floral

by

Acqua di Colonia Calicantus

Calicantus
Almost empty retro apothecary cologne flask with embossed gold leaf label on a windowsill.

Santa Maria Novella’s site calls Calicantus “a bouquet of fruity floral notes,” which makes it sound like every Victoria’s Secret bottle in the last two decades, and this is quite special.

It’s marketed to women, but has terrific bay notes usually found in seventies aftershaves, and I’d enjoy huffing it on a guy, too.

calicantus label
Tiny paper label with “Calicantus” in gothic font on bottle back.

Opens soapy clean, with citrus blossoms that soon settle into calycanthus flowers–with the sweet clove/anise of carnation, but with a little more nectar on top, and the earthier base of honey on the bottom–and some woody support.
The dry down is quick yet unexpectedly sweet, the fruity notes in the description–peachy with an almond/sour cherry bite and a drop of amber.
Lasts on silk forever.

Calicantus came out in Florence in 1999, when Anna Oxo hit it big with Senza Pietà–Without Mercy.

by

Lady Stetson

lady stetson edgy
Vintage mini with bourbon colored eau.

Sweet soapy sandalwood and senior English Lit class, prom carnations and packed bleacher musk.
I wore this at seventeen, with pleated stonewashed jeans and my grandfather’s Stetson Stratoliner à la Molly Ringwald.
Three decades later and it still holds up, an affordable and cheerful Chanel knock-off with riper peaches at the end.

Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. came out the same year, in 1986, and we all swooned over the album cover. Here’s a great cover of my favorite Dwight Yoakam tune, that came out almost ten years later.

by

Azzaro 9

azzaro 9A messy bouquet of flowers, the kind you’d hand pick as a child and bring home to your mum. Wildflowers crowd in with lilies, spills of wisteria, a stray carnation, a random rose from the neighbor’s yard, yet vague–no single bloom stands out as the star.
Awkwardly maternal, in a “Very nice, dear,” kind of way.

Another awkwardly maternal one that came out in 1984. I remember desperately wanting that silver and black dress.

by

Nirvana Black

nirvana black edgesViolet, vanilla and sandalwood in equal doses.
It’s quite nice–I’m impressed with this  whole line–powdery soft and sweet, but with a little bite.
I do miss the ivy and licorice notes that add the depth to Lolita Lempicka’s Au Masculin–this is like the drier, autumn version.

Lasts a few hours close to the skin–a good one for dancing on Halloween.

Here’s a disturbingly happy cover of Nirvana’s Lithium.

by

Alaïa

alaiaOpening notes are a shot of booze spilled on a leather coat and violets and laaa, this stuff is crazy nice.
So smooth it slides all over the place, petals and pepper, dank then sweet, light then hard,  feral metal musk heat-tempered in rosewater.

Modern magic, at an accessible price.
Lingers in personal space the whole day, sugar and leather on the skin, and fog and rain on the clothes.

This could be this generation’s Lolita Lempicka, a new twist on violets, and powerfully femme.

Seinabo Sey’s Pistols at Dawn also came out in 2015, and is just as dark and smooth.

by

Daisy

daisy
Daisy shaped gold and white enamel perfume pendant and wild field asters casting pretty shadows.

For the girl who wants to fit in.
Fashion is stressful–she likes her school uniform. Daisy is mild-mannered and pleasant, and doesn’t bring attention to herself.

Strawberry ice cream and shy violets, some unassuming citrus and pale woody musk at the end.

I hung the solid pendant from my rear-view, and now my car smells rather nice, but also like I haven’t been driving long.

Colbie Caillat released this sweet little song out in 2007, the same year Marc Jacobs came out with Daisy.

by

J’adore

jadore edges
Teardrop mini bottle with bitten peach. I’ve always been fascinated with the wire wrap around the neck of the bottle–a bit like the gold dzilla necklaces worn by Ndebele women.

Opens with fresh peaches and jasmine that gets mixed into a fruit salad and white flower arrangement–in an elegant Martha Stewart catered way.

Lasts for three hours at arm’s length, with musk anchoring a bit of rose on the skin for several more.

J’adore was special when it came out in 1999, but it’s kind of everywhere now, so it seems generic.

(In 2011 Christian Dior launched a massive advertising campaign with the iconic video featuring Charlize Theron and this song, to huge success.)

by

Tommy Girl

tommy girlI love this one on everybody else–fruity fresh honeysuckle and minty citrus–but it sits all wrong on me.
Opens sweaty on what should be sweet blossom, the lemonade is bitter–almost pithy–and the roses dead. The pretty woodsy floral base is bleachy-screechy and sinus headache inducing–though I get compliments as I ask for aspirin.

If I can make it through the first two hours, the drydown is lovely.

Jewel’s biggest hit topped the charts the same year.