perfume – fivezero

Hey, I’m squeezing in my April perfume notes just in time for Mother’s Day (May 13, 2018)!

Spring is in the air, and while my list contains a fair few carryovers from the winter, there are also many romantic, warm weather-friendly scents, as well. If you haven’t bought your mom (or yourself!) a gift, yet, I hope these mini reviews will give you some ideas.

Alaïa Alaïa
Alaïa Alaïa Blanche
Annick Goutal Un Matin d’Orage
Annick Goutal Rose Absolue
Annick Goutal Rose Pompon
Annick Goutal Songes EDT & EDP
Annick Goutal Vanille Exquise
Atelier Flou Sloane Rose
Calvin Klein Eternity Air
Chanel Les Exclusifs: Coromandel EDP
Dior J’Adore
Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Fig
Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey Nectar de Parfum
Jennifer Aniston Near Dusk
Maison Margiela Replica: Lipstick On
Narciso Rodriguez Narciso EDT
Nina Ricci Les Monstres: Luna & Nina
Ormonde Jayne Ta’if
Paco Rabanne Olympéa Aqua EDP Légère
Serge Lutens Fleurs d’Oranger
Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille
Van Cleef & Arpels Collection Extraordinaire: Orchidée Vanille
Vera Wang Embrace: Marigold & Gardenia (yellow florals, melon)
Vera Wang Embrace: Rose Buds & Vanilla
Yves Saint Laurent Mon Paris EDT

I also tested all of the scents in the Berdoues sampler I got from Sephora, but I’ll write a separate blog post for those!

ALAÏA
Alaïa

2015 | Marie Salamagne
Top Notes: airy notes, pink pepper
Heart Notes: freesia, peony
Base Notes: animalic notes, musk

I wanted very much to love the eponymous first fragrance from designer Alaïa, especially since the bottle is so beautiful, but it didn’t move me. It is deep and a bit dark, but also a little too cloying. I wouldn’t mind trying it again for a better grasp of it, but my initial impression is not very favorable. I don’t love any of the notes in it, so I suppose it is not a surprise that I didn’t fall for it.

The stunning bottle design echoes Alaïa’s gorgeous, laser cut handbags:

The idea of a perfume tray is one that I’ve partially subscribed to over the years, but recently, I haven’t really kept one. The fact remains that light (and heat) will ruin perfume, so I almost always prefer keeping perfumes in their original boxes. It makes it easier to organize them and move them, as well.

The main drawbacks of this, of course, are that I don’t get to enjoy the bottle designs and that it makes it annoying to actually use my perfume! Having to remove a perfume from its box and then replace it every time I want a spritz gets tiresome.

Elizabeth Taylor at her dressing table (1948).
*Image: elle.com*

If you have a minimalist’s perfume wardrobe, then it’s a simple thing to display perfumes on your vanity, even by a window—you’ll likely go through the perfume fast enough that light and heat degradation aren’t a problem. My perfume collection is a larger one, so this doesn’t work well for me. I honestly do not recall the last time I finished a bottle of perfume! (Well, it was probably when I dropped a bottle of Clinique Happy about sixteen or seventeen years ago… Does it count if I gave bottles away?)

white perfume tray — *Image: inrichting-huis.com*

But I did use to keep a perfume tray out for the sake of convenience, and it displayed some of my most-worn scents. Sadly, after several years of sitting in indirect sunlight, the top notes have turned in my bottles of Burberry Brit EDT, Tracy by Ellen Tracy, Clinique Happy, and Calvin Klein Truth—at least the scents are fine once I get past the first couple of minutes of soured top notes. Britney Spears Fantasy fared well, but I think it’s because the bottle is semi-opaque. (You can tell I wasn’t keen on using more expensive or discontinued scents as guinea pigs!) Overall, my first attempt at a perfume tray didn’t work as well as I would have liked.Read More »