Harem Soirée Arte Profumi

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: Fragrantica

I purchased samples of Harem Soirée and Velvet Rouge from First in Fragrance a few months ago and have worn both several times now (although First in Fragrance does use generous sized spray samples, you should still have a good idea as to how far a little spray of either scent goes. Need I add that the staying power is amazing). The scents are complex creatures and take a while to fully appreciate and understand, hence why it's taken me a while to write about either.

Harem Soirée feels like a relative of Amouage's Memoir Woman. That is not to say that they smell the same, but both have a dense, opulent and animalic character. Whereas Memoir boasts the typical lengthy list of notes that characterizes most if not all from the house of Amouage, Harem Soirée has three listed notes on Fragrantica of myrrh, ambergris and rose (First in Fragrance lists only ambergris and rose). Harem Soirée definitely smells more complicated than three let alone two notes. Then again the complexity could be attributed to the main player ambergris, which to my nose is responsible for the headily sweet yet unmistakably animalic (salty and a tad of manure) odour. I'm guessing that for those who shy away from heady/raunchy scents, Harem Soirée would risk being too pungent for their taste. Rose is almost hidden behind the smoke and mirrors effect created by the multi-faceted ambergris. Almost but not quite. I imagine her to be a dark and deep red rose, fleshy and voluptuous, the way I usually enjoy my roses (and wines for that matter). Far from being prettily sweet and more of a burlesque dancer, rose sinuously winds and entwines herself in the smoky swirls of the scent, as it enraptures and captures your attention, then your heart and finally your money. 

A little late but I decide to get a bottle with my soon expiring birthday voucher from First in Fragrance ( the shortlist was between Harem Soirée, Rubj EDP, Ambra Aurea and Bacarrat Rouge 540...it wasn't an easy choice I can tell you but Harem Soirée with its siren call of roses and ambergris won out). I will enjoy wearing it in the unseasonably colder weather we have been experiencing in Singapore of late. I started re reading Bram Stoker's Dracula and can quite imagine a deadly and devastatingly beautiful Un Dead using this beguiling scent to entrance its victim.

Secrets de Rose Les Parfums de Rosine

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: pinterest

A soft musky rose that conjures up images of a boudoir, littered with ultra feminine articles like huge powder puffs, silk stockings, lots of pastel satin and feathers.

Source: pinterest

It opens as a deep purple colour imparted by fleshy and ripe dark plums and innumerable rose petals tumbling everywhere. 

This is also as potent as the scent gets, it starts to melt into the skin and remains as a whisper for the rest of its lifetime. The plums get eaten really quickly and the smell of fresh sweet fruit disappears after about half hour tops. 

Source: pinterest

I'm not disappointed as a balmy sweet amber arises that is both woody and musky. I keep thinking it smells like warm skin that had a languorous soak in a hot bath scented with rose oil. Even though I tend to stay away from scents with little projection (my chronic allergic rhinitis turns little projection into no projection, what's the point of scent if I can't even smell myself?), I appreciate that the soft sillage befits the mood Secrets de Rose creates, mellow and introspective and tints the world a dusky pink. 

Graceful, intimate and a much different character from the other Rosine I have, the plush and sociable Une Folie de Rose. I will reserve Secrets de Rose for private time.

Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue Bond No. 9

Source: nitrolicious.com

Spiced crème brûlée. 

It starts off like a spicy gourmand, a spiced crème brûlée literally making me want to eat my arm. It's as if someone stole the chai latte notes from Five O'Clock Au Gingembre to jazz up the custard. Fresh figs and plums decorate the dessert which smells like a well-proportioned combination of fruit, vanilla and spices, none dominating the others.The sweet and milky sandalwood here reminds me of Le Labo's Santal 33, which is all the sandalwood I need and never fails to garner compliments. As it dries, the scent becomes even warmer and bundles you up in a downy blanket of contentment. All in all Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue is perfectly balanced between woody, spicy and sweet, smooth and rich but not too much, beginning with dessert and ending up with you satiated and comfortable on a cushy sofa all ready for a snooze. 

One common trait amongst the Bond No. 9 range whether I like the perfume or not, is that all the ones I've tried have mega projection and longevity. For example the little spot where I've dabbed Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue is outperforming my SOTD Annick Goutal's Ambre Fetiche. 

