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

Fils de Dieu Du Riz et Des Agrumes by Etat Libre d'Orange

Happy Easter everybody, I hope you've all been enjoying yourselves during the weekend! I've spent a few days with my in-laws, always nice to get out of town, get properly fed and get some help with the kids. The only complaint I've got is the weather. We had a lovely spring thing going on but then something went terribly wrong. Both on Thursday and Friday it was snowing so our view out the window consisted of dainty little spring flowers, trying bravely to stand up while covered in an icy layer of white snow. Poor little things! For compensating the cold outside I've been reaching for something warm and cheery, namely, ELdOs Fils de Dieu Du Riz et Des Agrumes, which must be one of the longest perfume names around.

It starts off with a very green and Asian feeling citrus accord. There is lime, zest of lime, ginger and shiso. I love the intro. It makes me wonder why there are no green Asian style Eau de Colognes (or are there, and I'm just not aware of them?). I'd love a perfume that was like this on and on and not just for the first 10 minutes like FdD.

But what comes next is not bad either. When the citrus fades there is rice pudding and not just any rice pudding. It's an Indian rice pudding where premium rice has been boiled in thick coconut cream, a drop of rose water added, along with a small cinnamon stick, half a scraped vanilla bean and a few cardamon pods givng the final dish just a hint of well integrated spice. At times I get a hint of something smoky as well. This is clearly a dish that will soon be crated in my kitchen!

During drydown the spices and rose disappears from my skin and I get more of a savory, plain rice smell. I'm also thinking I'd love a Christmas Edition of FdD. In Sweden it's tradition to eat rice pudding on Christmas, either with milk, cinnamon and sugar or with whipped cream and orange segments. I can imagine a FdD flanker (not that ELdO are known for making flankers, but anyway) with an orange intro and stronger spices during the heart and drydown. Yum, that would be nice...

In all, FdD is a lovely and easy-to-wear scent. I find it's both relaxing and energizing. It's unusual as it's about rice, Ormonde Jaynes Champaca is the only other rice scent I know of and that one's a floral-rice, this is a light oriental-rice. As an extra bonus, both my mother-in-law and sister-in-law both loved it!



Official notes (from Fragrantica):
Top notes: ginger, coriander, lime and shiso.
Heart: coconut, rose, cardamom, jasmine, cinnamon and rose.
Base: tonka bean, vetiver, musk, amber, leather and castoreum.

Bijou Romantique by Etat Libre d'Orange

A while ago I stopped by at the Etat Libre d'Oranges website and saw that their 2 new scents, "Bijou Romantique" and "Fils de Dieu du riz et des agrumes" are now available for ordering. Of course I couldn't resist and now I've had the chance to try them out.

Now, Etat Libre d'Orange are known for their, eeeh,  vivid, so to say, sales texts but there is nothing explicit in their description of Bijou Romantique:

"This is the portrait of a lady. She can be seen in the feminine cameo, in the soft, delicate profile, in the dreamy image of an incandescent beauty. What once was shell has been carved in relief by a devoted artisan, to emerge as an idealized woman. Jewels, too..."

I think this is a spot on description, Bijou Romantique does indeed come across as a cameo, only ELdO forgot to mention that it's a 15 foot tall cameo, made of  cream and powder, fixed on a slab of granite.

Bijout Romantique starts as a big cloud of pastry cream. There is white chocolate, vanilla, a hint of strawberry milkshake and lots of fluffy whipping  cream, fresh from the farm. There is a powdery cosmetics note in there as well, getting along just fine with the cream. Even though it's full of sweet confectionery notes, BR never gets cloying or overly sweet, its very well balanced. As the scent wears the sweetness evaporates. Steely iris is revealed and the powder moves towards chalk dust, blue ink, faint pencil shavings and cold stone. At the extreme drydown, after a good nights sleep, there is a beautiful vanilla and tobacco accord lingering. A very nice transition!

I keep keep having these associations to how a womans life in the 19th century might have been. As the scent starts out she's a young girl, sweet, all smiles and eager to see what life has in store for her. Maybe she marries that handsome captain. He sails his ship on the seven seas, she sits at home, waiting for him, doing needlepoint, raising children, everything appropriate for a decent woman of her standards. But deep down inside she wonders, is this all? I have everything a woman can wish for but I'm still not happy? Lets see if we can tight up that whalebone corset one inch more, that might push those silly thoughts right out of my head!

