Dirty English – warm and woody and irresistibly cheeky
Dirty English dries down to a warm, woody, and dry masculine scent. It's well-blended, but how it smells is much more than the notes in the bottle. Dirty English doesn’t smell ‘dirty’ so much as it makes you think that way. It’s the cheekiness of it that I find so irresistible.
Midnight in Paris – smooth and woody and seductively masculine
Midnight in Paris opens with bright bergamot and lemon. As these fade green tea and black tea come forward, supported by balsamy, woody rosemary and lily-of-the-valley, which gives it an elegant green floral note.
Venezia – rich and sensuous and womanly
Venezia opens with a note of exotic ylang-ylang that’s rich, floral and almost custardy; it has hints of jasmine that foreshadow what’s to come.
Herbes Troublantes – citrusy and green and the smell of eternal summer
Herbes Troublantes opens with a note of bright, cheery lemon backed by nose-tingling Calabrian bergamot. The bergamot is green, fruity-sweet and has a floral edge that links to a note of orange blossom.
Nostalgia – warm and elegant and masculine
Nostalgia dries down to a warm, smoky, elegant, masculine scent. To me, it's the smell of driving a vintage Ferrari along the winding roads of the Amalfi Coast, with its dramatic coastline and lush greenery. It smells of luxury.
Habanita EDP - sophisticated and confident and legendary
Habanita EDP opens with a note of sweet, floral geranium that reads as elegant. Soon, lentisque fresh, green and balsamic and petitgrain complex, deep and green with facets of citrus zest appear.
Eau d'Hadrien – citrusy and refined and graceful
Eau d’Hadrien, opens with a zesty, effervescent note of juicy fresh Sicilian lemon. The freshness and trueness of the lemon note here is mouthwatering and speaks to the quality of the ingredients used in the fragrance.
Sweet Grass – sweet and warm and nostalgic
Sweet Grass opens with herbal notes of aromatic piney rosemary and sweet, floral-scented lavender. As they fade, they relax into a heart of sweet, smoky hay-like tobacco and herbaceous, honeyed, slightly powdery mimosa.
Tilia – floral and woody and summer everlasting
Tilia opens with a burst of linden blossom that smells bright and lightly floral, with citrus and green facets. Soon, it gets honeyed and powdery, bringing to mind nectar and pollen
L'Ether – smoky and woody and intimate
L'Ether opens with a note of myrrh that smells bitter, balsamic, resinous and slightly smoky. It’s soon joined by benzoin. Together, they smell more smoky than resinous.
Sel Marin – fresh and bracing and green
A cool, calm, contemplative siren call of a scent that is unmatched in niche perfumery.
King Baby – warm and woody and alluring
King Baby opens with a bitter, tart note of bergamot, softened by sweet, juicy mandarin. A note of fragrant clove warms the citrus fruits, creating an opening that’s fresh and warm.
Terracotta Voile d'Ete – sophisticated and tropical and nostalgic
Terracotta Voile d'ete opens with bright, citrusy bergamot and cool, herbaceous mint, creating a refreshing start that, to me, is reminiscent of the smell of the lime/mint combo in a mint mojito.
Le Muguet de Rosine - floral and fruity and memorable
Le Muguet de Rosine is a special edition fragrance launched in 2015 in honour of La Fête du Muguet. One whiff of it on my skin was so enchanting that I couldn’t walk away without it.
Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli – rich and resinous and unforgettable
Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli grabs your attention with an opening of patchouli that’s boozy, sweet, and potent. It’s a real show-stopper. As it blooms, the patchouli’s camphourous and mentholated nuances make an appearance.
L'Original – woody and aquatic and serenely beautiful
A warm, spicy note of pepper opens L‘Original. The pepper isn’t sharp or bracing but has been manipulated in such a way that it smells green and herbal to me. It’s combined with a note of damp wood, like the smell of water flowing over tree branches that evoke the scent of the rainforest.
Rhinoceros (2014) – complex and exciting and memorable
Rhinoceros opens with sour, aromatic bergamot and a boozy note of rum matched with an astringent note of leather.
After My Own Heart - romantic and wistful and a beautiful harbinger of spring
After My Own Heart isn’t about notes and pyramids; it’s about the olfactory experience of lilacs: the leaves, the flowers and the stems all at once. It dries down to a soft, powdery floral scent that is wistful, romantic and a true harbinger of spring.
Songe d’Un Bois d’Eté – refined and woody and French
Songe d’Un Bois d’Eté translates into ‘dream of a summer wood’, which explains why the heavy-sounding ingredients are transformed into a refined, beautiful, woody scent that showcases Middle Eastern notes in a very French way.
La Violette – fresh and floral and green
Photo - perfumeniche - Violas
As often happens with fragrance, La Violette stirs up my sweet childhood memories of Easter celebrations, family, food, and housework.
Patchouli – raw and smooth and unadulterated
Patchouli by Santa Maria Novella is the full-on patchouli experience. It opens with a raw, sharp, camphourous note that has dark, rich, and dirty undertones that are decidedly masculine.
HOMMAGE a l’Homme – woody and animalic and smooth
HOMMAGE a l’Homme is a beautiful interpretation of a ride on the Orient Express, from the manly start, to the journey from Paris (violets) to Istanbul (oud) through to the debonair, urbane and sophisticated drydown.
En Passant – fresh and green and the very definition of spring
En Passant opens with a bracing aquatic note that leads to a note of lilac. It’s a delicate spring scent that’s powdery, fresh, green and floral, with facets of two other spring flowers: mimosa and lily of the valley.
Néroli Outrenoir – luminous and dark and textured
Néroli Outrenoir dries down to a tenacious skin scent that is woody, aromatic and gorgeous. A true piece of olfactory art and a beautiful fragrance to wear.