Favorite Perfumes

Perfumes that I love and use

by

M.Micallef Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture: The Oud That Wasn’t There

 

That day my morning started at 6:30, a good three hours before my comfort waking-up time and at least ninety minutes before I force myself into the regular work day, with a call from the office. While I was trying to ascertain the problem and decide who else to wake up, with a sudden clarity I realized what was that pleasant scent that haunted me from the sleeve of my bathrobe for a couple of days:
Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture by M.Micallef.

…

A PR person of M.Micalef brand had contacted me several times in the past offering samples for the review. I truthfully explained that I did not do actual reviews, even for perfumes I liked, if they din’t come with a story – and I never knew when (or even if) I’d think of one. But they still kept sending me samples that didn’t speak to me (even though I liked some of the perfumes). So when they’ve announced M.Micallef’s release of Le Parfum Couture Denis Durand and suggested to contact them for a sample I decided not to – since I felt bad enough not writing anything yet.

But I got Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture sample from the company anyway. I avoided reviews that started to appear on the blogs until I could try that perfume (sorry, guys and girls – in case you wondered why I didn’t comment).

When Le Parfum Couture arrived, I sprayed it, sniffed and told to myself: This is how agarwood perfume should be done! Not too much, not too sweet – just right.

The Oud That Wasnt There

How do you feel when you do a blind sniff, clearly smell some note but later find out the perfume doesn’t contain it? Since I don’t think much of my nose I don’t get upset when it happens. I was rather surprised – not as surprised as when I actually get the note right (then I feel both surprised and proud of myself) but still.

When I started reading other bloggers’ reviews, I discovered that I wasn’t alone: many reviewers reported smelling agarwood (oud) in Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture. If you haven’t read theories/explanations on what we all smelled in the perfume, I recommend reading the first two links below and choose which explanation works for you.

What I want to point out is that for all intents and purposes we can say that Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture has agarwood among its notes. How did I figure? Most modern perfumes do not use real agarwood anyway (as well as many other real notes but it’s a different story) so who’s to say that this aroma chemical or accord is less oud than any other one if we all smell it like such?

I wish I could take a picture of Rusty with that beautiful black-laced bottle. Maybe one day I will since I like Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture a lot. But for now I’ll leave you with a picture of a sample vial – one of the 10 that you can win if you live in the U.S. (thanks to Jeffrey Dame at Hypoluxe, an official representative of M.Micallef in the U.S.).

Micallef Denis Durand Parfum Couture Vial

To be eligible for the draw all you need to do is to leave a message saying that you live in the U.S. before 11:59PM on Sunday, July 21. You do not have to write anything else (but do not stop yourself if you do have what to say). I’ll choose winners using some random method.

Read actual reviews of Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture by M.Micallef:

Ca Fleure Bon, Now Smell This, That Smell, Kafkaesque, Chemist in the Bottle, The Scented Hound, Perfume Project NW, The French Exit, The Non-Blonde.

by

What we did in Paris… in less than 48 hours

 

When I planned a three-day … well, I won’t even call it a trip – stopover in Paris I knew it would be not enough even to scratch the surface of everything that this city has to offer to a tourist, a perfumista or a foodie (who I am not but just saying). But when French air traffic controllers’ strike gave me a chance to meet Birgit and Sandra in Vienna at the same time it ensured I would have to revise whatever modest plans I might have had initially for Paris.

From Paris With Love

The lady who rented us the apartment was a little strange: she refused to talk to me on the phone claiming that “I do not see the need to call me. You have all the necessary information, and I am an honest and respectable 61-year French.” Persuasive, right? But I went ahead and signed the contract.

I’m not sure how we would have got into the apartment if it weren’t for Vanessa of Bonkers about Perfume who came to Paris on a train earlier (the last-minute change of plans because of the above-mentioned strike) and offered to meet us at the apartment. She was entertaining the landlady and not letting her leave for some important errand while our taxi driver first maneuvered through the Friday traffic and then tried to figure out how to get to the required point on the one-way street (I refused to do it on feet with suitcases!).

