Same old open thread: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the last perfume that made you laugh, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: image is j'préfère les coquelicots... [cropped] by Biscarotte at flickr; some rights reserved.
Today I am wearing M. Micallef’s Note Vanillee. It’s Friday and I’m starting to feel a sexy weekend coming on!!
Yowza. Hope it’s fun!
I love Note Vanillee!
mmmm…one of the very best vanilla’s evah!! You smell fantastic…I completely support “sexy weekends”…..unfortunately , regardless of scent choice, I’m more likely to have “lawncare weekend” …as usual.
Poor Daisy.
sigh…..
Yes, Note Vanillee is absolutely dee-licious!!
My sample of Vitriol d’Oeillet finally arrived yesterday so that’s what I’m wearing today!
SQUEEEEEE! How is it??
I’m chomping at the bit —the bottles for my split are in transit to me right now…and even though I know they aren’t scheduled to arrive until 8/1….I cannot help but keep looking out the window if I think I hear a truck!!!
Isn’t it hell waiting for things to arrive in the post?
Anyway, keep in mind that I when it comes to the vast majority of SLs, I like them but don’t necessarily love them and this was no exception. Also, I have no experience with other carnation perfumes so I don’t have anything to compare it with. The opening is quite spicy (pepper and cloves, vaguely like Noir Epices) but it turns more floral with a tiny bit of something like soapiness as it develops. It’s not loud, or aggressive, or overpowering or cloying but rather well-balanced and quite dry. A little bit old fashioned (in the best possible way, i.e. it smells like something from a different era rather than dated) and definitely unisex. Overall, a thumbs up – I don’t adore it but it’s enjoyable. I’m also curious to see how it performs in colder months.
I can’t wait to try this one. Thanks for the preview! I like the sound of it, from your description. Glad it’s not too sweet.
SOTD: Bond No. 9 Fire Island
Random question: Has this ever happened to anyone? I was taking a newly acquired scent for a test run. The outcome of the spritz was unbearable; I could not stand this particular fragrance on my being (someone else wearing it and simply passing by, maybe not so bad). The only remedy was a shower, so in I went. How is it that after a good long hot shower with some unscented Whole Foods soap, this stuff turned glorious? After the shower, I found myself saying, “What is that smell?” Until I realized it was me. It’s like I love a ‘ghost’ of the scent and not the scent itself! Very strange.
Yes…some tenacious base note sticks to the skin, and that part, I like — happens all the time.
You’re right, Robin. Must be some sort of musk(s). Tenacious is an appropriate word. Now, if they’d only bottle the base notes, I’d be all set. Skip the previews and gimme the good stuff!
Have you tried the 2 Escentric Molecules — the one that is Iso E Super & the one that is Ambroxan? (asking because it might well be one of those…for me, it’s often a lightly decorated iso e super)
No I haven’t. I’ve seen the bottles on the counter at Aedes but never picked ’em up. Next time I’m in the neighborhood, I’ll try them both. Thanks for the recommendation!
I haven’t quite had that happen to me, but I do find that what’s left on the skin 8 hours after applying something is often really pleasant.
Now: tell us the name of this scent that required an immediate Silkwood shower!?
Silkwood shower!! hahaha
I want to know, too. Don’t you know the rule here is to always spill the beans, good or bad?
This has happened to me, not only “on” me but on scent strips. 24 hours later the, “pew!” turns to “yum!” Can’t explain it really though Robin did a good job below.
Yeah, it happens to me frequently, not exactly the way it does to you. I like too much residual smelling. Some that fascinates me: Burberry Touch for Men, Aromatics Elixir, Mania for Men, Soir de Lune, Eau du Soir, Fleur du Corail… One interesting fact that I’ve said here before : When I tasted Prada Infusion de Tuberèuse and I went to a shower, while taking it the smell of the perfume remembered me too much of Prada Infusion D’Iris. The heart notes are really the distinguishing notes.
I saw LL Si Lolita and BS Circus Fantasy today at TJ Maxx for $10 each 1 oz – so I bought them both and have one on each wrist.
Si Lolita is a light peppery floral with soft powder and the bottle is adorable! This is great, I would go back and buy more but it was the last bottle.
Circus Fantasy is a nice citrus with some vanilla, fading fast and reminds me of a body spray. It will probably get thrown in my diaper bag as a “just in case” but it works well in this hot weather.
Awesome little finds, RuthW. The only thing I ever see in the TJ Maxx here are gift sets of Paul Sebastian Design and stuff from Liz Claiborne. But I keep trying!
Ditto. It’s really rare that I see anything good.
I rarely find good stuff this cheap! There were lots of 1 oz boxes of Circus at both TJ Maxx and Marshalls (I hit both) for $10, maybe they are clearing out?
I’m late to the party but just wanted to add that I found 3 boxes of Womanity at my TJ Maxx a couple weeks ago. And today, I saw Burberry and Burberry weekend — not too bad for $14.99.
Lucky you! There’s never anything less than $14.99 at my Marshalls or TJ Maxx!
ours has only an unending supply of all things Paris Hilton…eww. oh and Juicy Couture….
Every time someone here or on MUA mentions their fabulous TJMaxx/Marshalls finds, I sigh with envy. The nearest TJMaxx is 20 miles from my house and generally has 3/4 full bottles in ripped boxes and the bottles tend to be celeb-scents – or celeb wannabe scents.
I’m wearing one of my favorites today – Mythique. Love it. Never would have found it if I hadn’t seen it reviewed here. Thank you!
Last night I tried a sample of Lipstick Rose that I’d recently ordered from Aedes, and that definitely made me laugh. I might actually have to buy a bottle because it just makes me that happy. Oh, but Carnal Flower, it’s love.
And, now I will admit that I indulged in another bottle this summer. Was loving Bronze Goddess as a fun summery fragrance, but couldn’t resist a bottle of Hanae Mori Butterfly. Definitely a guilty pleasure. Beautiful perfume and yet slightly trashy (in a good way) and fun too!
Anyone else have a favorite perfume guilty pleasure?
I most definitely do.
Kiehl’s musk oil and the original Stetson for Men. Cheap, cheerful and they smell great!
I love Stetson for men!! It’s wonderful!
Wearing one of mine today – Ed Hardy Love & Luck. It’s really sweet, but it makes me smile!
Then it’s doing exactly what it should do! Perfumes don’t always need to be difficult, hard to read or cerebral. Sometimes we just want to smile.
Viva la juicy… I AM A TERRIBLE PERFUMISTA :'(
No, no, you’re fine. I wore Jennifer Aniston’s scemnt yesterday. If what we like happens to also be “commerical” – what’s the problem (other than not having to wait for the post office to deliver our decants and samples? 🙂
I have been curious to try that one, it sounds very wearable.
🙂 Have kept meaning to say hello to you as we share a name! Although mine’s really Megan – with a long e, just to be difficult. My mother claims that’s the original Celtic pronunciation, but I’m skeptical.
I’ve been meaing to as well! Mine’s really: Meaghan (apparently welsh?! Also skeptical…). I think they would be pronounced the same?? Honestly, I am sort of confused about how mine it supposed to be pronounced.
Hi yourself! I *think* your Mom’s right though the Celtic languiage is very, very scrambled in terms of pronunication! As for my name – I’ve borrowed my cat’s, actually, but she doesn’t seem to mind 🙂
Haha, mine is Viva la Juicy too. And it’s also my SOTD!!! Actually, I think being honest about scents you love in any category makes you a real perfuminsta!
My guilty pleasures are Peace, Love & Juicy and Coty’s Vanilla Fields, 50 ml., 6 bucks at Walgreens and the sales clerk threw in a free cosmetic bag.
I like Vanilla Fields! Sand and Sable is pretty good, too – I got a small bottle for $6.
how did I forget about Vanilla Fields? simple but very nice–it makes me smile too. 🙂
For me, all perfume is a guilty pleasure 🙂 I do adore Bronze Goddess – I know the perception is that it’s a “throwaway” scent (Luca Turin didn’t even review it) , but I think it’s quite good.
I’m a Bronze Goddess fan too. I have quite a few guilty pleasure perfumes. I also have a bottle of Vanilla Fields as well as Love’s Baby Soft. It kills me when I wear them and get compliments and yet when i wear the stuff that breaks the budget no one notices. I think I buy the guilty pleasure ones when I’m in a ‘I’m not going to buy any fragrance for a while’ mode because if they are inexpensive I somehow justify it in my mind that it’s not really a serious fragrance purchase. Silly reasoning, I know.
Ahhh the same thing happens to me!! If I wear nuit de turbereuse or bas de soie I get funny looks and “is that incense?” questions in a slightly derogatory manner. If I wear L de Lolita or Lollia Wish or other cheapies, I get compliments gallore. WTF. Is the company I keep simply not sophisticated enough for some perfumes?
Bronze Goddess is a Lauder! Hardly throwaway. I love that stuff.
yep, I’ve got a bottle in my collection too!
SOTD: Alien Sunessence (2010 version in orange bottle). While not a huge Mugler fan, I really enjoy this one and it smells just as good this summer as last. Perfect pick-me-up for hot, sticky days.
And here’s a question: I wore OJ Osmanthus the other day and wondered if it had changed in the vial since I’d last worn it. Either my memory of it was inaccurate, or it has become a bit more sour (probably that pomelo note, which I loved the first time I tried the scent). Anyone else had this experience?
Hmm, OJ. I have to get a sample of Ormond Man. I keep hearing that about that one. Zombie voice with arms held straight out: Need. To. Test. 🙂
Writing a review for Jennifer Aniston’s new perfume has only further enforced my prejudices against unoriginal celebrity fragrances. I really hope that Dita von Teese delivers on her promise of “perfume for a woman”, but I fear that all of her budget will go into cute packaging.
If a burlesque queen can’t come out with something lush and seductive than there is simply no hope for the rest 🙂
Agreed. And bless her heart if she means what she says about it not being fruity.
To me the question is this: can a reasonable facsimile of The Party in Manhattan be done for one-tenth the price? 😉
Oh, that would be amazing!
