Banana Republic Classic

Banana Republic has a surprisingly nice selection of fragrances that usually tend to sit on the simple and easy side of things but that doesn’t discount them from making some pleasant on the nose scents that are versatile and pretty easy to wear. Banana Republic Classic

In Bottle: Classic smells like a green, clean machine. Reminiscent of the sticky sap of a banana tree. But it’s really just a fantastic blend of limes and leaves.

Applied: Jolt of green citrus that harkens in the clean and fresh immediately. Classic reminds me of  how fresh laundry and clean clothes should smell. I know people out there like the smell of clean laundry and there’s quite a few fragrances that can pass themselves off for that. Classic is one of them. No one can accuse you of being smelly with this on as it’s so incredibly inoffensive. Nothing more than fresh, clean citrus at first with a subtle hint of florals as the fragrance progresses. The white florals balance the citrus as Classic heads into its dry down of gentle white musk and sandalwood.

Extra: Banana Republic is a mid-range fashion brand. The term Banana Republic also refers to unstable countries whose chief means of finances tends to be some sort of agricultural product. The two are obviously not related.

Design: Classic comes in a rectangular bottle with a metal cap affixed to the top. The cap and the sprayer are a type of brushed metal. No thrills or frills with Classic. It’s just simple, easy to hold, and can be purchased in the slightly larger 125ml version rather than the usual 100ml you often see.

Fragrance Family: Fresh

Notes: Lime, mandarin, bergamot, orange, grapefruit, white florals, musk, sandalwood.

Classic came out in 1995 and is a generally lovely fragrance for office and other purpose wear when you don’t want the other person to know you’re wearing perfume. I can often feign a pleasant smelling soap with this stuff. The other thing about Classic is it tends to have terrible longevity on me. We’re talking on for an hour and gone before you know it. I assume this is due to the predominance of citrus in the fragrance but it’s only a guess.

Reviewed in This Post: Classic, 2010, Eau de Toilette.


Givenchy L’Interdit 1957

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.


Perfume FAQ, Part 2

Part 2 of the Perfume FAQ for common questions that keep coming up regarding perfume. You should not, by any means, stop your research at this page. If there’s a topic you’re interested in, Google  has opened up a very good resource for research and knowledge. If you have a perfume related question, please leave a comment.

Q. Why do perfumes give me headaches?
A. I’m not a doctor and cannot diagnose what might be a more serious condition that you have but in my experience, related entirely to perfume, people who get perfume headaches may have smelled a particularly large dose of perfume or a particularly strong perfume. If all perfumes give you a headache, you may be sensitive to scents. Some people also get headaches from perfumes that are too sweet or cloying. Others might get headaches from perfumes that are too spicy, or sharp, the list goes on. We’re all different and so are our perfume headaches. It should be noted however, that a perfume headache does not necessarily indicate a perfume allergy. Allergies can sometimes cause headaches but if all you experience when you smell a trigger perfume is a migraine an allergy may not be what you have. It should be reiterated that I am not a medical doctor and you should consult with a licensed physician if you are having any physical ailments.

Q. What’s the deal with old lady perfume?
A. I don’t know what the deal is, but here’s a run down. Poor Chanel No. 5 often gets accused of smelling like “old lady perfume” but I find that most people who often say this are also the kind of people who have never actually gone out of their way to smell Chanel No. 5 before and are just repeating a public misconception. Old lady perfume is whatever you want to make of it. Some people will call anything over-applied an old lady perfume. Some people call any perfumes old lady perfumes. Many people equate old lady perfumes to floral heavy perfumes, lavenders, nerolis, jasmines, powdery scents, bitter scents, earthy scents, cloying scents, tuberose scents, sometimes incense-heavy fragrances get lumped into this classification too. In fact, we’d save time by saying perfumes that smell like candy, cookies, cakes, or chocolate brownies, sweet fruits, massive infusions of citrus, and giant mountains of vanilla ice cream are pretty immune to being classified as “old lady”. Many of the vintage classics made earlier than the 1980s suffer from this derogatory label. If you ask me, the phrase, “old lady perfume” should be stricken from the records as it’s an ignorant classification of a certain group of people as well as an equally ignorant classification of a huge selection of fragrances and fragrance history. For a more eloquent entry on “Old Lady Perfume”, check out Perfume Shrine >>

