Savvy Thinker » Pink pepper http://savvythinker.com thinking about life, playing with makeup Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:15:26 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Review: Anya’s Garden Temple and River Cali http://savvythinker.com/review-anyas-garden-temple-and-river-cali/ http://savvythinker.com/review-anyas-garden-temple-and-river-cali/#comments Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:32:45 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=6714

Anya's Garden is an all natural perfumery, led by Anya McCoy of Miami Shores, FL. She is well respected in her field and knows more about natural perfumery than I would even know to ask. And she teaches classes -- and also offers personal consults and bespoke fragrance.

To my knowledge, except for a couple of forays into what might be other naturals, this is my first exposure to natural perfumes with sophistication. And what beautiful perfumes they are!

Anya sent me a packet of samples so I could wrap myself around her scents and get a feel for them.

To do them justice, over the next few days I will review two at a time, so their essences don't get lost.

Everyday for the last week or so, I've worn two different fragrances of hers, one on each wrist, for at least part of the day. I've worn them, I'm sure, in different combinations, but today's treats are Temple and River Cali.

These are a far cry from the synthetic, sometimes plasticky, scents of many modern perfumes. Granted, many modern perfumes are delightful, but they are still somehow different in nature from these exotic scents of Anya's. If you have only ever tried department store brands, you might want to treat yourself to a couple of her samples. You will be immediately embraced in a difference.

Temple
Fragrance Family: Citrus-Incense-Spiced Wood

The rays of hope focus empower and the steady verdant earth beneath the feet gives faith that the path may be sturdy and firm. Find strength in yourself, be your own Temple. Relax, center yourself and find peace. Anya's Garden

Top notes: distilled orange juice, borneol crystals
Heart Notes: aglaia flower, cassia, Ayurvedic herbs and spices
Base Notes: sustainable Laotian and Vietnamese Oud agarwood, earth tincture

Temple is a rich, exotic, woodsy fragrance, with citrus. If you've been reading my blog, you know I love fragrances with sweet orange, patchouli, and oud. This oud is rich and resiny. Lovely that it is from sustainable wood, and isn't denuding a forest somewhere.

In addition to wearing this fragrance on your skin, you can put a drop in a bowl of hot water to scent your room. Perfumeshrine reports that this is lovely. I, however, love it on my skin, and I will just move room to room! Well, perhaps, I will try this drop in hot water later.

3.5 ml parfum extrait is $75.
Temple sample $11

RiverCali
Fragrance Family: Floral-Citrus-Gourmand
If you like rose in a fragrance, this is the one for you! It begins with a lovely green, lime burst, underlaid with rose. It dries down to a warm rose. There's a bit of salt in there somewhere too, like drinking a margarita, salted glass, in a rose garden. When the drink is gone, you are still in the garden.

Anya says that it takes you to a lush desert oasis -- it must be that salt.

It is even better when applied a second time during the day. It jumps the beginning green again, and dries down more complexly. I have not tried applying it heavily the first time, but rather a large drop, then later another large drop. Remember I have samples, not full sizes!

Top notes: African pink peppercorn
Middle notes: Turkish rose otto, lemon, lime and orange leaves
Base notes: Vanuatu sustainable sandalwood, creamy rich African vanilla, sexy musk seed

3.5 ml parfum extrait $60
15 ml edp $125
sample $7

Have you tried any of Anya's fragrances? Have you tried these? Do you have a favorite?
For me, between these two, my favorite is Temple. It is mood-altering for me, being very centered and calming.

You can find more about natural perfumery at Anya's yahoogroup or at Natural Perfumers Guild.

See my review of Fairchild and Pan here.

See my review of MoonDance and StarFlower here.

And see my review of Kaffir here.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com




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Originally posted 2010-05-13 18:25:27.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/review-anyas-garden-temple-and-river-cali/feed/ 0 Review: Guerlain Boisé Torride http://savvythinker.com/review-guerlain-boise-torride/ http://savvythinker.com/review-guerlain-boise-torride/#comments Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:45:05 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=4660

Boisé Torride is a powerhouse of a fragrance. In some ways it reminds me of Paloma or of Estee Lauder's Knowing. It starts off with a bang and hours later ends up with a sigh or a whisper.

You have to like patchouli and cedar to love this fragrance. That is where it starts on its journey.

I do.

And this combo takes it a little bit from the sweet patchouli into a more incensy version. The overall effect is not like some of Neil Morris' fragrances, which I also love, but unique to the vision that Guerlain was reaching for.

It also is not like the sweetness of Gucci by Gucci with the added fruits.

It is called an androgynous fragrance, designed for a woman but to me surely suitable for a man, part of Les Elixirs Charnels series, which also includes Chypre Fatale, Gourmand Coquin, and Oriental Brûlant.

It is translated

smoldering wood, a new opus for femininity

though I think torrid or scorching would be easy translations also. Perhaps it begins as scorching and ends up smoldering. Some like it hot!

Guerlain loves women and has always celebrated their sensuality. A new expression of sensuality now completes this collection of Elixirs Charnels.

