Fragrance du jour, recent sniffs, random notes.
Pineapple Jolly Ranchers, and greasy on the skin.
Lasts two hours with no projection and stains the cuffs.
For a sweet fruity floral with a woodsy bottom, Angel Nova is a better investment, with four times the performance and six times the quality.
Or just eat the candy.
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Another dream. This one has angsty kissing with Scott Eastwood.
A subpar Arnold Palmer, made with limeade.
For that price, get a big bottle of 4711 Lemon & Ginger, a tin of Twinings Lady Gray tea, and a good set of golf grips.
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A better Lemon Tree.
Eldo’s divisive masterpiece has distinct topography.
At arms length, we go down a flirty Rococo corridor, powder pastel whispery blue iris, edged with coconut cream. A sweet pretty floral, like those sugar pastilles that taste of cosmetics.
Breaching personal space opens the boudoir door, and we’re thrust into the climax of an orgy–the smell of sweat, fluid and semen hits the back of the throat before we even see who is connected to whom, and how.
Plenty has been asked about context. Would this, on a totally blind sniff without knowledge of the name, still have the same connotations? (Can the innocent innately understand the scent of sex?)
The cloying milky-metallic ooze–with a weird side note of bleach musk–is instantly recognizable, quite loud, and long lasting.
Sécrétions does indeed have a magnificent time, for hours and hours. Perhaps there is tantric practice involved.
Eventually, finally, the earthy dissonance eases down until there’s nothing left but a sweet balsamic afterthought on the skin.
It’s kind of amazing.
Would I wear it? Absolutely not.
Do I keep it around to dare friends to sniff? Absolutely.
(Good revenge on my scotch drinking pal who slipped me that shot of Laphroaig–the stuff tastes like bogwater dipped in tar–just to watch my face.)
Edit – 2/21/23
Do. Not. Spill. This.
(I may need to burn my house down.)
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This cover is just wrong. Brilliant, but wrong.
(Like Secretions, very NSFW.)
I’m so disappointed.
Sea-buckthorn, sanddorn (Swedish), argousier (French), or seaberry, is a creamy lemony pungent berry, close to a cranberry in texture and tartness.
The Old Whaling Co.’s version–a kid’s Body Shop strawberry and raspberry jam mashed with chalk and rose–was named by someone who has never touched, seen, eaten, or smelled a real seaberry.
Their Mariner’s Moon candle sounds nice.
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Shanty-Tok was a wave of communal Covid-19 art, when musicians discovered the looping possibilities of the TikTok social media app, and combined it with sea shanty folk songs.
The Wellerman was the best, started by Nathan Evans.
TokyoMilk Light No. 2 advertises Jasmine, Orange Blossom, Neroli and Citrus & Sky on the bottle.
The rollerball goes on with orange juice and honey, then the jasmine and neroli kick in with a watery ozonic that’s oddly dense–like melting dry ice–a handspan off the skin for half the day.
Nice–maybe a little melancholy.
A safe gift for someone who wears delicate jewelry and sturdy shoes.
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Another sweet and melancholy Honey.
At least Magnolia doesn’t make me sad. I took Rose and Jasmine rather personally.
Starts a bit tangerine-ish, then white flowers–a bit pulpy, but not horrible–with leathery leaves bloom for a few minutes.
Dries down to soft woods on the skin for an hour.
Lasts a remarkably long time on cotton–might be a good one for refreshing upholstery.
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A pretty song from the famous scene in the original Wickerman movie.
(Did they toss His Majesty out with the bathwater?)
Awkward soap aldehydes that want to be fine milled French savon, but there’s something weird–maybe the pink pepper?– that gets fishy, in a sea foam at low tide sort of way, as if Thierry Mugler stuck his Womanity caviar finger in the tub to test the eau.
The roses are sweeter and last days longer on cotton than on skin.
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He was a good king.
Starts uncomfortably fecal, a bit the way Musk Deer does, but after five minutes or so, roses grow out of the fertilizer. They bloom, bright and lemony with petitgrain tea, then get ripe and sweet for a good two hours, a foot of the wrist.
The base settles to great smoky vanilla spiked with cloves, that last most of the day on the skin.
Elegant, after the earthy opening.
I’d wear it to garden parties, if I were extroverted and socially adept.
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Discovered this cool group today–
The most popular perfume of the brand, and with good reason.
A lovely beginning of spicy jasmine ice cream over powdery patchouli, that gives way to a seductive dark boozy vanilla for more than half the day at arms length, while the usual Nest wet floral base blooms in the shadows.
Gourmandish, but without the chewy praline one finds everywhere lately. There’s a sheerness that keeps it from seeming sticky, and the woods at the heart give it a nice backbone.
For those who’ve grown out of Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar, but aren’t ready for Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille.
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This album is a great tribute to all my favorite rock queens–here’s a celebration of Stevie Nicks.
The only poppy to be found here is a possible bit of peppery sandalwood that wishes it were bagel seeds.
Another ubiquitous accessory designer candy floral.
Safe for brunch with the girls on the way to the mall.
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This one keeps showing up on my suggestions-based-on-your-listening-tastes banner.
kira a. gold 