Q. Are designer perfumes better than non-designer?
A. No. Not necessarily. Designer perfumes are sold as a brand. Unless brands matter to you, wear what you like to smell and don’t worry about it. The composition of most designer perfumes versus non-designer such as Victoria’s Secret or celebrity fragrances are not all that different.

Q. I think I have a counterfeit fragrance on my hands, how do I confirm my suspicions?
A. Get on a fragrance forum like Basenotes or Makeupalley, take several clear photographs of your suspected fake and ask people if they can identify whether or not you’ve got a counterfeit on your hands. I personally cannot identify every single bottle as I have not seen, held, or owned every single bottle of perfume available. Therefore, I may not be able to tell you if you got swindled or not but other people might.

Q. Why is there Arabic writing on some of my perfume boxes or bottles and what does it say?
A. Your perfume was imported from another country. Possibly grey market but not necessarily counterfeit. Just to re-iterate; Arabic writing on your perfume box or bottle is not one of the indicators of a counterfeit. As for what that says, I can only assume it might say something like, “For external use only” or something equally unexciting. So rest assured, you did not stumble upon a secret message that will lead you on a journey of self-discovery and hidden treasure. That would be pretty neat though. To read about the difference between grey market fragrances and counterfeits, go Here >>

Q. Someone told me that all perfumes expire after two years. Is this true?
A. No. Perfumes do not have a set expiry date. Some last for much longer than two years, other expire in even less time than that if they’re not stored properly. How long your perfume lasts depends on how well you take care of it and what kinds of components it was made with. A bottle of citrus-heavy fragrance for instance, is more volatile and prone to spoilage. Generally, the two years to spoilage date is given as a precaution, not a hard and fast date that all perfumes will expire by. The rule of thumb I go by is, if the liquid is clear, it hasn’t changed color, and it still smells the same then it’s probably fine to use. I also recommend keeping perfumes out of the sunlight and in an environment with a relatively stable temperature to prolong their lifespan.

Q. Why do people say it’s bad to spray perfume in your hair or on your clothes?
A. I’m not a hair or clothing expert but I assume spraying hair is a no-no due to the alcohol base in most perfumes which can dry out or damage your hair. As for the clothes thing, perfumes contain coloring agents so I assume if you spray enough you might stain your clothes.

Q. Is it true that perfumes contain ingredients that come from a deer’s butt?
A. You won’t believe how often this gets asked. “Deer’s butt ingredients”, more eloquently known as, natural musk,  used to be widely present in perfume. In some rare instances, musk, and other such natural animal-based ingredients still are but the use of natural musks and animal ingredients is rare in modern perfumery due to the versatility and efficiency of synthetic musks.

Q. How do you train your nose to pick out individual ingredients in scents?
A. Picking out individual smells in a fragrance is a purely subjective exercise for a hobbyist like me. But I find that as I smell more perfumes, fragrance oils and essential oils, I start to recognize these same smells in certain perfumes and can sometimes pick them out. So it’s just a matter of the more you smell, the more you know.

Got any questions not addressed in this FAQ? Please leave a comment.


The Body Shop White Musk

White Musk, if you were around in the 80s and early 90s, was one of the predominant forces in the fragrance world. Similar to what Bath and Body Works fragrances are doing now with their young, fun, simple and affordable appeal, White Musk was doing in 1981 when it released. White Musk TBS

In Bottle: Clean and scrubbed. This is an aldehyde and floral mixture that evokes the big hair of the 80s. It’s soapy, it’s sharp and it’s effective in its simplicity.

