M.Micallef - Time for love (watch collection)

A while ago I realised that I don´t at all love scents with tuberose. I love Frederic Malle´s Carnal Flower and I like some other tuberose scents. But, ther must be other tuberose scent out there that I could love I thought. L'Artisan´s Nuit de Tubereuse was quite close, if it wasn´t for that masculine note, apart from that I do like it a lot. But I want more than like...

A perfume friend of mine mentioned M.Micallef´s Time for love /watch and said that it smelled wonderful of tuberose vanilla taffy. Of course I become curious, I have some favorites from Micallef like Gaiac, and I do like their Patchouli as well, but however, they also got scents I don´t care for at all. I wondered where Time for love would end up?

I ordered a sample from Aus Liebe Zum Duft. But, honestly I wasn´t at all impressed the first time I tried it. The very chewing gum smelling opening was a big dissapointment, it is huge and all I could think of weas a giant lump of chewing gum. Hmm, there wont be a split bottle of this I thought. Then I had it on for the rest of the day without caring for it that much until my youngest daughter got home from school and asked what I was wearing cause it smelled so jummy... and I sniffed and yeah, she was right, it really smelled jummy now!

I had to test it the next day again, and now suddenly everything fell on it´s place. Wow! Of course the giant opening of chewing gum is still there, but now I´m kind of enjoy it since it´s a part of an extremly wonderful scent. But when looking up the notes for Time for love, there wasn´t any tuberose mentioned, the top note is peony, followed by jasmine, vanilla and fruity notes and ending up with musk and amber. Well, knowing that peony part I can actually smell the peony, it is some floral notes more spicy and rosy then the tuberose in the opening. Still, to me the opening is pretty much about tuberose and nothing else.

After a while the vanilla chime in, this is so nice. The chewing gum note wears of, but still leave a kind of chewy feeling to the scent, making it remind of incredible delicious vanilla taffy with some tuberose and jasmine flavor. Time for love is an ideal blend between comfort-and gourmand scent.

I can´t detect much of the fruity notes, but there is something minty remaining from the opening, making it a little icy and interesting. Now the jasmine also starts to get more present, at first I missed the jasmine totally, but now I can clearly smell a very soft, papery and sheer jasmine in it, really nicely done. I kind of regret that part of not splitting a bottle of this, I think actaully I must have a part of this (a big part that is).

Also the first time I had this on I belived it was linear and with not much development, but after discovering the nuances in it I realise it is much more complex then I first thought. Despite this complexity it is must of all warm, comfy, sensual and soft. The base of musk and amber of course makes Time for love deep, lively and sensual. But, I think of it more like sensual and caressing then sexy and erotic. It´s hard to make a perfume with this kind of notes not sensual, but apart from that, this can be as far from Carnal Flower it´s possible to get and still have the scent of tuberose. I guess this is also the reason for me to love it. I belive Time for love could be my next big tuberose crush.

Time for love have great sillage and good lasting power, at least 6-8 hours on me. Not much of a scent for men though. This is a must try, but remember it can take a few wearings before you get it.

Oh, another tubeose scent that I´ve missed is fracas, even thoug I have tried it, I cant say much about it, I must return to Fracas and try it out for real.

Pic: Taffyworld.com

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

M. Micallef - Gaiac

The reason why I have tried M. Micallef´s Gaiac is a little different. I have been more curious about it than on many other perfumes, so when the sample finally arrived I was eager to try it at once. I admit that there´s a lot of perfumes I am really looking forward to try, but Gaiac has quite another story.


Michelyn Camen is a, in the perfume society, well-knowned person. She lives in New York and work as a perfume writer and also a perfume consultant. People can consult Michelyn for advise and with the help of a lot of questions she can recommend them a spot on signature perfume, mostly rare niche-perfumes, so that the client can have their very unique signature scent.


When Michelyn offers to give me a small perfume consulting I was of course curious, interested and happy. It was a whole lot of questions to answer, about olfactory memories, favourite notes and skin chemistry. Even tough I am a perfume lover, some of the question was something to toroughly think about for a while. When I sen my answers to Michelyn, it didn´t take long before she wrote to me and suggest that M. Micallef´s Gaiac was my perfume. Guess if I was eager to try it? I´ve heard about M. Micallefs perfumes before, but hadn´t test any of them, and not heard so much about the line either, so over all it was a new experience.


I looked up the notes for Gaiac, and they sure sounded promising: bergamotte, clove, jasmine, vetiver, gaiac wood and vanilla. I was so thrilled!


Well, I am also a skeptic kind of person. Even tough I found Michelyn´s recommendation really interesting I was also unsure if it would be so spot on? I guess it´s easier to convince people that isn´t that in to perfumes as I am. And after all I have tried a whole lot more perfumes than the common perfume user. But oooooh... what if... it is so gorgeus that I imagine?


I understand if you´re curious about the verdict? Was it good? Or was it a disapointment?


Gaiac is a totally different perfume, and don´t remind me of anything else I´ve tried. The top notes are amazingly nice and smell like a strange mix between candy sugar, fresh aromatic wood and something airy and light that lifts the whole thing, probably with the help of bergamotte that are very, very subtle. there is the faintest smell of some kind of salve or a an ancient tincture with powerful substances and golden powder in it. Yes, there is something in Gaiac that makes me think of gold, but more of imaginary gold than the actual metal. Gaiac has an extreme lightness and at the same time something very heavy and grounded. I have never smelled that in any perfume before.


Gaiac is an oriental kind of perfume, but also as soft as the softest caress. Gaiac is worn close to the skin, and I imagine beautiful women with dark eyes and golden skin that smears them selfs in with a secret scented oil containing gold dust. An oil that make their body glowing and deliciously smelling, but they let every one else belive that they smell that good and look that golden all by them self. Gaiac is their own, private secret.


Gaiac make me want to wrap my self up in all my jewelry, decorate my hands with henna and my eyes with black kohl and put on my harem pants and cuddle up in the bed and wait for my husband...


Yes, Gaiac is a really sensual perfume, but also I can think of wearing it casual, since it wears so close to skin. In the heart note the jasmine starts to get noticed, it´s beautiful blended with vetiver, gaiac wood and vanilla. Everything in Gaiac is used with light hands, there is no overdose of spicy clove, sweet vanilla or brisk vetiver. There isn´t any note dominating, they are all blended together seamlessly, but also very complex. The notes goes in and out, one after another. Gaiac isn´t linear and predictible, no Gaiac is complex, subtle and hard to nail. I smell discrete ginger bread, flowering jasmine, golden dust, beautiful wooden carvings and light incense at the same time.


Yes, I am so grateful for Michelyn´s advice. By the way, Gaiac is originally a male perfume, and I think it would wotk great on men, even tough I think of it as an unisex.


The base is dry, papery and powdery. I wrote about colours that think of when it comes to powdery notes, Gaiac is most definitly golden powder! It has good longvity, at least 7-8 hours on me, but the sillage is very discrete. I would really like to have more of Gaiac, and Aus Liebe Zum Duft offer a 30 ml bottle, wich would suit me just right. Maybe something for my birthday?


Have you tried some of M. Micallef´s perfumes? Do you have some favourite among them? Maybe you even have tried Gaiac? What did you think about it? Well, don´t miss this line of perfumes, Gaiac made me very curious about the rest of the line.

Pic: golden arabesque, markus the bardus flickr