Chocolate, Greedy.

By Tom I'd be willing to bet that most of us had our first experience with chocolate notes in perfume with Angel.  I'd also be willing to bet that quite a few of us shrank from it.  I know I did.  I convinced myself that I hated it until I smelled it on someone on whom it worked and it was delicious; I also think that the person in question wasn't someone who over-applies, because Angel is one of the big time offenders in the Smell-It-From-Space hall of shame.  I've smelled it on the lowest escalator in the Beverly Center while the offender is up top by Bloomingdales.  Over-apply and it's like chocolate patchouli jet fuel contail. But there are ones that I really love. Serge Lutens Borneo 1834 is a cousin to Angel, but instead of milk chocolate and head shop it's dark, almost burnt cacao and bone-dry pathouli leaves.  This was the first Lutens I ever smelled and I still have a bell jar of it.  Luckily it's in the export range ($140 for 50ML) so it's available where all the others are, for now. Bud Parfums Ugly Bastard seems to bridge the two: not as parched as Borneo but not as, well shall we be polite and call it "lush" as Angel.  It's one of those that's only available as far as I can tell down under, which makes it a reason to visit. Musc Maori is another that comes to mind: like rich, hot, creamy coffee poured over rich chocolate with just enough musc to take it from foodie to feral,  My scent twin says it gets compliments like almost no other. $105 for 50ML at Luckyscent. So, tell me, what are your favorite chocolate scents, and which ones drive you from the room?  Leave a comment.. Image: Wikipedia Commons

Pretty, Pretty: Bud Parfums Ugly Bastard

By Tom Donna covered several of these and was kind enough to send me a bit of "Ugly Bastard"  The idea of it, well I'll just quote from the website: "He has all the signs of a weather beaten life. Musty wood shavings with a dash of fir around the wrinkles of a hard worker. Dark chocolate, rum and spice which makes him actually quite nice. Laughter amongst the sweat and curses. Not such a romantic but dependable, reliable and eventually he gets the job done. You know you like him, (even though he is an ugly bastard)." I certainly can't call this ugly.  In fact it sort of reminds me a bit of Borneo 1834, a scent that I very much like.  This is a sunnier take on that.  Which I find rather beguiling.  Two scents featuring chocolate that I like?  Who saw that coming? They do ship to America as far as I can tell by their website but I think with shipping it would be about the same as Borneo, which is available at the usual suspects in America right now.  I'd be interested in trying some of the others, as well as some of the other perfumers I've heard of from Down Under, such as Fleurage. Photo Credit: Bud Parfums

…And Where The Men Are “Ugly Bastards:” Bud Parfums of Australia, Part Two (and a Prize Draw!)

