Surprise! Today I thought I was going to write about Miu Miu L’Eau Bleue because I had worn it a bit this week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Then I realized how much it reminds me of Stella McCartney’s L.I.L.Y., so I decided maybe I should review that next May, with other muguet scents. I moved on mentally to Commodity’s Orris, as I had worn that last Friday when another blog was encouraging its readers to wear scents that included vetiver, and Orris certainly does!
And then. I stopped into Sephora so I could spray Orris liberally from a tester, as my small sample was getting low. While browsing, I saw the two new Nirvana flankers, Nirvana Amethyst and Nirvana French Grey. I tried French Grey first, as its listed notes sounded more my style. Very nice. Then I sprayed Amethyst on my wrist. Oh, my! I couldn’t stop sniffing it, in spite of the generous amount of Orris I had applied on my other side. So I decided to comment on Amethyst instead.
The listed notes, given in no particular order, are: tobacco, sweet honeysuckle, cedar and spices. The tobacco and honeysuckle appear right away, the honeysuckle sweetening the tobacco (which is already a gentle tobacco, not harsh at all but a little sharp and spicy). The spices are there underneath, and the cedar starts to reveal itself after the first 15-20 minutes or so. Although it isn’t listed as a note, I get a nice spicy vanilla as Amethyst dries down, which definitely gives it a slightly gourmand sensibility. It is lasting very well on my wrist, still going strong after two hours, though the tobacco and wood have faded somewhat, and mostly what I smell now is sweet honeysuckle and vanilla with woody undertones. No smokiness. It is really appealing! I think it would be great in autumn.
Amethyst charms from the start and continues to be charming throughout its progression. For the life of me, I don’t understand how they came up with this name, though; there is nothing remotely purple about this scent. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like it. Have you tried it yet? What did you think? How does it compare to the other Nirvana fragrances, or other woody vanillas you’ve tried?
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 
I have tried all of the Elizabeth & James fragrances. From what I remember White was a soft musk and Black was a musky sandalwood on my skin. Bourbon was super boozy and sweet and Rose was a rosy-oud concoction. I really liked French Grey (I am a lavender fiend) but Amethyst was my favorite of them all (pure sweet spices). The biggest shocker was that it lasted forever on my scent eating skin. I have a dabber sample (made it myself in Sephora when they told me they were out of empty sprayers) and swiped about 8-10 on the wrist. I expected it to fade within the hour but it pretty much lasted all day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree! I was indifferent to White and Black, liked Bourbon and Rose but didn’t love them. Amethyst was really nice, and lasted on my wrist up to 12 hours. I have a sample of French Grey; so far, I’ve only smelled it on a paper swatch in Sephora. Looking forward to trying it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
White and Black were OK but not interesting enough to test them on skin. I liked Bourbon but didn’t love it. Rose was beautiful on my (much) younger sister so I didn’t even attempt to test it on myself. Now I’m curious about these two: one because of your review and the other one because of the chocolatemarzipan’s comment: I love lavender. So thank you both for the heads-up 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll be very interested to read your thoughts on Amethyst and French Grey!
LikeLike
I mostly like florals and green fragrances, but I love Arquiste for J. Crew No. 57, and its younger sibling by the same perfumer, Jo Malone’s Whisky and Cedarwood, both of which have a woody, vanilla vibe. So it’s not completely out of character for me to have liked Nirvana Amethyst! I’ll be interested to read your thoughts on it.
LikeLike
Heya OH,
I bought a bottle of the black and love it. I don’t think they made it to Australian Sephora though I’ve not checked. Quite excited to sniff the new two. That bottle design is killer though, it feels so luxe in the hand and looks great.
Portia xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
So far, Amethyst is by far the one I have liked the most!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Perfume Chat Room, January 15 – Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities