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.

Alfred Sung Jewel

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With all the heady, classic fragrances I had been trying and wearing lately and with the weather doing all sorts of strange things, I had a hankering for a springtime perfume and Jewel caught my attention.

Jewel

Jewel

In Bottle: Sweet, dewy and slightly fruity jasmine with a bit of orange blossom.

Applied: I primarily get a nice dewy jasmine scent out of this with a fruity pear and a strong neroli note in the front. The jasmine is sweet and clean and fresh as it rolls into a fairly benign mid-stage with hints of creamy coconut in the background. So far, Jewel is nothing to really write home about. It’s very nice, but not unique. It reminds me a bit of springtime, and its use of fruits and jasmine together are not unappealing, nor is it too overdone to be enjoyable. The dry down is not too special either, as the sweet jasmine rolls into a clean floral finish.

Extra: Jewel was released in 2005 and if you didn’t get enough of it in fragrance form, you can choose between its wide range of body care products like the lotion. Jewel isn’t difficult to find either, and is available from discounters online though I haven’t seen it in a department store myself.

Design: Reminds me of Ange ou Demon by Givenchy, but I suppose it’s just the shape that makes me draw the similarities between the two. Has a pleasant shape overall, interesting to look at.

Fragrance Family: Sweet Floral

Notes: Blackcurrant, pear, neroli, orange blossom, jasmine, frangipani, coconut, plum.

Overall, a pleasant experience if somewhat uninteresting. It is a nice springtime perfume, and hit the spot when I wanted to smell spring-like, but there are more interesting spring offerings out there. Still Jewel is pretty good for what it is, has a pleasant clean, fresh jasmine sweetness to it and doesn’t lay it on very thick.

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

Etro Royal Pavilion

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Another sample that was sent to me from Steve at The Scented Hound. I wore Royal Pavilion to work one day, feeling like something ought to mix things up a little.

Royal Pavilion

Royal Pavilion

In Bottle: Jasmine, plenty of it mixed with ylang-ylang with a base of sandalwood and a pretty, juicy, mimosa.

Applied: I get the Ylang-ylang before I get the jasmine when applied. It flares up first and stays up, giving the scent this dusty floral vibe. The jasmine brings it down a little closer to familiar territory with a nice mimosa in the background and a rose that settles near the base. I had expected something else from Royal Pavilion. Perhaps more cypress or green. What it is delights me, however. With it’s classically beautiful floral and it’s nice sandalwood touch upon dry down. There’s warnings of civet and castor in this too, and I had a couple of faint whiffs as I sat in the back and wondered if anyone else noticed. Royal Pavilion was like a quiet, peaceful journey with a light bump at the end. It envelops you in lovely, classical floral notes then when you’re at the end and enjoying your sandalwood fade, a couple of small animal notes hits your nose just to make sure you were still paying attention.

Extra: I went into this knowing very little about Royal Pavilion. It was very much a random pick as I was running out the door in the morning. So I was surprised to find this was released in 1989 because I was going to peg it for a few years earlier.

Design: Bottled in much the same way as other Etro fragrances, in a very nicely shaped class flacon with a silver cap. Nice and simple with just enough design elements to impart “luxury” without any gaudiness.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy Floral

Notes: Jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose, mimosa, violet, sandalwood, vetiver, oakmoss, castor, civet.

Lovely scent, very excited that something from the late 80s is still around and kicking. Kudos, Etro!

Reviewed in This Post: Royal Pavilion, ~2012, Eau de Toilette.

Illuminum White Gardenia Petals

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It was inevitable that I finally got to White Gardenia Petals–or, ever since the royal wedding happened–the “Princess perfume” that Lady Katherine Middleton chose to wear on her wedding day. There’s been a lot of buzz about it and even a little bit of scandal. But when all was said and done, Kay is once again late to the party.

White Gardenia Petals

White Gardenia Petals

In Bottle: A rather pleasant gardenia with a touch of screech in the background.

Applied: I feel as if it’s fair to say that this is the only version of White Gardenia Petals I’ve ever smelled. Which could be a few steps away from the version Katherine Middleton wore on her wedding day. Some perfumistas say that version smells different from the one I’m sampling right now and I haven’t had much luck getting a hold of the old stuff so I only have my new stuff and previous accounts to go by. Without further ado, White Gardenia Petals opens up with a lovely light gardenia with a touch of green. As it wears on, the gardenia gets stronger, a bit of a different progression from what I experienced with last week’s Hothouse Flower. This is heavier handed, better projection, more floral in a sense with a denser concentration of gardenia. Its mildly powdery, but mostly strong. I get occasional whiffs of plastic where the gardenia gets overzealous, but it’s overall fairly nice. I rather like the strong approach White Gardenia Petals chose to take. At its base is a clean white musk which makes me think White Gardenia Petals might work really well as a luxury soap.

