so, i did tell you about my current obsession with perfumes right?
so a while back i decided to google some stuff up and found some really interesting scents that i wanted to try out. i was searching for gourmand scents, preferably ones that had strong coconut notes to them cos i'm really into the whole beach livin' now.
the one perfume that attracted me the most was creed's virgin island water, which is this awesome unisex type fragrance whom people describe as being this "smooth summery island-flavored" concoction. whatevs, i'm sold. i'll buy it!
problem is, i don't really see much of creed fragrances in malaysian counters, but lucky for me i found a seller online and bada-bing, i bought me some perfume decants! these are the fragrances that i bought:
i purchased 1ml decants of each of these scents, you know, just enough for me to test them out and sniff and be all happy and such. i have to say i'm pretty pleased with all of them! creed was my only choice at first, but i decided to ask the seller for recommendations and he gave some pretty awesome ones which then i bought tanpa teragak-agak even though i am broke as fahk. fml.
so, after having these cute little decants with me for a while and getting to sniff them all out properly, i've decided to do a tiny sort-of-but-not-really review on them to show the world just how much i love these babies. please note that i'm not trying to be an expert on smells here, just trying to explain how i feel about these fragrances and how awesome they are.
proceed!
so. first thing's first. creed virgin water island was the one i wanted the most, based on my own searches. the bottles look like this:
i gotta tell ya, it does smell like coconuts. it smells good. i do like it...but i dunno, i don't really love it as much as i hoped i would. it's more citrusy than i had imagined, because the top notes (perfume snob term ftw! lol) do have bergamot, lime and mandarin in it. it's really fresh and happy the first few minutes of wearing it.
but then it kind of fades into this really nice blend between citrus and coconuts, which i do love! it's not overbearingly strong on me, and i can wear this without getting a headache. however, i don't think it has a lot of lasting power which is disappointing, but it could also be because i use so little as i don't want to finish my vials up so quickly haha.
all in all this is a very nice day scent. it's unisex so anyone can wear it and pull it off. i imagine i'd have felt very content wearing this during my pulau tioman trip with my family a few years back. it screams chillaxation, fun in the sun, all that beach loving jazz. whee!
next we have diptyque philosykos which i had a hard time spelling cos what even is that? lol. this is probably the coolest fragrance i purchased of all the decants i bought. not cool as in awesome, but as in sejuk. lol. all the others are warm smelling scents, which makes this one kinda stand out a bit, in a good way. :)
i don't know what philosykos means. too lazy to google it, so i'm not even gonna bother to. hearing the name, i thought it'd smell crazy weird because philosykos sounds like psycho, so...lol. but nope, it actually smells like figs.
FIGS! can you believe it? it's amazing. it smells like real figs complete with slight kelat (what the heck is this word in english? tart? er..) smell from the getah too, and if i wear this i can actually imagine myself at a fig farm somewhere really exotic in the middle east, nibbling on them sweet figs. ever since living in saudi where the fruits are abundant there, my mom likes making desserts with 'em like fig pie, figs and ice cream, they're tasteh!
it's definitely a very unique scent which i've never smelt before, apart from the real thing lah. it's really fresh and young, and it makes me wanna run outdoors barefoot wearing a sarong and nibble random plants outside haha. i love it!
hermes hermessence ambre narguile smells a whole lot of sweet. super sweet! but not the sickly kind of sweet you get from cheap perfumes that smell fake and fruity sweet, but a kind of odd sweetness that really kind of baffles me. it has a familiar something to it that i can't really describe, but it smells ah-mazing. people have likened this scent to warm apple pie, which was the 1st reason why i wanted this in the first place lol, but actually it doesn't smell like pie to me.
it's woodsy but not like masculine woodsy. it reminds me of my dad somehow, maybe because he's worn something like this kot. the smell's quite oudh-y without the overpowering, suffocating smell of oudh which i don't like. reviews mention there's tobacco in there somewhere which i don't smell. how does tobacco smell like anyways? lol.
to me, this smell's great for grown up, sophisticated women who like the finer things in life and are in control. well, i'm none of those things but i still really enjoy this one!
when i was googling based on the seller's recommendations, i admit that hermes hermessence vetiver tonka didn't sound that appealing because quite simply, i don't know what vetiver smells like. apparently it's popular in india or something. but i tried it anyways cos it was positively reviewed and dang, rupanya vetiver smells kind of like serai wangi! who knew right?
