scent

Zoologist Perfumes: Panda

Posted on by elemonated

Panda! My favorite. Or, kind of. I like wearing this one, but Rhinoceros is much more my speed in terms of mates. Pheromones! Eheh.

Zoologist Perfumes
Panda

Wet: broken fresh bamboo, wet leaves, cedar, lilies, musk
Dry: wet leaves, cedar, sugarcane, water, musk, osmanthus, lilies, sandalwood, citrus

It reminds me of Black March at the beginning, but becomes way more assertive and green. It reminds me of what nature-purified water smells like. Like the stuff a high school friend used to bring down from Lake George, which she was in love with, and made us drink to prove to us the purity of the water year after year. Watery, green, hits the back of the throat the way a fresh-water aquarium does. Slightly sweet. It reminds me of biology, but much more pleasant; more happily catching tadpoles with classmates than coming back after Thanksgiving break to find that your Ph.D Animal Behavior teacher is a high school teacher for a reason (seriously, he could have at least read up about it on the internet before killing like three quarters of them by accident.)

Zoologist Perfumes Review: Rhinoceros

Posted on by elemonated

I apologize in advance. This one ends a little weird.

Rhinoceros Eau de Parfum

Zoologist Perfumes
Rhinoceros

Wet: leather, tobacco, rum
Dry: leather, sage, vetiver, smoke, oud, ginger

I kind of want to bite my arm now. Something about the bitterness of it taps the back of my throat and makes my mouth water. It doesn’t even necessarily smell like it would taste good. I just want to taste it. The rum at the beginning was sharp and obvious, and it left quickly, which is good because I wasn’t trying to smell like an alcoholic, though it was interesting while it was there. Now it smells like new leather, not broken in yet. It’s definitely a hot, shimmering smell, but I can’t identify any of the flowers or the sweet sandalwood so much as they add the shimmering dimension, I think. It makes me feel the way oppressing heat does. I still want to eat my arm. Okay I kissed it. I’m now mildly turned on and my lips taste like soap. And I totally get the flowers now.

At this point I sprayed my arms with Demeter’s Beeswax and gave them a scrub as to smell less like I was in a threesome and more like I’m a weird scent lady. The consequences of which are much less harsh, as my roommates will then only rib me for being obsessive and not grill me on whom I slept with while they were out of the room. Beaver takes it on, while Rhinoceros absolutely swallows it. This is probably because Beaver was on my skin longer, as I did the reviews two hours apart. The Beeswax kills the castoreum and cleans up the scent a ton. Rhinoceros isn’t affected in the least. I think maybe the floral pokes its head out a tiny bit more, but I could just be imagining it.

Zoologist Perfumes Review: Beaver

Posted on by elemonated

Zoologist Perfumes
Beaver

Wet: water, musk, cedar, gasoline
Dry: water, lemon (probably the linden-blossom, which apparently smells like honey, which smells like sugared lemons to me), iris, leather, musk, cedar

In human behavior, a down-turned wrist is a secret untold and a sign of defiance, and an upturned wrist is surrender and vulnerability. When my wrist is turned up towards my face, the scent opens up and I get a lot of floral and cedar chips floating on the water. When I turn my wrist around, the water, musk, and leather are what dominates. The castoreum is very apparent, which is fun, and it’s definitely not a super clean scent. I regret putting it on my clean wrist, and not going out to find someone sweaty at the gym to put it on. It could make B.O make sense.

Zoologist reviews coming soon!

Posted on by elemonated

This picture’s from the company’s Instagram!

Zoologist is a new perfume company started by Victor Wong in 2013 in Toronto. Their aim is to capture the many facets of different wildlife and to turn those facets into something interesting and beautiful. I got this pack over the weekend and am excited to share my thoughts on the scents soon!

I first heard about the line on Reddit, and I’m all for trying out new things :3

According to the website:

“Beaver Eau de Parfum opens with a breath of linden-blossom and fresh air, trailed by a redolent infusion of castoreum and iris. A whisper of vanilla interweaves with earth and smoke. Finally, crisp cedar wood and ash emerge, bathed in warm amber.

Using a base of synthetic beaver musk, also known as castoreum, Zoologist takes a modern approach to a classic ingredient, creating an elegant and subtle unisex perfume perfect for those who adore this powerful scent.”

“Panda Eau de Parfum is a fresh green fragrance that combines the delightful scents of bamboo and zisu leaves to send you on an unforgettable aromatic adventure. Your journey begins at a quaint Sichuan pepper farm surrounded by mountain streams and then leads you through a forest of osmanthus flowers as you finally make your way into a cozy garden filled with juicy mandarin trees and blooming lilies. Panda is a scent ensemble that will truly awaken and rejuvenate your senses”

“Rhinoceros Eau de Parfum establishes itself with a dry, slightly boozy rum note, like heat shimmering on the still savannah. The air crackles with lavender and sage. A warm breeze carries the scent of leather and rich tobacco. In the distance a rugged, dignified behemoth contemplates the vast expanse while amber, vetiver, smoke and sandalwood drift on the horizon.

This substantial and captivating scent blends the traditionally masculine and high quality notes of  leather*, vetiver, cedar, bergamot and sandalwood with the more mellow rum, tobacco, lavender and agarwood. The result is a musky, well-balanced, enigmatic and alluring accord.”

