A Bit Too Personal

There are a few fragrances that feel so very me that I will refuse to tell someone what I'm wearing. What if they copied me? Fine, I know that's a silly thought but certain perfumes create a reaction in me akin to being in love. Not like "Oooooh I love this!" because I say that about lots of scents. More like I'm rendered speechless with the beauty of finding my soulmate. Moved to tears. I will wear them only on the most special occasions. When they run out I get depressed and no other perfume will do. I feel at my strongest and most authentic when I wear them and even a sniff of the bottle makes the whole world stop spinning for a moment. Who can say why? Why do we fall in love? No one knows. In the interest of this blog I am now prepared to disclose names and talk about my greatest loves. But don't even think about wearing these, I will cut you. 

SENSI by Giorgio Armani

When I first met Sensi I had no idea how special it would become. I found it pleasant but a little bit strange, a little too light. But I gave it the same chance I give everything. I wore it on hot summer days when most other bottles in my collection felt cloying. One steamy August night it occurred to me that I was falling hard for Sensi. It has the oddest assortment of notes...almond, benzoin, black locust, wheat, even a hint of lime. And that rosewood oil, going along for the whole ride. Almost masculine and soapy when first applied, it dries down to a silky wood that is all woman. I began to only wear Sensi at night and only when I would be surrounded by enough people to make it worth using a few precious drops. When I learned that Sensi was discontinued it felt like I had been punched in the gut. I stopped wearing it and kept the bottle on my dresser for cap sniffing. I only have a milliliter left. It's like a ghost to me. Will I ever use that last bit? I just don't want this to be truly over. Nothing before or since has even come close to making me feel as beautiful and unique as Sensi. 

ELIXIR de MERVEILLES by Hermes

It all started with a random sample of Eau Claire de Merveilles worn to a charity ball. Hermes is synonymous with elegance and this was no exception. A salty driftwood underscored with the tiniest amount of wildflowers, like the skin of a goddess in the hot sun. I became slightly obsessed when my sample was gone and found myself testing all the Merveilles line. The Elixir was my favorite version, as it was everything I loved about Eau Claire but with the volume turned all the way up and a few neat extras thrown into the mix. Elixir included bitter orange peel, caramel and patchouli over a variety of freshly cut woods. One night before a perfume sale, I dreamed that I was already at the store and a bottle lay before me. The next day at the real sale, what did I see but my vision come to life. I gasped and a woman next to me looked up. I couldn't help but babble to this stranger about how I loved this perfume and couldn't believe this was really happening. "Well try it on dear!" she said with the demeanor of a fairy godmother. I sprayed my wrist and suddenly a crowd of women gathered around wanting to know which one I had. I clutched the bottle to my chest, giddy that it was going to be mine and terrified that someone would wrestle it out of my hand. Another one that feels masculine when first applied and then dries down to reveal its feminine parts. I wore Elixir de Merveilles on my birthday this year and the whole day was infused with it's magic. If this were a person I would marry it. My bottle is now empty but so long as Hermes continues to produce this one, hope is alive in my heart that we'll be reunited soon. 

SAMSARA by Guerlain  

The oldest and most classic of my great loves. I was gifted a bottle by a flesh and blood great love so I suppose there is a piece of my heart tied up in the smell of Samsara. This immediately felt like it was created to help me grow into the woman I was meant to be. I was so in love with my man and the smooth sandalwood and jasmine of this potion seemed to agree that it was meant to be. Oh my goodness did we have serious chemistry! However, like romantic love, it's potent and could be suffocating if over applied. Samsara helped my younger self learn restraint. Love isn't always shouted from the rooftops of the city. With the smallest drop behind each ear, this love was lazy mornings kissing under the covers and ignoring the world outside. Eventually things came to an end with my guy, but Samsara remained as comforting as ever and became a staple in my wardrobe. Years later I ran into an old friend from this time period and as we hugged she remarked "This is your smell. This is how I remember you and it suits." It puts me in a contemplative mindset and always reminds me that love is not something you go out and look for. Love is already in you. 

