Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab: A Quick Rave

I'm a compulsive fragrance polygamist. I love perfumes but have zero attention span so I go from scent to scent on a daily basis; sometimes multiple scents within a day. Which can be an expensive hobby.

And then I discovered Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (BPAL for short), which is a little piece of niche heaven because there are so many options to choose from - upward of 600+ at any time - in manageable sizes and prices (compared to other niche perfumes). And as it so often is, instead of saving more because the unit cost is lower, I end up trying way more items for the same price.

The essential oil-size bottles contain at least 5ml and cost mostly between US$17.50 - $24, although there are a few lines that are priced at a steep $30. From what I understand it mostly depends on the whether BPAL has to pay licensing rights for the intellectual property; names and art on the bottles. E.g. Crimson Peak, Coraline, etc. $17.50 seems expensive, ml for ml compared to even high-end pur parfum. However what you need to remember is these are more concentrated than typical parfum extrait today, and one bottle lasts for months and months. You absolutely do not apply these the way you would regular alcohol-based perfumes.

Concentrations vary between formulas but some contain as little as 20% carrier oil.
This doesn't mean "80% essential oil", which would be alarming and not for direct topical application on skin (not to mention overly pungent and often unpleasant to smell). Many fragrance compounds come already pre-cut from ingredient suppliers. I can only say I haven't had a single issue with any of the BPALs I tried, but as with any beauty product, you should test a tiny bit on your skin and monitor for any reactions regardless.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's top-seller, Snake Oil, is a lush blend of "Indonesian spices sugared with vanilla" - I smell vanilla with patchouli, maybe cinnamon and cloves

Some of the best BPALs come from the general collection, which is great because they're available year-round. I always ask readers to start with the Beloved Favorites section. These are the bestsellers over the years - classics like Snake Oil, Dorian, Alice, Bliss, etc. And the non-limited edition scents can also be purchased as $4 sample vials.

After testing a few of these you will begin to get a sense of what notes you like from BPAL, and from there, which other scents have similar notes. Likewise, you start to know what notes to avoid on yourself. I personally love BPAL's vanillas, honeys, and cocoa notes on my skin. Most of their florals are ok - the fruits are hit and miss with me. (I say me because it's affected by skin chemistry.) I find their vetiver a little too bitter and medicinal for my tastes; it reminds me distinctly of ginseng, and I'm just not sure if I want that in a perfume. Their orris is also a note that doesn't work for me - I smell a fetid, unpleasant, "wet animal" stink which I don't really see other reviewers mentioning.

BPAL uses a lot of natural compounds in their scents (I've never seen any official confirmation or validation from the company on whether it is 100% so I don't want to say it is all-natural). A lot of people say they use synthetics because notes like lilies, orchid, chocolate do not exist in nature. However it IS possible to obtain these through blending several natural essences. More expensive for sure, but definitely possible. And I've also seen people describe Candy Butcher as "fake-smelling chocolate" when ironically, this is the cocoa fragrance where I see actual bits of cocoa absolute floating in the oil. It all boils down to skin chemistry and your nose.

As a base, I'm quite certain they use fractionated coconut oil (or if they use mineral oil, a very high-grade one) because typical organic oils will go rancid after a few months; something to watch out for if you are buying fragrance oils from other companies. People have 5, 10 year old BPAL bottles where the scent ingredients have "aged" and mellowed like good rum, but the product has not gone rancid, which is the only reason I feel safe amassing such a big collection from them.

Dorian (as in Dorian Grey) is a ice-creamy vanilla tea, with musk, tangy bergamot - plus maybe a twist of lavender - to give it an aromatic Earl Grey twist

The Bpal.org forum is a fantastic resource for tons of reviews about absolutely every scent BPAL has ever released. You can get a better idea of how a scent smells on different people, which notes are stronger, how long it seems to last, etc. I would say to never blind buy a bottle without at least reading the latest/newest reviews, because BPAL hand-blends their scents in small batches for freshness, and the proportions as well as the raw materials (how strong, how sweet, how sour, etc) can vary a bit from batch to batch especially since a lot of naturals are involved here.

I will only cover two of my general-catalogue favorites in this post just to keep things short - the rest will need some time to go over!

Snake Oil
Described as: Magnetic, mysterious, exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla.
My experience: Initially in the bottle, it was medicinal patchouli (maybe with a little clove and/or cinnamon) dribbled in sugar syrup to me. But on the skin, this warms up to a warm, ambery powdery scent that smells a bit like old-school European talcum powder - and also the soft enveloping dry-down of Guerlain's Shalimar. I got several compliments when I started wearing this; oddly enough all from men.

Dorian
Described as a Victorian fougere, with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea.
My experience: I don't smell much musk; it's mostly a very creamy vanilla with aromatic black tea and a bright tangy twist courtesy of either bergamot or lavender. This is sweet and quite gourmand, but it's not a dark tea. It's creamy, luscious and blonde.

Both scents I did not like straight out of the bottle when I first got them. Snake oil was medicinal and Dorian smelt a bit flat and odd. Which brings me to the last two points you should remember about BPAL.

1. Wear them on the skin - I have not come across many that smelt on the skin the way they do straight from the bottle. Give them time to warm up and come alive on your skin. There are scents like Milk Chocolate Myrrh and Gunpowder which smell a bit "off" out of bottle. But 10 minutes later I was sniffing around, wondering what smelt so divine.
2. Give them time to age - Most bottles I disliked have improved significantly somewhat in the 1-2 weeks after I receive them. It's quite a known thing that BPALs go through quite a transformation in the first month or so, and different notes and facets come out after the ingredients have settled. A little like allowing fragrance to cure in candles before burning them.

