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Sunday, April 22, 2012

Scents my husband hates



This weekend me and my little girl have been home alone, My not-so-little boy is off to granny and my husband is off with his mates on their annual all-guys golf trip to Spain. About my husband, he hardly ever comments on the scents I'm wearing, neither in a positive or negative way but there is this one note that I know he absolutely hates - patchouli. So I figuered this weekend would be a great time to get out my patchoulies and take them for a test drive.

The first one I've been wearing is a scent that's also, in my household, known as "that smell". My husband picks it out anywhere, on anyone, because he hates with a passion. Since he's done this since long before I became interested in perfume I haven't really given it a chance. It's a very well known perfume and I don't think you can pretend to be a perfumista without having at least tried it on a couple of times. So, I dropped by at my local KICKS, and since I was in a hurry and had my biggest and thickest winter jacket on, the only bare patch of skin I could find in a jif was my decollage, so I went for it and big splash of .... Angel.

I'd really hoped I'd dislike Angel, considering my husbands opinions on it, but no such luck. The sensation of then sitting in a commuter train and have that...thing...whafting up on me from under my clothes invoked a giggly, exhilarated feeling, a similar one I imagine a flasher might have, walking around before the actual flashing, thinking about what a surprise those innocent bystanders would have if they found out what he was wearing underneath his trenchcoat. Except, with a sillage like that the whole train car probably had a very clear picture about what I was wearing beneath my clothes with no need to take them off. Hereafter, Angel will be my own secret little pleasure to indulge in whenever husband's out of town.

And I also feel disqualified to write about what it smells like, because it smells like SO MUCH and I've just tried it this once, but please head over to  the Candy Perfume Boy who has an excellent review here.

Björn Borg
Next day I tried on ELdO s Nombril Immense. Another love that I feel is not getting the attention it deserves. The way I perceive it there are two antagonist sides, there is the an obnoxious, mothbally and penetrating patchouli set against soft, sweet balm of Peru. The dynamics of NI makes me think of a tennis match featuring Swedish tennis legend Björn Borg, wearing the colors of the patchouli because of his hairdo and alleged accusations of drug abuse. He's playing against someone I can't say because I don't know any other tennis players, sorry! In this game they look like they are be competing but it's really just a show. They're doing this in order to set each other off, look like they're engaged in a struggle but it's really just a convenient way of looking good in front of girls. I'm not sure if my rantings here makes sense to anyone, but it's a scent I enjoy wearing, nonetheless.

And then, no test round of patchoulis would be complete without Chanels Coromandel. Coromandel is one of the very few scents (I can count 3) that my husband has asked me not to wear when I'm near him. And I'm "????????" How anyone can NOT like Coromandel? But the intro can be a bit overpowering. Think about a spot where your local wicca coven might meet at full moon midnights to harvest the mandrakes needed in their rituals (see the top picture). The roots are ripped from the soil, leaving big black gaping holes in the ground. Coromandel starts like what one of those holes migh smell like. Wet, damp and very black soil. But then it changes...a lot. The patchouli calms down and along comes chocolate and vanilla, the whole concoction morphs into dessert bliss from heaven. If there is any one perfume that I'd like to see rendered as an ice cream flavour it's Coromandel. Seriously, it would be so neat to have a perfume themed dessert parlour. With Fils de Dieu Rice Pudding, Coromandel and Bois et Fruit ice cream and a few more flavours for caramel I'm close to have skeleton for an actual menu :)


Last of the patchoulis is Serge Lutens Borneo 1834. It has taken me a while to "get" this one, when I first smelled it it was to weird and bitter but now it's awsome. To me, this one is the cosiest, most relaxed scent of the ones I've written about today, it's also the one where the patchouli is most integrated with everything else. It starts out with lots and lots of tobacco. Then comes along that warm and steamy note, the same one that's present in Fumerie Turque and for a very short while in the intro of Boxeuses. In a very no-frills way Borneo 1834 smells like walking around in a small Asian country-side village. It's hot, the humidity is extreme, you can smell the dirt on the roads and the wood the huts are made of. Someone is burning old palm leaves far away, the smoke barly detectable. As it wears it sweetens and it moves toward cocoa. But it's not the obvious chocolate you get from Coromandel, this is unrefined cocoa, dark and raw, complete with a hint of camphor. Righ now, I feel like I could wear Borneo 1834 forever.

In all I have immensly enjoyed my weekend. I often set up goals like "this week I'm only going to wear citruses", or "lets have a Sonoma Scent Studio Marathon this weekend", but this is the only time I've gone through with something like that. Usually I do one scent and then I'm craving something completely differet. But the patchoulis are so NICE. I've felt relaxed and calmed. As the weather is bad I've mostly stayed at home, relaxing, thinking and playing wth my daughter, and the introverted, meditative feel of patchouli has been a great backdrop to that.


Photoes: D-addicts, Gaygroom, American Folcloric Witchcraft Blog






19 comments:

  1. I really like many patch frags as Borneo and Montale Patchouli Leaves. Angel, as all of the Thierry Mugler frags I have tested, obviously fits my skinchemistry well, as there is no complaints from Mr Parfumista. What he is complaining about is when I'm in mood for experimenting with = wearing the classics, in his point of view "the old ladies scents". L'HB, Mitsi and No 5 never fails to get bad remarks. Maybe he is right in his opinion that as all of them are milestones in the art of perfumery and even suit some people, I don't have to put them on, it's sufficient experiencing them from a blotter. His motto is "Life is to short to wear frags you and the ambient don't enjoy fully". See you tomorrow :-)

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    1. Yup, looking forward to meeting tomorrow!!!

