Dame Perfumery Scottsdale - Black Flower Mexican Vanilla (perfume review)

Heeeeellllllllllloooooooooo! Just in case you've forgotten, my name is Sun and I like perfume :)

It's been forever, and I am so sad that it has taken so long to get another post up. Between some new in-progress DIY home renovations (they'll eventually get published at rustyfarmhouse), Clint's awful work schedule and my wonderful baby that hates sleeping (unless I'm lying next to him, that is), I've barely had time to try any new perfumes attentively, let alone write about them.

But, I wanted to get a review of this one in before the spring fully hits and this recent wave of cooler weather has been a perfect time to wear Black Flower Mexican Vanilla (hereafter referred to as BFMV) again.

photo from Dame Perfumery Scottsdale,
artistry by Jeffrey Dame's father V. Dave Dame.

While there's probably hundreds of vanilla scents I've yet to try - so far BFMV is one of my favorites. It's a little bit foody without being sickly sweet or reminiscent of cake, cookies, frosting or ice cream. Ultimately it's vanilla - all grown up.

The opening is big and plush, like a cumulous cloud of dark, rich vanilla. Some slightly sharp citrus elements (I smell mostly grapefruit) cut through the cloud like bolts of lightning, but they're wrapped in the spicy warmth of nutmeg which keeps them from being overwhelming and gives BFMV a really unique character.

The strength of the vanilla tones down a bit in the heart, and this provides room for the florals to peek through. They're not strong and I personally couldn't identify the floral notes as gardenia and jasmine, but they are lovely. If I *really* sniff hard, there's a tiny bit of soapiness for me. The florals are slowly replaced by sandalwood in the early dry down, which makes the composition begin to feel lighter, like replacing a thick wool scarf with a cashmere scarf. 

Later in the drydown there's a lightly chewy, black licorice-y note. Usually I hate black licorice, but here it seems to just add texture to the vanilla rather than scent or overpower it, so I don't mind. The black licorice note reminds me a little bit of Un Bois Vanille, but BFMV isn't nearly as sweet.

And then there's the super late drydown. This part of BFMV is completely awesome in it's own right. Though the earlier stages of BFMV aren't super gourmandy on me, the late drydown smells like hot cocoa and s'mores. A touch of cocoa, a touch of vanilla, a little powdery graham cracker... Yum. It's the first time BFMV presents as sweet - but not overly so. I probably couldn't handle a strong overtly s'more from-the-get-go scent, but in the soft drydown, it's perfect. And it is enjoyable for a long time because the longevity of BFMV is really great - it lasts at least 24 hours on my skin. 

BFMV has usurped Eau Duelle to land in my top 3 favorite vanilla scents (along with Vanille Galante and Orchidee Vanille). Some may be able to wear BFMV year round, however vanilla (in general) feels a little heavy for me when the temps are up. As such, I think Black Flower Mexican Vanilla is especially wonderful on chilly fall/winter days. 

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My rating of Black Flower Mexican Vanilla: 4

1  -  - -  -  2  -  -  -  -  3  -  -  -  -  4  -  -  -  -  5

   Nausea/Gagging         Meh        Decent       Great         Olfactory Elation    

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Black Flower Mexican Vanilla as described by the Dame Perfumery website:  "The composition is vanilla absolute with touches of lemon, grapefruit, caramel, nutmeg, gardenia, jasmine, sandalwood, patchouli, vetiver, musk and tonka - but the ingredient list is less important than the final blend. " 

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Have you tried Black Flower Mexican Vanilla or any other Dame Perfumery scents?


*sample of BFMV originally obtained through Olfactif, but I also received a sampler set from the perfumer himself, Jeffrey Dame. Like all of my reviews, the review of BFMV was objective and unbiased, however I feel compelled to mention how sweet and generous Jeffrey is. His passion is truly to share perfume with the world. Very very reasonably priced samples and bottles are available at his website, and he has a free postcard sample program as well.

Ava Luxe - Mousse de Chine (perfume review)

The more perfumes I try, the more I realize how many I haven't tried! I have been rather unorganized in my sampling since delving into the perfume world - following individual tangents (such as particular notes or houses) or simply going gaga over the rhetoric surrounding new releases. 

But there's a huge world of perfumes out there and to be quite frank, I am missing whole families of them in my testing so far! For example, chypres. I had never tried a chypre on skin (and have only sniffed a few at most). In fact, to really highlight my ignorance - I can't even tell you what the famous, iconic chypres are. Clearly I have some reading ahead of me. (If I get any credit at all for this, I do know that Hiram Green's release Shangri La is a peach chypre, and I'd like to try it). 

So, in an effort to rectify my chypre-virgin nose, I raided my sample box and decided to give the Ava Luxe chypre Mousse de Chine a try.   

The opening of Mousse de Chine offers about 10 seconds of crisp and loud citrus, then dives straight into sharp lavender and powder. Very shortly thereafter, the lavender powder becomes quieter and is joined by the earthy fern and moss. 

mossy, weedy grass

These greens are slightly herbal and pungent - and lean a touch masculine to me. For some reason, the green notes in Mousse de Chine never feel warm or inviting, instead remaining cool and stoic. This is a little unsettling for me. I guess I like warmth.

moss covered concrete stones

About 20 minutes in, the citrus notes seem to reappear and waft about me - though I don't necessarily smell them when I sniff my wrist. They just float around for a bit.