Notes are self explanatory for the 2016 Bonbon, Milk Chocolate Myrrh and Gunpower; this is mouthwatering like fudge, yet simultaneously inedible and smoky. 

I have a backup for my backup of Milk Chocolate, Myrrh and Gunpowder, because it will likely never be available again after it sells out. It's not a scent I recommend for everyone, but for me it is pleasingly odd. You have something that makes me salivate; a fudgy, almost buttery melt-in-your-mouth chocolate note, juxtaposed against incense-y myrrh, and smoky gunpowder. I don't know WHAT possessed them to think of this combination but I love it to death.

(For less adventurous gourmand lovers, try Bliss, my favorite single-note chocolate scent around, bar none. Not fake wax-fragrance body-lotion chocolate. Not oily cocoa butter chocolate.) This smells like melted chocolate with a hint of Nutella/Gianduja. I have to close my eyes involuntarily whenever I take a deep breath of it because it does induce a moment of bliss. All the chocolate scents I've tried over the years have either become straight vanilla after 10 mins or smelt a bit fake and flat. 

Until BPAL - from whence I have amassed quite a number of chocolate-based scents:

• 2016 Bonbons*
• Bliss
• Boomslang (cocoa + snake oil; what could be better?)
• Candy Butcher (dark, unsweetened bitter cocoa with a metallic floral undertone)
• The High-ranking Courtesan* (white chocolate and patchouli blend; smells like a sweeter version of Chanel Coromandel)
• The Other Hot Chocolate - 90% dark chocolate 10% faint herbal bitterness
• Velvet - chocolate and sandalwood, one of my fave notes
• Vice - chocolate-covered cherries with chocolate-dipped oranges

*limited edition

My obsessive compulsiveness in a box. I order my BPALs alphabetically and stick a label below/behind indicating how many points I give each out of 5.

To see a few more short reviews and discussions on some other BPALs in my collection, check out my Dayre posts here, here, here and here! 

Annick Goutal Rose Pompon eau de toilette review

Annick Goutal has a number of rose-centered fragrances in their line, each one different but somehow designed to be "contemporary" to its time. This year's Rose Pompon is the fourth, and arguably the most flirty, sparkly one.

Rose Absolue in 1984 was an absolute rose bomb of a scent. If you fancy yourself quite the classic rose lover, you might like this blend of Rose de Mai, Turkish rose, Bulgarian rose, Rose Damascene, Egyptian rose, and Moroccan rose. This is possibly the most luxurious and opulent rose scent from AG. But you better love your roses.

Ce Soir ou Jamais was launched in 1999, and is the most exotic and enigmatic of the four; Turkish rose with a touch of hibiscus, warm amber, and a musky ambrette. This is the "warmest" of the four rose fragrances in the line, and leans a bit closer to the Oriental category of perfumes.

When Annick's daughter Camille took over after her mother's passing, she launched Rose Splendide in 2010. If Rose Absolue is a bouquet, this is like a single stem of rose; simple, pure and romantic, with a trace of freshness from a silvery, almost minty pear note and fading to a soft sensual skin-like musk. (A bit like towel-dried skin after you showered with rose-scented soap.)

Rose Pompon launched this year in 2016, is a different animal. It is extremely contemporary, in the sense that it is what I call a "pink lady" scent. Like other mainstream bestsellers of today, it starts fruity, fresh and sparkly, has peony to add transparency and lightness to the central floral accord, and a shower-fresh base of woods and white musk. And just as with Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet, Burberry Brit Sheer, Versace Bright Crystal, Jo Malone Peony & Blush Suede, or the crisper Chanel Chance, it not only has a similar odor profile but is also dressed in girly pink. I bet if you like those, you will like the fluted ombre pink bottle, and the juice of Rose Pompon equally.

Top notes: pink pepper, blackcurrant, raspberry
Heart notes: rose centifolia, Bulgarian rose, Taïf rose, peony
Base notes: cedar, patchouli, white musk.

Probably the best thing about it is the tart juiciness that lasts throughout. It might be the blackcurrant and something about the pink pepper that gives an almost citrus facet to it. And it's linear in a good way; the scent doesn't dissolve into a watery indistinct floral after the first hour. The zesty fruitiness lingers and continues to add a bit of needed dimension and playfulness to the fragrance.

Very unique it is probably not. But pretty, bubbly, accessible and likable it definitely is. And I kinda suspect that was what the brand was aiming for anyway. If you love the mass market premium florals like Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet or Bright Crystal, but want to step it up just a tiny bit this year, Rose Pompon might be one to sniff out and add to your collection.

The main con I can say about it is the projection is not stellar on me. I do have dry skin that does not hang on to fresh scents, and this maybe throws about 1 hour on me before it becomes a light skin scent. I was actually surprised to still smell it lingering on my skin 4 hours later because it was so soft I assumed it was long gone by then. So the lasting power turned out quite decent for an eau de toilette - but it won't be noticeable unless you brush past someone.

Still, it's nice for Spring and warm weather - or those who are ready to try their first rose but don't want something overly heady, strong or sweet.

I personally favor the dreamy, elegant Rose Splendide over this for myself, but then again it might just be that I already own and smelt too many "pink ladies" in the past few years. I do expect Rose Pompon, the new kid on the block, to out-sell Rose Splendide - probably all the Goutal roses - for a while. The life of the party always gets noticed first. (Especially when she wears the prettiest dress as well!)