After we got in and the landlady left Vanessa and I discussed for a while if the woman could be 60+. We both agreed that even for a Parisian who doesn’t age the same as us, mere mortals, the woman to whom we just paid money for the stay looked suspiciously young… My vSO and I agreed that we weren’t sure what would upset us more – having paid to an impostor or acknowledging that the woman we saw was actually 61.

***

They say: Be careful what you wish for. I’d add: be careful what you do not wish for.

While we were planning our itinerary for the rest of the day, I mentioned that I didn’t really need to go to either Guerlain or Serge Lutens stores since I were up to date with the most current offerings and didn’t plan of buying anything there. But since I was in Paris it was just plainly wrong not to take a look at those legendary places…

You can read more about the events that followed that day in Vanessa’s post (the link above) but from me here are two pictures of the famous stores taken from the outside.

Guerlain store in Paris

Serge Lutens store in Paris

Vanessa was such a great company that I didn’t want to let her go. But after the last excuse – helping us to book a taxi drive to the airport for the departure day – we had to say good-byes hoping to meet again one day.

The second (and the only full) day in Paris we spent alternating walking the streets and eating/drinking. In about eleven hours we covered a lot including an incredibly pleasant meeting with Neela Vermeire of Neela Vermeire Creations and the second in two days trip to Jovoy to finish the methodical sniffing Vanessa and I had to halt the day before because of the store closing and to purchase my vacation perfume.

Neela proved to be to the every last bit as nice as all interviews with and stories about her portrait her. I was glad she found time to meet with me despite her busy schedule. Now I look forward to testing the newest perfumes from the line – Mohur Esprit de Parfum and Ashoka – samples of which Neela was kind to bring for me.

Paris

It seems that my vSO enjoyed all the perfume-related interruptions during this trip. Or at least he was a good sport – and I’m grateful to him for that.

Oh, and if you were wondering what perfume I bought to remind me about this – my first – trip to Paris, I’ll tell you without asking you to guess: Bombay Bling! by Neela Vermeire Creations. As I said in my story about three perfumes from the line, “It is a full-bottle worth perfume for me.”

Rusty and Bombay Bling

 

Images: my own

by

From Zero to Forty (ml) in less than 15… years: Bvlgari Black

 

Soon after Bvlgari Black had been released I picked up a bottle from a perfume counter thinking: “It looks like a hockey puck!” I sprayed a paper strip, sniffed: “It smells like it too!” And that was it. I haven’t approached Black for the next ten years.

Rusty And Bvlgari Black

Growing up I lived in a large multi-unit building in the downtown of a big city. After school children would play in the yard formed by the building. I wasn’t a tomboy or too sporty but there were almost no girls of my age in our building at the time so I didn’t have much choice but to play with boys. They weren’t super thrilled by my company (we’re talking about the age between eight and twelve) but when they needed an extra body for a two-team game mine would do (and on rare occasions I wasn’t even the last one chosen!).

Once in winter, I think I was ten, I was a goalie for an improvised hockey team that was one player short. I didn’t have a goaltender mask (none of us did, we were very poorly equipped in general) but I still was happy to be invited… You can guess where I’m heading with the story, right?

I was lucky: I ended up with a black eye that went through the usual rainbow of colors before getting better and a scar on my eyebrow that I carry through my life. No wonder I wasn’t too enthusiastic about something reminding me of a puck and smelling like burning rubber.

Rusty And Bvlgari Black

When I started my journey in the Perfumeland I read many praises for Bvlgari Black. I got curious and even managed to find it once at a store but I was wearing another perfume so it was a paper strip again. And again I smelled some rubber and smoke but that time I liked what I smelled.

