Memoire Liquide Voleur

Due to my surprise at the inability to find information about this house, I will reference the website from which I purchased my sample, Perfumed Court. According to these fine ladies, "Memoire Liquide is a new line of bespoke perfumes that launched earlier this year at Henri Bendel in New York and last year at Fred Segal. The line was developed by Robin Coe-Hutshing and her sister Jennifer Coe." Always one to seek out what is new and trendy in the perfume marketplace, I thought the line sounded interesting enough to give a few of their scents a spin. I am glad I tried this one.

Voleur is described by the above referenced website as "the scent of amber, luxuriously smoothed and mellowed with white musk and honey." Sometimes amber mixes well with my skin, especially if it is sweetened or softened with notes like musk or fruit. One of my favorite examples of a beautiful amber scent is Hilary Duff's With Love. I usually am not a fan of celebrity fragrances but this one defied all of my preconceived notions. I love the longevity, the sweetness meets spice and the cashmere wrap warmth of it. I was hoping to find something similar in this obscure yet intriguing offering from Memoire Liquide.

Upon first spritz, I am delighted at the fruity-sweet and obvious honey note. It dominates for a full five minutes, giving way to a milkier not quite creamy accord. In this case, musk is very white and light, serving only to augment the combination. The disappointment lies in the less than full-bodied development of amber. Unfortunately the scent progresses into that milky combination, only vaguely suggesting musk and amber before it disappears from my skin completely. What a shame, since it is an eau de parfum formulation. This is one scent that I imagine may best be worn by women who have lots of natural oil in their skin. For my ivory and dry skin, it is not ideal. Although I do appreciate the attempt to develop a scent based upon amber. In addition, my interest is piqued to try more from this new line.

Memoire Liquide has quite an offering, including the ability at their display to test many different oils in combination with one another. I was not able to find a full bottle of Voleur online. Its obscurity makes Memoire Liquide all the more intriguing to me.

Update: after trying this again today, Saturday, I did experience more development. First honey, followed by sweet smelling amber and finally a soft, white musk with little remnant of the previous notes. I know this description lacks artistry, but my experience of this scent today pleasantly surprised me.

Memoire Liquide Voleur may be purchased at Fred Segal in Santa Monica, CA or Henri Bendel in New York City. The Memoire Liquide website is under construction.

Amber image courtesy of crystal-cure.com

IL Profumo Chocolat Amere

I am such a lover of all things chocolate I could easily name this blog "For the Love of Chocolate." Thus, the reason I jumped at the opportunity to get a sample of the fragrance meaning literally "bitter chocolate" in French. My first interaction with Chocolat Amere by Il Profumo was before I knew it was designed for men, and I found it an interesting, warm scent perfect for fall. I pictured myself adorned in a chestnut cashmere wrap sweater, slim, tailored pants and stiletto boots, carrying a pumpkin flavored latte with loads of shopping bags and contemplating my holiday plans. When Mr. TMH caught whiff, he conjured images of bulky sweaters, hair that smells of burning leaves and fresh air, jeans, hot cocoa, college football and bonfires. Despite the opposing details, the male and female imaginations arrive at the same destination. Little doubt lingers regarding the season appropriate for this scent.

Considering the composition of this fragrance, "bitter" encompasses its charms exactly. This is chocolate that is not quite sure it wants to be chocolate. Moody and elusive, it gets up and walks away just when you are within its grasp. The notes that predominate are the luscious woods and spices and the come-hither galbanum. At first whiff I detect a fruity aspect, although I'm not quite sure where that comes from since a fruit note is not listed. The dark chocolate soon introduces itself as well as a mysterious floral note. Upon drying, the galbanum gloriously shines through and takes me back to my Must de Cartier wearing days.

The deep, dark chocolate intermittently pops out - although not for long - through the remainder of wear accompanying piquant nutmeg, earthy sandalwood and meditative incense. A winner in my book, although it certainly falls in the unique and interesting domain. Little sillage makes it one to wear when cuddling up by the fire with a book, while its sensual charisma makes it one to wear when cuddling up by the fire with your significant other.

Il Profumo Chocolat Amere is available at Luckyscent, 100mL retails for $90. I have not found other retailers for it yet.

Images courtesy of grocersdaughter.com and luckyscent.com.

Rediscovering Tom Ford Black Orchid

As I returned to the inferno today and was pleased to discover that our temperatures decreased in the last 24 hours from 110 degrees fahrenheit to a mere 105, my thoughts turned to fall and warmer, lusher fragrances. (Yeah, right!) All kidding aside, I decided to re-test Tom Ford Black Orchid, the fragrance that originally turned up my nose and raised hair on the back of my neck. Thanks to Paul at Saks Fifth Avenue, I have an abundance of samples of this fragrance, so why not use them?