Rose Pompon comes in an eau de toilette concentration, and is available in 50ml (SGD$179) and 100ml ($235) sizes at Escentials boutiques and counters.

Guerlain Shalimar parfum extrait - and how to unseal a Guerlain parfum bottle without destroying the barbichage entirely

I'm a huge fan of Shalimar. The grand dame of Oriental perfumes has been described as powdery and old-fashioned, but I have the sort of weird chemistry that makes heavy ambers and vanillas smell lighter than they usually are. (I cannot wear many musk-dominant scents on the other hand, but that's a story for another day.)

Chopard Casmir, an infamously thick powdery and sugary scent that many people cannot stand, smells like a whisper of fruity tonka and powdered milk on me. Shalimar's sillage on me is that of a luminous vanilla-bergamot; low on sugar and incense, high in flavor. I get compliments all the time and many people are surprised when I say it is Shalimar.

Top: lemon and bergamot,  

Heart: jasmine, Rose de Mai 

Base: opoponax, tonka bean, vanilla, iris, Peru balsam and gray amber

If you're not familiar with it, Shalimar is not really floral; you can't pick out the flowers but there's enough jasmine and rose in there to keep the scent from becoming straight up sugary vanilla bergamot milk shake. In fact, it's thick and rich, but not a cupcake and cookies vanilla. It's a dark, smoky, almost bitter vanilla. The thing is this can smell a bit weird out of bottle. When I smell it freshly-sprayed every note mashes together and it always reminds me of mothballs and certain brands of bug spray.

But after a while on the skin, it slowly unfurls itself and comes apart in layers. Sometimes I catch a comforting smoky silky vanilla, sometimes an exotic leathery powdery opopanax (sweet myrrh). But it's always most beautiful when I get that whiff of elegant, refined bergamot backed by a subtle resiny amber in the background. This for me is a scent I never spray on my neck as that would be too "in my face". It smells best sniffed from a distance; either as a soft trail behind you, or wafting across your path occasionally when you move, so I spray on the backs of my hands, or across my torso.

Over the years, I've bought a couple of eau de parfum versions, besides Eau de Shalimar (once called Shalimar Legere before it was repackaged in the white bottles), and more recently, the Ode a la Vanille edition which I actually love more than the regular eau de parfum, but use very sparingly since it cannot be repurchased anymore. The Parfum Initial editions on the other hand are not really like Shalimar at all to me. They're ok, but a bit forgettable in the face of the hundred and one other fruity-sweet patchoulis around these days.

 What I find they lack is that sense of mystery and a certain regal depth in the original Shalimar.

So it was probably inevitable that I would one day invest in the 1 oz parfum extrait. For the benefit of those who may be new to perfumes and perfumery, parfum extrait has the highest concentration of fragrance, followed by the eau de parfum, eau de toilette, and eau de cologne.

If you didn't know, in fine perfumery, each concentration has a different formula. It's not simply about diluting the same fragrance oils with different quantities of alcohol to make the eau de parfum and eau de toilette. That's why fans of Chanel No 5 in the parfum form may not necessarily like it in the eau de parfum bottle, and vice versa. Most will have the same "soul" but sometimes contain different notes and proportions of ingredients.

So of course I had to check the parfum out for myself eventually.

And I can say it is glorious. Shalimar parfum still comes in the old-style fluted flacon - not the smoother, more minimalist Jade Jagger bottle the rest of the Shalimars now come in. The scent itself is beautifully balanced. The eau de parfum can smell a little like lemon dishwashing liquid right at the start; the lemon and leathery notes clash a bit, and it takes awhile before the warm ambery vanilla comes through and acts as a peace-keeper between the other notes.

Ode a la Vanille skips the clashy bit and jumps straight into the part where the scent blossoms and becomes luscious and yummy. Plus it lasts forever and a day. Which explains my love for that formula.

Parfum is more complex than Ode a la Vanille. The bergamot is more apparent, as are the resins in the base, but it's not as loud and jarring at the start. The leathery musky base is also more subtle, not as abrasive and harsh. It's not as strong as the other two, which is not surprising to me. 

The higher concentration of alcohol in eau de parfum and eau de toilette often makes them top heavy and bottom light. They come out very strong at the start when the alcohol vaporizes all the scent molecules quickly, then die down and become skin scents soon after. Parfum extraits have more consistent performance over a longer period of time. They don't come out as strong at the start, but they also don't die down as quickly.

Strangely, Ode a la Vanille remains the longest-lasting Shalimar on me - although all my Shalimars last the whole day. But since it's not available for sale, there's probably no point going on and on about it. I do prefer the smell of the parfum to the eau de parfum by far, which is a bit sad since it's so prohibitively expensive.

Now - Barbichage

Premium perfume houses will seal their perfume bottles with a thin membrane in a process called baudruchage, and then use silk string to tie elaborate knots around the stopper (barbichage) before sealing it with a wax seal . If you happen to own any Chanels, you would have seen it. In most cases you can cut just the part of the string that binds the stopper, and use tweezers to pick the baudruchage off without removing the cute logo-ed wax seal entirely.

Guerlain's is quite a bit different. My bottle of parfum did not come with the membrane so there was no picking for me to do. But the barbichage is a good deal more complex than Chanel's, and for awhile it looked like there was no way to unseal the bottle without cutting the gold and navy silk string. 

Now if that's all too much work for you, you can simply cut the string and enjoy your parfum au naturale, like below.

I'm just a bit too much of a geek not to try and preserve some of the beauty of the barbichage.

