Perfume Mini-Reviews From Twitter: October to December 2016 [part 1]

Here’s a round-up of some of my Twitter mini-reviews from October-December 2016. Part 2 will be posted soon.

Carrot Blossom & Fennel from Jo Malone (Anne Flipo; 2016)*
More like sugary, soapy clover to me. Not what I’d reach for if I wanted sharp, anisic herbs. Innocuous.

Lavender & Coriander from Jo Malone (Anne Flipo; 2016)*
Ill-at-ease, surprisingly grating barbershop fougère, heavy on coarse lavender. Little coriander in sight.

Orris & Sandalwood from Jo Malone (Pierre Negrin; 2016)*
Synthetic sandalwoods can be vile, but here, the link with iris achieves a pleasing – if forgettable – effect.

Nashi Blossom from Jo Malone (Fabrice Pellegrin; 2016)*
Like some runaway Oompa Loompa, this stuff leaps with neon-lit, shampoo citruses, before crashing to a dull halt.

Black Cedarwood & Juniper from Jo Malone (Christine Nagel; 2014)*
The harsh woods bare their claws, lodge themselves in the back of your throat & refuse to budge. Help!

Basil & Neroli from Jo Malone (Anne Flipo; 2016)*
Attractive, if overly sweet, rendition of an indolic neroli. Basil present mainly in form of a bracing green note.

Midnight Black Tea from Jo Malone (Serge Majoullier; 2016)*
Uncharacteristically dark fare, based on resinous lapsang-vanilla. Spices & faux oud make fleeting appearance.

Grenadille D’Afrique from Aedes De Venustas (Alberto Morillas; 2016)*
Attractive vetivert, lightened by juniper, lavender & citrus. Avoids clammy ‘sweativert’ drydown.

Au Cœur Du Désert from Tauer Perfumes (Andy Tauer; 2016)*
Extrait of L’Air Désert with less of that gorgeous herbal smoke. Balsamic amber drydown is as swoon-worthy as ever.

Ambre from L’Occitane (2001/2016)*
Quiet, basic labdanum+vanilla amber accord, without any especially noteworthy features. Weird, plasticky off-note in back.

Eau Des 4 Voleurs from L’Occitane (1991/2016)*
Simplistic woody-aromatic cologne, with emphasis on rosemary. Fleeting. Redundant.

Eau D’Iparie from L’Occitane (2005/2016)*
Wow! You can even make incense smell cheap. Who knew? Oh, and the background woods and resins aren’t much better.

Camélia Intrépide from Atelier Cologne (Jerome Epinette; 2016)*
Generically floral opening leads to honey base, via sappy, green overtones. You’ve smelt this before.

Russian Leather from Memo (Alienor Massenet; 2016)*
Unexpectedly green, herbal opening (sage?) and faint freesia precede an abrasive, thinly-textured leather.

Attaquer Le Soleil from Etat Libre D’Orange (Quentin Bisch; 2016)*
An exercise in bringing out the cleanest, brightest, sharpest facets of cistus. Fulfils its aim.

Rahele from Neela Vermeire Creations (Bertrand Duchaufour; 2016)*
Appealing, luminous osmanthus composition with woody, milky, orange blossom facets. The brand’s least ‘Indian’ scent.

Use Abuse from Jusbox (Antoine Lie; 2016)*
Doesn’t quite reach the grand 80s tuberose heights to which it aspires, but the woody, white floral heart is attractive.

Beat Café from Jusbox (Dominique Ropion; 2016)*
Cognac. Cigarettes. Coffee. Patchouli. A bar that’s seen too many students putting the world to rights. My kind of place.

Persolaise

* sample provided by the brand
** sample obtained by the author