Jour Ensoleillé by Sonoma Scent Studio

My last couple of weeks have been turbulent. Some, pretty fundamental, things that I've been taking for granted proved to be, well, not to be. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Change is an inevitable part of life and it's only when old beliefs are lost that you get room for new ones hat are better suited for you - but it still feels disorienting and confusing. One part of me wanted to clench my wrists and scream like a teenager not getting her way and another wanted to cuddle up with kids and husband under a blanket in the sofa, trying to forget all about the outside world.

But, in the midst of all this I had a very nice surprise. A while ago, lovely Nathalie of anotherPerfumeBlog sent me some samples from Sonoma Scent Studios (Champagne de Bois and Incense Pure) and I liked them so much I  decided to order more. And, yes, now my parcel showed up in the mail! Great, I thought, lets do an all-weekend-Sonoma-marathon. As I'd just read Birgits review of Jour Ensoleillé I figuered, well, that one sounds like a good one to start with, lets go!

Right away, at first sniff of JE there are several, very easily recognizable, notes. There is orange blossom, flanked by it's pals indolic jasmine and waxy tuberose. My very first thought was, this is one of those simple, cheery little things, perfect for simple-minded, cheery people, good for them (=I hate them) (yes, this is a horrible thing to say, but you must to consider the drama-queen state of mind I was in at the time). On next inhale I thought, hey, there is more! And there IS more, that bright and happy side is flanked by another side, dark, cool and just plain beautiful. I can't pick out the exact notes for it myself but according to the list of official notes there are beeswax, labdanum, myrrh, sandalwood, ambergris, vetiver, green leaves and oakmoss.

For these last few days, JE has proved to be my perfect scent. It's happy side has cheered me up and helped me keep focus on that silver lining that is supposed to come with the clouds. The dark side has simultaneously calmed me while mirroring and acknowledging my confusion, like it's saying, it's ok, it's just the way things are right now, they're not perfect but we're all ok.

And that all-weekend-marathon never happened cause after trying on JE, it was all I wanted to wear for several days - and that's very unusual for me as I like to change scents as often as it's practically possible. In other words, a very good mark.





Notes: orange blossom, neroli, tuberose, jasmine, beeswax absolute, labdanum absolute , myrrh, sandalwood, ambergris, vetiver, green leaves, oakmoss absolute.


Picture from Sonoma Scent Studios website

O de L`Orangerie by Lancome

When I'm waiting for people or just have some time to kill I tend to end up in a drug store, sniffing what is there to sniff. This morning I did exactely that as I was early for an appointement. I was greeted by a young and very sweet sales assistant, super enthusiastic about the new O de L`Orangerie by Lancome, a flanker to O de Lancome from 1969. The idea of "Citrus Week" was at the time brewing in my mind so I went for a little trial spray.

O de L`Orangerie starts out with a cheery note of lemon and orange blossoms. The lemons went away almost immediately, giving  the organge blossoms space to sweeten and mature on my skin. After two hours all citrus was gone and what was left was a very generic floral containing jasmine and muguet.

I liked the beginning, just the right amount of sweetness verses tartness. Very appropriate for summer. Thy drydown was one big snorefest.

I'm rating O de L`Orangerie 3 out of 3. Great if you're worried about offending people with your fragrance, there is no way to go wrong with this one. But for myself I like something with a bit more character.


Pic: Fragrantica.com

Comparison Jo Malone "Orange Blossom"+"White Jasmine & Mint" vs "Tubereuse Criminelle"

When thinking about the notes in Tubereuse Criminelle, two other samples in my perfume collection came to mind; Jo Malones "Orange Blossom" and "White Jasmine and Mint". Jo Malone fragrances are made to layer, shouldn't these two add up to something similar to TC? They both have white flowers (ok, no tuberose, but jasmine will have to do in a pinch), orange blossom and mint. I decided to do a little comparison. One drop of Serge Lutens Tubereuse Criminelle on one wrist and a small spray of first JM Orange Blossom and then White Jasmine & Mint on the other.

Smelling these two next to each others is like having a chat with a seductive but slightly insane femme fatal on one side and a innocent little girl on the other. TC just keeps expanding in all possible and impossible directions. There is good, there is evil and there is the just very strange stuff in between.

JM Orange Blossom first smells exactly like when you use your fingers to peel an orange. No more, no less. A safe smell. The "White Jasmine and Mint" isn't very noticeable at first. I suspect it takes the edge of the orange but I don't really notice it. Half an hour later the jasmine is more prominent. The little mint that there is feels vaxy and plasticy, like the first seconds when you put a Mentos in your mouth. You feel the smooth surface, there is a hint of mint, but it hasn't started to dissolve yet, releasing its menthol. About an hour later, I'm getting mandarin and lemon. There might be a hint of dirtyness, but when compared side to side with TC, it's hardly worth mentioning. This is an ok scent. Relatively fresh with lots of citrusy notes. I have to try it on its own on a warm summer day. And I think I might have been very hash when I've said before that I hate orange blossoms. I now recall that I was pregnant when I formed that judgement. They are not that bad.

So, the verdict of today's exercise: The result of layering Jo Malones "Orange Blossom" and "White Jasmine and Mint" is not bad, but it's NOTHING like the legendary Tubereuse Criminelle.