Illuminum Arabian Amber

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It was a surprisingly chilly day and I was in the mood for something warming, so I decided to test out Arabian Amber today in the hopes that it would give me that warm feeling that ambers tend to do.

Arabian Musk

Arabian Musk

In Bottle: Clean and very heavy on the bergamot. I get woodsy from this too as well as ylang-ylang.

Applied: The strange thing about Arabian Amber when I tried it on me was that it wasn’t very warm. Ambers or scents that bill themselves as ambers tend to warm up. I get the bergamot in the beginning that does a nice job introducing the woods that roll in during the midstage. The cedar in this is sparingly used and tempered so that it doesn’t overtake the entire fragrance. It’s definitely present and definitely threatening to take over, but it doesn’t because of the lovely touch of spice and light-handed smoke that funnels up through the scent. Arabian Amber has a bit more of its namesake as the fragrance ages and has a much more prominent ylang-ylang presence than I thought it would have. The ylang-ylang reminds me of Illuminum’s Cashmere Musk as it dries down to a smoother woodsy and ylang-ylang fragrance that joins up with the clean patchouli for a pleasant finish.

Extra: Launched in 2011, Illuminum is a British fragrance house created and led by Michael Boadi. The house focuses on contemporary, sleek and modern design.

Design: Still not that big of a fan of the bottles.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy

Notes: Bergamot, nutmeg, black pepper, cedar, ylang-ylang, oppoponax, frankincense, patchouli.

I expected a lot more warmth from Arabian Amber and while it does have a bit of warmth to it, I noticed the ylang-ylang in the fragrance more than I noticed the spices or the amber notes. I’m not sure this one is for me but it certainly smells nice enough. Arabian Musk is available in 50ml or 100ml and you can buy a bottle at Luckyscent or Illuminum’s website.

Reviewed in This Post: Arabian Amber, 2012, Eau de Parfum.

Disclaimer: The fragrance sampler spray reviewed in this post was provided to me for free for the purposes of review. In no other way am I receiving pay or compensation for this review. This review was written based upon my personal experiences and opinions of the product.

Histoires de Parfums 1826

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The Histoires de Parfums line has always interested me. I loved the concept behind it and had been meaning to get a sample of one of the fragrances for years. My main hold up was not knowing where to start and what year to order first. I settled on 1826 thanks to a recommendation from a friend.

1826

1826

In Bottle: Strong bergamot and woody presence with a hint of smooth vanilla and spice.

Applied: Starts up with a strong bergamot and tangerine showing that is quick to make way for the floral aspect. I get a lot of lowers, and a bit of spice that creeps up to the midstage making for a complex and pleasant blend that gets slapped with a soft vanilla incense halfway through its progression. 1826 settles into a floral vanilla with a hint of woods. It’s giving off a clean floral vibe. Heck, this thing changes on me like crazy, one minute being a spicy floral and another being a vanilla floral that throws in a clean note out of no where. There’s a dark edge to it with the patchouli too, that settles in the background in the early midstage where it lends 1826 a bit of depth. The dry down is markedly woodsy with a final showing of florals and that elusive, but brilliant vanilla.

Extra: 1826 is dedicated to the last French empress, Eugénie de Montijo, whose birthday is reportedly May 5th, 1826. She lived a very long life given the time period and passed away at the age of 94 in Spain. The Empress, formerly known as María Eugenia Ignacia Augustina de Palafox-Portocarrero de Guzmán y Kirkpatrick, is somewhat understandably more well known as the fashionable wife of Napoleon III, and the last empress of the French court.

Design: Histoires de Parfums keeps a somewhat uniformed look for their bottles. I am a huge fan of uniform looks for series because I can imagine if I were ever wealthy enough to buy an entire series of perfumes, that I could line them up and be a little giddy about how awesome that would look. Histoires de Parfums is one of those bottle designs that would look fabulous lined up in a row and still looks pretty good even if you own just one of the bottles. The box tells you what notes are in the fragrance along with a little blurb about the name of the scent. The bottle itself has a label on the side that gives you the notes you should expect to smell. Simple, functional, and would look awesome lined up in a row.

Fragrance Family:  Floral Oriental

Notes: Bergamot, tangerine, white florals, violet, cinnamon, ginger, patchouli, amber, incense, woods, white musk, vanilla.