      It's a funny thinkg with those "old ladies scents", I can't discern what is an old ladies scent anymore. When I started being interested in perfume I had a very clear notion of it but now, all I get is "oh, this one has a vintage vibe to it", or "hm, such a classic composision". I wonder why that is?

      I understand your husbands point of view, just imagine if we were talking about clothes, if someond wore clothes he or she didn't like in ordrder to experiment, it would be an interesting experiment once but daft if done again and again. Yet, with scents I find myself returning to scents I don't like all the time, just to check if I still feel the same way... :)

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  2. I don't think The Engineer dislikes anything I wear, although he does like the greens, and I find them problematic, so go figure.

    I haven't tried any of the other patches that you've listed, but I own Coromandel and looove it. It's so smooth.

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    1. It's a good thing your husband has a bigger specturm of "likes" than you, at least that will keep him happy :)

      Yes, Coromandel is good :) Patchouli is a note that has been growing on me, at first I found it bearable but not likable, then ok and now nice and comforting. Do you have any other patchouli favorites?

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    2. I haven't sampled patchouli as a note yet so I haven't tried all there is to offer, but I really like Smell Bent's Chile Vanilli and Kate Walsh Boyfriend. Parfumerie Generale's Intrigant Patchouli was nice, but a bit spiky for me.

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    3. Hm, I have to check these out, I haven't tried any of your scents but I've been madly curious about Parfumerie Generale for a while now. With a name like Intrigant Patchouli things couldn't go wrong, could they? :)

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  3. Bjorn Borg ... le sigh! My eyes didn't really want to move off his picture, but when they did I enjoyed your tennis match description. LOL..."it's really just a convenient way of looking good in front of girls."

    Regarding Coromandel, I can't believe your husband doesn't like it, but I'm glad to hear that you do. I find it gorgeous and it's one fragrance that really smells different to me from season to season. In hot weather, the patchouli has a pronounced chocolate effect, but in cold weather, it sort of recedes and the overall perfume becomes more buoyant, with the incense becoming more noticeable.

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    1. Suzanne, yeha, it's good to throw in little nuggets like that Björn Borg Pic, keeping my readers interested ;)

      I'm looking forward to trying Coromandel throughout the year, my husband is bound to go off on another trips sooner or later and now I know I have something to look forward to when he does!

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  4. I used to have a poster of BB on the inside of my wardrobe!

    I don't, however, share your love of patchouli scents - well, not these particular ones so much, though I am curious to try the EDT version of Angel.

    Bet your hubby was glad he was in Spain, and not...er, Denmark, say! : - )

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    1. Vanessa, it was so funny, when I started looking for a picture of Björn Borg I found site after site with people writing about how they used to be in love with him when they were teenagers :)

      What I've read about the Angel EDT sounds very good, I hope to sample it as well as soon as possible! And yes, most places are preferable to Sweden considering how the weather is right now..

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  5. I'm also trying to like Borneo 1834 a lot more too.

    I think men like natural scents better on women. I do get compliments from them sometimes, on Hanae Mori Butterfly especially.

    but women don't dress for men. We dress for each other. Right?

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    1. Haha, you're so right about women should be dressing for each other, or for one self :)

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  6. I used to wear Angel years ago and my ex-bf hated it. I may have worn too much of it and it is an overpowering scent. Not for everyone. I am more careful with scents like Angel. I went for Lolita Lempicka instead in recent times, but it is not like Angel at all even though it is often compared.

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    1. You know, I used to own a bottle of Lolita Lempicka years and years ago but I trew it away as I hardly ever used it. Now I'm kicking myself over that. I should get a tatto, saying: de-cluttering is good, but never ever when it comes to perfume :)

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  7. I should probably consider myself lucky: my vSO almost never notices my perfumes unless I shove my wrist under his nose. And in most of those cases he says that he likes the scent.

    I still love Angel. I do not wear it too often but I love it. And recently I bought Taste of Fragrance flanker and it's very nice as well.
    I do not love but really like Coromandel. I haven't tried wearing it in hot weather but in winter I enjoy its warm embrace.
    I should probably get to testing Borneo sample that I have...

    Great idea about desserts! :)

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    1. I'm very curious about that Taste of Fragrance flanker. I haven't seen it in shops here but if I do I'll get a spray.

      Borneo is excellent. It's not at all as sweet and gourmand as Angel and Coromandel (it's hardly sweet at all except a little in the extreme drydown), but I find it truly lovely and comforting.

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    2. Isn't it fascinating what scents husbands don't like?! I am lucky, so far mine has only asked for no Miss Dior.

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    3. It's a good thing it's only one! My husband has also vetoed Frederic Malles Lipstick Rose (which gave me a headache anyway, so I don't mind) and wearing Amouage Library Collection I on one wrist and III on the other. Don't know which one was the problem, or the mix of them together. That I felt worse about as I liked them both.

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    4. Taste of Fragrance was a limited edition in the end of last year. I still see it on the website (Taste of Fragrance) and in some stores.

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