PaJaLo

Do you know the smell of lipstick? When you open the cap and apply it, a typical lipstick/powder scent greets you.

When I spray this fragrance, I am instantly transported back to my childhood. When I was at the age where I wasn't allowed to wear makeup, but secretly did it when Mom wasn't around. A makeup case full of powder, lipstick, and makeup from high-end brands like Chanel, YSL, etc. was a dream for me, even though I couldn't appreciate the brands at that time, it felt forbidden...

The scent skillfully captures the delicate fragrance of lipstick and powder for me. It's kind of strange, who wants to smell like makeup, but this scent is simply brilliant, so different. I never find it outdated; I think it smells very sophisticated, but not just for mature women over 50+, it doesn't have enough Chanel potential for that, as the aldehydes are only very subtly present, which is great.

After "Eau Duelle," the Diptyque fragrances are increasingly coming to the forefront for me, which I will definitely take a closer look at...

"Fleur de Peau" is also my next candidate for purchase, which I am very much looking forward to alongside "Eau Duelle"...

Finally, I have found it, the long-awaited Oriental... I know some do not see it as an Oriental, but the incense is for me definitely typical Oriental.

Now to the perfume: I think this scent is simply amazing! The vanilla in combination with the incense, which only reveals itself quietly and secretly late in the drydown, is just fantastically showcased here, subtle yet present. There’s also a spicy note, possibly the pepper, which can be well recognized in the base, but without it, the scent would be monotonous. All the notes are so fitting and harmonized, intertwined, that it comes across in no way as intrusive or exaggerated. In my opinion, it’s an everyday scent, even in summer, as the vanilla here comes across more fresh than heavy.

Definitely my next investment ;-)

Can a woman write a review for a men's fragrance? Whatever, I’ll just do it because it has to come out! Help, the fragrance bomb has exploded, somewhere in the middle of nowhere at JFK Airport.

When my husband and I had some time at the airport in NY in 2019 before our flight home, we strolled through the perfume shop to do a little sniffing. My husband boldly grabbed the bottle of Dior Sauvage and sprayed it as if there were no tomorrow. I was so irritated by his eager spraying that I couldn't react quickly enough to tell him to try the scent on a test strip first before dousing himself with it everywhere. Well, by then it was already too late. The fragrance bomb had already exploded, and with such force that it wouldn’t have taken much for him to be immediately locked up if it had been a real bomb. And I, as an accomplice for failing to restrain the spraying frenzy. "You can't be serious, what has gotten into you?" I asked or yelled at him, I honestly don’t remember anymore because I was so dazed by the expansive cloud of scent emanating from him that my ability to react was severely limited. I must honestly say, I have never felt so uncomfortable sitting next to my husband. Eight hours on a plane, trapped next to someone who exudes such a penetrating smell, is an unbearable torment. But to calm you down, he couldn’t stand the smell himself after what felt like 10 minutes of 8 hours either.

When I got home and washed the laundry from our vacation, and this sweater soaked in Sauvage scent fell into my hands, I felt nauseous. And I’ll tell you what, this scent is so penetrating and pervasive that it haunted me even after the freshly washed laundry. The sweater still smelled of it, and to my horror, I believe it still does today. It’s tucked away at the back of my husband’s wardrobe, and he hasn’t worn it since. I always wonder why?! Haha... I haven’t dared to smell it since then. And now, four years later, I was sitting on the train yesterday on my way to work, at 7 AM, and the fragrance bomb exploded again, but this time somewhere in the middle of nowhere on the regional express to Frankfurt. The entire train compartment was once again cloaked in this foul-smelling companion, sometimes not bad in full trains, but then the smell of stale air in the train is more pleasant to me.

Sorry to all the lovers of this fragrance, but it is so unbearably penetrating that I believe even with well-measured spraying, it is unbearable. At least for me. Maybe it’s just my husband’s poor spraying manners that are to blame, and I’m scarred for life. I don’t know, but when a fragrance takes up so much space, in the truest sense of the word, it’s really not nice. In this sense, don’t be mad at me, you dear male wearers out there, but I’m unfortunately damaged.

