Guerlain Cherry Blossom Fruity

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A year ago when my eyes were still filled with stars for old fragrance houses like Guerlain and Coty, I would have sworn off stuff like Cherry Blossom Fruity and pretended they didn’t exist. But the truth of the matter is, Guerlain makes its bills by selling mainstream fragrances like this while, hopefully, keeping its classics alive for another year.

Cherry Blossom Fruity

Cherry Blossom Fruity

In Bottle: Smells like flowers and fruits. Kind of a funny experience when I remember Guerlain of Vol de Nuit and Jicky fame made this.

Applied: Yeah, florals and fruits. There’s a bit of tartness at the start–very little of it–with a juicy cherry fragrance and a very fruity blanket to push the cherry smell a little. The whole opening is familiar with mainstream fruity fragrances. I think the word “juicy” is a good approximation of how Cherry Blossom Fruity opens up. Don’t worry though, it gets better as the scent ages and the cherry blossom jasmine combination come into play. The florals balance out the loud juicy opening very nicely. The whole composition of the fragrance is quite sound. It’s actually one of the better fruity florals I’ve sampled in that it doesn’t just throw a punch of fruits and flowers together. There was some good thought put into this. The drydown sees a bit of taming when it comes to the fruity florals and introduces a bit of surprising dry dustiness that I want to say might be vetiver, but I’m not sure I want to commit to that conclusion.

Extra: While I have a very small sample of this, Cherry Blossom Fruity is apparently a “Glittering” Eau de Toilette. I can only assume there’s some sort of glitter or sparkles in this stuff that when sprayed can either make you look like the Queen of the Fae or a walking disco ball. I’m really not sure where Guerlain was going with this one, but there’s been some iteration of these easy fragrances out for a while. You can still get your hands on Cherry Blossom Fruity. Beautyencounter has it for a very reasonable price though the bottle is very small.

Design: I’m not wild about the look of this one. It looks particularly out of place given the rest of Guerlain’s packaging. It is what it is though. Every time I look at the bottle I get the feeling Cherry Blossom Fruity would fit in more with the body sprays (especially given the glitter in it) than the Eau de Toilettes.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Floral

Notes: Red berries, cherry, cherry blossom, jasmine, vetiver.

Please note that my list of notes is mostly an approximation. Guerlain themselves only provided two definitive notes: cherry, cherry blossom and jasmine. The rest are my guesses.

Cherry Blossom Fruity–to me–hails from Guerlain’s mainstream arm that makes fast and easy to wear perfume. It’s fast fragrance for the too-busy-to-bother 21st Century consumer who needs to spray and go. And what they want to spray is something subdued and inoffensive. Nothing wrong with that. Like I said, this stuff smells good and is fundamentally sound as an easy perfume. Though I’m not sure you want it to make you glittery if your chief concern is convenient fragrance. In the end I hope it sells (or sold) well so Guerlain can keep it’s classics in stock. Though judging by the fact that I hardly see any of this stuff on actual store shelves, I’m happy that the Aqua Allegoria line does a bit better.

P.S. Happy Valentines Day!

Reviewed in This Post: Cherry Blossom Fruity, 2006, Eau de Toilette.

Givenchy Pi

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Having completed a recent move, I am slowly coming back to the smell game and starting off with Givenchy Pi, a men’s fragrance toting itself as a woody oriental.

Pi

Pi

In Bottle: Mandarin with a vanilla and herbal scent up top. A pleasant if somewhat strange combination.

Applied: Mandarin right away with a nice wave of herbs coming in soon after it. I smell the rosemary rather predominantly. Almost as fast as the opening rolls in, I get a big whiff of almonds and vanilla and the fragrance sweetens up almost immediately. It’s kind of a shame that almond and vanilla and generally considered feminine fragrances because if given enough of a chance, Pi could make anyone of any gender smell good. It’s certainly a bit of a change from what I usually see with men’s scents. I rather like that it started off typical enough then takes itself into a sweet vanilla direction. The fragrance wears on with sweet vanilla and almond until the woodsiness comes up and mingles with the vanilla. The end product is a rather pleasant vanilla woods.

Extra: Pi was released in 1999 and has since split into a few flankers. You can still easily find Pi at department stores and even some drug stores.

