Same as always: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the fragrance you didn't buy but wish you had, the fragrance you did buy but might have to return, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Oh, and don't forget to change your clocks and check those smoke alarm batteries on Sunday!
Note: image is Poppy seed heads [cropped] by ahisgett at flickr; some rights reserved.
This week I have gotten to enjoy some of my cool-weather perfumes, as fall has finally arrived in earnest after a couple of teasers. Attrape-Coeur had been waiting patiently for my attention since I bought it in late May–it just doesn’t get along well with 90+ degree days! SOTM is Ubar from a Mini I snagged on eBay. I knew when I found myself trying to drain the last microliter of perfume from my sample vial that I had to get a bottle, but the price (!) of Amouage deterred me. The mini was much easier on the bank account (and I don’t even think in terms of price per ml), and considering this perfume’s potency, that 7.5 ml will last a good long time.
Amouage prices are rather steep, aren’t they! Memoir Woman works really well for me and I might still do a decant but even that hits hard. One of that or more of others? Decisions decisions.
Ubar is a big fragrance—and gorgeous ! If you don’t think you’d ever use a FB –you might want to consider hosting a split. Hosting is a little scary if you’ve never done it before but there are plenty of perfumistas here who can assist you.
Uhmm–one of those assistants wouldn’t be named Daisy, would she? Actually, I think I am set with Ubar. That mini bottle should last a good long while, as it only takes about 2 tiny drops to reach perfume Utopia. I actually cannot recall another perfume that required so small an application to get to big an effect.
Oh silly me! I thought I read that you had drained the last molecules from the 7.5ml mini bottle…..upon re-reading (and using my brain this time) I see that you were draining the last microscopic bits from the sample! lol see, just the thought of running out of amouage has me in a panic! and, yes, if you ever decide you want to host a split I’ll walk you thru the whole process, it’s actually a lot of fun. Hosting is spreading joy 🙂
Daisy the joy spreader!
ha
😀
I want a bottle of the old Ubar. That is still one of my bigger regrets, that I didn’t buy it when I could.
I have never smelled the old Ubar–that was discontinued before I even discovered niche fragrance–but I LOVE the current one. I had actually been lemming after the women’s travel set, as I could not decide on just one bottle, and could not afford 3 or 4. What really held me back was that I loved only 4 of the 6 in the set (Gold, Dia, Jubilation 25, and Ubar). Lyric I find just OK–for a spicy rose, I prefer OJ Ta’if–and I do not care for Reflection at all.
those mini bottles are just so beautiful….I’d just sit and stare at them.
But splits are so much more affordable. I’ve fully embraced my inner Scrooge McDuck and will go for the cost effective split every time. hmmm…I’ve become predictable….
I know splits can be cheaper since the large bottles cost less per ml, but I am an aesthete, and when I like the bottle, I want the bottle as well as the perfume. I would definitely consider a split, though, if the bottle were ugly, or even just really plain.
oh I understand…believe me! I sort of have a thing for Amouage bottles myself….I want them to make a blue one and a purple one….I can’t decide which I want more….of course they need to put something wonderful smelling in them too! Reflection is so screechy it is headache inducing within a few moments….ever try Ciel? It’s just as bad. Very disappointing to have these come from Amouage.
OMG! I would loooooove a purple Amouage bottle!
Oh I know….I just hope the perfume wouldn’t be horrible! Because I’m sure I’d talk myself into buying just for the dang bottle!
oh, I forgot to agree about Reflection—it’s a sinus burner for sure!
I find it a really cloying, sickly sweet, screechy white floral of no interest whatsoever. Very disappointing coming from Amouage.
Thanks for the evil lesson mistress.blllargh!
Robin-OUCH that’s gotta hurt! 🙂
I never knew there was old and new Ubar. I want a bottle of whichever Ubar it is that I have a sample of, though! Sigh.
Robin, I think I’m really glad I’ve never tried the old Ubar.
When something is unobtainable, it may be better not to know!
Robin, I know you are hinky about eBay, but I have to tell you, I’ve been looking for old eBay for a while. Since you reviewed it, I bought a split of it, and it became not only one of my favorite perfumes but one of the few that my husband didn’t gag at. I promised myself I’d buy vintage Ubar if it ever came up on eBay. There’s a vendor in Latvia who’s sent me two 50 ml bottles of vintage Ubar, in the old bottle. They seem to have been well stored and the juice is good – in fact the florals are clearer than in the vintage split I bought. They are labeled testers, EDP. I am quite familiar with Amouages (I have several) and Ubar in general, from different samples; I really don’t think you’d have anything to lose from picking up one of those bottles. I almost bought more but I am SO out of money. I’m leaving positive feedback for the vendor.
I can’t give any better guarantees, and I know you might not be comfortable with it, but I just had to tell you. I’m very happy with the purchase.
That’s really kind of you! I’m afraid there is no way I’d pay that much money for something shipped from Latvia anyway — too much of a potential nightmare, customs or otherwise. I want the original, $60 bottle of Eau de Toilette, LOL…
Ah well. I have no time machine to help you out with! 🙂
Lemonprint, is the sandalwood stronger in the vintage?
My bottle from Latvia is @ the post office have to get it tomorrow.
No problem in shipping, in fact, my local post office is more of a problem than overseas (nobody knows how to knock on the door)?
Hi Bear,
I know you were looking at this same bottle – I hope you’re happy with it! I find the florals stronger in the bottle I bought than in the split I have of vintage Ubar. However, one of the things I like best about Ubar (and all the Amouages) is the blend. It’s gorgeously mixed, and I really don’t pick out any individual note at all.
You’ll have to post or email something and let me know how you like yours!
I’ve now tried both the old Ubar and the new… and guess what? I like the new.
And I see why you yourself would prefer the old formula, Robin – it’s austere (well, comparatively) and woody where the new is lush and floral.
Yes! And I bet in general the new sells better, although my guess is that the old one would have done better in a different bottle.
Attrape-Coeur is my SOTD; my very first time, and I’m very happy about it!
Dee I wore that the other day and promptly fell in love. It’s great huh?
Too bad it’s discontinued*sigh*
What?! Wasn’t is just re-issued in 2005???
Pretty much, yes. It went through a few different incarnations since maybe 1999 or something (No. 68, Guet-Apens, Attrape Coeur).
I’ve been trying this week to accept another perfume bloggers challenge to wear 1 “signature” fragrance this week. I decided on Gres Cabaret which in just perfect for Indian Summer and chilly Fall days. I’ve only cheated once, when I tested some Lolita Lempicka on the back of my hand. I got it in the mail and didn’t even think about the challenge.
A few weeks ago I got a untested bottle of DK Gold in the mail, and was dissapointed. On my skin I got carnations, pencil shavings and amber. Just a touch of lily. I wonder if it went bad?
I think you may be on to something—I have several bottles of DK Gold (edt & edp—wouldn’t want to run out , you know) and they are all “smack you over the head with a pot of lilies” —-so I know my bottles are “good” —I’ll send you some samples so you can compare to your bottle—if my samples smell like carnations and pencil shavings…..then I guess Gold just doesn’t mix with your chemistry, or your nose is just interpreting the notes that way.
There, I’ve taped a note to my monitor. 🙂
Yeah, I’ve been stocking up on DK Gold from the bay as well.
Agree you must have an off bottle, all my bottles have been CASABLANCA LILY(!!!), which is as it should be with this fragrance. I would honestly be shocked if your skin ate up the lily, as it is so overpowering (in a good way).
I just went rooting through my samples looking for Attrape-Coeur and stumbled across Donna Karan Gold. Testing now and loving and thinking I may have to pull trigger on search for Gold I’d set up on e-bay unsniffed after I heard it was discontinued. Evil samples! Evil enablers! (Though not you this time Daisy.) My poor wallet. 🙂
hey! not “Evil Enabler” , not at all! I’m a “Joy Spreader” ….see comments above for verification. 😉
But in this case, the enabling only involves a bottle you should be able to nab for well under $20. No need to feel bad about that!
Cabaret was one of the first bottles I bought when my perfume obsesssion, er hobby, started several years ago. I still love it. 🙂
Did you get the Gold in edt or edp? I’ve had both and there’s a big difference. The edp is much nicer, a deeper lily and amber. I wasn’t sure I liked it until I tried it in cold weather; now it’s a favorite. It’s available for practically free on *bay.
it was the edp, but it was unboxed and only $15 which leads me to think that baby is defintely off.
I saw March’s post…I wonder how many people will pull that off? Not me, that is for sure. It’s a great idea though.
Lasted two days on signature scent week. After doing it for so many years, don’t want to now. Lol
There is no way I was going to accept that challenge. Unlike March, I was never a signature scent wearer. I can honestly say that I have had a perfume wardrobe since about age 10.
I wore. The same. And only. Perfume. For over 25 years. YIKES. I don’t know how I did it. But I just can’t anymore. It doesn’t smell the same. Mine was vintage Infini from Caron, which was so me, now, it’s just not right. So I switch scents like underwear, and it’s so liberating! I have about 7-10 that I rotate around in a regular fashion, throwing in a couple samples and testers, and I used the one fabulous article about “How Many Years of Scent Do I Own” and I have well over 10 years of spritzing. But will that stop me from trying and buying? No. My SOTD was Memoir for Women and I love it! Day before was Red Oud.
I can’t imagine wearing just one perfume. I don’t think I have had fewer than 5 or 6 at any one time since high school. Ironically, I originally built my wardrobe trying to find a “signature” scent. There were many things I liked, but none that I loved enough to forsake all the rest. I also found that my preference varied according to my mood, the weather, what I would be doing, etc. My mother was not a signature scent wearer either. I don’t think she actually wore perfume very often, perhaps because her generation tended to regard it as something for “special occasions”, but she had at least 15 or 20 different bottles on her dressing table as far back as I can remember.
Wow! That is a REALLY long time to wear one fragrance! You must feel so liberated now.
Mough, Can you provide link to article about calculating number of years your perfume collection will last? Did a google search and can’t find it and this has actually been on my mind.
Bogsc – the link is right here on the left side of the page, under Favorite Articles.
Where is the how many years of scent do i own article?
Day 5 or 6 over here. However, yesterday and today I “forgot” to put it on. Probably as it was a bit heavy on the allergies…I will try to put it on tmrw though.
I’m a wimp. I boycotted.
Day Six over here. I think I’m going to make it….
OK, I have to know–which perfume?
Me too. Or do you keep it secret until the end?
31 Rue Cambon. Not a tremendously brave or out-there pick. It was good for this time of year, I have a whack of it and it’s gorgeous. I’ve had some personal insights about it, but pretty sure I haven’t come up with anything original or earth-shattering to say about it. Interesting experiment, though…
Well, but if you’re going to wear the same thing day in, day out, regardless of weather, you wouldn’t choose something brave and out there. I could do it easily, having been a sig scent wearer until 2-3 yrs ago (I’ve lost track!). I would still be one now, were it not for the complete absence in the dept. stores of anything worth buying at the time I was looking. Then I found NST and niche… I’m still exploring. Having done a lot of that now, I’m sure I’ll start getting rid of some things I bought before I knew better, and eventually narrow it down to a manageable wardrobe. No 100+ FBs for me!
I lasted four days – which is two more than I thought I would! But the weather suddenly turned cold yesterday which is unusual here, so I broke out the the fumes that love cold weather, and I don’t regret it.
I made it one day! I was going to wear SSS Opal all week, and couldn’t resist the allure of trying a different thing each day at the new job. Maybe I could have done it if the circumstances were different. Although… if anything, I feel like I need to spread the love *more*, and use all the bottles I have. I’ve thought about trying go alphabetically and see if I could work my way from one end to the other. This involves planning, though, something the Kitty here does not do.
ahhhg! too much work….too methodical….
the daily perfume choice is purely emotional for me….so I wouldn’t make it through “A” before tossing the chart in the garbage. Or I’d start the creative cheating right away…hmmm, I want to wear Lyric….Amouage starts with “A” –that’s close enough! and so forth.
Ohhh,SSS Opal is one of my favorite scents-does anyone know if it’s available on her site??
Not right now. 🙁 See below.
Six days in and so far I’ve been about 90% faithful to Shaal Nur. I really do love it, but in two moments of weakness found myself spending the night with Bois des Iles and Cuir de Russie (different nights, I’m not thaaat bad). I’m not sure I’m cut out for perfume monagamy…but it has been interesting.
Shaal Nur would have been my choice. Do you think it will be a while before you wear it again?
Quite the opposite. I’ve decided it is FB
Worthy and will now look for a way to fund it!
🙂
I *tried* to take the challenge, but last Monday had to have been one of the worst days at work I’ve had in forever! I then remembered last week on the Lazy Poll that Debbie posted her strategy of if Monday was a good day, then she wore that “lucky” scent for the rest of the week. Well after how awful my Monday was, how in the world could I wear that scent for the rest of the week?!?
Makes sense to me – it would be like asking for trouble!
Exactlly!
I am on day 7 of March’s challenge. Had no problems at all sticking to the one scent for a week. I never had a signature scent. Always had a “minimum” of 2 perfumes.
I made a safe choice though. Vintage Nina. One I have owned and worn for years.
I accepted March’s challenge too. I went with Bandit and did okay – only slipped once when I -finally!- received my sample of Cuir Mauresque and put it on without thinking.
Still, after days of green bitterness I’m starting to wish for something sweeter like 31 Rue Cambon or Bois de Violette. Like most of us here, I’m just not cut out for the whole signature scent thing 😀
Good choice! I think I would enjoying wearing Bandit and nothing but Bandit. How everyone around me would feel about it is another story…
Thankfully I had no complaints 😀
You probably don’t hose it on like I do. 😉
Seeing I’m a huge Bandit/leather fan-no complaints from this peanut gallery. But there’s no way I could go seven days with the same perfume….. well maybe if the weather in SF was more stable but it’s been unpredictable, warm one day, rainy & humid the next….
That was my excuse, too (snort)!
I managed quite well with 7 days of 31 rC exclusively – I started a bit earlier with th challenge- maybe because I was so busy that not having to chose anything else in the morning was quite easy (not sampling in the evening was more difficult). So, I still appreciate it a lot, but splurged today, I bought a FB of Amaranthine and finally sampled iris poudre, why have I never tried this one before?
ooooo Iris Poudre!! I recently acquired a decant….but it is not going to last!! It’s now on the FB list…..next I think…..probably this week….I get weaker with each passing moment.
The sillage on that one is to die for. Working my way through a sample – smells different each time.
