, but its balance just about helps me to continue enjoying First – it’s not too strong, not too “thick” – just a hint of piss pants to soil First in (what is now) a typical, old-fashioned, urine-musk as I call it It smells like decay.
Ok doom and gloom blah blah, I sound so unsure about this fragrance don’t I? I totally am that’s the thing… but let me continue…

So the piss pants, soap, dated florals and bitter honey manages to be both thoroughly enjoyable to me, and pretty gross too. In the later drydown (much later) – there’s a touch of sweet vanilla, a dry woodiness (sandalwood) – that’s smooth, classical and expected.
What I don’t like about it – is the flattening of the florals into a persistent, non-dimensional floral accord that truly grates on me in time. WOAH where did that come from?! Harsh. Ok… I did some Googling on this before I started my review… turns out Jean-Claude Ellena used a ton of hedione in this. He brags he uses “Ten times more hedione than in Dior’s Eau Sauvage”… fantastic. Ok so this may have been a big deal at the time as it was a new material and what-not… now though (at the time of this review) – for me, I can totally smell that. I didn’t recognize it as hedione (even though I have a sample of it lying around somewhere – gah!) – but this literally engulfs the jasmine in a watery, green, grandiflorum-y layer – tainted with honey, and that’s what we get until the end. Doesn’t sound too bad no? It is for me anyway – I just see it as an unnecessary mass in the fragrance, like if it sat down, a roll would bulge out… what the hell am I on about.
For me, the hedione note gets boring – but the PVA glue accord keeps me amused I suppose.
So I will continue to wear First to bed and not out the house where I can’t experience the irritation I get when smelling most of JCE’s work.
So there you have it, probably the most unglamorously worded review of First Thanks <3

Verdict: I like it I promise!

Scandal – Roja Dove

Well here’s an interesting thing I didn’t think I’d be reviewing…
Roja Dove’s work doesn’t appeal to me. Don’t ask me why. Maybe I’m not into the super-exclusive, overpriced scene of luxury marketing and an upper-class target audience… we’ll say – or is that just me being totally judgemental? But then… I like JAR, and the Serge Lutens exclusives… so that’s all a load of shit I suppose :) Let’s just say -

I believe this review is for the EDP not the Parfum like pictures above.

Up top, at the start of Scandal, is a gorgeous old-school citrus (bergamot) + lily of the valley accord, a big slathering of Dove soap (ignore the pun) – and a rich floral heart underneath that smells like it’ll develop into a bit of a vintage chypre. Instead, the soapy, bergamot, muguet opening stays too bright for too long (a good thing!) – and I realise my guess on the direction is wrong.

Mmm Scandal I hate to admit I’m enjoying you… Some squeaky clean jasmine almost begins to dominate with a white floral underneath that, yet again, is so clean it smells like the flowers have been drenched in bleach prior to extraction… no Roja doesn’t want any meaty, fleshy, mentholated, mushroomy accords in here! The almost synthetic smelling tuberose underneath adds a sweetness and slightly lactonic texture (my own word for this in regards to white florals is lactofloral)… :’)

I get an air of raspberry in here, which leads into a small rose – the jasmine/muguet dominates until an orange blossom creeps its way in. I almost didn’t recognize it until I caught a whiff and smelt a Rubj comparison… but it’s not at all a comparison just a similar note (Rubj is far superior haha). The orange blossom wipes out the muguet, the rose gets a little louder, and the jasmine… is jasmine.

The cleanliness of this grinds on me after a short while of wear, whilst I desperately crave a little personality from the florals… it’s just not there. It’s clinical – and I feel that this would have been the right choice for the Princess in the Royal Wedding 2012 instead of the train wreck that was White Gardenia Petals - that’s if she wanted to stick with a squeaky clean white floral. The soap doesn’t stick around long don’t get me wrong, but you don’t have a hint of rot, indole or even narcotics, for a fragrance whose heart is composed of orange blossom, jasmine and tuberose! It’s not me… but it’s “pleasant”.