I have to admit that I expected a little less punch during the initial spray phase, but the rest of the fragrance smells divine. It’s got a great complexity to it, and it’s quite the shape shifter to boot. It smells great, has a young streak, tends toward a sweet youthful vanilla, though it’s probably not the kind of thing you’d want to recommend for a teenage girl or someone with a teenage girl’s sensibilities. 1826 is definitely a woman’s fragrance and needs a sophisticated nose to appreciate it.

Reviewed in This Post: 1826, 2012, Eau de Parfum.

AdP Colonia Assoluta In Villa

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In Villa

In Villa

Up today is another decant from Steve at The Scented Hound (thank you). I really have no method to my madness, so I decided upon Colonia Assoluta In Villa because it was the closest one.

In Bottle: Green citrus, I get a lot of lime and bergamot, with a big dose of woodsy notes.

Applied: Lime and bergamot on opening, reminds me of greenness and it only gets more green when the cypress quickly rolls in. When I looked up the notes for this Acqua di Parma wants to tell me they used cedar. Now, I’m not a great nose when it comes to well-behaved cedar because it’s always going funky on my skin. If this is cedar, then it’s behaving really well. The citrus is quick to dissolve, leaving cedar holding the bag until a clean waft of florals rolls in during the midstage with the very barest touch of spice. The scent gets decidedly less floral near the end where the green cedar continues to carry it forward with a touch of warmth from a very faint amber note. The fragrance reminds me a lot of an adorable little cottage I saw once. It was–funny enough–in the middle of a city, but the owner had enough land that despite metropolitan life going on around him, he managed to have a beautifully done wooded area surrounding his property. It looked like a page out of a storybook and In Villa reminds me of that.

Extra: Colonia Assoluta In Villa was released in 2009 by Acqua di Parma.

Design: I actually really like the bottle for In Villa, it’s elegant and simple. Modern with a little bit of classic flair so that it doesn’t look outdated. I think what sells this bottle for me (in terms of aesthetics) is that it has a balloon pump, which gives it a classic charm. Though as Steve noted, the balloon pump adds an element of beauty to the bottle, but it’s not great when you go to use it. From my experience with balloon pumps, I can eagerly agree.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy

Notes: Lemon, lime, bergamot, cardamom, chili pepper, jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, cedar, white musk, amber.

I was really happy with how well the cedar in this worked on me, but aside from the surprising mild cedar, there’s not a whole lot going on with In Villa. It’s pretty enough, but it’s not my kind of thing. But if it is your kind of thing, you can buy a whopping 200ml of this stuff. That’s a lot of In Villa!

Reviewed in This Post: Colonia Assoluta In Villa, 2012, Eau de Cologne.

Yves Saint Laurent L’Homme

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A friend of mine raves about L’Homme and how much he loves it and gets compliments whenever he wears it. I have to admit that hype kind of puts a damper on things for me. Hype it just enough and I’ll be interested. Hype it a bit too much and I find myself avoiding it.

L'Homme

L’Homme

In Bottle: Bam. Familiar. Familiar in a rather good way. Takes it back to my early childhood where I remember lights, noises and of course the smell.

Applied: Citrus with a tempering ginger note a hint of sweet florals and woods. All of the notes are very well blended. I definitely get the citrus first, but then it molds together into a nice even fragrance that hits a memory nerve. The scent has a nice mild spiciness to it with an underlayer of woods with an inoffensive cedar note that provides a base for the sweet floral notes that are really the stars here. L’Homme is rather soft and yielding. It’s like the whole fragrance is composed of very delicate amounts of ingredients. And it really shows because L’Homme is a quick fader and is gone within a manner of a few hours. The smell takes me back to my childhood, reminds me of one of the houses I lived in as a toddler. It’s hot days, street noise, and the ever-present banging of Vietnam’s less than safe metalworking shops. I think L’Homme is taking me back because it smells like a laundry soap my mother used on our clothes back then and we always ended up smelling like it. In either case, my association with L’Homme makes me instantly like it. On a more objective note, it is a good fragrance. If it didn’t jive any memories in me, I would say there’s nothing too particularly special about it except for the fact that it’s a fairly well blended scent that’s accessible and easy to pull off.

