Calvin Klein Obsession for Women

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Call me crazy, but I don’t like Obsession for Women. I like the men’s version a bit better but both of them fell off my radar and into ‘Eh, don’t like it and can’t get myself to’ territory. Much like how Poison by Dior ended up there.

Obsession for Women

In Bottle: Warm and spicy, very reminiscent of Opium but not as smooth or as smoky. I smell the animalic in this up front too.

Applied: Obsession opens with a slight spray of green citrus which is quickly joined by the civet note. Civet is used well in most perfumes, often as a touch of sensuality and Obsession is no exception. Anyway, after the light citrus and civet open up, the fragrance digs a bit into a fruity jasmine and rose blend dolled up with a lot of spiciness. There must be cloves or cinnamon in there somewhere. Obsession’s projection, by the way, is very good as is its longevity. You’ll be waiting a rather long time for it to dry down but the fragrance dries so naturally into a deeper woodsy floral amping up the civet a little and mingling those spices with a very warm amber quality to it and a slight smokiness that eeks itself into the scene at the very end.

Extra: Obsession was released in 1985 during the crazy trend with oriental perfumes.

Design: Obsession’s bottled in a oval glass with a golden liquid inside. The cap is a rich brown shade. The packing looks nice enough and a bottle of Obsession is definitely easy to ID. It’s clean, it’s simple, it’s pretty good.

Fragrance Family: Oriental

Notes: Green notes, mandarin orange, vanilla, peach, basil, bergamot, lemon, spices, coriander, sandalwood, orange blossom, jasmine, oakmoss, cedar and rose, amber, amber, musk, civet, vanilla, vetiver, incense.

Obsession is a well done perfume. I just want to get that out there, I just don’t like it because I believe it’s very similar to Opium and Opium did this concept better which makes Obsession seem rather unnecessary to me. But then, Opium is stronger, so if you liked it but thought it came on way too much, try out Obsession and see if this will work better for you.

Reviewed in This Post: Obsession for Women, 2004, Eau de Parfum.

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle

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All right, it was bound to happen. A review for Coco Mademoiselle, possibly the most popular fragrance amongst perfume consumers today. True, she doesn’t have the history of Chanel No. 5 but she’s undeniably pretty with a very appealing personality. So let’s cut to the chase already.

Coco Mademoiselle

In Bottle: Strong, very sweet lychee on top with a layer of very sheer florals you really have to focus in order to detect.

Applied: I know what the notes list says but there’s lychee in this and it’s the tippy-top of the notes pyramid. Coco Mademoiselle opens with a blast and a loud announcement that you’ve just arrived and you feel fabulous. It’s sweet, very loud, and predominantly lychee with a faded florals sort of scent lingering in the back. As the lychee settles a bit you get a hint of sweet orange flower and equally sweet mimosa. The fragrance starts to age into the mid-stage and that’s where you get something a bit more exciting. There’s a sheer white florals scent that keeps Coco Mademoiselle from being completely ridiculous as it blends so beautifully with the sweet notes in this fragrance. The rose note in this is particularly beautiful, it masks itself well with the florals and the lingering fruitiness of the opening, but it’s very, very modern rose. I might be a bit crazy here too but there’s something to Coco Mademoiselle that smells a bit like powder to me. Chanel giving me powder in a fragrance this modern? Kudos, Chanel! The dry down is lovely as well, when Coco Mademoiselle flings off the last of her silly lychee and embraces a warm, very clean, vanilla scent. Coco Mademoiselle, like most Chanels, projects and lasts a long time so go light on that sprayer.

Extra: Coco Mademoiselle was composed by Jacques Polge in 2001. It has consistently performed well in terms of sales since its release. Due to the popularity of Coco Mademoiselle, it is often one of the most counterfeited perfumes out there. In fact, I did a quick look on eBay and there’s at least three counterfeits on the first page of results at the time of my writing this. Definitely beware if you plan on buying this online.

Design: The eau de parfum version of Coco Mademoiselle sports the beautiful Chanel No. 5 style with the squarish glass bottle and cap. The cap for Coco Mademoiselle is a frosted glass. The shape is beautiful, the design is fitting and I simply love it. I still abhor most of the eau de toilette versions of Chanel’s fragrances though.

