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Browsing by author: Kevin

Cartier Declaration Parfum ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 13 February 2019 7 Comments

Men: do you have a party shirt — a shirt you throw on to fancy up your jeans and sneakers for a night out? Autumn and winter party shirts often have a sheen; silk, satin and velvet are popular cool-weather party-shirt fabrics. To make a party shirt ‘sexy’ (too many) men unbutton them to the area halfway between the pecs and navel. You can buy party shirts at Target, Macy’s…or Dolce & Gabbana, where party shirts abound. Check out (wear sunglasses) warm-weather party shirts at Robert Graham; the shirts have all the hallmarks of summery party tops: chest-showcasing fabrics (part cotton/part polyester), bold patterns (!flowers!, graffiti) and contrasting fabrics on upturned cuffs and collars.

Cartier’s new Déclaration Parfum is the fragrance equivalent of a party shirt…

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Candles by Diptyque, Otherland, Ormonde Jayne & Bougies la Francaise ~ home fragrance reviews

Posted by Kevin on 31 January 2019 13 Comments

There’s nothing like a winter’s night (or dim afternoon) with flickering candles burning inside dark rooms. Add a rainstorm, pot of strong Assam tea or Mexican hot chocolate, a gingerbread cake right out of the oven, stacks of thick European design, gardening and fashion magazines, some seed catalogs, and cookbooks to read…and I’m set for hours of light-hearted enjoyment (before the denouement: a nap).

I’d like to introduce you to some candles I’ve discovered over the last several months; all of them have great, intense aromas.

Diptyque Noisetier: hazelnut, clove, cedar, patchouli, vetiver

Noisetier invites a walk on the shady land, fertile and dry. A spicy, woody fragrance warmed by a smoky touch. — Diptyque

Like many recent men’s perfumes, this candle mixes standard fragrance notes with some gourmand nuts — this time the nutty element is hazelnut…

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Mandarin Smackdown: Chanel Paris-Deauville vs Prada Infusion Mandarine

Posted by Kevin on 16 January 2019 18 Comments

As I strolled in downtown Seattle at Christmastime, the cold, moist air was scented with pungent whiffs of “fragrance” — a fragrance I would buy if it came in a bottle. No, I wasn’t smelling snickerdoodles baking in ovens, espresso, chocolate or evergreen trees; all around me floated the scents of thousands of sweet box flowers, horse sweat and…yes…horse merde. A mounted police officer’s horse relieved herself right next to the blossoming plants and created a superb floral musk bomb. (Parfum d’Empire: get on the case!) While relishing this “street accord” I thought to myself: “How many people would enjoy this scent as much as I do?” Maybe you have to come from horse-loving, plant-loving Virginia? Or England? Or just notice the floral notes in horse manure and the fecal facets of certain flowers?

When I smelled this enlivening perfume I was headed to Nordstrom to get a whiff of Paris-Deauville by Chanel — a cologne in the new Les Eaux de Chanel line…

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Hiram Green Hyde ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 2 January 2019 11 Comments

Looking at the string of words “Hiram Green Hyde” — green hide stood out. (Hyde is a unisex leather perfume described as “challenging” by Hiram Green.) Certainly, any perfume with green hide as an inspiration would be a challenge to wear; green hide is the skin right off a newly killed animal, with flesh, blood, hair and fat still clinging to it. I’ve read about green hides while studying indigenous art and leather-tanning techniques of American Indians. I’m happy to say there’s no smell of green hide in Hyde, but it does bring to mind (and nose) scents of Mexico, and another indigenous group: the Aztecs.

Hyde’s short-lived opening isn’t citrus-y, but reminds me of BAND-AID® bandages…

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An Xmas Perfume Scrooge ~ Me

Posted by Kevin on 12 December 2018 41 Comments

I love the period between Thanksgiving and my birthday in January. There are: holiday feasts (at home and in restaurants), suspension of calorie counting, shopping sprees, Christmas trees. I (mostly) enjoy it all, but sometimes imagining is better than reality!

Feasts require lots of shopping, food prep, cooking, laundry/ironing (all those napkins, tablecloths), non-stop housecleaning (cobwebs! were there really that many spiders in my house last summer?!) There are always menu “hits” and “misses.” In my house, our after-party breakfasts consist of critiquing the dishes served the night before and placing bright Post-it® notes in cookbooks next to recipes…

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