still putting this together…

no. 44 sunday madeleine - leitmotiv

Punches you in the face with tonka bean (with some pretensions toward citrus or orange blossom or something). I need to find something astringent to pair it with to get a real Amaro Montenegro vibe going.

miss dior cherie - dior (christine nagel)

The proper one, pre-reformulation.

black orchid - tom ford (givaudan)

I always feel guilty when I wear this and get in an elevator with other people in the morning. It isn’t exactly a shy and retiring scent. But perhaps a presumptuous sillage is the price you pay for such a length of wear.

tuca tuca - lush (simon constantine)

The vetiver and violet in this are sort of repellent. Like modern art–does not seek to be pleasing. I love it.

l’essence - balenciaga (olivier polge)

Originally this is what I’d wanted, with Tuca Tuca as a cheaper substitute–but now I have both, its more polished presentation of the same violet-and-vetiver isn’t nearly as compelling.

vanillary - lush

I like vanilla with bourbon and vanilla with tonka bean. This is the latter.

candy - prada

When I first smelled this on a sample in a magazine in a coffee shop, I thought it evoked a sci-fi anime stripper. I have no regrets. Benzoin benzoin benzoin baby!

l’heure bleue - guerlain

Let’s be honest, I almost never wear this, because it’s overpowering on skin. Eventually I hope to figure out a way to have it on a scarf or something… The first Guerlain scent to use aldehydes so really a piece of history, not that mine’s vintage or anything.

waltz no. 14 - tokyomilk

Linden flower has a special place in my heart. There’s something of clover here, too.

mure - solinotes

Not quite a fresh enough blackberry in my mind–it lives between the Victoria’s Secret berry and a berry liqueur when I’d hoped in my mind for the greenness that often is managed in raspberry accords.

liquirizia e mandarino - speziali fiorentini

This is the summer spritz you wish your 14-year-old would wear instead of… Well, what do the teenagers wear now?1 In my day proper it was the Victoria’s Secret sprays; when I was young it had been Calgon. Excellent over some unrelated heart or basenote accord.

special mention

declaration - cartier (jean claude-ellena)

Terre d’Hermes left my life and Declaration entered it: I am a woman drawn to Iso E Super and I shall not deny it. While I miss the rich orange, cardamom is truly wonderful.

This is Bunny’s post for Ally about Getting Into Perfume and it has fantastic links.

  1. Really do drop me a line if you know the answer here; I’m somewhat aghast realizing I don’t know. ↩