For my 200th post, I thought it would be fun to cover some facts, figures and favorites since my 100th post back in March. For the most part, I’ll focus just on the fragrances that I’ve covered since then but, for a few things (i.e., which houses I’ve covered the most), I’ll include all posts. So, in no particular order, here are some general thoughts or conclusions about the last 100 perfumes I’ve reviewed:
FAVORITES:
In the first 100 posts, my favorite modern fragrances were: Téo Cabanel‘s Alahine, Puredistance M, Dior Mitzah, and Neela Vermeire Création’s Trayee. (You can read the full list of loves, likes, dislikes and more in my #100 rundown.) The next 100 posts have brought some new additions to my favorites list:
Neela Vermeire‘s Mohur Esprit de Parfum: the new extrait version of Mohur, the upcoming Esprit is simply spectacular. Fully diva-esque in the most beautiful way possible, it takes the haunting beauty of Mohur and makes it sing like Maria Callas. Rose, violets, spices, gorgeous sandalwood, and amber swirl together with a richness that evokes a queen in the most opulent, haute couture ballgown imaginable.
Vero Profumo‘s Onda — not “swamp sex” but, rather, for me, beautiful honey with salty vetiver and sensuous muskiness. Gorgeous, different, original, opulently rich, utterly seductive, and very evocative of a passionate embrace.
Serge Lutens‘ De Profundis — haunting, evocative, exquisite, delicate florals of a purple hue. It stays in your mind, and you can’t forget its beauty.
Viktoria Minya‘s Hedonist — sunny, soothing, sensuous, honeyed florals. Lush but perfectly balanced and airy. It’s definitely a beauty, and one of the stars of this year’s new releases, in my opinion.
Profumum Roma‘s Ambra Aurea — the richness and complexity of real ambergris takes center stage in this very baroque, opaque, heady amber soliflore that is as smooth as satin and an addictive as salty caramel. Perhaps the best amber I’ve tried thus far, it creates a whole new standard for richness, depth and longevity.
CLOSE, SO CLOSE, BUT NOT QUITE THERE:
Amouage Fate for Women: gorgeous, lush, and very seductive, but soapiness — and the aldehydes that I suspect are the cause of it — are always a huge issue for me, even when they aren’t a predominant part of the fragrance. Plus, I wasn’t completely gaga over some of the lemonade-like aspects of the chypre beginning. Yet, I keep thinking about it, and I suspect this one ultimately end up on the favorites list — soap be damned!
Profumum Fiore d’Ambra: sillage and longevity were a bit of a disappointment, and, ultimately, something keep me teetering just on the edge of absolute love. However, I suspect that this is another fragrance that would be utterly addictive with extensive, repeated use.
Chanel Bois des Iles (EDT): I love Bois des Iles, and it should probably belong in the Favorites section. However, there is just something that holds me back a little. A wee bit of sheerness, given my personal tastes, and the need for greater heaviness or opulence. I think the Eau de Parfum version would probably send me completely over the edge with adoration, but I do love the EDT. A LOT!
YSL‘s vintage M7: My favorite oud fragrance, but simply nonexistent sillage and extremely poor longevity on me. Such a shame, as I really love what little of it shows up on my skin. Others have significantly better luck, so if you’re looking for a scent to drive your partner wild, this should be at the top of your list!
Serge Lutens Boxeuses: sillage, longevity, and, alas, just something that didn’t quite bowl me over. Mea culpa, Uncle Serge.
Tom Ford Arabian Wood: A lovely chypre, but there were some serious sillage and longevity issues on my skin.
Le Labo Lys 41: A white floral beauty dominated by lilies and tuberose, but, again, serious sillage and longevity issues for me with this one as well.
Amouage Lyric Woman and Ubar: I liked both fragrances but, ultimately, both came up just a little bit short for me. Ubar was perhaps just a wee bit too white for me at the end of the day, but Lyric still sticks in my head, even if it wasn’t a spicy rose fragrance on my skin as it is for everyone else.
Lubin Idole (EDT): Alas, not full-bodied enough for me, too sheer, and without fantastic sillage. I shall have to try the Eau de Parfum.
TRAUMATIC FRAGRANCE EXPERIENCES:
First place goes to the new release by the small perfume house which I shall not name. All I’ll say is that it was a stomach-churning, revolting, hot mess, one of the worst things I’ve smelled in years, and almost put me off perfume for a few days. The mere thought of it sends a shiver down my spine, so let’s move on.
Histoires de Parfums Vidi: the 2nd in the Veni, Vidi, Vici series, it was a witches brew worthy of Macbeth’s crones. An unholy combination of: metallic, aquatic notes; chocolate-like cardamom; watery cucumber; antiseptic acne tonic; ISO E Super; and eggy vanilla. No-one should ever mix watery, metallic cucumber with chocolate. No-one!
Ormonde Jayne Montabaco: Oceanic levels of ISO E Super. Oceanic, I’m telling you! It forever impacted my nose, not to mention my ability to handle the synthetic note. Now, I’ve become a walking weathervane for ISO E Super, even in the smallest doses. A friend who loves Molecule 01 has said that Montabaco is very similar. For the sake of politeness, let’s just say that I will never try Molecule 01.
