Puredistance Black

It´s possible to walk on glowing charcoal, I know people that have done it. Personally I´m not sure if I would like to do it. But if I would, Puredistance Black could serve as my protective talisman. I don´t know if the house of Puredistance needs any further presentation, I have wrote about Puredistance I on the blog earlier: http://perfumenerd.blogspot.se/search?q=puredistance If Puredistance I is a fragrance for weddings (at least that´s my associations), Puredistance Black is a totally different creature, even though both scents have great quality, high class materials and an attentive performance in common. Puredistance has chose not to yet reveal the notes in Puredistance Black, which is both challenging and a little frightening. i smell o lot of things from it, but is not sure which notes are there for real and which I just make up in my imagination. The opening is tart and ripe citruses mixed with spicy notes and I belive I smell at least clove and nutmeg. There is also a crisp element that could be fir. Whatever it is, it brings a dynamic to the fragrance that I find very nice and interesting. A gorgeous mix between warm oriental spicyness and a fresh with fir forests and citrus orchards. Deeper in to the scent there is dryer wood notes and sweet, ripe plums. A substantial dollop of dark honey. Something that smells like coconut or at least a little milky, could be fig also. Trying to detect any flowers in Puredistance Black, on my skin floral notes usually dissapears when put together with strong, spicy and oriental notes, but there could be some roses and maybe carnation in Puredistance Black. There is oudh in here somewhere too, a softspoken and comfy oudh, but I can detect a slightly medical bitterness also. The longer I follow puredistance Black the more complex it becomes, full bodied, smoky, warm, exciting and always re-inventing it self. In it´s nature it lures me further and deeper in, the enchanting notes invites me to solve the mystery of what smells so incredible... good... alluring... sensual and magic. Despite that, Puredistance Black is a soft and skinclose scent. And it unveils it´s lovely fragrance in little, but very pleasant whiffs. When I wear it without trying to evaluate it, it has a lot in common with Puredistance I, provided that it feels like being tucked in in your very own, gentle and caressing cocoon of perfume. Puredistance Black makes me belive that I live in the age of campfires and legends. Gentle glowing coal in an almost brnt down campfire under the night sky. Narrow, lingering alleys trough an old city in night lights. Solar ecplipse and a dark lake under the full moon. Poetry and wild hearts. Love. Adventure. One thousand and one nights. Beauty. Filled of joy with the knowledge that from time to time such a masterpeice perfume comes in my way. Antoine Lie is the nose behind Puredistance Black (he is also the genious behind Etat Libre D'Oranges Secretions Magnifique and Comme Des Garcons Daphne). Puredistance Black is by far my favorite from Puredistance, mostly because it´s very mych right up my alley in style, while Puredistance I is more of an on occation fragrance for me. Puredistance Black is also one of the absolutly best fragarnces I have tried in a long time. It was a true inspiration to try it, in fact so much that I felt like writing again, thank you very much, Puredistance Black.

Perfume adventure

Oh, well I have been on a perfume adventure. By accident I found a place in Malmö (situated in the very south of Sweden)that offers various fragrances from an old perfume warehouse. Checked it up, looked at pictures and contacted the owner. We decided that the easiest way to get a grip of the perfumes was for me to actually come to Malmö an see for myself.My husband had to drive me, and belive me there is more pleasant thing to do then to drive all the way to Malmö (and back) in bad january weather. But what I got with me (see the pic above) was very much worth the car ride. Feels like a once in a lifetime experience, but you never know. A lot of vintage treasures and also more "modern" fragrances that is discontinued (or have been reforulated beyond recognision). Some of them I will keep to myself, but if you see something in the pic that you feel like trying,please contact me,I´m sure we can work something out. Some of them I prefer to sell as they are. One thing that strikes me when I try not before tested perfumes (the one´s from the 80ies or early 90ies mostly, not the really,really old one´s) is that they even though being "ordinary" designer frags, they have something that newer designer/main stream fragrances seem to miss. They have a richness, a feeling of luxury that seem to be more and more hard to come by without getting into niche... Seemlike something -bad- happened to over all perfume quality sometime in the mid 90ies, porbably cheaper aromachemicals and more water for the same price...and that is really a shame. :(

Antonio Visconti - Coeur de Vanille

While I haven´t update the blog for a long time, my perfume interest have still been intact. Though, it have looked a little different. Mostly I have used my favorites and it has been quite nice to not think about all the news and what to write about. New and unknown perfumes with "strange" notes I have had no urge at all to try. The order among my samples and decants became just a memory. Eventually I couldn´t find samples I knew I had somewhere and new samples came in without getting any attention. Finally, I decided to arrange and sort them all, it took almost a full day, but it was so worth it. Among all the samples I happened to find a sample of a scent I didn´t even know I had. It was this one! Antonio Visconti´s Coeur de Vanille. Oh wow! How many vanilla dominated perfumes are there room for? For this one obviously. It takes place in my absolute top of vanilla perfume, together with greatnesses like Guerlains Spiritueuse Double Vanilla, Profumums Dulcis in Fundo and Montales Vanille Absolu. In style Coeur de Vanille is most similar to Spirituese Double Vanille, since it´s a grown up and rough vanilla. The smell of vanilla (at least the typical image of it) may be one of the most comfortable vi can imagine. It´s a soft, pleasing, friendly and caressing scent. You find it in Coeur de Vanille together with smoth hazelnut and a nice but eventuallt more prominent note of cocoa. But it´s much more to it then just pleasing. Coeur de Vanille is much more complex, add some real smokey vetiver, some grey and powdery clove and a dash of aromatic and narcotic nutmeg. Well, all I can say is WOW! Amazing. Now we´re talking. Coeur de Vaille makes me think about mystic rituals, the sound of drums, flickering candles and secret societys. But, kind of in your grannies kitchen or gathered around the camp fire, what is going to happen, something unexpectet, something thrilling, something forbidden? But you feel safe, because you have your best friends with you. Isn´t that what we need to throw us self out in the unknown? At least a little bit of safety? Coeur de Vanille manage to offer the best of two worlds comfort and exitement at the same time. And wuth probably top notch raw material. It´s not exactly cheap, but quite superable for 100 ml. It´s most definitly worth the price and FB-worthy as well. It´s most spicy and smokey in the opening and some hours in, some of it goes lost and the drydown is more on the soft, gourmand side even though with a little dark bitterness from the cocoa. Lasting power is great on me, all day long. Perfect this time of year and probably work well on both men and women. Everyone looking for that grown up, dark, mystic vanilla should check this out. Coeur de Vailles makes me want to try others from Antonio Visconti. I´ve wrote a great deal about vanilla fragrances, since vanilla is fave note of mine. But, I have to ask, do you have any favorite fragarnce that manage to mix those kind of soft, cuddly, friendly notes with darkness, exitement and mystic? Isnt it exactly those kind of fragrances that manange to become favorites? One part mysterious stranger and one part best friend? ;)

