Seems like confession time rolled around very quickly this time, doesn't it? But it's here: Donatella Versace, Our Lady of Scented Extravagance,1 wants to know what you bought in the 3rd quarter (July, August and September) of 2010.
Update: the poll is now closed, thanks to everyone who voted!
My purchases? I was pretty well behaved, but I did spend money...
I bought a 50 ml bottle of Hermès Eau Claire des Merveilles. The total expenditure, including tax, was $89, which brings my total for 2010 so far to $137. If I can continue with this minimum level of spending, this will be my best year yet since I started keeping track.
As always, report your purchases in the comments if you dare! And as always, we don't include samples or gifts, and you can count miniatures, decants and bottle-splits howsoever you like (I usually count them as half bottles).
1. Why does Donatella host (against her will, mind you) the damage polls? There is no real reason other than the picture of her perfume collection, which shows that she indulges regularly at the perfume counter. The image, by the way, is originally from Allure magazine and appears here courtesy of Blogdorf Goodman.
I am proud of myself-I bought one bottle, 1/2 oz Shalimar Extrait, $188 dollars…..
My CEO is totally shocked!
Quality, not quantity!
Exactly! I totally love the ambery/smoky drydown-perfect for bedtime. I hope to continue being good this quarter-but there’s a whole slew of scents I’d love to try, and SF sniff fest is right around the corner too!
That upcoming SF Sniffathon could shoot me down, too, darn it.
I know! Thank goodness it’s in Q4
My goal is still to purchase 1 or 2 fb, and they have to be absolute love it can’t live without it scents.
Yum!
So jealous. Enjoy your Shalimar!
Oh, good for you! And Shalimar comes in that gorgeous bottle that will always be a little fragrance treasure. The fragrance and bottle are so beautiful!
Hi Ann!
Half the fun (for me, anyway) is the pretty bottles. I have my eye on a Niki de st Phalle bottle next…..
The Niki de St Phalle bottle is so much fun to look at! I love the fragrance, too.
Me too! That was one of my very first “Big” bad chypres that I fell in love with.
Add the frizzy mall hair and shoulder pads (it was the 80’s after all..) and I was set.
I’m totally in love with the bottle, but not the scent, so I’m refraining from buying it.
yay…shalimar, my big love! don’t worry about the ceo…next time he will be less shocked, and less..until he will expect it!!!
Enjoy your Shalimar
Lets see:
Frapin 1270 – 100ml @ $130
Comme des Garcons Incense:Jaisalmer – 50ml @ $80
Lubin Le Vetiver – 75ml @ $73
Add on samples, and it was kinda an expensive quarter for me.
You will not make the top 10, or even the top 20, for spending though
that is a distinction ill gladly pass up
Rictor, I love vetiver, how is Lubin’s??
I think it takes the best of Tom Fords Grey Vetiver and Guerlain Vetiver. its definitely one of the more citrusy, refreshing vetivers, as opposed to an earthy, rooty one.
Rictor, thanks for the detail, this sounds very nice, I”ll have to add it to the try list….. I’ve got a ton of rooty/earthy vetivers, bright citrus sounds wonderful.
I’ve been exceptionally well behaved since the early summer. I –think- that I’ve only bought two FBs since July.
Donna Karan Gold EdP
CdG Zogarsk
The Gold cost me the grand total of $5 on eBay and the latter I received at discount from the lovely SweetLife. I feel like I’m uninspired by fragrances during the summer due to the unbearable heat in DC and revert back to tried staples but these past several days the temperature hasn’t reached above 60 degrees and so I’m sure that this last quarter will more than make up for this.
Oh, you were good! Poor DK Gold, it was such a great scent.
Oh, you got the DK Gold on the Bay as well? I can’t believe how affordable they are. Think my rollon cost me less than $6 including shipping. My first lily scent, ever.
I love Gold!
i love gold too, i remember being in sephora and loving it at first sniff …over blacj orchard…second quarter, 3 yrs later, black orchard joined my sheves
So happy to hear of another bottle of DK Gold getting a good home. I adore DK Gold….I have both Edt and EdP ….purchases I blame entirely upon Mals since she provided my first whiff of the stuff.
I will proudly claim all the lemmings I created…
I love DK Gold as well, thought I have to be in the right mood to wear it – and my lemming wasn’t caused by anyone here so you’re all off the hook.
Once again, I was all proud of myself and thinking I hadn’t bought anything… until I remembered the existence of ebay. Umm… I don’t know how many bottles of vintage Emeraude I bought, and I’m not going to go count, but it was significant. Significant enough for me to finally STOP BUYING. Then I got a few other things on ebay that I can’t remember. The good news? I don’t think I spent over $50 on all of it total.
You bought so many you can’t count?!? That’s impressive, and a bargain
Not can’t count– just don’t want to.
I think it was between 8 and 10.
That’s still an impressive amount of Emeraude…hope you’ll never run out
It would be both sad and strange if I did, wouldn’t it?
Ok, I counted, and it is in fact 10 bottles. Some of those came as sets of three or four, so really, it was only a few purchases on ebay. 
Actually, it would be extraordinarily impressive if you ran out (unless you were giving it away). I mean, that’s a lot of actual wearage.
sometimes i think of what i could do to pair down my collection…or what would happen if my HUGE collection were to be revealed to the saner people out there…i never worry about running out..i have WAY to much of everything
oh miss kitty..i just answered my own questions… i have two botlle of emeraude…if u ever need them…they r for you (or at least 1…I may have to keep one in my collection, the used one of course)
Miss Kitty,I have never tried it, is it that good to warrant so many FB’s??? Does it get more love than your lust for Diorling?
The only thing I want more and more of is vtg. Miss Dior parfum-Gaawd lemme win the lottery!
Oh dear…. I’ve been lemming some Miss Dior and you’re really, really doing some first rate enabling here!
Rapple, isn’t it the BEST?!!! I can’t stand it, it’s so perfect on me.
I love it.
I feel dressed up yet comfortable in my own skin, I feel womanly but not matronly, I feel sexy and still cozy too. I feel like I’m in time warp in the best possible way. Like I’m Joan from MadMen when I wear my shifts to church or Betty when I’m home doing the laundry. It wears like a second skin, the parfum melds with me and a veil covers my head and wafts around me forever till I wash it off. Gaaaaaaah!
How’s your lemming now????????
Tamara, since I have so much lying around, I’ll have to send you some.
GAH!! You’re killin’ me!
DAISY – get this woman a stone for her enabler’s pin!
one shiny virtual enabler’s pin coming up!
Tamara! Dayum! You evangelize the hell out of the Gospel of Miss Dior. After that, I need to make sure to smell it some time.
Miss Kitty-I’m the same way with the original Fendi, it’s one fragrance I just adore.
Does Emeraude go spicy on you, or powdery? I get a little bit of both.
No spicy, just powdery. But a very lush, rich powdery.
Most impressive, Kitty!
BTW, I *love* your gravatar!
No more than $50? Free!
OMG! That’s like getting a refund!
HA!
I bought a bottle of Diptyque Vetyverio (50ml) in July, and that’s all
But I guess that autumn season will have more movement because I’m finishing many of my bottles these days.
Hey Isa, did the Vetiver get sweet on you in the drydown?
Yes. Not only sweet, but a bit fruity too. However I knew it before buying my bottle and I’m happy with it
And I have noticed that it changes a lot depending on weather and humidity.
I must revisit this-I haven’t worn my sample in a while. The last time I wore it, it got verrry sweet. But I think it’s a cool weather scent (at least for me)…. Diptyque’s scents tend to do that with my chemistry for some reason.
finishing bottles…oh u r good…i bout vereverio for my hubby, but it seems my 13 yr old has it on his desk!!!
I bought a total of 150 ml for about $215; one of the more restrained quarters in the past 2 years. I was doing better yet (only $90!) until September hit. Oops. I bought 3 largish splits and 9 smaller ones, so I counted it as 6 bottles (though with 150 ml, I think I could have argued 3 :D). Purchases:
CdG: Vettiveru, Citrico, Zagorsk
Neil Morris: Storm, Zephyr
PdE Ambre Russe
Sinfonia di Note Saveur d’Artichaut
FM L’Eau d’Hiver
Chanel Cuir de Russie
PG Cuir d’Iris
Aqaba Sands of Aqaba
Etro Messe de Minuit
ooohhh! Nice list! I recently got a small tester of the FM L’eau d’Hiver and now I completely adore it. Sorry I missed that split for sure.
I have a sample of Sands set aside for you. Once life settles down a bit, I’ll have to gather a few others.
Yes, I know – we need to get a swap one of these days. I can’t believe how fast the summer has ended. I need to get back into some of those splits.
Great list, Boojum!
Vera, vera nice haul dear EST.
Hmm, oops… I forgot to deduct the Vetiverru, which I promptly turned around and re-sold, so it really doesn’t count. I liked it, but have other vetivers I like as well or better. Might as well send it where it gets more love!
how do u resell? on evil bay?
No, not yet anyway. One of my perfume pals here mentioned trying and loving it, so I hooked her up with it pronto.
thats a great way to start…thnx
Ooh, Neil Morris Storm! Love that one.
Making a note… if it doesn’t grow on me, I know where to send it!
Oh goodie–I love this time of year. It’s so fun to see what everyone bought.
It was a good quarter for me only because I fell in love–and therefore wasn’t interested in samples. I only had eyes (nose) for Nuit de Tubereuse. I went quickly from sample (blind date) to decant to FB (commitment). Thanks to the Beauty Habit / code Oprah sale I got my 100 mil bottle for $116! But I wasn’t completely monogamous. Here’s the complete list:
NdT 10 ml
TDC Sel de Vetiver 10 ml
No. 19 15 ml
100 ml Nuit de Tubereuse
Grand total $175.
Yes, LOVE those BH discount coupons! I went to town (including the Amoureuse cream) and got a bunch of skincare and makeup stuff along with my scent purchase. Another confession…
oh, love Sel de Vetiver! Someone once remarked it smelled like an unwashed sailor but I still like it — maybe even like it more?
Smells better than an unwashed sailor? LOL Suzanne.
LOL! “Unwashed sailor” really makes me want to try it!
Me, too! It must be all that talk yesterday about perfumes being more “dirty” back in the day.
Then again, that’s been going on a while for me. I’ve actually been wanting a bottle of Luten’s MKK. I think that’s actually a sign that I need to be committed.
I prefer to think of it as having “classic tastes”!
Well then you’ll be in good company Miss Kitty- I adore MKK.
i hope i don;t dampen the desire…to me it smelled like clair de musc with the dirt….and i am turned off from cl de musc right now
That’s weird – I think Sel de Vetiver is one of the cleanest-smelling vetivers I’ve tried!
Agree, I find it very clean and “healthy” smelling! Yay Suzy that you got your hands on it at last!! I’m hoping it’ll grow on you and kick that Goutal (was it?) out of your drawer
Suzy Q, the BH Oprah discount was responsible for a bottle of NdT for me, too. Only other full bottle besides one of L’Artisan’s Fleur de Narcisse–I’d been stalking it on ebay for quite some time and had a chance to purchase from a fellow perfumista for half the original cost. Couldn’t pass it up and am not sorry about either one, in the least, though they made a spendy twosome…
Ooh, I’m envious of the great deal you got on Fleur de Narcisse. Congrats! What a great fragrance that is!
Ah, Sweetlife, isn’t it wonderful to own something you like and to know you got a good deal on it, too? I’ve made a dent in that FB already. It’s addicting.
7 bottles for total $350
FBs:
Amoureuse Body Cream
DK Gold (rollerball edp)
SSS Lieu de Reve
Minis and Decants:
SSS Sienna Musk + Winter Woods purse sprays (count as 1)
DSH Essenza d’Ibisco purse spray + Santalo Inspiritu mini (count as 1)
Montale Taif Roses – 30 ml Decant (counts as 1)
Givenchy Organza Harvest Fleur d’Oranger (decant)
Parfumerie Generale – Ilang Ivohibe (decant)
Penhaligon – Amaranthine (decant)
(Above 3 Count as 1)
I had hoped to be better than this.
The first part of the quarter started slowly with just the SSS’s, but then momentum started to pickup in the 2nd half of August. Of course, our Great Queen of Enablement had some irristible offers in her vault….
Can’t wait to read about everyone else’s!
OperaFan, you have wonderful taste, I love that!
You got some lovely stuff!
Thanks, Mals! I especially appreciate your generous intro to Amaranthine this past spring.
I sat this quarter out, so I’m no fun. But I scored a bottle on the ‘bay Saturday, so that counts for Our Lady’s next appearance. But I love reading what everybody else got and am thinking hard about some CdG.
‘Fess up, everybody!
Wow! A big salute to your restraint. Well done (or maybe not, depending on how one looks at it).
It’s sort of fun to buy nothing though. I enjoyed it for a few quarters.
Oh la la! As I told a few of my partners in crime, I was thinking of this as the “But-I-FEEL-Like-I-Hardly-Bought-Anything” quarter. So much for restraint.
Warning, Kids: Decants add up!
