Ask Sophie: Should I Tell My Friend I Regifted Her Gift?

Collage of a bottle of yellow-green Chanel No. 19, a pink wrapped gift box, a pair of scissors, and a plant in a lightbulb.

Dear Sophie,A few years ago, a friend of mine went on a vacation that ended in a visit to a perfume boutique. [...]

Onyx Eau de Cologne by Paul Sebastian Review

Collage of Onyx by Paul Sebastian and its notes, including vetiver, sandalwood, cypress, nutmeg, cardamom, and vanilla.

Paul Sebastian's Onyx is a very clean-smelling men's cologne. It combines an old-fashioned cool and bright, [...]

White Diamonds Eau de Toilette by Elizabeth Taylor Review

A collage of White Diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor and its notes, including aldehydes, powder, amber, rose, tuberose, and lily.

White Diamonds is an overpowering, soapy, artificial mess of aldehydes and waxy lily. Beneath these, faint [...]

Acqua di Giò Profondo Eau de Parfum by Giorgio Armani Review

A collage of Acqua di Gio Profondo by Giorgio Armani and its notes, including salt water, amber, mastic, and cypress.

Smelling Giorgio Armani's Acqua di Giò Profondo, I am reminded of an old Doctor Who episode involving a tear in [...]

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro Book Review

A collage of the cover of The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro, a pair of red lips, and a custer of paperwhite flowers.

Can anyone write a perfume-related book that is remotely happy for once?Alright, this one is happy in places. [...]

Under the Lemon Tree Eau de Toilette by Maison Martin Margiela Review

A collage of Under the Lemon Tree by Maison Martin Margiela and its notes, including lime, petitgrain, cedar, spices and tea.

On first smelling this, I had the same exact realization as that time in high school when I got really sick after [...]

Twilly Eau Ginger Eau de Parfum by Hermès Review

A collage of Twilly Eau Ginger perfume by Hermes and its notes, including peony, ginger, and cedar.

I am finding Hermès' Twilly Eau Ginger quite difficult to describe.Not because it's complex: quite the [...]

Devil’s Nightcap Eau de Parfum by Lush Review

A collage of Devil's Nightcap by Lush and its notes, including oakmoss, orange blossom, ylang-ylang, oak, and clary sage.

This fragrance reminds me of a particular William Wordsworth sonnet, "The World Is Too Much With Us":The world [...]

The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister Book Review

A collage of the cover of The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister, a rolled up scent paper in a bottle, and a seagull.

They say not to judge a book by its cover, but of course everyone does. Looking at the cover of The Scent Keeper [...]


The Scentaur