Hermes Bel Ami

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I’ve been on a chypre bender lately, wanting something full-bodied and classic once again. Enter Hermes Bel Ami, which inspired an hour-long look at some new Hermes scarves.

Bel Ami

Bel Ami

In Bottle: Now, it should be noted that I have the newer formulation of Bel Ami, so this isn’t a true vintage chypre. It’s one of those “modern” deals. But Hermes did a good job with it, sweet, deep, masculine and woodsy.

Applied: Sweet upon application with a nice bergamot and lemon opening. The spiciness is only a hint in this fragrance. What I’m getting the most out of it is a deep, rich leather scent with a hint of animal and a big dose of earthiness from the orris. There’s a pleasant touch of cedar in the background that doesn’t overwhelm but is in there enough to give the fragrance a hint of woodsiness. The herbal notes probably lend a tempering effect to this fragrance as it’s more of a blast of leather than anything else. I can see where the chypre construction in this lies and it’s fabulous, but it isn’t quite what I’m looking for. Still a really great, strong, masculine scent with a very interesting composition and a great sense of projection.

Extra: Bel Ami was released in 1986 and has, unfortunately, been reformulated a few times, I suspect. Still, it smells pretty good for having been tinkered with over the years.

Design: Bottled simply, and somewhat reminiscent of some other Hermes bottles. Looks classical and functions pretty well. No one is going to immediately notice this bottle, but it’s a joy to look at it nonetheless.

Fragrance Family: Chypre

Notes: Mandarin, sage, bergamot, lemon, cardamom, patchouli, orris, carnation, basil, jasmine, cedar, leather, coconut, vanilla, oakmoss, vetiver, styrax, amber.

So Bel Ami isn’t really my thing. I don’t go crazy much for this much leather as it tends to smell too bold for me. But it is still a very well constructed fragrance.

Reviewed in This Post: Bel Ami, ~2000, 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.

Cuir de Lancome

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When Jen from This Blog Really Stinks dropped by my Lancôme Trésor review and recommended Cuir de Lancôme, I decided it was time I stopped being afraid of the Lancôme machine and find myself some of this mythical juice. The quest for Cuir de Lancôme was not as easy as I thought it’d be, but it was worth it in the end.

Cuir de Lancome

Cuir de Lancome

In Bottle: A slight hint of citrus with a strong saffron presence and this buttery leathery scent that’s very attractive.

Applied: Once again, slight hint of citrus up town and the saffron rolls in giving the fragrance this extra bit of luxury as Cuir de Lancôme takes on this creamy, buttery leather scent. You know the joy of getting a new, leather handbag or jacket? That awesome warm, comforting smell? That’s what Cuir de Lancôme reminds me off–except better. There’s a floral wave that comes on in the mid-stage and helps smooth out the leather further. I get mostly jasmine tempered with ylang-ylang from the florals. The flowers give the fragrance a more feminine and delicate quality and they blend beautifully with the saffron. It’s like I’m smelling a vintage perfume that’s been modernized for appeal. It’s one of the nicest modern leathers I’ve smelled in a while! As Cuir de Lancôme dries down the leather evolves and blends with a soft sandalwood and vanilla and this green note that I hadn’t noticed before. This fragrance is fantastic, it’s like a light floral perfume dressed in a soft leather jacket. It’s longevity is actually quite good while it’s projection tends to stick closely to the skin.

Extra: Tracking down some Cuir de Lancôme was ridiculously difficult. I had done some research on it before hand, knew it was a part of a collection called–rather aptly–La Collection. My first mistake was assuming that because it seemed to be a part of an exclusive collection that a Lancôme counter would be more than happy to push off a spray on me in the hopes I’d shell out the premium cash for a full bottle. I mean, that’s how Chanel and Guerlain and pretty much every other fragrance house with an exclusive collection seems to work. Apparently not even Lancôme counters know what La Collection is never mind what I mean when I stand there and mangle the French pronunciation for what I want.  Long story short, I bought a decant online and everybody was happy.

Design: The bottle design for Cuir de Lancôme and other La Collection bottles are just beautiful! They have a clean shape for the flacon and cap with a band around the bottle’s neck that’s a little reminiscent of vintage perfume aesthetics. The labels even remind me of vintage perfumes. I just love the design.

Fragrance Family: Modern Chypre

Notes: Bergamot, mandarin, saffron, jasmine, ylang-ylang, hawthorn, patchouli, iris, birch, styrax.

So here’s what I don’t understand with Lancôme, they have this beautiful perfume sitting in a collection. Only they’ve made it near impossible for you to buy the perfume from them directly and you actually have to go to a discounter in order to procure a bottle at at average of $40-60 a go. What happened with Lancôme’s La Collection? Why isn’t it being proudly displayed and sold at counters? It’s just a perplexing mystery to me. But I suppose paying $40-60 for what should be a highly sought after exclusive fragrance is nothing to complain about.

