An odd one that started with faint florals and shy herbs with no projection from the test strip–a meh from me at the store–but slowly filled my car with big branches of moss and limes on the way home.
If Cocktail came in a small size, or better yet one of their solid pots, I’d order one, but there’s no way I’d shell out for three ounces without being able to test it on the skin.
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This song always winds up on my driving playlists.
This one came out in 2005 and wasn’t in production long–my mini came in a vintage lot I found online.
A pink grapefruit with lotus and woodsy musk, Addict 2 is the free-spirited big sister of Versace’s 2006 Bright Crystal.
Watermelon keeps the pomegranate lighthearted, with a hint of sweetness from lily-of-the-valley.
Sheer sandalwood holds the base close to the skin.
I do wonder about the dedication to this scent–full-sized sealed bottles are a hot auction item and can go for niche prices–it’s a bit pale and thin to me.
Eau de Star (2007) has more depth and longevity and is easier to find, if one is looking for a fresh retro watermelon.
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Pop songs and perfumes can make addiction seem fashionable but dependency shouldn’t be taken lightly.
The SAMHSA website provides a lot of info on substance abuse and recovery help.
Orange VitaminWater with baby aspirin.
It actually works, in a marvelously flippant summery way.
(In the winter it can stick in the throat a bit.)
Sugary woods on the skin at the bottom. Doesn’t last long, so get the big bottle.
I Love Love is the most popular in Moschino’s Cheap & Chic line.
I love love the marketing–plastic fashion, quirky and affordable, color and creativity taking the place of money. A bit of a middle finger flick to the haute couture and niche houses that set the often inaccessible standards for quality.
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Some more Italian love-
Opens one orange peel shy of cleaning solvent, but soon melts into drippy tangerine popsicle, complete with wooden stick.
Fun, in a cheerful after-gym-frosty-dessert kind of way.
Lasts two hours just above the skin, then dries down to laundry.
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This Real song is also fun and sweet-
L’Ome is the Durance en Provence eau de toilette line for men. This one is a great OG barbershop cologne.
Argousier (sea buckthorn) on top, with that creamy lemony note lasting for a half hour over alpha herbs and lavender.
Wood fills in the bottom, cedar with some masculine sour sandalwood on the skin.
Old school gentleman–a bit of a curmudgeon but sweet underneath.
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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.
Remember those transparent glycerine soaps from the ’70s?
(Yes, I’m that old.)
Omnia Indian Garnet is the orange one.
Opens with sharp mandarin peel and some spicy flower dust, and slowly washes down to glittery amber and comfy clean woods on the skin.
It’s sheer and nice, and lingers on cotton, but I wish more of the tuberose came through.
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Ellery songs linger nicely, too.
A marvelous cheapie that’s a splash of gin and lime bitters and Christmas fir trees. Sweetens to a light, long-lasting oak and lavender musk.
Many consider Aspen the green Cool Water, but I think it aged with the times better. Less freshman Chemistry 101 and more junior Natural Ecology.
Best during winter term.
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The boy who wore this decided Norwegian Wood was our song. He hated country, so after this bird had flown, the version by Waylon Jennings became my favorite.
Starts juicy with sweet orange and neroli, then gets a little rosy before lying down with clean woodsy white musk. Lasts close to the skin for the morning.
It’s nice, but sadly not weird or innovative at all. I want more from the master of surrealism–give me swans reflecting elephants, or burning giraffes, or something cool.
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“Love is surreal…”
(This is the best song off this album.)
Elemental flowers in a sacred orange grove.
A burst of citrus, juicy unfiltered pulp and zest everywhere, then huge jasmine and ylang-ylang grow, so heavy and heady that they’re animalic and grubby underneath–except there’s enough lily-of-the-valley green suds hidden inside that everything fluctuates between dirty and clean, indolics vs. aldehydes, flora to fauna.
Metallic amber and earthy sandalwood try to give some support, but they’re overtaken by the chaotic florals that rise to outer space and last all night long.
Brilliant, but too much for me–Ubar’s flowers would swallow me whole and spit out my bones like tangerine seeds.
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An enormous song taken down to natural elements.
kira a. gold 