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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Crazylibellule and the Poppies Sniffathon

Crazylibellule and the Poppies is a small French company (said to consist of just three employees) that hit upon a very successful idea of solid perfumes in a stick. The lack of messiness, travel-and-handbag-appropriate size, and a very reasonable price of $16.00 make the scents very appealing. So appealing are the little delights that they won their creators an award, "Beauty Challenger", on the Cosmeeting 2006 Fair in Paris.

The line consists of three collections, the Les Divines Alcoves ("Love stories and meetings, scented with the pleasure of divine alcoves"), Poule de Luxe ("Parisian, gourmand, erotic, whimsical"), and Shanghaijava ("Oriental nights, majestic evocations, mysterious tumble of emotions, a scented voyage..."). The scents I am reviewing today are a (random) mix of three collections.

Les Divines Alcoves

Amoureuse. "Berry", black pepper, rose, tea, jasmine, musk, patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla. A vaguely gourmand soft-oriental scent which could have been overwhelmingly sweet and fruity were it not for a delicate spicy note, the quite perceptible smokiness of tea and the earthy woodiness of the base notes. Very pleasant, very wearable, it should be very popular with fans of both Flowerbombs and most other Angel offspring.

Aux Anges. Bergamot, tangerine, ylang-ylang, jasmine, "white flowers". My absolute favorite among the Crazylibellule scents, this gentle lily of the valley and jasmine fragrance is very spring-like, airy, and incredibly charming. The beginning is slightly citrusy (truly, just a hint of bergamot, softened by the creamy ylang), seconds after the scent is applied to my skin, lily of the valley and jasmine begin to blossom, they go head to head, neither note dominating the composition. At this point the scent reminds me of a mix of Diorissimo and Jasmal, and I love the combination. The base is a little pale and unexciting, but I suppose one shouldn't expect miracles of perfumery from a $16.00 solid perfume. Aux Anges is adorable, and I have a feeling that I am going to use up my stick in no time at all.

Toi Mon Prince. Bergamot, "berry", tangerine, mango, jasmine, apricot, Damasc rose, sandalwood, musk, white peach & patchouli. "Toi Mon Assassin Fruité" would have bnen a more fitting name. This could not be further from what I like, so it is hard for me to be objective about this sugary-fruity number resting on the Angel-esque patchouli base. It is extremely sweet, Angel's, Hot Couture's and Hanae Mori's fruitier descendant. When I am hard pressed for anything nice to say about a fragrance, I quote Lincoln: "For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like." I bet Toi Mon Prince will have many fans.

Poule de Luxe

Vanilla Fruit Sorbet. Raspberry, rose, iris, vanilla and musk. Having survived the fruity assault by Toi Mon Prince, I am not about to be scared by a little raspberry. Or a lot of raspberry as the case may be. Vanilla Fruit Sorbet is a delightful combo of raspberry, more raspberry, some more raspberry, vanilla and roses. It is pretty and, believe it or not, not particularly sweet. It smells mouthwatering, with the berries being surprisingly life-like. The smell of raspberries invariably transports me to my great-grandma's dacha, the place I love to revisit in my imagination. As far as I am concerned, the combination of raspberries and roses is perhaps one of the most appealing (or the least unappealing) fruity-floral mixes. I am not sure I would actually buy a stick, but I've been enjoying my tiny sample very much.

Vanille Sucre Glace. Bergamot, tangerine, jasmine, orange flower, musk, vanilla and caramel. Sugar and vanilla is more or less all I smell in Vanille Sucre Glace, with perhaps just a hint of caramel in the end. It is not unpleasant at all, a warm, not cloyingly sweet fragrance...but it is rather dull.

Shanghaijava

Ananas Imperial. The notes might say, "orange, lemon, citron, grapefruit, pineapple, blackcurrant, peach, cedarwood and musk", but on me Ananas Imperial is grapefruit, blackcurrant and peach and nothing else. The grapefruit is lovely, and I don't say this often about grapefruit; it is neither harsh nor too "sparkly". The blackcurrant starts by smelling as if it was freshly picked from a bush and ends up creamy and vanillic, as if baked in a pie. The peach is there but not too strong, sort of enhancing the general fruity feel of the composition rather than trying to appear in the forefront. Ananas Imperial has nothing to do whatsoever with pineapples, but it is summery, enjoyable and charming.

Litchi Blossom. Litchi, geranium, rose, mint. I have yet to meet a litchi-scented product that smelled attractive. I think that the note really doesn't lend itself well in perfumery. It has a not particularly appealing smoky undertone and a raw aspect that makes it smell like unripe carrots. Pairing litchi with the sharp floral note like geranium is really not a good idea. The blend is heavy, harsh, very forceful...It smells incongruous. Litchi Blossom has an unexpected retro vibe, an almost-powdery, old-fashioned feel, and that is the only good thing about it.

Encens Mystic. Clove, cedar, incense, myrrh, benzoin, musk, patchouli and vanilla. My second favorite from the line, Encens Mystic is a surprisingly rich and complex incense blend with a beautiful spicy accord adding the zing to the composition and the no less gorgeous myrrh-vanilla mix softening and enriching the incense note. The scent has piquant sweetness that makes it incredibly comforting. An unexpected and unexpectedly interesting offering from a solid perfume line, Encens Mystic should be sampled by all lovers of incense scents.

