I’ve never done one of these posts, since it’s rare that I’ve even tried more than three or four released-this-year fragrances. But thanks to several shopping trips and a few decants, and some really lovely fumie friends, I’ve tried several of the year’s releases and can actually comment on the ones I’ve tested. This is a new experience for me, as I’m typically behind the times.
It was a grab-bag sort of year. I’ll divide the new fragrances I tried into categories, depending on my reaction to each one.
Well, Duh: new fragrances that I didn’t like, but then I didn’t expect to like:
Justin Bieber Someday; Jessica Simpson I Fancy You; Taylor Swift Wonderstruck – all three of these were simple, fruity, lowest-common-denominator kind of scents. I rather like Taylor herself, but I can’t imagine wearing any of these sugary fruitbombs on my actual skin.
Sonoma Scent Studio Fig Tree – what can I say? I don’t like fig scents. It was kind of Laurie to send me a sample to try, anyway, and this one is getting raves from lots of people. So it’s me.
Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude – anything with a “skin scent” descriptor is likely to disappear on me within an hour. This one’s no different: laundry musk and plastic.
L’Eau d’Issey Florale – the original is so reminiscent of industrial cleaner that I was sure that tossing some “light” florals like freesia and peony on top wouldn’t improve things much. I was right.
Why Did I Bother?: new fragrances that I expected to like, but didn’t like:
Shalimar Parfum Initial – well, I didn’t hate it. But it doesn’t seem related to Shalimar in the least, and bored me silly. Not that I’m a huuuuge Shalimar fan, but still. Dull.
Chanel No. 19 Poudre – I like powder, and I love No. 19. I was hoping for the equivalent of No. 5 Eau Premiere, an updating that didn’t dumb down the original. Nope.
Even Steven: new fragrances I thought I’d like, and did:
Oscar de la Renta Esprit d’Oscar – a cold-cream-and-face-powder floral that is both dressy and comforting.
Sonoma Scent Studio To Dream – I adore the oaky opening. The rest of it is rose and violet and woods, very pretty. A little fainter than I’d have liked it to be.
Disappointment: new fragrances that I expected to love, but merely liked, or found unimpressive:
Serge Lutens Vitriol d’Oeillet – I was hoping for those angry carnations to come through for me. It’s nice – a dry, spicy, woody thing that I find very enjoyable. Yet it could have been so much more that I was disappointed.
Cartier Baiser Vole – a green, romantic lily? Yes, please! On a card, it’s wonderfully refreshing. On my skin, it’s not green at all; rather, it’s flat and soapy.
Elie Saab Le Parfum – the prettiest orange blossom I’ve ever smelled, in a glowing, sparkling tulle confection. I wanted more aldehydes and less patchouli, though.
Illuminum White Gardenia Petals – Three words: boring, boring, boring. Sigh.
DSH Pandora – essence of green floral chypre sounded so lovely! And it is, right up to the Ghost of Youth Dew time. The rest of you, please enjoy it copiously. I admire Dawn’s work very much – including this fragrance – but this one is not for me.
Bottega Veneta – I give up. I can’t even review this thing. I almost like it a lot, but there’s a raspy, Tang-dust thing in there, and then there’s all that patchouli too.
Tom Ford Violet Blonde – raspberry-violet-cashmere musk? Sounds great, thanks. But it smells like SweeTarts to me. No, thanks.
Parfumerie Generale Praline de Santal – I can’t remember which blogger loved this thing and induced me to jump in on a tiny split portion, unsniffed. I like it. It’s nice. However, after the almost-nauseating immortelle bit (oddly, I still like the smell of immortelle, but it makes me feel a little queasy), it goes all linear to creamy woods. It doesn’t move me.
Surprise, surprise!: new fragrances I expected not to like, but wound up enjoying:
Serge Lutens Jeux de Peau – burnt-sugar palmier pastries. What fun! A wonderful blend of childlike and sophisticated, and never fails to make me want a bitter espresso to highlight its deep roasty sugary pastry thing. Won’t be buying it because it’s a) weird, and b) retailing at Serge prices. Oh, well. And anyway, where would I wear it?
Prada Candy – I expected this to be too sweet, too linear, too meh. Instead, it’s warm and rich and comfortable and fun. I think I’d rather have Hanae Mori Butterfly, but still.
