Persolaise Review: Sunshine Man from Amouage (Pierre Negrin & Fabrice Pellegrin; 2015)
Persolaise Ah, dear old lavender. When it’s misused – as it so often is – it’s a whopping clanger of a cliche, plunging a composition into the depths of the generic,…
fougere
The Osmothèque Reviews: Jicky from Guerlain (Aimé Guerlain; 1889)
Guerlain Jicky Osmotheque version review by award-winning perfume critic Persolaise (Aime Guerlain; 1889)
Persolaise Review: Oud Noir from Versace (perfumer unknown; 2013)
In the seemingly endless torrent of ‘oud’ scents pumped out by the mainstream, every now and then, something vaguely interesting raises its head above the water. Versace‘s Oud Noir is…
Persolaise Review: Le Beau Male from Jean-Paul Gaultier (Francis Kurkdjian; 2013)
Back in 1995, Jean-Paul Gaultier released his first fragrance for men. You may have heard of it. It’s called Le Male, it’s sold in a bottle shaped likely a finely-toned…
Persolaise Review: L’Eau Froide from Serge Lutens + Lavender Palm from Tom Ford (2012)
When L’Eau Serge Lutens appeared in 2010, most fans were up in arms. They felt betrayed, they said, by a fragrance which seemed to fly in the face of the…
What’s A Chypre When It’s At Home?
According to a recent article in the Independent, there is a very large number of words to describe different types of laughter in Marathi (a language spoken by over 40…
Reviews: Juniper Sling, Esprit Du Roi & Eau Sans Pareil from Penhaligon’s (2011)
Would it be too cruel to say that Penhaligon’s Anthology series of re-issues comes to a close not with a bang, but a whimper? Eau Sans Pareil is pleasant enough,…
When 24 Just Isn’t Enough
Regular readers of this blog will know that, every now and then, I’m drawn to the subject of time… or, more specifically, the lack of time. I’ve been thinking a…
Review: Fougère Royale from Houbigant (2010)
How do you make a fougère that has enough fougère-ness to justify the label but not so much that it smells like a disappointing cliche? That’s precisely the challenge faced…
Review: The One Gentleman by Dolce & Gabbana (2010)
I confess this one had me fooled for a while. The initial impression it made was undeniably positive; in fact, the sweep of citrus, woods and irones had me making…
There Is No Fern In Fougère
My fingers stink of linalool and jasmine absolute, so I probably shouldn’t be touching the keyboard, but I’ve decided to take a few moments out from formulating to remind you…
Sample Giveaway + Review: Sartorial by Penhaligon’s (2010)
Any artist who manages to breathe new life into an old form deserves praise, but if you’re not especially fond of the form itself, you might find it difficult to…