Design: Serge Mansau strikes again with this bottle design. It reminds me a bit of Ancient Egyptian architecture with its even, straight form and coloring. The bottle is rather hefty, a little difficult to hold, but it is otherwise a beautiful, interesting piece to have.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy Oriental

Notes: Mandarin, tarragon, basil, rosemary, tonka, vanilla, benzoin, almond, brown sugar, cedar.

Pi is like a fragrance exploring the three concepts of fragrance gendering. It starts off masculine, evolves a bit into the feminine, then ends on a rather unisex note.

Reviewed in This Post: Pi,  2010, Eau de Toilette.

L’Instant de Guerlain pour Homme

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L’Instant de Guerlain pour Homme Extreme (the Eau de Parfum) version was not an easy animal to track down for me. Everywhere I saw the EDT but no EDP. Regardless, L’Instant de Guerlain pour Homme is widely loved and wildly popular. So, not being able to get a hold of the EDP, I settled for a little vial of the EDT.

L'Instant de Guerlain

L'Instant de Guerlain

In Bottle: Complex medley that’s both classic but modern and easy to wear. It’s hard to separate any distinct notes but it has a great mix of anise, citrus and woods.

Applied: Initial licorice quality of the anise that’s been tempered with a peppery blend of citrus notes that give the impression of a clean opening before L’Instant de Guerlain pour Homme delves into deeper territory with a brilliantly blended mixture of florals, woods and herbal notes. There’s nothing too distinct about this, but I do notice a cedar note bashing around the blend. The fragrance as a whole just blends together in a powder and floral mix that smells fantastic. L’Instant de Guerlain pour Homme is a sophisticated fragrance has a classic quality to it while remaining a modern pleaser. If you want to smell awesome for the office or a special event L’Instant de Guerlain pour Homme won’t let you down. I think what I’m trying to say is, the fragrance is blended well enough to be worn as an every day office scent if you go easy on the trigger and it can also double as a going out fragrance for when you want to leave a good impression. The dry down is marked with a dry woods and powder.

Extra: Now I know why L’Instant de Guerlain pour Homme is so well-loved by the fragrance community. I just wish the EDP was easier to find. It’s a great scent for men. If you’re worried about the floral notes, go out and test out this fragrance to see if you’ll like it. It’s classical personality has turned off some people, but if you can get past the classic scent you’ll definitely smell great.

Design: Reminiscent of L’Instant de Guerlain for women. The bottle has a nice heft to it which is always good. The EDT version has a black cap with some grooves and the EDP version has a black cap that’s colored black  at the bottom. The design itself is great, it feels good to hold, is simple and elegant as well as easy to spray.

Fragrance Family: Floral Woods

Notes: Bergamot, lemon, grapefruit, anise, jasmine, tea, patchouli, lavender, cedar, cocoa, sandalwood, hibiscus, musk.

Now L’Instant de Guerlain pour Homme comes in a few additions. The two major ones you want to pay attention to is the L’Instant de Guerlain pour Homme EDT which was reviewed in this post and the L’Instant de Guerlain pour Homme Extreme edition which is the EDP. The EDP is difficult to track down and has a lot of devoted fans.

Reviewed in This Post: L’Instant de Guerlain pour Homme, 2008, Eau de Toilette.

Givenchy Very Irresistible

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I remember when my mother first got this fragrance and promotional ads of Liv Tyler and her funky black hat where all over the department store. It seemed to me–back then–that this was thefragrance to have. These days, it seems everyone’s moved on to other things but my mother used up every last drop of her bottle so it surely had something going for it.

Very Irresistible

Very Irresistible

In Bottle: Bright florals with a little bit of sweetness. I get the rose (it’s modern) and magnolia which blend together fantastically.

Applied: I should have known better than to doubt my mother’s taste in perfumes. Very Irresistible has this optimistic, bright quality to it. Something that’s missing from my life and being replaced in little spritzes from a fragrance sampler. It’s all florals with a little sweetness, and so well blended too. The initial application is marked with a clean lemon berry-like scent that evolves quickly into a bed of roses and magnolias. The peony is well mixed into the bouquet so that it doesn’t stand out and doesn’t remind me of bathroom spray (an unfortunate associate I have with peony). The floral notes are nice and crisp, distinct enough that I can pick them apart but not so distinct that they smell discordant. This is a very nicely done floral though given the releases of today, there’s very little that sets this fragrance apart from other bright florals in its category. It is still probably one of the best contenders, however.

