. If you are not currently being aggregated and think you should be send an email to kevin [at] perfumebloggers (dot) com with your blog URL.Perfume Review: Bond No 9 Andy Warhol Silver Factory
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogBy Tom
One of the things I used to do as a teen was subscribe to “Interview” magazine. “Interview” back in the day was started by Andy Warhol as “The Crystal Ball Of Pop”, and when I was getting it in the early 80’s was a large-format magazine printed on non-glossy paper with gorgeous covers that looked like a cross between air-brushing and graffiti; impossibly handsome pictures of the
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: Bond No 9 Andy Warhol Silver FactoryPerfume Review: Andy Tauer Hyacinth and Mechanic
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogBy Tom
Andy has sent his latest scent on a “bottle journey”, where it has gone from perfume lover to perfume lover, who have commented upon it, The latest was Gaia, the Non Blonde, who was nice enough to send it to me.
Like Gaia, I find the opening intensely green. Really intensely green. The succulently green hyacinth is paired with lily of the valley and a bare whiff of cold camphor to make
Perfume Review: Lubin Vetiver and L’eau Nueve
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogBy Tom
Two new scents from the house whose previous release was the reissue of the delicious Idole.
Vetiver starts off sweet and rather cold, its vetiver tinged with grapefruit and pepper. As it moves forward, cloves and a slight bitter rootiness come into play. Further on, incense joins in with a whiff of Tabac Blond. While this reads as surprisingly light, it has a sly sillage; I was getting
Double Perfume Review: Frapin Caravelle Epicee, Esprit de Fleurs, Passion Boisee and Terre de Sarment
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume Blog…or a Double Dose of Grumpiness
Esprit de Fleurs
Tom:
Esprit de Fleurs is written of as “airy and crystalline”. It is airy, a pleasant bergamotty thing, with a bit of grapefruit and a bare hint of pepper. That accord also has the lasting power of a fruit fly; the scent then morphs into a light woodiness that’s very pleasant.
Marina:
Dry, green floral with a bit of a citrusy sparkle,
Read the rest here: Double Perfume Review: Frapin Caravelle Epicee, Esprit de Fleurs, Passion Boisee and Terre de SarmentPerfume Review: Spiritueuse Double Vanille by Guerlain
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
Thanks to the incredible generosity of Robin, I now have a quite large decant of this fragrance. This is not a fragrance that I should love at all- I pretty much dislike vanilla in scents as a rule, perhaps because they usually smell to me like Vanillin (that god-awful stuff that substitutes for real vanilla in commercial baked goods). Foody snob that I am, I only like the real
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: Spiritueuse Double Vanille by GuerlainPerfume Review: Cumming, the Fragrance
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
Celebrity fragrances are an odd breed: they can be Old School, Like Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds, or new style like Paris Hilton’s (insert name of whatever here), which frankly are usually pretty ghastly. Or they can be cutting-edge, like Miller Harris l’Air de Rien (which, since it was designed for Jane Birkin I am counting) and gorgeous.
Cumming, the Fragrance is certainly
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: Cumming, the FragrancePerfume Review: Sarrasins by Serge Lutens
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
In 1984 (when I was 7), a good friend of mine managed to scam the second of many jobs for me, this time at the Olympic Arts Festival an adjunct to the 1984 Olymics in Los Angeles. I was an East Coast boy, having grown up in New England and at that point living in New York. I sounded (and still do when I am tired) a bit like Katharine Hepburn, had milk-white skin, pale grey-green
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: Sarrasins by Serge LutensWhat a difference a day makes
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogBy Tom
Saturday here was overcast and cool for the first time in a week, which is great news for the firefighters here. Today (Sunday) was hotter, but we might actually get rain on Monday.
