Smell-a-likes in the Cheap Perfume Oil section

Sometimes I am amazed by what gets really marked-up and was essentially copied from the cheap perfume oils section of the Health Food Store/Hippie section of your local drugstore, on the other hand I get it, because sometimes there are really good smelling things there.

So I finally got my hands on One N' Only Argan Oil Treatment, and as I put it on I realized it smelled really good, and that I recognized the scent, but it took a few days for me to finally realize what I was smelling. It smells like Night Queen oil. An oil that I frequently wonder why the scent is more popular considering how popular other scents of the perfume oil variety have become, it is one of those clean florals in the Kai/Child category, although more rose based and tad muskier, with spices but most definitely a clean floral. Auric Blends Night Queen a good place to go for this fragrance.

Then the dupe known has the Jennifer Aniston fragrance and yes I fell for it, I admit at the time I was in a bit of fragrance funk at the time and wandering the local Sephora it was a distinct scent out of all the fruity florals at the time. It was clean and easy, which sometimes I really need, but a year later wandering around the local Sunflowers Market I see a Kuumba Made display and decided to try Pikake Lei, and immediately I knew I was smelling the Jennifer Aniston fragrance except more depth and longevity.

Another very duped fragrance by Kuumba Made is Vanilla Musk which smells essentially like the much pricier Pearl by Sage Machado.

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SOTD: Vanilla Musk by Kuumba Made

I lied. There is another type of musk that can get you instant compliments: the vanilla musk. This scent is ubiquitous but with good reason, it smells just really good, but as musks go there are many varieties of it, the high end expensive kind ex. Lea St. Barth and Sage Machado's Pearl. These two both play on the vanilla musk category in different ways Lea heightens its formulation with a distinct almond note and Pearl goes woody with addition of a prominent sandalwood note. The funny thing about Kuumba Made's Vanilla Musk is that it is dirt cheap and easily holds it own with the above mentioned expensive vanilla musks. In someways it might actually be a better perfume for perfume lovers who want a vanilla musk that is edgier, the beginning of Vanilla Musk is almond, a really good almond I should add, followed by a heart of soft amber (through out the whole thing is vanilla), below that is clean musk that actually has an edge of civety skank. What is interesting about this vanilla musk is it has major sillage. It also in my case has been a man magnate. Wear it when you seem to be forgetting how good simple can be.

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image: Avian Headdress by Francesca Sundsten

Sweet For Spring

Now as lovely as flowers and greenery are in spring fragrances, there is the reality that I lean towards fragrances on the oriental side which usually have some sort of sweet undercurrent. Now of late I have been thinking about sweet fragrances that work in spring, because as it turns out spring seems to be a hard time to wear sweet fragrances (some how summer is easier even if the weather is warmer). So I have come up with a list of three fragrances that work in spring weather that lean on the sweet side yet complement the weather:

1. With Love by Hilary Duff : There is something perfect about this lovely creamy milky amber to go with cooler spring days. The scent contains enough oriental elements to fulfill the need for this type of scent, yet is light enough to never over power. It has a lovely cafe au lait quality with just a hint of zesty fruit to keep it from becoming to sweet.

2. Pearl by Sage Machado : This scent has always reminded me of petals on the ground, clouds, and scent of steam and incense intermixed. It brings about a meditative quality with the use of clean musk and sandalwood, but remains wonderfully comforting with a lovely vanilla that is not gourmand.

3. Kuumba Made Vanilla Musk : There is something rather pink and opalescent about this scent. It is wonderfully feminine but at the same time very relaxed, I will admit it reminds of pastries filled with almond but decorated with floral designs, but I will say this now it is not a gourmand scent.


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SOTD: Kuumba Made Vanilla Musk

My mondays are spent studying so I often go with comforting scents (those that blend in with my own scent) or scents that I perceive to be intelligent (Infusion d'Iris) or scents that I perceive to intellectually stimulating because of their energy (citrus scents). Today I am going with comfort and a scent I have not worn in ages: Kuumba Made Vanilla Musk. This one has a great deal of similarity to Lea St. Barth and Sage Machado's Pearl, the musk is light and delicate, the vanilla also light with hints of cherried heliotrope and almond, yet the drydown also has hints of civet and amber. Truthfully this scent really should get much more attention but I suspect because it is cheap and usually found at health food stores it is dismissed.

Quote of the Day: The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best - and therefore never scrutinize or question.-- Stephen Jay Gould

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Implicate Order by Eleanor Miller