M. Micallef Aoud

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M. Micallef’s Aoud is celebrating its 10th Anniversary and I got a hold of a little deluxe sample courtesy of Jeffrey Dame from Hypoluxe.

Aoud

Aoud

In Bottle: Fresh, woodsy with a little bit of sweetness. Masculine, but not so overtop masculine that a woman wouldn’t enjoy wearing this.

Applied: The aoud lends a very nice, mellow and well-rounded golden type of scent to the fragrance and it’s the aoud that really carries the rest of the scent. Layered beneath the aoud is a fabulous spicy incense that drifts around the heart notes in delicate little veils of lightness. At the bottom is a soft patchouli and a sweet coat of honey. I think what really ultimately what makes Micallef’s Aoud so awesome, it’s the fact that it’s a masculine scent but it doesn’t throw it in your face. It’s slow, complex and subtle but extremely effective and completely wearable.

Extra: Aoud was originally released in 2003 and is described as a masculine oriental woodsy fragrance.

Design: Aoud’s bottling harkens to a bit more familiar territory with me as its style is what I saw first years ago from Micallef and it’s what I identify their packaging with the post. It’s a lovely circle bottle with a touch of modern and plenty of style.

Fragrance Family: Oriental Woodsy

Notes: Rose, aoud, sandalwood, cinnamon, saffron, clove, patchouli.

I really quite like Aoud, and I’ve had a few that were quite strong and quite classical and Micallef’s Aoud hits that sweet spot with me where I can enjoy a strong note, but would really like it toned down sometimes.

Reviewed in This Post: Aoud, 2013, Eau de Parfum.

Lalique de Lalique

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Lalique de Lalique was released in 1992 with a limited edition version released in 2012 that I can’t seem to find anywhere.

Lalique de Lalique

Lalique de Lalique

In Bottle: I get a sweet, creamy fruits with a pleasant soft and sweetness in the background with a layer of equally sweet florals.

Applied: Chevrefeuille starts off with a rather strong fruit showing that mellows out fairly quickly into a stronger wave of florals with the sweet fruit opening still hanging on well into the mid-stage where the florals become a touch dusty like a wave of light powders. I get plenty of jasmine with a delightful introduction of clove that adds a bit of edibility to the fragrance as it rolls into the end where a vanilla musk and dusty sandalwood pick up the scent to carry it the rest of the way. The entire fragrance is very soft and easy to wear and very modern while at the same time having a classical edge.

Extra: Lalique de Lalique (or just Lalique) was released in 1992. A limited edition version of it bottled in a fancier way was released in 2012 as a part of its 20th anniversary. It’s nearly impossible to find the limited edition version anywhere as a result. Lalique is an old perfume house, their earliest fragrance dates back to 1931.

Design: Beautiful design, usually I don’t go for things quite as embellished as these bottles, but they are made in a way that makes them eye-catching and luxurious. The limited edition bottles are also very beautiful.

Fragrance Family: Floral Oriental

Notes: Pear, blackberry, iris, rose, jasmine, clove, cassis, sandalwood, vanilla, white musk.

I do really like Lalique de Lalique, though it’s not the kind of thing I would go out of my way to hunt down. The bottle, though, makes it really hard to resist.

Reviewed in This Post: Lalique de Lalique, 1999, Eau de Toilette.

Farmacia Ambra Nera

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Another sample from the truly awesome, Steve from The Scented Hound. Ambra Nera is a parfum concentration amber scent that smelled pleasant from the sampler vial.

Ambra Nera

Ambra Nera

In Bottle: Smooth amber with a blast of eucaluptus and a hint of patchouli and touch of cypress.

Applied: The first thing I got from Ambra Nera was the eucalyptus, followed by the amber and a nice sense of warmth. The cypress rolls in during the midstage giving the scent a touch of woodsiness without being too overwhelming, the fragrance as a whole takes on a slightly green feel near the end of the mid-stage as it rolls into a lovely powdered amber with a hint of sweetness. Very pleasant, exquisitely sophisticated, and rather surprising as I was expecting something a bit more bold from this, but its softness is very appealing.

