Ponticus

Sensuality in dusky pink, romance and nostalgia in flesh-colored garb, well-behaved, soothing, soft and very feminine, or just the frivolous question of the color of her underwear and the voluptuous, bold thought that maybe she isn't wearing any? Chloé, a pink seduction with a turned-up collar, glacé gloves and a naïve look, unimaginative, banal and yet very subtly wearing her rosy-scented skin to market, always concealing the carnally lustful underneath.

Skin-colored pink is a popular and widespread choice for perfumes (e.g. Coco Mademoiselle, Mon Guerlain, L'Instant Magic, Narciso, Delina...). It symbolizes an innocent, guileless color with no pretensions to dominance, yet captivates in its washed-out, muted tint of human skin with rosy, erotic facets. Sometimes this subtle and discreet seduction succeeds, but for Chloé EdP I have my personal doubts. I certainly don't feel captured, stimulated or aroused by Chloé and I certainly don't feel aroused.

Chloé EdP smells of rose right from the start. It is not a strikingly spicy wild rose, not a seductive climbing rose, but simply a rose. Rose as a mixture of deciduous long-stemmed and short-stemmed, somewhat more intense bush flowers and the opulent, soapy, clean florality of peony, which clearly dominates this dull composition. The scent of this rose is not unpleasant, neither musty nor too sweet, nothing stings or pinches or gets on your nerves. A finely wrapped piece of rose soap that you simply don't want to unwrap. This sumptuous bouquet of monotonous, boring and dull rose nuances lacks fruit, earth, greenery, moss and spice, it lacks spirit, wit, creativity and charm, in other words, simply put, it lacks the esprit to initiate or even accomplish sensual seduction.

Unfortunately, the floral fragrance notes also listed, such as magnolia, freesia and lily of the valley, do not contribute the olfactory facets positively attributed to them, which further undermines the originality of the entire composition. Even the lychee, which by nature also smells rosy-floral-sweet, is unable to set its own, additional accents and, in my opinion, is completely out of place. This dense, charmless rose fragrance remains banal towards the end, but becomes warmer and ever "cleaner" like the freshly and softly rinsed towels in the linen cupboard where the soaps are also stored. The cedar wood is completely buried by zero-eight-fifteen roses without any noticeable contribution of its own.

Roses are always a seducer, even when they come across as unimaginative and stale as they do here. In the same way, the skin-colored dusky pink is permanently a slip-colored temptation, because the flesh is weak and the spirit is not always willing! So, even if the magic of temptation appears very bland here, it could work with Chloé EdP, but I wouldn't go for it myself and consider alternatives. However, I really like the bottle and that's already something.

Life is too short and too contradictory to exercise too much home-baked restraint, even if it's only with perfume! Many thanks to you for your understanding!

Summertime - cologne time! After British Sterling, the English Leather I'm presenting here today is another cologne, also a venerably aged treasure, which immediately captured my heart with its somewhat tarnished patina. first released in 1949, it is another perfume from Dana Classics Fragrances, founded in Barcelona in 1932. On Parfumo, English Leather is represented in around 70 collections and is honored with 9 statements and 3 reviews.

A word about the kaffir lime listed in the top note, today perhaps better known as papeda, as the old term has a somewhat discriminatory connotation. It is a very spicy, stimulating, sour citrus fruit, large and green like a pear-shaped lime, but with a very uneven, coarse black skin. The whole plant smells strongly aromatic and penetratingly lemon-like.

A good spritz of English Leather Cologne on the neck, forehead and cheeks and the refreshment begins. Very invigoratingly lemony with the special scent of papeda. Characteristically tart and bitter, perhaps a little intrusive or even inhospitable due to the unfamiliar aroma, the bouquet quickly becomes very pleasant, refreshingly cool and exceptionally fragrant in combination with the bergamot. After thirty minutes at the latest, the freshness turns into a magnificent leather dream.

It begins with the scent of new, strong suede leather from deer or elk, tanned with chamois and made into elegant pants, bags and gloves. Dominant at first, it remains in the background until the end after approx. 3-4 hours. As it progresses, the leather accord becomes "dirtier". The leather pants are older, greasy and earthy. Sweet, brittle suitcase leather mixes with used bridles, the rough boots smell mossy and woody and the side saddle after a sharp ride contributes to the fantastic leather experience. Everything blends into a straightforward, tart, intensely leathery aroma that spreads a very masculine scent of surprising strength close to the body.

The fading phase of the perfume is short, warm and there are no really noticeable woody notes for me. As if you had taken your worn leather goods to the saddler, the fragrance has suddenly disappeared, but the joy of using it again is undimmed. As English Leather with its old-school character seems to have fallen out of time, the fragrance is unusual and very distinctive, especially as a cologne

With British Sterling and English Leather, I have found two first-class colognes for refreshment during my summer activities and, as "luck" and "ego" would have it sometimes, both fragrances are to be found far from the mainstream and hidden deep in a niche.

