Eau du Jour Eau de Parfum by Veronique Gabai Review

Collage of Eau du Jour by Veronique Gabai and its notes, including lemon, bergamot, ambergris, salt, sage, wood, and sugar.

When I was first getting into sampling fragrances, I'd always invite my friends to sniff what I'd call the scent [...]

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 [...]

L’Ombre dans L’Eau Eau de Toilette by Diptyque Review

Collage of L'Ombre dans L'Eau and its notes, including black currant, rose, cassis, ambergris, orris root, and clementine.

Straight out of the bottle and in the first seconds on skin, this is pure fresh green garden [...]

Oxidation Field: A Newly-Discovered Component of Skin Chemistry

Collage of the rusted head of an iron statue of a person surrounded by fruit, flowers, nuts, coffee, and other scent notes.

Skin chemistry: that vague, oft-cited reason for perfumes smelling different on different people.But what does [...]

Eau Lente Eau de Toilette by Diptyque Review

Collage of Diptyque's Eau Lente and its notes, including cinnamon, opoponax, cloves, myrrh, vanilla, other spices, and resin.

On me, Eau Lente opens with a resinous clove bomb.It has a strong room scent aura, reminding me of a cloyingly [...]

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 [...]

Paper Passion Perfume by Wallpaper* Steidl Review

Collage of Wallpaper* Steidl's Paper Passion perfume and its notes, including ink, vanilla, books, powder, and Iso E Super.

Released in 2012 to viral bookworm fanfare, Wallpaper * Steidl's Paper Passion was actually the first fragrance [...]

On Trying to Wear Perfume When Your Apartment Is Full of Wasps

Collage of a yellow jacket wasp surrounded by foods it loves to eat, including various fruits, flowers, and desserts.

I recently took a two-week break from the blog to move house.Truth be told, while decluttering, packing, [...]

Philosykos Eau de Parfum by Diptyque Review

Collage of Diptyque's Philosykos EdP and its notes, including fig, fig leaf, coconut, woody notes, cedar, and sap.

Oh, how one's opinions can change over time.When I first tried Philosykos EdP, I was enormously disappointed. [...]

The Scentaur

The Scentaur