Winner

I would have past a screenshot from random.org here, but that didn´t work out so well.


Anyway, the winner of M.Micallef´s Pomelos with a little leather poach is Ylva! Congrats!


Send your adres to my mail and the little bottle will be send to you.


To everyone else I wish you better luck next time. And I will have another draw soon, so don´t miss it!

Winter favorites.

I´ve got a perfume that I should write about, but I hesitate. It´s really interesting, but hard to catch, both with my olfactory sense, but even worse, with words.


And it is really wintery here, yesterday morning it was -25 C cold and there is a lot of snow. I would have put in a pic from a parkway close by with the trees all covered with snow, but our computer has been through a mayor cleaning so I´ve got no idea where the picture files are.


Anyway, i saw that several other perfume bloggers have listed their winter favorites, so I decided to do that also.


Which scents has been my most used during late december and january?


ByKilians Back To Black! Yes, I don´t seem to get enough of this warm, golden, sweet honey tobacco and all I´ve got is a small decant, so I have to use it sparesly.


Hilde Solianis Bell Antonio and DoolciiisssiMO are also among my winter favs, but I still haven´t really decided which of them I like most.


Histoires de Parfums Tubereuse Animale is also a top pick. Rather demanding, but so incredible well made and different.


Bois Farine that I´ve got as a wedding present has been heavily used, both by me and the middle daughter.


And as usual, Aomassai and Lounges Profanes from Parfumerie Generale, now with so little left that I have to get more of them.


And... well... hmm... another sample with almost nothing left... Havana Vanille from L'Artisan... Yes, I know I kind of called it a dissapointment only a month ago... but really, I still would love it to smell a little MORE, but what it smells is so enchanting... And I´ve got several others from L'Artisan that I though was very weak at first, but that have grown on me. Like Bois Farine, now I can´t really understand how I could think it was weak at first.


Do you have any winter favorites? And do you want more snow or less?


I promise to get back with some more about that mystery perfume later...

Drawing M.Micallef´s Pomelos

Now, one reader of the blog will have the opportunity to try M.Micellef´s Pomelos. I will draw one lucky winner for a nice mini bottle (10 ml, lightly tested by me) of Pomelos in a white leather poach with gold print. Both readers of the Swedish and English blog are welcome.


Just leave a comment. I will draw one winner in the morning (CET) of February the first.


Good Luck! :)

M.Micallef - Pomelos

At first I wasn´t that impressed with M. Micallef´s Pomelos. I was about to dismissed it as a fruity-floral, but then I detected an interesting note in it. I haven´t find any list of notes for Pomelos, just a remark that it is fruity and it is.


The top note starts with juicy, rather sweet citrus fruits, where it´s hard to smell any certain citrus. The citus blends with floral notes and I think it is violet and jasmine, but the citrus note still is dominating. After a while the citrus fade away and are followed by a sweet and nice appel note, but with the florals still there. It is about now the fun part is starting.


Accept of flowers and fruits I can smell a soft note of hay. It is hidden beneath all the flowers and fruits, but gives the scent a warm, aromatic, comfy and a little different framing. The scent reminds of an idealised late summer meadow, with the back against an old apple tree. And from somewhere there is a faint lipstick note emerges. Maybe it´s a mix between violet and roses, I´m not sure, but the lipstick note is as prominent as the hay note.


Still Pomelos is pretty much a fruity-floral that would please a lot of people, where some of them maybe even wont notice the hay-and lipstick notes. The hay note is really pleasant, it make Pomelos to a warm, aromatic scent that would be so much more boring without it. The lipstick note is a bit strange though, I kind of like it, but still it seem not to fit in so well. On the other hand, now I´ve get used to it and I think Pomelos would smell rather empty without it.


Even with the violets, Pomelos isn´t a powdery scent, it´s more warm, dry and aromatic filled with flowers and fruit. The apples become more like dried apples after a while and I also think I can smell other dried fruits as plums and apricots. There is also a strange hightuned, clear almost minty note in Pomelos. Well, you can figure it out, it is a blend with a little this and a little that.


I find Pomelos to be all over the place, but at the same time, that is what making it interesting. Pomelos is sweet, but not too sweet, the sillage is noticable and the staying power is rather good.




Pic: Secco-under-the-apple-tree

M.Micallef - Patchouli

I am very found of Gaiac from M.Micallef and that has made me curious about other scents from Martine Micallef. Now when I have test some more of them i have to admit that the brand seem to be somewhat uneven, some scents are nice and pretty (nothing wrong with that, but not really what I am looking for) while some scents are really something special.