L’Artisan Dzing! & Dzonghka: Dzing! holds the distinction of making me almost lose my mind — and my usual approach to reviewing. I had a meltdown, culminating in a rant about Ionesco and Absurdism. I stand by my opinion: Ionesco would have loved Dzing! and would have undoubtedly written a whole play around it, perhaps as a sequel to Rhinoceros only this one would take place in a cheap, plastic-reeking, dusty, cloying, synthetic circus. Dzonghka was somewhat better — but it’s all highly relative in this case.
DEEPLY DISAPPOINTING:
Amouage Opus VI: I’m in the minority on the issue of Opus VI which many consider to be the best amber fragrance around. Perhaps I’m just difficult when it comes to my Orientals, or perhaps it’s because I’ve spent time in the Middle East and am familiar with Arab fragrances. Whatever the reason, Opus VI left me shrugging my shoulders. I was singularly unmoved, and I really think it is over-hyped.
Amouage Opus VII: Urinous notes evocative of a zoo’s big cat enclosure, animalic muskiness taken to extremes, huge amounts of ISO E Super, and pungent oud…. I’m clearly not the target audience for the newest addition to Amouage’s Library Collection. Opus VII will forever more be summarized in my mind as “panther pee.”
Vero Profumo Rubj (EDP): I had high expectations for Rubj, since I love orange blossom and am not a cumin-phobe. On my skin, however, it smelled of: sweaty feet; stale, rank, fetid body odor; and animalic muskiness redolent of unwashed genitalia and crusted, dirty, caked underpants. It was…. overwhelming. Perhaps the Extrait or Pure Parfum version would be better but, frankly, I’m not motivated to go out of my way to buy a sample.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud Moods Collection: Disappointing as a whole, but Cashmere Oud was particularly horrendous: rancid, sharp, medicinal, metallic notes combined with a Gorgonzola-chevre oud, pink rubber bandages, and cloying, synthetic, candy-floss vanilla. Velvet Oud was only marginally better. Again, it’s all relative.
Xerjoff Zafar: Rancid Gorgonzola cheese atop a foundation of extremely rubbery, pink bandages and a strong tinge of rubbing alcohol. I was fortunate to be spared the heavy fecal notes that many detect in Zafar, but it still wasn’t my cup of tea. Clearly, I’m not cut out for the most masculine, hardcore, aged, pure versions of agarwood.
WONDERFUL BUT I’M BEGGING FOR A PURE PARFUM VERSION:
Parfum d’Empire‘s Ambre Russe & Aziyadé: I’m one of those freakish people who actually thinks both perfumes to be far too sheer. Yes, yes, I know, everyone considers Ambre Russe, in particular, to be a meaty, full-bodied amber, but I thought it was anorexic. Gorgeous, intoxicating, evocative — but anorexic. (And this was far before I’d tried Profumum Roma’s stunning ambers with their concentrated 43% perfume oil!) My dream is that Ambre Russe will one day be released in Pure Parfum concentration. I’d be the first person in line to buy it. Hell, I’d probably sell an organ to buy a vat of it.
BEST BACKSTORIES:
Speaking of Parfum d’Empire, I just have to say it one more time: they have the best backstories of any perfume house. The tales associated with both Aziyadé and Ambre Russe were mesmerizing. I could read them for days; if they were in a book, I’d buy it. They are utterly transportative. En plus, they actually and genuinely fit the essence of the perfume — which is pretty damn rare, in my opinion.
PREDICTIONS FOR “BEST OF” LISTS FOR NEW 2013 FRAGRANCES:
New perfumes always come with a flurry of hype, but I think there are some that will prove to be popular and remain loved regardless of early excitement. My predictions include two fragrances that have not yet been released, but which I had the lucky opportunity to test out a while ago:
Neela Vermeire Créations’ Ashoka: Ashoka will be a stupendous, stupendous hit once it is released in the Fall! No doubt about it in my mind at all. It is a highly refined, beautiful, soothing, comfort fragrance that will be adored by those who are current fans of NVC perfumes, but also by those who may prefer something less oriental or spiced.
Neela Vermeire Créations‘ Mohur Esprit de Parfum: if this one doesn’t end up on many year-end “Best Of” lists, I’ll eat my hat! Stunning. Simply stunning!
Viktoria Minya Hedonist: Another fragrance that I think will grace many “Best Of” lists at the end of the year. An absolutely lovely fragrance that evokes the best of classique, haute French perfumery, and that I think will continue to captivate people. Viktoria Minya is a perfumer to watch and, considering that Hedonist is her very first fragrance, I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Amouage Fate Man & Woman: I think both these fragrances will prove to be very popular, for different reasons. I’m not so completely convinced that Fate Man will stand the test of time across the board once the hype dies down, but I think Fate Woman will, for the most part.
