Swarovski Aura: Bottle Giveaway

I have a brand new bottle of Swarovski's Aura fragrance from which only 5ml have been decanted for reviewing purposes. It is eligible for readers of this site. Just put a comment in saying what would be your ideal interpretation of crystal into perfume form and you're in the draw.

Draw remains open till Thursday 26th April midnight.

Profumum Roma Soavissima: fragrance review

Her presence still lingered.
Her petticoat had left unequivocal traces.
Trails of intense scent that lit boundless fires.

This is how Profumum Roma presents Soavissima. Profumum is a niche Italian brand founded in Rome in 1996 and Soavissima was launched in 2006. The official accords talk about amber, white flowers, animalic and powdery notes, but of this only the powder and ambery stuff comes through distintcly. And that, not quite, as one would be accustomed through various incarnations of resinous, sacerdotal ambers circulating in niche perfumery for years: The powderiness in Soavissima comes through heaps of heliotrope, a soft iris accord and that rosy nuance of goose-down puffs heavy with powder in which a bit of amber is felt, like the whisper that is left on the skin when you apply an ambery perfume several hours before. It's a sweet ambience, perhaps a tad intense for some. It can also veer into "baby powder" territory, that vat of Johnson's talc, aromatized with vanilla, hints of lavender and orange blossoms. Its feminine, motherly embrace is its predominant trait, a quality that can be polarising. More than a slipper-footed dame in her boudoir powdering her face, it recalls gusts of powder going on 18th century wigs; an element of excess and theatricality is built within the scent.

Soavissima firmly belongs to the sweet powdery realm where Teint de Neige by Lorenzo Villoresi and Keiko Mecheri's Loukhoum rule. On the other hand it has some of the inedible sweetness of the aldehydic soapiness that Chanel No.22 and White Linen by Lauder possess. It also approaches Profumum's own Confetto with its similar base of fuzzy heliotrope-ambery powderiness. The sillage/projection of Soavissima is tremendous so go easy on the application and the lasting power quite satisfying for the price.

The Soavissima line is complimented by a body lotion, a shower product and a room fragrance. Sold at boutique sites, such as Luckyscent. (and in brick and mortar in various countries, even in Thessaloniki in Xeen Ltd)

photo of Lord Mortimer/Bedlam v ia sparksinelectricaljelly.blogspot.com and of makeup brush via clothingbrands24.com

Which Chanel Perfume is for You?

"For me this is Chanel," says [Marian] Bendeth. "Austere, analytical, powerful, yet highly feminine and devastatingly sensual. The woman who wears this has exquisite taste."

Marian Bendeth of Sixth Scents is an industry fixture, a renowned specialist and a powerful interviewer; it's been an honour to have her contribute on Perfume Shrine in the past. Marian specializes in creating fragrance wardrobes for her clients based on personality, body chemistry and lifestyle and a propos this task she offered a most insightful little guide on the CanadianLiving site on which personality is expressed through your choice of Chanel Les Exclusifs perfume. Do you go for the classic elegance of Chanel No.22 or the unconventional femininity of Cuir de Russie? The pastoral prettiness of Bel Respiro or the austere yet sensuous ambience of 31 Rue Cambon fragrance?

Read the whole article here. (NB. Some of the newer inclusions, namely Chanel Beige, Sycomore and Jersey are lacking)

Let's expand this: Which is the perfume that best describes your personality?  

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Chanel Les Exclusifs perfume reviews


pic of Chanel's bathroom via bleauog.blogspot.com

Fragrance Trends: Mandarin, Note du Jour

Apart from the re-edition of L'Artisan Parfumeur Mandarine (previously Mandarine tout Simplement) we had reported a while ago, there are a few more mandarin-inspired fragrances circulating or launching for 2012, enough to note a trend. Not coincidentally, mandarin orange is THE hot colour of the moment in fashion as well, if Pantone's seasonal predictions are anything to go by (Their Tangerine Tango is a hue of orange-y coral that approximates a great ripe mandarin fruit). My favourite mandarin-inspired perfume remains Serge Lutens's Mandarine Mandarin  for its complexity and rich nuances which run the gamut from tangy green to nectarous ripe to almost mouldy.

via vendernaranjas.com

Now here's a short list of new releases featuring the note du jour, mandarin orange:

4711 Acqua  Colonia Mandarine & Cardamome (by Muelhens)
Aftelier Sepia
Chanel Allure Homme Sport Eau Fraiche (two trends in one, the "eau fraiche" has returned with a vengeance)
Coach Signature summer 2012 limited edition
Donna Karan Essence Mandarin
L'Artisan Parfumeur Mandarine

Do you have a favorite mandarin orange themed fragrance to recommend?