I even find out that M.Micallef have a retailer in Sweden when looking for information about their scents. http://www.revivekliniken.com/ They also offer perfumes from Creed.


I´ve got some samples from Revivekliniken and Patchouli become my favourite among them. There is no secret that I usually have a softspot for patchouli in perfumes.


Unfortunatly I think the name Patchouli can put off some people from try it, since patchouli after all is a difficult note for some. But if I had to recommend a patchouli scent to a patchouli skeptic, I could very well recommend M.Micallef´s Gaiac. This happens to be a very special patchouli scent...


The top note starts with some vague, foggy patchouli note that soon follows with violet leafs. And violet leafs can change a lot when it comes to perfumes. In this case, it´s give the patchouli a very soft, comfy powdery scent. Patchouli + powder can it get much better? Well yes, the patchouli isn´t only aromatic and woody, but also earthy, with little plants, roots and minerals.


It is like lying down on the forest floor in a deep and shadowy forest. But, it never gets that kind of dirty, mushy or strange. It is like a idealised version, there are all the most pleasant scents, but leaving the strange one´s, like mushrooms, maggots and rotting leaves. And that´s fine with me.


The powdery note makes the scent interesting, but also a bit odd. It´s like strolling around in the forest with a fairy princess dress in sher violet organza. And why not? maybe you just feel like being a wild forest princess some day. Or the other way around, like attending your "Auntie Posh" tea party with dirty boots and a worn out sweater. And it is just those contradictions in Patchouli that make it so interesting and personal.


I guess I like it almost as much as Giac, even though they are quite different from each other. And it has become a patchouli favourite. Some time I am in the mood for those killer-patchoulis like Serge Luten´s Borneo 1834 or Bois 1920s Real patchouli, but sometime I want a more subtle patchouli, then it is very possible that I will reach for M.Micallefs Patchouli.


Usually M.Micallefs scents are quite sweet and with gourmand elements. Patchouli isn´t a exception, this is quite sweet. On me, Micallef´s scents don´t become too sweet, but I´ve heard people mention that.


The violet leafs slowly dissapears in patchouli, but not the powdery sweetness. Labdanum and vanilla brings a nice, creamy background to the drydown. Patchouli has a very good staying power and is a little louder when it comes to sillage than Gaiac.


If you like patchouli, you must try this one. And I do recommend it even if you´re a little skeptic, since it is such a nice, powdery and feminine patchouli.






Pic: forest-floor-ben-kiger

Parfumerie Generale - Papyrus de Ciane

Parfumerie Generale was one of the first niche-perfume brands that I encountered. And I was so impressed with the first three perfumes I tried from them, Aomassai, Brulure de Rose and L'Ombre Fauve. By now, I have tested many, if not all, of Parfumerie Generales perfumes, and even if I don´t love all of them, they´re usually very interesting and excellent made.


I´ve got a little sample (from Parfumerie Generale) of their newest scent, Papyrus de Ciane. Usually I am not that in to green fragrances, but still I was curious to test this. And what happened was quite strange...


Top notes on me: Fresh, tart and squeezed lemon that blends with some almost glowingly green papyrus juice. This smells like something my skin could drink. Like an interesting and healthy new kind of juice. Olfactory I can´t think of many scents more wet then papyrus de Ciane, still it is mych to saturated to become aquatic. It is refreshing, sparkling and very, very green. The note of lemon is tart and fresh, while the papyrus smells more aromatic and grassy. During the opening the notes aren´t blenden, but goes in and out of each other all the time, like if you´re mixing a punch bowl.


Top notes on my husband: Ok, on him it is like the punch is allready mixed. The citrus is more like a fresh and crispy feature in the papyrus greenery. On my husband it isn´t as wet and juicy, more kind of ripe. And on his skin I find a note I don´t smell at all on me, a soft, subdued floral note and after thinking about it for a long time, I guess it is neroli (orange blossom) and maybe a lightest touch of some tuberose as well. This make the scent more creamy green than on me. If it is similar to something I would say Frederic Malle´s Carnal Flwoer, but much greener.


Heart notes on me: The citrus and papyrus has melt together now. But something in the blend become very bitter on me (galbanum I suspect). The bitter note isn´t that prominent from some distant, but as soon as I try to smell the scent up close it is very bitter. Apart from that Papyrus de Ciane is soft and comfy, like a green comfort-scent.


Heart notes on my husband: Well, this is something very different than on me. It can be the sexiest green scent I have smelled. It is green, with lingering citrus still there and the little floral note, but mostly green, like thick, dark green velvet. never nauseating, still parts of the scent is very fresh. And I can smell the bitter note on my husband too, but on him it seem to rather prevent Papyrus de Ciane to become stale or to heavy.