Extra: Ambra Nera was the brainchild of Farmacia SS. Annunziata dal 1561. It’s available on Lucky Scent.

Design: Pretty simple bottle, but gets the job done. Looks nice, simple and modern. Nothing garish on this so it can sit anywhere and suit just about any style.

Fragrance Family: Oriental

Notes: Cypress, eucalyptus, amber, benzoin, vetiver, vanilla, patchouli.

Very pleasantly surprised with Ambra Nera, I enjoyed the subtle sweetness of the amber and its nice soft progression.

Reviewed in This Post: Ambra Nera, 2012, Parfum.

Thierry Mugler A*Men

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Lots of thanks to Undina from Undina’s Looking Glass for the sample of this fragrance. A*Men has been one of those scents that I kept hearing about but never got around to trying.

A*Men

A*Men

In Bottle: Sweet and a bit dusty, I get a lot of woods out of this but at the same time, I’m smelling the gourmand too.

Applied: Sweet upon application, lavender with a bit of milk and honey and lots of caramel. The fragrance introduces its woodsier side rather earlier as I get patchouli mixed with cedar that blends in with the caramel and milky notes. The mid-stage is marked with a noticeable addition of spices and woods, I swear I can smell cinnamon as the fragrance gets a bit more coffee like with this dusty coating of woods following it. The dry down is warm with a sandalwood base and a sweet toffee-like backdrop. I’ve seen people absolutely love A*Men and other people who can’t stand it. I was all ready for a gourmand but I was more surprised by the prominence of the woods in this. It makes the fragrance more oriental in style with a creamy, sweet caramel scent accented with a lot of woodsiness.

Extra: A*Men was introduced in 1996 and comes in two bottle styles. One metallic bottle and a rubber bottle.

Design: I’ve never been much of a fan of Thierry Mugler’s bottle designs. I often found them too chunk or too alien-looking and I can’t say I really like the bottle designs for A*Men either. It just doesn’t strike a chord with my sensibilities.

Fragrance Family: Gourmand Oriental Woodsy

Notes: Coriander, lavender, fruits, spices, mint, bergamot, honey, jasmine, milk, caramel, lily of the valley, cedar, patchouli, sandalwood, tonka, amber, musk, benzoin, coffee, vanilla.

I don’t think I’m that big of a fan of A*Men. I wasn’t sure whether or not I liked the gourmand bits of it, or the oriental bits, or the woodsy bits. It just all melded together into one big “blah” for me, though it does have really fantastic longevity.

Reviewed in This Post: A*Men, 2012, Eau de Toilette.

M. Micallef Ylang in Gold

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The perfume house of M. Micallef got in touch with me again and asked if I would be interested in reviewing their new, Ylang in Gold fragrance. Given the awesome Vanilla scents I tested from their last location, I really couldn’t say no.

In Bottle:Sweet, a little fruity up top with a nice clean and fresh vanilla background.

Ylang in Gold

Ylang in Gold

Applied: Sweet fruitiness, refreshing upon application. I get vanilla almost instantly with a clean waft of mint. As the fragrance wears on, the vanilla calms down a bit and the sweetness gets tempered by a pleasant mix of ylang-ylang and soft lily. The scent is very light, almost creamy with a lovely smooth aroma that I guess is coming from the combination of clean musk and coconut. The longer I wear it, the more vanilla comes back to further smooth out the scent. In the end, I get soft vanilla musk with a hint of woods and the barest reminder of ylang-ylang.

Extra: Ylang in Gold is the third member of M. Micallef’s Jewel Collection that features Jewel for Her and Jewel for Him. Ylang in Gold comes in two forms, one with a gold dust mixed with the juice and another without the gold dust. My sample didn’t have the gold dust. I’m not a big fan of shimmer on my skin so I actually preferred to go without it.

Design: Like with most bottles by M. Micallef, Ylang in Gold was hand decorated with little Swarovski crystals. I really like the presentation of it. The shape of the bottle is fairly standard, but the designs help give it a bit of uniqueness and luxury flare. It’s very fitting for its collection, looks quite nice, and is presented rather nicely.

