Coming clean with myself

I realized yesterday that I dislike Bond No. 9 Chinatown.  This is after years of thinking I loved it and that it was among Bond’s best offerings.  Oddly, I still think it’s a neat perfume on others, and I still think it’s among Bond’s bests, but on me it reeks of waxy crayons.  I picture red and purple crayons.  Melted.

This got me thinking about all the other perfumes I've professed my love for when in fact I’ve finally admitted to myself I dislike.  The “admittance to myself” is the key point.  I haven’t gone around pretending to like these perfumes for anyone elses' sake but my own.  I talked myself into liking them.  Many for years.  I’m unsure why.  I’m not the type of person who routinely pretends to enjoy perfumes she doesn’t.   I don’t think I’ve ever pretended I like Chanel No. 5 or Apres L’Ondee; because I’ve known from the start I would never wear either.  I also don’t think this is a case of my taste changing over time.  My taste has changed over time.  I’m experiencing a period right now where I dislike almost all of my ambery perfumes; everything ambery smells musty to me.  But this is a sudden change, and I think (hope) it’s temporary.  There are plenty of fragrances I’ve disliked over the years, but these aren’t the ones I forced myself to like, thinking that I truly liked them.

In addition to Chinatown, here are a few more I’m finally admitting I just don’t like:

Guerlain Shalimar.  Oh, I’m sure I’ve said I love Shalimar a hundred times.  I even wrote a post about how great it is on this blog.  But you know what?  I think it smells like vomit.  On me at least.  And I don’t like it. 

Histoires de Parfums Tubereuse 3 L’Animale: is another one I think smells waxy and also fatty.  I hate it.  This is beginning to feel cathartic.

Hermes Caleche:  Caleche’s sharp aldehydes shriek at such a high pitch on me it almost always gives me a headache.   I’ve worn an entire bottle in my lifetime.  No more.

Serge Lutens Chergui:  another one I’ve worn an entire bottle’s worth and sung its praises.  It’s been awhile now since I’ve worn it and there’s a reason for that; it makes me nauseous.  It’s too sweet and contains that honey note I don’t enjoy. 

So there, I’ve done it, I’ve listed five perfumes I’ve forced myself to like for a long time.  But I don’t like them, and I won’t wear them ever again.   Do you have any fragrances which you’ve openly said you liked, perhaps favorably reviewed or worn many times, only to finally admit to yourself that you just don’t like the stuff?

Ode to Hay

I love the scent of hay. Today I wore People of the Labyrinths, Luctor et Emergo and I kept thinking what a wonderful scent it is. I think POTL smells mostly of hay, play-doh and cherries but in the best possible way.

Serge Lutens Chergui also contains a gorgeous hay note. Chergui is intoxicating. I think it’s mostly about the hay note.

The smell of hay seems so insanely complex. I think it’s similar to tobacco and sandalwood in its complexity. It’s as if all the beauty of the meadow is wrapped up in that hay note. Hay doesn’t just smell like dried grass, it smells like everything ~ the grass, soil, fields, wind, sun, sky, cows, flowers, weeds and straw all rolled up into one gorgeous aroma.

Soivohle' Underworld by Liz Zorn: A Review

Liz Zorn has very quickly become one of my top five favorite perfumers. I just discovered her this year, during the first few months of 2008. Since then, I’ve fallen in love with several of Ms. Zorn’s fragrances, in this order: Domino Voile’ then Blood Orange & Vetiver then Misetu and now Underworld. Underworld is my absolute favorite Soivohle’ fragrance. Underworld rocks the free world. Underworld is so amazingly good I’ve gone gaga and I’m at a loss for words. I will do my best to describe this fragrance, but I’ve got to tell you, it’s like the day I tried to review Serge Lutens Chergui; it’s so beautiful I get tongue-tied and feel that I’m not competent enough, not worthy enough, to review Underworld.

According to Ms. Zorn, the notes in Underworld are as follows:

A dark earthy pairing of vetiver and balsams, with a touch of Jasmine and Rose in the heart, set against a smoky leathery base.
PROFILE: Green/Balsamic/Earthy/Leather
INSPIRATION: Vetiver, Liz's favorite natural material.