DZING! by L'Artisan Parfumeur

My newest love and to be honest, we are still getting used to each other. We started off as friends but now things are getting intense. A buttery leather, like a pair of soft gloves or a well worn jacket is the first thing I smelled. But after a little while the idiosyncrasies began to play peek-a-boo with my nose. Was that caramel apple? Ginger? Horse hair? What was that?? It scares me a bit and yet I find that exciting. I can't even say it's name without blushing, mostly because I'm not quite sure how to pronounce it or why it demands an exclamation mark. Dzing! is leading me to a side of myself that I never knew existed. I feel wild and free, like the world is at my fingertips. I don't know how long this infatuation will last but for now I'm head over heels. It's so well made and even if it all goes to hell in the end, I will always treasure my first date with this scent. Dzing! and I walking down the street, perfectly in sync, turning jealous girls' heads as we passed. Don't leave me. We have more adventures in store, so many secrets to reveal to one another. 

Like a Hippie's Armpit. Or Maybe Just Your Armpit.

Today I want to talk about musks. Why would you want to smell like an animal? Why wouldn't you? In perfumery, "animalic" smells can be obtained naturally or made synthetically. Sometimes it smells like a real animal and sometimes it smells like a mystical creature from our fantasies. The term "musk" is used as a catch-all to describe smells obtained from a variety of sources. Actual deer musk can be found in vintage fragrances, but for ethical reasons is now being reproduced synthetically. A perfume that's known as a musk just leave a certain impression. Not always hit-you-over-the-head animal barnyard smell, sometimes it's more of a powdery or milky or woody smell. Maybe a trace of leather or suede. A musk is fuzzy around the edges, so to speak. Musk oil grounds a perfume to hold it onto the skin longer but it can also serve to round out any sharp notes. I have not sampled as many musks as I would like but today I'm going to talk about a few that I have tried and their differences.

NARCISO RODRIGUEZ FOR HER by Narciso Rodriguez

( + rose, patchouli and sandalwood) 

This smells lush and expensive because it is! I smell orange blossom more strongly in this than any of the actual listed notes. NR for Her is lacking the soapiness I associate with most musks. It's silky smooth, like a foundation garment beneath a little black dress. I try a little bit of this on when I see it in stores but I can't justify spending $120+ on a single bottle of perfume when there are bills to be paid. The problems of being a perfumista on a budget. Samples of this are probably all I will have until the day I win the lottery. On that day all bets are off and I will fill a bathtub with Prada Infusion d'Iris because why the hell not.

SKIN MUSK by Parfums de Coeur
(+ sandalwood, undetermined white floral notes)

My favorite musk! Seriously. Cheap as chips but what a wonderful essence. This is the lip gloss of perfumes... it goes with every occasion or outfit, you can layer it easily with another perfume or you can just wear it alone for a soft "natural skin" baked in the sun. Downright impossible to over apply this one. I'm almost embarrassed to admit how many compliments I have received on Skin Musk. It's so unpretentious and easily available. Almost feels like a secret weapon.


LOVELY by Sarah Jessica Parker
(+lavender, patchouli, orchid, cedar)

This is just so fresh and so clean. Classic feminine musk with that sharp lavender herbalness. Floral and ladylike, stays relatively close to the skin but lasts all day. I also heard this has apple martini accord in it...I wouldn't be able to tell you that's what I'm smelling here but there is an ever-so-slightly fruit and booziness underneath all the wood and leaves. I hate to use the word "shampoo" so often when writing about perfume but shampoo has a freshness while still being a chemical....so I think it works when describing a smell. You don't even have to know *which* shampoo, because it's already been rinsed out, metaphorically, and you are left with wet clean hair and scalp. That's what SJP Lovely makes me think.


PERFECT VEIL by Sarah Horowitz 
(+sandalwood, vanilla, bergamot)

It's a much pricier version of Parfums de Coeur Skin Musk without the longevity or sillage of Skin Musk. Why would you bother paying this much more? That said, this does what it says it's going to do.....wrap you in a perfect veil of powdered musk and clean laundry coziness. The least animalic musk I have tried, it reminds me of a dry armpit touched with antiperspirant. It's what you wear to a job where you're not allowed to wear perfume. People will think this is just how a clean and deodorized YOU smells. The packaging looks more elegant than Skin Musk. Meh, whatever. This is pretty but I will save my pennies.


