Speed Review: Hermes Eau Claire des Merveilles

Hermes Eau Claire des Merveilles by Hermes makes me think of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Bear with me.

I wear it and think of wonderful vintage, classy, amazing things a la The Great Gatsby, or any of Fitzgerald's other works set, as they are, in the Jazz Age. I'm not saying that women of this period would necessarily have worn this, but that wearing it puts me in this frame of mind, if you follow me.

Like a glass of champagne, Eau Claire has a beautiful sparkly opening, this one a bright citrus, subtly bubbling over. Then a lovely powdery vanilla-slash-floral, light, airy thing happens that's simply charming and leaves a smile in its wake. Lastly, a soft, ever-so-faint touch of the woods that are typical of Eau de Merveilles lingers warmly.

Oh, and since it's Hermes it smells expensive and classy, darling.

Unisex. Sillage is minimal-to-moderate; wear is about 4-6 hours; price is reasonable. Find it in fine department stores. This is an Eau de Merveilles flanker, but should get more attention in its own right. Besides, the bottle - at any size - is amazing. 

Smoking vanilla with Mandy Aftel

 

This blog only temporarily seems like an ode to Mandy Aftel. She simply is one of the first to pick up on the fact that I am blogging again, and I also like to imagine that we're friends, so she has submitted quite a bit of recent work for me to review. Also, she's just so good I have no reluctance to write because there are none of those not-so-glowing reviews that are always waiting around the corner for a perfume reviewer. Don't worry, I have other reviews coming (DSH (!) among others). 

ANYWAY... 

Today I'm wafting quite literally. I'm smoking! I have an edp on the left hand and a parfum concentration of the same scent on the right. I am so dang lucky I can't stand it. I've got on Vanilla Smoke, and it's so stunning I had to ponder on this review a while before I could get my mind together to write it. (It didn't stop me from buying mini.)

Vanilla Smoke 0.25oz Parfum

Vanilla Smoke edp 1ml
in organic alcohol

Vanilla Smoke 1/4 oz Parfum
 in organic alcohol

So, as is clear from the above, Aftelier Perfumes' Vanilla Smoke comes in two concentrations: an edp/eau de parfum and a parfum/perfume strength. I'll do ye olde compare/contrast here. Remember those papers we had to do in school, comparing and contrasting things? It's going to be like that, but a little more interesting. Well, I hope so. I mean, you're here because you want to be, not because someone forced you to read this review, right? If they did, let me know who did so I can slip them a fiver. That's awesome. 

The general rundown of what this scent smells like is going to sound the same. It's a smokey vanilla, folks. Try not to fall over in shock. 

This is a fairly straight-forward, "simplistic" scent, but don't let that statement fool you. This is not to say the scent is basic or not dynamic. 

According to the perfumer, top notes are yellow mandarin, Siam wood, saffron absolute, and vanillin. There are no "heart" notes listed.  Base notes are listed as vanilla absolute, lapsang souchong (tea), ambergris, and coumarin. 

My vision of Vanilla Smoke edp

Vanilla Smoke - THE EDP

I'm sort of "over" breaking down scents into notes. I'm finding it tedious, trite, and insulting to the perfumes themselves, but due to the fact that I'm comparing/contrasting two versions of the same scent, I'll do it this one last time.

When I wear the edp version of this scent, I find it more transcluscent and bright than the other.

This scent opens with a bit more of the sparkle brightness of the mandarin and the Siam wood.

I get a distinct rootbeer note (or more distinctly, birchbeer - have you had it before?).  I spoke with Mandy and we decided this little trick was most likely the saffron. It made me giggle the first time I smelled it, but now I do find it annoying. It passes quickly, to my relief.

I find the edp airy, bright, sheer, open. It's got more space in it than the perfume.

The edp version of Vanilla Smoke stays lighter and more flirtatious, in my opinion, than the parfum strength, though she does pick up a bit of depth from the ambergris, tea, and coumarin later in her development.

This is a lovely version of the scent and I do adore it.

Vanilla Smoke - THE PERFUME

My vision of Vanilla Smoke perfume

When it came time to order one of these, because I totally "needed" this in my life, I ordered the perfume mini. I'm addicted to these minis, by the way. They are petite little bon bons that should be available by every perfumer - price-wise, right in the zone, size-wise, so portable (I always have at least two in my wallet (my wallet!).

I am totally off topic now, aren't I?

Let's do this. When it came time to order one of these, because I totally "needed" this in my life, I ordered the perfume mini. The perfume strength speaks to me more.