Still here, just a little refurbished...

I have no idea if anyone still waits for some life signs from me? But if that´s the case, well here I am again. It has been some hard times, but now I am most def back on track again. I have posted som on the Swedish blog, but when I was the worse I couldn´t even think in English much lesser write, but now I belive I got the hang of it again. :) It have happended a lot, like I have started my own very small, very basic company. It´s all abaout perfumes of course. I will sell decants (don´t have that many to chose from, yet) and offer perfume testing "parties", in Sweden that is. Also I will offer perfume counseling for people that is curious about to find that perfect scent but don´t have the time and knowledge to look for them self. This is the link to my very basic homepage: http://www.theperfumenerd.n.nu/ I will invest in a "proper" webshop as soon as possible, but not before Christmas, after all five kids and three grand kids expect some Christmas presents. Do you have any wishes for a particular brand or perfume to have in my shop? Let me know, I will fokus on hard to get, vintage and expensive brands, those that you don´t afford a big bottle of or can´t get. I ship world wide, and the counseling is also open for world wide clients. I think both decants and some counseling could be great gifts for people not totally smitten by perfumes yet. I hope to see you soon, here at the blog, or in my little shop. Missed you all.

Out of order...

I´m sorry about the lack of posting lately, but I´m not feeling well. Have been feeling strange since beginning of april and have had no idea why.


Sleeping issues, poor apetite and felt generally uninspired, tired and off. Not even new fragarnces has manage to caprute my interest, rather the other way around, new scents have felt "to much" and I´ve prefered the well known and familiar comfort scents during this period.


Anyway, now I think I´ve got a clue about what I suffer from, it can be a thyroid inflammation a condition I have had before even though it´s many years ago. Should have recognise the symptoms, but they´re rather diffuse and vague in the beginning and since I´ve been really healthy the last ten years or so I feel very un-used to being sick... I leave to the doctors to figure out if it´s really another thyroid inflammation and hope I can see one as soon as possible, even though the nurse I talked to didn´t had any time to give me the coming week. :(


I really hope for a speedy recovery. Until then I hope it´ll be a guest post about male fragrances from a well known brand by Habit Man and also I have some new fragrances to present that I hope to get around to in not to long time...

Blood concept A AB B O

Do you know what blood type you have? Mine is O+, and I know that since they blood typing pregnant women and also beacuse I once tried to become a blood donator. Unfortunatly my blood vessels are very thin/narrow, so it took like forever to draw blood from me, so I decided to end my short career as a blood donator after the first and only attempt.


Some Italian guys have created a new perfume line, Blood Concept, and they presented it at the perfume exhibit in Milan about a month ago. Every blood typa has it´s own fragrance, A AB B and O. You can chose the one you like the most or go with the one for your blood type. I´ve got a kit with cardboards of the "scratch and sniff-type". It´s nicely presented even though I don´t belive they smell as they would do on skin.


To be honest I´m a little relieved, I´m not much of a blood romantic. Yes, Gary Oldman did look nice in Dracula, but I´ve never been that interested in the pop cultural Dracula nor his cousins the vampires. Yes, I read "Confessions of a vampire" back then, but non of the followers...


Youngest and oldest daughters have a weakspot for vampires though, and I had a very awkward movie experience when I saw one of the Twilight-moives with youngest daughter some time ago.


To make things even worse, the smell of blood is one of the most offensive I know. Maybe, because I´ve raised five wild childs that have occationally manage to get head injures and belive me, the way to the emergency room with a heavily bleeding kid in mine lap isn´t exactly my idea of fun. No worries though, most head injuries (at least on my kids) looks much worse then they really are, a lot of bleeding from a relativly small skalp wound.


However, Blood Concept´s fragrances don´t smell that strange (at least not on paper).
O which is my blood type, actually smelling really nice, the metallic (or bloody note) note isn´t that obvious, it´s more of a warm, sweet, berry fragrances with a leathery base. This I would´nt doubt to try directly at my skin.


AB with notes of aldehydes, aluminium, pebbles, cedar and metal is interesting. It´s very unique and the metal smells sharp, clean and modern rather then rusty or bloody. This one I would prefer to test on my husband first. ;)


The same goes for B, which is the most powerful of the four (on paper), bold notes of patchouli, artemesia, vanilla is mixed with fruity, tart notes and of course the metallic one´s. this metal is more on the rusty side, but it´s like the other notes hides it a little.


