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Browsing by author: Kevin

AXE Twist ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 21 April 2010 75 Comments

Axe Twist fragrance + Academic man

A friend recently complained that her co-ed gym smelled like cheap perfume and strongly scented deodorants, and she blamed it all on: men and AXE. I bristled. I’ve smelled my fair share of badly (and powerfully) scented women’s body products, and AXE is not simply a “man thing”…women like it too.

A recent radio report dealing with AXE’s environmental problems in California (AXE was forced to reduce the quantity of propellants in its sprays to comply with clean-air standards) also featured interviews with AXE-loving high school girls. Yeah, “the boys’ locker room reeks of AXE” but the girls “love it.” One girl said: “…you smell it (AXE) and you’re, like, drawn to it; it smells so good.”

I’ve certainly made fun of AXE, and men’s grooming habits, in the past. I chuckled as I read Twist’s “instructions”: spray on underarms, chest and neck (apparently some overzealous boys apply AXE in places no deodorant body spray should ever touch); but I realize there are more important things to get riled up over than deodorant body sprays. So, let me mention a few positive AXE qualities…

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Costamor Tabacca ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 14 April 2010 41 Comments

Costamor Tabacca perfume

Los Angeles-based Costamor (whose perfumes are inspired by Costa Rica) recently released Tabacca: “a sultry, feminine spin on one (of) the prized crops of Costa Rica— tobacco.” Tabacca’s listed notes are spices, apple peel, jasmine, rose tea, raw tobacco leaves, dried tobacco leaves, rare woods, and amber.

Tabacca begins with a fumy mix of citrus, jasmine and rich, sweet (and slightly musky) tobacco; I think I detect a drop of labdanum too. The tobacco notes overtake the jasmine in mid-development and are joined by vanillic amber and a “lush” apple note (this apple is not “fresh” off the tree and crisp, but smells of honeyed cider). There are also a few specks of cumin floating in the fragrance but I don’t think this cumin will bother even certified cumin-haters…

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John Varvatos Artisan Black ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 7 April 2010 31 Comments

John Varvatos Artisan Black

Usually, when a perfume house decides to make “extreme” or “black” versions of fragrances, what you get is a “flatter/fatter” take on the original scent, with most of the sparkle and vivacity removed. John Varvatos has just launched Artisan Black, a “more woodsy and musky” interpretation of 2009’s John Varvatos Artisan — a scent I love.

Artisan Black was created by perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux and lists notes of Meyer lemon, tangerine, blood orange, calypsone (a watery melon note), Murraya flower (orange jessamine), neroli/orange blossom, jasmine, Nigerian ginger, purple ginger, cardamom, coriander, Kephalis, Belambre, Boisiris (woody iris note), Serenolide (white musk), vetiver, patchouli, Mexican cueramo (wood), soft leather and Florentine orris absolute.

Artisan Black begins with a strong citrus peel combo of lemon and blood orange aromas…

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Prada Infusion de Vetiver ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 2 April 2010 80 Comments

rain on grass

My vetiver cup runneth over. You’d laugh if I told you how many vetiver fragrances I own. It’s rare for me to come across a vetiver perfume I hate, but after disliking Prada’s take on another perfume note I love, orange blossom (Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger), I wondered if its interpretation of vetiver would also be a disappointment.

Infusion de Vétiver is a limited edition Eau de Toilette developed by perfumer Daniela Andrier. Apart from vetiver, the listed fragrance notes include tarragon, pepper and purple ginger. The first time I smelled Infusion de Vétiver was on paper, and it smelled like watery, slightly peppery vetiver: plain. When I wore the fragrance, I detected other notes but the composition remained aqueous and simple.

On my skin, Infusion de Vétiver starts with the scents of powerful, acidic “citrus” (just a second or two) followed by fresh tarragon….

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Penhaligon’s Extract of Limes ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 24 March 2010 51 Comments

Penhaligon's Extract of Limes

As I write this review, the temperature in Seattle is nearing 70 degrees; it hasn’t been so warm here since last October. Fueled by optimism, I’m taking my spring shirts, even short-sleeved shirts, out of storage, and I’m “rousing” my spring and summer perfumes from their winter hibernation closet. (Come March, I need a break from heavy oudh, musk and wood fragrances.)

I’ve also been having a recurring “scent fantasy”: I’m sitting in the middle of a bright citrus grove, and the trees are full of ripe lemons, oranges and limes (and since it’s a fantasy, some orange trees are in full bloom as well). One citrus cologne that helps me conjure this scene is the recently reissued Penhaligon’s Extract of Limes — an old favorite of mine.

Extract of Limes was created in 1963 and disappeared sometime in the Nineties; it’s now part of Penhaligon’s 2009 Anthology Collection…

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