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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Perfume Review: Liz Zorn Grand Canyon

Thanks to a kind fellow perfume lover, I got to try several Liz Zorn fragrances. I was impressed by all and loved one, the subject of this post. "Inspired by the vastness and colors of the American Grand Canyon", the perfumer blended citruses, spices and woods to create a fragrance which I perceive as color copper, the color of sunset over the almost Marcian landscape of Arizona.

Before smelling the fragrance, going by the name alone, I imagined something much sharper and more rugged. In reality, Grand Canyon mixes the sweet (blood orange, clementine) with the dry (black pepper) and the soft (benzoin, honey, myrrh) with the sharp (laurel leaf, vetiver), striking a perfect balance. The citruses are very prominent on me, but, smelled alongside woods and resins, they appear ripe, nectareous and languid, rather than sparkly, fresh and tangy. Myrrh is apparent as well, a round, soft, enveloping note, completely void here of the medicinal undertone that I dislike. And, finally, pepper, the third star note, is the black scar on the soft coppery velvet of the composition, striking and alluring. Liz Zorn calls Grand Canyon a comforting scent, and that is how I perceive it as well. On a cold day like today, it wraps me in its warmth like a gorgeous Southwestern shawl.

Grand Canyon is available on lizzorn.com, $28.00-$89.00.

The painting is Grand Canyon by R. C. Gorman.

30 Comments:

Blogger tmp00 said...

I really need to try some of these, I've read so many nice things about them...

10:43 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

It's like I knew. Because I sent some to you today :-)

10:44 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, I'm so glad you liked it!Grand Canyon to me smells of a Russian New Year the way I remember it with all those oranges.It's a perfect winter scent,just bursting with sun and happiness, makes me instantly happy.
Veronica

11:45 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh no, how did I manage to put happy and happiness in one sentence? I guess it does make me so deliriously happy, I forget grammar:)
Veronica

11:49 PM EST  
Blogger tmp00 said...

Oh YAY!!! I love prezzies!

12:43 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

All I can say is: Yummy! Gimme some of that ripe, languid citrus please! And isn't citrus and resins together something quite unusual?

1:27 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Like Tom, they're on my 'to try' list...

3:33 AM EST  
Blogger lilybp said...

Verrrrry interesting. Not sure about those citruses, but if they're ripe rather than tangy they may be OK on me (and orange generally works better for me than lemon). The rest of the notes sound fabulous!

6:37 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Veronica,
There is nothing wrong with repeating nice words :-)

6:49 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

PS. And thank you so much again!

6:50 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Tom,

6:50 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Donna,
I don't know about unusual (Theorema has that, I believe, to name one), but unusually good - yes !:-)

6:52 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Lee,
They are worth trying, for sure.

6:52 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Judith,
I think you'll like this a lot, despite citruses. It is just "you" somehow.

6:53 AM EST  
Blogger elle said...

Have never tried her scents, but this sounds quite wonderful. I'm in the mood for that sort of citrus. Please, please let spring come *soon*.

7:03 AM EST  
Blogger lilybp said...

Oh, dear! Or, GOOD, I mean GOOD. Must try! Oh, dear!

7:06 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

L,
Here, winter has started again :-( Depressing.

7:06 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

J,
But at least the prices are reasonable! :-)

7:07 AM EST  
Blogger lilybp said...

Yeah--and some of the others sound great, too. Have you tried Underworld or Solstice??

7:16 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

J,
Nope, haven't tried those.

7:24 AM EST  
Blogger Beth Schreibman Gehring said...

Oh, I am seduced, what a wonderful review.......These sound gorgeous, I love that landscape, the Southwest figures prominently in my families history past and present. I used to wake up as a child in my grandparents house in Arizona to the smell of fresh grapefruit and orange blossoms and as the day went on, smoky mesquite. Add some chipotle and I'm a goner. My brother still makes his home in Scottsdale and I go several times a year to connect to that mystical desert. If you've never seen it, there is nothing quite like it. I must find some of these beauties.

8:09 AM EST  
Blogger NowSmellThis said...

Sounds tempting, M! I've just been trying her 3 newish tea scents, very nicely done.

11:06 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

when reading your review, i first thought:
citrusy, oh no! - while i love to eat citrus & orange, i just don´t like to smell them in a scent, i always think of them as "sporty" an adjective that doesn´t qualify a scent as interesting for me ;)
but when you said they are rather ripe than fresh...that makes a big difference :)

11:34 AM EST  
Blogger chayaruchama said...

What a happy surprise !

I need to try this one-
Solstice received many compliments yesterday, from patients and colleagues alike.

3:21 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Beth,
Oh, that sounds wonderful!

8:47 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

R,
tea scents? that sounds tempting!

8:47 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Malena,
Sporty is very opposite of what I like in perfume (and, um, life :-)). But this one is the very opposite of sporty :-)

8:49 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Ida,
I need to try that one.

8:50 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I tried a sample after reading your review, and it's everything you said. I like it better than (gasp!) Frapin's Caravelle Epice. And a much nicer price. But we're edging into warm weather, so I tried Chado, a grassy tea and Morocco, a fabulous and unusual blend of spices that's not too sweet. Both knocked my pantyhose off--and that's saying a lot.

11:12 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

QuinnCreative,
I am so glad you liked!
By the way, have you seen the announcement that you are a winner of Top 10 of Winner sample draw? :-)

11:32 AM EST  

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