If you're like me - fear not. You might not have noticed it but the gold "seal" with Guerlain's logo is actually a metal clasp that is easily pried with a pin, pen-knife or tweezers.

One you lift off the metal clasp, it's a matter of gently loosening the intricate knots. I again used my good ol' Tweezerman tweezers to loosen the knots and pull the string loose. After that, it was a matter of tying the silk thread back around the neck in a way that did not interfere with the stopper, slipping the clasp back, knotting the string under it, and closing the clasp again.

Voila.

Not quite as pretty as the unsealed version, because no matter how I tried, I couldn't fluff out the ends of the string the way the pros do, so I just trimmed the ends a bit and left it alone. Not half bad at all, by my standards!

Elie Saab Le Parfum Rose Couture

Elie Saab's second fragrance Le Parfum Rose Couture launches Feb 2016, just in time for Valentine's. And it is perfect for the occasion as well, although I know many of you enjoy Rose scents for daily wear anyway.

Created by long-time collaborator, parfumeur Francis Kurkdjian, Saab's second offering takes a leaf from the original (orange blossom) but is less dense and heady, and has a crisper and fresher edge. 

Official notes

Top notes: orange blossom, rose petals, peony

Heart notes: rose nectar, fruity nuances, jasmine, vanilla

Base notes: patchouli, sandalwood

This scent is only available right now as an eau de toilette, and is described officially as a "bloomy chypre solar", which I know is not going to mean anything to most of you. So I'm going to break it down the way I experience it:

The opening is delicate and slightly "dewy" sweet, because of a blend of watery peony with a soft sweet rose. The orange blossom is very soft and just adds a light tanginess without being as fleshy and pungent as it can sometimes be. On my skin the initial phase only lasts for a short time, and the scent sweetens up as a denser, sweeter jasmine-rose accord blossoms. The jasmine and vanilla adds a more voluptuous, almost candy-like tinge to the rose at this point but it's still a bright scent, not dark and musky. If you like scents like Flowerbomb and La Vie Est Belle, you might be reminded of those at this point.

In the final dry-down, I expected the fragrance to get muskier and darker with the patchouli and sandalwood but surprisingly it just becomes transparent and almost like a clean skin scent. The peony, surprisingly, seems to come back out and blends with the woody base notes for a just-showered kind of effect. 

I don't consider it a linear scent (same from start to end), but it's also not really one of those scents that morphs from one animal to a completely different creature at the end; you can be assured that this has one distinct personality, but different facets/notes come out and take the spotlight as you wear it. 

If you're not a huge fan of florals in particular, you might still want to have a sniff and wear a spray on your skin, because it's got just enough fruity sweet woodiness to balance out the florals and keep it modern. I would say this is an extremely likeable, wearable scent. Elie Saab is not an avant garde line, and his scents are also designed to be tasteful, feminine and elegant. Don't expect something extremely unique and "out there". It's got presence but it's not extremely heavy, and I can see it being a year-round scent and equally nice in warm or cool weather.

The only con in my opinion is the lasting power is quite average. I get about 3-4 hours of presence, and then it fades to a complete skin scent unless I respray. But that's about how long many other eau de toilettes last on my dry skin, and I'm kinda hoping they will come out with an eau de parfum version. Otherwise you can purchase the body lotion and layer the scent on top for lasting power.

Elie Saab Le Parfum Rose Couture is available in 30ml (SG$88), 50ml ($125), and 90ml ($169) sizes. 

There will also be a promotion going on in Singapore at Paragon Lobby. From 29 Jan - 4 Feb 2016, customers can receive a little gift with every size of Le Parfum Rose Couture purchased.

• 30ml - 4ml sample vial

• 50ml - pouch

• 90ml - perfume miniature

• $250 or more - 10ml purse spray. PLUS from 29-31 Jan 1-7pm, you can get your own DIY rose bouquet at the pop-up station. 

Perfume House M. Micallef Celebrates One Year Anniversary in Singapore with launch of Akowa

Structural, crystal-studded Ylang in Gold bottles

French luxury niche brand M. Micallef has been in the market for almost 20 years, but just celebrated their first birthday in Singapore with the launch of sexy new men's fragrance Akowa (SGD$345), a sensual, woody-aromatic concoction which contains a "secret ingredient" extracted from the root of an undisclosed plant from Africa. The name and concept is drawn from the reclusive African Akowa tribe, and the scent itself has an herbal bite along with a soft almost-sweet muskiness.

Aside from the slightly bitter bite of the mysterious African root, the composition also includes orange blossom and bergamot for a fresher opening, amber and cocoa for a warm inviting heart, and vetiver and white musk to ground it in the base. The overall scent is not too soapy-fresh, not too sweet, not too bitter. It's pleasingly complex but not too complicated and full of itself (as some niche scents lean towards).

The blend of old and new is something of a common theme for M. Micallef. 

They are still credited as one of the first perfume houses to embrace niche ingredients like Aoud (or Oud wood) before it became fashionable to put it in everything, and even in the design of the painstakingly hand-crafted bottles, there is a blend of classic, old-fashioned opulence with a touch of modernity.

Some of the bottles (especially the stoppered collector's bottles and the pointy-topped Ananda bottles) remind me of Arabian perfumes. 

But if you're worried that these will smell like cloying, heavy Arabic-style perfumes, don't be. Most of M. Micallef's scents can be described with the words "smooth and likeable". Some, like their bestseller, the original Anande, are sweetly-floral and extremely wearable. Ananda Dolce is fruity and creamier, like an peach-almond dessert. I love big white florals so Ananda Black with it's fleshy tuberose and ylang is my favorite of the three.

