Goest perfumes revisited

Sometimes I think that every perfume review should be preceded by a disclaimer, saying something like “How a scent is perceived is subjective and what is one person’s love may be the next person’s hate”.  That is true not just for perfumes but for smells in general. I, for example, can’t stand the smell of bananas. Just the thought of them  makes me fell a bit queasy. I got train sick on a very hot train journey when I was quite a small child and I still remember vividly how horribly sick I felt and opposite me, another girl was eating bananas and since then the smell of this rather innocent fruit, reminds me of feeling nauseous.

I didn’t like all the perfumes I tried from Goest, but that don’t mean that they are bad perfumes. My overall view on the perfumes is that they are all interesting and well blended. They were also all very true to their description, which isn’t always the case with perfumes. Though I had read the descriptions when I purchased them, I didn’t re-read them until I had actually tried them, but I found that my impression was quite close to the descriptions.

Dauphine

Divinely innocent, incandescently pretty.

Inspired by the redolent imageries of Sophia Coppola's film 'Marie Antoinette', Dauphine is a clean, ideal, fresh skin scent, pink and cream and white all over. This scent has notes of pink, full blown rose; milky, fresh, sweet almond; and a reveille of innocent, airy musks. This scent is sweet, but not in a lurid, hard-candy-way; it's sweet like fresh, cream-filled, rosewater-scented pastries.

Innocent, but not immature; quiet, never cloying: this charming and refined scent is superlatively, incandescently, and, quite simply, very, very pretty.

Notes: Muscs, Almond, Roses, Cream

Aspects: Fresh, Gourmand, Ambrosial, Refined

Upon application I got roses and almonds at first whiff, with, yes, a hint of soap. The almond and soap disappeared quickly though, and I got roses and musk, with time the rose faded more and more, leaving just a trace with the musk. It really smells just as it is advertised, creamy, clean roses that are sweet but not cloying.

This perfume gave me the biggest surprise of all the Goest perfumes, because I don’t like perfumes smelling of roses. It’s not that I don’t like the smell, I do, and I can like rose perfumes when other people wear it, but it never feel like me, when I wear it. So I was hugely surprised when I not only liked Dauphine, but that I like it a lot. In fact, next to Silent Film, this is my favourite! There is something in it; I believe it may be the musk, which tugs at a memory and a good one too. I get a little tug in my heart every time I smell it, but I can’t for my life recall what it is I’m reminded of. Nevertheless, I love this!,

Grand Tour

Sport, spirit, and straight-out polish.

Grand Tour makes an excellent first impression, opening with a burst of traditional aromatic herbs and five delicious citrus fruits. As it wears, the excitement at the heart of this scent is revealed: fresh and pure sweet basil and a smooth, abstracted cedar note combine for a distinctive and energetic spiciness that revs at 4000 RPM. This effect is backed by a foundation of well-tanned leathers and elegant oakmoss for a long-wearing and sensual yet subtle sillage.

Although the classic structure of Grand Tour alludes to great bygone masculine fragrances, this scent's not just for the boys. On women, it's incredibly sexy - think a well-heeled, natural woman in a crisp men's white oxford shirt.

Fresh and invigorating for day, sensual and elegant for night: man or woman, Grand Tour is built to be your constant signature.

Notes: Woods, Tanned Leather, Oakmoss, Herbs, Citrus

Aspects: Vigorous, Adventuresome, Neat

Most of Goest perfumes can be worn by men and women, but this is the only one that really feels like a men’s perfume to me. The fist impression isn’t any notes in particular, but just men’s cologne. Not in a bad way at all, but just masculine. After a while I can detect the oakmoss and there is a faint citrus somewhere behind that. After several hours it is leather and herbs. I like it; it is perfectly wearable for a woman as well and feels very fresh.

Jackal

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know.

Jackal opens with the scent of dry, powdered chocolate tempered with a hint of beckoning, mouthwatering vanilla. As it settles into the skin, the most darkly charismatic side of patchouli appears, cloaked in a multifaceted, sensual smokiness of many associations: the sweet, swooning scent of toasted tobacco - the bitter, magnetic smell of money - faraway fires in the woods.

This bottomless scent is the epitome of the anti-perfume. Though it has an original glamour, it is not the cosmetic powder-cloud of classic scents of fashion; and though it is natural and earthy, it has nothing of the biting, traditional terpenes of the hitchhiker's tonic. Jackal's essential effect is that of your own skin, only sexier; it is the essential effect of you, made simply more magnetic. Jackal wears very close to the skin and easily enhances other perfumes.

To all sensual men and women: where will you end, and Jackal begin?

