Nirvana Amethyst

Perfume Chat Room, January 15
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Perfume Chat Room, January 15

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, January 15, and I can’t believe we are halfway through January already! I live in the Southeastern United States, and we can already sense the advent of spring. The days are getting longer, the sun is rising earlier, and some brave flowers are emerging. I have hellebores in bloom, and some hardy daffodils are poking their green shoots up out of the earth, though it will be a while before any bloom. I’m not yet ready to break out the full-on spring floral and green scents I love, I’m still wearing my “warmer” fragrances like L’Ambre des Merveilles, which I finally bought in 2020. This week, I’ve been enjoying Covet by Sarah Jessica Parker, which is between “warm” and “floral”. It is a true bargain beauty, widely available for less than $25 for 100 ml. I found a bottle recently at T.J.Maxx on clearance for $18.

Speaking of T.J. Maxx, where I was delighted to discover a bargain reissue of my beloved Anne Klein II , last week I found a bottle of that same reissue there at my local store, labeled with a price of $49.99. No, no, no! I’ve bought a few backup bottles there and not one cost more than $14.99. The reissue is great, and another bargain beauty, but the vintage original goes for ridiculous prices online. If you’re tempted, make sure you don’t pay vintage-zone prices for the new version; look on the box and the small print will say Made In China and distributed by Palm Beach Beaute LLC.

I read and participate regularly in the comments on a favorite blog, “Now Smell This”, which always has a weekly Friday “community project” in which readers wear a fragrance they have which fits a shared theme. This week’s theme (so creative!) is to wear a fragrance that reminds you of this year’s Pantone “Colors of the Year”, which are currently “Ultimate Gray” and “Illuminating” (a bright yellow). So today, I will wear another bargain beauty, Elizabeth & James’ discontinued Nirvana French Grey. It and its sibling, Nirvana Amethyst, are all over the bargain brick-and-mortar stores for under $20 for 50 ml, and well worth that price. All the Nirvana fragrances have been discontinued, so if you like them and you find them for a great price, stock up!

What’s new in your world, fragrance or otherwise? How is 2021 looking for you so far?

Scent Sample Sunday: Nirvana Amethyst
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Scent Sample Sunday: Nirvana Amethyst

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?