COMME des GARCONS “Merry Happy Crazy Colour” Collection Perfume

In continuation of their “Merry Happy Crazy Colour” series, COMME des GARCONS recently created these limited edition perfume bottles. Housing their popular COMME des GARCONS 2 and for the WONDERWOOD COMME des GARCONS fragrances, the papier maché covers have each been handmade. Perfectly styled for Christmas, as per the remainder of the series the colorways have been inspired by the manic colors found in the work of performance artists “assume vivid astro focus” .

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Eau de Steve McQueen

It seems like every celebrity and his/her cousin is launching their own scents these days. Thing is, most of those celebrities are, well...you know, alive. Not this one, though.

Amidst the myriad jackets, watches and even motorcycles – and just about everything in between – licensed by the late Steve McQueen's estate comes this cologne. It features a fresh green fruit top-note, the essence of cardamom, sage and cinnamon and cedar base. And of course, the name and likeness of the legendary King of Cool himself.

It won't come cheap, with a €190 (nearly $250) list price (before shipping and taxes), and hits the market as we go to press.

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Gucci by Gucci Sport pour Homme - Perfume Review

Gucci by Gucci Sport pour Homme is a flanker to 2008’s Gucci by Gucci pour Homme. According to Gucci creative director Frida Giannini, Sport is “…a new, fresher and lighter fragrance to suit the demands of a spontaneous lifestyle. I don’t necessarily link it literally with sports. It’s more a sporty state of mind. Meaning, off-duty time and the attitude that comes from being relaxed and carefree.” ²
Gucci by Gucci Sport seems to have been created by committee (“a collaboration involving Giannini, the Procter & Gamble Prestige Products fragrance creation team and fragrance supplier Givaudan….” ²) Gucci by Gucci Sport contains grapefruit, mandarin, cypress, lemon, cardamom, fig, vetiver, patchouli, and ambrette seeds.
Gucci by Gucci Sport begins with “abrasive” citrus and a menthol-y note  (cardamom on steroids? eucalyptus?); there’s also a second or two of “ripe” (cat-pee) grapefruit. As the citrus fades, minty/menthol notes dominate; I don’t smell most of the (well-blended) listed notes. In its early phase of development, I’d call Gucci by Gucci Sport a “mouthwash” fragrance with a hygiene-product odor: Listerine, meet Axe! Gucci by Gucci Sport dries down to a woody (cedar)-musk-fresh accord with a hint of hard-candy/patchouli sweetness  In the extreme dry-down, the notes are a bit discordant and “salty.”
I really like the Gucci by Gucci pour Homme ‘horse-bit’ bottle (and I especially like Gucci by Gucci Sport pour Homme’s clear glass bottle filled with green juice). The Gucci bottle “elevates” the fragrance from the usual boring blue bottles and blue juice of many sport fragrances on the market and it avoids a kitschy “sport”-theme design.
Gucci by Gucci Sport Eau de Toilette is sold in 50 and 90 ml ($57/73); the fragrance is also available in after shave lotion and balm, deodorant (spray/stick) and shower gel.



                                                                                                                                                                                 source:nstperfume.com/

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Chanel Egoiste - Perfume Review

Égoïste is everything I like in a fragrance, and nothing I dislike. This beautiful grandchild of Bois des Iles is a magical, warm harmony of woods and spices. On me it is softer than soft, it envelopes me like most exquisite and most expensive dark-golden silk garment. On a man…oh on a man it is irresistible. If I were a poet, I would have written a passionate sonnet for Égoïste. But I am not, so I am writing this review.

The beginning of Égoïste has a candied (mandarin) and at the same time slightly medicinal (lavender) feel that I find delightfully quirky and enjoyable. The fragrance grows warmer and sweeter as it develops, never crossing the line into being cloying and overwhelming. The sandalwood and rose blend (a union made in olfactory heaven) in the heart of the fragrance is incredibly attractive. The dark warmth of wood and the sweetness of the rose are spiced up by saffron and coriander; in the drydown, the gentle vanilla note becomes apparent. It does not make Égoïste sweeter, but it does make it even softer. This is a discreetly exotic woody-oriental scent that makes one think about opulent fabrics and golden chalices filled with mysterious potions... "Discreetly", because this exoticism is in true Chanel style, i.e. masterfully understated, without excessive embellishments. I once said about D'Orsay Le Dandy that if it were a man, I would have undoubtedly fallen head over heals in love with him. Egoiste is another fragrance that makes me wish that it could be magically turned into a person, even though I know that this stunner would break my heart in thousand little pieces…



