I want your leather-studded kiss in the sand.

Perfume Challenge Week 23: Monday, 6/20/11, to Friday, 6/24/11

Whew! It's been a busy week and quiet weekend for me since I'm headed out of town next weekend.  Where to, you ask?  Well I just got my very first passport and shiny passport card, so I am headed to Victoria, B.C. for part of the weekend.  I'm also dropping by my favorite vampire-ridden Washington town for Independence Day festivities.  I mean, who doesn't enjoy a good old-fashioned frog jump? So this weekend is about work and projects and chores for the most part. I finished Lauren Kate's Passion, the recently released third book in the Fallen series, which I enjoyed, although the ending was not what I expected.  I also watched two of the three episodes of BBC's Sherlock, which I am lov-ing.  Whatever Sherlock's damage may be, that man is fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine.

I need to say two quick things about current events before I get to the reviews.  I am very happy that the fine state of New York has joined the ranks of those states to approve marriage equality for same-sex couples.  The arc of history truly does bend toward justice, and these days when it can sometimes be hard to remember that, a group of people will come through in a clutch and remind you of just how much we are capable of when learn to overcome our petty differences in favor of the things that unite us.

Simultaneously, I am very sad that Peter Falk has died.  He was an angel walking among men, but I'll always love him most as Columbo, a man who made beige trench coats cool and whose squinty-eyed demeanor was remarkably charming.  I hope he has found the peace now that eluded him so much in the last few years of his life.

In fact, here's a little musical interlude, in honor of our bumbling, beloved fallen member of the host.

When you're following an angel

Does it mean you have to throw your body off a building?

Somewhere they're meeting on a pinhead

Calling you an angel, calling you the nicest things

I heard they had a space program

When they sing you can't hear, there's no air

Sometimes I think I kind of like that and

Other times I think I'm already there.

Thank you Mr. Falk for reminding us that merely being human is sometimes worth the greatest of sacrifice.  Also, note to self, get tickets for that TMBG show this fall.  Okay, now we can move on to the perfume.

Monday: As part of The Midsummer Night's Dream event, I reviewed JoAnne Bassett Perfumes Night Queen.

Tuesday: Olympic Orchids Olympic Amber - This was originally formulated as a base for other perfumes, but it stands beautifully on its own. A rich amber scent full of natural labdanum ornamented with vanilla, benzoin, incense, resins, patchouli, and woods. A true oriental fragrance that will transport you on a jeweled magic carpet of olfactory delights. Let's say you wanted to like Guerlain Shalimar, but it was just too big and loud and floral, like your Aunt Earlene's taste in heavy curtains. This might make an excellent alternative. Where a person might find the former full of big loud floral prints loved by women with frizzy hair, here there is resin and dirt and decaying leaves and wet wood.

I, however, love Shalimar. As a descendant of the kind of women who love those curtains, who employ design firms like Sugarbakers Design to install them, I would love it for sentimental reasons even if it were all those garish things. That said, I personally find it fashionable and fun, and if there is big floral print, it's the kind you find on a tiny summer dress with a swishy full skirt and big Hepburn-style sunglasses. Haters gonna hate, but I don't care; Shalimar is still wonderful.

But I was here to talk about Olympic Amber. As a Shalimar lover, I love this, too. And I love it for the differences. This is a very naturally scented amber, an amber that derived from the earth and forest and sea, nestled in notes that make it feel like a jewel discovered there.


Holding Olympic Amber up against Shalimar and Beyond Kilian Love to my friend LillieMae, who has an affection for perfume that I would describe as in its infancy, but growing, she agreed that she could smell the strong vanilla/amber notes across the three. Her completely uninfluenced opinion was that she thought Shalimar was nice, wanted to eat Love, but the one she'd want to wear, actually wear as an expression of herself? Olympic Amber. I am inclined to agree; as strongly vanilla/ambers go, I'd like to wear this one, too. 3.5 of 5 nods.

Wednesday: Boadicea The Victorious Divine - Notes: Jasmine, mandarin, aldehydes, styrax, sandalwood. Primarily jasmine, the aldehydes are a wonderful blend here so this stays away from becoming a heavy floral and stays light and pretty. This is a wonderful floral scent for summer. It doesn't have the best staying power (about 4 hours) but that does mean it is excellent for summer weather. Also, you don't always want a floral to bloom so large that it feels like you're carry a virtual hedgerow in front of you. Sometimes, light floral is exactly what you want, particularly in a jasmine. 3.5 nods.

Thursday: As part of The Midsummer Night's Dream event, I reviewed The Scented Djinn Peaseblossom EdT.

Friday: Soivohle Cordovan Rose - Notes: leather, smoke, plum, rose. If I think of just one of the listed notes and close my eyes, I can find it here, right here, in the opening.

Unfortunately, the combination, if I'm not trying to pick out a particular note and just hit a whiff of the opening? Chewing tobacco. Yeah, that's right. Dip, snuff, chaw. Call it what you will -- my dad dipped, my brother used to dip, hell my great gramma and great aunt used to dip, that's how deep south my family roots go. Sadly, this makes the opener of what would otherwise be a hugely unique scent experience for me a complete bummer.

