Review: Traversée Du Bosphore from L’Artisan Parfumeur (2010)
Persolaise L'Artisan Parfumeur Traversee Du Bosphore perfume review by award-winning critic Persolaise (Bertrand Duchaufour, 2010)
Review: Opus IV from Amouage (2010)
The house of Amouage – one of a tiny number of international brands with bona fide Middle Eastern credentials – has often produced dazzling perfumes by taking classical, old-world structures…
Playground Perfume
I think I ought to start charging for perfume shopping consultancy services. The other day, another close relative – a young woman who recently left home to go to Uni…
Sample Giveaway + Review: Phul-Nana by Grossmith (1891/2009)
Grossmith Phul-Nana, Hasu-No-Hana, Shem-El-Nessim review by award-winning perfume critic Persolaise (2010)
Review: Opus III from The Library Collection by Amouage (2010)
If there’s one characteristic that Amouage‘s first three Library Collection scents have in common, it is a gauzy sheerness. Opus I conjures an image of florals preserved in a delicate…
Review: Carillon Pour Un Ange by Tauer Perfumes (2010)
A few weeks ago, Madame Persolaise and I were on an escalator, descending into London’s Tube network. She was wearing vintage Diorissimo; I’d dabbed my wrists with a few drops…
Sartorial Draw Winner + Mini Reviews, including J'Adore L'Or by Christian Dior (2010)
I spent a couple of hours wandering around shops the other day, trying to find some excitement in the glittery Christmas parcels that the major brands are desperate to thrust…
Review: Memoir Man & Memoir Woman by Amouage (2010)
My experience of living in the Middle East taught me that Gulf Arab men tend to have no qualms about wearing scents that would be considered far too heady and…
Tauer Perfumes Draw + Review: Eau d'Épices by Tauer Perfumes (2010)
Some truths are worth repeating: excellent fragrances feature a delicate harmony of all their disparate components. Few contemporary perfumers are as acutely aware of this as Andy Tauer, creator of…
Review: Shalimar – Ode De La Vanille & Idylle eau de toilette by Guerlain (2010)
You can’t say that Guerlain aren’t keeping Thierry Wasser busy. This year saw the release of the third version of Homme, a new Aqua Allegoria and an exclusive, limited edition…
Review Showcase: Vero Profumo
A few years ago, Swiss aromatherapist-turned-perfumer Vero Kern released three extrait-strength fragrances that have since developed a loyal following. She has now formulated distinctly different, eau de parfum versions of…
Review: Une Rose Vermeille by Tauer Perfumes (2010)
Tauer Une Rose Vermeille perfume review by award-winning critic Persolaise (2010, Andy Tauer, scent)
Review: Orange Star by Tauer Perfumes (2010)
Confession time: over the last two weeks, I’ve made several failed attempts to write this review. It’s one thing to put down your thoughts on a fragrance whose maker is…
Review: Orange Blossom by Penhaligon's (2010)
Many scents are described as soft, but few actually convey the sensation of resting your head on a floating pillow of immaculately-shaped petals. Penhaligon’s Orange Blossom – the latest release…
Review: Aqua Allegoria Flora Nymphéa by Guerlain (2010)
The Aqua Allegoria range often gets a bad press, but I reckon Guerlain ought to keep going with their fragrance haiku, because every now and then it allows us to…
Review: Idylle eau de parfum by Guerlain (2009)
When Idylle hit the shelves late in 2009, the response from Guerlain acolytes was muted. The realm of the soft-focus floral was, they felt, best reserved for flash-in-the-pan celebrity fragrances,…
Review: Malabah by Penhaligon's (2003)
This isn’t quite a scrubber, but it outstays its welcome very quickly and adds fuel to the argument made by several critics that Penhaligon’s scents aren’t nearly weighty and meaningful…