solid perfume

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Nemamiah

Cardboard soft stick tube with angel illustration, and craft feather wing.

Sweet, slightly peachy, and gone in seconds.

Edit – 10/4/21

This one was disappointing–the performance is just so bad–and the canister has sat on a shelf for three years. I don’t know anyone in the 5-8 year old range (old enough not to lick it, but young enough to pretend it has any scent) who might enjoy playing dress-up.

This evening I scooped out the solid with a butter-knife (it has the consistency of ChapStick) and smushed it all into a tealight.
After 90 minutes of burning, my hallway lav smells nicely of sweet, slightly scorched peaches.
I’ve paid more for lesser candles, so no complaints.

*

Another angel, with better projection.

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Marie

TokyoMilk pot of solide parfum, with matchbox featuring Marie Antoinette holding a fan, on a dupioni dress with beaded lace.

Marie wants to be “Candied Lemon, Honeydew, Cassis, Sugared Violet, Ylang-ylang, Creamy Musk & White Woods,” but winds up being pale lilac clementines, in a surreal watercolor wash of cake icing.
At the very bottom is a wisp of incense smoke that makes it decadent and sexy, fruity sweet dessert dressed in Rococo ruffle lingerie of sheer organdy, while getting stoned on joints rolled in gardenia scented paper.

My favorite of all the TokyoMilk’s I’ve sniffed. I wish it were offered as an eau–I’d bathe in the stuff.

*

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I Made You A Mix Tape

Silver lidded perfume pot with TokyoMilk crest and matchbox package featuring a glittered clear cassette tape.

I sometimes wonder about how perfumes get named–is it made with the intent to smell like a specific thing, or is the name a retro-fit, an oh-we-meant-to-do-that?

I Made You A Mix Tape absolutely has a cellophane vibe, that sweetly nostalgic chemical plastic note of audio tape, which works rather well with the white rose musk.
But would it be special to anyone under thirty?

This has really good performance for a solid–a foot of the skin for two hours, over half the day on skin–but it makes my head throb after a while (which is what my parents said about my music, so fair enough.)

*

“I made you a playlist” doesn’t have the same ring to it…

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Mon Jasmin Noir L’Eau Exquise

Solid perfume pot shaped like a gold and mother-of-pearl pocket watch, on a pale green gift box.

Refreshing grapefruit tea, at the edge of a swamp.

Edit – 1/20/23

Found a solid of this and am enjoying it much more than the spray tester I wrote off years ago–the cedar musk is cleaner, the almond topping less muddy–much more pretty marshland than bog.
I’ve seen a few comparisons to Un Jardin Sur Le Nil, and while I get a bit of that sunny water garden vibe, this one is more crystalline.

Collector prices are fairly steep, so snag it quick if it’s within the budget. Or just get a bottle of Guerlain’s Pamplelune, if you want a slice of grapefruit.

*

I’ve been stuck on this song lately.