Spending Valentine's Day 2017 with a new love... Le Beau Parfum Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: Fragrantica.com

Valentine's Day 2017, which lucky scent is sharing today with you? I recently caved in and ordered Baccarat Rouge 540 off the Francis Kurkdjian website, together with a bottle of Lumiere Noire Pour Femme body lotion as a gift to myself. I received as samples, the new Aqua Celestia in a travel size (which I haven't tried yet), Le Beau Parfum and Lumiere Noire Pour Homme (tinkling with the idea of gifting this in the future).

Back to Le Beau Parfum. Must, MUST love big fat white florals to enjoy this. It's not a diva like Fracas but it's definitely not a shrinking violet (although I love my violets and I don't think it's quite fair to the flower, but origins of the quote here). As Savage Garden cheesily crooned " I knew I loved you before I met you", I guessed correctly that I would love Le Beau Parfum once I read the notes and I mean it is a Kurkdjian creation...digressing a little here but there is a fellow perfumehead who wrote in a forum that she wants to have his babies...I totally understand that sentiment. 

With tuberose, orange blossom, ylang ylang and jasmine arranged according to the intensity that I perceive of each note, Le Beau Parfum is a classy floral that is seamless and uncomplicated. Candid as well as rather candied (not toothachingly sweet but it is sweet), it stays constant from start to finish, starting strong and remaining clearly noticeable even after the end of a work day and a vigorous gym session on top of that. Terms that come to mind when describing Le Beau Parfum would include: decidedly feminine, elegant, sweetly innocent, lush, exotic...oh just think Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday and you'll get my drift! 

Le Beau Parfum is the answer to my recent craving for new undiscovered white florals. I tried Creed's Love In White which is a lovely mix of zesty and creamy, less sweet than Le Beau Parfum but similarly innocent and unaffected. I also tried Les Exclusifs de Chanel Beige...I had hoped to enjoy this but it's so....prosaic? Like a person whom one can have neither good nor bad things to describe. Kudos to those who love Beige and can relate to its beauty but it's just not for me. Taste and colours as they say...Anyway I know exactly what I'm ordering next from the MFK website. What about you? What lovely florals have you been craving recently?

Happy Valentine's Day to one and all! I leave you with a perennial favourite poem...

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,

or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,

in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms

but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;

thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,

risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;

so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,

so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,

so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep. 

Pablo Neruda

L'Heure de Nuit Guerlain

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: Fragrantica

I've been chasing after the perfect heliotrope and the perfect iris. Although L'Heure de Nuit doesn't fulfill all cravings, it does have plenty of iris, heliotrope and orange blossom to keep this girl happy. Plus that bottle, that pale blue juice...even if I'm not a bottle collector, I do agree that Guerlain has the market cornered for pretty bottles. 

Despite the name, I don't find similarities between this pretty little thing and L'Heure Bleue, the undisputed queen of the night and melancholy. I love L'Heure Bleue, even if I've only briefly smelt the vintage and own the reformulation (yes even to this green nose they do smell worlds apart), it is a fragrance rich in history and L'Heure de Nuit by contrast is youthful and has not sunk her teeth in life as yet. The sunlit orange blossom brings gaiety and lifts up the moody iris and heliotrope, the result is an invitingly cool blue floral without glacial tones, like dipping into the pool on a hot day with the water temperature being just right. As the day evolves into night, L'Heure de Nuit unfolds its vanilla tinged muskiness as the hours progress, with lingering traces of the cool iris, powdery sweet heliotrope and sunny white flowers. 

Sillage is moderate and longevity good. A hug-worthy scent. Do not come with expectations of drama and sorcery. 

Mademoiselle Guerlain, Guerlain

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: pinterest

Source: wethepeoplestyle.com

Whoever takes a cursory look at the notes for Mademoiselle Guerlain and dismisses it as a giddy adolescent's scent, I would advise to ignore the notes as well as the naysayers and give this a chance. Mademoiselle is a grown woman of independent means, who may be wearing a blushing pink dress for tea with her parents but she's since kicked off her demure Repettos in favour of spiked Louboutins, a matching leather jacket and a penchant for life that would make Jicky and Chamade proud. 

