Full Al-Rehab

Desirability: Full bottle

Whereas Serge Lutens' A La Nuit is creamy, heavy indole-laden jasmine, Al-Rehab's Full is on the other end of the spectrum, being all about freshly picked jasmine buds, nothing dirty, just pure jasmine, jasmine and some more jasmine. If you are looking for something more exciting than a jasmine soliflore, this isn't it. However if you have been searching for a green, mildly sweet and realistic jasmine, Full is definitely worth a try, especially with its super affordable price-tag all over the internet.

It has moderate projection and good longevity on my skin ( I bought the perfume oil in a rollerball). I love jasmine, having grown up with the blooms poking their heads through the window grille of my bedroom to say hello and scenting the whole house with their beauty. Serge Lutens' A La Nuit has been the stand alone jasmine in my wardrobe for many years but it's now joined by a more youthful and innocent sibling. Both jasmine and equally beautiful, but different. 

24 Faubourg Hermès

Source: pinterest.com

I received my first perfume based insult when the one I was dating at that time told me I smelt like a stable while wearing 24 Faubourg. Of course that wasn't the kiss of death for our relationship but it might have had something to do with it. Love me, love my perfume. 

It starts off very fresh and brisk thanks to the icy steel-like hyacinths that make me think of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. After acclimatizing to the bracing green-ness, I smell florals but can't pick them out individually. The florals have a classic vibe, elegant like a crisp white shirt, glowing in its tailored luminosity. As it dries, it becomes a sweet and powdery woodsy smell with a tinge of citrus to tickle the nostrils. When first applied, it seems very potent and a little lofty thanks to the hyacinths but the scent becomes more mellow with time, although lasting quite a number of hours, I typically get about 6-8 hours worth each wear. 

It's just me but I tend to save 24 Faubourg for days when I'm feeling more practical and less romantic, i.e Mondays. There's something about her that makes me sit up straight and maintain perfect posture and decorum whilst carrying out my tasks in a brisk and efficient manner. Not a perfume I'll imagine to romp in the fields or chill out on the sofa with. 

Source: huffingtonpost.com

  

Dans Tes Bras Frederic Malle

It was during my search for the perfect violet two years ago that I met Dans Tes Bras and the Frederic Malle Editions de Parfums, of which I am a devotee. 

Dans Tes Bras did not have a promising opening to match its affectionate name and we almost gave up on the relationship from there. It started out chilly and metallic, nothing like the fresh sweet violets of Annick Goutal's La Violette or the Ophelia-like Apres L'ondee, it seemed more a relative to the hyper green Les Nez's Unicorn Spell and the astral violet Stephen Jones by Comme des Garcons. "It's Maurice Roucel," I said to myself and kept faith even though this was clearly not going to be Guerlain's pouting candied violet Insolence Eau de Parfum. 

So Dans Tes Bras stepped in from the icy cold, letting in the arctic wind that sent me into a recoil. Sensing my distress, he chased the chilly elements out and closed the door of our mountain home, made of rough hewn logs and stone with walls of leaded glass. I jumped up for a cuddle, happy that he was home and stayed in his arms for a long moment, breathing in the combination of my favourite slightly powdery sweet violet perfume and the outdoorsy smell of musk and woods rising from his skin heated up from his morning workout outside. The smell of intimacy.

  And we lived happily ever after. 

Dans Tes Bras keeps close to you like a security blanket or a comforting hug and hangs around for a very long time. Like until you shower and wash your clothes. Worth at least a sample if you enjoy violets and skin musks. Clean skin. Just ride out the strange hospital 90% alcohol antiseptic opening. 

After the Rain Arran Aromatics

This is my second fragrance from Arran Aromatics, Driftwood being my first acquisition, both reflecting the mission statement of the company:

"Your antidote to modern living. Apothecary draws on centuries of knowledge of essential oils and wellbeing; like lavender to bring a sense of island calm and aloe vera to heal, soothe and nourish."

An excerpt from the write up for After the Rain on the Arran Aromatics website is as follows:

 "... After the Rain was inspired by our founder Janet's desire to capture the unique, fresh scent of her Arran garden following a rain storm. An irresistibly fresh fragrance to make you feel awakened, cleansed and re-discovered, After the Rain contains essential oils of Lime, Lavandin, Mandarin, Juniper and Cardamom."

Fragrantica lists the notes as follows: Top notes are citruses and floral notes; middle notes are rose and jasmine, base notes are precious woods and musk.

So what does it smell like on me?

It smells cold. It reminds me of living in Ireland, of my weekends on the Atlantic coast with a bracing salty and icy wind clearing out my lungs and head. The grass and leaves are dark to emerald green, not the sun burnt yellow green we have here under a perennially scorching sun. The air there always smelt pure and invigorating, far away from the pollution of the big cities, with a sweetness I attributed to the nearby ocean and the flowers of the garden, flowers that can't survive in my tropical country, flowers of a thousand colours and smells. 

Irish coastline 

Where Apres l'Ondee smells of fragile dew drops balancing on delicate violet flowers, After the Rain smells robust, of trees and plants renewed after a big shower, their leaves all green and glistening with rain, the soil damp and brown, the heat rising from the earth, drawing a moist musky smell upwards, your wellies squishing in the mud as you take a deep inhale of the sweet wildflowers and watch the rays of the sun break through the grey skies above. 

The scent is linear and the notes are jumbled together but it doesn't come across as being discordant, it's refreshingly simple without being boring or common and it can't be dismissed as just another clean scent. I won't classify this as a floral scent as it is in Fragrantica, it is more of an aromatic woody scent and sits firmly in the unisex.

The sillage is good and the longevity is decent, it stays on me for about four to six hours. I highly recommend this for being unique, inexpensive and of good quality.