Seatonica

Is it just me, or has Sublime (originally a thing of complex beauty) been re-launched as a fruity floral with a hefty dose of pineapple?

Bletch.

Sorry - I don't know what else to say :(

Toasted coconut is what you get with this cheery little gourmand from LaVanila Laboratories. Warm macaroons fresh from the oven, actually. It's very foodie for me. No flowers, no sun tan oil vibe, creamy/woody rather than sugar sweet (thanks to the sandalwood) and very long lasting: for those who like this sort of scent well done then Vanilla Coconut must surely be a winner.

But given that wearing Vanilla Coconut is not really about the journey, let alone nuanced complexity, be warned: if you're not up to, or in the mood for, smelling like a coconut macaroon all day then you'll soon be scrubbing! Though I was quite taken with it at first, wearing Vanilla Coconut for a couple of days (alternated with the more delicate Indian Coconut Nectar by Pacifica) brought me to the realization that I'd rather eat coconut than wear it.

Seductive I'm Yours (really?) is a perfectly passable example of the kind of affordable jeans and tee-shirt summer scent you'll find everywhere these days, particularly in America and particularly in Shopping Malls. I say this now with the benefit of hindsight because when I first encountered it two years ago I'd never smelled a passionfruit fruity floral before and I'd never seen Guess fragrances anywhere. If owing to its unfamiliarity Guess had a certain novelty value for me then, it is ubiquitous now and while Seductive I'm Yours agreeably acquainted me with passionfruit I can now appreciate how ordinary it is. One passionfruit will do me and I've since found LaVanila Laboratories Vanilla and Passion Fruit, which being less sweet and synthetic I like better.

Deep, warm, rich and complex, the delicious Onde Mystere conjures velvet gothic and steampunk, thorny roses crimson and full-blown, a rosewood spice box heady with vanilla. This is a perfume for when the year grows dark and cold, and your thoughts turn inward. Love it.

The opening phase - which I do not find altogether pleasant and which lasts about an hour and a half on me - is all dirty school satchel leather cum boot polish. "Miss Balmain" shows her pretty head when the carnation and rose notes emerge, though methinks she's been smoking behind the bicycle shed. Still, I'm prepared to forgive her because she's worth the wait. Little minx :)