Marc Jacobs Oh Lola!

Oh Lola! is a recent flanker of the original Marc Jacobs Lola, that shampoo-y smelling, not unpleasant but not exciting, clean floral with the massive flower cap. Oh Lola! s presented as a pinker, more stylish version of the original. When someone describes a fragrance as ‘stylish’, I immediately cringe.

Oh Lola!

Oh Lola!

In Bottle: Fresh and berry-like with a layer of sheer florals underneath, a bit on the sweeter side but doesn’t overdo the sweetness to the point of cloying. Not very interesting but smells decent.

Applied: Clean and berry-like in the opening, reminds me a bit of a berry trifle or fruit juice. I swear I can smell a mango note and pineapple note in there. But essentially, the opening is generic fruit punch. It’s clean though and a little sweet as the fragrance ages, the fruitiness meshs more into the florals and lets in some of these flowers we’ve been hearing about. The florals themselves are unexciting, they’re blended well enough that they form this clean, unassuming and easygoing blend of flowery goodness that goes well with the fruity opening. As Oh Lola! heads into the base the scent takes on an extremely dull sandalwood vanilla scent that I haven’t smelled in a while but still remember rather well because every generic-smelling perfume uses a sandalwood vanilla base. “Oh Lola!” is shaping up to be more of an “Oh, Lola, It’s You Again”.

Extra: The buzz is already out for the ad campaign surrounding Oh Lola! Dakota Fanning has been chosen as the face for this fragrance and the questionable nature of the ad photo has already sparked something of a sensation around this perfume. I found Bang! and its ad campaign to be a humorous if somewhat lowbrow presentation. I find Oh Lola! to be of the similar vein. Or could we all just be overreacting because we’re used to Marc Jacobs pulling stunts like this? Whatever it is, the ad campaign made me raise a brow, the pink bottle made me grimace, and the description that Oh Lola! was ‘stylish’ made me cringe. Nothing about its presentation made me want to rush out and smell it or buy it.

Design: Maybe it was because I was overpinked as a child and have since grown something of a disdain for the color’s reputation as a “feminine” hallmark, but I don’t see why everyone thinks pink is so cute. Pink, when used right, can be cute. Sometimes it can even be sophisticated. If used wrong, it’s a bit burlesque and can even come off as cheesy and childish. So when they took Lola’s bottle, (a perfectly dynamic piece of work) and made it pink, I had to wonder what exactly there was to accomplish here. But I suppose they had to have a flanker look somewhat like the original. And I suppose–if nothing else–pink truly does suit the fragrance. I just find it tired that perfumes would constantly use pink for their fruitier, lighter, less serious flankers of original perfumes. You see a flanker that’s pink and can safely assume that it’ll either be sugary, weak, one dimensional, or a combination of the three.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Floral

Notes: Strawberry, raspberry, pear, peony, sandalwood, vanilla.

All right, so I admit I was chomping at the bit to get at the design of the Oh Lola! bottle. It just bothered me on a fundamental level that I can’t even begin to explain. Nothing on the juice, but the design of the bottle itself just turned me off immensely. Thankfully we’re here for the juice–most of the time.

Reviewed in This Post: Oh Lola!, 2011, Eau de Parfum.


Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Snake Oil

Snake Oil is one of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s most popular fragrances. In fact, I can probably safely venture that it’s the most popular fragrances. Many people love it, and even those who aren’t within the BPAL folds tend to say that there’s something about Snake Oil that makes it special. Snake Oil

In Bottle: Here’s the thing about my bottle of Snake Oil. It’s been “aged” for two years so it smells different than a fresh bottle. Mine has a deeper vanillic quality to it, layered on top is an incense like smoke note, a jolt of cinnamon and clove, and a little hint of woods.

