Review: Opus IV from Amouage (2010)
Persolaise 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…
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: 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…
Sample Giveaway + Review: Breath Of God & The Smell Of Weather Turning by Gorilla Perfumes (2010)
There isn’t much that hasn’t been said about Breath Of God… except perhaps that it’s back! After receiving a five-star review from Tania Sanchez, it proceeded to evoke perplexed confusion…
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…
The Perfume Scene In Britain
I realise I’m running the risk of turning this blog into a daily whine, but I’m afraid I still feel like letting off a bit of steam about the scarcity…
Sub-Zero Please
Following on from yesterday’s post, I would just like to say that an Arctic blast across Old Father Time’s beard would be very welcome right now. Did we really gain…
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…
Reviews: The Smell Of Freedom & Orange Blossom by Gorilla Perfumes (2010)
It’s always helpful to be reminded that snobbery has no place in perfume appreciation. A branch of Lush – with its cheerfully dressed-down aesthetics – may not be the first…
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: Kalimantan by Chantecaille (2010)
Do we really need another ambery oriental? The answer’s probably No, but maintaining a negative stance is problematic when you’re faced with as elegant an example of the genre as…
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…
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: Bang by Marc Jacobs (2010)
Some fragrances impress you with the coherence of the entire package in which they arrive: the name, the colour of the juice, the bottle, the poster… they all interlock into…
Review: Bleu De Chanel by Chanel (2010)
More often than not, a spray of a new men’s perfume leaves me sorely disappointed. Most of the recipes follow the same, cardboard-cutout pattern: a mono-dimensional burst of citrus leading…