It’s not an expensive perfume so I’m not sure why I didn’t go for a bottle immediately. Probably because it seemed easily obtainable once I make a decision to buy so I didn’t want to do it without testing on skin. Too bad I couldn’t find it in stores any longer.

Finally a couple of weeks ago I got a small decant of Black from Judith (the unseen censer). I sprayed it on, smelled and… It was the fastest start from the first application to the Place Order button: the burning tires smell was still in the air.

Rusty And Bvlgari Black

Up-close it still looks like a hockey puck but it doesn’t bother me any longer: over the years I mastered the art of covering the scar.

 

Images: my own.

by

Perfume Layering: Truth or Dare?

 

I have never had that urge to experiment mixing perfumes. I hadn’t come up with the idea of scents layering on my own but once I had been introduced to it I loved it. The idea.

In 2000 Calvin Klein released Truth. It is attributed to 3 (three!) well-known perfumers – Alberto Morillas, Jacques Cavallier and Thierry Wasser – if you ask me, any one of them would have been enough but whatever went on with this perfume creation, not knowing or caring about notes or noses behind perfumes back then, I liked  Truth and immediately bought a bottle and a set of five Truth Oil Essences. Each one represented a note in the perfume – bamboo, citrus, sapling, lilac and vanilla. They could be applied one at a time or in any combination with or without the perfume.

CK Truth Oil Essences

As I said, I liked the idea of combining notes, being my own perfumer, enhancing one aspect of the perfume or the other dependent on my mood… The unfortunate part was that oil-based components were so subtle that worn alone they gave almost no projection, I could barely smell them from my wrist pressed to my nose; and applied on top of the perfume they were completely lost (not sure if you remember but Truth wasn’t even the heaviest of this brand’s perfumes out there: CK Obsession or Contradiction it was not – and still…). Applying oils was more hassle than results so while I went through two bottles of Truth EdP my essences stayed hardly touched.

A year later, in 2001, Michael Kors launched a collection of three fragrances called Notes from Michael. The collection included three fragrances (40 ml each), which could be worn alone or combined with each other: Glenplaid, Houndstooth and Tattersall. The set was expensive (I think, $120). A bit too expensive for our budget. But I really liked the idea… My vSO got if for me as a gift for my birthday.

Michael Kors Notes from Michael

I tried playing the layering game. Tattersall was my favorite so I almost finished it. Glenplaid was fine (2/3 of the bottle found its place on my skin). Houndstooth didn’t attract me at all so the only time I used it was in the combination with one of the other two but since it wasn’t adding anything to the composition more often than not I started skipping that extra step. So the bottle went off almost full.

And then I discovered Jo Malone. I think I loved the brand before I finished sniffing through the complete line: the idea of fragrance combining itself was enough to sell it to me.

Jo Malone Perfumes

Over years I’ve added to my collection more perfumes from Jo Malone line than from any else. You can’t even imagine how many times I wore different Jo Malone’s perfumes layered! Do you want to guess? No? It’s ok, I’ll tell you: three times. I like those perfumes “as is” and do not want to mess with the original composition.

I still like the idea of layering but in reality I’m with Birgit: Who am I to tamper with well-thought out and finely balanced creations? I won’t dare.

For more adventurous perfumistas I recommend reading Victoria’s (Bois de Jasmin) Layering Fragrances : Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena and French Elle and Elisa’s (The French Exit) On the Scent: Adventures in Perfume Layering.

 

Images: my own

by

If Johana by Keiko Mecheri were a shoe…

 

Being parfumistas we accept that most perfumes are unisex and even those that lean towards masculine or feminine designation might be worn by any gender. The same way there are no strict rules as to which genre of perfumes should be worn in which environment or on which occasion (breathing conditions permitting).

It might be a nice contrast to put on, let’s say, a vintage Vol de Nuit extrait while wearing jeans and sneakers and running mundane errands or to use some faint and subtle skin scent with a statement evening gown. But we often think of perfumes in terms of the occasion, something like:  office-friendly, night out, beach walk or my best friend’s wedding. I thought about that while trying to classify my recent favorite – Johana by Keiko Mecheri.

