WHAT I SMELL: Cuir Mauresque opens oddly sweet and tangy, like soured candy sprinkled in sugar and it’s as if that layer of sweet rests on an orange like plastic. Actually, more precisely, this smells like something sealed in plastic that when the seal is broken, the chemical plastic odors that were trapped inside are released. After a few minutes, a sour note appears, like ripened apricot. After a few more minutes, the leather starts to appear. It’s rather faint and not harsh, but there is a sharp edge to it that makes the back of my tongue curl. After another five minutes or so, the jasmine takes center stage and the fragrance begins to bloom and thankfully, that helps to push out the sour. Unfortunately, the sour is pushed out but the sweet comes on very strong. It keeps building and it smells artificial and manufactured. Thankfully, after around the 30 minute mark, Cuir Mauresque becomes slightly more muted, but not enough to make me love it more.
Cuir Mauresque (Moorish leather) is a perfume launched in 1996. It represents a blend of leather wrapped up in jasmine and sweet spices to make a true Arabian aroma. Notes: amber, myrrh, burnt styrax, incense, cinnamon, aloe wood, cedar, civet, nutmeg, clove, cumin, musk, mandarin peel and orange blossom.
When I typed in “floral candy” in Google Images, this is what came up. I had to use it as her top, the headband and the cotton candy just somehow aren’t quite right, just like the fragrance.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Floral candy.
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE CUIR MAURESQUE: odd, confused, sweet n’ sour
BOTTOM LINE: This is one of the Serge Lutens that you don’t hear much about and if it wasn’t for the wonderful Kafkaesque I probably wouldn’t have bothered to check it out. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t meant for me. In the end, it evens out, but this is one odd duck that I can do without.
I think there can be many fears that a perfumista can face, be it using the final drops of your favorite perfume, the discontinuation of your most beloved fragrance, dropping and breaking a beloved bottle, just to name a few. However, it never occurred to me until the other day, my worst fear (unbeknownst to me) became my reality; the loss of smell. I never had thought that I could really ever lose my sense of smell, but it’s real and its harsh.
Right before I left for my holiday trip to Mexico I was struggling with a virus. My nose and throat were bothering me and I made sure that I went to the doctor prior to the trip so I could ensure that my vacation would be saved. So off we went and I managed to feel great, until a couple of days after we returned and I started feeling a bit under the weather again. It hasn’t helped that this has been the coldest winter in many years, but this bug has just lingered on now for about a month. So I went to the doctor this past Friday and he tells me that once again I’m dealing with a virus, but since I have been struggling with it for almost a month that he believes it’s coming to a head and should be gone in the next week. He told me to pick up some Mucinex at the drug store and that I should be set. Fine.
The week prior to going to the doctor I scanned the web to see if there were going to be any good estate sales in town and I found that there was a sale in Washington DC for some deceased socialite and they listed that there was perfume for sale. Typically, estate sales might have a bottle of Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds for sale, but I thought that I would check this one out since it sounded like it had some promise. So Saturday morning, I dragged my sweet husband out in the 15 degree weather to stand in line waiting for the opening of the sale. Of course it was freezing, but thankfully the line was not that long. Now of course, I’m worried that someone will get to the perfume before me, but I have no control over that.
After about 30 minutes they finally let us in (they were regulating the number of people in the house) and I made a beeline for the perfumes. Let me first say that people coming out of the house while we were waiting outside said that there were some nice items for sale including a Lalique bowl and some Hermes handbags, but that the prices were rather high. So comments like that made me hopeful. So in the corner of this small room where all these people were looking at jewelry and purses, there was a small section of perfumes. The socialite had good taste. There on the table were about 20 bottles of various sizes. There was not a bottle of White Diamonds, instead there were vintage bottles of Y by Yves Saint Laurent, a couple of bottles of Dior Poison, a large bottle of Rochas Femme, a huge bottle of Eau de Joy (in the box) and others. And no one else was looking at the perfume. I was in heaven until I lifted the first bottle to my nose. Nothing. I could not smell anything. I asked the hub if he could smell anything and he said yes. I lifted the top off another bottle and a woman from the other side of the room said that it smelled wonderful. I could not smell anything. I put a dab on my skin. Nothing. As much as I have heard of the perfumes, I wasn’t familiar enough with them, and I needed to smell them to see what I really thought. So I relied on my husband to describe. Well, as sweet as he was, all I could get from him is, “it smells like old lady” or “it smells like metal.”