I really did.not.like. the Aniston scent.
Ari, I’m trying to decide whether you have a new gravatar or I just never looked closely before – either way, it’s great! I just checked out your Jennifer Anniston and loved it – you must have had fun writing it. Also appreciated your Shalimar Initial review.
Ari’s gravataar? Looks the same to me…unless I’m mistaking it for someone else’s…. I notice gravataar’s before names…so when someone changes their gravataar it really throws me for a loop.
I guess I had just enlarged the page more than usual. I hadn’t really noticed before that it was a Chanel bottle!
I can see why people would experiment with new ones, but I wish when you go back to an older post it was still the contemporaneous gravatar. I’m experiencing gravatar nostalgia, LOL!
hey! you’re right! I never realized it was a Chanel bottle…..I should always enlarge the screen at least one click —I’m afraid many of my typos are the result of not really seeing the print clearly (over 40 eyes, you know) but now I’ve got the screen really big…this is actually pretty cool…didn’t realize how badly I was seeing it before.
The Aniston is better than some but I didn’t need it. I do like Kate Walsh Boyfriend, and have been wearing G of the Sea quite a bit. I think there is room for a decent celebuscent – they can be very easy to wear. I have a bottle and a back-up of Hilary Duff – I love it. I’ll be interested in Dita’s scent, too.
I’m still waiting for a decant and samples that were posted on July 8! Arrrgh Canada Post, get back to normal!!!!
And I bought my first two bottles this week! Praliné de Santal and Un Jardin en Méditerranée. Waiting for them too! Now if I can force myself to wait a little before buying Dzing!, En Passant and Like This… 😀 I feel like I could very well have ten bottles by the end of the year… and no more savings!
You’ll sure smell good though!! Those are some good first pics!
Thanks! 🙂
I agree with Meg –you sure don’t mess around!
I especially love En Passant in spring….mmmm
Ooh, yes, it must be eve more amazing! I’m almost wishing fall would come sooner, so that I could finally want to wear Dzing! and Like This and Praliné and others when I go outside (I still wear them in my house, of course!), but then again there are so many amazing things that I wear with great joy these days…
How exciting Alnysie! Enjoy your first full bottles when they arrive. You may well be less solvent by the end of the year but your choices are GOOD 🙂
I will enjoy them, I will! Aw, it’s silly but I appreciate my choices being approved of! Thanks! 😉
How exciting! It’s been less than a year since I first became really interested in all things perfume (and from a scientific/biological perspective, the sense of smell). You might also like Serge Lutens’ Jeau de Peau (spelling?) It was my first FB Serge and I felt like I’d “arrived” at full perfumista-hood. 🙂 Enjoy your new adventures in perfume, Alnysie.
Thanks! It *is* exciting! Before June, I didn’t even know niche perfumes existed! About the sense of smell, I read Emperor of Scent, and it was interesting but Turin frustrated me so much… I don’t know if I’m the only one. Maybe because of my background as an academic…
Thanks for the suggestion! I have a sample of Jeux de peau, and I tried it at the same time as I tried Praliné de Santal, and I know many people consider JDP > PDS, but I find the butter note (I think?) in JDP to be unbearable. After an hour and a half, I love the smell, but that’s way too long of a wait… But I’m very open, I hope I can like it in a few months! 🙂
Hi Alnysie! Turin & Sanchez’s guide started me off on my obsession. I realised not long before reading them that my sense of smell was pretty much not there (hayfever) and what was there was pretty undeveloped. I’v also perused a few books on the biology of smell and the various controversies. However, I have no scientific background. Was it ‘Turin’ as portrayed in ‘The Emperor’ (haven’t read) that you found frustrating, or rather his actual theory of smell?
I found the theory really interesting, actually. I have no scientific background either, so I can’t assess the value of the theories, and the book (seemingly despite Burr’s best efforts) couldn’t provide enough information from both sides to better understand the debate, but it was an interesting read, and I feel like I learned a lot. Yes, it was his portrayal that I found extremely annoying. I felt he was a very privileged man, at least in his career, who still felt he was the underdog and complained and was disrespectful all the time, and I couldn’t have much sympathy for him… I don’t know what’s most people’s take on him or the book. Still it was an interesting read.
I can’t wear the JdP either – anything with butter is a no-go.
Yep, too bad…
Perfume HEAVEN here today people!
Finally….after lusting after a bottle since it was first released…I have scored a bottle of Guerlain Secrets de Sophie ! I refused to pay Guerlains patently ridiculous retail price, I despaired when they were sold out and gone….I cursed when they started showing up on ebay for even MORE than retail… every now and then a bottle shows up on ebay for a “regular human” price and finally my patience has paid off. It arrived today…I smell like candied violets and I like it! 🙂
Victory is Mine!
Please return to your regular programming…
Congratulations!!
thanks! I smellz gud. 😉
Congrats!
I’d love to stumble upon a bottle of Jubilation at a regular human price one day 😀
there is a very good ebay seller that has Amouage tester bottles at a close to regular human price. Just a bit over $200 I think….anyhow, I’ve purchased a number of bottles over the last few years from him and know quite a few others who’ve purchased from him as well. Not that $200 is something you’re likely to find under the sofa cushions (unless your sofa is doing a helluva lot better than my sofa) but it’s better than $300+ retail.
Thanks, I’m off to take a look! I have an automatic search thingy set up but I’m not sure how well they work since a lot more things come up whenever I search manually. I have a few precious drops remaining in my sample a vial so I really need to get a bottle sooner rather than later since this is HG stuff for me and I’d hate to run out completely.
are you talking about Jubilation 25 or Jubilation XXV ? I think he has both….. if you decide right now you only need a decant…I have enough to share. Just drop me a note at Daisyloo82 AT gmail dot com.
oh—the seller is Universal -perfume , he’s out of Kuwait–so shipping takes a while but he’s very nice and everything I’ve ever gotten from him has been perfect.
his listings now say he’s out of Oman….ok….I think he has family in both places…when I email with him he seems to switch off locations. He’s easy to talk to ( attended college here in the states)
Found him now! It’s good know that he’s reliable and isn’t selling some dodgy juice or something. Thank for the recommendation, another enabler pin coming your way 😉 It’s Jub 25 that I’m after, I’ve been lusting after it for a couple of years now and I’m kind of ready for a whole bottle. Just need to make that leap and finally order one. Ahhh… the thoughts of spraying with wild abandon! 😀
Absolutely! I am in full support of going full bottle with Jubilation 25…amazing stuff. The bottles from Universal perfume that are testers come in a plain white cardboard box, the bottle looks the same as the spendy ones but the cap is a plain gold tone stovepipe cap instead of the fancy domed one with the crystal in the top. I don’t have my Amouages in their boxes so none of that matters to me.
Just seconding Daisy – have also had good experiences with this seller.
thanks for the reminder about Universal Daisy….have bought a few fumes from him in the past so of course I just had to traipse back over there….MPG Iris Bleu Gris !!! how could I refuse? 😉
Hahahahaa… congratulations, but I seriously would NEVER have pegged candied violets as your thing. I thought you had a rocky relationship with violet?
I know!!! me and violets……imagine us circling in a ring armed with chain and mace….but I got a small decant when it was new just for curiosity’s sake ….and really liked it. Got to a point where I was rationing the spritzes….a 5ml is a fleeting thing! And started watching the internet for it. It’s been a long time but I was quite put off by the retail price (ridiculous: $420 ? for 60ml ??? ) And then the asking price on ebay: $620 ??? (that guy is nuts for sure)
Limited, yeah, but get real Guerlain!! –my new bottle is not quite full, but then, I paid about half the retail for it. So I’m pretty happy.
Yikes, thats a lot of $$$$$! Well done on the score 🙂
thank ya’ ma’am….I saw that bottle come up on ebay and I was on it like a hungry Grizzly bear on jelly beans!
Nice score!
Sounds wonderful! Persistence pays off. 🙂 Enjoy it, D!
I do have Terrier Tendencies….
Huge congratulations, Daisy – few things are sweeter than reaping the rewards of patiently lying in wait on ebay!
True, true….very exciting indeed. But I’ve been “lying in wait” for so long I practically have calluses on my soft ,white, perfume-dragon underbelly!
🙂
Occupational hazard! Hmmm…wonder if there’s any FM body butter on ebay…
haven’t seen any in a while….but even if you have to pay full price for the FM body butters–they are worth it. Quite strongly perfumed and a tiny amount will perfume you pretty well.
I broke a 1 ml vial of something in my purse. I do not remember what it was, only that I don’t like it. SHould I just throw the purse out?
Um, I’d say that depends on how much you hate it and the value of the purse!? Ack!!!
Maybe just emptying it and giving it a good air out for a few weeks will be a better solution?
I would try to save the purse. What’s it made out of? Will it open WIDE? or even turn inside out? Is it dry inside or do you need to sop up the stinky perfume? The first thing I would try is go to the pet store and in the aquarium section look for super-activated carbon. this is black and will get all over the place –but take an old (tightly knit) sock (maybe a sock inside a sock) fill it with the super activated carbon…tie it off (or rubber band, whatever works) stick it in the purse, close the purse and stick it somewhere like the basement…for a MONTH. remove the carbon sock and see how it smells.
another plan if it opens nice and wide or can be flipped inside out –set it out in the sun for a few days. Bring it in if it rains. and if its a dark color be aware some sun bleaching could occur.
Good luck.
Daisy is like the Heloise of perfumistas! Damn. Yeah, activated charcoal sounds like a good idea.
haha, Daisy does give really good advise.
Great idea! Sometimes just sunshine works if the purse can’t take the great outdoors. (My parents were smokers and their house was nicotine hell. Everything i brought with me to visit always came back reeking. I left one purse in the garage for two months before it was “safe.”!
stale cigarette smoke can permeate tempered steel! Or at least it sure seems like it can… One of the worst awful smells.