It’s not an elegant and graceful Dior New Look 1947 ready for an evening in symphony (even though Luckyscent describes Johana as “elegant perfume” – I disagree).

Dior New Look and Shoes

But, on the other hand, neither it is a carefree and relaxed Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess on a tropical vacation.

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess and Shoes

Following the idea above, to describe how I see it, I pared Johana with shoes. This perfume is more than just comfortable casual loafers but rather fun and playful (well, as far as “playful” goes for my clothes) Mary Jane shoes. Johana is a dramatic but at the same time airy perfume. It doesn’t make a shocking statement but keeps grabbing my attention as I wear it.

Keiko Mecheri Johana and Shoes

When I was planning my visit to MinNY last Fall I had no intention to test Keiko Mecheri line. Did I have any particular reason? Not really, it’s not one of the lines I’m boycotting. Other than MinNY having plethora of other brands to which I normally have no access, there is that strange feeling that there are too many perfumes in the line – and until then I haven’t tried a single one.

How did it happen that after I’ve tested a dozen of Xerjoff‘s, all available Mona di Orio‘s, as many as I could Miller Harris‘ and many other perfumes I ended up leaving with Amour de Palazzo on the wrist and a single sample of Johana in my bag? It must have been fate!

In several month I went through a couple of samples, liked the perfume more and more, went to MinNY site hoping to buy it, panicked since not only they didn’t have it in stock any longer but I also couldn’t find it on the brand’s website – I thought it was some kind of an unannounced limited editions or promptly discontinued perfume. So when I saw a partial bottle of Johana sold in one of the FB perfume-related groups I immediately grabbed it. It’s available again from MinNY and Luckyscent (it’s still not mentioned on the official website!) but I’m glad I got it.

Rusty and Johana

Johana by Keiko Mecheri – created in 2012, notes include Japanese chrysanthemum, galbanum, rose, wisteria, iris, cocoa, patchouly, incense, vanilla and sandalwood. I love most of these notes in perfumes. In Johana I cannot smell any of these! But I really enjoy this perfume even without being able to deconstruct it. Or maybe because of it?

If you want a real review, I liked very much Brian’s take on it (be patient, it takes a while for this site to load – I don’t know what widgets they use there but each time it’s a pain…)

 

Images: my own

by

In the Search for the Perfect Iris

 

Favorite flowers

Playing with numbers for the Entertaining Statistics post about favorite flowers of Birgit’s (Olfactoria’s Travels) readers reminded me that I planned to write this post for a long time. It was half a year ago. And I haven’t got to it since then. Last week when hajusuuri shared a cute idea of this week being an iris(h) week  I decided it was my cue.

I like iris as a flower; it was my favorite flower before I knew it was used in perfumery (which wasn’t obvious since irises do not have a pronounced scent). A scarf with irises (at least that was the idea, don’t judge my tracing/drawing abilities too harshly) was my first (of three) silk painting exercises.

Silk Scarf with Irises

Compliments

That day I was wearing my favorite iris necklace and Iris Silver Mist. At an antique shop, as I was paying for two vintage perfume minis, an owner – a woman in her sixties, I guess, – first complimented me on the necklace and asked if it was antique. I told her that it was contemporary and “made by the same designer who made those spoons” (and I pointed to one of the glass displays where a variety of Franz Collection’s porcelain spoons were presented). And she actually remembered the name without looking it up. Then, while wrapping my purchase, she also said something like: “Oh, something smells really good!” She thought it was one of the perfumes I was buying. But actually it was my Iris Silver Mist by Serge Lutens.

