SCENTS

Fragrance du jour, recent sniffs, random notes.

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Be Delicious NYC

Mini DKNY chrome apple filled with green juice, next to an Empire apple and an orange and green button flower.

Another from yet another flanker gift set–DKNY has put out at least six dozen different Be Delicious apples in the past two decades–this one seems to be a light version of the original.

The guy says it smells like watermelon. He isn’t far off; the top is cucumber with some citrus and white flowers.

I get the apple-for-the-teacher and lily-of-the-valley of the 2004 version, but they feel lighter, letting the violet powder and dusty rose come through. The same classroom ruler woods on the bottom, but this time she lets the class out early.

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This song would get you a detention–lyric and moving and pretty, but with grit and a few jarring MFer’s because, well, –waddayawant?! Dis is New York!

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PHI Une Rose de Kandahar

Mini cobalt Tauer pentagon bottle, in pink sand, with a desiccated yellow rose.

This one makes me feel like I’ve painted gold leaf on my wrist.

Opens with luxury spice and roses, and an almost gourmand roasted almonds and dried apricots.
The cinnamon eases into cured pipe tobacco and the roses dry to sweet musky petal dust; they stay at arms length for hours, until ambergris and patchouli make it all wet and shiny again, for the rest of the day.
At night, the roses come back, a soft glow on the skin with a breath of chocolate woods.

In this chilly weather it’s ridiculously rich, and I’m always aware of it, like bracelets that jingle with movement.
I can’t wait to see what it’s like in the summer.

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I wish I could dance.

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Be Delicious Rio

Gala apple next to a mini DKNY chrome apple and a pink flower blossom.

Happy hour on ladies’ night.

First splash is apple vodka and passionfruit flavored whipped topping, then calms down to sweet orange flowers in personal space. Fades after two hours, leaving a smudge of benzoin on the skin.

The ending sweet resin is rather nice–if it had more depth, this one would wear well for date night, not just drinks with the girls.

(I’ve never been to Rio, sadly. Does it smell like Gala Apple Stoli?)

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This Girl is Crazy by Brazilian pop star Anitta is too fun.

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Artist

Drawing mannequin (his name is Fred, pleased to meet you) posing with a color block push tube of “Artist” by Le Soft Perfume.

Soft solid that goes on with sugared grapefruit and sinks into the skin with lovely green forest woods. The cedar pushes it to the masculine end of unisex, but the musk at the end is sweet.
Lasts a good three hours an inch off the hands.

Comforting and friendly. A great one to give as a gift.

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My favorite art inspired song.

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Chloé

Mini iconic curvy bottle with translucent troll horn stopper, casting gold shadows.

Chloé is pure fun sunshine, from beach wear and flip-flops to glamorous midsummer weddings.

Aldehyde fresh, citrus spiked peach punch, garnished with tropical flowers for an hour at the beginning, that warms up with spicy carnations and white flowers, heavy on sweet tuberose. Dry woods at the bottom anchor it at arms length for the day and to clothes for the night.

I love the ’70’s intrigue movie vibe to it, sea-kissed Jacqueline Bisset from The Deep, Gloria Hendry in the patchwork bikini in Live and Let Die.

Luckily, it’s easy to find a vintage bottle, and it seems to keep well–though current pop culture makes the bottle top look less like calla lilies than Shrek ears.

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The best Bond song ever:

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Dans la Nuit

Cobalt blue orb mini flacon with raised stars and a frosted W stopper. The original bottle was a dusty blue starred masterpiece designed by René Lalique. The 12.5 ounce bottles go for thousands today.

Worth first put this out in 1924, though production paused during WWII. My mini probably came out in the 1990’s.

Fresh cut sudsy-soap carnations with violet and iris powder, that slowly fade to a sweet sandalwood musk. Stays within waltzing distance and lasts the evening, but not “into the night.”

I was expecting something more daring.
Worth was baring shoulders and ankles in the 1920’s, and though Dans la Nuit has some cinnamon and vanilla and civet hidden in the florals, it seems too subtle for a fashion house that was setting trends of the time.

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Fauré write his last composition–a pretty but to me, sad, string quartet–in 1924. Seems more in keeping with this scent than the exciting works of Ravel, Copeland and Gershwin or the jazz that was taking over Paris at the time.

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Tendre Poison

Green Poison amphora with clear stopper, in front of other clear minis on a shelf.

Death by pretty flowers.

The beginning is a burst of odd sweet spice and bright citrus, that drowns in honey–with that jarring, almost discordant sweetness that defines the Poison line.
Tuberose fills the middle at arms length and turns the flower nectar to rosy bubble-gum musk, which I love lovelove and wish lasted longer, but sinks into the skin after an hour.
Sugary sandalwood on the bottom with an occasional breath of the orange opening the rest of the afternoon.

(Sigh.) I always fall for the discontinued ones.
I wonder why they stopped production. It still seems fresh and unique, and even 25 years old it would hold its own with any of the new Gucci’s.

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A honey sweet song.

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Tuberose Flash

Tauerville black and white label bottle, casting prism shadows. I wish this one came in larger amounts–I’d buy it by the quart.

Tank Battle’s older sibling who drinks too much and swears a lot, and I’m obsessed.

A shot of benzoin bourbon out of the bottle and a heavy draw of labdanum smoke, and then slides easy into creamy tuberose. Sweet and lazy, it lingers close for the evening, a faint breath of patchouli keeping it just a little dirty.

Sexy as hell.

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The opening of this is fun–I love when musicians tune onstage.

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Omnia Amethyste

omnia Amethyste
Purple edged Bvlgari chrome link, distorted through an amethyst glass vase.

Purple flowers made of glass.

Opens with a breath of citrus and wet green, but then gets cool and clear the way that all the Omnias do, this time with powdery iris that blooms for a hour, and heliotrope at the bottom that lasts all morning.
Some faint woods close to the skin give it a pretty solidity, like a crystal vase with a heavy base.

There’s an interesting fragile-but-strong vibe to it.

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This caught my morning mood.

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Arielle

The state of Georgia in July.

Arielle smells like peaches in the hot sun, when the fruit stands are full and ripe and steamy and the day lilies are blooming in full force.
Amber and sandalwood dry up the sweetness after an hour, making it almost civet-sour-soapy, that Atlanta highway air freshener and funky sweat that sticks to skin and clothes, until it slowly eases back to evening breeze and sweet peach tea.

I kinda like it.

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