Serge Lutens Fleurs d'Oranger eau de parfum

I first smelled Fleurs d'Oranger at The Perfume House this past summer. Serge Lutens is probably my favorite perfume line. Every time I'm at The Perfume House (one of the only places in the United States that carries the line, and, lucky for me, in Portland!), I always linger in the Serge Lutens section.

Even though I don't care for every Serge Lutens creation, I always find them interesting. They're some of the most innovative, different scents I've ever smelled. It's very black or white with me and Serge-- either I fall madly, deeply in love or the juice is totally, completely not for me. This is trouble. How do you not buy a perfume you fall madly in love with, at first sniff? I thought I'd had my fill with A La Nuit, a gorgeous blend of three types of jasmine. I couldn't wait to get to Paris to buy Bois de Violette (one that's not imported to the United States). I didn't care for Douce Amere, Datura Noire, Chergui or Fumerie Turque. Or even Sa Majeste La Rose. I thought I'd smelled what I'd smelled and had my fill (as had my wallet).

Then Fleurs d'Oranger wacked me upside the head.

I was at The Perfume House to meet Angela for the first time. She's a writer for my favorite perfume blog, Now Smell This, and when I found out she lived in Portland, too, I suggested we meet at the shop for some sniffing.

I'd already sprayed it before she got there. I met her, shook her hand and then said, "Ok, smell this!" And shoved my wrist under her nose. Without missing a beat she said, "Wow, that's gorgeous on you!" and I said, "Yeah, I know, OH NO!"

$110 later, I was the proud owner of a 50 mL bottle, all wrapped up in a polkadotted black bag (I also bought Louis Ferraud's Love Story, for a whopping $33! Couldn't pass it up).

Where do I even start with such a great scent? In the beginning, I get the most perfect, equal blend of tuberose, jasmine and candied orange peel. It sparkles. It shines. It illuminates. It brings me such joy. Underneathe all that is the most gorgeous, freshest rose I've ever smelled in a perfume. It's subtle; the jasmine and tuberose definitely fight for the front row, but there it is: rose rose rose.

What follows is a touch of cumin (Angela picked this out right away and it was confirmed from the little list of notes the store had). I don't think I would have picked it out myself, but now that I know of it (and smelled a jar of powdered cumin back at home to verify what it smells like), I can smell it in the background. It's slowly simmering on the back burner. It grounds the sweetness, diminishes the potential cloyingness and most of all, gives the perfume warmth. This scent is far from cool; it radiates sparkly rays of sunshine and always cheers me up.

Coincidentally, one of my male friends fell in love with it, too, about a month ago. He's a fellow perfume fan, and is the person who introduced me to The Perfume Shop a couple years ago. All Serge Lutens fragrances are unisex. On him, the orange really shines through, along with a bitter tea note and lots of woods. I love that-- how the same scent can smell so different on someone else.

Narciso Rodriguez For Her Eau de Parfum

Tonight I'm reviewing one of my favorite perfumes, ever: Narciso Rodriguez For Her Eau de Parfum. I smelled this for the first time at a perfume show at Nordstrom about a year ago. The perfume show, while fun, was exhausting. My nose was wrecked after smelling so many scents at once in a small room-- and too many fruity/florals-- and I was tired of overly-smiley, borderline-pushy sales associates shoving their wares under my nose. The small, understated (and pink!) Narciso Rodriguez table in the corner of the room was a respite, calling my name.

It's gorgeous. It's Egyptian musk that isn't overly animal or musty. It melts into my skin and smells like a warm human. It starts off with a slight peach hit and slowly warms up into amber, sandalwood and musk. I get a little bit of rose at first, too, but I would not call this a floral scent. It's the kind of scent that smells like comfort-- like burying your nose into your loved one's hair. After I bought it I wore it for three months straight. I literally forgot all my other perfumes. It's the closest to my signature scent as I've ever smelled (up there with Joy by Jean Patou and Chanel No. 19).

The Eau de Toilette is remarkably different. It's more tinny and metallic and fruity. It sours on my skin. And the lotion and creme don't smell anything like the EDP. I did, however, buy the scented powder. All products are available at Sephora, Nordstrom and Macy's. I'm almost finished with that first bottle; I bought my second bottle at the Nordstrom perfume show last spring!

Kelly Caleche Eau de Toilette - Hermes

The bottle to this perfume is gorgeous-- all tall and elegant, with pink-hued perfume. I'd been eager to try this; it was created by Jean-Claude Ellena, Hermes' in-house perfumer. I became a big Ellena fan after reading an article in The New Yorker about how he created Un Jardin Sur Le Nil in 2004. Chandler Burr wrote that article (and is now the perfume critic for The New York Times) and chronicled Ellena's process from start to finish. Reading that article kickstarted my interest in perfume.