STATS BY PERFUME HOUSE:
At this point, I’m going to encompass all the reviews I’ve done for the blog since I started. The perfume brands I’ve covered the most, whether with full reviews or the more abbreviated Reviews En Bref, are:
- Tom Ford: 12
- Serge Lutens: 11
- By Kilian: 8.5 (the half comes from a fragrance that I discussed briefly in one long paragraph in a Review En Bref devoted primarily to two other Kilian fragrances. I disliked the fragrance so much, I didn’t even include its name in the review and gave it rather short shrift, at least by my standards.)(Out of these 8.5, only 1 review, for the new Musk Oud, was even remotely complimentary and positive.)
- Amouage: 8
- L’Artisan Parfumeur: 8 (All negative. The exception might be Safran Troublant, which I loved, but its ridiculously fleeting nature ultimately turned that review negative as well.)
- Chanel: 7
- Guerlain: 6 (All negative to a large degree. Modern Guerlains simply aren’t my cup of tea. Interestingly, the one that I had the most neutral feelings for, relatively speaking, was the very last perfume ever created by Jean-Paul Guerlain.)
- Ormonde Jayne: 6
- Neela Vermeire Créations: 5
- Maison Francis Kurkdjian: 5
- Parfum d’Empire: 4
- Montale: 4
- Histoires de Parfums: 4
MOST FREQUENTLY READ REVIEWS:
The blog has been up for 6 months and 22 days, and gotten over 122,500 hits thus far, but some of my reviews get more love than others. The Top 10 most popular posts (in order and with the number of hits listed at the end) are:
- Perfume Review- Serge Lutens Chergui: The Desert Wind 3,460
- New Perfume Releases: Volume 3 – January 26th, 2013 2,441
- Perfume Reviews – Jo Malone “Sugar & Spice” Collection: Ginger Biscuit and Bitter Orange & Chocolate 2,063
- A Beginner’s Guide To Perfume: How to Train Your Nose, Learn Your Perfume Profile, & More 1,995
- New Perfume Releases: Volume 4 – February 15, 2013 1,823
- Perfume Review – Amouage Jubilation 25: Scheherazade & Seduction 1,726
- Perfume Review – Tom Ford Private Blend Oud Wood: An Approachable Oud 1,637
- Perfume Review – YSL M7 For Men (Reformulated): The Lion is a Pussycat 1,221
- Perfume Reviews – Jo Malone “Sugar & Spice” Collection: Redcurrants & Cream, Elderflower & Gooseberry; and Lemon Tart 1,205
- Perfume Review – Puredistance M: “M” for Molten Marvel 1,072
To my surprise, I also get continuous (and often daily) hits for Valentino‘s Valentina Assoluto. I chalk it up to the fact that no other blogger wanted to really tackle all the Smucker’s strawberry jam.
And, speaking of food, a surprising number of people find my blog not because of perfume, but because of all the gastronomy, royal food, food history, and royal recipe articles, with many being searched for by name. The sum total of the historical food posts, in conjunction with the general history articles, results in several thousand more hits. It makes me happy to think that some culinary student at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) is discovering the recipe for Catherine the Great’s favorite dish, learning about Tsarist coronation banquets, amused by the British royal family’s eating habits or culinary preferences, or paying heed to the woefully under-appreciated Careme (who is completely overshadowed by Escoffier, even though poor Careme is the real father of modern gastronomy, in my opinion).
WEB-ENGINE SEARCHES:
Two things always amuse me when it comes to my blog. First, spammers who write that I need to add greater detail and length to my posts. Because, really, have they seen my reviews??! Second, the manner by which people find my blog. I thought it may give you a few laughs too, so below are some of the funnier searches which have led to hits on my blog. The queries have been copied verbatim, with the only change being the minor editing of one four-letter word, and the addition of how many times that search may have come up in parentheses at the end:
- sex smelling dirty sweaty socks
- a customer has reject his order of roast beef, he want a replacement of chicken fricassee. how would you deal with this difficulty and solve the problem (11 times)
- big fatewoman get f*** by mini hourse (5 times)
- male full frontal (22 times)
- assist the nursery on how to read and write a nstp narrative documentation (7 times)
- big muscular caveman wanking (2 times)
- naked Omar Sharif (2 times)
- perfumed panties seduction stories
- Excrement perfume
- sexy images for blanket in the forest.
- “flaming flamingo lily smells bad.”
- tangle pile of naked male flesh male on male four some orgy
- sadomasochistic using vapor rub
- smell of a woman’s decomposition during sex
Needless to say, the last one is rather alarming. Either it was a necrophiliac, a budding serial killer, or both. As for the caveman one, it would be a lot more interesting as an insight into the sexual psyche if I didn’t continuously envision the Geico cavemen….
LASTLY…
As a final note, I want to thank all the regular readers — regardless of whether you comment or just lurk in the shadows — for staying with the blog. I know your time is precious, and I realise that many of my reviews are not brief. (That may be the understatement of the day!) So, please know, I’m enormously grateful to all of you, and cannot thank you enough for being here. Your loyalty and friendship have really made Kafkaesque, and I couldn’t have done it without you.
So, onwards and upwards to another 100!
Congratulations, love! <3
You’re a huge, HUGE, HUGE part of this, and your support from the start has meant the world to me, my dear. More than I can ever express and certainly more than I can ever thank you for!!!! xoxoxooxx
I check your blog daily now. I look forward to your reviews and get an alert to my phone when you post a new one.
