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.  :)

-----

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.

-----

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

-----

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

Atelier Cologne - Gold Leather (perfume review)

I'll be honest, of all of the samples that came in the Atelier Cologne set, I may have been the least enthusiastic to try Gold Leather. To be fair, I hadn't read anything about it and my prejudice was based solely on the name, which I didn't particularly care for. I'm not even really sure what I had against the name, I guess I just associated it with an image of gaudiness. I've also tried very few leather scents but haven't had great success with them on my skin (I'm looking at you Kelly Caleche and BV Knot), so perhaps those experiences contributed to my lack of excitement. 

So when I randomly drew Gold Leather from my fine jewelry box of samples, I kind of shrugged my shoulders in disappointment. But hey, I had to try it at some point, right?

And then I put it on.

Wow. 

...

Gold Leather is extremely alluring on (my) skin. I was immensely shocked by how quickly I was drawn into this enticing gourmandy leather. Everytime I wear it, I find my wrist stays glued to my nose - consciously or subconsciously.

The opening features a crisp, almost cranberry-like citrus that manages to be simultaneously warm and cool at the same time. After the first bursts of citrus die down, a sweet and spicy plum emerges. This temptress is dark, boozy, thick and jammy - with a touch of pepper. She's a bit playful, she's definitely sexy, and she is really quite delicious.

Elizabeth Taylor in 1960, via dailymail.co.uk

This dark-haired siren calls for you as she lays seductively upon her bed of soft nude leather. The leather is soft, supple, warm and cozy. But before she can get too hot, the woods in the base wrap our jammy queen in their dry airiness - ultimately preventing Gold Leather from ever becoming too cloying, spicy or heavy. Interestingly for the first 30 minutes or so, the scent distinctly shifts between plum or leather, but after that they blend together seamlessly. 

Several hours (5 or so) into the dry down, Gold Leather loses its spicy edge and becomes an innocent skin scent - lightly sweet and slightly leathery. Still gorgeous, but in a new light. It stays on my skin that way through the next morning and occasionally through a shower. 

And as much as I hate to admit it, I can understand the name Gold Leather - the perfect combination of nude leather and wood emanates luxury. However, while the golden leather may be luxurious, it's the spicy plum that keeps me coming back for more. 

To me, Gold Leather feels like a power scent - it's assertive and sexy, bold yet refined. This is easy my favorite Atelier (so far).

This would almost definitely be on my FB wishlist, but at $195/100ml bottle (or $295 for the 200ml + 30ml ecrin absolu set), I think it's a bit out of my price range. Perhaps if the bottle weren't plated in real gold (it really is)... I suppose I can dream that they'll offer the 30ml bottles someday.

-----

Clint's 3: Pleasant, Beachy, Floral

Hehe, I think he might be getting the beachy vibe from the wood. I'm not exactly sure about the floral - but that's what he smells!

-----

My rating of Gold Leather: 4.25

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

   Nausea/Gagging         Meh        Decent       Great         Olfactory Elation      

-----

Gold Leather as described by the Atelier Cologne website:

Family: Woody Leather*

Top Notes: bitter orange from Seville, Indian saffron, Jamaican rum

Middle Notes: plum, davana from India, eucalyptus from California

Base Notes: heart of gaiac wood from India, heart of cedarwood from Texas, leather & oud accord

Perfumer: Jerome Epinette

*Personally I would consider Gold Leather more of a fruity leather than a woody leather (though I can understand why they would say woody leather). Interestingly though, the Atelier line has another fragrance, Rendez-vous, which they characterize as a fruity leather. I'm really interested to try that one too now!

-----

Have you tried Gold Leather and if so, what are your opinions on it? What are some of your favorite Atelier scents?

Atelier Cologne - Oolang Infini (perfume review)

There is little better than a lovely cup of hot tea on a cool fall morning (or an ice-cold fall morning, if the polar vortex is having its way with you). As such, I turned to Atelier's Oolang Infini to see if it could bring me the feelings of warmth and comfort that a nice tea would.

Photo from Atelier Cologne website

Upon first spray, the opening of Oolang Infini is crisp and fresh, citrusy and bright. For me it was immediately reminiscent of the Twining's Lady Grey iced tea I used to drink on occasion (a blend of black tea, orange, bergamot, lemon and lime), though the tea note may be a bit more demure than the black tea used in Earl or Lady Grey.

I'm not sure if it's a quality of the fragrance or my personal chemistry with it but Oolang Infini was exceptionally soft and light. I actually had to reapply Oolang Infini twice within 15 minutes to maintain any level of scent. There are very few scents of which I could tolerate 6 sprays without massive nausea or headaches, and honestly with this one I could probably tolerate several more still.

After the initial fragrant burst of tea dies down, Oolang Infini's tea notes float lightly above the skin - soapy and clean. The tea notes are, however, marked by a small undercurrent of tannic bitterness that makes the scent feel just a tad medicinal and sharp on me. After an hour or so, that sharpness fades a bit but unfortunately I don't get a lot of the blond leather or wood notes that others seem to enjoy. Perhaps for this reason, Oolang Infini feels cool to me - lacking the warmth or depth of a nice full-bodied tea. Around the three hour mark only the faintest waft of soapiness is discernible with the wrist to the nose - even after 6 sprays. Surprisingly though, that faint waft was still detectable by the next morning.

Although it evokes more of an Earl or Lady Grey tea feeling for me than Oolong - Oolang Infini is definitely a realistic tea scent. It's gentle nature is office appropriate, comfortable for everyday use and very gender neutral. I think it would be quite becoming on a man, but I'll never know because Clint did not care for it in the least.

-----

Clint's 3: As I noted above, Clint struggled with this one (made a very disgusted face) and really wanted his words to be "I don't like it." I was a bit surprised by his strong and visceral reaction to a scent I found fairly pleasant and quite inoffensive. Nonetheless I forced my wrist upon him repeatedly and he finally came up with:

Citrusy, Soapy, 'Musky'

Musky was my word - Clint didn't have a precise word but said it smells like our dog after she has rolled in something outside and needs a bath. We're not really sure what it is she rolls in. It doesn't smell like dung... but it does reek of dirty animal. Needless to say, I didn't smell it, but everyone's nose is different.

-----

My rating of Oolang Infini: 3 

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

    Nausea/Gagging         Meh        Decent       Great         Olfactory Elation    

-----

Oolang Infini as described by the Atelier Cologne website:

Oolang Infini, a full-bodied, mysterious concoction, captures blue tea and bergamot in the warmth of smoke and leather.

Top Notes: bergamot from Calabria, Tunisian neroli, freesia

Middle Notes: oolong tea, jasmine from Egypt, blond leather

Base Notes: tobacco flower from the Balkans, gaiac wood from India, musk 

Perfumer: Jerome Epinette

-----

Have you tried Oolang Infini? What are your favorite tea scents and teas?