April 2012 – Page 4 – Notable Scents

* Virgin Island Water is a vacation in a jar. The long lasting top notes of coconut, lime, and orange smell like a beachside cocktail.

* Usually citrus top notes burn off really quickly, but the lime and orange last throughout most of the fragrance.

* Unless you pay attention and sniff yourself often, VIW seems very linear as in the top notes stay around for the full life of the fragrance.

* If you sniff closely, some ginger, spices and light florals enter in mid-development for a short while.

* The deep base notes of vanilla and musk join the coconut which stays around forever.

* While most vacations are over too quickly, Virgin Island Water lasts more than 8 hours.

Summary: Virgin Island Water is strong, but not overpowering. It makes its presence known but is not so overwhelming as to be too much for warm weather wear. If you are a fan of the classic Creed fragrance, this may not be to your liking. It is more similar to the fresher/fruitier Creed fragrances like Aventus. Although I have never smelled it, several people have mentioned that Virgin Island Water is identical to Bath and Body Works Coconut Lime Verbena (which has been discontinued). I can’t comment on that, but I can say that Virgin Island Water is one of the few fragrances that I have used up a full 4oz bottle of and went back to buy another bottle of. For summer weather and hot climates, Virgin Island Water is an excellent choice and worth testing.

Creed fragrances are available from Neiman Marcus, select Nordstrom and the Creed Boutique. If you live in South Florida, I strongly recommend that you reach out to Eduardo, the Creed representative at the Bal Harbour Neiman Marcus. If you live in Nashville, Byron at Green Hills Nordstrom is quite exceptional as well.

*Disclaimer – No disclaimer needed, I own a full bottle.

* The fragrance kicks off with a dry blend of incense and patchouli.

* Kalimantan is the Indonesian name for the island of Borneo which is the third largest island in the world. The island had the oldest rain forests in the world which have been deforested at a rapid rate.

* Out of nowhere, the scent goes massively and aggressively skank with a strong mix of cedar, cumin and oud.

* When I say massively and aggressively, I mean the volume gets turned up and it projects wildly. Its the first fragrance I’ve tested that gets louder the longer you wear it (heart notes are stronger than the top notes.)

* After about an hour, the skank starts to tone down and it gets a little sweeter.

* The base notes are a nice vanilla and sandalwood blend which lasts for 8 hours on my skin.

Summary: Chantecaille is a luxury skincare / cosmetic line for women. The fragrance bottle is quite pretty with etched/raised glass and a mirrorball like lid. While this might fit the other fragrances in their collection (Frangipane, Tiare, Petales), it doesn’t make any sense for the beast known as Kalimantan. I say this with love because I bought a full bottle of this monster just because it is so animalic, aggressive, and almost comically over the top. This scent would fit better in the line of Serge Lutens or even Etats Libre D’orange line. I am just imagining a rich lady sitting at the Chantecaille counter in a Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom getting her make up done. She reaches over and absent mindedly sprays some Kalimantan on her skin. The first whiff is pleasant but then a few minutes lady, the skunk hits and she starts screaming. I would love to be there to see this. Kalimantan is clearly not office friendly and I strongly recommend skin testing it. Even if you don’t plan to ever buy a bottle, get a sample and experiment with it. I am not comparing this to the shock value of say Secretions Magnifique, but the skank definitely comes out of nowhere and lets itself be known.

Chantecaille Kalimantan is available at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Barneys New York.