Il Mondo di Odore

Cake Flour, Dark Cacao Bean, Osmanthus, Bronzed Musk. No.83 by Tokyo Milk is yet another quirky, but likable fragrance. The "commonality" I mentioned in previous reviews regarding this series is evident once again. However, they've managed to put just enough of a twist in all of them ( so far ) to give them personalities all their own. No.83 is the most "foody" of the four I've tested. This is because the cocoa is very dominant on my skin throughout the life of the wearings and the longevity is surprisingly good. What I don't experience is a bittersweet quality in No.83. The dusty cocoa is on the dry side and slightly bitter. Nothing ever comes to fruition to add a legitimate sweet aspect to the accords, but the absence of it doesn't take anything away from this scent. It's still full, rich and long lasting. It simply leans more "bitter" than anything else. In sampling the "darks" of Tokyo Milk, they all have valid...

Absinthe, Vanilla Salt, Cut Greens, Crushed Fennel. I get a kick out of artistic liberty. Not only for naming creations, but the ingredients as well. I'm looking at the accord listing, then smelling what's on my skin and wondering who, but the parfumeur actually knows what the hell I just spritzed on my person. In this hobby, it all boils down to whether or not it smells acceptable. So far, this lineup from Tokyo Milk is better than I could have anticipated. I can add Arsenic to the list of winners, although it is a bit unconventional. The name is foreboding, but in reality, No. 17 is nothing more than an eclectic combination of ingredients that are tuned to smell good, but a bit different. Like the others I have tried, Arsenic has gravitas without weighing the wearer down. Substance sans heaviness is an enjoyable aspect for me when I'm wearing a fragrance. I don't care for being bogged down if I can help it. Arsenic starts out a bit cool on me, but begins t...

Smoked Tea, Coconut Milk, Crushed Cedar, Ebony Woods. What could be better than being the person called upon to name fragrance accords? It would as close to a dream job for me as humanly possible. Bulletproof No. 45 is the 2nd fragrance from this house I have tried and so far, Tokyo Milk is batting 1000. Some of the note descriptions may be a stretch, but in the end, who gives a %$#@ what a perfume house claims is used in their accords? I certainly don't, as long as the overall scent is good to go. On me, Tokyo Milk's Bulletproof opens with a smoky, saffronesque woods that remains that way for the life of the scent. I'm actually torn between which one I like better. I already put No. 28 on my purchase list and now this one is just as good. Feminine? No, this is shared all the way and if I was forced to choose a gender, I'd have to say this leans a bit more masculine than anything. This is dark with a shimmer to it and the smokiness is the perfect compliment ...

Amber Resin, Oak Bark, Patchouli, Blood Orange. I tried this one a few times, courtesy of my friend sherapop ( thanks dear !!! ) and admit to being impressed by how this wears and smells versus the price point. It possesses bang for the buck besides being a sensual fragrance. I cannot imagine either gender having a problem pulling this off and in spite of being marketed as a feminine, I wouldn't bat an eye spraying this on and then going about my business. This is an Eau de Parfum that wears lighter than some. You can see the listed notes above, but I seem to enjoy a soft, dusty cocoa note in the mix from the initial spray. The orange is restrained just enough to curtail any stridency. I happen to think it's tuned exceptionally well as is the patchouli rendition. There's wood and earth tones in this brew, but they seem to straddle the gender line. I don't notice much movement or stages of development, but they really aren't necessary. On me, Excess No.28...

  Femme Fatale Perfumes   In part 1 of this Tokyo Milk Dark series , I reviewed six of the original eight edps: Crushed (a very green jasmine); La Vie La Mort (a slightly spicy tuberose); Bittersweet (cacao bean-flour composition); Excess (an excellent labdanum amber patchouli); Arsenic (an “unexpected” absinthe, salt and fennel unisex fragrance); Everything & Nothing (an orange-potpourri-tea scent). I promised to return with reviews of Bulletproof and Tainted Love , which were backordered and never sent to me. I eventually had to re-order them from another vendor, and happily they have finally arrived. Since my investigations into the Tokyo Milk Dark line began, however, Margot Elena, who may well suffer from hyperactivity attention deficit disorder—given that she simultaneously runs three separate perfume houses (Tokyo Dark, Lollia, and Love & Toast)—managed to launch a whole new series of Fate and Fortune “roller parfums de...

I find it very difficult to believe that excellent perfumes could also be very inexpensive. Yes, I know of quirky examples here and there, but in general, I'm more apt to believe that an inexpensive perfume is also cheap, not only in the monetary sense, but also in its composition and overall integrity. I suspect that the ingredients cost little, and furthermore that little effort was put into its creation. All of this leads me to approach houses which ask only modest sums for their wares with some caution and skepticism—and naturally low expectations. At the same time, I expect a very expensive perfume to be really very special and find myself disappointed when it is not. If what I perceive to be a cheap-quality perfume carries a high price, I feel on some level that there is a form of swindle taking place, that the price was simply another part of the hype used to market the perfume. I am not sure whether any of this affects my evaluations or not. Am I so relieved that I overreac...