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Browsing by tag: antoine maisondieu

Etat Libre d’Orange Vierges et Toreros ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 14 December 2016 18 Comments

tuberose and bullfighter

Almost ten years have passed since Etat Libre d’Orange released Vierges et Toreros.1 I’ve never come across it in a store and no one ever gave me a sample of the fragrance. The only reason I just smelled it is that I got a tiny vial of the perfume along with the recent Etat Libre d’Orange Attaquer Le Soleil Marquis de Sade release. I ignored Vierges et Toreros all these years because bullfighter images aren’t my thing, and people I trust gave it lukewarm reviews. I never added it to my to-try list. Mistake!

As usual the Etat Libre d’Orange PR text is worth reading for a good laugh and head-scratch…

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Comme des Garcons Blackpepper ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 29 August 2016 24 Comments

black peppercorns

Coming off a heat wave, it’s hard to believe that Labor Day is this weekend. To me, Labor Day signals autumn, and autumn means sweaters, falling leaves and warmer fragrance. Comme des Garçons Blackpepper should come with “autumn” stamped on its label.

Perfumer Antoine Maisondieu developed Blackpepper. Its notes include Madagascan pepper, cedar wood, akigalawood (a spicy-woody material by Givaudan derived from patchouli), tonka bean and “musky accord.”

Say “black pepper” to me, and I think “biting, bracing, sneezy.” Fortunately, after its initial hit, Blackpepper is none of that…

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Valentino Donna ~ perfume review

Posted by Robin on 30 December 2015 20 Comments

Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey for Valentino Donna

If you adored Lancôme La Vie Est Belle1 or any of its various spawn (Giorgio Armani Sì, Nina Ricci L’Extase, Salvatore Ferragamo Emozione et. al.) and you were hoping for more candied iris powder, do try Valentino’s new-ish Donna, which I’d call the latest in the series except that I’m so far behind that Donna has been out for months and there are probably umpteen new fragrances in the same vein that I haven’t even smelled yet. Ah well.

Donna is the feminine counterpart to last year’s Valentino Uomo, and it maintains that scent’s emphasis on sugar, or to put it as Kevin did in his review, loads of sugar, at least in the opening…

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Van Cleef & Arpels Feerie Rubis ~ new perfume

Posted by Robin on 8 April 2015 2 Comments

Van Cleef & Arpels Féerie Rubis

Van Cleef & Arpels has launched Féerie Rubis, a new fragrance for women. Féerie Rubis is a flanker to 2008′s Féerie, and follows Féerie Spring Blossom and Féerie Rose des Neiges…

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Boucheron Quatre ~ new perfume

Posted by Robin on 1 April 2015 6 Comments

Boucheron Quatre women

Boucheron has launched Quatre. The new fragrance for women was named for the brand’s quatre rings; a masculine counterpart is expected to follow…

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