Voile d'Ambre Yves Rocher

Desirability: Decant

Source: www.punmiris.com

A soft oriental that reminds me of other similarly mild tempered characters like Oppoponax by Les Néréides and Opium Eau D'ete Summer Fragrance 2003 from Yves Saint Laurent. 

Starts off bitter green and tangy like the rinds of dozens of limes being peeled off simultaneously, with a dash of the aromatic sweetness that is unique to cardamom seeds. It turns a bit dry and dusty with a sweet woody smell before evolving into a sheer golden amber, citrus-tinged vanilla and smoky sweet resins. Many ambers get too powdery or too sweet but Voile d'Ambre is nicely balanced in both these categories, with the balsamic elements featuring more prominently.

Voile d'Ambre hovers close to me so much so that I really have to stick my nose to my skin in order to smell it after the first two hours. The longevity fares a bit better, I can detect it up to around six hours. Overall, a nice scent for those just starting to venture into the oriental section of fragrances and those who prefer gossamer-like fragrances in general. 

Trance J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin

Desirability: Sample

Source: Fragrantica

Trance has a boozy opening, thick and sweet like maple syrup laced with a fruity liquor. Fruity booze and maple syrup- a seriously powerful introduction! At the same time there is something that is strong and pungent as if herbs and leather were burnt together. All these potent and different smells create a dark (really dark) and deep fragrance, sweet yet medicinal, woody and fruity, heavy yet dry and definitely complicated. 

A faint rose appears midway but the most persistent and resonant is the unusual herbal leather note. As the scent evolves it feels dry and dusty like sawdust, the vegetal, leather and syrup notes enduring till the end. The drydown is dark and earthy similar to how patchouli can give that "earthiness" vibe. The rose is less timid now as if having bloomed over time but although it is easier to detect, I don't feel it ever becomes a dominant player in this scent. 

Trance was a weird experience with some nice bits along the way, the drydown being the most enjoyable part when things settled down a bit instead of out-shouting the other notes. Unfortunately the death knell for me was the herbal leather combination that was a bit too harsh for my stomach to handle ( I literally got waves of nausea smelling this each time). Good projection and longevity though and I am positive that on the right person this would be a commanding fragrance. 

Vetiver Lorenzo Villoresi

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: Fragrantica

I'm in trouble. This is the 4th fragrance I've tried from the Vintage Collection of Lorenzo Villoresi and I like/love them all. I would like to add at this point that if you are adverse to large doses of cumin, please bear in mind that Vetiver from the Vintage Collection has copious amounts of cumin. Not quite a cumin bomb like Rubj but there's no hiding the cumin in Vetiver. 

For the first time I would say that a scent really does smell partly like an Indian curry and partly like a sweatshop. That's how Vetiver started on me. Lots of aromatic spices and the glacial galbanum making up a mixture that is a combination of- bitter, green, invigorating, metallic (celery is one of my most hated vegetables for its metallic aftertaste and smell!) and the....cumin with its sweaty/BO effect that has always been so appealing to me. A whole lot of notes that are potent and competitive beings and Vetiver could have been a jarring disaster but it's not. Far from it. Everything blends beautifully and all the notes fall into place like a choreographed dance, smooth and seamless. It gets rather dry and dusty in the later stage and befits its name Vetiver better than the spices and galbanum did at the beginning but the green bitterness and the spices remain and contribute to the arid climate that makes Vetiver smell like it were part of an Old Western movie. 

Vetiver is softer than I like my scents to be, I have to sniff myself closely to detect the scent trail but it does have a decent longevity. A definite like which would have been a love if the projection had been stronger. 

Tubéreuse 3 Animale Histoires de Parfums

Source: Luckyscent

If by "animale" they mean dangerous, I think not. The closest animal this would resemble would be a purring lap cat and this is as comforting as a cuddle with said cat after a long day's toil. Unless you have asthma of course. In that case maybe cuddle a hairless cat instead but I digress.

So there's no danger lurking here but lots of fruits, syrupy and boozy plums mostly and of course tuberose, the dense creamy floral lacking its narcotic/animalic facet here and mingling well with the tobacco ( who knew?). Fresh tobacco as if you stuck your nose in a humidor and are inhaling the sweet crisp smell of unlit cigars. Those who are adverse to too cloying tuberose in dramatic white floral perfumes or overload of tobacco can rest easy as neither the tuberose nor the tobacco dominate and overall the scent smells well-blended and full-bodied if a little on the sweeter side of life thanks to the syrupy effect of immortelle in addition to the rich boozy plums minus vanilla that seems to pervade many if not most gourmand fragrances. 

Attractive in an edible way, I am left thinking of plum pancakes smothered with maple syrup the whole day while wearing this incredibly tenacious scent that packs a lot of oomph in the projection department. In the drydown there's a dusty and dry hay/woody effect and together with the maple syrup character of the immortelle, casts a golden shade over the fruity tuberose and tobacco. Unique and bold without being overpowering. Simply a must try! 

1876 Histoires de Parfums

Source: Fragrantica

Spicy. Woody. Floral. Powdery. 

In 1876 the spices and powdery are the most prominent on me with the rose and woody notes playing supporting roles in this complex and interesting creation. 

In 1876 the spicy notes are contributed by caraway, cinnamon and carnation which also provides the powdery aspect of it.1876 gives off a vintage air as if stepping back into time or opening an antique chest that had not been opened for the past century and would be more fitting amongst rich brocades and plush velvets rather than the stark white modernity of my office. Once past the strong spicy opening, I pick out the sweet rose amongst other floral notes that I cannot tell apart but which lend some fresh air to the perfume. In the later stage the scent feels dry and dusty like being in the old and infrequently used section of an ancient library, with smoky and woody notes of sandalwood and vetiver adding to the air of mystery around 1876 like being in a hallowed place of worship filled with poor lighting, spirals of smoke and whispered prayer. Overall I find the effect similar to what opium smokers might have felt, a haziness creeps over and fogs out everything leaving behind a sense of serenity and security. 

Supposedly inspired by Mata Hari, 1876 is a unique and captivating scent that is worthy of its namesake. However I personally feel the scent is more snuggle-worthy than femme fatale but in any case I do like it and would probably enjoy it even more if the scent were on the "deeper" side instead of the current "lite" version.