Fragrance Family: Floral Oriental

Notes: Tangerine, geranium, sage, rosemary, artemisia, ylang-ylang, rose, lily of the valley, magnolia, mint, sandalwood, coconut, vanilla, musk, oakmoss.

I can best describe Ylang in Gold as a very soft vanilla with a nice sprinkling of Ylang-Ylang. It’s pleasant, very wearable and a bit sophisticated. If you’re interested in a bottle, you can nab one at LuckyScent as well as at their Scent Bar physical store, Parfum1, Parfumerie Nasreen, and Osswald NYC.

Reviewed in This Post: Ylang in Gold, 2012, Eau de Parfum.

Disclaimer: The fragrance reviewed in this post was provided to me for free for the purposes of review. In no other way am I receiving pay or compensation for this review. This review was written based upon my personal experiences and opinions of the product.

Thanks to Micallef for giving me the opportunity to try this fragrance and Jeffrey Dame at Hypoluxe for forwarding on the sample.

Histoires de Parfums 1826

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The Histoires de Parfums line has always interested me. I loved the concept behind it and had been meaning to get a sample of one of the fragrances for years. My main hold up was not knowing where to start and what year to order first. I settled on 1826 thanks to a recommendation from a friend.

1826

1826

In Bottle: Strong bergamot and woody presence with a hint of smooth vanilla and spice.

Applied: Starts up with a strong bergamot and tangerine showing that is quick to make way for the floral aspect. I get a lot of lowers, and a bit of spice that creeps up to the midstage making for a complex and pleasant blend that gets slapped with a soft vanilla incense halfway through its progression. 1826 settles into a floral vanilla with a hint of woods. It’s giving off a clean floral vibe. Heck, this thing changes on me like crazy, one minute being a spicy floral and another being a vanilla floral that throws in a clean note out of no where. There’s a dark edge to it with the patchouli too, that settles in the background in the early midstage where it lends 1826 a bit of depth. The dry down is markedly woodsy with a final showing of florals and that elusive, but brilliant vanilla.

Extra: 1826 is dedicated to the last French empress, Eugénie de Montijo, whose birthday is reportedly May 5th, 1826. She lived a very long life given the time period and passed away at the age of 94 in Spain. The Empress, formerly known as María Eugenia Ignacia Augustina de Palafox-Portocarrero de Guzmán y Kirkpatrick, is somewhat understandably more well known as the fashionable wife of Napoleon III, and the last empress of the French court.

Design: Histoires de Parfums keeps a somewhat uniformed look for their bottles. I am a huge fan of uniform looks for series because I can imagine if I were ever wealthy enough to buy an entire series of perfumes, that I could line them up and be a little giddy about how awesome that would look. Histoires de Parfums is one of those bottle designs that would look fabulous lined up in a row and still looks pretty good even if you own just one of the bottles. The box tells you what notes are in the fragrance along with a little blurb about the name of the scent. The bottle itself has a label on the side that gives you the notes you should expect to smell. Simple, functional, and would look awesome lined up in a row.

Fragrance Family:  Floral Oriental

Notes: Bergamot, tangerine, white florals, violet, cinnamon, ginger, patchouli, amber, incense, woods, white musk, vanilla.

I have to admit that I expected a little less punch during the initial spray phase, but the rest of the fragrance smells divine. It’s got a great complexity to it, and it’s quite the shape shifter to boot. It smells great, has a young streak, tends toward a sweet youthful vanilla, though it’s probably not the kind of thing you’d want to recommend for a teenage girl or someone with a teenage girl’s sensibilities. 1826 is definitely a woman’s fragrance and needs a sophisticated nose to appreciate it.

Reviewed in This Post: 1826, 2012, Eau de Parfum.

M. Micallef Vanille Orient

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Vanille Orient

Vanille Orient

M. Micallef Perfumes is a husband and wife venture started in 1996 and based in Grasse, France that features some beautiful perfumes and handcrafted bottles. This year, they released a series of four vanilla-based fragrances. Vanille Orient is one of them.

In Bottle: Spicy vanilla with a hint of sandalwood. It’s warm and sweet, but sophisticated.