(just googled this) rupa-rupanya vetiver is known as akar wangi in malay. ohhhhh begitu. you know how like, loud serai wangi smells like, right? well, vetiver is kind of like that, but of course la in a perfume it won't smell sedebuk akar wangi macam tu. this is probably the manliest of the scents i got, but not so manly that i can't wear it with confidence, like a boss!
it's also the most oudh-like of the lot, so i wasn't sure i'd like this one too when i sniffed it in the bottle. but you know what? never ever sniff a scent from a bottle and expect it to smell the same way on you. it doesn't smell the same! it's a great scent!
i tried it on my skin and the smell kind of transformed, you know? it became warmer and sort of exotic in a quiet way. it's fresh, because of the vetiver, then there's something else in it which i guess is the tonka beans, that makes it sort of all sophisticated and shit haha. it's woody, hence my oudh reference, but it's done so well that i keep sniffing my wrists to remind myself of the smell, it's kind of addictive really. reviews on fragrantica say that there's also praline and hazelnut notes in there, so it's basically kind of like an akar wangi chocolate bar thingy? haha.
to me this is a scent for powerful confident women, because i don't really see teenagers or girls wearing this and liking it. it's a posh and cool way of smelling fresh, like grasses mixed with caviar or something to that extreme. it doesn't get all up in your grill if you walk past someone who happens to wear it, but it does make you wonder, "what is that unique smell?"
so. finally! i saved the best for last, apparently. guerlain spiritueuse double vanille or sdv, is by far, my favourite scent out of all these perfumes, which is surprising because up until the moment that i actually wore it i thought it was a great scent but maybe not a favourite. but this fragrance is teh bomb. it's the bee's knees and the cat's silk pyjamas and the icing on a cake lover's cake. it's delicious.
the seller whom i bought this from said that basically this smells like boozy vanilla. i didn't even know i liked vanilla scents 'til i met this fine thing! anyways i was like, oh okay vanilla i understand, but boozy? what does boozy smell like, and would i like the smell?
and well, the first time i smelled sdv i caught the meaning of boozy straight away (can't explain how though). this scent is like a beautiful, beautiful smokey, slightly spicy vanilla ice-cream. it's indescribable how much i loved the scent the first i wore it on me all day. i kept sniffing my wrists, then sighing, then sniffing it again to make sure the scent was still there.
the vanilla is so soft and so well-executed that i don't get a headache at all. normally vanilla scents can be quite strong and sharp, and sometimes they smell kind of burnt, which isn't great. but sdv is warm, grown up, and mysterious. i'd fall in love with a man who wears this fragrance. it's the kind of fragrance james bond would wear. i googled the reviews for this baby, and they say that this is basically what raw vanilla extract smells like with a little bit of extra oomph. if i could attribute this perfume with one word it'd be intoxicating.
if i could i'd go to sleep wearing this, it's so comforting to me. however, the downside (there's always one) is that this new fave of mine was a limited edition released back in 2007 and it retailed for $225...for 75ml. what the flippin' fart right? so expensive. :( some reviews have said that this fragrance is too simple in its execution, but i think that's what draws me to it so much. it smells complicated but not overly so, and it's comforting and like a best friend i never knew i had.
sigh. if these fragrances were sold in normal retailers in malaysia i'd be all over them, but as it is these are supposedly really hard to find scents. in fact i tried googling these scents and nothing much comes up locally, except for my seller's lowyat forum lol. so i guess i went to the right place? ;p
anyways that's it for my perfume rant. i actually went to klcc today to try and see if they had a better selection of perfumes there, but no such luck. i didn't even know that we don't have tom ford in the malaysian market, cos i saw the black orchid perfume in saudi and never thought to smell it but now that i'm here i hear loads of great stuff about it. *sad* finally i bought 2 of sephora's brand perfumes for my handbag, i chose the coconut milk (duh) and chocolate toffee ones. they have loads of selections, and they actually all smell quite good!
