Sunday, February 19, 2017

Amouage Lilac Love EDP Review

For once I am trying something that has come out in the past year or two. Normally I am trying things that have been floating around for a few years. But for me, Amouage always seems to get top billing in the review department, when I do get motivated to do a review.

Amouage has never been the most edgy perfume house. Amouage has done things that have been more of on the classic bend or presents something in a manner that is pretty new. I will admit that I am an Amouage fan girl and have tried most of the women's line up and own quite a few of them. Lyric, Gold, Dia, Epic and Memoir have a place in my collection and slowly I've been adding the bath and body stuff.

On to Lilac Love. I've been warned by other reviewers (on their reviews) that this is not a true lilac perfume. I was determined to eventually procure a sample and judge for myself. After the first spray, I smelled nothing which is normal for me when I am spraying a full bottle of perfume or a decant then I smelled Lilac Love. I am smelling tuberose right off the bat and tuberose as a dominant note or a prominent note is my nemesis. I don't know what it is but tuberose is too much for me but jasmine is not. Since I cannot find a consistent listing of notes, I will say that tuberose is in there as a dominant note. I do see some listings of a gardenia note but really folks, gardenia perfumes are a construct of tuberose and a couple other things to get is somewhat resembling gardenia. Next comes the heliotrope to thin out the tuberose but that doesn't really happen. The heliotrope just makes the peony and jasmine marginally more sheer, not thin it out. I really didn't get too much else other than those three notes. But I did start to get that watery note that was prominent to me when I did sample Reflection and watery notes bug me because they are in too many perfumes now. The lasting power is what I would expect from Amouage. Let's just say that I don't like this offering from Amouage and it is a good thing. My American Express is giving out a big sigh of relief because even though the bottle is pretty, I won't be spending $400 on this bottle.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Andy Tauer Noontide Petals Review

For the longest time I have been meaning to review Andy Tauer's Noontide Petals but never got around to it until today. There are some perfume lines that I somewhat have the tendency to buy blind and that has always been met with mixed results. Andy Tauer's offerings are one of those lines that I do buy blind and for the most part, it's worked.

I had bought Noontide Petals shortly after it was released and have worn it intermittently ever since without doing any kind of review. I don't know why but I'm thinking that the bottle is pushed more to the back of my collection and I cannot readily see it.

Noontide Petals is not a different take on Chanel no 5 or no 22. The reason that I say that is because of the aldehydes. The aldehydes is really what makes no 5 and no 22 and that isn't the case of Noontide Petals. The aldehydes do give Noontide a bit of a lift but they are not effervescent. The aldehydes in Amouage Dia were effervescent but Noontide's are heavier and a little more oily smelling. That lift carries Noontide but isn't the whole thing nor is the characteristic Tauer base. Yes, this is definitely a Tauer creation more in the vein of LADM. Noontide is more floral and more feminine that a lot of what I have smelled. I can't pick out any one particular floral note but it is in there. What surprised me the most was when I was starting to get into the dry down, I smelled vanilla. This is not your SDV or Shalimar kind of vanilla or your cupcake kind of vanilla. The vanilla is very dry and not as noticeable as one would have it. Vanilla smooths out some rough edges and keeps Noontide from getting too dry and harsh. For an EDT, this is like many Tauer offerings, I get at least 7 hours of wear on skin.

I don't really see myself buying another bottle of Noontide after I finish this bottle. If I ever do finish a bottle of perfume.