Finally got to sit down and finish these up! Cut a bit into my sleep time, but a Friday night bar or club would have cut in just as much and I’m not particularly tired. Mr. Chokkattu is fast asleep beside me, on the other hand, and has been for hours now. (While he’s sleeping, make sure to click the link and see his photos! He has a much nicer camera and training, so those photos will be much less lackluster than mine.)
Took me long enough.
I’ve written about LADDM before:
Tauer L’Air Desert Du Marocain
- Wet: oak, amber, vetiver, cedar, balsamic vinegar
- Dry: vetiver, cedar, coriander, amber, jasmine, balsamic vinegar
Mr. Chokkattu’s first love, and the one he wears the most often, LADDM is a dark, woody, smoky, slightly sweet thing with a low voice and dark hair. It starts with a sharp balsamic over a dark base, and then evens out, and as per the name the resulting fragrance is dry, hot, and slightly sweet. I really like this one, and Mr. Chokkattu only let me borrow this one because he has another sample of it.
New impressions:
L’Air du Desert Marocain is still Mr. Chokkattu’s favorite (though A La Nuit is edging in), and fortunately I am not at his freezing place trying this on, but I still think this could benefit from a bit of heat, at least to give it context.
Sweet sun-dried grass and hay, powdery amber, hot, warm cardamom, basil, singed cedar and oak bark and ashes and incense, all on a bed of jasmine. Read More
Oh the things that have been going on in the fragrance world!
1.
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Parfums de Marly is another one of those fun contemporary fragrance houses that liken to old traditions; as far back as Louis XV’s prestigious horse races, and as front-facing as the MySpace-esque format and music on their web page. But that’s not a knock; the page has a clean, intuitive look, and I appreciate it over the many companies who believe it should be as difficult and stylistic as possible to learn any information on their pages. I do wish the waltz they’re playing didn’t stop so abruptly before starting over.
Anyway, I have heard good things about this brand, and hope to one day also try Herod and Habdan, as well as see their take on women’s fragrances!
The first box of choices didn’t impress me a ton but I got an e-mail about their Spring 2016 line and there was a pair in an ad on Facebook that I felt the need to have so…a second box it is! Photo credit to Mr. Chokkattu, bonus credit goes to my new Yesstyle convertible scarf.
I was browsing Kickstarter the other day after watching a video on the Japanese maker movement, reading some of my backed projects’ updates, and flipping through Penpal, a Kickstarter-funded horror novel I discovered and backed a while back, when I realized that I have never written anything about Kickstarter itself.
I’ll preface this to say that when Mr. Chokkattu got Every Storm a Serenade in the mail, it also came with Cape Heartache and Yesterday Haze and Yesterday Haze had leaked all over everything. Mr. Chokkattu, who is not a big fan of fig, was not pleased and we tried to scrub it off our hands and off the other bottles and were unable. The other samples still smelled ostensibly like Yesterday Haze for a whole week, and it stuck to our hands for hours afterwards. Mr. Chokkattu also reported his clothes smelling like it the next day. So for all of you that really like fig and woods, but were concerned about longevity, don’t be. Yesterday Haze is a great fig. Get a bottle, have fun.
I have a lot to say about this one. Every Storm a Serenade is Imaginary Author’s “traveling by ocean” aquatic scent (read: woody) in comparison with their Falling Into the Sea aquatic scent, which is more “at the beach” and not a little soapy in execution. And Falling Into the Sea lasts an awful lot longer, which is unfortunate because I’m not that fond of Falling Into the Sea at this temperature, and like Every Storm much better.
The last of the reviews! They might get a little preachy, just a warning, and I paired these last ones because they are both meant to represent real people (and out of the ones I got are the only ones that are; Giulietta is named after a real woman, but is based on her and her husband’s relationship.)
Gonna say this right now, but Florence and Cleopatra are probably my favorites of the bunch! No surprise there.
Reviews a go!
Graciella (fruity floral)
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I just have to say that the samples I got from Tocca are just so, so clean. I know I mentioned it earlier, but I just wanted to drive that point in.
Tocca is great for people who aren’t really into perfume per say, but enjoy their hand soaps and shampoos (as opposed to Philosophy users who aren’t really into perfume but enjoy their hand creams and desserts.)
And on continues the reviews!
Tocca is a brand that tries to embody an old world aesthetic and feminine sensibility. With its simple round bottle and traditional “perfume-y” notes, I can see its point, though it lacks some of the dirtiness I associate with a lot of old world perfume.
At their price point, this would be a great gift for someone starting out in fragrance who is perhaps a little too old for Bath & Bodyworks, cringes at the department store stuff, and values light and dainty things. The packaging, and the whole sweet and ethereal floral and fruity deal, is obviously staunchly on the girly-feminine side of things, but if that’s what you prefer, go for it!
These will be in installments of 3 so that my posts don’t stretch on.
Pomelo girl thoughts 