Last year, I did a project called Scent of the Day. For a month, every day, I talked about a scent on Facebook. I have been asked by friends to make these musings available on the blog, as it’s impossible to find anything on Facebook. So I’ll copy my mini-reviews here, but it needs to be done in batches – otherwise it’d be an insanely long post. You can find the first instalment here, the second here and the third here.

This edition is pretty luxurious, with Tom Ford, by Kilian and Robert Piguet all represented. But there’s a soap, too, to balance things out. My notes on availability are a bit – but not entirely – specific to Estonia; I’ve kept them, just in case. I have to apologise for the pictures again, as they were random snaps for Facebook, but I’ve kept these, too.

10 APRIL
Scents of the Day: Imperial Tea and Sacred Wood (by Kilian)

When I got home last night, I had received a parcel from Kilian Hennessy. I’m aware that it’s not actually from him personally and that the “handwritten” note included in the package has been carefully photocopied. But I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t thrilled to receive samples of by Kilian’s new scents in such a thoughtful manner. This, people, is how you do perfume marketing!

My relationship with by Kilian line has been somewhat rocky: it’s expensive and pretentious and a bit boring – nothing edgy or innovative to see here. But I have to admit that the scents have been growing on me, as they are so well made and just pretty. If you can afford them, they make beautiful gifts: the packaging is very luxurious and the fragrances very likeable.

The samples that I received are the latest additions to by Kilian’s Asian Tales series and I was very much looking forward to trying them. I enjoyed Water Calligraphy from the same series and both Imperial Tea and Sacred Wood interpret genres that I’m interested in by default.

Imperial Tea is a jasmine tea in perfume form and it’s very good. The jasmine is über-pretty, the tea is delicate and to me there’s a touch of something fruity – a white peach or golden apricot, maybe. Like many other Calice Baker’s scents, it’s light and radiant and polished – slightly too polished for my taste, occasionally verging on synthetic. I put L’Occitane’s Green Tea and Jasmine (sadly discontinued) on my other hand to compare and it’s certainly harsher in comparison, also greener and more citrusy. But it used to be 10 times less expensive, too…

Sacred Wood is to my mind a bit less successful than Imperial Tea. It’s meant to evoke legendary Mysore sandalwood, nearly impossible to use these days. It may be the fault of my skin/nose, but I don’t really get that signature creaminess of real sandalwood from this. I smell a dry woody perfume and without the notes, I would have described it as a cedarwood rather than sandalwood fragrance. I happen to enjoy cedarwood as well, so this is not really a problem for me, but I don’t think Sacred Wood is quite in the same league with my favourite cedar, Feminite du Bois (about which more in another post). Still, if I received it as a gift, I’d wear it.

A Note on Availability: not that easy to get, unless you’re willing to buy unsniffed (don’t!). But you can order samples from the web site, which is something I really appreciate: very high-end brands usually don’t do that. Nothing is cheap, including the samples, but my experience with the service has been great and when I bought two travel sets from Printemps last year, they were very generous with samples.

11 APRIL
Scent of the Day: Fracas EdP (Robert Piguet)

If you browse perfume blogs and forums, you might notice people talking about something called BWF. This is the acronym for “big white floral” and denotes a perfume that is a) big and b) composed with the focus on white flowers, including jasmine, tuberose, gardenia, ylang-ylang, orange blossom, tiare and the like (“white” here meaning less the colour and more the character of the flowers).

BWFs are a divisive category, as they are by nature big and bold. Some people think them vulgar, headache inducing and over-the-top. I, of course, love them. And above others, I love Fracas. There seems to be a consensus among perfume lovers that Fracas is the ultimate diva fragrance. I don’t entirely agree: certainly, it would suit a diva very well, but one doesn’t have to be a diva to wear it. It’s a pity if its larger-than-life reputation keeps people from trying it.

Fracas is one of the classic tuberoses and to me, it just smells beautiful, not scary at all. Heady? Yes. Intoxicating? Yes. Powerful? Yes. But I find this creamy, slightly tropical goodness much friendlier than, let’s say, the elegance of Chanel No 19 (which I adore). I’m not even sure if I’d call Fracas sexy. Maybe, but sensual rather than vampy (again, nothing wrong with vampy!). Fracas is often associated with bold, bright pink and I think this is apt. It’s strong, attention-grabbing, hard-core feminine, but also playful, likeable and slightly camp. Both Fracas and that pink make me think of warm-hearted drag queens, ladies of certain age with feather boas and sulky pretty teenagers with strawberry chewing gum.

Fracas was my first niche fragrance and I really fell for it: I wore it every day for months, never tiring of this rich blend of sensual tuberose, lovely jasmine, optimistic peach, modest woods and skin-like musk. When I later learned that it was composed by the formidable Germaine Cellier in 1948 (one of the few female noses at the time), it only increased my admiration and affection. I don’t wear it that often these days, but I never want to be without a bottle.