Fragrance Family: Sweet Floral

Notes: Orange, mandarin, orange blossom, bergamot, mimosa, jasmine, turkish rose, ylang-ylang, tonka bean, patchouli, opoponax, vanilla, vetiver, white musk.

All right so what do I think of Coco Mademoiselle? Well, its’ a very popular fragrance. I think it consistently shows up in top perfume sales so I doubt it’s going away any time soon. I actually own a bottle of the stuff but I rarely use it. It is very strong, has very good longevity but it is everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. There’s no exclusivity to Coco Mademoiselle. The fragrance is highly recognizable and it’s a household perfume at this point. Couple these two facts with the realization that a lot of people love it and you get a perfume that pretty much haunts you no matter where you go.

As for me? I’ll be happy spray this on when I feel like it, but Coco Mademoiselle isn’t an every day thing and certainly not a perfume I’d wear if I wanted to avoid smelling like everyone else.

Reviewed in This Post: Coco Mademoiselle, 2009, Eau de Parfum.

Oscar Oscar de la Renta

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Oscar from Oscar de la Renta was released in 1978 and is described as a floral aromatic. This fragrance, to me, is like all the good parts of women’s fragrance and men’s fragrance put together to form a very classic fragrance.

Oscar

In Bottle: Sharp green and a bit powdery. I get a lot of the herbs in the bottle with a faint trace of florals in the back.

Applied: Herbs and powder, a bit of a strange mix but not at all unpleasant with the rosemary being the most dominant note. It’s interesting and definitely smells like a classic fragrance. As Oscar settles down the perfume heads into more floral territory with a smattering of herbs and green rosemary while still retaining that classic powder scent. The fragrance uses florals in a sheer way with a hit of spicy carnation to give those flowers a bit more sway. The dry down is probably my favorite part that sees Oscar head into this warm amber and spicy powder finish with a dash of full-bodied patchouli. I know a lot of younger people who will be turned off by the powderiness of this and I will warn everyone that this does smell very much like a classic. But if you’re looking to smell sophisticated, this is good stuff.

Extra: Oscar was composed by Jean-Louis Sieuzac. One its recent bottle designs was done by the famous Serge Mansau.

Design: Oscar’s eau de toilette bottle (pictured) is a tall glass with a black cap and usually silver sprayer. The shape of the bottle is a bit interesting and sets it out from other perfumes by not being a big tall rectangle. The parfum version of the bottle looks more exciting, having a Marc Jacobs Daisy meets Nina Ricci L’Air du Temps style with its flower motif.

Fragrance Family: Aromatic

Notes: Orange blossom, basil, coriander, galbanum, peach, gardenia, ylang-ylang, jasmine, tuberose, rose, rosemary, cyclamen, lavender, orchid, opoponax, carnation, patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver, amber.

I’m loving that notes list and marvel at how well the notes actually work in this fragrance. Oscar is available for purchase almost everwhere with a strong presence at internet retailer sites and can also be purchased on the official Oscar de la Renta site.

Reviewed in This Post: Oscar, 2002, Eau de Toilette.

Hermes 24, Faubourg

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Hermès is rapidly becoming my new favorite friend in the world of modern designer perfumes. What they come out with is almost always good, or at the very least–decent and I have yet to smell something from their line that I found outright terrible. Let’s hope the streak continues.

24, Faubourg

In Bottle: 24, Faubourg is the fragrance you wear when you know you’re about to make a statement. Sweet, warm and gardenia straight to the face.

Applied: Airy florals with a bergamot note up top and a blend of slightly sweet peach. The mid-stage is a set of amped up and huge white florals with a predominance of gardenia. Actual gardenia, even, not that tuberose nonsense people try to pass off as gardenia sometimes and a faint jasmine note wafting around like a warm bouquet. There’s also a gorgeous layer of spices here that mixes so well, no one spice is too strong or not strong enough and it plays into the utterly pretty but very loud florals. The drydown is a warmed up sandalwood, a hint of vanilla and the sophisticated dryness of a good patchouli note. 24, Faubourg is sophisticated. It’s a perfume that smells expensive and experienced. It’s the kind of perfume you could totally wear to a formal. Projection on this is fairly good, with longevity doing very well on me.