Well-scented, I would like to thank you very much for the attention you have shown me!

A hot day, the sky azure blue, not a cloud in the sky and the high sun beating down on the two gentlemen who are engrossed in conversation on the railing of the old river steamer. Their white clothing in colonial, tropical safari style shows the first signs of perspiration and the drops of sweat on their foreheads and necks are rather unworthy of a noble gentleman. "Let's go and freshen up" are the redemptive words of the somewhat stouter of the two gentlemen and they immediately disappear into the respective bathroom cabins of their first-class cabins. A quick glance in the bathroom mirror is all it takes, the moisture between the eyebrows is dabbed off very leisurely and carefully with the white cotton cloth and then four or five splashes of cologne from the dispenser are immediately applied to the forehead and neck, patting lightly, without even taking off the jacket. That's it! The everyday refreshing shower of a cavalier and gentleman of the time, a ceremony of buttoned-up mastery with understatement and exclusivity in perfection.

This appearance in the movie "Death on the Nile" with Peter Ustinov and David Niven is certainly familiar to many readers. I can't say whether the cologne used in the film scene was the British Sterling cologne from Dana, but due to the extremely old school style of the cologne, the scent, the time and the "trappings" fit together perfectly for me. British Sterling is a very masculine cologne, an oriental men's cologne par excellence. A royal, British claim to empire in the form of a gentleman's cologne, even if real royal British splendor, be it in the kingdom or empire, was always feminine (Queens Victoria, Elizabeth I, Elizabeth II).

British Sterling starts fresh, even very refreshing and therefore exactly as it should be. Very volatile alcohols evaporate the strong lemon, drawing out plenty of warmth and leaving behind an invigorating, stimulating pick-me-up feeling. After around ten to twenty minutes, the citrus is gone and, feeling refreshed, you are ready for the actual scent of the cologne.

The remaining three to four hours of the colognes' life offer a potpourri of the most exquisite and expensive spices that the Empire has to offer. Nutmeg, cinnamon and, above all, cloves create an oriental mood without any of the notes really standing out on their own. The perfume's fine, floral floral bed is the binding bond here, similar to the promise that holds the lands of Empire together. In British Sterling cologne, the often overwhelming power of oriental fragrances is rather light-footed, but profound. Quite quickly in the course of the fragrance, one relies on a solid woodiness as a key stimulus, but skillfully embeds this in a milieu of precious spicy ingredients until the end. The aromatic, warmly flattering finish encourages you to spray more, even if the temperature has dropped in the meantime and refreshment is no longer absolutely necessary.

Dana Classics Fragrances is one of the oldest names in perfumery. Founded in Barcelona in 1932 and following many successful years, the company is now part of an American investment group. The name goes back to Danae, the beautiful mother of Perseus. Next to Tabu (1932), a Dana veteran of perfumery, the Cologne British Sterling looks like a dwarf. It dates back to 1965, which also explains the very conservative, old-school fragrance composition for a cologne. in 1996, Dana then launched a woody, spicy new edition on the market, which was closely based on the original fragrance and bottle and is still produced today. Nevertheless, the cologne British Sterling only plays a minor role on Parfumo. Only a good 30 members call it their own and apart from three lonely statements that are many years old, there are no other contributions to date.

Many thanks to all readers, whether Cologne fans or not!

As Easter is just around the corner, my money is on the Easter bunnies. The bunnies have probably already loaded up their carrier boxes with lots of colorful eggs and have probably already been able to hide some of these artifacts. Perhaps the hens are still sitting on a few eggs to hatch new, cute chicks? Many eggs have fallen victim to bird flu or ended up in eggnog and the rest will certainly not survive the Easter celebrations. Of course, I have two myself; white, waxy and three times a week for breakfast. Incidentally, the biggest egg comes from an ostrich, the smallest from a hummingbird and the most expensive from Fabergé.

As interesting as bird's eggs are, this is not about them, but about the eggs in your pants in the sense of "having eggs", "having the fatter eggs", "showing eggs", "having eggs in your pants", or as Oliver Kahn once shouted "eggs, eggs, we need eggs"! In other words, it also works without balls, "having balls", "having your pants on" or being the "alpha dog"!

Obsession from 1985 for ladies has balls, and what balls. I have already discussed this in detail here. Whether this also applies to Obsession for Men, which followed in 1986, should be the subject of this review, as a comparison of this sibling pair of the same name is a natural choice.

Obsession for Men, with its childlike, almost naked Kate Moss, relied on a good dose of eroticism in its advertising, just like Obsession, which was also reflected in the bottle. However, while the women's version comes across as demanding, dominant and "all of a piece", the Obsession for Men bottle seems rather cute and naive to me and, with its lid nipple, more chaste and innocent than assertive and decisive.

