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Kate Apted
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Well, hello good APJ people. Got a fun post for you all today. It is all about Kyse perfumes! Ok, just the ones I have been fortunate enough to try.
Kyse by Terri Bozzo
Kyse is owned, and the perfumes made, by Terri Bozzo, located in the US. Terri’s work tends to attract various opinions. She has a large following of gourmand lovers; then those who appreciate her budget friendly prices and light hearted approach to her scents. There is, as always, a small group who find the Kyse range rather twee and hold no bragging rights.
I own an old rollerball from Terri’s earlier body of work, which I find to be superb in everyway. It is a milky fig, with a trace of freesia and jasmine perhaps, that is creamy and green, yet is so expertly blended that it is seemless. Called Dream, it gives an early inkling of the sweet, edible offerings to come with the Kyse project. Had I not come across Dream, I would have underestimated Terri’s talent in her later work. Kyse scents are over the top compared with Dream.
Let me quickly sum up those I have worn.
Frolindo Lavande – a buttery lavender that melts in the mouth, salted popcorn style. Huge personality on opening. Maintains the eerie edible lavender for a good few hours.
Confit de Roses – a melange of sweets and rose, underlined with a really unique base. Not for the faint hearted! No rose has ever been that heady and ready for clubbing at midday.
Bois de Santal et Terre – mushrooms growing on damp wood, but dries down to a sweet bark. Veers sharply left out of nowhere.
Elegance Sombre – exactly what I thought Prada Candy was said to be, but oh so much better and richer! If you want to dip your cautious toes into Kyse, do start here. One of the more mainstream gourmands.
Ãme Sauvage – leather that has been mascerated in liquid sugar and smoked over summer. Full on opening, but heavenly release of scent half hour later.
Vertigo Cuir – gave me a caramel coated leather sofa headache. Too much sweetness that overrides the tame and very pleasant leather. Nonetheless, an incredibly vivacious scent that will suit non-wallflowers.
Gardenia Sucree – beautifully smooth gardenia, iced with the right amount of white sugar sweetness. Sadly, it does not last long on me. I want it in bath oil form. I want to diffuse it in steamy hot water. Forever.
Fumee Vanilla – one of the latest releases is also one of the flatest. Terri shows none of her flair for flounce here. Simply a pleasant vanilla. Without gourmand inclinations.
Cocco Tiare – all the beachy comments made about Bronze Goddess apply here, but no sign of a Giselle Bundchen type in the adverts; more like Marcia Brady. Pretty, polite, but no skin to be seen.
Cocco alla Vaniglia – add the two directly above together, et voila!
Oui Plus – a malty, chocolate biscuit kind of sweet scent. One of Terri’s signature blends that put her on the gourmand radar. A step beyond Elegance Sombre.
Kyse’s range have that same appeal heavy drag queen make up has to one who normally loathes make up of any kind; uncharacteristically, I am happy to wear even the sweetest ones, applied sparingly, but often. There is an exaggeration to most of the scents that makes them endearing and so much fun to wear. They do not take themselves too seriously and the range is diverse enough for everyone to find at least one to enjoy.
I am always pleased to be able to try anything Terri produces. I do not always want to be beholden to matronly seriousness in chypre form, nor get mullet street cred from Flowerbomb nuclear missiles.
Terri is generally kind enough to slip the odd sample of something into an order. She has a lot of her scents in whipped soap and body lotion form. A great way to try the range if you are not wanting to commit to a bottle. Do yourself a favour though and grab a sample or two.
If you have tried anything from Kyse, or Terri’s earlier work, PLEASE share your impressions. Or, if you you are going to seek out samples, which ones appeal to you?
May your week be filled with all manner of frivolities!
Kate x
P.S. Photos by me
Thanks to Tara C I sampled quite a few. All gorgeous with my favorites being Ficco Al Panna and Frolindo Lavandre which I passed on to Marcella to try because I thought she would love it like me. This line has so many sizes from 1 ml to 60 ml with everything in between and ridiculously affordable. I have a 15 ml of the Ficco on my want list.
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They are really affordable. I am glad you did a community service and shared the samples. Nice wirk, Brigitte!
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We have a North American APJ travelling perfume box going! I also sent one of the vanillas to Kathleen 😁 I think more APJers need to get their noses on Kyse. Fantastic fragrances at great prices.
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I agree, Brigitte. I admit it took me a while to get Terri’s work. Frolindo made sense. Now I want to try them all.
