Where are the clowns? L'Artisan Dzing!

I'm not sure if it's my nose or body chemistry that are among the funkiest you could imagine, but this I know: They work in mysterious way.

Consider my holiest of grails: I wear all of the Tauers easily, year round. Including that smoke and leather manly scent, Lonestar Memories (and its precious little brother, Orris). Or the Lutens: concept fragrances or not, I wear them and they make sense on my skin, including that public enemy, Miel de Bois. Or Cartier's Le Baiser du Dragon, a fragrance that I remember reading in one of the blogs (apologies for not remembering which one) that it was suited for a Joan Crawford type of woman (That one made me feel great).

Also, just look at the list of perfumes I can't wear because my skin makes them ugly. I'm not even talking about popular but controversial ones like Angel or Prada. Both Light Blue (D&G) and Cashmere Mist turn sour on me. I don't mind, really. But not being able to find a Montale that doesn't smell rancid on me, or having Bois de Armenie reject me after the first 30 minutes was insulting.

I think I've made my point.

Here's another example: Reviews of L'Artisan's Dzing! are downright scary. They all talk about an animalic note, a serious fecal funk, wet fur and dirty beasts. Lions and tigers and bears galore. Read all the other blogs for explanations and elaborations on the circus theme that inspired this scent (for real!). In this case, thefunk is lost on me, and I don't know if I should be thankful or sorry.


I have no idea what they all are smelling. I have a house full of cats. I deal with feline waste management on a daily basis and sniff fur all the time. That's not the juice in my bottle. On my skin, it starts with rich brown leather. It reminds me the smell of an outdoor market that I visited in Florence many years ago. Then come roasted candied peanuts, the kind they sell on the streets of Manhattan. There's something a little burnt but addictive in the smell. And vanilla. All the time, the leather is still there, peeping under the sweetness that my skin plays up and makes stronger and stronger.

On the blond, it's much more masculine. The vanilla is almost hidden behind an assertive leather. There's something nutty there, as well, but not so much street candy, somehow fresher. I'm not sure which one of us smells better wearing Dzing!, but we're both fascinated with this scent. So much so, that I did something I hardly ever do: Bought the big, 3.4 oz bottle.

According to Ina from Aromascope, who is in the know, Dzing! is being gradually phased out, though it's still widely available at all the usual places. My crazy fantasy is that they'd replace it with an extreme version. That would be something.

edit: Apparently, Dzing was NOT discontinued and even the smaller 1.7 oz bottles weren't really phased out. It was just a matter of repackaging. The circus is still in town.


(photos in order of appearance: Joan Crawford, my cat, Peter, and a 3.4 oz bottle of Dzing!)

Could Have... Would Have- L'Artisan Bois Farine

I have a weird relationship with Bois Farine from L'Artisan. I've almost purchased a full bottle several times, both in store and online, but every time I stop and question myself. First, there's the usual L'Artisan issue of having to spray a substantial amount just to get the fragrance to stick for more than twenty minutes. Then comes the perfume itself.

I'm not getting the promised fennel seeds in the opening. For me it always starts with the flowery flour. It's one of the most curious notes I've come across. It's gourmand, for sure, like a flour-dusted sweet dough. The sweetness is subtle and milky, like a memory from childhood that I can't quite place. The floral part isn't heady. It's blended with milk and flour, not too feminine, though I doubt most men would be interested.

It's a comforting scent, but yet carries itself in a very prim and proper way. It remains fully clothed and never disintegrates into flannel PJs like many other comfort scents can go. There's something familiar in the pastry kitchen part, but the soft and smooth woody finish keeps a distance.

The problem is, that it's not me. Maybe it's the "me" that I could have been, had I been born in Europe, where both my parents are originally from. Maybe it's the person I would have been had I not have a sarcastic edge. A different education. Different desires and interests. Just like me, only softer.

Maybe if I bought a full bottle and wore it often I would be that other person. But I don't think that I want to.

All Fragrances, Great and Small

Despite the lack of fragrance posts lately, I've been sampling and testing quite a bit, and adding several new ones to my ever-growing wish list.

L'Artisan Perfumeur- Premier Figuier Extreme: I love it, and it's no big surprise, as fig (or fig leaf) is one of my favorite notes. I've always been a fan of the Fig Leaf and Cassis line from The Thymes, but their cologne is exactly that- a very weak and flat juice and not an EdP. They really disappointed me when they discontinued their environmental oil, which I used in my lamp rings almost daily. But here, at last, is the real thing: deep, warm, rich but keeps its green freshness. It's both comforting and sexy, has a dark edge to it but very wearable. The gorgeous limited edition bottle in the picture can be found at Aedes. The regular bottle is available from Luckyscents, and I also spotted it at my local C.O. Bigelow in Paramus.

