Mon Parfum Chéri par Camille Annick Goutal

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: pinterest

For patchouli lovers. 

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair." - Khalil Gibran

Source: pinterest

A plum and patchouli combination that is miles apart from another plum/patch that I have, the sweet and rather gourmand-esque Isvaraya. Mon Parfum Chéri par Camille is Nature bottled if Nature to you means the smell of earth...leaves and dirt literally. Appealing? For me on certain days yes. On this day of Equinox, I am feeling rather nostalgic for autumnal colours and smells. Instead of veering down the path of fall gourmands with cinnamon and spices, I have decided to regain balance with Mon Parfum Chéri while cooped up indoors. 

A powdery opening sweetened with tart plums and restrained vanilla. Patchouli is the heavyweight here, an almost gloomy, earthy and bitter patchouli that makes me feel like I'm digging in the dirt, bare hands and all. It does not ever lighten up and in this case the bottle truly matches the scent for Mon Parfum Chéri is both bold and dark throughout its lifetime. I can only pick out iris, plum and patchouli of course, but this scent feels way more complex than it reads. Lasts forever and with good projection,  Mon Parfum Chéri par Camille is a full-bodied olfactory masterpiece that is very different from the ethereal beauties I'm used to from this house. This is not a scent for parties and socializing but a private scent for spells of solitary introspection.

I believe that Mon Parfum Cheri is full bottle worthy but it is definitely a try before you buy scent. 

Rose Etoile de Hollande Mona di Orio

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: pinterest

I've been lucking out with peaches recently. Or rather peach/patchouli combinations. I love Lancome Tresor and of course Guerlain Mitsouko has long been a favourite but Gucci Rush smells horrible on me and I met the first Guerlain I've actively disliked during this past weekend- Chypre Fatal. 

I was given a bottle of Rose Etoile de Hollande during a tumultuous period in my life and didn't have the time or attention to lavish on her as deserved. So it was not until recently when I've been craving roses that I dug out this dazzling rose. 

Peaches are first to greet me and I'm very glad we get along here. Fleshy peaches are followed by lush blooms of red roses that have been gently dusted with powder and spices. The nectar in Rose Etoile de Hollande comes from both the rose and the peach but there are also fragrant spices and just the teeniest bit of tartness present. The rosy powder and brilliant aldehydes give it a classical air but I can't see anyone calling this a "grandma" scent as the spices and fresh piquancy keep it lively and modern. The drydown is a warm woody-amber base with a strong note of aromatic cloves and of course the fruity roses prevail to the very end. 

A truly luxuriant scent to indulge in any time you want to spoil yourself, actually it reminds me of Yves Saint Laurent Champagne/Yvresse with a healthy dose of roses and like Champagne, it's sparkling nature is suitable for all occasions and moods. Sillage is average and longevity is very good. 

Source: pinterest

Black Jade Lubin

Desirability: Decant

Source: www.perfumeriaquality.pl

I'm sure many fragrance lovers have heard or read the story revolving around Black Jade, that it was the last fragrance (purportedly) worn by Marie Antoinette before her ending. For me it doesn't matter if the tale is real or reel but if you would like more history on the brand and the fragrance, Vanity Fair had an article here. 

So forgetting about all that, the scent is quite fantastic really. It starts off coolly green yet spicy (almost like chewing mint gum) and a tart citrus hangs around for quite a while instead of its usual fanfare and about-turn as an opening note. I can't smell jasmine for all I try ( I sampled Black Jade at least on four occasions) as a fresh rose still tinged with green has taken hold of my nose. Young rose in the merry company of lofty galbanum (who thankfully doesn't monopolize the opening) and spices, the opening is bright and young before things start to heat up and Black Jade morphs into a highly suggestive (no coquettishness here) dirty rose. Animalic. Thick incense still carrying a trace of spices and citrus, the rose reclining on a luxurious bed of earthy moss and soil with a sheet of smooth sweet vanilla covering her bits and pieces as a stab at modesty. Here I am confused as I've gone through every review I could get my hands on and nobody spoke of leather but that is what I smell and the sweet leathery note adds to the come-hitherness of Black Jade. Sexual but not raunchy like Nuit Noire. 