Breaking down the nuances of this fragrance is proving difficult for my travel- and work-weary mind and body. I'll leave that to the expert Robin at Now Smell This who does a beautiful job here. What I am picking out this evening is coconut, among the flowers and resins. I'm not kidding. Perhaps my senses have been altered by the sweltering chile relleno dish I had in Santa Fe, New Mexico last night. Or I am becoming more well-rounded in my fragrance appreciation, veering away from easy-to-love white florals and citrus scents. Whatever the case, I find Black Orchid rich, lush, a tad sweet and very wearable today. Interesting. Perhaps I will add it to my fall rotation.

This brings up a perhaps controversial but very valid discussion. Black Orchid is the second scent in the last six months I thought I would never wear yet upon retesting found delicious. (The first was Cartier Le Baiser du Dragon.) Considering changes in seasons and weather, environments and perspectives, I challenge you to retest a fragrance this week that you had previously deemed unwearable. You may be just as surprised as I was this evening or it may add a little excitement to a previously humdrum day. Let me know the results of your experiment!

Image courtesy of ipcmedia.com

Travel Scents

I am headed to a beautiful city nestled among mountains with an ideal climate this time of year. It is heavily influenced by the Spanish, known for its art, restaurants and quaint atmosphere. Referring to the photo on the left, can you guess where I am going?
More importantly, can you name a fragrance I should wear? Rushing out of the house at 7a.m. this morning prevented me from giving it too much thought, however, I am wearing a beautiful body butter by Bliss called Vanilla+Bergamot.

I have wondered many times the ideal fragrance to layer with this luxurious cream. It reminds me of fall and winter, for certain, and it smells wonderfully warm and cozy. Any ideas?

Have a wonderful day!

Image courtesy of blissworld.com

Perfume for the Occasion: Going to the gym

This is a difficult topic for me considering I concur with this blogger. I will never forget the day I layered Bath and Body Works Moonlight Path lotion all over myself and then went to the gym to work out for 2 hours. Not a good idea. Plus, I will forever feel apologetic to the poor souls who struggled to breathe around me. Oxygen comes at a premium when you are surrounded by artificial fumes.

Therefore, the only scent I think appropriate for the gym is a good soap and an effective, make that very effective deodorant. With that in mind, I would like to list fragrances and notes that in my humble opinion (he!) should never, ever, under any circumstance be worn at the gym:

• Annick Goutal Songes and other heady florals


• As I learned, any lotion from Bath and Body Works


• Chanel Allure


• Christian Dior Poison


• Chypres


• Dark Woods


• Guerlain Shalimar


• Patchouli


• Perfumed concentration of any fragrance


• Musk


• Thierry Mugler Angel

The somewhat tolerable scents include:

• Citrus notes


• "Clean" fragrances, such as Clean Provence


• "Fresh" fragrances like Gendarme Sky


• Fragrances most consider appropriate for summer

If you head to the gym at the end of the day and remnants of the fragrance you applied in the morning linger, this qualifies as another instance in which fragrance is forgiven, barring you douse yourself with a heady floral or over-the-top spicy number with Herculean staying power. As my friend Divina wrote here, body sprays and aromatherapy based scents are the other alternative since their concentration is light and they evaporate so quickly.

Remember, if you can smell yourself without holding your wrist to your nose, others can smell you too - something to consider when circulation is poor or people are breathing heavily. My verdict? Save your fragrances for post-shower in the locker room and other occasions.

Collaboration!

To my readers:

I am very pleased to announce Divina (of Fragrance Bouquet) and I have decided to feature joint entries. The first and third Monday of every month will be devoted to a topic. The first is Perfume for the Occasion, where we will discuss a specific occasion and the perfect scent to accompany you for it. On the third Monday, we will feature Forget Me Not, inspired by our readers to highlight a long forgotten or classic fragrance that you may already own!

This month, Perfume for the Occasion's subject will be "Going to the Gym." Look for that post later on today. Forget Me Not will post on September 17th, fragrance to be announced. And finally, we will post our Fall Top 5 on September 30th.

I look forward to bringing you more features in the future and I am very excited about these two joint features to start! We hope you are excited also. Of course, if there are specific fragrances you would like us to discuss for Forget Me Not, please do not hesitate to suggest, as always.

Montale Paris Musk to Musk

My search for the perfect musk has ended!! After experimenting with Lorenzo Villoresi Musk eau de toilette, Serge Lutens Muscs Koublai Khan, Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur and others, Montale Paris Musk to Musk can be called "my musk." Thanks to my August sample pack from Lucky Scent, I am relieved to find a love within the Montale Paris line as well. (I knew my readers were right about this house!)