My father is a smoker, and when I acquired their old minivan, it reeked of stale cigarette smoke. I got rid of the smell by carrying around a couple sacks of cedar mulch in the back of the van for a few weeks. It worked like a charm. Of course, it helps if you like the smell of cedar (as I do).
that’s good idea too—she could stuff the bag with cedar chips for a while and see if they’d absorb the smell.
Activated charcoal is great! I used to make little nylon balls filled with the stuff for musty corners, suitcases and anything with that old musty smell. For anyone that plays band instruments, it’s great for getting musty smells out of old cases.
super activated carbon for aquariums is even better….it’s …super activated….whatever that means…
break another vial of something you DO like in there.
LOL –hey, that’s a good idea too!! And better smelling than Febreeze.
LOL! That really made me laugh.
Recently vial of L’AP Al Oudh leaked in my purse. It’s all but gone now. After all, perfume is made to evaporate.
My worst experience, actually, was one of the Hermessences – it was either Gentian Blanc or Pamplemousse Rose – that I sprayed on fabric because it was so fleeting. Everything disappeared except a jalapeño pepper note. Fortunately it was something washable.
Happy end of July, Robin and everyone else.
1. I’m still buying far too much perfume, but it feels like I’m buying less, so I can live with it. Now if I could just organize it. Recent buys: FBs of Escale a Pondichery, Guerlain Secret Intentions (a moment of weakness, not necessarily a smart move, though it’s nice) and a replacement of L’Eau de Tarocco. In the process of buying a secondhand tester of L’Heure Bleue parfum, which thrills me!
2. Sampled Vitriol d’Œillet myself the other day and I’m not singing from the rooftops. It’s nice, but I think I’ve decided I’m not a big carnation soliflore person. I think it gets oppressive to me when it’s the center of a composition, though I love carnation in a supporting role. Anyone who likes CdG Carnation should adore the Serge. I’ll give it another go, but I’m not hankering for a decant. On the other hand, I’m really eager to get a sniff of the exclusive de Profundis.
SOTD is vintage N°19 edt. Sublime.
“Anyone who likes CdG Carnation should adore the Serge.” Oh, I do! I do! And if so, it will be the first SL I like – they generally overpower me with sweetness. But that sounds encouraging, and thanks to our Empress Enabler, I’ll have my hands on a decant soon.
I’ve gotten to a point where I breathe a hearty sigh of relief whenever I sniff something new and don’t care for it!! Now if I could just learn to stay the heck away from sniffing those impossible to find discontinued a million years ago things!
and vintage Chanel no19 edt is ,indeed, sublime. 🙂
Hi Daisy — how far back do you go to call a Chanel 19 vintage? I have some in the silver metal casing–I am thinking from late 70’s early 80’s…what do you think? Still smells great
I’m not very knowledgeable about vintage perfumes …but I think when people say “vintage no 19” what they really mean is “before they reformulated and made it shocking green” ….I have some terrific smelling no 19 edt and edc that I guess is from the late 70’s early 80’s…..boxes look horrid! but they smell divine!
I like the CdG. I LOVE Malmaison though.
Yes, a moment of silence for the late, lamented Malmaison.
It was so gorgeous. If you can’t make Malmaison anymore because of IRFA, I’m having a hard time understanding how you can make ANY good carnation. But will keep up the hope for the Serge Lutens.
I concur.
Wearing LaVanila Pure Vanilla today. I really don’t find this one overly foody, but it’s cozy and a nice comfort scent. Plus the BF really likes it. 🙂
Hmmmm, nice. Just picked this up last week. Every now and again, I’m in the mood for vanilla and this one’s just perfect. Sweet but not terribly so.
I agree, it’s not overly sweet, and I like that too!
Today is cold, windy with gray sky summer day, so I’m wearing my Prada Infusion d’Homme.
Does anyone know how new Prada Amber Pour Homme Intense smells like? I love Prada perfums, but unfortunalety this one is not available in my country and it probably won’t be, which is a shame.
I want that black Prada for my own! Sic! Sniff…
It’s hard to explain in words… any way you can buy samples of that Prada from ebay in your country? Are you familiar with the original Prada Amber p Homme?
Problem is that I can’t even get samples. This Prada is totally unavailable in Poland, even if I buy in on polish ebay, shipping will be more expensive than the sample itself.
Sure I’m familiar with Amber pour Homme, that’s my favourite fragrance
Infusion D’Homme is one of the classiest male frag that I know. That dry, soapy, incensy and pale (in a good way) smell is so… so… so grey, like a grey sky summer day. Good image!!! Like a London summer sky. If you like Prada Amber, I’d suggest to you Burberry Touch for Men, Arpège pour Homme and Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin. Do you know any of them?
Yup, that one is really classy. I usually wear it with a suit on some formal days.
Good to see that you say it was a good choice to wear infusion d’homme on that gray sky summer day.
Well, I’m not exactly familiar with these, was curious about new Prada Amber Intense, reading a lot of reviews saying it’s refined and newly defined, smelling different than the original
Sorry, but I don’t know Amber Intense either, and as you, I’m curious about that. Go to see the ones I told you. I think you’ll like them and will spend some time and attention while waiting for Intense… 😉
I’m not exactly sure if Amber pour Homme Intense will even arrive in Poland… didn’t found any particular information. I know US Sephora has it like for 2 months, but they don’t have it in Sephore here, in Poland. Shame…
Does anyone have any feedback to share on the two new Montales? Dark Aoud and Moon Aoud are the names.
check out this: http://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Montale/Dark-Aoud-12134.html
I also found some articles about these two in Polish, wanna links for them? You can put them into translation or sth
I meant personal experience.
Totally off topic:
What is it with men and bacon???
In a radical and unprecedented move, one day last weekend I fixed big, fat, bacon/lettuce/tomato sandwiches for lunch– with loads of REAL bacon from REAL pigs, mind you. And now he emails me to see if there will MORE bacon sandwiches this weekend? both days?
Like one bacon sandwich means bacon sandwiches forever??
Now, understand that I like a BLT as much as the next person…but it’s not exactly a “health food” ! Huh! Men.
Hey, it become a Saturday afternoon tradition! Nothin’ wrong with that! Sounds good to me.
Mmmmmmmm bacon. (actually, I have to watch it… it makes the acid reflux act up like nobody’s business)
yes….mmmmmm…bacon. But sadly , we are both over 40 and a weekend bacon-a-palooza may end with hospitalization. (complete with oinking and rolling in mud.)
which isn’t a problem if that were what we had planned for sunday anyhow….
The mud roll could work…:-) Remember what Tania Sanchez said about men and bacon in the introduction to Perfumes: The Guide? It’s true (except my DH prefers sausage, but the principle is the same. He’s always far more intrigued by good garlic-ky food smells than whatever elixir I’ve put behind my ears.)
This is making me curious about bacon perfumes…
I dunno Meg…..I love to eat bacon….but I hate to cook bacon….windows open, doors open, fans blowing…..I hate the smell in the house!
Although, if you’re looking for a man—you might be on to something.
That Tania Sanchez knows whereof she speaks!
Maggiecat—don’t even go there…..if my CEO figured out a way to successfully pile sausage ON a BLT…..well, I’ll just put the paramedics on speed dial…..
You’re making BLT sandwiches this weekend? Where do you live? Make sure you send me an invite!
We’re in mid-michigan…..and I’m totally spineless: completely caved and am now making bacon sandwiches….Saturday, 2 PM….don’t be late because the CEO will for sure make a move on your sandwich if it’s left unattended for mere moments.
No Bacon Left Behind.
Oh man, I love a good BLT. Also love with Avocado. Just add a little more fat to that, please.
Of course I love Avocados too….they’re high in fat aren’t they?
sigh….all the best things….
But the fat in avocados is the “good” kind of fat–raw and monounsaturated–so currently avocados are considered healthy.
Maybe the fact that it is so bad for them is related to their enjoyment? Some living-on-the-edge fantasy? The forbidden bacon goods appeal?
ahhhh Dangerous Men : black leather, fast cars …..and bacon….
Well I expect if you didn’t eat meat, high-fat dairy or eggs the rest of the week, bacon once a week would be fine. Or (we live in Berkeley, mind you), you can make what we make: FBATs. That is, fake bacon (tempeh bacon), avocado and tomato sandwiches. They are yummy and healthy. See:
http://www.lightlife.com/product_detail.jsp?p=tempeh_smokystrips
Surely you jest. My meat-eating, bacon-loving hubby scoffs at Turkey bacon …and if I got anywhere near him with an avocado slice…well, that would be the end of my Saturday morning back rubs, that’s for sure.
Uh, sorry! I did say I live in Berkeley, right? You know, the place where even real men eat avocado, not to mention tofu, but still wouldn’t be caught dead in perfume.
LOL –yes, you did mention the California thing….and it sounds good to me! I surprised my CEO isn’t “sensing” my anti-pork thinking and emailing to confirm my Saturday BLT promise…
I don’t think it’s men and bacon – I’m a woman and I looooooooooooove bacon. Bacon is just magical – it makes everything better! Just finished up my leftover fried rice that I made with bacon. And it’s really not that bad for you, as long as you aren’t eating a pound a week!
I adore BLT – can’t say I blame him at all!
Niman Ranch bacon — best bacon EVER. I can eat a pound of it at one sitting. (I know that’s not what you asked)
that was NO HELP AT ALL….now I’ve got to google it….
why can I not find the bacon….what is it listed as?
They normally have Niman Ranch stuff at Whole Foods and other “upscale” grocery stores, if you have any in your area, maybe even Costco? I see it’s not on their website, so not sure what’s up with that!
ah-ha….thank you. 🙂
baconnnnn..nommmm
Once in a blue moon, my Trader Joes gets it. But otherwise, yeah, Whole Foods.
OK, I was at Whole Foods today, and I didn’t see any Niman Ranch bacon. I did get two other brands, and I will see how they are. I actually am hoping I don’t like them TOO much. Whole Foods is too far away, and too expensive, for me to do my regular grocery shopping there.
Oh YES! Niman Ranch bacon!!! Only I’m always accidentally calling it Neiman Marcus bacon, LOL. We use their ham, too – wonderful!
