Jovan White Musk

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Jovan White Musk is like the quintessential fragrance for those who just enjoy smelling clean.

White Musk

White Musk

In Bottle: Musky in that clean and crisp way that only synthetic white musk can provide. This can smell like anything from freshly washed skin, to soap, to detergent. It just smells good and pure.

Applied: White Musk is largely a one trick pony. It has a good trick though. The cleanliness that White Musk provides can be attributed to various things by different people. I like to compare White Musk to a soft floral soap that’s been run through a lot of focus groups. Others have likened it to laundry detergent, lotion, powder, and any number of other smells that generally project the idea of clean. And there’s nothing more I can say about White Musk aside from the fact that if you want to smell soft, fresh, a little flowery and clean then this is the stuff to go with. Make sure you test it out before you buy it though because while white musk can work on most people, some have reported it to smell chemical or even plasticy. The best way to avoid a regretful purchase is to test first.

Extra: Interestingly enough, most consumers believe musk–all musks smell awful or–“musky”. In actuality, white musks tend to be the pinnacles of clean smelling.

Design: The bottle looks like it was designed for function rather than form. It looks a bit outdated, but it’s serviceable and not garish even if it’s somewhat plain.

Fragrance Family: Clean Floral

Notes: Honeysuckle, jasmine, ylang-ylang, amber, musk.

Probably one of the best things about White Musk is the fact that it’s incredibly easy to find and very affordable for what you get. It’s an excellent fragrance that won’t burn a hole through your wallet.

Reviewed in This Post: White Musk, 2012, Eau de Parfum.

Estee Lauder Beautiful

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A pleasant surprise arrived for Christmas 2011–a book of perfume samples. Many of the fragrances were new and I was just thrilled. Estée Lauder’s Beautiful was one of the first I pulled out and giddily peeled back the flap to smell.

Beautiful

Beautiful

In Bottle: Extremely floral and a bit powdery. There’s no floral standing out, it’s just a big homogenous bouquet at the moment.

Applied: Initial hit of citrus then the floral bouquet rolls into town and takes over the whole operation. From then on, it’s all flowers all the time. Now, I love a good floral fragrance. But the key is balance and moderation. It seems like those are the two things missing from this iteration of Estée Lauder’s Beautiful. I heard the original Beautiful is a far different animal. So don’t turn yourself off from the classic based on what I say about this contemporary version. The florals in Beautiful really do smell like a confused mish mash that doesn’t quite know what it wants to do with itself. The scent seems to suffer a bit from over composition where there are too many ingredients vying for space and there just isn’t enough space to go around. The result is a fragrance that people can distinguish as “flowery”, but no one can truly say what kind of flower. I’m not the kind of person who just likes smelling like a bunch of flowers. I wanted more depth to it than this, but Beautiful settles into it’s explosion of florals in the midstage then ends it all with a bit of cedar at the end as my nostrils continue to burn from the florals thrown at me earlier.

Extra: The first iteration of Beautiful was released in 1985. It has since gone through a few cosmetic changes and some formula changes. I do not have any access to classic Beautiful, which is a real shame as I’d love to see how it compares to this.

Design: The bottle is reminiscent of Calvin Klein’s designs. I want to say Obsession for Women comes to mind when I look at this, but Beautiful is a little easier on the eyes. It’s metallic cap really helps pull it together a little more.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Bergamot, lemon, cassia, fruit, blackcurrant, galbanum, mimosa, magnolia, carnation, chamomile, tuberose, orange blossom, freesia, lilac, narcissus, jasmine, neroli, clary sage, violet, iris, lily of the valley, ylang ylang, marigold, geranium, sandalwood, myrrh, vanilla, vetiver, cedar.

As I looked up the notes list for this one, I found every single source listed an enormous amount of stuff. I just ended up picking out what I thought I could get out of this. In the end, I’m sorry, Beautiful, but you really just smell like flower stuff.

Reviewed in This Post: Beautiful, 2011, Eau de Parfum.

Tom Ford Jasmin Rouge

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Still on the look out for a good Jasmine that exceeds Thierry Mugler’s Alien. I still think that one’s a fabulous jasmine, though it is a bit of a one note fragrance. So in search of a bit more complexity, I looked up Tom Ford’s Jasmin Rouge.

Jasmin Rouge

Jasmin Rouge

In Bottle: Strong jasmine with a bit of buttery leather and a shade of very nice spice and wood.

Applied: Jasmin Rouge is a very strong fragrance. Its initial spray is marked with a powerful but beautiful jasmine note that overtakes the space around you. This is the kind of fragrance that announces its presence so be careful when you go to test it or use it for the first time. As the scent ages, I get a bit more of the spices in this fragrance, the peppery kick being most noticeable to me as the leather amps up with its buttery, soft texture that takes the jasmine and leather dominance all the way to the end where I get a few wafts of woodsiness and spices but it is mostly jasmine and leather I’m getting from this. I almost want to describe Jasmin Rouge as a jasmine and fluffy leather fragrance. It smells like it should be floating in the sky, projecting its glory all over everything within a 100ft radius.

Extra: Jasmin Rouge was released along with two other fragrances to the Tom Ford Signature Collection in 2011. So this baby is still new and if you wanted a hand at a leather jasmine then this might just be your stuff.

Design: The bottle screams Tom Ford design. Some fragrance houses just have a look and feel to their bottle designs that makes their products very recognizable. Chanel has it, Hermes has it, and Tom Ford definitely has it. Jasmin Rouge’s bottle is a pleasing shape and weight in an appropriate red color. It has a very nice sprayer that distributes a great even spray.

Fragrance Family: Oriental Floral

Notes: Bergamot, mandarin, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, white pepper, sambac jasmine, broom, neroli, ylang-ylang, clary sage, vanilla, labdanum, leather, wood, amber.

I’m pretty picky when it comes to how jasmine is treated in a fragrance. I know practically every modern women’s perfume has jasmine present in one form or another which only makes me pickier about its usage in a less mainstream interpretation. Thing is, I like Jasmin Rouge just fine. I just don’t know if I love it enough to replace Alien.

Reviewed in This Post: Jasmin Rouge, 2011, Eau de Parfum.

Balenciaga Cialenga

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I hate it when I reach for a sampler, smell something, decide that I love it then find out that it was discontinued or is now incredibly rare. In Cialenga’s case, it was discontinued and now only exists on eBay. Thankfully, the prices aren’t sky high. Unfortunately, supplies will run out sooner or later. It’s such a shame for a fragrance so classically beautiful.

Cialenga

Cialenga

In Bottle: Smells rather familiar, like an aldehydes based fragrance but softer. I get the crisp green citrus and the floral notes, most notably ylang-ylang, rose, and lily.

Applied: Crispy green opening with some aldehydes rolling in. The aldehyde element isn’t too strong in Cialenga. It adds rather than dominates as it tends to do. The fragrance ages very gracefully into a midstage marked with a prominent rose, ylang-ylang, and lily bouquet that has elements of the powdery, soapy aldehyde composition. The clove mixes in this general area too giving it a bit of spiciness to work with. The fragrance then starts to age into its dry down with a bit of woodsy earthiness coming through and a marked green richness with a hint of powder and spice.

Extra: Cialenga, if you get a whiff of this stuff is a really well-balanced and very well composed fragrance that harkened from a time when classical perfumery was still somewhat celebrated. It was released in 1973 by perfumer, Jacques Jantzen.

Design: Cialenga’s design reminds me of the 70s but also seems to borrow some design elements from the 1920s or 30s. Something about it is is very Art Deco. Maybe it’s the straight lines. Whatever it is, the design itself is a bit aged but then again, the fragrance is discontinued. It’s not something I’d like aesthetically but it is lovely in a very vintage way.

Fragrance Family: Chypre

Notes: Citrus, black currant, green notes, iris, jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose, lily, clove, vetiver, sandalwood, oak moss, patchouli, cedar.

I can only presume this stuff was taken off the market for its oak moss content. A real shame because Cialenga is a very approachable aldehyde. I can see it as the aldehyde primer for someone uncertain or afraid of the note.

Reviewed in This Post: Cialenga, ~1980, Eau de Toilette.

Chanel No. 19

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One look at Chanel No. 19’s notes list and you just know this stuff is worth a sniff. Aside from its very impressive ingredients, No. 19 is a classic with more than a few interesting factoids.

No. 19

No. 19

In Bottle: Very green and slightly bitter. I get a lot of the jasmine and orris.

Applied: Lots of green in the opening with a slight bitterness to it. I get a bit of bergamot in the opening but as No. 19 ages, the green gradually gives way to a powdery green floral where ylang-ylang, jasmine and orris are the stars of the show. Lily of the valley comes and goes in this as well and if you keep giving No. 19 time, the fragrance digs itself into a really pleasant sandalwood and dry cedar scent with the fading powdery florals. I am smelling a bit of leather in the dry down but it’s no where near as strong as I thought it would be as the scent fades with a perfumed sandalwood and cedar note. Overall, No. 19 has that expensive smell to it. If you want something sophisticated to wear, this is a good choice.

Extra: It’s said that No. 19 is named for Coco Chanel’s birthday which fell on August 19. No. 19 was composed by Henri Robert who also created Cristalle and Pour Monsieur.

Design: No. 19’s shape is reminiscent of Chanel No. 5 Eau Premier though it’s a distinctly different design. Still, like with most Chanel bottles, No. 19 has an understated elegance that works really well for the fragrance. There are no frills or cheap thrills with the design of this bottle. It just has a nice and timeless form that’s easy to use..

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Bergamot, galbanum, hyacinth, neroli, orris, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lily of the valley, rose, narcissus, leather, sandalwood, oak moss, musk, vetiver, cedar.

A lot of people interested in buying their first Chanel perfume are probably tempted to one of three fragrances from the house. Coco Mademoiselle, Chance, or No. 5. All good choices but they’re all distinctly different fragrances and for those who think Coco Mademoiselle is too young, Chance to generic, and No. 5 too classical then try No. 19 and see if you can get a long with it.

Reviewed in This Post: No. 19, 2005, Eau de Parfum.

Annick Goutal Songes

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Songes is one of Annick Goutal’s widely popular and beloved fragrances. Every time I visit a particular perfume store where I live, and spot the Songes factice there I think to myself, “I really have to smell that sometime”. Then inexplicably, I put it off. But I’ve wrangled myself, got my act together, and finally tried her out.

Songes

Songes

In Bottle: Sweet fragipani with an undercurrent of jasmine powdery ylang ylang and a vanilla base. A rather interesting mix and quite sweet to boot.

Applied: Very sweet opening consisting mostly of fragipani and tiare. Both of these flowers having an inherent sweetness attributed to them. They make Songes come off as a bit too girly and sweet but if you wait her out a little the sweetness gets tamer though it never really goes away. But you get a mild powdery note that comes out in the mid-stage along with a gorgeous jasmine mingled with a vanilla base. Wait a while longer and Songes evolves into its end stage with a soft powdered vanilla scent. There’s something very pretty about Songes’ midstage and base, I can probably do without its very sweet opening but the opening gives way to a much better fragrance so in this case, I can deal with the opening because it’s honestly not that bad, so long as I can get to the middle and base.

Extra: Songes was created in 2005 by Isabelle Doyen. Doyen was behind other fragrances such as Annick Goutal’s Mandragore, Un Matin d’Orage, and Le Mimosa.

Design: Songes, like many Annick Goutal fragrances come bottled in a variety of ways. The most popular you’d see is the feminine ribbed glass flacon with the paper identifier and the ribbon tied around the bottle’s neck. If you wanted to pay a bit more for a premium design, you can get the beautiful round flacon with the adorable crescent moon cap.

Fragrance Family: Floral Oriental

Notes: Frangipani, tiare flower, jasmine, ylang-ylang, vanilla.

If nothing else, Songes is a competent fragrance that would be good for someone who enjoys sweet vanilla florals. And if you happen to be a lover of perfume bottles, the full-on round flacon would make a beautiful piece.

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

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.

Guerlain Chamade 1969

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How long has it been since I last smelled a classic Guerlain and marveled in that signature Guerlinade? Entirely too long, I think. I took a break from posting up Guerlain reviews because it’s clear I’m a fan girl from the amount of Guerlain vs. other fragrance houses. But we’re taking a bit of a respite today as summer winds its way down for autumn.

Chamade

Chamade

In Bottle: Ah glorious aldehydes mixed with a complex bouquet of florals and deepened with woods and resins and that unmistkable Guerlinade.

Applied: There’s something familiar and almost nostalgic when I smell Guerlinade in a fragrance after many months of hiatus. It’s like a comforting friend waiting for me with a cup of coffee after a rough day. Except in Chamade’s case, it’s a bouquet of aldehylic florals that stretch beyond the spectrum of complexity. You truly don’t smell anything like this these days. Not even the more daring of fragrance houses have quite this much depth to a fragrance. I can get the florals and the woods with the spicy and resins, but I can’t pick out specific notes. It’s just so beautifully blended together that I can only describe the opening as bright, slightly bitter, green and sophisticated. The midstage is a deep, resinous, complex floral aldehyde. The dry down is a warm, resin woodsy scent with this signature vanilla-like note. Just beautiful.

Extra: Classic Chamade, like many great perfumes, disappeared a little while ago. It was reintroduced in 1999 as Chamade Pour Homme as a limited edition then finally added to the line of Les Parisiennes. Looking at the notes list for the two, you can kind of see the new Chamade has been thinned out a bit. I haven’t smelled her yet though so I can’t pass judgement on whether or not the fragrance has actually been thinned out but I am worried for its history and its lush complexity.

Design: Classic Chamade was bottled in a beautiful flacon that reminds me half of a heart and half of a leaf. It’s a little reminiscent of an Escada bottle (or rather, the Escada bottles are reminiscent of this) except done far better with much nicer design elements and superior form. It’s a beautiful piece of glass and I have no complaints.

Fragrance Family: Classic Floral

Notes: Bergamot, Turkish rose, aldehydes, hyacinth, ylang-ylang, jasmine, lilac, cloves , blackcurrant buds, lily of the valley, galbanum, sandalwood, vetiver, musk, balsam, amber, benzoin, iris, tonka bean.

That was a nice respite. I especially found this pleasant after the disappointing adventure with Cher’s Uninhibited. Classic perfumes can be kept for many years and it’s a good thing too, or we wouldn’t be able to enjoy original Chamade.

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

Cher Uninhibited

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Hey, remember when Cher came out with that perfume? It was the late 80s, the oriental fragrance era was just starting to peter out and out came Uninhibited–clearly uninhibited by the timeline of its release because not only did it break away from the oriental fragrance fad of the time, it was also a sparkling floral aldehyde.

Uninhibited

Uninhibited

In Bottle: I think the sampler I got may have come from a bottle that’s gone off. I get strong floral aldehydes but there’s this faint and unpleasant whiff of alcohol lingering around too. You know that sweet, cloying, sickening smell of rot and alcohol? I’m getting that.

Applied: Floral aldehydes nice and big and that unfortunate smell of off-perfume is also pretty big too. I’m not going to blame the fragrance for this as I’m pretty darn sure the age of the sample is probably what’s doing it. Anyway, the aldehydes are still sparkling and the florals with a dominant jasmine and rose scent are still going strong. As the fragrance ages, there’s a bit of rose, jasmine and woodsiness heading through the aldehydes though this fragrance remains mostly soapy and powdery. It dries down with a pleasant dry woodsiness with a distinct cedar note that’s been calmed down with age. I probably would have really liked this fragrance if it hadn’t been for that bizarre off-perfume smell. But again, this was a pretty old sample and I don’t think the quality of a sample from a fragrance this old could ever be guaranteed and I did gamble a little bit on an obscure celebrity fragrance being kept up like a vintage Guerlain Mitsouko would be. From what I did smell, I could tell I rather liked it. It has a classical air about it thanks to those aldehydes and there were several layers of complexity that still shone through in the fragrance despite its age.

Extra: I’m really sad having read the notes list for this because most of the fragrance was an amalgamation of scents and all I got were jasmine, rose, aldehydes and cedar.

Design: There’s almost something Art Deco about this bottle that makes me really like it. It’s got clean lines with a little bit of whimsy. If you were to take a gander at it, you wouldn’t have guessed it was a celebrity perfume until someone told you. The bottle just seems so classy like it’s from a much earlier time than it actually is.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Heliotrope, aldehydes, ylang-ylang, geranium, rose, jasmine, tobacco, cedar, musk, sandalwood, vanilla, vetiver.

Uninhibited has been discontinued for quite some time, though tracking down this stuff isn’t too hard. There’s a lot of secondhand sellers but I would advise caution when you go to buy this stuff as my sample had gone off. I’m unsure as to when exactly Uninhibited was discontinued so watch out for that also if you plan to track down your own bottle.

Reviewed in This Post: Uninhibited, ~1989, Eau de Parfum.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Snake Oil

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

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

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

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

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

Fragrance Family: Spicy

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

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

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