Guimauve de Soie

This was a happy surprise, an unbidden freebie in my order from the perfumer. I recoil at the thought of perfumes described as sweet; my skin usually amplifies that aspect to the point of diabetic coma, or at least to vague nausea. So, a fragrance whose moniker translates to "marshmallow silk"? I don't even like marshmallows in my cocoa, let alone my perfume! Long story short, I tried it anyway, and I am over the moon and can't stop chuffing my wrist! It's a clean sweet, like allysum, but more complex and balanced. The violet wafts past my nose first, making me instantly happy as that's a favorite note. But unlike many a violet-dominated scent, it's neither too cold nor too sweet. It seems to be warmed just enough by the anise and mimosa, and balanced by the bitter almond and heliotrope. The opening and middle actually remind me some of Apres l'Ondee minus the melancholy--bright sunshine after that rainshower! The drydown is the amazing part though. It is more rich than sweet, like my favorite kind of desserts. This is the part where I start inhaling myself hungrily. I see in the list above several of my favorite basenotes: civet, moss, sandalwood, which may account for the richness and the balance. It may be a gourmand, but you needn't have a sweet tooth to enjoy it.

This is absolutely stunning. I recognized the scent immediately as something I've smelled before, but it took me a few days to place it. On me, this is a lighter, more sheer Guerlain Meteorites, which is my favorite powdery makeup scent. The Guerlain makes me feel like a pinup, while this is slightly more nice, like something the gorgeous girl-next-door would wear. It's nice to know that DSH is all natural and smells more "luminous". The only downside is that because it's all natural, it didn't last more than a few hours on me. It's so pretty that I don't mind reapplying.

Fragrance opens flowery, comphorous, pungent, green and bitter by orris and violet. As top notes is not used, it needs some times for fragrance to calm down. Gradually its bitterness and herbal type of odor fades.Almond and moss make it creamy and turn to have a kind of old fashion cosmetics scent. At the end we have a sweet vanilla- amberic combo of cocoa, vanilla and tonka bean.

this starts with dewy and green violet/violet leaf, then i get a hint of anise. later i get some almond/heliotrope notes and it gets softer, but the violet leaf comes in and out, lending a watery quality to this. it's a very soft scent, and does not project much from the skin, then it fades fast. however it's a beautiful, cozy scent...i just wish it lasted and projected more.

This is a very wispy, dainty take on violet which I enjoy. The almond comes out and dominates the scent after an hour, but by and large this is violet, mimosa and heliotrope all the way through. Not the kinda scent I go crazy over (reminds me of a few BVLGARI scents), but it is very well layered, levelled and mixed. Nowhere near weird or quirky enough for me...