Let’s kick things off with a quickie fragrance review. I’m mostly new to this – have been wearing only Pheromone by Marilyn Miglin for many years (note: there are no pheromones in it, and I’ve always hated the name, but it’s rich, warm and intense) – but recently have decided to do some research and testing for a new perfume, since there are so many options available.
So my fragrance reviews aren’t going to have a lot of that fancy terminology. It’s just me and my little nose, deciphering things.
Today’s trip was to Nordstrom to sample some Tom Ford fragrances. I’ve been interested in his line mostly because of the uniform, adorable atomizers available. Wouldn’t it be cute to have one of every color on the dresser? Of course it would. And if you ever want to give up on TF, the glass vials in the atomizers are refillable, so you can clean them out and then decant a preferred scent into them.
Jasmine Rouge was the driving force behind this trip, but the store didn’t have it available, either as a tester or for purchase. So I spritzed Noir de Noir on the right arm and Mandarino di Amalfi on the left, and then wandered off to let the scent settle.
Noir de Noir terrified me at the outset. It had an extremely strong men’s cologne note to it, which I prayed would die down quickly, and it did. Unfortunately, what I was left with was a sort of vanilla-bubblegum-mint! Not at all what you would expect from something called Noir de Noir. This was disappointing in the extreme, and I crossed it off my purchase list. That was at about 10AM. It got more candyish and less vanilla as the day went on; it’s now 4PM and there’s nothing left of it on my arm.
Mandarino di Amalfi is a nice fresh citrus smell, right from the start. Citrus and vanilla. Normally I dislike vanilla in perfume but this was very well-balanced. After a short while, perhaps 3 hours, it just faded away. My impression? Nice, generic, but not noteworthy, and therefore not on my future-buy list. Seems like it might be nice to give to a young girl as her “first grown-up perfume.”
Tonight UPS is going to deliver a package from Lucky Scent, and I’ll review the included items later this week. Stay tuned!
The Diva Lair 