Here comes Trouble

Boucheron, Trouble: A Review

Continuing my quest to wear some forgotten gems, I came home tonight and changed into Trouble by Boucheron. Trouble was created by Jacques Cavallier, who also gave us Alexander McQueen’s Kingdom, Stella McCartney Stella and one of my favorites, Yves Saint Laurent Nu (among many others).

First off, I love the bottle. The top is a gold coiled snake and the base is hunky square-ish glass the color of blood. The base reminds me a little of Ralph Lauren Romance.

Trouble is marketed as an oriental and I’d say it’s a diet oriental gourmand. It reminds me of all sorts of other fragrances – there’s a strong similarity with Dior’s Hypnotic Poison; it’s a bit like Jean Paul Gaultier’s Classique and there are definitely elements of Dior’s Addict. As much as I like Hypnotic Poison, I’d wear Trouble over it any day. Hynotic Poison is sweeter and has a plasticy quality that bothers me after awhile. Trouble is just a smidgen less sweet and it’s devoid of that plastic note. Like Addict, Trouble contains a strong vanillic base, but it’s more discreet with more woods, amber and citrus percolating through the vanilla.

Trouble begins with lemon. For the first 5-10 minutes, Trouble is a sweet vanilla-lemon-candy aroma. Once Trouble dries down it becomes a decidedly comfy fragrance. It's essentially a lovely blend of vanilla, amber, soft woods and citrus. I know it’s supposed to be a femme fatale, sexy, sultry scent, but the truth is it’s much more like a pretty gal all cozy in plaid flannel pj’s with her hair in pigtails and a mischievous look in her eyes than a femme fatale. I’ve read that there are some that think it’s boring and ordinary. Trouble isn’t groundbreaking but it’s really quite good. It’s the sort of scent that will undoubtedly be complimented. It is not overly anything – not too sweet, not too heavy, and not cloying – it’s just right.

Foxglove (digitalis) is among the list of notes and I can’t help but think it’s there because foxglove is highly poisonous (remember the name…this stuff is trouble!).

Trouble can be had for cheap; it’s $37.81 at FrangranceX.com today.

Longevity: Excellent – 5+ hours
Sillage: Average

Trouble’s notes: lemon, foxglove (aka digitalis), Sambac jasmine, amber, blue cedar, and vanilla

I think I’ll wear Trouble tomorrow, too.

Balmain Ambre Gris: A Review

Balmain Ambre Gris recently launched in March 2008. The nose behind the fragrance is Guillaume Flavigny. The notes are described as: myrrh, cinnamon, pink pepper, immortal flower, benzoin, tuberose and ambergris.

I know, I know…Balmain must have been required by law to include pink pepper since it’s the trendy note of 2007-08. I was amused by “immortal flower” since I’ve never heard of it before and it sounds imaginary to me. A quick google search didn’t shed any light on immortal flower so I’m guessing it’s a fantasy note.

The perfume itself is very sweet. It’s described by Balmain as a “woodsy-animalic-oriental” and with the mention of ambergris I was not expecting something so über-sweet. When I read the list of notes I anticipated something along the lines of Hermes Eau des Merveilles. Ambre Gris doesn’t bear any resemblance to Eau des Merveilles to me. I definitely smell a rubbery tuberose in Ambre Gris along with soft spices like cinnamon & myrrh. I would categorize Ambre Gris as closer to a gourmand rather than a woodsy-oriental. There might be some woody notes in there but you really have to go sniffing for them. Overall, what I smell is a “sweet, rubbery, chocolately tuberose with soft spices.” This is not so say Ambre Gris isn’t a nice fragrance. Even though it’s sweet, it has its merits. I think I was merely put off by Balmain’s description of the fragrance, which just isn’t accurate to me. If I had been prepared for what I smelled I might have liked it more.

It strikes me as the sort of fragrance that someone who likes Lolita Lempicka (though not fruity like LL), Trouble by Boucheron or Dior’s Hypnotic Poison might like. I think Balmain Ambre Gris is nice, especially if you are expecting a sweet floral-gourmand and not a “woodsy-animalic-oriental.”

The bottle is charming in person – I’d call it handsome. I worried the top might look like a golf ball or perhaps Epcot center but sitting atop the classy cube-shaped bottle it simply works.

I just bought Balmain Ambre Gris for $24.95 from www.parfum1.com. At this price, I’m perfectly happy with the fragrance and I’ll surely give it a go during the cooler months.
Lasting power: Excellent ~ 5-6 hours.
Sillage: Medium ~ if you’re a heavy spritzer others will smell it.
PS: I sprayed this on my friend and it smells much more woodsy on him. It still smells entirely sweet on me but I can smell the woodsy quality along with salt on him. Huh....