Falling for Mito, Vero Profumo

Desirability: Full bottle

What a dark horse Mito is. My attention had been focused on Rozy, Rubj and Kiki so when the sample of Mito Voile d'Extrait fell into my lucky hands. I had no expectations and perhaps that is how she ensnared me.

I like galbanum and hyacinth in small doses that I can handle without feeling like I've got an ice-pick shoved up my sinuses, yes Penhaligon's Bluebell I'm looking at you. Chanel No. 19 EDT you had something to do with it too. And Chamade...where do I begin, you are lovely but smelling you when I was a total newbie...let's just say I was not ready for a vintage Chamade. 

Mito Voile d'Extrait smells very much like my preferred combination for green juice: cucumber, spinach, celery, orange and apple. The scent is complex and hard to describe but here goes.

 It's the sensation of biting into a crunchy Granny Smith apple. The slightly metallic tang of crisp celery stalks. The bracing freshness with bitter nuances characteristic of galbanum and hyacinth. The watery essence of cucumbers. The taste of honeydew melons that are bordering on unripe/ripe, where the outer edge is still crunchy and raw. There is sweetness in Mito, like the sweetness of vegetables which is light and delicate on the palate, unlike the dessert kind. The magnolia is present, creamy and sweet and a tea note that I assume is the champaca flower.

On me, Mito is all about the colour green...a symbol of hope, healing, growth, a fresh start, pureness and simplicity, being at peace, being still. 

A Quiet Hour, John White Alexander

Kiki Voile d'Extrait and Kiki Eau de Parfum

Firstly, let me just say it's embarrassing when one's colleague walks in to find one with nose stuck in crook of elbow. But it's Kiki! It's Vero Profumo! That's my defense except I would just get strange and/or blank stares if I try to explain it. I was not willing to spend my weekend in a strait jacket so I just kept quiet and red-faced. 

Anyway. So here I am with Kiki EDP on my left elbow and Kiki Voile d'Extrait on my right elbow.

They both start out similar with a blitz of citruses that you can smell a mile away. From there on, they split up and go in different directions. Like Alice Prin and Kiki?

Kiki de Montparnasse, Moise Kisling

The inspiration behind this creation was the Queen of Montparnasse, Kiki, who was born Alice Prin, illegitimate and in abject poverty, She was adored for her easy-going manner and boundless optimism which earned her the title of Queen of Montparnasse during les Années Folles (The Crazy Years). She was also known for her multiple talents including being a artist's model, nightclub singer, memoirist, actress and a painter. 

Montparnasse like Montmarte before it, was a hive of intellectual and artistic souls in Paris. The community embraced all oddities without reservation and people came from all over the world to partake in the bohemian lifestyle. Marc Chagall describe Montparnasse as such, " I aspired to see with my own eyes what I had heard of from so far away: this revolution of the eye, this rotation of colours, which spontaneously and astutely merge with one another in a flow of conceived lines. That could not be seen in my town. The sun of Art then shone only on Paris."

La Ruche et Montparnasse, Chagall 1978

Kiki EDP emphasizes the passion fruit. The sweet sourness of passion fruit pairs beautifully with the herbal bitterness of the lavender and the fresh minty smell I associate with geranium (think of Frederic Malle's Geranium pour Monsieur with its invigorating spicy freshness). I sense some powdery notes and musk in the base of the EDP, which help keep the passion fruit in check. I find the sillage of the EDP to be much stronger than the Vd'E but I think it's because my skin tends to project fruity notes well. 

Kiki Vd'E is a different bundle of herbs altogether. The bitter herbal lavender here is matched with caramel, unusual and stunning actually. I used to find lavender hard to like and a tad boring due to it's long association with sleep aids and colognes. However Serge Lutens' Forreau Noir which turns sweet creamy tonka and almonds with lavender into a sumptuous gourmand beauty, taught me to be more open-minded and less jaded. Kiki Vd'E is another fine example of how to be creative with lavender and make it a subliminal example too! The musk is more apparent in the Vd'E than the EDP and the passion fruit played down but still noticeable. I get an earthy patchouli in the drydown of the Vd'E but not in the EDP, that stays quite fresh and aromatic throughout its lifespan

Lavender in colognes tend to smell cold and unfriendly on me but not here. In Kiki EDP, it's all smiles and fruity sweetness. In the Vd'E it's not as bubbly as the EDP but it is still warm and personable. 

Both are seriously amazing creations and my mind is piqued as to what the extraits of Vero Profumo must smell like, but I will leave that musing to another day after I win the lottery (but in that case I won't muse over it, I'll buy the whole line in a heartbeat). I've added both Kiki EDP and the Voile d'Extrait to my want list. Bittersweet, special and a bit of a bohemian. 

Kiki de Montparnasse, Man Ray.

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. 

