HS3

The first time I had a chance to try Guerlain’s Les Voyages Olfactifs was at EPCOT last year. It was the first time we’d been to a Guerlain boutique and it was fascinating to have a big table full of all the Paris and boutique exclusives. All three from Les Voyages Olfactifs are Guerlain through and through, with the signature Guerlainade and touch of powdery sweetness in the top. They come in enormous 8.3 oz bottles, with screw cap and additional atomizer. I would personally prefer these bottles to have a better integrated atomizer since I keep them with the atomizer on and the great, brushed screw cap off.

Paris – New York is supposed to smell like Manhattan at Christmas time. I’ve never been to Manhattan, but if it smells like this, it must be a marvelous place. It opens with a slightly perfumey, candied note that lingers in the air with a hint of tart mandarin and bergamot. As it dries and throughout the day, you’ll catch wisps of vanilla, cardamom, cedar, and hints of orange blossom. It lasts a full day and then some, and projects in just the right way. It lets its presence be know, but does not announce it loudly. The dry down is gorgeous – a light floral over cedar and vanilla with hints of cinnamon.

One of these is not like the other. Wait, yes it is. As I was arranging things and moving things about this evening, I noticed that the older style bottle for Keiko Mecheri (Oliban in this case) was very similar to the bottle used by Guerlain for a number of their scents. Wait, not similar… the same. Exactly the same. So I get that a lot of smaller perfumers use pre-made bottles, but I would hardly consider Guerlain a “small perfumer.” I wouldn’t think Keiko is either. I can assume that it’s an off-the-shelf bottle that some glass company had and they both opted for, but I really would expect Guerlain to do something a bit more custom, especially considering the exorbitant price one must pay for their scents in those bottles.

What struck me as sad as I was formatting these pics was how much has been used of the bottles. Oh, bottles, why can’t you refill yourselves?

I was wandering through Marshall’s the other day, waiting on dinner reservations, and saw Lagerfeld Kapsule Light. I quickly read a couple reviews on my phone (none terribly glowing), and decided to pick it up even though it wasn’t the highest regarded in the Kapsule bunch. When the GF and I got to the car, she quickly opened it up and gave it a couple sprays. I was pleasantly surprised. It is what it says it’s going to be – light. It’s a pleasant “clean” type thing, and reminded me quite a bit of the Emporio Armani He that I wore in college for a couple years. It’s no masterpiece, but it’s a great thing to wear when you’re not in the mood for an olfactory assault. It also seems to layer pleasantly.

The bottle is pretty cool too – it’s unconventional, but completely functional. You can lay it on it’s back, or stand it up. It has Karl’s signature engraved on the base as well for a nice extra touch.

The week before, I was killing time at another Marshall’s during lunch (I need to stay away from that place), and ran across Narciso Rodriguez for him, travel sprays. They are 25ml each, for a total 50ml. I don’t wear the regular Narciso Rodriguez too often because I usually opt for the musc collection for him, so it seemed like the perfect replacement for my big 100ml. There don’t seem to be many photos of the travel sprays around, so I thought I’d stick one in here.

I recently placed an order with Zahras (horrible website, but fabulous service and products!) – a bottle of Amouage’s newest attar, Al Mas, some oud wood, some bakhoor, and a big gaudy burner. It arrived relatively quickly considering it literally went halfway around the world from Bahrain to here. It was packed well, and a nice collection of samples was included.

I bought the Al Mas unsmelled, but had high hopes for it. I was not disappointed! It’s definitely Amouage through and through, but it’s unlike their other offerings. I’ve heard reference to it smelling similar to Montale’s Red Aoud and though it’s by no means the same, I could say that if you love Red Aoud, you’d probably love this too. It has all the wonderful roses, frankincense, and oud you’d want to find, but it has a great, bright oud top note that has almost a tart, fruity characteristic to it. It’s quite unisex as well – I couldn’t see anyone having difficulty wearing it. There’s a nice dose of what seems like an earthy musk that carries through and ties everything together nicely.

The drydown is very good as well – its woody structure comes to the front and that oud opening dies back revealing a sandalwood, musk, and amber base. Being an oil though, the evolution of the scent can develop over many hours, making it that much more intriguing. There are some notes that come out in the development that remind me of something else, but I can’t put my finger on it right now. I’ll have to update when it finally comes to me.

The packaging is incredible too – surprisingly much nicer than I’d expected. It’s a gorgeously veneered box with a deep red wood, with purple (how’s that for royal!) felt lining, and a great weight in the hand. I stuck a picture of it next to a bottle of Homage at the bottom here to show how much larger the box is, along with the variation in color (it’s actually much deeper in color than it seems in the photo).

UPDATE notes: a little later, I’m getting what seems like water note – odd. Not aquatic in the usual sense, but a light air of water. A tiny hint of furniture polish too, but in a good way if that makes sense.

I actually got this back when I ordered the Douce Amere, but it was shipped from the Beverly Hills Barneys and I never got around to getting pictures uploaded here. It  was a bit frustrating as I’d ordered a 50ml bottle, but the Beverly Hills store decided they would take it upon themselves to send (and charge me for, of course), a 100ml bottle. My SA at the Vegas Barney’s was more than happy to exchange, but at that point the amount of different vs the time it would take to sort it out wasn’t worth the hassle. I guess Barneys Beverly Hills is 1-0 on me . The way we’re trucking through Ofresia (incredible scent), it’ll get used so no harm.

Here are some shots of the bottle and box. Simple, solid, comfortable, and well-made. If you’re new to the smell of fig, it is a perfect scent to open your mind to the fragrance. Having said that though, I’m sure you’ll find your way right back to it after exploring other fig scents and realizing it’s the best of them. It’s not just the fruit of the tree, but rather stalk to stem. If you ever douse yourself in it, you’ll understand – an overdose gives you a lusciously succulent green stalk, crushed between your fingers, only later sweetened by the tart and sweet fruit. It has fascinating development and will certainly keep your nose planted into it wondering where it will take you next. It is, without a doubt, a full-on fig tree experience.

Another fabulous one that I really enjoy is Miller Harris Figue Amere. I recommend giving them both a test. I’ve tried plenty of other fig centric scents that really play up the other notes, but these two put the most emphasis on the lead character.