Lilibeth

It feels like riding a bicycle along a forest path, and just after passing a clearing, the scent of fresh lily of the valley rises to the nose for a moment. This is refreshing and pleasant. Bergamot and lemon emphasize the refreshing moment, but as individual notes, they are not discernible and mainly serve to support the sillage. There is no scent progression in that sense; Muguet en Fleurs starts as a lily of the valley impression, and YR leaves it at that. The scent from YR comes very naturally from the simple bottle - no heavy base holds the freshness.

What initially seems like an advantage turns out to be a disadvantage over time - which is as short as I hardly know it anywhere else: You can enjoy the scent for half an hour, then it becomes as faint as all my previous commentators have already written. A higher dosage unfortunately does not help, only frequent re-spraying.

However, I don't really feel like filling a spray bottle every beautiful summer day that the fresh floral scent fits wonderfully, and the YR bottle is too bulky for me to take along. With frequent re-spraying, the scent becomes quite expensive - because the 100 ml is used up like the 30 ml of other fragrances - and has the disadvantage of inconvenient handling. Personally, I would prefer the sillage to be a bit stronger and, above all, to last much longer. The scent fades from my skin just as quickly as from my hair or clothes (which I only sprayed to have tried everything. Normally, I don't appreciate perfume on my garments).

Ultimately, a disappointment remains. The scent is essentially inviting, but becomes untraceable far too early. Transience to spray on, indeed...

O.k. I will have about 231 users of this fragrance against me. But perhaps it helps one or the other undecided person in their choice:

Just on the drive through France, a few kilometers to Beaune, my fuel gauge whispered to me that it was time for a gas stop. Anyone who knows the gas prices on French highways knows that a tank full at the nearest Carrefour or Super-U is significantly cheaper. And that stopping at one of these shopping centers offers a first shopping opportunity after crossing the border. For this reason, a map with all Carrefour gas stations is also one of my well-kept travel essentials.

Around the huge supermarket, there are all sorts of shops that I usually pass by. But in Beaune, there is an Yves Rocher store, and curious from all the praise here on parfumo, I made a quick visit to the fragrances.

I sprayed two scents on my wrists, and before one of the ladies could approach me, I was already out of the store with a "Merci et au revoir."

Jasmine was one choice, Voile d'Ambre the other. Jasmine is nice and unremarkable, VDA started off stronger. Amber and incense - not a bad mix. The mandarins were not detectable for me, and the cardamom shone more through absence than through spice. Generally, I have nothing against mono fragrances and was curious about the development.

However, many hundreds of kilometers behind Beaune, Voile d'Ambre turned into an intrusive vanilla-heavy cocktail that had lost all its herbal, smooth, smoky qualities. Patchouli, cardamom, and sandalwood were merely the shy companions of an intrusive vanilla that smelled exactly like the scented candle section of the large Swedish furniture store. And that is the only section that I always, but really always, rush through without even giving a glance to the items unfortunate enough to be placed there.

For all those who like the smell there, VDA may be a wearable perfume - for me, unfortunately, it is not.

Recently at the ballet or: The revival of an old successful piece in analysis:

First Act:

With pirouettes, attitudes, arabesques, and pliés, but without any acrobatics.
Ms. Time, as the newly appointed director, cuts nearly all the preludes and shortens the appearances of Ms. Neroli and Mr. Bergamot to a restrained, chamber play-like ballet blanc without major challenges. Everything fleeting is toned down, the approach has a quieter tone, the once expansive movements are now merely turns around their own axis. Pleasant to watch, but there is much empty stage.




.
Second Act:

Three flowers appear and surround the couple from scene one.
But what is this? The costume designer has forced them into a full-body suit that makes them look like plump things. Of course, no one can spring up into a relevé, but they do fill the space. They keep reaching for each other's hands, snuggling up to one another. They wave their fluffy petals. They dance around Ms. Neroli until she gets dizzy. Mr. Bergamot throws himself into the fray, occasionally trying a pas de deux, but is caught and brought down by the floral spirits time and again. The direction must have been something like this: Create a stir, but don’t go overboard.

Third Act:

As a few woods set out to find flowers and heard something from Ms. Neroli.
The energy of the flowers is admirable, glissade follows piqué and everything en croix, again and again. Dwarfs with golden-brown hats dance acrobatics, followed by: La Reine! She floats, gracefully lifts her legs, smiles at the audience, waves. That’s how we know her, the sweet vanilla. And all under the roof of a cedar, at whose feet patchouli sways in time. The stage is full, everything glides, swirls, and jumps. A furious finale. And because the audience enjoys the dance, the curtain opens many times before the house lights send the visitors home and the dancers, exhausted, celebrate the successful performance behind the stage.
Outside, in front of the theater, under the windows of the cloakroom, you can hear them laughing.

