The usual drill: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, your perfume (or other) shopping plans for the weekend, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: image is p_0289 by tomooka at flickr; some rights reserved.
Has anyone smelled A* Men Pure Havanne? Is it too different from Pure Coffee?
I’m looking for a men’s sweet fragrance that smells like Angel for women. If you could help me.
Ive smelled it. Its got a very similar Muglerade vibe to it that most of the offerings for men have. In my personal opinion, the Pure Malt from last year was, and still is, the best of the Pure series.
Rictor, I suspected that Pure Malt was really the best one. Pure Coffee is so well-commented but I spected a “fresh” coffee note and not a toasted coffee note.
Moore, I haven’t smelled the coffee one, but I can tell you that Pure Havane is stunningly beautiful. I’ve been wearing it quite a lot lately! 🙂
Well, Comment #2 is on a Mugler as well! I sniffed the Nordies’-exclusive summer flanker to Angel yesterday, Ocean d’Argent or something similar. If you took Eau de Star, removed the patchouli and chocolate and added a layer of floral and vat of sugar, you’d have it. But at that point, why even call it Angel?
Moore, have you tried Hanae Mori Men?
LOL…it certainly doesn’t sound very Angel-ish. I’ll have to try it.
Robin, any suggestion?
For the men’s? I really liked the Pure Coffee.
Dewey eyed, I’m so curious abouth that, but it’s so hard to find where I live. It’s one on my taste list, along with New Harlem, wich one everybody says there’s a “fresh” coffee note, but it’s called a Rochas Man twin brother. I have Rochas Men and love it. But I want a more gorumand fragrance, such as cotton candy.
I’ve never sniffed it myself, but what about Aquolina Blue Sugar for men? https://nstperfume.com/2007/01/11/aquolina-blue-sugar-for-men-fragrance-review/
Eureka!!! Thanks kindcrow, it seems to be exactly what I’m looking for. I’ll try to find it!
I compiled a list of swooners, favorites and early influencer & memories from the comments of last week’s rant. I learn as much from the comments & polls as I do from the blog articles! Apologies in advance for any omissions, duplicates, misspellings and other anomolies. It was meant for me as a “check these out” list, but I thought I’d share:
31 Rue Cambon
Absolue pour le soir -Maison Francis Kurkdijan
Amouage gold
Amouage jubilation
Amouage Memoir for Women
Amouage, Ubar, Memoir
Ateleri
Attrape Coeur
Balenciaga Paris
BBW Velvet Tuberose
Bois des Iles
Calice Becker BK Ouds
Canoe
Carillon pour ange
Chanel #18
Chanel #19
Chanel 31 Rue Cambon
Chanel Eau Premiere
Chanel Egoiste
Chanel No. 5 & Eau Premiere
Chergui
Clive Christian C for Women
Coco Madmoiselle
Cologne Waters
Creed Tubereuse Indiana
D&G By for woman
Dance With Givenchy
de Bachmakov
delrae amoureuse
Diorella (vintage)
DSH Dirty Rose
Dzing
Eau de Camille, Eau de Charlotte (Goutal)
Eden (green like Prell)
EL Bronze Goddess
EL Jasmine White moss
ELd’O Like This
Fendi Theorema
FM Iris Poudre
Glow after dark (JLo)
grossmith Hasu-no-hana
Guerlain 180 Ans de Creations
Hermes Eau Claire des Merveilles
i Profumi de firenze Violetta di bosco
Ilaria (indiescents) jasmine blend
Iris Gris
Iris Silver Mist
Jo Malone Blue Agave & cacao
Jolie Madame
Jubilation 25
LaMyrrhe (soap bubbles)
L’Artisan Fleur de Narcisse
Lez Nez The Unicorn Spell
Liaisons Dangereuses
Love & Tears
Love by Hilary Duff
Lyric Woman
M7 by YSL
Magic Noir
Malle POAL
Mary Greenwell Plum
MFK Lumiere Noire pour elle
Mona di Orio Jabu
Montaigne by Caron (narcissus & warm woods)
Musc by Mona di Orio
New Look
Olympic Orchid’s A midsummer Day’s Dream (summer fig, fruity, green)
Ormande Jayne Fragipani
Ormonde Jayne (shout out to the line)
Paesturn Rose
Panache
PG Cadjmere
POTL Luctor et Emergo
Pure distance Antonia
Rive Gauche
Robert Piguet Visa
Roja Dove Diaghiley (gasp worthy)
Sensuous Noir
Shalimar
SJP Lovely
SL Chene
SL Jeux de Peau
Soir de Paris (vintage?)
Space.NK.Man (similar to Rocabar)
S-Perfume’s 100% Love (it’s like the best possible chocolate raspberry truffle but a real perfume)
SSS Champagne de Bois
SSS Incense Pure
Tauer Une Rose Chypree
Tiempe Passate
Tuberose Criminalle
UBAR
UBAR Ubarissimo
Untitled by Margiella
Vamp a NY (Honore des Pres)
Via del Profumo Mecca Balsam
Vintage #22 EDC
Vintage Guerlain Vetiver (mens)
Vintage Love’s Baby Soft
Vintage Misouko EDT
vintage treasures like Emeraude, Chypre, Fruit Defendu and Iris Gris from the Osmotheque.
Vintage Tresor
Xerjoff Dhajala
Xerjoff Irisss
and one more:
Xerjoff Richwood = Fragonard Grain de Soleil + Organza Indecence
Oh yes – glad you didn’t forget Richwood. It’s really great.
Great list, very happy to have this. Thank you for sharing!
Wow! I agree with you that the comments are very educational for me as a newbie, too! I have a rather rediculously large too-sniff list, mostly due to enthusiastic commenters!
I do find it necessary to leave myself notes about WHY it caught my interest, however! Otherwise, I don’t have a sense of whether it just needed to be sniffed for reference (a really good example of hyacinth, for example) or for potential swoonage. 🙂
I do that too although I omitted many of the personal notes in the above list. Happy sniffing!
Hey, thanks for compiling these for us CM! That is so awesome!
WOW! that’s a helluva list! I read thru it , thinking “uh-huh..yeah..oh good one…uh-huh….” then I realized I at least had heard of all but one….most of us have, and most of us had tried probably a good many on the list…. and then I thought about that list in the hands of the non-perfumista….they’d be like “what the heck is this stuff? “
Wow, all that sniffing and I’v only tried a small percentage of that list. Most of them are not available around here and I don’t buy samples on a very regular basis.,
Too true Daisy dear, I was having similar thoughts!
CM – wow! thanks for all the extra hard work – now I can use this as a check list for things I need to sample. It looks impressive when it’s all typed out like that.
Love the list! It makes me realize that I have my work cut out for me still. I’ve only tried about half of what’s there! A Perfumista’s work is never done. 😉
Ditto! I think I’ve only tried about half of those.
But my time (& sample cash) is limited. It may not be necessary to test EVERYTHING, you know? I tend to stick with testing things that appeal to me, and even then not everything is a winner.
Scent of the day is SSS Sienna Musk. I cant wait for next month (April is one of the months in the year that has 3 pay fridays for me), i get to go on a little shopping spree, and some new cologne is definitely in the works. The rest might have to be saved for a vacation actually, but im also craving some new ink lately, and have been looking at tattoo designs. What to do?
Really like Sienna Musk. Good choice! Thanks for mentioning the 3 paydays – checked out my pay calendar and it’s a 3 paycheck month for me as well. Looks like a little splurge is in order for both of us!
What are you thinking about for the tattoo?
I was looking at some polynesian and celtic designs. They are great for just black ink, but i sorta want something with some nice vibrant colors.
Ink or fragrance? Tough choice! I *think* I’ve decided to save for a bottle of Amouage Memoir, although I admit I’ve had a new tatoo design on my brain for a while now, too. It’s a little embarrassing for me to admit that I’m choosing between something so fleeting like a bottle of fragrance and something decidedly permanent like a tattoo. Another factor I have to consider is that I am assuming my new tattoo will cost more than Memoir, which is really saying something! In the end, they are both sources of joy and beauty, so I say go with your gut! (and I think I’ll go with the Memoir. . .probably!)
Memoir is hardly fleeting! 😉 I just bought myself a bottle, and I don’t regret it at all… and I’ve been pondering some new ink myself… I think maybe we should take a trip to the Perfume House, followed by a trip to the tattoo parlor! LOL 😉
Love to! 😀
Lets do it.
I’ve seen a lot of people talk about Incense Pure. I think SSS is probably the next house I will try… but it won’t be for a while. I’m so flat broke!
… you won’t regret it! Their sample sets are totally worth exploring 🙂
… and so reasonably priced. Love SSS.
I second that!
make sure you try Champagne de Bois 😉
Just purchased some 2nd round purse sprays from her , and she was nice enough to send a sample of To Dream, which isn’t out / finished yet, but really nice. I love how she doesn’t over frou frou flowers. I’ll have to try in for a second day and give a report.
I can’t wait to hear the report! 🙂
I’d also like to hear.
(Admit that I’m a fan of froufrou flowers, though. They don’t get too floral for me…)
Ooh I love lists like that.
CM, you have done some serious sniffing. That is a great deal of work (and expense). I think we have similar tastes, at least from the ones I am familiar with. However, you don’t seem to be the fig fiend that I am. Now I have another big wish list to work on.
Thank you, thank you
I wish I had sniffed all of these. Actually, I compiled the list from those who commented on Robin’s poll (rant) last tuesday. Of the list, some I have sniffed and loved and some I have sniffed and not loved… and some I have never sniffed at all but plan to do so soon!
Today’s scent is Cote Bastide Figuier.
Nice dry crunchy fig with all the sticks and leaves included. Yum.
That’s a nice one. I don’t see Cote Bastide as much as I used to.
Robin-I’m not sure if this is true, but the last time I was scent shopping in one of my local SF boutiques, the shop owner mentioned Cote Bastide is limiting their brick n’ mortar doors to Gumps in downtown SF and other “select upscale” vendors?? I still see it online though, so not sure if that’s really the case or not.
I love the fig, because it doesn’t have a milky/sweet note that I usually get and dislike.
Another fave is their Amber-it’s a really nice base for mixing with other scents like L’ Artisan’s Patchouli Patch or Safran Troublant.
Interesting, thanks! That’s a shame, they were a nice, reasonably priced brand at some point, not too hard to find.
So, after my rather unpleasant experience shopping for fragrance in MN (see my comments on Robin’s rant day if you missed it), I’d be interested in comments on the topic of “scent shopping rules.” You read a lot of implied rules like “only smell a few at a time or your nose will fatigue,” and “let it dry naturally.” So I ask this wise community: what are the rules? Which rules do you routinely break? What is considered “polite” and “impolite?” (In that category, I have to say if one more SA grabs my hand and sprays when I’m clearly uninterested, I just might raise my voice!) Thanks!
I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules. I just try and be polite and get them to leave me alone to sniff. Depends on the store and the SA’s – usually just one “I’m just looking around” will do. If you’re doing a lot of sniffing, take a break and sniff your sleeve (some places like Sephora have coffee beans but most don’t). If you want to spray and not use up your valuable skin space, look around for cards or strips. And if you don’t see any, ask!
I recall reading about your terrible experience and must say that is outrageous! If a store is in business to make money, they want the customer to be happy and they don’t know if you’re going to come back and buy something next time. I just usually get pushy SA’s trying to get me to put on what they think I’ll like or what is popular – last time at Niemans, the lady was trying to get me to try Light Blue and Hanae Mori when I just wanted to try L’Artisans (which they no longer carry : ( )
And I always try to have a list of what I’m looking for so not to get too sidetracked. And ask for samples! Every store has a different policy – Nordstrom and Sephora will make you nice little spray samples of anything, while other stores will sometimes only give you carded ones they get from the mfr, or only if you buy something. I was shocked at how nice the people were at the Hermes boutique – I was a bit nervous to go in, but they were super nice and gave me 3 or 4 huge samples and I didn’t buy a thing! Always ask!
Like Odonata, I always bring a list, so I can try and stay focused. Then I try everything on a scent strip (or cotton ball). And then, once I’ve done my preliminary weed-out, I spray on skin. And I use every spare inch!
Coffee beans don’t work so well for me, but I always step outside into fresh air and walk around before making any final decisions. If I like something, but am not sure, I always ask for a sample! Not everyone will give you a sample, but most seem to accommodate when you’re confident!
As far as rules? I don’t think there are any real rules! Again, I’m astonished and appalled at the experience you shared last week—there is no situation in which her treatment of you was okay.
… and if you want a shopping partner in Portland, email me at botoblog at live dot com! 🙂
I too was appalled at the treatment you got. Usually I just get the pushy “here-you-must-try-this-it’s-the-greatest-thing-ever” SAs who want to spray me with something I don’t care about.
Some (perhaps obvious) advice:
1. Don’t wear any perfume or anything strongly scented (lotion, etc.) the day you go sniffing (OK, this is probably obvious, but it is easy to forget if you are used to wearing perfume every day.)
2. Wear short sleeves if at all possible, to free up as much skin space as you can.
3. Try to come up with some system to remember what you have sprayed where. Write it down if necessary. If I try several things at once, I will often put them in alphabetical order.
4. If you are not quite sure about something, but want to try it on skin, put it on the back of your hand. It seems to be easier to wash off from there than from the wrist or elbow.
5. Don’t be intimidated (this is as much to myself as to you). I have generally found the SAs in Nordstrom and Neiman’s to be very nice.
6. If someone does try to spray you against your will, be polite but firm in your refusal. If you are just walking past that counter, and not intending to sniff, just say you are already wearing perfume and it might clash. If you are intending to browse at that counter, say “No thank you, but I would like to try (name of perfume)”.
7. Don’t be rushed into a decision. Even if you fall head-over-heels for something, give it at least an hour or two to decide. Go walk around the rest of the store or the mall. Go to lunch or something.