Testing Onda Voile d'Extrait and Eau de Parfum, Vero Profumo

Onda Voile d'Extrait has a smoky green effect whereas the EDP has a fresh fruity green scent, the passion fruit is evident straight away upon smelling the EDP, whereas it's more suggested behind the opening smoke screen (the vetiver?) of the Voile d'Extrait. 

The Voile d'Extrait has a huge helping of coriander, the lemony yet weirdly nutty smell of the seeds and green herbs (basil?) and grated fresh ginger, I almost feel like I am in the kitchen watching my mother prepare a meal for the family as these are ingredients used often in Asian cooking. I'll be honest and admit that the coriander is a bit too much here for my stomach today. I will try again on a different day when I'm not already taking the nausea-inducing Doxycycline. If there's such a thing as a green leathery musk, Onda Voile d'Extrait would be it. Interesting and original, definitely unisex but I personally will have to bow out as I can't breathe with Onda in my space.



Addendum: I enjoy this sprayed around me but not on me, the coriander gets too close for comfort.

Onda Eau de parfum smells of bright citruses, sweet passion fruit and cooking ingredients. The basil/herb note is here like it is in the Voile d'Extrait. The coriander is less voluble but very much present in the EDP. More breathable and less leathery than the Voile d'Extrait. The drydown smells sweet, green and mossy. Nice but not my cup of tea. I appreciate the beauty of a classic chypre but I much rather wear an oriental.

Rozy Voile d'Extrait Vero Profumo

My first scent from Vero Profumo and the initial spray from my sample sent me into such raptures I bought a bottle from First in Fragrance stat. 

Rozy d'Extrait is pretty indescribable for me and I apologize beforehand if I don't do it enough justice. The last time I felt so giddy about a scent was hmm...a year ago with Francis Kurkdjian's Absolue Pour le Soir. 

Rozy is like a mammoth vase of flowers, artfully arranged to look elegantly disarrayed, it smells more of white florals, tuberose especially and not so much of roses. The honey is clear and sweet not thick and syrupy, the green and nutty coriander that ruined Onda for me, is kept in check here. Rozy smells lightly spiced, not spicy but similar to how cinnamon tastes/smells and has a smoky woody background. Rozy feels simultaneously exuberant and wistful, I feel like the notes are orbiting around each other like planets in the solar system, such that her facets are displayed all the time, the heady florals, the spiced honey and the smoky wood notes, altogether creating something passionate and soulful.

The Voile d'Extrait is a powerful scent with a massive projection. From one spray. Seriously. Don't overdo it. 

Turning Thirty-Three Part Trois and the Finale

Well the celebratory bottle-acquiring had to reach an end, I don't have the financial stamina to fund endless parties for a month unfortunately.. Plus one is going to New York in about two weeks and a little bit, so money has to be set aside for that trip! Osswald, MIN and Aedes deVenustas here I come! ( I got the lists from here: Best NYC fragrance stores, 23 NYC Fragrance Hot Spots and from The Non-Blonde of course.)

My package from First in Fragrance is here! Well in the country that is. The DHL tracking shows that it arrived yesterday but they haven't delivered it. Hopefully it'll arrive today, that would be perfect! That's the one containing my new love... Vero Profumo's Rozy in Voile d'Extrait as well as sample packs of Vero Kern's creations in EDP and VdE. Judging by the notes I think I will wind up liking Rubj, Onda and Kiki. I prefer the official arrangement of the notes for Rubj in the Voile d'Extrait form but according to some fragrant friends who have tried all of the line, they think I will prefer the EDP. I am looking at the EDP versions of Onda and Kiki with great interest (Onda appears to be the least challenging in the EDP and Kiki sounds really fun!).

A second package coming from a lovely fragrant friend in LA is somewhere between the US and here. That one contains a half bottle split of Le Labo's Labdanum 18, ordered and split when I was in a "I need labdanum" period. There's also lots of samples she helped me get from Luckyscent (how lovely it would be to have the equivalent of Luckyscent just down the street). While waiting for that to arrive, I have these labdanum beauties to keep me company: Solange Azagury-Patridge's Stoned (nose is Lyn Harris of Miller Harris, so you already know the quality is good. Labdanum, musk, vanilla and a buttery suede effect...gorgeous) and Habanita L'Espirit by Molinard. It's very affordable on several online stores including Fragrancex. I got mine as a tester bottle in a local store quite by chance. It's all creamy, musky and balmy creation on me, so comforting. I tested and loved Cristina by Hilde Soliani, no science needed there, patchouli, vanilla and labdanum, how could I not fall for it? It's not a well-behaved patchouli so if you like your patchouli tame and toeing the line, Cristina will not be your cup of tea. I've also got a sample of Parfumerie Generale's L'Oiseau de Nuit and I'm hoping that will be the first PG that I will get along with, I haven't had the smoothest relationship with the PG line. 

On a side note when I'm wearing one of the labdanums, I feel like a big fuzzy cat...like a Maine Coon...which kind of looks like David Bowie in Labyrinth. See for yourself...I don't know, it's something about his eye-liner.