So this brought me to my lesson learned…I had my phone with me. If I would have been thinking, I would have opened up Fragrantica to look up the fragrances so I could see their notes. I know what I like and I could have gotten a better sense of what I should get even without being able to smell them. Of course I didn’t think of that until after I had left the sale!
So given that the prices were OK and that I didn’t have a fortune to spend, I had to make some choices. So I managed to walk away with a vintage bottle of Cabochard parfum, a small bottle of Must de Cartier parfum and a large 50ml bottle of vintage Lanvin Crescendo (all of them unopened) and of course, none of which I could smell. Thankfully that problem is starting to change now but I’m not going to review them until I have my full nose back as I don’t want to read them wrong. As for the bottle of Rochas Femme (it had to have been a 200ml bottle)…I could kick myself for not getting it. If only I had used Fragrantica at the sale!
In any case, more to come on my new purchases and some other vintage fragrances that I have recently come into. I don’t know what it is with my interest with vintage fragrance during this time of the year. Maybe it’s because I find that vintage scents have the wonderfully comforting familiarity from my childhood and when it’s cold and nasty outside, smelling and surrounding myself with them makes me feel good.
Don’t worry, I’ll be back. Not sure when the nose will allow for it; but we’ll be back!
I am having a hard time believing that I have been blogging for two years now (actually, my anniversary date was January 4th). But I have to admit that at present my muse is hiding in some closet somewhere and ever since coming back from a wonderful holiday vacation I have not been able to get back into the groove, thus my late anniversary post. And since I failed to do a “best of” list at the end of the year, this post is going to be a combination of anniversary ramblings, observations, best ofs and of course a fabulous draw…thus the uber supercalifragilisticexpialidocious title of this post! So here we go…
Anniversary Ramblings and Observations:
How lovely…the perfume urns at the Caron boutique!
When I started this blog, I was new to the niche marketplace. My first discoveries and loves were the amber fragrances, which included Ambre Sultan by Serge Lutens and Ambra Nera by Farmacia SS. Annunziata dal 1561. They are strong and powerful fragrances which drew me in with their boldness. I don’t know if I am fickle, or I have learned that more subtle scents are now what I find I prefer, but I have moved into a stage where less is more and where traditionally feminine fragrances are now my siren songs. At present, kicked off by my love for Nuit de Noel by Caron, I have now stepped into a “I need to learn more about Caron fragrances” phase and recently purchased French Cancan (it will probably be my next post) and am now itching to get to Lexington Avenue in NYC to visit their store so I can stock up on pretty little bottles of traditional feminine fragrances. So I have the feeling that 2014 will be my “Year of the Woman” in terms of my favorite fragrances as it seems that 2013 ended up that way. As I tell my friends, I’m butch enough to carry off such fragrances. And when I declare that, they just look at me and reply “uh huh, whatever you say.” In any case, at my age, I’ll wear what I want, where I want and when I want!
Also, when I started blogging, there were a handful of wonderful established perfume bloggers out there, but in that two-year time span, there are so many new bloggers that it’s hard to keep up with all of them and they tend to come and go so quickly which just validates the fact that blogging isn’t all that easy. Add that to the numerous Facebook groups and the video reviewers, the number of resources can be a bit overwhelming. Since I don’t seem to have the time to write for myself, I have to be choosy about what I read and what sites I visit. But I want to give some shout outs to some terrific new bloggers who have joined the scene this past year: Epiphany, The Smelly Vagabond and Odiferess. Please check out their sites!
