Cartier Declaration Three Ways: Eau de Toilette, Essence and Cologne ~ fragrance reviews

Posted by Kevin on 5 September 2012 28 Comments

Cartier Declaration fragrance bottles

I remember smelling Cartier Déclaration when it was released almost 15 years ago. I didn’t like it one bit: “too dirty.” What smelled “unclean” to my nose back in 1998, today smells almost fresh, and not because of reformulation, but because so many of my perfume dislikes turned to likes over the years.

I must have been in the minority back in 1998 when Déclaration Eau de Toilette was released because it’s been successful and spawned flanker after flanker. At this moment, there are four Déclaration formulas for sale.

Original Déclaration Eau de Toilette

Original Déclaration Eau de Toilette was developed by perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena and includes notes of birch, bergamot, bitter orange, juniper, artemisia, cardamom, cedar, vetiver and oakmoss. Déclaration Eau de Toilette goes on strong with bitter orange…

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Boucheron Jaipur Bracelet ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 29 August 2012 20 Comments

Boucheron Jaipur Bracelet advert

Earlier this year, Boucheron launched Jaïpur Bracelet for women, a flanker to Jaïpur (now discontinued¹). According to Cosmetics International: “Boucheron has taken inspiration from its heritage in the Indian city of Jaipur” (a jewelry hub); Jaïpur Bracelet’s bottle is a “reworked” version of the bottle for the original Boucheron Jaïpur, which according to Women’s Wear Daily was “inspired by a type of bracelet called a nauratan, which comes from Jaipur, India.”²

I didn’t know what a “nauratan” was, so I asked a friend who grew up in Delhi. Nauratan means “nine gems” and Indians usually spell the word “navratan” or “navrattan.” Navratan describes a piece of jewelry (a ring, pendant, bracelet or necklace) that incorporates nine auspicious stones. The nine sacred gems are arranged in a set order and represent planets in Vedic astrology. The gems and their arrangement bring the wearer astrological “balance” and good luck…

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Calvin Klein Encounter ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 22 August 2012 75 Comments

Calvin Klein Encounter, ad + bottle

Salutations, readers. I’m ensconced under my scuppernong arbor tap, tap, tapping away on the old Royal, preparing a review for Now Smell This. I must hurry; the mailman will arrive shortly and my review must be ready. It’s so trying, typing whilst thinking of the hens’ yard that needs sweeping, the cardoon bitters I must brew, the yarn I’m dyeing in my new aluminum livestock tub. I also have a “note to self” here that’s hard to read (the ink’s smeared…I only use fountain pens, you see). Oh, yes, I remember: I wanted to sincerely apologize to you all for being so masculine (an awful thing indeed). Apology accepted?

Calvin Klein PR says Calvin Klein Encounter is “modern, stylish and unapologetically masculine” just like its front man Alexander Skarsgård. Since I dislike Encounter so much, I must be Alexander’s opposite: old-timey, “homey” and ashamed of my masculinity. Any other men out there who are apologetically masculine on a regular basis? Take a whiff of Encounter and get back to me…

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Christian Dior Eau Sauvage Parfum ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 15 August 2012 29 Comments

Dior Eau Sauvage Parfum advert

Certain iconic fragrances have an army of supporters who despise any “fiddling” with their beloved perfume; Dior‘s Eau Sauvage by perfumer Edmond Roudnitska is one such fragrance. Released in 1966, Eau Sauvage has been getting lots of love for decades, even as the formula was tweaked. I like Eau Sauvage and enjoyed its variations: Eau Sauvage Extrême (1982 version) and 2007’s Eau Sauvage Fraîcheur Cuir (both discontinued). I’ll admit to getting a little excited at the prospect of Eau Sauvage Parfum (which is not, strictly speaking, a flanker, but a new concentration of Eau Sauvage Eau de Toilette).*

Featuring bergamot, vetiver, myrrh, woods and amber, Eau Sauvage Parfum was developed by perfumer François Demachy and is described as a woody-amber perfume (as opposed to the original Eau Sauvage Eau de Toilette, an aromatic citrus-floral); thus, I didn’t think for a minute that the new Parfum would be a “stronger” version of the original fragrance.

Eau Sauvage Parfum goes on watery and weak; my first thought on smelling it was: “Parfum?” Quickly, the fragrance intensifies…

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The Different Company L’Esprit Cologne collection ~ fragrance reviews

Posted by Kevin on 8 August 2012 30 Comments

With rare exceptions (most recently, the Arquiste collection), I’m almost always underwhelmed when a company releases a barrage of perfumes all at once (Keiko Mecheri, Robert Piguet, By Kilian, M Micallef — I’m looking at you…though you are far from being the only culprits). I think: Was the perfumer overwhelmed by too many simultaneous projects? Were the perfumes made to fill banal “slots”: citrus cologne slot, oud perfume slot, fruity-floral slot, oriental amber slot, white floral slot. Were the resulting fragrances “old” ideas that were just hanging around waiting for a bottle to fill, a desperate buyer to placate? I’ve been burned so many times after going to great trouble and expense getting samples, I’ve started ignoring these “group shows” of fragrances. I don’t have the time, or energy, to find and try so many perfumes all at once from a single house. I think we’d all prefer the release of one interesting, well-thought-out perfume to a cartload of forgettable offerings arriving in one ‘lump’.

The Different Company (sigh) just released four fragrances in their new L’Esprit Cologne collection, all by perfumer Émilie Coppermann…

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