And that is terribly sad. Because, and once again I will drag my perfume machinations into this, when I made LillieMae smell it and then smell it again a half hour later, the middle and end of the drydown read as the smell of a wonderful old leatherbound book or a beautifully made leather couch with a vase of two dozen strongly scented roses on the end table next to it.

So basically it repulses me unfairly, when I would obviously otherwise love it. It would work beautifully on a man and makes an awesomely unconventionally attractive scent for a woman, the kind of woman who could pull off the outfit to the left, say with some matching boots. So, ignoring my weird associations with the opening, 4 or 5 nods for its uniqueness.

Winner of the Week: For me personally, Olympic Orchids Olympic Amber. That said, I think Divine and Cordovan Rose are every bit as good.

"You know that I want you
and you know that I need you.
I want it bad, your bad romance.
I want your love and
I want your revenge.
You and me could write a bad romance."
~ "Bad Romance," Lady GaGa

The sun in your eyes made some of your lies worth believing.

Sometimes a girl just wants to rest!

Perfume Challenge Week 22: Monday, 6/13/11, to Friday, 6/17/11

First off, congrats to Elisa who won the May drawing and with it a mix CD and beautiful sampler set from INeKE Perfumes. Bonus: the cost of the sampler set goes toward a bottle purchase! That's right, people. The prizes just keep getting sweeter here at Feminine Things.

This weekend is busy like woah. I had a wedding last night, The Mountain Goats show tonight, and tomorrow, more things! And every weekend has been like this lately.

Also, I want to give a shout out to Samantha, one of my readers who introduced me to a some new perfumes and gave *me* a couple mix CDs. Who knew I could love a carrot perfume? But I do. It's awesome. Also, I am rocking those CDs, so thanks for that. It makes me want to see if we can get a little local perfumista shindig together. If you're greater PDX local and interested, send me an email.

Monday: Soivohle Perfumes Vanillaville - Notes: A rustic eathery vanilla with overtones of pipe tobacco, notes include, sweet fennel, pink pepper, coffee absolute, cinnamon cepes, rectified birch tar, sandalwood, amyris, floral accord benzoin, almonds. This a bitter, dry chocolatey, rubbery leather scent. I imagine this is what chocolate scented leather would smell like, or like drinking a bone dry mexican chocolate latte while perched atop a mountain of brand new leather pants. I get no vanilla at the top, just a noseful of vetiver and chocolate. If you were looking for a chocolate scent for someone who wanted a muscular and lean expression and less full-bodied and foodie, this might make a good one. You better love the leather, though. I haven't smelled this much leather since the last time I was in a bondage boutique. My only complaint is that on me it faded to a slightly sweet but otherwise almost undetectable scent on my skin after about four hours. 4.5 of 5 nods for scent originality, 3 of 5 nods for longevity.

Tuesday: As part of The Midsummer Night's Dream event, I reviewed Bellatrix Perfumes Titania.

Wednesday: By Kilian Prelude to Love (Invitation) - Notes: Seville orange, bergamot, Amalfi lemon, ginger, pepper, orange blossom, Florence iris. The notes on this one really precede it with accuracy in my opinion. I don't get a lot of orange, but I do gt a nose full of bergamot, ginger, and lemon heavy-citrus up front, like being slapped with the citrus stick. I personally get very little of the iris, which appears in the middle, before the drydown turns into a citrus-tinged orange blossom. A nice fragrance, but a strange and unexpected sharpness to a romantic prelude, so as a meditation on the theme, a little off for me. 3 of 5 nods.

Thursday: Parfums de Nicolai Turquoise - Notes: Mango, apricot, lime, osmanthus, spice, Turkish rose, pepper, jasmine, cardamom, cedar, musk, jasmine absolute. Lime, mango, and rose mesh together in the opening to give a surprisingly pleasant fruit coctail experience. I know that sounds bad, but it is meant to be a compliment. It smooths out thanks to the dry spices so you end up with a gently smooth and sweet scent that works surprisingly well in hot weather. Don't really get the name, though.  3 of 5 nods.

Friday: As part of The Midsummer Night's Dream event, I reviewed EnVoyage Perfumes Titania.

Winner of the Week: This is really hard because of the fantastic perfumes made for the Midsummer Night's Dream Event. I think I have to pass; this week I'm the winner for getting to smell all these lovely smells.

"Don't leave false illusions behind.
Don't cry; I ain't changing my mind.
So find another fool like before
'cause I ain't gonna live anymore believing
some of the lies while
all of the signs are deceiving..."
~ "Eye in the Sky," Alan Parsons Project

Well, the devil in you tried to tell me what to do. I don't think so.

Perfume Challenge Week 21: Monday, 6/6/11, to Friday, 6/10/11

kitten surveys her new territory

What a week, cats and kittens. It’s been a long week of longness. David and I had to temporarily move while they do a partial renovation on our apartment, so it’s been a lot of packing, unpacking, reorganizing, and generally trying to get settled in. My cats are trying to adjust as well. It was an opportunity to get out my Aveda oil burner David gave me several years ago and using my collection of twenty or thirty home fragrance oils to scent my new house.

