Anessa

Sultane, whatever association the fancy shaped bottle and the cap (a turban and not an earless elephant) should convey, is about a huge Peach with a capital P. Unfortunately, it does not resemble the naturally sweet, delicious, and juicy kind as in the beginning of Acqua Colonia White Peach & Coriander, but rather the artificial and strangely shrill type that triggers my headaches within a few minutes, regardless of how often I would approach and retry with patience and an open mind. I suspect jasmine playing havoc here, teamed up with vanillin like in Yves Rocher's "Shafali Fleur Rare", another migraine-inducing fragrance.

To me, Sultane lacks balance as a perfume and would better fit as home fragrance. The peach, with the weight of musky sandalwood and sharp florals, dominates throughout the entire composition like Giant Peach that rolled over James' two greedy cruel aunts in Roald Dahl's children's classic; and I, too, feel being punished for anything I might have done, knocked over by this monstrous artificial fruit.
The watery opening with a brief resemblance to Iced Peach Tea are the only moments I feel 'safe' before Sultane quickly settles down in the vast ocean of buttery vanilla custard pudding. While this may sound like a delicious dessert for some people, to me means long lasting headaches right through the brain.

Due to its persistent nature, I absolutely cannot imagine Sultane in warmer weather. Even a light application on the wrists seemed too much: the loud peach kept hitting through my nostrils for the first couple of hours, like a spoiled, attention-seeking child. The strong projection calmed down after 2 hours but still kept wafting with every movement until I could not bear any longer and had to cover up with another fragrance which immediately stopped my migraine.

To anyone familiar with the popular "Âme Toscane" by ID Parfums (the original bottle in the shape of a naked woman torso without arms and legs, and a mysterious headpiece resembling a mop or static glass noodles), I could not detect any differences at all between these two fragrances, except for AT's characteristic oily-dusty iris edge adding a damp sultriness on top.

Only recommended to those who would not fear being punished by musky, vanillin-, and sweetener-sprinkled peaches wearing sandalwood stiletto (who would have thought peaches can be turned into weapons? See Roald Dahl...)

An early blind purchase in my fragrance journey, the opening depending on conditions could feel very papery-screechy like a yellow angry cat shrieking and scratching in my face - loud and almost in a vulgar, sweaty-sour way, the 'papyrus' and bergamot with the patchouli apparently playing a wild mix to my unaccustomed nose.
While wondering why I had bought it, it would morph into a slightly floral, vanilla-flavoured amber patchouli with a vintage feeling, like eating a vanilla-flavoured dessert between dusted clothes and wilted books with a recently dried flower bouquet hanging above. The sweetness level of Fancy Nights measured by the original Fancy (not tried) might not be even worth mentioning for the die-hard gourmand fans; however, I find the vanilla still very distinct and often layer it to tone down the sweetness.

The keyword "goth/gothic" was mentioned 18 times by real reviewers on another review site, "hippie" 5 times, while two of the less real reviewers imagined "Halloween" might sound as good. I can't comment on the "hippies" but wonder if they smelt like an oriental perfume. As for the "goth" association, unless it is meant as in "gothic novels" suggested by the ad with Simpson set up as the typical heroine, I can't imagine a Gothic cathedral nor any Gothic architecture smelling like this. Considering the music of that period, the association feels even more unconvincing.

Someone as young as Piguet or Tabu once said, after smelling FN on me, that it smelt "outdated". While it certainly doesn't smell like the Middle Ages, it indeed feels so dustily old that it might shock the clean, soapy, safe and sensual-musk fraction. Personally, the bottle colour and oriental design with its Art Deco fonts do evoke a dark forest and midnight walks on crashing leaves and twigs, some magical elixir sold in the Old Curiosity Shop or placed on the lounge bar shelf of the Roaring Twenties - I would especially love the last image more than that of a "goth"!

Reformulated or not, FN's rep still holds true about its strength both in projection and longevity that requires a very light application.
Note: Jeanne Arthes Sumatra Patchouli smells like a sweetness-deducted dry down of FN, also affordable albeit with apparently dwindling availability.

