La Petite Robe Noire, Guerlain's Perfect Black Dress Perfume

Top Notes: Black cherry, bergamot, red berries and almond.

Middle Notes: Bulgarian, Turkish roses, licorice, smoked black tea.

Base Notes: Aniseed, tonka bean, vanilla, iris, patchouli.

Before I wax lyrical about Guerlain's La Petite Robe Noire, let me preface this review with two bold statements: 1) you can do no wrong to choose any and every Guerlain perfume, regardless of your taste in scent; 2) Guerlain is in its own class as a perfume maker - few, save Chanel, Patou or the house of Caron come close. Why? Thierry Wasser for one thing - the nose behind more than one Guerlain scent and one of the scent the perfume world's most masterful noses. You could have no innate taste at all and choose Guerlain (any Guerlain perfume) and come out, well, smelling like a rose.

But now to La Petite Robe Noire - it is indeed a perfect black dress perfume - suitable for day or night and for women of any age although it has a definite flirtatiousness about it. It starts sweet and fruity, mellowed with almond nuttiness, segues to floral sophistication of a twin bouquet of roses (Turkish and Bulgarian) and then is rounded out on accords of vanilla, another lashing of licorice (in the aniseed, which is always sporting whimsy and a pleasant candy note) and a quiet drum beat of sultry patchouli. It all leaves an impression of a femme fatale, certain of her own charms - wearing crinoline and black ribbons and underneath has a leather bodice-thing going on, intended for a later discovery. In other words, this is an exceedingly pretty, feminine, deceptively innocent perfume with the spine of a knowing temptress.

For those who hedge at sweet perfumes, relax. If anyone can bring sophistication to a sweet perfume, it's Guerlain. Moreover, the sweetness is so balanced, there is almost a litchee like watery-ness to whole affair that only adds to a feeling of sheer ripeness.

La Petite Robe Noire is in one of Guerlain's vintage shaped bottles, has a youthful black frock on the front and casual script lettering - graphic styling that only makes the potion inside that much more surprising. If you're a Cool Water or White Linen type, La Petite Robe Noire is probably not for you. If you adore being a girl - look no further.

Ralph Lauren's timeless take on Romance

The nose behind Ralph Lauren’s romantic, quietly opulent Romance scent is Harry Frémont.

Launched in 1998, Romance comes in an aptly romantic pink carton and inside is a simple, clean, almost pure decanter that is square and resolute, without frills. Not too romantic at a glance but the bottle is feminine and fresh - and ok - totally fetching in its way.

At its time, many perfumes smelled similar (Curve is often mentioned as a comparison) but as time has gone on and most similar perfumes have disappeared, it leaves Romance as the best of its genre, still around – making it somewhat of a classic.

The perfume opens with a lush floral waft and it settles down into both warm and powdery notes making it great as a date perfume or daytime, office perfume. It has enough citrus to make it upbeat but enough wood in it, to tone down any edginess.  It’s fresh more than sweet and more 'mature' romance rather than the sheer giddiness of a light dalliance. I often cannot really hone in on what’s beguiling about this perfume but I find myself returning to it nonetheless. The rose notes are cheering and the musk and patchouli warm things up just a bit. All in all, one feels feminine and optimistic setting out for the day, sporting this lovely scent.

What is it about Scent?

Scent: mysterious, magnetic 

In so many ways, scent is our hallmark sense -  being both prime and primal. Our sense of smell forecasts pleasure and warns of us of danger, tempts us to breakfast table with the promise of hot coffee and lifts our spirits with the scent of new lilacs in May.


The line of a forgotten love song can conjure a lost love but the scent of almost anything, can bring back far more memories, moods, lost childhood, and indeed, as some might attest, a past life. 


As a chef, I know all about the pleasure of taste. Scent is similarly about gentle hedonism, but as with cuisine, it is just as much about nurturing. Perfumes, whether man-created (a tale for another day) or part of the old/new frontier of essential oils and wholly natural ingredient fragrances, are equally about seduction and personal style, healing and mysticism. 


Like love, scent knows no boundaries nor walls. When it comes to fragrance, neither do I. I delight in it all from Chanel, Guerlain, Coty, Patou and Caron to organically grown and distilled essential oils of French lavender, clary stage and bergamot, and of course, the bouquet of fresh lily of the valley, 'borrowed' stolen from my neighbour's garden. 