Penhaligon’s Orange Blossom – 10ml ($14)
Comme des Garcons Rhubarb – 25ml ($25)
Annick Goutal Vetiver – 15ml ($15.5)
CdG Wonderwood – 10ml ($14)
TDC Sel de Vetiver – 10ml ($17)
Norma Kamali Incense – 5ml ($11)
CdG Stephen Jones – 5ml ($17.05)
Soivohle Pêche et Vert – 5ml ($11.84)
Soivohle Transcendental Musc – 5ml ($11.84)
Soivohle Acoustic Flower – 5ml ($11.84)
Acqua di Parma Iris Nobile edp – 25ml ($22.42)
Lutens Bas de Soie – 5ml ($14)
DelRae Amoureuse – 10ml ($20)
Clinique Wrappings – 4ml ($5.6)
Clinique Aromatics Elixir – 4ml ($5.6)
PdN Balkis – 20ml ($28)
PdN Maharanih – 20ml ($28)
Parfumerie Generale Ilang Ivohibe – 30ml ($40)
DelRae Mythique – 5ml ($12)
DelRae Coup de Foudre – 5ml ($12)
Carthusia Via Camerelle – 30ml ($14)
Chanel Cuir de Russie extrait (ack!) – 0.5ml ($9)
PdN Petit Ange eau de cologne – 10ml ($10)
PdN L’Eau Mixte – 5ml ($8)
PdN Fig Tea – 30ml ($15)
Creed Aventus – 10ml ($22)
Montale Aoud Blossom (swap) – 5ml ($15)
L’Artisan Coeur de Vetiver Sacre (swap) – 10ml ($16)
L’Artisan Cote d’Amour – 20ml ($13.55)
Annick Goutal Eau Duelle – 10ml ($19)
Annick Goutal Myrrhe Ardente – 20ml ($17)
L’Artisan Fleur de Narcisse – 15ml ($31)
Montale Boise Vanille – 5ml ($7)
TOTAL $533.
I guess Daisy’s JAPAN subliminal JAPAN messages didn’t really JAPAN work, huh?
JAPAN JAPAN JAPAN JAPAN DONT BUY IT JAPAN JAPAN JAPAN…..hey I did my best….
Indeed you did. And you have witnesses.
What the holy frijoles is “JAPAN”??? Now I know you are all nuts!
LOL, it’s the reason he should exercise perfume-buying restraint. Hard to save for vacations this way.
Ah, yes, well then: Joe… JAPAN!!!!
OH, he should be saving for all those Japan-only Shiseidos!
LOL!
First he’s got to SAVE so he can GET to Japan….then he can get those Shiseidos ….soooo….JAPAN JAPAN JAPAN….
Actually, I think Joe got a lot of really great fragrances for a really reasonable total, I mean: look at that list!!!
WoW! Joe, what did you think of the Myrrh Ardente? I’ve been wanting to try that one.
E: I really love it, which is why I went for the large decant at that great price. It will definitely be reached for in the cooler weather.
Joe – wow. As usual you get a lot of stunners for your expenditures! I am equally glad as I am annoyed with myself for missing out on so many good splits. I won’t let myself read those digest emails from the group right now. They do add up. Feast or famine!
Woah! My brain spinning just thinking about your list
Joe you are my kinda peeps! $ out the window ! Good riddance! ha.
Aren’t decants just sinful??
Oh you know it!
But soooooooo convenient and worth it.
yesyes! So true.
Hello, Joe. I have a sample of the Norma Kamali and like it very much. Would love to hear your impression of it. Spraying from a decant might make this one smell different than dabbing from a vial.
I have only dabbed the NK and I have to say it sort of singes my nosehairs. I find it VERY rough going for at least the first 30-60 minutes — something almost very sharply mineralic or metallic. It settles down to a very pure frankincense eventually. I might be curious sometime to take a small spray to the chest or neck hollow.
Norma does not mess around.
What a list Joe – way to go!
Joe – I don’t see your Hello Kitty on the list – or was that last quarter??
LOL! Good one, Rapple!
First of all, you can take those “swaps” off the price list.
Second of all, I don’t think those under $20 jobbies should count, unless you are a big at-the-bars kind of drinker. That’s like, two martinis each. And you can bet those people don’t keep track of what they spend per quarter.
And third, that is a GORGEOUS list.
xoxo
Wow!! I really love your list.
JAPAN u get to enjoy for a few days…and VERY expensive….ur great selection, u get to enjoy a whole while longer!
Oh! I bought 50mL of Via Camarelle during last quarter too! It’s lovely on both me and the hubby, so it *almost* doesn’t count
Ahem…lets see
Bandit
Bois de Violette
TDC Bois d’Iris (set of 3 x10ml travel re-fills so counting as one bottle)
Cuir de Russie in extrait (but it was technically a birthday present so doesn’t count, right?)
TDC Osmanthus (but didn’t keep it)
LAP La Chasse (but didn’t keep it)
So I’m putting myself down for 3 bottles
Usually my total is a big fat zero so by my standards this is positively a binge. I’m very happy with all the additions, though, and I didn’t pay full price for any of them, woop!
Rats. You reminded me that I was planning to get some Bandit for the fall. Just when I was thinking I was done buying for awhile. But maybe I can make my sample last until next year. If only I had other perfumes to wear…
Ha!
No other perfume is like Bandit though, right?
A birthday present to yourself? I hope so – it’s a great one! It was my Christmas present to myself last year.
cuir de russie in extract !!! happy belated bd
Ouch, this year was a spendy one as i dont realyl do decants i tend to go for it & get whole bottles (blush)!
At some point over the year (must have been hypnotism) i somehow bought all of the Tom Ford Private Blends, including 3 in 100ml & 4 of the 250ml decanters of my favorites (Tobacco Vanille, Neroli Portofino, Velvet Gardenia & Oud Wood). More Mitsouko, Halston Z-14 finally,
Amouage Memoir,
Amouage Gold,
Marc Jacobs Bang,
Armani Prive Bois D’encens,
D’Orsay’s Le Dandy,
CB i hate perfumes Black March,
CDG Wonderwood,
Roja Dove’s Diaghilev
Ulrich Lang – Nightscape
Bleu De Chanel
& 6 of the Boadicea’s
New Years resolution = must have restraint!
:::: faints :::
Is the above list for the year or just since July 1? I’m glad there’s someone to make me feel a bit restrained.
And that Roja Dove Diaghilev is really nice.
haha thats since January. My downfall was the January sales, Harrods were selling the Amouages & the Boadiceas at half price & Harvey Nichols had lots of the Bond No9’s for £40 so i got the spending bug early & couldnt stop! ‘ll have to stay away from the January sales next year of who knows what will happen!
Amouage Gold for Men is my fav Amouage so far. I was lucky to get a large decant of that myself. It is so stunning!
i like Gold but i have to be in the mood for it. You should try the new Amouage Memoir – its very different for Amouage, kinda grassy
Thanks for the tip – I do want to try it. Grassy – now that sounds interesting.
only tried the mans version, but im told its notes are built around central note of absinthe with top notes are basil, mint and wormwood (theres the absinthe again!); middle notes are lavender, incense and rose; base notes are sandalwood, guaiac wood, oak moss, amber, vanille, tobacco and leather. I liked it – you definitely get the absinthey grassy wormwood & the mint & later the oakmoss & woodiness – didn’t strike me as very ‘middle-eastern’ in feel unlike the usual Amouage direction. The guys in the Amouage store said they felt it was a different direction for them- i think its a good one!
Ann, me too.
Men’s Gold was pure infatuated love at first sniff, which rarely happens to me. There was very little thinking involved at the moment I realized he was out of my budget league, lol, but one way or the other I was going to get some (cue the Blondie). I think I inhaled my wrist – and I only tested it on a whim when I was the Perfume House.
That’s really interesting to me, Robin & Ann. I like several Amouages, but Gold Man I really did not like much at all. I need to try it again this fall, but unless my attitude drastically changes, I am ready to get rid of my small decant.
Joe: I understand from doing my homework that the Men’s Gold was reformulated at some point. I am fairly certain it is the current less civety version that I like so much. I could be wrong, but it warrants checking up. Maybe you tested the original? Or either way it just doesn’t do it for you. I’ll put a squirt of what I have in your package.
Read review/comments on basenotes about it.
Thanks, you’ve spent WAYYYY more than I have, and now I feel less guilty. The four 250 mls are close to $………………………….
never mind. Enjoy!
Yes – VERY spendy! i still cant believe the 250ml Tom Fords are £260 each – that’s over £1000 on just 4 bottles – ! Must be about £4500 in total this year so far – makes me feel faint! There’s a 10% off weekend at Liberty & at Harrods this weekend so must stay away!
Yeah i LOVE the Diaghilev so much i bought a spare bottle of it as i know its a limited edition
FABULOUS! you got great stuff. It’s so worth it , don’t you think?
Yeah why not! Friends of mine will go out clubbing & getting drunk & pour £100 down the drain on a pretty averagely entertaining night out – £100 of frags will give me a lot more joy for a lot longer than one night ill have forgotten about in a weeks time
NATHANTHOMAS – you are very wise!! When I think of how many fragrances I could buy with all the money I spent drinking off the top shelf when I was younger, well, I could have bought something fabulous every week of the year.
ah hindsight! so true!i used to like ephemeral pleasures now i prefer ones that stick around longer!
Oh, I wanted to smell that Diaghilev… wish I lived in the UK, just so I could hop over and test it!
Me too… except the “just so” part. I have other reasons to want to live there (or at least to visit).
i like it, its very old-fashioned (in a good way) – refined i think id say though that might be boring to some! There’s nothing there for thrill seekers! Smells to me like a close relative of Mitsouko (in a good way also)
Mitsouko? Now you have my attention!
i’ve seen reviews that compare it to vintage Mitsouko. Roja Dove said he wore Mitsouko for decades until it was reformulated, maybye this is his attempt to get somewhere closer to the version of Mitsouko he used to wear
Oh dear. Mitsy hates me.
But perhaps this would be a Mitsy that I COULD wear, you never know…
Diaghilev definitely reminds me of an old-fashioned classic Guerlain. It’s really nice. I wonder if will be sold anywhere but London/online?
I dont think so, its just a limited edition he cooked up to tie-in with the V&A museums Diaghilev exhibition this month. I think they made 1000 bottles split between Roja Doves store in Harrods & the shop in the V&A itself so don’t think it will travel outside the UK but you can buy on the V&A’s website & i think they ship internationally
SPLIT – SPLIT – SPLIT
Oh, I’d love to smell it too. And it makes sence since Diaghilev loved Mitsouko, as the legend goes…
Did you take out a second mortgage on your house to pay for all this?
haha its not to bad, Harrods were selling the Boadiceas in the sales for £45 for 100ml which is better than the £130 they normally sell for. Same with the Amouages & the Bond No9s, they were all half price so there were bargains in there to offset the expensive stuff – the £85 i saved on the price of each bottle of Boadicea went towards the Tom Fords so at least there was value for money there!
Nathanthomas – Hyperventilating here. Amouage for half price??? Impossible!
hehe yeah i thought that too! They were also selling off Reflection, Dia, Ciel, Gold which were in the old style real crystal bottles for about £55, i picked them up when they were having a loyalty-card-holders day so got an extra 10% off on top of that
Nathan, whatever line of work you’re in, clearly I should have gone into it, too.
(sigh) if only it were true! I’m still waiting for the lottery win LOL
Me, too!! Of course, I try to tell myself I would be reasonable with my spending if I did win, but if I can’t control myself now, what makes me think I could hold myself back with my pockets full of money? It still makes me drool to think about it… I could finally build my walk-in perfume closet…
ooooh a walk in perfume closet – you’d look just like Donatella in that photo lol. You wouldn’t be able to spend much time in there though- remember -you gotta keep it cool & dark !
Yes, that’s why it would be a Perfumidor! (Maybe it doesn’t need to be walk-in… Just, uh, spacious.) Dark, and temperature-controlled.
on me the mens memoir is more leathery,,,both mens and womens are amazing!
18 bottles (That I can remember at the moment)
$747
Beyonce Heat Ultimate Elixir 1.7 $59
Bleu De Chanel 1.7 $57
I Am King 3.4 $74
I Am King of the Night 3.4 $.01
Hanae Mori Men EDP 1.0 $19.99
The One Gentleman 1.7 $57
Mariah Carey’s Luscious Pink 1.7 $25
Calvin Klein Secret Obsession 1.7 $19.99
Eau Mega 1.0 $24.00
Calvin Klein Beauty 1.7 $65
Radiance Britney 1.7 $37
Queen of Hearts $59
Gucci Guilty 1.7 $75
Estee Lauder Sensuous Noir 1.0 $48
Love and Glamour Jennifer Lopez 1.7 $49 (I think???)
Live Platinum Jennifer Lopez 1.7 $20
Vanille Noire 1.7 $34
CK One Summer 09′ $24
Good lord. I’m really sitting here scratching my head! Almost $800 in 3 months! Oh.My.God. I really can’t believe it.
A passionate journey, I love it , I love it!
I’m giggling like a mad woman at the library, I look insane.
