Chanel #5 is a fragrance of iconic status. Marketed as luxury, class and a beauty that stands apart #5’s perfume story may surprise you as it includes black earth and melting ice. The creator of Chanel #5 Ernest Beaux {genuflects} has this to say about…
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March 25th, 2008 — from teacake @ teacakery
Arcana Filthy Viking
March 25th, 2008 — from teacake @ teacakery
I’ve often seen inquiries on perfume forums asking for fragrances with mint in them. The answers given are sparse and the fragrances suggested have mint only as a minor supporting note in what is otherwise a green or a chypre or a citrus. Why mint hasn…
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March 1st, 2008 — from teacake @ teacakery
Over the next few blog-o-cycles I will be writing about the wonderful perfume oil company, Arcana. If any e-tailer could convert a Lutens sipping, Tauer tooting self-confessed fragrance snob to the joyful worship of a 5ml bottle Arcana would be it.Frag…
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December 1st, 2007 — from teacake @ teacakery
Let me just say.. OMG. The emotion of Melissa’s rendition of this old Petty thrasher both in her singing and face blows me away. Melissa Etheridge’s raw voice and lyrics have always been cathartic therapy for me. What a cover, if I was Petty I would ju…
Related StoresBPAL Project: Dia de Los Muertos 07
October 8th, 2007 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
Wow. This scent is an intense hit of burning garbage and food. Yes it’s not much of a stretch to smell the churros. Fried stuff.. sugar.. dough.. overly ripe fruit. In the background a smoky burnt smell, “should they be burning that?”Dia de Los Muertos…
Related StoresBPAL Project: Taurus 2007
October 3rd, 2007 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
As the Zodiac oil of Taurus drew close I suspect Taurean BPAL fans were in a lather of anticipation over what earthy, hoof pawing, testosterone soaked leather their oil would be. How could it not be along the lines of BPAL’s other macho Bull scent, Min…
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August 31st, 2007 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
In my long journey of perfume sniffing, huffing, inadvertently tasting and, with BPAL, slathering all over myself my dislikes are now overly familiar to me. Cumin? Check. Certain uses of Vetiver? Check. Lily? Sadly, check. Very few surprises with even …
Related StoresBPAL Project: Bathsheba
August 21st, 2007 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
“Your faith was strong, but you needed proofYou saw her bathing on the roofHer beauty in the moonlight overthrew you..”Bathsheba has a prettified sensuality that men are wont to paint in broad brushstrokes when attracted to beautiful women, the kind of…
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August 2nd, 2007 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
Malediction: Evil incarnate. Revel in your dark side with this romantically cruel scent. Contains red patchouli and vetivert.Evil incarnate, Ooooo I’m so scared.. other people’s hyperbole is never as interesting as one’s own. Malediction is a very masc…
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July 31st, 2007 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
I figured with this sweet little name, so different from BPAL’s usual..{GOLGOMOTH’S URN}.. that this would be a sugary confection. Maybe a touch of heliotrope quickly drowned out with too much vanilla and finishing off with some standard bakery spice i…
Related StoresThe Depressing Quality of Mediocrity, a perfume confession
July 20th, 2007 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
Today I ordered French Onion soup at a cafe I’ve previously enjoyed. First time I’ve seen it on the menu, I realized it’s been many years since I had it. It’s freezing out. I could not wait to enjoy it. What I received was not the mouthwatering robust …
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A is for Architect
May 31st, 2007 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
Allure Sensuelle is a fragrance that synesthetically matches the bitter burgundy of its box. This is the exact colour of Allure Sensuelle, a perfume that gives structure to the idea that Chanel perfumes are “abstract”. Allure Sensuelle is all angular d…
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January 13th, 2007 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake
Escada edp is the eponymous scent of a house of many bottles. Released in 2005 you would be forgiven for being surprised at how many Escadas (with actual names) preceded it. I am reminded of The Cure’s 13nth album (depending on how you count them), “Th…
Related StoresLancome Tropiques: Postcards from the Gift Shop
January 7th, 2007 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
Yesterday in the 34C heat I was happily making mango ginger marmalade. It came out perfectly. I filled a pretty, smaller jar to give away but now I’m keeping it because it’s the best jam I’ve made in a while. About 8 small mangoes, 2 oranges, crystall…
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Continue reading → Lancome Tropiques: Postcards from the Gift Shop
It is extremely hot
December 21st, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
It is 37+ Celsius or nearly 100 Fahrenheit. The sky is WHITE, no not with snow clouds (though those are grey as I recall) but with smoke. Bushfires in the north east of the state have been burning furiously for over a week and the air is thick with the…
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December 7th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
One of the strangest things I’ve experienced with the perfume journey is the disturbing idea that I know myself far less than I think. Had I been assigned in school to make a list of the 10 perfumes that most describe “me” it would have included many f…
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November 16th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
With Love is a mellow sweet fragrance with a star anise note that raises its drinking age by at least 5 years. Young teens will buy this because it’s NEW and Hilary Duff but they will not want to lick it off their arms like they do Fantasy. The delica…
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October 29th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
After successfully ignoring the Burberry line for many years I have finally succumbed. Ever a wide-eyed child of advertising spin and my own imagination I have fallen for many a fragrance fantasy..You will be scary and maybe kinky and definitely sexy a…
