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Browsing by author: Kevin

Diptyque Eau de Minthe ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 24 April 2019 29 Comments

If I’d been presented with Diptyque’s new Eau de Minthé* in an unmarked vial, after the first sniff I’d have bet it was a vintage fougère perfume from the 1960s or 1970s. Eau de Minthé is hairy from eyebrows to toes, and brimming with testosterone.

Eau de Minthé goes on with a blast of bergamot mixing with peppery greens (geranium leaf is noticeable, too). As Eau de Minthé skids into mid-development I get scented hints of rose water, green tea(?), “chewing-gum” spearmint and Life Savers® wintergreen candy…

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Shay & Blue Watermelons & Parfums MDCI Bleu Satin ~ fragrance reviews

Posted by Kevin on 17 April 2019 45 Comments

The scent and taste of watermelon screams !SUMMER! to me. As a child, cracking open a chilled watermelon was a celebratory event during steamy Virginia summers. At my urging (and purchasing, I bought the seeds), my father grew all types of watermelon varieties: classics, miniatures, ball-shaped; melons with pink, red, gold, yellow and white flesh. Watermelons originated in Africa but now are grown around the world. In Japan, the Densuke watermelon is grown in limited quantities only on Hokkaido; these rare, round watermelons with almost-black rinds sell for hundreds of dollars…or many thousands of dollars at auction (for single melons). I was surprised (given the perfume industry’s propensity for “fibs” and pretension) that today’s two watermelon-flavored perfumes didn’t list Densuke watermelon in the ingredients lists. Stay tuned!

Hoping to find a watermelon fragrance that will refresh my summer, I tried two: Shay & Blue Watermelons and Parfums MDCI Bleu Satin…

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Zoologist Tyrannosaurus Rex ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 27 March 2019 32 Comments

Niche perfume is the new mainstream. Last week I received an order of 10 “niche” fragrance samples that set me back $50. Yeah, I’m a sucker. I put a dab of each perfume on a finger before I started a painting project. As I sniffed my fingers over the next 15 minutes, I was upset to smell that most of these perfumes quickly devolved to basic Iso E Super, Cashmeran and white musk. Worst: most of them cost around $200 for 50 ml bottles! What a rip-off…and what a disappointment. The last couple of years I’m finding more interesting things for sale by mainstream/designer fragrance companies than the proliferating so-called niche brands.

On the day I did this test, only two perfumes didn’t conk out after their interesting head notes faded…

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Etat Libre d’Orange Les Fleurs du Dechet / I Am Trash ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 13 March 2019 20 Comments

Let’s imagine I gather up fabric scraps and make a fantastic quilt (in the geometric style of Sonia Delaunay’s paintings of course). I could say to those raving about my quilt: “Oh. THAT piece of trash?!” Or I might venture to a lumber yard and, like Louise Nevelson long ago, gather bits and pieces of wood to make a sculpture. “The title of this piece is ‘Garbage.'” In a food waste context, huge amounts of spent grains remain after beer production; those can be used to feed animals or people. Coffee grounds make a great growing medium for mushrooms and are an excellent soil amendment. Similarly, Etat Libre d’Orange has used “upcycled” materials (reused waste from perfume-making) to supplement the creation of Les Fleurs du Déchet, more dramatically titled “I Am Trash.”

Les Fleurs du Déchet is a great name…

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Atelier Cologne Pacific Lime ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 28 February 2019 27 Comments

Years ago, when I reviewed the Cire Trudon limited edition candle, Merida Arquiste, I lamented the fact that I couldn’t think of a good guava-centric perfume “out there” that could match Merida’s fruit note. Now, Atelier Cologne has launched Pacific Lime.* Though (I assume) no guava was harmed in Pacific Lime’s manufacture, the fragrance’s notes conjure the aroma of a pink guava at perfect ripeness…

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