Month: December 2019

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Niki de Saint Phalle

Niki de Saint PhalleI was sixteen when I saw the Stravinsky Fountain in Paris, and fell in love with Niki de Saint Phalle’s wonderful sculptures.
She released her perfume in 1982–as a way to fund her life-long Tarot Garden sculpture project–with a variety of illustrated bottles, including a zodiac series called Eau Defendue.

The eau de toilette opens with peaches and wormwood, and mint–that has just enough of a toothpaste-and-orange-juice dissonance to make one wake up and pay attention, not unlike the vibrant color-blocking of her sculptures–weird and bright, yet pretty.
Carnation and patchouli and some green-dyed-leather twists it around for several hours, and woodsy moss covers the skin for the rest of the day.

Jean Tanguely, Niki’s partner, insisted that moss be allowed to grow on the Centre Pompidou sculptures, as Nature’s contribution to the art–so it can’t be a coincidence that the perfume carries the same green notes.

For more about the artist and her Tarot Garden, check out this New Yorker article.

Igor Stravinsky (watch a video of him conducting here) was a huge influence on John Williams, as well as The Beastie Boys, who sampled The Firebird Suite in two of their songs from Hello Nasty.
I like to think Niki de Saint Phalle, whose artistic style included found materials and juxtaposed media in her feminist compositions, might have approved of this cover by Robyn Adele Anderson. (And the guy on the Theremin is awesome!)

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Goldea the Roman Night

Goldea
Magazine insert picturing a black bottle. Better in the store than on the peelie, but still kind of high-end generic.

This smells like everything else at Macy’s, but with a glass of red wine rather than a caramel frappe or a peach smoothie.

Bergamot and black berries on the top, jasmine and tuberose in the middle, musky patchy vetiver at the bottom.

This song came out in 2017 in Italy, same as.

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Sortilège

sortilege
Vintage cut glass bottle of Sortilage, next to carved amber cat with kitten. The color of the fragrance matches exactly.

Have you ever opened a box of old vintage sewing patterns at a rummage sale, and gotten transported back in time–before you were born, even–just from the smell?

Sortilège whispers vintage lily-of-the-valley out of the bottle, then powdery peachy aldehydes a la Chanel No. 5 trample the flowers to dust.
More try to bloom, some feeble jasmine, whimpering mimosa–the rose survives, bolstered by iris, but then they are bowled over by great gobs of amber with vetiver musk in the wake.

This makes me want a wasp-waisted dress with piping and a built-in crinoline, and wrist gloves with matching bows.

Le Galion released Sortilège in 1937, when Fred Astaire was hanging out at The Stork Club, famous for singing Gershwin. I prefer Lady Day’s cover.

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Kabuki

kabuki edgier
Mini splash bottle with cute label of a Japanese dancer with a fan.

TokyoMilk #09

Cake and lemon sorbet syrup–and waxy sweet flowers that are probably poisonous to cats–hover a foot off the skin for an hour, then settle to sour fruity sugar.

I like it, but aside from the jasmine-scented pancake make-up note, I get no sense of Japanese theater.

A Swedish jazz group mash up with traditional Hogaku instruments.

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Yog Nog

yog nog edgyA big mouthful of Buttered Popcorn flavored Jellybelly beans, sticky sweet and stuck in the teeth for hours.
Later, powdered sugar and clove dusted gingerbread crumbs cling to shirt cuffs.

Fun, like that holiday party at the boss’s house that you weren’t expecting to enjoy–but I’d do better with it as a candle. It’s too sweet for me to wear on my skin.

By the Weather Girls, who brought you It’s Raining Men:

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Nirvana French Grey

nirvana french greyHerbal-sweet and sheer, and comforting, without any overt invitation.

Opens with a taste of upscale hipster lavender vodka, then the neroli blooms, delicate and sugary with a faint twist of grapefruit zest.

Stays at elbow length for an hour, then settles to the skin with rainwater musk.

Too fragile for summer, but it would sparkle in the snow.

This cover is equally as delicate.

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Viva La Juicy Bowdacious

bowdacious edges
Ad sample on on ruled notebook paper. The peelie is a sweeter representation than the actual eau–there’s a hint of citrus in the bottle that tarts up the top a little.

Nice flirty cantaloupe and jasmine, with a smart woody tonka bean ending.

A good “young-adult” scent that doesn’t take over the entire house, street and neighborhood on the way to the high school–a safe blind buy for your favorite teen-thing this holiday.

And five points to House J. Couture for the “Bows before Beaus” line.

I love Lizzo.

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Joint

joint
Mini deep red bottle of Roccobarocco Joint, with blue ceramic tray and rolling papers. (Papier JOB was first made in 1838–and even had posters designed by Art Nouveau artist Mucha!)

Opens loud with bright green basil and sweet coriander spice–then slides into flowery honey tobacco with some good patchouli funk.

A few hours later it morphs into leather with smoke and soft civet musk, and stays there for the rest of the day and evening, filling the room.

Joint is a powerhouse, but a refined blend rather than blunt force. No true cannabis/hemp notes, but there’s a dank ganja accord that’s really nice.

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Ile d’Amour

Ile d'AmourSweet water with vague apricot and flowers.

Lily-of-the-valley blooms a half hour in, about a handspan off the skin, while the wet fruit stays close. Lasts the morning on skin and forever on clothes–even after laundry day, cotton still holds the watery musk.

It’s too refined for me. I want to dirty it up with salt or civet or something–my Love Island is messier than this.

The band Isle of Love is out of Warsaw, Poland.  I have no idea what they’re singing about, but it’s a pretty tune.