Extra: By now, I think we all know why and who wore White Gardenia Petals. I’m no expert on fashion or trends. I’m certainly no expert on the Royals. All I know is, this stuff had a very nice, balanced projection in my opinion so Katherine Middleton must have had quite the gardenia-scented aura. White Gardenia Petals can be purchased on LuckyScent and Illuminum’s Website.

Design: Designed in much the same way as the other Illuminum fragrances. I’m starting to wonder if these things have gotten to me or what because I find their design a little more pleasant now than I did initially. It’s still functional, though not my favorite look by any means.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Bergamot, cassis, gardenia, ylang-ylang, jasmine, woods.

I actually quite liked White Gardenia Petals for what it is. It was plainly simple, but in a nice way. It’s not my favorite gardenia, but it’s not a bad interpretation and I think I’m a little biased because I just had a gardenia I loved in Hothouse Flower. Otherwise, this was quite nice.

Reviewed in This Post: White Gardenia Petals, 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.

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess

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I want to believe that we aren’t smack-dab in the middle of January and that it’s going to be summer soon and I’ll have time to build that planter box I always wanted in the backyard to start a vegetable garden. But the truth is, we are smack-dab in the middle of January and to ease the winter blues a little, I tested out Bronze Goddess that Undina from Undina’s Looking Glass very kindly sent me.

Bronze Goddess

Bronze Goddess

In Bottle: Coconut, with a smooth floral and a hint of jasmine. Very nice and very summery. Just what I wanted.

Applied: Coconut top note with a lovely citrus backing it up. The citrus mellows out as does a lovely soft jasmine note flows in. The coconut is taken away from bubbly, girly, silly coconut scents and given this grown-up edge that reminds me of something expensive and the jasmine with the tiare notes really help give it that sophisticated feel. I get the suntan oil comparisons some people have for this, but suntan oil tends to be more one-dimensional and Bronze Goddess definitely has more going on than coconut. Bronze Goddess reminds me of clean, fresh linens, coconut, and a tropical holiday. It dries down with a more mellow coconut note and a classy white musk with sandalwood that keeps the fragrance away from “teenaged girl coconut” and more in the territory of “grown-ups coconut”, heck, I almost smell the salty sea air and the beach sand in this.

Extra: Bronze Goddess was an Estee Lauder limited edition and disappeared in 2011. If you want to get your hands on a bottle, some discounters still carry it, eBay has it, but otherwise, you might have to wait and see if Estee Lauder brings it back at some point.

Design: Simple and lovely. The design has this tropical, summer, beach vibe to it that’s very appropriate. It’s clean and bells and whistles free with a warm color palette. Just the way I like it.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Floral

Notes: Mandarin, bergamot, jasmine, tiare, orange blossom, magnolia, myrrh, amber, vetiver, caramel, coconut, sandalwood.

I really like Bronze Goddess. It is the quintessential smell of summer and the tropics to me. It’s light, it’s pretty, and it makes me happy! What doesn’t make me happy is the fact that it’s discontinued and really needs to make a comeback.

Reviewed in This Post: Bronze Goddess, 2011, Eau Fraiche.

Cartier Declaration for Men

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Happy New Year! I am back with a Cartier. I was thinking of doing a more unique fragrance as the first for 2013, but after humming and hawing over what that fragrance may be, I decided a Jean-Claude Ellena designed Cartier would have to do. That Smell will be back to normal next week.

Declaration for Men

Declaration for Men

In Bottle: Citrus, sharp orange, no sweetness–but very bitter with an earthy quality and a spicy kick.

Applied: Bitter orange with a blend of birch in the background. I get some spices upfront too and an almost animalic quality that I’m assuming is coming from an ambery leather combination. There’s definitely something that smells a bit “off” about this, but it’s “off” on purpose, like Declaration is trying to tell me to like it or leave it. Anyway, as the scent ages, it gains more woodsiness, takes on a floral bouquet with warm leather and that constant off smell in the background as the spices roll in. It took a long time for Declaration to get anywhere, it has fantastic longevity and projection so if you want something that will stick around all day and don’t mind occasionally getting a whiff of faint uncleanliness then this might be up your alley. As the scent dries down, I get more spices, more vetiver and a smooth leather that rounds things out very nicely.

