What’s in a name?
Have you ever purchased a fragrance (or a sample of a fragrance) just because the name appealed to you? I have…and here are a few examples.
People of the Labyrinth Luctor et Emergo
When I started reading the MakeupAlley.com fragrance board, I had to figure out so many abbreviations that the “regulars” tossed around like confetti: SL? FdTRB? DSH? 10CC?
One of the most confusing was POTL. It turned out to stand for Luctor et Emergo by People of the Labyrinths, a board favorite (and eventual “cult favorite,” thanks to its popularity in forums like ours).
Robin reviewed it in the early days of Now Smell This.
A Lab on Fire Hallucinogenic Pearl
Come to think of it, A Lab on Fire has a way with names: Rose Rebelle Respawn, What We Do In Paris Is Secret, Messy Sexy Just Rolled Out of Bed… but Hallucinogenic Pearl is my favorite. I like thinking about the texture and luster of a pearl when I smell this modern iris fragrance. And isn’t every perfume a hallucination, in a way?
You can find my review on NST here.
Atelier des Or Lune Feline
I’m a cat person, and a moon child, so there was no way I’d be able to resist trying a perfume named Lune Feline. It’s a rich vanilla scent with incense-y and animalic notes; I’ll never need a whole bottle, but I’m hoarding my two sample vials.
I enjoyed EauMG’s review of this fragrance.
Kerosene Unknown Pleasures
Don’t tell me you don’t get it; I’ll lose control. But you can read my review on NST for some insight.
To adapt what I wrote above for A Lab on Fire, every perfume is an unknown pleasure; every perfume involves a degree of shadow-play.
Comme des Garçons x Stephen Jones Wisteria Hysteria
I really respect CdG’s fragrance line, and I love this bottle design, and I like the idea of a collaboration between a milliner and a perfumer, and the name is perfection. Unfortunately, the actual fragrance just sort of fell flat for me.
Robin found it pretty “tame” when she reviewed it for NST.
Have you ever sought out a perfume just because its name caught your fancy? Let us know!!
PERFUME PROFESSOR ( 
Love’s True Bluish Light by Ava Luxe. No notes I don’t like, so I figured it was a safe blind buy. But it never quite worked, for some reason.
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Serena does have wonderful names! I keep meaning to buy some Sunday Girl…for the name (Blondie again!) but also for the scent (fruity pomegranate-rose). I used to wear her Bohemian Rose a lot, although it didn’t quite work for me after a while. But there are always other choices!
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The Writer by St Giles. Unfortunately, the name turned out to be the best thing about it for me. It makes for a nice, expensive, desk ornament.
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hah! I’ve definitely purchased a couple of fragrances for their bottles…at least they end up being “objets” that provide visual pleasure! 😉
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I realize what I’m about to suggest would be something you couldn’t quickly execute, but I bet it would be interesting in the long term. Wouldn’t it be interesting if you did a recurring series that highlighted/profiled black designers in the fragrance world?
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I was thinking of something like this yesterday… about a year ago (?), a few longtime frag-friends and I had a chat on Twitter about the relatively small number of Black-owned and Black-designed fragrance lines, compared to bath & body or color cosmetics. We tagged as many as we could think of. That was a while back…and there are various reasons for the disparity of representation and inclusion, of course…but I’m going to focus on getting samples from a few of those brands and adding them to my NST review list.
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