Applied: A bit of medicinal spice to this, I swear it’s a cinnamon and clove mix with some other spices I can’t identify. There’s a bit of an incense going on, smoking up the fragrance a bit and making the smooth vanilla scent that’s hidden underneath these opening notes. Snake Oil lasts a ridiculous time on me, and I can often wait most of the day for it to turn into something else. But as you keep wearing it, you’ll notice the spices and the smokiness level out a bit and dense, warm, vanilla fragrance will waft up. The vanilla in Snake Oil isn’t your sugary ice cream vanilla scent. It’s got a bit spiciness and sophistication to it. It draws with it a woodsy sort of note that I want to say smells a bit like sandalwood or some other sort of powdery, perfumed wood. The more you let Snake Oil wear on your skin the more vanilla and less spicy it will get until it turns into a lovely creamy, warm vanilla fragrance with a hint of some clove-ladden spice and wood in the background.

Extra: So there’s a practice amongst BPAL fans who adore Snake Oil. What you do is get some of the stuff and leave it hanging around for a bit. That’s it. You leave in a dark corner of your fragrance chest, cupboard, drawer, sock, what have you, and pull her out periodically to test. Many people have reported the vanilla becomes stronger and sweeter. If you like the spices and the woods then perhaps “aging” Snake Oil is not up your alley. It’s still an interesting experience to compare a fresh vial of Snake Oil to an older one.

Design: Snake Oil, aside from having a fancy label that makes it look like it actually came out of a tonic peddler’s wagon, is bottled in the same amber glass vials as the other Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab scents.

Fragrance Family: Spicy

Notes: Cinnamon, clove, ylang-ylang, frankincense, amber, sandalwood, vanilla.

Please note that I’m only guessing at the notes list above based on what I think I’m smelling in Snake Oil. The official word on the BPAL website says that Snake Oil is “a blend of Indonesian oils and vanilla”. So we at least know for sure there’s vanilla but the rest of the notes list I’ve got is only a guess.

Reviewed in This Post: Snake Oil, 2009, 5ml Bottle.


CB I Hate Perfume Gathering Apples

I remember when I was in an apple binging mood where I wanted to smell like apples all day long. Then something in my mind clicked into place and I started to see–or rather smell–just how synthetic apple notes tended to be. Thus began my apple falling out. Unfortunately for Gathering Apples, it arrived after my infatuation with the note had blown away.

Gathering Apples

In Bottle: Very faint sweet apple scent. It reminds me of juicing my own apples.

Applied: Pretty much what I smelled in the bottle is what I got on my skin. The apple scent is a little plastic but it has a leg up on most of the other apple scents out there in that it’s not quite as sweet. It’s a tad tart, a little bit bitter, rather sugary but it’s about as authentic an apple note is probably going to get–or at least, it’s as authentic an apple note as I’ve smelled. The description for this fragrance claims there a hint of wooden basket in this. Try as hard as I might I can’t get any of the woods to come up, maybe it’s a part of that faintly bitter smell I got? I’m a little bit disappointed in this, but at the same time think it’s an accomplishment when it comes to making a usually very synthetic note like apple a bit more authentic.

Extra: So, if someone wanted to smell like apples would Gathering Apples be a good choice? In my opinion? Yes. If you want a light, more authentic, and a bit of an artistic interpretation of apple then Gathering Apples is fabulous. If you want a completely silly fragrance that’s strong and candied and don’t care if it smells of extremely synthetic apple then anything like DKNY Be Delicious will be good.

Design: You can get Gathering Apples, like most of CB I Hate Perfume fragrances, in two forms. A water sprayable form in a tall glass cylinder. Or an absolute form in a cute glass vial. The design is simple, the concept is simple, but it has a very scientific yet chic aesthetic to it.

Fragrance Family: Fruity

Notes: Apple, woods.

The more I progress in this review the more sold I am on Gathering Apples. I wish it smelled a bit more authentic to my nose. I wish I wasn’t blind to the wood notes that are supposed to be in this. But in the end, it’s the strongest apple fragrance for authenticity that I’ve smelled.

Reviewed in This Post: Gathering Apples, 2010, Eau de Toilette.