Extra: Very Irresistible has inspired a long line of flankers since its release. You have an eau de toilette version and an eau de parfum version along with a number of flankers such as Very Irresistible for Men, Very Irresistible Fresh Attitude (a men’s version), Absolutely Irresistible, and Very Irresistible Sensual.

Design: Very Irresistible–much like its flankers–is bottled in a tall colored glass tapered prism flacon that sports a slight twist to its design. The bottle is a bit awkward to hold when you want to spray it because it’s heavy glass, a strange shape, very tall and slender, and I’m worried I might drop it. The design itself–however, is a nice echo to Givenchy’s aesthetic and is a pleasant enough thing to look at.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Cassia, lemon verbena, anise, peony, magnolia, rose.

I suppose the fact that this fragrance has a large number of flankers and men’s versions of it is a testament to how popular it was–and probably still is. It is a great fragrance for someone who is into florals (roses in particular) and isn’t afraid of the fragrance being a bit on the strong side.

Reviewed in This Post: Very Irresistible, 2005, Eau de Parfum.

Creed Royal Oud

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Oud has always been popular amongst perfumistas. It took me a while to get used to it myself. But how could I delay it? People love oud. Companies have entire lines of fragrances dedicated to oud.  So how does Royal Oud stack up to the competition? Eh.

Royal Oud

Royal Oud

In Bottle: It’s oud all right. Dense and warm oud with a flowery bit of woodsiness and a major spice going on.

Applied: Okay, so here’s the problem with Royal Oud on me. It opens with a big spicy kick. Like the spices are a bit strong and overpowering at first and that makes it hard for my nose to adjust and get to the rest of the fragrance. As the spices settle down a bit, I get a warm, dense, slightly dirty oud and woodsy fragrance. The woods are a little distracting because I swear I smell a cedar note that’s threatening to take over and pull me away from the smooth richness of the oud fragrance. Royal Oud is a strange but rather boring creature. It’s strange in that it uses oud throughout its progression but the other notes in the fragrance seem to always be stronger and trying to overpower the oud. It’s boring because it smells like a spicy woodsy men’s fragrance with a little hint of dirtiness.

Extra: Oud has this dirty, dense, very resinous quality to my nose. But to describe oud is nearly impossible because there are so many ouds and so many different ways that oud can smell. It can be dirty, dense, deep, warm, sweet, and sticky. It also all depends on what type of oud you’re smelling and whether it’s a synthetic or a natural oud. It’s a talented ingredient that takes a good perfume to the next level if used right.

Design: The bottle itself is shaped and designed in a similar fashion to other Creed fragrances. Nice, heavy glass. Simple exterior with no unnecessary flourishes. The colors work well, the focus is on the fragrance and not the crazy gimmick bottle (here’s looking at you, Agonist. Even though I love Agonist bottles). It’s just a classic-looking Creed bottle that combines form and function very well.

Fragrance Family: Oriental

Notes: Agarwood, woods, spices.

I don’t know how I should feel about Royal Oud except to say that Amouage did it better. Get yourself an attar if you want something that focuses a bit more on oud. Get yourself Royal Oud if you’re not sure you like the stuff yet but you want a confident fragrance that features oud but won’t overwhelm you with it.

Reviewed in This Post: Royal Oud, 2011, Eau de Parfum.

Chanel Sycomore

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Chanel Sycamore is a member of the Chanel Les Exclusifs line where the fragrance house tends to get a bit artsier than their mainstream releases.

Sycomore

Sycomore

In Bottle: Sycamore is vetiver, first and moremost. This dewy kind of vetiver instead of the dry grass that I usually get. It’s also a bit woodsy and smoky at the same time.

Applied: The vetiver comes up first and is joined shortly by sandalwood and tobacco. There’s a bit of powder and clean in this as well and a wet sort of smoky scent. This reminds me of my childhood and the smell of woodsmoke after a rainstorm. It’s a bit more perfumy than the memory I have of actual rain and woodsmoke but it is a very nice approximate and a very close concept. It takes me back to simpler times and I really like that. The fragrance itself is a vetiver centric scent with perfumed sandalwood, a bit of smoke with a moist, dewy personality. Very nicely done. I get fantastic longevity with this stuff.