After a slightly dry and medicinal beginning, most certainly due to the aoud note, Musk to Musk quickly softens and smooths into a simultaneously sexy and creamy musk. Previously described as spicy and resinous, I find it simply and utterly delicious. Perhaps the combination of nutmeg and woods lends greater coziness to the lustrous musk, appealing to my nesting sensibilities. After researching grey amber or ambergris, I discovered it is a precious fragrance originating from the sperm whale which produces a very strong amber accord and serves as a fixative for scent. In this case, it serves to intensify the already exquisite combination that has me swooning with delight. Staying power is fantastic with the sensual woodsy/musky accord lingering for hours.

This is musk for the fashion forward. Not too transparent nor too rich, it suggests sexuality without screaming it. Musk to Musk does so in very chic and classy form. It goes on my "to buy a large decant" list promptly.

Montale Paris Musk to Musk retails for $95 for a 50mL bottle. I have found it available only at www.luckyscent.com.

Image source: parfemy-de-luxe.cz

Profumum Acqua Viva

What an incredible duplication of the lemons I had the pleasure of experiencing in Italy - as my husband and I dubbed them, "lemons on steroids." This refreshing, citrus fragrance has the distinct honor of smelling of lemons without reminding its wearer of Pledge. Lacking sweetness and instead offering an intense, fresh, warm and zesty lemon scent, this could make a great layering scent or summer essential for citrus lovers. Unfortunately, at this price point, you had better really, really love lemons.

Profumum Acqua Viva is available at www.luckyscent.com. A 100mL bottle retails for $215.

Image: my own of a street market in Sicily. To give perspective, these lemons were about the size of a large grapefruit.

Did You Know ...

Last year alone, women spent $1.92 billion on fashion designer scents? (According to Allure magazine.)

How about a few new designer scents to check out, if you haven't already? Listed in order of intrigue:

• Prada Infusion d'Iris - Florentine iris


• Emilio Pucci Vivara - galbanum, bergamot and amaretto


• Emporio Armani Diamonds - rose and ??


• Eau de Givenchy - grapefruit, tangerine and tuberose


• DKNY Delicious Night - crushed ginger, blackberry martini and amber


• Dolce & Gabanna The One- bergamot, lychee, Madonna lily, muguet, plum and vetiver

I usually carve out a few hours and head to Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue to try the new fall designer offerings. Perhaps this year I will find a full-bottle worthy scent. What are you excited to try?

And a discovery over the weekend: Stella McCartney In Two. I adore the original Stella and Stella Rose Absolute. This one combines a playful peony, pepper, amber and patchouli eau de toilette with a perfume solid that focuses on amber. I don't know how crazy I am about layering a solid perfume with a spray - it might be too much work - but the peony spray made my Sunday more delightful.

Decanting

Once you enter the realm of fragrance love and develop a perfume collection worth talking about, you will undoubtedly discover that full bottles are no longer practical. For one, if you like to travel, they are cumbersome to pack into a suitcase and heaven forbid they break in transit. Second, it may not be humanly possible to single-handedly utilize all the juice you have collected. Therefore, decanting some of your favorite fragrances into smaller containers, for yourself or to share with a friend becomes a fantastic idea! In addition, you can purchase smaller amounts of fragrances you like from several e-tailers who specialize in decanting from their fantastic collections. I highly recommend doing both.

First of all, let us discuss your own collection. I have found this website to be a fantastic resource for all decanting supplies. Their inventory changes frequently and the supplies they send to you will make any virgin decanter more comfortable! I also purchased my own label maker for my decants to speed up the process of identifying each fragrance. They also look much better with a professional label but it is certainly not necessary. A handwritten label will do but definitely make sure you do not forget to label. I think most of us have experienced the frustration of spraying an unidentifiable fragrance.

Now, for purchasing decants, this link from our friends at Perfume Posse offers an exhaustive list of decant e-tailers. I personally have had excellent experiences with Fragrant Fripperies, Bois*Bois, Dragonfly00 and Fishbone96. In addition, I am considering creating my own decanting website since my collection has now grown out of control.

[Please don't take this as solicitation, but in case anyone is craving any of these scents, this is some of my collection:

1. Annick Goutal Les Nuits d'Hadrien


2. Annick Goutal Quel Amour


3. Annick Goutal Songes


4. Bvlgari BLV For Her


5. Bvlgari Omnia


6. Calvin Klein Eternity Summer 2005


7. Cartier Le Baiser du Dragon perfume


8. Chanel Coromondel


9. Chanel No. 5 EDP


10. Creative Scentualization Perfect Nectar


11. Cristiano Fissore Cashmere for Women


12. Escada Collection


13. Frederic Malle Carnal Flower


14. i Profumi di Firenze Caterina de Medici


15. Jean Patou Enjoy


16. L'Artisan Parfumeur Ananas Fizz


17. Laura Mercier Tarte Au Citron


18. Nasomatto Absinthe


19. Serge Lutens Tubereuse Criminelle


20. Stella Rose Absolute


21. The Different Company Un Parfum D'Ailleurs & Fleurs


22. Tocca Florence

If you would like anything from my collection, please don't hesitate to contact me directly!]