The last scent I owned that had marshmallow as a note was Don`t Get Me Wrong Baby ( I don't swallow) by Etat Libre d`Orange which despite its racy name was in reality a charming lily of the valley scent. I wasn't particularly entranced so that bottle got swapped away and every marshmallow scent thereafter just did not hit the spot. Well until I met Mademoiselle Guerlain.

I won't call Mademoiselle Guerlain a marshmallow-centred fragrance, in fact it doesn't smell particularly gourmand-ish to me. Sweet yes but not effusive, there is an interplay between the citrus-tinged nectar of the orange blossom, the confectionery sugar of the marshmallow against the cool green bitterness of the galbanum and violet leaves which creates the leathery aspect of the scent for me. The scent dries into a delicately sweet cloud of powdery musk laced with citrus and warm vanilla. 

Projection is good and longevity very good, Mademoiselle Guerlain danced the night away and walked home light-hearted but with sore bare feet having lost her leather heels and jacket somewhere in the party before passing out in her room that is artfully decorated with souvenirs from the Orient, the morning sun kept out by her violet curtains. 

Source: pinterest

Miroir des Envies Thierry Mugler (Mirror Mirror Collection)

Desirability: Full bottle and a back up

Source: Fragrantica

Phoarrrrr! Christine Nagel is a sorceress and Miroir des Envies is her magic potion/drug.

A real shape-shifter it is too! One moment I smell divine white flowers and the next I smell buttered caramel popcorn or warm buttered toast or...oh never mind I just smell like gourmand heaven! I kid you not. I was having the shittiest upon shittiest day imaginable and this gem came in a parcel as part of a swap with a super duper generous fragrance friend. On the way to bed I decided to try this and it put an instant smile on my face (the first of the day too so you can imagine what extraordinary powers this has)! 

Source: lovethispic.com

Source: pinterest

I can't quite make up my mind if it's caramel buttery popcorn or buttered toast with syrup/honey that I smell as both keep popping up like a short movie on repeat in my head. 

Miror des Envies has been said to resemble Thierry Mugler's Alien and its flanker Taste of Fragrance Alien, but I have to strongly disagree (personal experience and opinion only of course, kudos to those who had fabulous experiences) as Taste of Fragrance Alien (ditto The One Desire by Dolce & Gabbana) had the most nauseous, synthetic-smelling caramel note that I couldn't scrub off fast enough. Needless to say that bottle got swapped away very quickly. Whereas the caramel in Miroir des Envies smells like real caramel and thankfully has no synthetic vibe to put me off. The buttered toast bit reminds me of Jeux de Peau but the Lutens does not have the alluring white flowers that float dreamily in waves, taking turns with the gourmand facet of Miroir des Envies to lull you into an olfactory bliss.  

Jasmine is obviously present but I also detect a delicate, slightly citrusy orange blossom in the floral bouquet. It might sound like a dubious combination-white flowers and buttered/caramel popcorn/toast but 1) neither the gourmand nor the white flowers dominate the scent but are seamlessly layered upon themselves creating an utterly addictive essence and 2) this has to be one of the most unique fragrances I've smelt in a while. Like I said...Phoarrrrrr! It knocks your socks off. Sillage is moderate and longevity is good. I will be guarding my bottle closely. 

P.S: This is possibly the first time I've smelt popcorn in a perfume. The note was lost on me in the pre-reformulated Miss Dior Cherie but I'm happy to report that I'm in the camp of perfumeheads who smell popcorn in Miroir des Envies! 

Amoureuse Parfums DelRae

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: pinterest.com

The perfume community keeps raving about Amoureuse and siblings over the years that I've been part of it. Unfortunately due to several reasons including that samples are not easy to find and full bottles even harder to blind buy, Amoureuse and I never got together until I received a decant from a fellow fragrance lover in a recent swap.