Extra: Sycomore was a combined brain child from Christopher Sheldrake (Ambre Sultan from Serge Lutens and Daim Blond also from Serge Lutens) and Jacques Polge (Chanel’s Chance and Egoiste).

Design: Designed the same way as other members in Chanel’s Les Exclusifs line. A big glass rectangle with a simple label. It’s at recognizable as an elegant, simple, Chanel design. Also it has a magnetic cap so I’m sold.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy

Notes: Vetiver, sandalwood, aldehydes, tobacco, violet.

If the memories keep rolling in when I wear Sycomore, it might be large bottle worthy. All of the Les Exclusifs seem to be big hits with me and Sycomore, so far, is the biggest hit due to the memories it stirs up.

Reviewed in This Post: Sycomore, 2010, Eau de Toilette.

Creed Aventus

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Creed’s gone tropical with Aventus but doesn’t dive in immediately into the fruity tropical pool. There are elements of sophistication still associated with Aventus.

Aventus

Aventus

In Bottle: Fruity opening with a smoky leather background that has a certain earthiness to it too.

Applied: Fruity, almost tropical and probably helped along in that direction thanks to the pineapple note. The opening smells rather familiar to a women’s fragrance actually with a deeper masculinity that comes up smelling mostly like fresh fruits and a bit of tar. Tar being that smoky–sometimes plastic–smell that I don’t particularly find enticing if not mixed well enough. Aventus does a good enough job of keeping it in check so that it enhances the fragrance for me instead of takes away from it. As the midstage wears on, there’s a little bit of floral but what I mostly get is this sharp earthy  scent that dwells on in the fragrance way into the end where it fades with a bit of sweet vanilla.

Extra: If you were afraid of other Creeds and those smelling a little too classic for you then Aventus is probably a good Creed starter. It’s got excellent projection and power but is an easy to wear fragrance. It is, however, a bit of a departure from how Creeds used to be. It is, nevertheless, still a competent fragrance.

Design: Bottle design is similar to other Creed bottles. The niche houses tend to keep their designs fairly uniform and Creed’s not much different in practice. The bottle has a nice weight and is easy to hold and use. It also looks quite sharp with its clear glass elements combined with the black and metal treatments.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Modern Chypre

Notes: Bergamot, blackcurrant, apple, pineapple, jasmine, rose, birch, patchouli, musk, oak moss, amber, vanilla.

I’m not that big of a fan of Aventus on my own skin but it is a funny fragrance that starts off a bit feminine then nosedives right into a masculine scent. It’s playful then sophisticated at the same time.

Reviewed in This Post: Aventus, 2011, Eau de Parfum.

Caron Acaciosa

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Acaciosa is one of perfumery’s greatest floral perfumes. It was released in 1924 and remains one of the most beautiful, lush jasmine and rose fragrances ever.

Acaciosa

Acaciosa

In Bottle: A big floral bouquet of jasmine and rose with a slight hint of amber.

Applied: Jasmine and rose are the stars here and the major players throughout the entire fragrance. The instant Acaciosa is applied you will smell these two principle notes that have endured the test of time and have continued to appear together in some of the fragrance world’s most popular classics and contemporary fragrances. Acaciosa does jasmine and rose proud because it plays up their authentic beauty and blends them together so well that a sniff of Acaciosa tells you immediately that you’re smelling a fantastic floral. There’s no real debate to be had, you’re smelling history and you’re smelling a floral perfume as it should be. Right from the start, into the middle, and down into the base you get jasmine and rose mingling together in a gorgeous medley. There’s a faint hint of sweetness and a jolt of tart pineapple that serves to deepen this fragrance with its mostly heady floral bouquet. The base intensifies with a warm amber quality. This amber note is present during the opening and midstages but doesn’t become too strong until you reach the base.

Extra: Caron has a fountain version of Acaciosa available for those of you who wish to experience the full on artistry of this fragrance. One of these days I’d like to see a Caron fragrance fountain for myself.

Design: The bottle pictured above is from a vintage ad dating back to the 1930s when Acaciosa was a bit easier to find. It’s a shame this fragrance is so exclusive now. I have yet to hold or even see more than a small sample of this stuff but everything Caron made back in its hey day looks beautiful.

Fragrance Family: Classic Floral

Notes: Orange flower, pineapple, jasmine, rose, amber.

