Parfum Sacré (Caron) October 18, 2007

I don’t know how to begin with this review… because it’s not going to be a review, to say the truth, it’s going to be an eulogy Parfum Sacré is one of my favorites, but the way I found it is totally boring. I read many praising comments on Basenotes, MUA and perfume blogs; I bought it; it’s a wonderful fragrance. Period. I didn’t have a precious mililiter in a sample vial, I didn’t have to hunt the perfume down dramatically, I didn’t meet a woman scented with Sacré in the street and followed her across the whole town. Nothing like that. I was buying something for my friend on eBay and just added this to “fill the box” (“ah, she’s got a slightly used Parfum Sacré for a good price, let’s buy it blind and if it’s a mistake, I’ll pass it on to someone else”). The package came, I sniffed it and kept it. It almost makes one angry to get such a treasure so easily

I own the older version of EdP – angular bottle with black lid, in a black and golden box. The current bottle looks different and the box is white with golden dots. I think black suits this fragrance much better… black and gold, the colors of Parfum Sacré.

The perfume was created in the year 1990 and it’s both classic and modern. I smell in it a slight reverberation of the square shouldered eighties, when women learned to be powerful and independen. Jean-Pierre Béthouard, the creator of Parfum Sacré, made a timeless composition, and I hope Caron is aware of that and won’t discontinue it too soon. (Béthouard is a fertile perfumeur, he had created dozens of well-known scents, even though mostly various more or less forgettable mainstreams – Adidas, Beckham, Dali’s Rubylips, Versace Red Jeans, Escada En Fleurs, Belle En Rykiel, Boucheron, Ange ou Demon or Trussardi Donna Fresh.)

Parfum Sacré is one of those honey-like, darkly sweet oriental underpainted by human skin. It stays close to it’s wearer, doesn’t scream all around, just drifts gently to your nose here and there, so you have to go and take a closer smell; and if you’re a male, maybe you’ll end up like the proverbial moth, unable to unstuck from the light, because Parfum Sacré is very seductive. It’s a dark depth you’ll fall in and never want to come out again, and it’s a sweet golden glow. Breath in and you’ll smell a temple with high, high ceiling fading into gloom, you’ll smell thick, wavy, honey colored locks of a hollywood star and black fishnet stockings of a lady who knows how to wear them with taste. Dark frankincense is very prominent in this fragrance, giving it a sweetly smoky undertone – both solemn and seductive.

Those who don’t like heavy and rich fragrances probably already guessed this won’t be their cup of tea. If you don’t like ambery orientals with myrrh and frankincense, you should surely avoid Parfum Sacré. I think I wouldn’t recommend this perfume for all ages, it needs maturity most teens won’t have; it would suit a woman who likes to look a bit mysterious and instead of talking animatedly about the last tour de party with friends just smiles and waves her long black lashes. Dress? Something feminine, elegant, chic, no sportswear and nothing innocently romantic, and surely no boring shapeless grey jackets; and if you have the courage, put on a combo of Parfum Sacré and something opulent in royal colors and as much gold as you can get

If you like Parfum Sacré, you might also like these perfumes: Bal à Versailles (Jean Desprez), the drydown of Ralph Lauren’s Safari, Rouge Hermès with a shovelful of candlewax and myrrh, Molinard’s Habanita, the decadent Hypnotic Poison from Dior, legendary Shalimar full of sweet vanilla and frankincense.

The notes according to Parfums Caron website are: myrrh, musk, vanilla, rose, jasmine, pepper, cinnamon and coriander.

Body care: Logona Oriental Body Butter September 24, 2007

About a month ago, I decided I cannot live anymore without a body butter. I have a lotion (Alverde Rose & Sea Buckthorn – fresh rosey scent). I have body oils (a lavender one, a lemon-melissa-cypress one – very fresh, orange-sandalwood one – a sweet orange candy, and an Alverde Rose & Sea Buckthorn body oil, which smells incredibly yummy). I have body powders. But I suddenly felt an irresistible urge to have a body butter, something thick, creamy, preferably with a sweet, foody or oriental scent.

Because I’m a natural cosmetics person, there weren’t so many products to choose from. I decided to try Logona Oriental and Tropic body butters. Most shops selling Logona have plethora of samples and I was leaving with an armful, including facial care samples I wasn’t planning, but couldn’t resist to try.

The Tropic Body Butter is Pineapple and Papaya scented, and therefore I got the sample out of sheer curiosity, because I don’t like fruity scents, especially those with tropical fruit. But even if you are a tropical fruit lover, don’t buy this unsniffed, get a sample first. It smelled very unpleasant, I was getting burning rubber and clay instead of fruit. And a very, very little bit of pineapple. Of course, there’s always a possibility the sample was old or spent too much time in the sun, but I don’t think so.

The Oriental Body Butter says Pomegranate & Sesame, but it doesn’t smell of pomegranates and sesame oil. It smells of vanilla and cinnamon, and of crunchy edges of a freshly baked cake. And yes, a bit of pomegranate. The scent is unusual, different from common vanilla and cinnamon scented creams and lotions. I fell in love and immediately bought a full jar.

The Logona Oriental range: deo roll-on, body wash and body butter.

The texture is moderately thick, you don’t have to apply pressure to scoop it out. It contains shea butter, cocoa butter, beeswax and various oil. It absorbs quickly and doesn’t leave your skin greasy or sticky. As an owner of a very dry skin I use it as a body cream, foot cream and hand cream whenever needed.

Logona Naturkosmetik makes natural cosmetics – almost all their products are made up to the strict standard of BDIH – German certificate ensuring the product is really natural. (In short: no petroleum products, no dimethicone, no synthetic coloring agents and fragrances, no animal testing (outsourcing to another company, very popular amongst some “non-testing” companies, is also forbidden). The cosmetics cannot contain products from dead animals like gelatine or collagen. If you’re interested in details and want to know which companies do have the certificate, visit the BDIH site.)

Logona is available in Europe; if you’re living in USA and don’t want to order from overseas, try Natural Europe.