Soivohle Tobacco and Tulle

Been a while since I reached for the adorable box of samples from Soivohle. I don’t know why it took me this long to come back to them. I love them all but I suppose the other stuff waffling around in the drawer of samplers needed to be dealt with first. I feel like Soivohle is a bit of a palette cleanser after a bunch of chemical fruits. In my notes, it’s wedged between two celebrity fragrances, surrounded by a bunch of fruity ones so it would seem my theory holds some weight.

In Bottle: Lush, complex tobacco and florals with a warm sense of animalic musk and ambergris.

Applied: The tobacco blooms beautifully upon application and it blends in very well with the creamy tuberose note. This is dense and deep and dark. There’s nothing light and flowery and weak about it. It makes a big statement and I love how it eventually evolves into this subtle warm animalic scent without me even noticing. I really enjoyed the opening moments with the tobacco and tuberose. The tuberose lends a bit of help as the fragrance delves into its murkier, muskier undertones with the ambergris lending to that animal quality. There’s so much complexity in the fragrance as it ages on the skin. This smells classic and daring at the same time. Like how perfume used to be done and how it should still be done. The animalic element is just a bit too much for me so while I appreciate it’s complexity, I really can’t see myself ever being daring enough to wear it.

Extra: It should be noted that on Soivohle, the musk mentioned in the notes list below is actually a cruelty-free variant. In that it’s a “hyrax tincture”. Hyrax tincture, for all us grownups, is a petrified stone-like compound composed of urine and feces excreted by a guinea pig-like creature called the hyrax. It’s generally been “aged” for hundreds of years and is perfectly fascinating stuff.

Design: Bottled rather simply but you don’t buy Soivohle or other independent perfumer fragrances so you can admire the pomp and circumstance surrounding the design of the bottle. All you need to know is that it looks great, feels great, and works the way it should.

Fragrance Family: Smoky Floral

Notes: Tobacco, tuberose, musk, ambergris.

I know how daunting the price point for this might look but once again, keep in mind that all natural ingredients are expensive and the complex experience you gain from fragrances like these make up for the price point. You are also paying for higher quality ingredients than what you’d get in most mainstream perfumes and you would likely need to use very little of this stuff to get the same amount of power from your run of the mill EdP or EdT.

Reviewed in This Post: Tobacco and Tulle, 2009, Absolute.


Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensee

Always on the look out for that next great vanilla to replace Spiritueuse Double Vanille. I don’t know why I keep wanting to upgrade. You would think once I find a fragrance that I love, I’d just stick with it? Maybe it’s the fear of SDV one day being discontinued. Or maybe it’s just the thrill of trying to find something just a little bit better.

Vanille Insensee

In Bottle: Spicy vanilla with a woody personality. Quite nice and quite interesting!

Applied: Citrus opener with the lime and a slightly sweet cedrat note. Maybe I’m inventing the sweetness but it smells a bit like lime and lemon with a hint of sugar. The vanilla evolves with this glorious green spiciness and woodsiness in the mid-stage. The woodsiness actually adds to the fragrance in the very subtle way that it’s used. Kind of like adding personality to the vanilla rather than just mixing with it. The florals are very light with the jasmine making the most pronounced appearance giving the fragrance a feminine touch and taking away from the level of gourmand this would reach if the woods and florals hadn’t been around to soothe it a little. This smells like warm vanilla pods and being in the woods with a cup of lemonade. It’s very easy to like and easy to wear and it’s a hint more special than your standard fare sweet and synthetic vanilla scent. The vanilla is, indeed, a little bit more interesting than your usual and it’s quite nice with this smooth and spicy personality that mixes really well with the woods. Very nice, indeed.

Extra: I almost forgot how nice a niche line could make a vanilla fragrance. I got a little caught up in the humdrum mainstream market for a while, smelling mostly synthetic vanillas and interpretations made for clearly younger audiences than me. It’s nice to come back to niche now and then and smell something this good.

Design: The bottle’s shape itself is rather simple, a little reminiscent of more common things like shampoo. But the design on the glass is what really makes it. Lovely colors, nice typography, great use of space. I really like how it takes a simple shaped bottle and turns it into something more luxurious and artsy. Nicely done!