Extra: L’Homme was released in 2006 and has a mixed reception. Some love it, some hate it. Most think it’s a pretty easy going fragrance that will work for the office.

Design: L’Homme’s bottle is really recognizable for me. Mainly because I see it everywhere I go. It’s one of those standard fragrances that isn’t very difficult to find and up until now, I never had the urge to actually walk up to it and spray some on because it was so unassuming a bottle. It’s simple, compact and would blend right in with the rest of your bottles.

Fragrance Family: Floral Woodsy

Notes: Ginger, bergamot, lemon, basil, ozone, pepper, spices, violet leaf, tonka bean, vetiver, cedar.

L’Homme does run a bit more sweet than most fragrances marketed to men. But it’s one of those scents that skirts the unisex to masculine line. So if you wanted a full on “man fragrance” then maybe this isn’t for you. L’Homme also doesn’t have the greatest longevity. What it does do well is provide a nice, inoffensive, easy to wear clean and floral scent. So I do so happen to like L’Homme–mostly because it reminded me of something good. Or at least, something familiar. Odd thing to do for a fragrance that was released long after I had those memories. But then, that’s what makes scents and memories fascinating.

Reviewed in This Post: L’Homme, 2011, Eau de Toilette.

Lancome Tresor Midnight Rose

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I had a glimpse at this adorable bottle at the store the other day. Lancôme’s Trésor Midnight Rose looks more modern than original Trésor with a cute little rose ribbon tied around the neck of the bottle. It’s things like that which wake up the little girl in me.

Tresor Midnight Rose

Tresor Midnight Rose

In Bottle: Cedar (plenty of it) in this with a mild sweet floral. A little touch of rose settling in the background.

Applied: It’s probably not a good sign when the first note I smell in the bottle and on my skin is cedar. Midnight Rose’s cedar doesn’t agree with me as it overtakes the scent and makes itself a dominant force to be reckoned with. Pushing the cedar aside, I can get vague glimpses of roses and berries. The underlying scent is a sweet floral and I imagine without the cedar present, Midnight Rose would smell pretty tame and mild. With the cedar, its tameness is being drowned by a near obnoxious “Look at me, I’m a big tree and I smell”, sharp woody note that I get in most cedar perfumes. Something about my nose or my skin or just me in general cannot get along with these cedar notes and Midnight Rose just so happens to use enough of it to bother me. I keep Midnight Rose on in the hopes that cedar will go away and let me into the rest of the fragrance, but it’s always there, taunting me. Thankfully the fragrance has a noticeable enough progression that near the end, I get a bit of creamy vanilla with a soft lingering floral.

Extra: Midnight Rose was released last year, in 2011. Trésor has a large selection of flankers, most notably, Trésor In Love and Trésor Sparkling.

Design: I didn’t even recognize this as a Trésor flanker because of how different the bottle looks from original Trésor. The redesign is definitely appreciated as Trésor’s design was showing its age a bit. Or maybe I just associate it naturally with the 90s because that’s how long I’ve been seeing the bottle sitting on a relative’s vanity table. Trésor Midnight Rose is encased in a tall glass bottle that reminds me a bit of Nina Ricci and Chanel mixed together. It has a cute fabric rose, tied to the neck of the bottle that, for once, accentuates the aesthetics and gives it a sort of sophistication as opposed to just tackiness.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy Floral

Notes: Berries, rose, jasmine, peony, cassis, pink pepper, cedar, vanilla, musk.

I keep seeing people generally liking this and I wish I could say the same. The cedar really was the sole reason why I didn’t have any luck with Midnight Rose. What I smelled underneath was a mild, nice, sweet floral which I probably would have enjoyed.

Reviewed in This Post: Trésor Midnight Rose, 2011, Eau de Parfum.

Donna Karan Cashmere Mist

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Cashmere Mist

Cashmere Mist

I don’t know why I thought I had already done a review for Cashmere Mist. Perhaps it’s because of how used to it I am. Everywhere I went as a child, I smelled this perfume on somebody. It’s popularity has ingrained itself into my mind and made it something of a given that I should have talked about it already.

In Bottle: Bergamot and very soft floral woods.