For those who love a slightly more fruity and flirty concoction, Mon Parfum M. Micallef (below) contains orange blossom, mandarin, patchouli, and a shot of yummy caramel. 

My personal favorites are Ylang In Gold and Royal Muska from the Collection Jewel line, pictured below. These are delicately sweet scents that wear like "your skin but better" because they both have a light lactonic "milky" quality to them that makes them super smooth. (If a smell can be described as smooth.) 

From left: Jewel for Him, Ylang in Gold, and Royal Muska

Royal Muska features notes like sweet raspberry, Turkish rose, ylang ylang, precious woods, warm benzoin, and musk. Ylang in Gold has ylang ylang (again - you can tell I love it!) coconut, sandalwood, and vanilla, although I also smell a fruity tang not included in these notes.

Ylang in Gold in particular, is a scent I love. Wearing it is like wrapping yourself in a silk scarf. There are no hard edges or rough bits. It's airy light and smooth as butter. It does remind me of another favorite, Il Profumo's Macadam, and these are both compositions that make me think of walking into a room with a plate of untouched French macarons sitting on the table.

Macaron tower, picture credits: crafthubs.com

There's a soft delicate, creamy sweetness in the air but it's not a full-on gourmand dessert smell. There is nothing sticky, sugary or cloying.

And to top it off, it's available in a version filled with shimmery flecks of gold mica to deposit a glimmering veil every time you spray your skin.

M. Micallef Le Parfum Couture

Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet SG50 Engraved Bottles

In honor of Singapore's 50th National Day, the house of Dior is celebrating SG50 with 6 exquisite limited edition engraved designs on their #1 bestselling fragrance in Singapore, Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet.

There will be 6 different designs available for sale at separate Dior beauty counters island-wide.

Vanda Miss Joaquim (pictured above) features Singapore's national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid, engraved all across the front. This design is exclusively available at Dior Robinsons The Heeren.

Garden City (Dior Boutique, ION) and Flower Kingdom (Takashimaya) are two rather similar palm leave and flower designs, except the Garden City design features an orchid, and Flower Kingdom has less distinct floral patterns.

I especially like Tropical Paradise (Dior Robinsons, Raffles City) which features chic fans of tropical palm/coconut leaves.

Marina Bay Sands (Dior Boutique, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands) and The Merlion (Dior Tangs Plaza) show off cute city skylines along the base of the bottles.

Dior's done a lot of glass engraving in the past year or so with their glass artist, but this series feels extra special to me. How many times do we get  to celebrate our 50th year of independence? Maybe my grandchildren can pull this out one day to admire and look back, when we're celebrating our 100th National Day.

Red Velvet vs Red Velvet Cupcake

Red Velvet Cake is one of those things that is a little odd when you think about it. 

It's chocolate-flavored but not really chocolate. It's colored a vivid red with food coloring (eww). And it doesn't taste quite like chocolate cake, vanilla cake OR cheesecake. Unlikely as it is - it's one of those things that has just developed its own unique charm, and I'm one of the ones that enjoys eating it, AND smelling it. Any time of the year.

As always, cold and hot throw is extremely different. If you're one of those people who've picked up a jar in the store, sniffed it and gone "Gross!" and wondered at how heavy and cloying it would smell in your home, you might be pleasantly surprised when you actually melt one. A lot of the bakery scents from Yankee and Bath and Body Works are actually softer than many of the fruit and floral scents. And these two smell pretty authentic when the scent is released from hot wax.

Yankee's Red Velvet is described as:

A most decadent creation of creamy frosting atop moist cake and a touch of brown sugar. So very sweet!

I don't know if there's cream cheese in there as a note, but it is the more buttery and savory of the two, and heavier on the frosting.

The throw is pretty good for a single wick mottled wax large tumbler, although it's not an extremely strong scent to begin with. I've not had any problems with my jar tunneling and the scent smells true and hasn't gone smoky or odd after about 3-4 burns. If you smell it beside a Frosted Cupcake candle, you will be able to tell the difference, but on its own, the chocolate note isn't really that noticeable.

Large 1-wick mottled wax jar burns 110-150 hours, and this has performed consistently well into the 4th burn, without noticeable sooting or tunneling.

Bath and Body Work's Red Velvet Cupcake is described as:

This Southern classic is perfect for the holidays - rich vanilla frosting and authentic red velvet cake.

If you like lots of buttery rich cream-cheese frosting, you may not like this one quite as much. The BBW Red Velvet Cupcake has a much more prominent cake note, and I personally enjoy the smell of this more than the Yankee version simply because there's a more prominent edge of cocoa that gives some depth to the overall scent. There is zero cream cheese I feel. It's more of a regular vanilla frosting note here, which is more subtle.

That said, the throw is very soft for a 3-wick. If I have anything else melting in the house at the same time, I will not be able to smell this at all. It does burn pretty well, and I get a full wax pool within about 30mins mostly. But most of my BBW 3-wick flames get very low and small after the first couple of melts. Not to the point of drowning.

BBW 3-wicks are fast burners with 25-45 burn time only. They are SUPPOSED to give stronger scent and better throw than the 1-wick Yankees in return for a much shorter burn time, but in cases like this where the scent actually is very weak, I'm not actually sure it's worth the money, even though I do like the scent more. That's the dilemma for me.

Of course, if you're one of those that burns your candles for just an hour or so, and want to blow it out instead of leaving it going for hours, Yankee's mottled wax large jars are just not the best option for you because it frequently takes up to 3 hours for a full wax pool to form, which means you need to let it burn for a longer time before you can blow it out. Otherwise you run the risk of causing your candle to tunnel.

