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Browsing by category: perfume talk

Miss Dior Reconsidered: a reflection on difficult perfumes

Posted by Angela on 29 July 2019 103 Comments

Each of the classic perfume houses seems to have a flagship fragrance that defines the house, yet would never make it past the marketing team today. Chanel has No. 5, a fusty, lovely veil-hatted scent worn by millions and probably truly loved for its scent by only a small fraction. Guerlain has Mitsouko, a perfume aficionado’s most loved and most want-to-love walk through rotting peaches, rainwater, and mold. Jean Patou has Joy, and Caron has Tabac Blond.

And then there’s Christian Dior Miss Dior, perhaps the most off-putting and, to me, deliciously irresistible icon of them all…

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J-Scent Sumo Wrestler ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 24 July 2019 10 Comments

Sumo wrestlers (and samurai and geishas) all used scented hair oils to gloss and help hold their complex hairstyles in place. J-Scent (a Tokyo-based fragrance manufacturer) describes its Sumo Wrestler perfume* like this:

The scent of bintsuke (hair oil) subtly floating from dignified sumo wrestlers. Eucalyptus and anise give this perfume an aromatic scent…

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Slumberhouse Grev ~ fragrance review and a ghost story

Posted by Angela on 15 July 2019 23 Comments

The Slumberhouse website describes Grev as “a transparent metallic/herbal accord of star anise, crisp apple peel, spearmint leaf, ocean pine and bergamot twisted into hollowed tunnels padded in turquoise hues, dusted in sweet mossy mineral powder and blanketed with copaiba resin and sandalwood oil.” I describe Grev as a minty shiv straight from the freezer.

Grev is one of the four fragrances Slumberhouse issued when the perfume house debuted in 2011. A generous splash from my sample tube gives green apple for a split second before mentholated mint and pine trees obliterate it. After ten minutes, Grev relaxes and becomes more comfortable to wear…

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Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Sharkskin ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 12 July 2019 1 Comment

Independent perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has just released Sharkskin, the seventh fragrance in her limited edition Heirloom Series.1 This one is timed for summer: it’s “tailor-made to get you through the steamiest days of the year…a wonderful balance of sparkling lightness, luxurious depth, and ease. In my perfect fantasy, this is the scent that both Frank Sinatra AND Grace Kelly are wearing to be cool as a cucumber, the picture of elegance, and ever so fresh in the heat of the NYC summer, circa 1957.”

This scent’s name refers to the fabric called sharkskin, a lightweight wool material that’s tightly woven with alternating colors of thread for a resulting smoothness and subtle, two-toned sheen. The members of the Rat Pack were often photographed wearing sharp-cut sharkskin suits in the 1950s and 1960s, hence the reference above! — but the material is still used in suiting for both genders…

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L’Artisan Parfumeur Bana Banana ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 10 July 2019 32 Comments

L’Artisan Parfumeur is an old friend. I’ve owned bottles of Ananas Fizz (discontinued), Mûre et Musc (original version), L’Eau de L’Artisan, Passage d’Enfer, L’Eau d’Ambre, Dzongkha, Séville à l’Aube, Traversée du Bosphore, Dzing!, Timbuktu, Méchant Loup and Bois Farine, not to mention amber balls and candles. When I saw the ads for the new Bana Banana,* with their antique botanical illustrations of banana plants, I was primed to BUY…

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