Applied: Cashmere Mist opens with a little nip of citrus that serves to drive the fragrance into its dominant stage. The stage is that of a very soft floral tinged wood with a light dusting of powder that envelops the wearer in a warm blanket. A lot of fragrances remind me of my mother because, when I was growing up, her fragrance collection helped shape my perfume preferences today. Cashmere Mist is one of those perfumes that reminds me a lot of her because she had some of it at one point. I do have to admit that I’m not a big fan of this one, despite the good memories associated with it. It’s a bit dull, sadly. Otherwise, it’s warm and soft and nurturing. It’s nice and gentle and smells like memories of the early 90s. It’s also clean, like soap, powder and laundry if you were interested in a clean scent. I just think it’s a bit generic smelling and I’m entirely willing to admit that I might just be bored of smelling it because I’ve gotten so used to it since its release.

Extra: Cashmere Mist has been out and available since 1994. It remains easily accessible and can be purchased at a variety of department stores and online.

Design: Some people love this people and some don’t. I’m one of the people who love it, though I have to admit my bias because I grew up seeing this bottle and smelling Cashmere Mist so I’m a little bit attached to it. It is, however, a somewhat dated design in that it reflects an earlier aesthetic. There are two types of bottles for Cashmere Mist, a frosted glass bottle (pictured in this post) and a clear glass bottle.

Fragrance Family: Clean Woodsy Floral

Notes: Bergamot, lily of the valley, jasmine, suede, cashmere wood, sandalwood, musk, vanilla.

The version I reviewed should be noted as there has been some differences noticed by the fragrance community between the EDT that I’m reviewing and the EDP in the clear glass bottle that’s being widely circulated.

Reviewed in This Post: Cashmere Mist, 1998, Eau de Toilette.

Doir Tendre Poison

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The more of the Poison line I discover, the more I puzzle over the fact that the original Poison, released in 1985, has eleven flankers. No matter what fragrance you’re talking about, that’s still a lot of flankers.

Tendre Poison

Tendre Poison

In Bottle: Fresh, sweet and woodsy with a hint of spice and a bit of ambery quality.

Applied: Tendre Poison comes out right away with a big hit of fresh citrus that rolls with a sweet opening that takes you on a trip down to floral and woodsy in no time. There’s a bit of amber quality to this, perhaps a result of the honey warming up the scent as it combats the blast of cool citrus that came out from the opening. The fragrance hits a floral chord in the middle stage with a nice tuberose making a rather grand entrance to my nose. The tuberose gives the rest of the florals–and the scent as a whole–a very nice creamy quality that compliments the woodsiness that settles this fragrance down and takes it into its base notes. Tendre Poison ends with a smooth woody and spicy fragrance.

Extra: Tendre Poison is a rather old showing when it comes to the Poison line of flankers. It came out in 1994 and seems to be a bit difficult to find in the general market these days. At least, I haven’t seen any of it kicking around store shelves. You may have to hit up eBay for this one, but be careful, there’s a sizable counterfeit presence for the Poison line of fragrances.

Design: The shape is generally similar to the original Poison bottle. It’s still a very nice bottle and I still think it’s a lovely use of the apple shape that imparts a certain level of playfulness while maintaining an aura of luxury at the same time. I’m not too wild about how bright green this iteration is, but the general aesthetic is all right.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy Floral

Notes: Bergamot, tangerine, mandarin, galbanum, rosewood, honey, freesia, orange blossom, rose, tuberose, musk, heliotrope, vanilla, sandalwood.

I rather liked this one. It’s unique in that I haven’t quite smelled something that’s progressed in this way before. It also smells modern, despite its release in the early 90s. But then, it’s earlier release date might help it steer clear of the more recent releases that tend to smell a little generic to me.

Reviewed in This Post: Tendre Poison, 1995, Eau de Toilette.

Frederic Malle French Lover

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French Lover is classified as a men’s fragrance, but why should this earthy and dark scent be exclusive to one gender? I’m happy to be back between the gears of Frederic Malle’s scent machine.

French Lover

French Lover

In Bottle: Fascinating in a dark and earthy way. This is dirt, dust and ruggedness in a perfume.