CLEOPATRA by Tocca
(+ patchouli, grapefruit, peach)

A lot like NR for Her, almost as pricey, the prettiest bottle. The fruits give it a nice fresh feeling and the patchouli doesn't smell like patchouli, it's more background noise to keep this stuff on your skin longer. This is a clean green musk and yes, I am going to throw out the "shampoo" thing one more time because it reminds me of a fancy salon. I have tested almost every fragrance from Tocca and Cleopatra was the only real standout. Not very good longevity on me, but then again, my skin will eat a whole milliliter of perfume for breakfast and claim to be hungry again an hour later.


KIEHL'S ORIGINAL MUSK by Kiehl's
(+orange blossom, Tonka bean, ylang ylang)

Like a hippie's armpit, this is the musk floating through the air of head shops, outdoor music festivals and organic farmer's markets. To me this smells a lot like a baby's scalp, that powder and sebum combination. You know how after spending time with your lover you can still catch traces of their skin scent on your skin and on your hair? That's how Kiehl's Original Musk feels to me. Almost too personal to be worn to work.

This Bottle Was Not Marked 'Poison'

I have a few perfumes that I long to drink. They smell so delightfully edible, I have to remind myself that the taste would not be anything like the smell, and it would probably not sit well with my stomach. Just smelling them makes my mouth water. They are perfect for summer and have definitely inspired a few smoothies and cocktails that ARE safe to drink.

INCANTO DREAM by Salvatore Ferragamo (contains pineapple, mango, apple, black currant) "You would like this one, it smells like teenage girls" I teased my friend. "Mmmm, yes. It does" he inhaled, like a total perv. It has a synthetic quality like hairspray but that serves to lift the fruit juices up and keep them from being syrupy or overly sweet. Pineapple in perfumes always kind of smells like beer to me. This is refreshing but it doesn't last long so it needs to be reapplied every hour, which also reminds me of teenage girls.

JUICY GIRL by Juicy Couture (contains passionfruit, watermelon) I have received so many compliments on this one, even when I thought it had worn off. Other women especially seem to love this one on me. It reminds me of the watermelon flavored Bubblicious gum I used to buy when I was a kid. This scent was the inspiration for this post. I sprayed it on and thought "This is how I will die. Drinking fruity perfumes because I just couldn't help myself". Like a kid chewing *and swallowing* pink cubes of Bubblicious until I gave myself a tummy ache.

BELIEVE by Britney Spears (contains guava, tangerine, praline) Mmmmm, yum! This perfume is so nice. I had low expectations for it, because celebrity fragrances are rarely noteworthy. But this is fantastic. Not a kiddie scent, it's for a woman. There is enough patchouli in this to make me not want to drink it most of the time, but sometimes I get in a weird mood and wonder if patchouli would taste like absinthe. Then I remind myself not to be weird. This is what Thierry Mugler Angel could be if it weren't so god awful and full of whatever it is that stinks like the dollar store. I want another bottle of Believe. That amped up guava is really something.

LIAISONS DANGEREUSES by By Kilian (contains peach, plum, black currant, coconut) I wore this last weekend to my sister's Solstice wedding in a rooftop garden. It just screams midsummer to me. A juicy fresh salad of peaches and plums enjoyed in a rose garden on a humid afternoon. Smells like a champagne I once enjoyed at Pops in Chicago. You know, one of those cocktails that cost more than I make an hour and comes with an endangered orchid floating in the glass. I had a sample, because an actual bottle of this costs nearly $400 and is able to be locked with a key so no one can steal squirts from it. Or drink it.

OMNIA CORAL by Bulgari (contains pomegranate, goji berry) I didn't know that goji berry is also known as wolfberry. That's cool because I wore this while I was watching the movie "The Grey". There is so much pomegranate in this, some hibiscus too. It's like one of those fancy summer iced teas they offer at trendy bistros. There is a peppery phase at the drydown that makes me not want to drink it. But for the first hour or so, I feel like I'm dipped in a classy version of Hawaiian Punch.