It reminds me of Mona di Orio's Nuit Noire, both share animalic, white floral and spicy accords but Amoureuse is much more tame than Nuit Noire. Where Nuit Noire is a sweat-encrusted, well-loved  and worn leather jacket, intoxicating tuberose and sumptuous orange blossom, Amoureuse is lush, honeyed lilies and narcotic jasmine enhanced by the beauty of the tuberose. Cardomom is present in both, imparting its sweet and special spiciness, made even more fiery by fresh ginger in Nuit Noire. Amoureuse stays sweeter throughout its lifetime whereas in Nuit Noire, the sweetness waxes and wanes throughout the story, yet never quite reaching the honeyed tones of Amoureuse. Both scents mellow over time, Amoureuse turning into a soft and powdery affair of sandalwood and flowers whereas Nuit Noire is the glowing coals of a warm amber base. Classic and traditional, both Amoureuese and Nuit Noire are full bottle worthy in my opinion. Sillage and longevity are both very good in the case of Amoureuse, my SOTD clinging on into the night.

Coincidentally while wearing Amoureuse today and surfing the net for potential buys, I came across a very affordable deal for a bottle of Nuit Noire instead. Plus the website had the travel sizes for Profumum Roma so I got one of Battito d'Ali. The icing on the cake was free international shipping. Guess who's an even happier chick than usual today? :) 

Cologne of Love Le Couvent des Minimes

Desirability: Full bottle and back up

Source: www.fabfitfun.com

A cross between an orange popsicle and a cologne. 

On the sweeter side of life but not cloying and enjoyable even in humid tropical weather, Eau Aimable is a sunny scent brimming with honeyed orange blossoms and sweet oranges. Actually it smells like orange cordial with a floral touch and a refined manner. If orange cordial was made of natural stuff that is because Eau Aimable despite its saccharine content does smell natural. More feminine than unisex I see this appealing to those who love their gourmands and those who love their orange blossoms sweetened, like the liberally sugared orange blossom Love from By Kilian but Eau Aimable lacks the cotton candy effect of Love. 

Unlike some niche brands that consistently under perform, both Eau des Missions and Cologne of Love have excellent projection and longevity on me. At the prices that they are available at online, I firmly believe they are a great bargain and highly recommend them.  

Narciso Rodriguez for Her Musc Eau de Parfum Intense

The opening of "Intense" is what persuaded me to add this Narciso Rodriguez to my wardrobe even though clean floral musk isn't quite my thing. It is a sweet and minty herbal experience that is similar to diluted Tiger Balm and it lingers around for about an hour before a delicate honeyed floral musk emerges and stays around like a pillowy cloud of comfort for a few hours with a moderate projection throughout. 

I pick up ylang ylang with its unique spicy floral sweetness and a soapy orange blossom from the floral bouquet but can't quite identify anything else. The honey note is a clear white honey, not too dense and with no animalic overtone. Despite being labelled "intense" the overall effect is of warm scented skin without being obviously perfumed, soothing yet sensual. 

I would say try before buying as looking at the online reviews, there are quite a few that are repulsed by the opening of "Intense" but that is exactly what I enjoy about it. 

Nuit Noire Mona di Orio (re-release 2014)

Source: Fragrantica

I started my day with Frederic Malle's ultra feminine Lipstick Rose and am ending it with heated hormones to put it delicately, thanks to Mona di Orio's Nuit Noire, the re-released edition of 2014 that I've been waiting impatiently for since rumours first started in 2013, having heard such polarising opinions on the original version and looking at those notes, how could I not fall in lust?

In order not to waste your time I would advise that if you hate strong spices/musks/animal smells/have used the words 'urinal' or 'faecal' as derogatory terms to describe a perfume before, then don't bother with Nuit Noire unless you are into olfactory BDSM. For it is all the above and it's stunning. Yes skanky animalic perfumes have been done before and over and over again. Yes Nuit Noire is nothing ground-breaking but it's damn good and it does the job. Seduction in a bottle. You or your prey. 