I have no idea and no way to tell how old the decant of Acaciosa I have is. We can only take a blind stab in the dark that it is a vintage that could have been from the 40s, but even then we can’t be quite sure. So take the dating of my sampler with a grain of salt since I can’t guarantee its accuracy.

Reviewed in This Post: Acaciosa, ~1940, Parfum.

Chanel Cristalle

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Chanel Cristalle is the green, grassy, floral prettiness that came out in 1993. Juicy Couture’s recent release, Peace, Love and Juicy Couture was reminiscent of this beautiful chypre.

Cristalle

Cristalle

In Bottle: Cristalle opens remarkably like Peace, Love and Juicy (or should PL&J be said to open like Cristalle?) It’s green with a little bit of earthiness and a whole lot of nice.

Applied: Green and clean, the bergamot might help on that front a little but there’s definitely a bit of grassiness in there too. PL&J is remarkably similar to Cristalle in the opening but as Cristalle starts to age, I get a bit more personality and more depth, though the two fragrances are a bit alike. The floral notes in the midstage are beautifully blended together with a dense and sensual woodsy note. As the fragrance keeps aging toward the dry down there’s a bit of a dry hay-like fragrance that mingles with this warm green quality. There’s a bit of the florals still present in the dry down but the vetiver and warm woods from the midstage is definitely what I smell the most.

Extra: Cristalle, the Eau de Toilette (reviewed in this post) was composed by Henri Robert in 1974. Robert was also responsible for Chanel Pour Monsieur and Chanel No. 19. The Cristalle Eau de Parfum was composed by Jacques Polge at a later date. Jacques Polge being the nose behind Chanel Beige, Chanel Egoiste, and many more.

Design: Cristalle Eau de Toilette has changed its look over the years and Chanel doesn’t help matters by having different versions bottled in different ways. The Cristalle I saw was similar in appearance to No. 19 with the same relative shape but with a black cap. Regardless, it was all very classy and timeless as per usual for Chanel.

Fragrance Family: Chypre

Notes: Bergamot, lemon, hyacinth, rosewood, oak moss, vetiver.

Cristalle is one of those Chanel fragrances that make me think of the fragrance house’s illustrious past. When I think “Chanel Perfume”, Cristalle’s a part of that collection.

Reviewed in This Post: Cristalle, 1998, Eau de Toilette.

Chanel No. 19

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One look at Chanel No. 19’s notes list and you just know this stuff is worth a sniff. Aside from its very impressive ingredients, No. 19 is a classic with more than a few interesting factoids.

No. 19

No. 19

In Bottle: Very green and slightly bitter. I get a lot of the jasmine and orris.

Applied: Lots of green in the opening with a slight bitterness to it. I get a bit of bergamot in the opening but as No. 19 ages, the green gradually gives way to a powdery green floral where ylang-ylang, jasmine and orris are the stars of the show. Lily of the valley comes and goes in this as well and if you keep giving No. 19 time, the fragrance digs itself into a really pleasant sandalwood and dry cedar scent with the fading powdery florals. I am smelling a bit of leather in the dry down but it’s no where near as strong as I thought it would be as the scent fades with a perfumed sandalwood and cedar note. Overall, No. 19 has that expensive smell to it. If you want something sophisticated to wear, this is a good choice.

Extra: It’s said that No. 19 is named for Coco Chanel’s birthday which fell on August 19. No. 19 was composed by Henri Robert who also created Cristalle and Pour Monsieur.

Design: No. 19’s shape is reminiscent of Chanel No. 5 Eau Premier though it’s a distinctly different design. Still, like with most Chanel bottles, No. 19 has an understated elegance that works really well for the fragrance. There are no frills or cheap thrills with the design of this bottle. It just has a nice and timeless form that’s easy to use..

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Bergamot, galbanum, hyacinth, neroli, orris, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lily of the valley, rose, narcissus, leather, sandalwood, oak moss, musk, vetiver, cedar.

A lot of people interested in buying their first Chanel perfume are probably tempted to one of three fragrances from the house. Coco Mademoiselle, Chance, or No. 5. All good choices but they’re all distinctly different fragrances and for those who think Coco Mademoiselle is too young, Chance to generic, and No. 5 too classical then try No. 19 and see if you can get a long with it.

Reviewed in This Post: No. 19, 2005, Eau de Parfum.