Kxnaiades

This is a non gourmand type of creamy white chocolate patchouli with a strong presence of orris root, which to my nose bears a strong resemblance to C'est la Fete Patchouli, Chanel being more subdued and refined than the Lacroix, which comes across more like a free spirit featuring a louder, brassier patchouli. The woody notes here smell like freshly sanded down planks to me with a quiet musk lingering in the back.The orris root is very apparent to my nose, on par with the patchouli and in this respect, Coromandel reminds me of Tauer's pentachord white. The incense is muted in this according to my nose, which is used to bombastic spices like Tauer's L'air du desert Marocain or Luten's Amber Sultan or the incense range by CDG. The sillage and longevity are good, lasting more than half a day on skin and clothes, although towards the 8 hour mark, it becomes more of a skin scent but lasts better on cloth. I enjoy Coromandel but less so after spending time with a bigger variety of patchouli scents. Those who like a touch of patchouli leaning towards the creamy chocolate variety, will definitely enjoy this. An old-money lady that stays on the side of conservative.
On a side note, this scent was created with the idea of Oriental lacquer screens in mind. Being Oriental and protective of my culture, I would say that this does not bear resemblance to the beauty of the screens Chanel must have seen. This comes across more of a French interpretation of the Orient. The best interpretation yet is still YSL's Opium.

There are scents that have a couple of notes and yet smell like they hold secrets of a cavern. Then there are some perfumes that have a whole chorus of notes and yet only a few are resounding. Versilia Aurum falls into the latter group. It's caramel upon caramel, with a hint of fruit and flowers at most. It smells delicious, exactly like good old caramel sauce. However if you looked at the notes and expected something exciting, it is not. Hands down the best caramel scent I've come across yet, realistic and no artificial or synthetic vibes coming across. Sillage and longevity are very very good. However, I'm not too sure I would fork over the required amount to wear caramel. I would like to add that months on, I'm thankful that I kept to my decant and did not spring for a full bottle as I'm already bored of it, as pretty as it is.

I get a boozy vanilla with dried fruit from El Born. Beyond that, i can't pick out the individual notes listed as above. Perhaps they mesh well to form this linear scent, which would appeal to gourmand vanilla lovers. I initially dismissed this as too sweet and not boozy enough but a few more wearings where I was constantly reminded of Baskin Robbins' Rum&Raisin ice cream, was enough for me to admit that I want this gourmand scent. Not as boozy but certainly more friendly than Mona di Orio's Vanille, an austere, dry and spicy vanilla. The sillage for El Born is good and longevity on clothes moderate for me, ranging about 6-8 hours.

This is a very pleasant fruity chocolate mix. It smells like what a block of milk chocolate with fruit and nut bits tastes like. On me the fruit is more obvious than the roses. Its smooth without any rough edges and doesn't have any hidden surprises during its lifetime on me. Gourmand/chocolate lovers should be very happy with this scent. I find this to be a much more realistic chocolate bar scent than Rose Rebelle, without the weird plastic note in RR and not as overwhelmingly sweet as Montale's Chocolate Greedy. Sillage is rather quiet for me and longevity moderate. After wearing a few times, I am afraid I shall pass on this, it isn't chocolate or rose enough for a full bottle.

This made me smile. It's Vicks vapour rub with tuberose and I love it. It smells much much better on skin than on paper so don't judge it on paper alone. Actually don't judge it at all on the opening. The opening is a little testy for those who are not forewarned, like I said it smells like Vicks or menthol(cloves, nutmeg and mint with some sweetness). The tuberose shows up when the opening notes calm down and they all get along very well together! I would never have thought of mixing a narcotic white flower with mint but hats off to Serge Lutens once again for another quirky and lovable twist on a familiar theme. Sillage is about an arm's length on me and the scent stayed with me throughout my day, sending up lovely wafts every now and then as I moved around. My jaded nose really loves wearing this and I'm happy to own a bottle of this interesting minx.