Applied: Dark and earthy is my first impression. French Lover opens with a strong galbanum presence coupled with angelica and a bit of patchouli and moss. Despite the moss–which I often associate with dewy–French Lover’s moss and other ingredients present a very dry interpretation. This is desert and power. It’s unrelenting with it’s show of strong materials and continues to be powerful way into the endstage. As the scent wears on, it gets stronger with a middle note of smoked greenery. Add in a dollop of cedar, a dash of vetiver and tone down the angelica and you’ve got the final experience as French Lover rolls out with a strong showing of dry woods.

Extra: French Lover was launched in 2007 and composed by Pierre Bourdon.

Design: Designed in much the same way as most other Frederic Malle fragrances. Bottled in a simple, but luxurious to hold cylindrical bottle with a simple black label running along the glass to tell you what you’re getting. All this topped with a black cap. I like the design well enough and the bottle has a very nice weightiness to it.

Fragrance Family: Earthy Woodsy

Notes: Galbanum, angelica, spices, incense, cedar, vetiver, oakmoss, white musk.

Probably the most interesting thing I’ve smelled in a while. It’s not my kind of thing, but it’s a very well-composed fragrance with a lot of personality.

Reviewed in This Post: French Lover, 2008, Eau de Parfum.

Victoria’s Secret Love Bitten

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I was actually attracted to this because of the packaging. Something about lace makes me feel better. One of those odd character quirks I have, I guess.

Love Bitten

Love Bitten

In Bottle: Apples with a clean soft white musk and a load of woods.

Applied: Pretty much what I got in bottle, I got on my skin. It smells of apples and clean musk and wood. It’s like a basket of apples sitting next to a pile of wood. But this isn’t a great apple note as there’s nothing authentic to how these apples smell. These are artificial apples, the flavoring kind you get from a Jolly Rancher candy and not like an actual apple that you pick in an orchard. It’s serviceable though and it works well with the two notes it was paired with. The woods give the apple in this a more grownup feel as plain old fake apple fragrances to tend to project an air of carefree youth and candy. I don’t dislike this, but I also don’t like it. It’s certainly not one of the best apples I’ve smelled, but it’s a pretty good scent if you can work your way around the fake apple.

Extra: Love Bitten is a member of Victoria’s Secret’s Attractions Collection. It was released in 2011 and is no longer available because Victoria’s Secret–like Bath and Body Works–has this terrible habit where they introduce a fragrance, get a bunch of people hooked, then pull the stuff off the market.

Design: The lace was what drew me to the fragrance. I can’t help it. I love lace. The design itself is pretty good. The lace looks a bit out of place on the bottle at times, but it is eye-catching and effective in that sense. The bottle itself is pretty standard size and shape. It’s easy enough to hold and pretty good for a body mist.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Woods

Notes: Apple, woods, white musk.

Love Bitten, while it was still sold by Victoria’s Secret, had an entire line of body care items in addition to the body mist. If you’re still interested in Love Bitten, it’s available on eBay and through resellers on Amazon.

Reviewed in This Post: Love Bitten, 2011, Body Mist.

Dior Midnight Poison

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Midnight Poison is a fairly recent flanker to Dior’s very popular Poison perfume.

Midnight Poison

Midnight Poison

In Bottle: Anyone expecting Midnight Poison to smell like the original Poison will be in for a shock. This is woody, dark, and earthy. It’s a cry so far from Poison that it has me grinning from ear to ear.

Applied: Sharp spiciness and earthiness up front. Lots of patchouli mixing with a spicy bergamot starting note that drifts beautifully into an earthy patchouli rosy scent. The rose is very faint and lends a delicate note to the fragrance as a whole. I wouldn’t have thought this combination would work so well–even though it’s a pretty obvious one. The fragrance fades into a patchouli and wood fragrance as it progresses, surrounding you with a deeply sophisticated blend of earthiness, amber and wood with a faint hint of rose.

Extra: Midnight Poison was released in 2007 and is still widely available from retailers.

Design: Midnight Poison shares the same bottle shape as the other Poison bottles in the line. The chief difference is the coloring of the bottle. It is a deep, dark blue. Very beautiful. The shape is still easy to hold and use.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy

Notes: Bergamot, mandarin, rose, patchouli, amber, vanilla.

Midnight Poison is one amazing fragrance. It’s fascinating in its use of an extremely powerful patchouli note that dominates the scene of the fragrance’s progression.

Reviewed in This Post: Midnight Poison, 2009, Eau de Parfum.