Bottega Veneta – Knot

source: thechroniclesofher.com

The bottle of Bottega Veneta‘s Knot is drop dead gorgeous. Unfortunately, that’s the highest praise that I can accord to it, since the juice is, by all accounts, utterly yawn-inducing.

Advertisement

Nez à Nez – Bouche Baie, the Fruity Floral that Works

Today, I shall attempt to defend the very maligned Bouche Baie, by Nez à Nez. Averaging a score of 1.6 out of 5 on Makeupalley, reviewers have labelled it “fruity cough syrup for children” and even Pink Sugar during a nightmare. They also compare it with celebrity scents, exclaiming that they cannot and will not pay $150 for a niche scent that smells so trashy.

Perfume Haiku Series: Fior d’Arancio by Laura Tonatto + a mini review

Fior d’Arancio by Laura Tonatto

Family and friends
Tossing orange blossoms on
A newly-wed bride

TokyoMilk – Song In D Minor, Honey & The Moon

source: fragrantica

2 quick reviews from me today, both from the same independent brand TokyoMilk and created by perfumer Margot Elena.

First up, we have Song In D Minor. Unfortunately for the bird in the cage featured on the perfume’s illustration, Song In D Minor‘s swansong comes right at the beginning. It opens beautifully with a plush bouquet of mildly sweet white florals – orange blossom, jasmine, and other unidentifiable florals. I wish this part would last, though. Within 10 minutes, it becomes an astringent and synthetic concoction that is screechy and not at all pleasant to wear. The notes list says ‘amber’ but this is virtually undetectable at all.

source: fragrantica

Thankfully, Honey & The Moon achieves what Song In D Minor fails to achieve. After opening with an intensely sugary candyfloss (ethylmaltol, I suspect) note, Honey & The Moon segues into an indolic jasmine (while still remaining very, very sweet – sugarphobes beware! This is a Pink Sugar rival!) It then does a startling pirouette halfway when the floral ‘heart’ vanishes suddenly to be replaced with the opening candyfloss. Makes one wonder what kind of chemistry went into its composition to make it play such tricks. The best part, however, is the drydown. It is dirty, skanky and creamy all at once. It is as though the bees have performed some sacred mating dance and splattered honey and sweat EVERYWHERE (yes, I know this isn’t particularly biologically correct, but hey, I’m not a biologist!). Because this scent is not particularly refined but is wholly carnal and primal, the best way to describe the drydown would be to just go: mmmhmmm ohhhh yeah! Oh, and this thing lasts, even after a shower. I’d put longevity easily at 12 hours. While the opening may be cloyingly sweet, the payoff is definitely worth waiting for, so don’t scrub it off just immediately!

Details

TokyoMilk fragrances are available at beautyhabit and retail at USD29 for 30 ml, which is a pleasant size indeed. And though I’m not that much of a packaging junkie, the vintage-looking illustrations that are done by Elena herself are most definitely pleasing to the eye.

Battle of the Orange Blossom Beauties

© thesmellyvagabond

What do you get when L’Artisan Parfumeur‘s Séville à l’Aube meets Vero Profumo‘s Rubj EDP? You get an orange blossom diva-off, that’s what.

Now, Séville à l’Aube and Rubj are two of my favourite orange blossom-dominated fragrances, so as the judge of this extravagant perfume one-upmanship, you can count on me to be absolutely objective, right? Right. 😉 So, down to business. Who’s better, Séville à l’Aube or Rubj?