Work, perfume, life

And not necessarily in that order. In fact, definitely not in that order. Not usually. 

The last week has been a bit of a hellhole for me, work-wise. Deadlines galore, working until 3 in the morning to get work done and then cranky bosses who don't seem to appreciate all of this. Office politics can be a nasty, nasty thing and I am so glad that I am now on holiday for two weeks. My sister is visiting us for a few weeks and I am taking this time off to be with her and my family. I only see my sister every other year - living in the Southern Hemisphere means she is far away, and we struggle to fund expensive flights more regularly than this. I left work on Friday having not quite finished everything, but you know what? Sod it...

I was in London last Wednesday and managed to fit in a quick stop at Les Senteurs, where I got some samples of Moni Di Orio's Les Nombres D'or line. I got Tuberose, Ambre and Musk. I also got a sample of one of Pierre Guillaume's perfumes from his new line, Fareb. A little stunner it is too, reminiscent of Pure Distance's M. I also tried Cuir by LT Piver, a little off the radar for me, but actually it is a nice leather indeed. I wanted a sample of Amouage's Opus V but was told I wasn't allowed one. Anyone know why this would be the case? In any event, on paper it is pungent and to my nose a little like Malle's Portrait of a Lady, without as much rose and more focus on oud.

So for the next two weeks my priorities are going to be life, perfume.... and no work! Hooray!

Guerlain Vetiver

It may surprise you, but (I may be mistaken, but I don't think so) the first time I smelled Guerlain Vetiver was also the first time I smelled vetiver as a note. At the time it blew me away. Vetiver smelled foreign, yet familiar at the same time. Green, grassy, pungent, slightly smoky - it smelled exotic to me. Of course, at the time I hadn't even heard of Frederic Malle, yet alone smelled the unadulterated majesty of Vetiver Extraordinaire, or the ozonic saltiness of Sel de Vetiver, or other intense vetivers like Turtle Vetiver. 

Smelling the Guerlain today, it smells rather less enticing, but only because I have been exposed to such a range and intensity of other vetiver fragrances. Saying this, Vetiver is by no means poor. In fact it is a wonderful example of a high-quality, relatively mainstream perfume, the likes of which is seldom encountered today. I understand Vetiver is quite old now and I'm sure its been reformulated at least once, perhaps twice. Actually, it may just be a poor memory on my part, but it doesn't even smell like it did four years ago, when I first encountered it. Whether this is another formulation twist, or simply my changing sensory appreciation, I don't know. For some reason the vetiver smells less intense. Vetiver was never an absolutely vetiver-centric fragrance. Yes it was the main player, but there was tobacco and nutmeg, and while I still detect these, the perfume smells slightly less rich and aromatic, perhaps a bit dryer, for want of a better word.

Still, I do like Vetiver, and I can't fault it really. If you haven't tried this classic Guerlain for men, give it a go, irrespective of gender. It may just surprise you.

Image credit - http://www.manhattanperfumes.com/

Amouage Library collection

Ok, so now we have Opus I, II, III, IV and V. A few days ago I said that I haven't been that impressed with the library releases, particularly Opus IV. I still stand by my impression of IV. I've tried it numerous times now and it just doesn't wear very comfortably on my skin. I haven't tried V yet, although the notes do sound fantastic. I wrote about II a long time ago. At the time I liked it, and I still think it is nice, although by no means anywhere near one of my favourites in the Amouage line.

So what about I and III? Funnily enough, they were the last two I tried eventually, and have ended up being the best of the lot, particularly III. I should say that these have stellar lasting power. I first tested them on paper a couple of times, just to get a general feel for them, and the scent strips powered through my pockets for almost a week. On skin they project very well too, easily lasting through a vigorous shower. Of course, Amouage is not exactly known for its skin scents...

I don't intend to write in-depth about I and III. The notes for I include bigarade, plum, cardamom, rose, jasmine, tuberose, ylang-ylang, lily of the valley, papyrus, cedar, gaiac wood, incense, tonka bean, sandalwood and vetiver. In other words, everything but the kitchen sink. The first stages are very floral, which along with incense, is an Amouage trademark touch. Remarkably I don't find the florals too much. There are enough woods and incense to balance it nicely. It is very rich and opulent though.

III includes notes of mimosa, broom, clove, nutmeg, thyme, violet, jasmine, ylang-ylang, orange blossom, musk, ambrette, papyrus, cedar, sandalwood, gaiac wood, benzoin and vanilla. While some of the woods and florals are quite similar to Opus I, Opus III smells significantly different. I detect a lot of mimosa to start, with plenty of violet in the mid stage. The dry down was sweet, but not cloying and smelled warm and inviting. Overall II really hit the spot for me and as I already said, I like it the most out of this collection.

Image credit - http://www.apetogentleman.com/

Annick Goutal Encens Flamboyant and Ambre Fetich

I have to admit from the outset that I have some difficulties with the Goutal line. Some are intensely blowsy, floral and feminine; others are oddly citrus, and then, with Encens Flamboyant and Ambre Fetiche, the range veers into oddly incense. I say oddly, because both of these smell offbeat to me, straddling the line between compelling, and ever so slightly off-putting. Usually I would like this in a perfume, but for some reason this doesn't translate so well for me in either of these.

Ambre Fetiche, despite the name, opens with a smoky, swirling waft of heavy incense, although beneath this fog does lie amber. It is sweet, but the smoke and incense are sufficient to balance it out. The sweetness is tinged with something sour, like citrus, but this is a feel I often detect with incense. The heart continues very much in the same vein, but slightly toned down. The fragrance becomes linear, with very little variation. In the dry down the amber finally comes to the fore, but by this stage is fairly mild, sweet and tame on my skin. I would have preferred something a bit more daring and complex, rather than the incense assault at the start and the fizzle-out at the end. Perhaps this is a bit harsh, but as far as incense and ambers go, this is not really my style.

Like Fetiche, Encens Flamboyant is jam-packed with incense. The opening is very similar, but with more incense. The incense is really heavy and if you are someone who doesn't like a lot of incense, you might be struggling. The heart again is very similar, toned down and becoming linear yet again. In the dry down the incense started to smell a little weird for want of a better word, a bit like an insect repellent. 

Of the two, I perhaps prefer Ambre Fetiche, but both are a bit heavy-handed for my taste. It's not as if I don't like perfumes with character and a bit of force, but these are too much. I find both a little easier to wear in cooler weather. In summer they just bloom and become sillage monsters, at least for me.

Image credit - http://photo.annickgoutal.com/

Sandalwood, and pickles?

This is not a very original post, since it is based primarily on what I have recently read on a number of other blogs. The perfume in question is Le Labo's Santal 33. Something that people have mentioned when writing about this perfume is a dill pickle note in the opening and this note seems to manifest itself in sandalwood prominent perfumes. Well, I read this and sort of dismissed it out of hand as being rather an odd thing to notice. I have tried numerous sandalwood perfumes and products over the years and have never noticed this note.

Today I wore Sandalo Inspiritu by DSH, which incidentally is a lovely perfume, but I have written about it before and don't intend to go into detail here. Suffice to say that this time, as I applied it, I was immediately struck by a dill pickle note, which amazed me. Now, I am certain that having read quite a lot about Santal 33 recently my mind must have been opened to the possibility of this accord and perhaps I was therefore more receptive to identifying it, even if only subliminally. Actually, the smell of dill and pickles are both very pleasant to me, so I was slightly amused to identify this and actually liked the fact that I experienced a slightly different take on a perfume that I am already quite familiar with.

Have any of you made this association with any sandalwood perfumes?

A visit to London and Absolue Pour Le Soir

This weekend we went to visit our good friends who live near Canary Wharf in London. I popped into Space NK to test Francis Kurkdjian's Absolue Pour Le Soir. I first tried it in the very same place about 6 months ago and nothing has changed. I still love, love, love it. So smitten am I that I am seriously considering purchasing a full bottle. Am I crazy? I rarely get the impulse to blow £120 on a perfume, but my finger is just itching to type in my credit card number online and get on with it!

I also tried Apom Pour Homme and was surprised by how much I liked it too. It's very much an orange blossom perfume, with a bit of cedar and amber. Kurkdjian is no stranger to orange blossom, with his very good Fleur De Male. 

Later on, when we were all having a coffee together, I presented my wrist to Carmen and asked her what she thought of Absolue. She wrinkled her nose and solemnly declared that it smells like piss. I was taken aback. I mean, I know there is cumin in it, and, I suspect,  civet, but still... A few minutes later I asked her husband, Darren, to have a sniff. He didn't quite wrinkle his nose, but stated that it smelled "something like daisies"! Well, I ask you. And they say opposites attract. No wonder.

Whatever Darren and Carmen think, I still love Absolue. Have you tried it, and if so, what were your impressions?

Sample Hell

I know I have touched on this topic a number of times before, but my sample collection is now so way out of hand that I don't know what to do. The obvious answer is to give stuff away, spray or dab samples more generously and perhaps have a ruthless cull.

All these options have crossed my mind, but I am a natural born hoarder and hate to throw away anything. Yesterday I brought home all the samples I had been hoarding at my office and I was flabbergasted by how much stuff I had accumulated there. I had a shopping bag of samples, rammed to bursting point. A lot of what I have is fairly generic, department store samples. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but for some reason over the years I have built up a reserve of seven samples of Opus IV, five of Memoir Man, five of Cartier Declaration, Jimmy Choo galore for God's sake and so and and so on. 

So dear reader, what am I to do? I think I might toss the excess samples and focus on core quality, however one defines that. I am open to suggestions. In the meantime, let me go order my next batch of samples!