Eau d'hadrien - Annick Goutal

It's a frosty morning here, and not overly pleasant. However, it is quite sunny. In light (pun intended) of the sun, I've decided to don Eau d'hadrien by Annick Goutal. It's one of my favourite hot hot hot summer scents.

It literally smells like lemon and sunshine. Almost like lemon icy's. The first time I wore it was this past summer. I had just gotten home from Ontario, and surprise, it had come in while I was gone.

When I opened the package and tried this for the first time, immediately a smile came to my face. In the next few days, I drove down to Banff for the first time, and when I smell this wonderful lemony joy, it reminds me of driving through the mountains for the first time, and literally being in tears over how beautiful it is.

After going through the mountains, my friend and I headed to the Calgary Folk Festival and I wore this the entire time. It was perfect for those incredibly hot days, drenched in sweat, music, and illicit smoke.

I've heard this compared to lemon pledge among other things, but I don't find that in the slightest. It's a fresh, sparkling lemon scent that carries such fantastic memories for me, I think I will always have a bottle handy.

The sillage, as with many of Goutal's blends, isn't fantastic, but it is light enough to spritz frequently throughout the day. The only sad part of this for me, is the price. It is not a cheap item, but a very loved one.

Bois et Fruits - Serge Lutens

Sadly, I've missed posting the past two days. I'm not going to try to play catch up though, I'll just forage on as usual.

I can hardly believe that in November, we still have not gotten any major snow. It's warm enough today to go outside with just a heavy sweater, which is uncommon for this time of year.
Due to the unseasonably warm weather, I've decided to review a spring/summer evening fragrance.

Bois et fruits - Serge Lutens

First off, I am a huge fan of Serge Lutens. Specifically, I love his 'Bois' lines.
This one, I have just acquired recently.

This opens with a strong fruit note, literally like a blast of plum and peach. It brings up memories of walking through a orchard in the summer. You can smell the ripe fruit on the trees, and a glass of merlot in your hand.
It's a very dark fragrance for me, and definitely something I'd wear in the evening instead of the day.
The cedar in this really grounds the fragrance, and keeps it from becoming too sweet. You can smell the fig and all the luscious fruit, but the cedar keeps this from becoming a sweet fruity mess; However, I find that the mixture of the cedar and apricot can almost mesh into a cumin accord which you really need to be in the mood for.

Over all, this scent is fantastic, and smells heavenly. Its like a pitcher of sangria on a warm day.

The sillage is wonderful, and will last for hours and hours. Although I've mentioned it is more of a warm weather fragrance, I believe it would be beautiful on a cooler day as well.

Play for her, Intense - Givenchy

Quite warm today. Unseasonably warm in fact.

I bought this on a whim one day while at Shoppers Drug Mart, buying halloween decorations.  They had just gotten it in, I gave it a spritz and immediately fell in love with it.
I'm not typically a huge fan of 'celebrity endorsed' items in general. They typically seem to be mass marketed nonsense that generally smell quite generic.

This isn't terribly far off from that. I can see this being a huge hit with the 20-something age range, but I found it is perfect for daily use, or when you can't decide what you want to wear.  This is the perfect jeans and t-shirt perfume in my opinion.
It doesn't invoke any specific imagery, it just smells good. I've gotten plenty of compliments on it, and I didn't find it too shabby price-wise, at least in comparison to some of the other niche brands I typically purchase.

It's a nice woodsy, semi-sweet perfume that I think anyone could wear with the greatest of ease. I detect a slight floral, but I find I pick up more on the wood and tonka accords than anything else.

Sillage is fantastic on this one, and only 1 or 2 sprays are enough to last all day.

a day off...

Too busy to do a proper review today. I baked Soul Cakes today however, and the fantastic scent of ginger and allspice is still in the house. Fresh spiced cakes are better than perfume today. :)

Ambre Sultan - Serge Lutens

Happy Halloween, personally, my favourite holiday of the year!!!

Today is a sunny day, thick layer of frost, but getting warmer as the day goes on.  I thought it would be a great day to review Ambre Sultan by Serge Lutens. I have to say, I typically don't wear this on it's own, but instead apply a top sweeter accord to it. Typically a bright and sweet honey accord to brighten up the rather intense aroma, but in the interest of my reviews, I am testing it as a singular perfume.

The images that strike up immediately on application is a dark, but opulent tent somewhere in a foreign region. Instead of bringing to mind a desert, this one actually brings a vision of a dark forest, somewhere in Romania. Rich fabrics, and thick clouds of incense, coupled with a warm wind. Someone smoking a tobacco pipe and drinking a strong black tea laced with honey. 

I find as you wear this, it loses a bit of the initial smokiness, and gets a little sweeter.  The lasting power on this one is incredible. It really packs a punch, which is simply lovely on cold winter days. I would not recommend wearing this in the summer typically, however, I've found a quick spritz to the bare stomach before dressing can do the trick, as it's not quite as over-powering on skin as it is laying on fabric.

Amour De Cacao - Comptoir Sud Pacifique

Warmer today, not quite as biting cold. Not a very good day on a personal level, but the day is over now, and things can only get better tomorrow. As I got home quite late, I decided to review something mild, and not quite as strong and heavy as my previous reviews.

Amour De Cacao - Comptoir Sud Pacifique

This is one of my champion 'go to' fragrances after a tough day in the cooler weather season. For me, this is a completely relaxing foodie fragrance that isn't so sweet it'll give you a toothache. 

I've read many other reviews on this myself, and have found many people liken it to cocoa puffs, I have to say I disagree personally.  To me, this is like a s'more. A delicious s'more that you roast on a chilly, early autumn evening. Although I do detect a slight fruit/citrus note, it is so faint, you can barely notice it.

This one is all about comfort for me, it is not something I would ever consider wearing on a night out, or a date. It's a yummy chocolate treat, mixed with an almost gooey marshmallow vanilla. It makes me want to curl up on the couch in a cozy sweater with a big glass of milk, which frankly, I am doing at this very moment.

The One (For Men) - Dolce and Gabbana

Absolutely freezing!! When you exhale outside,your breath comes out like a huge waft of smoke. 

In fact, one almost feels like a smoke breathing dragon on days like today.

The One (for men) - Dolce and Gabbana

This one was given to me by a perfume rep who thought I'd love it more than the feminine version, and she was 100% accurate. I definitely prefer wearing the male version of this.  In the interest of painting a picture of this perfume, I think it would be best to give you a picture of the type of man I would think would be  wearing it, and it certainly is NOT Matthew McConaughey (though he is a rather attractive specimen) 

Personally, I feel that the actor that I could most relate this scent to (by looks and apparently personality in interviews and films) would be Clive Owen. 

In my opinion this could just as easily be worn at a black tie event, or curled up at home in a cosy sweater and jeans.  It's a lovely soft fragrance (if worn as intended - in moderation). It would not be overbearing during a meal, and a keen one to snuggle up to later on. It would be certainly nice to smell this one a fella while enjoying a nice cognac.

It is also a lovely choice for a female, and again, if used in moderation, would likely even be appropriate at the office. I have worn it many times myself at various business functions and conferences and received tons of compliments from men and women alike. Every time, they are always stunned when I say it's actually a masculine fragrance. You've got to love keeping folks on their toes.