Fragrance Family: Woodsy Gourmand

Notes: Lime, cedrat, coriander, jasmine, vetiver, oak moss, Madagascar vanilla, oak wood, amber.

I’m not entirely sure what a cologne absolu is or what its equivalent on the concentrations scale is. If I had to venture a bold guess, I’d presume Eau de Toilette, as the fragrance is a bit light but then you can’t really tell with these things anyway. Bah, regardless Vanille Insensee is a pleasant, unique vanilla scent and for $170, you can get a lot of this stuff (200ml).

Reviewed in This Post: Vanille Insensee, 2011, Cologne Absolu.


Dior Diorissimo

Diorissimo is a classic from the 1950s before Dior went the youth route and replaced their hard hitting fragrance lines with stuff like Miss Dior Cherie. I smell Diorissimo and miss the days when it was okay for a fragrance to be heavy and heady.

Diorissimo

In Bottle: Florals with a slight sting of citrus up front and a coating of animalic civet in the background.

Applied: Fresh and green with a citrus opening and that smell of leaves and dew. The lilies come in during the mid-stage and in the final act of the opening and proceed to dominate the fragrance. The lily scent in the middle is very noticeable, clearly the stars of the show as the fragrance settles into this heady floral lily mixture that’s just unrelenting. I still get a bit of that fresh green leaf scent that present when this fragrance was first applied but the civet can’t stay hidden forever. It creeps up as the fragrance gets warmer and dirties the scent up quite a bit. At times I’m wondering who let the mongoose into the garden as the civet is a bit disturbing but at the same time feels like it belongs. The dry down introduces a bit of sandalwood, scenting together with the lilies as the two do a little good against the ever-present civet.

Extra: Diorissimo is still available in its Eau de Toilette form and for the most part, it smells similar now to when I first smelled it in the 90s and, all things considered, it is available for a fairly reasonable price. You can also hunt down the Parfum concentration, though I’m told it’s more rare, more expensive, and even headier than the EdT.

Design: Bottled rather simply but has a classic elegance to it that says this stuff doesn’t need frills and gimmicks to look good and be good. I like the simplicity of it all. The brush script I can take or leave but the overall design is pleasing and nice.

Fragrance Family: Classic Floral

Notes: Bergamot, leaves, rosemary, lily, lilac, jasmine, lily of the valley, ylang-ylang, civet, sandalwood.

I’m not sure how to treat the civet in Diorissimo. It’s not heavy enough to be a deal breaker, but I do notice it and it does put me off a little. Regardless, if you like a little civet here and there Diorissimo is a beautiful classic that’s survived the times–mostly–in tact.

Reviewed in This Post: Diorissimo, 2005, Eau de Toilette.


Guerlain AA Jasminora

It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Guerlains. I figured a few months worth of a break is a decent time period so I’m heading back slowly with Guerlain’s newest Aqua Allegoria; Jasminora.

Jasminora

In Bottle: Clean citrus with a jasmine and soft floral heart.

Applied: Sharp green citrus up front that quickly fades into a scrubby clean floral scent. The jasmine is easy to distinguish from the other florals although it is struggling a bit due to the amount of clean white musk that was dumped into this fragrance. The mid-stage is a lovely floral and airy thing. A bit of a wilting daisy when it comes to fragrances but this is an Aqua Allegoria after all. Guerlain’s done jasmine better in some of their other fragrances but this one is a nice departure from their usual. It’s a lighter, more youthful interpretation. I just wish there was more to it than jasmine and clean. The dry down is not too much more complex as the jasmine and florals fade away leaving you with this generic clean smell on your skin.

Extra: I’m not overly impressed with Jasminora. It suffers from that “Doesn’t smell like a Guerlain” syndrome. But one could argue that most Aqua Allegorias suffer from that. Still, Jasminora is easy to wear and easy to like. She’s not interesting at all and she’s a bit of a disappointment from one of my favorite fragrance houses.

Design: Bottled in a similar way as other Aqua Allegorias, in a pseudo-bee bottle flacon with a hive cage over the top half. Although these aren’t quite the full deal bee bottles, I bet they’d look beautiful all lined up in a row.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Bergamot, cyclamen, galbanum, lily of the valley, freesia, jasmine, musk, amber.

