DorothyGrace
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Descends into cologne
I find the first spritz from the sample quite pleasant, a slightly herbal flurry of a vague, can't pin it down, citrus, then a little flowery but very light.
It develops on me very tea like which again is pleasant, but all too quickly it morphs into a modern rendition of a 4711 (it doesn't smell like 4711) cologne scent . Underpinning it all is the airy fairy woody, not woody, floaty in the air type of feeling and scent that I absolutely abhor , no doubt because it makes me feel a little unwell.
It ends up with a raw shampoo type of smell, a bit like the bubble blowing kits rather than modern shampoo formulas.
I find it very sweet but not in the gourmand caramel way but in that woody/not woody, floral/not-floral, herbal but reminding of nothing, shampoo type of way.
But there we are, we all smell what we smell and I can imagine if I caught a whiff of this dancing on the air as someone passed me on the street that I would think it quite nice, but to have around me all day - oh dear me no.
It develops on me very tea like which again is pleasant, but all too quickly it morphs into a modern rendition of a 4711 (it doesn't smell like 4711) cologne scent . Underpinning it all is the airy fairy woody, not woody, floaty in the air type of feeling and scent that I absolutely abhor , no doubt because it makes me feel a little unwell.
It ends up with a raw shampoo type of smell, a bit like the bubble blowing kits rather than modern shampoo formulas.
I find it very sweet but not in the gourmand caramel way but in that woody/not woody, floral/not-floral, herbal but reminding of nothing, shampoo type of way.
But there we are, we all smell what we smell and I can imagine if I caught a whiff of this dancing on the air as someone passed me on the street that I would think it quite nice, but to have around me all day - oh dear me no.
Joss Sticks
I don't know what I was expecting from Mandarava but it wasn't this.
Three or four hours in (fifth day of testing) and it is smelling quite heady. I'm debating, at the moment, of washing off or trying to tough it out to see if the perfume settles on me.
Initially I got a hit of vanillic amber, which was joined within a few minutes by strong bonfire smokey notes (which remind me of birch tar but I am sure there are many other materials that can give the bonfire note, and in this case not like smokey bacon crisps but smokey bonfire). I quite like smokey bonfire
At the moment, and for the last several hours, all I can smell is a sickly sweet, raw, unburnt joss stick smell. This smell on me is very dense, thick, heady, and is swamping all else.
Compared with other perfumes I have been testing of late this is very concentrated and one tiny spray from a 2 ml sample spray is powerful to my nose. When I sprayed myself with three (because I had had to with the others) I felt quite giddy for a couple of hours and had to wash off. The scent remaining was rather nice.
Three or four hours in (fifth day of testing) and it is smelling quite heady. I'm debating, at the moment, of washing off or trying to tough it out to see if the perfume settles on me.
Initially I got a hit of vanillic amber, which was joined within a few minutes by strong bonfire smokey notes (which remind me of birch tar but I am sure there are many other materials that can give the bonfire note, and in this case not like smokey bacon crisps but smokey bonfire). I quite like smokey bonfire
At the moment, and for the last several hours, all I can smell is a sickly sweet, raw, unburnt joss stick smell. This smell on me is very dense, thick, heady, and is swamping all else.
Compared with other perfumes I have been testing of late this is very concentrated and one tiny spray from a 2 ml sample spray is powerful to my nose. When I sprayed myself with three (because I had had to with the others) I felt quite giddy for a couple of hours and had to wash off. The scent remaining was rather nice.
Stains Yellow
Apparently I tried this six years ago (just saw the statement I wrote then) . It would seem my opinion hasn't changed and the Wintergreen note is still heavily present. Regretfully (because I don't like it) I bought two samples, one this version and the other the Habanita Edition Exclusive which was billed on the site from which I bought my samples as being extra oriental by pushing up both the sandalwood (which I can't detect) and the amber, and decreasing the rose and oakmoss. The Molinard site itself doesn't say it is a tweaked version and I can't tell the two apart but that could be because of how heavy I find the amber notes in both and how I couldn't in any case detect the florals, patchouli, and oakmoss.
Habanita on me starts hopefully enough with a floral vanillic amber, maybe a touch almond like , thick and heavy. As it wears it becomes more cloying as those initial notes strengthen, turn powdery, and are then joined by a discordant Germaline or Wintergreen.
One hour in and I had to give it three good soapings to wash it off. My skin now smells floral soapy and that is quite nice although still radiating too strongly for me despite the application being tiny from one of those little 2 ml sample sprays, and still with the out of place Wintergreen.
When I went to wash the perfume off I noted that the perfume had coloured my skin bright yellow like a tincture of iodine stain. The three washes with bar soap did not remove all the colour and my skin is very noticeably stained yellow. I would say this needs to be kept away from light coloured clothing.
Habanita on me starts hopefully enough with a floral vanillic amber, maybe a touch almond like , thick and heavy. As it wears it becomes more cloying as those initial notes strengthen, turn powdery, and are then joined by a discordant Germaline or Wintergreen.