Franz Collection Iris Necklace

Later the same day at Ann Taylor store a sales associate girl in her early twenties complimented me again on the necklace and my outfit. I told her that a piece of it was from the brand and she recognized a blouse. But she really liked my necklace: she told me again how pretty it was and even pointed it out to the girl who worked at the next register. “It looks almost as if it’s made of porcelain!” – she exclaimed. To which I responded: “It’s because it is.” Then she asked me if it was still available and gave me a piece of paper to write down the designer. As I was scribing the name she kept praising the necklace: “It’s sooo beautiful! I’ll try to find it… for my mom – she’ll love it!”

I stepped out from the store and, laughing, told my vSO who waited for me outside about the “compliment” I got. Theoretically, I could be her mother and I can just hope that it’s her mother (who must be at least slightly older than I am) looks younger and not the other way around. But I was glad she didn’t inquire about my perfume: judging by the antique lady’s compliment it could be right up the alley of this girl’s Grandma’s tastes.

Iris perfumes

I found not one but many perfect iris perfumes. Most of them are well-known, well-reviewed and well-loved so I’ll skip the usual part of giving all the details and just name those iris perfumes I enjoy the most.

Iris Perfumes

Infusion d’Iris EdP by Prada (have you read my story Alien wears Prada Infusion d’Iris?), №19 EDT and parfum by Chanel, Iris 39 by Le Labo, Iris Poudre by Frederic Malle (it was featured in two of my Déjà vu episodes; if you’re curious take a look here), Hiris by Hermes (I want to thank again Portia of AustralianPerfumeJunkies for the mini bottle of this beautiful perfume), Orris Noir by Ormonde Jayne, Iris Silver Mist by Serge Lutens (even if you do not want to read at least take a look at the picture from Natalie’s post; that image stayed with me since I saw it and with which I always associate Iris Silver Mist now), La Femme Bleue by Armani Prive and my most recent perfume crush – Impossible Iris by Ramon Monegal (I think Rusty likes it: it was the only bottle in the group he sniffed for a while).

Rusty And Iris Perfumes

The following perfumes I’ve tried but didn’t fall in love with: Iris Ukiyoé by Hermes, Iris & White Musk by Jo Malone, Iris & Lady Moore by Jo Malone, Iris Pallida 2007 by L’Artisan Parfumeur, Iris Ganache by Guerlain, Bois d’Iris by The Different Company, Iris Nobile by Acqua Di Parma, №19 Poudre by Chanel, 28 La Pausa by Chanel, Irisss by Xerjoff and Iris Noir by Yves Rocher. Most of them were nice and I wouldn’t mind wearing most of them (but Iris Ukiyoé – it smells unpleasant on myskin) if I happen to own them but I do not plan to pursue any bottles from the list.

 

If you like iris in perfumes what are your three top choices? (You won’t have to give up the rest, I promise!)

 

Images: my own

by

Unveiling the Identity of my Birthday’s Guerlain Perfume

 

In the post for my Birthday Girls Just Want to Have Fun I’ve mentioned that I treated myself to the bottle of a perfume from Guerlain (I wonder if it’ll become a yearly tradition) and asked you to try guessing which one.

There were sixteen guesses and Susan (Fine Fragrants) got it right: my new Guerlain perfume is Encens Mythique d’Orient from Les Déserts d’Orient collection. Susan will be getting a 3 ml sample of Encens Mythique d’Orient to help her through the waiting for her own bottle.

Guerlain Encens Mythique d'Orient

When last year I read about that new collection being released, not being a real Guerlain fan girl (yet?), I wasn’t too excited: one more limited distribution offering that I didn’t want to chase.

Then I read a review of all three perfumes at Olfactoria’s Travels and though it was very nice and … polite – the way most Birgit’s reviews are – it didn’t conjure any lemmings: most likely because B. didn’t love any of them and, once again, because of the limited availability.

And then I decided to break my last year’s NY resolution of not buying samples until I test most of those that I’d previously accumulated and bought 2.5 ml samples of all three perfumes in the collection.

