About these ads

Category Archives: Opus Oils

A Few Tobacco Fragrances

November 26, 2012 By in Hilde Soliani, Opus Oils, Six Scents, Tom Ford 26 Comments

Today, I went back to work after an extended Thanksgiving break. How do I feel about this? Let’s just say that if I smoked, I would have been reaching for a cigarette. Instead, I’ll share a few mini reviews of some tobacco fragrances. Their cool, laidback vibe was just what I needed today.

Bell’Antonio, Hilde Soliani. I wanted Bell’Antonio to smell of coffee and tobacco, as advertised. It doesn’t, but the fruity pipe tobacco that predominates is a-ok, too. Bell’Antonio is chewy, rather than smoky. There is also an occasional waft of raisins. Yes, raisins! Bell’Antonio is billed as a masculine, but I thoroughly agree with Marina’s assessment on Perfume Smellin’ Things that it is a “masculine fragrance created to be worn by women.”

2.5shalimars

Tobacco Vanille, Tom Ford. I recognize that Tobacco Vanille is a tobacco fragrance. The first time I tried it, I was actually a little overwhelmed by the tobacco, which is also on the pipe tobacco end of the spectrum. But over time, I started to experience Tobacco Vanille as a scrumptious rum cake. Gourmand, boozy, spicy, and one of the most delectable vanilla notes I know.

3shalimars

M’Eau Joe No. 3, Opus Oils. I greatly anticipated this new release from Opus Oils, because Perfumer Kedra Hart uses tobacco notes in such a subtle way in some of her other fragrances. In her blends, tobacco comes across as fresh and “pure.” This is how the note is treated in M’Eau Joe, too. Although the scent is rather complex, I smell tobacco plant (with hay and herbal facets) and cigarette smoke. It’s ashier, crisper, drier, and more raw than the other two scents. Whiskey and tobacco, the basis of M’Eau Joe, could have been cliche central. But it isn’t. More like this scene in Almost Famous, less like a Guns ‘N Roses video.

3shalimars

For another review of Hilde Soliani Bell’Antonio, see the link above. For another review of Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, see Olfactoria’s Travels. For another review of M’Eau Joe No. 3, see Perfume Posse.

And now, for a random giveaway. I’ve got a set of Six Scents samples that can be yours. Trompe L’oeil, M, #087, Ascent, Can’t Smell Fear, and Beau Bow. To enter, comment on this post. Available only for U.S. readers. Sorry! Blame the USPS.

Sample of Bell’Antonio is my own acquisition. Thanks to Undina for providing me with my first Tobacco Vanille sample, and thanks to Kedra Hart for my sample of M’Eau Joe No. 3. As always, reviews are not compensated, and my opinions are honest and my own. Information on my review policies is on the Media & Disclosure page.

About these ads

Sillage Monster Days 1 to 3

February 16, 2012 By in Byredo, Dita von Teese, Opus Oils, Sonoma Scent Studio 57 Comments

On the first day of my sillage monster experiment, I drowned myself in Dita von Teese parfum. I think I applied five or six sprays. I would normally apply two. You could have smelled me from Mars. Not a soul commented at the office. I expected the scent to have faded a little by my regular afternoon gym appointment, but it hadn’t. True to my regimen (and my desire not to cry when I put on my swimsuit in a month or so), I went anyway. The men at the gym seemed to stare at me more than usual, and one offered me his free-weight bench, which is most unusual, but no one commented.

In the evening, I applied an entire 1 ml sample vial a lot of Tramp, by Opus Oils. It’s a testament to how much I like this perfume, and how smooth it is, that I enjoyed wearing it through the whole evening. And not even my scent-sensitive husband made any comments about the amount I was wearing.

Conclusion from Day 1: No one cares as much about my perfume as I do.

On the second day, I bathed in La Tulipe by Byredo. I wouldn’t have thought this scent, which is a slightly green, delicate, photorealistic tulip could be a sillage monster. But take it from me: eight sprays can make almost anything a sillage monster. Normally, I would apply three, maybe four. Sure enough, a few hours into the day, one of my coworkers said “You smell really pretty!” She thought the smell was familiar, but what it reminded her of was Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker, which I don’t see. But nonethless, I consider this a success. Particularly because “pretty” is a perfect description of La Tulipe, and the one my husband came up with when I was trial running it for my wedding.

Conclusion from Day 2: Sometimes the quietly beautiful perfumes are the ones that shine, even when they aren’t being as quiet as usual. 

