Bulgari Petits et Mamans: fragrance review

The top of a baby's head. The milky breath. The soft, soothing chamomile note of a baby soporific infusion. The talcum powdered bottom. The peachy smooth skin of small kid's short and squishy limbs. The intense tenderness of cradling one's own child in their arms. How could anyone capture all those glorious moments in a single scent?

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One simply can't.

They come with their own avalanche of overwrought anxiety, triumphant elation, sleepless nights and the relief of seeing the small ones grow day by day. But if you concentrate on getting the impression, rather than the actual kaleidoscope of the wild mix of feelings one gets upon having a baby, you can't go wrong by opting for Petits et Mamans by Italian jewelers Bulgari (or rather spelled in the Latinized pavements style Bvlgari)

This downy soft and comforting blend of vanilla powder, chamomile and iris starchiness replicates the feathery light feel of kids' natural scent and projects as inconspicuously as its realistic equivalent. Before they start scratching their knees falling off the bike or having their own free will imposed on you whereupon they become boys and girls rather than asexual "kids". If there is a Platonic idea of how kids smell, all innocent and cherubic, it's Bvlgari's Petits et Mamans. Like the name says on the label, moms can borrow it as well. For remembrance's sake or for partaking in the joy.

YSL La Nuit de l'Homme: fragrance review

"Sexy as hell" is what our Hellenic readers hail this cologne as. An enthusiastic endorsement from people who do actually enjoy a wide array of male colognes, La Nuit de l'homme has been YSL's best release in their masculine section for quite some time. Recents batches have become decidedly weaker, but the magic of the spicy woody notes persists.

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Woody scents are typically manly, mainly due to a lack of distracting elements from their solid "watch me chop the wood, I'm a lumberjack" impression. But the cunning in La Nuit de l'Homme lies in interweaving a coolish tinge of spicy cardamom which interplays with the traditional barber-shop lavender to give a juxtaposition of cleanliness and mysterious exoticism. It's definitely one to wear when out flirting. There are very few women who don't like this one.

Serge Lutens Arabie: fragrance review

Arabie is a virtual stroll amidst the exotic Al Halili bazaar at noon, rows and rows of succulent dried fruits and colorful, piquant, pungent spices; a kaleidoscopic vision seen in vermilion and saffron red. Women and men could get entangled in its nectarous, densely woven web, especially when the weather is cool and the mood is festive.

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Temperamentally sweet, luminous, golden, reminiscent of fruit & spice compotes and as mysterious as the East itself, Arabie is a sinfully rich fragrance for those who are not afraid to get their fingers inside the cookie jar!

Created in 2000.
Fragrance Family: Oriental Spicy

Top notes: candied mandarin, dried fig, dates.
Heart: cardamom, nutmeg, cumin, bay leaf, clove.
Base: Tonka bean, Siamese benzoin, myrrh.

Playing for Keeps: The Curious Case of Dior's Poison Girl

Perfume people love to diss a new release aimed at millennials, and this is what happened in part with Dior's Poison Girl when it first hit the counters. Outrage! Is it because quite a few perfume lovers are beyond the millennial age bracket? Or is it possibly because they consider their tastes evolved beyond the basic package promoted to millennials, aka super sweet fragrances that revolve around candy floss and synthetic berries molecules with a smattering of patchouli for good measure, making everything smell the same? I kinda feel the latter is more like it. And with good reason. And this is why I have to give it to Poison Girl. Because it doesn't quite do that. It does so much more and manages it without being either innovative or Art with a capital A. Damning with faint praise? Well, no, so read on please.

Dior decided to play their hand into making something new with Poison Girl, while at the same time featuring something old. Like the basic bride's mantra they're borrowing from both worlds in order to attain two necessary goals: lure in new customers, yet not alienate older customers at once either. Surprisingly the bet works and hit the jackpot! Poison Girl a year and a half after its official launch is selling very well indeed and also has the eau de toilette version to prove it.

But the real question is: Why does Poison Girl succeed where others fail?

The rest is on Fragrantica. Bottom line: Poison Girl succeeds where other flankers fail and there's a good reason for that. Take a read and see.