Notes: Sweet Smoke, Dirt, Bitter Chocolate

Aspects: Earthy, Animalic, Dark, Vast

Jackal was all chocolate when I first applied it, with an interesting earthy quality. I was, however, not sure if I liked it and then J came into sniffing distance and had a very dramatic reaction on it. Now, J is interested in perfume all by his own and has a nice collection himself, so he is definitely not anti-perfume. This one he disliked intensely, though and I think it may have biased me a bit as well- I do prefer J to think I smell nice. But there is also the matter of that earthiness that soon revealed itself as patchouli. My body amps patchouli and most perfumes that have that note ends up smelling just patchouli on me. And though it isn’t a bad scent, my paternal grandmother wore a perfume where it was a prominent note. So even if I didn’t dislike Jackal, it truly wasn’t a perfume for me. If you like chocolate and patchouli, though, then I think you have a hit.

Lartigue

A little bottle of precious sun, swim, and sail.

Lartigue opens up on the skin with a bright, airy, and succulent show of abstract fruits and superfresh citrus. It progresses to reveal a green, clean, and joyous heart backed by a base of watery woods and clean earth. Inspired by the beatific and eternal Riviera portrayed in the images of 20th-century master photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue, this Goest scent celebrates all in life that is liberated, enthusiastic, and on-the-spot.

Forget what you know about usual "sport" scents, those brash and metallic colognes that are the olfactory equivalent of shoulder armor, spandex, and a helmet. Lartigue, by happy contrast, is modern, clean, and elegant, and cuts a handsome figure clothed in pristine tennis whites.

(And, in the true spirit of modernity, this scent is great for both men and women.)

Notes: Woods, Peach, Citrus, Sun, Air

Aspects: Succulent, Bright, Modern, Fresh

This perfume opens up with a blast of lemon on me, and there it stays. I can’t detect anything else and it fades very quickly on me, after an hour it is gone. It’s very nice as long as it lasts, though. A very good scent for a hot day, as the feeling of it is so cool and light.

Realism

A green tableau in four dimensions: bring the outdoors in.

Realism opens with a buzzing, resinous green swell of grasses, herbs, and blossoms giving off their freshness in the heat of the sun. Supported by damp petals and black soil, the soft and expansive smell of crushed stems from a fruit tree fills the heart of this scent, breathing a sublime greenspace for hours. In the drydown, a sleepy accord of ultraprecious hay absolute and quiet cedar.

It's Realism, but more than that. Its realism isn't that of a bookplate from a botany book, but that of one of Courbet's tableaus, if it unfolded in three--actually, four--dimensions.

Unisex, and no less gorgeous for it.

Notes: A Crushed Stem, Soil, Herbs, Hay, Citrus

Aspects: Green, Sunshot, and Blooming

If Lartigue was a blast of lemon, Realism is a blast of freshly cut grass. This is truly a really green scent and it reminds me, though I have yet to smell them side by side, of vintage Vent Vert from Balmain. That is a very good thing in my book- I love Vent Vert. I get the same feeling of it as I got from Lartigue, a scent for a hot day, but Realism also have staying power. The dry down gets just drier, the grass turns into hay and you can detect the cedar. Unusual and lovely.

I am very happy that I tried Goest, I think the quality match the bottles and advertisement. I really want a bigger bottle of Silent Film, and I want more of Dauphine, Grand Tour and Realism as well. I would also try any new perfumes they may present in the future.

Goest perfumes

 I think I have found a little gem. Last week I stumbled over a picture of a perfume bottle that I felt compelled to look at a little closer. It had a nice Art Deco feel to it and when I followed the link I found this little perfume company, Goest, on Etsy. As you may remember I really love perfume and investigating the wonderful world of vintage perfume has been a joy these past years. It has also been quite expensive. So I wouldn’t mind at all finding perfume that evokes a vintage feel while being new. I think I may have found it.

This is what they say about themselves:

We're Goest Perfumes. Welcome to your new metaphysical wardrobe. Our purpose? To bring you prestige-quality fragrance that's distinctively-designed, very handmade, and whose aim is true.

We don't set any artificial bars to excellent fragrance, and work (with our very own hands) with small quantities so you can actually afford to have things like rose absolute (which you're not going to find in mainstream fragrance due to price) in the perfume you wear every day. No material is off limits, and our sources run the gamut: we've used precious flower absolutes, low-tech essential oils, hi-tech commercial syntheses, house-made herb and tea tinctures, and traditional Indian attars. Our only binding parameters are safety, excellence, fair prices, and always, great scent design.