....ugh ranting again. i'll save my sephora haul for the next post k. well, until the next long rant, adios!
so a while back i decided to google some stuff up and found some really interesting scents that i wanted to try out. i was searching for gourmand scents, preferably ones that had strong coconut notes to them cos i'm really into the whole beach livin' now.
the one perfume that attracted me the most was creed's virgin island water, which is this awesome unisex type fragrance whom people describe as being this "smooth summery island-flavored" concoction. whatevs, i'm sold. i'll buy it!
problem is, i don't really see much of creed fragrances in malaysian counters, but lucky for me i found a seller online and bada-bing, i bought me some perfume decants! these are the fragrances that i bought:
- creed virgin island water
- diptyque philosykos
- hermes hermessence ambre narguile
- hermes hermessence vetiver tonka
- guerlain spiritueuse double vanille
i purchased 1ml decants of each of these scents, you know, just enough for me to test them out and sniff and be all happy and such. i have to say i'm pretty pleased with all of them! creed was my only choice at first, but i decided to ask the seller for recommendations and he gave some pretty awesome ones which then i bought tanpa teragak-agak even though i am broke as fahk. fml.
so, after having these cute little decants with me for a while and getting to sniff them all out properly, i've decided to do a tiny sort-of-but-not-really review on them to show the world just how much i love these babies. please note that i'm not trying to be an expert on smells here, just trying to explain how i feel about these fragrances and how awesome they are.
proceed!
so. first thing's first. creed virgin water island was the one i wanted the most, based on my own searches. the bottles look like this:
 |
| pic taken from fragrantica.com |
but then it kind of fades into this really nice blend between citrus and coconuts, which i do love! it's not overbearingly strong on me, and i can wear this without getting a headache. however, i don't think it has a lot of lasting power which is disappointing, but it could also be because i use so little as i don't want to finish my vials up so quickly haha.
all in all this is a very nice day scent. it's unisex so anyone can wear it and pull it off. i imagine i'd have felt very content wearing this during my pulau tioman trip with my family a few years back. it screams chillaxation, fun in the sun, all that beach loving jazz. whee!
next we have diptyque philosykos which i had a hard time spelling cos what even is that? lol. this is probably the coolest fragrance i purchased of all the decants i bought. not cool as in awesome, but as in sejuk. lol. all the others are warm smelling scents, which makes this one kinda stand out a bit, in a good way. :)
i don't know what philosykos means. too lazy to google it, so i'm not even gonna bother to. hearing the name, i thought it'd smell crazy weird because philosykos sounds like psycho, so...lol. but nope, it actually smells like figs.
 |
| yummy looking pictures of figs copied from khilafatworld.com |
it's definitely a very unique scent which i've never smelt before, apart from the real thing lah. it's really fresh and young, and it makes me wanna run outdoors barefoot wearing a sarong and nibble random plants outside haha. i love it!
hermes hermessence ambre narguile smells a whole lot of sweet. super sweet! but not the sickly kind of sweet you get from cheap perfumes that smell fake and fruity sweet, but a kind of odd sweetness that really kind of baffles me. it has a familiar something to it that i can't really describe, but it smells ah-mazing. people have likened this scent to warm apple pie, which was the 1st reason why i wanted this in the first place lol, but actually it doesn't smell like pie to me.
 |
| simple yet classy. pic from basenotes.net |
to me, this smell's great for grown up, sophisticated women who like the finer things in life and are in control. well, i'm none of those things but i still really enjoy this one!
when i was googling based on the seller's recommendations, i admit that hermes hermessence vetiver tonka didn't sound that appealing because quite simply, i don't know what vetiver smells like. apparently it's popular in india or something. but i tried it anyways cos it was positively reviewed and dang, rupanya vetiver smells kind of like serai wangi! who knew right?