A on the other hand I wish no one close to me ever try on skin, it has a green, aromatic scent with tomato leaf and basil, that really underscores and lift up the smell of "blood". On paper and a fast sniff, I can control it, but I don´t feel like I ever would need to sniff it again.


Despite my aversion towards A, and hesitation about AB and B, I find Blood Concept to be interesting. The test kit is also cool and if you can find one I do suggest you to try them. The fragrances are really, really different and have some resemblance with Etat Libre d'Orange and Nasomatto, so if you´re into that kinds of fragrances, you really should check Blood Concept.


You can find more information about the brand here: http://www.bloodconcept.com/EN/index.php

Pic: Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder, Dracula

J. Eisenberg - Le Péché

I´ve wrote about some of Jose Eisenberg´s fragrances earlier:

http://perfumenerd.blogspot.com/2009/05/jose-eisenberg-rouge-noir.html

http://perfumenerd.blogspot.com/2009/05/jose-eisenberg-rouge-noir.html

After two years I have to admit that Rouge & Noir is my favorite of them, it´s moodlifting, cozy and unique. While J'Ose is a must try for everyone looking for a dark, smoky and slightly masculin fragrance.


Even though Eisenberg have had several well made and interesting fragrances it seem like brand perfumistas often miss. Now Eisenberg has released a bunch of new fragrances and I hope they´ll get some attention.


I have tried three of their new scents, Tentation, Love affair and Le Péché and among them, Le Péché was the one capturing my attention the most.


Most of all it´s the note of hibiscus that attract me, while wearing Le Péché I wonder why hibiscus isn´t more common in perfume. I know that hibiscus is used in Costume Nationals fragrances, Scent, Scent Intense, Sheer and Gloss and among them I really like Scent Intense.


It´s something voluptus, arousing, radiant and on the border to vulgare with hibiscus. The colors are strong, the shape is bodacious and the cocky stamen speaks for itself. In Le Péché, the hibiscus is accompanied by osmanthus and orange flower, that creates a lush, heavy, tropical, sweet, velvety ground of flowers, thnaks to the osmanthus the fragarnces don´t become too heavy. The opneing on Le Péché is summery, pretty, blushing and make me want to dress in chock pink with frills and colorful accesoars.


Le Péché could be a fragarnce both for showgirls in Las Vegas or at Moulin Rouge, Paris as well as a scent for fragile temple dancers at Bali or even, a much to maked up transvestite in Barcelona. There is something filled with joy in Le Péche, but the fragrance also have a darker and more mysterious core.


The heart is filled with amber, jasmine and vanilla which lessen the magnetism of the open, but also make Le Péché softer, warmer and a little powdery. Under the feminine notes you can also sense a darker, even masculine strike in Le Péché, a thrilling counterpoint to the vibrant opening and the soft, feminine heart. Eisenberg´s fragrances often hides an androgyn twist, a flirt with both sexes that is discrete, yet prominent when noticed. The base is filled with vetiver, musk, sandalwood and patchouli.


Le Péché is different, yet without being hard to wear. Also it´s a fragarnces that is young at heart, still most likely to attract women with their prime youth beind them. This is also typical for Eisenberg, and something I really like. Eisenberg´s fragrances is perhaps high end rather then niche, but they have found their own little place and make it theirs in an obvious and personal way.


Another good news is that the fragarnces now is offered in 30, 50 and 100 ml bottles.
look for your self: http://www.eisenberg.com/


Le Péché has good lasting power and good sillage, and I think it´s amust try for anyone looking for fragrances with notes of hibiscus, also Le Péché is a perfect scent for hot summer evnings and nights.


Do you have any good suggestions on other fragrances with note of hibiscus?

Parfumerie Generale - Tonkamande

Now and then I can buy a Yankee Candle in the scent Clean Cotton and put it in my combined bathroom/laundry room, I think it smells fresh and cozy, but usually (very unusual I would say) that not the kind of scent I like to wear as a perfume. Until now, that is.


Parfumerie Generale has recently launched two new limited editions, Praline de Santal and Tonkamande. Praline de Santal smells odd to say the least, but it´s not for me, it gets almost weird, like a very chunky/chewy müslibar dripped in sticky dark syrup. Yet, branflake or strong rye note isn´t THAT commonly used in fragrances, so if this sounds interesting you should at least try it.


Tonkamande on the other hand, oh lala, so beautiful, so clean, crisp and yet warm, sweet and powdery gourmand also.


Partly it smells like old scool bed linen, when people (women mostly I belive) really made an art out of washing their bed linen.Like it smelled in the washhouse when my mother mangled her sheets in the huge stone mangle, when I was about seven years old. People younger then me maybe not even remeber those? Well, Tonkamande also smells like crisp, white bed linen at a really luxurious hotel. Sparkling, clean, white and fresh.


Also Tonkamande brings a feeling of walking up a sand dune during a perfect summer day, reaching the top and look out over the never ending blue sea and the perfectly golden beach below and realise that you (and your best company of choise) will have the perfect beach totally for yourself all day, even though it´s the best summerday.


This kind of fragrances has been made before, but I haven´t got so many referenses to "clean scents", for instant I´ve hardly try any of the popular Clean-fragrances. Even though i think Pierre Guillaume manage to create a perfect clean fragrance, there is more to it, then that.


Beneath the surface of clean whiteness and a perfect beach, there is also a delicate element of the most delish, melting and powdery littel almond cookie you can imagine. sweet, mellow and so good, but Tonkamande is far from being to sweet or too gourmand. It has a rather dry almond note (very likeable). OOOOOOOh this is so good. I can hardly stay away from my small sample and I sure wish I could afford buying a big bottle of it and drench myself in it (or at least with it) during the rest of spring and all summer.