Hey, it’s not just men–I am all woman and I LOVE bacon. And not burnt-to-a-crisp so most of the fat is melted away, either; I like my bacon soggy and loaded with fat (and I am over 40 as well)!
hahahhaa we’ll have good company in the emergency room then!
I’ll be the one laying there smelling really good and the CEO will be the one still trying to scarf the last bite of bacon while they work on him….
I am hoping that I inherited enough good genes to keep me out of the emergency room for a few more decades. My great-grandmother (my mother’s mother’s mother) ate bacon and eggs for breakfast, red meat, whole milk, real butter, real sugar, and white bread, didn’t do any strenuous exercises (that wasn’t considered ladylike), had a maid to do the heavy scrubbing and cleaning and beating the carpets and whatnot, wasn’t skinny, and lived to be 99 years old. Her mother and one of her daughters also lived into their 90’s as well, and did my mother’s father.
it sounds like despite your intense love of wiggly bacon, that we get to keep you around for a good long time yet! You know, our grandmothers and great grandmothers may not have been doing aerobics 3 times a week …BUT I do think that they were more active in a general sort of way.. …some days it does not take much to be more active than me!! unless you count my fingers flying over the keyboard as “active”
Also, remember that food in general probably had a higher nutritional value then, that veggies were mostly all organic, and that the meat was less toxic, less hormones, animals had healthier lives etc…
Smelling really good? Smelling of bacon? Hmmmmm? Maybe bacon soap is for you! From one of my favorite sites, Archie McPhee:
>>BACON SOAP
Old Spice claims to be a manly smell and tons of body spray
commercials brag about how they’ll attract the opposite sex. Why
experiment with those when you could have the proven odor of bacon coating your entire body. This soap smells just like delicious smoky bacon. Just don’t let your attention drift, you may end up eating yourown hand.
http://www.mcphee.com/items/11960.html
This is hilarious! Thank you, Jonette!
I love Archie McPhee. Don’t they have bacon mints or gum or something? I know they have band-aids.
I smell bacon! I guess on some level perfume is my healthy substitute for bacon, but that wouldn’t work for most guys, would it?
BTW, last year studio360.org invited listeners to reinvent Valentines Day, and one of the entries was a Valentines Day gift for the man in your life: a bouquet of long-stemmed “roses” made of rolled up crispy bacon. 😉
hmmm…that , and a follow-up bowl of ice cream could garner a marriage proposal from my CEO …
The Achilles stomach, LOL!
Daisy’s off-topic seems to have generated the longest thread!
I adore BLTs. In fact, I wouldn’t mind wearing bacon pertfume all day from cooking up a batch of it.
Bacon is clearly a very important subject!
and it was delicious! 😉
Wearing Azuree Soleil. The fragfairy was kind and I found…get this….the 7.9 oz bottle of the lovely stuff for a tiny price. I am beyond jazzed.
Oh, lucky you!
Today I’ve been comparing Tauer’s Une Rose Chrypre with Abdes Salaam Attar’s Rose de Bois. I prefer the latter. I like Andy’s scent, but I’m not in love with it. The Rose de Bois is more my kind of scent, but I don’t think I’ll spring for a full bottle. It doesn’t last long enough on my skin. Yes, I know that natural perfumes often don’t last long.
It reminds me vaguely of that Spanish soap, Myrugia (sp?). It’s a softly spicy, woody rose. Maybe it’s slightly more masculine than feminine. I really wish the scent was stronger.
That sounds so lovely!
I am in such a dark and self-falgellating mood today (how do I still have so much work left? How have I let it get this bad?? Where will I find the energy to do it?! &^% everyone!!!) that I couldn’t bring myself to spray on anything today, as it would seem unfair to the perfume… I don’t want to be become tainted with my mopiness. That brings me to a question though, does anyone have bad mood perfumes? Something to just revel in bitterness? Hmmm…
The last perfume that made me laugh is when I sniffed my 7? 8? year old neglected bottle of Demeter’s Dirt. I think it’s gone off, because it smells funky (not just “dirt” funky) and sort of like… chocolate? It made me laugh, thinking that it was trying to age into something much more sophisticated than dirt. Maybe smelling that will make me feel better.
Honestly? Chanel No. 5. That way I can pretend that I’m not just mopey, but brooding in a sophisticated, film noir kind of way. Helps to throw on some heavy eyeliner too.
Nice! That’s some sophisticated dark mood there. I would like to try this idea. I have been wanting a bottle of No. 5 for a long time but so many other things have crowded my buy list that seem much more pressing.
Good!! Nº 5 is an intoxicating pleasant past!
I totally hear you about the dark mood and not wanting to “taint” any of your perfumes! I was in a similar place a couple of weeks ago and I put on Avril Lavigne’s Black Star because I hadn’t worn it since I bought it a couple years ago and didn’t have an emotional attachment to it, so I figured there was no way my dark place could “ruin” it. Actually, I kinda like it now. 🙂
You know, I sniffed that a year or 2 ago and really liked it. Just looked around online and it’s still strangely expensive – wish that would show up at my Marshalls!
Interesting — I figured it would definitely be really cheap by now!
Theres not much ironic in rose soliflores, but if I’m flat-out-down-on-the -ground-down, thats often what I’m most drawn to. P#$%$ed off though may require something quite different!
Your ticked off perfume post made me smile. Hate to confess, but if you smell anything iris heavy on me, look out. For me the chill rooty iris note is my warning to the world to back off, I’m taking no prisoners.
Apologies to all who find it cuddly, but iris root has a harsh bite on my skin. On a truly bad day it can smell like dirty hair. On a normal day, it is cold, fierce, cotrolled note. Tough examples for me are ISM and Infusion d’Iris. You’ve been served notice 🙂
Sorry to hear about turned Dirt. (Hey, BPAL probably has a fragrance like that, grave dirt) It scares me when perfumes change. I want them to stay fresh and stable forever, and know they can’t. Hope it morphs into something interesting. Be well.
noted: if Hemlocksillage reports a chilly iris as SOTD, tread lightly. I actually think Dirt might be morphing in an interesting way in which it will continue to be wearable in the future… here’s hoping. My L de Lolita “turned” but I like it much more now.
What came to my mind right off was a big square-shouldered chypre like Paloma Picasso. Look out! Also like the Chanel No. 5 idea. But I’d probably end up wearing something unequivocably delicious just to console myself – one of my lushest florals or orientals such as FM Lys Mediterranee or SSS Tabac Aurea.
One that makes me feel better, from the name to the fragrance: Happy for Men (Clinique). Also Un Jardin Sur Le Nil: this is a calming and uplifting frag for me, like a “spa” of the perfumes).
Frustration of the day: I don’t think I can smell Mitsouko. Everyone says it’s wonderful, but for me smelling it is like looking at a famous painting that turns out to be mostly blank except for some smudgy dirt at the bottom. The smudgy-dirty part brings up some sort of scent memory in me that I don’t like, so the overall result is unpleasant as well as suggesting that I have the smell-equivalent of a blind spot. Grump, grump.
I”ve had some difficulty with Mitsouko as well, so you’re note alone. I feel like it’s a scent that I’ll have to revisit another time. 😛
It’s always possible to run up against a scent that you are anosmic to one or more components…. but before we go there….what are you sniffing? a vial? maybe a sample that’s gotten wonky over time? Try a different source and if there’s still nothing but a smudge at the bottom of the canvas, then I’d say it’s time to chalk that one up to perfume anomalies and move on.
I thought of that, yes. But I sprayed from a bottle, on me and on my wife, and then I ordered a bit of the vintage stuff from TPC. All the same effect. Alas.
Move on I shall.
yep, it sounds like you approached it scientifically and now it’s time to move on. The good news is there are sooooo many glorious things that you can smell very well!
I’ve commented here before that I’m TOTALLY anosmic to Mitsouko. I smell nothing. I’ve tried it in shops and have a sample. I don’t smell it in the bottle, in the air or on my skin. Sob! 🙁
Mitsouko is nice….but there’s plenty of other things that are even better!
I just discovered the wonder that is Guerlain’s Vol de Nuit. I wore it around the house on Wednesday, then out to the Lion King last night (to make sure it didn’t bother my perfume-sensitive mother). I’m HOOKED. I had always avoided that dreaded Guerlain counter for fear of smelling old-lady-ish. Well! If this is “old lady”, stick me in a retirement home! 😀
Vol de Nuit is wonderful, I find it a very comforting scent. Don’t worry, no one will be sending you a flower print house dress and a pair of white gloves. ….now the important question: are you sniffing vintage? or more modern stuff? Edt? parfum?
Oh, yeah. VdN is the scent love-of-my-life. Searched for it since the 70s, got it in the 00s, and it didn’t disappoint. For me, the EdT is cuddly cozy elegance, but the perfume is indescribably beautiful.
Hi. Does anyone know how to become a member of the Google Splits? I contacted them several times, but haven’t received a single reply. I know the page says that this membership is by invite only
I believe you have to have two people who are in the group (and who know you) recommend you. If you have a friend in the group, contact that person and see if they can help you.
it’s so fricking gray and windy today! can anyone recomend a nice pikake/jasmine/frangipani scent that is tropical but not too cheesy/reminiscent of suntan lotions + coconuts? i didn’t like the ormonde jayne frangipani nor the whole line by saffron james….
I like Kai. It’s not complicated – just smells really good.
I like it too.
Could also try the Frangipani by Chantecaille.
I like SL Datura Noir as a tropical that isn’t all costumey-tropical.
Also, maybe Songes would work … going by memory here since I don’t own any Goutals.
Hello! This is my first post, although I’ve been visiting this site for quite some time.
Today i am wearing Frederic Malle Une Rose. I am in love with this perfume. The fact that I own it (Malles are sooo expensive) is evidence of this love. I used to be a rose-hater (I still don’t like overly sweet, powdery roses) but this perfume might be the one to change my perception of rose! I’ve been sniffing more and more of them lately.