The drydown has a touch of powder (orris), and a very Chanel-like sandalwood base (if I was being very generous). A blinding musk carries the old-school feel from the opening all the way through the fragrance (aging it unfortunately rather than smelling vintage) – and whilst it’s nice and soft, completely harmless and long-lasting - it’s totally not what I’d go for in a white floral. It’s a white floral for people who don’t like white florals - I love them, so this isn’t for me. BUT I can appreciate it and I totally see why someone would love this. The drydown on me is especially a let down though, smelling like a million vintage cheapies that have that dated powdery, almost violet-like smell atop a ton of clean musk. ANYWAY – I think I’ve been fair. At times I think I like it, and then I realise “What the hell, this is nothing compared to the many outstanding choices out there”.

Scandal 100ml EDP Roja Dove – £195.00 Fortnum and Mason

Many thanks to Vanessa of Bonkers About Perfume for giving me the opportunity to try this!

Update from Freddie :)

Hey guys hope everyone is keeping well.
Been working on some new YouTube vids – which got kindda wasted because my video editing software has just all failed on me for no reason – majorly sucks.
Anyway – got tons of reviews coming up I just need to manage my blog, the YouTube channel, and the masses of work I’ve got to draw up for people at work! Thought I’d brighten the post with a new picture for my About Me section (lemme know what you think!) - and a really cute tattoo I did on my friend Laura yesterday at work (off topic I know sorry but gotta give you something to look at here).
BYEEEE <3

April Aromatics – Nectar of Love & Liquid Dreams

Nectar Of Love has a gorgeous, narcotic, fruit-laden opening. All out tropical, indolic florals – jasmine and rose throw forward heaviest. Rich in citrus fruits of orange, bergamot and grapefruit – it’s brightness and acidity covers any fleshy or lactonic qualities of the florals instantly – the natural ingredients staining the skin with that bitter resinous quality that I love so much.

The citrus dominates, with a hint of mentholated narcotics (tuberose topnotes), making Nectar of Love straight up juicy and fresh, rather than pollen-heavy and stuffy as expected. The tuberose does begin to show up more though – it’s a weird tuberose, one I really like but have little familiarity with – it’s almost identical to the use in Aftelier’s Cepes & Tuberose. Subtle in comparison to most sweet tuberose’s we’re familiar with. Instead, it’s quite bitter, it’s lactonic edge minimal, it has more of a vegetal greenery to it and a meatiness that is more earthy than floral. In fact, it hardly resembles a tuberose at all – maybe distorted here by the jasmine and rose it’s even more disguised. Still – very good!

What the tuberose does do though is add this narcotic edge – paired with the toned down indole of the jasmine, it makes this floral sultry, but classical (the clean rose helping that). The citrus notes which almost smell like neroli now, persist throughout most of the fragrance which I find really impressive, and a brilliant change to most short-lived openings. The woods come in underneath, an almost peppered sandalwood that smells tainted with incense – it’s an abstract “nectar” that is romantic but not forward – it’s also soaked in vanilla, which seems to be the perfumer’s signature. A heavy dosage of geranium and a touch of clove adds a cool, herbal edge throughout the whole of Nectar of Love keeping it uptight, restrained and dead classy!

To compare it to another tuberose, the only one I could think of would be YOSH’s Omniscent – an almost masculine white floral, also geranium and clove heavy (I nearly bought this one in Rome) – but I do prefer this. It’s a great take on the floral notes and really beautiful start to finish.

Liquid Dreams opens with clean bergamot, lemon and grapefruit – bright, bitter and very juicy – with a honeyed floral of narcissus underneath. I actually chose to review these last two fragrances of the April Aromatics line mainly to give this one another shot. Not that I didn’t like it before, but I’ve got a gorgeous narcissus plant blooming on my dressing table at the minute and I’ve been looking for good fragrances with that note in it since they’ve opened and remembered this one was based around it Anyway!