Hello 50_Roses,
you are so right!! in a few weeks I’m going to Amsterdam with a friend of mine and the day before we put a paper note in the bathroom: no perfume today and use a perfume free body lotion., to be as “clean”as possible. I also advise collegues who want a new fragrance never to buy anything before trying a sample and spray on the skin. Today I used Musc by Mona di Orio. In Amsterdam I am going to find some new Andy Tauers! My friend and I are so excited when we go on a perfume mission. You have to do these things alone or with someone with the same addict!!
First, let me say that I just read the post about your experience at Le Pretentious Shoppe from Hell and I’m appalled. I’ve worked retail, and yes, there are customers who want something for nothing. But even those customers you don’t ask to leave. And a customer who is sniffing and taking notes? That’s a serious perfume customer and someone whose business I want to cultivate. Marjorie Rose, the person at that store who asked you to leave was just plain dumb.
The vast majority of SAs I’ve dealt with have tried to helpful, but once in a while I’ll receive the “snooty treatment” (as someone at MUA posted the other day). When that happens I do the same thing I’d do in any other situation where I receive poor service: either vote with my feet and walk out, or if it’s particularly bad service, seek out the manager and explain why I’m voting with my feet.
My rules for perfume shopping:
1. I know what I’m looking for. I do my research ahead of time so that I can walk in and tell the SA that I’m interested in X. Why waste their time trying to sell me Z if I know I want to test X.
2. If I don’t have a specific fragrance in mind, I’m straightforward about what I’m doing. “Hi, I’m interested in testing the Chanel line (or I’m interested in chypres or incenses or whatever). I’m just testing perfumes today.”
3. If I find a knowledgeable SA, I get her card and introduce myself. Build a relationship if you can.
4. I never try more than 4 because my nose can’t handle more than that. YMMV (and I hope it does, because 4 isn’t enough!).
For the few rare times each year I may actually be at a nice fragrance shop that has things I want to skin test, I also have a general no more than 4 on the skin rule. I especially will put ones I am really uncertain about only on a finger or back of the hand if I have a feeling I’ll want to wash it off easily. I NEVER test an unfamiliar fragrance on my neck. Until you get really good at sampling in stores, have a great SA relationship, or really know what you are doing, more than 4 on the skin is just too much. It gets the nose all confused, especially if you are nervous. Your skin is nervous too, lol, and something may not smell right anyway.
Now that I am totally used to sampling at home, at my leisure any time of the day, I find it very hard to effectively test at a shop. Even when I do my homework and have fragrances in mind, there is always something you see that you want to sniff. It can be overwhelming. Last year when I went to the Perfume House I was totally overwhelmed. I’d visited their website ahead of time and made lists of what I wanted to smell. But it was like walking into the Louvre and the greatest chocolate shop at the same time – just too much to say no! I tested about 15 fragrances on cotton balls and about 4 or 5 on my skin. My nose was terribly exhausted when I was through.
I normally carry a small tablet with me if I’m going out to take even very brief notes I can refer to later. Otherwise, I at least carry a pen so I can write the name on the paper strips.
I ALWAYS take a very small bottle of the gel-alcohol stuff. It is about 80% effective in elminiating something you hate from your skin if you do make a bad choice. You can’t test over that spot again, but at least you aren’t dying of a horrible smell.
Also, I’ll take the liberty of sharing something that happened to Miss Kitty last year – she accidentally got some awful fragrance on her nose when she was testing and it ruined the whole afternoon for her. Be careful how close you get your nose to anything!!!
Anns, I like the idea of keeping an alcohol cleanser on hand–the risk of nasty smells wafting for hours prevents me from skin-testing sometimes.
Also–I know the risk of scent on nose! How many times have I pulled that cotton ball too close and dabbed my nose with it!
Finally, I agree about testing at home being much preferred. At the very least, my home doesn’t smell strongly of a bazillion other scents, so I can distinguish what I’m sniffing from the environment more successfully!
I’ve hit my nose before too… SO annoying!
I got Secretions Magnifiques on my nose. Just sayin’.
Wow! That borders on TMI! :p
Tama, I really hope you’re talking about the ELdO scent, and not, uh, something else… 😉
Ann, I’m STILL traumatized by that! It was one of the CdG’s– Odeur some number or other. What was even worse is that there were things that I tried and liked that day, but they got jumbled in with the CdG and now I associate them with that. Nonetheless, that was a fun trip, and I hope you’ll be able to come back again soon. 🙂
Kitty – it was awful! I felt bad for you. I’m glad you rallied for the rest of the afternoon though. Oh, I had such a good time. I think about it often. We arent’ sure when we are coming out again – cost of airfare isn’t good now.
but you know—one commenter had an excellent idea on that thread of Tuesday last—while it’s not likely that I’m going to be in MN any time soon, if I was, I’d boycott their store—but I’d go in there to let them know first and why.
I think we should all take nice photos or our collections, list our annual perfume budget, send it to them and then inform them of why they’ll never EVER sell me ANYTHING. The readership here is what? about 6,000 ? —a couple hundred letters would do their character good.
Love your vehemence on my behalf! The most compassionate explanation that I have for her behavior is that she assumed that note-taking meant I was just compiliing a list of things to buy online. So, best case scenario, she’s limited in her understanding of how research-oriented shoppers like me prefer to make decisions. Of course, worst-case scenario is that she’s an elistist, closed-minded, ignorant, small-minded small-town woman with no imagination! :p
Yes you know the online thing is a very thoughtful take on it…part of my husband’s business is in retail, selling stuff that needs a lot of tech expertise (scuba equipment) in fitting and matching to clients, stock in different sizes, all the outlay of storage, retail space, etc, not to mention huge duty of care in safety. People do use his time and expertise and then go online later to buy, which makes him livid! Then they come back a few months later when its all gone wrong trying to get him to fix it…well, needless to say his revenge is sweet!
Mind you I tell him he has to join the huge online shift, and he sort of is.
The problem with perfume is its such a luxury item in Australia, its got massive taxes, often making retail three or four times higher than what you can get it for even with postage. I do try to patronise local shops if they have got it, on principal sometimes if the difference is not too outrageous. For instance Chanel Le Exclusifs are 350, and the Aus dollar is equal to the Us at the moment.
And regarding taxes…since I cannot get most of the niche ‘fumes that seem to be the only ones I love now and have to get from overseas, there is only ONE store that correctly deducts sales tax, and that is LES SCENTEURS Britain.
Daisy, I really pike this idea, and I may just do this. We’ll show her!
The owner did shoot herself in the foot with the way she treated you, but i think the matter goes beyond that. You weren’t even spraying the stuff (which I always do) so it sounds like she was just on some kind of power trip or something. There’s no ‘rule’ that can prevent people from being malicious revolting human beings. Some people will find a way of being so, regardless.
The rule I keep breaking is to only try 4. I go all manic and try many, many…
I think what I am finding is that as long as my sniffing is purely “research,” I seem to have a fair tolerance for many scents. For me, research can mean literally just sniffing to learn–as mentioned in another thread, there are SO MANY scents that are well-known to this community, and I want to understand what people are talking about! So, I do fine with many scents if it’s just, “ok, now I know what an aldehyde is,” etc.
On the other hand, if I’m sniffing to *shop* and I’ve narrowed down to a few that I really am considering to purchase, I wouldn’t want to confuse myself with too many scents.
I agree, although i often have to try it again, at some later time to get a clearer impression of a particular one. Also, I sometimes find myself unable to smell anymore – like i literally become unable to smell anything after smelling too many things. Worst of all, there have been times that I feel physically ill from too much smelling – as if I’v binged on some rich food!
I usually try something many times before buying – and still make the odd mistake!
I just read your post (managed to miss pretty much the whole rant somehow), and like everyone here I am pretty appalled. When things like that happen to me I never quite have my wits about me to bring them to their knees, but would love to be able to.
“Oh! I’m so sorry – is this your private collection? I thought somehow they were for sale. I was picking a few things out for my husband to buy me for my birthday, but since this is apparently your living room and I am unknowingly trespassing, I will find an actual perfume store to send him to.”
Happened to me once when I was trying on a fabulous vintage Coke-bottle green emerald bracelet at a gem show. The girl helping me was sweet, but her boss bustled over saying “that is a VERY expensive bracelet!!” in other words, get it off your filthy wrist. I never wanted so badly to go to the next stall over and buy something huge with cash.
I can’t hold my tongue when it comes to bitchy salepeople. (Bitchy ANYONE, actually, as my coworkers will attest to.) I once had a salewoman SCREAM at me for opening a mascara to see if it was the right product. I threw it back on the counter, told her she lost a sale (I’d already had about ten other things picked out), and walked away. Sorry, but I work with life or death situations every day and I can still find it in my heart to not be an ass. I expect people to treat me just as respectfully when they’re at their jobs as I would if they were at mine.
I used to be very passive-aggressive, mostly because that’s the way I was raised. My mother always had a “don’t stir the pot” attitude, which comes from her generation and her upbringing. This always fought with my natural tendency to be feisty. I finally got over it when I moved far away from home in my 20s. Now it’s hard for me to hold my tongue when something upsets me. Although, like Tama, I often think of something better to say after I’ve left the scene. lol
Oh, Marjorie – I just read about what happened to you at La Petite Parfumerie in Excelsior, MN. I can’t imagine and I don’t know what I would have done in your place. Just terrible and you were very polite in not revealing the name of this terrible shop in the other thread. More polite than me. They certainly deserve to have their name and treatment of potential customers mentioned on public forums such as this. Selling luxury goods in a difficult economy requires a skill set they clearly lack.
I’m wearing the new Diptyque – 34 Boulevard Saint Germain – which I fell for in the shop and did the one thing I tell myself I shouldn’t do – buy without trying a sample at home. But I love it – it’s a kind of confusion but in in a good way.
Oh good! I just got my sample & looking forward to trying it.
I’d like some recommendations for SSS scents to try, please. I’m thinking of buying a small bottle of Champagne de Bois and I figure that I could order some samples at the same time. So far I’ve only smelled CdB (love!) and Tabac Aurea (nice but feel like there are plenty of similar things already). So, what other SSS offerings do people rate?
Oh, crud. I replied to the wrong comment above. I’ve seen a lot of people recommend Incense Pure highly. Also commonly seen good reviews of Tabac Aurea and Fireside Intense.
I’m looking to make an SSS purchase myself soon, but probably not until the summer.
I think most of us replied in the wrong place at some point, I know I have 😀
Thanks! I should have probably mentioned that I don’t usually care for incense. Same with oud, rose and citrus. I don’t dislike them but they rarely get me excited.
Which one are you thinking of buying?
I’d probably start with a sampler set. I tend to gravitate to florals and particularly powdery or aldehydic florals in the ‘classic french’ style, so I was thinking of Vintage Rose and Lieu de Reves, which I haven’t read nearly as much about as the SSS spicy/woody fragrances. Then in the next tier, Wood Violet, Jour Ensoleillé, Cameo, & Rose Musc. Oh and probably Fireside Intense too. Also vaguely interested in Egyptian Musk, though admittedly I can go either way on musky scents sometimes. I would like a good, light summer musk though.
Look like they sell a nice set of 5 mini-sprays, or 10 or 12 sample vials. If I had to choose 5, it would probably be Vintage Rose, Lieu de Reves, Cameo, Rose Musc, and Jour Ensoleillé. I’m in a rose phase I think. LOL
I absolutely love musk, but SSS Egyptian Musk was an exception. I didn’t dislike it, I just could barely smell it. It apparently hits one of my olfactory blind spots. Definitely try a small sample first, in case it does the same thing to you.
Lieu de Reves and Jour Ensoleillé were the two that caught my eye but, as you mentioned, they don’t seem to get many mentions on here for whatever reason.
LOVE Lieu de Reves! Probably one of the best– and yes, most unsung– aldehydic florals out there.
Anyone tried Cameo? I’m very curious. Is it considered a “rose” scent?
Maroc – Cameo is a really nice rich rose with some violet, woods and tonka? vanilla?. It’s not as strong as Velvet Rose, but still really “there”.
I tried Cameo and really like it. I wasn’t sure about it at first. Everyone around me seems to like it on me, too, which is nice. I had a bottle of SSS Incense Pure and thought I would love it, but it was too “churchy” for me. I do like a lot of her products though.
I love CdB also and just got my FB a few days ago. It really depends on your tastes. Her roses and violets are really nice examples of fragrances featuring those notes. think Wood Violet smells very similar to SL Bois de Violette, but at a fraction of the price. If you have even considered buying BdV, give WV a sniff first. Velvet Rose is a wonderful rose soliflore, one of the best I have smelled, as it doesn’t turn sour as some rose scents do. Winter Woods is very interesting as well; it may be a little out of season now, but it is not really a heavy scent. For some reason, I get a hint of a vanilla out of it, even though there is no vanilla listed among the notes. A lot of people seem to really like Incense Pure, but I found it too dry for my taste (it is *very* dry). Keep in mind that you will get at least one free sample with your order. If you don’t specify what you want, she will choose one for you. I got a sample her latest creation (a take-off on Lieu de Reves), which is supposed to be available for purchase within the next few weeks. It is a very nice, soft floral with a warm, woody base. FInally, let me tell you that SSS has about the best customer service I have found anywhere. I placed my order for CdB late Thursday evening, and the bottle was at my house Monday!
Thanks, that’s really helpful! Funnily enough, Bois de Violette is the only SL which I adore and I own a whole bottle of it. I did wonder if Wood Violet was anything like it so I guess that I can cross that one off If the two are very similar.
I like the sound of that new one (as well as Lieu de Reves) so I’ll definitely look out for it.
I am excited about that “classical” one.
oooh, good to know about the new one.
The 2 I loved enough to buy were Incense Pure & Vintage Rose. I also really like Fireside Intense.
You and I many be ESTs or something close to it! Fireside Intense and Incense Pure were two of my least favorites from SSS. I did like Vintage Rose, but I don’t know if it is FBW for me. I got a rather odd scent association from it. I don’t know how much the name contributed to this, but when I wore it, I kept thinking of antique stores. I find that antique stores seems to have their own peculiar scent. I love antique stores, but I don’t know if I want to smell like one.
