Product Review: Demeter Laundromat

Hello hello! I have nothing clever to say about today's review, so let's just get right to it:

I'd been eyeing the Demeter line for quite some time now. The idea of realistically capturing a single moment in life was very appealing to me, whether it be that first whiff upon entering a Bernard Callebaut store, or the scent of rich foamy espresso. Of course, while I love luscious foody smells because... well, because they smell like luscious foody goodness, I don't necessarily want to wear them as a perfume. Perhaps as a scented shower gel, or a room spray or candle, but not aggressively on my skin.



Enter Demeter's Laundromat. As the name would imply, it smells like laundry. Actually, it smells like a dryer sheet, plain and simple. It lacks the metallic zing of an actual laundromat (none of that Eau de Homeless Guy and his Bag O' Vino either*), and I don't think it quite captures the warmth of clothes right out of the dryer.

What it does capture perfectly is the clean hard smell of laundry soap. It reminds me of a hard bar of Ivory soap. (This is all conjecture, as I've never actually used Ivory. But it's how I'd imagine Ivory soap to smell like.) It smells fresh and clean and chemically, but in a good way. Of course, I also love the smell of cement stairways, WD-40, and parking garages, so take my words with that in mind.

Anyway, this is certainly a safe fragrance -- I wear it during meetings and conferences, as I can't imagine it possibly offending anyone. However, it's also unusual enough to leave intact my delusions about my own cool offbeat-ness. Plus, I think it'd be impossible to overload on the scent.

I also spritz it on when I'm feeling tired and worn and gross at the end of the day. It's the perfume equivalent of taking a shower and slipping into some freshly washed, snuggly sweats.

As with all Demeter Pick Me Up Colognes, the lasting power on this is not magnificent. Laundromat is probably one of the longer-lasting ones... I can go about 2 or 3 hours and still get a hint of scent. It does seem to stick around longer on clothing... I like to spray it on my camisole or, um, bra, to keep the scent near me throughout the day. (Be careful on silks or delicate fabrics, of course.)

At $25 CAD for 1 oz., this is surely a good bet. But what I really really want to try are the "weird" Demeters, like Paperback and Thunderstorm. If they're what I imagine them to be, I'd spray that shit everywhere. Sadly, Sephora doesn't stock those, so I'll probably just finally pony up and buy them off eBay untested one day. Oh, and I am also just dying to try Comme des Garcons' Odeur 71. (You lie Sephora! You don't have this! Not in stores anyway. *sniff*) If anyone's ever tried these, let me know what you think!

[EDIT 05/02/06: Speaking of Demeter, check out Robin's post about Demeter's new LE Play Doh perfume over on Now Smell This. They really do think of everything, don't they? This one probably won't be for me, but it'll be fun to sniff!]


* Yes yes, I am horribly un-PC and I am going to hell. I know. I'm taking a program for that... it has... steps? 12 of them?