another take on the hipness of mandarin can be found on fragrantica

Tom Ford Private Blend Tuscan Leather: fragrance review

Created in 2007 by perfumers Harry Frémont and Jacques Cavallier for the Tom Ford Private Blend line, Tuscan Leather is an atypical leather fragrance not quite for everyone; leather enthusiasts might find enough quirks and crannies to elaborate on, but still be puzzled by its antithetical, polarising nature.

via stickssn.org

On one hand, the introductory blast of petrol fumes plus red fruits (mainly the tart scent of raspberries) is not exactly conductive to what people have come to expect from luxury leather blends. The expected pipe tobacco-leather upholstery richness with its fruity, bittersweet and whiskey nuances contrasts intellectually with the effect witnessed here. We have also been familiarised with the fuzzy apricot and amaretto-apricot-pits ambience of Lutens's Daim Blond, for a suede-like scent, but the tartness of berries offsets the leathery pungency here rather than mollify it. The leather perfume note in the Tom Ford is rubbery, smoky, like shoe polish and cool tires. If your elegant leather ideal has always been Chanel's Cuir de Russie, Tom Ford proposes a modern take on leather, but with much less vanilla and musks than in Bvlgari's rubbery Black.

On the other hand, pungent but restrained and under specific circumstances even velvety, with a true leathery note like a nubuck handbag fresh off the mending shop, Tuscan Leather is a cross between luxury items, new bucket seats in your new Bentley and furniture polish smeared generously on wooden planks. The leathery nuance by saffron, bittersweet,  fits perfectly. There is even a hemp like note, and I was under the impression I was delusional until I saw The Non Blonde claim the same. The terpenic, pine-like facets, revealing themselves through resinous citrusy elements (frankincense being one), are jarring, instead of airy or citric like in Etro's Gomma. Perhaps even more jarring by the addition of an oud base, a direction in which Montale followed with his Aoud Leather two years later. Perversely, the more the fragrance stays on, the more the raspberry comes through. Trippy!

Essentially linear, Tuscan Leather projects well and lasts average. In a pinch, if you sprayed Givenchy's Hot Couture over a gritty leather armchair, preferably in a newly polished library, you might start getting what this is all about. Butcher on women's skin than on men's but also sweeter in the final whisper, it's a unisex fragrance like all the Tom Ford Private Blends, which demands trying on first. It's not for shy, girly-girl women or men lacking self confidence.

Notes for Tom Ford Private Blend Tuscan Leather:
Raspberry, thyme, saffron, jasmine, olibanum, leather, oud/aoudh/agarwood.

Tom Ford Tuscan Leather is available in 50ml and 100ml bottles (from what I have seen, other Private Blends come in 250ml) of Eau de Parfum in select doors where the Tom Ford Private Blend is sold.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Leather Fragrances reviews series, Tom Ford news & reviews

Guerlain Muguet 2012 and Mon Precieux Nectar: new fragrances

Guerlain is re-issuing their ultra-limited-edition of Muguet perfume, each year with a new twist, for May 1st 2012, celebrating the good luck charm that is lily-of-the-valley given on that day. This year, Guerlain head perfumer Thierry Wasser signs a perfume adorned with a valuable "necklace" from the French house of Gripoix. This limited edition circulates in only 1250 flacons worldwide.

Guerlain Muguet 2012 includes fragrant notes of lily of the valley, lilac and rose. The light green juice, symbolising freshness and coolness is held in a bottle that holds 60ml/2oz. The perfume is sold at Guerlain boutiques on April 30th ONLY.
Previous editions of Guerlain Muguet can be seen in this collage photo below.And here is a short guide into identifying the various editions of Guerlain Muguet perfume per year of release.

Mon Précieux Nectar by Guerlain is a re-edition of a previous extrait de parfum composition from 2009 which had been offered only in 1 litre Val Saint Lambert "urn" numbered bottles (1 L pure Parfum at the retail price of $9,000 or 6000 €!). Now the scent is presented encased in the classic "bee" bottles of the boutique exclusive Les Parisiennes line. (270$ for 125ml of Eau de Parfum extrait de parfum). *[NB. There is some discussion as to whether this is  EDP or the actual exrait de parfum formula: Mr.Guerlain has posted a Facebook photo in which "extrait" is written on the tester bottle right besides the Parisienne bottle, which makes perfect sense. This is actually the case as confirmed, so then allow me to consider Guerlain was seriously ripping everyone off just 3 years ago....tsk tsk tsk....]

The fragrance itself is credited to Thierry Wasser and -as before- includes fragrant notes of petit-grain, bitter almond, orange blossom, jasmine, sandalwood, gaiacwood, vanilla, white musk and incense. (see the description of Mon Précieux Nectar extrait de parfum from 2009 here).

Obviously the 1L parfum idea hasn't gone down as well as anticipated commercially....?

collage pic via www.perfumediary.com, other pics via mr.Guerlain facebook