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, the third here, the fourth here and the fifth here.

Once more, we have a nice mix, from an old mainstream favourite to an American indie brand, with modern classics from Lutens and L’Artisan thrown in. 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.

18 APRIL
Scent of the Day: Feminite du Bois (Serge Lutens)

I love woody notes in perfume, but only own a couple of wood-centric scents. That’s partly because I smelled Feminite du Bois at the very beginning of my career as a Perfume Nerd and very few fragrances in the same category manage to match the standard it set.

In terms of perfume history, Feminite du Bois is notable as the first cedarwood fragrance for women – traditionally, it had been (and still is) an important ingredient in masculines. Otherwise it’s mostly notable because it smells wonderful. If you have ever encountered cedarwood, you know it smells good, but can be quite harsh and overwhelming – that dry moth-repelling odour is not for everyone. But while FdB is clearly constructed around cedar and more than half of the composition is wood, all the sharpness is gone. The wood is surrounded by spices, fruits, violets and musc and emerges as a plush armchair rather than a rough block of cedar. I suspect that much of that mellowing influence comes from violet and plum, two other notes I happen to love. FdB smells both comforting and sensual and works for many occasions.

I do wish it was stronger, though – especially the dry down gets so faint on me that I’m tempted to re-spray every couple of hours. It could be that I’m anosmic to something in it (most likely the musc(s)), as I do have a similar problem with a few other Lutens fragrances. Also, experts say the current version is much softer and paler than the original 1992 version. I have consciously not sought out the latter, fearing that I can then no longer enjoy my bottle and would be paining for the discontinued formulation.

If you try Feminite du Bois and feel that it would be better with more fruits/musc/flowers/spices, then you should visit Lutens’ Palais Royal boutique and smell the variations he has created on the cedarwood theme: Bois et Fruits, Bois et Musc, Bois de Violette and Bois Oriental.

A Note on Availability: fortunately, this one belongs to Serge Lutens export line, available in almost every serious perfume selling spot, including Kaubamaja.

19 APRIL
Scent of the Day: Cool Water (Davidoff). Yes, really.

It’s Holy Saturday and quite late, so no-one is going to see this post. Which means it’s the best time to confess my dark perfume secrets. Huh, here we go: I like aquatic scents.

This might not strike you as too embarrassing, but believe me, in perfume community there aren’t any sins more serious. Even the universally hated fruity florals are held in higher regard than aquatic/marine fragrances. Partly because they were everywhere for years and people just got really tired. But probably also because they tend to smell synthetic and not much like serious perfume. I, however, loved Aqua di Gio when it came out and loved Gucci Envy’s watery facets. I even liked Amouage Reflection, the only Amouage that seems to be hated by everyone else. And most of them all, I loved Davidoff Cool Water.

Guess what? When I sprayed it today, I still enjoyed it. It doesn’t, of course, smell like water or sea. This watery quality in scents is an artificial ‘idea’ of water and derives from a component called calone. It smells fresh and transparent and a lot like melon (or watermelon) and so does Cool Water. There are other fruits and floral notes as well but the reason I like it is undoubtedly the dreaded aquatic-ness.

Cool Water smells VERY nineties. But considering that I’ve started to wear slip dresses again and plan to buy a brown lipstick, I would not rule out wearing this again.

A Note on Availability: I haven’t really kept track, but I presume it’s still ubiquitous.

20 APRIL
Scent of the Day Easter Edition: Passage d’Enfer (L’Artisan Parfumeur)

Easter would seem to call for a bright, pastel-coloured, enthusiastic fragrance, but I don’t own any. After some thinking, I picked Passage d’Enfer instead and I’m going to presently demonstrate why it’s actually entirely fitting.

First of all, the name: ‘the gates of hell’ or ‘passage through hell’ could very well refer to Jesus’s unpleasant intermission being dead. Not that I think the Bible mentions him going to hell, but as they say of the new Noah movie: it’s not a documentary, people. Second, the notes. PdE is mostly an incense fragrance and incense – for those not raised in a boring protestant country but in places where faith comes with much more drama and better clothes – is very much a thing of churches. And Easter and churches, well – ta-dah! And it doesn’t stop there, as the second most prominent (admittedly, not THAT prominent) ingredient in PdE is lily. Easter Lilies are part of the Easter tradition in many places, symbolizing purity and rebirth. So, there you go.

Despite the somewhat morbid name, Passage d’Enfer is actually quite uplifting. It’s a sheer, easy-going scent, much more wearable than the usual serious and worthy incenses made by niche brands. The incense is dry and peppery, lily petals bring prettiness while amber, woods and balsams add a low but light hum. This mixture of joy and a darker undercurrent make it in my mind a good fit for this holiday that combines the death of a God and chocolate bunnies. PdE might in fact become the first L’Artisan I own.

A Note on Availability: L’Artisan Parfumeur is one of the best established and widely available niche lines. In Estonia, it’s carried by La Mediterranee Aroomistuudio on Väike-Karja Street.

21 APRIL
Scent of the Day: forest/Ormonde Woman (Ormonde Jayne) and Forest Walk (Sonoma Scent Studio)

I’ve just got back from the Ardennes and I’m half-dead. But I did have the forethought to bring two forest scents with me on the hike, so that I could photograph them in their natural habitat and my SOTD post could be delivered as per schedule.

I’m a true Estonian at least in two things: I like to sing in a choir and I like forests. For a couple of years now, I’ve been looking for a perfect forest scent and it’s been a difficult mission. Clearly, most of the perfumers do not know what a real (read: Estonian) forest smells like. They either do a dry, Mediterranean version with cypresses and pines and resins or go all tropical and turn it into a jungle. If you’re looking for a dark, damp wood of your childhood with different trees, dead leaves, moss, mushrooms and an odd flower, there are only two fragrances I can recommend.

Ormonde Jayne signature perfume is the more stylised of the two, but it still says “forest” loud and clear. The Black Hemlock (a coniferous tree) absolute features prominently and it’s a great ingredient that blends beautifully with grass and other wood notes. There are some flowers, too, but I cannot pick them out – they just round the perfume nicely and make it more wearable. It smells beautifully witchy, unique, but not too weird. There is also a masculine version, Ormonde Man, that is equally good – spicier, drier and more juniper-y.

Sonoma Scent Studio is probably the most obscure company that I’m going to feature on SOTD. It’s a small American indie brand keen on natural ingredients and their stuff is as hippy as I’m willing go with my perfume. Forest Walk is similar to Ormonde Woman in concept and they share many notes, including Black Hemlock, sandalwood, amber and violet. FW is, however, less polished and more realistic; it’s also earthier and mossier and less sweet. If Woman is a glamorous forest witch, Forest Walk would work for a naiad.

A Note on Availability: nothing too good to report. Both brands used to be easily available online and had excellent sampling programs, but shipping restrictions have made ordering from Sonoma Scent Studio almost impossible. That said, the founder Laurie Eriksson is awfully nice and will do everything to find a way to get some perfume to you. With OJ, you can order their excellent sample set from the brand’s web site and then full bottles from somewhere else, as UK does not allow big bottles to be sent abroad. Absolutely silly. Both lines do great travel sprays, pictured.