Ultimately, I looked at Jasminora and compared it to Thierry Mugler’s Alien. And I know, it’s a bit unfair. Alien is a powerhouse jasmine and Jasminora is an approachable jasmine. There’s just something weak about Jasminora that makes me say you’re better off going light with Alien.

Reviewed in This Post: Jasminora, 2011, Eau de Toilette.


Caron Or et Noir

Word on the street at the time of my opening the decant vial of Or et Noir was that it had amazing strength and projection. Why I didn’t listen to good advice is anybody’s guess. It knocked me off my feet. In a good way though.

Or et Noir

In Bottle: Sharp rose up front. Very strong and overwhelmed my nose as I, foolishly, whiffed instead of wafted.

Applied: After waiting out the initial knockout punch delivered by my whiffing, I tried her on. You need very little of Or et Noir because 1) The stuff I had was in parfum concentration, and 2) It’s strong no matter how you dress it up. The rose is immediately noticeable, heady and dense and rich. I felt like I was projecting so much of this that someone could be standing on the other side of the room and still smell me. It’s quite a bit intense on first application but it grows more complex and settles down during the mid-stage where the other florals spring up like–well, flowers in a garden. Lilac and geranium help temper the rose a bit and there’s a bit of spiciness lent by the carnation to draw the complexity out of the scent. The rose is still the star of the show and remains the star throughout as you head into the dry down with a slightly earthy, soft scent covering the background as the rose rolls through.

Extra: Or et Noir was released in 1949, making it a Caron classic. I don’t know how anyone can get a hold of this fragrance now aside from asking around at Caron boutiques.

Design: I’ve only ever seen the extremely fancy crystal flacon of this stuff. Now, seeing it and touching it and using it is another matter as I have yet to do any of those things. It sure looks expensive, delicate and extremely luxurious though.

Fragrance Family: Classic Floral

Notes: Rose, lilac, carnation, geranium, oak moss.

I’m not sure I really like this interpretation of rose more than my current top pick (Mahora by Guerlain) but it’s lovely. I just wish she was wearable from the get go instead of having to wait for her to settle down a bit.

Reviewed in This Post: Or et Noir, ~1970, Parfum.


Cacharel Amor Amor

Some days I like Amor Amor. Other days I think it’s a soapy mess. It ultimately comes down to my mood and Amor Amor has good days more than bad days, though it’s so far the only perfume I hate one day and love the other.

Amor Amor

In Bottle: Sweet and floral, a bit sharp, with a very strong soapy undercurrent. There’s a ton of white musk in this to me.

Applied: Sweet and clean with a bit of fruitiness that eventually evolves into a sweet and clean floral mid-stage. There’s something in this that’s sharp–I think it might be the white musk–that rears its head in the mid-stage and sticks around until the very end of the fragrance. Amor Amor is a bit of fun and girly balanced with sharp clean musk. The mid-stage reminds me of a bunch of fruity florals mixed together with an extra heaping of sugar slapped into the mix. The dry down gets a bit less sweet and a bit cleaner as the white musk takes over and sweeps the fragrance into a vanilla woods with a scrubbed amber scent.

Extra: I don’t know what to think of Amor Amor. Some days I think it’s one of the better fruit scents out there. Other days I think it’s just too sweet and too typical.

Design: I don’t like how Amor Amor looks. It feels like it wants to be a gimmick and reminds me too much of the rose under glass in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The bottle itself is easy to hold and use. I just don’t care much for the aesthetics.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Floral

Notes: Blackcurrant, orange, mandarin, bergamot, cassia, grapefruit, apricot, lily, jasmine, rose, white musk, amber, tonka bean, cedar.

I’m writing up this review from a set of notes so I haven’t smelled Amor Amor in a while. I do wonder if my opinion of it has changed since I wrote the review. I guess I can try to smell it some time soon and see if I’m having a good Amor Amor day or a bad one.

Reviewed in This Post: Amor Amor, 2007, Eau de Parfum.