Vetiver, as an ingredient in perfumery, has become my “note of 2008.” I’ve always liked the smell of vetiver and usually like most perfume that focuses on this note. This year, however, I’ve really taken a dive right into a big pool of vetiver. I’ve been reading up on it and find it interesting that (taken from Wikipedia) approximately 90% of all western perfumes contain vetiver. This is due to it being an excellent natural fixative. Straight vetiver oil is amber brown and rather thick. The odor of vetiver oil is described as deep, sweet, woody, smoky, earthy, amber, balsam. The best quality oil is obtained from roots that are 18 to 24 months old. The roots are dug up and cleaned then dried. Similar to patchouli and sandalwood essential oils, the odor of vetiver develops and improves with aging. The characteristics of the oil can vary significantly depending on where the grass is grown and the climate and soil conditions.

The vetiver in Underworld is combined with balsams which creates a truly primordial aroma. To me, it smells of the imaginary middle earth, or perhaps the world described in J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Underworld actually smells quite familiar, like a smell I have always known, all my life, even though I don’t know what exactly it is… There are earthy seasonal smells that I enjoy when I’m out for a hike with the dogs. I love filling my lungs with that autumnal aroma in October/November of slowly decomposing leaves and cool crisp air mingled with chimney smoke. Or, in March/April I enjoy the aroma of the damp muddy earth, just beginning to bud and grow, the smell of early spring. Underworld seems like this sort of aroma to me, something that I’m familiar with but can’t quite place. The affect of Underworld is peaceful, calming and soothing. Underworld is such a natural smell, there is nothing artificial, harsh or obtrusive about it. All day long I keep smelling my wrists over and over because I just can’t get enough of this scent.

Along with the vetiver and balsamic notes, there’s a nice spicy component, sort of a cinnamon, nutmeg and amber smell. Even though it’s dark, earthy and primordial, I’d describe Underworld as a clean scent, because there isn’t a dirty or skanky quality to it. I just can’t get enough of this stuff. I’m positive that if more people were to experience Underworld, it would quickly gain a cult-like following. Underworld is that good.

Lasting power: excellent, at least 5-6 hours
Sillage: small, stays close to your skin.

The Experiment

I’m working on a theory about perfume compliments from others and the type of perfume worn. I did an experiment this week where I specifically wore inexpensive fragrances on certain days and expensive niche perfume on other days. I consistently received compliments on the days I wore the inexpensive perfumes. Except for one day when I wore an expensive perfume and received compliments nonetheless (the most actually). I kept a log.

Here’s how the week played out:

Monday: Nerola Orange Blossom by Pacifica $19.95, available at Whole Foods Market, received 2 compliments

Tuesday: Serge Lutens Chergui, $expensive$, zero compliments

Wednesday: Provence Sante Tilleul, $27 for a big bottle/100ML, 3 compliments, and one woman in ladies room asked what it was and wrote the name down

Thursday: Gucci Envy, average cost, 1 compliment

Friday: Frederic Malle Carnal Flower, $expensive$, 4 compliments

Wednesday was the only day without compliments and this was the most expensive perfume of the week. I recently wrote a piece about my beloved Serge Lutens Chergui. Chergui was my personal favorite of the week.

The exception to this theory is Frederic Malle Carnal Flower. Everyone loves this stuff.

So, I’m thinking that there’s interplay between cost and sillage. The less expensive perfumes with strong sillage get noticed and complimented while the more expensive perfumes that wear closer to the skin either don’t get noticed or aren’t liked.

As I’ve said before, I’ll keep wearing what I like, I just wanted to share my silly little experiment of the week.

My Beloved: Chergui

I don’t understand why it took me so long to try Serge Lutens Chergui. I’d read a few reviews and it piqued my interest but I just didn’t get around to it. I’ve tried so many other Lutens fragrances, and loved many of them. Not so long ago, I tried Chergui for the first time. After about 20 minutes I felt like I’d wasted so many precious years of my life trying other perfumes when Chergui had been here, had existed, and been waiting for me for me to try it. Chergui makes me swoon like no other perfume has before. I simply cannot write a review of Chergui, the words fail me. Maybe someday I will find the words, but not yet. One thing that happens with Chergui is that I love it for about the first 2 hours, and then it dries down to something that smells slightly similar to Miel de Bois. I hate Miel de Bois. So what I do is reapply Chergui, so I never get to that Miel de Bois stage. I reapply it like a crack-addict never wanting to come down off her Chergui high. I love this stuff. Chergui is nearly the color of merlot wine, perhaps a bit more brown, a brownish merlot color. It’s amazing stuff, I need to cut this short so I can go reapply…