All these and other Crazylibellule and the Poppies solid perfumes are available at BeautyHabit, $16.00 for 5g.

26 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Encens Mystic is the one I feel I need to try.

Congratulations on your move!

2:22 AM EDT  
Blogger Divina said...

At the risk of sounding like a perfume abuser, I have to say I've been shying away from those -interesting as they might sound -for the reason that I fear solid perfumes do not make their presence known to anyone but one's most intimate encounters. I do not mean that I wish for my perfumes to announce themselves 2 minutes before I enter a room, but still... I do desire some presence.

5:42 AM EDT  
Blogger lilybp said...

Welcome back! I hope you are getting settled. I do like Encens Mystic, though I don't wear it as much as I thought I would. And you are persuading me I must try Aux Anges.

6:56 AM EDT  
Blogger elle said...

I'm amazed that they have only three employees. I've been very impressed w/ this line so far. No, they're not classic Diors, but they're brilliant for the price and as good as a number of perfumes out that cost at least five times what they do. I adore Encens Mystic (great for layering) and actually think I need to try Vanilla Fruit Sorbet.

7:45 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh noooo bergamotrosebergamotrose

sigh. oh well.

and I'm shying away at least for now from anything else that says amber or vanilla. I shall scream if one more scent goes ambervanilla on me. without fail lately, if those notes are in there after an hour that's all I can smell.

still, the Encens Mystic does sound interesting, vanilla notwithstanding ... making mental note to sniff if I see it anyplace.

8:07 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So glad to see you back!! Hope you are settling in nicely.

Thank you so much for sending me samples of some of these. I have yet to try them, but I think in honor of the review, I will try Aux Anges today. I'll let you know what I think of it.

8:17 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Leopoldo,
Thank you. Moving is, um, fun. Not. :-)

8:20 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Divina,
You are right, these are very much skin-scents, and even to smell them yourself you'd have to actually put your nose to the place where you applied them. But they are very lovely. :-)

8:21 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Judith,
Thank you!
Aux Anges is definitely worth a try. Lilas Spiritual too, although I found it a little on the sweet side.

8:22 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

L,
If there ever was a line priced just right, this is the line. Some, like Encens, were they an EDT or an EDT and a solid scent, would have been huge hits, I think.

8:23 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Divalano,
So is bergamotrose in a scent bad or good? :-) Lots of scents go ambervanilla on me, sadly, too. Like POTL.

8:24 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Minsun,
Thank you!
Would love to hear what you think of these little thingies :-)

8:25 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Columbina ... bergamot & rose both = ahchoo ahchoo ahhchoo sniffle choke

more choke choke from bergamot, more sniffle sniffle from rose. and lavender = chokesniffleahchoo

ambervanilla ... yesterday it was Chanel Coromandel, day before that, Nelly Rodi Bois. last weekend it was Caron Tabac Blond. Last night I spritzed Zenzero while I was at Bigelow's, same deal. I do love both amber & vanilla but sometimes one wants the leathersmokewood etc bits to stay around for a while.

9:26 AM EDT  
Blogger Unknown said...

I so need to try these. I'm generally not a solid fan at all, but during the summer, these could be perfect!

Are you getting all settled?

11:08 AM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

Glad to see that you survived the move- hope that you will have a peaceful long weekend- perhaps a dash to NYC?

divalano- Tabac Blond went ambervanilla? (furiously crossing myself) That's just wrong!

12:16 PM EDT  
Blogger NowSmellThis said...

LOL -- perfect description of Toi Mon Prince. I think you're right that this one has would have great appeal to the sweet fans.

And I need to try Ananas again.

Welcome back!

12:40 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Divalano,
LOL. Leathersmoke is indeed way preferrable to ambervanilla. Tabac Blond is usually well-behaved on me. *crosses self following Tom's example*

1:32 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Patty,
They are great in hot weather. Well, maybe not the Killer Prince.
We are settling, rather slowly. *sigh*

1:34 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Tom,
I survived...just about. Don't even WANT to go to NYC this weekend. See what this horrible move has done to me? Sucked all life out of me :-)

1:35 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

R,
Thank you!
That Prince ...*shudder*.

1:36 PM EDT  
Blogger Erin said...

Congrats on the move, and glad to see you are not too exhausted to write a review. I love this line, particularly Dans Tes Bras. Very Serge Bois line at the beginning, but milky, milky base notes that I love.

2:01 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Erin,
Ooh, I've got to try that one!

2:41 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Colombina, congratulations on surviving the move, diorling! Survival is a good first step. :-)

I love Encens Mystic. In fact, I have a Pavlovian response to any mention of it: I have to go put it on. I'm happy to report it layers well with Caron Poivre. (whew!) Lilias Spiritual is on my to-try list. I guess Aux Anges should be too.

4:35 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Maria,
I love the "diorling"!!
I have some Coup de Fouet, I am going to try that with Encens.

4:44 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this product is amazing i was lucky enough to meet the creator (she is very sweet)

11:13 AM EST  
Blogger Unknown said...

I am not surprised that have only three employees. My girlfriend loves Toi Mon Prince and I love it as well on her. I try to keep her stocked up on the product and always have such a hard time finding it. Every time I go back to where I bought it before they no longer have it in stock. Can anyone help me with a good internet source? My email is walts@riverssi.com. Any help would be appreciated!!

7:10 PM EDT  

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