You realise that I become quite confused. It is like we had two halfly different perfumes from the same sample. The green part is the same, but the rest is very different on each of us. On em, something I can´t wear because of the bitter note, but on my husband maybe the best green scent we have tried (OK, we haven´t tried that many) And he isn´t only a patient guinea pig, he seem to enjoy Papyrus de Ciane quite much.


Bas note (on me and hubbie): Finally the two meet. The base is almost the same on both of us, still with green notes, but also very soft, comfy and warm. On my husband I think it is really excellent all way through. Sillage is medium and it is longlasting.


If you like green scents, Papyrus de Ciane is a must try. If you´re sensitive to bitter notes, test it with care. And if you´re lucky, it might end up smelling as good on you as on my husband.





Pic: Expressen

Confessions of a perfume snob.

Maybe I should change name on my blog? To "Confessions of a perfume snob" instead? I have thought a little about this lately. I chose to call myself a perfume nerd, because I think of myself as a quite nerdy person over all, not only when it comes to perfumes.


To be a nerd can even sound a little cute, someone that is so much into something and very entusiastic about it. Like me with perfumes...


Perfumista sounds a little more edgy and sharp, and like someone going hand in hand with the fashionista, and that is as far away from me as it is possible to get. And as little as I care about current trends, as little do I care and know about current best sellers in perfumes. Or up till know, I just checked up the most best selling perfumes (in Sweden) and except of the Carolina Gynning perfumes, I think the top list could be very similar almost all over the (western)world.


Kicks top lis:
1) D&G 3 L'Impératrice Edt
2) DKNY Fresh Blossom Edp
3) Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy
4) Carolina Gynning Go Girl Edt
5) Britney Spears Fantasy Edp



Åhlens top list:
1) Carolina Gynning Go Girl Edt
2) DKNY Fresh Blossom
3) Lancome Hypnose Senses
4) DKNY Be Delicious
5) Britney Spears Fantasy


And, you know what, I have only tried one of those perfumes (Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy)! I have totally no idea about what perfumes "ordinary" women wears. Imagine when they are looking for a swedish perfume blog, and find me and all they want to know is a little
more about Britney Spears latest scent, and they find all the strange and odd perfume that I write about that no one never heard of and never want to hear of either!


This isn´t something that I am alone about among perfume bloggers. I belive that most perfume bloggers also wrote about strange nicheperfumes about 70-80% of the time. As far as I know there isn´t any perfume blogger dedicated to mainstream-and best selling perfumes. The kind of perfumes easy to get in almost every small town all over the globe. And well, that makes me feel a little snobbish. Sorry!



I probably should pay a visit to Åhlens some day soon and try those perfumes on the list. I can as well try every Britney Spears scent while I´m at it. There isn´t any Kicks in our little town, so that have to wait until I visit Norrköping.


And at the same time, I sit here and wait for something so absoluty out there when it comes to perfumes, that I should be embarresed to even mention it... *innocent smile*




Pic: Carolina Gynning, a Swedish celebrity, now with her own perfume. She is similiar in style (Style? Really, or appearance) to Victoria Silvstedt, Heidi (from The Hills) or Jordan (English model).

Mistral - Wild Blackberry

I haven´t had any blackberry-favorite scent. Blackberry in perfume usually become either too jammy sweet or too perfumed. Blackberry have a aromatic, perfumed scent by them self actually. And, it isn´t that often I feel like smelling like blackberries, or fruit-and berry notes over all, they aren´t among my favorites in perfumes. But still, I´ve got my strawberry-orange-plum and peach favorite scents.


And now I have found my fav-blackberry! Namely Wild Blackberry from Mistral. http://www.mistralsoap.com/ Mistral is a compnay that offers soaps, bath-and body products, but also seven different eau de parfums.


Appearantly, Wild Blackberry consist of four different berries, but I can smell three of them, blackberry, blueberry and black currant, but the fourth escapes my nose. The scent of berries are soft, but still noticable and the sweetness is held back by lemon and orange. The citruses give Wild Blackberry a nice tart scent. And the berries are really delicious, creamy and also, refreshing. The grenadine-note I can´t smell, but the violet leafs that shows up are so prominent. I think the violet leafs gives Wild Blackberry a complexity that is much more than you pay for. I get both surprised and impressed.


The violet leafs gives a wild, green feeling but also with some floral, powdery violet and that together with the citruses and berries, well so much prettier, comfortable and easier to like it can´t be. I think it is a a true comfort-scent, and both my daughters love it.