The narcissus note here almost reminds me of champaca, it has a bitter “stewed tea” like aroma, and a peachy, fruity quality coming from an osmanthus underneath. This taints the narcissus quite substantially – but it’s still there, and beautiful. The flowers I have at the minute smell heady, fleshy and honeyed – a touch like jasmine with that hint of indole, but with a lovely citrus quality to them. Liquid Dreams seems to emphasize all those qualities really well. I also get here a touch of linden and the fragrance doesn’t seem too distant from Unter Den Linden which I really loved – but this is undoubtably “brighter” and more “lemony”. It’s waxy, without quite smelling like a magnolia… it’s just a great honeyed, citrus floral with a touch of tea.

There’s a fresh greenery to Liquid Dreams – but again, it’s floral, like a raw aspect of the floral absolutes rather than an individual inclusion – or maybe just a touch of galbanum. It’s fresh, very natural smelling – totally spring-like and as described in the press material “calming to the senses”. There’s nothing jolting or uncomfortable in it (unless the lemon may be a bit astringent up top for some). I think the problem with a lemon and floral combo  – especially when it comes to linden and narcissus, is that it can smell very “detergent-y”. I will admit, it totally does this here, smelling a bit like a domestic cleaning product… but I only get that when I think about it, and to be honest, I love it then! Otherwise it’s all citrus florals and a slight creamy quality – but much nicer than that sounds. A touch dated, completely harmless, but at least to me – very enjoyable. Not my perfect narcissus, but a very, very nice perfume that I love to wear One of my favourites from the line.

Nectar Of Love 30ml EDP April Aromatics – 189 Euros
Liquid Dreams 30ml EDP April Aromatics – 169 Euros http://aprilaromatics.com

Anu Essentials – Meadow Lark, Sita & Sea Scape

Meadow Lark opens as a herbal citrus concoction that brings to mind a more toned down O’Driu creation. There’s an almost lemongrass-like astringency to the opening orange note that has a deep, resinous quality to it – topped with a potent lavender-like clary sage. I say lavender-like because it’s the easiest way to describe it. The clary sage note is one I love – herbaceous, with a touch of anise, it has the freshness of mint without having any kind of foody or “cleaning product”-like qualities… very nice! Similar to the smell of rosemary – it brings to mind the rosemary/lime opening of Muse by Aftelier, only more “cologne-like”.

Paired with a very clean rose – it is fresh, easy to wear, with a natural sweetness on the skin. It smells like a very “dandy”, slightly old-school masculine (that would be considered too feminine to be mainstream)… is this making any sense?!

Basically, nice clean rose, bright citrus that stays for much longer than expected, a herbaceous rosemary with a very “natural perfumery” feel to it. It has a touch of resins underneath, like a hint of labdanum with sandalwood. It reminds me a little of Dirty by Lush without the heavy spearmint – and also of Leva by O’Driu with a similar-ish vanilla thing going on underneath. Drying down to a warm, clove-heavy dry wood (not my favourite part but very classical! All in all, totally my thing for an easy cologne-y wear.

Sea Scape (which I believe is also in the Primordial Scents Water kit) is pretty gorgeous! It’s a harsh, astringent, herbal (again) beginning of bitter violet leaves, and listed seaweed (which is used much more effectively than in the stomach churning Black Amber by Agonist) – it smells marine without the salt and water – enhancing a more fragrant, idyllic olfactory vision of the sea. It smells floral – with an indolic jasmine coming in pretty upfront and that’s where Sea Scape develops – into an aquatic jasmine we’ll say. It’s got a honeyed quality to it, and the bitter herbal notes begin to retreat. The honeyed quality becomes a touch resinous – a bitter orange-blossom like scent stung with more citrus.

It gets much softer as it begins to settle, the jasmine retreating a touch as the sea-like greenery pushes forward – but still clean, no driftwood or rot in here. The scent of woods, light indolic florals (now paired with a subtle rose) and the citrus-florals create something easy to wear, spring-like and completely innocent… still, the bitter undertone keeps it interesting and a light, musky ambergris finishes it perfectly.