                                                                                                                                                                  source: perfumesmellinthings

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Burberry Sport for Men - Perfume Review

Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s chief creative officer, said: “I wanted it (Burberry Sport for Men) to feel like there was movement in the scent. I kept saying I wanted it zingy; I wanted to feel alive; I wanted to feel like it’s jumping.” ¹ Burberry Sport for Men was developed by perfumers Sonia Constant, Nathalie Gracia-Cetto and Antoine Maisondieu and contains notes of  “frosted ginger,” grapefruit, wheatgrass, marine notes, juniper berry, red ginger, white musks, cedar, woods and “dry amber.”
Burberry Sport for Men starts off soapy, sweet and gingery, with a clean grapefruit note. The gingers in Burberry Sport are more spicy-candied (think preserved ginger or strong ginger ale) than fresh and rooty. There is also a light and indistinct floral character in the soapy opening. As the scent goes into its mid-phase of development it becomes a bit “astringent” (bracing and “cool” but not strident); the dry-down returns to the sweetness of the opening notes with hints of pale wood, light musk and soft ambergris. Though Burberry Sport follows the sport scent trajectory, it’s mellower than most sport fragrances on the market.

If you want to try Burberry Sport, skip the Burberry “scent cards” being handed out at department stores (they present a “foil-wrapped” quarter drop — at most — of perfume that presents the base notes and not much else); either douse yourself with fragrance from the tester bottle or ask for a liquid sample to take home. (Sephora and Nordstrom are usually helpful at making samples for customers.)
Burberry Sport for Men has good lasting power and sillage; Burberry uses “sporty” rubberized materials in the packaging and there is no Burberry plaid in sight (the scent is a complement to the “plaid-less” Burberry Sport ready-to-wear line of clothes). If you are wondering what to do with the red rubber band that’s wrapped around the carton…it’s a bracelet.
Burberry Sport for Men is an Eau de Toilette, available in 30, 50 or 75 ml ($45-72); other Burberry Sport toiletry products are aftershave balm and lotion, shower gel and deodorant.



                                                                                                                                                                                source:nstperfume.com/

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Prada Infusion d'Homme - Perfume review

 

This is my favorite perfume...

Prada Infusion d’Homme was developed by the creator of Prada Infusion d’Iris — Daniela Andrier — and it contains neroli, iris, vetiver, cedar wood, incense and benzoin. The ingredients in Infusion d’Homme are not so different from those in Infusion d’Iris (mandarin, orange blossom, galbanum, iris, incense, benzoin, cedar, lentisk and vetiver) but they are used in different proportions. In a Wallpaper article, Andrier said she wanted the scent of Infusion d’Homme to mimic the smell of a man who had bathed with Infusion d’Iris soap.

Infusion d’Homme begins with citrus, neroli and soapy (yet fresh) iris and proceeds quickly to notes of silky incense, cedar and a “burnt-vanilla” benzoin note. The incense and benzoin start strong and then become soft; as this transition takes place, to my surprise, iris makes a comeback. To quote from Robin’s Infusion d’Iris review, Infusion d’Homme is not…

…wildly innovative, but it has a kind of quiet elegance that isn’t often found in mainstream designer offerings, and it is so nice to find something in a department store that doesn’t smell like it has been focus-grouped into banality.

Infusion d’Homme is perfect for a day when you want only a hint of fragrance on your skin or when you don’t want others to be aware of your perfume (Infusion d’Homme lasts over 10 hours on my skin but stays close to the body). Infusion d’Homme would be great to wear on a long-haul flight: you’ll smell clean and “freshly showered” but your perfume will not be intrusive.

Prada Infusion d’Homme Eau de Toilette comes in five sizes: ranging from 50 ml ($54) to 754 ml (that’s over 3 cups of fragrance!) for $275; grooming and bath products are also available.


                                                                                                                                    source: nstperfume.com

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