Decanting provides a convenient, hassle free and cost-effective avenue for collecting and traveling with your favorite fragrances. If you have not ventured into the world of decants, try it. You might like it!

Updates

Hello readers! My life has experienced a few shifts lately and I want to keep you informed. First of all, I have decided to make this blog exclusively about perfume. When I began blogging last January, I mentioned that I would write about various topics. What I have found is that perfume is what I enjoy writing about the most. Therefore, from this point forward 100% of my posts will be related to the world of fragrance. Second, my new job has literally taken flight and I am tremendously grateful. It fulfills me so much yet it takes time away from blogging, preventing me from posting every day. My goal is to make what I do post interesting and informative.

Now, I need a few things from you. What topics do you find most interesting? Perfume reviews? New release updates? Perfume tips? Any particular fragrance you would like me to review? Please feel free to comment and make suggestions.

Thank you for your loyalty and have a wonderful evening!

Olivier Durbano Rock Crystal

As a young girl who had a little too much "freedom," my step-father was intent on finding an environment that would create more structure for me. My mother had done her best after raising me single-handedly for a few years to implement discipline. After changing schools every year between kindergarden and third grade, I have to admit I was a bit of a lost child. My step-father was convinced that parochial schools would offer the structure I so desperately needed.

That was one of the wisest decisions my parents ever made. Upon entering parochial schools, I found the structure, attention and accountability I had been searching for. I began taking piano lessons, I started excelling at writing and English, and I felt cocooned within a system that genuinely cared about my well-being and academic progress.

One of the many aspects of growing up in parochial schools was the regular attendance at Mass. Very few children enjoy going to church and I was no exception. However, during the hundreds of services I attended, I found a certain comfort in the ritual, pomp and circumstance of the whole ordeal. You see, Mass was a fiber of the cocoon that enfolded me during what could have been very tumultuous years. The scents I encountered in St. Agnes Church will stay with me for the rest of my life. Burning candles, lillies at Easter time, pine needles at Christmas - and the most glorious of all scents - frankincense for especially important holidays. According to Catholic tradition, frankincense represents the continuity of faith between the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

Olivier Durbano Rock Crystal instantly transports me to the old (since destroyed) St. Agnes Parish, the beautiful architectural structure that housed my slow spiritual progression as a young woman/child. I recall various events, including my first confession in which I literally had to make up something to confess, singing Christmas carols with the choir as Sister Margaret Sienna played the organ, and trying to prevent myself from laughing out loud (lest I get pulled out of church by my ear) after I clumsily fell and missed the kneeler. They were formative years indeed and they taught me self-restraint, poise and politeness at all costs.

So, let's talk about this gem of a fragrance. It is deep, resinous, heavy, woodsy and rich. It begins with a note that reminds me of pine needles and gradually gives way to the plenteous frankincense. It is no doubt a church-y fragrance. However, it lacks overwhelming strength, and in this case I am not disappointed. I cannot wear other fragrances in the same category such as Donna Karan Black Cashmere or L'Artisan Passage D'Enfer, simply because I detect an inordinate amount of incense from which I recoil. They also overwhelm me with their concentration.

Rock Crystal, on the other hand, is subtly rich and woodsy. It contains many notes, including orange, pepper, coriander, cardamom, cumin, cistus, sandalwood, cedar, vetiver, everlasting flower, oakmoss and musk. Their combination creates a highly resinous, benzoin fragrance. The frankincense pronounces itself with a deep sniff of the skin, but it does not surround the wearer with a cloud of smoke, like the puffs of frankincense I would avoid as a child. It is akin to deeply inter-woven brocade frabric, that looks nice from afar but must be inspected closely to detect its subtle nuances. In fact, if this fragrance could be characterized by a fabric, it would be dark plum brocade: ornate, expensive, subtle and luxurious. The frankincense slowly gives way to a musky, slightly sweet dry down that leaves me wanting to reapply and begin the experience all over again.

I am grateful to have found a fragrance that so instantly transports me to the influential, parochial days of my youth. And yet, I know this fragrance may not appeal to a mass market. But for those who enjoy incense-y and woodsy fragrances, yet are looking for something less pronounced than others in the same category, it will be a welcome alternative.

Image sources: luckyscent.com; St. Agnes Church - my own photo; plum brocade - www.vertetsable.com

Olivier Durbano Rock Crystal can be purchased at www. luckyscent.com. A 100mL bottle retails for $105.