Your list was awesome, I love that it was FB’s, where do you keep them all? Can you show anyone and still hold your head high?? Ha. I love it.<3
Oh, Goodness, Tamara , I am so embarassed. I really can’t believe it. This really does have to stop. Thank goodness I try not to get big bottles anymore unless I HAVE to! I really can’t believe it. That’s really ridiculous. I guess that’s a blessing considering my DVD addiction easily TOPS the fragrance addiction!
I keep a lot of them under my bed in a zipped suitcase and those that don’t fit under there are under the bed out of the suitcase but away from the light.
Perfect… if there’s ever a fire, you can grab the suitcase and save your babies.
Darling don’t be embarassed! I love that you got em’ all in a suitcase so you can make a quick get away with them if you have to! Probably makes it a tad cumbersome to look through though huh? I know exactly what you mean -that’s why I ain’t fessin’ up myself!
Wow, you got really good prices on some of those too!
FBs:
Lismore (Marshall’s special, pretty bottle that becomes a bud vase when you use up the pretty but undistinguished juice)
SJP Covet (Marshall’s special)
Diorella
Chamade (major indulgence, and worth it)
Decant: Eau Parfumée au Thé Blanc
Mini: Eau de Charlotte
Chamade is always worth it!!
I second that! Oh and Diorella is also.Mmmmm
Yep!
I haven’t broken down and bought Chamade yet, I keep finding other higher priorities, but once I use up my sample, mmm, I got to get it!
It will be a perfect one to usher next Spring in with.
You’ll have fun on the Chamade hunt for sure. There are always good deals floating around the internet and ebay for Chamade. And take heart: the current still smells good, though not as rich as the older stuff.
I know, that’s part of the reason I haven’t broken down and bought it yet – do I need a new “year” or an old one? Plus I love the refillable spray – but of course do not NEED it.
Maybe I will wear Tocade tomorrow.
I think the only thing I bought, other than a few samples was an Hermes travel set, which I almost regret. I’m glad to have some Paprika Brasil and Brin de Reglisse but Vetiver tonka is kind of dull for me now. And Vanille Galante still smells like lily candle wax. But I’m visiting a Barney’s Saturday and I’m going to be hard-pressed not to buy either Dans tes Bras or Bas de Soie. I deserve it, right…? ;3
Oh, why not?
I agree with mals ..again …(this is getting habit formng) so get both!
Swap those 2 away — they’re small & easy to mail!
oh robin, we need to find more like u to balance out all the enablers!!!
Nothing! Intensive sampling however, with some interesting results: I am not an Amouage type for example (Epic being to sole exception, but I still prefer the slightly similarTa’if). My list of “need to buys” is rather limited at the moment: Amaranthine (since this weekend on the list), Une rose chyprée (I was waiting for the new Tauers first, but they just don’t agree with my skin), the maybes are XIIIème heure and Lumière noire. Am looking forward to the following releases ailes du désir (Frapin), rose quartz (Olivier Durbano)… so the last quarter could be rather damaging.
Very impressive wish list!
Hi Everyone! I was trying to acheive extreme restraint… and kind of did and kind of didn’t. Full & used bottles I actually paid for:
Coco parfum – vintage used travel spray
No. 5 parfum – super old vintage that smells like heaven, and the last of my quest for now. (I have a nearly complete set of the different styles of Chanel bottles from the 40s to the present.)
MPG Secrete Datura – in what is likely my ebay score of the year.
No. 5 Sensual Elixir b/c I just had to have another version of it.
Parfum Sacre edp – vintage
Magie Noire edt – vintage
Chopard Casmir edp
Badgley Mischka parfum – b/c who knew they even made that and it was only $42 online!
LM Ambre Passion Velvet edp
And a deal of a lifetime for a bottle of Guerlain Rose Barbare
And many many many thanks to all my wonderful swap buddies who’ve kept me in glorious fragrance samples and decants this quarter as I try to restrain myself. You all know who you are — a million thanks!
Still so happy for you about the MPG.
Yeah, me too.
Do you like it?
AnnS, sooooooooo nice honey! I’m jealous girlie!
Lovely perfumes
Thanks & well you probably have a lovely list too…. if you would only share, ha! I am teasing you for sure.
Oh Ann, I couldn’t! ha <3
You have some lovely vintage scores on your list Ann! Nice.
Thanks – I have a compulsive urge to keep getting more vintage No 5 that I am trying to get over. That stuff is so marvelous that I can hardly help myself. It is so much fun to track down vintage stuff — at least the vintage I can afford!
I have the same problem with vintage Vol de Nuit extrait. But congrats on your list! I’m impressed with your No. 5 collection – will you wear it or will it be put away?
Mmmm – VdN is sooo pretty. I love so many Guerlains.
I wear them. None of them are investments – when they are empty I’ll put the bottles on display. I normally bid on the nearly empty ones – both to get the bottles and the juice. Only one of the vintage ones I have – an early bottle with a flat glass stopper – is nearly unwearable. The opening is totally gone over, but the drydown is still amazing. That’s why I got the Sensual Elixir – to wear for the top and then the vintage stuff comes around for a better drydown. I do indeed wear them all. I think I have 8 bottles of vintage that are partially full. My personal fav is a bottle that is likely from the 60s.
Oh, and Rapp – I almost went down the vintage Vol de Nuit rabbit hole too, but pulled myself back. I wanted to collect them, but then I realized there are perfumistas out there that love it more than I do. I didn’t want to horde a collection of VdN – I already have enough edt that I don’t wear as often as I should.
I love hearing that you’re wearing all of your different vintages of #5.
But on the enabling note – I too have worn the edt of Vol de Nuit since high school, but when I tried the extrait a couple of years ago – wow! It was almost a religious experience. Now, every time a bottle (usually they’re only 1/4 oz.) comes up for sale on ebay, I feel like I need it.
Same here, it is so much fun tracking those vintage bottles, just the other day I received my vintage bottle of No.5 pure Parfum and when I opened the package the small bottle was broken…I was so sad:(
Oh nooooo!!
ajuarez – gosh, that is so sad! I am sorry your bottle broke. I’ve been very lucky that that’s not happened to me. Well – it did happend with another fragrance, not No 5s. Take heart – I hope the vendor was cooperative about a refund? There are tons of old No 5 bottles and partially full ones floating around on ebay for good prices. Good luck on your next one.
Happy for you!
Vintage Coco parfum is just divine, Ann. It’s one of the perfumes I intend to grow old with. (And in.)
Ah, Coco, my personal favorite of all. About 10 years ago, I was poised on just wearing Coco only, but then I went nuts with all the rest of us. I have a few bottles of Coco horded away too. The vintage Coco I have is so dense! It has really changed over time. The aldehydes have come off so it begins very much in the deep spicy territory of Opium. But once it gets into the heart and base, it smells the same.
There is no way in hell I’m gonna face the damage.
Denial is so much better. LOL
Oh, come now, my dear: Confession is GOOD for the soul!
OperaFan- you mustn’t make me break it down!
No doubt you have one less than you may have thanks to you not liking it as you’d hoped, right? Or would that have counted towards the 4th qtr? You know what I’m talking about.
*Sigh* What a dissapointment! Still!
There are plenty more where that came from and you know it. ha.:)
Oh, please tell Tamara. I agree with Opera Fan – confession *is* good for the soul and you’re among friends here.
Yes, T., I agree.
And besides, everything you’ve bought you deserve to have, and then some.
Oh Miss Kitty, hugs to you <3 Thank you<3
Ahahahahah<3 you silly!
Before I typed it , I put on muh big guurl panties to deal with this! So here it goes! FB~ L’Arte di Gucci edp my very first ever evilbay buy, not my last! (Thanks for enabling Mals!)
BH sale resulted in –
Dzing!
Verte Violette
4 30 ml of Sacrebleu,New York,L’Temps, Vanilla Tonka
Une Folie de Rose
evilbay-
vtg.Habit Rouge edc
vtg.Diorella
2 vtg.Miss Dior parfums (almost think this mee Holy Grail folks)
URC!!! (can you have two HG????) Sure you can!
Now for decants, let’s just say after I wandered into Splitsville,
I’m here to stay, it’s quite nice here!
Les Exclusifs, Cuir de Russie,BdI, 31 Rue Cambon
VC&A Bois d’Iris
PdE Wazamba
Montale Roses Elixir
Iris Ganache
Couer de Vetiver
Micalleff Rose Aoud
Chanel 19 vtg.
Odin Petrana
OJ Woman
Lumiere Noire Femme
Heeley Ophelia
Tauer URV (bllllaarrgh!)
PG Musc Mauri
Amouage Memoir (w)
vtg.Guerlain VdN edt
And many more that are yet to be in grubby lil’ arthritic hands but now I’m too pooped to list them all!
I have to admit I don’t regret any of them, I love perfume and it brings me joy to smell each and everything I own (and want to own!) ha.
No children went hungry, no bills got shut off and no harm came to anyone because of my obsession.
This message was brought to you by Tamara Jackson ~ perfume ho fo life!
Congratulations! And thanks for sharing! What a haul.
good job!
GREAT job, Tamara! Now don’t you feel better? Wonderful stash of ‘fumes you’ve got there. I see that we have a lot of the same loves.
Wow!! Tamara I really love your list…you PPP.
Wow! That’s awesome, Tamara! You won’t find any tsk’ing on this board. Hey, we enable each other, and we all love it. You never have to hide from us.
Looks like you’ve built up a full collection all in the span of a quarter! I still recall your first post (late spring/early summer) when you were so eager to find out how to “start” a collection. You’ve come a long way in a record short time, my dear!
thnx to all of u… i might confess for the first time
Tamara, I am totally with you!! There is too much shame in my list to admit names and numbers!! Deny deny deny. I know there is a comma in the tally and that’s all I need to know.
I splurged on mostly FB’s, but some decants, too. Then broke down and bought several sample packs, incl. ALL the Keiko Mecheri’s, almost every one of the Gorilla Scents that are back out now by Lush, (old BN2B2BB), all the Les Nez’s, more samples from SSS, a boatload of samples from luckyscent…and would give away one of my bf kid’s for a bottle of Breath of God since they haven’t brought that back yet…. or a sample of that LE Mitsouko flanker Fleur de Lotus (but it is no where to be found in the US apparently) I could go on and on. Guilty finger poised over the “buy” button already on several others…. back up supply of Dzing!, a FB of CDG 2, a decant of Untitled by Maison Martin Margiela until my friend can puchase it for me overseas, CDG Kyoto (GREAT stuff) for my BF (so that is not so bad, since it’s not for me..technically)
…but I am TRYING to show restraint… at least until I can buy for myself for Christmas…then I won’t feel so guilty. I guess its not the ‘title’ list that haunts me, it would be adding up that whopping total.
I’m pretty sure Bergdorf in NYC has the Mitsouko flanker. Call Jason! Always happy to enable.
Oh ho ho! I’ve been searching for that too! Thanks, Rapple!
Most of my purchases were thrift store finds!
Giardini de Montecatini Perfume Oil IV is the only one I can remember without being in front of The Cabinet of Horrors.
In a moment of weakness I went to The Perfume House and ended up buying a bottle of Guerlain Winter Delice.
I have a bottle of Tabac Aurea coming as well as an unsniffed impulse buy of CD Dune ( it was so cheap–I can’t be blamed).
Tabac Aurea is awesome! How can you regret such a well priced current classic. Now I wished I’d worn that today to fight off the dreary weather.
I don’t regret the TA in the least–I only had a few drops left in my first bottle, and I used those up the day I ordered the new (bigger) bottle.
I hope I like the Dune–the descriptions all make it sound wonderful and it was only $10…..
Tabac Aurea is Da Bomb.
Now, if only I had a nickel for every time I say that…
Can I change my info? I entered “one” before I recalled some Fidji bath powder, etc, scooped up on *bay. But besides those auction buys I got a lovely special offer from Parfums Del Rae– free full-sized jar of body cream with purchase of Bois de Paradis edp! Looking forward to snuggly winter days in BdP.
Wow, that’s a great deal!
Adventures of the Perfumista on a Budget:
Vintage Ma Griffe extrait (1/2 oz in 2 oz bottle): $9.95
Musc Nomade (15 ml decant): $13.35
It has been quite difficult to refrain from buying decants of scents I haven’t yet smelled. But my real problem is going to be selecting the one bottle of niche perfume I get at the end of the year (birthday gift). Oj Tolu? OJ Ta’if? Paestum Rose? Bois de Ilse? My wish list keeps changing…..
Suddenly -I would get OJ Tolu if I could, that is delicously perfect winter perfume!
Tolu is gorgeous (thanks, Daisy!). I wonder if anyone has tried OG’s bath oil – whether it has a good strong scent? That I would love to have…
Oops! Fat-fingered…. I meant – OJ, of course.
Mmm… love me some Paestum Rose! I need to break out my decant for fall. (If we do ever, in fact, experience fall around here. Right now we have some sort of weird summer/spring weather going on.)
Agreed! Weird but wonderful weather.
That will be a hard choice, I think! I’d lean toward Ta’if.
Just one for me: Van Cleef Bois d’Iris. I’ve blocked out the price. I just had to have it!