Applied: Don’t expect anything from white musk. It is what it is–a white musk evoking fragrance. I can sit here and stretch out on how it smells predominantly like a well trained soap that isn’t too soapy or too sharp and that it has some companion white florals that add a touch of girliness to it. But at the end of the day, this is just plain old White Musk. A very familiar fragrance that used to be much more popular than it is now. I can only assume people have gotten tired of smelling like this stuff. But White Musk has its place in the world as a simple, very well-blended, well-done fragrance that’s still appropriate to wear and wear anywhere. The opener is as a soapy and sharp aldehyde floral. The mid-stage is much of the same business with the soapiness calming down, giving those sharp corners a rounded feel. The dry down is a light faded scrubbed white floral and musk scent.

Extra: Aldehydes are popular components in fragrances like Chanel No.  5. Aldehydes are hard to describe. In general they are clean and sharp. They’re like the sparkle you add to a grin when you want to reinforce perfection.

Design: White musk is bottled in a cute little glass affair with a purple gradient slapped onto the glass. It has a metal cap to protect the sprayer with the fragrance’s name and The Body Shop’s logo on the bottle itself. There’s not a whole lot else to it than that.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Musk, lily, ylang ylang, galbanum, basil, jasmine, rose, iris, vanilla, amber, patchouli, oakmoss, vetiver, peach.

To be honest, I’m tired of White Musk too. I smelled this stuff everywhere when I was younger and once in a while, I’ll still catch a whiff of it. It’s good to know that such a relatively simple-smelling fragrance with a decent price tag is still selling like hot cakes. The Body Shop has several spin-off products with the White Musk scent.

Reviewed in This Post: White Musk, 2009, Eau de Toilette.


Estee Lauder White Linen

White Linen is one of the most universally recognized fragrances. It was and still is everywhere though its popularity has waned a bit in recent years, White Linen is still one of the perfumes I associate instantly with clean, soap and aldehydes. White Linen

In Bottle: Big, bright and loud. White Linen wastes no time building up suspense. It comes roaring out of the gates smelling of soapy aldehydes right away. Just so you know what’s in store.

Applied: The aldehydes in White Linen is probably one of the first things anyone will smell in this fragrance as they are incredibly predominant. Those aldehydes coupled with a drowning rose note make this fragrance extremely recognizable to me. I can understand why someone wouldn’t like this. On the one hand, you’ve got soapy sparkly aldehydes. On the other, you have a dewy, slightly sticky red rose that are coming together like two fragrance forces on the battlefield. The aldehydes in White Linen do not get any meeker as the fragrance progresses. They stay up front as the scent turns into a rose so scrubbed and soaked in soapy water that it sparkles as it wilts in a bed of powder. During the middle this fragrance does a very strange thing in that it introduces the civet on me in a bed of otherwise clean. So in between smelling like sparkly soap, I get a waft of something just a bit off. It’s a bit distracting but highly amusing. White Linen is a powerful fragrance that will project like crazy. A lot of people also find her overbearing so if you are going to use this stuff, ease up on the trigger finger. Fresh until the last moments, this fragrance dries down like freshly wetted perfumed soap.

Extra: White Linen is probably one of those recognizable classics that people either love or hate. I tend to see the hate for this more often and I can see why people are repelled by it. If you want to see what the fuss is about but can’t quite figure out White Linen, its flanker, Pure White Linen is a softer, easier to wear, and more muted version.

Design: White linen is bottled in a bent frosted glass bottle with a metal cap. It’s a pretty iconic looking bottle with a fine design though the frosted glass always makes me think of Avon.

Fragrance Family: Adehydelic Floral

Notes: Aldehydes, citrus, peach, rose, jasmine, lilac, iris, lily-of-the-valley, ylang-ylang, cedar, honey, amber, civet, sandalwood, tonka.