Monday: Jo Malone Vintage Gardenia - A captivating blend, the classic florals gardenia and tuberose are combined with cardamom, sandalwood and myrrh to create a rich seduction of the senses. There is a whole lot of tuberose is the opening, so much so, that I couldn't find the gardenia at first. This isn't a knock for me; I loves me some tubereuse. When the gardenia is there, it does a little dance with the tuberuese for the forward space on me, which on me sometimes come off as a little tropical (coconut/banana) on me. Cardamon and myrrh make their appearance about twenty minutes in and that is when I really begin to like this, because it becomes kind of...well not to be obvious, but spicy to me -- sexy spicy. Generally, though I tend to think of this as a tubereuse with a twist, name notwithstanding.

Also, I borrowed a layering tip and tried it against Jo Malone Black Vetyver Cafe. I'm undecided. On the one hand, I like the combination. The spices compliment each other and the floral notes combine with the sweet coffee business nicely. An hour in, the combination is almost like burning wood. It's big, though, so I'm thinking summer is maybe not the time for this layering combo. I'm going to try it again this fall, when I'm thinking more cozy thoughts.

For Vintage Gardenia, 3.5 of 5 nods. For the layering combo, a tentative 3 of 5 nods.

Tuesday: Olympic Orchids Fleurs de Glace - Notes unknown. One of those surprising scents not even listed on the website (I love that Ellen does this!), I am forced to rely entirely on my tiny newbie nose. "Flowers of Ice" on me is a surprisingly green scent! Like tiny geen budlets emerging from beneath the ice and snow. It's dry, but here's a gentle sweetness to it I can't place. It reminds me of the taste of chewing on freshly picked dandelions stems, a childhood pastime. (I was a weird kid, okay?) It also feels a bit woody to me, because it smells a bit like the smell of a brand new paperback book. It's very nice, almost elegant; a lovely gentle scent with moderate sillage. At first I found it a little to refined for me, but now I think I might wear it to see Jane Eyre. It makes me wish I had white elbow length gloves with pearl button clasps to wear with it when I go. In fact, I wish I had a whole soft lacey outfit. 4 of 5 nods.

Wednesday: By Kilian Beyond Love - Notes: gardenia, orange blossom, tuberose, coconut, jasmine, ambergris, and musk Tonkin complex. Hello again, gardenia and tubereuse. I have randomly chosen you again. I was wondering what the citrus was lurking and then I looked at the notes -- ah, hello orange blossom! I also get a lot of the rubber-y aspects of tubereuse, which I personally love. It's summer and I go to the ocean at least once a month (including the last two weeks), so happy am I if a scent smells like familiar beach scents, including a dryness that even reminds me of the smell of warm sand. This is like laying on your stomach in the sun, with your eyes closed, the water crashing in the background, and the gentle scent of flowers being carried toward you on the breeze. Not overly sweet, either, so if Annick Goutal Songes is too sweet for you, this might be a better fit for you. 4 of 5 nods.

Thursday: Soivohle Writing Lyrical Poetry (on a Bright, New Day) -Lush white flowers of gardenia, jasmine, lily of the valley, orange blossom and lilac, with cassis, red berries, freesia, sandalwood, oakmoss, soft musk, vanilla, and civet. I get a wallop of cassis, citrus, and tart berries in the opening. The middle is nice blend of white flowers, none particularly dominant on me. Later the civet and oakmoss come through, balancing the floral with a moss and earth tone. The civet isn’t too strong, so if you are not into civet, fear not. I also recommend this for people who would like a white floral that wasn’t all about the big flowers. It’s very well made and subtle as such scents go, and makes an excellent white floral for the hot days ahead. 3 of 5 nods.

Friday: DSH Perfumes Cimabue (Italian Journey no. 8) - Bergamot, Bitter Orange, Cardamom Seed, Clementine, Italian Neroli, Lemon, Nutmeg, Carnation Absolute, Cinnamon Bark, Clove Bud, Egyptian Rose Geranium, Grandiflorum Jasmine, Honey Beeswax, Moroccan Rose Absolute, Mysore Sandalwood, Saffron absolute, Tuberose Absolute, Ciste Absolute, East Indian Sandalwood, Labdanum, Oppopanax, Siam Benzoin, Tahitian Vanilla, Tamil Nadu Sandalwood, Vanilla Absolute. What wonderful scent! Though I think it is more of a wintery, holiday scent, Cimabue is so delightful. It smells like warm eggnog, complete with a sprinkling of nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove on top. I am definitely going to buy this, and I will bring it out when I start getting the urge to play Christmas music in July, I am definitely bringing this out. Definitely on my “to buy” list for its unique qualities. 4 of 5 nods.

Winner of the Week: Tough call! I don’t honestly think I can choose this week. I can honestly recommend trying them all.

"But I know myself better than I used to.
And I have some type of respect for the things that I do.
Don't you think that you should come on, now,
cut the cord from the cloth before it tears you down."
~ "Devil in You," The Watson Twins