fragrance

EauPEN Thread – Decants

Myrna Loy
Do you buy decants?
Let me explain what a decant is for those that may not know. A decant is fragrance decanted from a full-size bottle of perfume. Generally, these are not sold through the brand but through perfume lovers (in real-life or online) or through certain decanting sites. The decants are typically larger than a sample and smaller than a full-size bottle of perfume. They come in generic bottles (so they really aren’t like a brand’s travel-size perfume).

Before I answer the question, I’m just going to say… Continue reading | 18 Comments

fragrance

Talk Some Scents Into Me – Summer 2016 Edition

Myrna Loy

 

In all honesty, I’ve felt a bit burnt out by perfume for the past couple of years. I mean, if this blog were a child, it’d be in 2nd grade. That’s a long time to talk about the same thing. I thought it may not even be “perfume” but life and personal obligations…stress. A lot has changed in my life during this time. We’ve moved across the country, we work different jobs and there’s all sorts of other things that have occurred that have me thinking about… Continue reading | 42 Comments

fragrance

Hiram Green Shangri La EDP Natural Perfume Review

Hiram Green Shangri La

Hiram Green has launched a new perfume, Shangri La, a chypre inspired by James Hilton’s novel, Lost Horizon. When the perfumer reached out to me to try this newest launch, he “warned” me that it was rather different than the debut fragrance, Moon Bloom, which is now one of my favorite tuberose perfumes. And honestly, I was relieved to hear that it was different, as I don’t like too many redundancies in brands anyway. The… Continue reading | 7 Comments

fragrance

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Ciel de Gum EDP Perfume Review

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Ciel de GumMaison Francis Kurkdjian Ciel de Gum was created as an exclusive for GUM Moscow. This explains the rather odd English word “gum” used in a perfume name.

Ciel de Gum opens as something that is distinctively Kurkdjian-y. It’s that lemon custard with indolic white florals (something I now associate with him). There’s a voluptuous jasmine and a grape-jelly orange blossom. The rose in this is fresh and velvety. This man knows how to treat a rose. The heart blossoms on the skin. The dry-down is a… Continue reading | 3 Comments

fragrance

Illuminum Black Gardenia Haute Perfume EDP Review

Illuminum Black Gardenia

Demonic sweetness seeping from a gardenia petal.” That’s like the most black metal fragrance copy that I’ve ever read.

Illuminum Black Gardenia opens as a blue cheese-ish gardenia with this fuzzy peach. I can say that I’m smitten. I pick up on that tart, humid black currant. Let me add that this fragrance is thick and strong. This is not a sheer white floral. This one has some meat on its bones and some may argue too much meat on its bones. Black Gardenia is… Continue reading | 8 Comments