One lesson that I learned these past couple of years is that I just can’t keep up with it all. There are just too many releases and not enough time for discovery and review. So instead of chasing every new launch, if something strikes my fancy I’ll search it out. But to keep on top of all the newest is just impossible. I have been sucked up in the past (it still happens, but not quite so often) with the latest that everyone seems to be raving about, only to find that the fragrance being touted isn’t all that special. So I try to keep an open mind combined with some sense of control. As you’ll see below, my “best of” list is “my” best of, meaning that the fragrances are not necessarily ones that were released in 2013, but ones that I discovered in 2013 and fell in love with. So I guess this is probably a good segue into my…
Best Fragrances of 2013:
Remember, the fragrances aren’t necessarily released in 2013, but to me they were new:
Nuit de Noel Parfum Extrait by Caron: My new Christmas tradition to be worn during the holidays. I can’t speak for the EdT version, but the parfum extrait is classic and heavenly. If you love chypres, you’ll love this.
Enslaved Parfum by Roja Parfums: Roja perfumes are priced out of my league. Every year my concept with what is reasonably price is obliterated by something that I want that is ridiculously priced. I stayed away from samples because I knew if I like them, I’d have a hard time saying no. However, I did have the chance to check out a few in the line by a generous gift of samples and then again at Sniffapalooza. Enslaved was love at first sniff. Big, bold, beautiful and over the top, this is a killer fragrance. Thankfully, my wonderful husband bought me a bottle this past Christmas and even managed to get Roja Dove himself to sign the bottle for me. Is it wrong to come home from work and put on sweatpants and then spritz yourself with your most expensive perfume?
Fate Woman by Amouage: Finally, a real 2013 release. I can’t believe I haven’t completed a review of this yet. Forget Fate Man; Fate Woman is a femme fatale. This beautifully constructed muted floral is just the opposite of the over the top Enslaved, but just as beautiful.
Onda EdP and Kiki Parfum Extrait Vero Profumo: I was late to the Vero Profumo line of fragrances, but now I own four of Vero Kern’s lovely creations. I like lavender, but Kiki’s caramel coated lavender is sweet without being sweet if that makes any sense. I love to wear this out on special nights as I always get compliments. Onda was the big surprise. I wasn’t quite sure if I liked it upon my first application, but something happened that made me surrender to its charms. Onda has changed my mind regarding my disinterest in vetiver.
Orangers en Fleurs by Houbigant: Another 2013 release, but I believe Orange en Fleurs got lost in the fray. Delicate and understated, this a true beauty.
Noontide Petals by Tauer Perfumes: Tauer perfumes can be hit or miss for me. This is a major hit that harkens to nostalgic femininity. Andy takes me back to the early 1960s with this masterpiece that was launched in 2013.
Silver Iris by Atelier Cologne: Released in 2013, I originally purchased Gold Leather and received a smaller bottle of Silver Iris as an added gift. Out of the two fragrances, I have to say that Silver Iris has turned into the bigger winner for me. I find that this is the perfect fragrance for the office as it’s slightly sweet and muted tones are as comfortable as a wonderful suit. Funny though, my husband keeps stealing my Gold Leather which to him is the better of the two.
Vintage Fragrances: I went through a slight vintage stage this past year and added to my collection some really lovely fragrances that I wear on a regular basis…Ysatis by Givenchy (parfum), a 1980s big floral that makes me happy; Samsara by Guerlain (parfum), like silk, the smooth and warm fragrance is like a blanket of calm; Miss Dior (parfum), the perfect chypre that’s made for a woman, but seems to be kind of butch for a “Miss.” You can find some great deals on eBay and on small bottles that don’t cost too much if you are looking to give something a try.
The Best of…
Discovery of the Year: Maria Candida Gentile. I was haunted by Cinabre which was one of those perfumes that I wasn’t quite sure if I liked, but kept getting drawn back into. I tried Exultat and then bought a bottle of Sideris and I was hooked. Her fragrances have a consistent feel across the board, like a unique fingerprint that’s recognizable as hers and they don’t smell like anything else out there. OK, I have to admit that I was a bit underwhelmed by her two latest releases Finisterre and Noir Tropical, but I look forward to what she has coming next. Oh, and I love the fact that you can order 15ml sized bottle online at her website.