Encens Mythique d’Orient was love at the first sniff. I haven’t read a single raving review for it (there were many positive though – not sure if reviewers really liked it or were just loyal to a favorite brand). My friend at work really disliked it; her comment was:  “It smells like a men’s perfume counter at Macy’s” (so no wearing of it to the office). I tried to negotiate with myself getting a decant first… But a decant bottle wouldn’t be a nice birthday present, would it?

Guerlain Encens Mythique d'Orient

I’ll make another 2 ml spray sample to give away to one of my readers anywhere in the world (though nobody knows what might happen to it with the international shipping) – to try if you haven’t tried it yet/want to re-try or to use if you liked it but not enough to go for a bottle – just tell me what you think. I’ll use some type of random selection after closing the draw on Wednesday, February 20, 2013, at 11:59 p.m. PST.

If you don’t want to be in the draw, tell me anyway if you liked Encens Mythique d’Orient, disliked it or felt indifferent – I’m curious.

And do not think I disregard your opinion! Even though a year ago for my birthday I chose not the mostly recommended perfume, I rectified it later in the year when I bought Chamade that seven people had suggested as a perfume to remember my New York trip by. Six readers named Vol de Nuit this time. It’s just an observation…

 

Images: my own.

by

Girls Just Want to Have Fun!

 

This post is a final installment in the “birthday-perfume-blogger-bash” suggested by Asali and supported by Ines. For the last couple of weeks I couldn’t get rid of this song.

Aquarius Undina

I love my birthdays and it has always been this way. Looking back I can’t remember a single year when I wasn’t looking forward to it or hadn’t enjoyed it.

When I was little my mother always managed to leave a present next to my bed while I was asleep so I would wake up to something wonderful. When I got older I remember getting from Grandma something great and hard to find (which at that time in the country was almost anything worth getting,) so from my friends I usually requested to bring just flowers which at winter were expensive enough to be a gift on their own. In my adult life I refuse to request birthday gifts: I can buy for myself everything that can be gifted to me by friends so I’d rather be surprised.

The first gift this year I got from my friend and a talented young designer Valerie who created images for our blogging project (see above). I’m going to use it as my logo.

Perfumes as gifts… My grandmother gifted me with my first bottle of my all-times favorite Lancome Climat. For many years it was the only perfume that I associated with everything fun – birthdays, dates or holidays.

Lancome Climat

Many years later my vSO gave me for my birthday Vera Wang perfume. Despite the first-time-wearing debacle for many years it was my go-to perfume for special occasions.

Rusty and Vera Wang

Three years ago I got another perfumed gift from my vSO – Antonia’s Flowers Tiempe Passate. This one hasn’t become my party scent but I considered it as a special day-wear fragrance.

Rusty and Tiempe Passate

I’m not superstitious. I do not believe much into cosmic connections, predetermination and other such things. I believe in coincidences.

February 12, 1947: A major event was held at 30, avenue Montaigne in Paris, where Christian Dior presented his first fashion show. With his flower women and bright colors, the Designer launched a fresh fashion trend. “It’s a New Look!” exclaimed Carmel Snow, Editor-in-Chief at Harper’s Bazaar, thus christening the Designer’s inimitable style.

From Dior’s website

Dior New Look 1947

Last year on my trip to Las Vegas, without reading that information above, I bought Dior New Look 1947 exactly on February 12, my birthday. It was my gift to myself in addition to my first Guerlain love that I found there – Cruel Gardenia. I absolutely adore Cruel Gardenia and admire New Look 1947. I wear the former when I dress up and feel pretty and the latter when I [want to] feel elegant and sophisticated.

Guerlain Cruel Gardenia

I do not have a preferred way of celebrating my birthdays: I like everything from large loud parties with music, dancing and laughing to quiet evenings with my vSO on our birthday trips. This year I hope to have a little of everything. And definitely I’m gonna have some fun!