Thanks again go to Jen for convincing me to try this out. If anyone has any suggestions for fragrances I should smell feel free to leave a comment! I’m always looking for new smellies.

Reviewed in This Post: Cuir de Lancôme, ~2007, Eau de Parfum.

Gucci Rush

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I tend to gloss over Gucci Rush every time I get near it and I can only attribute this phenomenon to one thing–that ugly packaging. I see that big, red, square thing sitting on the shelf and wonder to myself what it is I’m looking at. When I gravitate closer, I realize it’s Gucci Rush once again, blasting red into my retinas and generally turning me off.

Rush

Rush

In Bottle: Smells fake and isn’t afraid to admit it. Rush smells like my childhood days spent sitting in a corner reenacting fairy tales with plastic dolls that wore cheap, fruity perfumes.

Applied: I didn’t think that plastic, synthetic smell was on purpose. Evidently it was! Very brave of Gucci, but at the same time I question their sanity to be this forward about the synthetic quality of their scent. Still, I can appreciate a fragrance that doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. It smells like plastic on application, mixed with over-the-top fruity notes. I notice the peach most of all, it’s a bit nauseating to be honest and the plastic stays on me for the rest of the fragrance’s lifetime–which is not necessarily a good thing. The scent has some florals in there to help balance it out but Rush is like a discordant piece of music written by a madman. The midstage is an equally hilarious blend of  white florals that smell like they rolled around in a pan of powder. As the fragrance dries down I get a hint of spicy plastic on florals and a powdery sort of vanilla base mixed with an earthy patchouli note that’s been warmed and dried by a bit of vetiver. The vetiver gives this a bit of a golden feel at the very end of the fragrance, I rather like that last little bit.

Extra: I tried looking around the internet to see what other people would lump Gucci Rush into in terms of fragrance family. I think the consensus was that this stuff was a modern chypre. I can see how it would be considered that with the use of the earthy patchouli, but if I had my way I wouldn’t so much call this a modern chypre than a synthetic chypre. That plastic note is still wigging me out months after I tried this stuff.

Design: Gucci Rush turned out to be a more interesting fragrance experience than I thought it would be. The packaging makes a bit more sense to me now but that doesn’t change the fact that the packaging has been a major turn off for me for many years. I understand what Gucci may have been going for there, but when it comes down to it, Gucci Rush’s aesthetic just looks cheap, lazy, and bad. As much as I appreciate its connection to the scent itself, I can’t get over the basic hideousness of the thing.

Fragrance Family: Modern Chypre

Notes: Freesia, gardenia, peach, coriander, Damask rose, jasmine, vanilla, vetiver, patchouli.

I kind of like this. It’s fascinating in that macabre way. You know when you’re flipping channels when you happen upon one of those live operations where they film the gory bits of surgery for some sort of educational purpose? And you’re thinking to yourself, “Ouch. This poor person. This is terrible. I shouldn’t be watching this. I haven’t got the stomach for it”, and yet thirty minutes later you’re not only still watching it but you’re on the verge of entertained. That’s Gucci Rush.

Reviewed in This Post: Rush, 2009, Eau de Toilette.

Balenciaga Paris

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Perhaps you’ve heard of Balenciaga before, no, not their handbags that seem to be gaining in popularity these days. I’m talking about Le Dix, the street, the clothes, and the perfume. Mostly the perfume though. It’s a classic aldehyde, beautiful, but that’s not who we’re talking about today. Let’s jam it up with Balenciaga Paris.

Balenciaga Paris

In Bottle: Paris opens with a sheer, undetected level of sophistication and elegance. It’s violets and sun dew floating in the air.

Applied: Paris is incredibly light, it clings close to the skin and stays close for hours upon hours but what it won’ do is shout. This is a scent that’s meant to stay personal. I smell violets first of all, sweet little powdery violets drenched in dew. The mid-stage sees more violets, the dewy quality evaporating leaving me with a little bit of spice a nice hint of woods and a quiet little whisper of patchouli on the dry down. You shouldn’t expect projection with this fragrance. Paris’ angle is subtle and sleek. Get them while they’re close and keep them there with that violet softness.

Extra: Balenciaga is a fashion house with its headquarters in Paris, France. It was established in 1914. Other popular fragrances by house Balenciaga include Cristobal, Rumba and Le Dix.

Design: I love the bottle. I love its cap, love its shape, love the heft of it. It’s got nice weight, nice aesthetics and even though it’s a bit busier than the usual things I like, the business is well-designed, well-proportioned and very balanced.

