Bubblegum Chic

bubblegum chic edge
Decant vial and test paper cutout of bottle, on scribbled notes.

Opens with a monster slap of jasmine in the face, and Juicy Fruit gum that lasts for several jaw chomping hours. Then it then settles into a skin deep Nutra-Sweet musk, artificial sugar with a bitter note underneath, and an oddly pleasant waxy note of Ivory or Dove soap.

This one should be worn as an accessory to guy-liner; pretty-boy panache with a hidden hard edge.

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Poetry

poetry edges
Grainy photo of sample vial on test paper printed with green labeled bottle.

Bright tropical sweet fruity candy out of the vial–the whole roll of Island Fruits LifeSavers at once.
The guava-papaya-coconut morphs slowly, a few feet off the skin, with a sweet woodsy note of apple stems and apricot pits, then a brief turn of sharp green banana, before settling into warm peaches on the pulse points for a couple hours.

This would make a great first date perfume–fun and friendly, but offering only a cheek to kiss at the end of the evening.

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My favorite poem ever is The Song of the Wandering Aengus by W. B. Yeats. Richie Haven’s version is the sweetest.

I Am Trash

I am trash edges*(sigh)*
“Les Fleurs du Dechet” sounds so much prettier, but…

I Am Trash is found object art, a lovely re-purposing of unwanted scraps into elegance.

The opening is shocking–orange rind and a vodka note of fermenting potato parings, but then apple peel quickly takes over and blooms into bruised rose petals, and it’s suddenly gorgeous.
The flowers stay for an hour or two at arm’s length, then fade into a sweet woodsy musk that lingers comfortingly on second hand sleeves all afternoon.

I love the cleverness of it.


Enchanted Forest

enchanted forest edgyHappy Merry to me.

Vagabond Prince’s Enchanted Forest is exactly that: dark balsam fir woods and tangles of black currant shrubs and wine and roses.

The first spray turns one into a wayward elf, dressed in flowers and drunk on berries. The acid bite of the fruit slowly softens with benzoin, sweet on the skin, and lofty on clothes for hours.

I feel like I’m the heroine in an epic fantasy novel saga wearing this stuff.


This is an enchanting take on a Ukrainian Midsummer folk song.

Jimmy Choo Man

Gray rectangular mini bottle with silver cap on a motorcycle jacket and lavender sprigs.

Rather nice fruit-chuli, in a motorcycle pants and pineapple LifeSaver way.
The lavender lingers, but doesn’t turn to soap.

I have to wonder at that leather note, though. There’s a shoe salesman vibe that makes me conscious of my fallen arches and scuffed toes.


This one is a bit fruity and edgy at the same time. Also came out in 2014.

Fleur Defendue

fleur defendue edgy
Lolita Lempicka apple bottle in yellow and gold.

Opens loud and long with green violets and absinthe, then hovers jealously over the skin with almonds and cherry musk for hours.

The wormwood coats the almonds, making them weird and witchy, with long bitchy fingernails.

Alluring, but odd.

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Here’s a fun cover of one of my favorites, also a bit odd and bitchy.

Sådanne

Sadanne edgy
Clear glass flask with pewter cap, filled with blush liquid.

Tipsy strawberries and seawater, roses and a tangled forest.
Projects like spilled wine and soaks clothes for weeks.

Several years ago I wrote a novella set on Öland, an island off the coast of Sweden. My two young lovers celebrate midsummer eating strawberries and getting drunk, and if the pages could be scented, they’d smell like Sådanne.

Salty sand and boozy sweet fruit, so sun-ripe it’s alcoholic, eaten in the shadows of the sea-wind twisted trees on the shore.
I adore it.

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A Swedish outfit with an echoing wistful tune–

Nuvol de Llimona

Nuvol de Limona edgesSo Nivol de Limona means “lemon cloud.” I don’t get fluffy, but it does change shape as it quickly passes by.

Starts with a squirt of Dawn dish detergent, takes an enjoyable but brief snack of milk and lemon Girl Scout sandwich cookies, then disappears with a wave of sugar scented hand lotion.


Here’s a sweet cloud by Tori that lasts longer.

Kept

kept edgyA tall glass of iced tea with a silver spoon, sipped by a woman who lives by her wits and looks gorgeous doing it.

Opens with rose and Lapsang Souchong with lemon and maybe a little vodka to keep an adult edge, sophisticated and sharp.
Cloves soften the dry down and add a touch of sweetness, then they fade to delicate amber on the skin after a few hours.

Lovely.

 

Memoirs of a Trespasser

Memoirs of a Trespasser edgy
Imaginary Authors book themed discovery set, sample spray and test strip cutout of book bottle with arcane ingredients on the cover.

This is an embrace by the most comforting man you’ve ever met.

Sweet pipe tobacco and vanilla.
Dry oak, like bourbon barrels, with a hint of char, rounded out by benzoin, and warmed up with myrrh.

The official story is of an explorer, retired in solitude to Madagascar, and it works.
Imaginary Authors scents are usually chaotic and ever-morphing, but this one holds enjoyably still, in a pleasant mood.

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