I think it´s kind of funny how my preferences is chagning over time, today i bleive it´s possible to find at least one perfect fragrances even in the most obscure and far from myself fragrance cathegories. tonkamande happend to be the perfect scent for me within the clean type of scents. I can´t reallu understand why I love it so much (after all it is a very clean frag), but sometimes you just let loose and go with the flow...


Good sillage (even from my dab on sample)this is not a shy skinscent, lasting power is good (about 8 hours on me). I do recommend it to everyone liking clean scents, but also if you don´t, give it a try, maybe a surprise waiting for you. Also the combination between clean and gourmand is quite different. Tonkamande is rather feminine, but don´t let that stop you, if you´re a guy. Maybe not the perfect scent to the leather outfit though, or perhaps just the right!?


Fow now I don´t have any money, but you bet I want a FB of this or at least half a bottle if I find someone that would like to split.


As you can udnerstand it was a total surprise to me to become so impressed, do you have aperfume love that is far from your usual preferences?

Brecourt - Contre Pouvoir

We´re having easter break now and finally the weather is a little better. Spring cleaning in the garden and the cowslips has buds, the early tulips is almost over blossomed and under our garden table (behind some pots) we manage to wake up a sleapy little hedgehog.


Lately I´ve tried the scents from Brecourt, and the two I come to like the most is both intended for men, even though i found them both to be perfect unisex scents. My favorites among the women fragrances, Haram and Ambre Noir has also obvious unisex qualities.


Contre Pouvoir that I´m about to review today is true piece of comfort. The opening is very powerful and strong with hints of lavender (not listed, but I still smlle it, even though only for a short while, strong cigarlike tobacco, spices, sweetness, warmth and a dash of darkness. In the opening, Contre Pouvoir, reminds a little of A*Men.


The oomf in the opning is soon mellowing to a softer mix of cardamom, wood and some tea with grapefruit underscoring it. The grapefruit note isn´t that noisy, just a litte freshness added to the wood and spices.


The wood smells sunwarmth, smoth, soft and like it has been impregnated with cardamom. This is an extremly pleasant and cozy combo. Within the woody spicy heart of the perfume you can sense freshness from grapefruit and nice aromatic tea. During this phase, Contre Pouvoir is a mostly blonde woody scent with soft spicy and gourmand features. Just like Mauvais Garcon, Contre Pouvoir is a fragrances that will be perfect to wrap around myself when autumn comes (even though I prefer not to think about autumn right now!).


Durin drydown Contre Pouvoir becomes much darker, blacker and more interesting. This is probably thnaks to licorice wood (!?) and vetiver. The base is more masculine then the opening and heart, yet not enough from stop me to wear it. The cardamom still hangs in there and also becomes darker eventually.


Contre Pouvoir is a must try for everyone liking cardamom in perfumes and also if you fancy A'Men and it´s flankers, Contre Pouvoir is a good and economic alternative.


The sillage is good and longevity is about medium (4-5 hours on me).


Among the other offerings from Brecorut I like as i said, Haram and Ambra Noir the best and they´re slightly similar to Mauvais Garcon and Contre Pouvoir in style, warm, spicy and oriental kind of fragrances. The rest of the line up is a little more un-even, but I belive Eau Blanche and Eau Trouble (with note of carrot) could be really pretty and interesting on the right person.


Coming up, something new from Parfumerie Generale and also presenting some news from José Eisenberg.



Pic: Beach wood, flickr.com

To open or not to open, that´s the question.

I´m sorry for the lack of posting lately, but sometimes things just get to much and this week has been that way. I´ll write something more about Brecourt also, but not today.


Instead of that I´ve got a question of delicate matter I would like to share with you.


Not long ago I won three little bottles of "perfume" on Swedish Ebay, they weren´t that good described and the pics was´nt that good either. But from what I could see there was mini bottles of Cassandra by Weil, Chinchilla by Weil (that wasn´t in fact a Chinchilla, but the much more common Antilope) and also a mini of Flair by Yardley. The Cassandra bottle looked untouched. Well, I´ve got the bunch for about 18 € and I belive it was quite a good deal.


The problem os the bottle of Cassandra. And the that the cellophane is still intact (but very fragile though), the box is in perfect condition and the juice itself is pure extrait! Of course I´m more then curious to find out how it smells and I allready love Zibleine from Weil. And I know that the feeling of carefully open the brittle cellophane, the box and slowly bring out the bottle would be... very, very cool.


But, what if I could sell it to a vintage collector instead? I wonder how much i could get for this rarity? It´s a bottle of exrait in priestine shape and with a perfect box that looks MUCH older then my old bottle of Zibeline. I can´t find any information about this version of Cassandra, so I guess it´s pretty darn hard to find.


As you all know I´ll destroy a big part of the value if I open the box and even more if I dare to open the bottle (which is also probably fragile at least the screwer). If I love it, I wouldn´t care that much, but if I don´t? Also I´ve heard that pure perfume or extrait gets easier spoiled then eau de parfum and eau de toilette, so there is also a danger that it has turned bad and can´t be used as a perfume any more. For a collector it´s more the piece itself then the juice that matters.


The only information about notes I havefound at The Perfumed Court, and they are: anise, styrax, fruits and some floral, doesn´t sound 100% me, but not really the opposite either.


That´s why, dear readersm i´ll leave the desicion to you. Should I open it or should I try to sell it? Another option is of course if any of you feel a crazy urge to buy it from me for about 1200€, I think we can meet an agreement if that´s the case. ;)


So leave your vote in the poll, and I would also love to hear why you think as you do, so leave a comment also. :)



Pic by me

Brecourt - Mauvais Garcon

Brecourt is a new french perfume house, but Emilie Bouge is anything but a beginner in perfumes. Emilie has a history as a perfumer for other companies before Brecourt and also, her family has a past in the perfume industry.