Source: gifrific.com

The opening is jaw-dropping, intense and virile, a clash of the titans between an acerbic orange blossom, weirdly sweet burning tyres type leather and the sweaty-armpits variety of musk. After getting your full attention, Nuit Noire tones down on the leather ditching the tyre note but leaving the bad boy biker in full leather gear behind. The sharpness of the orange blossom relaxes and more of a heady white floral comes through after the sharp citrus note exits. 

The leather and animalic musk combination could be described as someone (male or female) wearing a dry spicy oriental scent, having an energetic session in the gym or other physical activity and then donning a leather jacket over it all. The creamy lush flowers and wood notes embellish Nuit Noire but the leather, musk and dry spices are what makes it Nuit Noire. In the drydown the leather seems spent and what is left is a dreamy and balmy woody amber base. 

Everyone in a 2 metre radius will be able to smell it on you and will likely follow you entranced all day and night since the longevity is excellent. This goes on my want list stat.

Sorriso Profumum Roma

Source: Fragrantica

Source: flickr.com

Sorriso smells like a chocolate version of Dulcis in Fundo, which means I'm smelling like a chocolate dipped waffle cone today. I find the Profumum Roma perfumes to be slightly oily so be careful if wearing a white top as it'll leave a mark and Sorriso is no exception. 

It starts with a dose of vanilla powder, by the way I smell more vanilla than chocolate throughout its lifetime which is pretty much infinite. The chocolate does show up and sticks around but plays a supporting role to the vanilla. If you were looking for a scrumptious creamy chocolate fix, Sorriso didn't do it for me as it's a thin chocolate similar to an Easter egg's chocolate shell as opposed to a solid egg of chocolate. There is also a sweet and delicate orange blossom note and like the chocolate, it flavours the vanilla which shakes off its powder to become more substantial like thick cream.  

Chocolate Mousse Easter Egg. Source: www.howdoesshe.com

I've read opinions that Sorriso is an improvement over Battito d'Ali (personally I don't think it needs improvement) and I do find similarities between them, both have the same orange blossom note and give off a similar vibe akin to ambient lounge chillout music by Hôtel Costes but I prefer Battito d'Ali with its bittersweet smoky myrrh.

Sorriso has a modest projection, better than Dulcis in Fundo and less than Vanitas, enabling one to wear it to the office without announcing its presence to the entire building while allowing the wearer to enjoy their chocolate fix discreetly albeit a low calorie version. 

Battito d`Ali Profumum Roma

Source: www.profumum.com

Battito d'Ali. The beating of wings.

That Profumum Roma fragrances are of good quality and amazing longevity if not always sillage, (I'm thinking my almost love Dulcis in Fundo) cannot be disputed. However there is enough overlap with existing fragrances from other brands that so far I've only added Vanitas to my closet.

Vanitas may soon be joined by Battito d'Ali.

I was in a bitter chocolate/cacao mood one day and Battito d'Ali was recommended for a cacao scent. On me it's more about orange blossoms than cacao. I love orange blossoms, be they ethereal and dainty, soapy or skanky. I had been satiated for a little over a year but I recently reignited my search for new orange blossoms to fall in love with. I tried Love by Kilian which was a total candied orange blossom that was too sweet for even my gourmand-inclined tastes. Then came Battito d'Ali and her dreamy self.

Battito d'Ali isn't a dainty orange blossom like Elie Saab's Le Parfum, not a chic one like Maison Francis Kurkdjian's APOM Pour Femme nor is it heady like Luten's Fleurs d'Oranger. It doesn't have the salty sweetness of Tauer's intriguing Orange Star nor the honeyed sweetness of L'Artisan's Seville a l'aube. It's a citrus-tinged white floral that balances the sweetness of a creamy vanilla with the bitter smokiness of myrrh. Starting a little like a candied orange blossom, the sugary beginning dissipates and the scent evolves into a bittersweet balmy treasure that stays close to the skin and lasts what seems forever and a day.