It only takes one good one to open the door…..have you tried Montale Highness Rose ? (big, velvety red rose soliflore) or a sexy rose like JHaG Citizen Queen, a kick-butt and takin’ names rose like Portrait of a Lady…sophisticated and mysterious rose like Amouage Lyric….or zippy rose like Un Zeste de Rose…..or comfy cuddle up rose like Rose Barbare…. just askin.
Oh they all sound so wonderful. Reading these posts is getting me into trouble. My wish list gets longer and longer every day. And everyone needs a really nice rose in their collection after all, right?
you are absolutely correct!
I never thought of myself as a rose person but lately I find I’m craving a nice rose fragrance. I want to sample a few but I promised myself that I would not make any more purchases of fragrance for a while because I really need to get reacquainted with the ones I already own.
I have added many roses to my perfume roster, but Une Rose is special–it was the first expensive, niche fragrance that I ever bought, and I got it in Paris from the original Malle shop. It was an experience sniffing all of those goodies, but I could only take one home and it was “One” very special Rose. Love it!!
Welcome, naomi! Congrats on your Malle purchase. I love roses, but sadly scents with a dominant rose note rarely love me back.
Hi Naomi77! Thanks for this post! I’m new here too and I appreciate everybody’s suggestions for rose-fragrances-for-rose-haters, I’ll have to try them, Une Rose first!
Rose can be a really difficult note! I love rose, but can only wear a small portion of the rose scents I encounter. But I persevere….
as you should too.
I love rose and have a small collection of different rose fragrances, but I couldn’t stand Frederic Malle Une Rose! I was constantly aware of a horrible note that I can only relate to a men’s urinal. UGH! I wonder if that’s the castoreum? In the bottle it’s lovely, but on my skin it is a major disaster. I’m jealous of the people who can wear it well.
You can stand next to me….and neither of us will wear Une Rose. On me it turns to acetone. Just awful, sinus burning acetone. Such a disappointment that one was.
Une Rose is difficult for me as well – kind of vinegary. Some roses do that. I love Joy, but it can have a vinegary rose aspect at times. Voleur de Roses smelled like an old wine cask the last time I tried it.
I know you’ll help with this, so thanks in advance. My wife this morning: “Nobody makes a nice-smelling dusting powder any more (or if they do, it’s too expensive).” She just wants a pleasing powder in the hot weather.
In terms of fragrance, she wears Lauder PC Amber Ylangylang and is liking samples of PdN Le Temps d’une Fete and AdP Profumo, if that gives you any direction. Ideas?
Hi Donnie,
You could try Lush if you have one nearby – they do quite a few different powders and are fairly reasonable in price…
Good luck!
Yes, Silky Underwear is one of the only powders I wear and it smells nice but doesn’t conflict with my perfume.
Guerlain makes several, but they’re pricey.
Thinking in terms of the PdN floral, Crabtree and Evelyn makes some nice dusting powder for around $20 IIRC.
kizzers and aparatchick, thank you for your suggestions. I will check them out.
Penhaligon’s still makes some nice dusting powders, so does Floris…check the stock at shoplondons.com maybe. And 2nd the suggestion of Lush.
I vote for Guerlain’s Samsara perfumed talc. I have an older one from back in the days where I couldn’t wear the fragrance because they were too strong but the powder was perfect. It is especially refreshing in the heat because the sandalwood is such a cooling scent.
They can be found from discounters at a reasonable price.
After some random sampling from the vial drawer this evening I have Guerlain Mahora on one arm, Nahema on the other and a little dab of SL Datura Noir on the back of my wrist. Mahora is winning the sillage battle hands down!
Question: I’ll be passing through Schiphol airport twice over the next couple of weeks. Can anyone give me a heads-up on what the Duty Free stores are like?
Sorry I don’t know that airport! Have not had luck w/ duty free anyway — the prices never seem as good as the online discounters.
Question: what does oak moss really smell like? Is there a way to get pure absolute, even in a tiny sample, just to learn about it. Then there’s the green vs. brown oak moss question. And galbanum. What does it smell like in isolation? Do any of the natural perfumers sell samples of just the one or two notes?
I’ve read about olfactionaries, and the fun post about the wine note collection. If you have any ideas, I’d like to know. Thanks for any insights you can share.
It is possible to buy galbanum essential oil. If you have a Whole Foods near you, they generally carry essential oils, as do many health food stores, and of course, there are a number of sources online. I have a bottle of it myself, but I am not sure how to describe the smell, except that it is very, very green. I think some people compare it to myrrh, but I find galbanum to be greener and sharper, while myrrh smells more smoky. Galbanum is a very potent scent. I always found it had a tendency to dominate any mixture it is put into. I am not sure about oakmoss, but there are online sources for perfumery supplies, so I would expect it would be possible to buy oakmoss. I have never smelled it myself except as part of a perfume.
Thanks for the tip! I’ll go check my local Whole Foods. I love galbanum. . .I think my beloved Chamade extrait starts of as GALBANUM, then softens, but I’d like to smell the straight absolute to compare. I pretty much love green scents as a whole. Bitter green. Herbaceous green. Mossy green. Even floral green. Green citrus. Pretty much the whole spectrum. That’s why the oakmoss and galbanum have such a fascination for me.
Honestly, most scents fascinate me–from musk and incense to orange blossom and tuberose. I’m just on a green kick this week. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Be well.
Chamade is very definitively galbanum-heavy up top!
Hemlocksillage,
profumo.it sells both completely all-natural perfumes and raw materials, including a perfumer kit that you customize with whatever materials you want. They definitely have oakmoss as well as some animalic ingredients. I hear only wonderful things about this site and its perfumer.
I have a feeling the cost to ship may be steep if you are in the US and I don’t know if there are restrictions. And I haven’t ordered there although recently tempted by a few compositions. So maybe I am not helping at all! Maybe someone else here has used them and can give more info.
Thanks, Bonbori, for the recommendation. I’ll check out the website. I have a feeling that a natural perfumer’s supply may be the answer to my question in general. I just need to find a reputable company with high quality products. It’s encouraging to hear from people like you who have an interest in fragrance, who’ve done business with the company in the past. Thanks again!
I adore Mecca Balsam from profumo.it (La Via del Profumo) and have also ordered other samples and the animalic kit. Very reliable!
Eeek! I went ahead and ordered a few samples and the oakmoss/galbanum from profumo.it. Expensive, but I’ve wanted to try things from this perfumer for ages. Okay, I’ll confess, I also ordered the hyraceum essence–after reading about it, I *had* to know what it smells like. Petrified hyrax urine, indeed. There is something very wrong, if that intrigues rather than repels me.
I just read in “What the Nose Knows” by Avery Gilbert, that only a small percentage of the population (?23%) is really consciously motivated by scent, and then an even smaller percentage (?11%) is fascinated. We perfumistas, ‘fumeheads, perfumaniacs–whatever we are, are outliers in the human spectrum. I love the way the folks here at NST (and other perfume blogs) are such sensual people. Food. Tea. Chocolate. Wine. Art. Literature. I keep reading, just to learn from you all. Makes my pocketbook poor, but life far more rich. Be well.
Denyse has the most delightful post on hyraceum on Grain de Musc. And her Siamese, Jicky, was enthralled – use carefully if you have cats!
Ayala Moriel in Vancouver also sells a perfume kit with basic materials, including oakmoss. I haven’t ever ordered anything from her. I think she occasionally posts here as a member.
The Perfumer’s Apprentice sells scent accords for reasonable prices. Even if you aren’t going to mix your own fumes it’s nice to have them for reference.
Today I found a 50 ml of Mugler’s “Womanity” mismarked at 19.99 at TJ’s. Happiness!
very good! That has won a lot of support in spite of it’s odd name.
I’m surprised you found it for such a good price, and yet pleased for you!
That’s it – I’m going to TJ’s tomorrow!!
TGIF!!! I was in a playful and youthful mood this morning, so I went with an unexpected selection….Juicy Couture Viva la Juicy. Haha! I hardly ever wear it, but I chuckled as I sprayed it with abandon. I’ve enjoyed every moment of smelling it throughout the day.
I think that one is the best JC has done — very appealing.
SOTD is Dior’s Eau Noire – that’s the one with the immortelle (curry) notes, balanced by lavender and herbs, over a woody and vanilla base.
How do we feel about curry in our perfume?
I personally feel very good about it. And love Eau Noire to pieces. Have you tried Heeley Cedre Blanc? Discontinued and hard to find now, but it smells like raita, so you could have a little side dish / dip, too! Now if only I could find something that smelled like dosa…
Thanks, no, I haven’t tried the Heeley. This is new territory for me. Love raita though!
I spritzed Kenzo Jungle on to a blotter today and liked it. A bit gentler than Eau Noire, which I’m still coming to grips with. Good fun!
I think they have the Cedre Blanc at the San Francisco Barney’s – you could call and see if they can send you a sample.
L’AP Al Oudh is about as far as I’ve gone in that direction.
SOTE: Mona di Orio Jabu…..so bummed to hear that the line (with the exception of the newest 3 ) is being discontinued. 🙁
I did not know that! But can’t say I’m surprised.
Agree. I suspect that MdO are an acquired taste. Most of them do nothing for me, but I do like that Jabu….made sure I nabbed a back up before they are gone the way of the Dodo.
Daisy, all of the Mon Numeros are staying, not just the 3 new ones.
Oh good! I know that MdO is a smallish operation to have a lot of current scents….but still it’s a shame to loose Jabu and Amyitis (the rest didnt’ do much for me)
Unseasonally warm here the last few days-very nice-and my new big bottle of Bandit arrived through the week so I have been wearing it, and loving it!
Congratulations on that Bandit Debie – I know you were worried about that online discounter. How is Bandit in the warmer weather?
Our days in Canberra are getting warmer, but the nights are colder than ever. The other night it was -8 degrees C.
Hi Annemarie, wow you are having a cold time- we havent gone below 1c degree overnight this winter and yesterday it reached 19c degrees here. Yes my Bandit arrived after 2 weeks, (faster than the net site in the US that I usually order from). I was worried about ordering from them but will be ordering from them again! It wears nicely in warmer weather-I find Fracas too strong for summer but Bandit is softer on me. I forgot to order the bottle of Black Pearls to try though. Maybe next time.