Probably the only time I’ll smell distinct civet in a fragrance and it was hilarious the first time I detected it in White Linen. Here I am, enjoying a bed of aldehydes and rose then all of a sudden something smells a wee bit off. Like a tiny fart, the civet makes this fragrance worth a test just to experience a bit of civet’s power.

Reviewed in This Post: White Linen, ~1980, Eau de Parfum.


Chloe 1975

Not to be confused by Chloe 2008, the young remake of 1975. These two fragrances smell nothing alike. Though they share the same name and are both essentially florals, they are leagues apart. Chloe 1975

In Bottle: A heady, lush tuberose with jasmine and lily of the valley. It’s light, powdery and much more mature than Chloe 2008.

Applied: The initial fragrance is a light, lilting lily of the valley scent that’s quick to dissipate as a big lush tuberose and its friend jasmine head into the scene. Chloe 1975 is all about the white florals and no white floral is louder and more recognizable than the charismatic tuberose. Slightly sweet, and dusted in powder the tuberose is what dominates the heart of this fragrance but does let a nice classic rose and its jasmine friend in now and then. Chloe 1975 is a bit musky too, she’s a pretty floral but the tuberose and ambery treatment give her a little bit of sensuality. In the dry down, the tuberose is still very prominent as it mixes with smooth white woods and amber. Chloe 1975 was released in the powerhouse era and it’s strength is not to be undermined. Go light on this stuff if you have it or you will be smelled from quite a distance.

Extra: Chloe is a fashion house founded in 1952. Today, they still deal with fashion but have also added accessories such as handbags and sunglasses to their répertoire. Classic Chloe, as Chloe 1975 is often called, was replaced in 2008 by a new fragrance of the  same name. You can find Classic Chloe at discounters for the time being.

Design: Designed by Joe Messina, the bottle for Chloe 1975 is supposed to be reminiscent of a calla lily. A lot of people who see the bottle, however, associate it to looking more like a heart. Not Vera Wang Princess heart either. Think anatomical heart.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Lily of the valley, honeysuckle, orange flower, ylang-ylang, hyacinth, jasmine, rose, narcissus, carnation, tuberose, sandalwood, amber, oakmoss.

I vastly prefer Chloe 1975’s fragrance to Chloe 2008. But I prefer Chloe 2008’s packaging.

Reviewed in This Post: Chloe, ~1980, Eau de Parfum.


Soivohle Pink Praline

Soivohle does one of the best and most true gourmands I’ve ever smelled. The very lovely, very rich and very beautiful, Pink Praline. It’s a lush and sweetly nutty fragrance that takes the best from the gourmand genre.

In Bottle: Sweet and lush nutty fragrance with a a big hit of maple syrup and cocoa. Smells good enough to eat.

Applied: A small flare of grapefruit hits my nose upon application but the moment is fleeting. It’s priming the canvas for the fantastic remainder of the fragrance when the rest of the notes roll in. These pralines are rolled lovingly in a sweet and sticky mixture of coffee and maple syrup, then lightly dusted with cocoa. The fenugreek does a fantastic job at conjuring the concept of praline while the rest of the notes push your brain even further into that category as you sit contented in your bubble of maple-coated goodness. The scent starts to wind down with a slight muskiness while the nuttiness fades first followed by the last lingering traces of maple. Pink Praline is a fantastically blended sweet gourmand that should serve as an example of how a sweet and candy-like perfume should be done. It is sweet, but it is not cloying or annoyingly sweet. It’s foody but it doesn’t rely on vanilla, sugar or chocolate notes to accomplish its foodiness. And best of all, it doesn’t use that accursed caramel note that always turns to burnt sugar on my skin.

Extra: With mainstream fragrances gone to the tried, tested and true formulations that seem to be recycled again and again, independent perfumers like Soivohle are a welcome change of pace. I can enjoy my mainstream stuff for its safe bets and pleasantness but when it comes down to artistry, you really should try niche or independent.