Back to Kelly Caleche. It's very, very pretty. According to Ozmos, its notes are: Top: green notes, lily-of-the-valley, rose and narcissus; Middle: climbing rose, mimosa, tuberose; Base: iris, woodsy notes, leather accord. What I smell most is lemon, followed by tea rose and soft leather. The leather isn't as overwhelming as walking into a leather store but more like burrowing your nose into a supple leather handbag. It's subtle. Upon first spray last night I said, Oh! Now that's a scent for me! It's softly layered and opens very quietly and gradually. I get hints of green lemons and menthol and the softest rose. It's less in my face that Coco Mademoiselle.

Ultimately, I don't think I'll invest in a full bottle. It's too similar to Un Jardin Sur Le Nil for me to fork over $75. In France, many perfumes are available in 30 mL, the perfect amount, in my opinion. Just enough, especially if, like Kelly Caleche, it's pretty but not mind-blowing.

Coco Mademoiselle - Chanel

I've read so much about Coco Mademoiselle lately, what with the new Keira Knightly commercial (which I love, by the way). I haven't had the best luck with Chanel perfumes, save No. 19 which I wear and love. I used to wear Allure, but burnt out on it. Plus, a woman in my old office used to wear it and left a trail everywhere she went, so I started associating it with her.

Anyway, Coco. I smelled a tester strip in a magazine last week and was pleasantly surprised-- enough to ask for a sample at Nordstrom. They made me a rollerball sample (a nice way to get a feel for a scent-- more perfume came out than from a pilot vial) and I tried it tonight. (I'm not sure if they made me the eau de toilette or eau de parfum; I'm guessing the edt.)

I wouldn't say it was a complete disappointment; Coco Mademoiselle has many redeeming qualities, they're just not all that apparent on me. What I like: the patchouli, surprisingly. It's a weighty contrast to the floral, grapefruity overtones. It's reminicent of Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf, which I like-- lots of clean patchouli and vanilla. What I don't like: its strength! This perfume is big! In my face! Giant! And very commercial. I feel like I've smelled this on every gum-snapping blonde out there. It's pretty, but fairly one-dimensional on me. It hits my nose with a thud. I can't take it seriously; all I can smell is an expensive version of a cheap perfume. Nearly headache-inducing. It's one of those scents that would smell great on someone else.

That being said, there's something about it I like..! I think it's because it's unlike anything I have. It's a big, fresh, fruity floral with patchouli-- three strikes in my book, but intriguing and different once in a while.

Cattier Tilleul & Fleur d'Oranger Bath-Shower Gel

I discovered this shower gel in my friends' shower in Reims. My friends N & G have the best shower in all of Europe. It has great water pressure, a huge shower head and lots of space ... and also because it's always full of fun soaps and shaving creams and shampoos, including Cattier's Tilleul & Fleur d'Oranger (Linden and Orange Blossom) Shower Gel. I took one sniff and had to have it!

One of my favorite things to do while traveling is to browse through drugstores and pharmacies. I can spend hours gazing at all the soaps and face creams, all new to me, all in another language. I'm convinced I'll find a real treasure-- something heavenly I've never seen or smelled before. N and I share of love of lotions and potions; lucky for me she had the afternoon off so we went shopping!

The best way I can describe the scent of this shower gel is stemmy. It smells like the stem of a lily and fresh cut leaves. Have you ever bought clementines at Christmas, and come across one with its stem still attached-- the little twiggy thing? That's how this gel smells: a bit citrusy, a little woodsy, a little green. I get more orange blossom than linden (linden, by the way, is also known as lime blossom, and smells like the freshest spring day you can imagine).

It's almost bitter, a little earthy, a little herbal. It's wonderful and not overpowering. It has a great later and my skin feels very soft after use. Sadly, the fragrance doesn't last very long on my after toweling off. Normally I'd hate it if a shower gel left too much fragrance behind, but with this, I'd be happy with a little more scent.

Information (in English and French) on Cattier can be found here. From what I can tell, they're all organic and don't test on animals. I think they can ship to the United States; one of the drawbacks to buying French goodies is often times it's nearly impossible to find them back home - or very expensive to have them shipped. I'm already lamenting not buying violet tea (none to speak of here!!) and splurging on Chanel No. 19 pure parfum and Serge Lutens' Sarrasins. Next trip!