I bought that one too — and will join you in blocking out the price
My goodness, I’ve been so bad…..okay, in terms of FBs, I only bought Evody Note de Luxe for 75Euros. BUT, decants are as follows (shame!):
CB I Hate Perfume Burning Leaves $10
Andrea Maack trio (Smart, Craft, Sharp) $35
SL Boxeuses $16
Sinfonia di Note Fleur de Santal $16
Shiseido Nombre Noir mini $35 (!!)
JM Iris & White Musk $11
JM Rose Water & Vanilla $9
Costume National 21, OJ Ta’if, Bois de Paradis, Attrape-Coeur $60
Kanebo Kyoto mini $10
M Micallef Gaiac $13
Quand Vient la Pluie $57
Claudie Pierlot Mon Premier $20
l’Artisan Jour de Fete small bottle $25
Floris Madonna of the Almonds $37
SL Bas de Soie $16
Total: $370
OMG!!! MUCH more than I had anticipated…..
Love the scents, IMHO, you did good.
Thanks, Tamara!
That’s typically what happens to me. Decants add up. (Eye roll.)
Goodness, do they ever!
How was the Boxeuses? I really want to try that one.
Ditto this question. I’m curious about Boxeuses.
Zero! Summer weather seems to dampen my interest in scent, but I feel fall coming on (and so many new ones to try).
Good for you!
Bottles:
Nuit de Tubereuse, 100ml, $155 (missed the Beautyhabit sale – darn)
Eau de Sisley 3, 100ml, $100
Mandragore, 100ml, $16 (had $50 gift cert. on Amazon)
Attrape Coeur, 125ml in a bee bottle, $25 (received $200 as a gift, so…)
Decants:
Sinfonia di Note Saveur d’Artichaut, 10ml, $16
Amouage Dia, 15ml, $39
15ml each of Bois des Iles and Cuir de Russie, $38
Mini:
Womanity, 10ml, $30 (ripoff!)
Total: $419 – yikes!
Next on the wish list: By Kilian Love and Tears!!!!
Of course, I’m going to be happy to take 15 ml of that NdT off your hands!
[That will go on my next quarter’s expenditures.]
Yeah, if I ever get around to decanting it!
Plan to do it tomorrow!
I just tried Nuit de Tubereuse for the first time yesterday, and wow! What an interesting scent.
Yes, isn’t it great Jill?
I was going to blow off NdT b/c I normally don’t like tuberose fragrances. I ended up with a sample from someone anyway, and boy oh boy is that stuff great. It is so weird and neat and beautiful. I get this great suede accord from it. Good for you!!!
Ann – I don’t think that NdT is about tuberose at all! I wore it the other day and to me, it was more about spices, green mango, musk and sandalwood!
Ann I agree with Rustic Dove. I don’t like tuberose either but this one isn’t so much about the flower. The only time I get a whiff of tuberose is in extreme heat and humidity–or when steaming veggies in the kitchen!
I agree with you all, tuberose has always been a difficult note for me but I don’t think NdT is about tuberose, or, it goes about being about it in a very odd way!
Rustic & Suzy Q – Now I can say NdT is the perfect example of why a perfumista should never say never. I am trying to get my hands on a small decant as we read. Eventually this will be FBW for me – I dig that bottle anyway.
AnnS, I’m willing to share the love if you want some NdT. Email me at krnszn at gmail dot com if you’re interested!
I’m still on the fence about NdT… probably because I generally love tuberoses, and this one isn’t all that tuberosey. I am still struggling with that mildewy opening, but after that it gets very nice.
Just tell your brain that it smells like suede. MMM…. yummy suede….
Oh, and Mals, I just got struck by lightening from a small sample of Carnal Flower. Holy Flower Batman! I’d never in one hundred million years imagined that I’d like it so much. Now I know what the fuss is all about. These past few weeks have been all about discovery for me!
love both nuit de tuberreux and carnal flower….that i s alemming
I’m on the fence as well, though in my case it’s because the mango is HUGE. I don’t mind some (Sur le Nil), but that is one persistent mango.
happy damage poll to everyone : D
1 FB – Annick Goutal Heure Equise 105 EUR – I haven’t bought any full bottles since early spring so I approved this purchase for myself
decants for about 150 USD:
Dior Escale à Pondichéry
DelRae Mythique
L’Artisan The Pour un Ete
i Profumi di Firenze Incanto
L’Artisan La Haie Fleurie du Hameau
I adore them all so no regrets
Ami , love your attitude about it. No regrets is the way it should feel.
Tamara : D thanks for the further comforting words : D
Ami , when one loves perfume the way we do, it should always be a joy to put it on and see what we have in our collection!
Yeah – Heure Exquise is one of my HGs. It is a great fragrance to splurge on!
I remember Anns
we are HE twins 
Gosh, yes, I forgot. Nice to remember that. HE is a great fragrance to be scent twins.
umm I don’t think I bought anything in July, so two bottles both on holiday in Tenerife
Givenchy v.irrsistible 100ml €38.85
(they put the wrong price on+discount)
Thierry Mugler Womanity 10ml €11or€14something, I think it was €14.
You were very well-behaved
None!
Summer was just too hot this year for me LOL
Whoops, I said I only bought one bottle in the poll, but I just remembered that there were two:
Ginestet Botrytis (during the BH sale)
Fendi Theorema parfum d’extrait (eBay splurge – I figured I wouldn’t have many more opportunities to find this)
I love them both and they’re so perfect for fall and winter.
Ponderous , that is two great deals I’m jealous of!
Theorema extrait????? YUMMY.
I love the Theorema parfum — congrats!
I did pretty well this time:
JM White Jasmine & Mint, 50 ml, $55
Kelly Caleche, 15 ml, $20
Oops, I meant 30 ml of the WJ&M.
Oh, you did very well!!
4 bottles found a new home in the drawer under my bed this quarter:
Amaranthine 50 ml (retail)
Paestum Rose + Bois d’Ombrie (crazy sale)
Manoumalia (used ebay find)
That’s more than usual for me, but hopefully less than next quarter
I’m planning to get a beautiful blue bottle of Incense Rosé that is about 1,5 years overdue and some Tuscan Leather… among other things… Love reading everyones comments!
Helle, Amaranthine is divine. I’ve got a decant. I finally got some Sel de Vetiver–not a FB yet but a decant for now. I love it sprayed.
Oh, great that you finally got some! About time
It really is better sprayed, isn’t it? I’m so loving my Amaranthine, I don’t know how people can resist me when I wear it 
1 bottle! I am so ridiculously proud of myself. Total expenditure: $25. Purchase: an extremely discounted Theo Fennell Scent (yes, the armpitty one). This maternity leave allowance thing is working!
I need to do some research on that Theo Fennell – it was so shape shifting. I had no idea what the notes where at all when I put it on. I got definite armpit which I wasn’t expecting, but then it got all yummy too. Very interesting! Like I kind of wanted to wash my arm and eat my arm at the same time.
Hahaha! I know I won’t be testing that, now…
Funny, Mals, when I tested TF, I thought of you and all your clever and amusing ways of describing funk. I thought, well she’d come up with something really good to nail this one down, lol. It is really unusual and has a nice weird gourmand oriental thing going on. I need to rest it when I’m not sampling 5 other things.
I just tried Commando from Smell Bent, and the first time it was a lovely manly-chest smell… and the second, it was stinky unwashed sweaty manly-chest. I’m going to have to try it again.
for me theo fennel is s true fragrance…makes me think of the way fragrances were made with lots of strong great quality ingredients…i love it
I love Theo Fennell Scent edp, and I don’t find it armpitty! But it is definitely sexy/musky. I put it on the list of “most sexy scents.” Great deal.
Wow Erin-good job!
I can’t stand TF though, it smelled like my seasoned broiled pork chops that I make for dinner every week on my skin
. I was horrified! ahaha
I was like what the fjvninveinvnv?! ha.
Theo Fennell is SO much fun! I almost burst out laughing when I smelled it for the first time, I really did not expect for it to be quite so naughty. And can be found so cheaply too. Good and affordable, things don’t get better than that, right?
I would be proud, too. Good going, Erin!
LOL…. I just checked my spreadsheet of perfumes/notes to be sure, and yep…that is EXACTLY what my notes on Scent say.. “Horrible..smells like a sweaty man’s armpit”…. or the worst corner of the Frankfurt airport… lol. I guess I didn’t wait long enough to get to the “yummy” part you guys are mentioning…. time to dig out that sample and see what I missed.
Been kind of ‘spendy’ for me this quarter?
No. 19 (vintage Eau de Cologne) by Chanel
Habit Rouge (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain
Dior Homme (the Cologne flanker) by Dior
Halston Man by Halston (mini)
No. 88 (vintage juice) by Czech & Speake
Heritage (vintage Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain
Extract Of Mysore Sandalwood (discontinued) by Crabtree & Evelyn
Philosykos by Diptyque (a gift)
Sous le Vent by Guerlain
Homage & Tribute by Amouage (large bottle splits)
Nostalgia by Santa Maria Novella (back up bottle)
Cumming by Alan Cumming (backup bottle)
Eau de Shalimar by Guerlain
Nostalgia is high on my wish list. You must love it since you’re getting a second?
Oh yes.
Perhaps the most bizarre and rebellious scent in the entire SMN line. It’s sharp, giggle inducing benzene-meets-leather-car-interior dries down to the softest, plushest base notes imaginable. A wild ride indeed and one that I plan to have in my wardrobe for a long time.
Not too much damage this quarter – here goes:
Full Bottles:
Lubin Gin Fizz [vintage]
Chanel No 19 [vintage]
Chanel Coco
Frapin 1270
Clarins Dynamisante
The Gap White Amber [only because it was a $7 bargain]
Decants:
PdN Fig Tea [This was a swap – no cash outlay – does that count?]
CdG Vettiveru
ELdO Like This
Then, as some of you know, I had a perfume disaster and broke a vintage bottle of Guerlain L’HB. My husband then proceded to replace it, which is a gift and doesn’t count, but the bottle he purchased had a metal top instead of glass. So then I found a bottle just like the one I broke [with a glass stopper] and purchased that, so I now have 2 beautiful bottles of vintage G L’HB [and they were sealed and in perfect condtion BTW]. So that brings my FB total to 7 and decants total to 3 and I’m pretty sure that’s all folks.
Rustic, I love that your hubby got you more L’HB, how sweet! <3
Yes T – he’s a keeper.
Oh boy – what a horror! I am always afraid I’ll break or drop one of my cherished bottles. Lucky you it got replaced. I hope that your house or wherever you broke it smells fantastic!
Ann, it crashed to the hard tile bathroom floor which is why it smashed to smithereens. The bathroom smelled great for days, which only kept reminding me of the horror. I moped around in a funk for days.
A friend of mine spilled a bottle of Joy extrait on her carpet, and because the perfume is oily and lasted for years, she never bought another bottle again.
Ah, now I have this picture of some crime tape around your poor sad bottle.
Oops – as always I forgot a couple of items: a purse size of Bvlgari Jasmine Noir [I have a lerger bottle also & really like it], a mini of the Jade Jagger designed Shalimar [even though it still doesn’t work on me, the bottle is so pretty] and Yves Rocher Orange Blossom. I started keeping lists of decants that I make for people, but I still haven’t gotten into the habit of making lists of my purchases. I think it ‘s better that way.
how do you like Like This? i really love it, too bad it doesn’t last that long for me.
Like This is one of my current favorites and it actually lasts pretty well on me, which is unusual for my scent devouring skin!
Hmm, for someone who claims to be an EST of mine (don’t you?), you sure got a lot of things I love!
I’m not sure if I ever said that or not – but if I did, I was mistaken. We probably do agree more times than not.
V., I’m so glad you were able to replace the L’HB! I still mourn the loss of every bottle I’ve ever broken or spilled. Of all things, MAC Naked Honey has been the most depressing loss, just because there is no way in hell I’m paying what people are charging for it now.
Oh, sorry A! I didn’t know about that. You have my condolences.
Well, I still have some left, so I shouldn’t complain.
It just made me mad that I lost most of the bottle before I’d even worn it a second time.
Hi Misskitty! Naked Honey actually isn’t so expensive anymore – and I thank you for sending me a sample of it before I went and spent a ton of money on some. Luckily I found a few bottles at a Macy’s far away before they were all gone. I’ve actually fallen more in love with Africanimal and have a spare bottle Naked Honey – if you want to swap for it, I’m jasouza9 on MUA.
And also, that sucks about the bottle! I had an accident with a decant a little while ago – my bathroom smelled lovely for weeks!
Wow! Thanks! That would be awesome!
Ouch! So sorry about your breaking a bottle (vintage at that) of L’HB. But so sweet of you DH to replace it. I recently dropped a bottle of vintage Mitsouko extrait but thankfully it was in the kitchen and it didn’t break (cork floor). Whew!
Omigosh!! Your heart must have stopped! Vintage Mitsouko is almost HG for me.
Yes! My heart *did* stop! It was awful – I was ready to cry as I bent to pick up the bottle and I was running late for work – AARRRGGG!!! I’m not totally surprised that it didn’t break on that floor, but I was surprised that the glass stopper didn’t come out.