Maison Martin Margiela's REPLICA Fragrances

Most run-of-the-mill mainstream fragrances are like Summer blockbuster flicks. Designed to be worn by as many people as possible in as many occasions as possible. They are versatile and pleasing to most noses, but also instantly recognizable and - sadly, often quite common. "She's wearing Light Blue." or "Oh, that's the third person in the office wearing Coco Mademoiselle."

A lot of niche houses on the other hand, try to give you the nasal equivalent of an art film. Sometimes quiet and melancholy, some occasionally pretty, some violently disturbing, but mostly politically incorrect and aimed at a very small section of the population that is often willing to pay a hefty price for an olfactory adventure, and to smell unique.

I understand they use slightly more expensive ingredients in many cases, but they also save millions and millions by skipping the mainstream ad campaigns and retail outlets, so I don't really see a reason to charge us so much for a bottle of Amouage - but Maison Margiela (which I'll call MM for now) - has created a line which I like to classify as "niche-lite", because it aims to combine the benefits of both mainstream and niche fragrances; the slightly more accessible price of a designer fragrance, with a little of the uniqueness and evocative nature of a niche line.

Everything about this series says "relaxed minimalism with a twist". It's all beautifully chic. From the plain labeled cardboard boxes with a single faded image to serve as a "window" into the scent, to the practical, almost clinical-looking cap-free bottles, and the surprising accent of a label made of fabric.

Martin Margiela REPLICA in Lazy Sunday Morning

The 10ml roller ball tubes cost just SGD$23 and the large bottles - which I forget the exact price of now - are definitely below $200 in Singapore. Lazy Sunday Morning has just been sent to me, and I haven't worn it enough on my skin to give a proper review but I can tell you it's very charming, and it lasts and projects pretty well considering it's a fresh floral in a roll-on. A perfect introduction to the line if you aren't ready to veer too far off the beaten path. Strangely, this reminds me a bit of old-school floral colognes that women in earlier times used to splash on - in a good way. It contains white musk, iris, woods, pear, and rose. This was created by Louise Turner, who made Chloe's Love and J-Lo Glow, so you know she does fresh florals extremely well.

It doesn't remind me so much of Sunday morning in bed (well my bed doesn't smell like flowers) as it does Sunday morning at the dressing table surrounded by luxurious skincare and makeup.

I discovered MM a year ago at the TANGS fragrance section - and picked up Beach Walk, which is one of MM's first 3 scents. Created by Jacques Cavallier - responsible for classics such as Issey Miyake l'Eau d'Issey, Jean Paul Gaultier Classique housed in that famous bodice bottle, Stella by Stella McCartney, and Dior Midnight Poison, just to name a few - and his frequent collaborator Marie Salamagne - who did Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Mandarine Basilic, Jo Malone Silk Blossom and Tuberose Angelica, as well as the mainstream hit of 2014, YSL Black Opium, this particular scent has a lot of creative clout at its back.

It's surprisingly wearable and "easy" to like though.

Meant to evoke warm, clean, sun-kissed skin that has a tang of salt from the ocean, this contains bergamot, lemon, pink pepper, ylang ylang, coconut milk, musk, and heliotrope. It's almost tropical, and settles into a nice, slightly-salty oceanic white floral. If you enjoy those beach holiday candle scents from Yankee and BBW, you might just love this one. If you were expecting some super-unique niche smell that will singe your nose hairs and make people' eyes roll up in the elevators, look somewhere else.

Jazz Club, on the other hand, was the other fragrance I wanted - but had been sold out the first time I was at the counter. I eventually managed to grab one - the last bottle at the time - during a later TANGS members' sale. 

I'm still slightly surprised it's popular here in Asia. I haven't met a single person who actually wears this. Where are all the cool men (and women) in Singapore smelling like Jazz Club?! Do people buy this and pull it out in secret to sniff at home when nobody is around? (It's like bright limited edition lipstick colors from MAC. They always sell out in Singapore, but you never see anyone wearing them when you're out.) Odd but true.

Anyway, Jazz Club was created by Alienor Massenet, who is not that familiar to me. She's better known for working on niche lines like Memo, and has quite a few unisex and male fragrances under her belt. Jazz club has just 3 main accords. Tobacco, Leather, Rum. It's deep, smoky, sexy, but surprisingly slightly translucent as well; not dense and thick or sugary. The tobacco and leather makes it masculine at the first sniff, but it warms up once the slightly syrupy rum comes in. If you like scents like Tom Ford Velvet Orchid, you would probably at least like this a little. It's listed as a Male fragrance, but I daresay it can just as easily be the femme fatale, as it can be James Bond.

All in all, I would say this line isn't all-out niche. It won't give you the level of excitement or concentrated strength of a Serge Lutens line. It's probably closer to Diptyque territory, or a less-posh Maison Francis Kurkdjian. Think of it as cK to the more expensive Calvin Klein, or Armani Exchange to Armani. It's designed to bring a little upscale creativity and "guts" into the mid-range market. And I respect them for that.

Performance is just ok. These won't last for 8 hours and - interesting as they are - none of them blow my socks off. (I can say the same for most other fragrance lines by the way.) But I still think it's a great one to start with if you are getting ready to move beyond designer scents and mainstream cosmetic brands like Fresh, etc.

