Le Labo - Santal 33

I've had some very busy days lately. The main reason for this is that earlier this summer me and my husband found the house of our dreams - literary. We have been looking for a house for years but never found the right one, until we stumbled onto this one. The night after going there I dreamt about how wonderful my life would be in this house. And not just that, I kept having nightmares about when buying other houses, we'd find that the floor was rotting and we'd sink through it or just feel suffocated by bad vibes in general. I CRAVED that house but of course there was a catch for us getting it - it was way out of our price range.

But the days went by and we saw that the house was still out for sale, with a lower price tag now. "That would be the perfect house for us", we thought, but it was still too expensive. But later, again, it was out for sale for an even lower price. It was still nowhere near cheap but we just couldn't pass it up again, so we bought it. Now the only catch was that we really really needed to get a decent price for our apartment or else we'd be in big trouble money wise. And anyone who has read this far will understand that the real estate market here is not very hot at the moment... So we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and staged and staged and staged. By this time I was so tense I had a permanent headache from unconsciously grinding my teeth and clenching my jaws, I only ever do this when I'm VERY stressed out.

As I see it, there are two ways to use perfume as therapy. You can spray on the scents that you associate with whatever feeling it is that you want, but unfortunately is missing. Or you can just go with what you got, support your mindset by scent, live it and hopefully get over it in the end. I went for option 2. I wanted something that felt focused, assertive, energetic, absolutely no frills, a "there is only one way and that's forward"-type of scent and I reached out for Santal 33.

Santal 33 is woody and leathery. I get tiny whiffs of the same smoke as in Patchouli 24, but it's nowhere as dominating. This is the only Labo that I've tried that I've loved from the first sniff and I've been wondering why that is. I usually get annoyed with scents that have this degree of woodiness but there is something in this one that makes it just right for me. When I read the official notes I realized that it's probably the flowery softness of the violet note listed that balances everything else. This is now my "getting things done and cut the crap, we can smell the flowers tomorrow"-scent.

So, did we sell the apartment? No, not then. We had an agonizing week of people making way to low offers or wanting the apartment but not getting a loan from the bank. But in the end our real estate agent showed it again and than this lovely gay couple from heaven showed up. They seemed to mentally move in at first sight, talking about how they were going to rebuild the kitchen and where to put what furniture. The day after, papers were signed, they bought the thing and now everyone is happy :)


Official notes: sandalwood, virginia cedar, cardamom, violet, papyrus, spices, leather, musk and amber.

Cuir et Champignon by DSH Perfumes - and a DRAW!!!

(Yes, I'm reusing this image, here is a reason for that, hang on and you'll see why!)

Lets do a bit of fantasy role play. Imagine it's a cool autumn day. You live somewhere in rural Britain where you're the lord or lady of a huge manor. Every now and then you saddle your fastest white stallion and take him for a ride to inspect your vast properties. As you gallop through the woods and over the fields you notice how the weather is getting colder by the day, soon holiday season will be here. After the ride you relax into your old leather armchair in front of the fireplace. Your butler brings you a cup of tea, a piece of gingerbread and your favorite pipe, stuffed just the way you want. He should know, after all his family has been serving yours for more than 3 generations.

These are the vibes I'm getting from "Cuir et Champignon". It starts out smoky in a big way. In the very beginning I'm getting salami, black pepper, smoked meats and animal. After half an hour CetC calms down into one of the nicest leather interpretations I've smelled, ever. I'm getting saddles and halters. The leather is just my type of leather, there is none of the cloyingness of Cuir Mauresque nor the perversity of Bandit (which I do love, but I couldn't wear it every day). It's comfy and wearable and perfectly accompanied by warm spices like cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. I also get wood and tobacco. The mushroom note does not stand out to me, but it's noticeable if you know it's there and it aids the general feeling of autumn.

In my last review I also wrote about a fragrance with mushroom notes, namely Aftelier Perfumes "Cepes and Tuberose". If I was to compare that one to CetC, "Cepes and Tuberose" happens on a sunny day in September while CetC takes place on a chilly day, late in November.