I bought a tiny decant of fireside intense and it smells like a campfire to me – very smokey, very woody. I thought it was interesting and unique but ultimately not something I would want to wear as my SOTD/SOTE.
Yeah, Fireside Intense sounds interesting but I keep wondering if it would be an actual wearable fragrance rather that a great smell.
I thought FI smelled like a fire in a fireplace with a chimney that wasn’t drawing properly. Too much smoke. Several SSS scents that don’t work on me, really, really do not work. The ones that do work, OTOH, are fantastic. Nevertheless, they all strike me as very high quality and well-made. The line is actually small enough that you can sample it all without going bankrupt.
I love layering fireside which may sound totally kooky but it’s the most consistent complement I get…. Most recent was fireside on material, tabac aurea on wrists with a tiny sprigs of lys mesditerainne. I know that may sound like a train wreck but I got held up by the girl at starbucks to know what it was, and another friend loved it. And I loved it which is all that matters suppose!
Rose Musc is one of my favorite takes on rose—it’s stunning, and the musk in it is very much a “your-skin-but-better” variety.
Also, while I patently hate tuberose, Jour Ensoleillé is such a bright, sunny, happy scent, that I think it’s worth trying as an ideal Spring/Summer scent. 🙂
Good sampling to you Abyss!
Thanks, Dee! I’ve been looking for a suitable summer floral for the last couple of years without much luck so I’ll definitely consider Jour Ensoleillé.
Champagne de Bois is the best! Glorious stuff. My daughter loves her Egyptian Musk and the Sienna Musk is very nice as well.
Tabac Aurea is great , but you’ve already mentioned that.
Rose Musc —worth trying
and everyone raves about Velvet Rose.
I love SSS CdB too, other favorites are Sienna Musk, Cameo and Lieu de Reves.
Abyss: I highly recommend that you contact Laurie Erickson directly and ask for her advice in picking out your SSS samples. Her fragrances are really like nothing out there. I really love a number of her perfumes, but I am also terribly anosmic to the musks she uses in all the other ones. They either dont’ smell right or I can’t even smell them at all. If you are aware you have any musk anosmia issues, you may want to discuss this with her. It is still a good learning process to know about your nose, but I’d hate to see you get a bunch of samples of things that you can’t even smell!
My fav’s from her line are Velvet Rose, Rose Musc, Tabac Aurea, Voile de Violette, and a few that may or may not be available right now – Opal, Femme Jolie and Encens Lavande.
She has outstanding incense and woods fragrances such as Champagne de Bois, Incense Pure, Ambre Noire, Winter Woods, etc. Sienne Musk is a really nice musk too. (I can smell this one for just a litte while…) Good luck!
Abyss, If you like CdB, and you like jasmin/orange blossom/tuberuse, then you MUST try Jour Ensoleille. It ‘s not that they are similar as much as the fact that they are highly complimentary. I find the two layer beautifully. Another possible “layering” combo that I tried this week is Winter Woods with Vintage Rose. Although now that winter is on the way out, you may want to save that one for the Fall.
Wow, you layered Vintage Rose and Winter Woods? You are brave, and I am intrigued. I’ll have to try that some time. I find Vintage Rose to have a radioactive half-life and it never occurred to me to try to layer it. Speaking of layering, Tabac Aurea is nice with Cuir de Lancome.
Since I didn’t see it mentioned in the scents of Laurie’s to try, I’ll add Voile de Violette to the list — a very happy green violet.
I love Vint R, but sometimes it can be a little too much, so I was looking for something that would tone it down a bit but not take away from its character. Took a chance on WW and it worked out very nicely.
Thanks so much to everyone who chimed in with their comments. You’ve been very helpful and definitely helped me narrow things down a little.
Re; The Rules
1. No touchy my hand unless I offer it- Seriously
I keep my hands at my side and refuse any unsolicited SA sprays. One of my huge pet peeves. I find if they spray me with something I don’t want, I can’t smell much else for a while and my personal enjoyment of the “fume browsing experience is really reduced. I will readily make a scene if they try to touch me. I’ve complained to managers before about this. As pefumista who buys more ‘fume than the ordinary Saturday shopper, I feel I have a right to my personal choices and not being touched is one of them.
2. I try to research before browsing, so I don’t waste skin on flankers, etc. I usualy know what I want to sample.
3. If I like something, I’ll usually ask for a sample to take home. I agree with those that say it takes 3 different sampling episodes to find out what a scent is really like. You just can’t get that on a first spray in a store – you hardly ever touch the drydown or get an idea of the sillage. I’ve made many bad calls on a fume when I didn’t fully sample it and follow it’s development for hours. I, however, try to buy at least one thing to keep the SA cooperative.
I agree with these two rules from Ikat. I always know what I want to try when I get to my destination and simply do not buy things until I’ve tested them several times. If the counter cannot or will not provide a sample (Guerlain, I’m talking to you), I’ll just go back several times, spray and leave. In fact, last summer I was in NYC staying at a hotel just next door to BG and went there every day for a week to spray Rose Barbare (I also went to Norma Kamali’s several times to try Incense). Once in a while, when I get to the store, I’ll find something else that wasn’t on my list, but it really helps to know what you want to try.
If you’ve asked for a sample, do you feel like you can easily ask for a second? What’s your polite limit? I think I feel ok with two, but feel like I’m being greedy at 3. . .
I’ve never asked for more than one at a time (I come back). BUT, I saw on Katie Puckick’s blog that she gets handfuls of Back to Black at a time!
I just come right out and say, “Let me know if I’m being greedy, because otherwise I’ll just keep asking for more.” Usually my sense of shame kicks in about five samples in, but I like to at least make an attempt to be both polite and gluttonous.
Kitty, I think I’m starting to *get* your gravitar! 🙂
Wanna come over some time and give me some lessons in bitchiness (the good, stand up for yourself kind)? I’m afraid I’ve been well trained in the school of the “nice girl” and even though I’m terribly opinionated, I end up feeling like a horrible person whenever there’s a risk of offense! The more aware of it I have become, the more uncomfortable I’ve become! I REALLY want to express myself honestly AND I REALLY want to be polite and appropriate! Damn!
Do you live near Portland? I’d be happy to give some assertiveness lessons/perfume shop! 😉
What are we testing this weekend? I’m wearing Amaranthine for the first time today.
Mmm- Amaranthine!
I love Amaranthine. I think I might have to purchase a bottle as a birthday gift for myself this summer. What do you think of it?
I just received samples of Diptyque’s Do Son and Eau Duelle. I really liked Do Son (but do I need another tuberose? I still have a decant of the queen, Carnal Flower), Eau Duelle was a little flat for my tastes (sheer boozy vanilla was all I got). I’m currently wearing Philosykos, which has been my go-to lately.
I think this is another perfume that Msr. Duchaufour composed without me in mind. It is a very accurate rendition of the scent of pittosporum and wax on me with something animalic lurking underneath that develops into an unfortunate case of B.O. I don’t know why he hates me so much. His compositions are the only ones that have ever elicited a “what is that smell?!” from people around me and yet I keep trying. Maybe someday….
This Duchaufour review cracked me up! Thanks, Julia! 😀
That’s such a witty description of the Duchaufour dilemma, Julia. 🙂 To be honest, I love Duchaufours because they are so interesting, try everything he does, and own several bottles and large decants, but I don’t actually wear them very often. Traversee du Bosphore is probably the one I wear most.
Kyoto and Avignon are certainly wearable, too, but I have other incense frags I like better.
I’m looking forward to his new Frapin – very curious to see what he does for that line. I may like MDCI Belle Helene – need to test it more.
Oh goodness…were we really wearing the same thing? I got vanilla pudding with a spoonful of banana mixed in, all just sitting there on top of my skin. I could see it smelling great on someone else, but it just did nothing for me.
I’ve been sampling Jeux de Peau. I love the opening, and think I like the whole experience. Is it FB-worthy??? Not sure yet. In cool weather it’s nice, but would it choke me in the heat? I see more testing in my future with this one…
KRL–got my sample of this a few weeks ago. I really can’t decide what I think!? It’s smells “complete” in a really nice way to my nose (not thin but not overtly arty and complex, either), and yet I’m not sure I exactly want to smell like it, either. It’s reminiscent of butter cookies, which is a great scent, but not exactly in the category of personal scents to me. . .friendly but not, I don’t know, alluring? certainly not sexy.
I get mostly roasted nut, which I like but don’t love. I agree that it would be too much in summer heat – nice in the autumn though.
I don’t know if I get the notes either of you mention. I think I just get the immortelle. There’s a thick sweetness going on here, but it seems to open a little salty. I have to say I love the opening. I tried some last night and could still smell it this morning. After a pretty big opening, it seems to become a skin scent (Chergui is like that for me too). I’m just not sure and really don’t want to make another FB mistake.
MJ – it’s interesting that you’re feeling the same way. Is it just us, or is this maybe better as a smell than a scent?
KRL–Yes, I think maybe that is where I am at with it–A really nice smell, but not really a personal scent. It’s a shame because I had very high hopes it would be my next SL swoon! (My Gris Clare needs a buddy!)
Oh man, all the mixed reviews to this scent are making me dying to try it even more! I need to understand the tension operating in this scent!! Some of its descriptions: salty, toasty, immortelle, butter-sound amazing. Others not so much: nutty, loud. Hmmm.
Of course, now when I sample it all I will probably get is “ew!” or “this is what all the fuss is about?!?”
You know what? I tried again yesterday and I’m really thinking I may have to buy this one. There’s something about it…
Hm, like minds… I was thinking of doing the same, in an attempt to pretend winter isn’t back with a vengeance outside my door. :/ Had good success w/OJ Frangipani last night/this morning, so this seemed a good next effort.
Boo – Frangipani has long been on my “to try” list (ha!) – what do you think of it, and is it in the cross-over category?
You know, it could well be…and as (your) luck would have it, I’m pretty sure I actually have a second sample of this one. and since I haven’t started your package yet… adding this to the list. 🙂
Thanks! 😀
Glad to see that Boo has some to give you. I also have a couple of half vials but they’re dwindling. I just can’t decide whether I like it or not – the lime note stays around for a loooong time before the flower starts to show itself. The first vial I received, I wrote to TPC that I thought they had sent me the wrong scent, so Patty (bless her heart) sent me another half vial and it was exactly the same…
I’m hoping to make it to Nieman’s this weekend to try the Atelier line. I have been reading so much about them and several of them seem right up my alley (Oolang Infini, Trefle Pur and Vanille Insensee).
It’s a good line, I hope you make it out to try them 🙂
The ones I’ve tried (Oolong Infini, Orange Sanguine and Vanille Insensee) are well constructed and have great longevity.
I’ve tried them all except the new Vanilla one – not a bad one in the bunch so far.
Thanks for the reminder – I’m going tomorrow but was going to focus on the Acqua di Parmas.
I’m testing SL Bois de Violette today. I simply adore it. Perfect spring/summer scent. I think a FB is going to be one of the gifts I buy for myself after I get my bonus check.
How’s the Amaranthine working for you? I have a FB of this on the way. Afraid it’s going to be HOT early this year though so I’m hoping it works well in the heat. It seems such a Spring scent to me.
Yum! Amaranthine! I tested Yosh Han’s Ginger Ciao for the first time. Loved it!
I guess that means I need to try the Yosh, since we’re scent twins! 🙂
What is Ginger Ciao like? Reviews have been so mixed.
I just tested Ginger Ciao. I thought it smelled great but somehow more like a candle or fancy soap than perfume — the ginger and basil are front and center rather than accents to the floral notes.
I found Sottile and Omniscent to feel much more like perfume. Sottile is rose + lily of the valley and Omniscent is an old-school floriental — reminded me of L’Heure Bleue.
I wasn’t caring much for Yosh stuff but that one is lurvely.
Ginger Ciao is a rather heady, unusual tropical floral blend. I believe the ginger is the flower, not the spice. My husband liked it a lot, too!
Julia – Amaranthine is a great fragrance. Last year it was all banana pudding to me, and this year for some reason I am getting that super sexy funk everyone was always talking about. Now I can hardly wear it to work without feeling self conscious. If you haven’t yet, you should also test the Penhaglions Orange Blossom and the L’AP Nuits de Tuberose. All by Duchaufour – all like the three graces – super gorgeous and different enough.
Happy weekend NSTers!
I felt this weird impulse to layer Nuit de Tubereuse with Safrant Troublant and I like the way they smell together- NdT is a tad bit fluorescent and ST a tad bit medicinal for me, so I’m rather enjoying the way they smooth out those rough edges of each other…
Does anyone know a scent that may smell like the two together (so that I just get one bottle of something not two)?
I’m waiting for a sample of Vamp a NY and hoping it might live up to my expectations…
How interesting, I would have thought NdT would have eaten ST right up.
I expected that too, so I thought why not? In the worst case scenario I’ll just end up with NdT on its own!
That’s an interesting idea, Hessed. Those are both scents that I sort of like but have always wished were a just a bit different – I’ll give this a try!
I hope it works out for you! On me it turns into a cream, spicy floral. I put on 2 parts NdT and 3 parts ST,
This sounds kind of delicious– I think I’ll give it a try… 🙂
I might give this a try. I don’t really like NdT, but have a large sample that I’d like to use up…thanks for the idea!
I’ve got to get out my NdT and ST and give your layering tip a go to see what it smells like. Cheers.
Ooh, I like the idea of those two together! I’ll have to try that. I am so layering-shy to come up with any combos on my own. Always eager to try somone else’s concoction. 🙂
I am stuck at the office, on a lovely sunny day, as I have some work to finish up. I am visiting a friend and his wife in Spain this summer and I was thinking of getting her a perfume. Probably not the safest choice since she doesn’t wear perfume and my friend could only tell me that she used to wear Nina by Nina Ricci. But, I believe that the reason she doesn’t wear perfume is because she has not yet been introduced to anything swoonworthy. She is in her mid-twenties, fun and sweet and laid-back.
I was thinking maybe Hermes Jardin sur le Nil or Hermes Elixir des Merveilles. I want something that wears pretty easy, but has that extra bit of interest that could spur a love affair with perfume. I know Nina is a gourmand/sweet, but it has a lime/caipirinha opening. I think a perfume with a similar citrus top note and gourmand base might be good. Ideas?
