Elements Showcase January 2012 Wrap-Up

The Elements Showcase turned one-year old but this January 2012 edition was its third edition. This bi-annual perfume event is trying to be a North American alternative to the European perfume expositions. With this third outing organizers Frederick Bouchardy, Ulrich Lang, and Jeffrey Lawson have evolved Elements Showcase into something which has its own vibe.

Continue Reading

Esscentual Alchemy’s TAROT Series “The Turn Of A Friendly Card” + Sample Set Draw

The Tarot is an ancient form of divination (a system of trying to understand one’s place and relation to cosmic forces beyond one’s control). There are many types of tarot decks and this line is based on the Gaian Tarot. It is the Major Arcana that Amanda Feeley of Escentual Alchemy has focused on, for her perfumes. If you tried the mass market line of Tarot perfumes (Anthology) and found them wanting and rather generic, I urge you to give these perfumes a try!

Continue Reading

A Man On Fire: Kerosene and The Launch Of A Rising Star + Sample Set Draw

One of these young reviewers on YouTube, who has been posting under the name kerosenetrewthe since 2010, decided it was time to see if he could create scents of his own. Kerosene, also known as John Pegg, has no formal training in perfumery, so he just dove in, using mood, weather, instinct and passion as his inspirations.I sent for a sample of Kerosene’s first fragrance via his Facebook page and was intrigued. Hearing that he was releasing two more scents, I knew I wanted to review the line.

Continue Reading

FRAGRANCE REVIEW Lubin Figaro, Itasca, and Bluff “Indications Of Things To Come”

One of my favorite fragrance stories of the last two years has been the slow and steady resurrection of the Lubin perfume house. I reviewed both of the more recent releases of Black Jade and the extrait version of Idole de Lubin. At the recent Elements Showcase I was reminded that there was a set of three other fragrances, Figaro, Itasca, and Bluff from back in 2010 that I also thought were pretty good.

Continue Reading

NEW FRAGRANCE REVIEW Di Ser Kaze “Japanese Elements at Elements Showcase”

Every time I am at a trade show the best part of it is when I find a something completely new to me. That moment of discovery is where the magic is. At the most recent Elements Showcase that bit of serendipity occurred midway through the first day as I approached the Di Ser Eau de Parfums booth. What was there was a display of ten fragrances completely unknown to me and I’m guessing the rest of the attendees as well.

Continue Reading