TheLorelei

This is what I have been searching for; an intense, herbal, pure dry lavender. I have been trying to get my hands on a sample of this for over a year, but until recently it did not seem to be available in the USA. This scent thankfully has no powdery edge whatsoever that so often clouds lavender’s natural pungent edge. Instead, incense provides a smooth base instead of a sweet cover. This is an academic scent, for projecting an image of intelligence and austerity. It is a winter scent for reminding yourself of growing things. I am absolutely in love. It is the grown up version of the pure lavender body splashes I would spray on my clothes and sheets when I was younger. Longevity seems to be good so far - a dab behind my ears has preserved the opening lavender scent, perhaps in my hair, since the application to my wrists has dried down to the smooth, dry incense that underlies the initial opening bite of herbs. The warmish heart of lavender, sans edge, can still be appreciated in the dry down, so it is not completely lost. Now begins my search for a full or partial bottle.

As much as I love a good fresh floral scent, the scents in this category (from a multitude of high end brands) frequently fall into the trap of smelling exactly like each other, so perfectly pleasant but without a point of view or discernible olfactory note beyond “clean.” Not so for this beauty! Pure Grace Nude Rose is a clean, airy floral with perspective, and it is identifiable as all rose at it’s heart. Weirdly enough, this scent occupies the same space in my head as my Alfred Sung Shi, despite lacking any aquatic or fruity element. It’s probably the clean coolness and directness of the scent. This was an impulse buy that will be a mainstay in my collection, though next time I will try the new EDP. The toilette has a good longevity, for the concentration that it is, but because I love it so, I of course want it to last even longer.

At the ripe old age of 21 I decided that, as an adult, I could justify spending a little money on a bottle of “real” fragrance and leave behind all those gifted body splashes. Stella is the fragrance I came home with. It’s a sophisticated and grounded floral that’s given some extremely well blended sharpness by the mandarin, and some heft from the amber. Peony adds a twirling descant around the rose heart that adds dimension. While lately I’ve started to explore the niche houses that carry a heftier price tag, I’m not sure I can truly dethrone Stella, even as I find new favorites. It’s aged remarkably well and I’m sort of shocked that it still feels appropriate on me 17 years later. I may not wear it every day anymore, but Stella is my still-relevant first love.

I know the standards for reviews are quite high here, and I am not practiced in it, but I will do my best as this scent has no reviews yet.
I blind bought this fragrance, in wild hopes that I might find a lavender soliflore fragrance akin to the 1990s healing garden lavender body spray of my youth. So to be quite honest when I tried this for the first time, I felt only disappointment. It lacked the sharpness and pungency of a lavender sachet fresh from the garden, instead delivering an almost sweet powder note and initially no lavender that I could discern, However, the more I have used it the more it has grown on me and I have come to really like it. The lavender is in fact there, but it is a smooth lavender, yes a little powdery, but the tinge of sweetness I think is really just the lack of acrid bite that I typically expect from herbal lavender. I have come to rely on this scent quite a bit at bedtime, making me feel clean and fresh before sliding into bed, but it’s not so soporific that it can’t be worn during the day.
This was a happy mistake. Not what I was looking for, but it fills a spot in my collection I didn’t even know was there.