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.  

Quercus Penhaligon`s

Source: www.penhaligons.com

I will confess that I blind bought Quercus after having a bout of infatuation with Jilly Cooper's books where Tabitha Campbell Black was purportedly using the cologne and driving all the men crazy. I was curious as to what was so alluring about it. Answer. Nothing. It's not sexy and I assume the men were probably lusting after Tabitha so much that anything associated with her was taken as arousing. 

I don't tend to gravitate towards clean/fresh/aquatic/aromatic/cologne types. However Quercus has been a staple in my closet since the first bottle along with its accompanying liquid soap and body lotion. Not very original, it reminds me of so many other cologne types ranging from department store CK One to niche brands but there's something about it that makes me choose to replenish instead of replacing it. Talking about CK One I disagree with the pooh-pooh reviews that Quercus is a dead ringer for CK One, in a side by side comparison the former is softer and elegant and the latter loud and brash. 

I am ambivalent about citrus as it can get screechy on me but in Quercus it smells like a basket with various citrus fruit, not just one type, fresh, green and sunny. A bouquet of delicate white flowers. There's a tiniest bit of spice and the usually gregarious galbanum is muted here. In the drydown there is a sheer musk and mossy wood notes. It's as if all the ingredients were thrown into water and diluted to soft impressions of their usual selves. Average sillage and longevity. Natural smelling and well constructed. Lovely.