Etat Libre D’Orange The Sex Pistols: Pretty Vacant

Mathilde Bijaoui was the perfumer tapped to create The Sex Pistols and she chose a different path from any of my expectations. Mme. Bijaoui does not go for realism although there is some aspect of the fragrant milieu of the Punk movement. Nor does she try to make some amazingly ground-breaking piece of fragrance although The Sex Pistols does not smell like a lot of other things out there. Those expectations of mine made me have to wear this over and over before I could effectively let go of my pre-conceptions and finally begin to assess The Sex Pistols on its own merits.

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pureDKNY: Turn On The Light

Earlier this year Donna Karan released Iris and I expected this would be similar to the line of Donna Karan Essences. In many ways Iris turned out to be one of the bigger disappointments of the early part of the year for me as it was perhaps the least interesting Donna Karan fragrance release ever. With that as backdrop I wasn’t expecting the new DKNY fragrance, pureDKNY, to be the one I would like more. In fact I had to keep wearing the preview bottle I was sent over and over to convince myself how much I liked pureDKNY.

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By Kilian Love and Tears: Still Life With Jasmine

Jasmine is one of my favorite floral notes. One of the reasons that I enjoy it and the many iterations available in perfumery is the different faces it can show.
For the latest release from By Kilian, Love and Tears; perfumer Calice Becker chose to create a jasmine soliflore.
Love and Tears attempts to use the central note to provide its own contrast as jasmine moves from the greener aspects early on to the cleanly floral aspects by the end.

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CB Experience- to see a FLOWER: Simple Gifts

CB- aka Christopher Brosius- speaks to our collective unconscious, our amygdala, our “lizard brain”.
Sometimes, what I crave is utter simplicity; I don’t need much to be content.
I keep many of CB’s scents around for the sheer comfort of triggering memories and emotions.
My favorite ones concern my keen love of the natural world.
to see a FLOWER….
CB describes this as “delicate spring flowers [hyacinth, daffodils, jonquils, crocuses], green shoots, wet dirt, and a bit of moss “.

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