A Shirley temple cocktail nastied up with añejo tequila.
Grenadine and white flowers, orange peel and wooden casks.
It could almost be an Angel flanker–sweet and sour with a dirty bottom.
Not a big blast radius, but the fallout lingers a while.
Another sassy bomb–a cheerfully horrific Clash tune that hits with even more impact when sung by the Mexican punk band Tijuana No!.
Beach lingerie.
The sea salt projects at arm’s length from the skin, and the frangipani a handspan, which makes for an interesting personal experience. The wet/windy ambroxan base augments the ocean notes brilliantly.
Lasts all day on the skin and until the tide turns on clothes.
*
A lazy beachy song–
Silly sweet rich girl.
Very high end but trend-tired caramelized amber, this time supporting peach hard candy.
A loud giggle, but doesn’t stand out from all the others enough to warrant the price tag.
*
Goth girl weird, and nice.
An exploding Bic pen in the best way: big inky dark indigo iris that fades to purple suede and some woods at the bottom. Lingers close to the skin for an hour or two.
The only one of V&R’s Magic Tricks to read “witchy” to me–this one is spell components thrown in a cauldron, and it works.
*
Love this witchy tune.
Green bank lollipops, grubby herbs and pale wet patchouli.
A twinkly high school boy could pull this one off well, but not me.
Nick Cave is so marvelously angsty.
Spell is my favorite from The Lyre of Orpheus, the mellower “side B” of this double album.
Happy happy, merry merry!
This is sugary Christmas kisses under the mistletoe, clean snow and frosted black currants.
The lavender is sweet and musky and long-lasting, a pretty rime over the pine notes on the bottom.
I’d love this as a pillow spray in the winter.
This one is fun–
This smells like the hand sanitizer in an outdoor wedding port-a-potty. It’s been monogrammed with the bride and groom’s initials and sports a real rosebud with a ribbon bow–but still leaves one desperate to wash the hands properly.
Pink florals on top, white musk and miniature bubble wands on the bottom.
A song with some carats.
Sharp green citrus that fades quickly to ginger and mushy orange flower. Doesn’t project well, but lasts on the skin three hours.
I get none of the advertised amber or bourbon, sadly.
It’s okay, but not very interesting.
I like the Arctic Monkeys. This song is a bit mushy, too.
Opens with cherry Kool-aid, then grows up and drinks kirsch. Roses bloom after a few minutes, blowsy hybrid teas with a pinch of spice. Projects long and loud, and lasts a day on the skin and through the evening on silk.
Cleaner and younger than Tom Ford’s Lost Cherry, and I bet it’s fantastic in the winter.
I love this adorable little tune.
kira a. gold 