Wild Blackberry is soft, almost transparent, but you won´t forget that you wears it. Staying power is also better than what I expect, and the base note are nice with musk and vanilla, even though you still can smell the berries and violet leafs.


A while ago I wrote about the perfume oils from Smell Bent, scents that ws quite easy and straight forward, but very happy and moodlifting. Mistral´s Wild Blackberry is also such a mood lifting and happy little scent. I become rally happy that perfume can be so uncomplicated, cherful, easy to like, but still with an unique personality.




Pic: Blackberry Fairy

Costume National - Scent Intense

I bought Scent Intense unsniffed a coupple of years ago. Happily enough I liked it a lot and the summer two years ago it was one of my summer favorites together with Eau de Star.


But since that, it has been almost unused. My perfume collection has grown a lot during this time, and there is always new samples to try, think about and write about. It isn´t because I don´t like Scent Intense anymore, it is because there is other scents I like a little more and newer perfumes that feels more exciting to use.


Besides from Scent Intense, I have also tried Costume National´s Scent and Scent Sheer. They are all a little similar to each other, with Scent Intense being the most intense (of course) and powerful. Costume National also got a scent called 21, with notes of milk, saffron and spices, and I am curious about it. Is it someone who have tried it?


Some days ago I decided to spray my husband with Scent Intense, and that make me realise how much I really like it. Scent Intense works on both men and women, and also all year. I think I prefer it as a summer scent, since the notes remind me of boat tar and summer flowers.


The notes in Scent Intense are hibiscus, tea, amber and sandelwood. Mostly I think of Scent Intense as a amber scent, with an warm, tarry and slightly smokey amber, very pleasant and longlasting. The hibiscus is more in the background and gives sweetness and a whiff of exotic florals. I don´t get much of the tea or sandelwood, but I think they give freshness and softness. If you like Serge Luten´s Ambre Sultan, I think you should give Scent Intense a try as well, they´ve got some similarities.


Do you have any almost forgotten scents in your collection? Scents that you still like to much to sell or swap, but that you still forget to use.


Pic: pehaa.com

You are not forgotten...

I haven´t write anything here in a coupple of days, but I haven´t forget about you or the blog, I promise. But after the pleasant scents from Histoires de Parfums I didn´t feel like writing about anything else for a while. And I don´t have any perfumes at home that urge me to write about them. But, I´ve got some samples that I have start thinking about...


And I got a lot of things to look forward to. A very special SWEDISH perfume project that one of my readers remind me of. Thank you so much, I had totally forgot about it, but I am so glad that you remind me. More about it soon (at least I hope so).


Samples from Serge Lutens and Parfumerie generale is on it´s way to me. That is so exciting. And I will also test some perfume oils soon...


Today it won´t be that much perfumes, today I am making "palt" (a northswedish speciality) to the whole family.





Pic: Coloria

Histoires de Parfums - Tubéreuse Capricieuse

I´ve saved Tubéreuse Capricieuse until last, not because it is the worst of the four tuberose-scents from Histoires de Parfums, but because it is the hardest one to learn to know. And, honestly, I don´t think I´ve learned to know it yet. The first time I tried it, I wasn´t that impressed, the second time I discovered something that made me a little curious, the third time I realise it was better than the first impression and the forth time... well, you get it, it grows on me. And at this point, Tubéreuse Capricieuse is probably the one among the samples that I´ve tried the most times.


On my skin, Tubéreuse Capricieuse starts off so restrained it is hard to know what it is supposed to be. It is closed, undeveloped like a fist, a stone or a frozen flower bud in the winter... It is kind of slender and grey. It doesn´t smell bad, only futile and well, grey. Among Histoires de parfums tuberose-scents, this is the uggly duckling. But, it sure was a while before I realise the uggly duckling was developing towards something beautiful.


Tubéreuse Capricieuse is slow, it takes patience and time to be at it´s best. Very slowly the little, frosen bud warms up and slowly unfolds and reveal a silvery, shimmering and fragile scent. Slightly bitter, vulnerable and yes, beautiful. The notes of safron, cacao and suede gives it a murmured bitterness that reminds about a chypré, but still softening up.


If you like to be challenged by your perfumes, Tubéreuse Capricieuse is a good choice. If you like the classics and perfumes with chypré-character, I am sure you will like Tubéreuse Capricieuse as well. It might be the most long lasting of the tuberose-scents from Histoires de Parfums, at least it goes on for about 10-12 hours. And the basenote is a winner!