L'artisan Perfumeur-Dzonkha: This could be described as Premier Figuier's complete opposite. But I still love it. There's nothing comforting about its serious presence. It's a calm, confident, stony-faced scent, aware of its beauty and accomplishments. For me, it doesn't evoke a Bhutanese fortress (not really surprising, as I've never been there or seen one), but it makes me think of Midtown Manhattan on a cloudy grey day. Steel, skyscrapers and the concrete pavements. Either way, it's complex, cold and very unisex. Like many scents of this kind, I liked it better on my husband than on myself. However, he has found it a bit too bitter to wear comfortably.
A far better review of Dzonkha by Greeneyes can be found here.

Yosh- Winter Rose: This isn't a masterpiece. The reason I feel it needs to be stated is the fact that an 8 ml bottle of this perfume oil is sold for $200, which puts it right there with the most expensive of the JAR line (about $800 for 30 ml for Bolt of Lightning). However, this isn't a JAR creation. It's not as complex, interesting and well-blended and it doesn't give you the otherworldly impression that Mr. Rosenthal's work does. Don't get me wrong: It's a really nice one. It's rosy and spicy, and on my skin the cardamon was very dominant (I think I also detected a hint of saffron, though it's not a listed note). I like cardamon in chai, in rice, and apparently, I also like wearing it. But I don't adore it that much. It's a limited edition, only 250 bottles are available at Luckyscent.

Il Profumo- Encens Epice: I really loved this one. Not all incense fragrances work this well for me (I can't stand CdG's Zagorsk or the original Regina Harris). But this one has a lot to offer when it comes to spice and wood. Coriander seeds, cypress and a drydown of blond tobacco are making it smell rich and honeyed, cozy but with enough character to keep things interesting. It's a great cold weather scent, in my opinion, and can probably be worn by both men and women, though I used every drop of my sample without testing it on my husband. I tested the EdP, but when I get a full bottle I'll probably go with the oil.

Tocca Perfume- Florence, Stella and Touch: Tocca's famous candles had many people eagerly waiting for the personal fragrance version. I don't use candles (a result of allergies and a house full of cats), so I wasn't familiar with the scents, only with their reputation. I was especially curious about Stella and its orange flowery goodness. I sniffed the bottle a couple of months ago and nearly bought it based on that. I'm very glad that I didn't. On the skin it becomes a very sweet orange confection. March from Perfume Posse described it as an upscale nouvelle cuisine orange creamsicle, and I agree. It's dessert-like until the drydown that is all musk and reminds me a lot of Valentino V Absolu. Nice enough, but doesn't rock my world.
Neither did Touch, with its fruity-floral boring composition that turned into a heady white floral and not in a good way. But the worst was Florence. March blames it on the cabbage rose note, but what made it into a horrible scrubber as far as I'm concerned, was the bathroom-worthy jasmine. It was horrible and hard to wash off. Florence has clung to my skin like nothing else in my memory and required lots of hot water, soap and hand cream until it was finally gone. I kept sniffing my wrist in panic that a trace of it might still be there.
If you must, both Sephora and Bergdorf sell them, as well as Luckyscents (link above).

Robert Piguet- Fracas: This fragrance doesn't really belong on the list, as it's a classic one from 1948. Also, I've sniffed it a couple of times in the past, so it wasn't really new to me. However, last week I decided to test it, so it is worth talking about.
The reason I avoided it for so long was my original impression that it smelled just like Chloe, my mom's favorite fragrance of all time. Through all the years of living in the same house as countless Chloe bottles, I've never once actually tried it. It was my mother's signature scent and so identified with her that I couldn't (and still can't) even think of giving it a try. However, two things have happened in recent years. My mother started to venture out of this tuberose comfort zone and Chloe had been demoted and degraded into a drugstore EdT (the original EdP in the milky glass bottle has been discontinued).
This is why my wrist has found itself sprayed with Fracas. And, I was right, It does smell just like the old Chloe, only with more depth and richness. It's a similar white floral combination (the infamous tuberose, orange, lily of the valley, jasmine, gardenia and a musky finish. It's pretty, but I can't be objective or adequately describe it. Also, I can't wear it. It smells like my mother.