Iris Poudre is the only FM scent I could see myself buying as well.
Very , very pretty.<3
Iris Poudre!! I’ve been doing the sig scent week, too, but I kept passing my little spray sample of IP and thinking, If only I had more of that…
well ladies, I’ll let you know as soon as the fever hits and I place the order. I’m wearing it now, and I’ve gotten to the point that I stare at the level each time I spray (never a good sign)
Daisy I stare at it even after I’ve FIRST gotten it and there is no danger of running out of it anytime soon. OBSESSED MUCH TAMARA?? 😛
I “thought” about the challenge for about…10 minutes. Then I decided against. Too many ‘fumes, too little time! Maybe next year.
I started last monday with the “signature scent challenge”. I’m wearing Sarah Horowitz musk Perfect Veil. This is the fifth day and I haven’t cheated yet 🙂
But I miss many of my fragrances. I didn’t have to challenge myself to know that I’m not a “signature scent person”, but I’m doing it for fun. It’s not so hard after all!
I’ve been meaning to try Perfect Veil. Laurie suggested I try it, after I whined to her about SSS Opal being (temporarily) discontinued.
I’m glad that discontinuation is temporary. I want a bottle of Opal.
Been waiting so long for Opal too…I hope it’s not changed too much whenever Laurie gets around to making it once again.
I also started last Sunday. Wanted to also have a day to wear other scents again before reporting in on the 8th. It has been an interesting experience!
Hmmmmm – I really like this idea of wearing a sig scent for 7 days……it’s interesting enough just deciding which of my frags I would choose to wear for 7 straight days! OJ Woman feels too elegant and precious, Bandit feels too harsh and brash, Musc Maori too gourmand, Musc Koublai Kahn too fecal and potentially harmful to those around me (!)……..I think it’s a toss up between Musc Ravageur and Patchouli 24!!!!!!! Although, i don’t have enough Patchouli to last 7 days! The signs all point to a new bottle purchase!
Cabaret is wonderful. And I love Gold’s cold-satiny lily petals.
That said, the idea of carnation, pencil shavings and amber actually sounds pretty nice to me…
I know! I was reading “pencil shavings, carnation, amber….” thinking mmmmm sounds good to me!
Happily spritzed myself with some Femme Jolie this morning. I love this in the colder weather and am quite sad that Laurie is phasing it out.
The only fragrance I’ve ever returned is a bottle of John Varvatos Artisan. The sample smelled great on my son in the store. Two hours later we were both working feverishly to get it OFF since neither of us could stand it. This should have been a major winner for him and it certainly started off nicely. I still love that wicker look bottle, though!
Oh, what a shame! I love Artisan.
Regret buying: the L’Artisan Aedes de Venusta scent, which I bought to get the Quintessential Perfume book free. It sounded lovely, it’s in that beautiful frosted plum bottle and it’s by Duchaufour, but there is too much tea for me. I know one should never buy unsniffed, but samples of this one are scarce. Someday when I have more time I will sell it or swap it away.
Regret not buying: oh, so many vintage scents on ebay that I passed up or lost. Most recent: mint vintage Lubin Idole and Grossmith Phul-Nana (the latter especially after seeing the gorgeous and astronomically priced new versions on Luckscent). Also regret giving away my original 1999 J’Adore.
Tea sounds great to me. I’ve been digging the tea like champaca in Sira des Indes lately.
It also reminds me a bit of CdG 2 (I think that’s the one) with the snuffed candle note. Interesting but so far not something I want to wear, although I will test it a few more times as the weather cools.
Let us know when you do. I love tea scents
Sorry to hear this. I love the Aedes fragrance but it is an odd one. Hope you can find it a good home.
I can’t make heads or tails from this one. Every time I spray my sample, I really feel it would better suit a man. I do wear men’s colonge (Mechant Loup, Terre Hermes, etc), but the Aedes just don’t sit well with me…
OMG, Phul-Nana was on eb*y?????!!!!!!!!!!!! Glad I didn’t see it!
Wearing CdG Avignon this morning-trying it out.
I don’t think I’ve ever returned a fragrance that I can remember. My mom returned Chanel 5 when my dad bought it for her because she was allergic to it.
There was a perfume sale at work this week (payroll deduction over 4 payperiods). There’s alot of junk but I was deciding between Lolita Lempicka and Narcisso Rodriguez For Her. I chose For Her and now I wish I had LL. I have a feeling if I got LL I would wish I got For Her. *SIGH*
Ooh! Lucky you. Betcha wish you could’ve bought both.
I was trying to exercise some restraint 🙂
What do you think of the Avignon? It’s one of my fave incense ‘fumes. I have a couple of samples that I use sparingly until I can get around to buying a full bottle.
There’s a note in the opening that is difficult, but I don’t know how to describe it-maybe it’s a cumin/pepper smell. But I do enjoy it. Passage d’Enfer is still my favorite though.
I am going to try Tolu in public today. I have fallen in love with it. It is definitely a good pick for me for the fall. I am just not sure how it will fare in the errands division. It “feels” more like it might be a fragrance for more private times. Well, I am sure I’ll hear about it if it offends.
I have a couple of fragrances that I loved a while ago, and don’t love anymore. It seems my sense of what is “yummy” and such has changed. I suppose I should have expected it as a part of the evolution of smelling again, but it is still disapointing to find a love is no more….sigh! I am not quite sure what to do with them now. I wish they could be loved by someone.
Tolu is certainly a rich scent, but I at least don’t perceive it as skanky or come-hither. I would wear it in public, I would just try to apply it sparingly. Is your sense of smell still changing or has it settled down? You might just put the no-longer-favorites aside for a while and try them again in six months or so. If you’re sure you don’t want them anymore, try to see if there is anyone you can swap with or give them to. I haven’t gotten into the swapping thing myself yet, but I suppose I should. I also have bottles that I no longer love or that I didn’t like as well in the FB as I did from the samples. Some of them are junk, but some are really good stuff, they just are not me.
I think putting them aside might be a good idea. I may “change” back later. I think my nose is still changing. although I can’t be certain if, or when it has, or will stop. For example, Songes was one I had on my “want to get” list. I rememberd it as tropical flowery and sweet. A nice to have. I had the opportunity to pick it up inexpensively lately, and when I tried it….it punched me in the nose with “what I think is” Tuberose (have I got the right flower?). That particular scent I am noticing is big and off putting to my nose. I just didn’t know it was in this perfume before. I hope it doesn’t do that with other notes. It is most disconcerting! But I will wait and give them another try later.
I guess a time reference mioght be more valuable. Sorry about that. I tried Songes for the first time in the summer this year, and bought it 2 weeks ago. This is just over a very few months.
Sorry, don’t have an answer for you. My nose is also highly unstable! The first perfume I was really in love with, though I hadn’t smelled much else at the time, just doesnt do anything for me anymore. I didn’t wear perfume daily then, and it took a few years to get through the 50ml. I tested it today at the shop and couldn’t figure out what had impressed me so…
You may want to check if you sampled Songes in edt or edp originally. IMHO there is a big difference in the whallop of indoles and tuberose between the two.
Thanks Ann, great idea!. I bought the EDT bottle, and now have to dig out the sample to compare. It may be as simple as that. See, I probably freaked myself out over nothing! Here’s wishing!
I can assure Tolu works for all situations, except maybe working out! I love to wear it for snuggly comfort but it is really lovely to be in your own Tolu cloud while going about your day.And it transitions into being a night-time going out perfume as well. It is one of my favorites.
LOVE Tolu.
That is good to know. No skanky out in public. Well, at least not on a Saturday morning. I love some of the Ormond Jayne scents. I have discovered their sampler set and am happily experimenting and picking favourites.
yep, I second Tamara . Tolu is one of my faves as well….and I don’t get anything skanky at all. In the heat it can get a little overpowering but for cold weather—perfect….people are going to be sniffing at you all day! 🙂
Sniffing me all day hunh? Hmmm. That could be good thing, then again….
sniffing in a GOOD way! …..sheesh!
I know what you meant!
LOL – and thanks, As a matter of fact, I got compliments, and that it always good!
See? Tolu is gorgeous! yeah, people were sniffing you! (I had this imagine of you walking down the sidewalk with people following with their noses in the air….)
Agreeing that Tolu is beautiful and should be versatile. It’s a relatively quiet amber fragrance, in my opinion.
Tolu is so beautiful – you reminded me that I need to wear it more often. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have as many choices as I do.
HUSH! don’t say such a thing!
no such thing as too many….
Has anyone tried the new Parfums de Nicolai? Love & Kisses or whatever it’s called? I’ve been out of touch for a while, so sorry if this one’s already been discussed. It’s the first new release to pique my interest in a long time.
Hi Rose, it’s Kiss Me Tender I believe. And nope I haven’t tried it yet but I am excited too! I’ll get back to you next week after I receive my decant of it and let you know my thoughts.I know what you mean. With notes of heliotrope, vanilla, anise seeds, almonds, fresh hay, orange blossom, jasmine, ylang ylang, cloves, cinnamon, woody and musky notes. MMMM ! 😛 What’s not to love? PdN is one of my fav. houses.
Mine too! Thanks for listing the notes; made the lemming double in size 🙂
Can’t help, but I’m waiting on a sample & I’m curious too!
Oh, but did you see this review:
http://graindemusc.blogspot.com/2010/09/kiss-me-tender-by-parfums-de-nicolai.html
and there’s the lemming! ahggg.
No I hadn’t seen this. Thanks R!
I tried Kiss me Tender last week, it was plain and boring candy to me, nothing interesting, unfortunately. However, I’m not a huge vanilla fan I have to admit…
but I still have my Le Temps d’une Fete and Fig Tea to love 🙂
Ami I know what your talking about with Kiss Me Tender and yet I still really enjoyed it. Tried it yesterday. It was like some sort of violet candy but it wasn’t cloying or sickly sweet, it came off as precious and very feminine and sometimes I think that’s what I want in my scents.
No promised hay notes unfortunately but it was a lovely heliotrope , orange blossom , vanilla scent and I think I want a 30 ml to play around with. Kiss Me Tender is true to it’s name.
Tamara, i’m happy you liked it. Here all the 30 mls were sold in a 2 days, so it is a big hit.
You know, I’m always happy when I do not like something : )
I would like to fall in love only in every 6 months : )
Ami ,
Oh I agree! Always a relief in some way huh? 😉
SOTD? It’s cold, it’s cloudy…it’s Michigan so it’s WINDY….I need the cozy, yummy comfort of Molinard Iles d’Or. and so begins the season of “heck no, I’m not going outside! It’s freezing!”
I’ll take your summers and my winters. For me, this is the beginning of the season of “Hooray! I can finally go outside and not sweat to death or get chewed up by mosquitoes! “
I do HATE mosquitoes!!!!! I’d take your winters too.
I wouldn’t hate the cold so much if it wasn’t for the wind. It just won’t stop—whips your hair into your face and makes your eyes water. miserable stuff.
Windy cold is terrible! I got my undergraduate degree from Baylor, and Waco winters were a combination of cold, damp, and windy. One time I met a couple waiting in the lobby for their daughter on what happened to be the coldest day of that particular winter (about 5 degrees F). They were from Minnesota, and they said they had never felt so cold in their lives. Down here on the coast is not bad. We can get wind in the winter, but usually mostly as the fronts are moving in. Once the mass of cold air is actually here, it tends to be relatively calm.
****jealous*****
Wow! My mother grew up in the Montana Rockies, and she always said that Minnesota (Rochester, to be precise) was the coldest place she’d ever lived. So Waco is worse, according to those Minnesotans?
On that particular day, and according to those particular Minnesotans at least. I wonder if it was at least partially due to the weather being so different from what they had expected. They had come to Texas expecting it to be warm and sunny, and instead it was 5 degrees, windy, damp, and completely miserable.
Roses, I’m sure you’re right about the confounded expectations. That’s what shocks tourists in San Francisco summers: they thought they were travelling to sunny California. . . not exactly.
Sending you some Florida sunshine!!!!. I never sniffed Iles d’Or or even heard of it for that fact. What is it like?
oooo thanks, I could use a bit of sunshine! the Molinard Iles d’Or that I have is the 1849 reissue in Edp —these are the notes listed on Fragrantica :Top notes: green citruses, plum and freesia. Heart: jasmine, amber, cedar and sandalwood. Base: vanilla, musk and nougat. It does open fruity-spicy….then the amber and sandalwood gain prominence….I get a lot of “pumpkin pie spices” that aren’t even listed in the notes., but I swear: they’re there. Imagine Fendi Theorema….on steroids.
IIes d’ Or is delightful, delicious, de-lovely!
I’m a fan!
Works really good in obliterating bad scent experiences! LOL
LOL –so it worked then? I ended up just slathering my hands in Eucerin cream…which is thick and greasy but at least my hands are soft and scent free this morning!
I wish my arm was scent free right now—SL Cuir Mauresque —the curse of the Serge has found me again! gag! I sense a scrubbing in my immediate future… who sent me this??? hmm…looks like Joe’s handwriting on the label….oh, he’s gonna pay for this! gotta go see what’s in my vial box that’s truly obnoxious……heheheheh
Is it Theorema On Steroids, Hold the Cocoa? Because that sounds good to me. Cocoa, not so much.
Hope you find something evil for Joe… but don’t bother sending him the Secretions Gagnifique, he likes it…
I don’t get any cocoa in Theorema….thank goodness…..but this will make you hungry for pumpkin pie. 🙂
Darn!, if I hadn’t already sent out that Early Roses for you, I’d stick in a sample. Ah well, I’ll stick a note up here for next time. I live for sticky-notes.
Here this year it seems like there were only a few days between that and “heck, no, I’m not going outside because it’s close to 100 degrees and 100 percent humidity” – I’m already bordering on stir crazy! Only scent enrichment is keeping me, like the tigers, from throwing myself against the bars of my cage 🙂
well, goodness! I’ll remind your handler to get in there and spray down you scratching posts immediately!
Now THAT’S enabling! 🙂
no, no…..I’m all about safety of the masses (and spreading joy, of course) …..we can’t have you throwing yourself at the bars of your cage (again) 😉
Wish I could help, but it’s cold here too. Poor you.
I plan to bolster my spirits with the liberal application of numerous spicy orientals and gourmands…..rather like circling the wagons for protection.
Mmmmm. To THAT I can relate! Enjoy.
We had 2 days of wearing a light sweater…today we are back to t-shirts. I do not think I would survive your weather …much tooo cold
I barely survive my weather! sigh….