I stopped into ScentBar on Saturday to visit the Lutens, since they are now carrying most of the line in the store, not online. I also sniffed the two new Commes des Garcons, Luxe Champaca and Luxe
Read the rest here: What a difference a day makesDzing! went the strings of my heart
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogBy Tom
Well, I was back in New York last week. Most of the time was visiting the Connecticut shore visiting my oldest and dearest friend at her parents rambling beach house, and wandering around visiting shops. What is surprising (well surprising to us city-snobs) is that there are so many shops that while smaller, rival any in the city. There was a cheese shop in New London that featured a
Read the rest here: Dzing! went the strings of my heartSaturday Sniffage
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogBy Tom
This Saturday started off with a trip to Apothia, the store on Melrose Avenue that hosted the LA Sniffa last February. This time was dor a presentation from a company I’d not heard of: Givaudan. Accoerding to Wikipedia, “Givaudan has created fragrances for designers like Calvin Klein, Bijan, Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss and celebrities like Michael Jordan…” They
Read the rest here: Saturday SniffagePerfume Review: Michael Storer Monk, Il Giardino and Jjin
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
Gaia over at The Non-Blonde reviewed the womens scents of this new niche perfumer; I thought I would review the mens. Happily, he included samps of the womens as well in my order of the mens, so I will review those as well next time.
Il Giardino opens with soapy greens adding in pleasant lemon/ neroliness that reminds me a bit of an amped-up Dior Eau Sauvage. Black currant and
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: Michael Storer Monk, Il Giardino and JjinPerfume Review: Bond No. 9 Saks DNA
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
The house Bond No. 9 is an interesting one, with such lovelies as New Haarlem, with it’s rich coffee goodness, West Broadway with it’s musky Mate and Bryant Park’s oddly delicious Raspberries and lilies. So I was very interested in smelling the signature scents they cooked up for Saks Fifth Avenue stores. So on the day of the first rain we have had in LA in months I decided to
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: Bond No. 9 Saks DNAPerfume Review: Miller Harris Tangerine Vert, Fique Amere and Fleur du Matin
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogBy Tom
This labor day weekend featured truly ghastly heat: it hit 100 in beautiful downtown Beverly Hills, with humidity to match. Saturday was a trip to the Malibu Country Mart for the largest green-tea ice-blended I could muster up. Sunday I ducked into a showing of the Simpson’s Movie (which I liked, but they could have shown me Plan 9 From Outer Space and I would have liked it due to the
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: Miller Harris Tangerine Vert, Fique Amere and Fleur du MatinPerfume Review: Frederic Malle Outrageous!
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogBy Tom
Frederic Malle is one of the most interesting lines out there, with such rich and memorable scents ranging from from Angeliques sous la Pluie to Vetiver Extraordinaire. I don’t think there was one that I have smelled that I was merely indifferent to: all of the ones that I have smelled are heart-breaking, even if I couldn’t wear some of them in a million years.
The latest in the the
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: Frederic Malle Outrageous!Confessions of a Perfume Addict: An interview with Kelley
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogBy Tom
Of course, readers of PST know Kelley from his witty and well thought out posts, but now you will get to know the real Kelley: he’s even brighter, funnier and nicer than you thought! (He even forgave me for shamelessly lifting his questions, how nice it that?
Tell us about your childhood (just get comfy on that sofa…): where did you grow up? Siblings? What did your parents do? What
Read the rest here: Confessions of a Perfume Addict: An interview with KelleyPerfume Review: Christian Dior Eau Sauvage
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
Lee of PerfumePosse and I recently had a ‘fume exchange: He sent me some SL’s he didn’t care for and I picked up a couple of bottles of things he wanted. He also slipped in generous samples of all sorts of things that I had not tried, and one that I had actually owned, but not had in years.