Extra: 24, Faubourg was released in 1995 and was developed by Marcel Roucel.

Design: Beautiful glass bottle with accents on the glass that looks like one of Hermès’s famous silk scarves. The cap is a rose gold and the bottle’s shape even mimics that of a silk scarf. Beautifully designed, not at all too busy. Every element is so nicely balanced and beautifully designed.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Bergamot, hyacinth, ylang-ylang, orange, peach, black elder, orris, orange blossom, jasmine, gardenia, sandalwood, amber, vanilla, patchouli.

I’d unashamedly say that I’d buy this for the bottle alone. Thankfully the juice inside is good too.

Reviewed in This Post: 24, Faubourg, 2006, Eau de Parfum.

Paris Hilton Fairy Dust

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So that little episode with Boadicea the Victorious’ Complex left me in a bit of a weird mood and what better way to usher out the smell of smoked roadkill than a Paris Hilton perfume? I kid. Paris’ perfumes are not bad. They are great hallmarks of what modern (as of this writing) feminine celebrity perfume is all about, fun, fruits, and not a care in the world.

Fairy Dust

In Bottle: Aquatic, sweet fruity scent with a bit of florals. Nothing groundbreaking, but it smells nice and is easily wearable.

Applied: Sweet and fruity up top with a very mild hint of gardenia layered over a giant bowl of peaches and assorted fruitery (I am making up words, leave me alone). There’s so very little I can say about celebrity perfumes like this, they all hit the same note eventually and that same note is during the mid-stage where the fragrance tends to nosedive into this very repetitive fruity floral mix that I can describe over and over again but ultimately it ends up the same way each time. It’s clean, it’s sweet, it’s girly, it’s fun, fruity and flowery. Oh yes, and it smells pleasant, of course. Fairy Dust dries down with a blend of clean patchouli, clean musk, and creamy vanilla.

Extra: So I, like many people probably, wondered what in the heck “Prosecco” was. A quick Googling reveals that it’s a white wine. I don’t drink wine very much anymore but hey, the more you know! Now Smell This has a bit more about the Prosecco accord.

Design: Like the designs of most of Paris Hilton’s perfume line, I find this one way too young or too far out of my tastes. The bottle has a turquois nozzle, the glass has a fairy on it–Okay, I’m going to come out and be honest with everyone now–I hate fairies. I do. I hate the insipid little imaginary things. I imagine that if they were real, they’d constantly be buzzing around my head giggling and sprinkling their fairy dandruff all over me. So every time a new fragrance comes out with a winged little fairy on it, I go a little mad. So like I was saying, there’s a fairy on the glass, the entire design is very young and yet strangely minimal at the same time. Minimalism works best when you go all out on it, I think. Doing it half-here and half-there only serves to make the design look incomplete or cheap. Sorry, I just don’t like the look of this packaging–and it’s not just the fairy.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Floral

Notes: Prosecco accord, pink peony, orange blossom, spring gardenia, water lily, peach nectar, sueded patchouli, cashmere musk, vanilla cream.

People have likened this to smelling like Juicy Couture (original) and I can see where that comes from. There’s a more fruity personality to Fairy Dust though that makes it hit a younger vibe than original Juicy Couture. I also, and call me out if I’m just crazy here, noted the lack of tuberose in Fairy Dust. I prefer Juicy Couture though Fairy Dust is a decent fragrance too–I just love me some tuberose.

Reviewed in This Post: Fairy Dust, 2008, Eau de Parfum.

Jean Desprez Bal a Versailles

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People hunt down bottles of Bal à Versailles to see what it smells like. I have to say some of these people probably do it because they’re curious about the perfume Michael Jackson wore. Hard to blame them for being curious, but amongst some of the more popular opinions include, “This doesn’t smell like how I’d imagine Michael Jackson would smell like” and “This smells weird”.

Bal à Versailles

In Bottle: It opens as an aromatic animalic. Love how that rolls off the tongue. Rosemary is prominent at first, followed by a very light dust of florals that are accompanied by a dark animalic undertone.