Just Breathe and I Will Tell You a Story

I read dozens and dozens of perfumes reviews each week. I read about perfumes I've recently acquired, ones I used to know, and ones I have never smelled but am curious to know about. And while I'm scrolling through hundreds of critiques, I am looking for something in particular. My eyes are scanning for ESSENCES and REVERIES. It's all well and good to know what notes and accords make up a perfume and of course we like to know how it performs (sillage, longevity, is it linear or does it change as it progresses?) but what I am looking for are the stories. How does it make you feel? What images spring to mind?


It's not very exciting for me to read "it's powdery". Why not explain to me how it smells like the talc on your mother's dressing table and you used to stand with your nose right at table level, watching her prepare for an evening out? Don't bother with "it's a fruity floral, not very unique" when you could tell me instead how this is the scent of freshly shampooed teenage girls all over suburban America, that this is the ubiquitous smell wafting from every Victoria's Secret store and you're not going to take it anymore!


An evocative description has caused me to seek out fragrances I might not given a second glance before. Maybe because it's a niche house I had not heard of, maybe because the scent has been discontinued or maybe I saw the bottle once before and thought "meh. whatever". A well written review can be a real game changer. It can take that "whatever" scent and put it onto the "I must try this or my life is incomplete" list.
What follows are snippets from other perfume fans' reviews that really get it right, reviews that intrigued me beforehand or ones that rang so perfectly true after smelling it. Reviews that are less about "what does it smell like?" and more "what does it feel like?"


L'HEURE BLEUE by Guerlain "I'm on the Orient Express, in the bar carriage with soft piano, heady wine, good cigars and inky black countryside rushing by. A beautiful woman near me smells like this, and it's in the drapes and the marquetry and the pleated silk of the lamp shades. Lovely and nostalgic like coiffed hair, paste diamonds and matte ruby red Cupid's bow lips."

PALOMA PICASSO "This perfume is like a lady who dresses up to go work in the office. She is the boss and always wears a black suit and red lipstick. When she gets home she has a whiskey ( no soda, no ice, no water), takes off her stilettos and her white blouse and has wild sex with a lover, usually younger than her. He never stays all night because when she feels she has had enough, desires his company no longer. She never looks back, never regrets things, but no one can ever say she was rude to anybody . She is just content in her own shoes and doesn't want attachments."

MAUBOUSSIN "It's an unabashed, party-going, Rat Pack kind of tobacco. Imagine how Shirley MacLaine might have smelled after spending an evening fixing snacks for the Boys during their all-night poker game. She'd smell like this. A rich, voluptuous feminine perfume, unapologetic, mixed with smoke!"

OPIUM by Yves St Laurent "I think of dark Parisian smoking rooms and Ava Marie Saint in Hitchcock films. It has a hint of regal sourness to it that makes me think of aristocratic spinsters in teak panelled mansions stroking Burmese cats."

JOY by Jean Patou "It's a formal dress occasion in a bottle, never to be worn casually. Even sexy lingerie is required if you're going to wear it to bed. I would not feel comfortable wearing this unless I were surrounded by gold and sitting on a velvet chair with a heavy jeweled crown upon my head. Talk about money! It's downright intimidating and I couldn't handle so much opulence."

KIEHL'S ORIGINAL MUSK "A clean body has a smell. Kiehl's has that slightly powdery, oily, innocent skin smell. Like a baby's head or a cat's tummy. Like human hair two days post shampoo. I can imagine a girl who is into Indian print gauzy skirts, tapestries and Grateful Dead would love it. Uncomplicated, no-frills weekend scent."

L'EAU AMBREE by Prada "If this were a person she would be a pale, tall, slightly androgynous woman with high cheekbones and long limbs. She thinks a lot, speaks rarely and smiles even less. "

AMARIGE by Givenchy "Somehow this fragrance makes me think of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. This is what I imagine Vivian would wear. Outrageously tuberosey loud and peachy naive, stupidly optimistic, artificially enchanting but with a warm heart. A woman in love, but a happy drunk one"

HAPPY by Clinique "Smells good but kinda immature. About as interesting as the preppie Abercrombie wearing clones that went to my high school. Oh wait, that's exactly who wore it! Grapefruit bases are supposed to make you smell young and fresh. Very safe, 'I just washed my hair and wore jeans today'. I don't get 'happy' from this. More like sarcastic."