I’ve only just tried Fracas, and I don’t think it’s for me. Enjoy your balmy weather!
I have not tried Bandit yet but I remember I hated Fracas the first time I tried it. I gave it another try and it was a completely different experience. I really liked it and ended up going home with a bottle.
SOTD: a.m., it was Eau de The Blanc, and as it faded, I changed to OJ Champaca. I needed light and calming scents after a semi-accidental dousing with Nuit de Tubereuse that went horribly wrong yesterday.
Question: re. natural perfumes…I have loved a couple but the lasting power is seriously not great — on me, anyway. One of the most extraordinary was Fir-ever Young. It was like tumbling into the most beautiful, verdant forest ever — for 60 seconds. Any thoughts? Or is that just how it is with the natural scents?
My experience is that naturals do not last as long either. Of course, the exact length of wear depends a good deal on whether you have Perfume-Eating Skin (PES) or Scent Glue Skin (SGS) or something in between. What is “good” for someone with PES might be “poor” for someone with SGS. I have PES, and if I get 3 to 4 hours from a perfume, I am quite happy. I know some people with SGS report having perfume last 12 or 24 hours, or even through a shower or two, which is an experience I have never had. I have had good luck with some “mostly natural” perfumes, such as those from SSS. They seem to give me at least the 3 to 4 hours that I need to be satisfied. I have tried some of the DSH scents–some of hers are described as all natural, while some are not. Her all-natural scents seem to be a little shorter-lived, perhaps 2 hours or so. I tried the sampler set from Anya’s Garden–her perfumes are all natural–and none of them lasted even a full hour. Several of them disappeared in 15 minutes or so. I haven’t had anything disappear in 60 seconds, though–that is seriously poor longevity!
I suspect that the reason for the relatively poor longevity of all-natural scents is that today’s all-natural perfumes don’t actually contain any fixatives, which give perfume staying power. Natural fixatives are usually animalic ingredients, such as musk, civet, castoreum, or ambergris. As far as I know, the only animal ingredient still sometimes used is ambergris, because obtaining it does not require killing or mistreating the animal. It is rare, however, and therefore extremely expensive and seldom used. Synthetic or blended (by which I mean containing both natural and synthetic components) scent use synthetic substitutes for these animal ingredients. The SSS perfumes, for example, definitely contain synthetic musks.
Helpful comments, thanks 50_Roses. I get about 5 hours out of most fragrances, although I can easily go all day on some of Tauer’s perfumes, and some Guerlains. I have not really sampled many all-naturals. They can be very expensive, and … well … for that sort of money, I like to get more than a couple of hours out of them. I have to make my fragrance dollars work pretty hard!
Thanks for the detailed, informative reply. Some scents are pretty tenacious on me, and others are so fleeting it’s just sadl. I’d be happy to refresh after a couple of hours, but some really vanish instantly. I did fare very well with the SSS scents, and have been wearing Rose Musk often this summer. I have some Aftelier samples coming — we’ll see how that goes!
That fixative point is probably the key. They also tend to be not very diffusive to begin with. So far, the only all-natural I really love is Mecca Balsam – yummy honey-incense-resins. Oh, and maybe DSH Mata Hari is all natural – it’s really good, too – an apricot-leather, reminiscent of SL Daim Blond, Daim Blond is really osmanthus, which is drier, and Mata Hari is more juicy apricot and chypre.
Oh you make that sound good! I have been on the point of trying some DSH for ages.
I love a day when I put on a perfume and that’s the perfume I wear all day. Today was not one of those days:
AM Foggy/cool so
Panache, then Emeraude
took at bath around noon – still cool – so
Cadjmere
started to warm up so
Traversee du Bosphore
but wasn’t as warm as I thought it might be (74f) so
En Passant
I love each an every one, but I’m feeling a little nut-so today. Does anyone else have days like this? It’s not even 6:00 pm yet!
my life is just a bunch of nut-so days strung together…. 😉
You’ve come to the right place, KRL! 😉
Nice to know I’m not alone! Today, I’ll will try my best to keep it to two perfumes!
SOTD: L’Eau d’Hiver – it was cloudy early this morning in LA
Going to a party with friends tonight and trying to decide what to put over it. It’s around 70 degrees but I’m in a somewhat cuddly mood! Don’t want to wear anything to intense with all of the upcoming hugs haha
Someone definitely wrote a post recently about layering a night scent on a day scent. Lol, my specificity is very helpful, isn’t it?
haha I was actually thinking about that post when I wrote my comment! i’m thinking tonka imperiale might layer well
I think it was Angela, on this site.
SOTD: PdN Eau Exotique. Perfect for the day.
Yes it is 🙂
Random question: does Angel Innocent have that sneaky cumin note that original Angel has?
I had a bottle of Angel Innocent many years ago, before my “perfumista” days. I can’t stand cumin in perfume, so I’m pretty sure I would have noticed it then, even though I wasn’t paying attention as much as I am now. Although can’t say that I’ve noticed cumin in Angel either, though I’ve never had a bottle of that!
Forgot to thank you for the advice!
Perfume that made me laugh: S-Perfume’s 100% Love. It’s the most delicious, almost buttery chocolate rose – think of the finest raspberry chocolate truffle but wearable. It sounds too literally gourmand and heavy but it’s not: it’s a real perfume and light as a rose petal. It always makes me laugh with surprise and delight.
Mmmmmm, sounds amazing!!!!!
It’s really different!
Yes — good pick. I understand they’ve redone it though? And haven’t tried it lately.
Oh, no! I got my bottle about 6 months ago directly from The Shaping Room. Don’t know if that’s old or new.
Perfumes get reformulated so danged QUICKLY these days!! It’s so hard not to compulsively order a FB of anything I like right away, fearing that if I take a more sensible, measured approach it will be long gone by the time I decide to buy it. 🙁
Oh, then your’s is new. Mine is from 2005 or something like. It’s really old.
I was a bit surprised that LT called it weird – now I wonder if that’s because it used to be weird, or just that we have a different threshold.
I don’t know that I ever found it that weird either.
Rediscovered my bottle of Insense by Givenchy. It was a floral Eau de Toilette for men~ but I rocked it as a woman! I am so in love with this scent, and of course it’s been discontinued/altered. I love unisex/masculine fragrances on me. Can anyone recommend any?
I’v given BF Armani Attitude which I like enough to want to wear myself! Bulgari Black is a famed unisex, created originally for women, marketed now to men. Love it, but it doesn’t last long on my skin. Dior Homme Sport is a ginger which i’v been quite keen on but not actually bought. And, though it doesn’t work for me, JPG Fleur de Male is loved by many women. Good luck!
Eau Sauvage & Guerlain Vetiver are both worn by as many women as men. Terre d’Hermes for something more modern.
Seconding both!
Seconding Eau Sauvage, recommending Thierry Muglier Cologne (great bottle too). Also Musc Kublai Khan as a unisex if you’re into that sort of thing …
I ADORE Eau Savage, but it’s my fathers’ signature scent. : ) I was looking yesterday for Guerlain Vetiv…..my Sephora used to carry it, now it doesn’t. Great suggestions!!
Ditto on Fleur Du Male!! Another ones: Au Masculin (Lolita Lempicka)- a bettered Le Male; Eau Du Soir- hey this is a masculin fragrance send for women!!! Eau de Campagne: an unissex tending to the male side; Bvlgaris Extreme, Soir, Eau Perfumèe Au The Blanch, Eau Perfumèe Au The Vert- completely unissex; Eau de Cartier; Fuel For Life for men ( a little fruity- red fruits, hummm); Body Kouros; The One Gentleman (a bettered A* Men); XS Black for men; Eau des Bavx…
I own and wear Habit Rouge. Highly recommended. It’s supposedly the man’s version of Shalimar (which I cannot wear–or even like).
A lot of the Frederic Malle’s are basically unisex, like Vetiver Extraordinaire and Geranium pour Monsieur. AG Vetiver and Eau de Sud; most leathers, e.g., L’AP Dzing, PdE Cuir Ottoman, Etro Gomma, Chanel Cuir de Russie, Santa Maria Novella Nostalgia and SL Daim Blond; PdN New York; some lavenders, like PdN Nicolai pour Homme, Guerlain Jicky and BK A Taste of Heaven. Actually, most good perfume is unisex – try everything!
Great list!
brilliant! thank you~
I wear YSL M7, Hermes Bel Ami, Chanel Egoiste (NOT the Platinum), Bulgari Black, Stetson, and tons that are just marketed to anyone. I need a new bottle of Old Spice.
I suppose I would classify myself as having “perfume eating skin”, but does anyone else have the experience of the same scent smelling different on each wrist? Is one wrist more of a guzzler than the other?
I don’t think I’v tried this! Is it possible one wrist had the remnant of something else on it? I have heard people say a scent can smell different applied to different areas???
Merlin, I thought the same thing. When I first noticed it, I thought perhaps there was lotion or something else on one wrist. So I made sure both wrists were clean on the next application, sniffed and there was still a difference, albeit a subtle one. This has happened with a number of perfumes.
Maybe it’s just me.
187 comments already when I am writing that I received a beautiful box with 12 samples by Ormonde Jayne. Does anyone of you have one of more fragrances by Ormonde Jayne (Linda Pilkington) The ormonde woman is very special. But I still have about 8 to go.
And I am very looking forward to the white, auburn and verdant by An dy Tauer. Patience till september when the release is in Italy.
I have the sample box from OJ and have tried all the samples on different occasions, but none of them is special enough for me to purchase a bottle. They are all well done, and the box is certainly beautifully put together. I keep hoping that maybe next month, when I try them again, one will sing to me.
I hope you find one to love, Mary.
I had the same experience as you did when I first sampled the boxed set- and thought they were all done well, but I did not need a FB- but I revisited them months later and fell hard for OJ Woman. I now have a travel set of Tiare and split a travel set of OJ Woman with a friend.