Anat Fritz-Anat Fritz: This is a new one, created by a knitwear designer who is based in Berlin. As far as I know, here in the U.S. the fragrance is a Luckyscent exclusive. It's a typical cold-weather scent that starts with a distinct lavender note that doesn't completely go away even as the scent wears on. It is joined by vetiver and woods to create a very clean and dry experience. It can be easily worn by men as to my nose it lacks any of the traditional feminine notes and it isn't seductive or flirty in any way. But it is very pleasant, interesting and caused me to bring my wrist to my nose many times during the EdP long wear. But, it's true beauty is revealed when it's lightly sprayed on sweaters and coats. I think I need a bottle just to keep in my closet and make my clothes smell divine. The fact that I also like wearing it is simply a bonus.

Stay With Me

Another good thing that I have to say about Tom Ford's Black Orchid is its long staying power. It holds its own for 6-8 hours, and a soft vanilla trace stays on the skin even longer. That's a very good thing in my book. I was never shy about fragrance. I don't use body splashes or any watered down scented products. I want the real thing, and I want to be able to smell it all day, and if possible- if you get close enough to me, you'l be able to smell it as well. This is why I'm terribly annoyed with serious perfumes that do not last.

There are two houses famous for lack of staying power. Annick Goutal is one, though I'm getting the feeling that it's not a universal problem with these scents, except for poor Hadrien. I love both versions (Eau d'Hadrien and Le Nuit d'Hadrien), and while the latter ambery nature keeps it around for much longer, it could still be improved. The original EdH is as flighty as it is wonderful. I wish they'd come with an improved version.
I'm quite happy with the other Goutals I'm using. Grand Amour lasts nicely and Quel Amour! stays all day and well into the evening. No complaints there.

The other infamous maker is L'Artisan Parfumeur. It starts with the fact that the majority of their scents only come as an EDT. Why? I don't buy the faux French snobbery about how a good perfume needs to be subtle and barely there. Tell that to Serge Lutens (or any of the other big names. They are all very distinct. And they last). I only tried one of the EDP that they do offer (La Chasse aux Papillons Extreme) and while it smelled nice, I wasn't too impressed with its staying power, either.

That said, I actually like their scents. Very much so. Especially the more masculine ones, and have even fallen in love with Mechant Loup. I don't get the hazelnut notes that some mention, but there is something deep and laced with honey, without being too sweet. It feels like wearing something velvety in forest green and burgundy. It even stays on the skin long enough to justify buying a bottle (which I will share with my husband). But if only it was an EDP... That would have been so perfect.

Fragrance Notes

A few short notes about perfumes I tried and/or retried recently:

• L'Artisan Parfumeur-La Chasse Aux Papillons extreme
  This whole extreme and absolu thing is bothering me. It seems that first, the companies are releasing mild, wimpy versions with no staying power of their scents. The fragrance might be nice enough, customers are buying, and then buying again once the extreme version is out. In many of the cases I tried, the extreme version still doesn't have the best staying power. This is one of them. Floral, nice, but quickly disappears. I wore it for two days (had to reapply several times) trying to remember what it reminded me of. I knew it was something from my long lost youth, probably even something my sister used to wear. After two days it finally came to me: An old Max Factor fragrance called La Jardin. I haven't smelled it in 20 years, so I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it's very similar.
• Kenzo Summer
  I was taken aback at the first whiff, because the top notes smelled to me like a cheap, powdery handcream. After a minute or two it settled into a pleasant, powdery floral. It's not my thing, but I can see how it would smell very nice on others. It also faded quickly. I need more warmth, spice and lasting power.
• Apparition by Emanuel Ungaro
  Apparently, there's a lack of fruity floral fragrances. This is why every designer and cosmetic company feel the need to come up with a fragrance or two or three that smell like berry jelly. Seriously, this was nothing but raspberry on my skin and stayed for hours and hours. Until I could take it no longer and washed it off. The only surprise here is the level of unoriginality.
• Roberto Cavalli (the original one by the designer)
  I tried it before and wasn't impressed. Its top and heart notes still reminds me too much of another fragrance that I can't recall. This time I didn't wash it after an hour and let it do its thing. The fruity note is still too strong for me and too disticnt in the sillage. I like the part that's close to the skin- definitely more wood and amber, and quite pleasant- very similar to V Absolu. It has an incredible staying power- I'm at 10 hours and still counting. If only it didn't have this disturbing fruit note...
• Idole by Lubin
  I love this one, probably because it smells very much like Donna Karan's Black Cashmere. It has the same boozy opening of rum, and the dry down is a similar combination of spice and wood. Black Cashmere seems to have a better staying power on my skin.