A Favorite: Trudon Bruma

created with Ideogram AI and Adobe Photoshop
What I really wanted to do was fairly complex, involving a suede purse tipped on its side on the grass, with a lipstick and a tin of pastilles spilled out of it. Behind it would be irises, violets, jasmine, peonies.
Unfortunately, Ideogram wouldn't give me the purse I wanted, or it made some bizarre mutant purse with straps coming out of odd places, with far more things spilling out than I asked for. So I gave up and generated something far more simple. I still had to Photoshop the heck out of it. 

Trudon Bruma

Galbanum, Black Pepper, Lavender, Iris Flower, Violet, Peony, Jasmine, Vetiver, Labdanum, Tonka

During a visit to the Trudon boutique in SoHo, I scored a travel spray of Bruma. It was given as a thank you for attending the Spring Sniffapalooza event in 2024--a very generous gift. I had sniffed it before, during an online master class with Trudon and BeautyHabit, but it didn't stick in my mind. Rather, I was too taken with the sublimely smoky Revolution to pay attention to the other scents in the collection. (This goes to show that perfumes may need to be tried multiple times before they hit the right spot.) At the boutique, I was given a choice of two or three fragrances; I chose Bruma because it was presented as an iris scent, which is right up my alley. But to me, Bruma does not smell particularly of iris. I mean, yes, there's iris, but it isn't what I'd call a primarily iris fragrance. It smells of too many other things. It's green. It's floral. It's powdery. It's peppery. It's aromatic. It has an old-fashioned vibe. It's quite perfume-y. It's warm, but also cool. It's cozy. It's musky. It's one of those fragrances that can fit any occasion, be worn in any temperature, and has become something I reach for when I really don't know what I feel like wearing. Bruma is subtle, sophisticated, balanced, velvety and a bit mysterious. It is always perfect. I honestly adore it. 

It starts out soft and girly, and a bit old-fashioned, with definite iris and violet but also the dry warmth of pepper and a whisper of leather. It's like rummaging through a suede purse and pulling out a lipstick. It's also green and floral in turn, as if that purse was outdoors, in a garden. For a moment, there's also something vaguely candied about it, though it's not sweet. As if that lipstick has become pastilles instead, but are still living in that purse. 

Sometimes, when I wear this, I get a whiff of something clean wafting up from my shirt. It's basically the same floral/lightly green scent, but in a different form. A shift from powdery to soapy. Actually, Bruma isn't really powdery, but rather coated in a gauzy floral veil that's airy rather than heady.

If you're into unusual floral scents that seem to veer a bit old-fashioned (yet don't smell vintage), give Bruma a try. 

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Posted by theminx on Minxstinks
Note: this post is my opinion. I am not affiliated with the companies mentioned in this post or any other companies.

Jacques Fath Le Loden

created with Ideogram AI and Adobe Photoshop.
I always wanted to star in fragrance ad.

Jacques Fath Fath's Essentials Le Loden

Haitian Vetiver, Ginger, Pink Pepper, Green Mandarin, Bourbon Vetiver, Juniper Berries, Bourbon Geranium, Raspberry Leaf, Java vetiver oil, Tobacco, Patchouli, Ylang-Ylang

I used to think that I disliked vetiver, but I may have been mistaken. There are some fragrances that I cannot abide that have a vetiver note listed, so I have assumed that's what makes the scent unwearable to me. Yet, I am finding more and more vetiver scents that make me happy. I definitely can now recognize the somewhat watery-but-also-smoky grassiness of proper vetiver. I enjoy Tom Ford's Grey Vetiver, and I simply adore Bamford Gray (though that seems more spicy than vetiver-y). A new favorite, Fath Le Loden, was a love-at-first-sniff sorta thing; it includes three different vetivers.

What? There's actually a vetiver scent I love? Sometimes I don't recognize myself. 

I first encountered Le Loden via a sample included in a goodie bag from my friend Angie. She and I have very different tastes in fragrance and I was not having much luck finding something I liked among her generous selection. When I got to Le Loden, my first thought was, "Jacques Fath is making new perfumes?" I of course was familiar with Iris Gris (1946) and Fath de Fath (1953), but had no idea that the house had been creating newer scents since the 1990s, including the Fath's Essentials series. My second thought was, "wow!"

