Tag: skank

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Fragrance Reviews

By Kilian Black Oud Fragrance Review

by-kilian-black-oud
* Starts off viciously, with an aggressive oud in your face mixed with animalic skank and dirty musk.

* Wow, this stuff is strong and definitely not for the faint of heart.

* Leather comes into the picture in almost a violent way – again, it’s dirty and animalic.

* At this point, the scent goes completely linear – leather, oud, sweat, animalic, and dirty.

Summary:  Etat Libre D’Orange did a fragrance for Tom of Finland which was a pretty weak and safe leather scent.  They got it completely wrong.  By Killian Black Oud is the scent that should have been for Tom of Finland.  Smelling it,  I picture hot, sweaty, hairy musclemen dancing in leather gear for hours.  And hours is the optimal word, as this scent doesn’t go away – it lingers, for more than 24 hours and through a shower or two .  Black Oud was previously exclusive to the Middle Eastern markets and it’s easy to see (and smell) why – this is some strong stuff.  Clearly not office-friendly and you would definitely need to have cojones to wear this out in public.  It projects massively and everyone around you will notice it. 

By Kilian Black Oud is only available by Kilian boutiques.

Sample purchased by me. Image from By Kilian website.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Lush Scent Calacas  Fragrance Review

lush-scent-calacas

* I have never smelled Calacas Halloween-themed slime soap before, but it’s listed as lime jellybeans.

* The top is definitely lime with a hint of tangerine – reminding me a lot of 25:43,  but instead of lime and caramel it is lime with a bit of light floral.

* The citrus gets juicier and sweeter after the initial burst. It quickly becomes a skin scent (after about 30 minutes)

* But wait – it comes back for a second round about an hour later – where it’s new and improved dirty lime. Lime with a bit of skank and attitude.  Almost like a slutty lime, if you could imagine.  

* The dry down is a light and dry floral woody skin scent.

Summary: I’ve never smelled Calacas soap before, so I can’t tell if this is close.  Calacas is definitely a brother fragrance to 25:43 for the lime story, but of the two I prefer 25:43.  Calacas is a nice lime scent and of better quality than anything else in the price point range.  Longevity is good at 8 hours, and this is probably the most office-friendly of the special line.

Other opinions:

Cassandra’s Stuff (Shower Jelly)
Beauty Blogger (Shower Jelly)
The Sunday Girl (Shower Jelly)
Knickers and Nail Polish (Shower Jelly)
Sammy Scribble (Shower Jelly)

Lush Scent Calacas is a limited edition that was available only from their website. Check there first to see if it is still available. If not, ebay is pretty much your only option.

Disclaimer: Bottle purchased – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lush website.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Chantecaille Kalimantan Fragrance Review

* 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.