While the notes list seems identical, the way they play out on the skin is subtly, but markedly, different.

The "birchbeer accord" is present, but fleeting. The perfume strength Vanilla Smoke dives more directly into vanilla, spending less time flirting with the mandarin and Siam wood. I smell them. They peek out and then they're gone. This is all about the vanilla and the tea and the coumarin, though.

We're all basenotes, all the time, in this version. And once those deepen, we get that ambergris, and the musky husky depth happens and we get sexy vibes all over the place. This is flirty vanilla all over. And yet it still remains breathy and open, never cloying and heavy.

It's brilliant, really, as any other vanilla-centric scent I've smelled with darker notes like this has always taken that heavy-breathing into a smothering place that isn't terribly unpleasant but certainly gets cloying in hot weather. This, Vanilla Smoke, would never! I can see wearing this in any temperature whatsoever.

And so that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I had to have a bottle. And I may go back and get some of that edp, as well, because it is also beautiful. Speaking of gentlemen: YES, you can wear this. PLEASE DO. I encourage it. Either strength.

Unisex. Projection: skin scent; Length-of-wear: edp- 4-6 hours+, perfume 6-8 hours+. The premise of the scent, as set out by Mandy, is that Vanilla Smoke is meant to be sexy, exotic, mysterious. I accept that premise, however I find the edp's version of sexy to be a more innocent, flirtatious type of sexy and exotic, like a young woman in a foreign bar you'd meet on a vacation, while the perfume is more like meeting the Mata Hari.  The pricepoint is reasonable for niche perfume, and the packaging is always a beautiful experience. Samples are available for $6 each. Aftelier Perfumes: Vanilla Smoke.

Disclosure: samples submitted by the perfumer

Photo Credits

Vanilla Smoke perfume photo representation: Esmerelda Seay-Reynolds, Vogue Germany; Photo: Mario Testino

Vanilla Smoke perfume photo representation: Emma Karlsson,Vogue Australia; Photographer: unknown

Meet Miss Hummingbird, Zoologist's newest edp

Hummingbird Eau de Parfum is the latest offering from one of my most favorite houses, Zoologist Perfumes. 

It's a departure from the heavy footfalls of Rhinoceros and the rutting skank of Beaver. It's closer in tone to the light, transcendent Panda - but not in the same genre of scent. 

Hummingbird is a flirtatious, fun, flickering thing. A "fruity floral," I'm hesitant to say, as I know that name makes some people wander off, but please don't!

Our fun-filled Hummingbird is a delight to wear and nothing like those department store confections. So please, let me describe her.

As first we meet, she is darting about, making preparations. We catch pungent whiffs of juicy pear, a sumptuous rose, sweet and innocent violet, some chilled citrus juice, and a hint of a lilac breeze. Miss Hummingbird likes things sweet but realizes we may not want to go overboard, so she shows delightful restraint. The perfect hostess. 

When next she flys by, shimmering in the sun, she presents us with a brilliant, glimmering bouquet. Again, always considerate, nothing dominates heavily. Everything is effervescent, sparkling, and incandescent like the lady herself. We smell, at times, lilac & peony & ylang ylang & honeysuckle & mimosa. Sometimes we smell them all, like a brilliant flash of colors - daresay like Miss Hummingbird herself?

Miss Hummingbird, tired from flitting about, settles down gently into a creamy musk-laden woods. One is almost surprised to see her resting this softly, but always the genteel lady, her repose is as gorgeous as the rest of her.

Hummingbird Eau de Parfum was created by perfumer Shelley Waddington , of  En Voyage Perfumes, for the brief created by Victor Wong, designer of Zoologist Perfumes. 

Family: fruity-floral; Projection: good/strong; Length-of-wear: 6 hours+; This is a gorgeous floral blend with a sparkling fruity top and creamy woods bottom. Full bottle worthy and perhaps my second favorite in the line. At $125 the pricepoint is reasonable for niche perfume, and the bottles and labels are divine. 

Zoologist Perfumes

Disclosure: Sample provided by Victor Wong

Musc Ravageur, by Maurice Roucel for Frederic Malle - a misnomer?

I'm slipping quietly back into the scented writing world with a review of a fan favorite, "new classic," Musc Ravageur. Because go big or go home, right?

The perfumer, Maurice Roucel
I love this shot. 

I rarely quote PR material in my reviews. It's flowery enough, usually, and oddly enough has nothing to do with the crucial question: "But Jen, how does it smell?"

However, this entire review pivots around my own question: Is this scent correctly named?