To me, there are three distinct stops on this voyage. The first is the initial flare. I used a couple of drops on my wrist and arm, passed to the other wrist and arm. Frankly, I can't imagine this one sprayed 10 times in the beginning, as at least two people I know do with some of their fragrances. You might knock someone out with the sillage.

I could see extending the 10 squirts throughout the day to refresh it back to the flare stage.

OTOH, an extremely heavy hit of this fragrance, depending on your chemistry, might soften just as nicely to a richer sigh of an ending. You'll have to try it both ways and get back to me. You would certainly have some serious sillage, at least for that moment. And some would have to be on your legs. After all, fragrance rises.

A couple of hours later, the fragrance hits a midpoint. Patchouli is still evident, it is wafting through the trees. I catch it when I turn or move my hands quickly. It surprises me. It is softer and gentler, but still has presence.

The last stage is about 7-8 hours in, when the fragrance has settled into a sigh.

I like the presence of all three. I like that the fragrance moves and isn't linear, though in some sense it is linear, because patchouli and cedar, less so, are evident throughout.

Now something completely silly to me and totally unnecessary is the excessive verbiage of the ad copy's stream of consciousness of the imagined wearer. I could do without that. I'd rather have my own imagination, thank you very much, laughing here. I mean, get real! It sounds like drivel. (And this is true for the other elixirs as well.)

...I still can't decide...Too obvious. I have to seduce him in a different way. Take him down paths still unknown to him...Why didn't I see it sooner?...masculine outfit...nothing under the jacket... contrast...ambiguity do the talking. Androgynous? Perhaps. Terribly sexy? But of course...[2 more paragraphs similar except for telling the notes] He will...become intoxicated by my skin and my essence, strangely androgynous yet irresistibly attractive.

Are they trying to reach a young, unseasoned woman, who presumably might not be able to make up her mind? Or the mature, knows-her-mind-and-how-to-get-it woman who would be more apt to choose this fragrance. After all, it is a fragrance for grownups. It certainly is not a fruity, sweet concoction.

How many of us think this way? I sincerely hope not many.

Perhaps it reads and sounds better in French. Everything sounds better in French!

If I were a man, Boisé Torride would lose me right there, without even giving it a try. And this would be a mistake, because this would be a delectable fragrance on a man, maybe even more so than on me. Or, it could be one of those shared fragrances between two lovers, where it develops differently on each one, to be individual, yet complementary, the way life should be.

Top Notes: bergamot and tangerine with pink pepper
Heart: jasmine and orange blossom with white musk, underneath is a mallow note, not sweet like Mariah's M
Base: cedar and patchoui

Have you tried it?

If you like
If you like any of the patchouli fragrances I've mentioned, you would likely like this one.

To me, there is a little bit of second-cousin-twice-removed to the fragrance Narciso Rodriquez for women.
It has some similarities, but ends up in a different place. Maybe it's the woods and orange blossom.

It's a good one for your repertoire. Remember you have to be a grown up. And that isn't a bad thing.

Where to get it:

Guerlain @ Palazzo in Las Vegas. Call (702) 732-7008 or email: GuerlainPalazzo.STORE@lvmhuspc.com. Ask for Claire. Be sure to tell him that you heard it from me.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com
don't steal my posts, you know who you are!

Originally posted 2009-09-04 10:48:16.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/review-guerlain-boise-torride/feed/ 2 Review: Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanilla http://savvythinker.com/review-guerlain-spiritueuse-double-vanilla/ http://savvythinker.com/review-guerlain-spiritueuse-double-vanilla/#comments Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:08:53 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=3151

OK, I admit, this fragrance has seduced me. Even in the store, I wasn't sure if I should get it or not. Something in me generally rebels against the idea of vanilla, which can be too sweet, and almost like the fragrance of white cake. Can you just feel the smell of white cake as I typed it?

And doesn't the idea of double vanilla almost make you gag? (When you pronounce it the French way, it sounds far more sultry.)

Choosing between this and another Guerlain, I would have picked the other, but I allowed two SAs to help me choose (on purpose.) And I'm not sorry I did. I'm generally not so wishy-washy on the spot, but my general malaise about vanillas would have overcome my judgment, and I would have leaned to the other fragrance, which will be another purchase for another day.

It's as far from most vanilla fragrances as the east is from the west. It's not in the same universe as Coty's Dark Vanilla, for example, a fragrance I like to have around, but rarely wear, for it is a traditional vanilla, albeit darker.

This is a sophisticated, adult, sultry fragrance which is romantic and sexy and not at all too much to wear all day into the evening. I don't seem to tire of it as I do other fragrances. It's long lasting. I don't have to layer it again, though I don't mind doing it as I love the scent. This is a smokey vanilla. It's all the benzoin, frankincense and spices. It's not like Korres' Vanilla Cinnamon which is far sweeter and just not in the same company.

Notes of: vanilla, benzoin, frankincense, spices, cedar, pink pepper, bergamot, Bulgarian rose and ylang-ylang.

I even had a good sized sample that I loved from a friend, but spritzing it from the bottle was a whole new experience.

How does it make me feel?
It is an empowering fragrance. Only wear it if you are prepared to roar, if need be.

Going into a corporate meeting where you need to be taken seriously? Wear it.

