Citadelle

citadelle
Muzzy photo of spray sample and ad of androgynous model glaring perhaps because they are naked in the snow.

Lemon and a really nice peppery marigold an inch above the skin–the vetiver and bergamot project off my shirt cuffs better than my wrist–for an hour.

The literature says this one is supposed to evoke the spirit of the Haitian people. Not really getting that from the blonde in the wintery ad, but okay.
I’d enjoy it more as a candle.

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Here’s a Haitian take on “the land of ice and snow” by the amazing Moonlight Benjamin.

Encens

encens edgy
Really grainy pic of Scentbird decant spray on printout of Rag & Bone bottle.

This is the other guy in your MFA class–who rolled his eyes at the dude who started every sentence with “Actually…”
He smoked menthols, and cooked you dinner with five spice powder and wrapped his leather coat around you when the weather turned bad, and you never officially dated but once in a while you still get a postcard from Asia that smells of joss sticks.

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Caligna

Caligna
Mini clear L’Artisan Parfumeur bottle with grey and gold label.

Alcoholic juicy figs out of the bottle that turn creamy with jasmine right away, then has fancy tea and cake for thirty minutes.

I like the clary sage that keeps this clean and not too sweet, but it’s definitely on the feminine end of unisex.
The pine bottom notes settle under the skin for another hour.

Nice, but not a whole lot of personality.

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Feeling Cher’s cover of this one today.

Nomad

Nomad edgy
Desert camo looking display at the airport duty-free shop.

Woody peach pits and Earl Gray tea.

Very unisex and young, in a steal-your-boyfriend’s-cologne kind of way. The top is bergamot tart and juicy sweet fruit, but gives way to the floral pretty quickly, then the oakmoss and patchouli take over for the rest of the day.

Fun, but classy.

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The closest I’ve gotten to England was Heathrow.

Café

cafe
Mini bottle with bas relief coffee beans, with some cloves and an autumn leaf.

This one is pure sexy fun–as if Opium and Tabu met at a Starbucks for an espresso and free wireless.
Cloves and roses at first sip and oakmoss and patchouli at the bottom of the cup.
Not huge or long lasting, but charming in a cheap and comfortable ’70’s hippy-chic way–and would be great on a guy too, in an A*Men style masculine gourmand.

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Here’s a back flip to the ’70’s–

Dirty Trick

dirty trick
Sample spray of purple eau on a botanical illustration of an iris, and a paper test cutout of a perfume flask.

Goth girl weird, and nice.

An exploding Bic pen in the best way: big inky dark indigo iris that fades to purple suede and some woods at the bottom. Lingers close to the skin for an hour or two.

The only one of V&R’s Magic Tricks to read “witchy” to me–this one is spell components thrown in a cauldron, and it works.

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Love this witchy tune.

Eau d’Hadrien

Eau d Hadrien
Black capped mini bottle with Annick Goutal gold wreath and bow, on half a lemon.

A squirt of lemon juice that sweetens to hard candy and aniseed for an hour, then settles to citrus oil woods and Joy dish soap suds for another two.

I get why it’s so popular. There’s something fancy, yet low-key about it–like good taste with a sense of humor.

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This song never fails to put me in a good mood.

New Sibet

new sibetI am not man enough to wear New Sibet.

This dude lives in a cedar log cabin with a wood burning stove and scary dead animals, fresh enough that they still smell like fur and musk, on the wall. He’s unforgettable, and orris-root-sweet when you get to know him, but way too alpha-male for me.


Red Hot Chili Peppers are wild like that.

Fiori

fioriFiori is a Georgia afternoon wedding, with Bellinis and petit-fours on barn-board tables–a fancy outdoor picnic with lace gloves and rustic decor.

Peaches and jasmine on the top, sandalwood and cedar on the bottom.
The reception lasts only two hours, but it’s memorable.

Neroli Portofino

neroli portofino edges
Tom Ford aquamarine square apothecary bottle with gold label. Half the floor space of the big duty free shop in Stockholm’s Arlanda airport is dedicated to perfume.

A drier 4711, less sweet, less herbal, with twice the lasting power…
…which means twenty minutes rather than ten.

The orange flower is lovely, but it gets eaten up by the bergamot pretty quickly. I like the amber at the bottom–it roughs up the jasmine, but the rosemary and lavender don’t have the freshness of the basil.

If I were stupid rich, I might buy a bottle, but tried and true and cheap suits broke me just fine.

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Chris Cornell joined Alice in Chains on this one.