There are a lot of fragrances out there. But between dandy, highfalutin, exclusive "branding" perfumers where you're just paying for marketing, and cheap and cheery--and terribly boring--fruity florals, there isn't a lot for the aesthete who wants to smell good. We aim to fill that niche with a vengeance.


This company is also somewhat experimental. You'll be able to get things here that you absolutely, positively, would never find anywhere else. That we don't go along with the crowd more or less entails that not everyone is going to like what we do. But if you find yourself going to Sephora and not relating to any of the cotton-candy-florals or deodorant/cleaning product scents they offer; if you feel like you put a lot of thought into your style and environment but can't seem to find a fragrance that actually fits into your world; if you just don't think perfume is that interesting: we exist for you. Welcome to your new metaphysical wardrobe. You won't smell like anyone else in the room, and before now, you've never known what a good thing that can be.


HOW WE DO IT - - - - -

Every scent we make is made with super high quality raw materials, some of which are house-made (which means you're not going to smell like the person next to you on the bus, though they might end up wishing that they smelled like you). We do everything in super small batches, testing them all rigorously (not on animals). What you get in the mail when you order your new scent is basically the result of a ton of hand-labor. We even cut and score our packaging to order. This is a couture experience that you can't get elsewhere and we're elated that we can do it for you. These aren't cheap, repackaged "fragrance oils", nor are they whole-food essential oil blends ("not that there's anything wrong with that"). They are thoughtfully, painstakingly, creatively designed, real-deal products. And you'll smell better for it.

Very seductive, if I may say so. Then there was the visual impact. Clean, nice lines with, as I said, a clear Art deco vibe. I must say that I felt instantly compelled to buy one of the large bottles just for the joy of displaying it on my vanity table. Miniature bottles, samples and general packaging are also very well designed. Someone here knows marketing- I felt prepared to buy something even before I had read the perfume descriptions. Of course, a good description is equally important- if one hasn’t had the opportunity to actually smell a perfume, you need to be made wanting to smell them.

And Goest succeed:

 

Silent Films opens with an aromatic burst of old-world lavender and mint, and settles to reveal a hypnotic and cool heart of vanilla and black spicy earth; before the night is gone, it gives way to a smoldering, powdery, and purely addictive drydown of seductive leathers, musks, and smoke.

Dark, cool, and narcotic, this animal is cast in polar absolutes: no fruit; no flowers; no noise. This perfume is not as a warm and rosy body itself, but like an uncanny image of the body, a mercurial impersonation--almost as if in a mirror, or projected on a screen…

Silent Films takes its cues from the dark and restrained drama of its namesake. Yet showy it is not. It is only the drama of significant looks exchanged from eyes rimmed with kohl; of the thrill of the unspoken; of the gestures of love which pass by silently, in the dark, on a flickering screen: where black is very black indeed, and white shines out like silver.

Totally distinctive; totally addictive; Silent Films is for bold men and bolder women.

So, it took me about ten minutes to decide I wanted to try these perfumes. As they offer a three-sample set for $11 and as they currently only have six scents, I ordered samples of all of them. Here’s my experience.

Customer service When I made my order Etsy claimed that the seller didn’t sell outside US, despite the store said otherwise. I mailed Goest and got an answer within hours that it was indeed a mistake and that they do ship internationally. I placed my order and I got a mail that my samples had been shipped the same day. It took eight days to reach me, but that is normal for packages from USA to Sweden. The samples were beautifully and well packed. I’m really pleased!

Products and price Apart from the samples, the perfumes are sold in 20 ml splash bottles for $36 or 5 ml mini-bottles for $11. There is a possibility to buy all six perfumes as a set in the mini-bottles for $50. A few of the perfumes can also be purchased in 60 ml spray bottles for $52. For perfume, that is pretty fair prices, I think. US-residents may be happy to know that samples ships free for them as I write this. Also, when purchasing a large bottle, one gets a free sample, if you request one.

And, after having waxed so lyrically over the looks and language, what do I actually think about the products? Well, I have only tried Silent Films so far and as this post is long enough as it is, here is my thoughts on that, the other five scents will be reviewed in a later post.

Notes: Vetiver, Vanilla, Leather, Smoke.

Aspects: Mysterious, Powdery, Brutal, Nostalgic.

First impression was not lavender and mint, but vanilla and smoke. Then there was vanilla and leather, with vanilla as the dominant note. Several hours into wearing it that has shifted and the leather goes more dominant. The vetiver keeps in the background, but I suspect does a lot in making this scent special.

