Perfumes: Unique experiences, exotic journeys, and personifications...

I've always had an affinity for certain things. Some things always get me intrigued for one reason or the other. Sometimes it's the complexity and/or precision of how it is put together, such as watches (or a pen such as Lamy's Swift). Sometimes it's the delicate and precise construction of things like fountain pens, and the experience they provide compared to lesser offerings. And sometime's it's the journeys to exotic places that scents can take you on, or transform and enhance, and even speak for the personality of someone.

I see perfumes as having characters and personalities of their own...some loud, some understated, some happy, some sublime, but all of them have feelings they evoke. And that is what makes me fascinated with them.

While I've written reviews for a number of different things in the past (airline services, retail services, electronics, mobile phones and sometimes software), perfumes are an altogether different, and much more challenging beast to tackle. The reason is rather simple: it is incredibly difficult to review them objectively. Reviews for perfumes cannot be based on numerical concentration(s) of their ingredients, but instead on personal perception.

I will review in this blog both male and female scents, acquired through a variety of channels. While not quite a connoisseur or collector, my affinity for perfume does mean I have a fair few of the Pour Homme variety in my wardrobe, and the Pour Femme variety I encounter mostly through sampling before acquisition for gifts to family or friends, or collecting the odd one out that is rare enough.

The biggest challenge in reviewing scents is the variation of how they are perceived. Different people get different intensities of the notes in a scent. Some people will not discern a particular note, while others may perceive the presence of notes that the scent does not necessarily intend to carry. This makes recommendations particularly hard. What I recommend based on my perception of notes and accords may well turn out to be a very differently behaving fragrance for someone else.

What might be not so attractive to me might be good for someone else, and vice versa, and everything in between. Prime example is Hypnotic Poison (Dior). While an excellent fragrance by all means, my nose seems to have a proper vendetta against it, and indeed many fragrances strong on vanilla or cream (such as Diesel's Loverdose). Similarly, fragrances with very "cold" tops (most of them are patchouli-heavy or blackcurrant scents) such as Midnight Poison (Dior) or Tresor: Midnight Rose (Lancome) send my nose into a fix, and it never even bothers waiting for the mids before turning away, with my mind following suit. 

However, as a comforting factor to readers of the blog, my nose tends to be rather well-behaved with perfumes, and I generally pick the accords broadly as they're listed in the notes pyramid for most scents. I usually don't perceive florals as soapy, or woods as carpets. However, I can sometimes point out the synthetic nature that some perfumes will exhibit. Also, my wrists/forearms react well with scent, and generally I have very little issues with body chemistry turning scents off or acrid, or destroying longevity. A potent scent will get quite close to its advertised longevity on my wrist/arm (sometimes even longer, and some scents will survive several hand-washes on my wrists) and that is where I sample majority of the scents.

There's quite a number of scents that I think are good; I don't necessarily discriminate based on the broad type of notes in a fragrance, although I do tend to avoid overly exaggerated notes of any type.I don't necessarily have a hierarchical ranking in mind when I consider them. My choices are predominantly influenced by scent, potency and longevity, the monetary outlay I'm willing to put up with, and the intended recipient of the product, all considered in varying, case-specific combinations.

Just because a fragrance smells good doesn't mean it's suitable in all contexts. The rationale for this originates from what ideas and/or emotions the fragrance evokes in my mind. Some fragrances, such as Estee Lauder's Sensuous, Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle and Allure and the pricey boutique-exclusive No.22, Lancome's now-discontinued Magnifique, YSL's Manifesto and Parisienne L'Essentiel smell too "intimate" to me to be versatile and detached.

However, there are perfumes which are exceptionally pleasant as fragrances, and don't have the "intimacy" element in the notes. Prime examples that come to my mind would be Acqua Di Gioia (Armani), Red Door Aura (Elizabeth Arden), Idylle (Guerlain) to name a few. Make no mistake, I think they are all very good fragrances, but they don't necessarily smell particularly suggestive or intimate. The one that stands out the most in this lot to me is Miss Dior (formerly Miss Dior: Cherie), and Dior Addict: Eau Delice (both Christian Dior).

Which is why I reiterate, every single review here is a personal, individual take, and while factual, is still largely opinion, as will always be the case for something like fragrances. Read on, enjoy reading, but I won't recommend blind buying for a fair few scents.

Before I delve into full-fledged reviews, I would bring to readers' attention a few things. Because I'm based in Australia, I use Australian Dollar RRP prices, which depending on the exchange rate may differ significantly (usually higher in Australia) from prices elsewhere. Moreover, I usually calculate price indices based on the largest bottle size available in Australia. I will, where possible try and obtain prices for all flacon sizes and mention them.

The standard disclaimer for prices applies: prices are only correct as of the time the blog is written, and while I try my level best to ensure accuracy, I take no responsibility for their accuracy into the future. Prices can (and will) change over time, and I won't go back and update prices once a post is published in most cases.

Australian prices can be significantly lower at street level than RRP at some outlets, but to keep a level playing field, I will calculate price indices using list prices, and mention street prices independently. 

And before I wind up this post, I highly recommend you read my post detailing Unitised Volumetric Price (UVP). UVP is my method for making price comparisons more straightforward, across brands, and much more so within brands when deciding which bottle size offers better value.

Happy Reading, and Happy Sniffing :)