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I have and love Frollino Lavande, Bonbons à la Vanille, Vanille Cèdre, Oui Plus, Douceur Brûlée and one of the old By Terry scents which I don’t have at hand but is a sweet white musk (it may well be Dream). I have Benjoin Vanille, Oui Plus, Douceur Brûlée and Bonbons à la Vanille in body cream too. I’m a gourmand lover so this line is right up my alley and the price point is great. Looking forward to trying the marshmallow scent when I get back to the states in October.
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Ohlala! Marshmallow scent, hey?? I think I need to try some of the soaps. They are a great way to get to know some more of the line up. Xx
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You have to be a gourmand lover, for sure. I used to try and buy hers when the house was still Perfumes by Terri. I owned or have tried the following. Some are likes and some okay, two dislikes but no loves yet.
Benjoin Vanillee (dislike)
Gardenia Sucre (okay)
Fumee Vanille (like)
Ame Sauvage (dislike)
Mandorlo Cioccolato (like)
Elegance Sombre (like)
J (like)
Frollino Lavanda (okay)
Vanille Debauche (like)
Confit de Rose (okay)
Vertigo Cuir (okay)
Douceur Brulee (okay)
Sucre et Fleurs (okay)
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I’m in your camp, Gina. Not being a gourmande lover and not liking chocolate in perfumes makes it hard to love Kyse Perfumes. In the end on my skin I can smell only chocolate.
I got samples of 6 various perfumes and after testing them I can say that I liked Mandorlo Cioccolato, Vanilla Debauche and Oui Plus. What I didn’t like was the sweet and sour combination in Elegance Sombre and Confit de Rose.
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Lol Neva! I think these two do cop a lot of love/hate. I remember the screwed up faces some had at smelling Confit de Rose. I do find the Bois the most challenging, simply because it ISN’T sweet. 😂
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Have you tried En Voyage? I love those chocolate gourmands. I also like Aquolina Chocolovers.
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I’ve only tried Zelda, which is a nice one. It’s hard to find samples here in Europe.
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Yeah, Gina, one does need to appreciate the sweeter leanings, though I will say the Bois is not sweet.
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What a timely post! Thanks to Brigitte :), I got to test a couple of Kyse scents – Ficco Al Panna and J. I liked both and was going to order a small bottle of the former. I was thinking about getting several additional samples but wasn’t sure which to order. I’ll read yours and everyone’s impressions to choose what to buy.
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We have Tara C to thank for those! As soon as I smelled Ficco I knew you would like it…same with J! J reminds me a bit of 1000 Flowers Ode for Him which we already have in the house. So I have the Ficco on my to buy in the future list too! A 15 ml bottle is practically free!!!
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At the prices Terri charges for samples, one can afford to pick a few. I need to try this Ficco! I hear it about a bit. I think I am missing out. Xx
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It’s a sweet milky fig to die for. you must try it.
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Kate, I just saw your other pictures and now am wondering if this is the same perfumer who made Fresh Scents? I adored Breathe and in the early 2000s thunked about 3 bottles. Also, turned my coworkers on to the brand. One of my co workers always bought her peach perfume with sparkles in it. Wish I could remember the names of the other fragrances!!
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Ha!!! I found it on eBay! Peachy Keen with shimmer! I think Fresh Scents went out of business but the formula for Breathe was bought by another company and renamed Shenandoah but that company went out of business too.
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AND……Walmart has four bottles of Berry Kiss by Fresh Scents by Terri….oh, lordy, Kate, you have sent me down a nostalgic rabbit hole!! 🐇🐇🐇
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I’d love to try Terri’s earlier stuff.
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Did some research.
Fresh Scents by Terri (Weitzman) Breathe, Dream, Zoe, My Lulu, Berry Kiss and Peachy Keen. She started blending her own fragrances
way back when becausee she didn’t like mainstream fragrances. And she is a nutritionist by trade .
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Wow! Bravo, Brigitte! Thanks heaps for that info. Now going perfume hunting. 😬
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Sorry, not sorry! Bahahahahaha!
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😈
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How bizarre! I wonder why Terri has abandoned those earlier scents. Were they popular back in the day?
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Don’t know but in my circle no one heard of the brand. When I started wearing Breathe to work several folks commented and asked. Then there were five more customers. But then Fresh Scents went out of business 😭
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Sad, hey? I adore Dream. I am not too keen to use it up. No replacement.
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It sure is! Fresh by Terri. I had to look it up.
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