CkOne Shock for Him – I wound up buying a small bottle of this for my son, since I kept hearing that it might echo Chanel Egoiste, at a much lower price. It does smell cheapish, but that’s okay. That suits the wardrobe of a teenage boy, and I like smelling it on him.
True love: new fragrance that I thought I’d love, and I do:
Tableau de Parfums Miriam – there’s either too much to say about this one, or not enough. I adore it – its perfumey-ness, its wistfulness, its warm sandalwood. So gorgeous.
Candidates: new fragrances I wanted to test, but didn’t get to:
Atelier Vanille Insensee
Lubin Black Jade (despite all the hoo-ha about Marie Antoinette and whether this is actually a long-lost recipe for her perfume or not, the notes sound right up my alley)
Juliet Has a Gun Romantina
Amouage Honour Woman (Amouage does White Floral?? I have a sample coming my way now)
Possibilities: new fragrances that got some blogger love and that I might explore if the chance comes about:
Annick Goutal Le Mimosa
Annick Goutal Mon Parfum Cheri par Camille
By Kilian Sweet Redemption
Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Jasminora
Angel eau de toilette (I hate the original; merely curious about this one)
I enjoyed the opportunity to try some new scents while they were brand new. That was exciting. However, I don’t feel that I’ve got anything to say about the year’s releases as a group. As with most of the perfumes I’ve tested – new or old – it’s a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.
Your thoughts?
Image is from thegiftexperience.co.uk.
Nice to see some dissenting opinions on the perfumes that everyone loved. It’s so boring when everyone loves something. 🙂
I don’t feel that I need a bottle of anything new I tried this year, which is just as well for my wallet and closet space. I was very happy to see some mainstream releases that didn’t look and smell exactly like what we’ve been getting served for seven years.
Did you get to try Diane or Esprit d’Oscar?
Had to go back and add Esprit d’Oscar, because I liked it. I only smelled Diane on paper last month and it was immediately forgettable; didn’t try it on skin because I didn’t have space for it.
Forgot to add Elie Saab, too. That was a Disappointment.
It’s funny — a lot of people seemed to like Elie Saab at the time but now that you mention it, I didn’t see it on one best-of list.
It was on mine! But I agree, lots of people don’t seem to really love it, though it’s hard to dislike.
Happy for you that you got to sample enough offerings to do a year-end review C!
The SL Vd’O garnered much disappointment among the bloggers, but I really like it very much. In fact, I’m wearing it today! I remember reading that some folks didn’t get any carnation whatsoever, but lucky for me, my skin is amplifying that note! It’s all spicy carnations and warm woods on me. Very nice indeed.
Another winner for me is Bottega Veneta and I received a gift set for Christmas. To me, it’s an ‘adult’ fragrance and quite sophisticated. My favorite mainstream release of the year. I realize that you and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum regarding patchouli! 😉
I’ve only sniffed Prada Candy on paper, but I was immediately reminded of Mariah Carey’s first release, ‘M’, which I have in my collection because I enjoy the ‘toasted marshmallow’ note it has. I want to try Candy on skin and see if I still find them similar.
Anyway, I could go on, but I didn’t mean to take up so much space here! 😀 My final comment is that I look forward to your opinion on Vanille Insensee if/when you get around to trying it. Another one that I really like – I love the green aspect combined with the vanilla. It’s unusual and quite agreeable.
Hi, V! If I came across an unattributed bottle of Vd’O, I’d wear it. It IS nice, a pleasant spicy woods thing. I just didn’t love it.
Yeah, we have different places on the patch spectrum. I’m always surprised when I like something with patchouli.
If I get hold of some V Insensee, I’ll comment. You know I like my greenies, and I like vanilla.
hey, sweets (speaking of sweets, that candy looks droolingly wonderful) – did you get the li’l BK pkg? Was SR in there – thought it was.
Hope it was.
xoA
I did get the BK pkg! (And it’s purdy, too.)
…. but I set it aside until after the holidays and, um, forgot I had it on hand. Will get to it soon.
Babycakes, I is in TROUBLE. Because I really, really, really like that Sweet REdemption thingy.