I think a lot of the PdN’s have a citrus/lime opening, maybe Vanilla Tonka? I do love Jardin sur le Nil as well. Gifting perfume is really tough. Hopefully others will be more helpful!
What about Calyx, Eau Parfumee au The Vert, Euphoria, Flower? They are all easy to wear, not hard to find, and not too expensive. Upscale – Malle’s Outrageous? It has the caipirinha top note. Creed’s Virgin Island Water is citrusy and creamy.
I’ve decided that the best perfume gifts are the luxurious body creams. S you get something functional that at the very least can be used to improve your skin.
Of the ones I’ve tried, the Chanel creams in their stunning big square tubs are just magic in quality and scent…you probably could do no wrong with No 5!!
You may want to try one of the Dior Escales des…?. They are all nicely done and wouldn’t be too unfamiliar. I think Portofino and Pondichery are both nice. The Kenzo Flower la Cologne is very nice too – super soft lightly powdery rose orange blossom. It’s like a gauze dress in a bottle. It’s very pretty and not too heavy.
You have time. Why not order her several samples of various scents that fall within her parameters, throw in a few classics and let her start a sample journey. If that doesn’t get her interested…well, maybe she’s just not a perfume sort of girl. If she wore Nina for a while but doesn’t now, maybe she liked, but didn’t love it. That’s why I suggest a few outside that range.
I like the sample idea. Just to give you an idea of how hard it can be to gift someone perfume, I made up about 30 samples for a friend of mine a few weeks ago, and she ended up liking TWO out of the whole batch. And not the two I would have assumed. So you just never know.
I am looking for a summer fragrance that features either peach or apricot – any suggestions?
Scent of the day is Caron Nuit de Noel – its about 35* here in Ohio – and I wanted something comforting.
I might sound totally batty but I like Bath and Body Works’s Apricot Vanilla. It’s pretty sweet though. And they don’t make an EDT in it. =/
Their Twilight Woods is nice too – also an apricot, but I think of that as more of a winter fragrance.
Thanks for the suggestion, I stopped by BBW over the weekend and picked up the Apricot Vanilla – it will be fun to layer and my 5 yr old LOVES the way I smell!
Oh gosh I’m so glad you and the kiddo like it! When they first released that collection it was called ‘summer vanillas,’ so I figured it might work.
How about an osmanthus fragrance? A lot of people seem to find that it smells quite apricot-y. Something like TDC Osmanthus might work.
I was thinking of osmanthus too. Osmanthus Interdite could be another possibility.
TDC Osmanthus screams spring and summer to me. I love it. Also, Daim Blond.
I’ve seen lots of mentions here of MDCI Peche Cardinal and Keiko Mercher Peau de Peche, but I haven’t tried either. SL Daim Blond is apricoty, but not summery to me. For something way cheaper, I was at the Gap yesterday and sniffed their new fragrance “Near” – it was quite peachy to me, but maybe a bit too sweet. And while not peach or apricot, it’s close – I love Jo Malone’s Nectarine Blossom and Honey.
Peche Cardinal is divine! Not cheap.
It’s probably me that has been babbling on aobut MDCI Peche Cardinal. I would never have thought myself to be peach girl- mention it as a prominent note and I would have run the other way, thinking of cheap drugstore hand lotions. A LS sample of PC snapped my head around. Big armfuls of soft warm but not sugary or candied peaches and flowers. It’s one of the two of MDCI line that I am crazy about. Don’t have the KM to compare, sorry.
yes..all those years that I never dreamed Mitsouko had a peach note!
I like David Yurman’s Exotic Essence. It is a sexy peach skin scent. Plus the lasting power is great!
Love TDC Osmanthus and SL Daim Blond!
That’s the second vote for TDC Osmanthus, I will have to get a sample! Haven’t tried their fragrances yet, anything else from that line you would suggest?
I have samples of de Bachmakov and Sublime Balkiss – both very nice.
I also have a large decant of Rose Poivree that I enjoy, and I think Bois d’Iris and Sel de Vetiver are mentioned a lot. I haven’t thoroughly tested it yet, but de Bachmakov seemed fairly amazing on first sniff.
Osmanthus is one of the few scents that seems right nearly all year, except for the coldest days when one needs a blanket of amber or patchouli, etc. It’s light but lasts all day if I spray it on fabric.
Let us know which apricot you finally choose!
Love de Bachmakov, and would also try Bois d’Iris and Sel de Vetiver.
I can’t remember if you like roses, but if you can find it, you could pick up a small bottle of the first Ines de la Fressange (in the hexagonal bottle, not the leaf one): peach and rose. Pretty and summery. (And cheap, because it’s way discontinued.)
I love roses! I will definitely look this one up – thanks!
Hi Ruth,
Have you tried The Different Company’s Osmanthus? Cheers.
RuthW: I highly recommend these two scents:
– Keiko Mecheri Peau de Peche
– Soivohle Peche et Vert — this is currently not available on the Soivohle website, but I’ve heard that she rotates what’s for sale seasonally, and if you write to her via the website she can tell you when it will be for sale or if she can make it up special for you. I actually LOVE this scent and I’m thinking about getting a larger bottle. A bit tart and green, but very peachy.
Also, if you’re not familiar, Soivohle is in Cincinnati; not sure where you are in Ohio. In addition, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has a really nice Apricot Vanille oil that’s on closeout sale at her website.
I believe the new AG Osmanthus also features a nice peach note.
Ava Luxe Peach or KM Peau de Peche. I layer PdP with Mitsouko, but some people think that’s sacrilege. I hadn’t thought to try to layer Daim Blonde with any peach or apricot, but I’m now thinking it might be fun to try. I’ll do it today and get back to you. 🙂
Boucheron Jaipur (composed by Sophia Grojsman) is pure apricot tart.
Kim Kardashian’s fragrance (I know, right?) is a tuberose with apricot notes. Not the tuberose to end all tuberoses by any means, but better than I expected, and apricot struck me as a brave choice.
Made two, count ’em, two purchases this week. Sampler set from Andy Tauer and a couple of things over at Dawn Spencer Hurwitz.
What are some of people’s favorite fragrances from DSH? I find her website to be a bit overwhelming – it loads slow, there are tons and tons of items that aren’t particularly well organized. Also, a lot of the stuff I’m interested in is only in oil rollers, which… meh, I prefer perfume spray if I can get it. She also launches a LOT of stuff and it’s hard to keep up. Looks like she’s redoing her website, hopefully it will make things easier to find. If anyone could share some faves, I’d much appreciate it.
I have been overwhelmed by the DSH website also, and find it irritatingly slow. I hop the new site is faster and easier to navigate!
That said, I have tried a few things. I love Cardamom and Khyphi! It has this wonderful, warm, spicy vibe without being too heavy. I got the Secrets of Egypt edition, in perfume concentration, and find it to have decent longevity, which natural perfumes often do not, at least on my skin. I also tried her holiday sampler set; my favorites from that collection are December and Twelfth Night (OK, they are a little out of season right now, but what the heck). She sent me a sample of Jitterbug with one of my orders. It reminded me a little of pre-reformulation Mitsouko, and also lasted a long time.
Someone sent me a sample of the Cardamom in a swap and I really liked it. I’m not entirely sure I want to wear it, but I do love sniffing it!
You should test the DSH Giardini Segreti – it is a super beautiful jasmine tuberose floral. It is justlovely.
Is it indolic? I LOVE indoles…
No, it’s not indolic. It’s more of a very well blended floral. I haven’t tested enough of her line to know if there are any super indolic ones. Her Gelsomino is a very pretty lightly indolic green jasmine.
A few of the Egypt scents really appealed to me, but they were quite expensive. And now they’re clearanced.I saw they did have the one I most wanted (1000 Lilies AKA Susinon), but only in a presentation bottle and I decided to get some other things where I didn’t feel like I was paying for the bottle.
The December scents sound really appealing, but I guess I am in the market for a summer fragrance right now.
I’ve not tried a Tauer yet that I didn’t like or love (mostly love). Which ones did you get?
I got the sample five-pack with Une Rose Vermeille, Une Rose Chypree, Incense Rose, Carillon Pour un Ange, and Lonestar Memories. I was really tempted to wait for Zeta to come out before I ordered, but I’m really satisfied with the five I ordered.
I love carnation fragrances and I really like Oeillets Rouge.
That’s my favorite DSH too. Gorgeous.
Ooh. I do love carnations. That might have to be the next one I try!
You’ll be pleased to know that Dawn is redoing her site. She is having a bit of a clearance sale on the old one right now, and I put in a fairly substantial and all unsniffed order. Yipes!
Good to hear that she’s redoing it. I find the website totally overwhelming. 🙁
I love supporting the Indies in the face of the mega corps…I’ll have to have another go at DSH, as my cart timed out and I lost the lot – probably fate telling me that I already have too much!
That seems to be one of the issues the new site is supposed to fix.
That happened to me last Xmas when I was at work shopping. I was using our super fast internet and after about 40 minutes – it took VERY long to find what I wanted – it dumped my cart. I was very annoyed. But then I just decided to call for the order and it worked out better. You get free samples and I was able to ask for the ones I wanted. The sales gal was very nice. It is a good thing they are redoing that website. I had to google my way in to find fragrances I knew they had b/c I could never find them on site.
I did the same! (eeeeep!) I got 1 oz EDPs in Beach Roses (hoping, hoping for a good summer rose) and la Rose Fleurette (another in the general rose quest I’ve been on). Beach Roses sounds like it *could* be the scent of my dreams.
Then in oils, I got 1 dram rollers in Aquamarine (looking for more summer scents, a big weakness in my current collection), Spanish Geranium (big fan of Lanvin perfumes, like geranium as a note, and interested in the idea of trying a ‘type’) and Almond Blossom (just plain sounds good).
We’ll see what happens. Hopefully the new site will make it easier to sort things.
You’re doing better than I am – I don’t even remember what I ordered.
I had to go back and look at the purchase confirmation email, if it makes you feel better! 😉
Beach Roses is very nice.
YAY! I’m hoping it will really work for me. I really want a good rose that I can take most of the summer, even in the Austin heat.
I think I got a sample of that- it sounds really interesting. But I always have to sample thing that have “beach” in the name for fear of calone.
No Calone in the DSH. It’s salty. Well, salty-ish.
Clearance? Oh, I wish I hadn’t read this…
Yes, and some things are being discontinued. And there’s a 10% off code as well.
I’ve only recently gotten into her line of products and have purchased, I’d say, at least two dozen samples. The sample packs are helpful. I’ve gone back for more of these fragrances: Poivre (peppery, spicy rose), Jitterbug (for women), and Michelangelo. I really liked Arome d’Egypt and bought the perfume spray plus the body lotion but it just has no lasting power. Good luck!
How is the body lotion as a product?
I just ordered some stuff from DSH too. (I agree the existing website is irritatingly slow and hard to navigate.) I got small spray bottles of Tubereuse (I find her tuberose very natural-smelling and on the fresh side, not nearly as decadent as, say, Carnal Flower or Beyond Love) and Celadon, a green scent. I also have a small bottle of Mahjoun, a very intense gourmand w/ fig, honey and spice notes.
A few others I like are Nourouz, Gingembre, and some of the incense-y ones. Of course, none of the ones I wanted were on clearance (and I haven’t come close to trying everything!), but I used her 10% off code to wipe out the shipping at least.
I’m interested in her green scents as well, though I’ve been in a straight-on floral mood lately. A green tuberose sounds lovely!
I ordered (unsniffed) one her “Egyptian” scents, the lily one, which was apparently done for an ancient Egyptian exhibit at the Denver Museum.
I very nearly bought the lily one, but unfortunately even at a discount on her clearance sale, the Egyptian ones are on the higher end of her price range. If it’s not discontinued I may go back for a sample later.
can anyone recommend a fragrance that captures the scent of a florist shop? leaves, soil, moss, humidity, flowers….that great sensation when you open the door…..
Try Black March, just for kicks.
just checked the review — sounds promising right up until “freshly dug grave…”
i’ll try it, though!
If you order a sample from CB, get the oil. The water fades away to a barely there scent quickly. The oil, though, lasts a good long time. I ordered a sample last summer and use it so sparingly that I still have plenty left…
I haven’t actually been in a florist shop in years, but for leaves, soil, humidity, moss, and flowers, I would say Ormonde Woman. It maybe is more akin to a nursery or a garden on a warm day than to a florist shop though.
i’ve tried woman — it’s like the “hot, sunny, late in the day” version of what i’m after. if there’s an 8 a.m. on a damp, cool morning…that’s what i’d love. frustrating…..i wish i could describe it better.
Yeah, what IS that? I feel like there must be a secret spray that they all use. I would definitely buy a full bottle/can. 🙂
a barrel, even!
let me know if you find it.
Love that smell! And I know people have mentioned things before that capture that cool green smell, but I can’t remember any of them! Maybe an iris? Hope someone chimes in with suggestions. While looking, I found a room fragrance that is supposed to smell like it:
http://www.candlesoffmain.com/browseproducts/Trapp-No.-13-Bob%27s-Flower-Shop-Room-Spray.HTML
I love that smell too. How about Diptyque L’Ombre dans L’eau? Maybe layered with something woody or earthy for the full effect?
thanks for the suggestion, i’ll add it to the list to try.
Demeter Wet Garden is pretty good – I layer it sometimes with Earthworm to get the full-on soil effect. Not highbrow but does the trick.
“earthworm”…?! ok, the name alone makes me want this one.
the demeter choices all sound good, thanks.
Demeter Greenhouse! But it doesn’t last.
doesn’t last as in….minutes? or doesn’t last as in …an hour?
I am sorry that I don’t remember, but there are definitely Demeter fragrances that don’t make it for an hour. On the other hand, you can buy a mini for around $6…
If $50 is the new “free”, then I guess $6 is like getting paid to wear the fragrance? 😉
Exactly!