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October 14th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
Let me begin by saying that I am very proud of myself that I have never bought one of these beauties. I have been tempted. Just the other day I saw Live at a give-away price, the big wonderful bottle, and I didn’t even stop for another spray to try and…
Related StoresGuerlain Insolence
September 30th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
Insolence or “the new Guerlain” as it is trepidaciously referred to opens with a sharp blast of surprisingly strong synthetic violets. There is a clear chord of iris but I could detect none of the “red fruits” listed in the notes. It’s vivid, it’s mode…
Related StoresAnnick Goutal’s Eau de Ciel
September 29th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
Eau de Ciel is honeyed lucerne and clover flowers warmed in the sun. Avoiding the literalness some niche scents strive for Eau de Ciel is more of an evocotive painting that transports you to a memory of summer you cherish. Sweeter in the cool weather, …
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September 17th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
A day of fragrance dallying. While glancing at a forum over breakfast, still unscented, I saw the word ~~rose~~. Never a favorite suddenly I had to be rosy and blushing with petals. Such an impulse and thankfully I do have one rose scent, Stella. Other…
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September 9th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
I recently spent some quality fragrance time at the Estee Lauder counter, and what a lovely time it was. I’ve always enjoyed Lauder, if not to wear at least to sniff. Old school big scents, I can happily sample knowing I will spared some of the tedious…
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August 9th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
No BPAL for me while I work my way through the tissues. I did break down the other day and try Serpent’s Kiss. There was a wonderful, almost brittle note that I loved. However after a rather vigorous nose blowing session a faint whiff of the hated BPAL…
Related StoresBPAL Project: Holiday Moon
August 6th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
~Yankee Candle Revenge~Oh how I have gloated over my Yankee Candle virginity when it comes to BPAL. Happily spared of this inescapable association I am free to enjoy, or not, oils that to others shriek candle spice. Oils can have their assignations in …
Related StoresBPAL Project: Stardust
August 5th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
Stardust!Champagne pale and effervescent, makes you smile over your white musk cocktail. This scent is pretty and glittery and makes me think of Rive Gauche and her slim blue-eyeshadowed friends. Yes it does smell 70’s as far as fragrance composition g…
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August 4th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
Enchanting and delicate the mandarine tingles in the background of this oil’s gentle opening. The mango develops well, adding depth and roundness and more colour than fruit to the sandlewood which is tinged with spice. You wouldn’t call this a fruity …
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August 3rd, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
Fir trees, cinnamon and perfumey goodness. Nice in a pot-pourri kind of way, this smells like a Christmas wreath. Similar to other scents without having any stand out qualities, this would a be a good oil to go caroling by. I’m fond of all BPAL’s resin…
Related StoresBPAL Project: Siren
August 2nd, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
“Bewitching, tantalizing and dangerously seductive. A thrilling, exotic blend — deceptively sweet, but spiked with malice. White ginger, jasmine, and a touch of vanilla and apricot.”At it’s best Siren has that intense crushed skins taste of apricot pr…
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August 1st, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
Pink Bubblegum with stale undertones. Chewed too long it’s gone old and cold and back to that rubber base. The drydown is more cool and knowing, with similar notes to Pink Sugar.Not much of a crisis here unless you want to titter over the name.”Innocen…
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July 31st, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
When dipping into my imp supply I like to vary how I go about testing them. Sometimes I look up a few oils to avoid testing too many in the same vein in a row. Often I am feeling adverse to a certain kind of scent, gourmand or lavendar or any manner of…
Related StoresBPAL Project: Snake Oil Revisited
July 29th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
My first BPAL review was of Snake Oil, the lab’s most popular scent. I was very unimpressed. I did note though that I had at least two samples of Snake Oil and that there was much discussion in BPAL land about the wondrous ageing qualities of this oil….
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July 29th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
“Five roses with soft jasmine, warmed by vanilla, fig, tonka bean and mahogany, spiced with a drop of coffee bean.”*SOBS*Look at these beautiful, beautiful notes! Oh My Goodness and other creamy things, how to seduce an oriental lover with near edible …
Related StoresA Favorite Fragrance Ad: Egoiste Platinum Chanel
July 28th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
A Fabulous Ad!Surprising, almost hilarious, evocative. I am sure this fellow read The Magus far too many times in high school, with much underlining.”Our accepting what we are must always inhibit our being what we ought to be.”John Fowles
Related StoresContinue reading → A Favorite Fragrance Ad: Egoiste Platinum Chanel
BPAL Project: Numb
July 27th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
Anaesthetic. I feel it should be applied with a swab, prior to a ‘procedure’. Designed to wear in sweltering heat it does have a cooling effect, but so does an alcohol bath. If you find antiseptic soothing this may agree with you; but don’t forget it o…
Related StoresBPAL Project: Verchernyaya
July 26th, 2006 — Perfume Bloggers from teacake @ teacakery
A little whiskey..A little tobaccy..A little patchouli..A little post-coital sweetness.. or perhaps a little poppy seed paste.This is a comfort scent that dries down to furs and lingering stories. I like it very very much. The poppy is that of poppy se…
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