By Donna In my last post I reviewed several feminine fragrances from Bud Parfums of Australia, and now I am turning my attention to the offerings for men. I seem to have some that are on the sweeter side of the range, but I guess I was attracted to their descriptions without thinking too much of variety. No matter, because I like all of them, and if these are any indication of what the others are like as far as quality is concerned, I need not worry. Perfumer Howard Jarvis certainly seems to know what the gents like to wear. Chocolate Soldier is deceptively sweet to start, with a big in-your–face chocolate note combined with a highly pitched citrus that could be either petitgrain or neroli and seems a bit too much with the chocolate, but once that quiets down, which is very quickly, the orange loses its sharpness and a harmonious rum accord joins in. At this point, I thought it was still going to be sweet and somewhat boneless, but some pleasingly warm spices soon intervened, and there is a base of mellow wood (perhaps teak?), that holds it all together and keeps the chocolate in check. Chocolate in perfume can be problematic to the point of being a deal breaker for me (i.e. (Montale Chocolate Greedy, one of my very few Montale scrubbers so far), but Chocolate Soldier is a creamy, nutty dark essence, not a dry dusty cocoa, and it is an ideal match for the woody base. By the time it has all settled down it’s a smooth talker of a perfume, seamless and quite sophisticated, and the longevity is excellent. I have liked it more with each wearing and as much as I would like to find out what it’s like on a man’s skin, it surely does work very well on mine. Add another one to the relatively short list of fragrances that incorporate chocolate with great success. In contrast, Assassin is somewhat more in keeping with the usual idea of a “masculine” fragrance but it is by no means business as usual. It is rich and ornate and it definitely has a dark side. It’s as elegant as James Bond, with a secret up its sleeve; the unusual and well, addictive base notes involve oud and a touch of hashish, and gives it an edge that makes it just unfamiliar enough to keep you guessing. It is not like one of the trendy new ouds since that is not the dominant characteristic; I actually get more of the hashish aroma here, just enough to be distinctive, and the oud wood is simply another component of the whole. This is a good thing, because it is more wearable than some of those more aggressive oud perfumes which, while often beautiful, require a lot of restraint and are not suitable for all occasions. A subtle and persistent fruitiness that I decided must be pomegranate adds even more interest and I finally realized, after several trial runs, what it reminded me of. I once bought a perfume called Persephone from Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs, and Assassin smells not unlike a more evolved rendition of that, but with a masculine sensibility This is a man’s equivalent of a feminine evening perfume, a little too much for daytime but just perfect for stepping out on the town – and if you run into a little international intrigue on the way, at least you will be dressed for it. I still wish I had asked for a sample of the leathery Whoa de Cologne, but there is an even more colorfully named fragrance in the lineup, and that is Ugly Bastard. The tongue-in-cheek idea behind this one is that it smells so good everyone will think you are handsome even if you’re not – and smell good it does! If I had to give it a classification I guess it would be a fougère since it has a freshness that persists all the way through its development, but it is a richer mix than is usually found in this style, and it has none of that piercing synthetic sharpness that passes for “fresh notes” all too often found in today’s modern fougères. There is some chocolate and rum in here too but with contrasting elements of delicate florals, herbs, spices and a particularly nice teak wood base that lift it into a whole different realm than Chocolate Soldier. It’s brisk without being medicinal, refreshing without being astringent and just sweet enough to be charming. I found the far drydown to be especially delicious. Gentlemen, regardless of your appearance this well-constructed fragrance will be find favor with whoever you wish to impress, and even if you are already good-looking you will seem even more attractive while sporting a splash or two of Ugly Bastard. Now for the good part: Bud Parfums is generously donating a 10 ml bottle of Ugly Bastard to one lucky reader! Just indicate in the comments if you would like to be entered. The winner’s name will be drawn the week after this review is posted. (Sorry, U.S. mailing addresses only.) And do tell – have you tried any of the Bud Parfums fragrances before, and which ones do you like? Disclosure: The perfume samples were sent to me for testing by Bud Parfums at my request. Samples are available for purchase on the Bud Parfums Web site. Image credit: Photo of Australian actor David Wenham via the hunkies.com, original source unknown.