Innisfree unveils new store at VivoCity and launches new home and body fragrance line

All-natural K-beauty brand Innisfree unveils their largest store in Singapore at VivoCity today, 1 July 2015, and will also launch their range of scented candles, diffusers and perfumed body water here.

Fans of natural home and body fragrances will have fun exploring the 2,450 square foot outlet and sniffing the fragrance range which includes:

• 10 soy-coconut candles (150g, SGD$42)
• 20 reed diffusers (100ml, $30)
• 7 perfumed body waters (150ml, $26)

The hand-made soy and coconut wax candles aren't cheap compared to the typical large candles you can get from Yankee and Bath and Body Works, but these are 100% natural, phthalate-free, made without paraffin, and have soot-free wicks. The scents I've smelt so far are all quite subtle and fresh, and are great for smaller spaces. Plus they make gorgeous little gifts.

The available scents are:

Apricot Blossom
Champagne Supernova
Cherry Blossom
Green Jasmin
Jeju Camellia
Jeju Green Tea
Jeju Volcanic Ash
Risky Citrus
Sleep Well
Pear

I've yet to smell the full range, but right now my favorite is Jeju Volcanic Ash, which sounds odd but smells SO clean and fresh. I'm also curious about Apricot Blossom and Cherry Blossom.

The sleek, minimalist diffusers come in a whopping 20 scents that mimic the plants and outdoor scents of Jeju Island in Korea, and these are stronger than the candles in my experience. If you don't want to light candles at home, or you just want the convenience of reed diffusers, these are quite affordable.

The available scents are:

Berry Blossom
Bija
Camellia
Cedar Wood
Cherry Blossom
Cotton Blossom
Daphne Blossom
Freesia
Gardenia
Green Tea
Hallabong
Lavender
Lilac
Lotus Flower
Orchid
Peach
Pure Soap
Rose
Tangerine
Blossom
White Powder 

MISIA Chanel Les Exclusifs eau de toilette

Misia Sert was a muse to art luminaries such as Renoir and Monet, a talented pianist, a respected art patron, and a close confidante to the late Gabrielle Chanel. She is considered by some to have had an indirect hand in the birth of Chanel No 5.

She was a powerful taste-maker in art and fashion circles, and ran a saloon (not a salon, as I've heard some people mistakenly call it!) frequented by the creative intellects of the day. She had a knack for spotting and surrounding herself with talent. Arthur Morand described her as "a collector of geniuses, all of them in love with her." "You had to be gifted before Misia wanted to know you." Given her close relationship with Mademoiselle Chanel, it is perhaps fitting that one of Chanel's fragrances be dedicated to the legendary muse herself.

I admit I had my doubts when I first heard that Olivier Polge would be taking over from his father Jacques Polge as the in-house perfumer for Chanel. While I personally find his genius manifests itself  more when he pushes the envelope with genre-busting releases like Dior Homme (a powdery iris-cocoa-lavender scent which a distinctive "makeup bag" feel), he is probably better known for rich, patchouli-laden, sweet amber scents like Flowerbomb, Jimmy Choo, and La Vie Est Belle, all of which I enjoy, but find to be quite like one another.

When I heard the notes and description for Misia, I literally rushed down to the boutique to smell it because it surprised me so much.

On the Chanel site, the notes/accords listed are simple violet, rose, and leather. On sites like Fragrantica, you get a whole host of other notes like iris, orris root (I thought iris WAS orris?!), Turkish and Grasse roses, benzoin, tonka. And then on some perfume blogs, I saw mentions of sandalwood as well. Confusing much?

Here's what I get on the skin.

I definitely get the big puff of powdery violets and iris; something you might smell when you open a tin of Guerlain's Meteorites or Bourjois Java rice powder. It's a bit quaint, a bit nostalgic, a bit dreamy. But right after that, the raspy blend of rose and leather comes right in for me. It's not a very bitter, tarry leather. More like a translucent version of the leathery saffron note in Lancome's Magnifique.

As the scent warms up further, the syrupy rose comes out more. It is like a drop of rose oil, not like a bunch of rose petals. But it's still balanced by a slightly more watery facet of violets, the soft purr of leather, and that ever-present "shimmery" powdery edge from the iris. I love iris, so I almost wish it was a bit more prominent here, but on my skin it's just a light dusting over the rose and leather.

About 1-2 hours in, the powder comes back out, but this is the creamy warm benzoin and tonky perhaps. Not so much the cool, clean powderiness of iris and violet. At this point, wearing Misia is like being hugged by an impeccable woman wearing expensive makeup. The cosmetic smell is there, but it is not in your face.

Then finally at about 4-5 hours, the fragrance dies down to a skin-scent for me, and I can see where people might smell sandalwood. For me it's just the residual dry-down of the violet and leather and rose that creates that sweet, tangy, skin-like effect.

Lasting power is above average for an eau de toilette, and I find the sillage/throw to be average. Not incredibly strong, but not a skin scent either.

This is gorgeously retro and beautifully womanly, but not in an obvious way. There's a certain modernity and a transparent airiness to it. It's more Dita von Teese than Marilyn Monroe, shall we say?

I've seen a lot of people comparing it to classic Guerlains. I don't quite agree. Aside from the makeup-y feel of the powdery violet at the start, this does not have that thickness and weight classic Guerlain scents do, although I see where they're coming from. It's certainly not like classic Chanels either. And unlike the other modern "dark roses" which I enjoy, like Dior Ambre Nuit, Le Labo Rose 31, or Atelier Colognes' Rose Anonyme, which have a certain "in your face" earthiness where the perfumers almost delight in rubbing the dirt in your face and downplaying the rose, there is a refined and restrained quality to Misia (relatively speaking) that is very Chanel.