Good grief. You’d think we’d all learn to be more careful with our most precious bottles. Heart races just thinking about your experience.
Ooh – on a different topic – i just received my Luckyscent Fall sample pack!!
Tauer’s Eau d’Epices reminds me of Balsama della mecca.
Which I still haven’t tried! (The BdM, that is…)
I’ll have to send you some K.
Ha…that’s the point…you already did!
It’s languishing in my sample box…along with the zillion others I haven’t tried yet. So many great ones out there!
Oh duh! I don’t have my list in front of me, but it’s a good thing I started writing these things down. Obviously I can’t remember what I sent to whom.
How close are they? I liked BdM, but not to wear. I’d love it as a home fragrance.
The Tauer is somewhat lighter, but it is very similar IMO.
Boo – have you tried SSS Incense Pure yet? As Daisy says, it smells like she wanted MdB to smell.
No, I haven’t. So far, I’ve only tried 2 SSS frags, and they both had a common, nauseating note that really put me off trying any others. It’s a shame, too; CdB would have been lovely without that one flaw.
Have you tried the new Amouages yet?? Do tell!!!
I plan to do that tomorrow A. I’m wearing VC&A Bois d’Iris today, then when my sample pack came, I applied Tauer’s RV on the back of one hand and EdE on the back of the other. I’m out of space now.
Just one, believe it or not, and that is my beloved L’Artisan Coeur de Vetiver Sacre, which I am wearing today.
I love it!
Hugs!
Hey, you were good! Glad you got something you really loved.
Hi everyone, long time no comment
Ramadan fell into this quarter, so in the spirit of that holiday I gave all my earnings (minus rent and student loan payments) to the poor — thus my list is very short and just includes a few little things I bought before the fast
Miss Dior 50 ml (not vintage): I wore it for a few weeks and gave it the fairest chance I could, but I couldn’t get myself to appreciate it…
TDC Bergamote 50 ml (on sale at half off): Loved it during the heat wave, but wished it lasted longer.
I was about to get Philosykos, which I loved at first sniff, but I couldn’t make it to the store before closing time after work. Then as I was finishing my sample, the love turned sour and now I can’t see what I ever loved about that scent in the first place. Weird.
I’ve been really wanting Santal Blanc for awhile, and I’m now just finishing up that sample and waiting a bit to make sure the love is a lasting one
Oh, welcome back to commenting! You got some nice things (and did some nice things – the only way I can keep my perfume buying guilt manageable is to give at least the same amount to charity).
Maybe you donated your Philosykos love to me. Last year I found it way too coconutty until the far drydown; this year, it’s wonderful! Though I do wonder if it has to do w/the juice aging somewhat (it’s still the same little sample from before).
Dominika – what a wonderful thing to do for charity. It’s a good idea. I like your new picture too!
What a lovely thing to do, Dominika.
Dominika, if your love for Santal Blanc stays true, I’ve seen it on the parfum1 discount site (not Perfume1, PARFUM1, much better site). They have 15% off sales pretty regularly, too.
I’m sure I’ve nickeled and dimed a little more, but here’s most of it:
Murray & Lanman Florida Water $7
Murray & Lanman Kanaga Water $6
Ecume de Rose 5ml decant $21
CK Secret Obsession $33
Blvgari Black mini $13
Laura Biagitto Roma mini $13
Starring The Diva & Pattini minis $15
Lanvin Via mini, Scherrer Nuits Indienne mini, & Kenzo Flower Springtime 5ml decant $8
Gres Cabaret $24
$140- 4 bottles & 8 minis/ decants
Not bad, but then I’m too broke to be bad. Maybe I could start turning tricks to support my habit. Then I could take a french whore shower in Amouage;)
I’m really enjoying Roma, how do you like it?
I love it. I took bought it because of a NST thread. It’s perfectly spicy evergreens with just a plop of powdery florals.
Me too, both on loving it and the reason I got it.
It’s a very nice fall scent.
Gosh, that sounds lovely!
Cabaret is great, isn’t it?
It hasn’t arrived yet. But I have high hopes. I bought it mainly because of your high praises for it on your blog: “rose curled atop a down comforter before the fire, letting its smoke twine through her hair.” And then Kevin calling it a watercolor Paestum Rose. And the price such a bargain
I created a LEMMING?! Go me!
I do think it’s lovely. My mini is almost gone.
Let me just say, as I click the 5-9 button, that some of them were VERY SMALL BOTTLES.
I can’t keep track of all the samples and whatnot. But I know I bought:
Like This – my fall planned splurge
Roma, because it sounded good in an NST comment
Jo Malone White Jasmine & Mint
Peter Thomas Roth 460 Park EDT (it was a deal *cough*)
and some ebay scores:
Ava Luxe Vanilla Royale
Ava Luxe Luxe Honey
Ava Luxe Black Cashmere
and then six wee bottles of oil from a medieval event perfumer, and five small sprays or solids from the recent Gorilla Perfumes “happening”… Those can’t all count, can they? Can they?
I did update my spreadsheet this weekend and I’m starting to blush at the number. But I resolutely have no total of what I spent. (Though going over that list now… eh, I guess it’s about $380. That’s not bad, surely.) The bottle of Black Widow I have on order will push it over $400.
Hows the Ava Luxe Luxe Honey and Black Cashmere?
The honey doesn’t last as long as I’d like but it’s nice. Owning Back to Black, I’m not sure the honey was crucial. But I have a policy of collecting discontinued Ava Luxes where possible.
I didn’t care about the Black Cashmere (it came with the other two) but it’s nice enough. I should wear it. I don’t have Donna Karan’s Cashmere scent but I’ve smelled it (I think the first BE Perfume Diaries scent was a dupe).
Oh, but that will be next quarter.
True… this really is a ridiculous number. And I didn’t include other small samples/tiny bottles…
THEY’RE SO WEE!
I know what you mean; most of mine were 5-10 ml splits.
Ok, here goes, breathe deep and:
1) Paul Smith’s Rose – R450
2)E.L sensuous – (it was on sale and i had a voucher so outlay= R200)
3)Hermes Jardin: garden after monsoon. Half price = R350
4)Dior addict R430 (full price – had to have it!)
5)hypnotic poison elixir -20% = R550
Thats just under R2000 (R8 = $1)
Decants and samples would suit me much better as I crave new scents all the time. If I go into a mall I tend to try about 4 or 5 new things and then spend a lot of time sniffing myself and feeling confused. Unfortunately shopping over the net is difficult for me as I do not have a credit card (and never have – too much of a temptation) and most things get stolen in the post on the way here anyway…
You got some great stuff.
Please pardon my ignorance – what’s the unit of money you’re using? Rand? South Africa?
yep it is rand, and it is almost equivalent to hongkongdollar…so sad about that packages get stolen
and it is south africa…gorgeous country
Yes, indeed. Stunning landscapes everywhere.
Since I retired in early September, this will be my last quarter with a large list. No, really.
Here’s the damage:
Splits of Malmaison, Balkis, Mecca Balsam, and the new Tauer Eau d’Epices. As Joe said, they add up – these totaled around $70.00.
I caved at the last minute on the BeautyHabit sale and bought a backup bottle of PdE Ambre Russe (around $60.00). Then Pacifica had a sale, so I got bottles of Egyptian Bergamot Rose and Tibetan Mountain Temple – at 25% off they were a whopping $16.50 each. Then Tokyo Milk had a sale and I finally bought a bottle of Honey & the Moon at 30% off – less than $20.00 for that one. Then Serena started offering EDPs again, so I now have bottles of Ava Luxe’s Cafe Noir, Ambra Tibet, and No. 23 ($90.00). And finally, I bought a couple of minis (Safari and PWLLB) and a partial bottle of the Kenzo Magnolia from a lovely person who was culling the herd ($15.00).
So the quarter came to nearly $300.00 for me. But it’s the last quarter of buying, remember? Oh, except for that bottle of Coromandel I bought online yesterday. But I’m going to go all Scarlett O’Hara on that and declare that fiddle-dee-dee! I’ll just think about that tomorrow.
“No, really.” Thanks for the wry smile…
Malmaison is great! How are you getting on with the Kenzo Magnolia?
Kenzo and I are getting along quite well. It’s surprising to me that I like the Magnolia better than the Tea. My favorite Kenzo is still the big, spicy, make way – make way, (insert sound of elephant trumpeting here) Jungle l’Elephant.
I liked Le ‘phant as well. Which surprised the heck out of me, because I hate Opium and Coco and all those big balsamy things… I actually gave away my mini but kept a 1 ml sample for myself. I think I could only wear it in really frigid weather, anyway.
Mals – you know I find that interesting. I love my Coco. I can’t wear Opium (too dense), but I actually like L’Elephant. It is about as far into sweet gourmand fragrances I like to go. It’s all some buttery patch caramel dessert to me.
Congratulations on your retirement! That means more time for bargain hunting, yes?
True! I like your way of thinking.
Yes, congrats!
“No really.” – LOL! I love your trying to convince yourself!!
Ambra Tibet is one of my new favorites! I find it really lovely as well as comforting and a bit rich – like a flan dessert. I’m wearing it often when I can’t think of what else to wear, in the afternoons when Le Job has made me crazy.
So I’m super jealous of you retiring!
Aparatchik, the Ambre Russe is GORGEOUS, but more than double that price here…
It is WONDERFUL, isn’t it?! Sorry that it’s so much more expensive.
ummmm, so warm and tobacco-ey! The s.a. did manage to convey that it was men who usually wore it which made me think, maybe it would be better on my boyfriend…
anyway, that may be back on my wish list along with Kenzo’s amour, Hanae Mori butterfly, L. Lempicka’s L, and the rather different – but amazing – elixir de merveille!
I’v managed to hold off on these saving a mega R 2200!!!! LOL!
Bah, what do the SAs know? I just hosted a split of Ambre Russe, and while I don’t fully remember who bought in, at least most, if not all, were women.
Well, as I’ve been promising for quite some time now…
… my spending got better! Not a LOT better, but better.
2 decants: Malmaison and Montale Ta’if Roses
4 minis: La Rose Jacqueminot (ca. 1980s), Moschino L’eau Cheap & Chic (the one that’s supposed to do a nice cut-rate imitation of La Myrrhe, though I can’t say yet – it literally just arrived, I paid for it on 9/30), Coty Aspen for Women (because I loved it when it came out), and vintage Poison esprit de parfum (which was something of a self-challenge for me – “Do I have the guts for Poison now?”).
1 partial bottle (30ml) of La Myrrhe. Which I LOVE. Which I have loved for MONTHS now and didn’t think I could afford.
Total: $190, about 60% of which was the La Myrrhe. (Worth it.)
Oh, and forgot: two 4ml bottles from Smell Bent – One and Prairie Nymph. One is terrific, and PN is really nice for at least four hours before the musk in the base starts getting tiresome.
Add $12. (Oops.)
Those 4 ml sized are a nice option. Did you test Never Never Land?
I have a sample of NNL, haven’t gotten to it yet.
I’ll be interested to hear what you think about it……
Don’t you just LOVE the Montale Taif? Who makes the Malmaison? I just this year bought and planted the rose that bears its name….
Floris. It is, sadly, discontinued because of the IFRA restrictions on clove – it is a carnation fragrance dry enough to be (and was intended as, apparently) a masculine.
The Montale Ta’if is really big n’ wafty! I have half a mind to put a dab of it next to the Poison extrait and see which one wins…
You know- although I love the fragrance by itself – more often than not, I use the Taif as a rose booster, or just to add some rose to something else I’m wearing. Works beautifully….
I’m loving Malmaison, but then I’m a clove/carnation fiend (hence the reason – at least in terms of carnation – that I liked Prairie Nymph). Yes, that La Myrrhe is worth it – I drained the small decant I had very quickly.
I am just trying La Myrrhe tonight. Interesting. It’s quite the aldehyde-bomb, isn’t it? I’m not sure I realized that though I’m sure I’ve read about it before. Congratulations on getting something you love so much. I love that feeling.
Definitely alde-bomb. And yet I love it.
I’m not sure you were around when I was talking about how freaky I found Melograno… Interesting stuff. And very pleasant to wear in hot sticky weathe – I wore it to a couple of baseball games over the summer.
But it’s a bit like a splice-up of my mom’s No. 5 and my dad’s post-bath Old Spice talcum powder… like they’re standing right behind me. Freaky. Really, really freaky.
Full price: Sensuous Noir 1.7oz, Womanity .33oz, Heat Ultimate Elixir, Peace Love & Juicy Couture rollerball. Discounted: SJP NYC 2oz, L Gwen Stefani 3.4oz, Vera Wang Bouquet 1.7oz, Halle 1.7oz, Paris Hilton Men 1oz, two Forever Mariah Carey 1oz. So w/ tax probably 290-300 bucks. That is scary!!! I’m AWFUL! No judgement pleeze! LOL! I also got gifted Tresor In Love, Acqua Di Gioia, and Queen of Hearts but those don’t count cuz I didn’t pay for them. Yay! : )
Hey, it’s only really $100 a month or $25 a week… you’re not awful at all with that kind of spending. Hopefully you got some things you really enjoy.
Ditto. You weren’t bad at all!
$91 Big box of near new and part-used vintage minis, many of them extraits (No 5, Mystere, Safari, Bal a Versailles). It also had some vintage Givenchy EDTs which I’m enjoying
$45 NIB Mahora
$46 Aesop Marrakech (also came with toner)
$50 Diptyque Olene
$13 Ciro Ricochet
$58 sealed Shalimar parapluie
$55 sealed 80s Shalimar parfum
$13 random minis from 70s-80s with Emeraude parfum, Habit Rouge and others
$25 vintage Fracas parfum
$90 vintage perfumes: 3x Carvens, Je Reviens, Joy parfum from 40s-60s, many of which are unopened.
I think that comes to $486.
Way more than I usually spend but I’m very happy with my haul. And seeing as I’ve been diagnosed with pneumonia and a possible cracked rib, I don’t think my husband will be hassling me too much about it. He actually asked if I wanted to buy something to cheer myself up, much to my surprise. Possibly even more surprising: I declined as I’m very satisfied with what I have (for the moment!).
Oh, I LOVE vintage stuff! I’m sure you’ll find plenty of wonderful things to sniff in that haul during your convalescence. Report back sometime and tell us what was a hit, will you?
The BaV is absolutely delicious. It actually makes me a bit sad we’re leaving winter behind.
This lot has well and truly cemented my interest in vintage, that’s for sure.
Great scores! I hope you feel better soon. Pneumonia and a broken rib– that’s not a good combination.
You definitely deserve some good perfumes around to cheer you up.
You made some excellent vintage hauls! Congratulations! I’m especially jealous of the Je Reviens. That was always a love of mine. I hope you feel much, much better soon.
Another fan of vintage fragrances here – and what a nice score for you this quarter! You definitely deserve it all – what misery you’re going through Lily bug – get well soon!
Ouch! A cracked rib and pneumonia – at least you have all those gorgeous vintages to enjoy.
Not that I’m jealous of your health condition, but that was awfully thoughtful of your husband to suggest. Get better soon!
Thanks for your well wishes
I was very good this quarter and only bought a set of Bulgari travel minis. All up I spent less than $100AUD. So I might splurge this quarter…
Excellent, good for you!
I wasn’t really feeling the frenzy in Q3, so naught but a few split portions — probably $120 or thereabouts for the whole shebang:
NK Incense
CdG Wonderwood
By Kilian Pure Oud (OK, that was a BIG portion!)
Tauer Une Rose Vermeille
Tauer Eau d’Epices
Just one this quarter – Roxana Illuminated Perfume Chaparral.
I’m starting to think my collection is just about complete (never thought I’d say that)! I’m just not getting excited by many samples these days, and I usually choose to wear what I already have and love.
You have obviously made some wise choices if the fragrances you already have please you more than anything else out there. There is a great deal to be said for being content with what you already have. Sampling is fun, but it can be a relief to find that you don’t love some really expensive, hard-to-find perfume.
I try to choose carefullly and have been following the rule of finishing a large sample before buying a bottle. However it is probably just wishful thinking about slowing right down!
Count me in the “too hot for perfume this qtr.” and the “I’ve been good” contingent. Only bought 1 small decant and two smallish splits:
vintage Chanel No. 19
L’Artisan Cote D’Amour
Guerlain Iris Ganache
Total is probably only around $100.
I’ve been really curious about the IG. Is it a very rooty iris, or something else?
It opens with a rooty iris, which remains until at least mid-way through. Then it morphs into the “ganache” phase, which is very nice. And this from a person who doesn’t like sweet scents! But the ganache truly does smell like a cross between vanilla and white chocolate. And surprisingly (to me) not artificial!
Forgot to ask – would you like some?
Sure Rapple – I’ll email you and find out if I have some things to interest you also.
As many of you might suspect…I’ve been extremely naughty this quarter. However, the majority of what I’ve purchased has also been split up amongst….many of YOU. So I’m only going to list what I’ve bought (mostly) for myself.
1. Montale Boisé Vanillé
2.vtg. Norell
3. vtg Caron Montaigne edt
4. Caron Montaigne edp
5. Bois de Paradis (replacement)
6. Champagne de Bois (replacement)
7. Hermessence Osmanthe Yunnan
8. Hermessence Ambre Narguile (travel set)
9. Molinard 1849 Iles d’Or + a back up , hey it’s HG spice here people!
10. Molinard 1849 Habanita parfum
11. vtg Crepe de Chine parfum
12. AT Carillon pour une Ange
13. L’Artisan Fleur de Narcisse 2006
14. Satellite Padparadscha
15. PG Cuir d’Iris
16. Fath de Fath edp
17. Nuit de Tubereuse –can’t recall exactly when I got this and I’m far too lazy to go check my spreadsheet–and I did split some.
18. Amouage Dia extrait
the total is too outrageous for me to attempt to add up, so I won’t!
Fabulous list DD! I’d expect nothing less. One of these days, I’ll treat myself to a FB of CdB – what a beauty. Isn’t that NdT a good one?
NdT is weird….but when I’m wearing it, I can hardly keep my nose and wrists apart! It’s probably effecting the serotonin levels in our brains….
that must be why it is so addictive!!!!great list dais….keep going gal
But on the bright side, I believe you’ve been better than last quarter. And I’m almost afraid to ask… how do you like the Caron Montaigne? I tried several Carons years ago when I first discovered TPC (before it was even TPC) but never tried that one.
Great list though, Empress. Enjoy!
Montaigne is another sort of odd one….don’t hoover your wrist…just let the sillage waft….I’ll send you some my dear! (to return some of the enabling you’ve done to me )
Heheheh – you’ve done your fair share, but paybacks are hell-o!
Yes, Montaigne is a Dame WHO NEEDS HER SPACE to be happy.
yes she does….and I forgot to blame those particular purchases on you Ann…thanks for the samples
More than happy to oblige with some modest enabling – try to reverse the direction!
i love all those vintage carons…REAL perfume
Ooh, you are the second person who got Fleur de Narcisse this quarter. I’d better get one before it’s gone. What a beauty!
It really is lovely….springtime in a bottle. I put off getting basically because just thinking about the price gave me a pain in my head….but I didn’t want it to disappear the way Fleur d’Oranger did…poof! gone. Just in the few short years I’ve been niche perfume ho, I’ve seen far too many glorious scents disappear.
Wow, Daisy. Ever impressive! Are you sure that these are all for just little ole you? (Jealous of that BdP….)
wellll…I share with my daughter…and do usually end up splitting portions of almost everything sooner or later. Perfume is just too good to not share a little! I actually have very few “full” bottles.
We heart you Daisy dear! Thanks ever so much<3<3<3
I just smelled Osmanthe Yunnan on paper yesterday. Yum-o.
Tama – I have some OY with your name all over it. I got 5 mls in a split last year unsniffed. It just doesn’t do anything for me. I’ll put it with that Citrus Petals and we can get that swap worked out.
Ooo – yum. Thanks! We do need to get that worked out. I think I owe you some money.
only two bottles,
etat libre d’orange like this and nuit de tuberouse.
very happy with both of them!
No wonder you’re happy with them–they’re both excellent and complex.
This quarter,I’ve bought two bottles and 10 minis for aprox. 90 pounds(evilbay…);FB of Boisd’Encens and Lady Vengeance and minis :Femme,Tocade,Mme.Rochas and Eau de Rochas,also some Majmua attar oil(3 pounds badly spent,get nauseous if too close),Opium,Tresor,Poeme and Tentations.
Ideas for the next quarter are finding some vintage Diorella and a back up bottle of Vetiver Tonka(this one will be my Xmas present probably).L.
You’ve got some great classics there. That Majmua is some potent stuff isn’t it?
R. Indeed!!!! I swear I can’t even touch the mini, it is too strong for me and unfortunately not in a good way.L.
Try diluting it in some jojoba or other kind of oil. It really is lovely in a low concentration.
Thank you for the advice ,I will try it that way and fingers croosed it ‘ll get better.L.
Those Rochas scents are great, aren’t they? I still need to get Eau…
Yes, S.Q. I love Femme and I really like Mme.Rochas and Tocade is very peppery and naughty…Do try the Eau is a classic.L
I’ve been quite restrained compared to last quarter:
Vintage Chamade EDC
SSS Femme Jolie, 2 x 17 ml bottles (one a back-up)
Purse spray of Champagne de Bois
Chanel No 5 Eau Permiere – the 40ml bottle
Vintage Emeraude
Patou Ma Liberte mini
Caron Infini mini
Givenchy L’Interdit mini
The Chanel I paid full price for at a Department store – I managed to persuade them to let me lay-by it, which normally they don’t do. Anyway, it’s not a bad thing – forcing yourself to wait!
The Ma Liberte was a disappointment. I suspect there are notes I am not smelling b/c to me it is like a thinned down version of Chanel’s Coco, and I’ve not heard anyone else say that.
The Infini and the L’Interdit have not arrived. Very eager for the postman each day at the moment!
I bought a partial bottle of Ma Liberte, and ended finding it disappointing. Oh well, can’t win ’em all!
So it’s not just me? Strangely, I got much more complexity sniffing it on a tissue than I did on my own skin. Odd that.
That happens to me a lot. I burn straight through top notes in what seems like seconds, and then the rest hangs around all day and into the next, most times.
17 ml of Femme Jolie is on its way to me and a spray sample of Champagne du Bois, which I’m excited to try. FJ is perfect for fall–I’m wearing it from a sample bottle right now.
I find myself reaching for the FJ often and had to grab a back up before Laurie takes it off the market. I couldn’t afford a 34ml back up, but I think I’ll be okay with the two 17mls. Sometimes when I need a lift I just go into the bedroom and sniff the top of the bottle. It always cheers me up, but in a serene sort of way.
Infini is currently my favorite aldehydic floral. I’m sure you will love it.
Wonderful, thanks. I was inspired by the review on Yesterday’s Perfumes:
http://yesterdaysperfume.typepad.com/yesterdays_perfume/2010/09/infini-by-caron-1972.html
Thanks, Annemarie. I discovered this wonderful blog after you posted about it yesterday! It is now on my bookmarked blog list.
I didn’t know that Eau Premiere came in a 40 ml size now, that is very tempting!
I lost count of all the decants. FB bottles this quarter:
• Montale Aoud Blossom
• Parfum de Nicolai Violette in Love
• Coach for Men
• Diesel Only The Brave
• Heeley Oranges and Lemons Say The Bells of St. Clements
• Diptyque Duelle
• Dior Homme Intense
• Odin 01
• L’Artisan Parfumeur Fou d’Absinthe
• Heeley Cardinal
• Bois 1920 Sushi Imperiale
• Creed Aventus
• Annick Goutal Songes
Carlos, the range of your purchases is simply thrilling!
TY NOZKNOZ
very nice! Is it bad to read other people’s lists and think “hmm, wonder if I can get them to swap for a little of that….” or “oh, I am so hittin’ them up for a sample of this…” Am I the only one? Maybe I’m just sick and greedy! btw, Carlos…I’m about to hit you up for a sample of that new Diptyque Duelle….heheheheh…
Like they say mi casa su casa…my fume cabinet is your fume cabinet…of course hit me up anytime dahlink!
Joe kindly passed his my way… I’ll put some in your pkg!
I forgot my Travel spray of Hermes Ambre Narguile!
Oooh, Sushi Imperiale is very nice… as are many of your others. And you can boot that Songes into next quarter.
HA! May not even own it come next quarter.
It’s funny–I actually bought more bottles this quarter than last, but spent far less money. Everything this quarter was vintage/discontinued from eBay:
Revlon Intimate–4 oz. bottle about 60% full
Guerlain Meteorites–50 ml
Roger & Gallet Blue Carnation–6 oz. bottle 1/2 full
R & G Blue Powder (not dusting powder, more like a dry perfume)
Coty Emeraude extrait-1/3 oz.
Coty Masumi extrait–1/4 oz.
Love’s Fresh Lemon
Blue Waltz “concentrated cologne”–4 oz. NIB
Love’s Rain Scent
Grand total: 9 bottles, $193.
I am afraid I have already started on this quarter–a bottle of Avignon. I am really lemming after a bottle of C&S Dark Rose, as well. I need to try a few more roses before I decide, but DR will probably be it. After all, with a screen name like 50_Roses, I ought to have at least one rose perfume, right?
I’ve been tempted to buy the Rain Scent. You’ll have to tell me how it smells after all these years.
Unfortunately, I didn’t like it at all. The list above is in approximate order of how well I liked them. I DID like Rain Scent years ago (about 25 years ago), when I had just one small bottle. The Rain Scent I just bought turned out to be a different color (blue rather than blue-green), and says “Love’s Fragrances”, and then underneath, “Dana Perfumes Corp.”, so it may have been reformulated after Dana acquired the Love’s name. If you can find a genuine vintage bottle (pre-Dana), it might be much better. Of course, it may simply have turned over the years. At least I didn’t pay much for it.
That’s disappointing, but at least now I know better than to bother buying any. The bottle I have seen does look different than the one I remember, so that must be the new (newer?) version. I’ll just live with my memories of it.
Timely – you must have enjoyed Angela’s review of Intimate the other day.
