Perfumes with Some Funk

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Henna

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Admit it. The things that smell gross also kinda smell good. Like you want to keep smelling them to see exactly how dirty they are…

Here are three from my collection that scratch that itch. Zoologist Camel. A bit dirty, but most warm and rich, with vanilla and dates. This almost feels like a cooler, dirtier version of Serge Lutens Arabie. Arabie is discontinued but this is around and easy to get.

Kiehl’s Original Musk. Dirty and clean in a bottle, it’s just right, it’s under $100, and it’s been under our noses this whole time.

L’Artisan Parfumeur Dzing! Is barnyardy vanilla in a way that they just don’t do anymore. This one is discontinued, and honestly, it’s so polarizing that I can see why.  It can’t have been one of the L’Artisan best-sellers, but those who love it, really love it.  I find the vanilla to be the same as the kind in Santa Maria Novella Tabacca Toscana, Bvlgari Black (also discontinued), and Le Labo Patchouli 44, so if those are accessible to you, try them.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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Chanel Bois Des Iles

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Henna

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I’m running around in sweats and running shoes today but I smell classy in Chanel Bois des Iles. This one is the silky lacy under things of the Les Exclusifs line, wispy and ethereal in texture. Its old-school aldehydes, ylang ylang, and a creamy refined sandalwood stay close to your skin, releasing with heat. You won’t smell me coming, but you’ll know when I’m here.

 

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Guerlain Santal Royal Review

Posted on February 20, 2024 by Henna

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It’s been snowing all day, and now I’m watching the Grammy’s and wearing Santal Royal, Guerlain’s completely unnecessary addition to the rose-oud category of perfume. I guess they had to, they did create a line inspired by Middle Eastern perfume, but I’m not sure if this is really giving anything you can’t find anywhere else. Still, this is polished and well rounded with decent lasting power and sillage and no sugar, so it checks a lot of boxes for me. It’s like being dressed in The Row, you’re expensive, well-constructed, but nobody is going to know, you just smell good.

 

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L’Artisan Parfumeur Dzing!

Posted on February 19, 2024 by Henna

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I got told this morning that my perfume didn’t smell good – I guess I should be happy that it was immediately identified as my perfume and not my actual personal scent. The perfume of the day: Dzing! Truly weird, this isn’t a pretty perfume. It’s like going to the Stampede, all barnyard and cotton candy, the musk like warm unwashed skin, the cotton candy sweetness, sawdust, worn leather, damp notebooks, falling apart in your backpack. It’s a scent that evokes the good and bad parts of childhood, the parts you thought you’d forgotten, but they still somehow live inside of you.

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Mob Wife Perfume

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Henna

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My Tiktok “For You” page keeps giving me videos on the “Mob Wife Aesthetic” and you know what, I can relate to that more than the “clean girl” aesthetic which somehow seemed to alienate me. Anyway, my pick for a Mob Wife perfume has to be Chanel No. 5. It smells like what our idea of classy is supposed to be, instant class in a bottle, and even if you don’t love it, it’s easy to tolerate. In my mind, the mob wife probably gets a bottle of this every Christmas or birthday and just uses it because it’s there, but once her husband gets killed doing some routine mob business, she switches over to No. 19. Still, she has a bottle of Chanel no. 5 on her dresser, and her own way she leaves the gun and takes the cannoli.

 

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MDCI Chypre Palatin

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Henna

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The perfect solution to the mid-January doldrums: Chypre Palatin. Opulence in a bottle. I’m a Chypre fan and a Bertrand Duchafour fan and this is the best of both. Look at the colour of that juice!

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Santa Maria Novella Melograno

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Henna

 

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It’s been the busiest week but lots of great perfume got me through. Love the elegant but also cute 50ml bottles from Santa Maria Novella, and I wore lots of Melograno this week. A powdery blend of florals and musk, this is an almost soapy clean perfume that smells like expensive white hotel soap. I can’t get enough of it.

I also love that it’s an eau de cologne, which is the brand’s style (at least it used to be before they got acquired). It’s never too much and lets you enjoy reapplying it that’s what you love to do.

Melograno means pomegranate. Do you smell pomegranate here? No…. Still waiting…

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Le Labo The Matcha Perfume Review

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Henna

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Working late and wearing The Matcha 26, as I slowly work through my Le Labo sample set. The Matcha is a sleeper hit, and I think it’s perfect for anyone who thinks that Santal 33 is too strong. There’s a sparkly orange peel opening, green tea, fig, a woodsy dry down, but the overall effect is soft and subtle. Of the 6 perfumes that were in the Le Labo discovery set, this was the softest and one that I could wear more than 2 sprays of. At this point, matcha feels very 2014, and I’ve already switched back to coffee, so in 2024 it’s calming and is Le Labo’s version of nature for people who live in the city.

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Celine Cologne Celeste Review

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Henna

Enough of this clamouring for longer lasting perfumes. Do people also complain when a movie isn’t long enough? Do they write into the radio station when their favourite song ends?

The most annoying party guest is the one who doesn’t know when to leave, and that’s how I feel about a perfume that doesn’t come off in the shower.

Does Celine Cologne Celeste smell like 4711? It does, but they smoothed down any harsh edges, and actually gave it a skin-musk finish that smells clean and warm. It’s really easy to wear and immediately makes me think of warmer and lighter days.

 

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New Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick Shades

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Henna

I’m back on the grid and here’s a bit of a photo dump from dinner last week but also, @charlottetilbury launched lipsticks in all new colours and I can’t help but wonder if they’re thinking of the “lipstick index”. This is the idea that consumers buy more lipstick when times are tough instead of other expensive items. You might not want to get the latest perfume, but a lipstick seems like a small indulgence and disappears into your purse without you having to think about it. There are economists that say that the lipstick index theory doesn’t really hold up today and some research is saying that actually fragrance is a leading category in sales right now.

Anyway, I love a new lipstick and my secret is that the Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks don’t stick to Invisalign, but it’s not a secret anymore. You can swipe to see swatches on my skin, and my favourite colour is Candy Chic which is the creamy glossy pink. The shimmery frosty pink (Icon Baby) is giving mob wife, and the reds are reds. I need to try them on to see which ones make my teeth look whiter because really, that is the main point of wearing a red lipstick, and if your teeth don’t look insanely white then what is the point?

The glossy lipsticks are the K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Fallen from the Lipstick Tree formula and the other ones are Matte Revolution lipsticks which is a nice creamy matte formula. They don’t tug on your lips at all and apply really smoothly.

You will see me later this week for some swatches.

 

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