CLEAN Soft Laundry: fragrance review

 

Perhaps philosophically speaking, clean sheets and laundry scents bring on a sense of control, and maybe this is what lured me into CLEAN Soft Laundry. We yearn for control in so many areas of our lives that it seems tidying up the house and doing laundry is an occasion where that control can be exerted without much resistance. Visiting a spa is another association: fresh warm towels, fluffy and soft, and comforting. Elation. 

 The problem, however, with many of those fragrances in the "clean" genre is that they might project as sharp, piercing, too detergent-like. They are, after all, directly inspired by the scent of laundry detergents, and aim to replicate that moment of happiness—the moment one opens the washing machine and is overwhelmed by the sheer cleanliness of the freshly washed load. And the iconography of them all is associated with blue skies, starched white (that almost blinding white that never hints at cream), and poised ladies who enjoy their own existence rather too much. 

It might all get back to White Linen by perfumer Sophia Grojsman, though that aldehydic composition highlighted soapy notes in a somewhat different retro way. Aldehydic scents, those built on the sequence of so-called fatty aldehydes (C10, C11, and C12) as demonstrated in Chanel No. 5 Eau de Toilette and a group of other classics, from Chanel N°22 and White Linen (Estée Lauder) to Calèche by Hermès, are usually mentioned when the topic is "soapy." 

There is also something about the dryness and clarity of muguet notes (lily of the valley) that enhances the feeling of clean starchiness in a contemporary formula. Pure cuddly soapiness and freshly showered skin also lure in innocent by-standers into making one appearing more sympathetic. They project friendly vibes and bring tokens of peace. Perfect for when out on the prowl wanting to appear totally innocent like a baby, but also magnificently presentable. CLEAN Soft Laundry interestingly is not like the usual sharp detergent-like olfactory profile, though it's certainly a specimen of that genre. It is rather close to Pure Grace by Philosophy, the brand that made ripples in the pond (no pun intended) in the mid-2000s with their light, airy, soft, and unintrusive fragrances before the advent of the gourmands. Perfumer Steven Claise is officially mentioned as the nose behind CLEAN Soft Laundry, and his portfolio shows a penchant for making this sort of scent: Marc Jacobs Cotton Splash 2016 and Charlie White Musk (1997) are both credited to him. 

The composition benefits from aqueous notes, which had been long associated with marine fragrances from the 1990s, and yet there is a different ambience here. Urban and yet radiant, bright and yet soft, like an Eric Satie composition. The scent is lightly floral and airy, like that of the ingredients Numpheal and Florazone. It translates as dewdrops on a freshly washed line of linens in the wind and is ever so slightly sweetish and calm. It's the familiarity that beckons. The fruity note du jour of pear adds a juicy component but never veers into fruity territory. It almost feels like fruit from a terrestrial tree where sparkles of soap and light garland the produce, and where the scented air feels ripe with oncoming rain and electrical forces. And yet... softness. Calm. And zen-serenity. In many ways, CLEAN Soft Laundry is true to its name, and this is precious indeed, especially in the turmoil of international events we're witnessing right now.

Guerlain Vetiver Parfum: short fragrance review

 

Vetiver Parfum by the historical house of Guerlain is another success by perfumer Delphine Jelk, after Habit Rouge Parfum. She managed to bring something new in a classic by the venerable French house.

 Their older classic version of Guerlain Vetiver has been the reliable fall-back-upon fragrance in summer of many generations of men and discerning women. Women? Yes, besides this humble writer hereby, we can cite the supermodel Elle McPherson as someone who has graced her glorious form with Vetiver by Guerlain as her signature scent for many, many summers. 

 The newest Vetiver Parfum version came in 2024 to spice up the proceedings (literally, it smells spicy up top, piquant and quick-witted) and to amplify the smoky facets that were lurking in Chanel Sycomore's previous attempt to do a similar thing (I am referring the Eau de Toilette edition in Les Exclusifs collection). Now that the Eau de Parfum version of the latter seems so oddly diluted in comparison and so inexplicably expensive, the Guerlain edition will fill in the gap. I'm grateful.

Lancome Poeme: fragrance review & musings

 

Even after thirty years since the launch of Lancome's Poême ads in glossy magazines, those images with poetic lines and the expressive face of actress Juliette Binoche (well known from The Lovers on the Bridge, Three Colors: Blue, The English Patient and the adaptation of Wuthering Heights), as shot by Richard Avedon, are etched into memory and continue to produce sighs of elation from perfume lovers around the world.