Where the Women Glow… Bud Parfums of Australia, Part One

By Donna The art and science of perfumery is certainly a universal pursuit, and even in the Land Down Under there are quality fragrances being made. Australia is not the first place most people think of when it comes to perfume; then again, it was not so very long ago that the idea of Australian wine would have been a joke, but nobody’s laughing now. It was only recently that I became aware of the existence of Bud Parfums, a company that emphasizes natural materials as much as possible and has a broad palette of scents for every taste. After testing a variety of their products in a range of styles, I came away thinking that the rest of the world had better look to their laurels, because this outfit just might pull off a coup like the Aussie wineries did and get a lot of well-deserved attention. (You have to appreciate the cheekiness of naming one of their leathery men’s fragrances “Whoa de Cologne!”) The company likes to keep its customers guessing as to the list of notes in most of their perfumes, but that should not stop anyone from trying the line. The most recent introduction from Bud Parfums is called Rouge Pomegranate, and if you are looking for a zesty, fruity fragrance that stands up to summer heat, this could be the one. Like a fresh pomegranate, it has very little sweetness, being tart and puckery in a most bracing way, acidic but not metallic or too sharp, at least not for me, as I like this sort of thing. This is the kind of fragrance that one might be a little wary of since pomegranate is one of those trendy flavors and fragrances that has been showing up just about everywhere, but rest assured that this one is much better than the ubiquitous body wash types so common now. It could almost be a “red” version of one of my personal favorites, Hermès Un Jardin Sur le Nil with its tart green mango signature, replaced by vibrant pomegranate and underscored with dry woody notes. I enjoyed this one very much; the first time I tried it, the weather was cool and rainy, so I put it away until hot weather arrived, and it performed like a champion, lasting very well and giving an energizing burst of juicy freshness to my day. It is categorized as a feminine, but a confident man could certainly carry it off. If you like the idea of fruity scents, but fear that they will be too sweet, this will hit the spot. A more emphatically feminine scent is Sophia, an ambery Oriental with a rich, plush elegance. I knew it smelled familiar somehow, but I could not quite figure it out until my sister happened to be with me when I was testing it and she asked me “Are you wearing Emeraude?” Then the light bulb went on - it smells quite a bit like Emeraude used to smell, back before it was ruined by the relentless cheapening of its famous formula. Sophia does not have the minty weirdness of the old Coty classic, but it does have that almost “root beer” quality that was a great part of its charm. My sister wore it a lot when she was a teenager, so she remembered what it was like, and I gave her some of the vintage juice for her birthday this year. There is a goodly dose of opopanax in Sophia, of which I am a fan, and if one were to mistake it for a real vintage perfume, it would be an easy error to make. I can recommend it for fall and winter wear, where it will shine as an evening or special occasion scent. For women who are looking for an old-school Oriental in this vein that is not loud or vulgar like far too many current mainstream offerings, Sophia is an excellent alternative. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the demure Fleur de Lilac, a violet-tinged and almost wistful-smelling scent that has a definite vintage feel to it, a perfume of days gone by, worn by ladies who fan themselves at garden parties and favor wispy silken gowns and brocaded slippers on their delicate feet. The first time I tested it, it did not work on me at all, but that is a common occurrence with lilac in perfumery; it is always on a knife edge of balance, just waiting to fall apart if the proportions are not just so. When I tried it again, I was surprised that it smelled really good, and stayed that way over time. It began the same way as it did the first time, with a rather jangly and astringent opening that was a bit like lemon juice before softening into the florals, but this time it retained its form and became a slightly powdery (from heliotrope) lilac enriched with jasmine and ylang ylang that retained a soapy freshness throughout. Now to some people, that might be bad news, but I happen to like “soapy” notes in perfume if they are well done, and this smells like very expensive lilac guest soap, which is just fine by me. Lilac is hard to get right, especially when a high percentage of natural materials are involved in creating the accord. A sample test drive is highly recommended for this one since lilac is so notoriously fickle, but if it works for your own skin chemistry it will be one of the prettiest perfumes in your collection. My own favorite of the Bud Parfums feminine perfumes I sampled is Ooh La La, an aptly named floral that is oh-so-French with a modern twist, accented with a fresh lemony top note that lifts and offsets the deeper notes of this seductive scent to perfection. I would also call this a “throwback” to the classics, because as a lover of the great perfumes of the past I was drawn to this one like a moth to a flame. It is a rich composition that compares favorable with such sexy scents as Lanvin’s My Sin or Corday Fame, two of my own all time favorites. Rich and heady frangipani is the main focal point, and I also detect jasmine, but there is something distinctly animalic in character that gives it a depth that is seldom seen in today’s floral blend perfumes, and I would swear that it’s civet. The overall effect recalls the type of grown-up fragrances for women made with those now-banned nitro musks that we vintage lovers still miss even though we know they aren’t good for us, and here we have one that gives us all the pleasure with none of the guilt. This is one of those perfumes that ought to come with a sign that says “Warning: Dangerous Curves Ahead” and it should be used with caution on the unsuspecting males of the species, who won’t know what hit them! Next time I will give my impressions of some of Bud Parfums’ fragrances for men, and there will be a prize draw for a very unusual perfume, so please check back! Disclosure: The perfume samples were sent to me for testing by Bud Parfums at my request. Image credit: A famous painting of the goddess Flora by Titian, in the public domain.