In Mistress of Scents, spawned from my passion for fragrance and my original column at my site, www.BetterBaking.com, Scent of a Baker, I am pleased to welcome you to a scented oasis. Here is where I share perfume reviews of some of the most outstanding fragrances in the world, from this and two centuries prior (yes, that is the longevity of some of the most masterful perfumes; their legacy spans generations), as well as new inspirations, trends, remasters of old masters, and my own potions, elixirs, and tonics. It's a head scented mix of reflections about our scented life.

Unconditional Love, what's not to love?

Philosophy
Unconditional Love

Unconditional Love, the sequel to Philosophy's Falling in Love

Notes:
Black Currant
Florals
Cashmere Vanilla

It’s hard to discern (from either the company or the scent itself) what else is going on in Unconditional Love other than Black Currant  and ‘florals’, a touch of citrus (I suspect) and some vanilla to round it all off. It is a fruity, predictably sweet fragrance that fades away quickly but while it is in effect, the effect is indeed: unconditional love. For some reason, both this scent as well as Philosophy’s Falling in Love produces an afterglow of well-being. Sweet it may be, but it’s not cloying and it has this happy innocence to it that manages to turn heads. It is, much like Clinique’s Happy Heart, an equally instant mood booster. 

White Linen, Best Aldehydes Since Chanel #5

Estee Lauder
White Linen

Top Notes: Aldehydes, Citrus notes, Peach

Middle Notes: Rose, Jasmine, Lilac, Orris, Muguet, Ylang-Ylang

Base Notes: Cedar, Honey, Amber, Civet, Sandal, Tonka Bean

Fresh as cotton, White Linen is a salute to aldehydes or better yet: an extravaganza of aldehydes – a perfected fragrance note ensemble, most famously demonstrated in Chanel #5.

White Linen is fresh as laundry out drying on a summer clothes line with a breeze going through the bras and panties – which is to say – it’s fresh, clean and feminine in an innocent way – which is why it’s a great fresh perfume for a work day in a traditional office (do they still exist?). That said, there is something unique about the aldehydes which are in full force, alongside a generous bouquet of spring flowers. First whiff is laundry, soap, ferns and other greens. Then it warms up like a ray of sunshine in a emerald green meadow.

I don’t often encounter this or would admit it (in a woman’s perfume) but White Linen could probably be worn by a guy with great success. That said, it is a disservice to suggest this is a masculine perfume – it’s just amazingly fresh and floral – and in its own class – especially these days, when sweet and fruity, or patchouli rule – along comes suds, lilacs, bud roses, and a spray of green.

Classique X
Jean Paul Gaultier
Same old bodice bottle, fresh new scent .......

Top Notes: Mandarin and Bergamot
Heart Notes: Peony, Orange Blossom
Base Notes: Vanilla and Iris

I am a great fan of Jean Paul Gaultier’s various incarnations of Classique . This particular version is a bit airier and edgier than the others (especially the Classic Jean Paul Gaultier which is all powder, apricots and vanilla) and this could be partly due to having something as ethereal as Iris in the bottom notes. Suffice to say, this is a somewhat fresh take on a sweet scent. It is great for summer or for younger bodice-wear-ers (so to speak – and I speak of the decanter/bottle). But if you are fond of collecting every version of JP, this is still one not to be missed.

Youth Dew, Classic, Elegant, Still Doing Its Strut

Youth Dew
Estee Lauder

Classic, Complex and Feminine – Youth Dew is still a potion to be reckoned with

Top Notes: Rose, Jonquil (daffodils), Lavender

Middle Notes: Jasmine, Muguet (Lily of the Valley), Spices

Base Notes: Moss, Vetiver (lemon/lime), Patchouli

(With hints of musk, carnation, amber and benzoin)

Created in 1953, and classified as Oriental Spicy, Youth Dew was the first perfume launch of Estee Lauder and as it comes round to its 60^th anniversary year, it is still elegantly marching forward with die-hard fans and new devotees alike. Why? It is complex, regal and yet still approachable; it is the epitome of what people think of when you think: perfume.

What first wallops you is the rose, and then the Lily of the Valley, spice (carnation?) takes over. Youth Dew creates an aura around the wearer (even a bit of drama: let’s be honest – it makes an entrance) and truly is one of those perfumes that take on a different personality with everyone who wears it. Shalimar, bless its heart, smells like Shalimar on everyone (and it is a stunner –no mistake) but Youth Dew (and it is an unfortunate name, alas) has a bit of je ne sais quoi to it – You can’t quite tell if it is a perfume or which one it is or if it’s not just the scent of a woman, freshly showered with soap and herself. Now that’s cunning!