Design: Bottled beautifully from what I can see as I have yet to purchase a Soivohle scent, I cannot directly comment on the packaging or bottling.

Fragrance Family: Gourmand

Notes: Pink grapefruit, coffee, cocoa, maple, fenugreek.

Pink Praline is an Eau de Parfum natural that’s definitely on my “to buy” list. For now the cute little sampler jar sits happily with its other Soivohle sample brothers and sisters.

Reviewed in This Post: Pink Praline, ~2009, Eau de Parfum.


The Popular Classics You Have to Smell

Anybody interested in perfume and perfume history would know about most of the popular classic fragrances. Many perfumistas probably own some. But for the rest of us who are fledgling perfumistas and curious bystanders here is a list of popular and accessible classics that I believe everyone should have a sniff of. The older the better! But smelling some of the new stuff will still lend you a pretty good idea–most of the time.

In no particular order:

Chanel No. 5 – Anyone with a nose has probably caught a whiff of this timeless aldehyde. Released in 1921, Chanel No. 5 continues to top the charts as one of the most successful and popular fragrances of the 20th and 21st century. If you want to know what a classic aldehyde smells like, look no further.

Robert Piguet Fracas – A bed of potent tuberose strong enough to clear the sinuses of everyone within a hundred yard radius. Fracas is the quintessential tuberose scent unleashed on the world in 1948.

Guerlain Mitsouko – Mitsouko is as relevant today as she was in 1919 when she was released. Built off of Coty’s Chypre, Mitsouko has stood the test of time and is now the scent to smell if you are interested in a fruity chypre.

Guerlain Shalimar – No list is complete without Shalimar, the elegant sensual oriental whose popularity hasn’t waned since its release in 1925.

Estée Lauder Youth Dew – The fragrance that people most often refer to as, “Smells Like Grandma”. Youth Dew is actually a beautifully done, extremely potent spicy oriental that rocketed to fame in the 1950s and was one of the first perfumes to be endorsed by Hollywood Starlets.

Estée Lauder White Linen – The classic clean rose aldehyde with a touch of civet. Released in 1978.

Ralph Lauren Polo – One of the most iconic and recognizable men’s fragrances. Polo was released in 1978, a true 70s Powerhouse.

Joy by Jean Patou – Released in 1930, Joy smelled like a little ray of floral sunshine during one of the United States’ most trying eras. Funny enough, it was once billed as the most expensive fragrance in the world.

Yves Saint Laurent Opium – Opium is the poster child oriental fragrance released in 1977.

Thierry Mugler Angel – The youngest classic that I’m willing to put on this list, Angel was everywhere following its 1992 release and it is still everywhere as a testament to its achievement as the first gourmand.

To  round things out, please remember that the fragrances featured on this list are accessible and popular. There are many, many classics that I wanted to add from Coty, Caron, Hubigant, many more Guerlains, and Chanels but this list had to remain accessible so anything that I couldn’t readily find at a department store had to be cut.

Start your classics sniffing with this list but don’t stop here. This is just a stepping stone as there are hundreds of classics out here that need to be sniffed too. If you feel that I’ve missed something on this list please leave a comment.


Guerlain Attrape Coeur

Les Parisiennes is Guerlain’s reintroduction of popular classics that may have dropped off the house’s roster due to unpopularity, changing times, new restrictions on fragrance ingredients, or someone having a bad hair day. Among them is the famous Attrape Coeur (Heart Trapper in French).  Attrape Coeur

In Bottle: Attrape Coeur has a fresh, lightly floral scent in the bottle. It has a certain, understated feminine charm that leads you to think it’s a mild jasmine-rosey concoction that’s easy to wear and easy to pull off.

