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Tuesday, October 03, 2006

The Shortest Perfume Review Ever

I am running late trying to get things in order/wrapped/organized/etc. for my little pumpkin's birthday tomorrow, so...Here is the shortest review I have ever done: Nez a Nez Fragrances. I must say that even if I haven't been pressed for time, all I could say about this line would still be...


Are they serious? This must be a joke. Nez a Nez are having a laugh. They can't really be selling those incredibly, toothachingly sweet concoctions that smell like something a little girl would create for her dollies with her little DIY Toy Perfume Kit for that kind of money. Two things to be said "in favor" of the perfumes. 1) They sure do have a signature accord, i.e. BERRY, which is rather incongruously present in every single scent in the line. 2) They last forever. In words of Nez a Nez themselves, "this perfum (sic) doesn't ask. It takes."

There will be no post tomorrow, but please tune in on Thursday for Tom's review of Chypre Rouge and Mandarine Mandarin.

37 Comments:

Blogger tmp00 said...

Happy birthday to the little ones! I know it's too late to give tips, but I've found that cupcakes are the way to go for kids parties; if you want a real mess (and happy kids on a sugar high) give them three types of cupcakes (vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, for instance) bare, with frostings they can apply themselves. Downside? They are bouncing off the ceiling for an hour. Upside? They pass out right after.

I have a ton of Nez to sniff. I'll let you know what I think. Sadly, the consensus seem to go with your review.

11:59 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Brillant, Marina! I love the short reviews, they are best.
Enjoy your pumpkin feast.

12:47 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wasn't impressed by this house either, despite being a gourmand lover. I had expressed my impressions at another blog some time ago, well, they have not changed since :) I find *all* the Nez à Nez fragrances lacking in "finesse" and carrying the same sweet "undistinguishable" e" (spelling?) smell. The only one I quite like is Vanithé. Although I am not a tea fan, I find the combination with vanilla pretty successful.

6:53 AM EDT  
Blogger lilybp said...

Happy birthday to the little pumpkin. Maybe she and her friends will wear the Nez a Nez scents. I don't know why I sent away for these; it was obvious from the descriptions that they were much too sweet (and that the copywriter was crazy). I kind of liked Atelier and perhaps Marron--but I haven't worn them (or, it goes without saying, the others) since I gt them.

7:26 AM EDT  
Blogger elle said...

Happy birthday to your darling little pumpkin!!!
I think the Nez a Nez scents should come w/ warning labels for diabetics. Painfully, cloyingly sweet. You're right - they don't need longer reviews.

7:56 AM EDT  
Blogger Martin said...

Not one of them interest me at all and apart from being very sweet they just seem to crumble into nothing. Very messy and they smell very much a like (apart from tame, which also can be said about all of them). If I was hard pressed to pick out one which stands out from the rest, it would probably be Vanithé.

8:22 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow...I just ordered the 3 La Nez samples off Basenotes, all pretentiously named, based on Cait's more favorable review. Maybe DD2 (she's 11) will like them! Great graphic, and happy birthday to your little pumpkin!

9:07 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Whoops! I am an IDIOT! I ordered LesNez not NEZ A NEZ. Guess I'll skip the Nez a Nez and order a double espresso instead... (but still, happy birthday to Miss Columbina, and happy hostessing to you!)

9:13 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Tom,
Why do you hate me so? :-) Frosting they can apply THEMSELVES?? I have a feeling they would apply it everywhere but cupcakes.

9:34 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Thank you, Andy!

9:34 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Dear Anonymous,
I absolutely agree that they like finesse. They very blunt, very robust.

9:35 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Thank you, Patty!

9:37 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Judith,
If she were a couple of years older, she'd probably enjoyed these scents, but now they are too strong for her, I think.
Atelier was just as sweet as the rest of them, candy-sweet. :-(

9:38 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

L,
Perfume Induced Sugar Coma- I don't think it is too far-fetched. I am surprised it actually hasn't happened to anyone yet, given the fact that 60% of the scents out there are sweeeeeeet.

9:40 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Shifts,
The consensus seems to be that Vanithe is the best of the bunch. It is sweet but srt of in a different way from the others, no berries there.

9:42 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Sybil,
I haven't tried LesNez scents yet, but just judging from their descriptions, they seem to be somethign entirely different. Can't wait to try them actually.