(just googled this) rupa-rupanya vetiver is known as akar wangi in malay. ohhhhh begitu. you know how like, loud serai wangi smells like, right? well, vetiver is kind of like that, but of course la in a perfume it won't smell sedebuk akar wangi macam tu. this is probably the manliest of the scents i got, but not so manly that i can't wear it with confidence, like a boss!
it's also the most oudh-like of the lot, so i wasn't sure i'd like this one too when i sniffed it in the bottle. but you know what? never ever sniff a scent from a bottle and expect it to smell the same way on you. it doesn't smell the same! it's a great scent!
i tried it on my skin and the smell kind of transformed, you know? it became warmer and sort of exotic in a quiet way. it's fresh, because of the vetiver, then there's something else in it which i guess is the tonka beans, that makes it sort of all sophisticated and shit haha. it's woody, hence my oudh reference, but it's done so well that i keep sniffing my wrists to remind myself of the smell, it's kind of addictive really. reviews on fragrantica say that there's also praline and hazelnut notes in there, so it's basically kind of like an akar wangi chocolate bar thingy? haha.
to me this is a scent for powerful confident women, because i don't really see teenagers or girls wearing this and liking it. it's a posh and cool way of smelling fresh, like grasses mixed with caviar or something to that extreme. it doesn't get all up in your grill if you walk past someone who happens to wear it, but it does make you wonder, "what is that unique smell?"
so. finally! i saved the best for last, apparently. guerlain spiritueuse double vanille or sdv, is by far, my favourite scent out of all these perfumes, which is surprising because up until the moment that i actually wore it i thought it was a great scent but maybe not a favourite. but this fragrance is teh bomb. it's the bee's knees and the cat's silk pyjamas and the icing on a cake lover's cake. it's delicious.
the seller whom i bought this from said that basically this smells like boozy vanilla. i didn't even know i liked vanilla scents 'til i met this fine thing! anyways i was like, oh okay vanilla i understand, but boozy? what does boozy smell like, and would i like the smell?
and well, the first time i smelled sdv i caught the meaning of boozy straight away (can't explain how though). this scent is like a beautiful, beautiful smokey, slightly spicy vanilla ice-cream. it's indescribable how much i loved the scent the first i wore it on me all day. i kept sniffing my wrists, then sighing, then sniffing it again to make sure the scent was still there.
 |
| i even like the manly bottle. (don't remember where i got this picture from fml) |
if i could i'd go to sleep wearing this, it's so comforting to me. however, the downside (there's always one) is that this new fave of mine was a limited edition released back in 2007 and it retailed for $225...for 75ml. what the flippin' fart right? so expensive. :( some reviews have said that this fragrance is too simple in its execution, but i think that's what draws me to it so much. it smells complicated but not overly so, and it's comforting and like a best friend i never knew i had.
sigh. if these fragrances were sold in normal retailers in malaysia i'd be all over them, but as it is these are supposedly really hard to find scents. in fact i tried googling these scents and nothing much comes up locally, except for my seller's lowyat forum lol. so i guess i went to the right place? ;p
anyways that's it for my perfume rant. i actually went to klcc today to try and see if they had a better selection of perfumes there, but no such luck. i didn't even know that we don't have tom ford in the malaysian market, cos i saw the black orchid perfume in saudi and never thought to smell it but now that i'm here i hear loads of great stuff about it. *sad* finally i bought 2 of sephora's brand perfumes for my handbag, i chose the coconut milk (duh) and chocolate toffee ones. they have loads of selections, and they actually all smell quite good!
....ugh ranting again. i'll save my sephora haul for the next post k. well, until the next long rant, adios!
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