Tubéreuse Virginale makes me happy. 1889 Moulin Rouge makes me enchanted. Tubéreuse Animale seduces me. Tubéreuse Capricieuse baffles me.


Pic: open salon

Histoires de Parfums - Tubéreuse Virginale

Tubéreuse Virginale is opening with an note that remind me of the kids medicin my parents use to give me when i was small and ill. It was an acetylsalicylic acid and it tasted like acetylsalicylic acid with some artificial raspberry in it. As a kid I find them quite delicious and tried to get one sometimes even when I wasn´t ill. And just like that Tubéreuse Virginale smells like at first, and I kind of like it.


I think of it as an interesting and fun top note, the scent will carry on a little in this direction. Tubéreuse Virginale is, in my opinion, a rtuberose-scent not taking it self to serious. This is a happy, playful tuberose. The note of kids medicin goes away quite fast and are followed by a scent of raspberry soda with ice cubes, and some whiffs of tuberose. Fresh, sweet and a little floral. Different.


If tuberoses was pink maybe? I do like Tubéreuse Virginale, but also belive that this is a scent better of during warmer weather. I am looking forward to try this during summer. And both my daughters like it very much.


After a while the rapberry soda note evolves to something creamy, comfy and vanilly. Some notes of berries are still there, but very weak. Tubéreuse Virginale is very, very longlasting. Like the rest of the tuberose-scents from Histoires de Parfums.






Pic: goldencrownpetals

Histoires de Parfums - Tubéreuse Animale

Perfumes with floral and leather notes has been done before. But the question is if they´ve been done as good as Histoires de Parfums Tubéreuse Animale? Of course that is a matter of taste, but I have never been so captured by a floral-leather perfume before. For instant Parfumerie Generales Psychotrope is a little to bland and Hermés Kelly Caleche is a little to tidy and ladylike. There isn´t anything ladylike or tidy about Tubéreuse Animale...


The leather note is recognisable from their 1740 Marquis de Sade, and it is so pleasant. This is black, worn out, comfy and liked as an old favourite leather jacket. In Marquis de Sade, the leather note is quite masqulin, rough, stiff but also soft. Of course it is soften up even more in Tubéreuse Animale. The tuberose note is warm, creamy almost buttery rather than cold and distant. The top notes are easening up a little by fresh citrus.


Tubéreuse Animale is one of those scents that kind of dances on my skin, part of the time the leather is dominating, only to shortly after been followed by the beautiful tuberose which soon evolves to a creamy, almost gourmand oriental note. I think I can smell both cardemom and vanilla even though I don´t find any of them listed among the notes. A little it remind me of Worth´s Courtesan, but much more complex and animalic, dangerous and mysterious...


When i am wearing Tubéreuse Animale I am convinced that this is the best of the four new one´s from Histoires de Parfums, but I think it is quite even between this and 1889 Moulin Rouge. As scents they are very different from each other and therefore hard to compare. Tubéreuse Animale makes me happy, but also make me feel thrilling, mystical and well, more like Venus in Furs than O if I put it that way. Tubéreuse Animale is a more dominating and demanding scent, at any occation it would be possible for it to steal the show. It is really longlasting and with noticable sillage even if I only have dabbed it on.


Scents, as beautful as this and 1889 Moulin Rouge makes me feel greatful for trying them, but also humble in front of the artistic and skilled to be able to create such great perfumes. I will be back, shortly, with the two other tuberose-scents, Capricieuse and Virginale. They aren´t in any way bad scents. In a more mediocre bunch of samples they would probably be among the best one´s, but compared to 1889 Moulin Rouge and Tubéreuse Animale, they do stands in the shadow of them. But, hold on, I will write something about them too...






Pic: Venus_In_Furs_by_lostinnebula

Histoires de Parfums - 1889 Moulin Rouge

Maybe Histoires de Parfums don´t need any closer presentation? Anyhow, it´s a French perfume house that have chose to interpret a historical year and/or a historical person in many of their perfumes, but they also offers "non-historical" perfumes. Among the historical scents, 1740 Marquis de Sade has been mine and my husbands favourite. Among the "non-historical", I found Vert Pivoine to be really pleasant.


Histoire de Parfums offers a nice sample pack on their homepage http://www.histoiresdeparfums.com/1-6296-NEW-INDEX.php
And the price is great, 5 euro + 5 euro for shipping. It´s a bargain. Unfortunatly I don´t think their newest scents are included. There is one thing I find a little sad when it comes to Histoires de parfums and that is thier big bottles. 120 ml and that is much to much, no matter how good i think for instant Marquis de Sade is. The price, however is reasonable for such a big bottle.
Well, now it seem they are about to offer a travel pack with 3 x 14 ml (?) and I also think you can chose free which three scents to be included. The price seem to be around 80-90 euro, which is ok I think and I allready know which scents I would chose for my travel pack!


