But it was her smell that was having the strongest effect on me. For a moment, when she first sat down, it had hit me as a hot wave of rankness like the stink of a hen house after a fox has been busy in there. Then a second later I realised I was wrong, because the smell had opened up into a thousand shades of meaning; subtle harmonies of musk and cinnamon and dew-wet summer air overlaid on sweet rose, heavy, seductive lily and undisguised human sweat. There was even a hint of chocolate in there, and those hot, sticky boiled sweets called aniseed twists. The total effect was indescribable; the smell of a woman in heat lying in a pleasure garden that you had visited as a child.The Devil You Know, Mike Carey. (Describing the scent of the succubus Ajulutsikael).
I've got a couple of contenders in my current fragrance wardrobe:
- Aftelier Tango layered with Haus of Gloi The Brier Path Pumpkin Butter, or
- For Strange Women Decadence & Debauchery perfume oil. I want to try this layered with the For Strange Woman Vetiver solid fragrance (which I don't have yet) for an added musky, earthy note.
Are there any other fragrances you suggest I sniff in my quest to find this smell?
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Just back from browsing/buying in the sales and i spotted some Serge Lutens perfume with 70% off in Sephora. It was called Cuir Mauresque - i thought "that sounds like something i might like" (i like the woody/leather non floral/fruity smells). I had a spray and my husband almost retched! He said it was the "worst perfume he'd ever smelt - THE WORST!".
ReplyDeleteI like your perfume posts - it's just a shame there's no scratch & sniff screen:-)
Hi Annette - I've never heard of that one, and now I'm extremely intrigued - off to google it! (It is a shame there isn't smellivision!)
ReplyDeleteI googled it too to see what other people thought and they're definitely getting something i didn't. I'm going to give it another sniff next time to make sure, because the description sounds like something i'd love and i just didn't:-( My husband said when they called it "leather" they must've meant the old leather tanning places with vats of foul smelling chemicals and soggy animal skins! I almost regret buying it because i'm sure i could've sold it on ebay! 70% off is such a bargain!
ReplyDeleteTom Ford Black Orchid certainly has a somewhat pre-coital vibe to it. I'm not sure it hits all the individual notes described, but it does combine earthy, sweet and floral.
ReplyDeleteOr a combination of some of the CB I Hate Perfume fragrances? I've not tried them myself, but there are quite a few with 'dirt' accords that might layer well with more floral/ozonic/gourmande scents.
Good luck!
Where can you get Serge Lutens @ Sephora?? And on sale??? I'm totally jealous. I have Cuir Mauresque and find it pretty voluptuous. The top notes are pretty short but once it settles it's super sexy. But if you're at the lutens counter and looking to maximize the sexy you should smell Ambre Sultan.
ReplyDeleteHI Annette - well Nathan Branch definitely smelled what you and your husband smelled! It's interesting how different we react individually to fragrances. (Yes, I bet it would have sold well on Ebay!)
ReplyDeleteHi Amy - oh, that's a good call. It even has that 'I'm not sure I like this....' initial hit too. I need to have another spray at the counter.
Hello Joseph - another very good one! I've dabbed on a little Ambre Sultan at a counter, and liked it a lot. He didn't over-cumin it like Serge Noire. It's a very sexy scent.
That description sounds intense, I think you'll probably need to layer a few fragrances to get that effect. Some perfumes worth considering: Parfums MDCI Enlevement au Serail (floral stink), Mona di Orio Nuit Noire (orange blossom stink) and Le Maroc pour Elle (heady jasmine+amber stink). And I say "stink" in the nicest way possible, I really like all these fragrances, and there is something ripe and a unclean about all of them. Let us know which combination will work best! x
ReplyDeleteBal a Versailles in the higher concentrations rather than the edc. Vintage Shocking. Musc Ravageur (F. Malle at Liberty).
ReplyDeleteIt definitely sounds like a heady and evocative scent that you're after. I wonder if it will be another that will cause the Samhain effect? Maybe you should put the idea to Etienne de Swardt for the next Etat Libre scent? Who would you pick to head the ad campaign for this fragrance? :D
ReplyDeleteCB I Hate Perfume "Mr. Hulot's Holiday" smells like sex on the beach. I don't know how to describe perfume, but here's what I smell when I wear it: salt, pipe tobacco, seaweed, leather, tall dried grass blowing in the dunes, hot sand, barnacle-covered rocks baking in the sun, algae, and a whiff of something sweet, perhaps the scent of rugosa carried on the wind.
ReplyDelete@Joseph. It was in the Sephora of the shopping Center of Carrefour Villiers-en-Bière. I live in France:-( I will give Ambre Sultan a sniff next time:-)
ReplyDelete@Gracie - I googled Nathan Branch's review and laughed! That's definitely what we were smelling! You're intrigued now aren't you? best you'll be looking to smell it next time you're in a perfumers:-D
P.S. Have you smelt Eau d'Iparie by Occitane? I adore it as a winter perfume. It smells of churches if that makes sense:-)
Miller Harris L'Air de Rien might fit the bill. It's musk, leather, cinnamon, and oakmoss.