Extra: Declaration has quite the lengthy list of notes and the complexity it boasts is no surprise for how much stuff is jammed into it. It smells of sophistication and good taste, but at the same time, it warns the fainthearted off with what people call the “sweaty armpit” undercurrent that runs through this scent. Whatever it is, those who brave it might come to love it.

Design: Declaration has a nice enough look. Simple in general with a bit more attention paid to its cap. It’s easy to hold, pleasing to look at with no garish bone on its body.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy Spicy

Notes: Artemisia, caraway, coriander, birch, mandarin orange, bergamot, neroli, bitter orange, iris, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, juniper, orris root, jasmine, cardamom, leather, amber, tea, vetiver, oakmoss, cedar.

I don’t relish much on the off smell in this. If you’ve followed this blog, you’ll note that I tend massively toward the clean so Declaration was a bit of a surprise for me. I appreciate it on the complexity level, but I think I’ll pass.

Reviewed in This Post: Declaration for Men, 2012, Eau de Toilette.

Madonna Truth or Dare

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With the way work has been ramping up lately, I haven’t had the chance to get my nose wrapped around much but my usual standbys. So, when I discovered the local mall had a bottle of Madonna’s Truth or Dare sitting out, I shrugged my shoulders and thought, “Well, why not? I’m here already.”

Truth or Dare

Truth or Dare

In Bottle: Wow, tuberose. I get a very strong floral presence that’s predominantly tuberose.

Applied: Yikes. Tuberose. I know this scent gets compared to Fracas–the cheeky Tuberose Queen and I definitely get that impression. Truth or Dare opens up with a powerful hit of sweet tuberose followed with a barely-able-to-contain-itself gardenia note that furthers the floral interpretation. The fragrance is so sweet and floral that it obliterates any other smell to my nose can pick up and starts to smell like plastic a couple of minutes into wear. By the time hour two rolled around, I was trying to scrub it off because I smelled overwhelmingly like plastic. And of course, like with most fragrances that don’t agree with you, this just wouldn’t come off. So I did the only logical thing; I sprayed some more on, in a different location, went home and sat out the fragrance so I could at least take notes on it, review it, and never touch it again. The longevity is fairly good, lasting quite a few hours on me before it tried to exhibit any other kind of personality. Truth or Dare gets a bit less tuberose near the end of its mid-stage and focuses a bit more on this nice creamy, vanilla with some plastic stretched over it. But for as long as I could still smell it, there was that sweet plastic tuberose note dominating the entire scene.

Extra: Truth or Dare was launched earlier in 2012. The fragrance was composed by Stephen Nilsen.

Design: I can’t say I see the beauty of this design. The bottle is a white glass, but looks like it’s made of plastic until you touch it. The cap is a gold plastic, molded with these little studs, it looks a bit inappropriate and doesn’t quite do the fragrance any favors. All right, I admit, the thing is downright ugly. I think those studs or raised bumps on the bottle are taking it from “plain but looks all right” to “fugly” territory. I’m just a fan of the aesthetics this time.

Fragrance Family: Sweet Floral

Notes: Neroli, gardenia, tuberose, jasmine, benzoin, lily, vanilla, amber, musk.

I was actually hoping this one would work out, having heard how classical it was supposed to be. Having heard how similar to Fracas it was. But unlike Fracas, it overdoes the tuberose and not in a good way. I think I’ll stick to Fracas.

Reviewed in This Post: Truth or Dare, 2012, Eau de Parfum.

Badgley Mischka Fleurs de Nuit

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Fleurs de Nuit is Badgley Mischka’s second offering to the fragrance world and I’m a little embarrassed to admit that it only came into my radar because of the over-decorated bottle. I’m a sucker for packaging.

Fleurs de Nuit

Fleurs de Nuit

In Bottle: Citrus up top with a layer of fresh jasmine. Clean and easy.

Applied: I get the initial sweetness of the quince, fruits, and bergamot then it’s a nosedive into the jasmine mid-stage where a cleaned up, groomed, and pampered jasmine note makes the scene. Fleurs de Nuit–which I’m guessing is a homage to night-blooming jasmine, takes a fresh, clean approach to the note. It’s fruitiness remains in the background, giving jasmine most of the space as some flimsy orange blossoms try to temper the scent. The dry down gets a bit of an amber edge, warming the scent up to be a fading jasmine creamy amber scent. If there were woods in this, I didn’t get any.

Extra: Fleurs de Nuit was released in 2007 by the perfumer, Rodrigo Flores-Roux who lent his talents to Peace, Love and Juicy Couture, True Religion, and Clinique Happy.