Fragrance Family: Modern Chypre

Notes: Bergamot, spices, pepper, violet, carnation, oakmoss, cedar, vetiver, labdanum, patchouli.

Yes, believe it or not, this is a modern chypre. It’s got the right build though.

Reviewed in This Post: Balenciaga Paris, 2010, Eau de Parfum.

Chanel 31 Rue Cambon

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31 Rue Cambon is like a modern miracle. It’s a chypre. A modern one though, and being a modern chypre it is still missing the ever beloved and tragically lost, oakmoss. Yet 31 Rue Cambon still manages to pull the modern chypre off with elegance and classic flair.  31 Rue Cambon

In Bottle: A beautifully done iris note is a predominant player in this fragrance with a nice woodsiness to it that takes its sophistication up a few more notches still. There’s a sweetness lingering up front in 31 Rue Cambon that adds the “modern” section of this fragrance. Finally, there is a soft powdery note to this as well which is what gives it that classical scent to me.

Applied: Slightly aldehydic with a generous layering of florals and a splash of bergamot with a note of sweetness added in. 31 Rue Cambon goes on from the opening with a powdery introduction of the iris, and very decadent-smelling rose and jasmine, with some wood notes that blend well with the opener to create a complex blend of warm, leathery, powdery fragrance. This  makes me think of Coco by Chanel wrapped up in an ivy and rose dress. 31 Rue Cambon is a short-lived beauty as it approached its dry down within a matter of hours. A strange thing given the fact that most Chanels last forever on me. Its end game is no stranger to zip as it dries down with a warm, complex, leatheriness.

Extra: 31 Rue Cambon is one of the more popular fragrances from Chanel’s Les Exclusifs collection of fragrances. I can’t say I’m a major fan of many of Chanel’s mainstream releases as of late, but their Les Exclusifs line stick well to the older script that bears creative beautiful little masterpieces like this one.

Design: The Les Exclusifs line is designed to look fairly similar with a tall rectangular bottle, white label, bold and clean black letter. True Chanel minimalist style. The bottles also feature that fantastic magnetic click cap that I couldn’t seem to get enough of on Bleu de Chanel.

Fragrance Family: Modern Chypre

Notes: Pepper, bergamot, orris, narcissus, jasmine, patchouli, ambrette, vetiver, labdanum.

I’ll be blunt in noting that I hold no love for most modern chypres because they tend to smell nothing like a chypre should. But 31 Rue Cambon is as close as it’s going to get, and while the chypre in this is still masked behind a big modern personality, it manages to smell classic, elegant and truly Chanel.

Reviewed in This Post: 31 Rue Cambon, 2009, Eau de Toilette.

Guerlain Idylle

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Idylle was the first mainstream released fragrance by Guerlain’s new in house perfumer, Thierry Wasser. The lack of the Guerlinade is noticeable in this one and in its absence is a fairly plain, fairly boring, modern mainstream scent. Good for wearing, great for the office, but missing the heart of what Guerlain used to be. Idylle

In Bottle: Idylle is a pretty surface floral with a bouquet of pretty young flowers. This scent starts off smelling young and dewy and fresh. It’s reminiscent of pretty much every other modern floral fragrance that’s been released in the last decade.

Applied: I smell Idylle in a lot of places. It’s wearability is outstanding if you’re looking for a modern Guerlain that works well with the modern staple. Don’t look for anything classic smelling in this–it’s not there. I am a little disappointed with the fragrance to be honest because it’s so benign that it’s rather boring. Idylle’s opener smells of rose and lily off the bat. It’s a well blended thing that slips into its mid-stage with so much elegance that you’ll have barely noticed it until you catch the floral heart and realize your fragrance has changed for the better. The rose note is the predominant player in this but it’s a cleaned up, fresh rose. Not at all like Nahema’s deep red rose. Idylle stays beautiful and remains on the skin until the dry down where you’ll get a cleaned up patchouli that smells like scrubbed earth and polished darkness.

Extra: Maybe I’m being harsh on Idylle. It is at it’s core a very pretty and competent fragrance that will please a wide audience. After all, how I can dismiss Idylle when I loved the much loathed Champs Elysees? Or My Insolence? I by no means hate Idylle. I just don’t think it’s particularly interesting. It’s fantastic as a mainstream release. It’s like a more competent Gucci Flora. A more grown up Gucci Flora, if you will. I guess I just miss the classics and was hoping Idylle was a bit more classical and less modern. More niche and less commercial.