Emilies grand parents runned a perfume buisness in the heart of Frances perfume producing, Grasse. Unfortunatly the company slipped out of the family, but with Brecourt Emilie writes a new chapter in her familys perfume story. Brecourt combines the knowledge of frecnh perfume tradition with modern spirit.


I´ve been lucky to receive a very nicely presented press kit of all the Brecourt fragrances, which are 11, and I think you could find something for all tastes here.


On me, especially the warm, spicy and woody scents becomes really nice. And Mauvais Garcon is one of my favorites among them.


Mauvais Garcon is one of the fragrances that is supposed for men, but in my opinion it works at least as good at women. Mauvais Garcon has notes of cedar- and sandalwood, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and tonkabean. As a scent, Mauvais Garcons becomes a soft, caressing and skinclose gourmand. Both cedar and sandal are of the soft, velvety kind in Mauvais Garcon. The spices are light and the vanilla is of the cockie kind, without being at all too sweet. The woody elements in Mauvais Garcons really deserves to be called blond wood.


Mauvais Garcons smells similar to a common cookie in Sweden known as vanilla dreams. Even though similar to vanilla dreams, this is a soft and innocent kind of gourmand, the sweetness is just perfectly blended. The cinnamon and nutmeg is used with caution, in way that deepens the vanilla withoput over running it. The fragrance is rather linear, even though the basenote is mostly like an extremly soft woodyness.


Nothing with Mauvais Garcons is complicated or edgy, this is pure and simple comfort and so cozy.


On me Mauvais Garcons last about 3-4 hours and the sillage is discrete. Intended for men, still very suitable for women too. As a gourmand it has such an delicate approach I would like to call it a gourmand for people not usually that found of gourmand fragrances. And of course for those of us that love gourmands as well.


You can find Brecourt also at Indie Scents: http://www.indiescents.com/brands/Brecourt.html

On the company home page you can order full bottles as well as samples:
http://www.brecourt.fr/index.php



Pic: vaniljdrömmar

Slumberhouse - Vikt and Ore

Another post-apocalyptic figure that have been roaming around in Australia is Tank Girl. As the name suggest, the main character drives a huge tank which also serves as her home. Even if the world in Tank Girl is rather devastated, the mood in the comic is anything but gloomy, rather the other way around. Tank Girl is a mishmash of anarchasex, refreshingly ironic and overall morbid, satiric and pleasantly dysfunctional.


Of course, also in the Tank Girl future, whit lack of water, perfumes probably wouldn´t be the first thing that come in mind. Still, Slumberhouse manage to create fragrances whit such an edgy (post-)modern twist that make me think of these kind of lovely, disturbed characters. They matches since they both are made with a sparkle in the eye, great personality and innovative ideas.


At first I was a little bit afraid of Vikt, since metallic note can become horrid on me. But, the metal in Vikt isn´t of the rusty, iron (smells almost like blood to me) kind, but rather like steal in motion. Like metal that slowly warms up an old mechanic engine dripping of thick, slippery motor oil. And that smells good that is!


With elements of oudh, resins and ravensara the metallic motor scents mixes and becomes softer, warmer and even a little sweet. I also feels something floral in vikt, even though I can´t find anything floral listed (maybe ravensara have floral aspects?). Oudh contributes with a soft and mellow smokiness. Vikt is a quite complex fragrances, and the different notes swirls around in a interesting way, even though the scent itself is quite linear. Vikt has medium staying power and also medium sillage. A must try for anyone looking for different and thrilling fragrances.


Ore is more soft, organic and smooth. But, also very, very screwy and odd. It´s partly inspired by Carmes lip balm (which I haven´t tried), but it´s so much more than a lip balm scent. There is a soft scent reminding of some kind of lip balm (to me it reminds of a certain Swedish lipbalm, maybe it´s similar to Carmex?). Jummy. It´s creamy, sticky and a dash of milkyness. Add black pepper, cocoa and gaiacwood! Shortly speaking, a very personal and different take on gourmand. And also, my personal favorite from Slumberhouse. Ore isn´t like anything I ever encountered in perfume. I´ll need more of this! :)


The cocoa in Ore smells dark, aromatic and slightly bitter, just like whole crushed cocoabeans rather than some soft chocolate. Ore is both mood lifting, comfy and also a little sexy in a strange way (just like Tank Girl).


Longevity and sillage as the others from Slumberhouse. Ore is the most feminine of them, without being that feminine. Ore would work on people in all ages looking for a different, personal and cool gourmand. Ore is among the most different I´ve tried, and without loosing in wearability. I really hope to wear Ore a lot during autumn and winter.


I´m sure Tank Girl would love both Vikt and Ore. And I´m sure you´ll regret if you don´t get some samples of Slumberhouse scents!


Which Tank Girl do you prefer, the comic or the movie? Imagine having a mutant kangaroo boyfriend!?







Pic: Tank Girl, Jamie Hewlett

Slumberhouse - Jeke

Mel Gibson is one of those middle aged, well known actors that manage to make a fool of them self lately. Mel, is maybe not in the dignity of Charlie Sheen in doing so, but not far from it. But if we try to forget about nowadays Mel Gibson and instead goes back in time, all the way back to 1979. There we can find a young Mel Gibson, starring in the Australian movie Mad Max.


In case some of you haven´t seen it, Mad Max is taking place in a dystopic future, mostly on Australian highways and in the desert. Law and order is a joke, and people are fighting about the rare sources of gasolin. Mel Gibson plays a young, disillusioned cop.


