Lilibeth

Ted Lapidus' White Soul needed a change of seasons and several tests from a sample vial kindly provided by Parfumo to transform from:
"O.k. I can use it up at some point" to:
"Oh, it's better than I remembered" to
"Actually, it's a great all-rounder."
And it was finally purchased here in the souk. Once again, seduced by Parfumo, so to speak ;)

Of course, hardly any woman buys a fragrance just because it's so affordable, but I am pleased when a scent I like doesn't require a long saving period. In this respect, White Soul is exemplary ;) inexpensive.

The bottle is not inelegant, but certainly not a masterpiece. It is rather of timeless average quality and, from a stylistic perspective, lands in the middle of comparable designs. However, I give top placements to very few opaque bottles; my lack of enthusiasm is due to a preference for at least partially transparent scent containers.

The scent of White Soul is not as distinctive as, for example, "Poison" or "Opium," which could immediately associate a note with a name, but that doesn't have to be a disadvantage.

White Soul envelops you in a fine powderiness with a hint of residual sweetness; the ingredients meld perfectly into a cloud that may not be white, but certainly isn't pink either. Strangely, I think I might also catch a whiff of vanilla, but according to the ingredient list, it must be a - albeit pleasant - sensory illusion. This might also be due to the blend of many components, which are hardly discernible individually. So, those looking for a strongly defined scent may be disappointed by White Soul, but for anyone wanting a fragrance for many occasions that wraps them in unobtrusive, well-tempered femininity, without edges, without corners, and without pretensions, White Soul is a great choice.

The sillage is good, the longevity varies: on the skin, it's noticeably perceptible for several hours, while in the hair, it lasts significantly longer. This allows for good dosing, determining how long the scent should be a subtle daytime companion or a more intense companion for the night.

For an affordable fragrance, White Soul offers a lot for all of us who prefer powdery, soft scents for everyday wear. Another advantage is that the scent has no age restrictions: it suits young things just as well as old boxes ;)

A while ago, I received a generous sample of a fragrance from a friendly perfumer, along with a sample of an incense scent. To my surprise, I liked this fragrance direction. At some point, I managed to get a bottle of Black Cashmere.

Black Cashmere - a name that doesn’t quite fit. Black, soft? No.

Black? Dark yes, but more like an ash-gray bed over glowing coals.

Smoldering, drifting, floating, the finest particles caress the noses, like dust motes in the light. But they carry spice with them, close to scratching, but just close. Clove aromas push through the smoky molecules, sweet, heavy, and in dark violet.

Cashmere? Here more of a designation of origin, a reference to nature, to a secret place of amalgamation, of connection, of transition, not to the soft wool type. No, this scent is not gentle, not caressing - it brushes against boundaries, triggers contradictions, dances barefoot on the Himalayas, so to speak. Fully present and yet close to pain. Well, the latter is an exaggeration, but it sets the direction;)

To wear the scent alone, its ambivalence is not enough for me; I miss variety, I miss contradictions, perhaps a bit more fruit, a bit more sweetness, a bit more freshness - as a hint or as a flirt. Perhaps too calm.

And so I experimented a bit with Black Cashmere, inspired by the principle behind Al-Kimiya, layering carefully and - voilà - BC is wonderfully suitable for that!

Depending on my mood, as a delicate bouquet for something more powerful or as a strong support for a fleeting scent, BC proves to be quite communicable. Intensified. Cultivated. A fine thing!

Months without rain, the trees are already shedding their leaves, showing bare branches on which there will be no vibrant autumn foliage this year. Meadows, as brown as the dusty earth between the dried grass tufts. I have been waiting for weeks for a generous summer rain to fill the empty groundwater reserves - in vain. Now and then a few milliliters, barely more than the proverbial drop on the hot asphalt of a big city ...
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And the next few days are supposed to bring new heat records. I am on my way to a shopping center to get a large cardboard box, with which I want to cover some of the skylights to keep the sun and heat outside, so the apartment can remain lively. I am successful; a super freezer-refrigerator combination provides sufficiently large pieces. But the way to the car must wait. Finally! A narrow bad weather front brings a little precious moisture, hardly enough for all the greenery, but too much to carry a cardboard box through.
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I look around. Drugstore section. Women's fragrances. Hmmm. Nothing spectacular. I spray some of the scents into the air due to the lack of test strips and decide on Betty Barclays Sheer Delight on my right wrist and Woman 2 on my left wrist. I scan the shelves, observe the people walking through the store, groceries in the front, electronics in the back, clothes in between - anyone who wants can get a decent basic supply for emergencies here. I sniff at my wrist. Oops, all gone. If I want to smell something at home, I probably need a second spray. Not clearly more pronounced yet. I press the spray heads of the testers once more. O.k., that should be enough.
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As expected, the rain has since subsided, a few drops still, but nothing that could endanger the cardboard box. Like a shield, I carry the two-meter-high corrugated cardboard pieces beside me, earning amused looks as I pass the checkout - the cardboard between me and the cashier, until I peek out from behind my box and smile back.
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Already in the car, it becomes clear: What was lacking in rain is too much in fragrance. The smell is piercing in my nose, and not charming at all. I have had enough by the time I drive out of the shopping center parking lot. Again and again I try during the drive to see if one wrist or the other can soothe me with a more pleasant scent progression, but it remains as it is: cheap, piercing, indefinable.
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At home, my path leads to the computer; I look at the ingredients, trying to figure out how the scent impression is composed, how something as charming as lemon, lily of the valley, and peony can turn into such a chemical scent cocktail that strongly resembles some concocted cologne. Or other fragrances that my grandmother used for disinfecting when we children came back from outside with scraped knees.
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In the scent progression, some of the piercing impression gradually fades, but my nose has had enough of it, and the faint trace that remains causes a headache.
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Bravely, I put on gloves and cuffs as scent stoppers and wait to see how the fragrance develops after two hours. Better. Deeper. Powdery. Softer. But not good enough, not powdery enough, not soft enough to want to endure the torture of the beginning. Recently, I tested another "affordable" fragrance - certainly questionable in taste, but by far not as misguided as Sheer Delight. Sorry, Betty, Sheer Delight and I are parting ways: I wash both wrists with relief and am glad when the headaches subside after a while.