Of course I primarily read the mens, or unisex reviews, but I’ll skim through the womens also. I have to agree about Pure Distance M, that one is amazing. I don’t mind the Dzhonga but the Dzing is far too sweet. I hated the Dzhonga until it was explained to me that it was made to smell like the scrolls in an old Tibetan(? ) Monestary. But then I thought to myself, Why would you want to smell like parchment? Perhaps if your a monk. But nevertheless, I wear it rarely.
Awww, you’re so sweet, Mike. And I’m so glad you’re a part of this little community! 😀 As for the perfumes, I think most fragrances are very unisex, regardless of classification. Men can absolutely rock something with a more floral bent, so please don’t let that stop you on this fragrant journey! Are there any floral notes that you like? Iris, jasmine, ylang-ylang? In my opinion, it’s *how* the notes are used and *what* they are combined with that is the key. After all, tons of Montales or Bond No. 9s use roses with wood, patchouli, or sweet notes, but there are plenty of men’s fragrances that use ylang-ylang as well. I guess I’m saying that I hope you won’t give up on some scents that may, initially, seem feminine in their notes or in their name. 🙂
As for Dzonghka, it sounds like it was extremely arid and dry on your skin, too. It *is* supposed to evoke a Tibetan monastery and its dusty, dry, ancient feel, but Dzonghka took it to extremes on my skin, unfortunately. As a whole though, I’ve had almost no success with the L’Artisan line. Some houses just don’t work for one, you know? Do you have anything like that for you?
Enjoying this fragrant journey immensely.
I’m so glad. Thank you for being part of it, Jordan!
Dearest Kafka! 200th post – wow wow wow. Congratulations. The list of search terms is just simply hilarious. Here’s to 200,000 more posts!
Thank you, dear Hajusuuri. Although the flashier or more extreme search terms catch ones eye, I always wonder: just HOW can a blanket be sexy? What exactly constitutes a “sexy image” for a blanket? And what the hell is a flaming flamingo lily???
I love settling in with a glass of red and one of your lengthy posts! Keep ’em coming…
Aww, I *love* the idea of you curling up with a glass of red and settling in to read, Cymbaline! I just hope red wine goes with some of the less salubrious things I review…. lol 😛
Congratulations dear Kafka! You blog is great and fun and lots of other things in between. And your last post is hilarious, esspecially its last part. Looking forward to your 1000 review!!!
My dear Ross, you have no idea how happy I am that you found the blog way back when. Your friendship means more to me than even your kind words now. A big smooch to you, handsome!
Congratulations, Kafka! Your posts are my always a highlight of my day. Here’s to many more outstanding reviews!
Thank you, Kellilee, for being here and for always being so, so sweet. Please give Roo some kisses and ear scritches from me! xoxox
Aww, you make me blush! If I were even halfway computer literate, I would put Roo’s picture on here so you could his face. He has such a handsome face (and I’m not biased or anything ;)). He appreciates your ear scritches!
Of course, you’re biased — as you bloody well should be!! 😀 There is nothing better than someone who adores and is a complete slave to their furry child. Tell Master Roo that I think he has you well-trained. *grin* 😉
Congratulations! And now that I know I’m only about 130 posts behind, I don’t feel overwhelmed by the prospect of reading your archives. To 200 more!
LOLOLOL!! You don’t know how much I laughed at that. The prospect of a gazillion long posts to go through…. that would unnerve me as well! *grin* I updated this post to add in a link to Post #100 which also has “Best Of & Worst Of” lists, in hopes that it may help cull through all the archives and make going back easier. I don’t have a good idea of your perfume tastes yet, Laurels, so I don’t know what sort of things to recommend, but Alahine is one of my absolute FAVORITE perfumes!!! So, if you want to start with an old review, I’d start there! And, please, if you ever have any questions about something or whether it would work for you, don’t hesitate to ask!! 🙂
I suspect my taste is similar to yours. I’ve worn Opium for twenty years, and realized about six months ago, when my last bottle started to get low, that I had no desire to buy another. After looking online for reviews and samples, I fell down the perfume rabbit hole, although I still haven’t sampled enough to know if our tastes are entirely congruent. Your reviews have made me very interested in trying Alahine, and also Yvresse. (Peaches have recently been banned from my diet, and I’ve become a bit obsessed with peach in perfume.) Thank you also for the link to Post #100; I have a weakness for large Germanic dogs, and yours is beautiful.
An Opium lover with a weakness for large Germanic dogs? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS TIME?!??! 😀 I’m thrilled to hear that, Laurels! Which are some of your favorite breeds? (Notice how I’m sidestepping the tragic fate of our poor, beloved Opium these days? Too, too depressing to talk about.) As for Yvresse, it is definitely a favorite, even though I almost rarely go for fruity-florals in general. I don’t think that there is any difference between Yvresse and Champagne, though one or two people think otherwise, but if you want to try either, I looked at Surrender to Chance for you. They carry both!! Yvresse: http://surrendertochance.com/yves-saint-laurent-yvresse-edt/ and Champagne: http://surrendertochance.com/yves-saint-laurent-champagne-original/ Each sample vial starts at $3 for 1 ml. I really should do a review of it soon, because it’s a truly fantastic fragrance.