They all seem to share the same base, so although I enjoyed most of them, it took me a long time to decide to buy one. I went for Champaca, but I still wonder if I should have gotten Ta’if. Frustrating!
Lots of iso e super in the OJ line!
I adore Frangipani, Champaca, Osmanthus, Ta’if — it’s still one of my favorite lines.
I tried the sample set also, and I ended up buying Ormonde Woman for me and Ormonde Man for my husband. Of the feminines, Woman seems to retain its identity best; it takes a long time to get to the drydown, and never seems to entirely lose its distinctiveness. Even after several hours, it is plainly identifiable as Woman, and not any of the others. My second favorite was Tolu. It seems to have a different base from the others, warmer and sweeter. There is a common base in most of the OJs, and several of the scents seem to get to that drydown rather quickly. For example, I thought Champaca, Orris Noir, and Sampaquita smelled indistinguishable from one another after 30 minutes, as I could detect nothing but the base. It is a very nice base, but I couldn’t see paying for two or more bottles if they would end up smelling the same so quickly.
I liked the ones you like, too. I should at least get larger decants of OJ Woman, Tolu and Ta’if.
This is one of my favorite lines! I love her taste, and also the perfumes meld so well with my skin. I get so many compliments when I wear her fragrances. And, yes, I own three bottles so far (out of about 20 total bottles): Woman, Champaca, and Tolu. Woman is extraordinary (and garners compliments) but is perhaps less wearable than the other two (more of special occasion fragrance). My husband adores Tolu, and thinks it very sexy (he bought it for me). Champaca is the most lively, cheerful floral, which I love to wear in the spring and summer of Northern California. Now if I could just get bottles of Ta’if and Orris Noir as well, I think I’d be satisfied (maybe).
I love the OJ line – it really seems to work on my skin. I have a well loved sample box and FB’s of Ta’if, Champaca, Osmanthus, and OJ Woman. Ta’if and Champaca are my favorities, but I get the most compliments on Osmanthus, which I’m wearing today after reading these posts. This is the first time I’ve worn it this year, and now I remember how it’s such a sunny cheerful scent. I’m going to put it back into my summer rotation!
I found all the comments about the sameness of the OJ base interesting. On me, there is no doubt that the scents share DNA – the “Pilkingtonade” – but they’re no more similar to each other than, say, Andy Tauer’s are. The scents I own all have very different and distinct personalities – I wouldn’t be able to interchange Ta’if and Osmanthus, for example – although you can tell that they belong to the same large happy extended family!
So far I have only tried Tolu, Taif and Woman, but I am getting the whole discovery set soon. So far it is Woman that is the star of the three; it is the most distinct to my nose and has a mischiefvous sort of pixie-sparkle! My sample didn’t last long…
Dzing. Surprised by the change from top to basenotes…
Can someone tell me to which “fragrance group” Womanity belongs? Thanks.
Since I’m fairly new to this fragrance obsession, I haven’t yet been overcome – and subsequently bored by – the oudh onslaught. Working my way through some L’Artisan samples, I’m surprised to find myself in love with Al Oudh. Never thought I’d go for a heavy duty Oriental but, while I can’t see myself springing for 100ml, I definitely need a larger decant!
Al Oudh is really different – I started liking it when I stopped thinking of it as oud. Duchaufour is so creative. Like most of his scents, I don’t think it fits into any of the standard categories.
I would classify womanity as being in the hyper-inflated ad copy group of fragrances. 😀
No, really, every website I’ve looked at seems oddly hesitant to actually classify it. Woody marine?? :S
Agree!
(especially on the ad campaign — how does that happen in 2010?)
I’m going to say it’s a woody fragrance. Citrus and woods (like a traditional masculine) with marine accents plus a loud, sweet fruity fig accord. The salt to me also reads as “peppery,” even a bit spicy or incense-y. That might move it a bit into oriental territory, although I would not call Womanity an oriental.
Oh, and agree on the oud trend.
Maybe Marine Gourmand?
Modern chypre / mossy woods.
The Washington Post technology column Ideas@Innovations has featured the Old Spice guy twice this week, first with a column on the Fabio vs Mustafa duel and today with a poll on whether Airbnb or The Old Spice Guy campaign was more innovative. OF COURSE the Old Spice Guy is leading two to one! 🙂
I will have to go read, thanks!
Here’s a question for you experts:
I’ve been going out and social dancing (salsa and tango) and it’s been sticky, hot and humid here. I’d like to wear a scent that doesn’t offend when it projects with body heat, etc. but isn’t sweet or melon/watery (not my style). I love L’air du desert morocain generally, but think it would be too much, and Eau de Mervilles is great – orangey, salty, not sweet at all- but gets really loud. Any suggestions for something fresh and/or sexy that would complement the heat without overwhelming the dance partner?
EL Bronze Goddess is made for summer, smells great in a light-hearted way and isn’t heavy. I also wonder about a very light application of Gucci Rush.
I’ve been circling Bronze Goddess for a while now. Might as well take the plunge!
Maybe Infusion D’Iris, Dior Addict 2 Fraîche, Miss Dior Cherrie L’Eau.
Been Searching HIGH AND LOW for an old Crabtree and Evelyn Scent called “Song De Chine” If anyone knows where i could POSSIBLY source a Bottle of thids beautiful Lotus/Tea scent I would be ever so appreciative….
BTW…
Just for kicks and giggles…. what 5 fragrances are you all looking forward to coming out within the next few months….???? Mine Are…
5. Kokorico By JPG
4. Candy By Prada
3. Eve By Jil Sander
2. Valentina By Valentino
1. Bottega Veneta Eau De Parfum
Also greatly looking forward to Attimo Homme By Ferragamo and Elie Saab Eau De Parfum!
I tried the Elie Saab today – they have testers out at Nordstrom. it was a little overwhelming, actually. Beautiful, but cloying.
This article is from April, 2003, but the links might still work. Good luck with your search! http://lucire.com/archive2001/0516ll0.shtml
Maybe I am just really indulgent because I adore Like This, or maybe I am naive because I have never smelled anything else in their lineup and has the opportunity to be disappointed by it, but I am really intrigued by EldO’s upcoming Philippine Houseboy. Awful name, but I find the notes interesting.
Does anybody know of any ginger-based frags? Or what type of scent ginger resembles? I drink ginger tea all the time and I’m trying to translate that taste into a perfume.
Serge Lutens 5 o’Clock au Gingembre is a favorite of many but I don’t care much for it. A truer ginger is actually by Origins. A very fun one is Demeter Gingerale, which actually sprays on kind of fizzy. Also, Perlier makes one in their Elariia line (on HSN) called Ginger with Mandarin Spice – it is not perfume but scented cream – it actually warms up my skin, so is very nice when it is chilly.
There is Ginger Ciao by Yosh, which is a perfume oil and does not have a lot of sillage but is very potent. I have to be in just the right mood to wear it but it can be addictive and if you hug someone they will immediately say how nice you smell. Notes on Luckyscent are: black coconut, night queen, tiger lily, neroli, ylang ylang, ginger, basil. It is NOT like ginger tea, though.
But the one I think you will WANT is Jacomo Art Collection #08. It is just the ticket and has a very refreshing ginger tea aspect. (The Non-Blonde in her review said it smells like a good cup of chai.) Note from Fragrantica are: cardamom, ginger) and black tea in top notes. A heart encompasses freesia, milk and dried fruit resting on a base of cinnamon, milk and amber.
Also it has the advantage of not being very expensive at $69 for a good-sized bottle.
I bought this earlier this summer and have worn it quite a bit in hot and humid Houston. It is surprisingly refreshing and makes me feel happy and light-hearted.
I forgot to mention Jo Malone Dark Amber and Ginger Lily. It’s a nice fragrance and I own it too, but it’s not in the tea mode. It’s more woody and ambery. I like it but as with most of her fragrances, I find it very linear and not deep or interesting, so I wind up not wearing it much.
you tricky enabler you ….I’ve just ordered samples of the 3 Jacomo Art
Scents…..If I end up spending on bottles it’s on your head!! I’ll let you know if you need to proceed to the GUILT portion of the program….
Just so that Calypso doesn’t have to bear ALL the guilt, let me tell you that Jacomo #8 has been my favorite perfume this summer. And I think Gaia is right; it is like chai tea – spicy and wonderful, but light enough in the heat of summer. The perfect summer oriental!
It’s always good to spread the blame out a little…
Tama already mentioned Origins Ginger –very zingy.
and Calypso has mentioned Ginger Ciao—but in that I’d recommend that you try the Edp formulation. Still not tea buy lighter, zingy-er and with a little more sillage than the oil.
Ha, Daisy, I guess I owe you something for that splurge, huh? I hope you will let us know how you like those Jacomo scents. Thanks for the head’s-up on the Ginger Ciao, I did not know there were alternative versions. Now you see you have ME on the hook for something so we’re even!
Like This is warm and gingery (though not a ginger scent per se). I also think that The Different Company Bergamote is a gingery citrus fragrance.
everyone keeps saying ginger about Like This…..I wish I got ginger from it….all I got was immortelle….lots and lots of immortelle. 🙁
Seconding “Like This” for being worth a try!
L’artisan Coeur de Vetiver Sacre is all about ginger on my. It’s quite nice.
Thanks, all! That Jacomo 8 sounds reallyreally nice. I wish I could find half the scents that you people talk about.
I’ve been bad and recently got a bottle of Angel Sunessence Bleu Lagon (ebay, cheap) and the new Cartier Baiser Vole (Nordstrom, not cheap). Fortunately all came with various freebies. I shouldn’t be buying perfume at all since I’m moveing and we all know how spendy that can be! Bad bad me.
I really love the Cartier – I was a little nervous since the Baiser du Dragon had a puke note. Bit the Vole is fabulous, like they ground up a whole lily plant and the dirt it was in and made perfume of it.
Bad bad you! Meg started a thread higher up on appropriate perfumes for self-flagellating moods. Unfortunately none of your new treasures came up. For me, I’d go for Byredo’s M. Mink. Only I’v never been bad enough to deserve that. ever.
