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Browsing by author: Kevin

Bvlgari Aqva Pour Homme & Aqva Pour Homme Marine ~ fragrance reviews

Posted by Kevin on 6 March 2008 33 Comments

Bvlgari Aqva Pour Homme fragrance ad

Bvlgari Aqva Pour Homme and Aqva Pour Homme Marine, both created by perfumer Jacques Cavallier, are classified as aromatic aquatic fragrances, “designed to evoke the natural freshness and vitality of the ocean.” We’ve all encountered fragrances or perfume notes that claim to capture the scents of clouds, sun, snow, mountain air, deserts, or beaches. I admit to being susceptible to such perfumes because my imagination can ‘fill in the blanks.’ If a perfumer presents me with “Snow” (or more likely, La Neige) — she can bottle some pine needle and cedar wood oils, incense/smoke notes, and a “cold, damp mineral” accord and I will create a snow scene in my mind (a snug cabin, or chalet, located in wintry mountains, its lopsided chimney releasing swirls of sweet wood smoke that creates a lavender-colored haze around snow-capped evergreen trees and boulders) that can accommodate her perfume idea. But that scene doesn’t really smell of actual snow (ice crystals) does it?

Imagine the perfume possibilities when trying to re-create the smell of water…

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Juicy Couture Dirty English for men ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 28 February 2008 41 Comments

Dirty English cologne for men by Juicy Couture

When I saw the list of ingredients for Juicy Couture’s new men’s fragrance, Dirty English — peppered mandarin, blue cypress, Calabrian bergamot, caraway, cardamom pods, marjoram, black leather, “Santal Fatal” accord (a mix of sandalwood, Atlas cedar and vetiver), agarwood, ebony wood, black moss absolute, and amber musk — my first thought was: “Why this dark, heavy scent now…so close to spring?” By late February, I’m yearning for crisp-bright scents, perfumes with lots of citrus, floral, fruit and ‘green’ accords. I needn’t have worried; though Dirty English’s mix of notes sounds hot’n’heavy, the cologne is light enough to be worn in spring, even summer…

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Santa Maria Novella Toscano ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 18 February 2008 26 Comments

Santa Maria Novella Toscano

The latest fragrance release from Santa Maria Novella is Toscano and, like its two most recent predecessors, Città di Kyoto and Angels of Florence, it is much lighter than the rich, syrupy, “fuel-like” Santa Maria Novella scents I love: Fieno (Hay), Sandalwood, Peau d’Espagne and the dry-as-bone (and mace-y) Marescialla Cologne (La Maréchale or Marshal’s Wife). Change is in the air at Santa Maria Novella; there seems to be a Modernizing Trend at work — the new creations are not in the piquant, artisanal style I associate with the company.

Though Toscano bears an evocative name (its creation was inspired by the famed Toscano cigars of Lucca, Italy) and comes in the old-fashioned Santa Maria Novella bottles, it smells more “American” than Tuscan to me…

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The Pope's Cologne ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 7 February 2008 61 Comments

The Pope's CologneAn enemy of “modernity” and civil rights; an admirer of the Confederate States of America (and correspondent of Jefferson Davis); a man who once proclaimed Roman Jews to be “dogs” and who said he would confine them to their “hole” — the Jewish Ghetto — if they didn’t behave according to his wishes (they didn’t, he did); one who felt, and had himself declared, infallible, Pope Pius IX (born Giovanni Mastai-Ferretti, 1792-1878) is the troublesome “image” behind The Pope’s Cologne. (I guess this is niche perfumery at its zenith…or nadir.)

Several years ago, Dr. Fred Hass of Excelsis Fine Fragrances in San Rafael, California, came across a 19th century recipe for a cologne that was supposedly worn by Pope Pius IX, and Hass decided to re-create the scent and sell it…

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Anya’s Garden Kaffir & Temple ~ fragrance reviews

Posted by Kevin on 31 January 2008 Leave a Comment

Kaffir LimeNatural perfumer Anya McCoy of Anya’s Garden released two new fragrances this winter: Kaffir and Temple. I have a kaffir lime tree (Citrus hystrix) growing in my bedroom and love the scent of its flowers, fruit and leaves, and the word “temple” brings to mind exotic travels, smoky incense, and the Buddhist and Hindu artworks I discuss on my gallery tours at the Seattle Asian Art Museum — so, based on their names alone, I had to try McCoy’s latest perfumes.

Kaffir

Kaffir contains kaffir lime leaf, galbanum, tarragon, tinctures of eight varieties of jasmine, Grasse jasmine, heritage oak, musk seed, agarwood and leather. Kaffir starts with sumptuous, and pungent, galbanum and lime leaf notes that produce earthy and deep “green” aromas. As Kaffir develops, one smells the foody scents of Thai cuisine…

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