Perfume Pen Pals: Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady and Gorilla Perfume Orange Blossom


Katie,

I've been wearing Frédéric Malle Portrait of a Lady for two straight days and I have a headache, and it smells like I'm wearing industrial-strength Stella. It's that rosy-winey-headache-y accord turned up to eleven and it hurts me right behind the eyes.


Dan's agony is reduced to clip art.


Don't try to blame it on my recent pneumonia (the rare pneumonia that my doctor told me I should feel complimented to have because it usually only attacks very healthy young people, and it apparently mistook me for one of those.) Anyway, 1) pneumonia doesn't cause headaches behind the eyes, and 2) I'm certain I won't like the smell of this on my healthiest day.

It seems silly to disparage a $300 Ropion perfume of irrefutable quality, one that's received almost unanimous gushing online, but, gosh, it's like dating a woman whom everyone insists is brilliant and beautiful and then feeling apathetic afterward.


Grace Kelly: guaranteed to induce apathy in Dan.


Sorry for my whining. I'll try to get to the bottom of why it smells/feels just like Stella to me.

Dan


Dan,

J'accuse le musc.
Musk is always at the root of my perfume headaches.

And I'm sure an overzealous application of the Lady the night before my recent holiday TV segments was responsible for the two week-long headache I had afterwards. That and the heedless on-air spraying of both Malle Carnal Flower and Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight in Paris. And the reckless spritzing of The Body Shop Neroli Jasmin at the mall where I met Bonkers About Perfume Vanessa immediately after the appearance.


Big Pharma branches out to board games.

I've basically blown out my perfume satiation safety settings. Probably permanently. It's from my chronic "eating the entire Easter basket" syndrome.

Katie


Katie,

You're lucky you didn't kill yourself. If the perils of fragrance toxicity were illustrated, they could post a picture of you with little smelly curlicues rising off your head and a red "X" through your face. You and your Carnal Flower are to the anti-scent people what Beyoncé and her furs are to PETA.


That's not fur. Beyoncé's just really hairy.


And maybe this only represents a reflexive backlash against Portrait of a Lady, but you know what I'm wearing and loving right now? Gorilla Perfume Orange Blossom.

It's so smooth, comforting and surprisingly rich. It's not sufficiently strange or aspirational to win any plaudits from the perfume experts, but it's a really great orange blossom and there's nothing wrong with that. It's what all the young people should be wearing this summer!

If Portrait of a Lady is the gorgeous woman who leaves you cold, Orange Blossom is the charming friend you always seem to overlook. Until the end of the movie when a light bulb goes off and you suddenly end up with her, an hour after the audience knew you would.

Dan


Grace overplays "girl next door" with one too many pairs of geek glasses.


Dan,

I am ultra-sensitive to the muskiness of Stella, but I don't get Stella-osity from Portrait of Lady. It's a musky rose, sure, but it doesn't suffocate me like Stella does. And it doesn't smell like Stella to me. But I can overdo the Lady. And I can also eat an entire plastic pumpkin head of Halloween candy.



I like the way you make that Orange Blossom sound. So much so that I was moved to open my Gorilla goody bag of samples and try it on. Your Orange Blossom is nice. It has an ashiness that makes me think of it as the orange blossom version of L'Artisan Parfumeur Vanilia or Etat Libre d'Orange Jasmin et Cigarette.

Katie


Katie,

Yes, there is an ashiness to Orange Blossom. I wonder what makes it stay around so long, because I can still smell it. It hasn't exactly developed, it's just gotten more ashy and less blossomy.

After all my finger-pointing, I ultimately failed to find any comparisons between Portrait of a Lady and Stella, so I must be imagining the smell similarities. But I've come to dislike both of them so much, I don't want to do a side-by-side.

Dan


Have any of you ever turned a beloved perfume into nasal torture chamber by overspraying?


Pumpkin via

35 comments:

  1. Not yet - but here are my candidates if for any reason I need a serious headache and massive nausea to tell the world I love fragrance:
    - Guerlain's L'instant pour Homme
    - Frederic Malles' Bois D'Orage (came very close to oversaturation Valentine's Day weekend)
    - Hermes, Terre D'Hermes
    - Heeley's Sel Marin

    - Steve Porkpie Hat Johnson

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  2. Yes I have. One was Montale Chypre Vanilla, the first time I applied it, I did it like a "normal" perfume. It was my first Montale and didn't realize they are super strength! Almost suffocated, made my eyes water! The other one is Heritage by Guerlain. This one gives me a headache! Big time! I love the smell of it. Just can't wear it.:(

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  3. The closest that I've come to ruining a scent that I like is not by overspraying, but by wearing it on the wrong day. And that would be Amouage Epic, which I think you said that you didn't like. Even the tiniest amount of this lush, ouhd-y, rosy, resinous brew on a day in which the temperature rises above 40F can induce migraine-warning flashes behind my eyes. But on a cold day, sprayed lightly under a sweater, it's just great.

