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Thursday, May 28, 2009

Karl Lagerfeld Kapsule

By Tom

It's a lazy Memorial Day weekend involving me being lazier than usual. I did go to ScentBar (I know, Alert the Media) and visited the Etat Libres, smelling the Rossy de Palma (which I liked) and "Don't get me wrong", etc., which was a perfectly innocent lily scent. I still think a bottle of Rien might be in my future, but they are the olfactory equivalent of the guy with the tats who might make you weak in the knees, but you can't possibly take to the company Christmas party.

So I was cleaning and in a random Neiman's giveaway I came across this trio in amongst mascara I wasn't going to use and expired postcards for facials. I have no info on them at all: even Google pretty much let me down. There are three of them in the package, Woody, Floriental and Fresh.

Floriental is usually a word that will make me run for the hills. Especially when coupled with the words Karl Lagerfeld, since my memories of the early 80's were scarred by his all-enveloping and impossible to escape eponymous 80's mens fragrance. Up close, there's a minty freshness and oolong, and there seems to be a by sillage going on here that calls to mind that scent (I'm sure that if you tear down buildings in West Hollywood or Chelsea or DuPont Circle they would waft this like asbestos...). While it's rather a throwback, it's also cool and pretty and isn't hampered by the addition of frozen blackberries or whatever.

Woody. Faber No. 2: perfect for filling out forms, since the lead is in there. Then there are plums. Very pretty, If there was a need for training wheels for a Lutens, this handily fills the bill.

Light. Well, one cannot accuse them of false advertising. A rather ordinary jasmine overrun with that water accord that comes across as being, if possible, cheaper that the jasmine. Which would be okay if this was something that was available at Walgreens for $15, but at at this price point I'll pass.

All are $110 for 2.5 ounces at Neiman Marcus. For now.

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14 Comments:

Blogger elle said...

I without doubt have a serious and apparently incurable case of sampling OCD, which makes it all the more odd that I've yet to feel inspired to check these out. However, I'm now thinking I should at least give the woody one a sniff. They all still strike me as sounding like remarkably uninspired, run of the mill scents. Very unKarl.

9:25 AM EDT  
Blogger Mals86 said...

"Alert the Media." Snerk.

I am a floriental ho, and I hear good things about the Floriental scent on various boards. I probably should sniff that one - but since I live in the boonies, I would have to order a sample, and there's just nothing that particularly excites me about it. I'm stocked up on florientals anyway...

Thanks for the reviews.

10:19 AM EDT  
Blogger Unknown said...

Hey, Tom: I'd wondered about these because I'd heard so little about them. Thanks for the report. I enjoy your writing - nary a wasted word & wonderful imagery (...waft like asbestos + guy with the tats = great!). But these again leave us wondering - WHY? If they have nothing new to say in a perfume, why do they keep saying it?

12:07 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I bought a bottle of the Floriental over the weekend. I really like it and funny you mention it kind of being a throwback to the 80's because I think it smells very similar to the original LouLou which I loved. Today's Loulou is not the same. As soon as I sampled the KL Floriental, I was immediately taken because of that LouLou connection.

I didn't care for the other 2 in this trio. Just "meh" for me.

~Dawn

1:03 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I quite liked the floriental when I first sniffed it so I must revisit. Now, I hope I don't sound too ignorant, but regarding your "guy with the tats" comment, what is a "tat"?

lovethescents

2:40 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

elle-

They are kind of the anti-Karl.

5:56 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

Mals86-

Of the florientals out there I think you can safely back-burner shiffing this one.

5:56 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

PF-

I wonder indeed! Especially since I am sure that Karl could be far more emphatic (and a lot more interesting)

5:57 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

Dawn-

Those were pretty "meh"; I think the floriental is the best of them, which isn't great news for me.

5:59 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

lovethescents-

Tattoos. I have a thing for bad-boys. I need to develop a thing for stock brokers.

6:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Flora said...

I still can't get over the idea that they can charge this much for cheap (fake?) jasmine and "water accord" - I think I'll pass!

9:49 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

Donna-

That one was the one that really pi$$ed me off...

11:11 PM EDT  
Blogger carmencanada /Grain de Musc said...

You mean you didn't even find my reviews of these on Grain de Musc? I'm very miffed at my Google ranking!
They're nice and interesting enough for a mainstream venture. My sources inside Lagerfeld's studio say that he did test them quite seriously (she can't smell them without thinking "Where's the boss?").

3:46 AM EDT  
Blogger Katie Puckrik said...

Tom, are you from 1980s DC? You mentioned "Dupont Circle", and I certainly attended my share of "tea dances" there at that time....

Hope to run into you soon at Scent Bar!

11:50 PM EDT  

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