Blood Orange & Basil was mentioned as a more 'modest' version of Guerlain's AA Mandarine Basilic, an absolute love at first sniff for me. Quite a few times close to ordering it blindly, I was fortunately given the opportunity for a test.
Of all the citric-themed Acqua Colonias I tested at the same time (Lemon&Ginger, Lime&Nutmeg, Mandarine&Cardamom), this was the most anticipated delivering the same amount of disappointment - the image: Doing your dishes using astringent lemony detergent while the herbaceous collar of your pullover itches your neck, and your little niece has learnt to use neon markers and is testing it out on you, adorning your bare forearms with bright, neon orange dots that will continue haunting you later, within your closed lids.

I mostly knew the brand from their classical rose- and lavender scented body care products and was all the more surprised by this fragrance - a seeming attempt to join the 'contemporary' majority in the perfume market which may be related to the change of ownership.

Royal English Daisy, as my bottle is named, starts with a sweet apple note and a mix of green leaves wrapped up in a rather tenacious and sweet musk. There should be an indistinctive floral note somewhere, but I can't name it.

On one hand, this fragrance does meet the name more of an imaginary concept - it has an innocent, carefree nature like memories of making daisy chains and might've better been named 'Country Maiden Daisy' (I reckon that the 'Royal' part was removed for a good reason). On the other hand, the sweetness is more of a persistent nature and enhances a distinct sharpness that could trigger headaches for those who are sensitive to this kind of musk.

Even though it is not a 'loud' fragrance, the need for a light or fresh scent might not be met with this Daisy - it is not as innocent nor inconspicuous as you would've expected.

Considering the price and the good longevity, it could well serve as a more affordable alternative to many designer fragrances from the same category of uncomplicated yet noticeable, sweet and clean fruity florals.

Fragrance Review for L'Eau de Parfumo N°1
Parfumo

Top Notes
Strawberry Banana Raspberry Blackberry

Middle Notes
Blueberry Black currant Dewberry

Base Notes
Musk Amber Sandalwood

Vintage Eau de Parfum (2009)
A Fruity Drink On A Deck Of A Cruise Ship

This was the first perfume released by the German brand in 2009. It was discontinued once but re-released as an Eau de Cologne which is selling on Amazon.com now, so look on ebay where you can still get the original vintage EDP. The EDC is not bad but it's softer and more soapy with uninteresting qualities compared to the vintage original parfum in the rectangular bottle with the logo in the middle as shown on the picture on this page. The EDP is very hard to find but thanks to my Fritz in Berlin and Masha in St.Petersburg, I was lucky enough to get my hands on the EDP splash bottle in 3.4 ounces. I found this in the bathroom of my male Ph.D. lawyer friend's appartment in Berlin during Festival Week where he performs as a retired hobby opera singer. He is a transgender bender&wears fragrances for men and women, as well as unisex, and he was sharing this perfume with his mother who is a world traveler, writer and a former principal. I asked them to let me borrow this fragrance for the whole summer.
I also found it stashed away in a girlfriend Masha's fridge in a villa outside St.Petersburg during Moscow Fashion Week. Masha is a happily married proudly Southern Russian model living in New York, a dancer on the Universal Studio cruise ships&self-employed entrepreneur with a Stanford MBA. I asked her what she was keeping in her fridge, and she told me in her cute Russian accent.

"????? ? ????? ? ????? (Cyrillic: Ambra i banan). Her name is Parfumo N°1. L'Eau de Parfumo she is a delicious fruity perfume. Smell of berries and banana smoothie very nice. My husband Stan buy it for me for my birthday. Everyone love it on me. The parfum when she is dry, smell so good of sexy clean amber. She is not girly for mature woman and man. On me last very long for whole day. I wear her with mini cocktail dresses cute sundresses with dots evening suits when I go out to parties with my family on summer nights. I also wear her as a Pixar Princess when I perform for little children they love it on me. My mother my father my grandfather and his friends in Russia all wear her. N°1 is popular parfum in Russia. Love it. I am sorry my English is no so good."
I asked her if she could please sell me this perfume!