ReplyDeleteCB I Hate Perfume Musk Reinvention is one of the best musks for layering that I've come across. It has that perfect dirtiness, that really is dirty, but doesn't go too far and become a stench. It's also neither masculine or feminine. I think this one only comes in the oil form, and applying sparingly until you know how strong it is on your skin is advisable.
ReplyDeleteAlso from CBIHP, Wild Hunt is and amazing deep-dark-forest, dead leaves, dirt, moss etc. fragrance ... whereas Black March is wet dirt, soaked bark, and very early spring greenness starting to grow (light very real hyacinth note). Both of these layer well with Musk Reinvention, and have awesome dirt notes ... if you haven't smelled Christopher Brosius's dirt, you've GOT to try one of his fragrances with this note!
(The way I like to layer with Musk Reinvention is - instead of putting the second fragrance over Musk Reinvention, I wear them on different areas of my body - so I wear the Musk Reinvention on my chest and my neck, and I wear the other fragrance in the crooks of my elbows and on my wrists. You could just layer them over one another, but I like having the more intimate musk closer to my body.)
I'd suggest Andy Tauer's Vetiver Dance for a strange, striking medicinal sort of vetiver. It's not an aniseed note, but it has that sort of quality, if that makes sense. I can't stop sniffing myself when I wear this because it's unlike anything else that I've smelled and it's fascinating. I do think not everyone is going to think it's a good smell though ... but that's all about whether you wear perfume to make yourself happy or whether you wear it to please others (and I'm guessing you're in the first category).
Parfumerie Generale's Musc Maori is this crazy chocolatey, musky, ambery sort of scent with green notes and almost a fizzy sort of feeling ... but it might be a little too creamy for what you're looking for, as it has a vanilla feel to it as well (but totally captures the chocolate).
Serge Lutens Un Lys could be a good bet for the lily, it's a heavier, almost oily smelling lily to my nose, ... but I like Frederic Malle Lys Mediterranee better, but it's brighter, fresher, which isn't as seductive. (The Serge Lutens can almost become indolic on me, though.)
Musk and cinnamon makes me think of Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur, but that is also a heavy-on-the-vanilla comfort scent with a nice musky base. (Totally worth trying, but not the wild and varied sort of smell you're looking for.)
Parfumerie Generale's Harmatan Noir might be worth trying ... it's a bit like the scent you've described, but as though it was all dried ... it's a bit herbal, and aromatic, and has this mint tea note that somehow keeps it really interesting. My husband says it smells like a cool breeze in a hot place. But it has a great saltiness to it as well, giving a sort of sweaty (but not BO) smell.
Oh, and Mr Hulot's Holiday smells (to me) like clean salty skin with a touch of leather, and it's totally delicious and very understated, but beautiful.
(Sorry for writing such a long comment!)
Oh Modesty Brown - I hadn't even *thought* about the Samhain effect! Perhaps this isn't such a good idea ;) A morph of Angelia Jolie and Juliet Binoche for the campaign, I think.
ReplyDeleteHi Klara - oh, that Jasmine+Amber stink sounds lovely (and I do mean that!) ;)
Hi Great She Elephant - adding those to the list. I keep meaning to explore Frederic Malle, so this is a good excuse!
Hi Zuzu's Petals - I think Worship at the House of Blues likes that particular CB too. It does sound lovely.
Hi Annette - oh, I like those incense-y fragrances too. I have a sniff of Bois d'encens every time I pass the Armani counter.
Hi Dain - I hadn't even thought of that one, and I love Miller Harris. Will have to visit the Covent Garden shop and give it a sniff.
Hi Proximity - I definitely wear fragrance for myself! Thankfully Mr London likes unusual fragrances on me too. I think I will definitely give Musc Ravageur a sniff - it might be a nice slightly 'tame' version of this sort of scent. I definitely want to explore more Tauer, and I adore vetiver in fragrances. I will make a note of all the CBs recommended - I keep meaning to sniff this line out, but get distracted by the Serge Lutens on the way in Liberty. I loved his Dirt for Demeter.
Thanks to all for the fantastic suggestions. x
I love reading these. I am filling my cart with CBIHP samples--the don't like to ship in winter, so I want to test now and order by fall.
ReplyDeleteI also had no idea Serge Lutens did Dirt. I just ordered it from Amazon with a leftover gift certificate I had. It's gonna be a stinky summer.
It was DH who told me CBIHP Mr. Hulot made me smell like a skanky sex ho. He meant that as a compliment.
@Annette I'm totally jealous. I can only get Serge Lutens at Barney's here and it's never, ever on sale. It's very expensive, and I almost wince when I also spray it on the dogs which I do anyway.
ReplyDelete