HanneACongratulations to HanneA who has won a 15 ml bottle of En Voyage Perfumes The 7% Solution! To claim your prize, provide your full name and address to thescentedhound@gmail.com by midnight EST October 31, 2017. Otherwise this incredible prize will go to the next person on the list chosen by random.org.
Thank you for all who participated and thank you to En Voyage Perfumes and Shelley Waddington for making this draw possible!
WHAT I SMELL: The 7% Solution opens with a buttery, warm and intoxicating osmanthus and the deepest almost wild mandarin that’s feels like it’s been boiled and concentrated. The creaminess in the perfume feels like a lullaby with peppered florals that are being rocked to sleep under a warmed flicker of a candle. The perfume stays in this dreamlike state with none of the flowers taking dominance besides a soft and pretty tiare. You can picture the damp, cool rain from the gray skies outside your window…but The 7% Solution is like a woolen blanket of comfort keeping you warm and secure. As the perfume slowly develops, the creaminess once again turns more towards the buttery as if remnants of hot buttered rum (without the booziness) were lingering in a mug next to the fire. In the end, the perfume resides in this warmed creamy and lightly spice dreamlike dimension with softened florals dancing down an autumn path. The 7% Solution is liquid opium for your skin.
From the En Voyage website:
Legal at the time, heroin and cocaine allowed Holmes to relax and refuel. Sherlock alternated between morphine and cocaine, which he always took in a 7% solution. Transcendently stimulating and clarifying to the mind, such drugs were regularly taken by aesthetes of the day, including the poet Colridge and even Queen Victoria herself.
TOP NOTES: Wild Oranges, Mandarin, Green Citron, Osmanthus, Curacao
HEART NOTES: Tiare, Frangipani, Narcissus, Summer Blooming Flowers
BASE NOTES: Sandalwood, Vanilla, Amber, Oak, White Woods and Musks
Cumberbatch and Freeman as Holmes and Watson
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: I will not argue with perfumer Shelley Waddington’s inspiration of Sherlock Holmes.
THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE THE 7% SOLUTION: easy, comforting, calming
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE 7% SOLUTION: CaFleureBon, Megan in Saint Maxime
BOTTOM LINE: I fell in love with this perfume when I first smelled it as a judge for the 2015 Artisan Salon Fragrance awards. It’s a perfume that is truly unique, interesting and like no other. Shelley Waddington captures perfectly a dreamy state of comfort.
DRAW: For US readers only, one 15 ml bottle of The 7% Solution Eau de Parfum to be chosen via random.org. To enter, please provide a comment below stating who your favorite actor portrayal of Sherlock Holmes is…or list your favorite En Voyage perfume and why. Drawing closes at midnight EST on Thursday, October 27, 2017. Good luck!
WHAT I SMELL: Frida’s opening is wonderfully minty and fruity and the perfume feels like a cornucopia of fruit on a carved out watermelon on a beautiful summertime al fresco dinner party table. It’s juicy, a little spicy and rather snappy. There’s also an energy in the opening as if a bee is buzzing around all of the juicy goodness and as it lands on various fruits, it carries the juice from one gorgeous and ripe fruit to another. After around fifteen minutes, the fruit starts to make way for an indolic tuberose. It’s thick, spicy and incredibly intoxicating. But just as soon as the spiced tuberose starts to dominate, the other florals begin to take over evening out the sharper edges. At this point, Frida is pure loveliness, its bright, soft, tender, but not demure as there’s a projection that is quite large, but the perfume at this point is radiant and full of life. After the 30 minute mark, the tuberose starts to make its way to the center and once again, the perfume begins to become more spicy with a haze of incense hanging over the florals. In the end, Frida leaves you with a lush, fruitful and floral bounty of beauty that I have the feeling will reveal different nuances depending the person’s skin. Whatever is revealed, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
From the En Voyage Perfumes website:
This perfume celebrates the life of Frida Kahlo; the woman and artist, her suffering, her Mexican heritage and her love of nature.
Frida was feminine, fearless and a revolutionary; she cross dressed, smoked cigars, and has been a part of pop culture for over 50 years. A world-travelled sophisticate who had love affairs with both men and women, Frida remained happiest at Casa Azul, her traditional family home.
Tuberose, a flower that the Aztecs called the Boneflower, is an important note in this perfume as an homage to Frida’s brutal calamities and artistic transformation. Other notes include the hibiscus that she wore in her hair as well as the tropical blossoms and plants of Frida’s garden. The fragrance also devotes close attention to other details of Frida’s life, such as the heat of her native Mexico City, the smells of her cigarettes and her heavy hair.
TOP NOTES: The fruits of Frida’s Garden including Apricots, Watermelon, Peaches, Lemons, and Lush Greenery
HEART NOTES: Tuberose, Hibiscus, Cactus Flower, Champaca, Ylang Ylang, Gardenia, and Jasmine
BASE NOTES: Light Woods, Sugar, Oak moss, Aldehydes; Myrrh, Frankincense, and Copal; Tobacco, Green Pepper, Sexual Animalic Notes, Musk, Amber
Still Life with Parrot and Flag, 1951
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A Frida Kahlo still life painting; except there is nothing “still” about her work.
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE FRIDA: bountiful, exotic, complex
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT FRIDA: Brooklyn Fragrance Lover, Perfume Polytechnic, The Sounds of Scent
BOTTOM LINE: There is something for everyone with Frida; a little fruit, beautiful florals and just a hint of wood and some wonderful spice make this a beautiful celebration of the one and only Frida Kahlo.
The Scented Hound 