I see Roger and Gallet stuff in one of my local department stores but have never tried it. I should give the testers a proper try.
Hmm…. The ones that counted were Encre Noire and Black Cashmere (see the theme?). The big score was the almost completely full bottle of Dior Dolce Vita that I got for $8 at a junk store in Cave City, KY – I’ve wanted a FB of that for ages! And I got a full bottle of a quite pleasant Banana Republic scent for 99 cents at the Salvation Army, which doesn’t really count because I wouldn’t have bought it otherwise.
I LOVE Dolce Vita.
I love reading all the lists! I’m rather proud, as I just bought three bottles this quarter:
D’Orsay Tilleul – new but w/coupon
CdG Stephen Jones – new but w/coupon
Eau d’Italie Magnolia Romana – partial bottle from a BNer
Oh, and a decant of DelRae Amoureuse. Now that I’m retired, I think I’ll make it my new rule not to exceed an average of one bottle a month. It will work for me, I think!
I will retire in a year’s time and am contemplating something like that, Haunani, as well as slowing down this year in order to ease the transition. (That funny sound you can hear all the way over on the West Coast is me shaking in my perfumed boots at the mere thought of this challenge, LOL!)
How exciting for you! I’m almost relieved that I have a new “rule” to follow. I’ve been pretty self-indulgent these last two years, and there are other things I want to do besides nonstop buying.
That’s a great point!
I’m so new to all this, so I kind of went bananas, but I think I am nearing a place where I can maybe take a breather. I could buy a horse, now, for all the stuff I got, thanks to YOU ALL for giving me such great ideas, and reading your insights. I owe it all to you! In order of ecstasy of being in the presence of each of these:
Amouage Homage Attar (Oh. My. God. It’s beautiful)
Montale, both White and Black Oud
Van Cleef and Arpels Cologne de Noir (for casual everyday)
Jo Malone Iris and Musk
Jo Malone Oud and Bergamot (both of these before I knew the above Montales and Amouages even existed)
Decants of 5-15 ml:
Montale Chocolate Greedy, in decant (for a cold WY night. I love it)
Amouage Lyric for Women
Tabac Blond by Caron
Habanita and Ambre Passion Velvet (trying in my ignorance to find a perfume for my sister for Xmas who LOVES powder, and that’s what I’ve come up with. Suggestions are welcome. It’s how I came to Tabac Blond, but I think I will keep it for myself.)
I have two friends in the Middle East as I write this, one a falcon trainer who travels to Dubai and an employee at Barclay’s Bank, and I have both of them on the look out for duty free items. They have found no luck in finding any Amouage over there, in the malls at least.
A friend in a boutique sent me a pile of L’Artisan samples, but most were too masculine and barn-like for me, but I did like the Bois de Farine.
I don’t want to think about what I spent. At least it wasn’t an Icelandic horse. Or cocaine.
Or an Icelandic horse with a coke habit.
YIKES! That horror did not occur to me, but the image is both horrific and hilarious! I read that Creed, I think, perfumed his horses. Now, THAT”S an idea, although I always thought the smell of a horse is just fab on its own. But, it would be a good way to use up my Jo Malone room sprays.
You’ve got quite a few wonderful things there. I’ve been wanting to try the Chocolate Greedy. Maybe this quarter.
You MUST try it! I ordered a sample on a whim, but, hey, it’s to die for, for what it is. I went around the house smelling myself all day. It’s just great. It will make you smile. I think best for a cold day, of course. I asked people what they thought I smelled like, and they all had this happy look on their faces and said “Fabulous baked goods!” The girls at Starbucks could wear it and no one would know (I think they have rules about no one wearing perfume whilst working, but they could get away with this OR Tea or Two, I think.) It keeps me from taking my scents too seriously…
Drat. I know I bought a sample of Montale Greedy but cannot find it (this is the definition of hell). I bought it because I keep hearing how good it is! I need a new system. And to find my Greedy sample. Today would be perfect for it.
If you can’t find it, see below– I can help you out.
Send me a message at MUA. I can set you up.
Someone ever so kindly pointed out that amidst the Icelandic horse with a cocaine habit comments, the words “set you up” could, possibly, be misinterpreted. I meant I can pass on some samples (or decants if anyone wants one) of the Chocolate Greedy. I like it, but I don’t want to smell like chocolate biscotti every day of my life, so I think I can spare some. But I don’t have any illegal drugs to share with anyone’s horse. Sorry.
My Icelandic horse, named Silfri, is a fat, opinionated little turd who read your post and thought “Heck Yeah, I’m set!” and this little testicle-less dragon is EXPECTING you to hook him up with some blow. I said, “NO, you get apples, if you’re good and don’t wipe me out on a tree branch, and you lose 150 lbs.” (He’s a descendant of Mr. Ed, but has a higher, squeakier voice, and less manners.) Anyway, I’ll give him a shot of Bute to take his mind off his loss. Horses, I have noticed, are puzzles by certain perfumes and Chocolate Greedy seems to puzzle them the most. One of mine turned his lip up, literally. I think I might just spray down Silfri with some Habit Rouge…Tell him it’s fly repellant. Or mare attractant.
Sorry this was off topic, but it was fun. I couldn’t resist…
I’m new too! Your sister might like Bulgari Black. It’s powdery and soft with rubbery edges. I don’t pick up a lot of the rubber smell – it’s very linear yet still interesting. I personally think it’s quite feminine: stong and soft at the same time. Worth a sniff, for sure.
Congratulations on your newbie haul, Mough. Montale Black Aoud is one of my all-time favorites.
For powder, you might want to sample Mecheri Loukhoum Eau Poudree, Villoresi Dilmun, or Etro Heliotrope.
THANK YOU! I’m hoping Habanita and the Laura Mercier might get me started, but I will definitely get some of these. I love the excuse to buy more samples. The perfume she loves got like 1 star in the Turin book and it cracked me up. She wears…Cashmere Mist. I’m not a fan, but hey, she’s my sister. ALSO, you seem to be in the know: she says she used to wear a perfume YEARS ago that she absolutely loved and is no longer made. It’s called…Carnet du Bal by Revillon. I think that’s correct in spelling. I looked everywhere, even did a search containing the notes and only came up with a 30% match. I found an (overseas) number that I could call and maybe they could find a bottle somewhere. Where would you recommend me looking next, or just forget it and find a new scent that she might find divine? Will pursue your suggestions.
I went nuts this quarter. I can’t even believe what i bought. But my top five this quarter are as follows:
Jicky Extract
Shalimar Ode de la Vanille I even haven’t tried it yet.
02 L`Air du Desert Marocain by Tauer Perfumes
Santal de Mysore
Noir Epices
I won’t be getting as many this quarter. I probably will only get about 3. The new Mens Dandy is one for sure after that not sure yet have a few things I want to test. The new Amouage for sure.
Hope we all keep smelling great!
Really nice! Noir Epices is in my top 5 scents. Hope you keep smelling great as well!
I almost bought a bottle for my beloved on ebay, and now I’m kicking myself for not getting it.
Sooooo sexy. Love it. (But not on me.)
I was so happy about my restraint this quarter, compared to the previous three (oh dear, they were bad), and now the lemming is starting again after reading these wonderful lists!
FB:
)
Guerlain Vol de Nuit Evasion EDT, 50 ml. (a gift from my boss so that doesn’t count, right?
Givenchy Organza Indecence EDP, 15 ml. vintage
Minis:
Lucien Lelong Indiscret, parfum vintage
Jean Desprez Bal a Versailles, parfum vintage
Christian Dior Dune EDT (2)
Lancome O EDT, vintage
Decants:
Le Labo Patchouli 24 EDP 8 ml
And a Vintage Emeraude Candle with Box
Since samples don’t count I’d say I’ve been very good!
$85 total (not including the Guerlain VdNE, of course).
Looking forward to reading the lists!
OOh, nice things!
10mls -L’Artisan NDT need FB
10ml -SMN Melograno need FB
10ml-SMN Aqua di Colonia
10mls Very Irresistable Rose Bulgare 2005
10mls Amarathine
10mls Teo Cabanel Ohe
Full Bottles:
Dior -Vintage Dune
Chanel no.5 Vintage edt.
Chanel -Vintage CoCo
PDelRae- Mythique
Coty Emeraude extrait
Hilary Duff- With Love
Miss Dior Cheri
M-Mariah Carey
Philosophy-Unconditional Love
Hello dear Adela, I’m jealous of your vtg Coco.
You go girlie<3
But no Dzing! yet?!
OH! Which reminds me I need to get that out to you asap, I will I promise:)
No Dzings Yet!! I do love that one too. I get alot of complements when I wear it, Thanks for introducing it to me T.
Hey, I don’t know how this works, but I happen to have a full, untouched new bottle of SMN Melograno. I thought my sister would love it, but apparently not. I was going to give it to her for Xmas. So, I’d be happy to sell you mine. I love the smell, isn’t it great? So soft and powdery. I have it all–the bath oil is to die for, the bath salts are out of this world. So, let me know if you want to pursue this. And how to go about doing so.
Wow… now you have me curious about SMN body products, especially Melograno. They’re nice and pricey though, aren’t they? 2 oz of bath oil for $78? Hmmmm…. tempting. Glad to hear that they’re really nice.
Joe, yes, they’re not cheap, but the bath oil is very concentrated. I have a bottle that I’ve used for over a year. I just add a few drops, well, a bit more than that, but certainly not a huge splash. It’s loud. It will last you and I feel is worth its price, unless you were to use it every single night….But, hey, if I knew we were all going to get hit by an astroid in 2012, then I’d be using it every single night. Also, I can not emphasize enough the beautiful smell of the Melograno bath salts. One whiff and you’ll be a goner. I have never introduced it to anyone who has not just flipped. I use it as a Very Special Xmas present to those who wouldn’t otherwise know about it or how to find it. Good luck and I hope you enjoy them!
I do love the body products….This perfume is so unique… if you want email me at adelajuarez_3688@yahoo.com.
I will email you directly.
Glad you liked the Melograno.
Yes, I fell in love with it. Thank you for introducing it to me Klytaemnestra.
Ever since I started reading this blog, I’ve been happy to sniff new scents from samples and decants and the FB-lust has been mostly under control.
So, this quarter, discovered the scent splits group and went totally overboard with decants. I won’t publish the list of everything I got, I don’t even keep track, but I’ve been very happy to explore more fragrances this way, without having to commit to big $.
I did get 3 FBs:
Ambre Narguille (15 ml)
TDC Bois d’Iris (a gift to myself for finding a new job)
Amaranthine (a gift to myself for my birthday)
Thus, I’ve fully adopted the 2-showers a day routine since this is the only way that I can get enough wear of all my treasures!
ooo! Amaranthing was my second FB purchase! love it!
Congrats on the new job!
Ack! This has been my first full year ‘into’ perfumes. Since summer I have spent $$ on decants/splits and postage on swapping…all those little expenses add up!
Purchases lately include:
Crabtree Ev. Iris
Paul and Joe Bleu AND Blanc
Koores Safran
NUMEROUS L’Arts and Carthusias in the summer Bigelow sale! (they loved me!)
and my next purchase is a SL but still figuring out which one….
…suggestions? (I like sweet amber, liking Douce Amere but it is fleeting on me…)
My next SL is Bois de Violette. It’s sweet and dry (woody) like a really great Savignon Blanc.
I love Bois de Violette! That was one of my FB purchases for the second quarter, and I do not regret a penny of it.
firstly i have to wonder about donatellas display! Doesn’t the light kill the fragrance? I have a design in my head for a more contemporary cabinet with lighting and….sliding doors…so that I can open and light the cabinet only when I desire….oh for dreams..
so secondly…my first time to confess. I cannot remember when i bought what, so i will just list my last bottles purchases until yesterday
nuite de tuberose (full bottle)plus 15ml gift 110 $
eclat de jasmin (with the pink stone) only $50
2 times 17ml sss champagne
2 bottles of crabtree iris…40 percent off, so i bought for gifts!! really quite lovely as is the body lotion
am considering vintage no 5
lemmings..alahine, chypre rouge, trying andys and lauries ranges…still so much wanting to try iris silver mist and la mhyrre
if i remember correctly, the first 2 months of the quarter, I had zero spending…oh i remember kenzo amour and florale…..my daughter likes the amour, so it doesn’t count and the floral…well i have a dded it to the bunch of “sometimes” use as roomsprys
love chloe
I’m new to this and everything always sounds so wonderful. I’ve purchased countless samples… must find cheaper samples…
I also got quite a few FBs and a couple of minis since summer.
My damage list:
Prada Infusion d’Iris – Sigh! My favorite Iris.
Prada L’eau Amber – Clean and wonderful!
Perfect Veil – Simple and pretty!
Diptyque L’eau de L’eau – way spicy, having second thoughts
Heeley Iris de Nuit – LOVE it! My favorite Iris.
L’Artison Iris Pallida – LOVE it! No, this is my favorite Iris.
L’Artison Mimosa – sweet and light
POTL – Delicious Yum!