The new Hermes Jardin comes out soon and it promises an earthy, compost note.
it’s on the try list for sure, though i haven’t loooooooved any of the other jardins yet.
Also L’AP s Primiere Figuier might work layered with something…very sappy and mulch-like in a good way.
thanks for the suggestion but me and figs — it’s total war, unless they’re on a plate. i have no idea how i can love the taste so much and hate the scent. SO MUCH.
Sweet Anthem’s Lizie. Heavy on dirt, flowers, humidity.
I would try layerting Demeter Thunderstorm or CBIHP Winter 1972 with a soft floral– both of those have a sort of wet earthy note, as opposed to a soil earthy note. (Does that make any sense? Probably not.) Also, some kind angel just sent me some Clinique Aromatics Elixir Velvet Sheer, and to me it smells like roses, rain, and wet earth when it dries down a bit. Even if it doesn’t do the trick, TRY IT! All of you! It’s divine.
Ooh. Is that the new flanker they came out with, or something older?
I think it’s older, and maybe discontinued? I hope not. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Reminds me, though, I need to seek out that flanker. I love AE, even if it seems to be one of those that causes people to flee the scene when I wear it.
L’artisan Fleur de Liane is initially fruity but its middle and base are humid florals and moss. It is not your department store floral.
I’ve heard people describe Carnal Flower that way — it’s the cold effect of the tuberose.
I think Flower by Kenzo also has an abstract floral shop effect.
thanks so much to all of you for these suggestions!
Two questions:
1) Has anyone ever heard of Niki De Saint Phalle (sp)? He/she did some kind of perfume based on the signs of the zodiac, but I can’t get any kind of information on what the line is called or what notes were used, etc. The only info I have is a 2000 fragrance that was done, but even that info is sketchy. Any ideas?
2) Is it possible for one’s perfume to evaporate if it’s been sitting around for too long? I heard of perfume spoiling, but I have this perfume that I barely use sitting on my dresser and I swear there’s only a little bit left now. And it’s not a clear liquid anymore; there’s little yellowish flakes gathered on the bottom. Could that be spoilage?
Appreciate everyone’s feedback!
🙂
I would expect they could evaporate, as alcohol has such a high volatility (it evaporates easily). I don’t know about the flakes. I bought a vintage bottle of Shalimar at an estate sale that has *something* in the bottom. I have chosen to not investigate too closely!
I haven’t noticed this in any of my bottles of vintage Shalimar, but I have one fragrance by CBIHP that develops flakes. It is a tester bottle that was given to me and it looks like it has bits of toilet paper floating around in it. I actually filtered it through a Melita cone* and a week later the flakes were back. It was a water perfume but I had a mini of the absolute of the same fragrance and it also developed flakes.
* I wouldn’t do this with a fragrance you love – this was a tester that was given to me and I didn’t care for the scent so it became a science project.
My water samples of the CB’s also have weird white residues. If I shakes them they seem to disappear.
Although the Niki can be found in little bottles with all the signs of the zodiac, it’s one scent with a prominent marigold note, very unusual and prized by many of us. There is a summary on Niki de Saint Phalle under perfume houses here on NST with links to Angela’s review and the NSP website, which highlights her amazing sculptures.
1. Niki de St. Phalle released an eponymous perfume in 1982. The bottle for the extrait was in cobalt blue with two intertwined snakes on top. The “zodiac” edition she released seems to be the same perfume, but in bottles with the zodiac signs on them. 15 different bottles, one for each of the classic zodiac signs, and 3 “fantasy” signs of horse, bird, and cat. Here is the article on Perfume-Smellin’ Things:
http://perfumesmellinthings.blogspot.com/2007/09/long-lost-perfumes-niki-de-saint-phalle.html
2. Yes, perfume can evaporate out of the bottle, if it is not kept tightly closed. Bulb atomizers are notorious for this, but bottles with stoppers (not screw caps) can do it too. A screw-on cap is least likely to do this. The color darkens as the perfume evaoprates, as the colorless alcohol evaporates the most. Base notes, which are usually dark-colored (sandalwood, amber, patchouli, etc.) evaporate the least. The particles are probably some of the heavier components settling out or crystallizing, as there is no longer enough solvent to keep them in solution. I used to play around quite a bit with aromatherapy, and some of the heavier oils can crystallize or solidify over time.
Niki de Saint Phalle is gorgeous. For another review, go to http://yesterdaysperfume.typepad.com/yesterdays_perfume/2011/03/niki-de-saint-phalle-1983.html
SOTD is a shocking mixture of vintage Youth Dew, Via Lanvin, Dolce & Gabbana orginal, Wanted by Helena Rubinstein, and Florida Water. In other words, I’ve been decanting all afternoon long. I am presenting a program on fragrance at my library and am making samples of various genres to give away to attendees.
Olenska, that sounds so interesting – I wish I were wherever you were and could hear your talk!
Oh, me too! How fun!
Thank you both. I’m looking into ways to convert my PowerPoint presentation into a YouTube-ready upload…..
Ah, let us know if you do! I like the range of scents that you chose – very interesting to compare and contrast.
Ooh, that sounds exciting! I want a captive audience to talk to about perfume. 🙂
I love how things smell after I’ve decanted a bunch of stuff. Strange how when you mix EVERYTHING YOU HAVE together it smells amazing.
I remember reading a Duftnote piece by Luca Turin in which he talks about the big vats into which perfumery firms dump random leftover or sample accords– they call them “millefleurs” and Turin said they smelled better than many perfumes put together deliberately. 🙂
Hi everybody — Happy Weekend!
I am headed to Ft. Lauderdale Florida to visit family this week….any suggestions where to sniff? Shops, Department Stores, vintage or flea markets not to miss? I would welcome any of your collective wisdom…thanks, in advance!
I don’t know, but I’m jealous! Have a great time.
Sawgrass Mills is a huge outlet mall in Sunrise. I was there a few years ago and there were a number of small perfume shops (carrying mainstream brands) there. You never know what you might find …..
Four Seasons is north of Fort Lauderdale in Delray Beach. I’ve only ordered from them online, so I don’t have any idea what the bricks and mortar store is like (and I believe they’re primarily a spa) but they carry a good number of niche brands on the website, so worth a call to see if they have them on-hand.
thanks for the tips…I have been and will probably go again out to Sawgrass, but will also check out Four Seasons. thanks again.
Bal Harbor shops in Bal Harbor have Saks and Neiman Marcus, Chanel boutique and Hermes boutique. It’s about 20 miles South from Fort auderdale.
Ten days ago it was in the 70s; now it’s cold again here but definitely spring – there may be snow on the cherry blossoms tonight! Early spring takes a special scent, and I’ve worn L’AP Iris Pallida several times this spring. So expensive but so special.
I’ve also been testing a new Duchaufour, MDCI Belle Helene. I LOVE the top notes but later I’m less sure about it. Will try again in the summer.
Forgot to ask: has anyone tried the Penhaligon’s Orange Blossom by Duchaufour?
I have tried it and liked it. It didn’t capture my imagination like many Duchaufours do, but it was very nice. I must try it again for further impressions…
I tried it and it seemed a bit wan. I’m a little fussy about F d’O scents, though – still looking for my HG.
Have you tried the L’AP Fleurs d’Oranger or PG Cuir Venenum yet?
l’Artisan, yes (yum) but not Cuir Venenum. Making mental note….
That OB is pretty nice, with a bit of a skanky base a la Amaranthine. Not a straight-up fresh, sweet OB like Le Labo, for example.
Thanks, everyone! It’s interesting to compare what Duchaufour does for different lines.
Definitely. Today, I have Amaranthine on one hand, and Nuit de Tuberose on the other. Definitely some similarities there.
I’m finding similarities in the structure or idea of L’AP Traversee du Bosphore and MDCI Belle Helene – almost like the same pattern in different colors. I like the way the apple (TdB) and pear (BH) seem like new floral notes rather than fruity.
I adore this picture Robin, thank you : D
Isn’t that gorgeous?? I wish I was better at photography.
Wearing Daphne today. We have sudden cold weather and it’s perfect!
It is darned cold here too, boo.
Oh, God, I was in some crazy mood and put little dabs of Daphne on this morning and then went out to a big arts festival in the park. Here in Houston it was 87 and hot and humid, I felt like I was knocking everyone over around me! Such a teentsy bit and such POWER!! Yikes!!
I know, it’s powerful stuff! I can only imagine it in 87-degree weather! I’ve only worn it in the cold so far.
I’v spritzed quite a bit of Daphne on, on a summer evening and I didn’t notice it being too strong. No one around me said anything either, and when I asked no one said it was too strong. Some weren’t sure they had even smelled it! My skin MUNCHES perfume. I did run into a problem once when I was trying out some ELdO. I tried about 5 and did a double spray with some. Later I felt ill from all the scent and those around me indicated they could definitely smell that I had several scents on. I tried to wash it off my arms, hands and shoulders but could still smell it after.
Something amazing happened to me yesterday before dinner. I dropped into Ogilvy – a local high end department store in Montreal, and I noticed a l’Artisan Parfumeur boutique I had never noticed before. Apparently it’s the only full boutique in Canada.
I got into a chat with the woman working there and she was nice enough to give me a bag FULL of échantillions so I could try out a range of their fragrances. In all, there are 10 little tester bottles, including
Al Oudh
Coeur de Vetiver Sacre
Traversée su Bosphore
Timbuktu
Méchant Loup
Dzoungha
Vanille Absolument
Premier Figeur Extrème
Mure et Musc
Fou d’Absinthe
L’eau de l’Artisan
I can’t wait to try them all. I’m rocking Al Oudh today. It’s my first of 10 tests.
JOY!
Nice score! Enjoy them!
Excellent score – that is a very diverse and interesting line. I have Coeur du Vetiver Sacre, Ananas Fizz, and Safran Troublant so far. I have my eye on Voleur de Roses and Verte Violette. You have some great sampling to do!
Ive tried approx three qurters of those and timbuktu is the only one to be put on my to buy list.
As a Fig Fanatic, I am, of course, in love with LAP Premier Figuier and PF Extreme.
As a cumin fan, I should adore Timbuktu, but it’s not smoky enough and has too much fecally cumin in it for me.
Ananas Fiz made me run out of the room screaming about pineapples.
Quit happy with Safran Troublant and Mechant Loup
What a treat! L’AP is such a great line. I hope you’ll report back in a future poll on what you liked best!
I’ve only tried half, but bought a (rare) FB of TdB, and have decants of Dzongkha, Timbuktu and L’Eau de l’Artisan. Also a FB of Vanilia, and decants of 4-5 others. This is a good line for me.
I just adore Mechant Loup–don’t let anyone tell you it’s only for men.
Well, I’m a man anyway, so even if someone tells me that, I won’t be offended.
I’m wearing it right now in fact.
So far I’ve tried Méchant Loup (which, contrary to what’s written just about everywhere, translates into Evil Wolf or, more concisely, Villainous Wolf) and Al Oudh. Both are great. Loup starts with a very strong honey note, some subtle tobacco and a spicy peppery note, and it eventually dries down into what right now smells like a very masculin leather/tobacco accord with a light vanilla base. It’s really sophisticated and delicate. I like it a lot.
The Al Oudh (yesterday) was really fun. It is a true ‘curry’ perfume. It reminded me so much of the strong perfumes and incenses at my Indian neighbor’s house growing up. Both of these could be keepers for me, though I can’t imagine wearing the Al Oudh more than once every month or two. It’s so particular.
Both are decidedly “mature” fragrances.
I’v really liked 3 out of the 4 lAPs I’v tried (Dzongkha didn’t work on me) I think I’v liked Dzing the most but it only comes in a 100ml! I have a friend going to America in a month or 2 so perhaps I’ll get a decant.
I’m wondering if anyone has tried the Ormonde Jayne candles? I love her scents but the candles are very expensive and I’d really like to know if anyone has tested them out: how is the throw, how slowly do they burn, is the fragrance true to the original, etc. And which ones are your favourites? I’m thinking of taking one as a housegift to friends in Paris, since you can’t buy them there, but only if they are worth the price!
Thanks!
I am sorry to say that I’ve never tried them. Hope someone else will chime in!
Thanks anyway, Robin!
It’s so unfortunate when you are falling in love with a perfume you’re sampling and your significant other comes along and tells you that you smell like, not just an old lady, but “a dirty old lady”. But this is not going to stop me from wearing this perfume.
Have you ever given up a perfume because your partner disapproved?
I once gave up a bottle of Le Feu D’issey because my bf at the time didn’t like it. I still mourn the loss. Ever since then I do not compromise.. and I hunted down another bottle of LFdI. . . 😀
I find it useful to have a few repellent perfumes around, myself.
LOL! Taking note…
I couldn’t agree more. 🙂
Thea, I don’t have a S.O. these days, but I have wondered if the fragrances I’m wearing is having an influence on my attempts to make friends! I was at a gathering a few weeks ago and a pretty lady chose to sit a few seats down after she learned that I love perfume–not because I was wearing anything offensive, just on the assumption that all fragrance is offensive. I keep hoping for the opposite experience–some nice person drawn to me due to my lovely scent! That’s what the ads all say, right!? :p
“not because I was wearing anything offensive, just on the assumption that all fragrance is offensive.”
that’s just………sad.
I know! It’s a good thing I mostly enjoy my own company, because I can feel like a perfume-pariah at times! I know that there are many people who love scent, but they don’t seem too numerous in my social circle (my generation? my region? not sure what the delination is, actually. . .). And I *SWEAR* I’m not heavy-handedly spritzing Angel or something! 🙂 I really had no idea that when I entered into this little hobby that I would find frangrance SO divisive! (Another example, the friends I stayed with in MN asked me ahead of time to not bring any scent with me, on the assumption that anything could trigger migraines.) I guess I tend to assume that these are people who are just ignorant of the diversity of good fragrance, as their reactions seem so indicate no sense of the great variety of frags out there! (Ha! There’s another topic to discuss: how to gently educate your friends/loved ones/ family/ boss/ etc. so that they are less purfume-phobic!)
fragrances were a no no at my YMCA, then people would wash their hair with something you could smell from the parking lot. and that was….uh….fine.