So rather than use my brain to come up with a new review concept, which seems like a hassle, I'll stick to my guns and quote the Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle copy for ya:

Launched in 2000, this composition was a turning point in the history of amber orientals. A sensual perfume, powerful yet perfectly controlled, dramatic and mysterious. Composed by Maurice Roucel as an “act of seduction and generosity”, Musc Ravageur is an uncompromising Oriental, which runs against current fads. Its explosive departure of bergamot, tangerine and cinnamon is set against a backdrop of vanilla, musk and amber. A sexy, turbulent perfume, in a word: ravageur.

Another quote, which is particularly lazy writing: 

ravageur

, euse  

    adj    devastating  

I don't speak French, but by my assessment -and astute leaps of intellect- this perfume is supposed to be a "devastating musk." 

The skeptic in me wants to know, is it really? Devastating is a pretty tall order. You'd better knock me to my damn knees weeping if you're using that word, know what I'm saying?

Let's talk about those notes. Bergamot? Check. Tangerine? Crisp and juicy. Cinnamon? Just a dash. Not really an explosive departure, but again I'm not falling for that PR crap. Also present but curiously missing from the description is lavender. Trust me, it's there. 

Carrying on: vanilla, musk, and amber? Check, check, check, but don't expect VANILLA, all up in yer face. Nope. Think whispers and hints. No mention of the clove, but it's there, too, as is tonka. There are woods in the base as well, including some sandalwood. Soft woods. Hazy. Soft and hazy amber woods.

The musk (ahem, "musc") is also soft. Not in volume, but in its nature. It's not pulling, tugging, and growling. 

Rather, it purrs. 

If this perfume is about sex, it's the aftermath of comfortable but delicious sex with a familiar lover, lying together afterwards reading or, limbs entangled, hitting Netflix. 

If you want steamy carnal knowledge, I suggest you look elsewhere.

In other words, "Musc Ravageur" is a misnomer, but probably sells better than "Musc Lazy Cuddles*."

Think: Amber Oud. 

Therefore: I loved it at first sniff.  

Result: Full Bottle Worthy. 

Family: Oriental. Firmly unisex. Projection is minimal, this is a skinscent; length of wear is long for me. I get top notes and base at the same time, with the basenotes developing, getting foggier and softer over time. Cost is in the expensive range, but worth every scent. As with all musk-heavy perfumes, your mileage may vary: we all perceive them differently. Many people find this "screechy" or "too animalic." They're wrong. 

What's your favorite cuddly scent? Do you have a particularly CARNAL scent you adore?

*I also refer to it as "fluffy kitten bellies" because it's just that cozy-furry-cuddly. 

Quick Sniffs: DSH Vanille Botanique

Sometimes I think I am putting pressure on myself to write some epic journey about the perfumes I review. What's that about? So today I am cracking a bottle of champagne over the prow of a new type of post on This Blog Really Stinks: Quick Sniffs. These are either mini-reviews or just "what you sniff is what you get" types of posts. Not a lot of background, no prattling on.  Just the facts, ma'am. I'm starting with...

Vanille Botanique by one of everyone's favorite indie perfumers, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz.

I dig that honey-colored body wash
and gorgeous amber 'fume, don't you?

I reviewed the Vanille Botanique shower/bath gel before, at a time when it was not offered anywhere. Happily, it is now! Get it on Dawn's site, here, along with a lotion, massage oil, water-based spray concentrée, and shea butter cream*.  The perfume, which I had not sampled at the time I reviewed the body wash, is now offered on IndieScents AND the DSH site. Bonus!

The all-botanical 'fume is more complex than the body wash. Where my bath experience was a gorgeous upscale vanilla bean ice cream, the perfume is a ridiculously divine vanilla + soft, almost incense-y balsamic nature that lasts for hours and hours. 

I have worn Vanille Botanique a few dozen times now and have gotten compliments every single time despite the subtle sillage. It's not "foodie", really, even though it's clearly a vanilla-based scent. The slightly-spiced woods are a brilliant counterpart to the sweet familiarity of vanilla. I enjoy this perfume from the brief flash of flirtatious citrus at the top all the way down to the smudged sweet balsamic-amber drydown that simply loves my skin.

Top notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Rosewood (bois de rose)
Middle notes: Bulgarian Rose Absolute, French Beeswax, Grandiflorum Jasmine
Base notes: Australian Sandalwood, Buddahwood, Civet, Labdanum, Peru Balsam, Siam Benzoin, Tahitian Vanilla, Tolu Balsam, Vanilla Absolute

*I never say this. Ever. Especially about "a vanilla perfume" - not that this isn't just some random vanilla perfume. I'm planning on buying this in every form made. I just love it that much. And my small edp isn't going to cut it. I'll be needing a bigger bottle.