And what was that thing about the reused picture? Well, I did use it 2 weeks ago when I reviewing "Celadon - a Velvet Green", also from DSH Perfumes. In that post I described how Celadon took me back in time to when I was 8 years old, dreaming of a horse. Celadon had all the elements of that dream, well, everything except the actual horse. Therefore I was utterly astonished when I tried CetC and it turned out to be a another horse riding experience in a bottle. This one mirrored my adult fantasy of a life where horseback riding is an integral part. Totally different but still the same things from two different periods in my life.

And now to the really good news. Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, perfumes and founder of DSH Perfumes, has been incredibly generous and sent me extra samples of both "Celadon - a Velvet Green" and "Cuir et Champignon" and they can become yours!!! All you have to do is comment on this blog post before Tuesday, September 20 and I'll announce the lucky winner sometime towards the end of next week. You may live anywhere in the world and I will not be responsible to damage or loss caused by the postal services. Don't miss this chance, these are great fragrances for fall!



Official Notes for Cuir et Champignon:
Top notes: Bergamot, Clary, Sage, Galbanum, Neroli, Wild Chamomile
Middle notes: Cepes (mushroom absolute), Clove Bud, Gardenia,Honey, Orris, Sandalwood, Tuberose Absolute
Base notes: Castoreum, Civet, Guiacwood, Hiba Cedarwood, Indonesian Vetiver, Leather, Peru Balsam, Tobacco Absolute


My samples were sent to me for review but they can also be bought on the DSHPerfumes website. They have a huge sale right now, don't miss it

Vessel Parfums - Occult and my first ever DRAW!!!

Before I had kids my favourite past time was reading books. All kinds of books. I still love them but nowadays I've hardly ever get the time to read one from start to finish. I often get books at the library, feeling all excited, but at the time I get those mails telling me that I better return the books right away or get fined, I've usually haven't managed to even open them...

Last week though, I picked up a book named "Cirkeln" ("The Circle" in English) by Mats Strandgren and Sara Bergmark Elfgren. This book is really aimed at teenagers and tells a story about 6 high school girls who find out that they are witches with superpowers and only by working together they can prevent the upcoming destruction of the world. I probably would not have looked twice at a book like this if it wasn't for the fact that several reviewers have hailed it as the best thing since Harry Potter. And, was it that good? Yes!!! I haven't been able to put it down during the last few days, all I've been thinking about is "What will happen next?". The good thing about it is not the story about the paranormal stuff in itself but the portraits of the characters, the dynamics between them and their lives, going to school, in a God forgotten Swedish small town. I don't think it has been translated to any other languages yet, but keep an eye out for it any ways because I'm sure it will be.

I've also been lucky to been wearing the perfect scent while reading this book, namely "Occult" from Vessel Perfums. First note to stand out is sweet burnt honey. After a while there is incense. This reminds me of the type of incense my grand mother used to burn when she was trying to hide the fact that she had been smoking indoors. She claims that she quit smoking in the 80ies, but we still catch her with a cigar behind the house every now and then... But back to Occult, there is vanilla, wood, hints of soft leather and musk. In all, the notes are very gentle and well blended. If I'm to picture someone wearing this it would be a girl sleepwalking over a graveyard, hair blowing in the wind, she's wearing a long white cotton night gown and a silver cross around her neck. It would be perfectly innocent if it wasn't for that strange silvery smoke and strings of ectoplasm coming out of her mouth...

My only complaint is that Occult is rather faint and doesn't last that long on my skin, but, I suppose, one can always dab on some more.

Vessel Parfums is a relatively new company, founded in 2010, by Hollis Schwanz.  According to their website: "She was bored by the high volume of generic fragrance launches in the marketplace, and decided to develop a line of perfumes inspired by eras in time and the moods they evoke". Occult is their first fragrance release and it was: "Made to enhance the wearer’s personal mystery, not to coat him or her in a pre-fabricated narrative". One can only say YAY to that!

Now to the part everybody has been waiting for! I've been sent a small bottle of Occult that you can see in the picture above. It's fitted with a small silver pendant and a necklace string so it can be worn around the neck. As much as I'd love to keep it to myself I also love to help out new ventures, so I've decided that one lucky reader will be eligible to win my bottle. There are a few drops of perfume missing due to me making this review. If you want it, all you have to do is make a comment on this blog post and tell me why you want to try Occult. This is no essay competition, something like "It sounds nice" is perfectly acceptable.