Yesterday, I scored some vintage perfumes at a local charity shop– Coty L’Aimant and Chypre and Brosseau Ombre Rose (wearing the latter right now & enjoying the soft incense drydown). For fun I also took home Chimere, an old Prince Matchabelli fragrance– a sweet-hot gingery amber, better than I ever would have suspected of the Prince.
Congratulations! I’m envying the Coty Chypre!
I believe the Prince Matchabelli scents were quite nice at one time, but have now been horribly cheapened (much like Coty) I once had a bottle of Golden Autumn, but gave it away to my church’s garage sale, as I had never really warmed to it. I now wish I hadn’t, as I would like to smell it again, and bottles on eBay go for truly impressive prices.
Envying your scores! 🙂 I love Coty Chypre.
Olenska
My mother-in-law used to wear Chimere, it sounded lovely.
The Chypre is wonderful, though a more modern reissue (1970’s) and perhaps less rich than its predecessor…. theL’Aimant & Ombre Rose were also in wonderful condition… but the Chimere played out badly on skin, its gingery note fading quick and a sweat-sock cumin note hijacking the drydown. Sad, because it seemed poised to prove that vintage Matchabelli could be decent.
I’m wearing Chanel No. 18 today. The Guide says Iris rose. I say fantastic.
I like that one too.
Mee, too! I’ve been waiting for the smaller Exclusif bottle to come out in that one. I know its a better price per ml in the vat, but with the number of bottles around here (including vats of Cambon and Sycamore) the extra juice will just go to waste.
“Mee”? Sorry….
I liked it…..I read it as sounding slightly desperate, and filled with longing.
Ha!
I read it with a bit of a squeal, like sometimes happens when you discover a mutual love. 😀
Love no 18. My CEO gave me a bottle on our wedding anniversary…it is a smell all on its own unique self. Uplifting too, but not worn enough!
I am celebrating the fact that my best local perfume department just got redone and they now have Chanel Les Exclusives, Egoiste (instead of just Platinum) and Armani Prive! I am going through them all and must make a decision in time for my own personal Christmas gift.
wonderful! have you tried all the Les Exclusifs yet? My vote goes for 31 Rue Cambon….it is one of my all time favorites and is perfect for the cold season. Have fun making your selection and be sure to let us know which you choose for your present.
Haven’t tried that one yet. I’ve made my way through (on skin) Bois des Iles, Cuir de Russie, Sycomore, and Coromandel. I’ve tried a few others on paper but I since I work not far from the shop I am stopping by each day to try one or two on my skin and live with them all day. This should be fun!
Then I just have to choose one of the (massive!) bottles…..
That’s the best way to try new scents. How nice that you’re close to the store.
I’ve been wearing Coromandel over Jubulation 25 body lotion. Delicious
My computer (which is old) is on its last legs, and my regular email accounts are not working due to some kind of bug after doing the update of Mozilla Thunderbird. I’m VERY sick due to finally going off the Prednisone after nearly two years of high dosage. I have cut back slowly, but the docs say the withdrawal will be hell for a couple of months.
Anyway, before I got this bad, I managed to go perfume shopping one afternoon. I tried Cuir de Russie and 31 Rue Cambon on my wrists and Pour Monsieur on my inner elbow. I liked them all, but 31 RC is my favorite. I don’t know if I love it enough to buy it, though. I picked up my Lalique edp and Perfumed body lotion. They gave me a small decant of Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Nil, which I loved so much, I ran out and bought a fb a day later! It’s WONDERFUL! The saleswoman made 5 (!) decants of it for me to take around in my purse. She also made a decant for me of Guerlain’s Mitsouko, which I’ve been dying to try. Okay — this is really strange: I can’t smell it! Not in the decant, not on my wrist, not on fabric! I’ll have to spray it on my friend and see how she reacts. They decanted it from their tester bottle while I was in the shop.
My Amazon order of Agent Provacateur Strip arrived and I really like it. Whew! I had ordered it unsniffed. I think I like the original best, though. I have a whole bunch of samples I ordered from DSH that I have to try when I’m feeling better.
The reason I ordered the Lalique Amethyst perfumed body lotion is because the sillage of the edp is so bad. I thought layering would help, but it still doesn’t last long. 🙁
Okay — sorry I blabbed on for so long. Thanks for hosting this, Robin.
I’m sorry to hear about your health issues. I don’t know what to say except hang in there and trust that it will get better. I’m not very patient with illness myself. I always want to get better NOW. Is there any way for you to get a new computer? If you can’t get out and about much, email and internet could really be a lifeline . That is odd about not being able to smell Mitsouko. I wonder if the change in your medication is messing with your sense of smell? You might want to hold off on any more new acquisitions, as your perceptions and tastes might change as your body adjusts.
Thanks, 50_Roses. I hope to have a new computer by Christmas. In the meantime, I’m desperately hoping I find someone to fix my email program. I feel a whole part of the world has disappeared! I don’t have email addresses saved elsewhere.
As for sense of smell and chemicals/medication affecting it, I’m sure that is so, but perfume really helps me deal with the crazy hormonal Prednisone mood swings, very sick days, etc. Aqaba is the most comforting, healing scent I’ve got and wear it on my worst days.
Jonette, take it easy , believe me having been on Prednisone for my RA before there is a light at the end of the tunnel my dear. you will be better and really it’s much better to be off those heavy duty drugs, say good-bye to the dreaded moon-pie face LOL! And also remember too that these medications really affect our skin alchemy and how we perceive our scents. I find some stuff that should work on me just doesn’t and I believe it’s from the meds. I love 31 RC too and I think if you end up loving it , than it will be worth it. Perfume has helped me so many times in my health troubles. Be well<3
Thanks for your supportive note, Tamara. I’ve always been petite and with the Prednisone, I gained just over 25 kilos and am unrecognizable. Now the moon face and buffalo hump are starting to disappear, but I could cry every time I look in the mirror. My hair changed from lustrous, almost straight to frizzy/curly! And this is just my outside! It’s like I’ve been possessed by some alien monster. I want ME back!
Ohhh poor bebe! I know Jonette, it’s very difficult but we are stronger than our illnesses. Take heart, I know how hard it is to have your body taken over by this, besides your love for perfume, I suggest, if you can and are willing, yoga, vigorous work-outs and plenty of good sleep. It helps me very much and having control over your body through exercise is key for me in feeling my best. Be well my dear<3<3
Frizzy hair is much improved if you rinse and condition daily, but shampoo only rarely. There’s just a little detergent in conditioner to help it rinse out, so your hair will stay clean. Pat dry, don’t rub, and comb out the tangles with a wide-tooth comb. In serious cases of frizz, add a leave-in conditioner. Then add a little hair gel and LEAVE IT ALONE. No brushing, no blow-drying. Lots of advice at http://www.naturallycurly.com/.
I’ve had curls all my life and only learned how to tame the frizz after 40. As my junior high years coincided with the parted-in the-middle-and-straight-down-the back era, it took me years to learn to appreciate them. You’ll be much happier about yours after you master the technique.
After combing through gel with your fingers or a wide-toothed comb, scrunch your hair in small handfuls to encourage curls, or don’t scrunch to discourage them. THEN leave it alone.
Oh, hope you feel better soon!
And must put in a plug for the Sur Le Nil body lotion, which is wonderful although not terribly heavy (better for summer than winter if you’re after actual moisturizing)
2nd that sur la nil body lotion…really good! lots of strength for the withdrawal > You are in our thoughts
3rd. Don’t wear the scent very often, actually, but like the lotion.
Thanks for seconding and thirding the recommendation for the lotion, and for your good wishes.
Thanks, Robin. That’s all the encouragement I need. 🙂 I’ll be buying it next shopping trip (probably need to special-order it.)
Hi Jonette,
hope the scents help you get through it all, and that it doesn’t turn out to be as bad as you have been led to expect.
Despite all my interest in scent my ability to smell is quite weak and I almost always have to shove my wrist to my nose to smell anything. But having said that, when I tried Mitsouko in a shop I could hardly smell it. Then I found a newer tester and I did find it quite a bit stronger but not as definite and distinct as I thought it would be.
Hope you and your computer are feeling better before too long, Jonette! Glad you have some wonderful scents to keep you company. There are such mixed experiences with the sales associates – it’s heartening to know that you found such a good one.
Jonette – adding my best wishes for your speedy recovery.
You did some impressive perfume sniffing! Cuir de Russie is one of my favorites. On the Mitsouko issue – was it the regular Mitsouko or did she happen to give you the newer Mitsouko Fleur de Lotus? I could *barely* smell the FdL in the vial, and it disappeared in about 60 seconds on my skin. I wondered if maybe you had ended up with that one.
Thanks to everyone who sent good wishes. It really helps to hear that. It’s been a difficult road (I was told I wouldn’t live to see Summer 2009) and I’m not out of the woods yet, but doing much better.
It was Mitsouko, not a flanker. And I still can’t smell it at all! I was expecting something of nuclear strength. So far, this is the only perfume I’ve not been able to smell.
lol! It’s not exactly nuclear, but it is different, especially compared to more modern scents. You are definitely anosmic to something in it though.
Right now, I’m mostly excited about the new seasonal candles from Diptyque. The jars are as gorgeous as last year and the scents sound brilliant (Pine, Spiced Orange and Frankincense/Oliban). They are such an indulgence but I might splurge on one anyway.
They are really gorgeous, I want all 3.
The orange spice and pine sound especially wonderful!
I like the sound of spiced orange too. I’m curious about frankincense too, I’m just hoping that it won’t be too austere and churchy. I adored last year’s Benzoin so I’d love something in the similar vein.
crabtree and evelyn have two lovely scented candles for the holiday season
I have a question (again!) Does perfume not last very long in cold weather. I thought maybe it was because my skin was dry, so I put lotion on my skin before the perfume, and it still disappeared in about an hour.
Same for me in cold weather! My knowledge in science is very limited but I assume that in summer the air is much more humid than in the colder seasons so that perfume lasts longer…
The general consensus seems to be that perfume does not smell as strong or radiant in cold weather. I would tend to think it would actually last on the skin longer, as it is not evaporating as fast, but it may be staying so close to the skin that you cannot smell it. I think the sense of smell gets numbed by the cold as well. Layering is a good idea, and moisturizing the skin is supposed to help. What particular perfume was it? If it was a light scent that you enjoyed in the summer, it may just not work for you in the cold. You might just want to try your stronger and richer scents in cold weather–oriental, spicy, woody, ambery–whatever you may find to be “too much” in the heat.
Hi everyone! After I got myself Tabac Aurea and Sycomore for fall (love them both!) I am still looking out for something a little “sunnier” to cheer me up in cold weather. As my favorite summer scent this year was Osmanthe Yunnan I thought about getting an osmanthus scent which is more substantial than the Hermes one. Maybe Osmanthus Interdite would be a good choice? Any recommendations out there?
Osmanthus from Ormonde Jayne is very “sunny” and sweet like sunshine.
You should try it!
Ooh, Ooh, (waving hand frantically in the air) got my vote for OJ Osmanthus. Lovely and bright! Can’t wait to get that one for Spring/Summer next year.
Thanks, I will definitely try that one!
I like osmanthus interdite but would not think it would make a good winter scent, rather light and refreshing…
TDC Osmanthus is one of the rare scents that I enjoy year round – definitely worth sampling.
My fav winter warm me up/cheer me up scent is L’AP Timbuktu. It is just the perfect balance of green, “golden sunshine”, and woodsy/incense in the base to keep me happy and warm for many hours. It’s like standing in a sunny window when it’s zero degrees outside.
OK I’m putting it out there perfume peeps, delicate as it may be.
I cannot do Shalimar.
I do not care for Shalimar.
I don’t like Shalimar! AT ALL. Except Shalimar Light.
But the “others” Ooooo *shudder* 🙁
I tried the newest Ode de la Vanille yesterday hoping it would be a more wearable version for me. It’s not. It was dreadful. I will never, ever try again. YUP. I said it. I stand here admitting that me and Shalimar will not be friends. I think she is BFF with mean ol’ Mitsy , which I also cannot stand. I know everybody says, older Guerlains, you have to give them a try over and over,
someday you may “get them.”
But I love many older Guerlains and appreciate and wear their strange beauty, just not these two.
A very wise dear friend told me “I don’t wanna WORK to like perfume! Why? When there is so many to LOVE right away!”
And TRUE THAT! Amen sistah.
Please don’t shun me- perfume community that I love.
I practically live here. LOL 😀
There, there, Tamara (patting gently on the shoulder) it’s ok. Everyone understands! They all still love you. No one wil shun you.
But not OdeV? Well, I found it very “Shalimary”, just at a lesser volume. Still very undeniably Shalimar though. I must say, I really like OdeV. Good thing as I bought it unsniffed! Dodged a bullet there, I did!
AHA! Yes comfort me FOandW! I feel cheated! 😉
What a wretch I am , hating Shalimar the way I do.
But it can’t be helped.
Well plenty of perfumes that will love me back and I am not faithful to any of them so on to the next! teehee 😛
I’m happy it worked for you and yes I think you dodged a dang missile!
I would really like to smell it on someone that it worked for, maybe I would see ol’ Shally in a different light. Or maybe her and Mitsy are waiting in a dark alley for me to beat me senseless after school.
Mean girls they are! Ahaha 😀
I sympathise, I too hide out from some mean girls (Poison and Opium). I was hoping I was done with running into them… guess not!
Guess were taking the long way home then……………. 🙂
Tamara – I promise you that Mitsy and Shally are NOT BFF’s! LOL! I’m a Guerlie-girl, and I love all of the classic Guerlains, but Shalimar has never really worked for me. My decant of Ode de Vanille arrived yesterday, and I have to admit that I wasn’t in love with the sniff from the bottle, so I haven’t put it on my scent glue skin yet.
Mitsouko, on the other hand, is like cream on my skin. 🙂
Hi Tamara,
Guerlain convert chiming in here!
I think you’re right: there’s no need to try to force oneself into liking some juice…
In my case, I used to dismiss all classic Guerlains except one, based on what I smelled in the cap, on mouillettes or on other people.
Then, one day, I tried one extrait on skin… then another… and voilà, it ignited the strongest perfume passion of my perfumista life. Maybe my nose has changed, or only proper skin testing does these wonderful fragrances justice, but nothing compares now, at least for me. I’ve even become almost fragrance-monogamous, which is frankly unbelievable. Shalimar extrait is my drug. I liked the edp, with a few reserves. But the extrait has rocked the socks off my feet. I’ve been wearing it every single day since I bought it, a few weeks ago, be it one drop in the evening or a full-day wear. It has been sharing my wrists only with attrape coeur and bois des iles.