Today was day three. I wore Sonoma Scent Studio Champagne du Bois (I will write about this soon). Since it’s a pretty diffusive scent, I settled for “just” four sprays. (That sound you heard was me gulping.) Compare this with my usual, which is ONE spray. I expected that either the dentist, a coworker, or an outspoken friend that I met for dinner would comment. After all, Champagne du Bois is a unique scent, and one that is incredibly popular amongst niche lovers. A sort of all-rounder. But nope, no comments once again.

Conclusion from Day 3: I’m back to thinking no one really cares about my perfume. 

So tonight: a poll. Anyone have an opinion about what I should wear tomorrow, for day four of the sillage monster experiment? I’m in the mood for one of these three, but leaning toward the Tauer for maximum sillage. Thoughts?

 

Tramp

February 6, 2012 By in Opus Oils 14 Comments

With Valentine’s Day approaching, the fragrance counters are filling up with gift sets and other lures, mostly intended for men to buy for the women in their lives. I adore Valentine’s Day. I love the superfluous pink merchandise (pink M&Ms!), the window displays where everything is pink and festooned by hearts, the variety the holiday brings to the greeting card aisle. Oh yes. Let’s not forget the card aisle.

Normally I buy my husband cards that are unrelated to the event (last year, his birthday card was a christening card — en espanol). But this Valentine’s Day, I found a splendid card “For my husband” which informs him that my favorite part about our lives together is “raising a beautiful family together.”* That kind of awful is just not available year ’round, my friends.

It’s these little things that make Valentine’s Day for me. So while the fragrance marketing is currently all about “seductive” scents, those don’t really match up with how I want to celebrate. And I don’t think they match up with what most people want, really. If the day was all about having fun and celebrating love, wouldn’t everyone be behind it?

So this year for Valentine’s Day, I’m wearing a scent I love. One that feels playful, warm, inviting, and — yes — a bit seductive. Tramp is part of the Opus Oils Burlesque Collection. It’s notes are sweet lemon blossom, warm vanilla sugar, sandalwood, blond tobacco, and patchouli. It’s a lightly sweet fragrance that opens with sweet lemon custard and sweet vanilla. Pretty quickly, I can smell the tobacco and just a slight bit of sandalwood. The lemon doesn’t exactly fade, but rather becomes so much a part of the composition that I sometimes forget it’s there. To me, Tramp feels very well blended. No one element exerts to much sway; each is in accord with the others.

What really hooked me on Tramp, though, is the way that the notes together have this wonderful density to them — but are full of sunshine. Although the vanilla is on the sweet and heavy side, the tobacco is lightly sweet, like a fresh tobacco leaf, a great compliment to the lemon.

Sometimes I don’t think scents like Tramp get their due. Often they’re dismissed as simple or confectionary. Which is one reason it was nice to see Prada Candy succeeding last year, even though I didn’t like it much. One thing I did like about Candy is the way it sits on the skin. It has weight. If it deepened or intensified in some way on my skin, I’d like it. But it doesn’t. And Tramp does. The feeling of weight and “aliveness” it has is really great.

***

Rating for Tramp is “3: I like it!” Why? Because it’s playful, warm, inviting, and a bit seductive.

*The closest thing we have to a family is any dust bunny that might have escaped my obsessive cleaning.

Image is a still from the movie It Happened One Night. If you haven’t seen it, you should really watch the whole movie, or at least this scene. “It’s a system all my own.” 

Charm

December 17, 2011 By in Opus Oils 6 Comments

Charm, a perfume by Opus Oils, smells of fresh berries and tea and women. Or rather, women’s spaces. I want to sidestep all the complicated theoretical and cultural implications of using that phrase, but no other will do. The combination of notes, especially the tea and the slightly herbaceous quality of this perfume, are associated in my mind with a particular summer vacation full of languid days, iced tea, and gardening with my mom and grandma. Which is to say it feels like the comfort of heritage and belonging, but also realizing that on some level we are all a mystery to each other.

 

Besides the berry and tea notes, which are bright and effervescent, Charm is slightly floral. I think I smell a tropical flower, like pikake or even orchid. The note list includes coconut, although it isn’t obvious to me, but there is a smoothness that blends with the brighter notes. Wearing it, I want to send a bulletin to every celebrity who has or is planning to make a perfume: this is how good a fruity floral can smell (because I know you are going to make a fruity floral). Although it feels light, it is long lasting with enough sillage for me.

