Category: First Impressions

New fragrance impressions

First Impressions – Cologne Officinale – Heeley Paris

First Impressions - Heeley Paris - Cologne Officinale - As promised, and continuing on my recent run of aromatic releases, here's Heeley's latest - a fabulous fresh homage to vintage 70's masculine style perfumes. Heeley always does an excellent job with these fresher scents. For instance, Sel Marin is one of the finer marine scents money … Continue reading First Impressions – Cologne Officinale – Heeley Paris →

First Impressions – Thameen – Fanfare & Bohemian Infusion

Flower Markets of Covent Garden - The inspiration for Fanfare. This picture is from my own flower market. Ex Amouage creative director Christopher Chong took over the reins at British brand Thameen in 2021. That's likely a good thing in the long run. However, it's not entirely off to the most promising start with these … Continue reading First Impressions – Thameen – Fanfare & Bohemian Infusion →

First Impressions – Guerlain – Habit Rouge – Rouge Privé & L’Homme Idéal – Platine Privé

I found an ideal replacement for this beloved 2015 release. Flankers are the name of the game in today's perfume world. Too often, though, they're not up to snuff, falling way short of the quality of the original fragrance. However, bucking the trend (as they often do), Guerlain delivers the goods with two new flankers … Continue reading First Impressions – Guerlain – Habit Rouge – Rouge Privé & L’Homme Idéal – Platine Privé →

First Impressions – Maison Christian Dior, Tobacolor & Eden-Roc

Ambre Nuit is the only bottle I own from the line. I'm in no particular rush to keep up with the new releases from Dior. Quite frankly, the brand has slipped markedly in my designer pecking order. And I've not been impressed by a new perfume from the brand in quite some years. That includes … Continue reading First Impressions – Maison Christian Dior, Tobacolor & Eden-Roc →

First Impressions – Liquides Imaginaires, Blanche Bête 

Carrying on from yesterday's gourmand theme, I recently sampled Blanche Bête, another scent with edible notes from the French niche house Liquides Imaginaires. Cacao, milk, and vanilla form part of the note pyramid. Interestingly, the brand does not mention coconut, but I pick up something distinctly toasty and coconut-like, undoubtedly due to the white floral … Continue reading First Impressions – Liquides Imaginaires, Blanche Bête  →

First Impressions – Imaginary Authors – A Whiff of Waffle Cone

Hey, there's no ice cream in those waffle cones. First Impressions - Imaginary Authors - A Whiff of Waffle Cone - As a child, one of my favourite summer weekend rituals was to line up with many of the other kids from the neighbourhood for the ice cream truck. The distinctive jingle of Greensleeves in the … Continue reading First Impressions – Imaginary Authors – A Whiff of Waffle Cone →

First Impressions – L’Artisan Parfumeur – À Fleur de Pêche

Peach photo from Unsplash.com First Impressions - L'Artisan Parfumeur - À Fleur de Pêche - L'Artisan Parfumeur is a house that has seemingly disappeared off the radar. Not helping matters has been their recent sketchy output. And here in Australia, they're particularly challenging to track down—possibly the result of commercial distribution deals. Still, as one of the original … Continue reading First Impressions – L’Artisan Parfumeur – À Fleur de Pêche →

First Impressions – BORNTOSTANDOUT Part 1

Rose features in no fewer than 4 of these first 6 perfumes from the Korean brand BORNTOSTANDOUT. I always set about smelling new perfumes/brands with an open mind. But, the suggestive in-your-face style provocative marketing from the new Korean brand BORNTOSTANDOUT (yes, their name is in all CAPS) rubbed me a bit the wrong way. … Continue reading First Impressions – BORNTOSTANDOUT Part 1 →