Maybe one day these old Guerlain classics will speak to you… In the meantime, you have plenty of the rest to enjoy!!
Oh Zazie, I wish I could smell what you smell.
It just is not pleasant to me at , even in extrait.
Something in there is beyond disagreeable to my senses.
Other perfumes have lit that fire inside me though, vtg. Miss Dior parfum, URC, Montale White Aoud…. and now Memoir.
It’s wonderful when that happens isn’t it?
Oh yes, it is. BTW, I love URC too! 😉
Yes, opening my little bottle of Shalimar extrait was a revelation fro me too. I immediately bought a back up bottle, I was (and am) so smitten. At the other end of the scale, I later came upon an old bottle of the EDC in a second had shop, still with 4 or 5 mls in it. I wear a drop or two to bed quite often. I’ve never bothered with the EDT or EDP, so there is a big hole in the middle of my Shalimar appreciation. Anyway, I will not annoy Tamara any more by singing the praises of Shalimar.
My perfume black spot is SSS Tabac Aurea. Many people love it. I don’t get it AT ALL.
Good to know I’m not alone! There is just too much tobacco in there for me or perhaps my skin just amps the note but I steer clear of that one.
Yeah, I can’t go near tobacco in any form. Bad associations. I had hoped that TA might turn that around, but no.
Dear Annemarie,
I would never be annoyed at someone singing the praises of a perfume they adored. Just know that! 😉
Just cause Shalimar isn’t my cuppa doesn’t mean I don’t respect my peeps that do reach for it again and again. Preach on sistah! 😀
Thanks Tamara!
I don’t care for Tabac Aurea either; it just smells too much like cigarette smoke, and I was forced to smell that too much growing up. Another I cannot stand is Amouage Tribute–it reminds me exactly of an ashtray full of cigarette butts. Yuk! I am putting tobacco on the list of notes I do not like, along with iris.
Can’t do the Tribute, either, 50 roses – WAY too much smoke for me!
The same thing happens to me with Sycomore. 🙁 There’s a note in there that Chanel calls “burning woods” and it smells like dirty ashtray on my skin, and then it has the audacity to blow up! I love vetiver and so wanted to love that one.
Zazie I have to know…is that vintage shalimar extrait
Hongkongmom, it’s not vintage but my extrait is not the current one either: it was housed in an old box.
I think it’s at most 5 years old (more likely, 2 years old). I bought this unsniffed because with the current repackaging I noticed the leather and most balsams were stripped off Shalimar, while until a few months ago they were still there… So I caved in and bought a relatively recent version, old enough to have that perfect balance between plush vanilla and soft leather… 😉
It might be that the current extrait still has enough quinolines and incense, and that they were removed only from the edps and edts… But there are no testers of Shalimar extracts were I live…
Hope this helps!
thanks it sure does
I adore Shalimar and detested the Ode de la Vanille. Go figure!
I’v figured in the last week or so that I simply don’t like most classics. Let me list the Great Ones that I don’t ever want to smell like: chanel no 5, chanel 19, diorella, Miss Dior, Diorissimo, dioressence (I tried All the old Diors recently). As for Guerlain, mitsouko (though once I tried it and it smelled deep and golden the next time it just smelled yuck), shalimar (which I KEEP trying to like – but cant get over the skank), Tresor, magie noir, Opium and Paris.
The only classics which I have managed to find and DO like are, L’heure Blue, Arpege, Samsara and Coco. Maybe my nose will mature, but maybe not…
Merlin ALL those Diors you mentioned I LOVE with all my heart. AHA!
Vintage Diors are dear to me. And so is Chanel 5 and 19.
I love vtg. Arpege and Coco too.
To each their own my dear 😀
We can’t all love the same stuff and why should we?
Exactly! If we all loved the same stuff, then who would joyfully accept our cast-offs?
Amen!
Honestly, I can’t really work it out. If someone is unable to appreciate Shakespeare or Dickens or William Blake, etc…I would tend to think they were not too literary. So when I cant derive any pleasure from the scents so recommended by the ‘Guides’, I do tend to think I am lacking some important faculty.
Merlin , I do understand why it perplexes you and I know it’s a triumph of sorts to smell a classic and go “AH -HA I get it!” but try not to analyze and dissect the reasons why these vintage fragrances aren’t beloved by you, there is so many more to find a true appreciation for.. you will find some that speak to you and then be hunting evilbay for your very own bottles of the past I’m sure. 😉
Merlin, life’s too short to worry about these things! Love what you love. I’ve always thought that art is about what moves you.
But Merlin—-don’t mistake “appreciate” for “liking”
they are quite different things.
Miss Kitty – Right on! Art is what moves you. At least I think so too.
Actually, I’v only tried the modern formulations of all these fragrances, that is ‘the classics’ but not true vintage as in produced-70-years-ago-vintage. But I dislike the modern formulations enough to be relatively sure I wouldn’t go wow over the originals either.
Daisy, I see your point, but HOW DOES one ‘learn’ to appreciate these things. And no, I dont plan on missing out on the pleasure of trashier (or other) scents if I am actually finding them pleasurable!
Merlin-That’s what is so wonderful about art, perfume and books. There’s something for everyone to enjoy!
I can appreciate Joy by Patou, but I just can’t wear it. Doesn’t mean I’m lacking in any way, just means my skin chemistry doesn’t cooperate (well, and my poor sinuses too)
Smokeytoes, i assume ‘appreciating’ something has to do with understanding the different parts that make it up and being able to see the idea behind the way they have been combined. So perhaps its witty, or profound, or of some other mood. I mean both the impression given at a specific moment, as well as the unfolding of it over time. i am able to go along with this when I read some reviews but cannot comprehend the ‘symphony’ or even the ‘tune’ on my own. I like some fragrances and not others but I wish I was able to have a more full apprehension.
Tamara, I have not been able to bear Shalimar for the longest time, to me it smells of ice cream gone bad. And I mean BAAD. But this nose loves Ode a La Vanille. Still can’t do Shalimar tho’ or Mitsouko in any form. But I have an FB of Ode a La Vanille and love it.
Sunsetsong,
That’s so weird cause they smell so much alike to my nose.
BOTH BAAAD to the bone. teehee 😛
I’m glad you have a FB that you love though!
Tamara, I did not like Shalimar at all when I was younger. Maybe in a couple of decades you will wake up one day and love it, too, maybe not. BTW, I owe you a debt of thanks for prompting me to try Miss Dior. I love it!
NozKoz YAY! She is quite a gal isn’t she?
Do tell, what did you try? Vtg. or not? Edt , EdC or Edp ? Parfum?(my favorite!)
What was your thoughts on her?
Ahh dearheart, rest assured I do not think I will ever like Shalimar!
But I don’t feel it a loss at all.
Plenty out there that gets my attention and skintime. 🙂
Ha, ha – a decade or two is a long time, Tamara – you NEVER know!
I took a chance on a vintage EDC in that rectangular houndstooth check bottle with the squarish glass stopper, figuring at least I’d have that cool bottle if the scent had gone bad. So glad the scent is also great and did not leak in shipment.
What is Shalimar Light like? I can’t believe I missed this one….
I adore the different concentrations of Shalimar. The extrait is smokey/ambery, edp is more patchouli/vetiver, and the edt is more citrus/vanilla/balsamic.
Ahh Smokey Toes ,
we need Mals to explain it, it is one of her favorites!
I’ll just say it is the only Shalimar I can wear because it is very different from the others! Spiced lemon vanilla custard anyone?
That sounds nice! Lemon wears so differently on me than bergamot-but I imagine it’s super expensive…..
Hahaha – I love the idea of Shalimar but have a very hard time wearing it. Once I sprayed extrait on a card and put it in my purse and completely queased out. So, it is not for everyone.
My Guerlains (so far) are Attrape Coeur, l’Heure Bleue, Apres l’Ondee and Vetiver pour Elle. I may need to find some Jardins de Bagatelle again.
I know someone who has lots and lots of Jardins de Bagatelle! 😉
So are you my evil scent twin?? 🙂
Hey, it needs to be somebody!!!
Not wearing anything today. I don’t know if it qualifies as a “fall” fragrance, but I have been meaning to dig out my samples of Premier Figuer Extreme. I just haven’t had a chance. I love it so much though. I want a whole bottle, but I am living off samples for now. I bought a sample of the regular Premier Figuer thinking I would surely love that too, but surprisingly I did not care for it. It just lacked the same depth of the Extreme, to me at least.
Also, I have been wanting to try a Chanel fragrance. I’m going to be 34 next month, and I was thinking it’s time. Problem is I don’t know where to begin. I would like something I could wear anytime to work or whatever. I will probably pick up some samples from Perfumed Court after the holidays. Suggestions to sample?
I suggest trying No. 5 Eau Premiere – in my opinion a great introduction to the Chanel universe! Plus, it is a scent I can imagine wearing in the office – as opposed to let’s say Cuir de Russie or Coco.
Yes, EP is a good office scent. Coco is a little too corporate, I think. Like you are trying too hard to impress, if you know what I mean.
Corporate?! Corporate?! Them’s fightin’ words, my dear. 😉 Coco’s all cozy elegance to me. You never know until you test. For each their own.
I’ll suggest No 19 edt.
Oops! Sorry Ann! I know what a fan of Coco you are. To me there is something rather tailored about Coco. I agree on the Chanel 19 EDT.
😉
Jenny I’m 34 and just recently discovered Chanel 5. It was the edp.
I loved it! It is what a lady would wear, I want a FB of her.
Can’t really say anything that hasn’t been said about her before.
It’s comfortable to work anytime, in any situation.
I love to wear it to bed and wake up in a soft, smooth vanilla-like base.
I also love the LE 31 RC, Cuie de Russie and Bois de IIes.
Perfect fall scents.
vtg. Chanel 19 is a cold, aloof beauty too but worth holding her icy stare.
Have fun discovering what works for you!
Seconding Bois de IIes; It’s just about perfect. 🙂
“worth holding her icy stare” – perfect! 🙂
NK 😉
What sort of fragrances do you normally like? Florals, orientals, woody, aldehydic?
My top 3 Chanles are 31 Rue Cambon, Cuir de Russie and Sycomore. But I also love Bois des Illes (despite the abysmal staying power) and Coromandel. Plus there are lots that I think are very nice even if not necessarily FB worthy for me. I’m definitely a Chanel girl, it’s one of my favourite houses.
Eau premiere is very nice – even to my atypical nose – and i also like crystalle eau de verte (if you want a lemony citrus). I’m afraid I haven’t tried some of the most famous, rue cambon etc…
For the Fall (and for my trip to DC) I collected my vanilla samples, so I’ve been smelling pretty lovely these Fall days! It makes me wonder, though, with so much sampling, when will I have a chance to give love to the FBs? Angela’s article about old friends and new friends really hit home with me.
I am a perfumista who became one when the wonderful resources like NST and Basenotes were available at my fingertips, and now it is exceedingly hard to wow me. My first bottle of perfume was a hand-me-down from my Mom, and I was excited. My first gift of perfume was exciting enough because it was bought with me in mind. How little did it take back then! How many different fragrances I have tried since!
Does anyone feel similar?
Warum, yes I do understand.
I go through perfume fatigue where there is just so much to smell and not enough quality to really enjoy. I actually can find myself getting tired of sniffing (GASP!) But I just go back to my favorites and give the new ones a rest for a lil’ bit and then I’m back in the game.
I love vanilla fragrances for the fall. What have been your go-to’s?
Tamara,
thanks! I’m glad I’m not alone. The thing is, I am still searching for my favorites, so sampling sometimes brings more joy than old FBs. I guess time to move some things out.
I used to not care about vanilla, but I am liking it. I took with me Angelique Noir (lovely!), Aqua Allegoria Ylang and Vanille, Tom Ford Tobacco Vanilla (I get chai spices and no tobacco), Pi, Hypnotic Poison regular and Elixir (they smell very similar on me). Angelique Noir is a favorite, but I like AA as well. Surprised, since I didn’t like it when I sampled it first.
Angelique Noire is delicious!
So is Micallef Note Vanille, PG Felanilla,
Guerlain Oriental Brulant , Montale Vanille Absolu, PdN Vanilla Tonka.. There is alot more on my radar but I my brain is skit-zing out on me at the moment.
I’m sure others will chime in, vanilla and vanilla-like fragrances are meant for cold winters.
Have you tried vtg. Emeraude? That’s a creamy, sweet, smooth, spiced floral vintage olfactory time warp!
If you want to try some I have tons, I just converted thanks to Kitty and Mals on here and I would love to share it’s magic.
Oh my, this is a great list of things to try! Thanks!
When I’m home though I will get into gourmands, I have SL Rousse, DSH Mahjoun, PG Un Crime Exotique, and Hermessence Ambre Narguile which is seemingly different, but smelled very similar to these other ones on a quick sniff. Proper wearings of all those are due!!
I have not tried vintage Emeraude and I would love to some day. Thanks!
Angelique Noir is one of my most favorite vanillas. It is just so luscious and warm without being too sweet or goumand.
Hi Warum! I’m on a trip, too. I think travel is a great opportunity to try new things, partly because samples are easier to pack. I’ve been trying a few vanillas lately, too! Right now I’m wearing Nicolai Vanille Tonka. I’m enjoying it very much, but not enough to want a bottle. It’s a different twist on vanilla. My vanilla favorites, so far, are L’Artisan Havana Vanille and Vanilia, Micallef Note Vanilee, and Profumum Vanitas.
Oops, forgot. Love PG Felanilla, too!
Hi Haunani,
I only take samples on trips now. But this is the first time I went for a sample theme for a trip. I think I would do it again, I enjoyed it very much.
I used to think I don’t like any vanilla at all, believe it or not.
I’ve got to put a plug in here for my favorite vanilla – Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille – a delicious, boozy vanilla. I love Angelique Noir as well!
I think that before you experience the perfume that changes everything–a perfume that shifts you from liking perfume to loving perfume–your expectations are lower. It should smell ok, and not demand much. BUT after you begin to love perfume, when you realize what a perfume can be, you see how the lesser ones fall short.
You may be harder to please, but the pleasure you get from a good perfume is much greater. IMO 😉
I agree 100%, Dee!
Well said!
Ditto.