I don’t believe you for one minute. You had your fingers crossed when you said that, didn’t you? Of course you deserve it!
those mole kisses are sounding better all the time!
Andy Tauer’s Une Rose Vermeille made me laugh – it’s a big fruity floral, the raspberry is so joyful!
I spent a happy Saturday afternoon popping between Les Senteurs and a coffee shop sniffing my way through the Tauer range and I was blown away. Over the last 2 weeks I have been trying a lot of the Amouage range and while I have admired them (and if a bottle of Lyric found its way into my life I really wouldn’t complain!), but I find them almost soulless in their perfection. They are like an Oil Painting that should hang in the National Gallery rather than your own home. Andy Tauer on the other hand spoke to me personally – I am already trying to work out which organ to sell so I can own Une Rose Chypree, ohhh and Orange Star (now there’s a perfume I adore that according to the notes I should HATE), and L’Air, oh the list goes on…
A organ? you mean perhaps which organS? LOL! Nice to find something to lurve:)
hahahaha too true…organS …… although, if I had the opportunity to shop in Les senteurs…..I’d be trotting out the door with a huge shopping bag as they tucked my SOUL into the register….
(Un)Fortunately les Senteurs isn’t exactly handy, but on a free Saturday afternoon it’s definitely worth the travel, even if it is a little dangerous!
It was the Frederic Malle line that introduced me to the niche perfume world – and what an introduction, they are all fascinating from Lipstick Rose to Musc Ravageur (both of which I own)!
Une Rose Chypree was the one that truly broke my heart, it is truly beautiful, but amazingly smells like it was designed just for me, which I pretty sure it wasn’t (I think I would have noticed being followed around by a lovely Swiss man). It smells sooo good on me, but I feel like I am wearing it, with so many of the Amouage I felt they were wearing me…
YOU LIVE CLOSE ENOUGH TO VISIT LES SENTEURS????
**intense jealousy**
I’m a total Amouage Ho….so I’d probably embarrass myself by shamelessy hugging the Amouage display and sobbing tears of joy. Maybe it’s a good thing I’m on another continent…
Une Rose Chypree….of course you must own this. This fragrance alone elevated Andy to Near-god Status in my heart.
Don’t forget to sniff your way thru the Frederic Malle line ….Carnal Flower is AMAZING….and the body butter is droolworthy.
Daisy, gotta agree with you on the Carnal Flower! And that body butter is truly divine, isn’t it?
it really really is. I fear that having now had some—that I will be hooked for life! I have such spendy habits!!
Yes!! to what Daisy said- both the scent and the body butter are AMAZING..and I can often smell it hours and hours after I have applied them…one of my favorite scents evah!!
I know what you mean about the Tauers speaking to you personally; they did that to me, too. L’air was my introduction to the world of niche, and it was as though Andy had made it just for me.
Clever isn’t he!
Hey perfume lovers! I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m a 40 year old man from Stockholm, Sweden and have been passionately interested in perfume since childhood. I check this site several times a day so and I’m happy to be able to comment from now on.
I’m also a hobby perfumer, struggling with aromachemicals and essential oils. I’m not very good at it, but I learn every day and it’s a very rewarding hobby for me.
And today I’m wearing Messe de Minuit.
Welcome! and you smell fabulous! Messe de Minuit is the epitome of Church Incense to me….cold but intense…a very emotional scent for me.
being a hobby perfumer sounds like great fun…perhaps someday we’ll see your name on a new niche line. 🙂
Seconding Daisy’s welcome to you! And it’s so neat that you’re trying your hand at perfume. What a cool hobby!
Hi & welcome!
I just ordered a set of three Roja Dove samples from TPC and am savoring them. Two summers ago, I had the good fortune to visit the “palace” at the top of Harrod’s and talk with the staff person there (not Mr. Dove himself but a young guy who was very nice) and I tried them there. I remember thinking they were beautiful but sort of too “perfumey” for my taste. Now I am absolutely loving Scandal which is the jasmine one. It also has tuberose and orange blossom. The first thing I always say about myself in perfume tastes is “NOT a white floral fan” and just look at me drool! Well that’s the fun of it, when tastes change. As I mentioned earlier I live in a very hot and humid climate (Houston) and yet I find this lovely and lightening, not too heavy, just delicate and even a little invigorating in our heat. Now Enslaved is definitely way too heavy for our weather, and for my sensibility, but Unspoken is also a winner. I just wish these were not as expensive, but maybe a larger decant is in my future. 🙂
I knew I liked you…..I have all three of the Roja Doves….Enslaved is my favorite—but I live in the Frozen North and Scandal is perfect for Houston heat. If you decide you need decants drop me a note at Daisyloo82 AT gmail dot com (although I fully understand the need for FBs)
Oh, you guys are making my mouth water! I adore those three Roja Doves as well, although Unspoken and Scandal are my faves. I’ve heard they also come in body creams (yum!) but haven’t seen them for sale anywhere. Maybe one of the decant sites will get some and offer samples of them. We can dream, can’t we?
body creams you say? *drool*
my offer stands if you are interested. 🙂
I haven’t seen body creams—do they have them at Harrod’s? I wonder if they’d ship….or if you can find a lovely traveling scent mule?
I feel sure they must be at Harrod’s but when I was on the Web site the other day looking at all the RD products (no creams on there BTW), there was a note under each item that said “this item is non-exportable.” Not sure if that applies to online orders only though. We do need some “inside help” (read: UK friend) on this one, I think.
Speaking of oud (and its numerous variant spellings) . . . I’d love to hear feedback from all you experts on the Montale fragrances, both oud-based and otherwise. I’ve read many of the blog reviews – thanks, Robin et al. – but there are so many that I’m having a hard time sorting them out. No Bacon Oudh, though. 😉
no–bacon is for eating ….not for perfume, thank you.
I am not a fan of Montale Ouds…to my nose they are harsh, medicinal and fairly overwhelming…I can’t stand any of them. ( And now 20 of our brethren will speak up for loving them ) so I am no help when it comes to the ouds.
On the other hand Montale has some truly wonderful non-oud scents that I adore— Soleil de Capri (citrusy/spicy sunny vacation on the Mediterranean coast in a can), Roses Elixir (intoxicating rose/strawberry syrup), Highness Rose (biggest, reddest, most luxurious rose ever!), Mukhallat (bowl of strawberries anyone?), Powder Flowers (soft floral, powdery with an interesting metallic note) Boise Vanille (amazing woods in a vanilla base, dry not sweet…gets compliments everytime I wear it), Taif Roses (clear, vibrant pink roses), Vanille Absolu (heavy, glorious, knock you upside the head VANILLA…closest thing I have to Indult Tihota which is gone from the cosmos.) ….there, is that any help? 🙂
Any help?!?!?! Daisy, I’d say you’re pretty amazing! Thanks so much.
The Montale Ouds I have tried have been too soapy for me. My fave oud and the one “soliflore” oud I own is the Tom Ford Private Collection offering. I also love By Kilian Incense Oud and Cruel Intentions. YSL M7 is apparently an early use of oud, and it’s wonderful.
Thanks so much, Tama
I actually really like the Montale aouds- atleast some of them..I love Black Aoud, Aoud Rose Petals and WHite Aoud..They are richer and more medicinal than say the By Killian Ouds (which are lovely and softer, btw)- but sometimes I crave the Montale kind of bold aoud balanced by the lusciousness of the roses, and then black aoud and aoud rose petals are perfect. WHite aoud is a more cuddly scent- like a fluffly rose aoud- yummy! I didn’t like Aoud Queen Roses as much- there was something about the beginning that I didn’t like- but it has a lovely drydown.
This ofcourse is just my opinion and many people find Montales very harsh, so YMMV..
hope this helps.
Thanks, Lavanya. I really appreciate your opinion.
Last night I wore Carnal Flower for a friend’s 30th birthday shindig in a poolside cabana at a fancy hotel. I felt sexy and decadent. Thanks, Frederic Malle!
This evening will be decidedly very different from last night. I will be babysitting my adorable, but mischievous twin nieces (who are 5 going on 15) and haven’t figured out what perfume to wear yet. Perhaps something as light and peppery as they are? L’Artisan Poivre Piquant?
Carnal Flower is divine. I got the Big Bottle and am so happy I have it.
mmmm…yes, divine….*sniffffff* mmmmmm
I love Carnal Flower too and it makes me feel absolutely lovely and confident..
Yes, definitely something to help keep you on your toes! At that age, they are overflowing with energy, and as you said, mischief. Have fun!
Testing Parfume de Nicholai scents this weekend thanks to TPC sale last week. I am in love with 2 now: fruity Sacrebleu like jammy incense but not too sweet or too overpowering. And Cococobana which elicits thoughts of delicious tropical beverages with umbrellas in them! I wish Cococabana was still in production as I’d love a bottle of this!
I like so many of the PdN scents and have been pleasantly surprized at the longevity on my skin. Mimosaique lasts all day and into the evening and is a delightful light powdery mimosa/heliotrope blend. And who can argue with the spring suede of Le Temps d’Une Fete.
Their longevity is usually excellent, and there are so many winners in that line. Love PdN!
I was wondering if anybody had tried the recent version of Caron Poivre and LIKED it? I used to have a decant from either perfumed court/fragrant fripperies that I absolutely loved but don’t know how different that version is from the most recent one. Anybody??
Also is the SL Vitriol de Oeillet anything like Poivre?
I have the current Poivre and I think it’s some gorgeous, hot, peppery carnations! However, I do not have any older version to compare it to.
As for Vitriol d’Oeillet—mine is due to be delivered this coming week so I’ll let you know! 🙂
hot peppery carnations does sound goood! Maybe I will love the current version too!
I love Poivre in its current version, but haven’t tried the vintage. Would be afraid to.
I feel the same way…if I love the current version then sampling the vintage could only lead to trouble….trouble of the $$$$$ persuasion.
oh- that is good to hear!- I don’t know when exactly the reformulation happened- so not even sure whether the version I fell in love with was the vintage one..Thanks for the input!