Flashback to the 70’s: I am a teenager and yes, I liked scents even then. I would ride my
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: Christian Dior Eau SauvageThe Hidden Life of a Fragrance Addict: An Interview with Tom
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogBy Kelley
I realized early on that I wanted to know more about Marina and about Tom after reading their reviews day after day. Oh, I would get snippets of memories and pieces of stories but they weren’t enough. What makes them tick? What do they do when they aren’t writing reviews or answering their many fans’ questions? I have to admit that any time I am thinking of buying something “
Read the rest here: The Hidden Life of a Fragrance Addict: An Interview with TomBoozy Tuesday
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogBotrytis, Sauvignonne and Le Boisé by Ginestet
Review by Tom
Last week March posted about sweet scents loved and loathed, and commenters Teri and Sweetlife reminded me of the delicious Ginestet Botrytis; a lucious scent that I had tried but never reviewed. Ginestet is a French vintner of renown, founded 100 years ago in Bordeaux. They have entered the perfume market with wine-based (sort of)
Read the rest here: Boozy TuesdayA Surge of Serge
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
Today (Thursday, August 16th) I received a plethora of Serge: A trade with the wonderful Lee of Perfume Posse, which ended up with a nearly full bottle of Cedre, and a package from the Perfumed Court, including samples of all the exclusives I haven’t tried yet (but will review, whether you like it or not) and the latest import, Louve.
Cedre
Colombina dismissed this as pleasant,
Read the rest here: A Surge of SergeAnother trip to ScentBar
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
…This time at the behest of Lee, as part of a trade. Not that I need an excuse to go there, since they are of course very nice and very free with letting me spritz. Which I did with Il Profumo Chocolat Amere, but on the blotter, not on me. Chocolate is an iffy note for me, it can be gorgeous (Borneo 1834) or it can be less successful. Chocolat Amere started off as less so,
Read the rest here: Another trip to ScentBarPerfume Review: CB I Hate Perfume I am a Dandelion, Greenbriar 1966, Under the Arbor, Wild Hunt and Eternal Return
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
Christopher Brosius is of course the New York perfumer who specializes in the most unperfumey perfumes imaginable. He is also the creator of one of my four best American perfumes (from July 4th), Musk Reinvention
The italics are the descriptions from his website:
Eternal Return
Eternal Return is the scent of sailing toward the shore. It is a blend of Fresh Ocean Air, Wooden
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: CB I Hate Perfume I am a Dandelion, Greenbriar 1966, Under the Arbor, Wild Hunt and Eternal ReturnPerfume Review: Commes des Garcons Play
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
Comme des Garcons is one of the more interesting houses out there, to say the least: they feature scents that run from entertainingly odd to just plain bizarre. I love them for that, just not necessarily enough to go for a full bottle. Play could be the one to change that: it’s perhaps the most accessible of anything they have yet put out, but still with that CdeG odd edge to it.
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: Commes des Garcons PlayPerfume Review: Acqua di Parma Blu Mediterraneo Fico di Amalfi
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
With all of the postings about the top tens of summer, I thought I would post one that did not make the list. Added in 2006 to the seemingly endless series of Blu Mediterraneo series from this venerable house, Fico di Amalfi opens with an initial soapiness, which is immediately shoved aside by the light citrus peel: one can smell bergamot, orange and meyer lemon. Although it’s not
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: Acqua di Parma Blu Mediterraneo Fico di AmalfiPerfume Review: Bandit by Robert Piguet
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
Colombina’s recent post about which scents were “French-iest” reminded me that I had never written much about one of my all-time favorite French perfumes: Bandit. In my comments on that post I wrote of it as a “whip-crack androgyne”, while earlier Colombina wrote of it as “an elegant perfume that says No”. Somewhat overshadowed by its sister fragrance Fracas in the public eye,
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: Bandit by Robert PiguetPerfume review: Eau Noire by Christian Dior
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
Well, it was another hot weekend here in LA, which of course meant shopping. I visited the iPhone (see my blog for the reason why I’m not getting it), dropped into Neimans to once again realise that even at 50% off I can’t afford it, and variously cruised through other department stores along Wilshire Boulevard before deciding that yes, I did deserve a trip to Cold Stone Creamery
Read the rest here: Perfume review: Eau Noire by Christian DiorPerfume Review: Serge Lutens Chergui
from Colombina (Marina) @ Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume BlogReview by Tom
When it was annoumced that Make-up Alley had chosen this as the new #1 fragrance of the top 25, I was reminded that I had never reviewed it (although both I and Colombina thought I did), even though I liked it enough to buy two bottles: one as a back-up against the day when it faded back to being an exclusive.
As you are all aware, Chergui is named for a Moroccan desert wind:
Read the rest here: Perfume Review: Serge Lutens Chergui