Scentzilla!

Please visit this month’s sponsor DRH Fine Gifts. DRH Fine Gifts carries a wide selection of great brands, including Creed, Prada, Givenchy, Versace, Comptoir Sud Pacifique, Chanel, Annick Goutal, and lots more. There’s an especially good bargain right now on 1 oz. bottles of Lancome’s Tresor, which normally retail for $45 at the department store. To sweeten the deals, DRH Fine Gifts is offering a discount for 5% off any order of $40 for Scenzilla readers,: use coupon code “scentzilla.” The coupon expires on 7/31/06, so don’t tarry!

I’d also like to remind everyone that they are donating 2% of sales to help a man with MS get a much needed van (you can read about it directly here), so your purchase will also benefit someone who really needs help right now. Just click on the above hyperlink, or the ad to your right in the sidebar to visit DRH Fine Gifts.

I think I’ve been a little too harsh towards Very Irresistible in the past. While I still maintain it’s boring, it’s certainly not without charm. On some lucky folks, a warm rose and wood combination is brightened by the fresh scent of washed berries still wetly shimmering. Perhaps it’s not “very irresistible,” but it’s very pretty nonetheless.

Unfortunately there are some of us that get only a dull rose and wood accord that just sits there like a lump. It’s pleasant, but doesn’t develop or go anywhere.

Despite my boredom with Very Irresisitible, I had to try the new limited edition Millesime (Harvest Collection) version. Maybe my optimism springs eternal when it comes to Givenchy. Maybe the Amarige Millesime was so good that I want to try them all, just in case.

Or maybe I just have sucker written across my forehead.

As advertised, the Millesime pumps up the rose. In fact, the rose is so strong initially that it nearly obliterates the other notes that make the regular Very Irresistible so charming on some. I rather like it, since I am not amongst those who get shimmering berry from the regular. As the top evaporates, I find a more delicate and efferevescent rose, with touches of bergamot and floral grass in the bouquet. The drydown is virtually the same in both versions: more warm rosy wood.

Neither version of Very Irresistible recommends themseves to me as must-buys. However I would suggest sampling the regular one if you carry off fruit notes well, but you happen to prefer floral fragrances. It won’t be a stunner, granted, yet it’s a nice choice for casual wear even in summer. The Millesime would be better left for those of us who gravitate towards rose scents in the style of L’Occitane’s Eau de 4 Reines. Except I’d pick the eau de parfum concentration of 4 Reines over it.

Marina and I have fired up a new site, Scentbloggers. Scentbloggers aims to bring you links to the best writing on perfume, as well as open up the seemingly arcane world of smell culture to those who may feel like “newbies” in a web of perfume-nuts. Ideally the site will evolve into a mutant hybrid of an old school weblog (a web log of links) and an online ‘zine.

Regular round-ups of the best in perfume blogging will be a staple of the site. Special features will include an advice column, perfume vocabulary explanations (You Just Want Me For My Big Dic… tionary), posts about specific perfumers (Know the Nose), reader polls, and overviews of individual perfumery notes and molecules (Notable Notes.)

We want to extend an open invitation to fellow perfume bloggers to join as member sites. Why? Scentbloggers will focus feature links to reviews and essays on member sites. Additionally, we would like to compile a compendium of member-only review links for new readers to discover. How do you become a member? Easy! Email us at scentbloggers at yahoo dot com to let us know you’d like to join. Once we’ve verified that you link back to Scentbloggers (text for now, but buttons will be forthcoming shortly) you’re in! We do ask that you apply only if you regularly write about fragrance, meaning at least once per week or if at least half your content covers perfumery. Please note that if you’re a splogger, or do not post any original content you will not be approved.

However, participation from readers is encouraged as well. Submissions for cool or noteworthy links will be happily accepted with credit given (by alias, name or link) to the reader who first emails us with them. Maybe you’ve got the writing bug but don’t want to deal with the hassle of blogging yourself? Original essays and reviews (no longer than one page) related to perfume, smell, or fragrance shopping are definitely welcome for submission to the editors, with of course credit given to the author.

We sincerely hope Scentbloggers will be a place for new readers to discover the large scent-blogging community, and to become a resource for those who have yet to discover the art and science of perfumery.

Last week I received an email from someone seeking some citrus fragrance choices. I’m afraid citrus isn’t particularly my favorite genre, and could come up with only weak suggestions for the writer who otherwise gravitates towards slightly darker scents. I picked vintage Lanvin Vetyver, Helmut Lang’s eponymous scent, and Creed’s Cuir de Russie for it’s lime zestiness. I KNOW there’s better suggestions to be made!

So please take a moment if you will, and list some of your own personal favorite citrus scents. The emailer will most certainly be glad to learn them.

I’m looking for something new to wear. When I looked at your favs,
the first listed was Indecence. Which I often wear myself, so I
thought I’d drop a line. I wear Commes des Garcons incense as well
as, in the past, L’artisan Dzing!. Otherwise my collection is
pretty limited. I wanted to strike out in some different direction.
I’m not particularly fond of florals and thought I may try to go
citrus for a minute. Any thoughts? Thanks!

-Orange You Glad I Didn’t Say Banana?

On another topic, I found this fun little trip through time to the 1960s on perfume from A/V Geeks. There’s some great footage of flower harvesting in Grasse, advice on choosing a perfume that seems almost quaint but rather sensible nowadays in our “rush, rush, buy, buy” culture, and nifty insight into the societal midset of the times. The film runs roughly 13 minutes in length.