Gosh I hope all these perfume hating people never have bad breath or make a stink in the bathroom!! Frankly I find that SO OFFENSIVE!!!
Ha! Thank you both!
Gives new meaning to the phrase “thinks their shit don’t stink!”
(Appologize for the poor language, but it’s just not as funny if it’s not crass!)
I have a friend that swears she is “allergic” to perfume. Admittedly, I don’t bring my collection of fragrances when I visit her, but let’s face it- THE LINE MUST BE DRAWN! My buddy doesn’t like perfume.That’s a far cry from being allergic! While I am willing to concede that a small percentage of the population is actually allergic, I firmly believe that the majority are having the 21st century equivalent of the vapors. A century ago they’d be complaining of their delicate nerves. Today-they all have allergies, which in their minds proves that they’re simply more attuned to disruptions in the natural environment the rest of us. BAH HUMBUG!
I am not convinced.,
Hallelujah, Marsha!
(Preachin’ to the choir!)
And then you have to ask yourself, how interesting is that person likely to be? And how fussy and judgmental about other things?
I’d love to come sit next to you! 😀
You’re welcome, any time! 😉
I hope you find kindred noses, Marjorie Rose!
Marjorie, I think a lot of people expect to be overwhelmed by perfume before they even smell it. It’s truly their loss.
I would sit next to you as well 😀
Don’t ever give up a bottle because someone else doesn’t like it. The most you should do is just not wear it around that person. Just out of curiosity, which perfume is it that your SO doesn’t like? I suspect your SO has only been exposed to the “clean, fresh” scents that have dominated the market for the past ~15 years, and thinks that anything else is “old lady”.
I actually have the opposite situation. My DH can’t smell most perfumes very well. When he can smell them, though, he usually likes them. The bad part is that I never will be able to share my perfume mania with him; the good part is I can wear whatever I want without worrying he won’t like it. I have never given up a perfume because he didn’t like it, but I have worn one I wasn’t totally crazy about because he could smell it and did like it.
Oh heh, my DH thinks everything is ‘vanilla’ or ‘flowery’…
Those are probably the perfume descriptors that have stuck! I asked my b.f what he thought of the eau de Issey I had on my wrist the other day and he said ‘spicy’. I think its an adjective that has stuck!
Well, my SO does have a fairly well rounded nose but he does prefer fresh clean smells. Though, sometimes he absolutely suprises me and loves wonderwood by cdg on me, or various patchoulified BPALS. So I think I’m broadening his perfume horizons because before he dated me it was all Axe spray and Tommy Hilfiger. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s just not interesting enough for me.
The perfume he found offensive was Ore by Slumberhouse. The notes are : Guaiac wood, peru balsam, black pepper, cocoa absolute, palmarosa, clary sage. It’s actually supposed to be inspired by Carmex. I think it’s gorgeous, deep, and subtle to me, definitely not old.
I hear you about wearing the SO approved perfumes that you’re not completely crazy about. I tend to use them more as pick me ups or room sprays lately as opposed to skin scents.
Ore! I’m super-excited to try this, and the rest of the Slumberhouse line… I love the smell of Carmex, and have had a sample sitting in my Indiescents cart forever… can you tell me more about it???
Slumberhouse is fantastic! I’m currently sampling Grev, Vikt, Ore and Jeke. Ore was an immediate standout at first sampling. I’m a sucker for cocoa absolute and clary sage and in combination I’m so happy. It doesn’t hit you over the head with sweetness like some gourmands can. I can see how it’s a feminized inspiration of Carmex with less of the medicinal tinge. It’s spicy, and sexy and the woods make it a little meditative. Love it!
I think all four scents are fantastically unisex and great for women who aren’t as much into florals and clean fresh scents. I love well rounded woods, resins, and spices right now so this company is making me so happy.
That sounds right up my alley, as I suspected. It sounds like I need to make an indiescents order… although, do you know if any place in Portland carries the line? I tried to do a little research online, but I couldn’t find out whether they have a storefront…
Heh. Most of the time when I ask my SO how something smells while I’m testing it on my wrist, he disapproves (“too old!” “too much!” “NO”), but then I wear it anyway (meaning I’ll spray, not dab) and he asks what smells so good. I don’t think he can ever make up his mind- unless I’m wearing a lily scent, that is. He HATES them.
I have had the exact same experience! Whenever I get new samples, my boyfriend sits down and lends me skin and we smell a bit of all of them together. He usually says he dislikes 70% of them that way, “too old lady,” “too off-kilter” “too weird.” But whenever I am wearing them later, he says that whatever I am wearing smells “really good.” Including A. Maack’s Craft, which we both found intolerable, initally. Maybe it’s the openings or the testing experience that makes him so skeptical.
This is tough. Scents strike such deep memory chords, and tastes and perception do vary so much. I wouldn’t give it up entirely, but I wouldn’t wear it around him, I guess. I would expect him to be more tactful, though!
I can be pretty tactless myself. Sometimes I tell him he smells like a “generic male” when he wears Axe deodorant. :O
🙂
My husband isn’t wild about any fragrance in any fashion. Every once in a while he’ll make a comment (usually negative) but normally keeps opinions to himself. A few scents he really disliked turned out to be ones I didn’t like either (like Kelly Caleche) so it was OK!
I will admit I quit wearing Oscar as much once I got to grad school… it was pretty much my signature scent in high school and college. In grad school I dated a guy on and off whose grandmother wore Oscar (!!).
I wouldn’t give up a frag you love just because your SO doesn’t like it. Just wear it when he’s not around or apply with a light hand! My hubby gets migraines very easily so we try to compromise. Most of the time I wear what I want, usually on our anniversary or his b-day I’ll wear something he likes, Benefit Maybe Baby, kind of brainless, but a great light floral nonetheless.
Well, when I
Well, when I quit wearing Oscar, I went into a long phase where I just wore lotions. And then I got back into perfume hardcore, but I don’t think I could stick to just one thing anymore! I still wear Oscar sometimes and I want to try the flanker that’s coming out this spring. 🙂
Speaking as someone going through a break up, let me tell you: get rid of the partner before you get rid of the perfume! I had a TDC that my ex hated, and now I wish I’d just kicked her to the curb (sooner) instead of the perfume. The next person I date (provided that my mother is not right and that I am not, in fact, past the best years of my life and bound to die alone) will be informed to keep their trap shut about anything I wear.
OK, first of all, OH MY GOD YOUR MOTHER IS SO WRONG.
And second of all, Hear Hear!
I am all for flexibility with partners who genuinely dislike a particular scent, but how they express that dislike is important. I never want to feel shamed or bullied by anyone who professes to love me. And as we all know too well often an initial reaction of “yuck!” is just code for “what is that weird thing I’ve never smelled before?” If people calm the heck down they often find themselves intrigued, and surprised by their own changing tastes.
Miss Kitty,
I am SO SORRY your mother isn’t supporting you! My last (10+ year) relationship ended 6 months ago, and my mother is STILL talking about how much she loved him, and gee I hope he’s ok, etc., etc. It really sucks to feel like you have to defend your decision to your family. If you need someone to be unabashedly on your side, let me know! 🙂
I think you’re my new best friend. 😉 (And do we have the same mother?? I think they might at least know each other, or have some sort of underground Unsupportive and Misguided Mothers group.)
I think we’re gonna have a chance to meet (with Warum and Dee), but if you want to connect in the mean time, you can email me at marjoriehundtoft (that’s one word) at yahoo dot com. We can commisserate about mothers and the trials of liking perfume (and showers) in Portland! 🙂
Aw Kitty – there’s no way you are past the best years. You live in one of the greatest cities in the country, you got taste, brains, those kickin’ boots, and lots of good attitude. Who knows? Maybe you’ll become involved with another perfume nut!
But I would agree – keep the fragrance! It’s an important part of personal style.
Ann, something tells me there are no other perfume nuts in my future. i live in Portland– I’ll be lucky to find someone who showers! 😉 (And thanks for your kind words. You’re very observant– high heeled boots are my weapon of choice in the war against feeling bad about myself.) 🙂
I went out with a guy for a year who was a real p@#$&. One benefit of continuing a bad relationship is that by the time you do draw the line you sometimes realise that being alone isn’t nearly as bad as you thought it would be. Its actually a hell of a lot more fun than being with the wrong person. In any case, I lost some of the terror I had had of loneliness!
You give me hope, Merlin. 🙂 And you have a really good point.
SOTD Dilemme: Nuit de Tubereuse or SL A La Nuit?
It’s a gorgeous sunny day here in the low 80’s. Indoors doing taxes most of the day, then out tonight for Indian food al fresco (it’s a restaurant in a trailer that serves food under big colorful tents).
What say you dear NST’ers?
My vote is for NdT 🙂
A la Nuit everytime! I admire NdT, but do not really like it. Love A la Nuit.
Taxes dont take a whole day unless you live in the dark ages and still do it on paper. haha. anyway, ill vote for Nuit de Tubereuse also. have some delicious curry for me!
Hey- I still do mine on paper and it takes about 1 hour! But you HAVE to make it look hard. 🙂 I get “paid” with a bottle of fragrance for doing taxes for the lost and intimidated. This year I got Angelique Noire. Not bad for knowing how to fill in the lines!
If you have a business as well as W2s, it is a huuuuuge PITB. (True, for most people it isn’t that bad.)
Thanks for the input! Wearing NdT right now as I need to stay awake in order to do math. If it wears off by tonight, maybe A La Nuit.
@Rictor: I’m a freelancer and very disorganized so “doing my taxes” is mostly about going through all my various expenses and finding the viable deductions. When I was a regular W-2 girl it took me five minutes.
I really should have started taxes today. Or last week. Sigh.
Tell me about it. It takes a very particular mindset, I find. Once I’m in that mindset it’s not so bad, but I don’t seem to be in it very often… 😉
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
The Spring San Francisco Sniff is approaching! If you live in the Bay Area and want to come out to play on Saturday,. May 7th, click on my name here and email me for details.
This is our third semi-annual outing and we are joining forces with a crew that posts mostly on Basenotes, so it should be an even bigger blast than before!
We now return to our regular programming…
SOTD is vintage Bel Ami. Still chilly and rainy here, so it’s perfection.
Do you want me to announce this on Facebook / Twitter so more people will see it?
That would be great!!
Done!
Already got a response! Thanks!
Question for the readers from Europe:
I am looking for small spray/ splash bottles to decant perfume into. Preferably in Europe. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks!
Austenfan, this is a very late reply but just in case you are still checking back, here is my experience. Unfortunately – and surprisingly – there don’t appear to be any companies on the Net seeling small sprayers in Europe. I checked with someone who sells decants in the UK and she gets all hers from outside the EU and recommended Proudstyle to me. I think they are in Hong Kong but delivery is free and the prices are reasonable. You may have better luck with splash bottles though, I’d try aromatherapy/essential oil suppliers. Otherwise ebay is always an option. Hope this is of some help!
Does anybody have any experience with Neil Morris fragrances? I was on his website and some of them sound amazing, but i haven’t heard anyone on NST ever mention them.
I’ve tried a few. Haven’t found the one for me yet, but they were good enough that I plan to keep sampling.
I’ve tried 3: Storm, Zephyr and Mariner. The first 2 didn’t do much for me, but Mariner is definitely worth a sniff. I think Haunani has tried more of them.
I got into him searching on here for a wet cement scent, led to his City Rain. And while that doesn’t exactly hit it for me, his Desert Wind, I think it’s called, and North Woods are great. It took me a min but now I really love a handful of his scents. And as I recall the samples are big and cheap, there’s a sampler set of his staples, and then you can get the others individually.
Dark Earth is great!
Tama — I can’t wait for the Spring SF Sniff-athon. I hope I can make it. It’ll be nice to have reinforcements when visiting Jacqueline Parfumerie. If find the proprietors a little eccentric and wary of perfumistas!
Thea S. How sad you gave up on Le Feu d’Issey. It’s so beautiful! It can still be had on eBay, but it’s not that cheap for a FB. Theorema reminds me of it…
Rictor07: I got a decant of Midnight Vault from Neil Morris. Found it a bit too sweet for my tastes, but it might be worth a revisit…
Finally, my question: has anyone smelled the old Alyssa Ashley Civet or Musk oils/perfumes from the 70s? I have Ambergris, but Civet seems esp. impossible to find. It might not even be worth it, but I’ve been searching for a while. Also: Estee Lauder’s Celadon. Anyone ever sniffed it? Thanks!
I hope you can come, too! Liz and I are going tomorrow if they are open to warn them.
I’ve never smelled Celadon, but have been outbid for it several times on ebay. 🙁 Just the name of it has me sold.
I luckily did locate another bottle of Le Feu on ebay! I had a decant of Etra by Etro to tide me over. To my nose they are closely related. In warmer weather I like Etra far better. It’s a tad lighter and sunnier than Le Feu. I’ll have to try Theorama as well! Thanks!
SOTD is Spiritueuse Double Vanille, which I haven’t worn in awhile and smells so good.
Most recent purchase is POTL Luctor et Emergo parfum, used from a friend. I’ve loved it for a long time, so it’s nice to finally add it to my collection.
I’m also awaiting a small bottle of DSH Cimabue, which I’ve also wanted for a long time — along with some unsniffed DSH minis: L’Eau d’Iris and D’Anjou (a pear scent). She’s having a big sale, by the way, to prepare for her new website launch.
Good to know! I’ve been meaning to get some Cimabue.
I’ve never owned a real bottle of POTL, just decants. I’d love to have that cool lab bottle.
Let me know how the L’eau d’Iris is, would you please? I was horribly disappointed in that Iris Ooki thing (CELERYCELERYCELERY).
SOTD is Une Folie de Rose; I’m working my way through the sample set from Les Parfums de Rosine. A great bargain – 2ml vials of twenty different scents! Folie de Rose is quite attractive in the current grey, rainy weather.
I’m trying to do the same – such a wonderful sample set! I think I’ve liked Rose Kashmirie the best so far. It’s interesting how different these rose-focused scents can be.