Well, back to the point. Histoires de Parfums have released four new scents, three of them with tuberose as a common theme: Virginale, Animale and Capricieuse. And the fourth: 1889 Moulin Rouge, the one I am going to write about today. I don´t think Moulin Rouge needs any closer presentation either? Moulin Rouge is the cabaret och the cabarets. Moulin Rouge open it´s doors 1889, and was celebrating 120 year anniversary last year.


And the perfume? Oh la la. Since I´ve got my samples from Histoires de Parfums I´ve walked around in a content, happy and light euphoria. Yes, it is so good! So good!


1889 Moulin Rouge isn´t a loud, sparkling, high-tuned, sexy or dominating perfume. No, I find it to be more of Moulin Rouge before the show. The helpers are cleaning and the bartender are dishing and polishing the glasses, the show girls drops in one by one, the mood is rising slowly but steadily. One of the girls drinks a glass of champagne and another ask for a small glass of absinth from the bartender, and the third of them starts to put her make-up on. There is anticipation and excitement in the air, but at the same time routin, they do what they have done several times before.


All the notes in 1889 Moulin Rouge are transcluent, suggested and thin. It is like different scented veils slowely slides apart. The top note is fruity sweet, but also close to aquatic and with a bitter note from asbinthe preventing it from being to sweet. Powdery, but whispering notes of iris are also present, soon it will part up with a most delicate and transcluent rose note I´ve ever encountered in perfume. Together they manage to create a scent of make-up, but more sensed then concrete. Like a mix between Frederic Malle´s Lipstick Rose and Parfumerie Generale´s Lounges Profanes, but in water colors.


The kind of distant notes give 1889 Moulin Rouge a very retro feeling, but at the same time this is a very, very modern perfume. There are a lot of opposites in 1889 Moulin Rouge, but they get along just fine. Powdery with aquatic. Sweet with bitter. Citrus-champagne bubbly with something slightly creamy and gourmand. The lightest spiciness from cinnamon with soft floral notes from iris and rose. In my nose, 1889 Moulin Rouge is a masterpiece!


1889 Moulin Rouge makes me feel beautiful, youthful, energetic, happy, adventurous and filled with anticipation. Yes, there is like I am waiting for something. But what? But of course, a perfume like 1889 Moulin Rouge surely needs a diva, a stunningly beautiful women waiting to take place on stage. But, there isn´t any in 1889 Moulin Rouge, this is not a scent that wears you, this is not a dominant, radiant scent that take over and leave you standing in the shadow with only a single line or two.


No, you´re the one wearing 1889 Moulin Rouge, you realise slowly, that the diva the scent is waiting for is you. You become that stunningly beautiful diva, when you´re wearing 1889 Moulin Rouge. This is a magical, fantastic scent, that takes you for a trip behind the scene of the worlds most famous cabaret... Moulin Rouge...


Magnifico! Fantastico! This is the one I want!


If it wasn´t for the fact that at least one of the tuberose-scents is at least as good!





Pic: Flickr, modelux

Boadicea the Victorious

I am fascinated with Celtic culture, history and the mystery that compass everything Celting in our time. Therefor you can belive that an entire line called Boadicea the Victorious (named after the legendary Celtic warrior queen Boadicca or named after the lines creator Michael Boadi, I guess it´s after all a play with names) would be just my taste. At least it seem like they´re in Michelle Obamas taste, since she bought several of them perfumes from the line. And the bottles look great, even though I am a little tired on the Celtic tribal art after the 90'ies tribal obsession in tattoos. And no, I don´t have a tribal in the curve of my back.


One thing a little diffcult when it comes to Boadicea the Victorious, is the huge variety of scents to chose from, all with a little similar names. That it is hard to overlook the line, increases when I realise there is also an exclusive collection.


It would be unfair to judge a whole collection only after I have tried three scents, but my overall impression is poor and I am not that curious about trying other scents in the line.


The scents I´ve tried is: Exotic, Invigorating and Seductive. And, to be honest, I don´t have much good to say about them.


Seductive is as far from seductive as possible according to me, it has a strange smell like a mix between something sour and wet diapers, maybe it would be seductive if you´re a diaper fetishist, I got to find that out, but apart from that... a big dissapointment and I had to scrub it of the second time I tried it.


Invigorating isn´t at all invigorating, it smells like a very strange mishmash of flowers, wood and spices that not at all belong together or like the perfumer had to blend the perfume in a hurry to come up with enough perfumes for all the names! Avoid this!