    There are a few fragrances (PoaL included, unfortunately) that I've had to avoid, even though I might like the scent. I suspect that I have a sensitivity to heavy doses of Ambroxan, but I could be wrong. I don't get Stella at all with PoaL, but I do get a Dan-sized headache! Such courage and tenacity to gamely keep wearing it for two days despite the pain.

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  4. I definitely get the Stella/PoaL comparison. The first time I tested PoaL, my husband said,"That smells familiar." He then went on to say, "It smells like mothballs." Needless to say, it was not a hit in my house.

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  5. I'm fully aware that those who read this will think to themselves "Well, she had that one coming", but I do really like Miss Dior Cherie -in very small amounts, that is! I once gave in to the more is better delusion and applied a second helping of the stuff and the result was a sticky, sugary, teeth-screeching mess! It was so bad that I almost felt compelled to apologize to those who entered my office that day.

    Miss Dior Cherie works wonders for my mood with its my skin but way better soft, soft comfort when used sparingly, and it becomes a cheap mess when overapplied.

    It's not a perfume I wear, but I once managed to clear the sinuses of not only myself but an entire room of relative strangers in a meeting at work when I chose that particular occasion to (over-)try my sample of Dior's Addict. Big mistake, huge! Had there been a shower available at my work place, I would have bathed before I entered the room. Man, that was bad.
    But there was an upside to it: One of my colleagues absolutely adored it and thought it was just right and asked me to write down the name of the parfume. But she also used to spread joy around her with generous amounts of Obsession. Wearing perfume on the days that she sported Obession was an exercise in futility. I liked her a lot, though.

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  6. I dont' see the resemblance between Portrait and Stella, either. To me Stella is roses in saltwater, and I like that. Portrait, which I also like, is a much deeper rose scent to my nose, there's an orientalism in Portrait that I don't get from Stella. Neither of them induces headaches, I'm happy to say.

    The original Poison does, but that's another matter.

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  7. Obsession= Death By Migraine.

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  8. I sprayed too much Iris Nobile on once, right before an interview at a local ceramics company. I leant as far back in my seat as I could, and also tried to nudge my chair a bit further down the conference table. I was concerned that I might asphyxiate the respondent - or that at the very least he would drop a few plates.

    Now I have a headache today as it happens, and a sample of PoaL on the shelf above my desk. I haven't got round to trying it yet, and now I am not sure I even dare.

    I did just "sprinkle on" some Gorilla Orange Blossom to remind myself of how it smells, and it is as Dan says, very warm and friendly. The spaniel of orange scents, if you will.

    That Body Shop Neroli number was headache-inducing, I agree, but it was my first exposure to a Bath & Body Works shop that saw me off... : - )

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  9. I am amused by the fact that despite the fact that it induced a headache, you wore Portrait two days in a row, Dan. You're Good-n-Stubborn!

    As for your question, Katie, I had a dab-on sample of Amaranthine (Penhaligon's) that I loved. I followed-up with a spray-on sample to be sure I wanted a bottle (my budget makes me go slow!). The first time I sprayed it on, I used what must have be "wild abandon" but I thought it was only a few spritzes. Mr. Duchaufour and I must be on different pages with that. Needless to say, I nearly drowned in banana-flavored ylang. My husband turned a little green. I only use one spritz now. :)

    Oh, and anything with tobacco or apple results in insta-migraine. Sad.

    xoxo,
    *jen

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  10. My favorite candy-sweet scent is Lush (Gorilla Perfume?) Vanillary. And that would be all too easy to overspray because it is hella strong. At one point I said in agony to a SA, "I love it but I wouldn't buy it because I'm embarrassed to actually wear it since it's so strong!" She smiled innocently and said, "We just came out with solid perfumes, actually..." I was at the solid perfume stand in an instant. It smells exactly the same as the liquid counterpart!

    I'm saving up for it now!

    Yes, saving up for a $10 purchase. College is... whoo.

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  11. Stefush,

    You certainly draw on some beautiful scents to earn your perfume migraine badge of honor. Funny, I always thought of Sel Marin as a lighter niff. Goes to show you can overdo anything.