Applied: Vanilla is definitely the star of this show. Vanille Orient opens with a spiced liqueur-like vanilla. It’s the kind of vanilla that reminds me of Spiritueuse Double Vanille in that it smells deep, authentic and grown-up. This is definitely not what I’ve taken to call, “Barbie-doll vanilla” that smells of sweetened plastic. As Vanille Orient ages, the vanilla introduces a sandalwood note and amps up the warmth with a rich amber base. Sandalwood takes the fragrance away from being a straight up sweet vanilla by introducing a soft woodsy element that blends and works together with the vanilla as opposed to letting it dominate. I compared this to Spiritueuse Double Vanille, but Vanille Orient differs in a few ways. It’s smoother, less smoky and plays up the sweetness a bit more. There have been a lot of times in the past where fragrances choose to go with a sandalwood and vanilla base that bored me. But the richness in Vanille Orient give the sandalwood and vanilla pairing a depth that I would love to smell in instead of the weak, synthetic interpretation I usually get.

Extra: M. Micallef is a niche house based in Grasse where they handcraft the bottles for their fragrances. Autumn 2012 features the Vanille Art Collection that includes Vanille Orient, Vanille Cuir, Vanille Fleur, and Vanille Marine. All of which have been crafted to feature a decadent vanilla from Madagascar. Vanille Orient is available at niche pricing  in 50ml or 100ml at Luckyscent.

Design: I haven’t had a chance to hold a bottle yet, but based on the images I’ve seen the Vanille Art Collection favors a warm organic style with the fragrance being held in a cube-shaped bottle. I’m not as a big a fan of these bottles as I am some of their other work, but I do love the boxes that they’re presented in and the shape is very attractive. The bottles give off a fun flair and the fact that the owner spends a lot of her time hand decorating them is extremely impressive.

Fragrance Family: Oriental

Notes: Vanilla, sandalwood, amber, musk.

All in all, Vanille Orient is a lovely interpretation of vanilla. It’s one of the better ones I’ve smelled with its spicy and warm vanilla and sandalwood interpretation. If you’re looking for a very competent, sweet vanilla then give this a try.

Reviewed in This Post: Vanille Orient, 2012, Eau de Parfum.

Disclaimer: The fragrance sampler spray reviewed in this post was provided to me for free for the purposes of review. In no other way am I receiving pay or compensation for this review. This review was written based upon my personal experiences and opinions of the product.

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Precieux

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Steve from The Scented Houndsent quite a surprise as I discovered a sample of Ambre Precieux in the package of decants. I have something of a weak spot for well done Oriental fragrances and I had to get into sampling this one for myself.

Ambre Precieux

Ambre Precieux

In Bottle: Myrrh and lavender with a bit of balsam. No amber yet.

Applied: A beautiful waft of very well blended myrrh and lavender. The opening gives the fragrance an almost incense feel to it. The balsam rolls in for a bit to deepen the fragrance and as the wearing goes on, the lavender gives way to a wonderfully spicy and warm amber fragrance lightly sweetened with vanilla. Don’t let the word ‘sweet’ throw you off, the sweetness is only a touch and merely adds a layer of complexity. Ambre Precieux reminds me of cold days in the winter where I’d spend some time with the window cracked open slightly and a heavy blanket covering my shoulders while I read. I don’t know why I liked doing this, there was just something comforting about the crisp air and comfy blanket like there’s something similarly comforting about Ambre Precieux. It’s like a familiar blanket, old but loaded with sentimental value. Anyway, the fragrance dries down to a beautifully complex warm and spicy amber.

Extra: Ambre Precieux was launched in 1988 and was composed by Jean-Francois Laporte and if I’m to understand correctly, was slightly modified sometime in the last few years as all older fragrances tend to be. I haven’t smelled original Ambre Precieux, but I love this version.

Design: Ambre Precieux sits in a brilliant red flacon with golden cap. Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier have always done a good job on their packaging and anything red will catch my eye. I love the richness of the color and how nicely it ties in with the fragrance itself.

