musk

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Capucine

capucineCapucine means nasturtium in French–I grew them in my little garden when I was a girl–and there’s a hit of that weird woody spice note at the opening.
Mostly though, I get fancy tea-shop–jasmine oolong and marzipan cakes–and dusty bakery musk in the air, with fresh roses on the cafe tables.

The dry-down lasts close to the skin all afternoon, a gorgeous elusive vanilla, with an Alice-in-Wonderland vibe–ruffles and cookies and riddles.

This sweet little song was a huge chart topper in France the same year.

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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.

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Eau Légère Pailletee

Large frosted lavender Lolita Lempicka bottle with silver embossed ivy, sitting in a pile of pink and white Good & Plenty.

(Paillettes are spangles, the dangling sequins on shimmering gowns.)

Fairy dust potion.
Seriously, this is what Tinkerbell sprays all over folks so they can fly.

My favorite L.L. bottle ever, filled with the most magical, silky, pink frosted liquid, scented with a light powdery version of the original.

This came out in 2001, but it’s worth nabbing second hand. The scent is lovely, of course–violets and aniseed and sheer musk–but the body shimmer feels and looks so amazing on the skin. (Especially dark skin! The only time I ever broke my no-perfume-in-costume rule was for the actress who introduced me to this beauty. She looked incredible under the stage-lights.)

I was the only kid who loved getting the little boxes of Good & Plenty licorice candy while trick-or-treating. Lolita Lempicka smells like they taste, so maybe that’s why I enjoy it so much.

 This is a sparkly song.

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Oblepiha i Kryzhovnik

gooseberry and sea buckthorn2
Apothecary jar style bottle with peach colored eau, and box with botanical drawings.

Sea Buckthorn and Gooseberry

(This one came from Russia. Cool stamps.)

The gooseberry hits with an acid bite at the back of the throat, but fades quickly into a fruit compote with creamy sea buckthorn syrup. Ends on a solid wood base of bathroom potpourri.

Luna came out with this one (also Russian) in 2018, too.

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Omnia Crystalline

omnia crystalline
Bvlgari chain link mini bottle on pale Anjou pears.

Well made, but buttoned up as tight as an adjunct professor at Brigham Young.

Nice not quite ripe pear on top, pale floral musk and modesty on the bottom, with yards of projection for two hours.

Sadly, I get none of the tea or bamboo that would give it depth or interest.

This young woman is both talented and interesting.

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Sunny Side Up

sunny side up edgy
Paper test cutout of yolk-yellow capped bottle, and sample spray.

Wakes up with a snap of nutty sandalwood, then jasmine and vanilla, but not too sweet. Lasts thru lunch hour then fades to a silvery metallic floral musk on the skin.

Hip and fun and would pair well with coffee.
(I’m more of a tea gal, though.)

This was France’s 2017 Eurovision hit. Good to get one moving in the morning.

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Romance

romance
Magazine peelie of couple–a reminder to see if Romance was still as good as I remembered on my next shopping trip. (It wasn’t.)

A rose by any other name would probably smell better.

When this came out 20 years ago, the chamomile tea opening made it special, something unique for the teenage set, a touch of class. The current version is cut too deep with ginger lemon cough drops, and it’s lost its delicacy.
Now it just smells like every floral musk deodorant marketed to high school girls.

Okay, so maybe I need to listen to Aretha a bit more.
(This one came out in 1998, too.)

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Mon Paris

mon paris edgy
Ad peelie of bottle with pink eau and black ribbon.

The magazine peelie was raspberry lemonade and tentative patchouli, in an unassuming way.

The bottle in the store was more strawberry ice and jasmine musk and lasted the car ride home close to the skin. She didn’t offer any stimulating conversation on the way.

Definitely from YSL’s conservative good-taste-over-personality line, rather than the avant garde bare-a-boob, Broadway Boogie-Woogie and Studio 54 editorial Opium and Kouros.

Yves Saint Laurent released Mon Paris with Lee-la Baum’s cover of U2’s Love Is Blindness. (Jack White’s is also incredible.)

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Jimmy Choo L’eau

Ballet pink cut glass Jimmy Choo mini bottle in prism light, casting sunburst shadows.

Red Zinger herbal tea–

Sparkly hibiscus and rosy fruit with an earthy finish–a great summer splash for a young woman.
(Or an older one who is nostalgic for 1970’s jello salad, quiche and carrot cake.) (Me.)

A raspy Clash cover of another Jimmy.