That’s great! I feel like copying and pasting that to a document of smart perfume sayings…..but I won’t. Probably not cool. But I think it’s absolutely true! Wonder…..if that….applies to other things: books, movies, finding good food, a great lover…etc. Hmmm. Off to ponder.
Thanks for the insight.
Copy and paste away Mough 🙂
It’s a really great question. Not just information about perfume – perfume itself is now so readily available, thanks to the internet, if you have the money. I don’t have much to spend on perfume, so there is an automatic brake there which makes me appreciate what I do have all the more, and feel over the moon about new purchases.
I’m also extremely interested in vintage perfume. That scene can be a bit crazy too but again, lack of funds focuses the mind. Collecting vintage perfume delivers you the thrill of the chase and the delight of that special, unexpected find.
I collect mostly minis, and that has advantages too – they are cheap (usually!), and they don’t take up much space.
Well, yes, AnneMarie, the perfume is available, and I put a financial break on very quickly. And _even then_ I accumulated a lot of samples that I swap and move in and out, resulting in a lot of testing. So, my sense of smell is quickly changing, my tastes update, as 50 Roses mentioned above, so some of my FBs feel somewhat obsolete and not reflecting who I am any more. So, I worry about my new FB purchases (relatively rare anyway) — will I keep true to them? am I forever in the making or will my smelling tastes settle one day? and if they do, what will stay favorites?..
Yes, I know what you mean. I look at some of my FBs with regret, now that I have moved on.
I am with you there, Warum. The taste changing is unsettling but it can be whole lot of fun as well. Maybe you can love some of the ones you didn’t before. I am planning on going through the samples I have in my “eh, not so much” pile. Who knows, maybe a gem lurks!
I want to send a big “Thank you” to our own Tama for arranging and hosting a GREAT day of perfume sniffing in San Francisco last month. Those of you who think you could work a trip to the City into your plans for next spring or fall should get on her mailing list– she’s planning to host further sniffathons.
My happy recent buy: Malle Iris Poudre. First sniffed it at Tama’s inaugural SF sniffa last May, then purchased it during our October outing. (Also got many lovely samples during our fall tour!)
SOTD: Chanel no. 5. Perfect for a gray day before rain.
I wish I could have attended! It sounds like so much fun, much better than shopping online and emailing. i would love the chance to meet other NST peeps and smell perfume together. how grand!
I love your pick-IP is very comforting and soft. I think it’s beautiful.
and Chanel 5 is PERFECT for that kind of day…:)
It was great fun, thanks Tama! But I’m trying to figure out who you are ggperfume. 🙂
I’m guessing the woman who sat on your left at lunch (we not only had a wonderful time sniffing perfume, but also a great lunch at a Vietnamese fusion restaurant). Of course, I was on your right.
Oh yes, G. from the south. 🙂 and hello, neighbor! Ready for the rain tomorrow? I tried to take full advantage of today with the kids – we went to Thousand Oaks school and they rode/scootered, after which I took them home and informed DH that I was leaving for a few hours. Alone time on 4th St. was very, very nice (and expensive!!).
Where do I get to the mailing list? I would love to go!
We go to SF every December, but sometimes we go to the area at other times, so it would be perfect for me!..
If you don’t hear from Tama, you can email me at:;
nina at wanderingmind dot com
Uh! So jealous! I’ve always wanted to organize a perfume retreat. That would have been so fun! @#$%…
I am jealous too! Have not been to San Francisco for years & would love to go.
In Portland? Now, that would be fantastic! Portland is even closer to me than San Fran!
I think we could totally make Portland happen. Let me think on this one…
Hi GG-
The SF Sniff was great fun, wasn’t it? It’s great to sniff and compare notes with other perfumistas, and of course, shop. Although, the poor folks at Hermes were a bit overwhelmed by all of us……
I’m so glad I tried the Byredo’s M/Mink, absolutely fascinating scent, really have to try it again, thinking it will go on the Christmas wish list!
Oh, I thought you got the Ink when you returned the Heeley! So you decided on the “wait and think about it” approach.
Nope-I decided to get Le Labo’s Iris 39-I love it and had worn it several times. I decided to only purchase a scent I knew would work. I will have to try M/Mink a few more times…
M/Mink was interesting, but I am not sure whether it’s really a perfume, if that makes sense. Had a fun time in SF too, and count me in if anything’s happening in Portland, sniff-wise. BTW, my friend MA thinks “SmokeyToes” is the best blog name ever..!
Sorry to chime in so late!
I had so much fun that day – definitely will do it again in the spring!
Anyone who wants to get on the list can click on my name and email me.
After a bit of a slump (saving up for the holidays) I am floating after scoring a new bottle of Iris Ganache for an amazing price, being very excited about contributing to the Humanity perfume project (and really curious about the perfume) and very much looking forward to trying Gourmand Coquin via a swap. All in one day, nonetheless. The Iris Ganache ate up most of my Sephora savings (I believe they’re due to have their 15% off coupon soon), but for under a hundred bucks, I couldn’t pass it up. It was such a great fragrance day I’m wearing l’Instant over a wee bit of Courtesan to calm myself down.
Mr. Ab Scent’s birthday is also coming up at the end of the month so I got him a bottle of l’Homme Sage. We both love l’Homme de Coeur, so I thought a change from the cold beauty of the iris to l’H S’s warmth and spice would be nice for the winter.
My only urgent perfume lemming that still won’t simmer down after yesterday is Coromandel. I swapped for a 5ml decant and am already almost halfway through it. I’ll be heartbroken when it runs out as it is just the most smooth and sophisticated take on patch I’ve found in a while, and am shamelessly in love with the stuff. Hmmm… Maybe I need to try hosting a split… 😉
I hope everyone’s having a great weekend. We’re in the thirties today and due to the cool weather, I’ve been loving all the old and new cold winter frags I can wear now. It’s like reconnecting with old friends that make you feel warm and comfortable as soon as you hug them hello.
Coromandel is the nicest patch I’ve ever tried too! I believe this one is now available in smaller bottles too so…. y’know…. *wink wink* [/enabler] 😀
Yes, I saw that there’s smaller sizes now, too, and am trying very hard to forget about them. And for not much more than free, at that! I was pleasantly surprised. And really, though Chanel describes the 2.5 ounce size as “travel”, it would last me for quite a while… Unless this passionate affair doesn’t lose steam any time soon… lol
I think that draining a bottle of something as potent as Coromandel would take some time 😀
The smaller sizes of Les Exclusifs are so well priced by niche standards. I’m craving for a bottle of Sycomore myself.
I really wish someone hadn’t said anything about these smaller bottles… Now I have to go check this out.
Coromandel is by far the most gorgeous, elegant patchouli fragrance ever created. I like it very much. The drydown is amazing!
Well, I purchased Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria Mandarine -Basilic after reading a glowing review of it on this website, and needless to say, I have NOT been disappointed! It’s pretty much all I wear anymore, since I love the compliments. It’s impossible not to smile when you wear it, or to feel your mood uplifted.
[ed note: link removed, please see comment policy]
Good choice! Mandarine-Basilic is my favorite of the Aqua Allegoria series. And the lasting power is magnificent. I remember spraying it on my jacket and a couple weeks later after I washed it, I could still smell traces of the fragrance on my jacket.
Oh, this is a beautiful AA! Granted, I’ve only tried it and Pamplelune (which I’m still trying to decide if I like), but it is so bright and sunny with just the right amount of herbal notes to give it a bit of an earthy edge. I’d love to buy the largest size available to keep on hand for liberal spritzing near the end of February, when it feels as if winter will never end and I could do with some sunshine. Does anyone know what sizes the AAs are available in and where to find larger sizes of MB?
LOVE Mandarine Basilic! I split a bottle of it and wore it tons this summer. I was surprised at how long lasting it is for a citrus scent. Herba Fresca is my other AA favorite – only have a decant of that one and need more.
New fragrances tried this week:
Le Labo Labdanum 18
Micallef Gaiac
Micallef Patchouli
Diptyque Eau Lente
I also recieved a Chanel Chance Eau Fraiche rollerball, and even though I’m not a fan (through scent strips), I tried it on anyway. Strangely enough, it cheered me up! Then I scrubbed it off because it made me nauseous.
The Le Labo Labdanum is strange and wonderful (but after awhile, it sadly settles onto my skin just to emit an old ladyish sort of tang). The Micallef Gaiac is lovely, but will need to revisit several more times to form a descriptive opinion. Micallef Patchouli: the big winner. It makes me swoon! Eau Lente: I love how it begins with such a spicy pop, and then fades into something entirely comforting and soft. This one’s a total chameleon on me.
Favorite combo of the week: a healthy spritz of Le Labo Oud 27 (my new overall favorite perfume) and a teensy bit of Micallef Note Vanillee (my favorite vanilla at the moment). My husband actually remarked out loud when he hugged me that I smell great, which is momentous. I took two things that are great on their own and forced them to make friends, and it worked! I’m surprised because it usually doesn’t work out well for me. 🙂
Wow, sounds like a winner! What I wouldn’t give to have my boyfriend comment on how great I smell. Instead, he hates every perfume I’ve tried. A highly obnoxious quality, if you ask me! Still doesn’t stop me from trying, though. 🙂
Well, that sounds like a fine enough reason to try even *more* perfumes until you find one he likes. 😀 Is there any note or type of fragrance he seems particularly not fond of? Then you could begin by process of elimination. My sweetie loves amber, spice and musks, so I have a place to begin. If only his mother hadn’t worn Shalimar! I have to wear that one when he’s out or at work. 🙁 And he doesn’t necessarily share my love for some of the extreme incense frags like Dzongkha or Avignon, the latter because it reminds him of snoozing through Mass for so many years as a child.
But perhaps determining whether you get a less strong reaction from florals, gourmands, orientals etc. will help you find a place to start…
Best of luck to you and I hope you find a fragrance your boyfriend likes, too.
Most recent purchase: several decants, including Le Labo Poivre, By Kilian Love and Tears and Vero Rubj EdP. Why I’m not wearing any of them, I don’t know. I chose Fifi Chachnil EdP and I’m not really in the mood for it right now. 🙁 It just smells way too sweet today.
Rubj is so beautiful! I am loving my sample of that – the smallest dab fills up my whole office! I’m half lemming for a bottle, half afraid of what one would do. 🙂
Oh, all three sound wonderful! Would love to smell them sometime….
Well, let’s plan a get-together soon – maybe next weekend?
Hi everyone. I love these week-end open chats. You are all wonderful and so much fun. I have a sort of weird question, but would love to have everyone’s input. I have always been someone who responds to lovely phrases and descriptions, but of course often experience that the marketing of something (if done well) often surpasses my expectations and hopes for the actual product. Kat Von D’s new perfume Adora (which I did not have any expectations about and is as I imagined, just sweetly generic) was marketed with lovely phrases such as – “Adora in latin means ‘beloved one’ – in the feelings of love it can take you to some of your most passionate & tormented moments – the emotions that love evokes are unforgettable and this fragrance is like a reminiscence – representing the soft side of a woman who is daring visually, but subtle in her choice of scents – this woman is a romantic soul with an edgy exterior – the scent is a step in personal evolution – an introspective renaissance, discovered through deep layers, stories & scars – a passionate and sensual perfume journey – unexpected & provocative – a stirring glimpse into an enigmatic life – tortured, beautiful and brutally honest.” Those are some of the words, phrases, descriptions that I have read in connection with Adora. My question is this: what perfume or perfumes does anyone feel might live up to some of those provocative descriptions? I am still fairly new in my perfume obsessions and have not been able to actually come up with possibilities. Some of those descriptions would be quite a lot for any perfume to live up to, but if a scent could manage some of that weight, it would truly be magical.
Hi Kairos!
Well, you could apply those descriptions to just about anything, since they’re kinda vague and subjective… but there are some truly lovely fragrances that are mind-blowing in their greatness.
What are some notes that you like, or think you might like? It will probably be easier for people to recommend a passionate perfume journey based on notes ;).
The perfume loves that I have found so far are Amouage’s Lyric Woman, Estee Lauder’s Tuberose & Gardenia, Le Labo’s Iris 39, Annick Goutal’s Songes. I like some dark rose scents and also fresh rose scents if they are not too old fashioned. I love gardenia. LeLabo’s Iris is the ONLY iris scent that I have smelled that I love or even like. I have ordered several samples of various iris scents and do not even like one of them, so I have concluded that iris (except for Iris 39) is not for me. I don’t know. I am just not very clearly defined in my preferences yet. I do not like anamalic scents at all as far as I can tell. Some vanilla & amber can be nice if it is not too overwhelming. I am still fairly vague regarding my preferences. I just know when I smell something whether it strikes a chord with me. But beautiful words and descriptions draw on my emotions and set my imagination flying – trying to figure out what scents would encompass those emotions and picture images for me. I am definately a dreamer.
Huh. I love iris, but Iris 39 is my least favorite… I think you may have found your Evil Scent Twin! 😉
I love animalic notes and amber heavy perfumes, and cannot tolerate tuberose. I dislike Citizen Queen, which is a dark rose, so you should try that! I love Dark Rose, so maybe avoid that 🙂
Ah Dee – you and I may be scent sisters then. I too love iris, but couldn’t tolerate Iris 39, and can take tuberose in only the smallest of doses (I love the smell of the flower, but on me, it becomes overbearing). I’ve had Dark Rose on my to test list forever, now you’ve made me want to go ahead and order! Thanks!
Do you find that C&S Dark Rose has a lot of patch?
I don’t really care for patch (can barely tolerate it in most instances), but here in DR it seems to just add darkness without the hippie. So—I think I’ve effectively NOT answered that question 😉
Kairos– if you’re looking for a backup bottle of EL Tuberose Gardenia, I’m ready to part with one. Message me on MUA, same name as here.
Hi kairos. Oh yes, I know exactly what you’re talking about. I can think of one example for me: Lollia Imagine. The description led me to believe the fragrance would be the most beautiful coconut scent I had ever smelled:
“A floral fragrance impression of the most beautiful day imaginable. Flowering Willow & Lotus float in, then flutter away — a trace of Orchid on their wings. Breezy Rice Flower and warm Coconut Milk mix with dew drop notes of Mandarin & Jasmine petals. Not a cloud in sight: a sun dappled, sophisticated scent.”
A floral fragrance impression of the most beautiful day; a sun dappled, sophisticated scent? I had to have it! I excitedly ordered a small bottle right away. And when I finally received it, it smelled very synthetic, and somehow reminded me of the smell of hospitals with a little bit of coconut thrown in. What a disappointment. Not the mention the bottle was very pretty, which I think also had a lot to do with my high expectations.