Oh, and I treated myself to one more perfume from Guerlain. Care to venture a guess which one?

 

Images: Aquarius mermaid – Valerie Rodriguez, all others – my own.

by

My First Niche Perfume: Tiempe Passate by Antonia’s Flowers

 

Ten years ago I knew nothing about the existence of a niche world in perfumery. When I got a sample of Tiempe Passate by Antonia’s Flowers among other samples with a perfume purchase, it was just that – another sample.

At the time I was arrogant enough to think that I knew most of the modern perfumes and could find online any of those for less than available from department stores. So I was a little surprised that I didn’t know the brand and never heard about that perfume.

The scent was very different from everything I knew and liked then but unlike many other fragrances  that left me indifferent or were resolutely classified “not for me” this one caught my attention and kept drawing me in.

Antonias Flowers Tiempe Passate

By the time I’d used up my Tiempe Passate sample I knew that I wanted more. That was when I found out that it could not be bought not only from those mass-market online discount sites but also from B&M stores.

Several years later I finally found Antonia’s Flowers website and ordered a set of samples. I was curious to try other perfumes from the line but the main purpose was to see if I still liked Tiempe Passate because $140 for 60 ml seemed totally unapproachable.

The minute I put Tiempe Passate on I felt an awful disappointment: not because it didn’t smell the way I remembered – it just didn’t smell at all! All other samples were fine but this one had just a faint smell of alcohol. I wrote to the company asking if it was possible that the sample just was off. They were surprised but sent me another one. This time it smelled great.

Three years ago my vSO got me a bottle of Tiempe Passate for my birthday. And it was the first niche perfume in my collection.

Rusty And Tiempe Passate

Tiempe Passate by Antonia’s Flowers – created by Norbert Bijaoui in 1999, notes include (I’ll go with NTS’s list) bergamot, clementine, sage, mimosa, cyclamen, Montauk rose, white orris, cedar, vetiver and amber.

Tiempe Passate starts really strong and almost unpleasant for the first minute. All I can smell is alcohol and something plastic-y or rubber-y. And then it settles and smells… just wonderful. For hours Tiempe Passate is a very pleasant skin scent with unexpected bursts of projection. I’ve got multiple compliments while wearing it.

In my two years anniversary post I mentioned that there were some personal posts that haven’t got as many readers as I’d want. One of such posts – Elusive Perfume – in addition to (hopefully) being entertaining, will explain what happened with me and the first Tiempe Passate sample vial.

Rusty and Tiempe Passate

I didn’t figure it out until today: though the list doesn’t mention Iso E Super, it is there, I’m sure. I tested two of my favorite perfumes in parallel – Molecule 01 by Escentric Molecules and Tiempe Passate by Antonia’s Flowers and I have to concede that the latter is just a nicely embellished variation of the former. And Iso E Super is exactly what I was enjoying in both (on those occasions when I could smell it). And now I know why I was having a hard time trying to describe what Tiempe Passate smelled like. Well, at least I’m being consistent in my fragrant crushes.

Even though I’m slightly disappointed I still think Tiempe Passate is worth trying. Barney’s carries Antonia’s Flowers line. Or you can order samples from the brand’s website for a more than reasonable price.

Rusty and Tiempe Passate

There are not too many reviews for this perfume. I was surprised that Robin (NST) liked it (though it was many years ago).

Do you remember your first niche perfume?

 

Images: my own

by

For Every Occasion: Jul et Mad Amour de Palazzo

 

Ross: All right, Monica categorizes her towels. How many categories are there?
Joey: Everyday use.
Chandler: Fancy.
Joey: Guest.
Chandler: Fancy guest.
Ross: Two seconds…
Joey: Uh, eleven!
Ross: Eleven. Unbelievable. Eleven is correct.
.
TV show Friends, Episode 4.12

 

I’m not sure from whom I got it – maybe it was my grandmother since mom has never been like that – but as long I remember myself I always put things into categories. For many years I had Work Clothes, Weekend Wear, Evening Attire and some smaller categories in between (e.g. Tropical Vacation Wardrobe).

