Bingo hall piña coladas.
Peppery amber ashtrays, coconut and pineapple daiquiri mix, sandalwood sawdust on the floor, and plastic flower musk underneath.
It’s kind of awesome in a retro chichi skirt way, though I was sort of hoping for some melting clocks, or waves that went on for eternity. Doesn’t last long, but finishes on a lovely patchouli tinged vanilla.
This song was also released in Spain in 1991– the title track of Vicente Amigo’s first album.
Peachy honey aldehydes at the beginning, then flowers pile on, heavy on the iris.
Woods file in quickly, with sandalwood and amber on the bottom.
Lasts most of the day, and the next on cotton.
It’s sort of frumpy but mischievous, like the great aunt who slipped you a taste of her cordial when your parents said you still were too young to have any.
Lanvin released this in 1927. A year later, Boléro by Maurice Ravel premiered in Paris. Brilliant versions of the piece exist all over the internet–André Rieu’s is great, Pink Martini’s is worth a listen, even Frank Zappa conducts one, cigarette in hand. My favorite of the moment is this very special arrangement by Angelique Kidjo with Branford Marsalis.
Grapefruit pith and rotting tree bark. There could be some sour berries in there, too.
Shady and dark, like the person wearing this would try to sell me a bridge in Brooklyn or offer me some magic beans.
Christopher Walken is my favorite weird bad guy.
Weird–sugar cookies that have been dropped in the dirt.
There’s tobacco, but it’s muddy–cigarette butts left out in the rain.
And there’s honeysuckle, but they’re kind of bruised, like the sun shone too hot.
The spice is nice, powdered ginger and cloves, a soft baking mix for shy cooks.
Stays close, grubby sweets snacked on in private, but lasts all day.
I can’t explain why I like it, but I do.
This Nirvana cover is also weird and sweet.
In the summer it’s eye-watering: all the hot sauces at the taqueria–tabasco, nopales salsa verde, pico jalapeño–uncorked and spilled over the table.
In the winter it cools down, becomes herbal, sweet bell peppers with a touch of rose on a base of cedar and metallic musk, but it’s no less potent.
Xeryus Rouge came out in in the mid nineties, along with this sweet spicy tune from Cuba.
Big alpha leather with a lemon creme center.
This guy shows up at the party in work boots, carrying a box of chocolates. He appreciates your top shelf liquor cabinet, but doesn’t stay long.
I like him.
Ievan Polkka–also known as the Leekspin song to Bleach fans–by the Finnish group Loituma, is awesome.
Blue roses are a botanical impossibility, but if they did exist, they’d smell like this.
Nest’s Wisteria Blue opens with pretty wisteria in the rain, then big magical roses in full fantasy bloom–and stays there, just inside personal space, for hours.
A nice wet weather floral–brilliant for moody teens.
I love this gloomy day remake.
Herbal Essence shampoo and towels.
A splash of citrus, some lemony herbs and a bit of sterile musk. Mild projection, mild longevity.
It’s marketed as feminine, but would make a good first scent for any pre-teen.
Here’s a nice clean kid-friendly song, also from 2007.
Opens with bergamot then rolls around on forest floor with violet leaf and lily-of-the-valley for a few hours.
Finishes with musky rose and wet ambergris on the skin.
Very brooding male pixie.
I love it.
(I may have posed in a compromising photo with a certain lawn ornament, many many years ago…)
This duo from Cleveland is doing fun things with music and video.
Wild flowers and rose, in a gorgeous high fashion editorial.
Sweet powdery mimosa at the opening, roses from top to bottom, and ending with a breath of organic green musk.
Lasts minutes on skin and hours on clothes. I really like it, but it might be too posh for me.
Azzaro Couture was first released in 1974, then re-launched in 2008 for a boutique show.
Here’s another sweet-and-lovely claimed by the next generation.
kira a. gold 