Rochas Tocade ~ perfume review

Posted by Jessica on 12 March 2011 61 Comments

Rochas Tocade perfume advert

When I first started posting on the fragrance discussion board at Makeup Alley, around 2004, I had a very basic idea of what I was looking for in a new fragrance for myself. I knew I loved rose scents, and I was a longtime fan of the rich vanilla in Jean Paul Gaultier Classique. Perhaps, I thought, I could find a perfume that combined the two notes. I finally ventured to ask for rose-vanilla fragrance recommendations, and a few veteran members of the discussion board offered suggestions. The one that was most enthusiastically named and seconded by other members was Rochas Tocade, so I set out to try it as soon as possible.

Tocade was created for Rochas by perfumer Maurice Roucel and was released in 1994. Its name translates as “whim” or “caprice,” and its composition includes top notes of magnolia and bergamot, heart notes of rose, orris, and geranium, and base notes of cedarwood and vanilla. Its vaguely silly-looking bottle, designed by Serge Mansau, reminds me of a figure wearing a turtleneck and a conical hat, or a toy for an infant. If had seen that bottle in a store, without knowing anything about the fragrance, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up, but thanks to the good advice I’d received, I was willing to give Tocade a chance.

Tocade is a floriental with a gourmand leaning, and it’s definitely a perfume-y perfume; anyone looking for a fragrance that feels “clean” or “shower-fresh,” or even “airy” or “dewy,” can stop reading here…

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The Pink Room Darkly Audacious ~ perfume review

Posted by Jessica on 4 March 2011 27 Comments

Gwozdecki Kiki de Montparnasse 1920 The Pink Room Darkly Audacious

Darkly Audacious is the third fragrance from The Pink Room, the niche company founded by stylist-designer Sarah Barton-King. It was created in collaboration with Cyrille Carles of Société Grassoise de Parfumerie, and it’s a “woody amber” composition with top notes of lemon, bergamot, and rosewood; heart notes of jasmine absolute, cashmere wood, and plum; and base notes of dark patchouli, incense, amber, tonka bean, and vanilla.

Like The Pink Room’s previous releases, Darkly Audacious is accompanied by a short prose-poem that sets the mood for the fragrance. The story for this perfume evokes the decadent nightlife of Paris between the World Wars, describing an encounter between two chic, mysterious figures in a bar or club — it’s the sort of scene captured in photographs by Brassaï. Like the characters in Barton-King’s fantasy, Darkly Audacious’s composition opens on an androgynous note, with its citrus and rosewood combining in a mellow, boozy way that reminds me of a fancy brandy cocktail. The heart of the fragrance is slightly more feminine, with a jasmine-vanilla chord and a hit of plummy spice; there’s also a glossy sandalwood note running throughout the rest of the fragrance’s development. The dry down phase is a blend of tonka and amber with just a suggestion of powderiness…

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Mayron’s Goods Tangerine Massage & Body Oil and Chapstuff for Cheeks & Lips ~ scented body products

Posted by Jessica on 27 February 2011 10 Comments

Mayron's Goods cigar box

Mayron’s Goods’ line of body products caught my eye immediately with its packaging: the bold lettering, bright red borders, and 1950s-style illustration of a delivery man and his van are upbeat and distinctive. Although most of Mayron’s Goods’ nature-based lotions and potions were created with babies in mind, these labels are refreshingly free of ducks, peapods, or naked infants clad in flower petals; moreover, the products themselves are suitable for anyone who needs gentle, lightly scented skincare or just prefers to use products without ingredients such as synthetic fragrance, parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate, or DEA (diethanolamine).

In the final weeks of this long winter, I’m finding Mayron’s Goods’ Tangerine Massage & Body Oil especially soothing and effective on my dry, rough arms and legs. It includes an assortment of botanical oils for moisture and it sinks quickly into the skin; even more importantly, it has a tangerine-mandarin fragrance that feels like orange juice for the soul. Chapstuff for Cheeks and Lips, my other favorite from the line, is a balm blended from cocoa butter, beeswax, soybean oil, and other natural ingredients. It smells like oranges and milk chocolate…

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DS & Durga Poppy Rouge, The Orchid Drinkers, and Five Step Waltz ~ perfume review

Posted by Jessica on 20 February 2011 22 Comments

DS & Durga perfume bottles

D.S. & Durga, the Brooklyn-based, independent-perfumer duo, has revamped its fragrance line for 2011. Some of the original scents have been tweaked a bit, and nine new scents were added; the entire line continues to “take inspiration from antiquated herbal wisdom, native ritual medicine, Americana, outdated lore, geography, history, and gastronomy.” I’ve just tried the three new “feminines,” each of which has its own distinct mood.

Poppy Rouge takes its name from a lyric in Mississippi John Hurt’s “Richland Woman Blues,” and it’s a blend of orange flower, jonquil, and Parma violet. It’s not as impulsive and racy as its source might suggest, but it would make a lovely spring fragrance. It’s a fresh bouquet of orange blossom, the nicest one I’ve smelled since Atelier Cologne’s Grand Neroli. As it evolves, an almost lily-like note (the jonquil?) emerges, but the violet is very, very subtle. Like many of scents from D.S. & Durga, Poppy Rouge smells as though it contains a high percentage of natural ingredients.

The Orchid Drinkers refers to the nineteenth-century taste for a drink called salep, brewed from ground orchid tubers…

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Penhaligon’s LP No. 9 for Women ~ perfume review

Posted by Jessica on 12 February 2011 32 Comments

Penhaligon's LP No. 9 for Women

Since we’re closing in on Valentine’s Day, it seems like an appropriate moment to review Penhaligon’s LP No. 9 for Women, which is characterized as “a truly intoxicating love potion…a sorcerer’s recipe for irresistible female sensuality.” This fragrance, and its counterpart LP No. 9 for Men, were originally released in 1998; they were discontinued in 2006 and made a re-appearance in late 2008. LP No. 9 for Women, which was reportedly brought back in its original formulation, was created by Christian Provenzano. Its composition is listed as having top notes of lemon, mandarin, lavender, bergamot, geranium, and tarragon; heart notes of rose, jasmine, and carnation; and base notes of cinnamon, cedar, patchouli, amber, musk, and vanilla.

LP No. 9’s name, of course, is a nod to the classic pop song “Love Potion Number Nine,” first recorded in 1959 by The Clovers and later covered by The Searchers (among others). Penhaligon’s traditional bottle is trimmed with a twist of black velvet ribbon for LP No. 9, and the liquid within is a fascinating magenta hue. This appearance sets LP No. 9 apart from some of Penhaligon’s earlier releases for women, which tend to have Edwardian-style labels and a garden-party aesthetic. But does LP No. 9 smell so very different from those more traditional fragrances? Yes and no. Its opening notes, which last for the better part of an hour, confused me at first. This dry, herbaceous accord, with lots of lavender and greenish notes — and, wait, is that oakmoss? — feels like a lighter interpretation of a traditional fougère, and it would not be out of place in Penhaligon’s masculine fragrance range…

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Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Rochas Tocade ~ perfume review

The Pink Room Darkly Audacious ~ perfume review

Mayron’s Goods Tangerine Massage & Body Oil and Chapstuff for Cheeks & Lips ~ scented body products

DS & Durga Poppy Rouge, The Orchid Drinkers, and Five Step Waltz ~ perfume review

Penhaligon’s LP No. 9 for Women ~ perfume review