Sita has a really nice patchouly dominant opening. Stuffy and heady but with a light-incense-y, pepper-y quality to it. Yes it’s got the whole predictable headshop-vibe going on, but yet again – there’s indole from a good dose of jasmine giving it a lot of translucency. Infact, within no time at all Sita retreats close to the skin where next to a dried out pot-pourri style rose, the patchouli gets cleaner – warmed by a touch of clove.  The jasmine floats around in the background – but the rose/patchouli combo leads to a quick drydown.

The rose surprisingly manages to dominate for a while, but all in all – it’s not quite my thing. Still, a good alternative to someone who likes the idea of a rose patchouli but maybe not the powerhouse quality that goes along with it. It is much more Voleur Des Roses than say, Portrait Of A Lady. An abstract freshness, a touch of metal – flowers that start dewy-ish and end dried. A nice transition but a little too subdued on my skin.

Still, a nice little independent trio from what started as a beauty line – look forward to sniffing their fourth fragrance

Meadow Lark, Sita & Sea Scape – $85 each http://anuessentials.com/collections/perfume

Vanille – Ajne

Well, here’s the newest bottle in my collection thanks to the lovely Vanessa of Bonkers About Perfume. Yes yes yes, a vanilla soliflore I actually love! I didn’t think it would happen either…

Vanille opens with a pungent, sticky vanilla that smells so close to treacle (as worded by Vanessa) that is makes my mouth almost water – but it doesn’t quite smell edible. It’s so dark and almost resinous it reminds me of the texture of labdanum, infact, I’m sure there’s a big dose in here paired with a load of benzoin (yes an amber accord whatever)… It’s not at all “cupcake-y” and is instead more of a sticky toffee/date pudding-y thing if anything.

The pungency of the vanilla is almost herbal up top – with the thickness and depth of it giving the vanilla an almost fur-like quality. The first fragrance that sprung to mind and still does when I sniff this is Ambra Nera (sorry I can’t stop mentioning this thing!) – but no joke, if it’s close to anything, this is it. Instead the animal ingredients are sweetened here – almost so sweet it’s not sweet, you know? It hugs my skin in a sticky layer, almost “hot” like melted fudge. It’s multifaceted though, showing hints of anise syrup, cinnamon, dried fruits, chocolate… arghghhg, omg

It’s straightforward with little development, but I don’t care even a little bit, I love it start to finish. I guess you have to compare a vanilla soliflore to others, so I’ll give it a shot:
It doesn’t have the light-gourmand-icing sugar-esque vanilla of the lovely Vanilla Marble by Agonist.
It doesn’t have the rich vanilla-extract smell of Spirituese Double Vanille, it’s much more… gothic than that? If there is such thing as a gothic vanilla.
It doesn’t have the culinary spice of Musc Ravageur, or the oriental quality of an old-school Guerlain.
It doesn’t have the deep woodiness and cake-y sweetness of Un Bois Vanille (Uncle Serge).
It doesn’t, thank Sweet Jesus, have the eau-de-boiled-egg accord of Mona Di Orio’s Vanille (jus’ sayin’).
Neither is it all-out gourmand like Rahat Loukoum or Musc Maori (two other vanilla-heavy fragrances I love in my collection).
Yet this is vanilla start to finish which to me doesn’t even get a little bit tiresome. Maybe it’s because it just subtly grips my skin without throwing itself off in a cloud of cavity-inducing synthetic vanillin overload… Yes this is a natural parfum so I guess that’s why.
All these “It doesn’t…”‘s makes it sound pretty dull I suppose reading that back… not at all. What it has is so much more!

Anyway – what more can I say. One hell of a delicious vanilla – mature, dark and totally captivating.

Vanille 5ml Parfum Ajne – $55 www.ajne.com

“You’re too young to like it”…

Hey guys – I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts on this debate I had with a fellow fragrance “lover” on Facebook the other night.
It came about from me briefly sharing my thoughts on Puredistance M – to which this guy said I was basically too young to like it… I got pissed