Well, I kind of realise that no one would have even the remotest interest in perfumes during these circumstances (except of maybe some rare survived perfume nerd), but still the new indieperfume line, Slumberhouse has manage to create a fragrance that would have suited Mad Max Rockatansky (what a name!) as a hand fits a worned leather glove, namely Jeke.


I´m really impressed. Jeke might not be really my kind of fragrance, but there´s no doubt about this being a well made fragrance with integrity, sentiment and soul (and what a thrilling dark sould that is).It´s powerful, masculin, darker then dark, interesting and still much easier to wear and enjoy then most scent similar to it that I´ve tried.


Jeke is brimful with dark, aromatic tobacco, real deal patchouli, I can sense smoke, leather and even whittered asphalt (if only in my imagination maybe?). Jeke is raw, genuin and still I find little glimpses of sweetness in it, some soft woody notes and a hint of juniper. Maybe there is hope after all?


Still, most parts of Jeke is heavy, saturated and concrete, I can´t find any soft and light top notes. Jeke makes me want to wearf my old leather jacket and my most worned old Dr Martens. Still, Jeke is a little to heavy and domination for me to wear casually. On my dear husband it smells incredible good, sexy and dirty.


Jeke is fairly masculine, still women that like heavy, dark tobacco scents with elements of charred wood and dystopia should of course give Jeke a try. Jeke has medium longevity about 4-5 hours on me, and medium sillage. Jeke also makes me want a Mad max-marathon, besides the first movie there are two followers as well, and at least part two was also quite good. Of course wearing Jeke.


You can order Jeke and other Slumberhouse fragrances (and samples) at http://www.indiescents.com/brands/Slumberhouse.html

Also you can find out more about Slumberhouse here: http://slumberhou.se/


This kind of indie lines makes me really happy, and I sure hope Slumberhouse is here to stay.


What dystopic, post-apocalytic future vision is your favorite? Movie, litterature och comic? Do you have any fragrances you associates with that kind of fiction?


Pic: Mel Gibson in Mad Max

Hermes - Iris Ukiyoé

I´ve so many interesting fragrances to write about, that I sometimes don´t know where to start. But, now it´s maybe about time to tell you a little about Iris Ukiyoé that I bought about a month ago in Stockholm.


Iris Ukiyoé is the ninth and latest addition to Hermes Hermessence line, a line of exclusive fragrances all created by master perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena. I´m not a 100% fangirl of Jean-Claude Ellena´s work, some of his scents is much to light, subtle and aquatic to suit me well. But, i also have some big favorites among his work, such as (also for Hermessence), Ambre Narguile, Bois Farine for L'Artisan and also the two kind of similar, L'Eau d'Hiver for Frederic Malle and Paul & Joe´s Blanc.


Anyway, Iris Ukiyoé was love at first sniff for me. It IS aquatic, but it´s like the water have it´s very own, dark turqoise color. And iris fragrances in water color, but watercolors that is strong, bold and colorful. the opening is very citrusy, but also accompanied by something with a slightly plastic scent, but plastic in a good way. I do occationally like some plastic notes in fragrances, probably because it reminds me of the scent of a newly opened barbie-or other plastic doll (I loved to smell them right out of the box), a scent filled with joy for most little girls and a scent that stay in our memory for a long time.


No need to get panicky though if you don´t like plastic notes, it´s only there for a very short while. in a copple of minutes it´s transforms to a soft, caressing and pleasant floral scent. A dense, but still airy floral scent, like the scent from thousands of fragile, velvety petals. People that knows the scent of real iris, says it smells like this. I have no ide, but I think it´s a very unique scent, not earthy/rooty as some irises or violet or powdery as others.


Iris Ukiyoé is very happy, spirited and moodlifting kind of iris scent, when trying it in stockholm I become happy every time I sniffed it on my hand...


A strange thing is the scent of caramel/fudge that occurs after about an hour. One of the participants of the perfume meeting said it smelled like caramel/toffee on me. But that was when I was eating a fudge brownie so we belived it was because of that.


But the strange thing is that I´ve noticed that toffee note over again. It has almost made me mad. Have I some left overs from a vanilla-or gourmand scent still lingering around on my wrist or on my top? Or, do Iris Ukiyoé really smell like caramel on me?


It IS Iris Ukiyoé! Now I have showered, and put on a clean top and even clean jeans (after all i can always spill a drop or two when I decanting) and yes, the vague fudgy note is still there. I can´t find any notes responsible to this scent, there is no vanilla, no amber with tonka beans and definitly nno cheap synthetic caramel notes in Iris Ukiyoé, still I discover a faint note of milky fudge. Maybe it´s easier to get if I tell you that I discover some closeness to Bois Farine in Iris Ukiyoé?


No wonder why i like this one so much. :) In the drydown I get (besides the fudge) a soft, delicat rosy scent. Pale and perfectly soft petals and that small hint of caramel. Just perfect! Iris Ukiyoé has good lasting power, about 6 hours on me and good sillage. A must try for everyone that´s found of Jean-Claude Ellena´s perfume making and also a must try because of it´s unique and different take on iris.


Those of you that have tried Iris Ukiyoé, is there anyone out there except of me, that get´s that weird (but good) caramel note? Apart from that, do you have any favorite among the Hermessences? Or other fragrances created by Ellena?




Pic: June Rollins

Ginestet - Botrytis

Do you like honey? I´m not a honey lover, even though I use honey occationally in food and baking. Pure and natural honey have a very special taste and aroma, if you put your nose in a honeypot you´ll discover that the actual scent is really special, complex and without doubt, animalic. Yes, you can smell a faint urine like scent in there.