Fragrance Family: Oriental

Notes: Myrrh, lavender, nutmeg, vanilla, amber, Tolu balsam, Peru balsam.

Hours later and I’m still sniffing my wrist. I do have to say, this is one amber that I’m going to have to consider getting a big bottle of.

Reviewed in This Post: Ambre Precieux, 2012, Eau de Toilette.

Tauer Pentachord Auburn

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Tauer Perfumes caught my eye while I was shopping for samples and thought of my husband’s birthday. Now his birthday is a few months off at least, but when it comes to me and fragrance shopping I can’t get started soon enough. What attracted me to Auburn was the promise of a cinnamon and tobacco scent.

Pentachord Auburn

Pentachord Auburn

In Bottle: A hint of sweetness mixed with a bit of cinnamon and smokiness. Reminds me a bit of autumn.

Applied: A hit of sweet cinnamon up front. I get no orange flower from this and the sweetness of the fragrance instantly disqualifies it for my husband. But I let it sit and see where it goes. Auburn rather happily introduces a sandalwood and tobacco mix, more heavy on the tobacco than sandalwood though. There’s a pleasant smokiness to this that dominates the fragrance giving it a very rich incense-like quality. What I don’t care too much for is the sweetness that I’m not sure I quite like mixed with tobacco. Auburn is definitely warm and sweet and gives me an idea of what a cinnamon smoke would smell like. But I can’t say I’m a big fan of the mixture. It’s definitely interesting, but I don’t know about wearable when it comes to my taste.

Extra: The Pentachord series is about the molecules in the fragrances where every fragrance features just five notes.

Design: I’ve always liked Tauer’s bottles. Pleasantly geometric, functional with just enough style and none of the fluff. Good spraying, good feel in the hands, looks great on display and if you have more than one, they look fabulous together.

Fragrance Family: Spicy Oriental

Notes: Orange flower, cinnamon, sandalwood, amber, tobacco.

I do find the concept of the Pentachords interesting and while I don’t think Auburn really suits me, I’d definitely like to keep exploring the rest of the series.

Reviewed in This Post: Auburn, 2012, Eau de Parfum.

Balmain La Mome

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Ambre Gris by Balmain was one of the first perfumes I ever reviewed for this blog. Back then I was still in my “Oh gosh! Fruits and flowers are so good!” phase. I’ve since grown a bit in terms of taste (or at least I like to think I did) and while I still love my flowers, my clean smells, and my fruits I’ve also warmed to Ambre Gris enough to be excited about La Mome rolling out of my sampler box for a try.

La Mome

La Mome

In Bottle: Roses, violets and an undercurrent of amber.

Applied: A flash of sweet raspberry that opens the fragrance under a fruity, sweet pretense. The rose is quick to fall in and I’m glad for that because I think I’ve had my fill of raspberry for a while. The rose has a lovely soft and classic affect mixing beautifully with an amber note that sweetens and warms the fragrance. I get violets the longer I wear this, giving the fragrance a bit of dusty appeal like I’m wearing a fine fragrance and just dusted myself down with some violet powder. This reminds me of fancy windows for some reason. Windows with intricate little patterns in the glass. Windows that lead to an exquisite sitting room. It’s deceptively simple because this is a much more complex scent than the seemingly easygoing violet, rose and amber mixture.

Extra: A little bit of research yielded an explanation for the naming convention of this fragrance. La Mome means “The Kid” which is a dedication to Edit Piaf.

Design: I love the design of this bottle. Balmain does very well with its packaging. The juice, the color of the juice, down to the materials and the style of the bottle, and the weight of the whole thing are meticulous. I love everything about it, up to and including the little tassels.

Fragrance Family: Floral Oriental

Notes: Pink pepper, raspberry, freesia, rose, violet, myrrh, iris, opoponax, amber, musk.

Sometime I should sit down and take a good sidelong stare at how my tastes in fragrance have changed over the past two years. I went from a pretty uneducated lover of fruity florals to a pretty uneducated lover of everything else too. I never would have thought a little hobby blog could take me this far.

Reviewed in This Post: La Mome, 2008, Eau de Parfum.