Carolina Herrera’s Chic for men and women has been discontinued very recently, so if you are a fan of either version (or both) you will want to stock up now while it can still be found. This news comes from Perfume of Life board member Jeffery, who’s been a dedicated Chic wearer for years. You can read the whole story how he found out, and the considerate company response to his letter by reading his story on the relevant POL thread.

I’m not personally enamored of Chic. I’ve only tried the women’s version, and it wears so *wrong* on me. 212 Men however is delightful, very nice to wear. I actually had tried this one based soley upon the above POL member’s enthusiasm for it.

Let’s visit these fragrances in limerick!

Chic (women)
Citrus and rose make room
For freesia in full candied bloom
That’s all fine and well
But who in the hell
Put all this pee in my ‘fume?!

212 Men
Vetiver gives grassy good grace
To the ginger that’s running apace
But the clincher for me
Is the soft incensey
And leathery musk at the base

So I know I’ve been slow in finally posting my perceptions of the first couple of mods Laurent created for me at Made by Blog. I was trying real hard to be deliberate, since he did a truly outstanding job with both the “B” and the “C” mods for my Auxeos. As it is, both mods smell fantastic, and I could see folks wearing them quite happily.

You can see my reviews and letter to Laurent by clicking here.

Don’t forget to take a chance to glance at Alberto Morillas’ nearly impossibly tidy desk in New York, too. Pretty neat.

Sales of all the mods from Round 1 will be available for sale shortly, and will be sold on a first come, first served basis.

Here’s a handy reminder to visit DRH Fine Gifts. DRH Fine Gifts carries a wide selection of great brands, including Creed, Prada, Givenchy, Versace, Comptoir Sud Pacifique, Chanel, Annick Goutal, and lots more. Special for Scenzilla readers, DRH Fine Gifts is offering a discount for 5% off any order of $40 or more: use coupon code “scentzilla.” The coupon expires on 7/31/06, so don’t tarry! I’d also like to point out that they are donating 2% of sales to help a man with MS get a much needed van (you can read about it directly here), so your purchase will also benefit someone who really needs help right now. Just click on the above hyperlink, or the ad to your right in the sidebar to visit DRH Fine Gifts.

I’d also like to invite you to visit Fragrances & More. Fragrances & More carries lines such as Bond No. 9, Kai, Monyette Paris, Agraria, and so many others. Special for Scentzilla readers, Fragrances & More is offering the coupon code “scentzilla” which will get you 10% off any order of $50 or more! They also offer free shipping and gift wrapping on orders over $75. Please visit by clicking the above hyperlink, or on the sidebar ad at right.

How was everyone’s Fourth? Or, for my non-US readers, how was your Tuesday? Mine was filled with explosions. One neighbor threw a big ol’ barbeque, which was reasonably boozy and terribly meaty (which pleased my carniverous husband to no end.) Another used to work as a pyrotechnic engineer, and he put on a great display for the whole neighborhood (see picture at left.) And unfortunately, my Fourth was also marked by exploding pipes. There’s currently giant holes in the bedroom wall where the repairs had to be made, and we need to let it air out before we can replace the drywall. I know this is a perfume site, but I need to take a moment to recommend that EVERYONE who purchases a new house get the seller to buy you a 1 year home warranty as part of the sales agreement. We got prompt service the very next morning, and it cost us only a $50 deductible. I really recommend it. I need to apologize to y’all that I was unable to post anything yesterday - we had the whole bedroom (where we keep the computer desk) in messy pieces, and getting to the computer was last on the list of priorities, unfortunately.

An idea that someone had floated past me in email a while back to write about was organizing one’s perfume collection. I thought I’d share some photos of what I’ve done with mine. I’ve got mine in a closet, though my husband likes to josh that it’s the world’s smallest perfume shop.

As you can see at right, I’ve got one set of drawers; Many of the bottles I lack boxes for are crowding the top. This is where I keep the stuff most prone to getting messy and going everywhere.

At left are pics of the two drawers devoted to samples. Notice I’ve yet to make any headway at all on somehow doing anything with those other than flinging them into a drawer. Yeah. I’m only pretending I’m organized. Even the samples friends and internet buddies sent to me are, for the most part, still in the plastic bags and wrappings. GAH!

The middle drawer is filled mostly with vintage perfumes. I wanted them contained in something that wasn’t open or high up, in case of earthquake. That’s how I think. Have I got my bookcases screwed to a wall stud yet, to prevent them from tipping over and crushing us to death? Oh no. But the perfumes, yes, they need to be secure.

Then I used what is supposed to be shoe and/or sweater shelving for many of the bottles. Though as you can see off to the side, not quite everything is fitting just yet. (Need to re-jigger the layout I guess.)

None of these photos include two mystery boxes. The mystery lies not in what’s in them, but rather, I have no idea where they are right now. Somewhere, oh somewhere, in the garage? Or at my mother’s house? Where are you, you boxes of mystery, you!?

Nor have I unpacked my decant bottles of various sizes. I don’t know what to do with them. How do I keep them easy to reach, but not so crowded that I can’t see what I’m reaching for? I have no idea, so instead they’ve stayed packed up, which is even less handy than if I just let my quasi-organization go to the dogs.

How do YOU organize your own collections of various things? Where do you keep it? All hints, suggestions, and possible clues as to the whereabouts of the mystery boxes will be most appreciated.

Due to the holiday, I will not be publishing reviews on Monday or Tuesday. But I wanted to wish you all a safe and fun Fourth of July, and share a little combined perfume/Independance Day humor.

I present to you Ma Griffe by John Hancock:

If you want to see the original Carven Ma Griffe ad, I’ve also posted that to my Flickr account here, as well as a large cleaned up version without the age lines for desktop backgrounds located here