I'm missing the cacao note that many have mentioned, on me Battito d'Ali started out as a gourmand white floral and blossomed into a heavenly soft oriental. Quite otherworldly.

A Tale of Two Rubj

Desirability: Full bottle

Recently I stumbled upon my latest fixation perfume-wise, the house of Vero Profumo, established by Vero Kern (who I've added to the list of interesting people I hope to have tea with before I die) in 2007, with the scents Kiki, Onda and Rubj in Extrait de Parfum being the first releases, followed by the trio being released in the Eau de Parfum form in 2012. Mito followed by Rozy were introduced in the following years. The perfumes also come in a Voile d'Extrait version with the first four mentioned scents released in 2013. 

What's in a name? I'm definitely not an expert on this and what follows from here is garnered from my research. 

Extrait de Parfum is also parfum and pure perfume. It's the highest concentration of scent, roughly 20-40% but most are around the 20% mark. The hallmark of extrait de parfum is its longevity, it is meant to be the longest-lasting concentration of the scent. However, extrait de parfum does not necessarily have a big projection to match its longevity. An Eau de Parfum is meant to represent a concentration of between 10-20% and Eau de Toilette between 5-15% concentration. The Voile d'Extrait reigns between the Extrait and the EDP. 

I literally exhausted Google search to find out the difference between Rubj EDP and Rubj Vd'E. I came away still relatively clueless and decided to do my own investigation. If you suffer perfume OCD like me, you might want to know. Just in case. 

Rubj EDP is a cumin BOMB. CUMIN BOMB. If Bush/Blair are still looking for the weapons of mass destruction, they could be found hiding behind Rubj EDP. I like stinky things including cumin (think BO, sweat and curry). However in Rubj, the cumin doesn't play nice with the other notes and does a world domination. So on me it smells like Dictator Cumin trampling on the white flower masses. The rampage calms down and the cumin although becoming more mellow with time, remains as the major player.

Rubj Vd'E on the other hand celebrates the white florals. I distinctly smell jasmine, tuberose and orange blossom. The cumin and musk notes keep this from being just another bombastic white floral hot mess and instead Rubj Vd'E smells like a white floral come-hither siren, sexy and kinky(thanks Cumin).

Micheline Pitt. Source: hausofdeath.com

Verdict? I find Rubj Vd'E to be more wearable overall. It's more polished and smooth on me whereas the EDP is raw and aggressive. Think Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday) vs. Katharine Hepburn (The Philadelphia Story). Both attractive but in different ways and therefore I advise to try all versions before deciding. 

APOM Pour Femme Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Francis Kurkdjian introduced the orange blossom note to me. I was looking for another work of olfactory art to treat myself with, having fallen in love and lust with Lumiere Noire Pour Femme and Absolue Pour Le Soir. This was suggested to me and the name caught my attention. APOM. A Part Of Me. How romantic. How could I pass?

It opens with a tingle in your nostrils from the citrusy sweet and slightly soapy orange blossom, the scent trail from start to finish always remaining on the lighter scale of things but I prefer to enjoy APOM Pour Femme in its subtlety, it's easier to pick up the slight nuances as it changes over time rather than if the notes were all barraging towards you and clamouring for attention. 

The scent takes on a musky tone and the ylang ylang with its seductive creamy golden glamour slinks in, fully dressed by still oozing sex appeal. Ylang ylang can be overbearing sometimes but here it shows its character albeit with some restraint and does not drown out the orange blossom. The flowers prevail and join the cedar and amber in the dry down, both the wood and amber serving to enhance the floral scent by warming its golden yellow into a darker gold as time passes. 

This sweet musky floral lasts and lasts for hours on me, setting forth gentle wafts of its well-blended smooth self every now and then. It's feminine and refined, deceptively simple with its brief note pyramid but the notes engage in such sinuous play it suggests otherwise and owns a suggestive but not overtly sexual mien. Perfect for ladies who revel in their femininity and it accessorises as well as elegantly simple gold lariats for both the office and the evening after. For the days you wish to wear perfume without the perfume wearing you.