Let me start by saying that there are many berries in this but it is by no means a 'cheap' little fruity perfume like a Paris Hilton (i.e. Siren, Heiress) or most of the modern Victoria Secrets. It's very classy and sexy for a mature woman or a guy. I don't give a damn about the gender label or for whom it is marketed. Fragrances and berries have no labels or gender. This is a really gorgeous if simple dark pink fragrance which can indeed smell amazing on both men and women. I hate dropping names but it has been compared to other berry-centric perfumes like Lalique Amethyst or Taylor Swift's Wonderstruck however I've never smelled Wonderstruck or Amethyst. Another aromatic berry based perfume is Vagabond Prince Enchanted Wood which was created three years after this fragrance. However the former is darker in a sinister way with definitely something more going on behind the curtains and the backstage. It seems to wear like a fragrance for The Evil Queen in Snow White, who covers her ugly heart with a false smile. Ultimately it smells like hallucinating in the deep forest or in the bush.

This fragrance on the other hand does not have any shady facets. It feels like truer to it's nature and It's more openly straightforward but it does not lose it's complexity&depth. It's an enchanting&musky mature scent that is nothing typical of today's modern sweet girly girl perfumes. This smells natural&lacking in aromatic synthetic chemicals like some of today's fruit scented sugary modern fruity florals. Unlike today's fruity florals it has incredible longevity sillage and a lot of punch to make a long lasting impression. The banana is the dominant accord and because it's rare to find banana notes in fragrances I appreciate it. But here it's leafy and more like putting your nose up to banana trees and the leaves. It has a green aromatic air like that of a jungle. Although vetiver is not listed on Parfumo, I can totally smell it. It's clearly there in the dry down&gives it a very clean grassy scent and a unisex vibe. There is strawberry which is very sweet and juicy like a freshly squeezed strawberry drink. I can also smell raspberry and blackberry, they are delicious like freshly picked from the bush. Then there is black currant, but it's clearly a cassia/cassis scent. Blueberry is also present&it's well paired with the dewberry.

The dry down is musky&spiced up with sandalwood. The heady amber provides this scent with clean almost soapy warm tones. This is a like a refreshing cocktail of delicious berries with a sweet sexiness and maturity and to quote a guy who smelt it on me: smells like a beautiful classy woman. The green banana gives it a very happy vibe. Great for wearing in spring and summer but it has also a warm winter vibe courtesy of it's musk along with sandalwood in the dry down so this perfume is basically an all year all season scent. The sexy amber makes it a formal fragrance to be worn on a night out at the opera, theater, or a symphony or at the gala. This would have adorned the dresser tables of such women as First Lady Jackie Kennedy Hollywood actresses like Grace Kelly Audrey Hepburn Elizabeth Taylor and Deborah Kerr. Picture Jackie Kennedy wearing this at dinner parties in the White House. It matches up with elegant dark suits and ties, and beautiful evening gowns. But it can also be a casual scent perfectly suited for every day to collect your kids from soccer or just run to the grocery. It matches up with white T shirts&jeans&Birkenstocks. A totally casual and formal flexible perfume.

I must emphasize that the fruited scents to me are not at all feminine but simply fruit scents. The musk gives it a masculine touch. It's totally unisex. If you're a smart guy try this fragrance. You can still find her on ebay. Lastly, I want to thank God for giving me a nose.

Thank you God, ebay&Parfumo.

SOUNDTRACK
Banana Boat Song sung by Harry Belafonte



Apr 1 2008
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Disclaimer/Disclosure: I just realised that someone must have borrowed my account to post this text under a false identity. Since this someone seems to have put a lot of thoughts and efforts into this and no monetary incentive involved, I will not remove this 'review'. Due to the nature of the Internet and the technologies involved, I accept no liability for the accuracy, validity and veracity of the content. The views and opinions expressed in the text above are those of the imaginary reviewer's and do not necessarily reflect my own.