I haven’t adored all of the Rosine scents I’ve tried, but I’ve thought all of them well-done and pleasant. I haven’t tried Folie yet!
Does anyone know if Italian fragrances such as 10 Corso Como and those by Profumum are less expensive in Italy than they are in the USA?
It probably depends on the strength of the Euro on any given day. Also keep in mind that VAT can be 19-20% in some EU countries. You can find daily exchange rates on line…the Euro was weakening due to debt issues in Portugal.
Thank you for the reply. I’m going to Italy this summer, and I’ve heard that some Italian niche brands are much cheaper there than they are in the USA. I’m not sure if that is true and whether Profumum and 10 Corso Como are among them, however. I dare say that the strength of the Euro, and variation between vendors, would lead to prices difference even in Italy though.
Well, if you’re buying in Italy, you should get the VAT back. Although, I was in the UK the summer before last, and STILL have not received my VAT money! I don’t actually know if the basic price is cheaper there, though.
Un Jardin en Mediterranee on this lovely autumn day. I love its rich, dark greenery. A compost-y note, which I disliked at first, is becoming its most fascinating aspect.
I have a mini of Nil on the way, and am looking forward to the roof-top one (although it may be out of season for me).
I have minis of both of those… and my inability to choose between the two was what led me to NST. 🙂
my cousin gave me a bottle of fragrance her husband didn’t like. Penhaglions! Douro Eau de Portugal is the name Smells perfect for summer so I’m very perfume-happy. Who doesn’t love free stuff, right?
Especially a nice Penhaligons! Congratulations, Morgan!
Scent of the moment? Lolita Lempicka’s ‘L’. It comes in a coral coloured box, so i dont know if its the same that comes in the aqua coloured one. The bottle is shaped like a pebble with a net-like configuration on top. The whole thing is a kind of amber with a sort of blueish shade to it. I have liked it for a loooong time but not wanted to buy a full bottle. Today I walked past a perfume store that was selling testers and I managed to find a 50ml bottle that was a little less than half full. Got it for R180 and absolutely loving it!
I like all the Lolita Lempicka scents, esp. L and the original. I scored a large bottle for $15 on clearance a few weeks ago along with a huge bottle of clearance Shalimar cologne for $40! Love it when I find those bargins!
$15? thats a score! Its much easier to enjoy the stuff when you don’t feel like you have paid an arm and a leg for it. But I am liking it so much I’m wondering whether the 25 or so mls is enough!
That sounds like it could be Lempicka Fleur de Corail… maybe do some searching online to see if you can find a match.
If the heart/pebble bottle is frosted blue then it is Fleur de Corail, the clear blue with the little netting is L. I have both but remember the boxes being a bit of a disconnect.
Its not frosted, and I think its supposed to be ‘L’.
The coral coloured is L, the aqua is Fleur de Coral. I had two bottles of L. The first one turned after only one and a half year, the next one within one year (both stored dark).
Oh no! Note to self: Wear L more! I actually like it best in the summer. I got my 30 ml bottle for only $17.
I love L in the summer too! It blooms beautifully. Just bought a backup bottle for 23$. Not quite as good of a deal, but enough to make me jump at it.
Also: my L also ‘turned’ after one year. However, I think it became better-richer, sweeter, deeper. I have tested it alongside my new ‘backup’ bottle and I prefer it by far. Hopefully the new bottle will age as well…
In that case I am not going to purchase another tester. I’ll wait til I’m out on this one and then think of a FB. I can get it here at a discounter for about $60 for 100ml. I think thats the only way it comes.
Question as a newbie here – can anyone think of a fragrance that smells like turkish delight? (Not the chocolate covered stuff, the original stuff) Just something I thought I’d like to try, a scent that hasn’t cropped up much in what I’ve seen/sniffed so far…
L’Artisan Traversee du Bosphore.
Turkish delight is central to L’AP Traversee du Bosphore. Of course, being a Duchaufour composition, there’s more to it than that, including leather. It’s very special – really worth sniffing!
How about SL Rahat Loukoum? I haven’t tried it so just judging by the name alone…
Makes two for SL.
(a little tangent)
Heh. . .I went on a cooking spree several Christmases ago and made these rediculous gift boxes of treats for loved ones. I made fudge, brandy-cured fruit cakes, honey-cakes, cookies, and old-fashioned, true TURKISH DELIGHTS! I cut them and rolled them in sugar.
Unfortunately, I don’t think I cooked it *quite* long enough, because within a day of cutting, I ended up with baggies of what I affectionately called “orange slugs!” They were soft and squishy and vaguely slimy. As far as I know, all recipiants ate them anyway! 😛
Good story!!
Thanks for the laugh.
Candy is tricky stuff. We make caramels every year, and if you don’t hit *just* the right temp, it’s either too gooey to cut, or too hard to chew. At least if they’re too hard, the microwave softens them up.
Also Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum (there are also a couple of flankers) and Ava Luxe Loukhoum.
SL Rahat Loukhoum is a yummy scent, but to me it is much more like very sweet almond marzipan than true Turkish delight.
Serge Lutens Loukhoum and Keiko Meicheri Loukhoum also smell like turkish delight. Lutens Louve has a cherry/almond candy note.
Wow, thank you all!! 🙂 Great list there. Will have to see what I am able to get my hands on. Thank you!!!!
Wore Cuir de Russie today to arm myself against the chill. So lovely.
Very nice! I ended up wearing L’Artisan Tea for Two. It was cold here, too. We had a brief glimpse of spring, then it got cold again and it’s been trying to snow for the last two days, blech!
I wore vintage (’92) Coco Chanel edp to the opera today (Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame), very rich, dark story and music and the perfume was a perfect match with its rich, spicy, woodsy floral oriental. Managed to pop my head into Aedes for the first time ever. I’ve been to the village so many times and can’t believe I never knew where it was. Sadly I could only spend 10 min before I had to catch the subway to the opera house. Can’t wait for another excuse to go back and spend more time.
Does anyone know how the Coco of today compares with the older, original version? I have the edp.
you always remind me how i love operas and should go to the opera : ) please comment more often : )
Thanks, AMI! I usually don’t discuss opera too much for obvious reasons, but when I the right opportunity presents itself for me to make the association, I do. Feel free to contact me if you ever have any questions or just want to “talk opera.”
I’m mollyseb over at hotmail. 🙂
Good choice on the Coco! I have a small stash of Coco’s horded away because I want the slightly older stuff. (I do have a VERY early bottle of Coco parfum that has aged a bit and smells more like Cinnabar at the top but then dries down OK.) I am grumbling to admit that there is a very minimal difference between what is currently offered in the edp and the edt, as much as I’d like to be a snob about it and say the current is trash. It is not. You can smell the difference but it is not that significant. I say go to the local department store and give yourself a good squirt from the tester display. You most likely won’t notice a significant difference. I have not opinion about the parfum though – I’ve not tested the current parfum. I only wish they’d bring the bar soap back….
Thanks, Ann. I do recall that you’re a Coco fan. It’s good to know that they haven’t corrupted it too much and I will give it a try the next time I’m near a Chanel counter.
Coco is the first fragrance I ever fell in love with, long before I started working in perfume (or even buying it, to be honest – I was back in high school and household budget didn’t stretch to Chanel). I haven’t actually tried one of the older bottles myself, but I have one that’s about 2-3 years old now and I can tell you that it’s absolutely freakin’ gorgeous. I’m not sure if that helps at all… I just love how it’s not too heavy but it’s not all light and airy either – perfect for cool, overcast days when I have to wear a scarf. My little bottle is mostly saved for special occasions, though every so often in winter when I’m having a blah day I’ll put it on to perk myself up. Still love it as much as I did when I first sprayed… 🙂
Oh, duh, forgot to add that it is the EDP – don’t believe I’ve tried the EDT, though I find on my skin the difference between them in Chanel’s range is minimal.
Thanks for your input, Sheree! It’s very reassuring.
Am I crazy or what?
I’ve fallen in love with DSH Michelangeo. Just totally smitten.
Notes are:
Bergamot, clary sage, laurel leaf, lemon, oregano, pine needle, labdanum, Moroccan rose absolute, olibanum, palma rosa, Peru balsam, spice notes ambergris, Atlas cedarwood, Brazilian vVetiver, brown oakmoss, Himalayan cedar, myrrh gum, tobacco absolute.
Most of the comments I read say ‘this is really a masculine scent.’ (Makeup Alley reviews say “quite masculine” and “decidedly masculine.”) I usually ignore gender guidelines, but in this case, I kind of think it’s true, but I still love the stuff!
A masculine scent I did recently give up on–am passing along to my brother to see if he’ll like it: Penhaligon’s Sartorial. I adore it, but just can’t carry it off. If I ever acquire a new husband (doubtful, but who knows?), I’m going to douse him in it. 😉
I had not heard of that one, will have to put it on my “try” list!
SOTE was AG Ninfeo Mio. I had been saving this sample for spring, as it seemed like it would be a good spring/summer scent, and I am really liking it quite well. I had taken vacation this week to get going on my spring gardening, and wearing this makes me feel as if I were still outdoors in my garden; it’s all leafy, green, citrusy, herbal, with a wonderful hint of earthiness. One small problem, though–this may move to my FB wish list, but I can’t seem to find any source for the 50 ml bottles. Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman–they all only carry it in 100 ml. Lucky Scent is supposed to stock it in 50 ml, but indicate they are sold out. They seem to be sold out of all of their AGs, in fact. Does anyone know where I can get a 50 ml bottle? I really hate to buy 100 ml of anything anymore.
I’m not sure they are distributing 50 ml bottles anymore in the US or at all? One way to check is to go directly to the AG website. You can review the entire line. You can also do this by country/continent. It might indicate if they are still making smaller bottles for European distribution, etc. Sometimes the smaller bottles trickle across the Atlantic. I think occassionally 30 ml bottles show up on ebay….
I just checked the AG website, and it does look as if they are only making 100 ml bottles, which makes no sense to me. I may just have to track down a decant or something. Fortunately, AG is one brand with which I really don’t care too much about the actual bottle. What irks me is that I am certain I found 50 ml bottles available just a few months ago, but I hadn’t tested it enough, as I thought it smelled more like a spring/summer scent than a fall/winter one. What I would really love is a pick-your-own-perfumes coffret. Let’s say, three 20 or 30 ml bottles, and you choose any three scents you want.
Today’s perfumes expeditions: first I went to the unclaimed baggage store in Scottsboro,Al to see what they might have. To put it mildly, I did not enjoy the trip. It involved a mountain (by Tennessee standards). I really don’t like mountain highways. My phobia involves mountainsides, New Mexico, and complete brake and engine failure. But I had to check the place out. When I went to the fragrance counter my eyes immediately saw the shape of a Bond bottle. Score! I tried it, and the clerk was almost apologetic that it was $75. Hah! I know what a steal that is. If I had actually liked it. I didn’t. The bottle was black, and I don’t even remember the name, it was so meh. Trip was a complete bust, so I went to the mall and bought a bottle of Alien to soothe my nerves. I also blew my diet so badly that Weight Watchers couldn’t tabulate the damage. What can I say? My day involved perfumista disappointment, spilled soda, bad driving, and hideous roads (for a stupid phobic like myself).
I’ll have to sleep wearing Alien, have a glass of wine, and sit by the fireplace to recuperate.
get better soon!
You had quite an adventure! Congrats on your new bottle of Alien 😉
I rather like Alien, and particularly to sleep in (it’s a bit sweet for my personal taste, for daytime wear anyway), so the day wasn’t entirely a bust…
Diet tomorrow. You’re going for “healthy,” not “perfect dieter,” remember? Don’t worry!
Actually, I’m going for “two piece bathing suit in 2012 or bust!”
I celebrated my birthday this weekend and was delighted to receive a bottle of Hermes Un Jardin Sur le Nil from my husband. He picked it out all by himself! It’s so nice being married to someone with a good nose!
Happy birthday! I wish my hubby could pick out scents for me, he doesn’t buy me anything unless I tell him specifically what I want and where to find it. lol But then, I’m kind of a control freak, too.
I’m on the constant lookout for something light and fresh for summer, I have the hardest time finding summer scents. I currently like Light Blue, Bronze Goddess, Guerlain AA Laurier-Reglisse, Kenzo Magnolia, Chance Eau Fraiche… is there anything else in this vein I should try?
If you like Light Blue, maybe Davidoff Cool Water Woman is something. Jil Sander Eau de Soleil is very nice. The new DKNY woman edt is also very fresh.
perfect for summer, hermes pamplemousse rose. light, fresh, absolutely gorgeous.
I’d recommend Guerlain’s Herba Fresca, but I suspect you’ve already tried it; most people seem to know it quite well.
Summer scents are my favorites and we seem to have pretty similar tastes – fresh florals and suntan lotion! These aren’t exactly the same, but here is my summer lineup: L’Artisan The Pour un Ete, AG Ninfeo Mio & Chevrefeuille, Ineke Balmy Days and Sundays, Creed Virgin Island Water, AA Herba Fresca and Mandarine Basilic, Hermes Jardin Sur le Nil, Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom & Honey and White Jasmine & Mint, Jennifer Lopez Deseo, and Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar. A lot of these are reviewed here on NST – hope these are helpful!
Oh, wow, just found the Ineke sample packs, they’re so pretty! WANT!
They are! The presentation is superb.
They are lovely! I got one, but Balmy Days was they only one I really liked. They are all well done though. I’d be more than happy to send you samples of Herba Fresca, Mandarine Basilic, The Pour un Ete, Chevrefeuille and Deseo if they sound interesting to you..
and you can contact me at jasouza9 AT hotmail dot com if you are interested in any of those.
Sounds like a case for Monday Mail! 😉
I quite like the Island by Michael Kors – a little tough on the pocket, but definitely worth it. I also decided to give the Acqua Di Gioa a second chance the other day (really didn’t like it at first at all), and I found it settled in a quite similar way, on my skin at least. (Don’t think the official notes are the same though – but either way, I think they’re both lovely and light)
Am testing borneo again today and still cant make up my mind about it. This is the second sample i have gone through and im getting a weird form of sniffers block where im still not sure what to think or if the scent is me. My local serge supplier withdrawing some stuff and soon will only offer twenty scents and this patch fest will go too so i want to make up my mind soon because i dont like ordering online.
