• About
  • Login to comment
    • Bluesky
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Archives
Browsing by category: perfume talk

Starck Paris Peau de Pierre ~ fragrance review

Posted by Robin on 18 November 2016 19 Comments

Starck Paris brand image

French designer Philippe Starck introduced three fragrances (his first) earlier this year: Peau de Soie, Peau d’Ailleurs and Peau de Pierre. They are “for intelligent people” (oh, that’s me, right?) and they represent “the opposite of marketing” (something intelligent perfumistas have perhaps heard once or twice before). The three fragrances vaguely1 align as feminine (Peau de Soie), unisex (Peau d’Ailleurs)2 and masculine (Peau de Pierre) but Starck has made it clear he was not looking for traditional interpretations of masculinity and feminity. On men and Peau de Pierre specifically…

He admitted that in his 67 years, he’s never liked or respected men, and called them “stupid” and “useless.” As a heterosexual man himself, he has a “beautiful wife” and five children. Starck professed that the only other male friends he has are “very feminine.”3…

Read the rest of this article »

Loewe 001 Woman ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 17 November 2016 3 Comments

Loewe 001 brand image

What’s with all the his-and-hers fragrance duos this fall? Kevin and I have already teamed up on a few. This week, we’re tackling 001 Man and 001 Woman from Spanish luxury brand Loewe: “Two unique fragrances, Man and Woman, created at the same time. Two accomplice fragrances, non-existent one without the other, in constant conversation … Perfectly complementary, when they are combined together, the two fragrances create a third scent.”

Although I do think of Kevin and myself as “accomplices,” we won’t be able to “combine” our fragrances for these joint reviews, since we live on opposite ends of the country…

Read the rest of this article »

Loewe 001 Man ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 16 November 2016 19 Comments

Loewe 001 Man brand images

On a visit to Madrid years ago, I walked inside a Loewe shop and picked up and sprayed a perfume tester. A human shark, made up in the crudely hyper-theatrical style of an amateur touring production of Carmen, ran across the store and grabbed the bottle from my hands. She snapped: “Ask if you want to smell!” as she held the bottle protectively to her breast. My traveling companion looked at me with pity. I imagined him thinking: “Poor Kevin…to be reprimanded in public.” I did not say a word. I did not smile. I turned and walked out of the shop.

Whenever I see the word “Loewe,” that crass sales assistant comes to mind and I want to go back in time and spray that mediocre perfume I had smelled into her eyeballs. Yes, I have a temper…and a long memory! (“Italian by way of Virginia.”)…

Read the rest of this article »

Tauer Perfumes L’Air du Desert Marocain & Au Coeur du Desert ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 14 November 2016 29 Comments

Erg Chebbi Dunes

Displayed on the wall of the store where I work are majestic African tribal robes, Indonesian necklaces as big as breastplates, elaborate Japanese altars, and heavy strings of shells from Papua New Guinea. I love the necklaces, especially, and the other day I finally tried one on. It was grand and angular and cold on my skin, and I felt queenly. Then I saw myself in a mirror. I looked like a mouse in a crown. As much as I loved it, it overwhelmed me.

This is how I’ve felt about Tauer Perfumes L’Air du Désert Marocain. I adore the fragrance’s heady, helicopter-over-the-Grand-Canyon feel, but ultimately it’s too hard for pallid me to pull off, and I swapped away my bottle. This year, Tauer released Au Coeur du Désert, an Extrait interpretation of L’Air du Désert Marocain. I may have found my tribal robe at last…

Read the rest of this article »

The Different Company Oud Shamash & Oud For Love ~ fragrance reviews & a quick oud poll

Posted by Kevin on 11 November 2016 32 Comments

The Different Company Oud Shamash & Oud For Love

I’m not vexed by (more) oud perfumes hitting the market…I’m bored with perfumes that proclaim their oud affiliation on their bottles: oud-this, oud-that — Oud! Aoud! Oudh!

If a fragrance is heavy on orange blossom or cedar or sage we usually don’t see those ingredients listed on labels ad nauseum. Perhaps the only other ingredient besides oud that is as advertised in perfume names is rose. So: when I hear an announcement of another oud fragrance, I don’t frown or sigh, I give it a try. Just this year I fell in love with, and bought, Diptyque’s Oud Palao.

The Different Company could not resist the tide of oud-named fragrances, and has given us TWO…

Read the rest of this article »

« Newer articles
Older articles »

Advertisement

Search

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

List of upcoming Friday projects

6 January ~ damage poll

31 January ~ winter reading poll

Back to Top

Home
Archives
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Books

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2026 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.