Conaffetto Hilde Soliani

Desirability: Full bottle

Bye Bye Alessandro (Mazzolari). Hello Conaffetto. I will start by saying that Conaffetto needs to be sampled on skin not paper, I tried both and on paper the bitter almond is overemphasized and wipes out its companions whereas on skin...it's heavenly...

Bitter almonds galore on opening. The sweetness from both the orange flower and sugar notes starts as a suggestion but as the scent warms on your skin, they warm up as well and the bitterness fades until you have the perfect marriage of bitter and sugar with orange blossoms instead of confetti scattered about. Like I said...it's heavenly...

wedding send-off with confetti

Ok so throwing in some trivial knowledge. Raw almonds can taste mild and nutty and sometimes have a cherry smell to them(which disappears with roasting them). Why do raw almonds smell like cherries? Well they are related, both belonging to the family of "stone fruit", genus Prunus, including nectarines and apricots. The trees get hybridized to achieve different fragrant profiles and hence you get almonds that smell like cherries and vice versa.

There are sweet almonds and there are bitter almonds.Sweet almonds are the ones we see in nut mixes and cakes. Bitter almond is poisonous and only its oil or extract are safe to use.The term bitter almond is sometimes used interchangeably with apricot kernel which bears a similar appearance and shares the same poison as well as taste profile.

 Apricot kernels are used together with almonds in the making of Amaretto and Amaretti biscotti as well as apricot preserves and marzipan. These bitter almonds/apricot kernels are rich in vitamin B17 or amygdaline, used in alternative cancer therapy. Ingesting as little as ten of these bitter almonds can result in cyanide poisoning as amygdalin releases cyanide in the gut through enzymatic action. 

The almond in Conaffetto is decidedly bitter but not poisonous as I'm obviously still typing this as I wear it. What's really precious about Conaffetto for me is that it has the bitter almond note like Mazzolari's Alessandro and retains the warmth of Alessandro while passing on the powdery dry down of the Mazzolari which was a negative point for me. Then there is a fresh and lovely orange blossom note to brighten and sugar to sweeten the bitterness but both notes playing a smaller role compared to the almond. Conaffetto approaches but never quite becomes a gourmand for which I am thankful, enjoying it the way it is, blissful and with an air of nostalgia. It has an average projection but is tenacious and lasted more than a day on clothes. 

Kate Moss' wedding dress designed by John Galliano is still number one for me.

Seville a L'Aube L'Artisan Parfumeur

This is the first L'Artisan that has a monster sillage on me. Incredible. I enjoy the creative scents from this house very much but sadly their longevity and scent veils are very lacking on me. Until now that is. 

I had become a little tired of neroli/orange blossom scents and figured I had enough representation of that particular white floral in my wardrobe, from the master of orange blossoms Francis Kurkdjian represented in the entrancing Elie Saab's Le Parfum, his seraphic APOM Pour Femme, the ambergris laced Orange Star from Tauer, the indolic animal that is Serge Lutens' Fleurs d'Oranger and the candied orange blossom in Le Couvent des Minimes' Cologne of Love.

I stand corrected. This is one orange blossom that I might add to my closet after all, despite the self-imposed embargo on the flower. 

Seville a L'Aube leans towards being a rich gourmand rather than a citrus/white floral combination. I find it full-bodied and unreserved, like Titian's Venus, without veering into the smutty zone where Lutens' Fleurs d'Oranger reigns.

Venus Anadyomene, Titian 1520.

A waxy golden nectar that opens with just a tinge of citrus zest. The honeyed sweetness of the florals is tempered by balmy resins and the herbal lavender and although the orange blossom is given free reign, it's prevented from falling into cloying sweetness or soapiness. The scent stays remarkably true to a fresh cutting of the flower with some golden honey without drying down into a heavy cordial like Cologne of Love. 

As I mentioned earlier, the scent projects well and but the longevity could be better, it lasted about three hours on me.