Design: Slap a floral pattern on something and you probably have my attention. The bottle itself is kind of cute, has a nice weight to it and generally looks good sitting out–too bad I don’t leave my perfumes sitting out on my vanity. It’s a little more overdressed than I usually like my bottles, but it’s a good kind of overdressed.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Bergamot, quince, magnolia, peach, orange blossom, jasmine, amber, woods.

Overall, I wasn’t that impressed with Fleurs de Nuit. It does fruity, fresh jasmine very well but smells somewhat generic and safe. If I want a more exciting jasmine, I’m better off elsewhere. If I want safe, I could do worse!

Reviewed in This Post: Fleurs de Nuit, 2012, Eau de Parfum.

Faberge Flambeau

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Deb from Luvparfum kindly included a couple of decants when I purchased vintage Coty Chypre. One of those decants was Fabergé Flambeau. And as with most things that take me by surprise, my first impression was, “Fabergé made perfume?” The next impression was, “Wow!”

In Bottle: That “Wow” was to denote how very good this was. Green aldehydes and florals were my first impression.

Applied: I could smell the florals in this upon application. Flambeau opens with a green aldehyde, flowing into a beautiful jasmine mid-note that’s joined by a full-bodied and tempered rose. There are florals in here that I can’t pick out, but I don’t mind very much because it all blends together beautifully. Flambeau ages into a gorgeous lush mid-stage that exudes white flowers with slight hints of animalic musk. Nothing too wild on the animal side. It’s only a touch to give the fragrance even more complexity. As it dries down, I get less of the rose and more vetiver with a little hint of amber and bit of woodsiness that’s been soften with time.

Extra: Fabergé’s Flambeau was a little known fragrance initially released in 1955. It has since been discontinued and is quite a rarity. It’s really a shame since it’s such a beautiful scent from a long gone era of perfume. Fabergé had other vintage classics as well, including Woodhue, Tigress, Aphrodisia.

Design: I haven’t held or seen an actual bottle of Flambeau, but going by the photos, the parfum vial is a beautiful elegant glass piece encased in a golden shell with lovely markings on it. Very reminiscent of luxury from the 50s.

Fragrance Family: Classic Floral

Notes: Aldehydes, jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, iris, ambergris, vetiver, sandalwood, musk.

I’m only guessing with those notes. Anyway, if you want to score yourself a bottle of Flambeau, Deb from LuvParfum might have one in stock along with some of Fabergé’s other classics. This includes a gorgeous Woodhue perfume whistle. If not, you might get lucky on eBay.

Reviewed in This Post: Flambeau, ~1960, ???.

By Kilian Good Girl Gone Bad

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Hello, By Kilian. Long time no see. Still packaging things to make me covet you, I see. Good Girl Gone Bad is a recent release from By Kilian and features a gorgeous white and gold case.

Good Girl Gone Bad

Good Girl Gone Bad

In Bottle: Fruity, light and floral. I smell a bit of soapiness too.

Applied: A fruity opening with a osmanthus and jasmine showing. It smells like and soapy with a hint of jasmine. The jasmine becomes more prominent as the fragrance wears on and a touch of tuberose can be detected in the midstage. Jasmine takes on a green aspect mixing with a rose note. Good Girl Gone Bad isn’t going bad so far, and as I continue to wait her out, I get impressions of cedar and patchouli with a speck here or there of darkness. The fragrance never really gets very dark or daring. It remains a rather tame rose jasmine and cedar composition all the way until its fade.

Extra: I haven’t been following By Kilian in a while, and when I saw this fragrance had come out, I was drawn in by the name. I had this idea that it would start off light and airy and turn into a sinister beast. But it never really reaches beast form, and the florals in the midstage carry its good girl vibe all the way to the end. Good Girl Gone Bad was released in 2012 and can be had for $245 at Luckyscent.

Design: By Kilian usually does very well with its packaging. Good Girl Gone Bad comes in a beautiful bottle decorated to exquisite detail with a white and gold box featuring a golden snake coiling on top. Everything about it screams luxury.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Osmanthus, jasmine, rose, tuberose, narcissus, violet, plum, cedar, amber, patchouli, vetiver, musk.

Okay, so the bad girl never got to the party. Maybe she was too busy rocking out somewhere else? Wherever she went, she just wasn’t in this fragrance. What is here is a rather nice floral scent with decent longevity and a beautiful casing.

Reviewed in This Post: Good Girl Gone Bad, 2012, Eau de Parfum.