    Gojira,

    I know what you mean about the frustration of loving a fragrance that lives to hurt you. Stella is that one for me.


    melisand61,

    Which Epic - Man or Woman? I do love Epic Man, but it (like all Amouages) is easy to overdo, and quickly smells almost meaty on me. And yak, the heat will turn those dense Dagwood sandwiches (anyone remember reading "Blondie" comic strips?) versions of perfume into a hot, prickly, wool blanket-lined jail cell.

    Yes, when it comes to perfume, Dan is nothing but courageous and tenacious. It's one of his most heroic qualities.

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  12. Chloe fell out of favour with me. I'm not sure why, but I loved it, finished a 30ml bottle, bought a 50ml replacement and by the time I got home and sprayed it in the morning I'd gone off it. I find it too strong and overbearing. Even the body lotion gives me a headache. I now need to sell my unused bottle as I can't even bear to look at it.

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  13. occhineri,

    "Mothballs!" [covers the ears on her bottle of Portrait of a Lady.]


    Junelady,

    It's telling when the Obsession-obsessed compliments you on your perfume. And not in a good way, as Tina indicates.


    Vanessa,

    That's funny, I've found myself in those kind of situations: a job interview where the hirer pipes up with "I hate perfume!" and I spend the rest of the meeting trying to mentally crawl out of my skin.

    Re that Body Shop Neroli Jasmin: I thought it was fine, but once it joined the aggressive patchwork of smells on my skin, it adopted mob mentality and turned on me.

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  14. Ah HA!!! I knew it! When I tried PoAL, I felt like such a heathen, because my first (and second, and third) thought was... Stella to the nth! degree. To me, it smells like Stella with a dash of Sa Majeste la Rose thrown in for good measure. Now, I like those roses, so it's no insult, it's just that I already have Stella and the Serge, so feel no burning desire to ALSO own PoAK.
    (That's portrait of a Katie)

    :)

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  15. *jen,

    Amaranthine is a tricky one: it's not that it's necessarily Poison-powerful, but that it's so specific, and with such a weird combination of milky/sweet/spicy/florals. And banana.


    xaryax,

    Solid perfumes are THE way to go to shave the screech off the top of a scent.


    amber j,

    The current Chloe? I know what you mean! For something billed as soft and feminine, it is oppressive and sweet and able to slice'n'dice my brain into headache-fried cubes within moments.

    With that said, I do like the black-ribboned Chloe, Chloe Intense. There seems to be a bit more going on than just nuclear Woolite.

    How interesting that all was tickety-boo between you and Chloe until the second bottle.

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  16. deeHowe,

    Here's where your nose and mind politely beg to differ. The ghost of Stella doesn't haunt my experience of The Lady. Although when discussing rose musk perfumes, I'm surely splitting (nose) hairs....

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  17. One word: Arabie.

    I know, I know, Uncle Serge is God and all that, but two sprays of Arabie left me on the brink of death by either suffocation or suicide. I don't know if it actually induced a headache or just created the illusion of one but wearing it made me want to exfoliate with steel wool.

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  18. Spike,

    Arabie is a tough one. To me, that one is simply not a nice smell.

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  19. I know Dan's clip art agony. I commented on your perfume collection about headaches last night. I wish I could identify what causes headaches for me. I know patchouli, resins, and incense do not work for me. But how many commercial fragrances contain those ingrediants? I should make an interactive database with all the scents that give me headaches with all the notes to find common bonds. Too nerdy?

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  20. Katie ;
    I once foolishly sprayed a triple dose of YSL's Opium Pour Homme on myself on a very hot and humid summer evening and then off to experiment with Cuban cigars and rum. My doctor said I shouldn't expect to completely recover. Also, I've tried Lush's Orange Blossom, and it reminds me of something the barber used to slap on as kids. While reading Blondie's comic strip

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  21. Maggie,

    Ah, so that was you! I wondered at the crossover headache discussion from blog to YouTube.

    Yes, a cross-referenced perfume database is nerdy, but too late: if you're reading this blog, it's safe to say that a healthy level of fume-geekiness has already been achieved.

    Anyway, a notes analysis will tell you nothing about what's *really* in the perfume, and what's causing those headaches. It might be a stealth aromachemical used to amp other ingredients that's causing the trouble, something not listed in the PR bumf or anything the naked nose could isolate as a smell.

    You'll just have to rely on your "headache-o-meter" to learn which perfumes are a go and which are a no.


    berndog,

    Blondie is ideally read while being slapped by a barber.