On a side note a lovely friend sent me this and I thought I would share it with you in case you ever need a spot of sunshine.

Source: inniepoo.wordpress.com

Aoud Gourmet M. Micallef

Source: flickr.com

Equal measures of "aoud" and "gourmet" seamlessly blended and of good quality, Aoud Gourmet reminds me a little of Sådanne in the sense that both are nicely balanced between happy light-heartedness and a brooding darkness. Sådanne is fruity sweetness with leather whereas Aoud Gourmet is an earthy oud and honeyed candies that remind me of baklava. The oud is the predominant note at the beginning, it is so potent that those who are wary of the note may be put off but the strength wanes quite quickly on me and the scent maintains an equilibrium between gourmand and the noble rot for the rest of its lifetime which is about 12 hours on me with an average projection. Aoud Gourmet has a welcoming warmth that is imparted by the obvious oud and baklava as well as a woody musk that becomes more prominent as time passes and the scent lulls one into a soothing calmness.

Despite its obvious positive qualities, I am still on the fence with this one after going through two large decants. It is without a doubt lovely and every time I wear it I add it to the want list in my head, but once out of sight, out of mind it becomes again. Perhaps it is because I find Aoud Gourmet too muted, too tame? 

Oppoponax Les Néréides

Desirability: Decant

Source: Fragrantica

Les Néréides fragrances are the archetypical "the bang for your buck" scents and Oppoponax is no different. In return for the very affordable prices listed on various online stores and Ebay, you get well-made fragrances of acceptable quality, with decent performances in the sillage and longevity departments. Totally blind buy worthy I thought and I did. No regrets.

Oppoponax stays true to its name and is a fine introduction to balmy scents.  A soft oriental that is revolves around warm and sweet resins, uncomplicated and largely linear on my skin.  The scent is both cozy and light, the ingredients a sheer version of themselves as compared to their roles in more heavy-hitting resin-based scents like Calvin Klein's Obsession, Guerlain's Shalimar or Yves Saint Laurent's Opium just to name a few. 

So if you are after a sultry, intoxicating scent, Oppoponax is not it. If you would like a lighter Oriental like a subtle golden shimmer accompanying you for the better part of a day, I would recommend to try this.  

Tendre Est La Nuit Majda Bekkali Sculptures Olfactives

Source: shinycreation.com

I took a quick look at the notes for Tendre Est La Nuit on Fragrantica, realised I haven't smelt quite a number of them and decided not to bother describing things I don't know and work out what I do smell even if it's not what's listed. 

I am strongly reminded of Parfum d`Empire Ambre Russe, likely strongly reminded, don't call me crazy. I dug out my sample of Ambre Russe to compare and I stand by what I say, well minus the vodka opening of Ambre Russe. Calling Tendre Est La Nuit a boozy oriental leather in a nutshell might be overly simplistic but that's the major part of the scent, something I didn't expect by its name but am quite enjoying. 

I smell boozy, syrup-engorged (immortelle maple syrup like) fruit like in Serge Lutens' Arabie but instead of the all-spice mix of Arabie there is pepper, smoky resins and balms which I can't tell apart but together with the pepper gives Tendre Est La Nuit it's oriental genes, a smooth tanned leather like in Anubis from Papillon Artisan Perfumes and a dark earthy patchouli. A thick, concentrated scent that seems to transform from its syrupy start to a dry fine dust over time, almost like musty old books that have been sprayed with the perfume. 

I prefer Tendre Est La Nuit to Ambre Russe for being an easier digestif to swallow, Tendre Est La Nuit imbibes but stops short of heavy drinking, while with Ambre Russe although being wearable art, one still has to be in the right mood to wear it without being worn out by the whole experience. Tendre Est La Nuit is a heavy scent with a big projection so I would be careful with applying this to avoid inducing headaches and/or nausea, but its strength fades out over time so that by the eighth hour it's a pleasant skin scent. P.S: I was putting clothes aside for laundry when I smelt a most gorgeous smoky, sweet and dark patchouli coming from the top I had used when wearing Tendre Est la Nuit more than 24 hours ago. Beautiful!