A Note on Availability: it used to be available at Kaubamaja, but unfortunately the line (which includes other gems) is no longer sold in Estonia. Big department stores and high-end perfume shops usually carry Fracas, so if you encounter it, do spray some on paper. Despite my conviction that it’s an entirely wearable perfume, it may not be wise to spray straight on skin. (update: it’s now available in Crème de la Crème)

12 APRIL
Scent of the Day: Lettuce Soap (Claus Porto)

So. I’ve done perfumes, I’ve done candles, I’ve done body creams, I’ve done shower gels and nothing’s gonna stop me from doing soaps, too. Some of you may be thinking that fancy soaps are just soaps that cost way too much and technically, some of you would be correct. But I’ve got two words for you: fancy soaps!

If you like vintage type of fancy, Claus Porto is pretty much as good as it gets. The packaging is amazing (I especially like the Deco series) and the scent selection is wide and exciting. Among many others, they’ve got Tobacco Blossom, Pear and Sandalwood, Black Sunburst (tuberose), Wild Moss and a collection of six different violets. Six different violets! I suspect you’re starting to understand why I like this brand.

Lettuce Soap is one of Claus Porto’s bestsellers and I’m not surprised. It’s an interesting choice for a scent, but it does in fact smell lovely – green and fresh with a touch of spring flowers. The fragrance is very refined for a functional product, it reminds me a bit of Hermes Eau de Narcisse Bleu.

The soap itself is seriously smooth and dense (milled seven times, which is a lot, although I’m not sure what it means) and contains real pistachio butter – the latter alone would convince me that we’re dealing with a worthy product. It’s not strong enough to keep you perfumed for longer than a couple of minutes, but it makes washing one’s hands a treat. And if you insist on being pragmatic about it: Claus Porto soaps last for ages. And they do clean your hands.

A Note on Availability: I have no problems whatsoever with recommending that you buy this one (or other Claus Porto soaps) online. Compared to perfume, it’s almost free, and even if you hate it… I mean, how much can you hate a soap?

APRIL 13
Scent of the Day: Fleur de Chine (Tom Ford)

Oh, Tom, Tom. Me and Tom Ford, we go way back. In 2002, he released two fall collections (for Gucci and YSL) that I still recall with somewhat frightening accuracy. I combined the two concepts into an ensemble that included a black pencil skirt, a black transparent top with slits (yes, transparent AND sliced), black sandals with ribbons around the ankles, a rosary worn as a necklace and copious amounts of black eyeliner. Not what I’d call a subtle look and the inspiration must have been quite obvious, as I remember one of my university friends calling me a Gucci Girl for quite some time. But I felt fabulous, despite my student budget and decidedly non-Tom-like lifestyle.

I have several issues with Ford’s hyper-sexy, perfectionist, relentlessly glamorous aesthetic. Still, if I occasionally feel like doing full-on, untrendy glamour, few people are more helpful than Tom. Nothing sexes up one’s make-up routine at 8AM in tram number 3 like a Tom Ford lipstick (Cherry Lush, or possibly Violet Fatale. Or Wilful? Choices, choices…). These days, I like his make-up better than his clothes and his perfumes better than his make-up. His fragrances are maximalist, as is everything he does, but also well made and sophisticated.

My favourite Tom Ford scent is Velvet Gardenia, but it’s discontinued, so it doesn’t make much sense to talk about it. I also like Tuscan Leather (pictured) a lot, but Juhan has drained the bottle and I’d not be able to say much more than it’s a great, herbal, somewhat sweet/fruity leather. From the recent launches, Cafe Rose, Lys Fume, Tobacco Oud and Shanghai Lily all smell wonderful to me, but in the end I chose Fleur de Chine for today as the most unique.

While niche perfumes often focus on one or two ingredients, FdC is different. It’s a seamlessly blended oriental floral with magnolia and other flowers I’m unable to identify, and what I thought was osmanthus but actually seems to be a combination of white peach and tea. It is very rounded and, although I hate to say it, very feminine. It’s also uncharacteristically soft and gentle for a Ford creation: it makes me think of a woman who is so beautiful that she really doesn’t need to make any effort at all. Which is kind of the opposite of what Ford usually stands for. But make no mistake, it’s still glamorous and elegant, in that slightly nostalgic (or old-fashioned, depending on your viewpoint) way.

A Note on Availability: all the perfumes I’ve mentioned here are from the unisex Private Blends series and quite difficult to get, although for example some big Sephoras carry the line, not to mention the fancy department stores of the world. The slightly more reasonably priced Signature line is available in many airports and less fancy department stores and I recommend trying it – especially Violet Blonde (feminine) and Noir (masculine).