 According to the official launch, "Poême is a scent of contrasts: the icy transparent notes of Blue Himalayan Poppy embrace the intoxicating Desert Datura Flower and warm Vanilla, creating something vibrant, sensual, and long-lasting." At the time, no one had any solid information to doubt perfume blurbs coming from sales assistants. Nowadays the information is so vast and nuanced that it might even kill information. No one would be so trusting now. Instead of blue, the deep crocus-hued yellow of the carton box tells the story. The fragrance smells yellow, sweet, dense — it is mellifluous. The reality is that Poême is a scent choke-full of orange blossoms, honeyed and rich and plush. 

Perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud took a well-known ingredient and skyrocketed its effects with the touch of a true illusionist. Mimosa is also a component that contributes to its plush yet non-carnal effects. 

   "Parfois les mots ne disent pas tout…" — "Sometimes words don't say it all..." 

 Sunny like a warm afternoon spent in the glow of a happy encounter with a loved one. Lyrical like a musical piece floating in the air from a nearby impromptu street orchestra. Delicious the way floral fragrances can be, Lancome's Poême is dense without veering into the saccharine territory of modern fragrances. It's honeyed, dripping with sweetness, yet not the edible kind, rather the nectar hidden under the pollen and the stamen, ripe for harvesting by thick bumblebees, the kind we don't readily see anymore. 

Poême is wildly optimistic and makes me deliriously happy when I can taste it in small quantities, preferably when someone else is wearing it. The inclusion of lactone/ketone notes in a fruity-floral context adds a hint of peach smell to the scent pyramid, while velvety vanilla softens the explosive floral heart and lingers for hours or days on clothes. The hour of the golden encounter is perched in -seeming- eternity. A hint of narcissus and of miniscule spice adds to the fascination.

Guerlain Habit Rouge Parfum: short fragrance review

 

Making a successful flanker — or rather, a more concentrated form of Guerlain's classic for men — is a Herculean feat. Still Delphine Jelk made it possible in Habit Rouge Parfum. I might be excused for including it here in the summer, since it launched in late 2024, but it arrived on our shores after New Year's day, so it had to be mentioned sometime afterwards. 

Despite it being in the orientalized direction of boozy alcohol (rum, in this instance) and with a touch of patchouli that might have seemed incongruent in the proceedings of this silky soft robe de chambre of a fragrance, it is not at all heavy. Habit Rouge Parfum might therefore suit a summer's night spent fine dining al fresco under the stars. Dreamy. 

For comparison's sake, please refer to my detailed fragrance review of the original classic Habit Rouge by Guerlain on this link and consult for historical details. 

 More reading on PerfumeShrine: 

Habit Rouge Sport fragrance review 

Habit Rouge advertising 

Habit Rouge L' Eau launch 

Habit Rouge Armoiries edition

Yves Rocher Pur Desir de Gardenia: fragrance review

 

The now discontinued Yves Rocher Pur Desir de Gardenia (i.e. pure desire for gardenia) is perhaps the most lamented true gardenia discontinuation in perfumery, barring the one by Estee Lauder (Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia). 

                               via pinterest 

Tom Ford's Velvet Gardenia comes up a close second or third maybe, representing the browned ripe gardenia that is just starting to deteriorate beyond salvation. It has been discontinued and brought back in the Reserve Collection. "Lushest, wettest, freshest, creamiest jungle gardenia. White petals and thick green leaves. That's it and it's all there. This is the most realistic gardenia fragrance." Thus writes about Pur Desir de Gardenia a reader and I can totally back this up. 

  Pur Desir de Gardenia is the essence of gardenia, built on jasmolactones and with a touch of styrallyl acetate maybe for the green part, in a sort of old-school-technique that perfumers used to do so well and then abandoned. The creamy and the lush elements are freshened up with the intensity of the green in Pur Desir de Gardenia, giving me the illusion of a budding gardenia, one which unfurls its petals in continuous orgasmic fervour. A marvel and at the same time a romantic elegy. The folly of not stocking up when one could... 

It's a puzzle why Yves Rocher stopped making this, as their Pur Desir line of soliflores was excellent to begin with, and this one was the jewel of the crown. The perfect embodiment of a single flower, that of the gardenia, is this vintage fragrance which those who recall it love with the unbridled passion reserved for true gems.