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.

Gardez Moi Jovoy

Source: www.nobaharshop.com

Gardez Moi. Keep me.

The name was the first thing that appealed to my romantic sensibilities and since it was touted to be a big fat white floral (BFWF) of which I am a huge fan, I went for a blind buy. No regrets. 

Gardez Moi is indeed a BFWF, not as grandiose as Fracas and obviously without tuberose, not creamy and fruity sweet like my other BFWF love, the intoxicating Isabey's Fleur Nocturne and although a classy white floral of tuberose/jasmine/gardenia, Estee Lauder's Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia was too light and straightforward for me and got swapped away. 

Gardez Moi is an enormous bouquet of freshly cut white florals, as if they have been brought in from a dew-laden garden that's just waking up. The opening is all about outdoorsy, words like "crisp", "green", "watery" come to mind. The aldehydes that enter after the white floral notes enhance the brightness with their powdery green citrus smell, giving Gardez Moi a vintage air. 

The base is a delicately powdered balmy musk, smelling faintly as if just a memory of the young and boisterous white florals.   

Anubis Papillon Artisan Perfumes

A solidly potent leather scent. 

This is no sweaty roll in the stables with flowers in your hair Cuir de Russe of Les Exclusifs de Chanel, it's more leathery than Cuir Mauresque and does not have the thick fruity sweetness of the Lutens.

Anubis is a leather loaded with a ton of tannin, I smell birch tar redolent of tar for paving roads (I happen to find tar sweet when it's freshly laid) and leathery smell. The gum resins frankincense and myrrh (I won't pretend to know where one ends and the other begins) lend a smoky and nutty sweetness after the initial pungent animal relaxes its stronghold.

Jasmine and pink lotus are listed but on me the flowers are sadly buried under the stack of tanned hides, a pity as I do love jasmine. I do smell the immortelle, here it showcases it's caramelized curry and dusty aspects and reminds me of Annick Goutal's Sables.

Anubis stays like this for the rest of its duration, a smoky leather and caramelized balmy resins. I find this rich, sensual, dark and cozy. I won't wear it to the office, the scent is much too sexually charged for fluorescent lighting and should be reserved for when one is on the prowl.

The scent trail is impressive, I applied a smidgen of this from a dab sample and it's positively radiating from its spot. Longevity could be better but I might have to judge it again in a spray form rather than a dab sample to know for sure.

A little trivia: Anubis is the Greek name of the jackal headed Egyptian god who was a funerary god. The ancient Egyptians believed that embalming the dead with the use of sweet-smelling herbs and plants helped the deceased because Anubis would sniff the mummy and only allow the pure to move on to Paradise. The ancient Egyptians used precious perfumery ingredients in the embalming process. The essential oils used in the embalming process are  also effective antibacterial agents and are partly responsible for the preservation of the corpses.

Anubis statue found in the tomb of Tutankhhamun

La Liturgie des Heures Jovoy

I'm a big fan of Jovoy's Gardez-Moi (big fat white gardenia) and Psychedelique (my most reached for dark and sultry patchouli) and had my sights set on sampling the rest of the line. 

Incense. Latin: Incendere. "To Burn".

The Liturgy of the Hours is the prayer of Christians daily and in all denominations, the principle remains the same: to pray throughout the day, to spend the entire day and night in praise of God. Wearing La Liturgie des Heures Jovoy, one does feel and smell like having spent the whole day in church, issuing forth frankincense, myrrh, styrax and copal with every step. 

The use of incense in Christian worship is seen as a symbol of the prayer of the faithful rising to heaven. Psalm 141, verse 2: "Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight: the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice." In the Catholic Church, whenever a thurible, used to contain incense as it is burned on hot charcoal, is swung to incense people or objects, it is repeated in patterns of three swings, to represent the Holy Trinity.  

La Liturgie des Heures takes us back to its ancient use as aromatherapy, of healing both the physical and emotional through stimulation of the olfactory nerve.This sweet resinous smoke is linear but beautifully crafted and would be welcomed by those who enjoy this genre of scent, employing a calming and relaxing effect on the limbic system. Read more on incense symbology here.

