Demeter Gets Stinky

I was at Sephora today, and saw that there seems to be a new addition to the Demeter line. It's a few fragrances whose selling point is that they contain human pheromones. Actually, one pheromone, Androstadienone, which is the same in all the fragrances. They have names like Always Happy, Always Calm, Never Lonely, and one for energy. They're supposed to lift your mood and give the feeling that is implied in the title: happy, calm.... Do they work? Who knows. I walked around with some testers in my shirt pocket, and even rubbed some of Always Happy on my chin to smell it for some hours, but I didn't notice anything tremendous. If they do anything at all, it's very subtle.

As for the scent, they're, eh, OK. They smell like they were made with some essential oils, in that they have the weak, wispy character that some (but not all) all natural fragrances have. They start out very predictable: the Happy has orange, etc. etc. They don't end up in a predictable place, however. I'm sniffing the paper testers right now, and the smell could best be describe as Urinal. Maybe Urinal with hints of Dirty Underwear. It's faint, and I don't think many people would notice if someone were actually wearing the scent, but it's certainly an interesting, unexpected effect. You'd think they would have mingled in some sandalwood or vanilla, or maybe a synthetic musk or something to mask the odor of what is presumably the pheromone component (I'd read before that one human pheromone, either the 'female' or 'male' one, whichever, had a sort-of unpleasant odor, kind of sweaty, which made it less attractive as a perfumery product, whereas the other gender pheromone was odorless. This is clearly not the odorless one.). But I guess not. And now that I think of it, one of Demeter's things is not using synthetic fixatives, if I remember correctly, and that's why the fragrances disappear 20 seconds after you've put them on, 30 if you spray them on clothing.

Verdict on these fragrances: eh. I don't particularly care for them. They don't compare to Realm, which was spectacular (the women's version). I guess I'd hafta give them 1 nose. If I got them as a gift, maybe I'd spray them if the cat shit a lot. Then again, maybe I'd just reach for the Glade.

Summary: Demeter pheromone scents:

Beep!

Fragranced Memories

I saw a set of Pierre Cardin cologne on sale (for cheap!) the other day at Duane Reade, the local drugstore here. It was some Father's Day thing. I remember having that cologne as a kid. I got it one Christmas. I don't remember much about it, though — I guess it was relatively unremarkable. The cologne that I remember really liking as a kid was Rookie, which my quick google search seems to have revealed is both by Avon and 'for boys.' Who knew?! I'm pretty sure it's the same one I had. (The google search also revealed that Rookie can be purchased on ebay! Yowza!) Oh, and of course that li'l tester I had of Lauder for Men, but that was all the way into middle school, so it doesn't really count. Antyganoo, I'm considering buying this Pierre Cardin, just to have it. I love the idea of wearing old colognes like that, especially if they're classic (like Lauder). Of course I'll have to smell it first, but when something is considerably less than $20 and smells fine, you might as well have it. And as I said before, there is an appeal to wearing a cologne you got from the drugstore. It feels like there's something wholesome, old-fashioned about it. It feels, I dunno, 50s or something. Whatever. Beep! Oh, here are the notes in Pierre Cardin, since I tend to provide that kind of thing, you know:

NOTES
Lemon, Bergamot, Orange, Lavender, Basil
Carnation, Geranium, Leather, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Orris
Vanilla, Moss, Tonka, Leather, Benzoin, Amber

This is just funny. I saw this review on basenotes and think it's just hilarious. I can't imagine it could be true. It just sounds like a legend created by a marketing department. What say you:

When I was a young man and infatuated with the Duchesse de Guermantes, I would always wear Chanel Pour Monsieur because it seemed to me then, as it still does now, to contain some mysterious essence of aristocracy and sophistication. I would follow the Duchess endlessly until one day I summoned up the courage to address her. 'Madame,' I stammered, 'we have not been introduced but I believe you know my uncle.' 'Young man,' she replied with a frown, 'I do not know your uncle and I find you presumpteous. Furthermore, you have been following me for days. I have only tolerated it because I adore your cologne.' Although the Duchess and I later became friends, I soon enough lost my love for her. However, I have never relinquished my love for Chanel Pour Monsieur.

-marcel , uk , 2004/03/26.

And that's the fragrance beep for now, beepgners!

A Sephora Experience

I was in the Time Warner Center Sephora the other day (that store is small; what's more you have to walk over this precarious-looking high bridge made of translucent tiles to get to it. I would probably feel safer on a rope net), sniffing this and that — Jil Sander Sun for Men*, Pasha... when I came across Vera Wang for Men. I'd never smelled it before, so I gave it a whiff. Wow, the peculiar freshness almost blew me away in a flurry of Breath Savers. At first I kind of liked it — it smelled familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint what it reminded me of. Then it occurred to me. It smells almost just like this fake oil I got once of DKNY for women (which one person actually said smelled like shampoo). It was virtually identical, until the fragrance dried down just a bit, when I started to notice hints of that weird greenish note in Calvin Klein's Truth for women. At that point I decided that I do not like the fragrance. It just smells odd to me, and since it smells like a fake oil, it makes me think it smells cheap. (Although I don't necessarily mind smelling cheap; sometimes cheap perfumes smell perfectly fine. In fact, I once have worn Coty's infamous Wild Woods, partly cux I liked the fact that it smelled like Gucci's Envy, partly cux I just loved that 70s-looking bottle. And partly cux I like the idea of wearing a drugstore fragrance.) I'm sure plenty of people will love it, but to me, I just don't think it works. That's that. Just in case you're curious, though, here are the notes in Vera Wang for men, courtesy of basenotes.net:

NOTES
Green Mandarin Leaf, Yuzu
Nutmeg, Leather, Anise
Sandalwood, Tobacco

I also smelled Liz Claiborne's Spark for Men a couple days ago, and I'm really impressed! It got good reviews on basenotes, and I smelled a fake of it that was nice, so I thought I'd go to that store in Union Square (since I was in the area) and see what it smelled like. And it's really good — basically a wintry, oriental with gourmand notes. Speaking of notes, here they are:

NOTES
Rum, Cardamom, Cayenne Pepper
Figs, Honey, Cognac
Sandalwood, Amber

I didn't get a chance to see how it dried down, but my initial impression was wow, this is fantastic! So I think I'll have to get some for when the weather cools down. It will be nice for every day wearing, it and Déclaration by Cartier. But I do have to check how Spark dries down before buying it, though. However, it helps that it's only $20, putting it in the same price scale as, say, Arbre from the Body Shop. I have to admit that I wasn't expecting it to be up to much, being a Claiborne scent and all, but I was pleasantly surprised. Now, this is not to say that it's some really complex scent you could get lost in, like Individuel or even Déclaration, but it's very pleasant, nonetheless, and there is that fake oil you can use to layer it with. So I guess out of 5 noses I'd give it maybe a 3.8. (Déclaration is a 5.)

Speaking of gourmand notes, I love this lotion: Wild Banana Vanilla Lotion by Pure & Basic. You can find it at Whole Foods, and I've seen it at other health-food type stores. It smells GREAT — you can smell the banana if you know it's there, and also a vanilla tone, but the overall impression of it is more like butterscotch. Or caramel. Although I've only tested it out at the store, it seems to be effusive with good staying power, for a lotion, I guess. And it seems like it would work well with other foody scents, like that Desserts line I was raving about, which appears to be the one by Jessica Simpson. Or, to a degree, with scents like Spark and Angel, which have gourmand notes in them. (NOT with the fragrances from the SmellThis line, which I think are cheap and terrible, as they only smell good right when you spray them, then they break down and smell like ick.) Of course, it could also be used alone, but it just seems natural to use it with another comparable food scent, like, say, pound cake, buttery vanilla, bay rum/spice or cassis. It might even be the perfect complement to Eau de Charlotte, by Annick Goutal, a great fragrance with a cassis-like top note reminiscent of rhubarb jam underlined by a cocoa-vanilla base (I don't smell the floral middle much).

And that's the fragrance beep for now! Beep!

Summary:
Vera Wang:
Spark for Men: .8
Wild Banana Vanilla Lotion: .85

An Idea for the Oprah

I should write this in open-letter format, but whatever. I was thinking that since everything Oprah touches becomes famous, shouldn’t she create a perfume with her hair or skin flecks or something in it? She could call it Fame. Or Ôprah. Or Oprah Makes You Really Really Famous. And when you put it on, you’re famous. The fame part would probably expire quickly, before you’re finished with the bottle, but at least while it’s fresh you’d get some fame out of it, maybe more than 15 minutes, maybe less, but some definite fame. There could probably more fame essence in the eau de parfum and parfum concentrations, maybe with a super-deluxe concentration that is so exorbitantly expensive that only celebrities and the very wealthy could afford it. I hope she does make this perfume, and I hope I can afford it when it comes out. I sent Oprah a copy of my CD (it does have Ed Shepp Exposes Oprah Winfrey on it), so maybe she’ll send me a li’l tester of the parfum, maybe the beta version.

The First Post

Pasha by Cartier is a good fougère—minty lavender topnote, followed by a spicy floral middle that I didn't really notice much, then moss on the bottom; but I think I still would rather have Aramis. Chanel Pour Monsieur is kind of nice, more floral than I remember. Of course it reminds me of when I worked at Universal Studios Orlando, and that's not the best memory. Sooooo, then I decided to look at the womens scents, cux I was blas—. It became clear to me that I hadn't looked at them in a long, long time cux there were around a million that I'd never smelled before. Highlights: Tender Touch by Burberry. Yowza, that's a perfume. Talk about POWER floral: it kind of smelled like a blend of jasmines sambac and grandiflorum, with other stuff too. I wondered whether it was one that I could buy my sister for Xmas or something, or whether that would be rude in a way, cux it's a really STRONG fragrance (but great). You never know whether you can give someone a really strong perfume, cux either they might not like it, or when they wear it, other people might complain to them. (Damn other people!!) The other really good one was this line called Desserts. They had a vanilla, a berry and a chocolate-coconut. The chocolate one was OK and I didn't smell the berry one, but the vanilla one was transcendent, like buttercream Belgian waffles. I wish everyone would wear that. In autumn, at least. I hope it catches on--it would be great to be in the subway and have everyone in the car wearing that and smelling like a pound cake. I can dream...