Disclaimer: The original sample of bodywash
 was provided for review by DSH.
 I purchased the larger bottle and perfume.
 For more information about my review policies, read this.

You can keep your Billionaire Boyfriend - I like the poor one.

Private jets, superyachts, diamonds and roulette. It's a dream of wealth and glamour where every whim is indulged. Imagine a vintage convertible whisking you down the Amalfi Coast to an elegant dinner, taking you to a time and place where a gentleman would never let a lady pay. Live the fantasy with Billionaire Boyfriend. Indulgent and sensual, this floral-oriental fragrance opens with succulent fruit notes, including bergamot and tangerine wrapped in lush green leaves. The scent intoxicates as it blooms into a provocative blend of black jasmine, velvet orchid, gardenia, and a touch of patchouli flower. As the fragrance dries down, it exudes an addictive, sensual, warmth and a sense of wealth with hints of vetiver, cistus, sandalwood, and golden amber. Even the Billionaire bottle is one of a kind: opulent, rare, crafted, and disruptively beautiful. Inspired by a special reserve champagne bottle, the antiqued platinum-mirrored finish exemplifies the wealth and glamour of an old world atelier.

I never lead with the PR script, but here we are. It's not lazy writing, I swear! It's called "setting the scene".

We are talking extreme wealth. We are traveling in Italy! We are in classy gambling joints! We are wearing amazing jewelry worth more than our own homes! We are being driven around in a vintage vehicle with the top down, wind whipping through our pricey extensions and impeccable highlights! I'm sure the scarves around our necks are Hermes! We are hopping on private jets to go see George Clooney! We are drinking fine wines and toasting with expensive champagnes from the best grapes from the finest vineyards stomped by the pampered feet of pure and beautiful virgins! We are partying on yachts with royalty!  We are rich (or at least with a rich man!)! We are having our whims indulged! We are the "after" in Pretty Woman! We are living a life we have always wanted to live. We are so damn lucky!

Kate Walsh, who created the "boyfriend" perfume concept, has followed-up the success of her original scent, Boyfriend, with this "upscale" version, Billionaire Boyfriend.

The concept: her scents are meant to smell like the lingering blend of your lover's scent as it intermingles with your own. It smells like the pillow you sniff when he's gone. Like the shirt you hang on to and wear when he's on a business trip.

Whatevs.

Notes: Bergamot, Tangerine, Green Lush Leaf, Black Jasmine, Black Velvet Orchid, Gardenia, Patchouli Flower, Amber, Cistus, Vetiver, Sandalwood. 

Style: Decadent. Opulent. Intoxicating. 

The feminist side of me wants to bitch about the concept here. I don't need to smell like a man, especially one who left. If I want to wear men's perfumes/colognes, I will. What if my lover is a woman? Why do I need a boyfriend? Why do I need a rich boyfriend?

But today I am just going to focus on the scent. It's pretty good.

Billionaire Boyfriend is basically a citrus-woods with an amber drydown. As suits the concept, it's a bit "masculine" (the topnotes and woody basenotes) and it's a bit "feminine"  (the gardenia and jasmine). In my world we tend to call that "unisex". And indeed: a man could wear this just as well as a woman could.

Is it "decadent, opulent, and intoxicating"?

Er... not really, in my opinion. Sometimes when I spray a scent, it just smells "wealthy" to me. Does anyone else experience that? I'm thinking in particular of some of the Hermes scents and some of the Chanels. Billionaire Boyfriend doesn't take me there. And it's certainly not intoxicating. It's not eyes-rolled-back good. But it is good.

A note about the packaging: 

This bottle is catching a lot of flack for looking "cheap". C'mon - it's not that bad. At least it's different from the rest of the bottles in Sephora! The brushed metal is nice. The cap has a cute little "BF" on it. The "diamonds" are, at least, well-done and not going to fall off of the bottle. And the flacon is not a fingerprints-magnet. I do kind of have a pet-peeve about being able to see the sprayer inside a bottle, but that's just me being picky.

For a full disclaimer: I do happen to enjoy perfumes in the "Woods" family. I think many of them do evoke a nice "expensive" frame of mind, and the others are just cozy or clean or sleek. This perfume, Billionaire Boyfriend, is a decent woody scent. I prefer deeper tones and more nuance, and I definitely prefer a more indulgent amber base, but when all is said and done, this perfume is pretty nice.