Design: Idylle’s marketing surrounded the concept of golden raindrops. The bottle is shaped like a golden raindrop. Despite the interesting shape, it is easy to hold and easy to spray. It looks interesting on display and is a great looking piece to add to a bottle collector’s array.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Lily of the valley, lilac, peony, freesia, jasmine, patchouli, white musk.

Idylle is what the industry refers to as a modern chypre. A formulation that so far has been fuzzy to my understanding.

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

Montale Chypre Vanille

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Shameful as it is, I do not remember how Montale’s Oud based fragrance line smells like. Not a single one. I’m working my way back in that direction though. Along the way, I’m picking up some others first. Notably, the cleaner, whiter Montale fragrances that catch that part of me that just wants to smell clean and fresh. Chypre Vanille

In Bottle: Light and green, very pleasant and clean fragrance. Think fresh out of the shower scent with a nice, light, floral mist.

Applied: Beautifully light floral fragrance that’s very quintessentially white and airy. There’s a soapiness to this that opens the fragrance and stays with it as the scent starts to age. The incense used in Chypre Vanille isn’t your typical fair. It’s been cleaned up to the point where it’s hard to recognize as it helps to dry out the vanilla, presenting this concept of vanilla that is unfamiliar but very likable. Chypre Vanille takes the sweetness out of vanilla and makes it sharp and clean, something I wouldn’t expect the note would be capable of. But it wouldn’t be the first or last time I’m wrong. There’s a powderiness to this fragrance too that lingers in the back and reminds you once every so often that it’s still there. The dry down is a nice clean and dry woodsy scent with a very heavy reminder of the vanilla that this was based on. The dry down actually reminds me a little bit  of how the classic Guerlains smell.

Extra: Montale is popular for their many different oud-based fragrances that run the gamut of colors, styles and scents.

Design: Bottled in much the same way as other Montale scents, Chypre Vanille is presented in a lovely dark blue bottle with a metal cap and sprayer.

Fragrance Family: Chypre

Notes: Vanilla, rose, amber, incense, sandalwood, iris, vetiver, tonka bean.

An interesting take on what some people cringe to refer to as a “modern chypre”. I don’t know if I like it enough for a bottle but it’s still pleasant nonetheless. Something very clean about it. Almost soapy but very nice.

Reviewed in This Post: Chypre Vanille, 2009, Sample Vial.

Yves Saint Laurent Elle

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Light, sweet, and fruity. Elle is Yves Saint Laurent (YSL)’s attempt at attracting a younger female audience. While there has been some discussion about Elle smelling like tea, I have to differ. It’s a bright fruity, clean, woodsy scent and that is pretty much where the buck stops. Elle

In Bottle: Immediate smell of citrus and fruits. Elle comes on strong and sweet with a burst of lychee and berries after the citrus carries it up to the nose. The fruits don’t quit when this stuff is in the bottle and they make it difficult to detect anything beneath them. Yet, I get this clean feeling from the scent with a touch of steady base that I attribute to the woods.

Applied: Again, citrus and sweet fruits up front and center as the fragrance pulls no punches in making itself well known. Elle has a veneer of simplicity though because as the fragrances ages on the skin the fruits are slowly complimented by the wood notes giving this fragrance a sharper quality. There are elements of florals in this fragrance but the fruits are difficult to get past. I can barely detect the jasmine hanging out. As for the two earth notes (vetiver and patchouli) that are supposed to be in this? They’re there but they compliment the fruits so well that I didn’t really notice them. Overall, Elle is a well incorporated fragrance though the fruits in here are very prominent but they are kept well in line by the woods. The rest of the notes seem to be content with just hanging out.

Extra: With perfumers Olivier Cresp and Jacques Cavallier behind the creation of Elle, it’s really no surprise how we came to arrive at this woodsy fruity mix. Cresp and Cavallier are known (to me) as the men behind Nina Ricci’s Nina (2006), a sweet citrus fruity fragrance. My first “grown up” perfume.

Design: I can’t say I’m wild about the bottle for Elle. On paper it looks bold and interesting. In person, the bottle fails to impress me. With its hard sharp edges, Elle is built like a skyscraper with a plastic hot pink detachable cube to protect the sprayer. The design looks girly and metropolitan at the same time but the shape and the feel of it just seems lacking to me like there’s something missing in the design that would make it stand out a bit more.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Chypre

Notes: Citrus, lychee, berries, jasmine, woods, vetiver, and patchouli.

Pleasant, pleasing and inoffensive. Elle’s got it all if you’re looking for an easy to wear, fruity chypre. I wouldn’t say it’d be my first pick for a fruity perfume but the woods definitely give it a bit of uniqueness when compared to the other fruity fragrances it has to compete with. As for that tea thing? I don’t smell no tea.

Reviewed in This Post: Elle, 2010, Eau de Parfum Tester.