Opulent: 185 posts

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Whether fashion or fragrance, Thierry Mugler is among the most avant-garde designers, capable of creating unique and memorable experiences. Consider this one fact—while most new launches wilt as soon as they hit the counter, Angel has maintained a strong following and a top position in the market for more than a decade. Even the numerous Angel clones could not undermine its allure. Of course, such success is extremely difficult to replicate, as Alien proved quite patently. Womanity is the newest release from Mugler, a pink potion that tries “to encompass energy, tenderness, and sophistication at the same time.”

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

For me, a year is a long time to declare loyalty to any single perfume, but I only have to reach my hand for Amouage Homage to feel a wave of pleasure and serenity. Homage evokes something poignantly nostalgic for me—a memory, a gesture, something long lost and almost forgotten. On the technical level, it contains the elements I love—rich rose and jasmine absolutes, subtle animalic oud notes, crispness of amber and sensual sillage. It is not a fragrance that screams for attention. Even though Homage is quite potent—I need to apply literally a single drop, it stays close to the skin. …

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The deeper I delve into perfumery, the more often I pose the question, “why perfume?” to myself. Why do I write about perfume? Why is it that exploring this subject never fails to be exciting and fascinating? Perhaps, it is because scents provide a way to experience the world in a manner that cannot be replicated with any of our other senses. Recently, an illustration of this appeared in the guise of Annick Goutal Les Orientalistes, a trio of fragrances inspired by the classical oriental notes—amber (Ambre Fétiche,) myrrh (Myrrhe Ardente) and frankincense (Encens Flamboyant.) They offered me an inspiration to dream.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Life is full of ironies. The more I smell Dior Addict, the more I admire it and the more I realize that I will never be able to wear it. The contrasts between a languid floral oriental and an assertive dry chypre that fascinate me on a technical level render the fragrance very sharp. The impressive sillage of dry woody notes and rich vanilla drapes around me like heavy velvet. Russian women, whose tastes in perfume run the gamut from classical floral aldehydic to high calorie orientals, embraced it, but according to market research, they are the only ones who did. …

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Have you ever noticed how faces are much easier to recognize in exaggerated caricatures than in photographs? For this same reason Tom Ford Velvet Gardenia might offer the truest gardenia one can find in perfume form. Certainly, there are plenty of fragrances that incorporate beautiful gardenia accords (Hermès Calèche, Dior Diorama, Estée Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia), but to smell Velvet Gardenia is to experience a flower magnified by several degrees—smooth, waxy petals, green leaves and woody stems, animalic, dark roots. Its scent is creamy and intoxicating, smoldering and airy, floral and balsamic. What seems at first like an improbable juxtaposition of effects soon unfolds into a complex gardenia story. …

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