That said, I think Alahine will be one of my all-time favorites out of all modern scents. http://surrendertochance.com/teo-cabanel-alahine/ If you get a chance to try any of them, I hope you’ll let me know what you think. There is definitely what I call an Alahine Syndrome which requires at least 3-4 tries before the fragrance captures you — and I’ve never quite seen anything quite so consistent with other fragrances — so if you do try it, give it a few go rounds! 🙂 Now, back to the important issue of dogs, do you have any? 😀
You are just compulsively helpful! I do have a dog, an elderly Rottweiler mix. He looks like a runty Rott with a slightly pointy nose, if a 90-pound dog can be described as runty.
LOL! He sounds adorable! I love Rotties and their massive, bear-like head. Glorious. I bet yours is an absolute teddy-bear.
Huge congratulations dearest Kafka! You’re amazing. You’re blogging for a relatively short amount of time and you gathered so many readers (2 times more than I did!) + you’ve published so many post, I’m far behind you before I reach to 200 posts!
Cheers and have fun writing another 200!
Thank you, my dear Lucas. Especially for your friendship. I have so much fun as your total Scent Opposite! 🙂 😛
Glad you have fun with our so different tastes.
Congratulations on your 200th post! I hope the next 100 will have a better finds/disappointments ratio 🙂
After reading your post I reconfirmed for myself that ignorance is a bliss: I don’t even want to know what brings my random visitors to the blog 😉
LOL. Now I’m curious, so please look! 😉 I highly doubt it would be the smell of decomposing bodies or cavemen getting … er… excited. Honestly, I can’t even remember *mentioning* cavemen! I blame Patrick Suskind’s book, “Perfume,” for a few of the odd searches and the M7 ad explains the endless “full frontal” hits, but a good number of the searches I see leave me scratching my head in bewilderment!
Nothing more exotic than “kathleen turner hot” (I used her picture in the review about perfumes working in extreme heat) and “las vegas map” (I created a map for perfume shopping in Las Vegas).
Hm. On the one hand, I’m happy you didn’t get anything too wild, on the other…. 😉 😛
Sometimes I wish for more smileys in WP. I definitely miss one for teasing (;-P), anger, blushing and crying. I can think of a couple more.
I agree. It’s why I sometimes just put things between asterixes, so I can convey more. But, honestly, now I’m more fixated on the issue of how we can get you some funky web-engine searches. Perhaps a post about one of your favorite books, Suskind’s Perfume, and its plot? If anything will bring out the kink, it will be that! *grin*
Yeah… That one would do it… Or I could elaborate on my lemmings’ activities… 😉
Wow. 200! Well done!!! Your writing has been my morning companion for a while now, and I am very grateful to have found you. You reassure my passions, and your explorations, spark new ones. I am wearing 1725 this morning, before going to the Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine. I want to be aligned with the flowers and trees in a comforting way. I never would have tried this perfume if it hadn’t been for you. The clincher was…..your parents really liked it. Congratulations Kafka!!!!!!
Tora, my dear, your words touch me so much. Thank you, but most of all for your endless kindness to me and for your friendship. As for 1725, I’m smiling so much. I shall be sure to tell my parents and I’m sure that The Ultimate Perfume Snob (a.k.a, my lovely mother) will be triumphant that 1725 isn’t even remotely a masculine men’s cologne! *grin* You know, they hate being mentioned in the blog, but sometimes, I truly can’t help it, so I’m really glad I did so in this case. A very big hug to you, and I hope you enjoyed the Botanical Gardens this morning. xoxox
Who in their right mind googles sadomasochistic using vapor rub? I hurt just READING these words and want to run and steal one of DH’s percocets. Lolol. And ouch! But seriously congratulations on 200 awesome posts Kafka! Xo’s to you.
Heh, Vicki, that one made me wonder, too, especially as my vivid imagination transposed the vapor rub onto all sorts of uncomfortable places. But nothing makes me wonder so much as the query about the smell of a woman’s decomposing body though….. *shudder* I truly doubt *anything* will ever beat that one.
Many fragrant (of the non-Zafar, non-ISO E Super type) felicitations on reaching this milestone! Love your well-written, no-holds-barred reviews; your work is very much appreciated.
I’m relatively new to the perfume hobby; a few months back I ordered a sample of Dzing! (swayed by LT’s gushing review in the A-Z Guide). Turns out I agreed with him in general terms–“circus” definitely sprang to mind, but not the cotton candy-sawdust-vanilla-leather fantasy he had in mind… I got a giant blast of unwashed exotic animal pens in desperate need of mucking-out and powerwashing. I threw the strip in the garbage without waiting for the base notes (I figured they could only be worse) and to this day thinking about Dzing! makes me shudder.
OTOH, I might order a sample of Zafar out of sheer masochistic curiosity… that’s how good your reviews are, they make me *want* to try a truly horrifying-sounding perfume!