A tribute to my mom... Yvresse by YSL and Opium by YSL were my mom's signature scents in the 90s. Today she exclusively wears Eau des Merveilles by Hermés, which suits her like a second skin. She doesn't like it so loud anymore. That's probably how it is when you get older.

When my husband and I bought Grandma's house last year and my mother-in-law was clearing out the basement, a rare find was discovered in one of the basement rooms. There was a separate room in the basement just for Grandpa and his worn riding clothes, riding pants, etc. Grandma wanted it that way... My mother-in-law actually found a small bottle of Yvresse among all the clothes. Since the bottle was still well-filled, she probably thought it was too good to throw away. And that was a good thing. So where to put the found bottle? Of course, it went to the daughter-in-law, who has such a penchant for fragrances. Well, my mother-in-law knows me well ;-)

So I took the bottle, opened it, smelled it carefully, and there it was! The memory! I was instantly transported back to my childhood. It was Christmas Eve, December 24th sometime in the 1990s on the way to church. I was about nine years old. My mom was sitting in the car in front of me, looking as elegant as ever, wearing her dark red lipstick, high heels, a black velvet dress, and Yvresse by YSL. So naturally, as if there had never been anything else for her. Just Mom. It suited her, even though she was never the type to enjoy being the center of attention. Always discreetly reserved.

I asked my mother-in-law where she found the bottle. "It was in the riding cellar, the room where Grandpa always stored his riding pants, and you know, my mother (Grandma) was always very difficult when it came to unpleasant smells, so she always sprayed Grandpa's riding clothes with perfume." What??? She didn't just say that, and Grandma didn't really do that, did she?! In fact, our Grandma Elli always used Yvresse to spray Grandpa's horse things, so she wouldn't have to smell the horse odor. What a shame! So many memories are tied to that. Oh Mom, I'm sorry for you. If I told her this. There are also other things that were sprayed with perfume in Grandma and Grandpa's house, for instance, the trash can was sprayed with Chanel No. 5, just in case the garbage men would faint from the stench. I wonder which of the two evils was worse for the garbage men, smelling the actual trash or the trash sprayed with Chanel No. 5 (please forgive me, Chanel No. 5 lovers) No hard feelings.

Well, that's how it happened that I became the owner of a long-lost love of my mom by a strange coincidence. The rare find is safely stored in my box in the wardrobe, so it can't be misused for any rituals. "I want to smell that again," Mom said. So far, I have always forgotten to take it with me on our visits. But I will, so that Mom has the same memories as I do...

Ah, with men it’s not exactly easy when it comes to our fragrances as women. At least that’s the case with my husband ;-)

Whatever scent I put under his nose, the grimace on his face speaks volumes... It’s a torture every time I buy a new fragrance, “Just stick to one scent and don’t use so many different ones,” he says. I’m already extremely difficult when it comes to fragrances, he claims; I see it differently. Yes, okay, I admit, I always need something new and find it hard to stick with the same scent. “You need a signature scent,” he says, “A scent that reminds me of you when you leave the house in the morning, that your clothes smell of afterward.” Well, okay. It is nice to have a scent that you are always satisfied with, that fits all occasions, never becomes overwhelming, and that you keep repurchasing time and again. Many people around me have that, and I envy them-my sisters, my mother, my boss, even my mother-in-law, and my husband has his signature scent. But for me, it’s somehow difficult. However... there is indeed a fragrance that I have repurchased several times because it simply fits. For me, this is This is her by Z&V. A scent that always works, never too sweet or piercing, totally balanced, although it is sweet, I don’t perceive it as teenage sweet. It fits every occasion for me. In the opening, I strongly perceive a lilac note that takes a long time to fade, which isn’t a problem at all because I love lilac. Nevertheless, This is her by Z&V is not my signature scent, even though I’ve almost killed my second 100ml bottle. I wonder why not?! No idea, I think it’s great, and by the way, my beloved husband loves this scent on me! This is the only one; he struggles with all the others. It’s hard to believe that he is ever satisfied with one of my fragrances and every time says, “BUY NEW IMMEDIATELY!” My second bottle doesn’t have much left; will I buy it a third time?! Let’s see.... But I know who would definitely be happy about it...