Recently

23 July 2014

The President's Hat Liquid Perfume

After visiting the Gorilla Perfume shop, I ended up walking away with a three figure amount worth of perfume. Despite sniffing them all in the shop, there was not one that immediately stood out at me, and so it is only now, as I take my time testing, wearing and experiencing each and every perfume, that I'm starting to recognise which ones are going to be firm favourites of mine.

The President's Hat was not one at the top of my list to buy, and although it smelt quite nice in the bottle, I didn't leave the shop with a strong impression of it. Presented as a dark brown liquid, I was expecting it to be one of the more poignant ones and I was worried that it was going to be in the same league as Lord of Goathorn, which I am not a big fan of. 

Patchouli and cistus oil make up the base for this perfume - the latter being an ingredient that Lush don't tend to use very often. Taken from a particular type of rose, cistus oil gives off a honey-like scent, and it is this and the patchouli that dominate this fragrance. 

In the bottle I can detect a deep, earthy and rather spicy fragrance. But what sets this apart from all of the other perfumes is that this one is laced with a sweet, almost-sugary note that comes from both the cistus oil and the vanilla absolute. Together these ingredients create a rich, playful and gentle smokey aroma that is unlike anything else I have experienced. 

On the skin, this perfume matures wonderfully, offering a subtle sweet and musky base with elements of the oak moss and patchouli thrown in for good measure. It's a really warm and calming smell, yet it's light enough to be uplifting as well.                                                                                                                               Although many of Lush's new perfumes contains anise alcohol, the amount used is very small so I haven't been able to detect this in any of the other new additions so far. However, The President's Hat has a distinctive layer of anise present which is one of the predominant scents when on the skin. The combination of both the anise and patchouli mean that this perfume gives off a strong note of cinnamon. For this reason, this perfume reminds me of a combination of Blues Skies and Fluffy White Clouds Bubble Bar mixed with Cinders Bath Ballistic. However, I just want to point out that this fragrance doesn't just smell of the above two products - it is far more complex than that.  

Priced at £13 for a 10ml bottle, this perfume is a steal and quite easily my favourite perfume from the collection so far. The scent matures quite quickly on the skin and you are left with a wonderfully warm aroma that makes you feel beautiful and boosts your mood considerably when you're wearing it. It stays on your skin for a few hours after application and continues to mature and develop with the warmth of your skin. 

Lush say this perfume is inspired by 'smoke, melting snow and the scents of the hat's previous wearers'. To me, it's reminiscent of some of the old French cafes I have been to - a musty, smokey, sweet and very comforting smell that comes from a combination of old furniture and gentlemen's cologne. Simply gorgeous! 

Quantitive Ingredients: DRF Alcohol, Perfume, Patchouli Oil (Pogostemon Cablin), Cistus Oil (Cistus ladaniferus), Fair Trade Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla Planifolia), Myrrh Resinoid (Commiphora myrrha), Oak Moss Extract (Evernia Prunastris), Anise Alcohol, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Citral, Geraniol, Eugenol, Isoeugenol, Limonene, Linalool, Farnesol, Methyl Ionone.

Vegan?: Yes.

Scent Family:
Manestream Hair And Beard Styling Cream
The President's Hat Liquid Perfume


10 comments

  1. Is there a spray available of this? Or just dropper bottles?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is a bigger spray bottle of this which I shall be getting when I run out :)

      Delete
  2. I'm sure this wasn't Lush's intention, but The President's Hat has another effect. It's absolutely irresistible... to cats! I bought a bottle at the London store last week and wore it at home for the first time today. Immediately both my cats began to sniff me intensely, attempt to lick my wrists (I stopped them, as I'm sure they shouldn't *eat* the stuff), and jumped into my lap purring like motorbikes. Our neighbour's ginger tom trotted up for his usual ear scratch and suddenly realised that he had smelled the best. thing. ever. I have visions of walking around town like the pied piper, followed by a line of moggies with their noses in the air! I agree that it smells lovely, but I didn't expect this...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! I'm going to try this when I get in - the likelihood is though that my cats will just give me their usual dirty look and scamper off. But I like the thought of being the pied piper of pussycats!

      Delete
  3. Jen - I actually realised, after I had posted this, that some essential oils are dangerous to cats, however attractive, and that this could be a possible problem with some Lush perfumes. I doubt whether the oils are present in sufficient quantities to cause illness, but I went and washed it off just in case. I guess that's one for when I'm out of the house all day or away from home! It is a great perfume, though.

    ReplyDelete
  4. How would you say that this compares to Lord of Misrule... it sounds similar.

    ReplyDelete
  5. How would you say that this compares to Lord of Misrule... it sounds similar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd definitely say that if you like one, you'd like the other but I think President's Hat is more like a dash of fruity Karma mixed with a generous helping of smoky goodness whereas Lord Of Misrule is more creamy, sweet vanilla with its aromatic peppery goodness. Both are pretty irresistible though!

      Delete
  6. I really like this & your description is right on! Just wish the scent would last longer but other than that it's my kinda frag!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I would like to buy this perfume so much, but lush.co.uk doesn't alow me to, no matter they would send it to EU. If anyone wants to sell or buy it for me (i would send money of course), please let me know. :)

    ReplyDelete


UP