Applied: The real heart of Attrape Coeur (heh) lies in the middle and base notes. As the top notes fade away, it unfolds to reveal a darker, muskier, more sensual scent making full use of tuberose as tuberose was meant to be used. This isn’t what I smelled in the bottle, it’s a definite morpher as she goes from light and lilting to full on oriental fragrance. The jasmine, tuberose and rose are a great compliment the smooth and musky mid-stage with its faintly sweet and dry scent. The mid-stage is especially familiar as little bits of Mitsouko waft in and out of this one. The best part about Attrape Coeur is its dry down. This fragrance falls into dense woods, bright spices, smooth vanilla, and that fantastic Guerlinade.

Extra: Les Parisiennes is an exclusive Guerlain collection that’s only available in very select locations. I found it at my local Holt Renfrew and La Signature at Epcot in Florida. If you can find a big Guerlain counter, you will probably be able to find this line. And I highly recommend anybody interested in perfumes to stop by and test a couple of them. Most of them are masterpieces that are so far above and beyond what you usually see in modern perfumery. Attrape Coeur used to go by the name of Guet Apens.

Design: Attrape Coeur, like other scents in the Les Parisiennes line, is bottled in a beautiful classic bee bottle. The bottles for these things are the real deal, not the semi-bee bottle situation you get with the Aqua Allegorias but the full-on deal. It’s complete with bee designs on the glass. Les Parisiennes are not spray bottles but splash that you will have to dab on yourself. I sometimes prefer the splash bottles to the sprays because once the fragrance is all gone, the bottle can still be reused and to not reuse a bee bottle would be something of a crime.

Fragrance Family: Oriental

Notes: Rose, jasmine, tuberose, peach, spices, sandalwood, amber, vanilla, musk.

I get a little jealous every time I look at the bee bottles. They’re really excellent looking pieces that will live well beyond the point when the fragrances they hold are all used up.

Reviewed in This Post: Attrape Coeur, 2008, Eau de Parfum.


Roots Source Red Tea

Roots Source, a subsidary of Roots the clothing company is all about making fragrances without all the harsh ingredients that are present in other traditional perfumes. While I don’t know if that approach is appropriate (or even possible), I am a fan of their Red Tea scent. Red Tea

In Bottle: Red Tea is a pretty generic fragrance. In the bottle it’s a mild sweetened red tea with  a soft fruity background. Nothing that would really wow me but it’s pleasant and nice all the same.

Applied: Same opening and mid-stage scent. It’s a clean, mildly sweet red tea with some berry-like application wedged in there. Really, this is a two note fragrance that works well for what it is. It smells nice. It’s a little refreshing. And it’s not anything else. The dry down simply doesn’t exist as this scent just disappears when it’s time to go. You’ll get a pleasant red tea scent out of it for about two hours and then the fragrance will just simply drop off. Red Tea has a major problem with longevity but when it is still around it smells pretty nice. Great office scent, low on the complexity and longevity meter though.

Extra: Now, I don’t know about the authenticity of Roots’ claim that this product is all natural. Especially given the monumental expense that comes with using naturals in a fragrance and the fact that a 30ml bottle of Red Tea would only run you about $20. Who knows, maybe when they said all natural, they didn’t mean the components of the scent itself but the fixative ingredients? At which point, why even bother calling it all natural if your core fragrance isn’t? This seems like one of those situations where a company sets out meaning to do good but probably hasn’t achieved that goal due to a lack of understanding.

Design: Red Tea is bottled in a pretty  ordinary glass cube with Roots Source on the glass and the name of the fragrance and it’s other important details affixed to the bottom on a sticker. The cap is a plastic ring that can be placed over the sprayer. Pretty utilitarian but it is a pleasant thing to look at.

Fragrance Family: Fruity

Notes: Rooibos tea, acai berry, mango, melon, red tea leaf.

Red Tea makes a good fragrance if you want to go light on something and don’t mind reapply throughout the day. The lack of base notes on this stuff is a bit frustrating and it doesn’t help that it’s drop-off into scent oblivion happens so quickly either. Regardless, this is a good simple, clean, refreshing scent. It also makes a great room scent.

Reviewed in This Post: Red Tea, ~2009, Eau de Parfum.