The children grow up, time goes on. Her husband always had a bit of a drinking problem and after he's killed in a brawl she realizes there was a gambling problem as well. He has gambled away everything they had and then some more, leaving her dirt poor. She takes up a position as a governess in order to pay back the debts and gets pneumoconiosis from all the chalk dust she breathes in, trying to teach those dumb, despicable kids to read from the blackboard. By now, there are no smiles to be seen. Life has hardened her. Her hair is gray and the children call her a witch when they think she cannot hear. Unfortunately she dies before it is discovered that she's the rightful heiress to a grand fortune. One that had allowed her to pay back all debts and then live in luxury for the rest of her life.

So, what is my verdict of Bijou Romantique? Well it is a big time "lady"-scent indeed. I'm sure fans of powdery cosmetic type of scents will love it, it does remind me of a tamer, but more sophisticated, version of Labdanum 18. I might be the wrong person to review it as I still haven't "got" the powder thing but who knows, a few more wears of BR and maybe "powder" will show up on my list of acquired tastes for spring 2012?


Official notes: Bergamot & Italian lemon, pink berries essence, ylang-ylang, sage, iris of Tuscany, evee, coconut JE, vetiver from Haiti, benzoin, vanilla...

Pic:  Fuckyeahcameos (where else?) and Wikipedia

Revisiting perfumes I've disliked

No, this is not me.

As I'm about to move within 3 weeks from now I've been in a major clear out mode recently. I've been going through all of my stuff, forcing myself to categorise it into "keep", "give away" or "throw away". My beloved perfume sample collection has been subjected to this as well. There are some that I'm very sure I'll never ever want to wear again (Hello Secretations Magnefiques and Serge Lutens Miel de Bois). But there are others I'm not so sure of how to handle. These scents I typically tried on once and either mildly disliked or just felt so indifferent about I never bothered to try them again. So now I've decided it's time to take on a few of them on and decided once and for all if they are keepers or not.

Frederic Malle - Une Rose. If I'd play "Guess the recipe" it would be the following:

• 3 parts rose
• 2 parts soap
• 1 part fresh cow urine
• 1 part beef broth

Does this sound like something you'd like to wear? First time I tried it I nearly shreiked in horror but the weirdo in me begged to give it a second chance. This time around I do like it better, it's resonating with the most sad, showy and melodramatic parts of myself. It's a "look how you make me feel, I'm all messed up and I'm desperatly trying to imply it's your fault"-kind if scent. Lets hope I won't find too many occasions to wear it - but I will keep it.

Tauer Perfumes - Incense Rose I remember trying this one on and thinking that the combo roses and washing powder felt old and that the sharpness hurt my nose a little bit. Shouldn't Tauer be able to do better? Now I tried it again and I can't believe I'm remembering the same perfume. The intro is absolutely wonderful, full of spices, reminding me of "glögg", the lovely Swedish mulled wine that's very popular here this time of year. I don't get a lot of roses at all but I do get LOTS of spicy incense. To me this is the perfect Christmas scent and I can't believe I even considered getting rid of my sample. 

Frederic Malle - En Passant. Bright and cheery lilacs. Washing detergent overdrive. When I was 12 real lilacs used to be my favourite smell, smelling them in En Passant makes me feel old. Another sample to be sent away.

Etat Libre d'Orange - Putain de Palaces. I'm perfectly aware of that this is one of the most loved and cherished ELdO scent. But it just doesn't work on my skin. I first tried it this summer and got "Suffocation by Play Doh". Now I also get bitter almonds, unwashed bodies and sun tan lotion. This sample is going away to someone who has better use for it.


http://img-homerenovations.com

Etat Libre d'Orange - Eau de protection Rossy de Palma

Rossy de Palma herself

I have said several amazingly stupid thinks on this blog. Like "I don't like vanilla" and "I don't like orange flowers". Luckily for me I've been proved wrong several times on both of those accounts now. Ok, my first experiences with those scent notes might have been a bit unfortunate but there was really no need to dismiss whole scent families because of that.

Another note that I've been prejudiced about in my past is rose. I used to believe that rose scents belonged either on old ladies that are a bit senile and think they are little girls or in fabric softeners. Fortunately, that is changing and one of the reasons for that is Etat Libre d'Oranges "Eau de protection Rossy de Palma".