Applied: Get used to that dark animalic undertone as it will accompany you on your olfactory quest. The rosemary is quick to open up and for me, the rosemary stuck around in the top notes and fled as the mid-stage introduces a very classic smelling floral. Powder and flowers, sultry, dark, sensual. The florals are joined by a smooth series of woods that keep this fragrance somewhat unisex. This is a masquerade party in the form of a perfume. It’s classic, it’s sensual, but it’s not afraid to be elegant either. It’s a deeply complex little journey as the mid-stage slowly gets more and more sultry on entering the final round of its very interesting existence. The end stage is a mix of warm amber, smooth woods, and sensual musk.

Extra: Bal à Versailles was released in 1962 and ever since a certain King of Pop adopted it as one of his favorite perfumes, it has been known to many of his fans as, “That perfume Michael Jackson liked, but I don’t”. For the rest of us, Bal à Versailles is a beautiful piece of complex nose art.

Design: I like the shape of the bottle, very vintage looking. It’s beautifully designed and beautifully presented. I’m even okay with the Rococo-style painting on the bottle which at first glance seems out of place, but grew on me. It’s Rococo, how can I lose? For someone who doesn’t usually get on board with things like this, Bal à Versailles played just the right amount of right to make the design work. Not to mention the look of this bottle is so easy to recognize anywhere.

Fragrance Family: Oriental

Notes: Rosemary, orange blossom, mandarin orange, cassia, jasmine, rose, neroli, bergamot, bulgarian rose, lemon, sandalwood, patchouli, lilac, orris root, vetiver, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley, tolu balsam, amber, musk, benzoin, civet, vanilla, cedar, resins.

Now, bear in mind that Bal à Versailles is not the most accessible fragrance out there in terms of going to a department store, slapping some money on the counter and saying, “I’ll have the usual, Tom”. I wish ordering perfume was like that. Anyway, Bal à Versailles is not as hard to find as one might think. It’s not everywhere like Britney Spears Fantasy, but it’s not squirreled away in an obscure niche like–heh–Bruce Willis Cologne either. You can easily find Bal à Versailles on discounter sites and some department stores. I recommend anyone interesting in fragrance to give it a sniff. And if you were wondering what one of Michael Jackson’s favorite perfumes smells like, well, there you go.

Reviewed in This Post: Bal à Versailles, 2003, Eau de Toilette.

Houbigant Raffinee 1982

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Houbigant is one of those old perfume houses that made the early 1900s the romantic, complex perfume era that it was. Their fragrance, Raffinée was released in 1982. It was a strong contender in the time of the oriental perfumes.

In Bottle: Opens up with spicy and sweet carnation. I love it when carnation is done right and that’s when there’s a little bit of sweetness thrown in there to calm the flower down. I’m delighted to see Raffinée work the floral opening like this.

Applied: Spicy sweet carnation on the opening, there’s a floral quality up there that makes Raffinée smell elegant and light. The fragrance heads into the mid-stage dolling itself up with some light florals and a dusting of tuberose while the heavy-hitting incense and smooth vanilla amp up. The spiciness takes on a more fleeting role until the dry down where cinnamon makes a bit of an appearance. There’s a powdery quality to this fragrance that smacks of the clean sharp personality of an aldeyhyde treatment. This powderiness remains throughout its lifespan that echoes that clean and classic sensibility of classic perfumery. As Raffinée continues to age it takes on a warm, amber note and a slight bitterness on its way to dry down. The dry down is a pleasantly green, warm cinnamon and vanilla amber fragrance with a bit of woodsiness to round itself off. Raffinée has excellent longevity on me, and its complexity is absolutely fantastic. The projection on me was decent as well.

Extra: Raffinée’s been a victim of reformulation to make it less objective and easier to wear. I haven’t yet smelled the reformulation but of the opinions of the reformulation so far, I can’t say I’m in a hurry to. Houbigant was established in Paris in 1775 by Jean-François Houbigant. Nowadays Houbigant. You may see Raffinée listed “by Dana” instead of “by Houbigant”. The House of Houbigant has a long, sad story that saw the fall of a once great fragrance house to what it is now. You can read up about it at Perfume Projects.