Tropical Vacation Wardrobe

Usually those categories didn’t intersect: to the office I would wear mostly suits (not because it was required but because I liked to); my party clothes were very dressy and my weekend-running-errands clothes were something comfortable and not demanding. As you can imagine, there wasn’t much ground for a crossover between categories.

Over years I noticed that the most willingly I would be buying clothes for going out. It was much easier to justify spending money on a beautiful cocktail dress or a dressy “dry clean only” blouse than on a sweater or a top I would wear while shopping or going for a walk in the city. The irony is that I don’t have that many occasions to wear my nice clothes. But when you have something hanging in your closet for years, even though you’ve worn it on counted occasions, you still feel it is old and want to buy something new.

My perfume collection follows the same trail: I have a group of perfumes that I never wear to work; I consider them my “special occasions wear,” and I feel more inclined to buy those. The problem is that my life doesn’t consist of those special occasions in the proportion to the number of perfumes designated for that purpose.

To give you an idea, my dress-up perfumes are Amouage Ubar, Gold and Memoir; Ormonde Jayne Ta’if, Guerlain Cruel Gardenia, Puredistance Antonia or Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady. And daily perfumes are Jo Malone (almost anything), Annick Goutal Petite Cherie, Prada Infusion d’Iris or Byredo La Tulipe.

Jean Paul Gautier Mermaid Dress

Once I realized I had that attitude problem with my wardrobe, I started shifting the shopping emphasis from the for-when-the-Queen-comes-to-dinner to I-wouldn’t-mind-meeting-my-most-judgmental-girlfriend-now apparel. I’m just in the beginning of my transformation but I hope I’m heading there.

But while with evening gowns and my day-to-day life I have just one choice: not to buy … more than two of them for each occasion I actually get to wear them, with perfumes it’s slightly different. I can either persuade myself to wear my “dressy” perfumes more often, or I can start buying those perfumes I think are appropriate to wear without a Royal Presence.

Or I can wear Amour de Palazzo by Jul et Mad.

Amour de Palazzo by Jul et Mad – created in 2012 by Dorothée Piot and Maison Robertet, notes include pepper, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, absolute of violette, Atlas cedarwood, leather, Indonesian patchouli, labdanum, musk, oud, amber, papyrus and animal castoreum.

I discovered this perfume during my visit to MinNY last year (see my “New York, New York, it’s a wonderful town!”). I mentioned in the post that I liked Amour de Palazzo but didn’t get a sample of it. Soon after that I got a very kind offer from Madalina Stoica, the brand’s co-owner, to send me a travel spray of this perfume. Not for the review, just because.

Jul et Mad Amour De Palazzo

Amour de Palazzo is an amazing perfume. It is both very pronounced and discreet at the same time. It is rich but not loud. It is luxurious but not bling-y. I’m not a huge agarwood fan but in this perfume it’s just in the right dose for me. When I wear it I feel as if I’m wearing the most delicate silk lingerie and it doesn’t really matter if it’s under a sheath dress or jeans and a chunky sweater (but the latter of a very good quality, of course – my imaginary friend might be very judgmental).

My only complaint about Amour de Palazzo and the brand in general is that it’s only available in one size (50 ml beautiful bottle + 7 ml refillable travel atomizer that is also very nice). Most perfumistas (read – those who will know about the brand and are potential customers) do not need 50 ml of almost any perfume. We will be fine: we’ll do splits. But I think the brand might benefit from selling smaller sizes – even if those will be more expensive per ml than a bigger bottle.

 

Images: my own.

Update: Jul et Mad introduced two new sizes for their perfumes – 5 ml and 20 ml bottles. Both are extremely cute. Bravo!