Maybe that´s why honey in perfumes often seem to be covered up with a lot of strong, spicy and dominating notes?


Well, anyway in Ginestet´s Botytris I can´t find any of that odour. still, Botytris is filled with warm, golden and aromatic honey. Honey so soft, light and sweet. In the opening there is nothing else then this lovely honey note.


Some where in the fragrances Botytris becomes more saturated, filled with -not so loud- spices and a delicate, subdued tobacco note. Botytris is a fragrances for us that like it sweet, but it´s not THAT sweet, only just enough (according to me). Eventually it become a little darker and I can also smell some ambra and vanilla, still honey has the main role from start to end.


During drydown, the honey in fact dries down and becomes powdery, dry and very delicate. Now, botytris smells like the most amazing honey caramels with some vanilla and mouthwatering spices also. Such a perfect and enjoyable comfort scent...


Botytris is some kind of noble rot that infest grapes and then contributes to give the wine a very special and deep sweetness. Ginestet offers besides of Botytris to toher wine inspired scents, Sauvignonne and Le Boise. Besides that, Ginestet is probably more known fore their wines then their perfumes.


Botytris is a must try if you´re looking for a softer take on honey. I do recommend it to anyone with a liking of sweet and gourmand fragrances. Will probably work well on men too. Botytris has OK longevity, about 3-4 hours on me and the sillage is medium. Botytris would be a perfect comfort scent during autumn and winter.



Pic:honeycomb, greenhealthspot

Caldey Island - Island Lavender

Some time ago I was looking for perfumes at Ebay. one headline captured my attention, "Rare, niche, Caldey Island lavendel, made by monks". I read the descrition and found a lot of interesting information. Luca Turin apperantly called Caldey island lavender "The best lavender soliflor on earth". Which of course, didn´t make me less curious, even though I haven´t read The Guide.


start searching on internet and soon realised that Caldey Island perfumes wasn´t that hard to get. Caldey Island is a small island situated off Pembrookeshire, Wales coast. The first monastery on the island was founded way back in the 6th century and since then several different monastic orders have had monasterys on the island. During some periods the island have been abandoned.


The recent monks are cistercians and arrived to Caldey Island in 1929. During the 50'ies the monks started selling lavender bunches to visitors. Some time later they start making their own lavender perfume as well, made of lavender and other herbs picked on the island. The perfume become very popular with visitors.


During the 70'ies the monk decided to outsource the perfume making. Today, the belgian perfume Ivo jacobs is the nose behind the present formulation of Island lavender. The island today have no actual perfume making, but the monks fill up the bottles on the island and make the outer packaging and so on. However, the monks have start growing lavender on the island again, and sell small bunches of it to the tourists...


I really find this story to be both touching and interesting, a bunch of monks on a far away island making a living of selling perfumes and chocolate(!). From Easter time and until autumn it´s possible to visit the island. Besides the monastery, Caldey Island also have the best sandy beach in Pembrookeshire, and the whole island is as a peaceful retreat. there is also a small village at the island. I would really enjoy visiting Caldey Island some day. You can read more about Caldey Island, the monks and a little this and that here: http://www.caldey-island.co.uk/


For about 10 € I got my very own small bottle of Island lavender, and of course the monks have a webshoip where you can buy it and other things such as soaps and chocolates as well.


But what about the fragrances it self? well, I´m not a big consumer of lavender scents, but occationally I just need to have a lavender soliflor to calm down and relax. At those moments Island lavender is just right. The opening is clear, fresh and yet not cold. During development, the lavender becomes dryer and softer and I also detect other herb, even though I can´t say exactly what other herbs. it has also an airy feeling.


Caldey Island lavender is mostly a lavender soliflor and smell as one shortly spekaing. If it´s the worlds best I can´t say. It´s good for what I want it to and that´s enough for me. Longevity is short, really, but at that time I´ve allready fallen in sleep. :P


I do recommend Caldey Island Lavender to everyone. Not because it´s the most amazing fragrance ever, but because "everyone" cab afford a bottle of their own, for about 10€ (comes in different sizes, very moderate prices and low shipping rates as well). And because it feel very pleasant to support a gang of hard working monks on a small island...


Pic: Caldey island

Atelier Cologne - Vanille Insensee

I hadn´t tried anything from Atelier Cologne, but I got a sample of their latest offering, Vanille Insensee in a recent swap.


Mmm, mmm and... mmm, this is really thrilling. Somewhere hiding in all the dark smokiness of Vanille Insensee there is actually some vanilla. To find it I have to be a smoke-fireman for a while...


i don´t have any good smoky fragrance in my collection. Smoky notes are a bit difficult to me. Smoky smoke, often with birch tar can easily become to sharp and even headache inducing on me. Incense smoky can turn in strange directions, like Messe de Minuit that becomes sweet coca cola on me, Comme des Garcons Insence line smells more like room fragrances then perfume to me and my latest finding, Oriental Lumpus have so much insence in it that it turns on my insence allergy leaving me with my eyes all watery and red. Serge Noir is to dusty and grey and Patchouli 24 (27) from Le Labo becomes very monotone after about 18 hours and have to be put down by a dip in the water.


Vanille Insensee might be the perfect smoky frag for me! I don´t know why it becomes SO smoky on me, the name isn´t related to insence, apperantly it means something like Vanille Insane.


Notes of lime, coriander, jasmine, vetiver, oakmoss, oakwood, vanilla. Probably it´s a mix between really smoky vetiver and a grey, duty oakmoss making the smoke soft, comapct, on the border to dusty/powdery and very comfortable. i belive jasmine and vanille contributes with a little sweet softness, but over all this is an unsweet, dark, saturated and very smoky scent.


