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Browsing by tag: cheap thrills

Molyneux Quartz ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 4 June 2012 55 Comments

Molyneux Quartz advert

There was a time — not long ago, either — when “clean” didn’t smell like laundry soap. In those days, a clean fragrance was crisp and green with a hint of citrus, but might also waft a pretty floral heart and deliver a punch of oakmoss. Clean wasn’t a stack of folded sweat pants hot from the dryer, it was a white kid glove slid onto a cool, powdered hand. Chanel Cristalle and Estée Lauder Aliage embody this style of clean. Molyneux Quartz must have been one of the last mainstream fragrances of this genre.

Quartz was released in 1978. The Parfums Molyneux website mentions only honeysuckle and patchouli among its notes, but Jan Moran’s Fabulous Fragrances lists peach, hyacinth, cassie, jasmine, rose, carnation, orris, melon, sandalwood, musk amber, moss, benzoin, and cedarwood and classifies Quartz as a “floral-fruity.”

To me, Quartz Eau de Parfum is a delicate green chypre with hints of peach and melon and a whiff of cut herbs…

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Joya Ames Soeurs ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 25 May 2012 20 Comments

Joya Âmes SœursThe Book of Lost Fragrances by M. J. Rose

I’m always happy to come across connections between perfumery and literature, so I read (and thoroughly enjoyed) M. J. Rose’s “novel of suspense” The Book of Lost Fragrances soon after its release, and then I tried the accompanying scent from the independent perfume house Joya. According to the author’s website, Rose sent an advance copy of the novel to Joya as a gesture of thanks, since she had been burning Joya candles for ambiance while writing it; the company’s owner, Frederick Bouchardy, was inspired to create a fragrance in response to the novel.

The result is Âmes Sœurs (Scent of Soulmates), developed for Joya by perfumer Rayda Vega and described as “an orange blossom wrapped in incense, smoke and musk.” Its official list of notes includes tamarind, grapefruit, and cypress; rose Bulgar, ginger, and orange blossom; and cedarwood, incense, amber and sweet musk.

If you’ve read The Book of Lost Fragrances, you’re familiar with its motif of an ancient Egyptian perfume, preserved through the ages…

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Anjolie Ayurveda Neroli Lemon Body Butter & Seven Spice Body Oil ~ scented body products

Posted by Jessica on 11 May 2012 13 Comments

Nearly two years ago, I reviewed some fragranced soaps from a small brand called Anjolie Ayurveda. I was impressed by them on various counts: their natural scent blends, their high quality, their artistic packaging, their interesting back-story. I don’t think I’ve come across any other soaps that quite compare to these. I was happy to learn recently that Anjolie had added scented body butters and body oils to its catalog, and the unpredictable warm-to-cold, dry-to-humid weather of the past few weeks has given me a good opportunity to test the moisturizing effects of these new products.

Anjolie Ayurveda’s Aromatherapy Body Butters are offered in four scents: Lavender, Neem Tulsi, Sandalwood Saffon, and Neroli Lemon. I was drawn to the Neroli Lemon because I’m a great fan of neroli in general: I find it cheerful, cleansing, and calming all at the same time. Anjolie promises that “neroli brings a romantic and sophisticated air while lemon adds bright citrus notes” to this blend, and I agree. It’s a simple, satisfying fragrance. The Body Butter’s formula feels more like a thick cream…

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Estee Lauder Aliage ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 16 April 2012 79 Comments

Aliage advert, fishingAliage advert, horseback riding

Estée Lauder touts Aliage as the first fragrance for sports. One sniff, and my guess is hockey and motocross aren’t the sports Ms. Lauder envisioned. A round of bridge or maybe an hour in the cutting garden are more like it. Nonetheless, Aliage is fresh, tart, and clean — the perfect accompaniment to tennis whites.

Aliage hit the market in 1972 when a bevy of delicious green chypres graced department store shelves. Yves Saint Laurent Y, Givenchy III, and old-timers Carven Ma Griffe and Balmain Vent Vert jostled for the attention of the woman looking for unfussy modern elegance. Aliage stands apart in its G-rated playfulness…

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Beautannia Brideshead Soap & Body Lotion ~ scented body products

Posted by Jessica on 13 April 2012 20 Comments

Castle Howard

I recently stepped into the SpaceNK boutique in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, just planning on browsing for a few minutes. Approaching the shelves, I spied some unfamiliar bath products; looking more closely, I let out a little shriek of delight. Toiletries named after my favorite novel, Brideshead Revisited? I could not resist. These luxury products come from a brand called Beautannia, which turns out to be one of SpaceNK‘s house lines. Brideshead is billed as a “quintessential English floral” with notes of “wintersweet, honeysuckle and wild bluebell.”

If I had imagined a fragrance for Brideshead, the grand country estate at the heart of Evelyn Waugh’s novel, during all my repeated readings (not to mention numerous viewings of the highly faithful television adaptation), what would it be? For the earlier sections of the narrative, I’d scent Charles and Sebastian’s friendship with a blend of white wine, strawberries, ivy, and wisps of cigarette smoke. In a late chapter of the novel, Waugh himself evoked the smell of his fictional setting…

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