Il Mondo di Odore

Aldehydic, Green Notes, Rose Notes, Blackcurrant, Wild Rose, Turkish Rose, Raspberry Leaves Essence, Blackberry, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Iris. Roseberry by Les Parfums De Rosine is a "Fruity" Floral with a slant towards green. My impression, after the first few minutes of each wearing, is that as nice as Roseberry smells, it lacks a distinct characteristic to distance itself from others of the same genre. To be fair, that's not a knock on Roseberry. After all, with the amount of new releases these days, fragrance categories are chock full of new contenders and there's only so much perfumers can accomplish with what is currently at their disposal. With that said, Roseberry goes for approximately $1.50 per ml. and features mostly Rose and Earth tones on my skin. The Rose rendition is on the drier side and in my opinion, a very good version. There's enough contribution from other players to accent the Rose with a rather harmless "bite" of peppery spice. ...

Bread Notes, Spices, Licorice, Apricot, Immortelle, Sandalwood, Woody Notes, Amber. Imagine Serge Lutens releasing an eccentric fragrance the likes of Jeux de Peau? I know, it's a real stretch, but that's exactly how I consider this particular scent. Jeux de Peau conjures up the image of a non-passable cross dresser since the fragrance itself is akin to a masculinized perfume for women that smells better on a man. Confused? Well, you should be because there's no doubt that I am. Have I described it as such because behind the ambiguous opening lies wood? I should think not, even though Jeux de Peau is a substantial woodie, this girl likes to flaunt it after 10 minutes on the skin. Yes my friends, under the dress there's not only trunk, but junk. Jeux de Peau opens with what smells like slightly burnt anise-infused fruit and spice. The spices, at least to me, are a combination of cinnamon and cumin and they also possess the quality of being under a heat lamp. Th...

Angelica, Nutmeg, Thyme, Coffee, Carrot Seed. Saffron, Iris, Orange Blossom, Tuberose, Leather. Amber, Vanilla, Patchouli, Oakmoss. Charles Street by Mark Birley is an interesting fragrance on multiple fronts. It's a masculine marketed scent that can be worn by either gender. It's also quirky in that it affords a reddish, leathery tobacco accented with a spiced, floral array. Even though there are moments during my wearings that Charles Street reminds me of other fragrances, those moments give way to the realization that this scent stands on its own. It's different enough that comparisons are not warranted. The totality of spice and floral renditions are more of a concerted effort in expanding the soul of Charles Street. I speak of leather and the suggestion of pipe tobacco. They seem to be magnified by the mere presence of Carrot Seed, Angelica, Saffron and Tuberose.  All together, they exude a distinct and effortless aroma  as though they were meant to be merg...

Violets are a wonderful thing, so when I found out about the house of  Dsquared 2  and their penchant for these fine purple flowers, I was willing to overlook the corny number 2 at the end of the house's name. Was it an effort to show that they remember junior high school math class? Don't know. Then there were the wood-encased bottles with truly absurd text on the unfinished cardboard box empirically indistinguishable, I might add, from the boxes in which testers are housed. The box of Dsquared 2 He Wood reads: Il legno naturale che racchiude il profumo, rende il prodotto preziosamente unico, vivo ed originale nelle sue differenti venature. The natural wood framing the perfume, makes the product preciously unique and original in its distinctive grain.   Le bois naturel entoure le parfum et avec ses diff é rentes veines rend le produit pr é cieusement unique, vif et original. We'll be the judge of that. Oh boy. It appears that the public relations...

Sandalwood, Rose, Cocoa, Tonka Bean. Anyone who has previously perused this blog knows by now that I really enjoy certain interpretations of sandalwood. The ones that don't ( or can't ) live up to expectations are ones that I  usually find some redeeming things about. As is normal for The Serge, this rendition is somewhat unconventional and not what I anticipated. That's not to say Santal Majuscule isn't viable, because it is. You simply have to think a bit outside the box. I'm quite certain that's where Serge lives. I know what the accord states is in the mix. I can truly say that if I had to smell and describe this blind, I would be off the mark. I can ( and will ) regale you with what I do perceive transpires on my skin during multiple wearings. Sandalwood? Yes, there's Sandalwood here, but it's Serge's version, so take that for what it's worth. I anticipated a dominant theme in this fragrance, but it's more of a concerted effort...