So back to the haul...

Last night I got home to a really HUGE surprise. My family has already accepted that this perfume habit of mine isn't disappearing any time soon. I think my dad enjoys finding out where the boxes came from rather than what's in them( he's taken to asking me for the stamps on the boxes, so far I've gotten him stamps from France, Greece, Croatia, Spain, Australia, Russia and Algeria). Anyway back to the HUGE surprise. My sister got me Amouage's Fate for my birthday. How great is that?? Two Amouages in one month! Total windfall! I've wanted Fate since it came out but just like Beloved it's always been too expensive to pull the trigger and I've survived on samples and decants...but now I own not just one but BOTH these beauties! Gorgeous from box down to juice really. 

I adore Google. I just realized that this is showing on my google search screen today.

and when I scroll my mouse over it, a caption with "Happy Birthday Kristine" pops up...such a nice little extra! 

Turning Thirty-Three Part Une (Amouage Beloved & Vero Parfumo Rozy Voile d'Extrait)

October has always been a favorite month of mine. Leaves turning to shades of ambers, the smell of fall in the air, the knee-high boots coming out of the closet...and my birthday! I've never needed an excuse for adding to my perfume trove but I think I might have overdone it this year. Still, how many times does one turn 33?
Anyway, on the OFFICIAL list ( ahem, there may be splits/decants/samples that I have forgotten and that are somewhere in the mail to me), these are what I got for me, myself and I.

Love is reckless; not reason.
Reason seeks a profit.
Love comes on strong,
consuming herself, unabashed.

Yet, in the midst of suffering,
Love proceeds like a millstone,
hard surfaced and straightforward.

Having died of self-interest,
she risks everything and asks for nothing.
Love gambles away every gift God bestows.

Without cause God gave us Being;
without cause, give it back again.
Rumi: Love is Reckless.  Mathnawi VI, 1967-1974


Gustav Klimt, Love 1895.

Rumi, Klimt and Amouage Beloved go well together. I've wanted this Amouage since I heard it was being released. Roses+ musky+spicy+animal? Who called my name! However the near 600 SGD price-tag dissuaded me over and over again. I fully blame my sister for wanting her own birthday dinner at a restaurant in the same building as the niche store where I feed my addiction. It's obviously all her fault that in the 15 minutes I had to wait around for the family, I forked over the 600 in a heartbeat and this pretty pink box with the champagne juice was mine. 

After confessing my guilt over Facetime with "The Organisation", I tore off the plastic wrapper(and almost the box) and spritzed cautiously in view of the ever looming humidity. Damn Amouage. Damn Christopher Chong. Where did Bernard Ellena come from, besides being the brother of JC Ellena?? This stuff is GORGEOUS. Smells like nothing else and is as BIG a scent as Amouage gets without apologies. 

I don't find this dated as some online reviewers have mentioned as well as far from the usual offerings of today. I would describe Beloved simply as a classic scent like my beloved Shalimar. Timeless. Suitable in all kinds of weather (this actually blooms deliciously in tropical heat and performs with great warmth in air-conditoning). A scent both classy and sensual at the same time, never approaching trampy nor frigid.

The 1000 odd ingredients as per your regular Amouage, starts off rosy floral and bright before evolving into a warm, spicy and musky affair on my skin with tremendous sillage and longevity. It's beyond me to tell you which note shows up before the other and in what proportions. Suffice to say the official notes are pretty much all in attendance.  

I would buy this over and over again. And again. As Robert Palmer said...

I can't recall what brought Vero Profumo to my attention but my bank account is none too pleased. The rest of me however was in olfactory orgasm over the sample I bought from Luckyscent. In the space of 24 hours from wearing the sample, I bought a bottle of the Voile d'extrait as well as sample packs of the EDP versions and the other VdE versions from First in Fragrance. If I had thought it would be possible for me to ever afford the extrait versions in this lifetime, I would have gotten samples of those too. Better not fall in love when one can't afford to pay the price.

Rozy VdE despite the name, is more of a tuberose scent with a suggestion of roses. It is an olfactory kaleidoscope with a vintage air on my skin. A complex of jammy sweetness, woods and lots of bright tuberose to my nose, slowly very slowly drying down to become a darker, slightly melancholic animal. The sillage is explosive, this is coming from a tiny spray sample, applied to the crook of my arm. It lasted the whole day and into the night. I find Rozy to be a multi-faceted personality with a bit of sparkle and a bit of darkness, like any woman who has smelt the roses and felt their thorns.

Sergio Lopez, Painted Roses .

Specializing in oil painting and charcoal drawings of landscapes and (mainly)women in his art, his mind-blowing spectacular artwork can be viewed at The Main Loop.

I will need to moonlight more if I fall in lust with her other siblings, which if the multitude of loving reviews and blogs are correct, I will.