Meeting your lover or husband? Wear it.

Going to dinner? Wear it, it won't conflict with your food.

Meeting friends? Wear it. You'll stand apart.

You're a man? Wear it. It will smell masculine on you.

Did I tell you that I love it?
What else can I add?
The fragrance is stunning. It may be in the $230 range now, since prices have gone up, but it is worth every penny. You can also look for it in decants.

How about you?
Do you have it? Do you love it and wear it?

Where to buy it?
Call (702-732-7008) or email Claire (GuerlainPalazzo.STORE@lvmhuspc.com) at the Guerlain boutique in Las Vegas. He's the man. He'll take good care of you. And if he's not there, the others will treat you right too. Even better, stop in when you are in Las Vegas. You'll see I'm right.

Tell them I sent you!

Karin

Originally posted 2009-04-25 14:23:54.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/review-guerlain-spiritueuse-double-vanilla/feed/ 0 Review: Guerlain Tiaré Mimosa http://savvythinker.com/review-guerlain-tiare-mimosa/ http://savvythinker.com/review-guerlain-tiare-mimosa/#comments Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:49:34 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=3148

I'm doing my best to review Tiaré Mimosa but have yet to be able to put any on my skin. The samples leaked out before they arrived.

It does smell good, however!

And again, it is from the Aqua Allegoria line so it is reasonably priced and perhaps less potent than gardenia sometimes can be. Tahitian gardenia is a bit less pungent than the ones from the garden that I love to have in bowls in my house.

It also smells less strongly of Tiare than the Avon one from last summer, Tahitian Holiday, which I also reviewed, and I do like.

notes of citrus, pink pepper, mimosa, tiare (Tahitian gardenia), vanilla, vetiver, and musks

I'm glad it has some vanilla in it, as well as the vetiver and musks -- that moves it from a strictly tiare fragrance into another realm. And this is what I smell in the remnants of the sample. If that is the dry down, I know I would like it.

I thought I had some Cruel Gardenia around here to compare it to, but I do not. I know that as I stood in the store, a woman bought Cruel Gardenia on the spot. I had gone on a search for something else, so it flew under my radar at the time. I can compare it to Mayotte, which is a lovely creamy gardenia, the second generation from Mahora which did not have the rich, creaminess and was strident until it settled down.

In either case, this is an AA, so it is less rich and opulent, plus there is no creamy aspect.

What do you think?
Do you have this one? Do you have Cruel Gardenia or Mayotte?

Where you can buy it
Call or email Claire (702-732-7008) (GuerlainPalazzo.STORE@lvmhuspc.com) at the Guerlain boutique in Las Vegas. There is no sales tax and no shipping charge for mailing in the US. (I think you'd pay tax if you lived in Nevada.) (I can't speak for international shipping.)

Let me know if you try it, and tell Claire you heard it from me.

Karin

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/review-guerlain-tiare-mimosa/feed/ 2 Layering or mixing Guerlain Bois D’Armenie with Cuir Beluga http://savvythinker.com/layering-or-mixing-guerlain-bois-darmenie-with-cuir-beluga/ http://savvythinker.com/layering-or-mixing-guerlain-bois-darmenie-with-cuir-beluga/#comments Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:00:45 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=1562

Sometimes the sum of two perfumes is greater than its parts. Such is the wonderful new mix that Claire Young from the Guerlain store in the Palazzo in Las Vegas came up with, when he was looking for a fragrance suitable for a woman who really doesn't care for flowers.

I'd like to think that our trying to layer something with Iris Ganache sparked him to think of various combos. But that might be wrong.

He hit upon a winner: Bois D'Armenie mixed with (or layered with) and Cuir Beluga.

Here's his description:

In my little fragrance lab of a boutique, I've found a new concoction I'm now adoring. It's a combo of Cuir Beluga and Bois D'armiene...a mix of Chinese incense with vanilla notes...I've been wearing it a week now and adore.

He sent it off to me to see what I thought. It's terrific!

Here are the notes:

Bois D'Armenie, an oriental woody fragrance for men:
Top notes are iris, pink pepper and incense;
middle notes are coriander, benzoin and guaiac wood;
base notes are patchouli, white musk.

Cuir Beluga:
fragrance notes include:
Leather, Mandarin, Everlasting Flower, Amber, Heliotrope, Vanille

He tells me he's sold several of them (which, of course, involves two bottles.)

If you are lucky enough to have both on hand, try them. Or, if you own one and try the combo, you only have to buy the other one.

The one I have is an equal mix of both in one container. (I have done this with Chanel # 5 and Coco.)

What I think
This is a match made in heaven. Let me know if you try it -- and how you like it. It certainly works for a man or a woman. And let me know if you love it! I am steeping in it now and enjoying every breath.

Where to buy it?
Call (702-732-7008) or email Claire (GuerlainPalazzo.STORE@lvmhuspc.com) at the Guerlain boutique in Las Vegas. He's the man. He'll take good care of you. And if he's not there, the others will treat you right too. Even better, stop in when you are in Las Vegas. You'll see I'm right.

Tell them I sent you! You heard it from me.

Karin

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