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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

*

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.

Giulietta

Giulietta edgesMore class than flirtation.

Lilacs and sour apples, a hand-span off the wrist, then lily-of-the-valley and white musk.

Supposedly inspired by Fellini’s love for his wife, who wore Diorissimo–so the flowers and hint of sandalwood are dead on.


Nino Rota was Fellini’s composer–Amarcord is a semi-autobiographical dramedy of a little Italian village in the 1930s that won a few Oscars.

Azzaro pour Homme

azzaro pour hommeOld school “sir” in the best way.
A brief peppery lavender deluge, then alpha fennel seeds with a caveman club, and some very gentlemanly leather and juniper on the bottom.

Handshake projection at first, then settles quickly to an herbal skin scent until he gets physical and heat warms up the spice again.

This guy does exactly as he pleases. He’s usually polite about it, but not always.


This classic came out in 1978, too.

Rose

kaiNice rose oil by Kai, supported by magnolia and a mess of tuber-lily-of-the-jasmine. Lasts a pretty hour, then fades soapy-clean into the skin, with no residue.

I bet it would be great as a hair mist or deodorant, or even a moisture barrier to hold another scent to the skin–but it doesn’t say much on its own.


This song doesn’t say much either, but it’s pretty.