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Post by Poodle
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Loves me, loves me not
I’d been curious to try Kiss Me Tender for so long. I almost made a blind buy. It seemed so promising.
Kiss Me Tender by Patricia de Nicolai for Parfums de Nicolai 2010
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange blossom, bitter almonds, star anise
Heart: Heliotrope, cloves, cinnamon, ylang-ylang, spices, fresh hay, jasmine
Base: Opoponax, musk, vanilla, wood notes
The first time I tried it there was tons of ylang-ylang (more than you’re thinking) and a touch of spice. There was something retro about it as well but in a good way. When I was a kid my mom had given me some perfume nips to play with. They were these little glass-like tubes that were fused shut on the ends. In order to get the perfume out you had to snap off the end of the tube. Not something any of today’s overprotective parents would let a child play with but I had no incidents with them. Anyway, there was a ylang-ylang one and that’s what this reminded me of. That was my favorite along with the carnation. It was rich, creamy, sweet, and just a little spicy. It was soft and comfortable. When I smelled Kiss me Tender it was wonderful and I wanted a bottle then and there but I didn’t buy one.
Photo Stolen WikiCommons
The next time I tried it it was different. This time there was still ylang-ylang but there was some serious sweetness as well. It was shot through with a note of green (the fresh hay?) which was an unusual contrast to the sugar. It seemed more bitter to me than green actually. Perhaps it was my mood but that day it set my teeth on edge. Lurking within this confectionary cloud I could smell some spice, clove and cinnamon to be exact, adding to the gourmand experience I was having. As the sugar subsided I was again brought back to my childhood with an odd Play-Doh note which drifted in and out. Where was all this hiding the first time I tried it? I didn’t dislike it but I wasn’t loving it like the first time. It wasn’t a good day for that much sweetness and any wrist huffing made my tummy turn a bit. On another day I might have liked it. Looking at other reviews lots of folks do.
Photo Stolen Flickr
I know I will probably have a different experience if I try it again but there’s no third try because what little I had is gone. Will I buy a bottle now? Not likely without another sampling. I’m just not sure why it worked so well one day and the next was so cloying to me.
Further reading: Grain de Musc and Perfume Shrine
Parfum1 has $150/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml
Anyway, have you ever loved a perfume one day and then had a complete reversal the next time you wore it? Did you ever fall in love with it again?
Poodle XXX