Coty L’Origan

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Sometimes, just because I’m immature, I like to pretend that Coty only came out with the good stuff and all the stuff they’ve made that’s been terrible just simply doesn’t exist. When I think of Coty these days, the first thing that pops into my head is Lady Gaga and everybody freaking out about her up and coming “blood and semen” perfume. I won’t mention our favorite friend from Etat Libre d’Orange but I will say that the Coty of the early 1900s could have taken “blood and semen” and turned it into something beautiful. These days, I kind of hope Gaga at least gets something that isn’t a fruity-floral. Oh, Coty.

L'Origan

In Bottle: L’Origan has that classic smell that you just can’t imitate these days. It’s dense and complex with a varying, slightly discordant mixture of big honking spices and florals up top.

Applied: Spicy on arrival with a floral touch coming up. There’s a very old-world style to the way this perfume goes on and starts to age. People have compared L’Origan to L’Heure Bleue–well,  I should say they compare L’Heure Bleue to L’Origan because Guerlain’s hit fragrance was released after this one. It’s similar in that both scents trail the same sort of fragrance with L’Heure Bleue exhibiting a much colder, more melancholy personality. L’Origan, to me, is warm and much more animalic. There’s a hint of animal in the opening there and I experienced hints of animalics throughout the livespan of the scent. It’s blended very well, though, not overpowering the scent but rather giving it a bit of sensuality and added depth. Another thing about L’Origan vs. L’Heure Bleue, it’s spicier with slightly less noticeable florals and it’s ultimately a brighter scent though its uses of the  spices are very familiar. There’s a powderiness to this that tends to show up in vintage fragrances as well as a heavy dose of clove. As L’Origan approaches dry down it maintains that spiciness the whole time the florals are totally gone but what’s waiting at the bottom is this thick, rich warmness that reminds me a bit of slick metals and mosses.

Extra: L’Origan was released in 1905 and still survives today–though in an undoubtedly heavily reformulated state. As always, vintage is leaps and bounds better.

Design: The original L’Origan was bottled in a flat glass bottle of a squarish shape with the Coty seal on it. I had a warm, amber-like color and was a bit reminiscent of Chypre de Coty in appearance. The modern bottle (pictured) is reminiscent of a flower bulb with a spiky crown for a cap. I have to say I prefer the old style better.

Fragrance Family: Spicy

Notes: Bergamot, orange, coriander, pepper, peach, nutmeg, clove, jasmine, violet, rose, ylang-ylang, orange flower, benzoin, cedar, incense, vanilla, sandalwood, musk, coumarin, civet.

Somehow L’Origan comes out as the happy side of L’Heure Bleue. These two could be best friends, though probably not sisters. I have to say, despite my love for L’Heure Bleue–I like L’Origan a bit more.

Reviewed in This Post: L’Origan, ~1950, Eau de Parfum.

Calgon Morning Glory

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Last of my original Calgon four-pack of body mists that Calgon referred to as the “Take Me Away” series. Morning Glory was a another fresh floral in the line. Unlike its very familiar sister, Turquoise Seas, Morning Glory opts for green fresh rather than blue marine fresh.

Morning Glory

In Bottle: Green sharp opening with a floral backing. I get lily and green, very clean and sharp.

Applied: The green freshness in this isn’t the normal grassy green, you can tell this is an unabashed and unapologetic synthetic element being used to give the fragrance that clean and crisp feel. If you look past the green opening there’s a very thick layer of florals in the mid-stage that’s marked, once again, with a prominent lily note that’s intermingled with varying degrees of florals. However, there’s something a bit sweet and licorice like about Morning Glory that’s very appealing. It makes this fragrance seem a bit more grown up than the other three body mists I reviewed. I love that little licorice nip in the mid-stage and it sticks around for a bit as we round off near the end where the fragrance ends on a floral woodsy affair.

Extra: Morning Glory flowers don’t really smell like this but this is a nice interpretation of it anyway. I don’t mind Morning Glory though I doubt many of the notes in its notes list (see below) were really present or they were their heavily synthetic elements.

Design: Last time you get to hear this for a while but, Morning Glory is a blue liquid bottled in a tall plastic cylinder with a plastic spray nozzle. Once again, functional if somewhat plain in form.

Fragrance Family: Clean Floral

Notes: Green notes, galbanum, anise, apple, peach, pineapple, jasmine, lily of the valley, clove, oakmoss, musk, sandalwood.

So that about wraps it up for my trip down memory lane. These four body mists were far from the first perfume I ever wore but they were the first four I wore on a regular basis. I’m sure many of us can attest to trying on mom’s perfume when we were younger. I don’t quite remember what my first actual brush with perfume was, I want to say it was a Givenchy or maybe even Chanel No.5. What about you?

Reviewed in This Post: Morning Glory, 1999, Body Mist.

Dolce & Gabbana L’eau The One

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L’eau The One and The One is a very good example of why you shouldn’t put so much weight into the popular notion that Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette smells the same, with EDP lasting longer and smelling stronger. True, that may sometimes be the case but as we’re going to see where with The One and its lighter friend, L’eau The One, that is not always true.

L'eau The One

In Bottle: Fruitier than The One to me, but the mandrin is still there. Despite this being fruitier, it is less sweet than the original making this a much nicer opening ride.

Applied: Fruity opening with a more present note of mandarin but a stronger presence of lychee. The peach is less noticeable and falls off rather quickly. There is less cloying sweetness overall. The fragrance is still very feminine and very sweet but the sweetness has been toned down and the fragrance is doing better for it. The mid-stage is largely the same with less sweetness added in and a warm amber that’s more evident earlier on in the fragrance. The florals are still sweet but there’s a more tolerable cleanness to the scent now that helps L’eau The One be even more wearable than The One. The plum is a bit more tame in this fragrance, giving the fragrance a nice dry floral and fruity smell and without the heavy sweetness. The dry down sees a less prominent vanilla note while giving a green vetiver and woody note in the dry down some more showtime. The result is a woodsy green dry down after a semi-sweet creamy, fruity floral show.

Extra: L’eau The One doesn’t seem to have an official set of notes so it shares the notes list for The One. Some people have noted the presence of an oak moss-like note in the dry down. To me, the dry down smells more like a mixture of vetiver and woods.

Design: L’eau The One is designed in a very similar way to The One. The only discernible differences are the colors and the name of the fragrance. Where The One had a gold cap, L’eau rocks a silver cap. Where The One had black lettering, L’eau uses white. And where The One had a golden-yellow liquid, L’eau is more clear.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Floral

Notes: Mandarin, bergamot, lychee, peach, jasmine, lily of the valley, white lily, plum, vetiver root, amber, musk, vanilla.

L’eau The One was supposed to be a lighter, fruitier interpretation to The One. But tweak a few notes, dial down a couple, dial up a couple and you get something that smells decently different from the original. There is still enough in this fragrance to connect it to The One, but it is definitely a lighter, less sweet version. To me, the toned down sweetness makes this more wearable and I would pick L’eau over The One if I had a choice between the two.

On an unrelated note, last year on this day in 2010, That Smell saw its first post. Hooray, we’re one year old!

Reviewed in This Post: L’eau The One, 2009, Eau de Toilette.

Dolce & Gabbana The One

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Dolce & Gabbana The One is one of those familiar fruity floral fragrances that tends to be smelled everywhere. It doesn’t help that it’s rather popular, relatively affordable, and is highly benign either. In fact, it’s so benign that I would really rather people wore this than Light Blue.

The One

In Bottle: Lychee and peach are the first things I smell along with a bit of mandarin in the top. It’s a classic feminine fruity floral that’s marked right away by that lychee note that seems rather popular in these sorts of formulations.

Applied: The One gets its genre very right from the get go. After the initial sweet mandarin, you’re treated to a fairly standard mix of lychee that tells you right away you’re in fruity floral territory. But The One takes that message one step closer by introducing another favorite of the fruity floral genre; peach. This is a lovely, sweet, lychee and peach opener. It’s not interesting or unique but it’s not trying to lie to you about what it is either. The top notes are a nice introduction to the mid-stage where jasmine and lily head up to the forefront dragging a pleasant sweet plummy scent with them. The mid-stage is one of those sweet floral type deals that remind me of shampoo. As the end stage approaches, I get a slight warming of the fragrance followed by a creamy vanilla note. You’ll note one major predominant theme with this fragrance is its sweetness. There’s a lot of sugar present here but it’s not as oppressive as other sugar-based scents like Miss Dior Cherie or DKNY Delicious Night. This stuff is sweet for sure, but it doesn’t reach critical levels of sweetness.

Extra: Say what you will about Dolce & Gabbana’s fashion, but they do know how to do wearable, easy fragrances. Light Blue for women is one of their most popular offerings and a fragrance I tend to smell almost everywhere and on everyone. Which may have contributed to my desire to smell something else instead.

Design: Very nice bottle. Familiar with many classic fragrance bottles. Most immediate estimate would be Chanel No.5, but The One pulls off its look rather well too. it’s a squat rectangular thing, with an inner vessel that isn’t as well sculpted as a Chanel No.5 bottle, still, the shape is pleasing, the weight is fairly decent, and the hold and feel is comfortable.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Floral

Notes: Mandarin, bergamot, lychee, peach, jasmine, lily of the valley, white lily, plum, vetiver root, amber, musk, vanilla.

Not my favorite thing in the world, and certainly not the most interesting thing in the world. The closest fragrance I can think of at the moment as an alternative to this one is Gucci’s Flora. A similarly sweet floral. Though I do prefer Flora over this simply because Flora prefers to lean more on a clean concept than a fruity one. Still, The One is an excellent, non-offensive, easy to wear fragrance. You won’t be disappointed if you need something good and easy to wear with this one.

Reviewed in This Post: The One, 2009, Eau de Parfum.

Floris China Rose

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Floris is one of those crazy-old houses that no body thinks is really that old. But it is. I attribute this misconception to most people not knowing about the House of Floris. But tune your noses to receive because they’ve got some beautiful stuff out there.

China Rose

In Bottle: Sweet, warm roses with a fruity header and a delicate note of some non-rose floral that balances out the opening.

Applied: China Rose, I think, is a very well-balanced fragrance from the top to the bottom. It starts off with a nice fruity rose note and as the fruits fade you get more rose. This isn’t modern, cleaned up, scrubbed rose, but a more sensual rose of times past that isn’t afraid to get her elbows a little dirty. The clove in China Rose gives the fragrance a spicy, sultry, irresistible charm. This is an oriental rose fragrance, a light one that will hold close to your skin and remain a rose fragrance until its dry down where the rose gives way to the stronger, warmer, clove and spices that dominate the remainder of the fragrance.

Extra: Floris was established in 1730–yes, the 1700s. As far as I’m concerned they are among one of the oldest surviving fragrance houses out there and they are still pumping out beautiful fragrances almost three hundred years later. Keep rocking, Floris.

Design: China Rose isn’t bottled in any special way that sets it apart from the usual Floris bottles. It’s a glass bottle, looks a bit old-fashioned and plain, but suits the purpose just fine. The label is a soft, deep pink bearing the name of the fragrance house and the fragrance name. The fragrance house name is also etched into the cap of the bottle.

Fragrance Family: Spicy Floral

Notes: Raspberry, peach, rose, violet, cloves, geranium, patchouli, amber, tonka, vanilla, vetiver.

Floris tends to do these delicate, soft, intimate fragrances that don’t project or shout their presence and for someone who enjoys going light as much as I do, their perfumes are beautifully balanced with just the right amount of sillage and longevity.

Reviewed in This Post: China Rose, 2008, Eau de Toilette.

Gucci Guilty

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Am I the only one who gets a little bored seeing “scandalizing” skin flashing ad campaigns for perfumes? I mean, I loved the cute and girly approach Miss Dior Cherie took. I also liked the commercial for Covet. And just to be fair, those were two perfumes I blasted. Now Guilty, on the other hand, it’s a fine perfume. Very interesting release for Gucci actually. But its ad campaign is once again one of those show as much skin, have as much writhing as possible, dealies that’s so overexposed that the ads are just boring now. I’m not a prude. In fact, I’m the opposite of offended and/or shocked. I’m just bored to tears by racy ad campaigns and I wonder if anyone else is also tired of the age old adage that “sex sells”. They even had Frank Miller come in, and he gave the commercial a fabulous look and feel–it’s just too bad it boils down to the sexualization of a fragrance. Oh, right, we’re doing a fragrance review.

Guilty

In Bottle: Fruity citrus topper with a spicy kick. Pink pepper, is that you again? Wow, it’s like I’m seeing you an awful lot around these parts now.

Applied: Pink pepper’s on the verge of becoming one of those overused trump cards in perfumes. It seems there’s an awful lot of fragrances released lately with pink pepper thrown in there for a bit of spice. It works well in Guilty, giving the top fruity citrus notes a bit more complexity than they’d have otherwise. The fragrance heads into its middle stage still smelling fruity with a lingering bit of pepper as the florals come up with a bit of sweetness to keep Guilty young and approachable. The florals being lilac and geranium, neither of which are very heavy hitters, are really sheer so the mid-stage smells mostly fruity with the pepper receding into the background. The dry down is marked with a surprisingly interesting warm smooth amber and cleaned up patchouli. I’m surprised Guilty used those two to end on an oriental note and I was happy to note how pleasant it all was and how nicely it rounded itself off at the end.

Extra: Guilty’s commercial and ad campaign is a benign drop of raciness in an ocean of racy perfume ads. It’s nothing special to behold and in the end, despite its big ticket production, the ads fall flat on me. However, the perfume was good so I’m glad I looked beyond the ad and got to what matters.

Design: Fascinating little glass bottle encased in a gold outer shell. It reminds me of 1 Million. I can’t say I’m a fan of metallic outer shell bottles like this but it looks all right. The elements are balancing, the shape is appealing and the logo is used in a rather clever way. Not my favorite design but not bad at all.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Oriental

Notes: Mandarin, pink pepper, peach, lilac, geranium, amber, patchouli.

So is Guilty as racy as its ad campaign wants you to believe? No. It’s a benign office scent that smells like flowers and warm amber. I guess that’s another part of why these sexy commercials bore me. Very rarely do they ever advertise a fragrance that’s actually sensual. Guilty’s main appeal to me is actually in how wearable and inoffensive it is. This stuff smells like a grey dress with long sleeves, a high collar, and an ankle hem. It is not, in other words, your little black number.

Reviewed in This Post: Guilty, 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.

Katy Perry Purr

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Lovely. I get a little splodge of the most anticipated Purr by pin-up girl by day and pop star by night, Katy Perry, but I can’t get my hands on a vintage Chypre de Coty? Slap a sad face on me and let’s review Purr by Katy Perry.  Purr

In Bottle: Sweet peaches and a mix of florals that I’ve smelled pretty much everywhere by now. It’s a celebrity fragrance so I didn’t expect genius.

Applied: Initial flair of fruitiness up top. I get mostly peaches, sweet and ripe and big with a vaguely familiar synthetic apple note tossed in there with a tiny dash of tartness slathered with a thin coating of sweetness and dipped in a hint of creaminess. That creaminess sticks with the fragrance throughout its cycle. Now the peach in Purr isn’t grown up peach like Mitsouko. Actually, I can’t imagine why anyone would think they’d get any sort of Mitsouko out of Purr so I’m not even sure why I bothered to mention this in order to discern that no, you aren’t wearing this to meet the Queen. The peach in Purr is this is fuzzy peaches candy thing. Fun and girly and not at all serious. After a few minutes the fragrance takes its fruity opening and shifts into the midstage where you’re greeted by a banal blend of jasmine and gardenia. The sweetness is still lingering there. It’s a light sweetness though, not heavy and obnoxious but nothing to phone home about either. The mid-stage blandly shuffles along, smelling pleasant enough, and hits a rose note near the end of the mid-stage’s lifespan, falling headfirst into the very predictable sandalwood and vanilla base with traces of the mid-stage florals hanging about.

Extra: I don’t think Purr is anything to jump up for joy about as I didn’t expect much else from Katy Perry. Nothing to her as a person or a singer, this is just your run of the mill fruity floral celebuscent that hasn’t changed its formula since every other recent celebuscent. It’s an average fruity floral at best, with a variety of other fruity florals doing this tired fragrance genre much better justice. And as much as it pains me to say it, you’d probably get a better reaction scent from the Paris Hilton line. Me? I’ll wait and see what Lady Gaga does.

Design: Purr hasn’t been released where I live  yet so I haven’t handled the bottle, but I have seen photos of the bottle and I have to say it’s not my style. It really, really isn’t. The bottle  is in the shape of a purple cat with a heart hanging from its collar and jeweled eyes. You take the cat’s head off to gain access to the spraying mechanism as far as I can tell. I mean, it’s cute, but way beyond my demographic.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Floral

Notes: Peach, bamboo, apple, gardenia, jasmine, freesia, Bulgarian rose, vanilla orchid, white amber, sandalwood, skin musk, coconut.

Purr smells like so many different generic fragrances that I don’t think anyone should really bother with it if they’re looking for that sweet fruity floral. Unless you love Katy Perry’s work, her perfume is passable but highly uninteresting, and you are better off looking elsewhere for a fruity floral fragrance.

Reviewed in This Post: Purr, 2010, Eau de Parfum.

Givenchy L’Interdit 1957

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L’Interdit, the original, was discontinued then reformulated and re-released in 2002. Then slightly reformulated back to the classic version and released again in 2007. What it became in 2002 was a generic scent. Reformulated 2002 L’Interdit smells nothing like the classic, the 2007 version is closer but I still thought it lacked a certain daring feel that the original possessed. I had the chance to smell L’Interdit 1957 and the bar has been raised. L'Interdit

In Bottle: Aldehydes, very strong. Sharp and sparkling, and astringent. It’s approaching that point where it smells like urine as the aldehydes are just so strong in this. I think this may have something to do with the perfume’s age making the aldehydes stronger than they should be.

Applied: More aldehydes! The sharpness and sparkle are fleeting on the skin though as they start to evaporate but never quite leave, lending L’Interdit a constant status of glitz and high perfumery. The fragrance calms down a bit into a soft floral with touches of fruit here and there giving it a sweetness. It’s gentle like a like touch, and easy to wear. It doesn’t smell clean or fresh, just warm and gentle. The mid-stage is dominated with floral notes as sheer and light as the non-aldehyde notes in the opener. L’Interdit is  so easy to love as it approaches the dry down with a splash of incense over a bed of flowers and powder. It ushers out with a final flare of woodsy incense.

Extra: L’Interdit was composed in the 1950s for Audrey Hepburn. They released it for the public on 1957 with Hepburn  endorsing it. L’Interdit was composed by Francis Fabron. The man who created Nina Ricci’s L’Air du Temps. You may find it difficult to find the original L’Interdit in stores today but a recent reissue in 2007 of L’Interdit smells as close as you’re going to get.

Design: Simple glass bottle with a red label and a metal cap to protect the sprayer. L’Interdit knows it doesn’t need to impress you with a flashy bottle and it really doesn’t even try. I can appreciate the bottle for its simplicity though and its high contrast design.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: : Aldehydes, galbanum, peach, bergamot, jasmine, rose, narcissus, lily of the valley, incense, sandalwood, benzoin, tonka, amber, musk, vetiver.

I didn’t get an exact date on how old this bottle of L’Interdit was so we compromised with a reasonable year.

Reviewed in This Post: L’Interdit, circa 1970, Eau de Toilette.

Robert Piguet Fracas

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If you want tuberose, you usually don’t have to look far. The fragrance industry is inundated with tuberose scents. From the highest end to the shower gels. Sometimes tuberose is even masquerading as gardenia. But if you want a really bold, really classic, very true tuberose, you get Fracas. Fracas

In Bottle: Powerful hit of sweet tropical, juicy, slightly rubbery tuberose. Fracas is very strong. I want to come out and warn you of that right away or I would feel bad. Aside from its strength it’s a lovely thing. It smells like the times must have been like back then, elegant and classy with a bold streak.

Applied: Wet rubbery tuberose with a sweetness added to it. This smells like a giant bouquet of flowers with a dominant tuberose the size of a skyscraper. The flowers, despite all their best efforts, are secondary to the tuberose that’s so massive and appealing that it can’t really scream any louder than it does in this fragrance. Unlike most people, and you shouldn’t go by what I say, I don’t consider tuberose as a sultry flower. It smells like slick rubbery floral to me and that’s about as far as I can take it. If you do happen to think tuberose smells sultry, then Fracas is sultry in a bottle. As the scent progresses, you start to wonder if it will ever end as not only is Fracas fantastic in terms of projection, its longevity is to be complimented too. There’s a subtle spiciness to Fracas if you wait her out long enough which gives the tuberose something to talk to as up until that spiciness, all I had was a big white floral.

Extra: Fracas was released in 1948 and is a classic by all accounts and purposes. It has become the go to scent for tuberose and its reputation is well deserved. It has survived this long as a reference and a piece of history and I’d like to believe it’ll survive for a good six decades too if you never wash it off.

Design: The eau de parfum is bottled in a fairly plain black bottle with hot pink lettering depicting the fragrance’s name and house name. Not Earth shattering in appearance but you don’t buy Fracas for the bottle.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Green notes, mandarin, bergamot, hyacinth, geranium, peach, tuberose, jasmine, orange flower, white iris, lily of the valley, violet, jonquil, carnation, coriander, balsam, vetiver, orris, sandlawood, moss, cedar, musk.

If someone hadn’t pointed me to that massive list of notes, I never would have believed it. Just as a point of interest because I know someone might be looking for this, you pronounce Robert Piguet like, “Row-Behr Peeg-Gehy”. You pronounce Fracas as, “Frah-Cah”.

Reviewed in This Post: Fracas, 2002, Eau de Parfum.