The fragrance Knowledge by Geza Schön and the Ruhr University Bochum is supposed to neither consciously nor unconsciously trigger emotions, but rather influence our well-being with ourselves through body chemistry. Setting aside the questionable achievement of creating a perfume that does exactly what we fear from baby bottles and pork schnitzels, namely affecting the hormonal balance (no, the fragrance does not contain Bisphenol-A or any estrogenic substances ;) - the scent has been composed with the declared goal of making us feel more relaxed and at the same time more energized. According to scientists, ideal conditions for individual peak performance.
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But how does it smell, this self-optimization scent from RUB? As others have already written here, the fragrance starts with a fresh, perhaps overly fresh blend of lemon and mandarin - a choice that many household cleaning product manufacturers have also made. In my opinion, this direction is dispensable as a scent; there are finer, more elegant, or better-defined notes elsewhere.
This scent is slightly undermined by a sweeter flower - presumably geraniol - which unfortunately can never achieve dominance.
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After a while, the scent then develops a strange inclination towards the vegetarian for me: it definitely smells like celery. I found this so surprising that I initially thought it was a perception error on my part and scheduled another test for the next day. Same, same, not different. Clearly distinct soup vegetables (thankfully without onions).
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This note prevails for a long time before a pleasant but entirely ordinary base with warmth and a hint of bitterness spreads.
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Duration of the experiment: 4 hours.
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And the senses? Am I more relaxed? Am I more energetic? Am I more seductive? Am I more easily seduced? Unfortunately, I must remain silent on the last two questions. My boyfriend finds me attractive anyway, and vice versa, and other test subjects were obviously not within olfactory range, as I was not attacked ;)
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The bottle is unspectacularly modern in design and corresponds in quality to the low price level. However, the outer box is impressive. I don’t know if Mr. Schön and RUB are planning a 300-ml edition with a bottle three times as large and therefore had the outer box made in unisize, but for anyone who doesn’t have a box for various odds and ends, they will have one. In a dark blue. That’s okay. Odds and ends always come up.
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All in all, not a fragrance that imposes itself on me due to its sensual qualities; it fits my prey pattern less, and the alleged effects can hardly be scientifically evaluated, can they, Mr. Schön?
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The fragrance has a moderate sillage for an Eau de Toilette, and the longevity tends to be on the lower end of the scale. But voilà - I own a science scent :)))

Instant Magic - I too was instantly enchanted by this perfectly rounded ageless fragrance.

Yes, it is without edges or corners, not a hint of aggression, all gentle pleasure. The cloud in a rose petal-soft pink, enveloping like a cashmere scarf, is rather meant for the hours and days when one sets aside doubts, contradictions, and obstinacy to enjoy a dreamlike glide through life. Whatever life may offer. A quiet hour before the guests arrive, the freshness of a summer morning, the image in the mirror in a new dress, a phone call with a distant friend…

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This fragrance is rather persistent than loud, more swaying than tickling, and more cliché than avant-garde. But that makes it just right for cheerful teenagers and gracefully aging ladies, for dresses paired with cowboy boots, and bright pearl necklaces. This fragrance is a friendly embrace that wants to exclude no one. For some occasions, that may be too harmonious, not hot enough, not cool enough, not exalted, not vehement, not bitter enough. But then I simply reach for another fragrance elixir, leaving the bottle with the girlish world-embracing scent unused. Until next time, when I crave a well-composed veil of scent that makes the world appear just a tiny bit more pink. And perhaps the wearer as well.

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And because it is likely no longer in production, I have joined the ranks of those before me - among the hoarders - and quickly bought one of the last bottles after purchasing a decant. You never know how many magical moments life still has in store. It’s good to be prepared for that.