KIKI PARFUM EXTRAIT

WHAT I SMELL:  Kiki opens with a heady lavender doused in cream.  It’s gourmand and smells like a topping that you would want on top of ice cream or some other dessert.  There’s a caramel quality that gives it substance and depth which makes it slightly sweet but more of a rich and substantial sweet rather than a sugary sweet, if that makes sense.  Kiki is lightly warm and very cozy.  After a bit, a fruitiness appears that gives Kiki a kick of brightness.  As Kiki continues to morph the fragrance swirls and whirls while radiating off your skin.    I wore this the other night out to dinner and couldn’t stop sniffing myself and was paying more attention to the perfume than to my meal.  Finally Kiki becomes a lavender dream wrapped up in a light musk…am I in heaven?  Overall, Kiki transforms little and is pretty linear, but it is beautiful from the first drop.

Kiki Parfum Extrait Notes – lavender, caramel, musk, fruits

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Louise Brooks circa 1928

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE KIKI PARFUM EXTRAIT:  heavenly, bright, lush

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT PARFUM EXTRAIT: Smellythoughts, Olfactoria’s Travels, Scent for Thought

BOTTOM LINE:  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Kiki.  I haven’t felt a love for a fragrance like this in a long time and that’s very exciting.  But the cost…oh my!!!  The parfum extrait is $220 at Luckyscent, which I believe has been raised from $185.  Why are the gods against me??

• Bone Rating: 5 out of 5 possible bones (trust me I am tempted to give this 5.5 bones!)
• Scent: Aromatic Fruity
• Nose:  Vero Kern
• Classification: Leans slightly feminine
• Expense:  $220 for 7.5ml Parfum Extrait

RUBJ EdP

WHAT I SMELL:  Rubj opens with a bergamot blast mixed with white florals including tuberose ( I typically hate tuberose but here it doesn’t dominate so I don’t mind it at all.)  After the initial blast of its opening, Rubj is slightly herbal, slightly fruited and slightly floral…nothing is dominating at this point and I wonder soon if Rubj will transform or if it will stay in this kind of netherworld of personality.  After a bit Rubj starts to get slightly tangy, but it’s a tang from the basil and the cedar which give the scent a greener feel.  After a while longer the cumin starts to come to the surface.  I know that many people don’t care for cumin in a fragrance, but I am not one of them.  To me it’s earthy and exotic and wonderfully masculine.  Rubj is warm and its herbal essence to me is incredibly comforting.

Rubj EdP Notes –

Bergamot, mandarin, neroli, passion fruit, cumin, orange flower absolute, tuberose, basil, cedar, oak moss, musk

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  An herbal/floral garden.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE RUBJ EdP: spicy, green, snappy

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT RUBJ EdP: Perfume Posse, Kafkaesque, All About Scent

BOTTOM LINE:  Suprisingly, I find Rubj to be a comfort scent.  I find it easy to wear and I like the fact that it’s slightly exotic.  Beautiful.

• Bone Rating: 4.5 out of 5 possible bones
• Scent: Oriental Floral
• Nose: Vero Kern
• Classification: Unisex
• Expense: $220 for 50ml EdP

BOTTOM, BOTTOM LINE:  Thanks to the sweet and wonderful Freddie from Smellythoughts for sending me these samples.  There is now a new Vero Profumo fan in the house and I am itching to sample her other creations as I have the feeling that they are all masterfully terrific.  Thankfully the line isn’t too large, but this could be bad for my wallet!