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Browsing by tag: gourmand

Valentino Uomo ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 12 March 2014 45 Comments

Valentino Uomo advert

When I tried the new Valentino fragrance, Valentino Uomo,1 in Nordstrom, I thought: “Uh-oh…I can’t smell a thing…asnomic to an ingredient, I guess.” But when I got outside Nordstrom into the fresh air, I could smell Valentino Uomo. Quickly, I realized why I was unable to detect it at the men’s fragrance counter — Valentino Uomo smells like the inside of Nordstrom, with its combined aromas of the makeup/skincare section, new clothes and shoes, a zillion fragrances, and Ebar. What I’m reminded of when wearing Valentino Uomo is not “Italy” but “American Department Store.”

At first application, Valentino Uomo smells like lukewarm milk with a shot or two of citrus juice in it…

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Reminiscence Tonka ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 7 March 2014 21 Comments

tonka beans

Reminiscence is one of those smaller brands that I don’t think about as often as I should, but when I do think about it, I remember how much I like it. It’s primarily a Paris-based jewelry company dating back to the 1970s, with a line of cheerful bohemian-chic fragrances that fits its design aesthetic. Tonka is a recent release (2013), developed by perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin. It belongs to Reminiscence’s “Les Classiques” fragrance collection (joining Vanille, Ambre, Patchouli and Musc), and it is an oriental gourmand with notes of bergamot, anise, clove, jasmine, honey, cistus, bitter almond, tonka bean, vanilla and musk.

I’d never heard of tonka until I started reading fragrance message boards in the early 2000s…

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L’Artisan Parfumeur Amour Nocturne & Deliria ~ fragrance reviews

Posted by Angela on 27 January 2014 24 Comments

lart-deliria-amour-2

I admit it: sometimes I do feel an “explosion of emotions” when I pass a bakery display case. But I wouldn’t have thought a perfumer’s rendition of an emotional explosion would give off so much brioche and baba au rhum. To me, that’s just what L’Artisan Parfumeur Explosions d’Emotions Amour Nocturne and Déliria do. They smell like sophisticated pastries steeped in liqueur — and for Déliria, sitting in a crimped foil holder.

L’Artisan Parfumeur released three fragrances in its Explosions d’Emotions collection: Amour Nocturne, Déliria, and Skin to Skin (which Robin will review later this week). L’Artisan describes the collection as “Three concepts, translating the extraordinary emotional power of fragrance, created without compromise, with master perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour.” They’re packaged in a larger, squat version of the perfume house’s classic columnar, heptagon1 bottle and cost an eye-popping $280 each.

So, what do we get for all that cash…

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Profumum Confetto, Battito d’Ali, Vanitas & Sorriso ~ perfume reviews

Posted by Jessica on 10 January 2014 35 Comments

Profumum Confetto, Battito d'Ali

Victoria’s recent post on Bois de Jasmin about Pink Sugar and the simple pleasure of gourmand fragrances inspired me to sit down with a few samples from the Italian line Profumum. Profumum currently offers more than thirty perfumes, some of them composed around floral, wood, or spice notes, but I always think of this house as being particularly focused on gourmands. I haven’t tried all of them, but here are quick thoughts on four sweet-and-desserty fragrances from the collection.

I love the Profumum website‘s fanciful description for Confetto: “Both woman and child. Capricious and gentle like a curl in the wind, like candy floss, like a black silk petticoat raised by the swirl of the merry go round…” Confetto was released in 1996 and has notes of almond, anise, musk, amber, and vanilla. I think its name is a reference to the Italian candy confetti, sugar-coated almonds that are served to signify good wishes at weddings and other festive occasions. In Confetto, we get the almond, and we get the sugar; it’s all very mouth-watering and it qualifies as a “feminine” gourmand…

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A Lab on Fire Rose Rebelle Respawn ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 3 January 2014 17 Comments

A Lab on Fire Rose Rebelle Respawn

Last summer, A Lab On Fire launched Rose Rebelle Respawn, a “modern, feminine” fragrance developed by perfumer Sophia Grojsman. Like everything about A Lab on Fire, it’s a bit mysterious: it’s the third or fourth permutation of Grojsman’s 100% Love, originally released in 2003 by S-Perfume (the parent brand of A Lab on Fire). The original 100% Love was followed by S-Perfume 100% Love {More} in 2006, and more recently, by A Lab on Fire Rose Rebelle in 2011, which I never had the chance to try. (I think it was available only in Paris, and it may or may not have been identical to 100% Love.)

Rose Rebelle Respawn has a composition of ivy, mint leaves, carnation, rose, musks, incense and cacao…

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