I like this perfume a lot. I’m a former vanilla-addict, but have come to regard most vanilla-scents as too sweet and cloying. The vanilla in Silent Films is prominent, but the other notes give it a balance, depth and edge. It wraps around you like a luxurious fur coat and I have sniffed my own wrists all afternoon. I can agree on mysterious, powdery and nostalgic, though not brutal. Perhaps it would if I amped leather notes more than I do. A co-worker who sniffed me pronounced the small “warm”. Quite apt description.

 

So this first perfume has definitely delivered. I look forward to try the rest of them.

 

A review on What Katie Did's Baby corset

I recently bought the Baby Corset from What Katie Did and as it inspired by the waspies of the New Look-look, I thought a little review here wouldn’t be amiss.

In case you have missed it, WKD is a UK-based company that makes lingerie, stockings and corsets inspired by the 40’s and 50’s. I have purchased clothes from them before and always been pleased with both customer service and the quality. I live in Sweden and it took 3 days for my package to arrive, which I think is excellent.

I have their Mae corset which is shorter than the Morticia, the length from waist to underarm is 4.75. I like it as it is well made and for its price easily the best off the rack corset I have ever purchased. However, I have a very short upper torso and it’s much too long for me. I can wear it for an evening, but it is bordering on uncomfortable. I have been toying with the idea of wearing corsets more regularly, but to do that, comfort is a must. The Baby corset is just 7 inches long altogether and as I have had the opportunity to try it in a store I felt confident that it would suit me.

Despite its tiny size, this is a real corset in heavyweight satin and cotton twill, it has a real busk and 12 bones both spiral steel and flat steel. It is also really curvy and meant to reduce the waist to 4-5 inches. I really think this is a great little corset, though definitely not for every body type.

Being so curvy I think fits a curvy figure better. For a woman with little natural difference between waist and hips it may be too big over the hips. I have an hourglass figure, so I found the fit great though. It is very short and I think one should bear that in mind. On me it is perfect, but one someone with a longer body there will be a noticeable gap between corset and bra. That in itself isn’t a problem, but if you have a lot to squish, then you may get a roll of fat in between corset and bra, which may not be what you are looking for. A longline bra would probably help to eliminate that, though.

A crappy picture, but you can see how curvy it is. Here it's just laced so it doesn't slide around on me, there is definitly room for lacing it more..

You also need to be aware that if you want to wear stockings you will need a separate girdle or very long garter straps as it is too short. This corset doesn’t restrict your tummy at all and the curvy cut also gives the ribcage some room, so it is actually very comfortable to wear, much more so than a long corset. I tight dress of skirt may pronounce the uncorseted tummy a bit too much) at least one me), but with wider skirts I think it will be wonderful.

I don’t find any of the potential problems I have listed to be any problems, though. It is a short corset that will give you a dramatic waist and if you aware of its shortness and that it in some ways behaves differently from a long one, well, and then I think it’s pretty much perfect.

A review on Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing

I’m sure most, if not all of you, know about Gertie's New Blog For Better Sewing and so you already know that her book, Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing by Gretchen Hirsch. It is a sewing book for those interested in sewing vintage, heavily inspired by the book that started out Gertie's blog, once upon a time, VOGUES New Book For Better Sewing from 1952. It’s been out for a while, so my review comes a little late, but better late than never.

Content

The book has several parts and begins with a chapter on vintage sewing and a discussion on patterns, vintage versus reproduction. Then follow chapters on preparation, techniques, tailoring, how to change patterns and fitting. The book also contains several multi-sized patterns and the last part gives sewing instructions, tips and tricks as well as pattern adaptations on them.

Style

The book is hard backed with a spiral, which makes it both sturdy and practical. There is a lot of illustrations and additional information apart from the actual text. The writing style is very informal and the book is easy to read.

Pros and cons

The layout of the book is very pleasing and it is also a book that is unique just that it targets vintage sewing, but in a modernized way. For me, who has been sewing a long time and enjoy reading sewing books, there weren’t anything in the techniques and fitting chapters that were new to me, but that isn’t really a con. One thing that may annoy readers is the rather chummy style the book is written in. here is your pal Gertie who really wants you to love sewing as much as she does and she has a lot of personal opinions on it. I didn’t mind, but if you want your sewing book more formal and impersonal, then this might be irritating.

The biggest pro for me is the patterns. Considering what a pattern cost and what a sewing book cost, this book is really worth the money! There are also several blouse patterns, which I have been looking for. I also really love the wiggle-dress with kimono sleeves that utilize an underarm gusset for a fitted look. I have yet to try any of them, though I plan to start with a blouse.