Sadomasochistic Vapor Rub would be a great name for a band… and Flamingo! Flamingo! Lily! sounds like a new perfume from Etat Libre (the notes would list “flamingo adrenaline accord”).
Stina, a huge welcome to you and an even bigger “Thank you”! Your comment made me smile so much. Actually, I laughed out loud at your description of you agreeing with Luca Turin but in the most negative way possible. Heh. I’ve actually gotten to the point that if he LOVES something, I’ll pause in my tracks. 😀 As for Zafar, ha! If you’re truly feeling masochistic, may I suggest Rubj EDP? *grin*
You know, you have a fantastic sense of humour because I started laughing all over again over “flamingo adrenaline accord” for Etat Libre. *FLAMING* Flamingo would be even better. Or how about “Sexy Blanket Caveman Wanking”? 😉 😛 I’m so, so glad you stopped by, and thank you for your incredibly kind words. I hope to see you (and your wonderful sense of humour) again, Stina!
I’m glad my silliness made you smile! I watched the BBC series Red Dwarf a few too many times when I was young and impressionable, and its ridiculous-cognitive-dissonance aesthetic definitely stuck. 🙂
I’ve tried Rubj EdP, and on me it’s a truly strange (but interesting) mix of jasmine and orange blossom combined with fresh salty sweat (as though I wandered into an orange-tree-and-jasmine grove right after a super-intense workout). No dried (as opposed to fresh) sweat, stinky feet or crusty underpants, thank goodness – otherwise Rubj would have followed Dzing! into the trash can. It’s definitely erotic; not something I could ever wear to work! Can’t decide if it’s FBW for me or not.
Hmmm, maybe I *should* try Zafar (Sexy Blanket Caveman Wanking sounds like a good alternative name for it…). Though I bet that not even the quirks of individual body chemistry would make that particular fragrance palatable!
Oh, Rubj sound fantastic on your skin!!! A bit like how Onda was on me, only with honey and vetiver in lieu of the orange blossoms and jasmine. How I envy you that experience! As for Zafar, I know a number of men who absolutely adore it and have bought a bottle. I think it really depends on how you interpret or like that particular sort of very aged agarwood. Have there been any oud fragrances that you’ve loved? And, in general, do you have a particular type of fragrance category, note or type that you’re always drawn to?
Not sure if M. Micallef Le Parfum DD Couture qualifies as an oud after reading your review about the animalis/castoreum/whatever note that’s in there! But to me it smells like a touch of oud, just enough to give the tangerine-honey accord a tanginess that sings beautifully on my skin for hours. That’s my current favorite.
I haven’t worked my way up to full frontal ouds yet; I tried Montale Black Aoud and loved the strong dark rose, but there was too much pink plastic Band-Aid. Will keep sampling till I find some ouds that have just the right twist for me.
I tend to gravitate toward orientals/ambers/woods – Ambre Narguile, Ambre Russe (like you I’d love an extrait version!), CdG Kyoto, Vanille Insensee. Haven’t sampled Trayee yet but I’m really looking forward to that one.
I’m picky about florals; I like off-beat ones like Bombay Bling! and Vraie Blonde, but the only traditional white floral I really like is Le Temps d’une Fete. I can’t stand pretty-pretty fragrances, sugary gourmands, or anything soapy (Calone, grrrrr).
And I can’t wear anything by Guerlain (except vintage Jicky) because my skin amplifies the sweet notes in the Guerlinade base into a horrifying cloud of rancid sickly-sweet marshmallow-ness that expands to fill all available space (we’re talking serious crowd control…).
I must have done something horrible in a previous life to be denied Mitsouko in this one!
The Micallef has a note that definitely smells like oud to me too, Stina! But it sounds like you got significantly less than I did. I’m really glad that you love the fragrance and that it is working out well for you. 🙂 As for the Guerlains, I have a friend who can’t wear any of them (not even Jicky) because of the base. They all go terribly, terribly wrong on her skin. I believe she once called the resulting effect “bug spray” and something a bit similar to your description with the cloying, sickly, rancid sweetness. And I have another friend who hates the effects of Guerlainade, too. I hope that makes you feel a little better, because you’re definitely not alone.
We definitely seem to have some overlap in our tastes, from the gourmands to liking things like the oriental/woodsy/ambers! Gosh, I wonder what you’d think of Profumum Roma? The line has become a new obsession of mine almost purely because of their ambers! None, however, are light or airy, so they’re the complete opposite from something like Jean-Claude Ellena’s Ambre Narguilé.
As for Montale’s pink plastic band-aid note, those few Montales I’ve tried with that scent have had ISO E Super to go with the agarwood. And I blame the pink bandaids on that. (Montale’s Aoud Lime remains one of the single worst things I’ve ever smelled!)
Congratulations on your 200th post (and for getting to it so quickly at that)! And since I am relatively new to the blog, I love all the links so I can go back and read the great ones I missed. I still don’t know how you find time to write so profusely but, I love that you do. Good and bad, I always love to hear your thoughts on things. Keep up the wonderful work!