I tested Borneo in 2008 with PG Coze and Chanel Coromandel. Coze was the one I picked. But I keep thinking I should at least get a large decant of Borneo. I did really liked it, too.
Noz, thanks for making it through my run-on sentences 🙂
Borneo is nice, I’ve concluded, but not nice enough for me to warrant a FB. I wish the dry cocoa note was more prominent over the patch…
Can I ask a question about asking questions?
If we ask a question here, do we have to keep checking back to see if someone’s answered it, or is there a ‘Notify me when someone responds’ button that I’m just failing to find?
I am very sorry to say there’s no notify button. WordPress has at various times had different apps that do email notifications, but they’ve all got various problems so I don’t use them. If you use an RSS reader, you can subscribe to the comments for a given article, but on an open poll that would probably be more annoying than just going back in to check manually. On articles that are only going to get a limited response, it works really well.
Fair enough 🙂
At least I can tell myself I wasn’t being entirely techno-dim-witted for not being able to find the button.
Hi Pers-if you ever want to quickly check if anyone has replied to you when you return to the website (instead of scrolling down trying to find the thread) press crtl + f and then type your name, ‘pers’, to locate your comments. Sorry if this seems like a patronizing no-brainer, I only recently figured it out myself.
Pers, this is a question I have had forever, but never got around to asking! Megan, tks, you have probably saved me hours of scanning!
Unfortunately this doesn’t work for me – could be that i am on a mac?
Merlin – Command+F is our Mac version of Ctrl+F (or “Clover”+F if you prefer – don’t know how to do the symbol). 🙂 Good to see a fellow Mac user.
Wearing Bill Blass Nude today. It is 81 F in South Florida now.
For almost a year (since Angela’s review) I’ve been trying to decide if I like it or not 🙂
Nude was my first aldehyde and I’m afraid my initial impression was “Egad!” (an official category on my spreadsheet). I haven’t ditched the sample, though, suspecting I’ll be less offended with more exposure! 🙂 (I just tired Chanel BdI and after the aldehydes had an “oh, I see why people like this” response.)
I usually love aldehydes, but I didn’t get on with Nude. I think there’s a raspy, baby-aspirin note in there that derails it for me. I have a coworker who wears it, and it’s terrific on her, but just not my sort of thing.
SOTD is RL Romance, but just received some new perfume samples of SL and Jo Malone that I am anxious to try. I am looking for a light summer floral if anyone has suggestions. Thanks.
If you’re interested, you might want to apply for the Monday Mail:
https://nstperfume.com/the-monday-mail/
Howdy everyone! I have a question if anyone can comment. I just tested the Piguet Douglas Hannant, whcih I think is pretty good tuberose floral. I think my mind is playing tricks on me though – I keep getting flashbacks when I test it. It makes me think of the original version of Oscar de la Renta. Anyone else have this experience?
I’m pretty sure the Oscar was tuberosey, so you’re probably not far off. Couldn’t tell you any of the other notes, though.
I just tested it today and it mostly reminded me of Fracas. There was something that happened midway that was Not Good.
I’m glad I’m not alone in my lack of being impressed by it. It did something weird somewhere along the line on me, too. I think mostly I just don’t understand why they felt the need to do Fracas the Second. I’ve otherwise loved the Piguets, but was disappointed with this one.
After I reviewed it, I started thinking about fun Fracas flankers. I do think it could be done. This one was just too wimpy/clean.
Roses and Carnations!
I splurged on a big bouquet of flowers yesterday, peachy-orange spray roses with purple, pink, and white carnations. It’s bright, cheery, lovely, *and totally scentless*! Makes me sad they’ve chosen beauty and hardiness as the most selective qualities. . .they make me smile anyway on this cold and drippy Sunday. 🙂
Wow, not even the carnations had any scent? That would be a disappointment. As for the roses, that is what you have to expect. Most, if not all, florist’s roses are scentless or nearly so. They are generally hybrid teas (HTs to a rosarian), and they are great in a vase but not so good in the garden. The bushes are not attractive in form and they are fussy to grow. The roses for the florist trade have been bred for bloom form, color, and vase life. They have to have a long enough vase life to make it from the fields or greenhouses where they are grown, to the florist’s shop, to your home, and still last a reasonable additional time in your home. Scent does not factor into it. Scent in roses is a funny thing; it is apparently a regressive trait, but the transmission of it is not well understood. If you want scented roses, look for those that are lavender/purple/lilac/orchid/whatever-you-call-it in color. The rose industry refers to this color range as “mauve”, and nearly all mauve roses are strongly scented. Probably the majority of red roses are not, despite common perceptions. I have over 50 roses in my garden, and I choose them for (1) ease of care, as I live in a hot, humid climate with a lot of bugs and fungus to cause problems, and (2) fragrance. I don’t give a darn about vase life or bloom form. Most of my roses are antique varieties, which are easy to grow, and most of them smell good. I think I have only 6 hybrid teas left, and one or two of those are probably not going to make it through the season. Right now, my backyard smells glorious, with a mixture of rosemary, Meyer lemon blossoms, and Zephirine Drouhin roses.
Sorry to go on and on so long, but aside from perfume, roses are one of my very favorite subjects.
Hey, no appolgies necessary! Thanks for the info! I *DO* live in Portland, “City of Roses,” and am a regular visitor to the International Rose Test Garden in mid-summer when we are lucky enough to have many blooms to sniff! I will start to pay attention to color and fragrance! It never occurred to me that the two were so closely related!
On a related note: the most lovely smelling roses I ever sniffed were a brambly, stickery bush of very small pink spray-style roses that grew ina drainage ditch near my home as a kid! I grew some in the yard from cuttings as a teen, but my dad ripped them out a few years later since they were such unpleasantly barbed things! It seems the world of garden plants is a world of pluses and minuses and compromises!
Hmmm, I don’t what what variety that would be, although it was probably either a wild species or an antique that had naturalized itself. There are probably more varieties of pink roses than all other colors put together, and pink is by far the most common color for both wild and antique varieties. Also, most of the easiest-care, disease-resistant, tough varieties are pink. Yellow roses, OTOH, are nearly always highly susceptible to black spot.
Zephirine Drouhin, which I mentioned above, has medium-sized blooms of really intense, vivid pink, in small clusters, smells wonderful, and is absolutely thornless. It is considered a climber, with the canes growing to 6 to 12 feet in length, although you could prune it back some and treat it as a large shrub. Mine is planted against my patio fence. It is susceptible to blackspot, but I have reasonably good luck using a copper-based fungicide (it is classified as acceptable for organic gardening). The blooms are so lovely, fragrant, and abundant, though, that I readily forgive ZD for this one fault. If you have the space, you might want to give this one a try.
Re: color and fragrance. Except for the mauve roses being fragrant, there is not necessarily a strong correlation between the two. I believe most apricot-colored roses are fragrant also, but with other colors–pink, white, red, yellow, russet, multi–it can go either way, although I believe red is one of the colors least likely to be intensely scented. I would be curious to know if anyone has calculated the percentages of fragrant types within each color class. There are some fragrant reds–Chrysler Imperial is a very popular, fragrant, red HT, and it is one of the few HTs I have in my garden. It is not really the rich, velvety sort of ruby red, though, it is more of a pinkish red, but it smells wonderful.
Hey, I see you *do* live in Portland! Shoot me an email if you ever want to get together to go shopping! 🙂 (glitterdivine at gmail dot com)
Hey 50! Don’t know if you’ll see this, but I’m doing a rose/scent event and the Antique Rose Emporium next weekend, Sunday April 3. The owner is going to cut 100 varieties of different scented roses and set them up in the wedding chapel. I’ll be helping to put them into categories and tour people around, talk about how to describe smell and stuff. Should be going most of the afternoon–I think the info is up on their website. Would love to meet you if you feel like making the drive–somehow I thought you were near there, but I could be wrong…
I live about a 2-hour drive away, and I do try to make it up to the ARE every spring. I would love to come, but Sunday is no-go for me. The first Sunday of the month is communion Sunday for us (we are Methodist) and I provide the music during communion, so I need to be in church that morning. That afternoon, there is another event in Houston that my husband wants to attend, and I already said I would go with him. Trust me, if it were Saturday or even a different Sunday, I would be all over it.
What time is the rose event? Just in case my sunday involves a drive…
We’ll be going 1-4. I’m not sure it will be worth driving two hours for the event, which will be very casual, but the gardens themselves are always worth it, and the highways should be coming into their wildflowers.
Next year I’m hoping it will be an all day kind of thing, with food and wine and such, but that’s still very much in the dream stage of planning!
I usually have good luck with those big classic white carnations being nicely scented (not the small ones that come several blooms to a stem – “spray”). But only the white ones. A friend grows them in his garden, and they’re short but delicious-smelling.
OK, just for something interesting about the fragrance biz in general. Elizabeth Taylor’s frags White Diamonds, Passion and Passion for Men make 69 million in sales last year alone. I had no idea that her scents where that popular! Here’s a link:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-sheet/item/liz-taylors-fragrances-a-windfall-for-estate/life-after-death/#
Apparently she made a huge chunk of her fortune (in the multi multi millions) from the White Diamonds sales over the years. It wouldn’t surprise me – I sell a sh*t-tonne of it at work, particularly to the, shall we say, more mature demographic. Passion (for both men and women) is another one that we get requests for ALL THE TIME, but find it very difficult to get our hands on (we suffer the curse of suppliers thinking product won’t sell well in regional centers, saving it all for the metropolis so we get donut). Anyway, point was, Elizabeth Taylor was doing celebrity fragrances and multiple divorces before they were cool 🙂
Hello!
You are my point of reference everytime I want to check out the latest perfume or if I want to get a new one.
There is one I wanted to read about but I learned you don’t have a review of that smell.
Very Sexy by Victoria’s Secret. I looked under Victoria’s Secret and you only have 1 entry.
Would it be too much to ask if you can write one for us?
Thank you and you take care!
Carla
Hi, Carla! I can’t speak for Robin, of course. But in case you were interested in reading other reviews while waiting for hers, this site is a great resource for them.
Go to the search box and type in what you’re looking for. Then you can select “perfume blogs” or “fragrance forums” to narrow down the results. That might be helpful for you, particularly if you’re in a hurry to read about a certain scent. Good luck!
Carla, we aren’t boycotting them, it’s just that they don’t generally give out samples…I’m not willing to buy them to review them!
On a whim, I decided to try a SL Rahät Loukoum wax sample today. The fragrance has been mentioned several times in comments over the last couple days so I tested it without knowing anything about it, then looked it up in NST Perfume Reviews. As a newbie, I was so happy to find that I am indeed developing a better sense of smell since I immediately smelled the cherry, almond and a bit of vanilla. Since I was expecting something spicy and Marrakesh-ish, I thought surely I was way off. I guess not. Hooray!
I am wondering if anyone else has found that the Different Company fragrances don’t last very long on them? I’m going to try putting a heavy, non-scented lotion on first – as suggested in the post about layering. Hope this will help.
I have had the same experience with The Different Company. I have tried three TDC fragrances so far–Osmanthus, Bois d’Iris, and Un Parfum des Sens et Bois–and found all three of them to be fleeting on my skin. I do have perfume-eating skin, but still I can usually get at least 2 to 3 hours from a quality perfume. None of the TDCs lasted more than about 30 minutes on me. A shame, really, because they were all nice while they lasted.
I have perfume-eating skin (lol) so I very rarely apply to skin and spray on fabric most of the time.
I have TDC Bois d’Iris and while it’s quite light it’s not particularly fleeting and I find that it last fairly well on fabric.
You’re right, HW. I love Osmanthus, and I spray it on fabric to make it last.
During my Alien expedition, I learned something that was new (at least to me). On a whim I asked the SA at the Chanel counter if #22 had been discontinued. I know that it’s now in the LE collection, but I was just checking. She did say that was the case, but also went diving behind the counter to check. Apparently they DID carry it at Christmas, and she thought they had a few bottles left. They didn’t, but it’s not inconceivable that it might be available at other counters. They had 19 squirreled away, but I already have a full bottle.
In the off chance anyone is still looking at this thread…
Does anyone know where I can find the chart that refers to fragrance categories as number / alphabet codes?
Do you mean this:
https://nstperfume.com/2005/12/01/perfume-books-classification-des-parfums-et-terminologie/
I have the book, and it does use letters & numbers. Spicy citrus, for instance, is A2. Have not seen the system displayed as a chart though.
Oh my garsh, Robin, thank you so much! I’ve been looking hours everywhere for this, on NST too, but just couldn’t find it. Many thanks! 🙂
No problem!
Well I am a bit late for this poll… but obviously I got something to say too!! I have been back to swapping on MUA recently and I just got most of my packages yesterday. First of all I got 3 full bottles of Jo Malones but also I have swapped away my partial bottles of L’Artisan for some… Bond no.9 sample and purse spray bon-bons! The candy-wrapped bon-bons that I’ve already smelled in the past before, I was going to save still wrapped for my collection. But of course I couldn’t keep that away from my dear fiance:)
When he saw the candy-wrapped bon-bons he was like what’s this? Ohhhh can we open them!! He’s such a baby boy sometimes, we were going to dab only the ones I already had opened before and unwrap only the still-wrapped musculine ones to see if he likes any of them. Well the baby boy that he is, he couldn’t resist all of them and uwrapped every single bon-bon I had. I was like why are you unwrapping my Nuits de Noho, I told you here I have a sample of Nuits de Noho that I’ve had unwrapped from before. But when I saw that badass baby-boy smile (haha) I couldn’t resist seeing his smile and just let him do the thing. He ended up having more fun with the 20+ bon-bons, unwrapping them, dabbing them, testing each one of them carefuly than I, a perfumista, had!! He looked like a 5-year old opening his christmas presents or something. He also put in his pocket and kept all the musculine ones (of course) so the heck with my collection of Bond no.9 candies:))