More rules for the draw is that you can live anywhere in the world. Last day to make a comment is 2nd of September 2011. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced some time next weekend. I will not be responsible for damage or loss caused by postal services. Now, go ahead and make those comments and Good Luck!

Official Notes
Top: Laotian Beeswax, Black Plum, Somalian Olibanum
Heart: Texan Cedarwood, Haitian Vetiver, Leather, Amber, Indonesian Patchouli, Sandalwood
Base: Benzoin (Laos), Vanilla Bean (Madagascar), Civet, Opulent Musks

For more reviews of Occult, see also:
The Non Blonde
kjanicki-sotd

Shiso by Aftelier Perfumes

"You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes."  -Morpheus

That was what come to my mind when I thing about Aftelier Perfumes Shiso - my little red pill. It's really that different, that unique and interesting. A whole new universe of how a scent can be opened up for me. And luckily, I ended up in a truly beautyful rabbit hole indeed.

But, it's not just the scent of Shiso that is unique, it also seems to wear differently on me than other scents. As far as I'm aware of perfumes wear in 2 ways; there is the classic top->heart->base note thing and there is the simpler linear wear, also called WYSIWYG, the way a perfume smells at first sniff is how it will continue to smell, it will only grow weaker over time.

In Shiso I found one single note standing out the whole time, from beginning to end while the supporting notes changed over time. If I was to compare it to Tango, Tango wears like an orchestra playing a symphony. The notes work like the different instruments, sometimes you can discern them one and one, sometimes they all support a bigger theme. Shiso wears like there is one soloist note, playing a concerto with a symphonic orchestra as  support. I'm very interested in hearing if this is just on me or if others are having the same experience.

And what is that note? Well, here I have a dilemma. I don't know. I suspect it might be shiso, the Japanese herb bearing the same name as the perfume, paired with clove and cassia. But I don't know what shiso smells like so I can't say for sure.

One think I know though, and that is that I have ań active mind that happily makes up for whatever gaps there seems to be in my knowledge, Shiso is no exception. Now, my scent markers tend to go into 2 categories, one for wine related scents and the other is for scents of stuff I felt passionate about as a child - which seems to be mostly candy. That note I feel so strongly in Shiso is very similar to a Swedish candy named "Sura Cola Nappar" (Sour Coca-Cola Pacifiers), I'll call them SCNs hereafter. SCNs are made of gelatine, flavoured by something slightly resembling the taste of Coca Cola and dredged in citric acid, making them extremely sour on the outside with a sweet core.

Sura colanappar

And the supporting notes, what are they? Well, that's the cool thing. It seems like everything goes with SCNs. A first I make out exquisite sandalwood. At times I get resin. There is leather and notes similar of the stable notes found in mature red wines. Toward the end Shiso goes a little sweeter and lighter, I get tart green citrus and I also get a little mellower yuzu. According to the official notes there are green peppers and geranium in there. I wouldn't ave thought of them if I hadn't read up, but they are there, adding structure and a hint of sharpness.

Now, SCNs aren't the most exclusive of foodstuffs (even calling them foodstuff is stretching things), but don't let that scare you off. If they are not available where you live, your mind will probably latch onto something else. Trying Shiso was a grand perfume experience for me. It made me realise that all the perfumes I've previously known just take up a small fraction of the infinite universe of smell. Thank God there are perfumers ready to explore what more is out there, and that there are fumeheads, like me, who just love to get to go on those trips!

"Cuir Mauresque" by Serge Lutens

I've had a horrible cold for a few days, literally not being able to smell a thing, but today I finally felt better and decided it was time for a new Serge. I closed my eyes and drew a sample from my "untried" little bag - and got Cuir Mauresque.  I remembered it was supposed to be a leather scent and happily dabbed some on. What I got was dead on "geléläppar" (= jelly lips in Swedish, depicted above), a very artificial tasting type of candy that I have a hard time believing that anyone likes. The taste can be described as an unholy marriage between raspberry jam and artificial cherry flavouring.

