Sample Giveaway + Review: Sartorial by Penhaligon’s (2010)
Persolaise 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…
Review: Une Rose Vermeille by Tauer Perfumes (2010)
Tauer Une Rose Vermeille perfume review by award-winning critic Persolaise (2010, Andy Tauer, scent)
Review Showcase: Tauer Perfumes
Andy Tauer’s creations have just been added to the lines stocked at London’s Les Senteurs, which makes this is a perfect time for a retrospective review of one of the…
No Formula Changes Permitted
I recently decided to celebrate my return to the real world by popping out for some pre-holiday shopping, an activity which is always accompanied by a certain amount of perfume…
Review: A*Men Sunessence Edition Orage D'Ete by Thierry Mugler (2010)
As far as I’m aware, Mugler’s key scents (Angel, Alien and A*Men) are still serious commercial contenders. So I don’t quite understand why the firm insists on diluting their impact…
Sample Giveaway + Les Senteurs + Review: Like This by Etat Libre D'Orange (2010)
How do you bite your thumb at the stream of cynical sub-scents that emerge every summer? Here’s a pretty good, two-word answer: Like This. Need more detail? Well, you start…
Review: Gucci By Gucci Sport Pour Homme by Gucci (2010)
Ah, the dangers of prejudice. When I saw that a sample of this new flanker had made its way into one of my shopping bags, I immediately condemned it to…
Sample Giveaway + Review: Wonderwood by Comme Des Garçons (2010)
What kind of scent is conjured up in your mind by the words “wood gone mad”? Not, I reckon, a scent like Wonderwood, although that’s precisely the term CdG are…
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: Eternity Aqua by Calvin Klein (2010)
When I found out that Escape For Men has been discontinued, a triumphant smile appeared on my face. Sadly, that’s now faded, because CK have played around with the formula…
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: L'Eau by Serge Lutens (2010)
Artists are allowed to change direction. But their fans aren’t obliged to follow them wherever they go. So when Serge Lutens decide to propel themselves as far away as they…
Review: Géranium Pour Monsieur by Editions De Parfums Frederic Malle (2009)
What’s the smell of the modern dandy? Does a metrosexual wear one of the generic woody cocktails that flood the market at the rate of twenty a week? Does he…