Taylor, I absolutely sympathize with you. That is a beautiful description and beautiful bottles matter to me also. I am learning to order samples first, no matter how exquisite & evocative the descriptions or how lovely the bottles. It seems that many perfumes spend more on marketing than on quality ingredients and composition. It is tough on those of us who are a bit dreamy.
I also find that no matter how pretty the notes in a fragrance sound, if the bottle is boring or not appealing to me, it kind of turns me off to the whole fragrance. I know, it’s shallow! But I’m trying to get past that mindset.
Mostly, perfume propaganda…er…marketing….is good for making the garden grow **wink** Really, don’t listen to a bit of it. Your best bet for finding fragrances that you like is to isolate a few notes you really seem to like then begin sampling fragrances worked around some of those notes. TPC provides a function where you can explore fragrances by note. Another “tool” to utilize is your perfumista cohorts—find a couple people who seem to like many of the same fragrances that you’ve tested and liked: take note if they mention really adoring something. Also helpful to find an Evil Scent Twin: if they like; you probably won’t…..if they hate it; you may want to give it a try.
Daisy, that is so funny. I love the idea of an “evil scent twin.” Never thought of it backwards like that before.
MFK Lumiere Noir Pour Femme
Thank you Dixie. I will add this to my TPC samples basket.
Hi Kairos,
What a great question! I agree with others that the phrases are so vague they could apply to so much, but to me that’s half the fun. Sounds like a perfume with some simplicity to it, but then a bit of a twist, something unexpected; a perfume that wears close to the body but is distinctive; something unusual, perhaps a bit abstract (no simple soliflore would do for that woman!).
With that in mind I might think that it applies to Un Jardin Sur le Nil: deceptively simple, beautiful, unexpected, not loud, but definite, and reflecting a certain intellectual engagement. Chanel No. 5 might fit the bill too, though it’s pretty loud. Also Shalimar, with its mindbending twist from citrus to vanilla.
I’ll have to think if anything else fits this bill. I like the description too!
Thanks lemonprint. I’m not familiar with the Un Jardin, but will add it to my TPC samples cart. Shalimar definately might fit in there somewhere and though I am less familiar with No.5, that also might bear the weight.
I must be one of the few women on this planet who come close to detesting Chanel nr. 5! As for Un Jardin Sur Le Nil — it was love at first sniff! I had to go back and buy a full bottle and it’s my SOTD today.
I find it a very uplifting, happy scent. To me, it conjures up thoughts of waking up to a glorious day — beautiful weather, something wonderful happening, etc. I hope you love it as much as I do! Now I’m planning to buy the lotion, as it’s been recommended by several people here in this poll.
Kairos, I’m far more sensitive to language than scent, and definitely descriptions influence my perceptions. I would say the phrases you are quoting though have little olfactory bearing (though perhaps others here might correct me.)
For instance, ‘in the feelings of love it can take you to some of your most passionate & tormented moments’ (I think one could form such a sensory impression to ANY scent that is present during such experiences). The same analysis would apply to ‘ the emotions that love evokes are unforgettable and this fragrance is like a reminiscence’ .
Then I would suggest that some of these phrases are actually close to meaningless, ‘representing the soft side of a woman who is daring visually, but subtle in her choice of scents – this woman is a romantic soul with an edgy exterior – ‘ As has been mentioned this is quite general – in fact, I think it could apply to just about ANYONE. To put it differently, do you know anyone it definitely couldn’t apply to?
I don’t mean to kill a butterfly with a sledge-hammer, but this kind of thing (i.m.o.) is completely vacuous.
Thoough I see now that lemonprint has managed to find some concrete suggestions so perhaps i’m being too harsh.
As I admitted to earlier — just an emotional daydreamer.
True! ( :
I mean, yes. It wasn’t meant to be taken so seriously and no offense meant.
No offense taken. Just some fun, subjective imagining. 🙂
Yesterday I ordered samples of Serge Lutens Feminite du Bois, Montale Black Oud, and Jo Malone Vintage Gardenia. The reviews and notes (which sound lovely) in Feminite du Bois intrigued me, and I ordered Black Oud because I’m looking for a dark rose scent. And I love gardenia so after reading the great review for Vintage Gardenia on this site I had to order a sample. 🙂
Oh Black Aoud is intense! If you find it’s too much, try Czech & Speake’s Dark Rose, or, if you know you want Montale, Aoud Queen Roses (both fabulous plush dark rose frags).
🙂
Thanks for the suggestions! I did read a lot of reviews saying Black Aoud was very intense and medicinal in the opening, and that does make me kind of nervous. But a lot of people said it smells wonderful after it develops, so that’s what I’m hoping for. But if I do end up not liking it, I’ll definitely try Dark Rose and Aoud Queen Roses. 🙂
also try JHag Citizen Queen—she’s a dark, moody rose too
Are you looking for something where rose is a very dominant note…like this is a ROSE! (dammit!) or something where rose is present , more a member of the symphony than a soloist? Because that might mean something like Amouage Lyric would be good to try
I’ll have to check out Citizen Queen, I hadn’t heard of it.
I’m looking for something where rose is the dominant note, but not the light girly kind of rose. I want something dark, deep, mysterious, and gloomy, yet sexy. Something that brings to mind a dying crimson rose. I don’t know if that’s too specific, but if I could find something like that, that would be great. 🙂
In my brief perfume explorations, Amouage Lyric Woman is a firmly established true love of mine – but like Daisy mentioned – more of a symphonic rose. Quite pricey, but worth it if it is a true love.
It’s way, way expensive, but I think the best, most gorgeous rose scent is Homage Attar, by Amouage. It’s stunning. I also have the Black Oudh and love it. But it’s intense, in a good way. And I have the J. Malone Gardenia, two bottles of it. (Thanks, Sis, but, uh, I have enough….) If you really like it, but don’t want to pay full price, maybe you can get a hold of me via Make Up Alley (MUA) and we can swap. Or do a split or something. Not sure I can say that here, but thought I’d throw it out there anyway…
Today I discovered some fragrances by Pacific Perfumes, and I am enjoying them very much. Tried for the first time during the week Eau d’Epices by Tauer Perfumes, and love it, but it’s so intense I have to apply with measure. I am happy with this gift. I remember when I used to have K by Krizia and the same for man that my brother wore. It was great that we both were using the same perfume brand. I have a lot to discover in the world of fragrances and still have to test samples from Simone Cosac Profumi. And I remember a great collection I had of old perfume bottles, some not even opened… my God they are not here anymore due to natural causes. Also I want to try some samples from perfumes that are not sold in Spain. and I want to get when possible the N. 5 Chanel soaps. Happy weekend everyone!
Do you mean Pacifica?? Or maybe it’s a brand I don’t know of.
Agree about the Epices, and maybe Tauer in general: they’re strong!
I just read that Frederic Malle is coming out with a new fragrance called Portrait of a Lady (see link below), and apparently he claims that it’s one of his best fragrances ever. Bold words, right?! Ingredients are Turkish rose essence, raspberry, cassis, cinnamon, patchouli heart, ambroxan and musk. I cannot wait to sniff!
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/vain-glorious-sex-in-a-bottle/?src=twt&twt=nytimesstyle
I’m so curious to sniff this one – FM doesn’t seem the type to exaggerate, does he? Also very curious about how it will compares to my fav BK Liaisons Dangereuses, which has similar sounding notes.
I am really looking forward to Portrait of a Lady, but c’mon, what else is he going to say? I can’t take that statement seriously.
Although another way to put it is that I sure hope he thinks that of every new fragrance he releases. Otherwise he ought to keep working on it til it is what he thinks is the best…
Yup, I like this option best.
Gosh – that does sound naive in retrospect! But he’s such a perfectionist with those sniffing tubes, scented rubber mats, fleur mecanique, etc. – I’m still hoping for option two! 🙂
Oh dear… end of Daylight Savings weekend. While it will be nice to have light before 6:30am, I am NOT looking forward to darkness falling at 4:30pm. This is when I go into serious hibernation mode!
SOTD = vintage Weil Antilope parfum, just received in a split. Pretty glorious stuff… a true classic chypre!
Most recent bottle: eb*y score of my beloved Profvmvm Victrix, of which most was split away. Wish I’d kept more for myself, but that’s just my greedy hoarder instinct kicking in. 😉 Have a great weekend, everyone.
I hate daylight saving time and am always ecstatic to see it end! I don’t mind it being dark when I am leaving work in the evening, but I hate waking up in the pitch dark, stumbling around in a dark house (I can’t turn on the overhead lights because it feels like a dagger in my eyes if I do it before I am fully awake), and driving to work in the dark, while my brain is screaming “No! It is still night! Go back to bed!” Needless to say, I am an evening person.
I’m with you on that, 50_Roses! You need the morning light to properly choose your SotD, too. 🙂
It’s always such a relief to fall back. I’d prefer not to have these time shifts at all, though, really.
Congrats on your win, Joe! I don’t think it is evil: all the constant reformulations and discontinuations of so many of the best scents certainly create a hoarding instinct.
totally agree with you Joe.
wish to buy some decanted light, Daisy you hear me 😀 ?
I hate winter, DST or not.
I love winter.
I love fall but I loathe winter, I like spring but adore summer. Washington has seasons but the the warmer weather is fleeting at best so when it comes I soak it up to the fullest. I also feel at my best when my joints aren’t aching from the damp and cold so I love to bask in the sun when it’s here.
You are welcome to some of ours, if I can just figure out how to package it up and ship it to you. Summer here is from about late April to mid October, and I do get so tired of it. I’m thrilled that our high temps this week stayed below 90.
SOTD Forest Rain by Kiehl`s.
I wen’t for a walk, and ended up at the Kiehl`s store. I walked out with a bottle of Forest Rain. Funny how that happens…
Wow….I want to go for walks with you! You end up at the BEST places! Forest Rain…..sounds lovely 🙂
I’m completely smitten with L’Heure Bleue – the scent and the legend. I think it’s because I’ve just read a biography of Jean Rhys, the writer, called ‘The Blue Hour’ – L’Heure Bleue was apparently her favourite fragrance. I didn’t think the biography (by Lilian Pizzichini) was very good and I later read that the evidence that L’HB was Rhys’s favourite fragrance is slender. Still, it was enough for me to order a decant of the EDP from The Perfumed Court. So I’ve been wallowing in romance and delicious melancholy all week.
I may go all out for a few drops of the extrait. Are there any L’HB experts out there who can comment on the differences between that and the EDP? (I’m not going to bother with the EDT)
Anne Marie, I have the extrait and vintage EDT, and I find them to be more alike than say, the difference between the Shalimar concentrations. Drop me a note at MUA (deeHowe) and I’ll send you a sample of the extrait. 🙂
Oh lovely, thanks. I will do that later today.
Oh and I’ve just seen your blog. Wonderful! I’m just about to settle down with a cuppa, for a good browse.
Thank you! Oh, and I’ve got your address now… L’HB extrait will soon be on it’s way 🙂
I loved L H’B for decades, and it is one that to me has changed very little. My only problem in this born again perfumista phase has however been with very old vintage bottles of it, it may be one that does not keep well…
That is really helpful, thanks. I had noticed in reviews that it seem relatively uncommon for people to complain that L’HB has changed. I’m also glad to know about it maybe not keeping well – that’s a good tip. For fun I have been watching an eBay listing of L’HB in a (nearly empty) Baccarat bottle, asking price $899. No bids so far!
we found the same lover at a the same time : D
big hugs to you Annemarie 😀
Hey, I just finished that book, too! (I’m going to do a presentation on Jean Rhys.) I agree that it wasn’t very well done. It seemed like more of a rehash of her novels. On the other hand, the collected novels of Jean Rhys (available in one book) are exquisite. And she does mention perfumes by name in her books….
Ah ha1 Another fan. You are right – better to read the novels themselves. And Rhys did seem know quite a bit about scent, and she was known to the end of her life for her love of cosmetics. I really admire that.
There is a most interesting – and very critical – review of the Pizzichini biog. here:
http://quarterlyconversation.com/when-a-biography-is-not-a-biography-the-blue-hour-a-life-of-jean-rhys
Now I re-read it, and the footnote concerning L’HB, it does seem that L’HB was Rhys favourite, if the source is to be believed.
Good lord….I just counted the samples in the basket here on my desk ( I was looking for something and counting was a byproduct) there are 202 samples ….and this has nothing on the BOX in the bottom of my cabinet (that one is a USPS large flat rate box….) Isn’t that enough? Why in the world was I trolling around Luckyscent earlier looking at even more samples (that I don’t have time to test!) ??? I think I might be SICK! oh….what was I looking for?
one of the Mazzolaris; didn’t find it…….but I found Indult Tihota….hot buttered vanilla! hooo-eee!
That could be a weekend poll……how many samples are lurking in your house……..
Oh my now that’s a dangerous question…..
The other week my samples were truly out of control. I’d placed this nice stamped glass dish on my dresser to put my “pending” samples in… and then these past 5 months they’ve just begun to overspill and multiply. Gremlins! I actually took out my notebook and wrote down all the names of the untested and counted: 85..ish. They are so hard to count, ha. I could hardly believe it. And some really good things too – some things I hadn’t even remembered getting. Oy. Now I know what I’m going to do with my winter while I replenish my fragrance fund and make my new lemmings list!
202 is quite a lot—and yet I’m surprised it’s not more. LOL 😉
You just need a better organization system for them!
that’s just the “desk basket” and I try to keep that under control….most of the mess is cleverly hidden in the cabinet. There may be a few random samples in the kitchen or bedroom…but very few–I try to keep most of the mess in here with me. ….and if I keep the cabinet doors all closed….the CEO will have no clue how much I have…… 😉
Daisy, I feel ya on the Tihota. That was (and still is) one of my most pricy bottle ventures, but despite the ridiculous club bit I had to have it. I was a bit bummed to learn the refill price is the same as a new bottle, but they know I’ll be back. 😉 That and SDV are definitely my HG vanillas and it would take something earth-shakingly fantastic to dethrone them.
I have a large tote with swaps in it, each in their mailing envelope to help me keep track of which group of decants/samps I’m looking for, and three or four of those bubblewrap bags Lucky Scent sends bottles in just because it was a convenient place for them. And then there’s the shoe box with all my carded samples, another little box of samples on a shelf downstairs that’s supposed to make it upstairs eventually, and my perfume storage… I’ve got cool and dark down, but so need a proper cabinet…
glad I’m not the only one with sample baggies stuffed in boxes! And yes, my dear, it is time for you to find yourself a cabinet!
