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Histoires d’Eaux Ete Indien ~ fragrance review

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Histoires d'Eaux Été Indien

It seems like an appropriate time of year to try a fragrance named for “Indian summer,” so I was pleased when a sample of Histoires d’Eaux Été Indien recently came my way. Histoires d’Eaux is an Italian niche perfume house with French names and a collection inspired by an imaginary “chansonnier” of the 1950s who tells his life story through his song lyrics. (I think I got that correct.) Été Indien was developed by perfumer Dominique Gindre and includes notes of elemi, bergamot, clary sage, geranium, patchouli, vanilla, tolu balsam, styrax and labdanum.

As you can guess by that list, Été Indien is an oriental composition with an amber theme…

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Aerin Amber Musk & Evening Rose ~ perfume reviews

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Aerin Amber Musk & Evening Rose fragrances

Last week I reviewed Lilac Path, Ikat Jasmine and Gardenia Rattan, all from Aerin, the new-ish lifestyle brand of Aerin Lauder. Erin asked if I’d left the other two fragrances in the collection, Amber Musk and Evening Rose, until later because they were the best of the bunch, but no, I left them only because I wasn’t quite as interested, insofar as I’m not a huge amber fan and rose, well, 2013 was very nearly the year of the rose, right? At least, rose vied with oud as the note du jour. Of course, oud probably won, it usually does.

But yes, they are, arguably, the best of the bunch, and they do have more weight and sillage than the other three. They still don’t quite meet the standard I’d hoped for from the set — something similar to the upscale Private Collection scents Aerin Lauder designed for the Estée Lauder brand, Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia, Private Collection Amber Ylang Ylang and Private Collection Jasmine White Moss. But they’re closer in spirit, and while I have no idea which of the five will sell the best, these are probably the two that are most likely to please perfumistas…

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L’Occitane Fleur d’Or & Acacia and Ambre & Santal ~ fragrance reviews

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L’Occitane Fleur d’Or & Acacia and Ambre & Santal

Earlier this year, L’Occitane launched a new line of perfumes — La Collection de Grasse; the collection started off with four fragrances and now has doubled in size.1 I’ve only had the chance to spend quality time with two of the perfumes: Fleur d’Or & Acacia and Ambre & Santal.

Fleur d’Or & Acacia

(lemon, bergamot, mimosa, acacia, white woods, musk)

Fleur d’Or & Acacia begins with, and maintains, an intense acacia-mimosa accord; and at first, this accord smells genuine (natural). The lemon note in Fleur d’Or & Acacia’s opening serves as a momentary “booster” for the florals. After Fleur d’Or & Acacia’s authentic-smelling acacia-mimosa notes vanish, and that happens quickly, they are replaced by acacia-mimosa ‘chemicals’ that soar into space, and up through my nasal passages…

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Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Dore ~ fragrance review

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Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer

Is Maître Parfumeur et Gantier depressed? Lazy? Complacent? Thinking about “retirement?” If not, why hasn’t the (badly designed) brand’s website been updated in years; Cuir Fétiche (2011) isn’t on the site, nor is Bois de Turquie, released in 2008! And what about the ugly bottles people have been making fun of for ages? Keep the bottles if you must, Maître Parfumeur et Gantier, but at least nix the cheap plastic “jewels” (that often fall off) from the caps. Still…I always try new Maître Parfumeur et Gantier fragrances.

Maître Parfumeur et Gantier’s latest perfume, Ambre Doré, opens with the aromas of vibrant oud, saffron-scented leather and “green” (geranium?) styrax. Ambre Doré’s “character” is tougher than most amber perfumes, which is fine by me (I like my ambers rough and ‘scratchy’…if they’re too smooth and sleek I’m bored). As Ambre Doré’s opening burns off there’s a musky barnyard moment or two (we’re talking a dry-manure-in-the-distance aroma) followed by the scent of bananas steeped in turpentine…

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Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan ~ fragrance review

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Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan

Ambre Sultan* was my first Serge Lutens perfume. I ordered it from England because, in early 2000, there wasn’t a bottle to be had in the United States. I purchased Ambre Sultan unsniffed because — who doesn’t like amber?

I’ve written about “amber” before, but since that post, I’ve come to prefer “tough” ambers over sweet vanillic amber blends (which many perfume lovers categorize as easy-to-wear “comfort scents”). Of course, I have many perfumes in my collection with amber-y bases, but I usually own just one ‘clear-cut’ amber perfume…and for over a decade that’s been Ambre Sultan.

Ambre Sultan starts off with a dual personality…

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