Persolaise Review: Thirty Three from Ex Idolo (perfumer unknown; 2013)
Persolaise This was one I approached with dread. “It’s an oud,” I was told. ‘Just kill me now,’ I thought to myself. “It’s exceptionally good,” they said. ‘Please, make it quick,’…
Persolaise Review: Aqua Vitae from Maison Francis Kurkdjian (Francis Kurkdjian; 2013)
Get Lippie said it best. She and I were amongst several other writers at the press launch of Aqua Vitae and as she breathed in the scent, she closed her…
Persolaise Review: Carita from Carita + Truth Or Dare from Madonna (2012)
Image: Jean-Paul Gaultier Alberto Morillas is the Steven Soderbergh of perfumery: he makes fragrances which appeal to a broad spectrum of consumers, but he never seems to pander to the…
Review: 02 Owari from Odin (2009)
You know the onomatopoeic ‘sound effect’ captions used in comic books? Well, Owari opens with a KA-POW, BANG, SHAZZAM! The top notes leap off the skin in a burst of…
Review: Archives 69 from État Libre D’Orange (2011)
You can’t accuse ÉLdO of cowardice. The instant accessibility of last year’s commendable Like This may have raised fears that one of perfumery’s cockiest houses was starting to play it…
Review: Portrait Of A Lady from Editions De Parfums Frederic Malle (2010)
Perfume review: Frederic Malle Portrait Of A Lady (Dominique Ropion), by award-winning critic Persolaise (2010, rose, scent, fragrance)
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: Voyage d'Hermès by Hermès (2010)
The idea of a perfume taking you on a trip has been a cliché for quite some time, so when you encounter a new creation which dares to call itself…
Vert 14
I should have been doing other things last night, but I’m afraid I pushed them all aside and set up my mini-lab on my window sill. It’s typical of me…