Original Joop! from 1987, reissued in 2015.

… is this fragrance from the clothing retailer Orsay.
Today I browsed through the store, found a powder pink three-quarter pant, and since it took a while at the checkout, I boldly tested one of the fragrances displayed there, No.1.

The scent unfolds immediately and has a distinct sillage. The ingredients list orange and mandarin as top notes. However, the fragrance is far from having anything "citrusy," a fragrance direction that stands for ethereal, zesty, fresh notes. The citrus fruits of L'Or de Say No. 1 are made of marzipan - nice to look at, but very, very sweet. Connoisseurs know that when producing high-quality marzipan, rose water is used for flavoring. Although not listed, the rose water scent is mixed in without appearing as a note itself. Perhaps this is what is indicated as "praline" in the base.

The fragrance does not change much over time. After one or two hours, plum, jasmine, and musk hold hands and encircle the wearer of this sustainable - or should I say: intrusive? - Eau de Toilette. The plum is dominant, while jasmine and vanilla are probably just the little bed it lays in. Yet despite the dominance of the plum, the fragrance has nothing that reminds one of the fruit, as the violet-red fruit comes across as an Asian aperitif wine and has something entirely surreal, artificial.

When the sillage settles, the aromas are distributed, and one must hold their nose to the sprayed areas to sense the base, the fragrance loses some of its over-the-top quality. Musk and vanilla remain as a comfort and offer a warm place by the oven of memory.

For an inexpensive fragrance, it’s not bad at all. Striking, distinct, and very feminine, it pushes itself into the spotlight. For those who want that - and isn’t there always one occasion or another where a woman (this is definitely not for a guy) absolutely does not want to be discreet? - L'Or de Say No. 1 is a good choice. However, one must want the "cheapness" of its indecent and surreal nature. She must want to play with it, perhaps juxtaposing it against the "class" of a fine pantsuit or the coolness of a leather outfit. Alternatively, a beach party is an option, where at three in the morning, the sea breeze and the scent of sun-kissed, dance-damp skin mix under the fading plum cloud. Otherwise, it quickly becomes a schoolgirl perfume that is more annoying than alluring.

For lovers of a natural scent, Orsay fragrance No. 1 is probably not for them, but it is so - and here I repeat myself - over the top that it has something. However, I will not buy it; there are too many beautiful alternatives that I already own :)

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Edit: After now 5 hours and 28 minutes, the remaining scent is really pleasant, hardly overly sweet, a bit like Narcisco. Just a little more intense. So for those who have patience …

… this is the harmonious scent impression of this EdP. From the simple yet stylish bottle comes a fragrance that matches the color of the bottle itself quite well. It is a pleasant daytime scent that is not too heavy. If it is the scent of a femme fatale, as has been written here, then she is of the subtle kind, wearing more Jil Sander than Dolce&Gabbana, more powder pink than bright red, more Nordic designer jewelry than Swarovski sparkles.

The gentle floral bouquet hovers briefly above the skin before being captured by cedar and amber. Everything is very calm and unexcited. Narciso has no particularly striking sillage, making it easy to wear in the office. This is - as should soon become apparent - also its decisive disadvantage for me.

The unexcited has a downside. While the milky-soft scent is initially very pleasant, it soon …
… disappears. Untraceable. Vanished without a trace. Not a hint of memory. Not in the hair, not on the décolletage, not on the wrist, not in the clothing. Nada, zero, nothing.

Sillage and longevity are absolutely disappointing. Even freshly sprayed, I can barely smell it - and that is the most important thing for me. What’s the point of using perfumes if I can’t smell them myself?

To check if my nose simply got used to the scent too quickly, I asked a test person to apply the fragrance, leave the room, and only after an hour did I sniff the spot again. At best, I could still perceive a hint of this fine scent, with my nose very close to the object.

This makes the fragrance very expensive, as reapplying every hour … I might as well reach for Montale's "Crystal Flowers." That is a scent that can still be smelled the next day or after a several-hour visit to the swimming pool, an extended soak in chlorinated water followed by a shower! (And that without ever becoming intrusive. Miraculous :)

It’s also not so nice to always have to carry a travel spray. Too bad, Narciso, that your scent fades so quickly on me!

Unfortunately - seen this way - a bad purchase.