Something nice there has to be to say about them? Well, that would be Exotic I think. And it starts off really promising. The top notes reminds of Tom Ford´s Black Orchid and Issey Miyake´s Feu d'Issey. Really comfy, with spicy, vanilla, cigarsmoke and all framed by a tropic environment. This I like! For about 30 minutes that is. Because after that, it become nothing but a silent murmur on my skin. Neither me or my husband could smell it after about an hour! How something with those notes (musk, black truffel, ylang-ylang, bergamot, black currant, patchouli, vetiver, vanilla, sandelwood) could be so short lived is n´t easy to figure out. But among the one´s I´ve tried from Boadicea the Victorious this is the only I would recommend, and I sure hope it has better longvity on you...


Have you tried something from Boadicea the Victorious? Is your impression good or bad? Is there any scent in the line that i must try, even though I am skeptic?


Otherwise, I´ve got a sample pack that seem to be anything but a dissapointment. Only four samples, but this far at least two of them are gorgeus. I have to try them a little longer, but I long to write about them so much. Which scents they are? Oh well, the new tuberose-scents from Histoire de Parfums and their new 1889, Moulin Rouge. I am sure there aren´t any dissapointments around the corner with them...





Pic: organic jewelry

Frederic Malle - Noir Epices

I am not that familiar with Michel Roudnitska´s perfumes, but his creation for Frederic Malle´s Editions de Parfums, Noir Epices I have got plenty of time to get familiar with. Several years actually. On Editions de parfums homepage you can take a little survey and then they will present the perfumes in the collection that suits you best. http://www.editionsdeparfums.com/


When I did the test, I was suggested Iris Poudre and Noir Epices. And yes, Iris Poudre is really easy to like, but Noir Epices where much harder to understand. Hard to understand, but still there was something with it I couldn´t stop thinking about.


Now I think I finally got it! With only a few drops left in my spray sample and a sudden craving for Noir Epices made me break in to that little bottle and dab a small drop on my wrist. And jeeees! Are you supposed to dab or spray? There is no doubt about that Noir Epices is a dabber! Is this really just and EDP? Maybe after all it´s a pure perfume? With just the tiniest dab, there is more going on than all the times I´ve sprayed Noir Epices earlier.


To start with, I think the name is a little misguiding, it should have been Orange Noir or maybe, Nuit de Orange instead. Because this is orange, night and blackness... velvet and tartness... bitterness and sweetness... powdery notes and orange, orange, orange! Noir Epices smells a little like you have encountered and old vintage perfume, the old perfumes was more strong and powerful than the perfumes of today and also everything volatile have left the perfume. So beware, Noir Epices should be handled with care.


With easy use, Noir Epices is one of the most stunning perfumes with orange/citrus notes that I´ve encountered. If you spray three sprays around your neck with Noir Epices you are the one to blame. I will order a small sample of Noir Epices and whenever I feel like floating away to black orange heaven I will dab on a tiny drop on my neck. And my little sample will last forever and ever...





Pic: Versweiner photobucket

Czech & Speake - Dark Rose

Some time during last spring I ordered a free sample pack from Czech & Speake. I guess you can figure out that a free sample pack with all the fragrances from Czech & Speak would become quite popular. But appearantly the guys at Czech & Speak had n´t count with that, so some weeks after ordering the sample pack I´ve got a mail where they told me they run out of sample packs, but promise to send me one as fast as they can, and they promised that I wouldn´t be dissapointed.


And, I have been waiting and waiting and waiting. All spring, summer and autumn. I´ve got a lot of other pleasant perfumes mean while, but as soon as I was on my way to forget about the Czech & Speak sample pack they send me a mail reminding me of it. They sure know all about budling up expectations.


And yes, finally they did arrive! In the days between Christmas and New Year, and my little sample pack made a trip to Spain also. For some reason my country was marked as Spain.


Worth waiting for? Oh yes, the samples are beautifully presented at cardboard looking like Czech & Speake bottles. A nice brochoure where the scents are described also enclosed.


Of all the scents, Dark rose was the one capturing my attention at first. Not so strange considering I´ve got a floral passion going right now, and also cause Dark Rose is a rose/oudh scent. Interesting to compare it with other oudh-scents.


Dark Rose has a pleasant, glowing top note with smell of safron and oudh, but not at all so powerful and medical as for instant Montale´s Black Aoud. Dark Rose do remind a little of Black Aoud, but softer, lighter and a little more European. It isn´t as precautious as L'Artisan´s Al Oudh, it is more in between. It is like a pale sister to Black Aoud, but without being boring or lack personality.


