We were greeted by a spice themed soundtrack at the October Gallery last Thursday with tracks from Salt-N-Pepa and of course, The Spice Girls. Our fragrant leader Odette Toilette/Lizzie is nearing her due date so we were in the capable hands of Laurin and Callum. As you will see from the abbreviated sequence of events below, they also have a great way with words.
Cardamom
Intoxicated, By Kilian
Laurin: Intoxicated is part of the Addictive State of Mind collection from By Kilian which features three fragrances based around a substance that can be addictive: coffee, tobacco and weed.
Callum: Intoxicated is supposed to evoke Turkish coffee and although that is usually teeth rottingly sweet, this has dark bitter spices. The green, bracing note of cardamom is particularly noticeable.
Laurin: I find it dry.
Audience Member: I get some lavender, similar to A*Men.
Callum: It’s a good example of a very strong cardamom note.
Audience Member: It’s getting sweeter with time.
Lumiére Blanche, Olfactive Studio
Callum: Each fragrance by Olfactive Studio is inspired by a photograph. Lumiére Blanche is the opposite of Intoxicated. Here the cardamom is in a setting which is really creamy and it’s much easier to wear.
Audience Member: I’m picking up anise and mint.
Laurin: I think it’s like a milky drink at bedtime; like spicy Horlicks.
Callum: Does anyone think it’s like the photo? It has the bright white feel.
Audience Member: It reminds me of the sea.
Audience Member: It reminds me of Lovehearts. There’s something sherbet-y.
Ginger
Classique EdT, Jean Paul Gaultier
Laurin: I get lots of orange blossom and ylang ylang from Classique but once I found out there was was ginger in it, it became a lot more noticeable. When I smell it, I picture ginger root complete with its hairy bark.
Callum: I used to wear it a lot in my teens. Over time the shape of the bottle has changed. It now has a bigger derrière and smaller breasts – The Kim Kardashian Effect.
Laurin: I’d put it in the bombshell category along with Fracas.
Callum: It’s huge. Do we like it?
General murmurs of “No”.
Audience Member: It’s very dated.
The Smell of Freedom, Gorilla Perfumes
Callum: This is a sunny ginger fragrance.
Laurin: I always think it’s like when you’re grating ginger and some of the juice runs down your hand.
Holly from LUSH: This is a triptych of a perfume. It’s a combination of three other perfumes about inspirational people, so it has a lot of notes.
Laurin: I get more lemongrass as it goes along.
Callum: It’s the opposite of Classique. It feels more stripped back.
Audience Member: It’s quite earthy.
Vanilla
Love, By Kilian
Callum: One of my favourite vanillas is the one by Mona di Orio but most are very sweet so I thought I should pick one which is representative of that. Love is pink, frilly knickers. It’s bright and sickly but amazing. It’s softened by orange blossom. It’s crazy sweet.
Laurin: I always think vanilla is too needy. You’d break up with it and it would still come round to your house and knock on the door. I like this one though because there’s something a bit scratchy about it.
Audience Member: It’s like raw cookie dough.
Black, Bvlgari
Laurin: This is one of my favourite fragrances of all time. It’s leather, petrol station forecourts and gimp masks. It’s a good example of an edgy fragrance that uses vanilla to make it more wearable. The perfumer is Annick Menardo and she’s very good at using vanilla in compositions such as this, Hypnotic Poison by Dior and Morn to Dusk by Eau d’Italie.
Black wouldn’t get past a focus group these days. It’s Resting Bitch Face in a bottle. It’d slit your throat if you rubbed it up the wrong way. I admire anyone who bought it when it first came out. People say it’s discontinued but you can still get it on Amazon. It also comes in this great bottle shaped like a tyre.
Clove
Esprit du Tigre, Heeley
Callum: All Heeley’s fragrances are very bold in that they have a very clear idea. This is centred around the idea of Tiger Balm. It features a very pure use of clove; tarry, methylated and smoky.
Would you wear it?
Generally well liked and quite a few people would wear it except for those with memories of Tiger Balm.
Jungle L’Elephant, Kenzo
Laurin: I tried this at Lizzie’s house recently and took the bottle home with me. It’s a more rounded use of clove. It’s a Christmas pudding in a marshmallow. It has a lot of warmth. I picture a helix of clove and cardamom. There’s a huge amount of plum and cedarwood in there too.
It was done by Dominique Ropion who is very good at doing huge perfumes which are very fine-tuned (Portrait of a Lady, Carnal Flower). Lizzie isn’t getting her bottle back.
Cumin
Hellstone, Gorilla Perfumes
Laurin: I read that cumin is associated with faithfulness. It can stop chickens and lovers from straying, apparently. Hellstone is rounded and has a little of that body sweat cumin but it’s also peaty and has a bit of whisky. I was thinking earlier it would be perfect for the Central Line at rush hour.
Holly from LUSH: A lot of men like to wear it in their beards.
Callum: I like it the more I wear it – the more the terror fades away.
Audience Member: It smells a bit like old books.
Fareb, Huitième Art Collection
Callum: Fareb makes me think of the desert and cola. It’s dry but has a fizziness to it.
Laurin: It’s more foody. Customers at Les Senteurs used to stay they couldn’t wear it because it reminded them of their mother’s cooking.
Callum: It’s sweeter than Hellstone.
Audience Member: It’s brighter.
Callum: It’s doesn’t have the dark, peaty aspect of Hellstone.
This one was generally approved of by the room and preferred to Hellstone. Overall Fareb and Black seemed to be the hits of the evening.
Do you like spicy fragrances? Which are your favourites?
A Bottled Rose 