Persolaise Review: Solar’1 from Jazmin Saraï (Dana El-Masri; 2015)
Persolaise The soundbites If Solar’1 were a colour, it would be burnished gold. If it were a poem, it would be Ozymandias by P B Shelley. If it were a texture,…
perfume review
Persolaise Review: Lonesome Rider from Tauer Perfumes (Andy Tauer; 2016)
The soundbites If Lonesome Rider were a texture, it would be: dry, raw linen. If it were a colour, it would be: sandy beige. If it were a place, it…
Persolaise Review Angel Muse (Quentin Bisch; 2016) & A*Men Pure Tonka (Jacques Huclier; 2016) from Thierry Mugler
The soundbites If A*Men Pure Tonka were a colour, it would be a near-black purple. If it were a piece of music it would be In Da Club by 50…
Persolaise Review: Boy from Chanel (Olivier Polge; 2016)
The soundbites If Boy were a fictional character, it would be: Sydney Carton from A Tale Of Two Cities. If it were an item of clothing, it would be: a…
Persolaise Review: White Luminous Gold from Michael Kors (2015)
The soundbites If White Luminous Gold were a colour, it would be an easy-on-the-eye yellow. If it were a texture, it would be the softness of mimosa blossoms. If it…
Persolaise Review: Myths Woman (Nathalie Lorson) & Myths Man (Karine Vinchon, Dorothée Piot & Daniel Visentin) from Amouage (2016)
The soundbites Myths Man If it were a colour, it would be: metallic grey If it were a piece of music, it would be: Holst’s Mars If it were a…
Persolaise Review: Muguet Porcelaine from Hermès (Jean-Claude Ellena; 2016)
The soundbites If Muguet Porcelaine were a colour it would be: aqua green with a suggestion of pink If it were a piece of music, it would be: Alone In…
Persolaise Review: Maai from Bogue Profumo (2014; Antonio Gardoni)
There’s been a fair amount of talk lately about the extent to which current creations from the niche world are little more than reactions to the mainstream: pious homages to…
Persolaise Review: Bottega Veneta Pour Homme Essence Aromatique (Amandine Marie; 2016)
Where’s the line between old-school masculines which are too… well… old-school and those which don’t feel out of place in a contemporary setting? Is it somewhere near notions of transparency:…
Persolaise Review: Opus X from Amouage (Pierre Negrin & Annick Menardo; 2016)
If the number of comments a perfume receives is a direct measure of the distinctiveness of its personality, then Amouage‘s Opus X (composed by Pierre Negrin and none other than…
The Best Perfumes Of 2015 In ParfumPlus
The latest edition of the Middle East’s ParfumPlus magazine features my run-down of the best perfumes of last year. If you’d like to read it, please click here. For an…
Persolaise Review: Neroli Portofino Forte & Neroli Portofino Acqua from Tom Ford (2016)
Until now, I’ve been ambivalent towards Tom Ford‘s Neroli Portofino (2011). On the one hand, I’ve always felt suspicious about and appalled by its price (£145 for 50 ml as…
Persolaise Review: Peau De Bête from Liquides Imaginaires (Karine Bouin; 2015)
When Karine Bouin’s Peau De Bête pounced on us last year, it elicited a fair number of gasps, with several writers stating they were overwhelmed by its scandalous dosage of…
Persolaise Review Showcase: Replica from Maison Martin Margiela (various perfumers; 2012-2015)
Ever since the Maison Martin Margiela brand made its perfume debut – and won considerable critical acclaim – with Daniela Andrier‘s Untitled, critics and commentators have appeared reluctant to write…
Persolaise Review: Monsieur. from Editions De Parfums Frederic Malle (Bruno Jovanovic; 2016)
My closest friend recently discovered Malle. After decades of not considering perfume to be an important factor in how he presents himself to the world, he got in touch and…
Persolaise Review: Métal Hurlant from Parfumerie Générale (Pierre Guillaume; 2015)
One man’s tiger is another man’s kitten, so it’s with some hesitation that I type the word ‘animalic’ today. In recent months, it’s been used in relation to a few…
Persolaise Review: Sotto La Luna Tuberose from Tauer Perfumes (Andy Tauer; 2015)
Wearing Andy Tauer‘s Tuberose – the latest addition to his Sotto La Luna range – made me wonder whether his success has, in part, stemmed from his ability to straddle…
Left Pleasantly Unmoved
For the last few days I’ve been thinking about the d-word. Derivative. It’s an issue to consider in the analysis of any creative pursuit. But I’d say it’s particularly pressing…
Persolaise Review: Black Orchid eau de toilette from Tom Ford (2015)
I’ve always been suspicious of Black Orchid. Something about its strident assertiveness – its poking, prodding, finger-stabbing insistence – has made me feel that its facade conceals a quagmire of…
Persolaise Review: Ryder from Ex Idolo (2015)
Indie scent creations tend to be either reactionary monsters or paeans to the past (or both, come to think of it). Ryder, the latest from Matthew Zhuk‘s UK brand, Ex…