Event:Sniffapalooza. We all fantasize about being able to go to Sniffapalooza, the biggest of events for perfume fans. Thankfully, I was able to go this past fall to see what the fuss was about. OK, for the most part the event is designed to introduce and sell product. But you get to hang out with folks that are just like you and I made some wonderful new friends. I think that all of us feel like we’re a little outside the norm from our friends and families in regards to our love of fragrance. Sniffapalooza creates a family atmosphere where we all share that common DNA. It was so much fun and I look forward to doing it again.
Packaging: Besides having created one of the most haunting fragrances of the year, Cuir Gardenia; Mandy Aftel knows that packaging is the icing on the cake to a great perfume. The packaging from Aftelier Perfumes is instantly recognizable, pretty, interesting and most importantly fun to open. I wish all perfumers would give their outside packaging as much thought as this. If you haven’t experienced receiving a package from Aftelier, purchasing the lovely Cuir Gardenia might just be your excuse. Of course, one of my other favorites Haute Claire is just as good of an excuse! Check out Mandy’s products on her website.
Blind Buy: Yes, I am still horrible about completing a blind buy. After two years of trying I still can’t help myself. It’s like the old game “Mystery Date”, you never know what you’re going to get, the dreamboat or the dud. Fortunately for me, I usually get a dream. This year, I have to say the biggest dreams for me were my Caron’s, Nuit de Noel (parfum) and French Cancan (parfum). As for the dud; thankfully I didn’t spend much money on this, but I got a small bottle of Boucheron Trouble, which I never even heard of. I can see why it was not on my radar…talk about a discordant mess.
Blogging: Actually there a couple of categories, first is the “How Do They Do It?” group and that includes Kafkaesque and I Scent You a Day. Both are wonderful blogs, Kafkaesque with her prolific in-depth posts and reviews that are incredibly researched and thoughtful. And then I Scent a Day whose goal was to write a review every day of the year and she almost did it this past year…but even running short a few days from her goal, the volume and tenacity that it takes to complete such numbers is incredible. I commend both bloggers for the artful prose and commitment to their passion!
The second category is for the blogger that brings other bloggers together, Jordan River from The Fragrant Man. Out of all of the blogging community, Jordan really keeps his eyes out for us all and creates community posts (posts with links and info from multiple bloggers) based on themes and subjects. I always love how he ties it all together to create these wonderful and unique collective posts.
Marketer/Distributor: Jeffrey Dame has been in the business for many years, but in 2010 he began his own company Hypoluxe, a distribution company of fine niche perfume brands. At present, he currently represents the following brands: Parfums M. Micallef, biehl.parfumkunstwerke, Teo-Cabanel Paris, Tauer Perfumes and Parfums Retro. And note that I say “at present”, because Jeff will no doubt be representing many other exciting brands in 2014 as he is one of the hardest working in the industry and knows the importance of the blogger community and their influence in helping to market perfumes. And if distributing isn’t enough, he also has a website designed for all of us who love to read about and discuss perfumes…Perfume of Life. If you haven’t already, please check it out.
The Draw(s)
Because every anniversary needs to be celebrated with presents (and I said presents), I have a few items that are up for my readers to win. Unfortunately, I have to limit the draw to US persons only. So what are the prizes?
1. To one lucky winner a copy of Barbara Herman’s 2013 book release, Scent and Subversion. This is a wonderful book, written by a wonderful person who also pens the blog, Yesterday’s Perfume.
2. To one lucky winner my few times spritzed full bottle of Orlando by Jardins d’Ecrivains, an incredible release from this past year.
3. To 30 lucky winners, a 3ml sample of the 2013 released nostalgic leather fragrance, Grand Cuir by Parfums Retro. This is a leather fragrance that lovers of leather, and non-lovers of leather can love.
The draw will close on 6pm Eastern Time on Friday, January 24, 2014. To enter, please leave a comment telling me what your favorite perfume of 2013 was (it doesn’t have to be a new release, just your favorite of the year). Remember, the draw is open to US readers only.
Thanks to all of my readers for a wonderful 2013. I look forward to this next year and my 3rd anniversary with you!
The Scented Hound 