Fun list. You have a refreshing honesty; I’m glad that you speak your mind and are willing to go against tides of approval. Go Mals!
I’m one of those who really likes Bottega Veneta and SL’s VdO. I’d help you out with your BK Sweet Redemption, but looks like the divine Mrs. M beat me to the punch. I look forward to your review. Like it or not, your posts are always well written, and fun to read. Be well.
Oh, you know me… I like what I like, I don’t like what I don’t like. I can often see quality in scents that just don’t suit my tastes, and I try to say so when that’s the case.
Oh, and fresh news – I “liked” By Kilian on Facebook back in October, and just TODAY got a little package of samples in the mail. (Sadly, there was no Beyond Love in there – I traded away my small travel bottle and I was sort of missing it. Oh well.)
I got my Kilian freebie package a few weeks ago. I got Beyond Love in mine, so I can swap you the BL for some Praline de Santal if you’re dying to get rid of it!
I’m happy to send you Beyond Love (tuberose!) and Love (orange blossom marshmallow!). Drop me an email, and they can be yours. I believe I have spray samples floating about, unloved 🙂 In the interest of full disclosure, super sweet things are not likely to get much love from me. Sweet Redemption is a notable exception to my rules, as is Vero Profumo’s Kiki EdP (caramel note).
Y’all are sweet to offer!
I’m your evil scent twin as far as fig & patch go – I LOVE ’em! So SSS Fig Tea was a big win for me, and I think it would be for most lovers of fig. And your description of Elie Saab has me thinking I should give it a try. Uncle Serge’s Angry Carnation was a soft kitty, happy kitty carnation on me. I liked it and just thought it was one of those situations were the name didn’t match the juice.
Have you sampled PdE’s Azemour? I found it to be a really lovely citrusy chypre.
I try to be up front about those notes that don’t set well with me, so I’m not condemning something across the board but saying *I* didn’t like it.
I did like Elie Saab. It was one of those close-but-no-cigar kind of things, hampered by the patchouli and, to be honest, the jasmine. If I could have asked for it to be tweaked just a tad (a few more aldehydes, tuberose instead of jasmine, less clean patch in favor of something woody), I think it would have hit the spot very nicely!
I have not tried Azemour, but citrus chypres are Very Not Me, so I think I’ll pass.
I appreciate the fact that you are so up-front about notes. I think it’s helpful to know where a reviewer is coming when they review a scent.
Now I’m having 2nd thoughts about the Elie Saab – jasmine doesn’t always play nicely for me.
Hoping you and yours have a happy and safe New Years Eve, and thanks for all the fun and interesting ideas your blog has given me this year.
So do you have a blogging ST? The closest to one of those I have is Donna at PST. She likes green chypres and I don’t, but otherwise we have a lot of overlap. My EST is probably Gaia at The Non-Blonde… except for a few things (particularly vintage), I’m pretty much guaranteed to not like her usual fare – you know, the dry-and-woody stuff.
I love this list, and I love this blog! I am happy to send you a sample of Vanille Insensee, if you’d like!
Does that mean you got your bottle in LA? How exciting!
We’ll talk! And I’ll see what good stuff I can send you.
I also got to try more of this years’ mainstream new releases than I usually do, but nothing new moved me to purchase. I liked BV more than I thought I would (leathers usually give me a headache and I don’t notice the patch at all!) and Candy much less than I thought I would (I love gourmands, but think I’m hyperosmic to musk, because this was too musky for me). Cartier BV and Shalimar PI are not my style. I would like to try that Fig Tree, though.
Happy New Year!
Huh. Huh. and I didn’t notice the musk in Candy at ALL.
I have this unworn sample of Fig Tree…
[…] in Wooden Shoes did one of the more interestingly organized wrapups of the year, and joins the list of bloggers who know about Lubin Black Jade but haven’t tried it yet. […]
Hey Mals, if you would like to get hooked up with some Black Jade, just let me know. I have a large bottle (no longer full, but still pretty large) and a big love I’d be happy to share. 🙂
I just ordered (like 5 minutes ago) Mary Greenwell Plum. I am so excited. I hope it’s love!
[…] Muse in Wooden Shoes: 2011: The Year’s Fragrance Releases in Review […]