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  22. Okay, Dan has just quietly admitted the following to me in an email:

    "I'm beginning to think the pneumonia might have *something* to do with my Portrait of a Lady pain. I'm finding I'm hyper-sensitive to all kinds of smells. Everything is giving me a headache or making me cough and sneeze. I've come out of the pneumonia as one of those hippie housewives who claims to be allergic to everything and wants to outlaw all scent. I hope it passes soon."


    I thought it was important to share this and shift the suspicion from my Lady.

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  23. Well I just found you on YT, and when you started describing things like slutty roses, I had to read the blog for more.

    I think you are right about my nerdy database. Because sometimes when I think there is no way a scent should work for me, it does and vice versa. Although a database might be most helpful for something like BPAL, unless they also use chemical additives...

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  24. Katie, it's Amouage Epic Woman that I like and that I thought you didn't. I wore it yesterday on a relatively warm day as an experiment in masochism. No headache! But I'm not sure how the people around me fared.

    Speaking of which, I can't imagine Dan trying to legislate his way around his new scent sensitivities. In fact, I imagine that he will be spraying away with the rest of us migraine sufferers, happily ignoring our doctors' advice to avoid headache triggers, such as perfume and chocolate and aged cheese.

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  25. I pride myself on my manly forbearance as far as industrial-strength fragrances are concerned, but for me popular favorites Terre d'Hermes and Tom Ford Grey Vetiver hit me right between (and just behind) the eyes in that stabby kind of way Dan describes. I think it might be a bergamot thing?

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  26. Katie - I know. It was rather saddening to fall out of love with Chloe (yes the current one). But I then had 2 fun years trying lots of different scents and that's how I came to be acquainted with Black Orchid. But I won't buy a 2nd bottle of BO (eeewwwwww!) when this one's done as I fear it might happen again.

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  27. jonno,

    All vestiges of manly forbearance crumble in the face of behind-the-eye-headaches.

    I'd be surprised if bergamot was culprit. Bergamot's in so many fragrances, there'd be more than Grey Vetiver and Terre d'Hermes hurting you by now. As I posited to Maggie, I bet it's some kooky little chemical compound that's sticking in your craw. Something that lends persistence to the scent, perhaps, that's also lending persistence to your headache. Just a wild guess.


    amber j,

    Well, at least your one-bottle maximum is a good prod to keep exploring the perfume options.


    melisand61,

    Oh yes, Epic Woman didn't lure me the way Epic Man did. Glad your masochistic experiment didn't result in actual pain.

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  28. I think you're being way too kind to Arabie, Katie. Not a nice smell is just the tip of that syrupy iceberg.

    Another frag that actually did give me a physical headache was Dior Addict. I'll never forget the time that I wasn't paying close enough attention to which direction the nozzle was facing and got hit with a full spritz of the stuff all over my coat. My head is starting to hurt just thinking about that nuclear vanilla and orange blossom.

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  29. Spike,

    The key in understanding the full meaning of "not a nice smell" was seeing my face as I typed it.

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  30. Oh, I already had so many migraine inducers that I would have to make a list. But I guess my worst migraines so far were triggered by Chanel's Allure (yep, that tops the list), followed closely by Coco Mademoiselle. But there are more: Guerlain's Shalimar, Serge Lutens' Nuit de Cellophane, Thierry Mugler's Alien, L'Artisan La Chasse Aux Papillons.... just to name a few of them:)

    Hugs,

    S.

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  31. Sabrina,

    And yet the powerfully weird - and weirdly powerful - Malle Dans Tes Bras causes no problem at for you? Interrrrrrestingggggg....

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  32. Yes, that's so funny, Katie... Dans Tes Bras causes me no problem at all! I don't know exactly what the scents I listed above have in common to trigger my migraines (and I feel bad for listing Shalimar, of course)...

    But Dan's post was inspiring.... I guess I will add a sample of Orange Blossom to my next Lush order. So far, the only "perfume" from them that I dare to use is the solid, and unfortunately discontinued, American Cream (even though they still make it as a hair conditioner).

    Hugs,

    S.

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  33. Lauder's Azuree. That is one whoppin' herbal-leather-chypre. Any more than two sprays and I risk asphyxiating myself (even two is pushing it).

    And then years ago, it was Lauder's Spellbound. I loved it, but it was agony for all those around me.

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  34. Patty,

    Azuree certainly is a whopper. I've always admired it from afar (spraying it on a blotter is as close as I've gotten), but never edged closer.

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  35. I am one of those people prone to headaches, migraine and colds. Usually, my first recourse is White Flower Embrocation (embrocation.50webs.com), also called White Flower Oil

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