Bulgari Black – Powder & Edgy at the same time
1/2 mini vintage Chanel #5 (well, think it’s vintage. Still don’t like Aldehydes)
1/2 mini vintage Coco Chanel (it was included with the mini #5)
Mini – Kenzo Flower – sweet
Mini – Lolita Lempicka – Need a bigger bottle!
For LL you could look at ebay, they are often selling testers at a good price.
Late to the party – over $1200 but I got a lot of juice:
Joy 24
Mugler Cologne 10 oz 40
Sublime 33
Nacre 7
Amaranthine 125
Balkis 66
Ile d’Yeu 45
Colonia Dulci 28
L 17
B a V 35
eau premiere 65
Attrape coeur 250
la tulipe 200
apricot fig 65
bee, Honeysuckle, Puanani 32
reverie au jardin 133
With Love 15
kenzo amour 65
I might have gotten Apres l’Ondee in this quarter but I can’t remember exactly. I have had such a good time! No regrets at all.
Congratulations on the Attrape-Coeur. I imagine that is getting very hard to find now. Had you waited a year or two, it would probably have been much more than 250. It gets a lot of love, and now that it is discontinued, there will no doubt be a hefty premium on it in the future.
wow! didn’t know that attrapec was being discontinued!!! Why?
If my information is correct, it is related to all the new EU ingredient restrictions. Apparently, Guerlain couldn’t find a way to make it compliant without altering the scent too much, so rather than ruin A-C, they decided to just discontinue it.
That’s all really awesome, Tama. Congrats to you for enjoying yourself now that you can with some ease. I see you scored a bottle of the delicious Balkis as well. I like smelling it before I go to sleep.
Tama – great list! You deserve every one of them. All great choices.
I suppose I had some self restraint this quarter. I purchased;
1-Kelly Caleche – to get me through the last weeks of winter.
2-A Scent by Issey Miyake – to wear in spring
3-Armand Basi Sensual Red – just because it was so lovely & my SOTD today!
So only 3-certainly not my worst quarter!
$503.88
I keep a careful log of my finances each month (yay Excel!), so I know EXACTLY how much I spent during the quarter.
I just don’t really know what I bought… I know that partial bottle of Bois Blond and the Safran Troublant with the beautyhabit discount code don’t add up to $503. Maybe it’s better not to know.
Lol that you know how much you spent but not what you got
I envy you your Bois Blond…
Good for you. I keep a list of perfs in a spreadsheet so I know what I got but not how much I spent. I think you’re more responsible than me!
Lemonprint, I think I’m going to take your (and others) lead on this, and begin keeping a spreadsheet. It might make my morning “what should I wear” decision easier if I can just look at a list!
It might….. or not. LOL! My list is so long by now, it doesn’t really help. Time for me to start weeding things out, I think.
So, I am not the only one?
Damages? Why would anyone call it ‘damages’. Investment, seems more like it…lol…
Here in my place, there are only FBs no decants and smaller stuff…
So here goes:
Bulgari Jasmine Noir
Bulgari Black
Van Cleef and Arpels PH
1 million Paco Rabanne
Gucci PH
Burberry London
Versace Eau Fraiche
Amount: Close to 20k Indian Rupees, about $450
A vintage bottle of NR L’Air du Temps EdP for Eur 8,00 incl. postage on ebay. And a lot of small samples.
Well, you were sensible! Vintage L’Air is really nice.
Longtime lurker here, and first post! I’ve only just got into the “niche” fragrances. It all started with a sample of Philosykos!
This quarter:
Diptyque Philosykos 100ml – $120
Diptyque Philosykos body cream 100ml – $68
10 Corso Como body lotion 250ml – $55
10 Corso Como bath pearls 250ml – $45
Costes No. 1 50ml – $79
PdN Violette in Love 30ml – $45
Satellite A la Figue! 100ml – $80
L’Artisan Premier Figuer Extreme 50ml – $115
Juliette Has a Gun Lady Vengeance 100ml – $110
total: $717
Sounds like quite a lot when it’s all written out. :/
Thanks for reading!
R
I loved my sample of Costes and it’s really quite affordable, isn’t it? All those purchases are quite reasonable ones, really. I’d just tell myself it’s not like I’m buying a ton of bottles of Amouages.
I’m glad you’ve de-lurked!
You’ve got some nice figs on that list – I haven’t tried the Satellite, what do you think of it?
Welcome Robyng1, and nice list!
Great list! It sounds like all that lurking paid off – you really picked some neat stuff.
Late to the party as always, but just for the record… I’ve been bad. Bought FBs of:
vintage Fleurs de Rocaille
Czech & Speake Dark Rose
P. de Rosine Rose d’Homme
Penhaligon’s Lily & Spice
Caron Pour un Homme
Czech & Speake Cuba
vintage YSL Champagne
And I’ve already started writing my 4th quarter damages list – I simply couldn’t resist a rather cheap bottle of vintage Habanita. yesterday.
YSL Champagne! Good choice! One of my favorites.
Rosine Rose d’Homme is just gorgeous! I blew through a decant of that last winter. Which reminds me I need to get some more….
I’ve surpassed my 2010 budget already, but not by much. Now I have to hold off until Jan 2011 when I will run to Harald Lubner in downtown Hamburg! It’s good to keep track. Makes me appreciate my perfumes all the more, actually.
You are good to stick to your budget for the year! Do you already know what you’ll get in January? I stopped at HL when I visited Hamburg last summer, it’s such a pretty boutique with an exceptional range.
Yes, I really enjoying stopping by that boutique when I can. I think I will finally purchase Dzing! and perhaps one other bottle. I will also ask them for some Malle samples.
For the first time in a very long time, I’ve been able to click on ‘1’ in the poll.
Since I refused to fork out 110 euros for a new bottle of Tubéreuse Criminelle a few weeks ago in Paris (of course the price has now gone up to 125 euros, aaaaargh) I have been looking for a replacement. I bought (I won’t say ‘won’ because it wasn’t free) an adorable Miss Dior set made up of a gorgeous little 20ml rechargeable spray bottle + 50ml body lotion for a song on eBay. I’ve always loved it, yet have never worn it for some reason. I am enjoying it very much. Once it’s used up, I will reconsider and maybe *maybe* stay with it or choose something else or even decide Tubéreuse Criminelle is worth all that money after all. We’ll see.
Sorry to say that I’m about to make all of y’all look bad- 2 bottles of CSP Vanille Mokha, only $12 each!
Wow, but two bottles of the same scent! It must be really good!
Congratulations – you do indeed win at Restraint. And Bank Accounts.
Best CSP EVER!
Fine. Finefinefine… you realize I’m green now, right? you have access to all this cool stuff you review, and you’re not buying any of it?
You make me look bad. However, I exonerate you on account of your student status.
You deserve a Restraint pin, with a sparkly rock in it for enabling others with your reviews
Great deal
This quarter was Chanel quarter. 100 mls each of Antaeus and Pour Monsieur, and a 1/4 oz of No. 5 pure parfum. I also picked up an oz of Cool Water and 4 oz of Grey Flannel for reference/library purposes, but they barely cost anything. I also bought samples of the whole Ormonde Jayne line, but that was well worth it.
Next quarter is Serge quarter…I have a feeling my wallet might be hurting a tad more at the end of this one…
Ooh, I am also entering the Age of Serge. I just ordered Borneo from Parfum 1– 20% off!! Whoo hoo! Debating about getting a bottle of Daim Blonde. And Chene. And…
I must say – this is the most FB purchasing I’ve done in a LONG time
CdGxUndercover Holygraphie – $125
CdGxUndercover Holygrace – $90 (eBay)
CB I Hate Perfume Mr. Hulots Holiday Absolute- $65
DS Durga – Silent Grove – $75 <<<< SUCH A WINNER!!!
Malin + Goetz Otto Perfume Oil – $50
Amarathine – $91 (eBay)
I'm going to need a second bottle of Silent Grove soon.
What’s Silent Grove like? Beautiful name, I don’t think I’ve heard of that one.
It’s my favorite Linden-y frgrance I’ve found thus far. It reminds me of my beloved Roger & Gallet Tilleul – but kicked up a bit and bordering on unisex.
best of all – it LASTS and LASTS.
Ooooh – I love linden. I’ll have to check this one out. Thanks for the tip.
Linden? mmmm
I spent very little this quarter, but am already making up for it with my wish list for the fourth quarter! (Which may have to stretch into first quarter 2011).
This is all I remember getting:
FB of newly reformulated Intimate (yuck!)
edp Minis:
Agent Provacateur (will be buying a FB of this or Strip)
Lalique Amethyst (will be buying a FB and body lotion)
Perles de Lalique
Lalique pour Homme
Gucci by Gucci
Soir de Lune
All of this totaled just under € 70. I also ordered a great many tiny decant samples from various online suppliers. Not ONE of them was something I want to buy more of.
I know I am late to this party, but the damage poll is one of my favorites, so have to take part! I put myself down for 6 bottles, totaling about $220 (I hosted 3 splits, so I don’t know what exactly amount I was left with).
Bottles:
Pacifica Lotus Garden – $22
MAC Africanimal – $35
Tokyo Milk Dead Sexy $25
Crazy Libellule and the Poppies Chere Louise solid- $15
Splits/Minis:
Shalimar Light (hosted)
AA Mandarine Basilic (hosted)
Hermes Jardin en Mediterranee (hosted)
TF Tobaco Vanille 5 ml – $15
FM En Passant 10 ml – $15
JM White Jasmine & Mint travel size – $12
Clinique Happy to be purse size x 3- $10
Maybe I should go get one of those Chere Louise solids while they’re still around. I still want one.
Not to enable or anything, but BeautyHabit has them for $10.00 right now.
I did end up getting that with the BH OPRAH code. I hadn’t tried any of them, but I read a bunch of reviews and well, I love poppies so bought it more for the packaging than the scent anyway!
$10! I’m going over there now…
And I forgot one decant – PdN L’Eau Mixte 10 ml- $13. Enjoyed that this summer!
I spent so much more than I should have. Now I probably won’t be able to buy much of anything during the last quarter. I bought full bottles of:
Amarinthine
SMN Melangrano
L’Artisan Tubereuse
Andy Tauer’s Ange and Rose Vermeille
Chanel’s Crystalle au Vert
Nasomatto’s Nuda
Profumum Ninfea
I don’t even want to begin to add them up!
How is the Nuda? I’ve been wanting to try that one. The only two Nasomattos I’ve tried are Black Afgano and China White, and I love them both. I haven’t heard good things about the rest of the line, so I’ve been afraid to branch out.
I have an observation. And I know nothing, so bear that in mind. So I was at a spa in Vegas, my guilty pleasure living in the sticks in WY, and I did one of those custom scent things through Ajne. The notes that I ultimately chose, and at the time I knew even LESS about perfume than I do now, didn’t know a base note from a basement, and the notes were: lemon, jasmine grandifloram (if I can read her writing) mimosa, vanilla, blood orange, agarwood, sandalwood and linden blossom. It’s heady and quite sweet. I hesitate to wear it very often around here, BUT my POINT is that Nuda smells almost exactly like it. I was floored. I got the sample bottle as a complimentary from LS, and was taken aback by the similarity. It’s quite different, in a way. I will probably pass on the sample to someone else, as if I get a jones for that smell, I have my custom Ajne bottle at the ready. Not that that helps you but I just had to share…
Nuda is a softer scent than the other Nasomattos and stays close to the skin. It’s very pretty and more expensive than the others in the line (must be the “pure” jasmine). I also love Black Afgano and China White. The Narcotic Venus is a great tuberose. I always get compliments when I wear that one.
I’ve been really good this quarter:
Marc Jacobs – Fig Splash
Kenzo – Amour Indian Holi
Nandebary – Classic Pink
Fig Splash is really nice.
Whew! I think this is a first that I get to vote: Nary a ONE!!! I was gifted a bottle of LA Nuit de Tubereuse (awesome) and swapped for a 30ml Eau des merveilles…I did buy a few samps from lucky’s but no new bottles. I supose I should buy something soon to remedy this
hmmm- I suppose that looks like I swapped the LA NdT for the EdM- which I DID NOT. I have and LOVE the NdT and also procured the EdM in a bottle swap….
After a long dryspell, I did some buying,
Chanel– Bois de Iles, vintage perfume
Balmain–Ivoire
Jacomo–Silences
Beautiful smells!
I was sitting here thinking I hadn’t bought anything, but I’m a dirty, dirty liar! LOL
FB Lolita Lempicka Fleur de Corail 1 oz. size (a vacation splurge, unsniffed, not a bad buy for $14)
Decants:
31 Rue Cambon
Theorema
SSS Champagne de Bois
SSS Femme Jolie (just ordered)
I’ve been getting by with decants, I find that I buy FBs too spontaneously and then I get tired of them.
I’m starting to find that decants/minis or small bottles are better for me, too.
Except that I’m using certain bottles more than others (Shalimar Light is getting way low, because I wear it to wind down before bed, and Le Temps d’une Fete is half gone, because I love it).
If you need more Shalimar Light, I’ve still got some left from my split – I think you know where to find me by email if you do!
Only one–Lush/Gorilla Perfume TUCA TUCA mini spray about ten bucks. I am saving myself for Sniffapalooza in a few weeks. Yikes!!