We are greeted by Obsession for Men with a taut, spicy breeze, which is underpinned by citrus fruits of various colors, sour-fresh and somewhat soapy, but dominated by plenty of cinnamon and the clove is also well in the mix. Somehow, it also blooms and herbs in the further course of a very spicy environment in which the cinnamon and clove continue to set the tone and create a pleasant, Christmassy atmosphere. The fragrance notes are in complete harmony: spicy, herbaceous, woody and also a little sweet, the scent is pleasantly cinnamony everywhere. The emerging warming feeling of sensual base notes such as amber, musk and vanilla round off the fragrance, but do not reach my heart and are certainly not a call for passion and eroticism for me. Obsession for Men is more an attempt to create friendships under a cinnamony lead and in Christmas harmony, rightly trusting that security is also a wonderful form of lived eroticism.

Obsession, on the other hand, is dedicated to femininity and has a dark floral, oriental-feminine splendor that is demanding, the warm, spicy accords are mysteriously enticing and a distinct civet-animalic and the sensual, green-woody note of oakmoss lichen provide a rough liveliness that can also have frivolous, lustful traits. Obsession for Woman is not an invitation but an invitation! And clearly with balls or ass in your pants or under your skirt or wherever.

Even if Obsession for Men lacks the balls for me in this special sister-brother comparison, it is far from being a eunuch, but can easily hold its own against many other fragrances, because Obsession for Men is a successful perfume, balanced, round and with a very pleasant smell and good H/S. Any future son-in-law could wear it without hesitation when he introduces himself to his future mother-in-law for the first time. Obsession for Men is like the nice boy next door with a gingerbread heart "mom's favorite" around his neck! Who wouldn't like that?

A big thank you to all readers for your kind company in the search for these special eggs. I'm off to look for colorful Easter eggs and that will take a few days. I wish you all a happy Easter, colorful and perhaps fragrant nests and wonderful holidays!

Perfume names, are they just smoke and mirrors? What does the manufacturer want to tell us with the name, what does he want, and does he want to achieve anything at all with it? Does the fragrance name make any recognizable sense and is the name really important?

In the case of Insurrection II Wild by Reyane Tradition, this raises serious doubts. There are about 17 Insurrections with different epithets from Reyane and none of them deserve the translated typification of an insurgent or rebel and Insurrection II Wild is certainly not wild. So it's all smoke and mirrors after all? Here, unfortunately, yes. Unfortunately, it is also always a missed opportunity to characterize a perfume in a relevant way, because the bottle and name are a first impression and are particularly influential at the beginning of a launch! But for a fragrance twin, as in the case of Insurrection II Wild, sound and smoke may be enough and it was.

Nomen est Omen, on the other hand, loosely translated, means that the name says it all. I personally like this much more and, if the promise of the name is kept, it makes each of these fragrances more appealing per se. Great examples of this are Tobacco Vanilla, Tobacco Oud, Oud Wood, Tea Rose and Tobacco Honey.

In between, i.e. between smoke and mirrors and nomen est omen, are most fragrance names and the really successful ones are always based on a coherent, interesting, beautiful and often seductive story (examples: Naxos, Knize Ten, Obsession, Chanel N°5, Shalimar).

Back to the perfume Insurrection II Wild by Reyane Tradition with its, for me, meaningless, out-of-place name and its impressive smell, which makes it one of the best fragrance twins ever. How does it manage this?

Insurrection II Wild starts opulently sweet with thick honey notes, aromatic and creamy, spreading to the soul craving a sweet reward. There may be a double of the finest Eckes Edelkirsch in the bottle, but after its deliciously volatile cherry bow, the stage belongs to the honey again. This, almost creamy, is a rather dark treat full of delicious aromas and with a subtle spiciness. The same sweet aroma is very dense and briskly tart, which does credit to the more green than smoky tobacco note. The masculine, tobacco-like astringency always remains the basic tone of this otherwise aromatic-sweet gourmand as it progresses. The rest of the experience is a long, pleasant straight drive with the windows closed, with a hint of chocolatey fields and vanilla woods occasionally reaching the occupants via the ventilation, but no more than a hint of this is allowed. The perception of the sweet heaviness of the fragrance becomes even darker and warmer towards the long finish, with a balsamic hint of smoky vanilla inherent in the styrax resin. The fragrant finale easily lingers for 7 to 9 hours.

With Insurrection II Wild, the overall package is just right for me. You can get the perfume without any effort and almost for free, the packaging is appealing and solid, but above all, the perfume is a great one for fans of tobacco-like gourmands and a blessing that flatters the maltreated soul, a fragrance ayurveda for the psyche and the mind, so to speak!

A very clear recommendation for this perfume from me, addressed to all readers who want to treat their emotional and sensory life to a real treat! (calorie-free, of course)

Many thanks for your appreciative support!