Na na Na Na na Na na Na na Na na na Na na Na na Na mmmmyyyyyyyy Tihota!!!!!
bad, bad, GREEDY Dixie!
Actually, for a little while it became almost overwhelming and a little nauseating….I applied several drops….perhaps that was WAY TOO MUCH ?!
Oh dear… placing it with SDV – my HG vanilla. Now I *have* to try the Indult.
Only 202?
I feel so relieved that you all don’t think 200 samples floating around on someone’s desk is bad! I had been feeling really guilty at being so very behind in testing…..it’s good to know others have piles of mostly untested vials too. : -)
Oh, that’s untested. How many “tested” samples do you have?
BAHAHA! 😀
I have no idea! thousands I’d guess……I have a huge boxful…and I’ve sent many on to new homes as well….I’m an addict. 😉
Tihota is my vanilla HG Daisy….if you ever decide to host a split ???…Just sayin’ …lol
I’ve never tried any Indult vanillas, “hot,buttered vanilla”?!
My nose perked up.
Well I adore Tihota, but its a strange shifting thing for me…it would not surprise me if some of the musk in it is on the edge of my smell perception; I find it quite haunting and absolutely addictive.
It does resemble Nicolai’s Vanille Intense a little, which is the exact opposite, a gorgeous rich thick oriental vanilla, and less spendy and esoteric!
I would hate to admit how many vanillas I’ve got!
I dunno Winn, probably just like me….us vanilla ho’s always find another we need to have.
Chrissy, I’ll make a note that you’re interested if my will to resist fails.
🙂
Hot buttered vanilla?? That is my perfume nightmare come to life….
LOL —we’ll keep it a loooooong ways from you. 🙂
I’ll tell ya though….a few drops was A LOT.
Daisy, yeah a few drops is really all you need. And the lasting power is beyond amazing. It never overwhelms me, but there have been times where I put some on in the early evening, go to bed later and wake up still able to smell it as this subtle sweetness just at the edge of my senses. And it lingers on clothes like nobody’s business, which is great for a vanilla ho like me as it’s this soft snuggley scent. It’s amazing stuff, but definitely for those who wish they could mainline vanilla. 😀
I actually counted my own perfume stash this evening: I have 99 small vials, 5 decants, and 4 full bottles. Clearly, this is not nearly enough….some more sample testing is in my future, methinks.
you have quite the olfactory adventure ahead of you! So what are your 4 FBs? Nosy perfumistas want to know. 😉
I used to be a signature scent kind of girl, back before I discovered decants, and now I have some many wonderful scents it’s a miracle if I wear something two days in a row. This week I wore Prada L’eau ambre, Theorema and SSS Femme Jolie. I’m still undecided on the Femme Jolie, sometimes I think it’s a bit too masculine for me.
I’m currently kicking myself for not buying a FB of Bronze Goddess this summer, thank goodness it comes around again!
Oh I hope you stick with FJ! On me the cedar balances the fruit and spice perfectly. It’s my fav. of the SS line.
How interesting about Femme Jolie – to me is smells like a softer, more femme version of DK Chaos.
FJ was too masculine on me as well… and I like cedar. I don’t know quite why it didn’t work.
Except that it felt like a chunk cut out of my dear Tabac Aurea.
Yes, I like cedar, too, especially in YSL’s Elle, it’s kind of a guilty pleasure frag. I don’t know what it is about the FJ, I will keep trying it, but I feel like I’m got on someone else’s cologne.
My fave of the SSS line is Champagne de Bois, to die for!
Just wondering if anyone’s tried anything from Oriflame, particularly Midnight Pearl?
I haven’t, sorry!
Took a shower and got out my Jo Malone Vanilla Anise sample. I like the transparency, and it seems more complex to me than most other JMs that I’ve smelled. Nice!
One of my favorite, JMs, Haunani! Isn’t it fabulous? And it lasts and lasts. Speaking of lasting and lasting, I’m wearing Steph de St Aignan’s deliciously cardamom’d Royal Palm: beautiful sillage and I can still smell it 9 hours later! 😉
I’m glad you’re enjoying the Royal Palm! I think I’ve identified one reason I like Vanilla Anise so much. It’s got a frangipani note! In its totality, I think VA is a beautiful, not-too-sweet, sheer white floral. Listed notes from the NST review: bergamot, neroli, wild fennel flower, star anise, oleander, tuberose, frangipani, purple vanilla orchid, clove, white amber, vetiver, vanilla bourbon absolute and tonka bean.
Wondering whether anyone here is familiar with the neotantric line. I’m not finding many reviews of them and the guide makes no mention of them either. I tried (I am) a sex goddess in a shop the other day and it just made me feel so happy! It smelled like a vanilla based berry-fruit-floral which made me think that maybe what I should be looking at is mainstream celebrity stuff and C.K’s euphoria which I used to love. So I spent the day on Britney and co, thinking I might find a less expensive non-niche equivalent but everything seemed kind of meh. Anyone have any opinions?
Haven’t tried them, sorry.
Gosh! Does that mean I’v smelled something Robin hasn’t. LOL! Now where do I go to for advice?
You have probably smelled MANY things I haven’t! Only a crazy person could smell everything with the rate of new releases these days 🙂
I have a bit of a cold and everything smells different. Yes, I can still smell, but everything seems smoky to me. Yesterday I was wearing POTL and while I usually focus on cherries, almonds and vanilla (and playdoh) all I could smell was tobacco. And the beautiful Shalimar parfum that I tried in the store today (for the umteenth time, I should really just get a bottle already) was a total scrubber of charcoal ash. I couldn’t wait to get it off!
More ashtry from BK Back to Black instead of warm honey. Stupid cold.
Oh, feel better soon! Isn’t cold season a drag? And school age kids are just the gift that keeps on giving where germs/bugs that go ‘yuck’ in the night are concerned. One’s been working its way through our household over the last couple weeks. And while I keep meaning to compare Esteban’s Sensuelle Russie and Hermez’s Ambre Narguile side by side to decide which I like better given the approach of winter, I still don’t have all my scent nuances at full capacity yet so don’t dare.
Enter Coromandel. 🙂 It’s so potent I think my great-grandchildren can smell it and a mere head cold could not stop it. Ah, I love sillage monsters. 😀
I do love Coromandel. It is my only Chanel love.
I think Coco could blast through any cold. The resins seem to clear one’s respiratory passages, rather like a better-smelling Vicks Vaporub.
That may be the reason I like it – it can actually fight its way through!
Just have to share that during a nap just a little bit ago I dreamt about perfume. 🙂 It was actually sort of a nightmare, but I was somewhere where they sold perfume, and I kept figuring I could get through the horror if I got to the perfume. I never did. (This was a headache nap, so I have to wonder how much that had to do with everything. Maybe I wanted perfume but my subconscious was begging me to stay away from it.)
Oh Miss Kitty, that is too funny! “If I can just get to the perfume everything will be OK”. Maybe your subconscious was actually telling you you needed perfume (don’t we all?). I have had a few of those type of dreams, and it seems you never do get to the thing you are trying to reach. I had one once where someone was chasing me, and there was a line painted on the ground. I had to get across the line, then I would be OK; the person chasing me couldn’t cross it to get to me. I was running, then I couldn’t run any more and I was walking, then I fell down and was crawling, and just as I got my second foot over the line I woke up.
Wow, what an intense dream! Those kinds of dreams always terrify me while I’m dreaming them, but they sure are fun to talk about afterwards. 🙂
“I could get through the horror if I got to the perfume.”
That’s about how I feel every morning before work. LOL.
It might mean a bit of guilt, too, about indulging in perfume. Maybe related to the transition of being able to wear perfume to the office now? But don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place to get rid of that! 🙂
You may be right about the guilt. I almost broke down and bought a couple of things I’ve been wanting today, and then got an email from my bank that I’m overdrawn, which never happens to me. 🙁 Argh…
Oh Miss Kitty. 🙁 I do hate those…I mean I REALLY do.
I feel your pain my love. It’s a sobering thing.
Nothing like a reality check for a buzzkill. 🙁 Icky!
I’m in the hole with you babe!
Hmmm…. we smell good down here! 😉
What really irritates me is that I don’t think it was my fault. I bought some art from a friend, and sent the money FROM MY CREDIT CARD on Pay Pal, but it went through my bank account anyway, without my knowing it. No way of proving that the problem was not me, though, so i just have to deal with it.
A few polls ago I asked about a jasmine, neroli/orange blossom + patchouli scent. And I found two. They are two opposites but equally enjoyable. One (I have a decant thanks to Daisy) is Philtre d’Amour and the other one – 24, Faubourg, which I’m thinking to buy, just can’t decide what strength…
I love 24 Faubourg! It can usually be found at reasonable prices on ebay. I have both….but I think the Edp is more “lush” and it has better longevity. So unless you find a really great deal on the edt, I’d go for the EdP.
Agreed that the EdP is glorious. Of course, I never tried the EdT, but did a blind swap for a little more than half a bottle of the EdP without even smelling it and fell head over heels when I got it. It’s such an unabashedly sexy, knows how to get the business done perfume and is so *not* like a lot of new perfumes I’ve tried. It was one of the best untested items I acquired. Love.
yup, 24 Faubourg is a real beauty. It makes me feel more elegant than I really am 🙂
Hey, Sun, send me a note at MUA. I’ve got a bottle of Faubourg that I’m looking to trade away. I’ve never liked it as much as I did when I first tried it, and would rather find someone who can give it a good home than have it sit unused in my cabinet.
Oh, as soon as I read Daisy’s comment I went on Ebay and started bidding LOL!
But just in case, what’s your MUA’s name, miss Kitty?
misskittyv, all one word. You can never have too much! Maybe you’ll need another bottle or two. 😉
24 Faubourg is lovely, I have to be careful with orange blossom (headache-inducing) but in general, I love it. I recently finished a bio of Princess Diana-24F was one of her favorite scents.
O – don’t get me started on this accord!!! Be very careful, you will be led deeper into the web of the husky beauties like – the Lutens Fleur de Oranger, the mind-blowing Rubj, even old Poison (now I know why I loved it on other people), even esoteric things like Narcisse Noir. Its the narcotic white floral accord with a capital ‘N’ and I cannot stop searching for very ‘fume that has it!
Looks like I’ve missed most of the fun here today!
Been busy with NaNoWriMo… finally, FINALLY, got to the average word count where I should be today, since I missed two whole days at the beginning of the month.
Still doing the Signature Scent Challenge from the Posse – Emeraude – and it’s going… okaaaay. I don’t mind the Emeraude at all, but every now and then I have strong cravings for Something Different, and I keep having to remind myself that it’s only a week, and Sunday’s the last day, so I might as well continue the experiment.
congratulations on catching up the word count!
And why am I not surprised that you selected vintage Emeraude? 😀
Now Emeraude I could do. Why didn’t I think of that?
Yay, congrats on catching up! Every year I swear I will do NaNoWriMo and then of course I don’t.
what is nanowrimo
Tried and wore Private Collection for the first time today. Despite it being very green and grassy in the opening, it had plenty of pine-y bite to stand up to November. I think I’m in love!
I love Private Collection! Nice choice!
PC is a gorgeous chypre. I have some of the vintage parfum (thank you, you know how you are), and it makes me feel very old school glamourous when I wear it.
That’s how I feel wearing vtg. Miss Dior parfum babe.<3<3<3
Never tried PC ………..yet.
Ok, T sending you some of that too.
Oh thank you my sweet! 🙂
Hi BeccaB
I LOVE PC, it’s been a long time love of mine-I take turns giving all of my EL scents skin time, there are so many good ones. PC is near the top of my list though.
What do you think of PC Tuberose/Gardenia? I still love the original version best, but PCTG is nice too.
I need to try the original PC. Re PCTG: love it, yet never wear it– if you’re interested in a nearly full bottle, email me or message me on MUA.
It’s a little late in the day for this, but is there any interest among North-West dwellers for a Portland (or Seattle) Sniff?
Or, if there already is one, can I pretty please be invited? 😉
But seriously, Spring Sniff 2011. Anyone?
Dee I’m over here in Snohomish, Wa. and YES I would definitely be down to do our own thang!
Yay! You, and anyone else who might be interested, can email me at deenicholsHowe at aol dot com so we can start planning!
I really am enjoying my 24 Faubourg this week. My friends went to the “Lost baggage store” last weekend with a list of brands to look for, and that’s what they found for me. I do have to use a lighter hand on the spray than I normally do, but it is quite lovely. I *think* I got a decent deal on the price 🙂
Nice find, and you could always decant if the strength is too much.
Will anyone travel to Paris soon? I got an answer from Aelia, a duty free perfume counter in France, that they still have Vol de Nuit Evasion in Terminal E in Charles de Gaulle. I would be so grateful when somebody can help and send it to me in Germany.
Best,
Maria
(and today I’m wearing a vintage Dioressence, at least 30 years old. Eau Parfumee, in a wonderful ceramic bottle. These days I’m crazy about Guy Robert, the other day I was wearing Amouage Gold on one hand and Madame Rochas vintage on the other, there is a clear common pattern there, and indeed Amoage is a Madame Rochas with golden features).
Not me, but good luck finding someone!
I got quite excited when i saw this in my Inbox this morning so thought i’d share with any fellow Ormonde Jayne lovers that they’ve got a Thanksgiving promotion going. Code: THANKSGIVING for 10% off all products at their website, good until midnight November 25th. Woop, I am so there 🙂
Benji,
You beat me to it. I was just going to make this PSA.
Does anyone know the difference between the parfum and EDP in Ormonde Jayne Woman? I have only tried the EDP and love it and am thinking of springing for an early christman gift with the 10% off.
I have OJ Woman Edp….love it. I’ve tried the parfum as well, and frankly ; it’s nice but it has no sillage! At least not on me….I put on a couple of drops and had to stick my nose right on my arm to smell it! Personally—I think with this one you get a lot more bang for your buck with the EdP. Just my opinion.
Thanks Daisy…
You know I actually find that to be true with many parfums,while the parfum might be more lush and full than the EDP, the sillage is nonexistent. I think, for me, it had to do with body chemistry…Well at least that will help me save a few $…
I don’t think it’s just you and me….I think the alcohols in the Edp’s and Edt’s give the fragrance molecules “lift” so you get sillage. I love sillage! I mean, I’m not trying to asphyxiate anyone with a cloud of perfume….but I’d like to be able to smell myself without pulling my sweater over my nose and flapping it furiously , huffing away.
