Scentzilla!

EDIT: Sorry about the technical difficulites - I’m having an image problem - so to speak.

Inspired by March and Patty, I thought it was nigh on time to reacquaint myself with some fragrance selections from the drugstore. Also, I’m a secret fiend for Target (Bulk toilet paper! On sale! Whoo!), so it was as good of an excuse as any to go wandering through their aisles.

The first thing I did was take a peek at the Sonia Kashuk sections, because it’s a favorite low end cosmetic brand, and I wanted to see if they had anything new.

The only thing that had changed was that the Sonia Kashuk No. 3 Freesia appears to have been dropped from the line, or at least it was at my Target. Not a heartbreaker. The Freesia was nice but pointless, and smelled like any old no-name freesia body spray. Good-bye and good riddance.

The No. 2 Tuberose was still there, however, which surprised me, since it’s awful. It’s so candy-ass sweet you hold your jaw protectively against tooth decay.

No. 4 Bergamot Waterlotus is a scent that just will not work on me, but I can see how it might hold interest for others. It’s certainly the most complex of any of the Kashuk scents, though not particularly complicated. Bergamot Waterlotus smells mostly of its eponymous notes, with a sweet touch of orange juice. The reason it doesn’t work on me lies in the fact that I also get an unwanted “someone needs to go over to Grandma’s house and clean her refrigerator for her” note, and I can only guess this must be a musk note gone astray. It’s rather unfortunate. The home spray version of the scent does differ a little from the cologne and eau de toilette, but the gist of it carries through, and I think would be an inexpensive pleasure for those sick of the other room sprays found at the drugstore, like the noxious Glades, et al.

My favorite from the line is No. 1 Gardenia. A pepper shaker briefly passes by this cool green gardenia, lending it just a touch of spice without overwhelming the balance of the fragrance. I particularly enjoy wearing Gardenia during the evenings in the dog days of summer. This is the only Kashuk scent that not only have I bought before, but I’ve repurchased it because it’s such a cheap treat.

My eyes travelled down the aisle and landed on something labelled simply Skin Musk, by Parfums de Coeur/Prince Matchabelli. The cologne seemed downright corrosive, and whoever it is who is still buying this stuff, PLEASE STOP. The oil verison of it was not quite so acidic, but I still smelled a weird little corner in that wasn’t pleasing me. This can’t really be a drugstore favorite can it? My mind is reeling if so.

The scent I really intended to seek out, having asked for it for a Christmas stocking stuffer but not receiving, was Coty’s Exclamation.Of perfumer Sophia Grojsman’s many scents, Exclamation is the one that means the most to me personally. I loved this scent when I was a young teen. Adored it. Yet I hadn’t revisited it in years and years and years. Luckily I spotted a set of four different 1/3 oz. bottles of various Coty scents on clearance for ten bucks. Into the cart it went so I could try them out at home. Exclamation was precisely how I’d remembered it. Soft sweet powdery musk fell over my skin, wrapping me in a warm nostalgiac blanket. (Note to self: never, ever, run out of Exclamation.) Put aside any old memories of it being a chokingly harsh fragrance - that was not the fault of the scent, but the fault of young girls overeagerly applying it with the same lack of economy they applied eyeliner in middle school. With tasteful application, Exclaimation wears as a sexy comfort scent appropriate for all ages.

In the coffret I also received Shania, released by Coty’s subdivision Stetson. You know how when you go to the dentist’s office, and while waiting you pick up a magazine to leaf through from the coffee table? And how inevitably folks have already pulled open all of the adhesive scent strips? That’s Shania. It smells like a stale two week old magazine. There’s no real notes. It’s just… whatever. Shania won’t offend anyone by virtue of the fact that no one will remember what you wore.

Then there was Rimmel London London Glam. It smells like stripper. Which I say only because I’ve had friends who were strippers, and I am telling you it is precisely the sort of scent they would choose because this kind of thin composition smells pleasant when you’re sweaty and grinding the dollars out of marks (aka customers.) It’s mostly a watery freesia, not unlike a body spray, but only watery-er. The only other note I could detect was “fruit.” I don’t know what kind of fruit, since it’s not distinct. It’s “fruit.” It reminds me in a way of a less tenacious Paris Hilton Just Me, minus the woody base.

Finally we come to the fourth scent in the coffret, Jovan Pink Musk. What a lovely surprise. Pink Musk is composed with a surprisingly accurate peony note, and while no masterpiece, I have come to enjoy it the more I wear it. If you’re seeking for a nice scent for under ten dollars, this is where I’d start looking. Fresh and spring-like, the floral notes spread across a delicate musk, with subtle green grass shoots sprouting underneath. Pink Musk should not be overlooked as an enjoyable scent to wear by casual perfume consumers or my fellow perfume-nuts.