One hour in and I had to give it three good soapings to wash it off. My skin now smells floral soapy and that is quite nice although still radiating too strongly for me despite the application being tiny from one of those little 2 ml sample sprays, and still with the out of place Wintergreen.
When I went to wash the perfume off I noted that the perfume had coloured my skin bright yellow like a tincture of iodine stain. The three washes with bar soap did not remove all the colour and my skin is very noticeably stained yellow. I would say this needs to be kept away from light coloured clothing.
1 Comment
Winter no, Summer yes.
When I bought and tried this in Spring 2019 I found it awful
The note pyramid made this edp sound like just my cup of tea. The base notes looked just right, dry, woody, maybe a bit bitter, lots of lovely flowers in the middle, nice aldehydic citrusy top. I got none of that. Instead I got a thin, sour, lemony toilet cleaner type of smell (with a bit of mint) that radiated all day with just one spray; a fresh aftershave from the '70s type of smell.
Sorting through my perfume stash I came across a travel spray that I had filled with one of my concoctions. It was lovely and reminded me of Magie Noir. I couldn't think for the life of my what I had put into the bottle but after days of faffing around I suddenly remembered that I had put Coriandre plus patchouli (for my tastes most perfumes smell better layered up with a dab of patchouli essential oil ha ha). In the cool weather of an English spring my mix was a complete bust (obviously as I hadn't used it up) but trying it in the high heat of a pretty odd flash of early summer in May it was absolutely gorgeous (don't know what else I put in, possibly nothing, possibly a few things and most likely vetivert and oakmoss).
So I tried Coriandre again and it is remarkable on my skin how this perfume differs in smell summer compared to winter. The sour lemony top notes burn off in a few seconds letting some sharper, slightly powdery, floral notes come through, and just picking a couple on my skin that would be a fairly definite geranium, and some iris, and other than those two a general floral bouquet rather than individual flowers. As the hours wear on it becomes a little more powdery but never loses the floral middle.
Super nice on its own, and I wish I could remember what I mixed up in my little travel spray because that smells like an early Magie Noir (I'll have to have another go).
So Coriandre for me has gone from a one to an 8, with my lost formula a 10.
The bottle really is a very pretty heavy frosted glass oblong with a lovely dark green lid.
The note pyramid made this edp sound like just my cup of tea. The base notes looked just right, dry, woody, maybe a bit bitter, lots of lovely flowers in the middle, nice aldehydic citrusy top. I got none of that. Instead I got a thin, sour, lemony toilet cleaner type of smell (with a bit of mint) that radiated all day with just one spray; a fresh aftershave from the '70s type of smell.
Sorting through my perfume stash I came across a travel spray that I had filled with one of my concoctions. It was lovely and reminded me of Magie Noir. I couldn't think for the life of my what I had put into the bottle but after days of faffing around I suddenly remembered that I had put Coriandre plus patchouli (for my tastes most perfumes smell better layered up with a dab of patchouli essential oil ha ha). In the cool weather of an English spring my mix was a complete bust (obviously as I hadn't used it up) but trying it in the high heat of a pretty odd flash of early summer in May it was absolutely gorgeous (don't know what else I put in, possibly nothing, possibly a few things and most likely vetivert and oakmoss).
So I tried Coriandre again and it is remarkable on my skin how this perfume differs in smell summer compared to winter. The sour lemony top notes burn off in a few seconds letting some sharper, slightly powdery, floral notes come through, and just picking a couple on my skin that would be a fairly definite geranium, and some iris, and other than those two a general floral bouquet rather than individual flowers. As the hours wear on it becomes a little more powdery but never loses the floral middle.
Super nice on its own, and I wish I could remember what I mixed up in my little travel spray because that smells like an early Magie Noir (I'll have to have another go).
So Coriandre for me has gone from a one to an 8, with my lost formula a 10.
The bottle really is a very pretty heavy frosted glass oblong with a lovely dark green lid.
DorothyGrace 4 years ago
Underplayed rosey white musk
Hard to explain just how nondescript this is on me. A vaguely rosey white musk, soft and clean.
My nan (born late 1890s) used to have a dab of lavender water on a hanky in her handbag if she was going out and needed to be posh. The strength and inoffensiveness of White Rose reminds me of my dearest darling in her 60s.
I think for my tastes it would be better in EDP if not pure parfum but some of that could be because of there being so much perfume hanging around from laundry and cleaning products, and toiletries that delicate perfumes are swamped.
Now me in my 60s alternates between Aromatics Elixir and TCP. (well it is winter).
My nan (born late 1890s) used to have a dab of lavender water on a hanky in her handbag if she was going out and needed to be posh. The strength and inoffensiveness of White Rose reminds me of my dearest darling in her 60s.
I think for my tastes it would be better in EDP if not pure parfum but some of that could be because of there being so much perfume hanging around from laundry and cleaning products, and toiletries that delicate perfumes are swamped.
Now me in my 60s alternates between Aromatics Elixir and TCP. (well it is winter).