There are resemblances between Rossy the Actress and Rossy the Scent. At first glance, Rossy herself is no conventional beauty, but the more you see of her the more you want. She just gets better and better - and the scent is just the same.

At first sniff of Rossy the Scent, there is a shrilly rose, reminding me of washing powder. Within a few minutes, dry incense sets in, adding perfect balance to that rose note. It makes me think of hand printed books stored in old Gothic convents. Or, on a sunny day, deciding not to go to the beach but instead sneak to the library, finding a cool and quiet corner and reading fantasy novels all day. During drydown, cocoa and patchouli are revealed, beautifully offsetting the rose, never getting too heavy.

Is this a scent I can imagine Rossy the Actress wearing? No, not at all. It's way to clean. I imagine her wearing something muskier and animalic, radiating all over the room. If I'm to make up a person representing this scent it would be Penelope Cruz playing a shy, sensitive and highly intelligent librarian. Big glasses and and mousy clothes just accentuating her beauty and grace.

So far "Eau de protection Rossy de Palma" is my favourite scent from Etat Libre d'Orange. With their radical image I tend to think that their scents would also small radical but Rossy de Palma just smells "nice" and lovely. Just as I think of Nombril Immense as a patchouli for beginners, Rossy is the perfect gateway into both rose and incense notes. Highly recommended for days when you need a little bit of serene cool and quiet for yourself.

Etat Libre d'Orange, 3 from 1

Finding perfect peaches is a bit of an obsession of mine. I love them but here in Sweden it's very hard to get good ones. It's to cold to grow them and even in the middle of summer the ones we get in the stores tend to be hard and taste mostly of cardboard. I guess that after they've reached that perfect state of juice dripping, sun ripened perfection, they don't travel to well.

The second best thing would be to smell like a perfect peach. I haven't found that scent yet but whenever I see peach listed among scent notes I give a scent a try. Etat Libre d'Orange Vrai Blonde is mostly about peaches. It starts surprisingly heavy with notes of cocoa, baking powder and peach brandy, feeing thick and gooey. Soon the heavyness fades and there comes along a nice, light and yummy peach note with a hint of vanilla. One has to apply rather much of the perfume, in order to get the scent to last, and I really recommend doing that as the dry down is the very best part!

Encens et Bubblegum also has peach listed among the official notes, but here the peach is a team player, supporting the bubblegum accord, along with raspberry, vanilla and musk. I've read a few other reviews where people claim that it smells exactly like you might expect by the name - equal parts bubblegum and incense. Only on me I clearly feel the bubblegum but I get no incense at all. But for being a bubblegum scent I find it very wearable. It's not cloying but light, sweet and airy, great for a summers day when you're not taking yourself very seriously. This is a pretty faint scent that does not last very long on me. But, I suppose, bubblegum is fun for a while but to reek of it forever wouldn't be very comfortable.

Just as most family come with a hippie aunt or two, most perfume lines spot a patchouli, for Etat Libre d'Orange, that's Nombril Immense. According to the official notes it contains patchouli, balm of Peru, vetyver, black pepper absolute and more. One might think this would be a heavy and male oriented scent, but it is not. It's woody all right, but relatively light and very easy to wear. I'd say this is a beginners patchouli. Perfect for someone insecure  that really want to get into the hippy dippy thing but doesn't want the dirty nails and natural smelling hairy armpits of the real thing. Or for anyone that likes a hint of patchouli but not to much, like myself.

Nombril Immense, intrestingly enough, means giant belly button. I like that. When I'm thinking about it I picture this giant space ship in the sky. All of a sudden, in the middle of the underside, this huge hole opens up, the belly button of the ship. It goes bigger and bigger. A thick fog gushes out of the hole, sailing downwards, towards earth. Everybody who breathes in the fog immediately feels so smart and enlightened, they now understand it all. With a peaceful smile on their faces they all marching toward the space ships food storage compartment where a very special welcome has been prepared for them... (Yes, I've been watching the "V" remake)

One might think that the Etat Libre d'Orange scents would also be provocative or garish. Some of them might be, but the ones I've reviewed here certainly are not. They are light and enjoyable, and most of all, fun!