woody

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Golden Delicious

Mini gold chrome DKNY apple sitting in the center of a halved golden delicious.

(I love TJMaxx flanker gift sets!)
This is the most refined of the Be Delicious line that I’ve sniffed so far.

A slice of fresh apple, soft flowers and a bit of plum sauce, that quickly go green with lily-of-the-valley for an hour–the usual DKNY floral fruit teacher’s fare.
Later when the woods give the base some backbone, it gets sophisticated–turns out the substitute has a master’s degree in postmodern design.

Lasts through afternoon study hall in personal space.

*

Another Golden that’s delicious.

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Omnia Amethyste

omnia Amethyste
Purple edged Bvlgari chrome link, distorted through an amethyst glass vase.

Purple flowers made of glass.

Opens with a breath of citrus and wet green, but then gets cool and clear the way that all the Omnias do, this time with powdery iris that blooms for a hour, and heliotrope at the bottom that lasts all morning.
Some faint woods close to the skin give it a pretty solidity, like a crystal vase with a heavy base.

There’s an interesting fragile-but-strong vibe to it.

*

This caught my morning mood.

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Omnia Indian Garnet

omnia indian garnet
Orange and chrome mini Omnia chain link bottle, casting cool shadows.

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.

*

Ellery songs linger nicely, too.

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Fresh Couture

Windex styled spray bottle mini splash and paper towel scrap dwarfed by an orange.

This might be the cutest mini bottle ever! And the scent is a nice little perk-me-up at a great price.

The clementine opening, bright with peony, is clean and fun and young. Sweet berry florals ripen to a hand span off the skin for an hour, and fade to wet woods for another two.
(I’m all for some lighthearted vibes right now.)

*

Some lighthearted vibes:

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Dali Eau de Toilette

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.

***

“Love is surreal…”
(This is the best song off this album.)

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Labdanum Doux

2ml sample bottle with black screw-on cap, and purple flocked fabric pouch. Jeffery Dame’s samples are a bit pricey, but there’s a generous amount of eau.

Lady Stetson covered in Band-Aids.

Peaches and ylang-ylang, wrapped in medical-grade adhesive, trying to be indolic and skanky but only managing awkwardly cute.
Mossy musk hits between the eyes after half an hour, with a bit of spice that doesn’t quite settle in place.
Fades to amber antiseptic funk on the skin within two hours.

I usually have more fun with labdanum, but here I just get gooey plastic.

*

Doux means soft in French. Here’s some softness from Ani DiFranco-

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Flowerbomb Bloom

bloomA 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!.

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Eau d’Hadrien

Eau d Hadrien
Black capped mini bottle with Annick Goutal gold wreath and bow, on half a lemon.

A squirt of lemon juice that sweetens to hard candy and aniseed for an hour, then settles to citrus oil woods and Joy dish soap suds for another two.

I get why it’s so popular. There’s something fancy, yet low-key about it–like good taste with a sense of humor.

*

This song never fails to put me in a good mood.

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New Sibet

new sibetI am not man enough to wear New Sibet.

This dude lives in a cedar log cabin with a wood burning stove and scary dead animals, fresh enough that they still smell like fur and musk, on the wall. He’s unforgettable, and orris-root-sweet when you get to know him, but way too alpha-male for me.

Red Hot Chili Peppers are wild like that.