9:43 AM EDT  
Blogger Solander said...

I agree that they are sweet and unsophisticated and a hint plasticky, but I don't think it's all that bad. I actually enjoy Atelier d'artiste, which I didn't find overly sweet but quite like my beloved Ambre russe.
Also, their "fig" note reads like "rhubarb" to my nose and I love rhubarb scents! They're still sweet and fruity of course, a bit like the rhubarb/gourmand of Burberry Brit Red maybe?
I also appreciated that the musk note in Bal musqué was so skanky, even though it's drenched in sweet berries of course, and I think I might have liked the spicy rose of Rosier ardent if I had the slightest inclination to appreciate rose.
Vanithé, on the other hand, was sweet and plasticky/schampoo-like. Overall, I think they have a plasticky drydown. Definitely not worth the price but the samples were generously sized so I have enough to last me of the 4 scents I kept.

11:12 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I thought the Les Nez scents sounded more intriguing than the ones you described. I am an ugly american, reading Nez, and no more...I am very anxious to smell them, esp. the one billed as too stanky for commercial trade...Wonder how it will stack up to MKK?

11:33 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The scents didn't seem too bad to me, it's just that they're too packed. There needs to be major refinement work here, tone down that berry note, and you'll have a much better result. Instead, they just overwhelm the senses.

11:51 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Thank you so much, Vika! It's scary, how time flies. How can she be 4 when she was just born! :-)

12:51 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Solander,
Ambre Russe?? I am very reluctant to touch those things again, but if you say it reminded me of the beloved Ambre Russe, I will have to retry Atelier again! :-)

12:52 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Sybli,
Clearly I missed some exciting information! Which one of them is billed as too stanky for commercial trade? Oooh, I must sniff that one :-)

12:53 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Ina,
How well you put it, "too packed". They are too much of too many things. A jumble of notes. The first step to refinement for them would be to get rid of at least 50% of that berry note, right? :-)

12:54 PM EDT  
Blogger NowSmellThis said...

Adding to the B-Day wishes, hope all goes well! Sounds like I can skip the Nez things.

1:01 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Thank you, R! And I think not just can but probably even should skip these things. If they were way too sweet, heavy and cloying for *me*...! :-)

1:06 PM EDT  
Blogger Nonna Gorilovskaya said...

Happy birthday to princess!

1:32 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Thank you, Nonnochka!

1:34 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy birthday to Colombina-ette!

1:50 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Thank you, N! LOL at Colombina-ette :-)

1:52 PM EDT  
Blogger Anna, Fair and True said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Tatiana! Didn't get anything in the mail for her but I will be thinking of her all day tomorrow!

2:56 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Thank you, Anna!!

3:04 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

According to a blurb on basenotes, l'Animatiere is "sexy" and "dirty" and "unmarketable by conventional standards", but it's a project that the perfumer has worked on for 10 years. The bottles (www.lesnez.com) look unusual and appealing...can't wait to smell them!

3:10 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Oooh oooh ooh! *excited*
Can't wait to try this one!

3:12 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am waiting for the fall season to be more firmly entrenched and then retry some of the scents in the colder weather. Ambre à Sade is very sweet, but at the same time, this excess of berry together with the amber becomes intriguing after a while for me. I didn't think that berry was everywhere but the sweetness is indeed pervasive. The ones I preferred are Atelier, Bal Musqué (smells very close to one of the Néréides scents though)...and probably Ambre à Sade. The fig scents could have been great. Vanithé was not one of my favorites. Am very curious to retry them now.

4:39 PM EDT  
Blogger Haus von Stone said...

that was a great review - i laughed out loud in my tiny garret. you see, i splurged on a set of samples after reading somebloggy's rave review. i find them all very sticky - literally and scentwise [maybe also because one had leaked all over the package :)]. i have the impression that they might taste better than they smell. but i will give them another chance...

4:43 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

H,
I didn't get to try 1001 Figues, as the bottle came open and of course leaked all over the package, but the Garcons was quite nice...were it not for that BERRY, I'd have probably enjoyed it.

4:45 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

HVS,
LOL at "somebloggy's". Great new word! :-)
Two of my samples leaked too, and I know at least 5-6 people whose packages were damaged as well.

4:46 PM EDT  

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