The only things I have in parfum—I also have in edt or edp and then I do a layering thing….that’s doable with things that don’t cost a fortune. But OJ is a little too spendy to have the EdP AND the parfum just to get a little “more”.
Daisy…I love sillage too!
Wouldn’t you know it? I just placed an order from OJ two weeks ago, for my husband’s Christmas present. I wonder if I *need* anything else? Maybe make it “His and Hers” presents?
Go for it! What did you get him?
I got him Ormonde Man. I already got Ormonde Woman for myself earlier this year. Of course, Ta’if and Tolu are nice…
Ooops..that comment was meant to be in response to yours…
This makes the ormande woman lemming more powerful…thanx
Am I posting too late? I recently smelled CdG Wonderwood, and it made me dip into my 2011 perfume budget. Except, not for Wonderwood, but for the better perfume it made me think of – Ormonde Woman. I missed this 10% deal, but it doesn’t matter, because I made my order over the phone with Linda Pilkington herself! She was polite and personable as she took my details, first asked to know more about the slight website glitch I had, and even spoke a bit of German with an impeccable accent. It was only just before I was going to hang up that I asked the speaker’s name. I was so pleased to be able to tell her how much I like her work. Ormonde Woman is beautiful. I can’t wait to wear it!
I bought Ta’if last year and am really enjoying it and I am not a rose person. In view of your posting name you must be 😉
I love real roses–I have over 50 rose bushes in my garden, hence the screen name. I’m not necessarily a perfume rose person. I like the idea, but most rose soliflores seem to turn too “something” on me–too sweet, too sour, too thin, or just too artificial smelling. I do like C&S Dark Rose, and have gone through several samples. If only it came in a smaller bottle. YOSH Sottile is very good, too, and actually lasts all day on my scent-devouring skin. Spicy roses (like Ta’if) can be very nice, but I don’t really “read” them as roses. They tend to smell more like “SPICE with some rose” to me rather than “ROSE with spice”, so I can see why someone who is not a rose person would like them.
WOW 50 rose bushes…I have several climbing roses and they get this dark spot thing and I cannot stop it…very frustrating!
Do you mean black spot? Dark spots that spread, the rest of the leaf turns yellow, and then it falls off? Black spot is the number one rose pest in my area, and I hate it too. I can only suggest a couple of things. There is a copper-based fungicide that seems to work well. It does not eliminate the black spots that are already there, but it seems to keep it from spreading. After a while, the black spots turn brown, and the leaf stays on the bush. It is labeled as acceptable for organic gardening, It is also recommended to use a dormant oil spray early in the spring before the new growth starts to help smother the spores (I never remember to do this though). The other thing is to choose varieties that are black spot resistant or which at least recover quickly. You have probably seen the Knockout roses–I have nine of them and they really are totally resistant. Belinda’s Dream is a large shrub rose that seems not to be bothered by it either, and it loves heat and humidity. I have two of them; they are about 7 feet tall and about 6 feet wide, cover themselves with big pink roses all season, and never give me any trouble. Many of the antique varieties are either more resistant or just recover so quickly that it doesn’t matter much. They just shed the infected leaves and put on new growth and keep on going. If you haven’t done so, please check out the Antique Rose Emporium (no affiliation except as a very satisfied customer). If you can’t get there in person, their mail order service is wonderful. I am normally hesitant to order live plants by mail, but I have ordered from them several times and everything has arrived in excellent condition. So many of the antique roses smell good too!
50_Roses,
Yes that is the black spot issue I am having. I think that I bought hearty roses becasue they keep going even after the leaves fall off. I ‘ll have to try that fungicide. I live in a norhern suburb of NYC so the growing season is over, in fact we had freezing rain this morning, but I will try it in the spring. I have another question. I planted two new climbing roses and they have taken off growing, but no flowers. Is that common?
hey 50roses ..wow, I would love to see and smell ur garden. My mom used to have rose bushes when I was a kid in SOuth Africa, they had the most magnificent smell
I am also not a rose perfume person, but i do enjoy uncle serges sa majeste la rose (definately the most realistic smell of a rose ever), and ecume de rosine….give them a try adn see
I saw that email this morning too and silently cursed under my breath.
Ain’t that always the way? I wish I would have held out for a lil’ sale before I got OJ Woman and Tolu a month ago.
Ohh is it terrible that I want Taif too?! Gaaah! 😛
Thank goodness I have my girls to inherit all my perfume treasures.
I’m definitely holding out for a LS sale though-shouldn’t be too long.
Lucky Scent is having a sale? I thought they never have sales.
As far as I know LS does not have sales…..but they do keep a running list of things on discount….you have to check all the time as things change…but recently I hit paydirt when they put Solange Cosmic up for $85 off —30 seconds later I was checking out……..
Oh no! Never , ever?
Oh well……………. Beggars can’t be choosers.
I can’t ever recall LS having any sort of general “sale”….but the good news is that BH will sometimes have those great coupons. I’m fairly aquiver with anticipation…..haven’t decided what my target is yet….
I missed OJ sale as well – darn! Literally just got Tolu delivered in my hand Friday. Oh well, there is a bright side…I NEED another OJ or two. Was going to wait, but can’t see trhe logic in that any longer (Yipee!).
No No they aren’t Tara, sorry for the misunderstanding!
I just meant perhaps they might have a pre-holiday sale and if so I would jump on that . I didn’t know that they “never” have sales.
If that’s true than I’m in trouble! 😉
Here’s a buy that I regret, not because it isn’t a beautiful scent, but because I don’t reach for it often enough to justify the full bottle: EL Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia. I’m not often in the right mood or in the right climate to show it off, perhaps. At any rate, anyone who’s interested in buying a 30ml bottle of edp, at least 90% full, can message me on MUA (same name as here). Way less than retail price, I promise.
SOTD: Messe de Minuit. Just received my decant and I have to say that I really like it. Luckily it’s very different from Incense Pure. I get some frankincense in MdM, but it doesn’t last long before giving away to a sweet myrrh. I don’t seem to get any of the dirt and mold that I’ve read about.
Purchase I wish I’d made: Attrape Coeur.
Purchase I regret – too many unsniffed decants; they add up!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Did you see the 4 oz bottle of Guet-Apens parfum on eBay? I bid up to $150… and have been left in the dust!
No, I haven’t seen it. Several months ago, I almost spent $400 on one of those cobalt blue Guet Apens bottles. Thank goodness I came to my senses!
$400 tips the scale over into “hard to justify” territory. 🙂
rapple..u can still purhase attrape, no?
HK – it’s been discontinued. I haven’t turned over *every* stone looking for it, although I’ve alerted a few of my Guerlain sources to be on the lookout.
i can certainly check for you here in HK…
Thank you! That would be great!!
I have been curious for some time now and probably should have logged on yesterday with this question, but I’d like to know from my fellow NST folks: What is the worst fragrance that you have ever smelt and/or worn?
For me it’s got to be a tie between ET Passion and Versace’s Red Jeans. I also didn’t care for mb02-not because it smelt putrid, but it didn’t seem to have a real particular smell-like nothing.
Flowerbomb nearly made me pass out, it is SO sweet. But it could work brilliantly on someone else. ‘Best’ and ‘worst’ are very subjective. However, the Sanchez/Turin guide does suggest I (think, from memory) that there are things that go to making ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fragrances, especially the the amount of time and money spent (or not spent!) on development, and on raw materials.
The re-formulated Tabu, by Dana, is the only fragrance I have actually put in the bin the day after I bought it. It was that bad.
Oh yes. The dreaded Tabu. I picked up a bottle and it was horrifying. I gave it the same send-off you did.
I adore chypres, but EL Knowing gives me a headache. It wears me.
The worst ever for me was Aromatics Elixer. (This was tried way before I ever became ill, so has nothing to do with the influence of medications.) I had smelled it a few times on other women and thought it would possibly be my HG. When I tried it on myself, it morphed into something that literally made me vomit. I scrubbed and scrubbed and couldn’t get rid of it! I smelled the vileness of it for days and felt headachy and sick for days. When it finally wore off, I was okay, until one day I put on a jacket and smelled it on the sleeve (I had worn it when I tested the scent) and became ill all over again! I still sometimes smell it on others and think it’s great on them.
Oh my lord, how dreadful!
I was hoping for “gorg” and got “gag” instead. I still have my little mini bottle if anyone wants it.
The worst one I have ever tried on myself is Iris Silver Mist. Based on the glowing reviews, I was expecting a really wonderful smell, but it actually made me feel as if I was going to vomit. I know it is descrbed as “earthy” and “rooty”, and maybe that should have been a warning to me, but I LIKE the smell of earth and roots–after all, I am a gardener. Thank goodness the earth in my garden doesn’t smell like ISM.
Perfumes I have disliked the most (note: this is no judgment on the fragrance itself) Recently i tried Womanity and it revolted me; I really did not like cartier de must; magie noir made me feel queasy after about 2 hours or so…
SO GOOD FOR MY WALLET!
I’m anosmic to iris, and that was the one that I could smell! I’m with you, it’s nausea-inducing. I smells like carrots. Icky, icky carrots.
I meant “it” not “I,” although I’s does smells like the carrots when I’s wears its.
Lolcats rulz.
Although I rather liked the carroty bit. 🙂
I tried ISM for the first time a couple days ago, and said to my husband, “Carrots! Wonderful Carrots!” 🙂
I felt the same way about ISM – wanted to like it, but it reminded me of old moldy bookstore for at least two hours. – the dry down at the very end was beautiful iris. I imagine a dark dingy bookstore crammed with disarrayed & disintegrating books. After a few minutes, a beautiful girl walks in and starts to look around and read. The longer she stays, the lighter the store becomes as her lovely scent overtakes the stench of musty old books. Soon, the store is full of light and smelling sweet, albiet a bit meloncholy as she turns to leave. The scent fades to nothing.
no! this is one i believe i will love, but have not yet tested it…iSM i love most of the lutens, and I LOVE iris….robin, i still have not sampled it, but wille let you know, when i finally do. The thing is, I have soooo many samples to test…and i have never actually ordered a sample….and I am not sure I should go that route and open up another whole new chapter to my perfume booK..it is probably over 500 pages already with only samples and fbs already..never counted,,,,and so do not intend to
Mure et Musc was a scrubber for me, but Premier Figuier was much worse: it smelled like cat vomit on me after a minute or two of lovely green. I think I may have cried in the shower after that one. 🙂
Robin- that looks like some type of succulent plant in the photograph. What is that?
I’m answering before Robin does. It says underneath that the image is poppy seed heads. I get these in my garden after my poppies have bloomed. I think that with certain poppies, these are what contain the makings for opium.
You beat me to it, thanks Jonette!
Out of curiosity, I have been watching a bottle of Apres l’Ondee extrait on eBay for the last few days (30 ml, NIB), to see if anyone would buy it, and someone did–for GBP 599.99. That’s $972.46 USD! The reason I was curious is that I have a bottle of this, bought years ago when it was still being sold in the US, and I was wondering what it was going for these days. Yikes! Now I am almost afraid to wear mine–I keep thinking about the value per drop for that stuff.
Pshaw, Roses, WEAR THAT STUFF. You didn’t pay $33 per ml for it, so get all the joy you can out of it.
Unless you think you could get even more joy by selling yours on ebay and buying other stuff that you love better.
Agreed. Wear it and enjoy it. I’m sure Angela did a post on this a few months ago. (Using rather than hoarding our treasures, I mean, not on Al’O specifically.) I do agree that I would be nervous to pick up a bottle that valuable tho’, in case I spill!
Exactly! It is, of course, a “splash” bottle, and I am so afraid of splashing it. What’s even worse than picking it up is putting it down. I am sooo careful to put it down on a flat surface and make sure the stopper is in tight.
Decant into a small atomizer, and wear the heck out of it!!! 😉
Have u seen the large bottle of Mitsy going for US$1,999.00????
Roses- I would most definitely cherish what you have. I don’t think, even if I could afford it, I would spend that much on it. These times have taught me to be a little more prudent.
HI Everyone! Sorry I missed the fun yesterday. My big fragrance regret is Tocade which I used to like but now I find it a bit nauseating.
My question: has anyone tested that new Lolita Lempicka Minuit Noir? I am curious about it suddenly – maybe that licorice sounds wintery to me, who knows? Any comments would be appreciated.
Hi Ann! Denyse over on Grain de Musc chose it as one of her top 10 for fall. She has a short description…made me want to try it!
Thanks for the tip!
Hi,
I think I read on a another blog that SL CHene has been reformulated. Is that true?
Thanks…
Since we are on off-topic day, I have a question for the very expert perfumistas around here 🙂
My mum has been wearing K di Krizia for the longest time, and now it’s getting discontinued. For those who haven’t sampled it, it is a nice chypre floral with quite mild aldheydes on the top, very soft rose-jasmine at the mid stage, sandalwood, leather and i think some sort of wood-styrax note at the base. It is a very 80’s scent, sort of a watered Diva Ungaro, perhaps a bit like Fendi-type chypre, but way less intense and bit more crispy. It is like a good 75% of Coco Mademoiselle and 25% dry down of Mon Parfum Paloma Picasso.
Now… anyone could suggest a good replacement for this?
Thanks!
Here’s a question- why did my husband have to buy me, for the second year in a row for my birthday, the perfume that I hate absolutely the most in the world?! I used about 0.05% of the last bottle he bought, just to make him happy, and he goes and buys another one!!!!
(Actually, he had forgotten that he has already bought it, sniffed all the perfumes in Sephora, and came up with the same one that he likes the best, again!)
That’s too bad – I had a trouble like that with my mother in law. My husband told her I liked “Chanel”. So the first Xmas I got the full line of No 5 products, which I did not like at all. I was a Coco gal! Why my husband never got this right caused a lot of friction with MIL back then. Needless to say, I had some friends who got some No 5 hand me downs. See if you can return it on the sly….. Or just split out the juice or sell it on ebay.
Just wondering if there are any female fans of cuir de ottoman out there? I think it is the nicest leather I have ever smelt, but wondering if it is a little too masculine for a girl to wear?
I find Bandit too sharp and for some reason Kelley Caleche reminds me of the smell of litchi juice. I do quite like Paloma Picasso – but its just not in the same league! Daim Blond is also too sharp on my skin even though it is quite sharp…