IrinaSpalko

Going forward, Vent Vert will remain firmly in my dedicated springtime/summertime rotation. Something to share with more open minded noses who seek anything fresh or green. The bottle I am drawing from is a newly batched Parfum in the square bottle with a black round top. Formulations and reformulations aside, this one is fine and good enough for me.

A picture: My kitchen window overlooks a vast field of grass. There is a mint plant and a basil plant growing on the sill. I open the window to welcome the cool morning air that has grazed past the grass in the distance and frills the potted herbs in front of me.

Vent Vert means Green Wind in French (not Green Glass as pronounced). But one could most certainly drink this in if it were imbibable. The bitter opening gatekeeps this materpiece, shooing away anyone only intending to take a small sip. Like a drink that turns sweet after the swallow, the development is astonishing. And on my skin the end result is a sweet basilic meadownectar that is neither floral or fougere but it's own category, but it is not without his rivals.

I could place this one in the same group as Blue Grass (1989) and Woodhue. We all are one and the same vision of those delicious sweet grass fields laced with herbs. In my judgement, Vent Vert is the superior and would be number one of the three, followed by Blue Grass and Woodhue in third.

By itself, this is pure leather along with the sweetness characteristic of it. However this is not a "vanilla" sweetness that leathers often rely on. Because there is no vanilla (or any other recognizable profile) synthesis is a magic ingredient that takes my other scents in new directions. It nicely compliments suedes such as "Cuir Béluga | Guerlain" and Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum (RIP). But my favorite combination so far has been with anything violet scented, specifically Guerlain's Insolence Eau de Parfum. There is a powerful trifecta created when layering this with Insolence Eau de Toilette and another of Xyrena's offerings, Neon Sunset. The experiments continue as I continue to reach for this incredible scent. Although difficult to aquire Xyrena scents are, Surrender to Chance in the USA has decants available and I've already moved on to a larger portion. This one deserves a permanent home in my collection for all eternity.

Imagine if Versace's Dylan Blue pour femme arrived at the beauty counters of the 1950's? It would be the smartphone to their rotary phone, the Velcro to their metal hook and eye closures, the plastic to their Bakelite. That world was not yet ready. This is a perfume of THE FUTURE. Rocket ships in space meant those of our day living on the moon or mars. We aren't doing that, but we are doing the next closest thing, and that is wearing Versace's Dylan Blue pour femme. Like nothing that came before it, a time traveling person could stand out by this scent alone if joining a vintage crowd.

This is an accelerated elixir involving not one but THREE super modern synthetics: Shisolia®, Rosyfolia® and Petalia®, while refreshing fruits such as apple and black currant provide familiarity. To my nose, the currant takes center stage and grants a mostly blackberry aroma to this otherwise aquatic floral grounded in slightly musky space dust. An orchard planted in the synthesized soil of a space colony, surrounded by a sparkling moat of ozonated water.

The opening is the best part, followed by a musky synthetic dry down. It fades within the hour into an obscure shadow of itself. My urge is to revive it with a citrus, which satisfies. I recommend reviving/combining this one with anything that features Mandarin as a primary note.

Years ago, when I wasn't really into collecting and comparing perfumes, I smelled Narciso Rodriguez Narciso in the white bottle at Macy's and found it so very interesting and unique. Weird and artistic even. A sort of lactonic gardenia. I never forgot it after all this time, even after it has long disappeared from the department store shelves. So it entered my decant list to try almost 10 years later.

My husband and I did a comparison paper test of 16 random scents and it came out as my number 6 choice. His one word summary was it is "soapy, similar to Tubéreuse Nue". Upon wearing it, I realized this isn't so unique. It is pleasant but nothing mind blowing. Perhaps in 2014. But it reminds me of something I would wear to the bank. If I had to pick one example of a typical "perfume" to share with an alien species, it would be Narciso Rodriguez Narciso. The most normal perfume in the world.

A friend introduced this gem to me via the hand sanitizer. Another time, I applied some body spray in the store and not even an hour later, could not bear it. This is because the brand-wide Bath and Body works liquid base formula of their body sprays is very disagreeable to me. So the best way to experience the delicious scent of Strawberry Pound Cake is by the hand cream. This is the thick lotion coming in the small metal tubes, looking like paint tubes. It is also very affordable when it is on sale and I got one for under $3 in the USA!

Why do I love it? first of all the strawberry is not fake or cloying, the strawberry is red, sweet, and glazed like a real dessert. The better part to me is the actual cake portion - the pound cake. This cake is yellow, a little bit crumbly, a little bit salty, (yes, I can smell the saltiness) with some butter and toasted wheat.

I don't particularly want to smell like this, but I want to smell IT. I've worn it to bed using the affordable but potent cream on my hands and arms. Not sure this would layer or combine well with any other scents but is a satisfying experience all on it's own.