Scents by Alexis Black Valentine, Minx and Femme Fatale

By Tom It's been a long road for me to learn to appreciate perfume oils. Originally I dismissed them all as being godawful things that popped up every now and again in health food stores reeking of cheap patch with the staying power of a freshly startled skunk. Luckily, perfumers like Liz Zorn and Roxana Villa have been able to teach me an appreciation for well done oils. Alexis Karl does well done oils. Black Valentine manages to be gorgeously gourmand and wonderfully flowery at the same time. The combination of tuberose and caramel is spellbinding: on my skin it almost becomes chocolaty. I never thought that chocolate covered tuberose would be something I'd care to smell like. Live and learn.. Femme Fatale is real old-style Hollywood Glamour: amber, jasmine and ylang-ylang that fairly cries out for bias-cut silk. It's retro-glam punch is mitigated by crystalline brightness (I think there's some kind of citrus in there) that makes it completely wearable. It's the perfect scent for releasing your inner Bacall. Minx is distinctly different and one that's going to be a love/hate scent. It opens with a winey bitter cocao accord. For a while there seems to be a distinct hazelnut scent to it, ubtil stewed fruits and a distinct merlot scent comes forward and it goes from love/hate to love/need. There are six others in the range that I have samples of, should I go on? Available at her website, $100/ 1oz, $175/ 2 oz