Some have compared Le Loden to Lalique Encre Noire; while they both have prominent vetiver notes, that's where the similarity ends. It's like comparing Hermes Hiris to Houbigant Iris de Champs. Yes, they are both primarily iris scents, but are otherwise quite different. Overall, Encre Noire is a cold and wet scent, as befitting the name "black ink." I owned it at one point, but found it to be too chilly and dark. It's too "moody vampire" for me (but if you like vetiver, def check it out). Le Loden is also a scent that lives up to its name. While it contains potentially excessive amounts of vetiver, it's a bit wooly, almost snuggly. The leatheriness of the Javanese vetiver and the sweet almost licorice-like quality of the Bourbon vetiver give the fragrance body and warmth. The patchouli is pretty prominent as well, adding a pleasing earthy quality.

For whatever reason, sniffing Le Loden conjures up a feeling of nostalgia, but for memories that aren't actually mine. It makes me think of being outside on a rainy winter day, perhaps walking through the countryside, while wearing a cozy coat. Indeed, the name itself refers to the sturdy, waterproof, 100% wool outerwear that originated in the Tyrol region of Austria. Loden also refers to the traditional olive green of said coats, though modern iterations come in many styles and colors. 

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Posted by theminx on Minxstinks
Note: this post is my opinion. I am not affiliated with the companies mentioned in this post or any other companies.

Calvin Klein Obsession

created with Ideogram AI and Adobe Photoshop
No, this is not an actual image of me from the late 80s, though I did own
rainbow suspenders and pleated tartan trousers.

Calvin Klein Obsession

Fragrantica: Basil, Bergamot, Mandarin Orange, Green Notes, Peach, Lemon, Spices, Sandalwood, Coriander, Oakmoss, Cedar, Orange Blossom, Jasmine, Rose, Amber, Incense, Vanilla, Civet, Musk, Vetiver

Basenotes: Lemon, Mandarin, Bergamot, Peach, Jasmine, Rose, Orange Blossom, Rosewood, Coriander, Marigold, Armoise (mugwort), Ylang Ylang, Cedar, Sandalwood, Amber, Oakmoss, Vanilla, Musk, Civet

Obsession was something I wore regularly in the late 80s, along with the even spicier Karl Lagerfeld fragrance, KL. (Floral fragrances were grody and gagged me with a spoon, but ambers were like totally bitchin'.) These perfumes scented my days of lugging a heavy brown pleather portfolio from Art History to Life Drawing and Children's Book Illustration to Computer Graphics (where we learned how to draw shapes on a tiny black and white Mac Classic--this was the Stone Age of personal computers) at the Maryland Institute College of Art. I never wore Big Hair, but I did wear Big Perfume and even bigger earrings. 

While writing my post about Must de Cartier, I came upon more than a few comments and reviews that compared Must to Obsession. I didn't remember it being that similar, but it had been a while since I owned a fresh bottle of Calvin Klein's now classic fragrance. Fragrancenet.com had it on clearance, which allowed me to score 50ml for $23.

I was immediately disappointed with my new purchase. The original opaque poop-brown cap with the gold border had been replaced with a cheaper translucent cap in a darker shade. Did the juice change, too? I spritzed a tester strip and immediately got a flash of the past, though it wasn't as strong and nostalgic as I thought it would be. Damn if the opening doesn't smell a lot like Must de Cartier, with a strong galbanum-like dark green sensation, though it doesn't last as long as Must's. Obsession also has a fairly prominent animalic quality that comes out early and persists for a bit. This is possibly the civet, but could also be indolic jasmine. Cinnamon and a pinch of clove swirl around, with some fruitiness, oakmoss, and of course a lot of ambery-style notes. The drydown is fairly musky and includes quite a bit of vanilla, but not as much as I remember.

I'm not sure why they bothered creating an Obsession for Men, because there's nothing particularly feminine about the original. There's definitely a similarity between the two, though the masculine has even more cinnamon and vanilla and seems softer. It's been my husband's signature cold-weather scent for over 25 years now, and he always smells glorious. Frankly, I think I prefer the men's version to the original, at least in its current formulation. (I'm not saying it's been reformulated, but considering how old this scent is, I think it's likely). 

IMHO, Obsession doesn't smell at all dated. It's a spicy amber fragrance that is just as good as--or better--than many of the newer perfumes in the same style. It's not particularly sweet, nor is it overpoweringly strong unless one oversprays. It's much less-expensive than most new perfumes, only $100 for 100ml if purchased directly from Calvin Klein, and even less than that at discounters. Fans of amber-style scents should definitely look into trying this 1980's classic.