Thank you, my dear. Honestly, the BEST part of my blog is meeting people like you and starting up friendships with them. Thank you for all your kindness, and I’m not even thinking about the glorious, Christmas-like samples you sent, but all the rest of it as well. A huge big hug to you, and belly rubs for The Tiny Italian. 😀
I have all your reviews sitting in my inbox….so many to get through! keep ’em coming.
Jean
Here’s to 200 more (and more…and more…and more)! My favorite perfume blog, far and away! I so look forward to reading each review, and can’t wait to see what the future holds. As for some of those search results… o___O
Congratulations for your blog.I learn intensely with every word when you explain the benefits of each fragrance. I wanted to let you know that I purchased the fragrance Cuir Ottoman and share with you: is great and in this last week I order a Hedonist sample for my daughter because she has a good nose to differentiate aromas. As other readers says, we love to follow you on each fragrance because you give them life with your words and our best wishes for you. Thank you.
Walter, thank you for your incredibly kind words. I’m very touched. (And please feel free to call me Kafka, by the way. 🙂 ) How wonderful about the Hedonist sample for your daughter. Let me know what she thinks of it, if you get the chance. Honey can be a very tricky note that really depends on skin chemistry and sometimes, it can turn metallic, sour, or very, very animalic in a bit of an intimate way. But, when it works well on a skin, it can be absolute *magic*!!!! Hedonist seems to work really well on almost everyone I know who has tried it, but there have been a few rare exceptions, so I hope she falls into the first group. 🙂
As for Cuir Ottoman, I’ve heard lovely, lovely things about it and have a sample that I was going to review this week. The schedule may change because of some new fragrances, but hopefully I’ll get to it. (I never smell a perfume before I’m ready to sit down with it fully and test it out.) But I’m SOOOOOOO glad that you love it and that it is working well for you! Wonderful, wonderful news! And I really hope that you will stop by more often to tell me about scents that you have tested, fallen in love with, or had problems with! I’d enjoy getting to know you and your perfume tastes better. 🙂
Hi Kaka, we received the HEDONIST sample from Viktoria Minya. Our daughter Jana will tryit first because she has a good nose to recognize different scents.
Oh, I’m so glad. You’ll have to let me know if either of you like it. No worries if you don’t; honey can be a tricky note, and a lot can depend on skin chemistry. 🙂
Congrats on 200! I’m on vacation and still here I am checking the blogs. I just can’t seem to break my twitter and blog habit. I love the searches that have sent people to your blog. Too funny! Anyway, it’s always a good read so keep writing.
Was that traumatic not to be named perfume better or worse than Lime Oud?
I hope you’re having a good holiday, my dear! 😀 And thank you for always being here and for your support. As for The Perfume Which Shall Not Be Named, it was equal to Montale’s Aoud Lime in some ways and much worse in a number of other ones! Yes, it reached Aoud Lime levels for me!
K – Congrats on your 200th post. I don’t know how you have the energy to be so prolific of a writer but I am so glad that you are. You in-depth reviews and informative posts are a joy to read. Keep on keeping on. I can’t wait for the next 200 posts! xooxoxoxo
Thank you, my darling Mr. Hound. You’ve been there from the start, supporting me and being ever so kind. You don’t know how grateful I am. As for the energy to be so prolific, it helps to be a lawyer who is used to massive amounts of data and, much more importantly, an insomniac who gets little to no sleep. *grin*
Congratulations!!! I love to read your reviews although Im a lousy commenter 🙂
Thank you, my dear Sigrun! It’s always lovely to hear from you, but I completely understand being too busy and swamped to have the time to comment. Please know that I don’t expect it at all. *hugs*
Congratulations Kafka! I see you are really popular 😀 I too, love your reviews particularly because they are lengthy, in depth, include references and images and can sometimes be quite funny too. I have learned a lot from your reviews, and particularly a lot about perfume. I also discovered your history essays and I can say they are very enjoyable for this history fanatic who loves to learn as much as she can about history, including interesting anecdotes. I actually found your blog thanks to temptalia in the Sunday link love feature and I can say I now check your blog on a regular basis. Once again huge Congratulations 😀 !
On a side note, those searches are… O_O a bit horrifying, I mean four men orgy? decomposing woman smell? excrement perfume? Caveman? Full male frontal? sweaty socks? What is wrong with people lol. If I ever have a blog in the future I would rather be ignorant about this kind of thing 😛 .
ROFL!! The searches seem to have horrified quite a few people. *grin* Today’s interesting one is “Japanese granny sex”….
I’d rather not know why. 😉 😛
You made me laugh out loud. Twice. Well done! The first was for the list of search terms, the second was for this reply. One of the younger members of the household was curious as to why I was laughing…
And, of course, I now have a further swag of perfumes I *need* to try.
So with you on the Rubj. Just can’t do it. I’ll give my sample one more try just to make utterly sure, but not just yet! I suspect orange blossom and I are fated to not be best friends (Rubj, Seville a l’aube, Tauer Orange Star, ELdO Rien). But then I read that Bal a Versailles contains it! and I utterly adore that one. Sometimes you just can’t pick it from the notes.
