D.S. & Durga Pomelo Blossom ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 22 July 2010 23 Comments

Pomelo

Citrus-floral fragrances are made for hot weather; the best of them smell light and airy, brisk and cooling (all the sensations I want from a scent on a sultry day). I like summer fragrances to smell “clean” but also possess a hint of sexiness — a “bare” quality. The fat and heavy pomelo (Citrus maxima), which you may have encountered in Southeast Asian cooking (think: mild, sweet grapefruit), is an excellent inspiration for such a summer perfume.

Pomelo Blossom is part of D.S. & Durga’s spring-summer 2010 (limited edition) fragrance collection for Anthropologie, and it contains notes of pomelo blossom, grapefruit peel and white musk. Pomelo Blossom goes on sharp and juicy (smelling like fresh oranges, a mix of cool peel and juice). In mid-development, floral notes become apparent; these floral notes remind me of slightly indolic jasmine and pungent, “wild” orange blossom.

My favorite part of Pomelo Blossom is the oily grapefruit rind note…

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L’Occitane Verbena Summer Secret ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 14 July 2010 51 Comments

L’Occitane Verbena Summer Secret

This will be a summer-short and summer-sweet review of L’Occitane Verbena Summer Secret. I was wondering if spring would ever arrive in Seattle this year, let alone summer, but the weather went from cool and rainy (the heat came on in my house on the Fourth of July) to 92 degrees…in just a few days. During the hot spell, I didn’t feel up to trying out any abstract, complex, or heavy fragrances (I barely felt like writing) so Verbena Summer Secret’s blend of verbena, basil, mint, green apple, “green” anise, cedar and musk sounded like a perfect scent to review.

Verbena Summer Secret begins with citrus and hints of basil, anise, and a great, fuzzy mint note (no, I didn’t mean “fizzy”— this mint is dry and “rough”). Verbena Summer Secret’s opening notes are refreshing but fleeting…

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Heeley Oranges And Lemons Say The Bells Of St. Clement’s ~ fragrance review

Posted by Robin on 6 July 2010 139 Comments

oranges & lemons

As I’ve said here many times before, I’m a summer person. I do not like cold, and as long as the weather is warm enough to wear shorts, I have no real complaints. Still, even I am willing to admit that the heat is a bit oppressive here at the moment: the temperature is expected to hit 99° F today, and it probably already has. I had been planning to review the new Fancy Nights by Jessica Simpson, but I can promise you that Fancy Nights is not something you will want to be wearing when it is 99° F.

So: Heeley Oranges And Lemons Say The Bells of St. Clement’s. It is named for the nursery rhyme, and it’s just the sort of thing you can wear when it’s too hot to wear most anything else…

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Liz Earle Botanical Essence No. 1 ~ fragrance review

Posted by Robin on 1 June 2010 50 Comments

Liz Earle Botanical Essence No. 1

I confess I know absolutely nothing about the Liz Earle brand other than that they were purchased by Avon earlier this year. They’re based in the UK and apparently known for their skincare, and they might well be widely adored — my skincare routine was fixed years ago, and I do not stray. Anyway, they released their first fragrance, Botanical Essence No. 1, last year, and this is one of those rare times when I’m reviewing a fragrance only because a PR company sent me a bottle — I had never seen Botanical Essence No. 1 in a store and had no plans to seek it out. Since it turns out to be a fragrance I love, I’m glad it showed up in the mail, and I’ll be very sorry to see it go.¹

Botanical Essence No. 1 is “over 98% directly derived from natural ingredients”, and we all know natural ingredients are usually not as potent or long-lasting as synthetic ingredients, right? The press release recommends that you “spritz all over or spray above and let the mist envelop you”, so the first time I tried Botanical Essence No. 1, I sprayed with more abandon than I normally would, and was promptly overwhelmed. Two things went through my mind simultaneously: one, I was going to have to take a shower, pronto, and two, what on earth is in that other 2%? But no, it calmed rapidly…

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Atelier Cologne Trefle Pur ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 25 April 2010 25 Comments

Atelier Cologne Trefle Pur still life

“He had a good feeling about it. That’s the thing about luck, you feel it or you don’t. This moment, he felt it. He found the morning’s rain had left everything looking greener and a bit sharper, like he was seeing it all for the first time, and he headed off with a spring in his step.”

So reads the promotional text for Trèfle Pur Cologne Absolue, one of the five fragrances recently launched by Atelier Cologne. Trèfle Pur was created by perfumer Jérome Epinette (who also developed Bois Blonds and Oolang Infini for Atelier). Its name translates as “pure clover,” and this fragrance does include a heart note of clover absolute. It starts with a very crisp note of basil, and something tart that reminds me of lime, possibly the effect of the bitter orange mixing with the basil leaves. Things get even leafier in the fragrance’s middle phase, where the namesake clover is paired with violet leaf (not violet flowers, mind you: this definitely isn’t a floral fragrance). There’s also a light layer of patchouli; it’s a dry and root-y patchouli, almost vetiver-like, rather than a damp and earthy patchouli. It’s the part of the fragrance that feels the most typically masculine, but it’s not strong enough to dominate the overall composition…

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D.S. & Durga Pomelo Blossom ~ fragrance review

L’Occitane Verbena Summer Secret ~ fragrance review

Heeley Oranges And Lemons Say The Bells Of St. Clement’s ~ fragrance review

Liz Earle Botanical Essence No. 1 ~ fragrance review

Atelier Cologne Trefle Pur ~ fragrance review