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Wow, talk about perfume nerdery and suddenly you realize everyone around you has just wanted to discuss the chypres this whole time. A coworker took me to lunch and brought a very well-curated sample set of citrusy summer colognes! I liked some of them, though I tried almost all of them on paper. My notes are not complex, though.
Annick Goutal Neroli: orange blossom, neroli, petitgrain, cypress, cedar: my coworker said that this was a good introduction to a light, sharp, feminine, and probably artificial citrus; it's bright and sharp and acidic, with a kind of perfume-perfume fussiness to it. I can smell how it's supposed to reference orange blossoms, but I'm not convinced it smells much like them.
Le Labo Bergamote 22: amber, musk, grapefruit, vetiver, petitgrain, bergamot, vanilla, orange blossom and cedar: another bright, bright, kind of shrilly citrus, heavy on the musk, with some vetiver and a headache for me. On paper I was very proud to get the vanilla, though.
Tom Ford Neroli Portofino: bergamot, mandarin, african orange flower, amber. My coworker said that this was real heavy on the musk, and I agree, it's super shampooey. My coworker also said that she can't wear it because her boyfriend says it smells like dirty towels. After a little drydown on paper, I thought it smelled like the tiles around a pool. And also, despite my musk aversion, really liked it, so I got the sample.
Atelier Cologne Trefle Pur: bitter orange, cardamom, sweet basil, clove, violet leaves, moss, patchouli and musk. I have smelled this before and thought that it was really bitter, but in context I noticed a little more of the grassy smells, and the musk. Very perfumey, not a huge fan.
Jo Malone Lime Basil Mandarin: lime, mandarin orange, bergamot, basil, lilac, iris, thyme, patchouli and vetiver: my coworker said Jo Malone has a reputation for doing what she says on the label, and wet this did in fact smell like lime basil mandarin, heavy on the anise note from the basil, which I am not in any way crazy about. Now that it's dry, I'm getting that dried-down basil funk pretty heavily, and also I suspect some vetiver. Not a fan of this either!
Jo Malone Grapefruit: "Top notes are grapefruit and tangerine; middle notes are rosemary, mint, paprika and jasmine; base notes are vetiver, patchouli and oakmoss." I actually thought that this was more complex than just a grapefruit: it smells exactly like a kooky-old-lady giftstore in town, and I think I caught a lot of the patchouli note, for some reason. I mean, I wouldn't wear it, it would be pretty out of character on me, but I do like that store a lot.
Malle Bigarade Concentree: "Top note is bitter orange; middle note is rose; base notes are cedar, grass and hay." OH MY GOD I LOVED THIS. Wet, and on paper, it smells exactly like the moment when your thumb breaks through the skin of a ripe orange. If you concentrate you can smell the hay and cedar notes, but I pick up zero rose, which is good because rose is not destined to be my favorite note.
This was great enough on paper that I put it on my skin, though, and it made this amazing jump from orange through orange you toss out after it gets blue and fuzzy on one end to BARNYARD. Straight-up hay, not clean hay, dirty hay. It was hay that was excited to be hay, man. Very sad: the strip still has that lovely fresh-orange-peel smell, but my arm is a) completely gone except for b) a faint smell that reminds me of mucking horse stalls at that summer camp I didn't enjoy very much. Bigarade! We could have been such friends!
And a grab-bag of other stuff:
Jo Malone Dark Amber and Ginger Lily: "It includes aromas of black cardamom, ginger and pink pepper in the top notes; the middle notes are jasmine, orchid, water lily and rose; while the base notes encompass leather, sandalwood, kyara incense, patchouli, black amber", says Fragrantica.
So far I have not been a fan of the ambers on myself, and have been pretty drawn to smells that say less "come here and smell my neck" and more "I am a pretty tree alone in a forest, please respect my personal bubble." If I needed to choose a smell for "come here and smell my neck", though, it would be this one. It smells SO GOOD. The ginger is right there, which probably helps, and it's got a good heady stink of patchouli, incense, and leather lurking in there - so much so that I don't object to the purported presence of my perfume nemeses, the Floral Mid-Notes. I tried putting it on my knee, though (for purity of sample-smelling with my hands and arms) and I couldn't smell it there five seconds later. I might consider a sample of this for wearing purposes? Maybe? Maybe?
Prada Infusion d'Iris: presented as a demonstration of "powder", and now I know what that smells like. On the strip, it smells medicinal, like a hospital's waiting room; on skin, even more so. I am glad I have this point of reference!
Puredistance Opardu: "Top notes are tuberose, gardenia, lilac and bulgarian rose; middle notes are carnation and jasmine; base notes are heliotrope and cedar." I had warned my coworker about my rocky relationship with white florals, but we tried this anyway, and, okay: I can see that for what it is, it's very, very well done. The lilac and gardenia both are extremely realistic; I'm told that a lot of what I'm catching as a big big flower smell is heliotrope. It's neat and chic, like one of those bathrooms on Apartment Therapy with a lot of white tile and an improbable bouquet of fresh flowers. I imagine the person who wears this wearing a lot of white, in fact, and possibly owning cork platform sandals, which she does not feel uncomfortable wearing.