I’m probably most excited for the Rhinoceros and the Panda. And I can’t wait to spray certain people with it…

Things about scents

Posted on by elemonated

Mockingbird by C-91

  • I learned today from an executive from Marriott that Marriott owns Bvlgari. I didn’t know that before today, and I’m still kind of getting used to the information. I don’t know why it’s so weird to me. But it kind of makes me want to stay in a Marriott hotel more, because their tea fragrances are some of my favorites, so I guess +1 to Marriott. (Also, their international digital marketing strategies are amazing. I knew China was a mobile-focused country, but I didn’t know about the constant-scroll preference. I also had no idea Germany doesn’t like scrolling. I really want to work with Marriott now, and I’ve never really given the company a serious thought.)

    Also, Westin’s White Tea scent is really nice. When I get a place, I’m thinking I’ll buy the diffuser. It’s just very gentle and IMO, encourages focus. The last time I went to a Westin was for a focus group/consumer good study dealing with pillows and sheets, and I didn’t fall asleep.

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Smell Turns Up in Unexpected Places

Posted on by elemonated

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/science/smell-turns-up-in-unexpected-places.html?_r=1

I’m obviously kind of a beginner scent geek and I feel like I learn new exciting things everyday, but I had no idea scientists were doing research on olfactory capabilities in other parts of the body, let alone studying healing effects.

“More than 15 of the olfactory receptors that exist in the nose are also found in human skin cells,” said the lead researcher Dr. Hanns Hatt….exposing one of these receptors (colorfully named OR2AT4) to a synthetic sandalwood odor known as Sandalore sets off a cascade of molecular signals that appear to induce healing in infused tissue…skin abrasions healed 30 percent faster in the presence of Sandalore.”

And Lyral, a lily of the valley synthetic, promoted the regeneration of muscle tissue.

That in itself is insane. But perhaps, as Jennifer Pluznick suggests, I simply need to rework my image of olfactory receptors, as smell is just a processing of chemicals.

The mystery of scent unfolds!

Jo Malone Rain Series – Wisteria and Violet

Posted on by elemonated

And then he flew as far as eye could see,
And then on tremulous wing came back to me.
I thought of questions that have no reply,
And would have turned to toss the grass to dry;
But he turned first, and led my eye to look
At a tall tuft of flowers beside a brook
– The Tuft of Flowers, Robert Frost

Jo Malone Rain Series
Wisteria and Violet

Wet: violet, magnolia
Dry: wisteria, violet, mahogany, cucumber

This is a warm rain smell. The first hit was intensely violets and really no wisteria at all, and in fact the patchouli was more present coloring the violets and making it all remind me more of violets and magnolias warmed under the sun than violets and wisteria in the rain. As it dried though, and I started to sniff up and down the place I applied, the wisteria came through softly, and the punch of violet faded into a more harmonic place along with the patchouli. And it became more aquatic, and more like rain and seems to end like Rain and Angelica.

I can see this on a taller woman whose favorite color might be dark orchid, and who aces those interviews like no one else at a law firm or something similarly high-powered career. It’s certainly feminine, but less girly than Rain and Angelica. It’s mature.

Jo Malone Rain Series – Black Cedarwood and Juniper

Posted on by elemonated

Review time!

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
– Sonnet XVII, Pablo Neruda

Jo Malone Rain Series
Black Cedarwood and Juniper

Wet: juniper, spice, tree bark, cedar
Dry: juniper, spice, tree bark, water

I love how woody this scent starts out, and am a little disappointed it falls to the background after a few minutes. Although the distinct cedar dies out on the dry-down for me, it leaves a warmth that I feel like is necessary to round out the sweet, watery juniper. Apparently there’s chili in this as well, which likely supports that point. I can’t stop sniffing it. It smells like how I want my sheets to smell after a night in, and a scent I could get used to on my pillow at night. Quite seductive, at least to me.

I like it on myself, but I would absolutely love this scent on a guy. It’s warm and sweet without being the masculine go-to sandalwood which I feel gets overplayed, and it’s just dark enough that there’s depth and passion implied, but light enough for day wear.

Random

Since I don’t wear rings…

Link | Posted on by elemonated

Since I don’t wear rings…

When I get married, I want this. I’m not all that into sparkles at all so diamonds just don’t hold appeal for me. On the other hand, The Box is all of the metaphor and symbolism and emotion-triggering that I would want in a sentimental gift from someone I would want to be with forever. Every scent would be a reminder of a moment we had or would have together. Plus, with so many scents, I likely won’t run out of them before I can pass it to my child and explain to them mommy’s weird obsession with smelly things!

This isn’t the only collection that would make me happy. There are so many awesome fragrance blends and single accords out there that any small collection would likely get me excited. Smell is one of the slowest-processing memories we make, it lasts longer. Any scent that makes an emotional impact sticks with you. I don’t think that many people can say the same about a sparkle.

Unfortunately for me, and the guy whom I may marry one day, it’s really expensive. More expensive than a lot of rings for sure. If it was a wedding present from my parents or a bunch of friends pooled together for it, that would be alright too, heh 😀 *winknudge*

(Also, you can totally get me gift certificates in the meantime :D…)