About an hour in, the lavender fades and the powder remains. The ambergris makes a slightly salty appearance, but it's not particularly loud and I mostly get powder with just a touch of something peppery.

I had to try (and re-apply) Mousse de Chine several times to even get this characterization of it, and it generally became barely noticeable by the 2 hour mark (though it's nearly imperceptible scent remained on my wrist much longer). 

To be fair, I received the sample I tested as a freebie from another lovely perfumista, so I can't be sure if it was very fresh or if time has compromised the sample at all.

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My rating of Mousse de Chine: 2

1  -  - -  -  2  -  -  -  -  3  -  -  -  -  4  -  -  -  -  5

   Nausea/Gagging         Meh        Decent       Great         Olfactory Elation    

This is the first chypre I've ever tried, so honestly I have no idea how it compares to other chypres. I'm not a big lavender fan though, so Mousse de Chine was not for me.

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Mousse de Chine as described by the Ava Luxe perfume website:

Family: Chypre

Top Notes: bergamot, lime

Middle Notes: fern, lavender, amber, spanish moss, oakmoss

Base Notes: labdanum, musk, ambergris

Perfumer: Serena Ava Franco

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Have you tried Mousse de Chine? What are some of your favorite chypres?

The Different Company - Tokyo Bloom (perfume review)

Hello everyone!

It has been a lot longer than I had hoped since my last post. I brought a hoard of samples with me on my trip to my parents' house thinking I'd have ample time to sample and review lots of fragrances with my parents around to entertain the nugget. Haha, I'm so silly... 

It took a long time just to recover from the 2-flight, 14 hour trip cross country. We finally got to bed at 1:30 am PST (which felt like 4:30 am EST to us), just to have Walden wake up less than 3 hours later - obviously he didn't take note of the time change. In the following couple of days, Clint had to fly off for a business trip and Walden began cutting 3 (or 4?!) new teeth, leaving him fussier and clingier to me than he's ever been. He's finally settled down and is allowing my parents to hang out with him, and likewise I've finally emerged from the deep, hazy fog of fatigue that hung over me for several days.

And, like my fatigue, the rain has lifted and it feels like spring in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I've escaped the harsh winter of Maryland for the lovely weather of Washington. It rained for a couple of days, but the last couple of days have been gorgeous. Temps are in the low 50's, the sun is shining, Mt. Rainier is out in all of her glory, and everything is beginning to bloom - especially in my parents' yard (as seen below). As such, The Different Company's Tokyo Bloom was a perfect scent to bring on my trip.

the magnolia tree

hyacinth buds

the camelias blooming

cherry blossoms

I don't have the right vocabulary to describe Tokyo Bloom. It's a beautiful floral. I really really love the first few minutes. The opening is fresh and vibrant, dewy and sheer - but not so soft that you don't notice it. It's the sunshine of summer, the crisp cool air of spring. It's green and a touch grassy. There's a soft powder that tickles the nose like pollen. Without seeing the notes I couldn't tell you off the top of my head what kind of flowers are in Tokyo Bloom. I remember seeing comments from others about dandelions and maybe that's true (we'll find out below!). These flowers do possess a childlike innocence and simplicity to them, and dandelions are a flower I inherently associate with childhood (as well as one of my favorite songs from my high school (ska) days - 'Dandelions' by Five Iron Frenzy - which is made even more meaningful by my entrance into the world of motherhood. It's really sweet and definitely worth a listen (even if you're not a ska person). Song w/lyrics here).

I am positive that there is no dearth of photorealistic floral scents on the market, but the thing that I love about the opening of Tokyo Bloom is that is possesses something that I don't experience that often - it really feels alive to me. And I love that. I'd reapply to experience the opening again and again.

Tokyo Bloom isn't particularly complex, and after the vibrancy of the opening, the heart and drydown are a bit of a let down. It loses the life-like energy that pulses through the opening. While it remains a sheer and pretty floral, there are moments where it gets slightly sharp and starts to smell a touch artificial. It fades fairly quickly, and is no sillage monster. (It's listed on their website under the l'esprit cologne collection.) While I won't spring for a full bottle, I'll happily use my Olfactif sample whenever I need an uplifting touch of spring. I could also see it being lovely as a linen spray (although it's probably a bit expensive for that).

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My rating of Tokyo Bloom: 3.5

1  -  - -  -  2  -  -  -  -  3  -  - X -  -  4  -  -  -  -  5

   Nausea/Gagging         Meh        Decent          Great         Olfactory Elation    

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Tokyo Bloom as described by the The Different Company website:

Family: Aromatic - Citrus 

Top Notes: basil, dandelion, black currant

Middle Notes: jasmine, cyclamen petals

Base Notes: gaiac wood, musk, amber

Perfumer: Emilie Copperman

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Have you tried Tokyo Bloom or any other fragrances from The Different Company?