Love it or hate it

There are as many tastes as there are people out there. Of course this also applies to perfume. Each of us could make a list (short or long) of fragrances they love & they can’t imagine their life without. But if someone asked you, would you be able to name a fragrance that you hate and that you never want to smell again? Did you answer yes? Brilliant, because I want to talk about them.

Personally, there are a couple of perfume notes that I barely tolerate & any perfume that would contain it in higher amount would instantly cause a grin on my face and such fragrance would have to be rubbed off my skin. I react like this to myrrh, gardenia, indolic tuberose or cumin to name just a few. Generally speaking I’m a very curious person for discovering new scents but I’m always extra cautious for these few notes that I dislike. But what if your beloved perfume ingredient decided to trick you? For the last few years you had many chances to learn about my extensive love for anything with iris. I don’t know why did I pick iris nor how did it become my favorite essence but I’m always on the lookout for a new iris. With more or less luck.

Then came one day when I received a sample of Iris Silver Mist by Serge Lutens from a friend. It was famed as an ultimate iris and I really wanted to try it. To put it mildly – we didn’t become friends. An ultimate iris turned into an ultimate scrubber. As soon as I tried it I realized that on my skin it smells like a bunch of over boiled carrots thrown into a musty, underground tomb that stinks of wet soil, moist bricks and rotting roots. I just couldn’t stand it. Funny enough, my fellow iris worshippers (who read the blog) are big fans of this SL fragrance. Taste is such a personal matter.

Now you know what my nemesis fragrance is. Did you ever have a similar experience? Is there a fragrance that you hate & others love or a one that you love but others hate? Please share!

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Monday Quick Sniffs, part 22

Fueguia 1833 Biblioteca de Babel is a woody galore fragrance for the real connoiseurs of woody aromas. This composition opens with the note of mahogany. It is quite pungent at first and it doesn’t lose much power in a short time. It smells very dry and refined, a little bit rough like it had some splinters. It brings a very spacious feeling of a building with really high ceiling. After some time the perfumes becomes more and more smoky bringing incense, burnt wood and cracking fireplace association. There’s really something ashy about this perfume. There’s also a cedar wood accord that makes the woody stage even more harsh. Cinnamon adds some warmth and spiciness to this blend, but it never becomes the main star of Biblioteca de Babel. It might even add some aromatic and sweet qualities but it’s still not enough to overpower the woody accords of cedar and mahogany. This is not a scent of old books. It’s the scent of an old library, especially old and heavy wooden shelves. Ideal for bibliophiles

Laine de Verre (glass wool, fiberglass), the latest fragrance composition from Master Serge Lutens joins the L’Eau Collection as a third scent, which, just like the other two, is focused on creating kind of “anti-perfume” feeling around the wearer. This new fragrance opens with a huge dose of aldehydes that smell incredibly cold and unfriendly. There’s a lot of metallic vibe to it, bringing iron filings to my mind. Brr! After 30 or so minutes a light aroma of citrus starts to appear, making Laine de Verre smell even more artificial, like a washing powder. When musk and cashmeran make their entry, the perfume becomes nothing more like soap combined with washing powder, bleach, some detergents, shower cleaner and any other household chemical product you can think of! This perfume truly represents the anti-fragrance idea, but in a bad way. Laine de Verre is very “modern” in the industrial meaning of this word. When I smell this perfume it makes me think of a huge metropolis, maybe New York City, where you have steel, glass and concrete all around you. I say no to this perfume. Sorry Mr Lutens, another miss for me…

Bois de Gaiac et Poire, also known as “Close Your Eyes, and…” aka ref. 015 813 is a fruity floral composition by Miller et Bertaux. The composition opens with a sweet and delicate smell of heliotrope. It’s a little bit fresh and a little bit powdery. Right away it’s joined by the guaiac wood accord, which adds density and substance to the blend, making it a bit heavier. Bitter almonds add a gourmand touch to the perfume, slowly evolving into something that smells more like an amaretto liquor. At some point a watery and dewy aroma of pear appears, making my mouth flood with saliva. It’s delicious, maybe not as realistic as some other pears I know, but still very good. It’s harmonized by gentle tones of flowers: jasmine and rose. A tiny hint of sparkling spiciness is added by the use of cinnamon that stimulates the senses. Mandarin orange and lemon mark the finale of the composition introducing a transparent citric hue around all the notes. This is a really casual perfume, definitely more for women than for men.