For the love of chocolate- Parfumerie Generale Musc Maori

I've been pondering my options for that dreaded day that my bottle of Lea Extreme runs out. It is a limited edition, but still available at Luckyscents, so I can hoard bottles if I really have to. However, I'm not sure if it's such a good idea, considering that the bottles are (too) big at 100 ml and might turn before I actually get to use them.

I was hoping to find something similar. A very non-Angel gourmand scent that is chocolatey and musky without hitting you over the head with a sweet stick, and that doesn't smell like it belongs in a discounted gift set from Macy's.

Musc Maori by Parfumerie Generale is just that. It boasts several notes: Cumaru wood, green notes of coffee tree blossom, white musk, cocoa bean, amber and tonka bean. On my skin it was exclusively vanilla, cocoa and that lovely white musk that characterizes Lea Extreme's drydown and is probably responsible to the craving Lea fans tend to get.

Unlike Aomassai, another rich gourmand offering from PG, there are no weird notes in this one and it's unlikely that anyone would find it objectionable. If anything, it might be criticized for lack of innovation. It stays the same without much development throughout its short-to-medium skin life and doesn't surprise you at any point.

Musc Maori smells more delicate than LE, it doesn't have the almondy-coconuty note in the opening and carries an air of sophistication that Lea Extreme sadly lacks. Still, it has the same satisfying, comforting effect, a similar warmth and its sexiness is just a bit more grownup. I might have just found the solution for life after Lea.

Bitter Almonds- Mazzolari Alessandro

How I wanted to love Alessandro!

Considering my infatuation with both Lea St. Barth (extreme) and Keiko Mecheri's Loukhoum, I thought that this was a sure thing. Alessandro by Mazzolari is often hailed as the holy grail for sweet almond scents (other than Jarling, that is).

It is a soft, comforting scent. It's definitely pretty, and unlike Jarling that turned cleaning product sharp on my poor unsuspecting skin, it stays light and gentle. The problem for me was the lack of character and depth and the obviousness of the almonds. I like them as a note, but I don't want to smell like marzipan. The honey and vanilla notes are barely there, just enough to soften the almond but not to take it into any new depths.

Worst of all, it's an EDT and is seriously lacking in staying power. It was gone so fast that I had to reapply twice before I could have a real impression. I gave it a chance over two days, but it ended up leaving me wanting something bigger and better. I have neglected my bottle of Lea for the last couple of months, but as soon as I sprayed it I knew that it was just what I needed. I don't know how I wore Lea over the summer (and I did often). This is clearly a cashmere sweater scent, and it has never smelled better on my skin. It has everything that Alessandro is lacking, and then some. It has depth and staying power, the vanilla and white musk are adding some character and the end result is a wonderful comfort scent.

Two Keikos- Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum and Jasmine

Two of the fragrance samples I tested lately were Keiko Mecheris. The first, Loukhoum, was a love at first sniff. A few months ago I might not have been swept off my feet so completely, but things have changed since my love affair with almond and vanilla has begun. Loukhum is a more mature and sophisticated Lea Extreme. It has more notes that make it a bit spicier and more complex, but the vanilla-almond-musk base is similar- beautiful, warm and comforting. It has a very good staying power and is highly recommended to anyone who is a Lea fan.


My love for Loukhoum made my disappointment with Keiko's Jasmine very bitter. I like jasmine as a note, mixed with other components. But this one was not only one tracked and simple, it wasn't even a very good jasmine. It's probably a matter of taste and body chemistry, but I haven't worn anything that smelled so cheap in many, many years. I don't think I'd be able to distinguish Jasmine from any similar-noted drugstore air freshener. As far as I'm concerned this fragrance might have been manufactured by Glade.

Lea Revisited

Ever since the Zagorsk fiasco, I've been on a sweet kick. That's an understatement, actually. I've been craving sweet, soft vanillas. The kind that envelopes you with warmth and richness. Not very summery of me, but some things can't be rationalized. It feels like the stomach reaction I had after testing Zagorsk has turned on a switch in that part of my brain that responds to fragrance and all of a sudden I can't get enough of certain perfumes. Like, surprisingly, Lea Extreme.

After using every drop of my sample, I broke down and bought the full size bottle. I'm trying not to wear it every day, so I can try on other vanilla based scents, but all of a sudden I'm very in love with this strange concotion.

Extreme Chocolate- Léa Extreme by Léa St. Barth

Sometimes I think that there are two kinds of women: Those who like their fragrance to smell like food and those who don't. I normally belong to the second group. I'll never use anything that makes me smell like a fruit cup or a pie: Clinique's Happy (essence of OJ) and Simply (attacked by a giant watermelon), Chanel Chance and just about every fragrance from Comptoir Sud Pacifique. I love vanilla as a base note when combined with sexy, non-foody elements (most Guerlains), but I don't want to smell like I just bathed in McCormick.

Today I cracked open one of the samples in the little bag I got from Luckyscents. It was the Lea Extreme by Lea St. Barth. The first whiff smelled like a warning: coconut and chocolate. Normally it would be enough of a reason to send this into the "use for household purpose only" bag, but I put it on in the name of research (and because I know that the full sized bottle is a $125 indulgence).

The coconutty element was mostly gone as the fragrance touched my skin. It probably comes from the sweet almond top note, and I was glad to be rid of it. What remained was chocolate. I needed to use quite a bit to get it to stick, but when it did, it was warm and enveloping, rather than floating. The scent settled quickly into its chocolatey base, and remained the same for the entire day, which means that its actual staying power was not bad at all, though one would need to get very very close in order to smell it after the first few minutes. I know that for some, it is actually an advantage, but I prefer a stronger presence.

I didn't hate it. I didn't love it either. It doesn't smell cheap as many other chocolate-vanilla fragrances tend to be. But it's very one dimentional, single note with no twist or depth to it. And the end result is so much like cocoa butter, that here and there you are reminded of Palmer's lotion, which is not exactly the height of luxury.

ETA: It's months later and I've written about it here and there, but it's worth updating my original review. Somehow, this fragance has managed to get to me in a way very few ever did. It's nothing like the scents that would normally attract me, and yet I get cravings for Lea. Eventually, I caved and bought the full bottle which I'm using happily whenever I need its comforting coziness. It isn't very sophisticated and doesn't smell like a million bucks, but it's good.