*Want a great woody perfume "for women"? Try Sonoma Scent Studio's Winter Woods. Delicious.

If you are a tentative woods-wearer, Billionaire Boyfriend is probably a great choice. It's a starter-woods. A gateway woody perfume. The patchouli is clean and light. The sandalwood is not too sharp. The florals give a good balance without taking over the whole scent. The citrus in the top is pretty nice. Billionaire Boyfriend is gifted with great longevity [insert joke here]. It's an all-day scent on me, but after the first few hours it wears fairly close to the skin.

The thing is, I think I prefer a bit more. Hard to imagine, right? A rich guy like this doesn't have all I need?! He's got no soul. I do not have a sample of the original Boyfriend, who in my head I now think of as "poor Boyfriend", but I feel like my brief test drive of that scent went better than this one.

I think Kate Walsh is onto something here, though, if you can skip past the niggling doubts being pushed upwards from your feminist hind-brain. The scent concept is clever and is a lovely antidote to the super-sweet and synthetic all-caps-bold-letters-multiple-exclamation-points FEMININES!!! being sold in the mall. If this line helps some women start branching out and trying new types of perfumes, I'm all for it. And there are certainly times I will be glad to wear Billionaire Boyfriend, his (better) poor brother, and any of the next boyfriends Kate introduces me too. I just wish this "billionaire" smelled a bit more classy.

Disclosure: This bottle was provided to me for consideration only. Read  about my policies here.

[image sources: vintage convertible and jet; diamonds in champagne; yacht]

Perfume Review: Aqua Allegoria Figue-Iris (Guerlain)

I like heavy Oriental perfumes. Bring on the spice, deep flavors, and heavy moods!

The problem is, Spring is Springing... My preferred genre is Too Much in warmer weather.  I need lighter, brighter options or I need to move to Siberia. I'd rather not move.

green. very, very green.         via

I have been interested in perfumes with fig notes. I have tried a few, but none were what I wanted.

Maybe I don't like fig in perfumes. Maybe I don't "get" fig in perfumes. Seems to me everyone likes green fig notes that are representative of the fig tree. As in: tree, bark, sap, sticks, unripe figs.

Not me. I want ripe figs. Purple figs. Dessert.

Walking through my Sephora two weeks ago, I noticed the Guerlain Aqua Allegoria bottles. So pretty. The golden netting around the top, in a honeycomb pattern! The little bee on the button top! The graceful shape of the bottle itself...

I looked more closely... one of the packages had a fig on it. Out came a blotter. Spritz. A tentative sniff.

Interrrrrresting.... A ripe fig. A touch of citrus (just an eensy bit). Vanilla. (Of course. It is Guerlain, after all.) Verrry interrrrrresting...

I asked for a sample.

The Aqua Allegoria line was a concept deployed by Jean-Paul Guerlain, intended to create watercolor-style impressions of natural notes.

Figue-Iris, the bottle that caught my eye, was created by Jean-Paul Guerlain himself, and released in 2008. Notes, besides the fig and iris, include bergamot, grapefruit, violet, "milky notes", woods, vetiver and vanilla.

Let me jump to the end of the story, then backtrack: the sample was used. Emptied, in fact. I now own a full-sized bottle.




What sold me? The bright opening, lightly citrus-tinged with the promise of vanilla. The fig note, ripe and milky and sweet and luscious. The delicate floral blend of iris and violet, both subtle, that create a bridge from fig to base. The Guerlainade-Lite drydown, which sticks around for hours, a lightweight, pulsating, vanilla woods.

Figue-Iris is not green, does not have a strong or long-lasting heart, and is not very Iris-y. But it is light, comfortable, close-to-the-skin, and lovely. It is perfect. It is Spring.

Which perfumes do you like in the Spring? Are you a fan of figs? If so, the greener the better, or dessert-y like me? What do you think of the Aqua Allegoria line?




Fragrance: Aqua Allegoria Figue-Iris
House: Guerlain
Perfumer: Jean-Paul Guerlain
Notes: Fig, iris, bergamot, grapefruit, violet, milku notes, woods, vetiver, vanilla
Released: 2008
Sample: requested at Sephora. Then I bought a bottle.

Final Word: Figgy and fresh, and a perfect Spring scent.

via

Other reviews of Aqua Allegoria Figue-Iris (Guerlain):

Bois de Jasmin: Guerlain Laurier Reglisse and Figue Iris : Aqua Allegoria Perfume Review
EauMG: Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Figue-Iris
Now Smell This: Guerlain Figue Iris & Laurier Reglisse, the 2008 Aqua Allegorias ~ perfume review
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