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?

Serge Lutens - Daim Blond (perfume review)

I haven't tried many leathers but became obsessed with the idea of finding a good one, which led me to my desire to try Daim Blond (among other things).  According to Aedes, Daim Blond was "Inspired by suede so fine, so soft, so barely perceptible to the touch, like skin on skin, an aura and sensation that intertwine to become one and the same."   Ooh, this sounds mysterious and sexy and warm and cozy...

Wait a second, where's the soft nude suede?? On me, Serge Lutens' Daim Blond opens up strongly with medicinal pencil shavings - camphor, band-aids, rubber, wood. It's cool but dry. Although it's not markedly strong, it feels rough.

photo from acevola.blogspot.com

I know some people enjoy a good medicinal note, but honestly to me, it just smells like hospitals, which isn't particularly pleasant. I can imagine situations where a medicinal touch could enhance other stronger, more prominent notes, but that is just not the case in Daim Blond.

As far as I can tell, there are no other notes.  After a few minutes even the pencil shavings fade away, leaving just camphor and rubber band-aids.  Sadly they're not even awesome band-aids like these:

found on www.geekalerts.com

or

available at mcphee.com

Hehe, okay, I lied. There eventually are other notes. About 30 minutes in, it becomes evident that the 'medicinal' note I was smelling was probably somehow the iris and not the ubiquitous 'oud'. The medicinal aspect softens, and the iris becomes far more powdery and recognizably iris-y. This is definitely a marked improvement over the opening, but maybe not the best fit for me as I'm still on the fence about how I feel about iris. (So far the only iris perfume I've really liked is Atelier's Silver Iris.) And as powdery as it is, the perfume starts to feel kind of sharp and harsh to my nose about an hour in.

From this point on, the iris gets softer (while retaining it's bit of sharpness) and there's just a touch of musk, but that's about it. It really loses strength at the 2 hour mark, and feels just like a light veil of powder. The late drydown is pleasant enough I guess.

One thing Daim Blond *does* have going for it is the lack of cumin.  :)

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My rating of Daim Blond: 2 

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

   Nausea/Gagging         Meh        Decent       Great         Olfactory Elation    

In short, there is basically nothing about Daim Blond that is my cup of tea.

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Daim Blond as described by the Aedes website:

Family: Spice/Leather

Top Notes: Iris

Middle Notes: Apricot, Cardamom, Hawthorne

Base Notes: Heliotrope, Musk

Perfumer: Christopher Sheldrake

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Have you tried Daim Blond? What are some of your favorite suede and leather scents?

Serge Lutens - Santal Majuscule & Fleurs d'Oranger (perfume review)

Santal Majuscule

The opening seconds of Santal Majuscule on my skin is an exceptionally lovely, lightly floral scent. But after just a few seconds, it morphs into a combination of bitterness and burnt butter. A mild element of creaminess sneaks in, moderating the bitterness and Santal Majuscule almost sweetens up to a creme brulee, but then the sharp wood note takes over.

In a short time, the wood note loses the creaminess and begins to feel drier. About 10 minutes in I get something slightly medicinal, and I'm not really sure what it is. This fades slightly, but Santal Majuscule never really progresses beyond this for me.  It stays slightly medicinal, dry and woody, and has a dark brown aura.

On my skin, Santal Majuscule feel a bit raw and unfinished, where I would hope for a slightly rounder and creamier feel. I'm really confused by the notes, because I get no rose or chocolate. It must be a chemistry thing.

Family: Wood

Top Notes: Rose

Middle Notes: Tonka bean, Rosewood

Base Notes: Sandalwood, Cocoa

Perfumer: Christopher Sheldrake

* * * * * * * * *

Fleurs d'Oranger

Upon first application, Fleurs d'Oranger presents as a soft and slightly powdery orange blossom. To me, the opening feels like a delicate cloud - beautifully feminine and lovely. Within a couple of minutes, the scent becomes a little spicy and peppery which is pleasantly reminiscent of the spicy and sweet orange blossom of L'Artisan Parfumeur's Seville a l'Aube. 

Unfortunately, just after the pepper the familiar tang of cumin makes it's entrance. To be fair, this is no Bigarade Concentree. On the whole, the cumin isn't *terribly* strong but it does register as body odor on my skin, and regrettably it detracts from the whole experience for me. 

My son Walden, clearly confused and upset that cumin is used in perfumery...

After 15 minutes or so, Fleurs d'Oranger introduces a combination of creamy white florals. They lend a plushness to the scent and their weight works well to balance the sweetness of the orange blossom and the spice of the cumin. 

Fleurs d'Oranger doesn't strike me as a particularly complex scent, with few evolutions before the drydown. Nonetheless, it is a pleasant, easy to wear, happy perfume. I think I'd like it a lot if it didn't possess the pervasive undercurrent of BO from the cumin. 

Of note, I've read that older versions of Fleurs d'Oranger contain more cumin than the more recent formulations.  I received my sample in a swap, so I'm not sure if the sample I tested from was of the older or newer variety.

Family: Floral

Top Notes: Orange Blossom, Neroli

Middle Notes: Tuberose, Jasmine

Base Notes: Hibiscus, Cumin, Musk

Perfumer: Christopher Sheldrake

* * * * * * * * *

My rating of Santal Majuscule and Fleurs d'Oranger: 2 

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

   Nausea/Gagging         Meh        Decent       Great         Olfactory Elation    

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So far I have only tried a few Serge Lutens fragrances, but none have really dazzled me. I'm not sure if it's a body chemistry thing, my unsophisticated perfume tastes or if I'm just not trying the right ones. 

What are your thoughts on Santal Majuscule and/or Fleurs d'Oranger? And, if you're a Serge Lutens fan, what are some of your favorites? I'd love some recommendations for others to try!