Have you tried it yet?

Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille Review

Vanilla pod; photo credits: www.marcussamuelsson.com

Serge Lutens was one of the first truly avant-garde niche fragrance lines I ever tried, and - under the umbrella of Japanese cosmetics giant Shiseido - the creative genius himself paired up with Brit perfumer Christopher Sheldrake to paint vivid pictures, tell gripping stories, and convey complex moods and emotions, all through scent.

His fragrances are quite avant-garde, and often unforgivingly strong. Some are near unwearable without a highly-developed nose, and not the type you’d spritz for a night out with friends. (Just ask anyone who has smelt Musc Kublai Khan.) 

Un Bois Vanille - on the other hand - is one of the most accessible and popular scents in the Lutens line, because while the quality and performance is still impeccable like most of the range, the concept itself (wood and vanilla) is inherently accessible to most people.

The official notes list includes: sandalwood, black licorice, coconut milk, beeswax, bitter almond, musk, vanilla, benzoin, guaiac wood and tonka bean.

Un Bois Vanille is described as being linear, but I think it only seems so because the initial layers are somewhat similar; both warm and foody. At the beginning,  this smells like warm coconut crème brulee. The benzoin and coconut adds a sense of non-sugary thickness and body to the overall scent. As it starts to dry down further, the vanilla comes out in full force, and it’s not the standard synthetic vanilla ice cream sort of vanilla. It’s the crisp, hot, brown skin of a toasted marshmallow pulled from the flame. Almost bitter-sweet with caramelization.

I’ve heard and read reviewers saying it’s not a woody fragrance and that there isn’t much wood at all. I beg to differ. This IS a rich, warm, gourmand oriental for sure, but the bitter-sweet toasted marshmallow aspect is anchored on a bed of wood. The closer your nose gets to the skin, and the longer the scent dries down, the more the smoky, almost-pungent wood aspect comes out.

As a "gourmand", this is balmy and complex, not sticky or overtly edible compared to some others.

Like many of the Lutens fragrances, this is a scent to be dabbed on, not sprayed on, in the tropical Summer heat where I live. Sprayed, it can be overwhelming (like eating too many toasted marshmallows). Dabbed, it lifts seductively off the skin and wraps around you for hours. 

The Body Shop Fuji Green Tea Body Range

If you love the bracing, translucent freshness of green tea scents, heads-up as the Body Shop has just launched their new Fuji Green Tea range, which is made with real green tea imported from Japan.

Now besides smelling great, green tea also has a lot of antioxidant properties when ingested or applied topically. Now I don't know whether there is enough of a concentration in these products to make a huge difference, so I would stick with purchasing it simply based on whether you like the scent or not.

The range includes the whole gamut of the usual bestsellers, including a scented cologne spray, an exfoliating scrub, a "bath tea" or salts, an accompanying infuser, just like you would use when brewing tea leaves, and a body butter.

The scent itself is very fresh and clean, almost astringent because of the tea and the citrus. It isn't a straight tea smell, but more of a blend between herbal and fruity-fresh. There are also some soft florals in there so it oesn't smell completely like a men's cologne, but if girly sweet scents aren't your thing, or you're looking for bath products that you can enjoy together with your partner, this is a good choice.

Notes in the fragrance include green tea, bergamot, lemon, mandarin, camellia, jasmine and violet.

The Bath Tea is probably the most interesting product in the range, because it's a tin of tea-infused crystals that you can just throw into the bathtub for a detoxifying soak. It's optional to buy that Bath Infuser (like tea infusers, it stops loose tea leaves from floating all around in your bathtub and interfering with your at-hoe spa experience.

I swear - when my mother saw the tin and the infuser she thought it was for drinking. Until I opened the jar and showed her the bath salts. I'll still give her the infuser of course. She can do whatever she want with it. Including make tea. 

The body scrub is one of those gel like scrubs that's very runny, and filled with sooth little jojoba beads and capsules infused with green tea extract.

I'm not a huge scrub-user but if you want something quite smooth and gentle, this is a good alternative to more scratchy sugar and fruit kernel scrubs around. And it smells SO strongly og that green tea fragrance that it's really bracing to use it in the morning.

The Body Shop Fuji Green Tea Body Butter

My favorite product is the body better though. If you've tried The Body Shop's body butters before, you'll know they range from very light and runny to thick and buttery. This one falls in-between and is designed for all skin-types, like thick Greek yogurt, and the hydration lasts for hours.

The scent is strong enough that you can layer this with the cologne and really increase the lasting power of the light scent.

The cologne itself is very fresh but lasts barely an hour or two on me. It comes in a big bottle so you can reapply all the time, but I am not sure I want to bring a glass bottle around and spray every couple of hours. It's nice, but not essential unless you want to layer all the products for he full experience.

The Body Shop Fuji Green Tea Cologne

Singapore pricing list:

Fuji Green Tea™ Bath Infuser - S$12.90

Fuji Green Tea™ Bath Tea 300g - S$39.90

Fuji Green Tea™ Body Butter 200ml - S$32.90

Fuji Green Tea™ Body Lotion 250ml - S$21.90

Fuji Green Tea™ Body Scrub 250ml - S$36.90

Fuji Green Tea™ Body Sorbet 200ml - S$21.90

Fuji Green Tea™ Body Wash 250ml - S$14.90

Fuji Green Tea™ Eau de Cologne 100ml - S$28.90

Fuji Green Tea™ Exfoliating Soap 100g - S$8.90