Musk by Alyssa Ashley ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 22 July 2013 86 Comments

alyssa-ashley-musk

It’s drugstore week! Robin is on vacation, and once again I’ve commandeered a week to review fragrances you can buy at the same time you pick up aspirin and kitty litter.

One thing you can say for drugstores is that they aren’t afraid to stock musk. Musky stalwarts from Coty and Jovan have been selling steadily for more than 40 years, and despite the reluctance of department stores to go there, Rite Aid appears to see no reason to fool with success. Alyssa Ashley Musk has been a drugstore favorite since 1968.

Last week I stopped by Nordstrom for a lipstick and ended up engrossed at a temporary display table for Houbigant. Michal Gizinski, billed by Nordstrom as an international fragrance consultant, stood over bottles of Houbigant Fougère Royale, Oranger en Fleurs and Quelques Fleurs, enticing shoppers with his European accent and Prince Matchabelli looks to try one of the fragrances. I told him I was doing a week of drugstore perfume reviews, and he quickly recommended Alyssa Ashley Musk…

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Balmain’s Vent Vert Salad and Chicken

Posted by Angela on 15 July 2013 32 Comments

vent-vert-chicken-2

During the recent heat wave, I spent a lazy afternoon on the couch with the fan pointed at me while I perused the July 1955 issue of Woman’s Home Companion. I was looking for the article featuring Lilly Daché’s “Secrets of Lifelong Glamour,”¹ when I stumbled across these words and sat straight up:

Like most Frenchmen, Balmain appreciates good food and takes a great interest in his own table. In the warm summer days ahead you might like to try his “Vent Vert” salad. Here is the recipe he gave me—if you can’t get some of the ingredients, you can eliminate or substitute as you choose.

It was from Margaret Thompson Biddle’s column, “Companion in Paris.” “Vent Vert” salad clearly borrowed its name from Balmain Vent Vert fragrance. Here’s the recipe:

“Vent Vert” Salad

Cut young romaine into pieces to make 1 quart. Add 1 cup each of diced celery, chopped endive, thinly sliced green pepper and about 8 asparagus tips cut in half…

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Hot Days, Big Perfume

Posted by Angela on 8 July 2013 99 Comments

Sun God, UCSD

Every once in a while, a commenter will note that a particular whopper perfume “really blooms” in the heat. Someone might say, for instance, that Serge Lutens Chergui is great on a July afternoon. I’ve been skeptical. I figured the commenter probably has round-the-clock air conditioning and didn’t really have to deal with the smothering sillage. I’ve never been brave enough to try it myself.

Until last week. A heat wave descended on my hometown. In moderate Portland, “air conditioning” generally means setting up an air mattress in the basement and rolling down the car windows. I had taken the week off, so I didn’t even have the office’s chilled air as a refuge. It was the perfect opportunity to try wearing massive perfume in 90-plus degree temperatures.

Day one: Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower. As usual, for the first few minutes of wearing Carnal Flower, I swore I needed a half-gallon of it always at my disposal…

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Laura Mercier L’Heure Magique ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 1 July 2013 43 Comments

Laura Mercier L'Heure Magique

Last week’s discussion of sweet fragrances inspired me to stop by the Laura Mercier counter. Of all the cosmetics lines, Laura Mercier seems to be most known for gourmand perfume. Amber, vanilla, spices, sandalwood and soft musk infuse the line’s fragrances. I was hoping to sample the latest, Lumière d’Ambre — I still regret not buying a bottle of the limited edition Ambre Passion Velvet — but it hadn’t arrived yet. So instead I tried the fragrance that launched Laura Mercier’s perfume line, L’Heure Magique.

Perfumers James Bell and Cecile Krakower developed L’Heure Magique in 2001. It has notes of pikake, bergamot, white rose buds, pink geraniums, soft spices, sandalwood, amber and cashmere musk. Although L’Heure Magique is warm and cozy like the rest of the Mercier fragrance line, it’s probably the least gourmand of the fragrances I’ve tried…

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Robert Piguet Petit Fracas ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 24 June 2013 100 Comments

Robert Piguet Petit Fracas

In a video taken at the Pitti Fragrance Fair, Joe Garces, President and CEO of Parfums Robert Piguet, holds a bottle of Petit Fracas and tells us about it in an accent that would make Tony Soprano proud. “One day I woke up and I said, ‘My daughter does not like Fracas. I cannot get her to like Fracas. I have to make something for my daughter.’”

He notes that his daughter is 30 years old. “It’s basically a youthful fragrance,” he says. “For someone who feels youthful.” Youthful or not, I’d say that Petit Fracas is a fragrance for someone who feels hungry. For dessert…

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Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Musk by Alyssa Ashley ~ fragrance review

Balmain’s Vent Vert Salad and Chicken

“Vent Vert” Salad

Hot Days, Big Perfume

Laura Mercier L’Heure Magique ~ fragrance review

Robert Piguet Petit Fracas ~ fragrance review