Paloma Picasso Eau de Parfum by Paloma Picasso Review

Collage of Paloma Picasso perfume and its notes, including carnation, rose, mimosa, castoreum, lemon, amber, and civet.

Paloma reminds me of a stanza from one of my favorite poems, T. S. Eliot's "Rhapsody on a Windy Night":"The [...]

Vanille Insensée Cologne Absolue by Atelier Cologne Review

Collage of Vanille Incensee and its notes: citron, lime, vanilla, oak, coriander, oakmoss, vetiver, amber, and jasmine.

Ah, the most divisive and controversial of woody vanillas.Dusty and sweet, Vanille Insensée is a woody [...]

Olene Eau de Toilette by Diptyque Review

Collage of Diptyque's Olene and its notes including jasmine, honeysuckle, narcissus, wisteria, white flowers and green notes.

Olene is a faint, delicate bunch of flowers in a colored shot glass being used as a vase, on a windowsill, or [...]

Journey Woman Eau de Parfum by Amouage Review

Collage of Journey Woman by Amouage and its notes, including honey, osmanthus, tobacco, apricot, nutmeg, jasmine and saffron.

Appropriately enough, I first tried Amouage's Journey Woman on a journey of my own, taking a Greyhound bus to my [...]

Fancy Eau de Parfum by Jessica Simpson Review

Collage of Fancy by Jessica Simpson and its notes including caramel, vanilla, berries, pear, apricot, milk, and sugar cookie.

First things first: Fancy isn't fancy by any definition.It doesn't feel expensive, or clever, or [...]

Perry Woman Eau de Parfum by Perry Ellis Review

Collage of Perry Woman by Perry Ellis and its notes, including sandalwood, rose, orchid, lotus, water lily, and orris root.

Wow.Perry Ellis does it again.Just like Perry Man, here's another fragrance full of notes I'm usually [...]

Ormonde Woman Eau de Parfum by Ormonde Jayne Review

Collage of Ormonde Woman and its notes, including amber, tsuga, grass, violets, vetiver, coriander, sandalwood, and cardamom.

Ormonde Woman has a natural and comforting feel that's fresh without being clinical and powder-soft without [...]

Shalimar Eau de Parfum by Guerlain Review

Collage of Shalimar by Guerlain and its notes, including incense, vanilla, lemon, cedar, chocolate, tonka, leather and civet.

Colonialist Orientalism really got the entire Western perfume world fawning over a bottle of two-dimensional [...]

Black Orchid Eau de Parfum by Tom Ford Review

Collage of Black Orchid by Tom Ford and its notes, including chocolate, truffle, spice, flowers, sandalwood, amber and fruit.

On me, Black Orchid has an absolutely bizarre, disjointed opening of many disparate fresh and fruity notes. It [...]

The Scentaur

The Scentaur