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Browsing by tag: berry

Oyin Handmade Juices & Berries Nourishing Herbal Leave-In ~ scented body products

Posted by Jessica on 4 July 2010 10 Comments

Oyin Handmade conditionersummer fruits

One of the consolations of summertime, for those of us who don’t enjoy heat and humidity and the constant sight of other people’s unkempt feet in flip-flops, is the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. Even I, a dedicated starch-lover, experience a craving for something a little more colorful at this time of year. I’m grateful for the network of farmers’ markets that has expanded to urban areas, and for the tiny city-yardspace behind our new home, where my husband and I are making our first attempts at growing a few potted edibles.

Oyin Handmade’s Juices & Berries is a spray-on, leave-in conditioner for hair, and it smells like the kind of fruit salad that you can only make at the height of the summer season. It’s scented with a mix of natural and synthetic fragrance oils, and it turns out to have a much more appetizing and realistic aroma than many berry-fragranced toiletries on the market…

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L’Artisan Parfumeur Mure et Musc ~ fragrance reviews

Posted by Kevin on 11 December 2008 37 Comments

L'Artisan Mure et Musc limited edition bottle

I bought my first bottle of L’Artisan Parfumeur Mûre et Musc in 1990, twelve years after its debut. It’s been ten years since my last bottle of Mûre et Musc and, as luck would have it, a friend has a bottle of Mûre et Musc from 1988 — a high school graduation gift — and she let me wear the ‘vintage’ perfume; the fragrance is just as I remember it: a deep, rich smell of berries (like the scent of fresh, ripe berries cooking in sugar syrup with a whole vanilla bean and lemon rind tossed in for good measure) coupled with a lively and almost “resinous” musk. The mood of 1988 Mûre et Musc is happy, summery (and unisex).

Mûre et Musc Eau de Toilette (current version)

I did a double-sniff when I recently sampled a brand-new bottle of Mûre et Musc Eau de Toilette…

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Byredo Pulp & Boudicca Wode ~ fragrance review

Posted by Robin on 18 November 2008 34 Comments

Byredo Pulp & Boudicca Wode fragrances

Ok, raise your hand if you'd like to see a moratorium on new niche brands? At the very least, I'd like to see an independent judging panel evaluate each line, sniff a sampling of their wares, and determine if they have anything to offer that the world really needs. Given how much product is already out there, we don't need much, do we? More product makes it harder to find the perfect scent, not easier.

I used to define a perfumista as someone who wants to smell everything, but I can't say I fall into that category anymore. I don't want to smell everything if that means smelling 1500+ new fragrances a year, and that's my (obviously unofficial) estimate of what we're going to see before 2008 is over*. More and more often, new niche lines launch, and after reading the fragrance descriptions, I decide I'm just going to save myself some time and trouble and not smell them at all.

Byredo was one of those lines. They launched five fragrances earlier this year, and as I said at the time, none of the fragrance descriptions made me drool on my keyboard. So I didn't chase after them. Luckily, a kind friend sent me a sample of Byredo Pulp so I could see what I was missing…

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The Different Company Sublime Balkiss ~ perfume review

Posted by Robin on 15 September 2008 36 Comments

Sublime Balkiss perfume by The Different Company

Sublime Balkiss is the lastest from perfumer Celine Ellena at The Different Company. The modern (i.e., oakmoss-free, i.e., not chypre-ish) chypre fragrance was named for the Queen of Sheba, and features two kinds of patchouli: the traditional essence, and a “modified modern patchouli” which emphasizes the cocoa powder notes.

Sublime Balkiss opens on a veritable berry-fest: it's juicy and rich, like a dark berry liqueur with a touch of sparkle (the notes, in addition to the patchouli: bergamot, violet, blueberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, lily of the valley, rose, lilac). The base is dry, earthy-woody and smooth, with hints of spice but only very subtle cocoa…

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Montale Fruits of the Musk ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 17 April 2008 35 Comments

Berries

I’ve been called a fruitcake and I’ve been called a fruit — but not because I smell fruity. Men’s and unisex fragrances rarely feature a sustained stream of natural-smelling (non-citrus) fruit aromas, so my perfume cabinet has always had an empty space where I could lodge a FRUIT FRAGRANCE or two — but that situation may soon change.

Last weekend, there was an unseasonably hot (over 75 degrees Fahrenheit!) day here in the Northwest and I stayed outside to feel the warm sun, to smell the saucer magnolias, wallflowers, hyacinths and clematis that are in bloom, and to enjoy the fragrant sea breeze blowing in from the west. The beautiful day made me think of the coming summer and I felt ‘summery’ myself; I reached for an untried perfume sample that sounded perfect for such a glorious day: Montale’s Fruits of the Musk…

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