Pepper, Clove, Ginger, Nutmeg, Violet, Cedar, Leather, Patchouli, Labdanum, Musk, Oudh, Amber, Papyrus, Castoreum. My first moments with Amour de Pallazo were decisive. I either like certain renditions of spice or I don't. Clove can be especially tricky, but I enjoyed the implementation in Amour de Palazzo, as well as the Nutmeg, Ginger and Pepper. The opening is a rather smooth version of Clove and Nutmeg ( at least on my skin ) with an assist from Pepper. You can also detect a slightly resinous amber percolating underneath. The amber acts as a base during the top and heart accords on which the spices are hung. Where the heart begins to differentiate itself is with the emergence of soft animalics. There's a supple sensuality, courtesy of Castoreum and Musk. It's not a provocative quality, but rather alluring ( if anything ) and signals the pulling back of Clove and Nutmeg. The Amber remains and together with the leathery Musk, a sexy wood aspect begins to come aliv...

Orange, Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin, Pink Berries, Black Pepper, Saffron, Rose, Freesia, Lilac, Peony, Blond Wood, Patchouli, Frankincense, Styrax, Suede, Vanilla, Chocolate, Licorice, White Musk. Olympia "Music Hall" is a rather easy concept to grasp. Gerald Ghislain envisions the aromas wafting around the legendary Parisian venue L'Olympia. The attempt to capture the musicality of smell emanating from skin and-or environment is not such an easy task. I believe that, more than mimicking memories of a "place", Ghislain endeavors to duplicate the flow of seamless, musical phrases. What my skin informs me is that this particular music is mellow, rich and without seam or ripple. I know not if Ghislain succeeded in putting the genie in the bottle, but Olympia certainly is very suitable to don in such a scenario. The citric opening of Olympia is akin to a musical score beginning at volume 3 and then slowly rising to 5 to coincide with the chiming in of peppery ...

I found this 30ml. bottle locally and what I smelled before purchase had me hurry home to do a side by side comparison with an old favorite of mine that goes by the name of Ricci Club Haute Concentration. Googling info on this obtuse Hawaiian creation had me shaking my head in disbelief. One claim is that it's genuinely "unisex" and the other is that it's a light, sensuous Hawaiian with Jasmine overtones. Allow me to say it leans masculine and that Jasmine is nothing more than a subtle accent note. Folks, allow me to introduce you to Ricci Club Junior. The opening of HO'ONANI is a lighter rendition of Ricci Club's interpretation of citric lavender and green, woody undertones. If there could be a Ricci Club Sport, this would be it for me. Once the top accord subsides, I am reminded of well blended Geranium, Cypress, subtle Rose and an anonymous fruit note. This heart stage is where HO'ONANI and Ricci seem to go different paths, but they soon meet ...

Neroli, Fir Balsam, Violet, Leather. This is the 2nd release from this house I've sampled in the last few months. I must reiterate about linearity and price point, but will say that Aleksandr is a nice perfume overall. The opening volley of Violet upon Orange is rather good. What makes this top accord work for me is that the Violet rendition isn't acute. I've remarked before that the violet note can be sharp and cutting, but in Aleksandr, it's voluptuous without being ingratiating. If anything, it's implemented pleasantly. After the opening subsides some, a very low current green and new shoe quality begin to infiltrate the accord. This isn't a conventional "leather" that realizes on my skin, but maybe it will have more clarity on yours. The green aspect also doesn't smell like the fir note I've become accustomed to. It's as though it were far away, yet you can still identify leaf and stem. Aleksandr, in spite of its name, leans...

Nutmeg, Clove, Amber, Musk, Moss, Wood Notes. Yes.........I am reviewing one of the Rodney Dangerfield's of fragrance. Black Suede has been gracing medicine cabinets, for better or worse, since 1980 my friends. If you're expecting me to inform you ( like others may have already ) that Black Suede is a nasty scrubber, you will be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're expecting a glowing review claiming it's a diamond in the rough, you won't hear that from me either. I will say though that Black Suede doesn't deserve the hate it's received and most of that is due to snobbery aimed at Avon products in general. I kid you not when I state that a close relative to this fragrance is Cacharel Pour L'Homme. The array of spice in both ensure comparison, but the "smoother" of the two is Black Suede due to its implementation of Amber. While wearing Black Suede, one can detect a hint of "drugstore". That quality doesn't manife...

Juniper Berry, Saffron, Cognac, Lavender, Ambrette, Whiskey, Cedar, Oud, Leather, Vetiver, Musk. Is Korrigan an Oud fragrance? I open the review with this statement since that particular note can dominate an entire composition if tuned for that result. Korrigan, at least on me, is certainly not what the fragrance community has come to expect from Oud being listed in the accord. Even the Saffron is implemented in a shy fashion. Saffron and Oud seem to be partners in crime over the past few years as Oud has slowly but surely become more mainstream to western noses. On one hand, I'm glad that Oud isn't front and center, but I do enjoy a well played Saffron and it simply never realizes on my skin. What does come to fruition is Ambrette, but along with it materializes a soft spoken play-dough note. Korrigan opens with a spicy woods and the suggestion of "booze". To be honest, the listed Cognac and Whiskey are anything but realistic. The accord still smells good, ...