A Tale of Two Deserts

Often when I am going to bed for the night, I will test two different fragrances of similar qualities, one on each arm in order to compare them side by side in a relaxed undistracted state. In this way I am able to distinguish the voluptuous berry rose of Bulgari from the cool dry rose of Stella McCartney. I can tell you how the pricey Drole de Rose is almost indistinguishable at times from more pedestrian Red Door Revealed. I can more easily pick out the individual spices in Youth Dew and Opium when testing them against one another.

A few evenings past I settled in for bed with a drop of Christian Dior Dune in the crook of my right arm and Andy Tauer’s L’Air du Desert Marocain on my left arm. The first blast of each was heavy spices, so much that I had to keep my face away while they dried a bit. About 10 minutes later I checked again and each had begun to show it’s personality.

Dune, an oriental floral launched in 1991, is very warm amber and wood with baked vanilla and bright yellow flowers sitting on a bed of powder and dried orange rind. This is the Bollywood movie version of a desert scene. Women are dancing, their Technicolor saris blowing in a soft breeze. A sultan rides in on a well-groomed camel covered in embroidered tapestry. The tinkle of tiny bells can be heard and the hot sand mixes with the smell of sweet pungent desert flowers in shades of red and gold. This is the desert of our fantasies.

L’Air du Desert Marocain is an oriental spicy fragrance launched by Tauer Perfumes in 2005. Again there is a very warm amber, creating the hot dry sand aura. This time I sense no flowers. There is a somber tone, the sacks of coriander and caraway being carried by the animals are heavy and will bring a good price….whenever we finally get there. I’ve never been to the Moroccan desert but wearing this I suddenly remember that I have been there in another life. This one is masculine compared to Dune.  A cloud of dust, the relentless sun, the dirty mineral smell of the camels, leather and burlap are all present. This is the desert of reality.

This is interesting to me, that a perfumer could create such a true to life scent but most people would prefer the more impressionistic version, glossy around the edges with the gritty parts left out and a bit of imagined zing thrown in. Perfume consumers often demand something be mixed with violet to make it less sad, something be mixed with lilac to give it a bit of edge, something be mixed with musk to make it less aggressive, something be mixed with jasmine to balance it’s narcotic headiness, etc. We think we want the real thing but we actually want the movie.



Stay tuned for new posts. I plan to talk at you about every musk I’ve tried (a lot!), my favorite type of perfume reviews to read and …fruity summer perfumes I want to drink even though I know better.

It Was A Very Good Year

There is just something about wearing a vintage perfume.  A dab from a 1950s bottle of Chanel no.5 behind the ears... you want to dress differently, walk differently, maybe think a little differently. It's a time machine to another era. A tiny flask of Mitsouko holds all the secrets of an old love letter and while you wear it, those secrets are whispered in your ear. Because a vintage parfum is so different from the newest things being sold at the counters today, it can feel challenging to approach these steel magnolias. They can be imposing at times, like a fine wine with a name so French you are too afraid to order.

I suppose I should clarify..what do I consider vintage? Well, since I was born in the late 70s, I'm going with anything before that. But seriously, there are certain ingredients that for either financial or ethical reasons are no longer being used in perfumery. These same ingredients were the basis of the bestsellers from the early 20th century. Notes like oakmoss, civet, castoreum, ambergris, peru balsam, angelica root, tagetes, and many others are staples in classic perfumes which will no doubt be hurt by tighter ingredient restrictions passing. Reformulations are never the same. It would be like if your grandmother died and someone taxidermied her and tried to convince you she was still alive. I'm very sad about the new perfume laws, especially when you consider the chemicals that are still allowed in our food. Perfumes are easier to regulate precisely because they possess no nutritional value. Moving on...