Aromatherapy benefits

It is a potent incense so be careful how much you spray, besides scenting, it could be used instead of pepper spray if applied with vigor, if that fails to disarm your assailant, throwing the heavy glass flacon with good aim would guarantee a knockout. 

Trivia:

Frankincense and Myrrh come from the sap of trees, frankincense from the genus Boswellia and myrrh from the species Commiphora, where the sap is collected as dried beads from tapping the reservoirs in the trees and allowing the ooze to dry on the trunk. 

The resin of both plants has been used for spiritual practices for over 5,000 years and were considered a valuable and practical gift in ancient times- recall that the Three Magi gifted baby Jesus with gold, frankincense and myrrh.The resins also have medical benefits that were applied in past civilizations dating back to 1500 BC, including antiseptic, antidepressant, immune booster, astringent and sedative among many other health uses. 

* Frankincense drying on a bark. Cedric Pollet.

Eau des Missions, Les Couvent des Minimes

If you are looking for a boozy warm vanilla that's niche, good and affordable (seriously it does exist), look no further than Les Couvent des Minimes' Cologne of the Missions or Eau des Missions. 

It's been hailed as THE dupe for Guerlain's Spiritueuse Double Vanille, but I would have to prick that bubble and disagree. It's a good dupe but it would be like comparing a Porsche (SDV) with a Mini (Cologne of the Missions), both are solid cars in their own right but you can't compare them. SDV smells richer and darker than Cologne of the Missions but with a price difference of more than a 100 dollars I give my money to Les Couvent des Minimes, at 38 USD for a 3.4 oz bottle, I didn't even hesitate at the blind buy.

The sillage for Eau des Missions is massive (if you hate vanilla this will cause a headache of nuclear proportions), straight up you smell balmy vanilla and it stays smoky and sweet for half a day at least. It's a linear scent on me but is such a cozy and resinous fragrance, it doesn't quite matter, actually nothing much matters when you are wearing this. Eau des Missions is a feel good scent that keeps you warm and glowing while you wear it, as if you are cocooned on the sofa in your comfy pyjamas with a good book or movie for company.

So if you are a vanilla fanatic, gourmand lover, adore balmy resins...you won't regret trying this. 

Ambre Sultan, Serge Lutens

Feeling nostalgic tonight and decided to hang out with the one that started it all. Or the last few millilitres of my first bottle of niche perfume, my first Serge Lutens, my first Amber. Quite a few firsts. 

Up till now, Ambre Sultan is still the watermark when it comes to amber scents. It's like Goldilocks would say, it's just right. Some ambers tend to turn powdery like Calypso's Ambre, although that is a very good amber patchouli for its inexpensive price-tag. Some are too sweet and sedate for my taste like L'Artisan's Ambre Extreme which is anything but extreme, it's soft, polite and a tad boring. 

Ambre Sultan smells like ages past in a land that no longer exists or all that remains is a decrepit pile of rubble of past grandeur and a civilised life...its dryness makes me think of hostile, arid deserts that stretch as far as the eye can see, its spices transport me to multiple places at once, following my mother when I was about the height of her knees, to the market and watching the seller selecting various spices of burnished ambers, a myriad of reds and mounds of yellows, pouring the eye-watering blend into a cone fashioned out of old newspaper.

Or travelling in the Middle East and North Africa, experiencing multitudes of foreign smells and flavours that I never came across before and falling in love with newfound exoticism. The balmy coziness of Ambre Sultan that calms and reassures...it takes me back to around the time we first met, using the scent on rare, precious free evenings spent with friends or just chilling alone by a water's edge, watching the sun in it's last dazzling performance before it goes to say hello to another part of the world. 

This is the potent power that Lutens' have on me, that trigger a slew of memories and create dreams where I surf the olfactory waves to different lands. There's something pleasurable yet poignant about each Lutens' scent that I meet and Ambre Sultan is no different. Yes it is a French interpretation of the Orient but by someone who is not just familiar with it but understands it as well. 

“Some of my old memories feel trapped in amber in my brain, lucid and burning, while others are like the wing beat of a hummingbird, an intangible, ephemeral blur.” 

― Mira Bartok

El Born, Carner Barcelona

My dad loves rum and raisin ice-cream and when I first tried El Born, I wish he wore scents, I would have gotten a bottle of this for him. 