The vintage style presented in this book is Gertie’s own style which is heavily 50’s with some 40’s thrown in. So if you are interested in other vintage eras, then you may find the pattern section disappointing. Also, there are no trouser pattern at all, which doesn’t bother me as I never wear trousers, but, again, may be irritating for those who do.

The biggest con is the fit on some of the clothes. They are all modeled by Gertie herself and some of them just don’t fit well while others look great. I suspect that part of this is due to the way they are photographed as almost all patterns are made up in two versions and one version can fit well, but the other one don’t. I really find this rather annoying and something that would probably be possible to work around.

I have read reviews that which for more than one model to see how the patterns would look on other body types. I don’t think it’s so odd, the cost of making the clothes in several sizes and finding models for them would probably climb rather quickly. And, after all, you don’t get pictures of more than one model when you buy a pattern.

To sum it up

I like this book, but I don’t feel that it is the ultimate book for me information-wise. I have other sources that are true and tried and which I will continue to use them. However, if you are relatively new to sewing, or is about to begin, then I think this a really great book. I really love the attitude throughout the book that sewing is fun and easy, so if you think it’s scary, read this book! And, as I have already said, the patterns alone make the book worth the money!

 

A review on Simplicity 15c Pattern #3474

It seem like Simplicity re-used pattern numbers because when I googled I found a 60's pattern with the same one. This review is for a dress with a pointed yoke from 1940.

The envelope says "Simple to Make" and I agree. It may look a bit complicated when you look at the pattern as it has a yoke and no shoulder seam, but if you have your basic sewing skill in pat, then I don't think this one is hard to make at all. It's unprinted, which I have never used before, which means that all indications on the patterns are made by tiny holes and not lines. When I got used to that I found it very easy to work with. The pattern has two sleeve options and though I really like the short sleeves, i opted to make the long ones as this is meant to be a winter dress. I choose thin black wool crepe for it, a fabric I haven't worked with before. It's beautiful but somewhat slippery, but I basted all seams before sewing. Somewhat more time-consuming, but so worth it.

A review on Sense and Sensibility's swing dress pattern

In the beginning of this year Casey at Elegant Musing hosted sew along for Sense & Sensibilities swing dress pattern. I joined, but when it was time to hem it I completely lost steam and only last week I finished it. Here is my review on the pattern

Sense and Sensibility says this about it:

Here is my 1940s “Swing” Dress Pattern, inspired by an original Hollywood design, circa 1942. The design comes from the WWII days of fabric rationing, which meant narrower skirts and more tailored lines.
• Sizes 8-26 all included in one envelope.
• Unique yoke with gathered shoulders and two sleeve options (short and “bracelet-length”).
• Gored skirt great for twirling! Put on your dancing shoes!
• Transition this pattern to evening wear by lengthening the skirt.
• Photo Instructions online (coming soon in PDF format).
• Click to download the Swing Dress Pattern yardage chart.
• Available for instant download as an ePattern in PDF format!
• I also have an online class available for this pattern.

A review on Bèsame lipstick

Like so many others I have been looking with longing on the beautiful products from Bèsame. So stylish and with such design, looking so much like make-up packages did on the good old days. And everyone who tried seemed to rave over the quality, especially the lipsticks. I have been a bit scared to order anyway, just because I have felt unsure on what colour to choose. Luckily Bèsame offers samples on six of their lipsticks, namely:
Bèsame Red, a cool-toned true red.
Cherry Red, darker cherry red, cool-toned.
Red Velvet, darker red, neutral
Red Hot Red, a warm-toned true red
Carmine, a orange red
Merlot, a brownish red.

A review on Rockalily lipsticks

This was how long I could keep away! Well, I did say I would post, they will just be a bit irregular. Besides, insomnia can strike even during vacation- a perfect opportunity to write a post.

A little while ago Lottie Loves wrote lyrically about the lipsticks from Rockalily. Ever in search of the perfect red I got quite interested. I'm terribly unimpressed by MAC in general, but bought Ruby Woo anyway, as it is such a classic lipstick, and found that even if I quite like the colour, the formula is awful and that alone make it a lipstick that rarely get worn. The reviews I could find on the Rockalily lipsticks were all very good and I liked the colours, so I ordered the two cool-toned red lipsticks they have. They also have a pink one and a warm-toned red.

A review on Retro Makeup: Techniques for Applying the Vintage Look

Today Retro Makeup: Techniques for Applying the Vintage Look by Lauren Rennells arrived. As it happened to be my day off this week I did not do all the household chores I had planned to do, but devoured the book instead.

The very short of it is that you need this book. If you have any interest in make-up and/or retro styles, then it is the book to have.

Here are the slightly longer reasons why: