Tag: edp

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Tom Ford Private Blends Oud Fleur Fragrance Review

* Sweet yet subtle flowers – not really muted but not as vivaciously strong as you would expect

* Then after 5 minutes – it blooms – a lush garden of dirty jasmine and spicy carnations.

* Next comes a sweet rose that is both powdery sweet and fruity/jammy.    

* At one point it seemed to have morphed into a fruity floral with a bit of a kick.

* During this portion, if you sniff really closely there is a hint of oud behind the rose.  Not overbearing, it kind of just levels out the sweetness.

* The flowers fade away for a base that is a soft mix of light leather, woods, and amber.

Summary:   Fleur oud is confusing.  It makes me think again of the infamous “chess for girls” sketch from Saturday Night Live, but it goes both ways.  A few times when I wore this, it felt like it could be a safe “non-oud” oud for women who didn’t want a skanky, dirty oud scent. Other times I wore it, it seemed like a floral fragrance that a guy could wear without feeling too girly.  Either way, this is one that definitely needs to be skin-tested several times to get the full story of how it works on your skin.   Projection is strong for the first hour, but after it calms down it would be safe for office wear.  Longevity is excellent for an EDP, lasting over ten hours.   Together with Tobacco Oud, these two scents restore my faith in the Tom Ford Private Blend line.  This is the line that first got me into niche perfumes a few years back.  The past few collections (Musks, Atelier D’Orient, and Jardin Noir) made me feel like the brand had lost their way but these two oud scents make me think that the line is ready for a comeback.

Other opinions:

Perfume Possee
Kafkaesque
The Candy Perfume Boy
The Scentrist
Ca Fleure Bon
Persolaise
Man Loves Cologne
Katie Chutzpah

Tom Ford Private Blend fragrances are available at Saks 5th Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

Disclaimer: Sample provided by sales associate for review. Image courtesy of Neiman Marcus.tom-ford-private-blend-oud-fleur-nordstrom

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Bond I Love NY for Holidays Fragrance Review

bond-no-9-i-love-ny-for-holidays* Fruity kick for the intro with berries, plum, and a sweet citrus.

* The berries stick around and are joined by a melange of florals.

* Just as we say fruit salad for a generic, indistinct jumble of fruit smells – ‘melange of florals’ would be my polite way of saying floral salad.

* The florals last for a couple of hours before fading a bit.

* The base is described as vanilla gelato and sensual musk.  Let’s skip the fancy talk and just say the base is vanilla and amber with a light musk in the mix.

Summary:  I haven’t been that impressed with the recent Bond No 9 fragrances (Parfumista Ave and NY musk) but for some reason the I Love NY scents seem to work better on me (and are at a cheaper price point).  I don’t get the holidays from this scent but that is not necessarily a bad thing – because if it was pine, cinnamon and fruitcake – the scent would be TOO specific to be worn for the holidays.  As it is, it doesn’t stand out from many of the designer fruity floral scents that dominate department store scents, but since it’s at a similar price point, has the iconic I Love NY logo on the bottle, and says “holidays” – it makes an obvious gift for anyone on your holiday list.  The compliment I want to pay it is that it is inoffensive and universal – but that sounds backhanded,  which isn’t my intention.  Longevity is good for an EDP, lasting about 8 hours on my skin before it turns into a subtle skin scent.

Other opinions:

Ca Fleure Bon
Man Loves Cologne
GoodSmellas

Bond I Love NY for the Holidays is available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks 5th Avenue and the Bond No 9 Website.

Disclaimer: Sample provided by department store. Picture courtesy of Sephora.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Von Eusersdorff Classic Orange Fragrance Review

von-eusersdorff-classic-orange-jovoy

* Initial focus is orange – not sweet – very ripe and realistic – a little grapefruit and tangerine.

* For a citrus scent, it has quite strong projection on the top.

* Then it grows sweeter – more like fruit juice with a bit of musk added in.

* As the musk comes in, it reacts differently when I wear it.  Sometimes it gets a bit sweatier while at other times it gets even sweeter.

* The dry down keeps some of the sweetness, which is balanced by the musk and a dry wood.

Summary:  I am a fan of the Von Eusersdorff line, having loved three of the four initial scents that lived up to the “Classic” descriptor by being well done with quality ingredients and superior execution.  The Classic Orange lives up to the standard of the original three because it takes the classic short-lived citrus eau de cologne splash  and transforms it into a longer-wearing and full-bodied citrus perfume.  The citrus smell lasts more than five hours on my skin which is very rare, as my skin normally drinks up citrus after the first hour.  The scent is also a bit of chameleon – reacting a bit differently (but not unpleasantly) on different days.  Normally, I would feel weird recommending a citrus fragrance at this price point because citrus scents are normally so short lived, but the longevity of Classic Orange makes it worth a test.  If you are looking for a winter fragrance that makes you think of the summer or a summer fragrance that will last without being overbearing, Classic Orange might be the one for you.

Other opinions:

Scent Epiphany
Ca Fleuerbon
Scentrist

Von Eusersdorff fragrances are available at select boutiques. Your best be is Jovoy in Paris. Hopefully it will come to the US soon.

Also check out:

Von Eusersdorff Classic Myrrh Review

Von Eusersdorff Classic Patchouli Review

Von Eusersdorff Classic Mimosa Review

Caminille Henflick Interview

Disclaimer: Sample provided by publicist. Image courtesy of Von Eusersdorff.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Tom Ford Private Blend Tobacco Oud Fragrance Review

tom-ford-private-blend-tobacco-oud-nordstrom
* Tobacco oud starts off spicy – cinnamon/cloves and a bit of sharp wood

* It reminds me of the top of Bois Marocain and it projects massively.

* Then the tobacco starts to show up and overpowers everything about it.  Buoyed by a subtle oud, the tobacco really is the star for a lot of the fragrance’s life.

* While it begins to calm down at this point (around three hours), it’s still present and projecting nicely.

* The dry down to sweet amber and vanilla takes a long time and lasts even longer.

Summary:  I thought I was having flashbacks when I wore this scent because like AKafkaesque I realize that each stage of the development was another Tom Ford Scent.   Whereas AK sees it as a mix of Amber Absolute, Sahara Noir, Cafe Rose, and Tobacco Vanille – being the DJ that I am, Tobacco Oud feels like a wonderful mashup of Bois Marocain, Amber Absolute, and Tobacco Vanille with a touch of oud.  When I first heard of Tobacco Oud, I was hoping that it would be Tobacco Vanille, plus oud.  I am happier with the results as this is very oud 2.0 (oud as subtle supporting flavor, rather than an ‘oud in your face’ bomb). It feels more like a greatest hits medley (kind of like Julet Has A Gun Mad Madame, but much more well-conceived) and is far better in my opinion than anything in the last two private blend collections (Atelier D’Orient and Jardin Noir). Since I already own the three scents it reminds me of, I probably would not buy this for myself, but for anyone who is strong enough to handle a powerful long term scent (more than 12 hours of wear), this could easily be a signature.  Because of the projection, it’s not office friendly, but the strength can be downplayed by wearing only one or two sprays.  This is also definitely a scent that needs to be skin tested, as reading through the various reviews online, I kept scratching my head wondering if we were all spraying the same juice.

Other opinions:

Ca Fleure Bon
Now Smell This
Perfume Possee
Kafkaesque
Scentrist
The Candy Perfume Boy
Perfume of Life
Man Loves Cologne
Persolaise
Manface

Tom Ford Private Blend fragrances are available at Saks 5th Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
Disclaimer: Sample provided by sales associate for review. Image courtesy of Neiman Marcus.