Design: Unfortunately I was unable to identify an actual vintage bottle to use as a photo and I have yet to actually hold a vintage bottle myself. There’s a ton of different iterations for this fragrance as well which does not help in the least in terms of identifying which style the original formula came in. Adding to this complication is Houbigant’s very sad but very complicated recent history and Raffinée not being as well known as it should be. I would like to take an educated guess but would rather not risk being wrong. The fragrance’s general theme seems to be art deco etched in gold on red which sounds like a tasteful treatment. Of the bottles I looked at, the ones involving the art deco design gave the packaging a bit of old design appeal. Much more interesting that the designs that lacked the art deco elements. If you can help me out with the vintage fragrance’s design, please leave a comment!

Fragrance Family: Oriental

Notes: Carnation, orange blossom, plum, clary sage, jasmine, citruses, bergamot, rose, mimosa, tuberose, tonka bean, orchid, osmanthus, orris root, hiacynth and ylang-ylang, spices, cypress, sandalwood, cinnamon, musk, vanilla, vetiver, incense.

If you do seek out a bottle of Raffinée, I highly–with italics and everything–suggest you look for a vintage formula. And by vintage in this case, I mean its 1980s self to get the full effect of Raffinée. Any later and you may wander into watered-down and reformulated territory. Also be aware that true vintage Raffinée is difficult to find and quite rare (I, myself, have a small decant scraped out of the recesses of obscure fragrance). Many who label the fragrance as “by Houbigant” are actually talking about a newer formulation that should instead by labeled “by Dana”. It’s complicated, I know. I would appreciate any help in identifying a true vintage bottle.

Reviewed in This Post: Raffinée, ~1985, Eau de Parfum.

Aftelier Honey Blossom

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Aftelier is one of the oldest and one of the most respected natural perfumers. Their fragrances run the gamut of light and pretty to dark and sensual. But no matter what side of perfumery you swing on, you cannot deny that undeniable quality and complex beauty that a natural perfume possesses.

In Bottle: Warmed up honey and a dollop of sweet florals. This makes me think of sweltering summer days spent under an umbrella and gardens full of sweet flowers.

Applied: Beautiful honeyed fragrance that’s supposed to come from the honeysuckle. I’m always very impressed with full-natural fragrances and how incredibly genuine and gorgeous they are. There’s a layer of complexity in this fragrance that you won’t find in a synthetic and this is why I think naturals are so well-respected. I smell honeyed florals, but I can feel the warmth. I can detect the little hints of other ingredients, blending and mixing into the sweetness to make this utterly appealing mix that simply defies description and can be left at, “Awesome!” Wearing Honey Blossom is like taking on a personal scent. It doesn’t sit on my skin and give away that I’m wearing a perfume. It blends in and makes me feel like I could smell like this naturally. There’s something so personal and lovable about this that I can’t do much else but gush about how awesome I smell. The long and short of it? Sweet, warm, honey, floral, and complex. Definitely worth a try.

Extra: Aftelier, the company, was established in 1997 by Mandy Aftel. Aftel has written books about natural perfumery. I have a copy of her Essence and Alchemy but haven’t gotten around to reading it yet.

Design: I have a sample of this as the full on bottle is a bit too steep for my wallet. From what I can see, it’s a squat glass container with a stopper. The sample bottle I’ve got is a cute little glass cylinder with a plastic cap. I see these in supply stores and they never stop being cute.

Fragrance Family: Floral Oriental

Notes: Mimosa, linden blossom, orange blossom, honeysuckle, ambergris, benzoin.

At $150 USD for a 1/4 oz of perfume, your eyes may be bugging out right now. But also put this into perspective considering the quality of the ingredients and how long a 1/4 oz bit of concentrated parfum will last you compared to a 3.4 oz of eau de parfum. And of course, the joy of natural fragrances. After all, natural ingredients are not cheap or easy to come by.

Reviewed in This Post: Honey Blossom, ~2010, Parfum.

Hermes Iris Ukiyoe

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Iris Ukiyoé is Jean-Claude Ellena’s tribute to the iris flower, not the orris root which is often encountered in perfume. Iris Ukiyoé is less of a literal interpretation of an iris flower than it is a conceptual piece of nose art. I will call it nose art if I want to.