No, Dark Rose actually manage to become a really, really pleasant rose frag on me. Warm, velvety soft and very rosy. There is like the smell of a perfect dark rose, but whit some lighter, powdery nuances in it as well. It is the rose that is central in Dark Rose, not the oudh or anything else. This far I´ve only tried Dark rose a coupple of times, but I belive it can climb quite high among my favourite rose-scents. Unfortunatly it is quite discrete, maybe because I´ve only got a small dab on-sample. This is a scent I would like to try with generous spraying!


I recommend Dark Rose to people skeptical to both rose and oudh-scents. I think that Czech & Speake has manage really good with this one. If you find Montale´s Black Aoud a little to heavy and mysterious I beg you to give Dark Rose a try.


As mentioned I´ve got me a whole sample pack of Czech & Speak scents, do you have any favourite among them? I will try them through, have some expectations on Cuba, maybe dependning on the bottle. It would look gorgeus in perfume collection!





Pic: Mary Faith flickr

I want more flowers!

Usually I like oriental, spicy, woody perfumes with some gourmand notes from time to time. But still, I can wear a lot of other perfumes also, light, fresh, easy, aquatic, clean and soft perfumes. And of course i am also found of floral perfumes. But, what I use the most (and has always used) is different kinds of oriental perfumes.


There fore this last month have take me by surprise since I have been craving florals since mid-december. And I talk about those grand, colourful and saturated florals, no little shy one´s here.


Carnal Flower, Iris Poudre, Tocade, Lolita Lempicka, Alien, yes they are the florals I like even usually, but now I want them so much and often.


Strangely enough this obsession occurs at the same time as the snowy weather. It start snowing here just before the middle of december and usually we don´t have true winter weather here until late january or even february.


But I suspect that my longing for flwers will go away when the snow melts? Or what do you think? Have you encountered some strange perfume onsession some time? Some perfumes that don´t really fits into your earlier perfume taste? I know pregnancies can mess your olfactory sense really bad, but this isn´t the cause here for sure.


Well, now I will go sniffing my LAST drops of Carnal Flower on my wrist.



Pic: Ashy MacBean.com

D.S & Durga - Orris Root

Happy New Year everyone! To you there in Kuwait and Venezuela, and to you in Morocco and Russia, and all of you guys in the US! Nice to see you all, and as you might have notice I´ve got me a flag counter and it is so much fun to see all the visitors from so many different countries here.


Orris root is the root from the flower iris. The root have been in use since the antique, both medical and cosmetic. Now it is almost only used in perfumes. It´s a time consuming process to make perfume from the root and the final result is very expensive. As a scent, orris root smells like violets, but also iris, soil, root vegetables (carrot, but also parsnip), sweetness and powder.


It was a while ago I first tried Orris Root from D.S & Durga, but even though I liked it I could n´t really write about it. So I have left my little sample alone, until yesterday evening when i decided to try it again. It is so much fun when i try a perfume again, and realise that now I am capable of experience it, analyse it, smell it and of course, hopefully manage to make it justice when I write about it.


Orris Root begins with a violet explosion. This isn´t a shy wiolet hidning in the forrest, no this is a giant violet in macro, you know... VIOLET!!!!! My sample isn´t a spray sample, so the top note settles quite fast and become softer and more complex, yes actaully really complex and interesting.


The smell of violet is still there, but together with soft, powdery iris, moist soil and newly harvested root vegetables. There is no doubt about that it is the smell of a root I can feel, but at the same time it is like the smell of a underground flower. Well, there isn´t anything like a underground flower, since all flowers strive towards light and air. In Serge Luten´s Iris Silver Mist you can also find the scent of carrots and soil, but I don´t find it so pleasant (even though I know I should try it again). D.S & Durga´s Orris Root is all together a pleasant experience.


It is like wandering through underground passages, but not through caves, more like passages digged through soil and roots. Strange flowers and plants are decorating the passages walls. Flowers like the one above, but it is of course not a flower, but a mineral deposit you can find in caves, known as gypsum flowers.


The heart notes of Orris Root is really beautiful, but also amazing and complex. The different scent aspects of the root alternate to dominate. In the base the scent turns more powdery, soft and with discrete scent of both violet and iris. Orris Root has great lasting power on me, and the sillage is also quite strong considering I only dabbed it on.


It would be really fun and interesting to try Orris Root together with other perfumes with orris root as a dominating note. Do you have any favourite orris scent? And how should I manage to get closer to Iris Silver Mist?




Pic: John N Agnew