I am a lucky girl. I've had the opportunity to own a few vintage bottles and also sample quite a few decants (check out The Perfumed Court website to get anything I talk about here). I'm having a hard time deciding which ones to talk about today because there are just so many good ones! Here are six that I have not spoken of previously on Essences&Reveries: 

TABAC BLOND by Caron

Launched in 1919. How I learned to love leather. When it's done right it is soooo right. No tobacco in this perfume but the combination of leather, vanilla and spicy carnation, backed up with patchouli, vetiver and cedar...it creates the effect of the world's finest unlit cigarette. Trust me, there is such elegance in this. On skin, the carnation blooms and you won't smell like an ashtray, you'll smell like a million bucks. This was created the year women finally won their right to vote and it conjurs up the spirit of those independent chicks voting in President Warren Harding because he was like, such a babe. 

SHOCKING by Elsa Schiaparelli

Launched in 1937. Nothing shocking about this. The civet only serves to make it "vintage-y" and temper the honey. This is heavenly. It rides that fence of being sweet and innocent but with an animalistic undercurrent that hints at naughtiness. Wearing this is like a bit of lacy slip or bra peeking out of your otherwise conservative outfit. People think "Well...does she or doesn't she?" The drydown is a sweet incense. This is big enough on character that the bottle being shaped after Mae West's curves is just the cherry on top. This isn't shocking, it's a great example of civet not being scary. It also proves that perfumes from the 1930s can hold their own against today's fruity little candy bombs being sold at Victoria's Secret. The only thing sexy about most of those is the word "sexy" somewhere on the label.

YOUTH DEW by Estee Lauder 

Launched in 1953. For those of you who have seen the movie Mona Lisa Smile, that is the year and the type of nice young ladies (and their mothers) to whom this fragrance was being marketed. Look, I didn't want to like Youth Dew. The name is ridiculous, the reviews are polarizing (some people really HATE this) and it's made by Estee Lauder, a house whose perfumes have always been hit-or-miss in my book. But finally I caved when I spotted a vintage bottle after reading over and over about this iconic frag. I keep wanting to pick it up and take a swig. It looks like a Coke and it even has a slight cola smell. To be honest, I am still not completely sold on Youth Dew. I tend to wear it around the house rather than out, and my mind changes a lot. Sometimes there is a strange camphor-menthol quality that I abhor. Other times I can't even detect that and instead the smoked cinnamon and powdered clove seem quirky and soothing to me. And then there is the fact that men go crazy over this. Really. They are so strange.

BAL A VERSAILLES by Jean Desprez

Launched in 1962. I feel like Joan Holloway from Mad Men when I put this on. There are very few scents that inspire me to save them for a "fancy occasion" but Bal a Versailles does that. It was my first experience with some real knock-you-on-your-ass civet. A private and sexual scent and yet it's formal. I don't know how to better describe it than sneaking off to have a quickie in the coat room at a boring political fundraiser.  It's a royal scent...powdery crushed wildflowers and sweet incense. It is feminine and soft but also skanky. My bottle ran out and I am so sad about it.

CALANDRE by Paco Rabanne

Launched in 1969. Quite an unusual scent. When I first tried it I thought "soapy, musky, it's nice enough" but then an hour passed and pure magic happened. That oakmoss and aldehydic blend over a rose settled itself into my natural skin oil. I thought perhaps it had faded already when I got into a taxi. The female cab driver told me I smelled beautiful and I realized that it had not faded at all, my nose had simply gotten tired of telling my brain about it. Minutes later, I met a friend at the airport and as we embraced he nuzzled into my hair and remarked how I smelled great. This is just a soft comforting smell, but also crisp and green. I also wore it the day we buried my grandmother and catching little whiffs of it was nice during that difficult time. I sure wouldn't mind owning a bottle of this. 

MYSTERE by Rochas

 Launched in 1978. Men followed me around like lovesick little puppies when I wore this. Civet, oakmoss, fresh carnations and hyacinth, biblical resins. Green, metallic, but also soft... words can not accurately describe this. That's why it is called Mystere! It's quite the magic potion. And it's been discontinued because life can be so unfair. Eventually I'm going to have to spend my hard earned dollars on  a decant. That's all there is to it. I give up. Take my money. You win, vintage Rochas. You win.