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Posted by theminx on Minxstinks
Note: this post is my opinion. I am not affiliated with the companies mentioned in this post or any other companies.

1907 Vanilla Dry

created with Ideogram AI and Adobe Photoshop

1907 Vanilla Dry

Ylang-Ylang, Orange, Mandarin Orange, Tiare Flower, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-Valley, Vanilla, Coconut, Sandalwood, White Musk

In April of 2024, I requested a "perfume prescription" from Suzy and Nicola of the On the Scent podcast and posted the results here. If you don't want to go back and read, here's a synopsis: I had tried Matiere Premier Vanilla Powder multiple times and was repelled by a stabby mystery note. Hubby seemed to enjoy it though, so I requested a dry woody scent with a background of amber or vanilla that could be similar. Three vanilla-based scents were recommended: TF Tobacco Vanille; Maya Njie Vanilj; and 1907 Vanilla Dry.

I was able to sniff the first two pretty easily, but I couldn't source a reasonably priced sample of the third scent in the US. And then I met Angie, of @angiesmellstheroses on Tiktok and IG. She happened to have a bottle of Vanilla Dry and sent me a small decant. Rather than a being the requested woodsy vanilla, Vanilla Dry is quite floral. Additionally, there was something oddly mentholated about it that displeased me, so the sample was banished to a bag of similarly rejected vials that were to be shared with others. One day not long ago, I was sorting my bag of disliked samples to pack some up for a friend. I decided to try Vanilla Dry again, as it had been 6 months since the first attempt. Surprise! The second time, I liked it. And the third time, a few days later, I loved it. The fourth time, the sample was all gone and I had to buy a bottle. I found it at Jovoy, a Parisian perfume purveyor with great prices (though not a discounter), and added it to my cart with a bunch of samples from unfamiliar brands, a backup bottle of Essential Parfums Orange x Santal for hubby, and a bottle of Trudon Bruma for me. (One needs to purchase €400 to get free shipping. €45 is a little steep for postage, the equivalent of 10 samples or a partial bottle, heck, a decent dinner with a glass of wine, even a latte at the Towson Town Center Starbucks. I was going to buy the other two scents eventually, so why not now?) 

I'm not sure why I had such an about-face with this scent. The first time I smelled it was in the fall, and the second time in the spring, so the temperatures weren't all that different. I will admit that I find vanilla-heavy scents a bit disgusting in the heat, but that wasn't the case here. While jasmine isn't a favorite note, I actually do like ylang-ylang and lily-of-the-valley and generally have no issue with tiare. In fact, I've recently been looking for a tropical coconut scent in the same family as Azuree Soleil/Bronze Goddess but lighter, perhaps with some green notes (Heeley Palm, formerly Cocobello, is a contender). Oddly, despite the tiare and coconut, Vanilla Dry doesn't come off as a tropical scent at all. Apart from the gentle yellow floralcy in the early stages of the fragrance, it's a vanilla scent from start to finish. For me, the coconut is more of a texture than an actual smell. Imagine a jar of coconut grated so finely that it's nearly a dry dust, and nestled within are a couple of vanilla beans. The vanilla perfumes the coconut, and the coconut keeps the sweetness of the vanilla within acceptable levels (for me). I really don't get the orange notes at the opening, and find the sandalwood and musk to be pretty subtle, but I'm really fine with what's left. Now, I don't know if Vanilla Dry is indeed dry enough to wear in the summer, but it's worked nicely so far this spring in temperatures up to the mid-70s.

One thing I don't like about 1907 Vanilla Dry isn't about the fragrance at all--it's the cap. It's a heavy metal sphere that is a bit awkward to remove. The first time I pulled it off the bottle, I wasn't prepared for the weight. It bounced out of my hand and across the room, narrowly missing the window (which it would have cracked, I'm sure), and clattered noisily across the bathroom tile. Now, I'm all for a sturdy bottle situation, but I'd rather have a hollow plastic cap than one that could be used as a weapon. Other than that, it's good stuff, and I am so glad I gave it a second chance.

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Posted by theminx on Minxstinks
Note: this post is my opinion. I am not affiliated with the companies mentioned in this post or any other companies.