Annick Goutal Neroli: orange blossom, neroli, petitgrain, cypress, cedar: my coworker said that this was a good introduction to a light, sharp, feminine, and probably artificial citrus; it's bright and sharp and acidic, with a kind of perfume-perfume fussiness to it. I can smell how it's supposed to reference orange blossoms, but I'm not convinced it smells much like them.
Le Labo Bergamote 22: amber, musk, grapefruit, vetiver, petitgrain, bergamot, vanilla, orange blossom and cedar: another bright, bright, kind of shrilly citrus, heavy on the musk, with some vetiver and a headache for me. On paper I was very proud to get the vanilla, though.
Tom Ford Neroli Portofino: bergamot, mandarin, african orange flower, amber. My coworker said that this was real heavy on the musk, and I agree, it's super shampooey. My coworker also said that she can't wear it because her boyfriend says it smells like dirty towels. After a little drydown on paper, I thought it smelled like the tiles around a pool. And also, despite my musk aversion, really liked it, so I got the sample.
Atelier Cologne Trefle Pur: bitter orange, cardamom, sweet basil, clove, violet leaves, moss, patchouli and musk. I have smelled this before and thought that it was really bitter, but in context I noticed a little more of the grassy smells, and the musk. Very perfumey, not a huge fan.
Jo Malone Lime Basil Mandarin: lime, mandarin orange, bergamot, basil, lilac, iris, thyme, patchouli and vetiver: my coworker said Jo Malone has a reputation for doing what she says on the label, and wet this did in fact smell like lime basil mandarin, heavy on the anise note from the basil, which I am not in any way crazy about. Now that it's dry, I'm getting that dried-down basil funk pretty heavily, and also I suspect some vetiver. Not a fan of this either!
Jo Malone Grapefruit: "Top notes are grapefruit and tangerine; middle notes are rosemary, mint, paprika and jasmine; base notes are vetiver, patchouli and oakmoss." I actually thought that this was more complex than just a grapefruit: it smells exactly like a kooky-old-lady giftstore in town, and I think I caught a lot of the patchouli note, for some reason. I mean, I wouldn't wear it, it would be pretty out of character on me, but I do like that store a lot.
Malle Bigarade Concentree: "Top note is bitter orange; middle note is rose; base notes are cedar, grass and hay." OH MY GOD I LOVED THIS. Wet, and on paper, it smells exactly like the moment when your thumb breaks through the skin of a ripe orange. If you concentrate you can smell the hay and cedar notes, but I pick up zero rose, which is good because rose is not destined to be my favorite note.
This was great enough on paper that I put it on my skin, though, and it made this amazing jump from orange through orange you toss out after it gets blue and fuzzy on one end to BARNYARD. Straight-up hay, not clean hay, dirty hay. It was hay that was excited to be hay, man. Very sad: the strip still has that lovely fresh-orange-peel smell, but my arm is a) completely gone except for b) a faint smell that reminds me of mucking horse stalls at that summer camp I didn't enjoy very much. Bigarade! We could have been such friends!
And a grab-bag of other stuff:
Jo Malone Dark Amber and Ginger Lily: "It includes aromas of black cardamom, ginger and pink pepper in the top notes; the middle notes are jasmine, orchid, water lily and rose; while the base notes encompass leather, sandalwood, kyara incense, patchouli, black amber", says Fragrantica.
So far I have not been a fan of the ambers on myself, and have been pretty drawn to smells that say less "come here and smell my neck" and more "I am a pretty tree alone in a forest, please respect my personal bubble." If I needed to choose a smell for "come here and smell my neck", though, it would be this one. It smells SO GOOD. The ginger is right there, which probably helps, and it's got a good heady stink of patchouli, incense, and leather lurking in there - so much so that I don't object to the purported presence of my perfume nemeses, the Floral Mid-Notes. I tried putting it on my knee, though (for purity of sample-smelling with my hands and arms) and I couldn't smell it there five seconds later. I might consider a sample of this for wearing purposes? Maybe? Maybe?
Prada Infusion d'Iris: presented as a demonstration of "powder", and now I know what that smells like. On the strip, it smells medicinal, like a hospital's waiting room; on skin, even more so. I am glad I have this point of reference!
Puredistance Opardu: "Top notes are tuberose, gardenia, lilac and bulgarian rose; middle notes are carnation and jasmine; base notes are heliotrope and cedar." I had warned my coworker about my rocky relationship with white florals, but we tried this anyway, and, okay: I can see that for what it is, it's very, very well done. The lilac and gardenia both are extremely realistic; I'm told that a lot of what I'm catching as a big big flower smell is heliotrope. It's neat and chic, like one of those bathrooms on Apartment Therapy with a lot of white tile and an improbable bouquet of fresh flowers. I imagine the person who wears this wearing a lot of white, in fact, and possibly owning cork platform sandals, which she does not feel uncomfortable wearing.
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