After a while the scent deepened and I could make out Mexican canela chocolate (chocolate mixed with cinnamon) as well. Then, while sniffing my wrist, thinking about how I could not understand the supposed greatness of Cuir Mauresque, I had what can best be described as an olfactory epiphany. It felt like, right there under my nose, all of a sudden the scent just turned upside down, revealing something completely different. While still smelling exactly like a few seconds ago it was now dead on leather. It was like the picture on the right, both a young woman and an old woman, but you can not see the both of them at the same time.

The leather scent felt dark, sensual and somehow fun, I think the knowledge of the "geleläppar" being there made me not being able to take things very seriously. I kept thinking about being a teenager and sneaking into a British gentlemens club after hours and get secretly drunk on their booze. The feeling you can imagine having when you and your friends put your feet up on the tables, getting all comfortable in the luxurious leather chairs, giggling and giggling. One of the things I regretfully never have done.

It's interesting when you try several scents from the same manufacturer how some notes are repeated in different settings. I think I felt something similar to the "geléläppar" in Bois de Fruits as well. But set in a cedar surrounding it felt much more relaxed and at ease.

I'm rating this one 3 out of 5, I love leather and possibly, one day, I might getting used to and starting to like the "geléläppar" note as well but for now it's just to weird.

Sarrasins by Serge Lutens

Once upon the time in far away Thailand there was a small shop that made jasmine garlands. The garlands used to chat about where they would end up when they were being sold. "I want be a gift to a famous monk", said one. "I want to cheer up someone who is ill", said another. "I want be wrapped around the neck of a beautiful dancer" said the third. I don't know what happened to the first two, but the third one indeed ended up around a beautiful dancer. One that worked hard, all nights long, in a very sad and seedy place...

So, Sarrasins is about jasmine. Initially, the jasmine comes out so load it's screeching. It has got a plasticky and synthetic feel about itself. After a while it calms down and a whole new picture reveals itself. The jasmine turns lighter and more realistic and in the background there is leather and other animal notes. There is flesh, lightly smoked fish and somehow (although I know you are not supposed to be able smell that) salt. I wouldn't say it smells like vagina, but that sure is the general direction of things.

It's no surprise that perfume makers use elements that are normally considered  unpleasant to make their creations come to life. However, it is unusual (at least for me) to find them left out in the open like this. I find the play between innocent jasmine and the other notes very intriguing. The only other fragrance I know of with this level of bipolarity is Tubereuse Criminelle. That one is, for me, about questionable sanity. This one is about guilty sex. I mean, why else hide behind all that jasmine?

So, risking to appear to be a total pervert, I have to confess that I love this scent. There is something about it that makes me smile again and again. I'll wear my sample to the last drop. I rate this one a 5 out of 5.

Boxeuses by Serge Lutens

There is no label like Serge Lutens  to create vivid vignettes in my mind when I try one of their creations. Boxeuses is no exception.

When I was 17 I lived in Thailand for a year as an AFS Exchange student. At that time Thiland did not have it current day status as a holiday paradise but was viewed with a bit of suspicion. I stayd in the smallest province, named Samutsongkhram. The only tourists ever to come there were safely enclosed into air conditioned buses, heading for the beaches further south.

It's difficult to describe the culture shock I experienced. Everything was different from home. The lush vegetation. The spicy food. The Buddist mindset. And there were  temples all around, serene at day, loud and crazy at night hosting fairs full of song and dancing performances - and also Thai boxing matches.

The first 30 minutes of Boxeuses take me right back to one of those fairs. It opens with a bang, the initial notes are jumping one off another. There are mothballs, camphor and wood. There is an extremely life like smoke note that only lasts for a couple of seconds. There is leather and lots of sweet incense. I think it's the incense that does it, it smells exactly like I remember the incense from those temples. The smoke reminds me of fire from burning dry palm leaves and the wood comes from all those huge tropical trees that grew all around.

When the scent calms down, the incense stays. It's now a sweeter than I remember from Thailand. There are prunes and leather as well.

I'm rating Boxeuses a 4 out of 5. I love the beginning, just as I came to love Thailand and its people. But I'm not yet ready to smell like a prune yet. Sorry!

The picture above is of Parinya Charoenphol. He became a Thai boxing champion in order to pay for a gender change. It's a true story and there has been a movie made about it. See trailer below for more of the atmosphere I'm associating with the Boxeuses scent.