Iris Ukiyoe

In Bottle: Fresh and sheer, clean with a sweet citrus scent floating about it. So far I’m not getting the personality of  iris here, but I do get a lot of green and clean power.

Applied: After the initial sweet citrus, Iris Ukiyoé remains sweet as it introduces some dashing roses into the mix. The scent remains green and sharp except with a flowery background to support it now, as it slowly adds in a bitter note.  The rest of the scent lingers in the green, bitter floral territory until the end where a woodsiness mingles into the scent to form a rather pleasant picture of flowers blooming near a tree trunk. Is this iris flower? No, not in the least. It’s more of an homage to orris root, but even then that part of it doesn’t appear for the majority of the fragrance. In fact, Iris Ukiyoé pays more attention to rose. What Iris Ukiyoé is, however, is beautifully composed. It smells fantastic, light, dewy, easy to wear and fabulous to smell.

Extra: Iris Ukiyoé is a part of Hermessence a collection of exclusive scents by luxury fashion house, Hermès. Hermessence concept is reminiscent of exclusive collections from other luxury houses such as Guerlain’s L’Art de Matiere and Chanel’s Les Exclusifs.

Design: Hermès usually does very well with its design elements. I’ll admit I haven’t held a bottle of this stuff yet but I hope to at some point in my life as the juice is just so pretty. The bottle itself is a pretty bland shape of rounded rectangle. It has some nice subtle design elements on the glass. Where I have to stop and shake my head is the cap that’s leather wrapped and stitched. It takes away from the beauty of the rest of the bottle and I rather wished they’d used metal or something instead. Then there’s the leather sheath you can slide the bottle into. Not necessary on a strictly design standpoint and rather ugly if you ask me.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Mandarin, rose, orange blossom.

Like most exclusive line fragrances from a luxury house, you can expect to pay more for Iris Ukiyoé. A full bottle will retail for $235. You can get a set of four 15ml fragrances for a more affordable $145.

Reviewed in This Post: Iris Ukiyoé, 2010, Eau de Toilette.

Molinard Habanita

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You may have heard of Habanita’s original purpose by now. Yes, it was a product introduced initially for people to scent their cigarette smoke. Yeah, you heard that right. Scenting cigarette smoke in 1921 was probably not as weird or as novel a notion as it is now. Habanita evolved into a regular perfume just three years after its introduction in 1924. Habanita

In Bottle: Dry green and woodsy fragrance. Like leaves clinging to a branch and scorching in the sun.

Applied: Initial flare of dry woods that doesn’t evolve much for a little while and by the time the flowers hit you, you were probably wondering when that happened and why no one gave you the memo. Habanita is a dusty, woodsy, mildly floral fragrance with a slightly grassy note in between its opening and middle stages. It’s strange–but very interesting when compared to most other recent perfume offerings. One of the best things about this fragrance for me is the dry down that reaches a warm, leathery, amber note at the bottom with a hint of sweetness and a lingering dusting of the dry woods. It’s fascinating to smell. Even more fascinating to contemplate cigarette smoke that was supposed to smell like this.

Extra: I imagine with its initial purpose, Habanita might have mingled a bit with the smoke which would have altered the fragrance just a little bit possibly tempering or at least masking how dry this scent can be.

Design: Black bottle with Molinard’s signature water nymph design on the glass. The nymph design is very reminiscent of the 1920s’ sensibilities in design. The bottle features a gold metal cap and sprayer nozzle.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy Classic

Notes: Bergamot, peach, orange blossom, galbanum, oakmoss, jasmine, rose, ylang ylang, heliotrope, patchouli, amber, leather, vetiver, cedar, sandalwood, benzoin, vanilla.

Habanita is surprisingly cheap for a fragrance that’s been around for so long and is, by all accounts and purposes, a rather pleasant and unique take (well, unique when you consider the other stuff being put out these days). Online discounters often carry Habanita’s  Eau de Toilette version for $20-40.

Reviewed in This Post: Habanita, ~2000, Eau de Toilette.