It has an OK projection but the longevity isn't as good as I would like, still it is a pleasing first foray into the house of Lubin and Gin Fizz is next on my list to sample, firstly because I enjoy a cool G&T and secondly(supposedly) Grace Kelly was wearing it when she was proposed to by the Prince of Monaco- I am not big on royalty but I am a fan of fairytales.

Miss Dior Cherie Christian Dior

I have been curious about the pre-reformulation i.e before 2011 Miss Dior Cherie and when someone leaked out a legit source for a 50 ml at a decent price I jumped on it. I will probably get lynched by the MDC pre-reformulation fans but I seriously don't see the big deal about this which is a huge relief as I was afraid I'll fall for something that is near impossible to find what with fakes galore and ever escalating prices online.

Tartly green, sweet juicy fruits with dominant strawberry and orange notes, minimal squeaky clean floral tinged musk and someone stole my caramel popcorn! And...patchouli? Where? It's undoubtedly a sunny and light scent that is nice and suitable for young tender moments and would be safe as a gift but for me it has no depth, no soul, no story. Average longevity but the projection seems to be minimal on me.

It really does smell like Montale's Roses Elixir except the Montale seems sweeter so if you are missing your MDC you might want to try the Montale, or I might consider selling/swapping mine away. For a mainstream "pretty" patchouli, I'll stick with Chanel Coco Mademoiselle thank you. 

Lux Mona di Orio (re-release 2014)

Source: Fragrantica

Lux. Light (latin).

If Nuit Noire was an olfactory sex session in a dungeon, Lux would probably be the foreplay, well a lite version. To put it simply if crudely it smells like not very well washed (better than completely unwashed) nether regions and citrus. Sounds unappealing but smells very good.

First you get green floral notes and lots and lots of bright and happy citrus.Amongst the sour there is also the sweet, in the form of fruity notes and a lovely warm vanilla. As time passes the sharpness of the citrus disappears and the scent turns darker with the inclusion of dirty musk, leather and woody notes. The "unclean" aspect slowly fades away and in the drydown you are left with a cushy mix of wood, vanilla and some remnant citrus notes. Lux has an average projection and longevity on me and can easily be worn by either sex as long as animalic notes are your thing as there is no escaping from it in Lux despite the sunny citrus. 

Umé Keiko Mecheri

Source: www.supermama.lt

 Keiko Mercheri Umé is incredibly yummy and realistic especially if you enjoy the taste of small Japanese pickled plums known as umeboshi. Being Asian and exposed to all sorts of pickled fruit and vegetables from an early age, umeboshi posed no problem for the palate no matter how salty (the level of sweet/saltiness can vary quite a bit) and although I don't like eating it on its own, it adds a lovely salty and sweet tartness to whatever you choose to eat it with, be it plain rice or in a salad. 

Even without knowing what Umé or umeboshi is, it is easy to recognise the plums in Keiko Mercheri's Umé immediately that are sweet with a piquant edge to their taste. As the scent settles down, there appears a very light boozy note reminiscent of Umeshu or Japanese plum liqueur but the scent remains quite sheer despite the booze. In the dry down it becomes more balmy with earthy and woody notes but the tartly sweet and salted plum remains front and center of the scent.  

Source: shizuokagourmet.com

Having met Umé I much prefer its delicate freshness over Tom Ford's syrupy and boozy Plum Japonais. If you wish to try your hand at making Umeboshi at home, I found what is possibly the most detailed and helpful recipe at Just Hungry.

Ce Soir Ou Jamais Annick Goutal

Ce Soir Ou Jamais. Tonight or Never.

By no means a heavyweight, Ce Soir Ou Jamais is still one of the more "intense" scents from Annick Goutal, whose range I've largely associated with the words "fresh" and "light". 

The opening is true to the Annick Goutal form I'm acquainted with, a dazzling brightness in the form of zesty citrus notes and their bitter green rind, powdery aldehydes and a tart rose that's easier on the taste buds than Perfumer's Workshop Tea Rose. There's this crisp bitter green note that makes me think of hyacinths like in Annick Goutal's Grand Amour but it's subtle here as is the powder. 