It's very boozy with dried fruit and sweet vanilla, conjuring up images of a mound of dark glossy raisins over creamy vanilla ice-cream, add rum as you please. El Born is without a doubt, gourmand without being a gourmand. Like how Frederic Malle's Dries Van Noten smells like spiced egg nog, when there's nothing gourmand in its listed notes to suggest so. 

In El Born, the rich resins and balsams give it it's boozy warmth and contribute to the sweetness created by the honey, vanilla and dried fruit notes. The sandalwood adds a creamy and rich texture, hence the ice-cream analogy. 

The scent dries to a boozy and powdery vanilla. Delicious from start till finish which is over eight hours at least. 

Rum raisin ice-cream 

Vanitas Profumum Roma

Vanitas is a vanilla-centric scent, another in the line-up of olfactory antidepressants from Profumum Roma that are decadent without one piling on the pounds.

The opening is bordering on medicinal, the myrrh being responsible for that and it's a little cold and bitter initially. The myrrh here reminds me of Annick Goutal's Myrrh Ardente, which started out similarly with a cold resinous vibe but warmed to a smooth and subtle dark sweetness on me. In Vanitas, I smell the orange blossom and woody notes but they blend so seamlessly with the vanilla and myrrh. As it starts to warm on skin the bitterness and medicine melt away and it develops into a sweet resinous vanilla. It's not complex or profound but it is obviously of good quality ingredients and has an air of sophistication, which makes it different from your usual vanilla line up found in department stores and worn by teeny boppers.

The Profumum Roma line is expensive no doubt, but they are sold in travel sprays of 20 ml for about 60 Euro versus the 190 Euro for 100 ml. Unless you choose to have just this one perfume, I don't think a 100 ml is necessary as it is a very tenacious scent although with a soft trail and a little bit goes a very very VERY long way.

This is a scent for cuddling and lazing in bed on the weekends, it's so comforting, light-hearted and filled with positive vibes. I don't find it a "sexy" vanilla like for instance Dior's Addict which is a vampy vanilla, instead I liken Vanitas to the sweet and charming Snow White of 1937. On a different note, it also makes me crave for Sabayon. 

Vanitas Vanitatum, Omnia Vanitas “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

I did some research on the word "Vanitas"and it's as bittersweet as the myrrh and vanilla in the perfume. In Latin, it literally translates to "vanity" and is used to mean "emptiness" or "futility". Ecclesiastes 1:2;12:8 from the Old Testament, is often associated with this term and in the book he proclaims all the actions of man to be  inherently futile as the lives of both wise and foolish men end the same, in death. So as humans, we are powerless over the transience of life, but while we have life, we should enjoy every day of it, but our actions being kept in checked by following the 10 Commandments. Or simply put, do whatever you want so long as you hurt nobody or yourself in the process.

After that slightly grim note, I shall leave you with something more positive. Carpe diem!

L'Oiseau de Nuit Parfumerie Generale

L'Oiseau de Nuit. The Night Bird has landed in my hands from a Luckyscent sample. 

Now this is good stuff. 

It opens with a smell similar to lemongrass-herbal, bittersweet and green. The medicinal part abates a bit and I smell the leather that makes me think of really buttery soft leather gloves that you never want to take off but you have to because the SA is staring at you suspiciously and the price-tag is astronomical. 

There's an animal in this scent and I don't mean the name. It smells like an unwashed beast...but I like it...in the scent that is. Not the actual beast up close, I've dated enough of those thank you.


The Odalisque, Aldophe Weisz 1884

I smell sweet smoky resins, which one exactly I can never tell, I get mixed up with the different types of balsams and resins. The official notes list labdanum and benzoin.

The scent twists and turns on me like smoke does in the air, now I get the herbal bitterness, now I get then thick resinous sweetness, then I get the leather and the unwashed beast. 

Sillage is very very good, considering I applied a little bit from a dab sample to my right elbow and I can smell this as clear as if I had my wrist stuck to my nose...that's good in my books. 

My first full bottle worthy PG scent, I may even spring for the 100 ml bottle. Definitely reinvigorated to try more!