Here’s another ‘digest’ of the reviews I’ve posted on Twitter. To read the first instalment of this occasional series (which focussed on reviews published between January and March) please click here. And for more mini-reviews, please come back tomorrow. You can follow me on Twitter by searching for @Persolaise.
Salted cucumber opening leads to the sort of ‘manly freshness’ you’ve smelt thousand times before. Disappointing.
Thanks, Armani, for Code Ice. Now I have a perfect example of ‘witless, zero-personality masculine cliches + vile, pseudo-sandalwood’ scent.
PG-rated Alien. Toned down, thinned and tamed, which misses the point, surely. Stick to the original.
Yes, as advertised, raspberry & meringue are present, but subtle. This is still Angel: sweeter, fresher, lighter.
This year’s Muguet shows how tough it is to do convincing lily of the valley now. Thin, strident and unnatural-smelling. Shame.
Curious, not entirely attractive lavender hewn out of granite. Dry rather than camphoraceous. Falters at the end.
Commendable soliflore – rosy, camphoraceous & sweet. Smattering of pepper at the top. Decent vetiver in base.
Thomas Fontaine’s reworking of the much-loved 1980 release by Jean Kerléo. Suitably green and herbal. And very, very 80s. The bitterness, the lavender and the faint sweatiness (clary sage?) all feel like the last shout of pre-CK One masculinity.
Diffusive, sharp, woody, rhubarb-inflected rose. Touches of sweet pea and honey. Grows icier as it develops.
Marni Rose from Marni (2013)*
The gentle, translucent incense of the original has its rose facet very subtly emphasised. Cute without being daft.
Dewy, translucent rose, against a backdrop of cedar. Offers no surprises. Weak and simplistic.
Convincing 80s-style chypre; sharp carnation + shades of Coco. Peppery, leathery, boozy and mossy. Worth checking out.
Oh look, someone else is doing an ‘Arabian’ perfume. Dense rose + abrasive woods over musk-wood base. Nothing new.
Julia from Téo Cabanel (Jean-Francois Latty, 2005/2013)*
Starts with cheap shampoo note, then turns into pleasant L’Heure Bleue-inspired orange blossom + jasmine. Intriguing.
Ozonic, strawberry-inflected melons, with a layer of citrus fizz. Less interesting than it sounds. Doesn’t last.
Earl Grey with mandarin at the top and a well-executed sweet pea note. Simple, undemanding, ever so slightly dull.
—
Persolaise
* sample provided by brand
** sample obtained by the author
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