The scent quickly drops a bigger proportion of its acerbic notes and the sour rose is replaced with a sweeter, fruity rose covered by a fine layer of dusty powder that tickles your nose as you inhale. The rose is prominent but I feel it is a bouquet of flowers that I am smelling and not just rose alone. Ce Soir Ou Jamais despite having a dismal longevity but a moderate sillage, is a lovely old-fashioned dusty floral featuring rose that leaves one feeling nostalgic when wearing it, not quite living the moment as its name suggests but more like re-living it in one's mind. 

L'Art de la Guerre Jovoy

L'Art de la Guerre. The Art of War.

It smells grey-green. Let me explain.

The opening is reminiscent of Mona di Orio's Violette Fumee's introduction on me, cold and astringent, an icy herbal. Thankfully like in Violette Fumee, the ice thaws quickly and a tart and sweet herbal scent arises through the cracks. I have never smelt fresh rhubarb but Ayala Moriel at SmellyBlog describes it as such:

 "It smelled like crisp grass, unripe berries or fruit and ozone. The latter element is what makes it every so slightly repulsive and ever so much more interesting and not at all like its earthly Swiss chard friends."

What does ozone smell like? Among my perfumed friends, it's taken to mean "airy" or "light" and interchanged with "aquatic", or as one of my more jaded friends calls it, "watered down". Besides residing as a layer above us in the atmosphere and protecting us from UV rays, ozone resides here on earth, produced by lightning strikes during storms and creating that "clean and fresh, after a rain" smell, that smells like nothing else and inspires creations such as Guerlain's Après L'Ondée, which celebrates the fine weather after a shower of rain, Arran Aromatics After the Rain, Hermes' Un Jardin après la Mousson and Annick Goutal's dewy floral Un Matin d'Orage.

So back to L'Art de la Guerre. Besides the strange tartly sweet herbaceous note that I assume is the rhubarb, I smell the unmistakable lavender and the metallic tinge of violet leaves...I was looking forward to a syrupy immortelle but I suspect it's portraying it's hay/straw-like trait here and not maple syrup, keeping L'Art de la Guerre in the style of aromatic fougère...grey-green!

It's dry down reminds me of another scent, this time Parfumerie Generale's Coze and its spiced boozy dark wood. L'Art de la Guerre has leather (lots of) instead of booze but is lightly spiced and earthy too. As the day goes on, L'Art de la Guerre becomes more mellow and easier for me to wear, I am afraid I have never been a fan of the Fougère family classic or modern, it's way too cool for a passionate soul.

Biases aside, L'Art de la Guerre smells like a thoughtfully crafted scent that comes across as sophisticated and elegant. It leaves a scent trail of about an arm's length and has a good longevity. 

Roses Elixir Montale

I am grateful that I never tried Dior's Miss Dior Cherie (yes the super famous one with strawberries and popcorn notes that sounds utterly delectable) and am therefore not suffering withdrawal symptoms nor handing over my kidneys in exchange for a bottle on Ebay.

So when trawling the perfume forums one day and noticing many people were swearing that Montale's Roses Elixir is a dead ringer for MDC, of course my curiosity was piqued and since there hasn't been any news of a discontinuation, it was safe to indulge my curiousity. Must I add that the girly girl in me was dying to get my hands on that Barbie pink bottle? I sensibly settled for a split on the same perfume forum. 

First spray...orange peel!! Freshly grated and still spitting zest all over you.

Then comes the romance. Roses and strawberries and tart strawberry leaves and roses and strawberries and...you get my drift? Real strawberries too, none of that migraine inducing pink industrial waste pretending to be the fruit. This is like a Valentine's Day in a bottle. Guys save on the flowers and get a bottle of this instead, it's probably cheaper than roses on V-day. 

I like that the sharp citric acid and green tartness of the strawberry leaf keeps this from falling into a syrupy sweet mess. The musk is evident but it smells clean and slightly soapy here and as time goes on, an amber base shows up and keeps the opening notes company by throwing in some cozy warmth into the mixture. Roses Elixir leaves a prettily pink scented trail wafting behind you and stays as a blushing scent cloud for hours on end without wavering.

Ahh L'amour...nothing beats Blane and Andie.

Roses Elixir is living proof that Montale does do other things than oud/rose combinations.

I leave you with my favorite song from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack. I adore John Hughes' movies!