Charm is an aptly named — winsome, bewitching, and utterly charming. It is available at Opus Oils website in a range of product types and sizes. One ounce of the parfum is $50 and 2 ounces are $86.

Perfume Shopping in Los Angeles: Pt. 1 Opus Oils

December 9, 2011 By in Opus Oils, Other Stuff 6 Comments

I love Los Angeles. I love its architecture, its landscape, its attitude. I won’t say more, because that’s another post. But I will share yesterday’s abbreviated shopping trip in my native city (although short, it will require two posts).


This is the only photo I took, from my phone, in the car of course. A lot of people hate driving in LA, but I love it. My dad taught me to drive, and I inherited his Angelean driving style (though not his skill) and his love of driving. But of course yesterday of all days, I managed to get lost while on my way to meet Kedra of Opus Oils.

Opus Oils is a line I have been interested in for quite a while. I love the aesthetic of the packaging and the names of the perfumes, and of course I’ve read great things about the juice. I can’t imagine a better way to experience a perfumer’s work than to be able to sit down with them and smell and talk, so I was fortunate that is exactly what I got to do. Opus Oils’ studio is available by appointment, and I encourage anyone in Los Angeles or traveling there to go for a visit. Kedra is so nice, knowledgeable, and easy to talk to that I left wishing I had asked her more about the perfumes and spent less time gabbing on about myself! But it was a great time.

Kedra took me through her Les Bohemes and her Burlesque lines, and also showed me her Absinthe fragrance and her new Eau Pear Tingle. (She also showed me a bit of raw ambergris, which was a thrill, as I’ve never seen it in its raw state. And she had a gorgeous vintage compact with an ambergris solid salve-balm type thing in it, which was pretty awesome.)

The Les Bohemes line is a collection of soliflores, some with the slightly vintage feel that I like in florals, as it makes them more interesting. There was not one in the bunch that I didn’t like, and there were several that I will revisit. Dapper (violet) and Flapper (datura) are very much “my speed.” Giggle Water is a unique and lovely take on orange blossom, a note I have ups and downs with. I could see Gold Digger (the narcissus) being the jackpot for women who love big, “voluptuous” (to borrow the descriptor from the Opus Oils website) florals.

The Burlesque line includes six fragrances, each inspired by a different kind of girl: Kitten, Starlet, Charm, Tramp, Siren, and Gypsy. Once again, I liked them all. But I came away with Charm, a scent Kedra told me reminds one of her customers of New Orleans. Its notes are coconut, blackberry sage tea, and vanilla with a twist of star anise. (via) What I love about it is the way it takes creamy and sweet notes and does them in a way that lets the tea and a little bit of herbal spiciness shine and sparkle on top. Kedra showed me several perfumes that had a tea note, and I was impressed with each of them. I love tea notes in general, and her pairings were a little more unexpected and less gourmand than is typical. I’m really looking forward to wearing Charm today. I also especially liked Tramp (vanilla and blonde tobacco!) and Gypsy (mandarin, passionflower, amber, ylang-ylang). The sample sets are so reasonable ($18 for the Burlesque and $30 for Les Bohemes) that it will make it easy to revisit.

I can’t close out this summary without mentioning Eau Pear Tingle. Michelle of Glass Petal Smoke has done a lot to raise my awareness of anosmia (and I’m sure she’s done the same for others). So when Kedra showed me Eau Pear Tingle, which is a multi-sensory perfume, I was really excited that someone has done the work to create a perfume that stimulates other senses so anosmics can experience the sensory aspects of wearing a perfume. Eau Pear Tingle, Kedra explained, stimulates the same nerve (the trigeminal nerve) that is stimulated when we smell mint or chop onions or do things like that. That “tingly” feeling, in other words! Fortunately for us non-anosmics, it also smells wonderful. It struck me as a fresh pear note that was more sweet than sour, coupled with those “tingle” notes. I was reminded a little of pop rocks candies, although the tingle is less intense. And, I love the bottle. :) Eau Pear Tingle launched today.

As always when I post a glowing note about something, I must reiterate that I’m never compensated for anything I write, and what I say is my honest opinion. And although my glowing note is about my whole Opus Oils experience, that is something anyone can do! Just make an appointment.

I’ll share about my Scent Bar experience (and proper thoughts on some of the Opus Oils scents) separately. Apologies if you leave a comment and it takes me a bit to respond. I’ll be home and back to a normal schedule on Sunday.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 788 other followers