Vanille Insensee is a cologne absolut 15%, I´m not totally sure what that is. But probably diluted to 15% fragrance essences. Yet, vanille Insensee has a really good staying power, after 12 hours I still smell some smoky vanilla. The sillage is great (I´ve only got a dab on sample). Maybe you can guess it´s a cologne thnaks to it´s airy and somewhat light character even though filled with such heavy notes. How a scent can be both heavy and airy at the same time might be a contradiction, but Vanille Insensee is that!


I´ve always thought of smoky notes to be a little thrilling, a little film noir and kind of mysterious. Vanille Insensee fullfils that with ease. Vanille Insensee is really nice on women, but I think it would be great on men as well. If you´re looking for a smoky fragrance with some sweetness, you should give this a try.


Do you have any favorite smoky fragrances?





Pic:beneaththerose.blogspot

We have a winner!

List Randomizer

There were 16 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

Pärlbesatt
Ylva
Bellatrix
solocha
Maria
kjanicki
a.k.a Warum
Alice
Carina
Cymbaline
Hanna
Natalia
Ann
Nilla
Ann (E)
Catterina
Timestamp: 2011-03-24 07:19:14 UTC


Congratulations to Pärlbesatt that have won a bunch of samples to test.


To comfort the rest of you I think there will be another drawing soon and mayvbe another small surprise for faithful readers. Don´t miss that!

Untitled - No 8 (Brent Leonesio)

Luckyscent have given 8 perfumers the possibility to create 8 different scents. Brent Leonesio is the nose behind Untitled No 8 and also the creator of indie brand Smell Bent. Smell Bent has a wonderful, humoristic style and offers perfume oils and also eau de toilettes to really great prices. I´ve tried and also reviewed some Smell Bent fragrance and you can find some of them here: http://perfumenerd.blogspot.com/2009/12/smell-bent-hungry-hungry-hippies-and.html
Since Smell Bents perfume oils was such a pleasant surprise, I was of course curious about Untitled No 8 as well.


With notes of narcissus, fur, feral musk, oud and leather you expect an animalic fragrance and that is what you get and plenty of it too. It´s like being trapped inside Noah´s Ark with all the animlas and all their poo too.


usually I´m not that sensitive to animalic notes in perfumes. Muscs Koublai Khan becomes a well behaved and easy to handle champion horse compared to untitled No 8. Untitled No 8 is foamy sweaty, pungent leather and if that isn´t enough top it of with a heft dose of shit. And not just some dry horse manor with the smell of half digested hay, this is real shit. I have spend time with my youngest grand child toay and he pooped 4 times, and that smelled very much like the dominating note in untitled No 8, but Untitled No is a little more complex and mixed with other strong, animalic notes besides the shit.


Untitled No 8 is too much feces for me to feel comfortable. In a distant it smells kind of good, but any closer sniff makes me almost nauseous.


After a while the smell of poo becomes more in the background and Unititled No 8 becomes a soft, yet erotic and still dirty animalic musk fragrance. Untitled No 8 is a perfume oil, with good lasting power but not so big sillage. Even though the base is quite pleasant, the road leading to it isn´t worth it to me.


Even though Untitled No 8 doesn´t really working on me, I still recommend it to anyone curious about animalic notes in perfumes. I´ve tested it on both husband and oldest son and the shit was quite dominant on them too. Still I belive it could smell quite nice on the right person...


Have you tried it? What do you think about it? Do you tolerate animalic/dirty/skanky/body odour notes good or bad? I´m somewhere in between, some work really magical on me, while others (like the musk note in L'Air du Rien) become so unpleasant.


Today I´ve got a parcel from a fairly new French perfume house, so I´ll try them out and then review them here. And soon I´ll be reviewing a really pleasant smoky fragrance and also so indie scents all the way from USA is coming up shortly...


Pic: Noah´s Ark, Edward Hicks.

A small draw to celebrate the spring!

Finally it feels like spring it´s on it´s way. I really hope this lovely sunny weather stay with us for a while. Now it´s time for springflowers and no more snow!


Now, when winter is going towards it´s end, I also start to feel for some other kinds of fragrances. Today was the first time since last summer I longed to wear Bond No 9´s Coney Island. Do you have any spring or summer fragrances that you feel it´s finally time for?


Some of the scents I´ve been writing about from around Christmas until now I won´t use as much during spring, while others will be so nice to wear in warmer weather. I belive I´ll use Cruel Gardenia with pleasure during april as well as several of Ormonde Jayne´s fragrances. Frazer parfum have several perfumes with a kind of refreshing feel and I think they´ll be beautiful during summer. When (or if) I comes to London I´ll go to Roja Dove´s at Harrods and ask how much a bottle of Frazer Parfum is...


Puredistance I that I wrote about just days ago will be so nice during spring and summer, so will Iris Ukioje that I bought when I was in Stockholm.


Some of the fragrances I have wrote about isn´t that easy to get, so I will give away a small set of samples to one winner (here and the Swedish blog).


The winner will have: One sample (1 ml) of Femme by Rochas (vintage), one sample (1 ml) of Shalimar (vintage), one sample of Cerchi Nell'Acqua´s White Out, one sample (1 ml) of Sigilli´s Claudiae, one small sample (0,5 ml) of Guerlain´s Cruel Gardenia, one small sample (0,5 ml) of Iris Ukioje and one small sample (0,5 ml) of Puredistance I.


Leave a comment below, and I´ll draw one winner at thursday 24th of march, tell me something about spring or winter favorites.


Good Luck!





Pic: krokus i snö, J.Larsson