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Rogue Perfumery Flos Mortis ~ fragrance review

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I have a complicated relationship with tuberose (Agave amica). I love the flowers, and summer is not summer without tuberose blossoming in my garden. My husband loves tuberose, too — in the garden and on his person (he wears Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower). If I had my druthers, a vase full of fresh tuberose flowers would scent my house at all times. Tuberose soap? Yes, please! The “complicated” part of my tuberose relationship is: I don’t like to wear tuberose-rich fragrances! Most tuberose-centered perfumes turn dainty on me or the tuberose element is combined with glaring white florals to produce a shrill glamazon vibe. Tuberose scents I’ve worn with pleasure include original-formula Serge Lutens Tubéreuse Criminelle, Naomi Goodsir Nuit de Bakélite and Olfactive Studio Ombre Indigo. I’ll now add Flos Mortis* to this list…

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Eris Parfums Mxxx. ~ fragrance review

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A friend recently showed me her new scarf. “Look at it,” she said. “It cost a fortune.” The friend is no slouch in the style department, but she’s hardly rich, and, at first glance, the scarf seemed to be merely a big, soft red wrap. Nice, but nothing worth spending in the triple digits for.

Then I paid closer attention. The scarf was handwoven to produce a textured pattern in wool as fine as a spider’s web. Even the fabric’s selvedge edge was artfully finished. What looked at first to be a solid tomato red actually graduated barely perceptibly to cherry. The scarf, seemingly so simple, was a work of art.

Eris Parfums Mxxx. rewards similar attention…

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Sarah Baker Jungle Jezebel ~ fragrance review

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Jungle Jezebel was Divine’s first album, and the flamboyant actor and singer inspired Jungle Jezebel, the perfume. Usually, “inspirations” need much elaboration in fragrance ad copy — adjectives for miles, jumbled/fumbled cultural references, mangled prose. But: DIVINE inspiration? Just that one word brought a torrent of images and sounds.

London-based Sarah Baker Perfumes (and perfumer Miguel Matos) chose what sounds like an uncouth mix of fragrance notes for Jungle Jezebel: orange, banana, grape, peach, bubble gum, rose, tuberose, ylang-ylang, amber, sandalwood, civet, vetiver, vanilla, tonka bean. Though Divine was often described as “trashy,” I always noted the attention to detail in his clothes, hair styles and make-up…

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Masque Milano Love Kills ~ fragrance review

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Masque Milano Love Kills is a punk rock name for an operatic fragrance. In this case, the music has to do with roses.

Perfumer Caroline Dumur developed Love Kills. Its notes include Turkish rose, geranium, ambrette, patchouli, cedarwood, musk and ambergris. (I’m not going to quote the fragrance’s description in Masque Milano’s press materials, because, frankly, I don’t understand it. It tosses around literary and musical references with vague observations about “a rose by any other name” and how fleeting life is…)

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