Hi Greennote2, welcome to the blog. 🙂 I’m glad I could make you chuckle. I was really interested in what you wrote about orange blossoms because I LOVE the note, and yet I share your difficulty with every single perfume on your list except for Tauer’s Orange Star which I haven’t tried yet. I think orange blossom can be a tricky note, and how it is treated is the key. (LIke you, I also like Bal à Versailles, though the orange blossom is very subsumed in that one, as you noted.) Have you tried Serge Lutens’ Fleurs d’Oranger? If so, how did it work for you?
I’m *SO* glad you’re here, Vicky, and that you stop by. It’s been a joy getting to know you better, and not just because you’re one of the few people who shares my passion for history! 😀 😀
Sorry, Kafka, to post in the wrong place, but there was no option to reply above! No, I haven’t tried SL Fleurs d’Oranger. It’s been on and off the list for years. Maybe I should actually bite the bullet and try it.
If you tolerate cumin, it’s definitely worth a sniff at the very least. 🙂
Congratulations Kafka. And may there be many, many more fragrant words from you and I hope that your beautiful writing brings vapo rub using sock fetishists to discover the joy of perfume.
I have a feeling that aside from your dislike of l’artisan we may be scent twins. It is great to get a summary to compare to.
“I hope that your beautiful writing brings vapo rub using sock fetishists to discover the joy of perfume.” — Hahaha, I almost choked on my coffee when I read that. Really, you have no idea how much I laughed. *grin* Thank you for your kind words, but especially for your fantastic sense of humour. I really do hope you stop by more often, as I’d really like to get to know you (and your perfume tastes) better. *Especially* if there is a chance that we may be Scent Twins!! 😀 😀
Well, I guess some 500 visits to your Jubilation 25 review have been by yours truly. I never get tired of reading that one, dear Kafka!
The web engine searches are a fantastic bonus.
Thank you for entertaining us with intelligence.
xoxo
Caro
Heh, I never knew that Jubilation 25 was such a favorite of yours amongst the Amouage line. I’m glad you thought my review could do it a little justice. 🙂 And Caro, thank you for your friendship and for being there, by dear. *hugs*
Well, I tried it almost by chance and it was a beautiful surprise. I especially like the rose note and how multilayered the fragrance is. I am contemplating buying a bottle of it (or perhaps Memoir…or a backup of Lyric)
Thank YOU, dear.
Don’t forget Ubar on that list. And you haven’t even tried Fate Woman yet, either. Your wallet has my full sympathy…. *grin*
I already have a bottle of Ubar and I love your likening it to a White Arab steed. I just don’t wear it to often, it is one of my special-occasion fragrances.
I will have to wait to try Fate because of postal/customs issues. The regulations for shipping liquids in Britain have changed and they cannot be sent via Royal Mail. I can only receive (relatively) easily stuff that is sent via regular postal service. Anything sent through private couriers gets stopped at the airport -which is 30km away from the city- and the storage fees (even for 2 days) are ridiculously high (say over USD180 for a small package)
Here’s to the next 100 and the next 1000 after that! Congratulations, dearest Kafka!
Might I say that I am surprised that Zafar is on the Deeply disappointing list and not on the Traumatic List? I saw a bottle of it the other day and could only imagine a toilet filled with runny Gorgonzola . . .
Also, your list of search terms that have led people to your blog left me hysterical. Since my attempt to get more “interesting” hits, I have only gotten the following:
“why dont i like the taste of the food i cook”
and
“if the french cook with butter what do the english cook with”
So basically it’s idiots who have found me! And not even interesting ones 🙁
LOL at the idiots comments. Would you trade your idiots for my perverts? Like the chap looking for “Japanese granny sex”? 😛 😉
God, I’ll take pervert over idiots any day. At least the perverts make me laugh! 🙂
And, um . . . Japanese granny sex??? I once heard that at Google, there is a ticker board that shows a random selection of searches. I bet they see everything.
Sorry I’m late in saying it, but congratulations on your 200th post, Kafka. I’ll never catch up with reading all you’ve written – you’re easily the most prolific blogger I’ve ever read!! But when I’m here, I enjoy your very detailed, insightful and honest reviews.
Thank you, my dear. I grinned at the “I’ll never catch up” part. Heh. 😀 Please don’t feel you have to; it’s a joy to me whenever you stop by, each and every time, and I’m grateful you find the time to do so as often as you do. Believe me, I know my reviews are lengthy and people’s time is precious, so I’m happy anyone reads me at all! LOL 😀
Belatedly chiming in to congratulate you on your 200th post! An amazing milestone in such a short time. Like Suzanne, I cannot keep up with all your posts but I take a look each week and dip into the ones where we have crossover in our tastes.
And I do hope you get some sleep soon, to charge your batteries for the next 200!
Thank you, dear Vanessa. I’m always happy to see your smiling face, but I perfectly understand not being able to keep up. Plus, there is also the fact that I may be the *ultimate* Evil Scent Twin for you — pure and complete opposites. LOL. 😛 So, please, no worries if you’re not a fan of the stuff I focus on primarily. I understand completely. 🙂
Love reading your entires. Keep up the great work!!!
Thank you, David! It’s lovely to see the cool sunglasses again! 😉 😛