.
Post by Willa Zheng
.
Reader,
I have a dirty little secret. I love the fume of petrol. All narcotic, sweet and floral. It’s a wonder that a substance so noxious smells so euphoric!
Apparently, I’m not alone. Histoires de Parfums released Petroleum as an “editions rare” in 2011 to capture all of the pretty aspects of petroleum fuel, whilst leaving out the nasty nausea-inducing bits. When Carlos at the Luckyscent Scent Bar introduced this to me last year, I thought I’d found the liquid gold I never knew I’d been searching for all my life!
Petroleum by Histoires de Parfums
Vs
Eau de Engine by Team Vodafone
Photo Stolen LuckyScent
From LuckyScent: A symbol of wealth and prosperity, Petroleum is an unexpected essence. Once referred to as ‘Black Gold’, it is rich, dark and mysterious…a miraculous gift from the depths of our Earth.
Petroleum opens like a stroll through a wet garden. You’re brushing against fresh green foliage (bergamot) mixed with the smell of damp soil (patchouli, petrichor). Unlike the other reviews online, I cannot detect any aldehyde. Five minutes in, the leather begins to emerge, as well as the ozonic top notes of real petrol. And then you discover the real heart of this fragrance – a clean floral (rose), white musk, and amber base – coated in sheer, miasmic leather and oud. It’s pretty and sexy.
Photo Stolen AllSense
Eau De Engine by TeamVodafone – Jamie Whincup
From Vodaphone: Nothing says motor racing quite like the smell of a V8 Supercar. That’s why we created Eau De Engine, a bespoke fragrance that embodies the very essence of V8 motorsport, fuel and burnt rubber – to promote Vodafone’s sponsorship of V8 motorsport.
Eau de Engine is a limited edition cologne released by Vodafone in 2010 to promote its team in the Sydney 500 V8 Supercar motor race. The marketing brains behind it introduced it to the unsuspecting Australian public with the tagline: “Why smell like a man, when you can smell like a V8”. Indeed.
It opens as a mixture of lime, bergamot and smokey birch tar. Then, just like HdP Petroleum, the leather notes emerge. But it’s a different kind of leather. The leather in HdP Petroleum can perhaps be described as horse leather, the kind that makes me recall L’Artisan Dzing. Eau de Engine is about car leather seats. And comingled with the smell of leather interiors is the scent of ashes after a fire. Overall, this opening is very linear and simple.
Photo Stolen WikiMedia
30 minutes later…
By now, the rose at the heart of HdP Petroleum has subsided and made way for a sweet amber-musk base with a hint of jasmine. Leather and oud notes still envelop this base, like a cosy chiffon scarf, just seductive enough to lure the boys into the yard. The very last note to reveal itself is the civet. Petroleum isn’t shy on silage.
For Eau de Engine, the smoky carbon and leather seat dance at the start has softened. The cologne evokes the smell of standing in a garage, behind the exhaust of an expensive sportscar in idle. Hello, Sabrina.
Neither of these two fragrances have a drydown. After the middle impressions, they just fade away to nothing.
HdP Petroleum: 6hrs (reapplication is recommended after 3hrs)
Team Vodafone Eau de Engine: 1-2hrs.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
Verdict:
Wearing Petroleum and Eau de Engine cannot be more different experiences. One is like seeing the world in technicolour and the other, in black and white. In terms of beauty, complexity and longevity, HdP Petroleum wins hands down. Eau de Engine definitely has its novelty value, but if I smelt it on another person, I’d probably tell them to take a shower.
Disclosure:
I dabbed Histoires de Parfums Petroleum and spritzed eau de engine for this review. Your experience and mileage may differ.
Now, do you have any scent vices?
Willa Zheng xx
Australian Perfume Junkies 