Today's poll was suggested by reader Lucasai. What was your best fragrance buy of 2011? It could be the biggest bargain, the one you're happiest with, the one you searched for and finally found, the one that garnered the most compliments, anything.
Note: top image is three cookies by blucolt at flickr; some rights reserved.
After a couple years of a buying marathon, I’ve slowed my purchases. My favorite perfume buys were for my new husband. I bought him Voyage and Bulgari Black. Both smell just wonderful on him. His skin does well with fragrance and it just blooms on his skin and lasts a long time-even Voyage.
I have a small decant of Xerjoff Richwood will smells fantastic on him, but I ration that one.
That’s great Dixie! Good choices! Happy you both like it
I have recently found myself slowing down, too. This is my first full year of perfumistahood, and I was totally gung-ho at the start. About half-way through, I decided I better start putting on the breaks. I was limiting myself to only 1 bottle a month. Now, I’m not sure I have anything I’ll buy this month. . .only if I find something I ADORE at a good price!
Actually, it feels good to feel sort of sated.
I’ve been waiting for Prada Amber pour Homme Intense since I read a press release about it. It’s been 7 months since I finally got my full bottle. Apart from this one I bought Dsquared Potion this week. These are my only two buys for this year. I’d buy more, but I try to filter perfume: first step is if i like it or not, second is I take those I like and intensively think If I like them this much to have a FB. This year was quite poor in mens perfume so I’m staying with these 2 new friends of mine
Hooray for satiety! I find it so fleeting where perfume is concerned…but I’m happy for you and hope it lasts and lasts!
Yes, I wonder how long the feeling will last! I’ll enjoy it as long as it does, in any case!
I just hope 2012 will be better of it comes to male fragrances. I had a narrow choice this year to pick up some “perfume pearls” for my nose, I want a reater variety to chose from next year
Start saving now, because it won’t last. Trust me.
Haha! You sound like you’re speaking from experience!
I’ll start by answering to my own poll question.
My best-buy of this year is definitely Prada Amber pour Homme Intense. (Also I didn’t buy much this year) It took me a little bit more than half a year to find it in my country. It was also a blind-buy at the same time.
I’m very happy that I took the risk & that it joined my fragrance collection.
You meant blind buy, not bling buy, right? Tell me if you meant bling and I’ll put it back (I fixed it).
yup. I meant BLIND-BUY. Amber pour Homme Intense is not available in Poland, I found it online, bought without sniffing it
I’m so curious about the Intense. What the differences betwen from it to Amber?
OMFG! Today is not my day for writing. I’ll try only to read! Lol!
Don’t worry! Sometimes I also have a “crazy keyboard day!”
Moving on to Prada.
For me it’s a whole new fragrance, despite the name relation to original Amber pour Homme. It’s darker, heavier on myrrh and patchouli, more “tempting” and sexy. The bergamot right at the beginning is great, goes straight to the nose. It lost it’s soapiness in comparison to Amber pour Homme (I fell in love with PAPH because of the soap), sometimes I get a feeling of cocoa in Intense.
I absolutely love it. I’m not sure yet if it’s a greater love than for original PAPH but it’s love. Great perfume, lasts forever on my skin
Sounds interesting despiste the lack of soapy notes. I like soapy notes as far as I dislike deodorant smell (Boss Bottled Night…)
in Intense there is a soap, but not such noticeable. It’s not clean like Amber though.
But it’s fabulous, this perfume has me in 100%. I’ll never regret buing a big bottle without knowing how it smelled. Its FAN-TA-STIC
I’m going to seek this out to sniff. It’s getting a lot of love.
I’m absolutely in love with Prada Amber pour Homme Intense.
From the first sniff
Lucasai,
Thank you for hosting today. Great poll question!
thank you! I’m happy you like it
Jeau de Peaux
I mean Jeux de Peau LOL
If you like Jeau de Peaux, try Kenzo Jungle Pour Homme.
yeah, why dont you check jungle
Lol! Sorry: Jeux de Peau!
Jeux de Peau was also my best buy in terms of wonderfulness. So utterly gorgeous.
My biggest bargain was Odori Tabacco, which sells for $210 at Luckyscent but which I bought new for $12, yes really, at a discounter this summer.
thats a BIG bargain
That’s an amazing buy!
Where??? I love this scent, but not enough to shell out 200 smackeros
The biggest surprise this year was Bottega Veneta – who would have thought that a department store frangrance could be this good? However, my best buy was Ormonde Woman. It was love from the first moment I smelled it! They threw in a 10 ml travel spray for free and I will give that to my Mum for Christmas – hope she will love it as much as I do.
I love Ormonde Woman! That would have been my pick for my best find of 2010. I too fell for it from the first sniff. It is unusual, but very beautiful, and quite unlike anything else I have tried.
Happy for you
Yes, I bought my FB of OJ Woman when they were giving the 10 mL purse sprays out, too. It is total, complete happiness for me! It sets the bar very high, though! I almost feel like if a scent doesn’t give me a comparably fabulous experience, then maybe I don’t really want it. . .probably not fair to other scents!
Oh, and I’m not so generous as to give away my 10 mL. . .I do hope your mother loves it, though!
Thanks! You’re so right, this is probably my desert island scent right now and it really raises the bar for everything else!
Yes! A desert-island scent, for sure!
I did the same. It had been on my FB wish list forever!
I adore OJ Woman! I can’t wait to try BV!
Hello Kristinacologne, you mention the two I also like a lot. I have both fragrances only in sample size. Ormonde woman as part of the really beautiful discovery box!!
Best buys were on ebay, which I had avoided for years. Went crazy with vintage Shalimar; picked up parfum and three edts, various ages and bottles.
Good time to stock up, I must say.
I love Shalimar and vintage is still easy to find and generally reasonable. It makes me a little sad to think of all those bottles purchased for women in years past who thought it was too fancy or saved it only for special occasions at the back of the cabinet only for it to find its way to a yard sale or eBay. I try my best to give
it a good home.
right, some great bargains can be found there
Wow! People keep mentioning some of my favorite buys before I can post mine! I found a half-full stopper bottle of Shalimar at an estate sale back in the spring–I wasn’t sure what I thought of it then. But I fell for it completely over the summer. In our temperate summers, it bloomed into a voluptuous but not overwhelming (not to me, anyway!) scent, and it really made me feel like a bombshell when I went out!
I am so glad for you! There’s nothing like buying Shalimar to make a girl feel (and smell) great.
I had two: Liz Zorn’s Centennial, which I absolutely adore (it used to be Historical Chypre and I adored it then
and Cartier Fougueuse, which I adore. My next year’s ‘buy’ will be Amouage Epic. I’ve fallen head over heels in love with it.
xo
Wow! Great you already have a fragrance to buy in 2012
I’m with you on the Fougueuse, Musette. I had a sample and then was able to swap for a decant. That was in the summer. The big surprise came later when I discovered it was a perfect fall fragrance.
Oooohhh, I think I’m with you on Epic. I took a sniff of it in passing, but I can’t get it out of my head! A very worthy FB purchase to look forward to!
Epic is totally FBW, as is Lyric, IMO.
Lyric is at the top of my Amouage sniff list, everyone’s made it sound just so yummy!
There are two: Voyage d’Hermes, wich although the pathetic lasting power and sillage, has grownth at my score more and more; A*Men Pure Coffee, wich is a yuuuuum!
Oh, I didn’t have a chance to check that a*men.
It’s a little bit sintetic at the beggining, but it turns into a comfortable scent after a time. It’s not as sweet as A*Men: somehow bitter, darker a more subtle. Chocolate (patchouli?) is more proeminent. The coffee note is a toasted, not a “fresh” coffee smell.
i’ll give it a whiff if i have a chance
My best buy of the year is Vega. I had really liked the sample I had, but was very reluctant to shell out $305 for a FB. I really liked the bottle, too, so I didn’t want a decant in a plain vial. Fortunately, I was able to trade in some credit card reward points for a NM gift card, so it only cost me about $80 out of pocket. With some perfumes I would be hesitant to buy a large bottle, as I might get tired of it long before I used it all, but I can see myself wearing Vega forever, or for however long it takes to use up the rather large bottle. Floral aldehydes were the first perfume family I learned to love (long before I knew about perfume families) from the no. 5 and Arpege on my mother’s dressing table, and I still love them now, some 40 years later. For me, it is one perfume type that is always right, no matter the occasion or the time of year. It is bright enough not to be suffocating in the summer, but has enough presence to work in cold weather as well.
Vega is really, really lovely! And the bottle is stunning.
then congrats with this one
50, I hear you. My FB purchase of Cruel Gardenia this year was the most expensive perfume purchase ever and it scared me to death to make the commitment. But, like you, I have no regrets.
Lord, I really must try Vega.
Signed, an Alde-ho.
*giggle*
“Alde-ho”!!
Soooo lucky! I LOVE Vega!
Absolute best: Mary Greenwell Plum. (Bought it via eBay UK, with my “get yourself a little somethin’, sweetie” anniversary gift. Yay for The CEO.)
Next favorite: the Ferre 20 I bought in Rome. That was a fun trip, and I loved sniffing around this nice Italian guy’s shop, even though he didn’t speak any English and I sure don’t speak Italian!
Sleeper surprise: the miniature of Liz Zorn Centennial, which Miss Musette talked me into and I wound up loving.
I like the “get yourself” phrase! Great you bought something you like
Sorry for the double post. I’m on my new iPad and still getting the hang of it. It is my new favorite thing and I was shocked when my husband bought it for me. We didn’t spend this much on our wedding rings.
I’m not sure what my best buy was, I’m not sure I found any real bargains this year, but my favorite new discoveries were No.5 parfum and Serge Lutens Arabie. And the partial bell jar of Iris Silver Mist.
Congrats on your iPad! I’d love one for my next gadget buy. Well, either that or a new lens for my camera.
Another congrats! I want one, but have spent so much on gadgets this year that it’s out of the question.
I love n.5 parfum. It is quite amazing, isn’t it?
I like the edt, but was never really in love- the parfum really caught my heart.
It’s so fun to play Ninja Fruit on an iPad. Have you played it, Julia? Make us practice some exercises with the arms.
Arabie! One of my faves from last year!
I cant recall everything i bought, but i am very satisfied with my purchase of Yosh Sombre Negra. I didnt think i would ever buy a patchouli fragrance, but this changed my mind.
we sometimes can surprise ourselves, can’t we?
I like patchouli in general, but love Coromandel. It is miles away from hippie patchouli. I’m wearing it this morning. One of my fave cozy scents. Have you tried it?
Absolutely miles away! If anything could get me to wear patchouli, it would be Coromandel.
I think ive only smelled it briefly on paper.
Congradulations on your Tauer win!!!
Hey Rictor, I saw you won the Tauer draw. Congrats
Adding my congrats, Rictor! It was fun seeing someone I “know” win one of the bottles. Enjoy and let us know what you think.
Thanks. Yeah that definitely brightened my mood. I was suppose to go snowboarding today, but woke up with cold like symptoms and mountain conditions were poor anyway, so this news balanced it out.
tell us what bottle are you going for?
the prize for that day was Cologne du Maghreb, not a choice of any bottle.
For me it would have to Guerlain Cuir Beluga. I went to the event at NM where the fragrance guru from Guerlain Paris analyzes your skin, hair, eyes, etc, and she picked it for me. I half wonder if I gave her too much help by telling her I already had Angelique Noire and Oriental Brulant, but wouldn’t have picked CB on my own. Am loving the soft suede-ness of it, and the drydown of soft amber and vanilla suits me to a T. Am also enjoying Gucci Guilty Intense and Prada Candy (fessing up early to Signora Donatella).
Whoa! That skin, hair etc analysis sounds cool. I know sephora sometimes organizes such meetings if you apply earlier.
I love Prada Candy!
Yup, Candy has turned out to be great for the office since it’s light enough not to be cloying, but also a fun comfort scent.
I’d say it’s quite sophisticated, even some kind of elegant. It’s sweet but not overwhelming which is not so clear
i loved it on the tester, but on me prada candy smells like stale violets and benzoin :-((
too bad to hear that. I think I’m lucky with so many perfumes working great on my skin. Hope you find something new that would suit you
Just curious, what was it about your skin type, etc. that recommended Cuir Beluga? Did she tell you?
No, she just said (in a charming French accent) that my skin loved the “muskier” (and by that, I assume she meant amber-y) scents. That is definitely where my preferences lie, though I have major plans for a FB of VC&A Muguet Blanc when NM has its spring beauty event. Lys Carmin may figure in, as well.
I’ve been wanting Cuir Beluga for a while but I’ve been afraid the drydown would be too vanilla extract-like. But it sounds like it’s working well for you, huh? That’s cute what she said; judging by your other Guerlains, she and you picked well this time with CB.
I bought a sample pack of those Sexiest Fantasies body sprays at the drugstore – 5 bottles of 1.7 oz each by Parfums de Coeur for the bargain price of $9.99. Angela reviewed three already, my pack also included Fireworks (fruity peach smoke, very nice) and On the Prowl (knockoff of Light Blue) as well as the ones she sampled.
I get so many compliments from these! Its almost embarrassing because of how cheap they are but they are definitely crowd pleasers – specifically Fireworks and Va Va Voom! (fig and chocolate) and Love Struck, all of which have incredible lasting power. On the Prowl (Light Blue knockoff) is nice too but only lasts about 45 minutes on my skin. Love Struck is an exact dupe for Victorias Secret Love Spell. The only one I didn’t like at all was Strawberries & Champagne, which smells like cheap strawberry shampoo – but the hubby liked it, go figure!
I got mine at Walmart but I’ve seen them as CVS and Walgreens – at $9.99 you can’t beat the price and you could use them as stocking stuffers.
That sounds crazy great! You did a great job with these
Thanks! Forgot to post the link to Angela’s review at NST
https://nstperfume.com/2010/08/09/body-fantasies-sexiest-fantasies-strawberries-champagne-love-struck-and-va-va-voom-fragrance-review/
I find my cheapest are always the crowd pleasers! So funny.
So true!
Since this is the year I really started immersing myself in all perfume-related things it’s difficult to chose! I think my best buys are my Tauer-perfumes(Zeta and Une Rose Chypree) , Piguet Bandit and my Ormonde Jayne Discovery set!
they all sound lovely
I’m waiting on my discovery set! I have a decant of Woman which isn’t my favourite perfume ever. I’m most anxious to try Ta’if, Tolu, and Orris Noir. I’m bad about ordering things unsniffed and i’m trying to reform.
There have been many perfume purchases this year, but Dzing! is my favourite; a truly intelligent perfume, that every time I spray myself I my soul is grateful. I have to admit though, the purchase that won most compliments this year is the portrait of a lady. Is it my imagination, but I find similarities between the latter and L’Ombre dans L’Eau; both are kind of dark and deep creations, centred around the rose, where pachouli gives PoL a kick, and greenness creates some harshness in L’Ombre. If someone likes PoL I’d recommend L’Ombre and the vice versa!
Have a lovely weekend!
Eva, this is my first full year, too! I agree completely about the OJ Discovery set! What a revelation to discover so many great scents from one perfumer. Even the ones I wouldn’t wear, I can recognize are well-made.
I keep meaning to order the Tauer samples. . .I’ll put it on the list for this coming year!
My best buy is also my only (perfume) buy this year – a 30ml bottle of Jubilation which ended up costing me just under £25 including shipping. Couldn’t be more thrilled about it!
I totally understand your thrills. Great perfume for great money
Wow, excellent bargain.
Thank you, both! It’s one of my absolute favourites and was on my wish list for at least 2 years so I’m glad that my patience paid off in the end.
Best buys were Arabie and Marrakech, which I both got on sale
great!
Awesome. My love for Arabie is intense. I expected this winter to be heavy on the Amber Narguile but it has been put on hold. I wish I had a big bell jar of it.
Julia, I’m loving Arabie more and more… it’s not one of the Serges that you hear about as much as others, and it certainly wasn’t my favorite after i sampled the entire line… The fact that it was on sale pushed me a bit into the purchase, but I wasn’t expecting to love it.
Lately it’s really grown on me and become one of my favorites. Something about it feels Christmasy, too.
I sampled Amber Narguile a few weeks ago and it’s been a huge lemming ever since
Both are perfect this time of year.
This was a great idea for a poll–and I finally have time this weekend to participate!
Best investment:
a FB of Cruel Gardenia. I adore it all year round and wear it a few times a week. Still, I admit, it scared me to spend that much money on a bottle of perfume. Shortly after purchasing it the tornado sirens went off and I grabbed it to take into the shelter with me!
Surprises:
1. Muguet Blanc. I got it in a split unsniffed and immediately purchased more.
2. Bois de Paradis. This one had to grow on me. It’s a strange combo of jammy fruit, rose and warm amber notes.
I finally got my very own bottle:
Coromandel
Thank you! I’m glad you liked my idea for a poll.
That’s a great list of perfume, you wrote up there! I guess you treat this bottle like a treasure
Bois de Paradis has been my recent favorite – it’s wonderful in frosty weather.
Yes, GG, I’ve been wearing it a lot on these cold days.
I discovered Mary Greenwell Plum–after purchasing a decant, I knew I had to have a FB. My husband has declared it to be my signature scent, which rather shocked me because (a) I had no idea HE knew there was such a term and (b) as much as I love MGP, I have probably 100 bottles of other scents that I fully intend to continute to use and so don’t really want a “signature scent.” Oddly, and I do mean oddly, of all the scents I own (and I’ve been into this only two years, but am only now tapering off on the spending), I have received compliments only twice–and both were on Victoria’s Secret’s Love Spell lotion, which my daughter had given me because she didn’t like it! Wahhhh. I want to be noticed for something marvelous and not mainstream, but I seem destined for anonymity.
that must’ve been a surprise when he said about signature scent! Hope you enjoy this one much! Remember – never enough bottles of good perfume
LOL at Victoria’s Secret lotion!
I teach middle school, and more times than not, the kids will only comment on my scent if I’m wearing something pretty main-stream! They love my one fruity floral: Ange ou Demon Le Secret. Although I also get positive comments when I layer a little Tea for Two with Jacomo #8 (to cut the smoke notes in Tea for Two). I’ve decided that they comment on what they can identify because it’s familiar.
I don’t own Ange ou Demon Le Secret, but I kind of love it! It’s actually a bizarre little perfume, I think!
I think I know what you mean about Ange ou Demon Le Secret (AouDLS?). It’s mostly a typical fruity floral, but there’s enough interesting going on that I still wear it, even after educating my nose so much this year. I really like the dry down–creamy and slightly festive with something warm with the cranberries. I think it”s a good choice for holiday parties with family or coworkers.
yup, I think it’s maybe that cranberry just isn’t the typical berry in your fruity florals (more often strawberries or raspberries or cherries) and then there’s the green tea going on, too. It kind of reminds me of a holiday-themed cocktail drink, or something.
I was going to say A*Men Pure Malt, which I bought at a duty-free shop and wore a lot this year, but I think that was actually the very end of 2010! I didn’t buy many full bottles this year — like others I’m trying to slow way down there and acquire smaller amounts of new scents. Splitting a set of the travel refills of Beyond Love with a friend was definitely a good move — $35 for a small amount of my favorite tuberose. I’m also glad I finally bought a decant of Champagne de Bois, which took me a while to fall for (though Winter Woods and Tabac Aurea were instant love).
I had two best buys. One was a blind buy-Paris Balenciaga. It took awhile for me to get used to it, but I like it now. My second would be Jo Malone’s Vintage Gardenia. It smells great with her Orange Blossom as the lotion.
I like the Balenciaga too, in fact, like it more now than I did when it came out. Want a travel size.
I don”t quite get how it works, but I actually enjoy the scent of B. Paris dobbed from my mini better than sprayed.
I have mentioned pretty much all of my best buys in comments above. . .
The OJ Discovery Set: A total revelation! Especially OJ Woman, which is complete happiness.
A vintage bottle of Shalimar from an estate sale for about $20.
My current passion (and not mentioned above): FM Lipstick Rose, which I found “gently used” on ebay for $90. It smells *AMAZING* sprayed in my hair–for over 24 hours! It makes me want to flip my hair around any cute fellas that cross my path! HA!
giggling at hairflipping! I used to spray fragrance in my hair all the time before I was a full-on perfumista, I’m not sure why I stopped doing it.
Yeah, I’m not quite a Pantene commercial. . .My hair is shoulder-length and has blue low-lights. But it *smells* great!
BLUE lowllights? Well, you must be the coolest teacher ever.
Yeah. . .that’s what I keep telling the kids!
I admit that I am a bundle of contradictions along those lines, though–a true mix of my hippy dad and my traditional mother (long-since divorced!). She named me Marjorie Rose and served dinner precisely at 5 and dad preached that every person should live the life that gives them joy and no other. So–I work for “the man,” insist on being the boss in my classroom and yet I have blue hair and drive an art car.
I figure I’m teaching my students to accept diversity!
You sound like a WONDERFUL teacher! Lucky kids – they may not realize it now, but they will eventually.
What a fantastic deal on the Lipstick Rose. Now I’ll start praying that someone on eBay will want to unload a similarly “gently used” bottle of Portrait of a Lady.
I’m thinking that the OJ Discovery Set would be a good use for any Christmas money that might come my way.
I bought a few this year that I like very much. My favourite? I love OJ Tiare a lot and love love SL Un Lys, but I think my favourite is Amouage Epic Woman. It was a bit of a struggle because it is so expensive but after samples and decants I started to feel kind of panicky almost at the thought of not being able to wear it whenever my sample or decant would get low. So now a big fat very expensive bottle sits among my other bottles and I smile and feel that all is well when I put it on or catch a waft of it floating around me. For me, I guess that is the definition of comfort.
Yes — makes it worth the money!
I finally found “Eau de Shalimar” at Marshalls for $10. Pretty sure it was a mismark though.
Excellent buy.
At the beginning of this year I received a tiny sample (not even 1ml) of Oeillet from Scent Systems. I fell in love with it immediately and managed to wear a single drop at least 5 times this year before I finally decided to search for it in September. It took me another month to decide upon buying it and then I”ve finally ordered a bottle. I normally don’t like to wear scents in perfume strength, that’s why I haven’t even tried the Scent Systems perfumes, when they first came out.
And now I am so happy with this jewel of a glowing scent!
Cheers
Safran
Glad to hear you’re pleased with FB of this
Glad to hear it can still be had — thought they were basically gone.
There is a shop in the UK, which has a few bottles left of different ones, the name is Earth Mother Soul Sister, http://www.earthmothersoulsister.co.uk/
Cheers
Safran
I guess my favorite score was a bottle of Armani Prive Bois d’Encens. I finally made up my mind to buy it – and it was no longer available. Fortunately, a used bottle appeared on ebay and I got it for a reasonable price. YESSSSSSS!!!! It’s pretty perfect for winter solstice.
Oooh, really?? It was on my wishlist! Another murder!
lucky you! congrats
Oh, I should really try Bois d’Encens. So far, as much as I like incense fragrance, none has moved me enough to buy a full bottle.
I am sure there is the “right” one out there!
Did they discontinue Bois d’Encens? That would be a shame. Congrats on your score!
Bonbori, in the US, at least, I’ve been unable to find it. Saks used to carry it, but an SA called around to other Saks last summer and could not find it. The US Armani websites don’t show it, and the UK Armani website shows it as out of stock.
It would be a loss, it has a very strong character.
If it were discontinued, which it sounds like
My best buy of 2011 was an (unsniffed!) bottle of Serge Lutens Fleurs d’Oranger. It’s the most I’ve ever spent on a single bottle, and I bought it based on the Luckyscent description and reviews. It did NOT disappoint, and I am utterly in love. My best perfume gift this year was a bottle of Juliette Has a Gun Lady Vengeance, from my sister. It’s been a good year!
so you took a risk as i did with Prada
My best buy of the year wasn’t a “buy” for me. SO gifted me with Guerlain Liu in a bee bottle during my visit to the Guerlain Fragrance Experience in November.
but it’s still your 2011 best
A best buy that you don’t have to buy is even better.
agreed
My fragrance of the year is definitely Cuir de Lancome – it was a bargain from one of the online discounters (under $40!), and it has gotten me a lot of compliments (well not a lot, I guess, but more than any other). I’ve also worn it around 3 times a week since I bought it in August, and I’m not remotely sick of it – I sometimes kind of have to “force” myself to use one of my older scents, actually.
It’s easily the closest thing I’ve had to a signature scent. I’m feeling a need to buy half a dozen more bottles, just as a stockpile.
that is really great!
I MUST get some Cuir de Lancome. Yours is only the latest of many raves I have noticed. It s summer where I live, but come autumn, it’s on the list!
I love CdL! I bought it unsniffed, too – and then one day I looked at the level in the bottle and decided that I needed a backup bottle…
My automatic response would be Prada’s infusion d’ Iris. There are times it is not right but so much of the time it IS right. And the odd thing is that nearly all my frags are ambers/orientals/gourmands…
Ah yes, good great Prada. You don’t have to cinvince a Pradaholic like to this fragrance.
Good you like it
Good choice! Have you tried Infusion d’Homme?
moore, if you’re asking me, I got all male fragrances by Prada. d’homme is my favourite for lazy days or formal meetings/exams
And??? if you’r asking me: I didn’t like Infusion d’ Iris at first. It smelled like a poor sour-ish thing to me. Then at some point I tried Infusion d’ Homme and really liked it. It had this smell of creamy luxury soap, and I liked the Neroli note, in particular. But – everyone I asked disliked it on me. Whenever I asked, and held my wrist to someone’s nose I got a negative responsive.
So, I tried Infusion d’ Iris again and then started falling head over heels for it. It has this crisp addictive quality that my nose kept having to go back to.
In fact, its the first time I bought a perfume in the 100mls when smaller ones were available! I was that confident – and was right to be.
I still like Infusion d’ Homme, but wouldn’t buy it as I like the infusion d’ Iris so much better,
and…I remember liking Prada d’ Homme, but it lost its attraction after those two Infusions.
I like Candy, but don’t feel the gotta-have vibe for it.
great to hear that you fell in love with d’Iris after some time & that you like d’Homme too.
I also like Prada Candy, my does like it too. Maybe I’ll buy it on her birthday? I wouldn’t wear it as its definitely feminine and I’m not going to abandon my male Pradas
And???!!!… That’s a good choice. I had them both and I preffer much better Infusion d’Homme. Personal tastes. Better longevity, sillage, more incense, more soapy. Hah, and sorry for asking!
that’s exactly how I would describe d’Homme
Moore, do you mean you prefer Infusion d’ Homme to the original Prada Homme, or that you prefer Infusion d’ Homme to Infusion d’ Iris?Sorry, I’m a bit lost in the conversation – thats what the question marks were meant to show!
Favourite Bottle Purchase: No. 5 EDP which I have been wearing like crazy and which has reminded me that the contents of bottles actually *do* go down. I swear I had forgotten!!
Favourite Bargain: Toyko Milk Eden, which I apparently can’t stop talking about and love so much–for such a great price, too. It also helps that I bought and wore it on vacation so I find it to be transportive.
Favourite surpise: swapped for some unsniffed Bvlgari Black. Really suprised and happy with it.
this all sounds amazing! I’m happy for you, congrats
Best buy price-wise was DK Gold, and that was an unsniffed purchase. I read so many positive things about it here at NST that when I saw it could be had for less than 40 bucks for 100ml in edp I quickly caved in.
No regrets, it’s really lovely. Thank you all for a wonderful discovery!
There is a new DKNY in a long bottle – is this a different one? (confused)
DK Gold is Donna Karan Gold – from the main line which includes Cashmere Mist. Donna Karan Gold is a lily scent that was quickly discontinued but has a lot of perfumista fans.
DKNY is more of the ‘mass’ line from Donna Karan. The notable scents in that line are Be Delicious and all its flankers, and more recently Pure DKNY and Pure Verbena.
I had DKNY red delicious men & men(2009) i just finished both bottles, and I’m not coming back for more of these
Merlin, Donna Karan’s Chaos and Black Cashmere are also supposed to be good ones from her non-DKNY line.
Gold has a great bottle too – tall, rectangular and covered in hammered gold with a black wood cap. The rest is covered by breathesgelatin below.
Put it in the wrong spot, sorry! The rest of the info by breathesgelatin is above, not below. sheesh, lol!
My best buy was two sets of Liz Zorn/Soivohle samples from Perfumed Court — a mixture of manufacturer-issued vials and decants of demi- and full-absolute fragrances, some discontinued. Small though each sample may be, they have since proven to be a wealth of sensory awakening far beyond many full-bottle purchases I have made.
Wow! That’s quite an endorsement! Would you say more?
Only this for now: if the fates cause your path to cross that of even the smallest amount of Fougere Nakh, leap upon it with ferocity.
Wow. This must be very rare, indeed! I did a google search, and I didn’t see a single entry in English. . .
I haven’t made a tremendous number of full bottle purchases this year. My best purchase is actually probably my birthday gift, so not even really a purchase on my own behalf. That would be Lanvin Arpege.
For something I spent my own money on, possibly DSH Beach Roses, which I got a LOT of wear out of this summer. Wish she’d sell that stuff in big tankards! I’d buy a 200mL bottle so I could spray with abandon.
I got a tester of Arpege this year – and Love it too!
I had been doing drive-bys for Arpege at Saks for months… I think the woman thought I was A) crazy and B) would never make a purchase. When me, fiance, and the toddler showed up on my birthday she actually said to me “Just looking again?” LOL. I was like “No, actually buying something this time!”
She has a good sense of humor, actually, and won us over – will definitely try to purchase with her again if we can.
I got Arpege sample with my Prada buy, but this one doesn’t speak to me. But I’ll give it another try sometime
Beach Roses is really pretty.
It’s a really good, pretty, easy scent for work that’s not too heavy in the summer Austin heat!
Hmmm. My favourite purchase has been Dzongkha, for sure. I adore it.
Other than that, I purchased two samples that I will purchase full bottles of, so they count as favourite purchases too! Le Labo’s Tubereuse 40 and L’Artisan’s Fleur D’Orange 2011. Both are simply exquisite and I have loved wearing them in these Winter months.
If I’d sprung for a full bottle of Dzongkha this year, it’d be among my best buys. Definitely going to address that in 2012.
My favorite buy this year was Prada Candy – luscious, smooth, sweet and unexpected – and reasonable! I didn’t expect much going in and got simply blown away by its caramelly goodness. My other happiness is that my husband let slip that he is replacing my Jubilation XXV taken by our (former) dog sitter! Hooray for the holidays!
So sorry to hear about your lost bottle of Jub 25! AND so happy to hear you have a generous hubby who will replace it!
Yay! Great you like Candy by Prada. I adore it too (too bad it’s so feminine I can’t wear it)
The dog sitter took a bottle of Amouage?!?! That’s terrible!
My best buy was easily CdG Avignon. Under extreme duress, I could maaaaaaaaybe live without the other perfumes I bought this year. But I could never, ever live without Avignon.
Runner-up is Cuir de Russie — finally, a leather that I can wear day in and day out. Best surprise (read: blind buy) was Eau de Rochas — it’s the only cologne that I truly love. And best bargain discovery is Tibetan Mountain Temple — went through a full bottle of that within eight months.
So, yeah, it’s been a good year.
Oh man, I keep wanting to try the incense series but can’t really justify buying all five samples, and just when I decide which one to try first (zag or kyoto) I read something like this!! Sounds amazing. They all sounds pretty good actually.
The same happens to me…and I even sampled them!!!I like them all, but none really stands out from the bunch- so I don’t manage to commit myself… Like for the Serge Lutens’ Bois series! Too many, too similar…
I strongly recommend the sampler from TPC (I think it’s about $15 for 1 ml vials of all five). I thought about trying them one at a time, but in the end I really appreciated getting a sense of how they worked as a series.
That’s actually a pretty good deal which I did not know about! Thanks for the rec
You may be talking about female Eau De Rochas, but I love the vintage male’s one (that may not be too different). I’m ready to pay a little fortune to Avignon or Kyoto, including shipment and customs taxes, that may multiply its costs by 3 or 4! I’m deciding wich one I’ll pick first. Congrats, nice picks!
Yeah, I have the feminine Eau de Rochas (I’ve never smelled the men’s version, though I have been curious about it). I’m kind of surprised that the one I have isn’t marketed as unisex — I don’t see anything about it that marks it as a feminine scent, though perhaps it seemed that way at the time it was launched. I wonder when the male version was introduced.
Eau de Rochas was my best buy, too. Bought a sample on eBay unsniffed ( on Luca’s recommendation) and fell in love. Found a bargain FB.
I read a review on here that inspired me to seek it out — ordered a smallish bottle from a discounter. Very glad I did!
Totally agree about Avignon! I adore it. BTW, I visited its namesake in France this summer. Lovely gothic little town!
I love seeing all the love for Avignon. I’ve never smelled it but it’s on my Christmas list. Hoping Santa leaves a bottle under the tree.
Hah! I’ll have to put my Avignon on the pack of the busy and absent-minded Santa…
I hope Santa is good to you! And, Jill, I would love to visit the actual Avignon sometime. I’m glad to hear that it’s suitably Gothic.
I’m afraid my best buy has been a dupe: a Chergui-type from CocoaPink. It smells beautiful, is extremely close to the original, and lasts fro HOURS. For a while I kept comparing it to a tester of Chergui in a shop near me. But after a while I stopped worrying about how like Chergui it is. It is gorgeous by itself.
The price? $4.50 for a 5 ml purse spray, and $15.50 for 30 mls.
Nice! I’ve got a shopping basket filled with stuff at CocoaPink (shampoo, conditioner, hair serum) all in the Chergui scent—it’s good to know that you’re so fond of it! That gives me confidence in the quality of the fragrance
Oh good, I’ll be interested to hear what you think, especially how the Chergui-type works in the body products!
After the Bond No 9 New York Oud came out I became obsessed with it. I talked about it to my friends and family, so much so that my mother helped get it for me for my birthday in October. Probably the only $300 perfume that I will ever own, but I love it so much!
it’s like a treasure, isn’t it!?
Sorry, it seems I posted a reply to Julia, instead of just posting individually- my answer is like the theatre of the absurd!
I’ve been a perfume buying juggernaut over the past few years. My friend laughs at what she insists I’ll never be able to use in my lifetime and I direct her to eBay and tell her I’m building my retirement fund! But of all the buys over the past few years the one that stands out the most to me is Rubj EdP by Vero Profumo. It has such presence, quality and unapologetic sexuality to it. It garners many compliments and never becomes boring. Definitely a stand out in my book.
Holly, that sounds really nice. Actually, considering how common it is for perfume ads to suggest scent is all about seduction, I find that I have very few that I would call genuinely sexy. As I contemplate re-entering the dating world, I find myself wondering what other scents might be genuinely seductive without being over the top. I’ll write down Rubj to try!
Ok. So I just looked up the review for Rubj, and now I’m a little trepidatious. . ..orange blossom and cumin? These are not notes that usually draw me in. I’m still curious, but a little more wary.
Try a sample, don’t worry. If you get to smell Rubj edp, orange blossom and cumin are NOT what will leap to mind. “Gorgeous!” And “Should I wear this at the office?” might,though.
Hope this doesn’t post twice, but my computer is squirrely today. I wanted to mention my biggest perfume surprise this year was Carnal Flower. I was a diehard major tuberose loather and yet bought this unsniffed based on reviews. It has not disappointed and I love it in both the body cream and the EdP, no one could have been more s Iurprised than me.
My saddest perfume moment was in the checkout lane at the grocery store. The clerk surrepticiously looked around and then told me I smelled really good. I offerred to spritz her with what I was wearing (Annick Goutal Passion) and she looked sad and oppressed and sighed and said they weren’t allowed to wear perfume. I thought that was ironic since the store had a large fragrance counter and testers. Tyranny still reigns . . . . .
A sad moment indeed. Still, hope you lightened h day a little with that waft of AG.
Last one I promise “s lurprised” should be surprised. Told you my computer was squirrely! Merry Christmas perfumistas!
I’ve made no bargains, but I am really very happy with my perfume purchases this year. It seems that I make fewer and fewer mistakes as time goes by.
It’s difficult to choose the 2011 plunge I’m happiest with… Certainly my Bois des Iles edt (so much better than my previous mini, has Chanel improved the formula? Is it possible?), my Tubereuse Criminelle bell jar (pre export reformulation, I carry a decant everywhere I go, it makes me feel so relaxed and cool) and Fracas pure perfume. For what concerns the latter, I’m not sure if the extrait was really better than the edp, but I’ve almost used up my bottle already, so I certainly enjoyed it – and I might be wiser next time. I am loving Fracas more and more with each wearing. It is probably beating all my other favorite tuberoses. I’m shocked at myself!
On a side note, my greatest discovery have been Sweet redemption. The best orange blossom ever! I see a bottle in 2012…
I liked the Fracas EDP better than the perfume on my skin — the EDP has a mintiness on me and more space in between the notes. But the perfume is nice too, maybe more indolic and less sweet. Perfume concentrations of things seem harder to come by, which is a shame.
Jealous of your purchases!
My best buy was an unsniffed L’Artisan coffret with 3 tiny bottles, one Mure et Musc, one Chasse aux Papillons, and one Nuit de Tubereuse. L’Artisan is hard to find where I live, and am happy to report that I Love Them All, particularly Mure et Musc which doesn’t get a lot of love on the blogs but I find gorgeous and wearable, suitable for any occasion.
I WANT THAT COFFRET!!! The one I have not tried it Mure et Musc- but I adore the other two. I have a huge bottle of NdT- so I can’t justify the purchase but I think it is fantastic!
Ok, what I want to know is who snagged the bargain Sublime Balkiss on eBay?
My best buy? It’s a toss-up between a 50 ml bottle of Jacomo #8 and a 25 ml bottle of Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio. The Jacomo was a great buy because I wore it all summer. Ninfeo Mio was a great buy because I really, really wanted a small bottle. I had heard (and I’m pretty sure I heard it from a commenter here) that there were 25 ml bottles that had been a promotional item for the launch. I’ve cut waaaay back on perfume buying this year and try to buy only 30 ml or smaller bottles, so I haunted ebay until I found a bottle. Success is sweet!
Also a fan of the Jacomo (as I’m sure I’ve mentioned before) — it’s reasonably priced, too. Which is good, because I’ll probably need another bottle before next year is over.
I got my export bottle of Tubereuse Criminelle at 15% off plus free shipping back in November. I’ve heard talk of reformulation, but it still smells terrific to me. I’m so happy to have a full bottle–but I’ve got a suspicion it won’t last as long as I hope!
I have been pretty good this year, but the bottles I have bought were pretty pricey- so I can’t brag about good deals
But the purchase I am happiest with is the Bell Jar of Un Lys my friend’s sis brought me back from Europe.
My best buy was Jeux de Peau,I just love it and everyone compliments me on it.
My best fragrance buys were Iris Pallida and Douce Amère, both of which I had been wanting to get for a long time.
Ah, Douce Amere is lovely!
Or maybe I should say “yummy?”
Gucci Guilty Pour Homme… Get TONS of compliments any time I wear it and Just love the smell of it myself… it’s truly one of my Go-To scents when i want to smell really sexy and spirited!
good. This one got quite high ranks in awards this year
Like someone else above, my best value was Donna Karan Gold at a bricks and mortar store. Under $20 for a generous EDP, cheaper than I found online. Got a couple bottles just for the havin’.
Yay for you! One of my all-time faves!
Most Complimented Perfume:
So Pretty de Cartier…. I cannot even count the amount of times I times I have received compliments while wearing it, anymore. The best compliment it got, was at a friend’s wedding when I congratulated her (the bride), and she said how great I smelled and that my perfume was “so pretty”.
I was a little surprised to look back at my quarterly reporting lists to see how little I had bought this year! But by far the best bargain, and a very lucky unsniffed purchase at that, was I Love les Carottes. Thanks to Robin for the heads up on this one!
Most complimented:
Armani Mania, Lady Million, Prada L’Eau Ambree.
Greatest bargin, someone decided just to give me Pleasures Delight (1 oz)
Most happy with: BLV Jasmin Noir L’Essence got a good deal on it too, 40 bucks for 1.7 oz.
Other happy buy: Shiseido Zen White Heat Edition..got a decent deal on it too, paid 45 instead of like 70 for 1.6 oz
Favorite sniffs/discoveries this year:
Mon Jasmin Noir, Gucci Guilty Intense, Coco Mademoiselle(we met again and I fell in love), Jasmin Noir L’Essence, Shiseido Zen White Heat Edition, J’ adore L’Eau Florale, Givenchy Irresistible L’ Intense, BLV Omnia Crystalline, Dior Poison(still very much in love after many years, but prefer the pre-reformulation version), Miss Dior Cherie, Chanel Eau Tendre, YR Orange and Chocolat, Chocolovers, Brit Sheer(though I may be fading away from this one a bit), Dior Addict 2, Hermes Jardin Sur Le Nil, Lady Million, Forbidden Euphoria, Prada L’Eau Ambree.
Favorite notes this year:
Jasmine, cedar, sharp florals, licorice, anise, sandalwood, vanilla, orange, bergamot, coriander, raspberry(only in some fumes), amber, chocolate, myrrh, lotus and green notes, patchouli, vetiver, other woody notes.
L’eay ambree is great
CK One Shock for Men. Stunning and cheap.
I just looked over my list of purchases this year and have to say that what I’ve loved the most were acquired in swaps (Carnal Flower, Amaranthine, Traversee du Bosphore). Just a few days ago I bought Byredo’s Seven Veils, which may turn into my favorite purchase of the year – I just feel it’s too early in our relationship to jump to that conclusion!
Waaaay back in February of 2011 I purchased Amouage Memoir Woman. It’s probably my all-time best buy, because I think that if, for some nefarious reason, my scent-wardrobe were reduced to just one fragrance, Memoir would be it.
It’s awesome to have a cupboard full of choices, but it’s also very comforting to know that there is one to rule them all.
Oh, and my most complimented perfume this year has been Sonoma Scent Studio Champagne de Bois (I got four just today!). It’s a real crowd pleaser, in addition to being an absolute pleasure to wear!!
Dee, when I first read your comment, I thought, “Wow! Four bottles! She’s really stocking up.” And then I realized that you meant four *compliments*!
Hi Dee! *waves*
I’m so “jelly” of your Memoir (as my kiddos would say!)!
If I were lucky enough to have a FB, I would be hard-pressed to choose between it and OJ Woman on my desert island, I think!
Biggest surprise? Zagorsk. Man, do I love wearing it in the cold weather. Not especially piney or incensey but cool, contemplative, dusky floral on me.
Best FB? Acqua di Parma Magnolia Nobile. A long-time favorite I have been searching for at a discount.
Best bargain? Not the Magnolia Nobile, but the two cheap bottles of Burberry Beat Elixir I came across. I’m enjoying it more each day and it always draws compliments.
I’m realy enjoying reading about your finds, getting a lot of ideas for the must sniff-list.
I have two great, great finds this year:
Serge Lutend De Profundis, wich I bought blind after reading the notes. I love the chrysanthamum note, the green and the darkness in it. IMO, it’s great.
My second is Oscar de la Rentas Espri d’ Oscar. It’s powdery and comforting in the same way that I experience L’heure bleu. It hass violets and iris, but not in the Prada-way. More like a quiet, more sofisticated Artemisia. I smelled it when it was first released, and had to have it on the spot.
Yep, everyone’s choices are great. They had a nice perfume year
I’ve been wanting to smell this but haven’t seen it anywhere. My aunt used to wear Oscar and I’m curious to see how different it may be from this.
Great poll idea! I think my most exciting purchase was a bottle of the discontinued L’Artisan Oeillet Sauvage, for a fairly reasonable price in an online auction. I don’t usually seek out discontinued fragrances, but I really really really wanted this one.
Happy Holidays to all you lovely NSTers!
good you like it! I found this question interesting, so I shared it with Robin
I got one of those Sephora sampler sets from hubby last Christmas and ended up turning in my coupon for a full bottle of the fragrance I never thought I’d get. Flower by Kenzo. I hated it when I first tried it and somehow along the way it won me over. I guess that’s my most surprising buy of 2011.
Although it wasn’t a bargain I did finally get a bottle of Chanel no 5. That’s another one I used to hate and now I just love it. Every woman needs some Chanel.
My score of the year was a half full huge bottle of Shalimar that my godmother had just sitting on a shelf looking pretty. I wanted that thing since I was a kid and now thatshe’s up there in years and downsizing her house she asked if there was anything I wanted. I think she meant furniture but I really, really wanted that Shalimar. Got it! Love it!
so Kenzo Flower is your Vivabox expierience (at least those sample boxes exchangeable for a FB are called vivabox in Poland)
Great
OMG, 2011 is almost over! I went nuts this year with acquiring fragrances, spent way too much. My collection is nearing 100 full bottles, I have to constantly move them around to only occupy a little counter space on my vanity.
My greatest acquisition this year? I finally got around to sampling Clive Christian C for Men, and the SA at SFA gave me a small decant, and I absolutely fell in love with it. However, I am not all that crazy about spending $375 for a 50ml bottle, so later the SA decanted a larger atomizer for me, and with this stuff being rather strong and long-lasting, I feel like it will probably last me at least 2-3 years. I got it gratis, but then again I indulge quite often there anyway with full retail purchases. The SA at SFA (St Louis) really are the best!
I also purchaged the travel refill of Kilian Straight to Heaven, which at $70 seems like a bargain because I will probably never use all of it.
Happy Holidays everyone!
hard to believe 2011 is coming to an end
This is THE YEAR OF FRAGRANCE for me. I started reading this blog and some of the perfume houses I knew and things started to take shape. I started out with department store frags first. I love Fan de Fendi, Shalimar Initial, and the five star classic Lolita Lempicka. Fast forward about 70 bottles. I went through Gucci, have everything, Prada, have everything, Dolce and Gabana I love the numbered body scents. I’m looking at my perfume counter and there isn’t anymore room. I found a guy who could get me vintage frags I got METAL by Paco, love that. I tried the Annick Goutal thing but after about three highly recommended bottles I was done. I love Ange e Demon and Hot Couture by Givenchy, Daisy, the Tocca scents, and two Chlöes. Then I got into the niche frags and I went mad. I discovered several sites that sale: Byredo, I Profumi de Firenze, Diptyque, Santa Maria Novello, Tauer, my beloved Vanille, Mona di Orio les bombers di or, Amouage, Chanticaile, L’Artisan, SERGE, Creed, Ellie Saab, I loved Guerlain’s My Insolence. Back to niche, my absolute favorite perfume find for this year was PARFUMS DE NICOLAI, SACREBLEU. It’s like nothing else. I adore it and found it thanks to beauty habit and their EXPERT noses when I ordered my new best friend Emily said that she thought she’d be receiving this call. I also went back and visited Guerlain. I bought: Samsara, MITSOUKO, and L’Heure Bleue. I want to find voile du nuit or apree l’ondee, but will have to look around. I love Acqua di Parma’s Iris Nobile too. But SACREBLEU is the best thing going. Thinking about buying the extreme cause I want more, more, more, when I put it on. A quarter of the bottle is gone. Can anyone tell me how many spritz you should do per application?
WOW, a perfume education in a year! Intense!
I wear no more than three spritzes of ANYthing, one if it’s strong, and I put on perfume twice a day, with maybe a little additional dab at bedtime. But as long as no one around you is complaining, I say enjoy!
I’m another big fan of Sacrebleu (well, a big fan of PdN, actually). I’ve found that two spritzes do nicely.
I have purchased a lot this year, but have also scored many bargains in the process. In this economy I am on a strict “never pay full price for anything” policy. My best purchase was actually a fb of Burberry The Beat Elixir for around $40 w/s&h. It is so lovely, I call this the Iris for Everyone. I get tons of compliments on it and it makes me quite cheerful when I wear it. So it doesn’t actually compete with my more somber Hermes Hiris or Kelly Caleche.
Biggest disappointment was my ebay purchase of a vintage bottle of Narcisse Noir. It is parfum extrait, but so far it has bombed on my skin, unlike the sample I got from TPC which originally drew me in. I’m having a hard time figuring out the vintage year of the bottle. But it just may be that I need to try it a couple more times.
My best buy this year was a vintage 2.5 oz full 1996 Samsara EDP for $32! Also got lucky with a vintage L’Heure Bleu Parfum de Toilette, and my best non ebay purchase was the 2 15 ml coffrets from Histoiries De Parfums from that discounter, 6 bottles for under $40.
Earlier in the year Angela did a review on Elizabeth Taylor Black Pearls & I said I would purchase a bottle and let her know what I thought of it- finally- I have! Cheapest buy of the year, at a local chemist, $15 for 100mls. Its quite nice, bit heavy for our summer here, I will wear it in winter. Pleasant change from White Diamonds. Now I just hope Angela reads this!
My best (favorite) fragrance buy of 2011 has been Perles de Lalique. I’d gladly wear it every day.
I searched high and low for M7 Fresh and finally found it. Bought it unsniffed– not a wise move.
Biggest bargain was probably Durance Vervaine. at $15 for a FB 100ml. It is a bright lemony/verbena summer burst of sunshine.
My biggest disapointment has been DSquared2’s Potion. It smells great…. for about 2 min.
The best thing about 2011 is that I have reconnected with and restocked on old favorite: Antaeus, Trussardi Uomo, Chanel-Monsieur, Eau Sauvage, Jacomo de Jacomo, etc.
Biggest bargain: a tiny bottle of Eau Sauvage for $1 at the Sally Ann;
Biggest hunt: biehl parfumkunstwerke pc01, finally tracked down in Toronto…
I am sooo psyched b/c last week I finally purchased Oh My Gorgeous Passionate from Soma, a perfume that I have been eye(nose?)balling for almost two years now. Being on a limited budget, I have to be very discriminate about the luxury stuff I buy, so when this normally $50 bottle when on sale as a gift set, along with its matching body souffle, for HALF OFF, I jumped at that chance.
Anyway, I haven’t smelled anything in a long time that makes my nose tingle quite like this one. It has my big 3 fave notes, vanilla, amber, and gardenia, along with some patch and mandarin, and it is just about the lovliest scent I’ve experienced in a while. My only complaint was that both bottles were glued into the box so tight I was afraid I’d break something.
Oh, and scoring those Bond St. and Jo Malone samples in NYC was cool too. And those samples that I received from DaisyLoo ealrier this summer. That was so nice.
My favourite buy of 2011 is Mugler’s Womanity – it was just instant adoration. That salty, creamy fig leaf reminds me of childhood and love and the beach and so many good memories all at once. It’s also a bit similar to Dior Dune Pour Homme, which I wore during a very happy time in my late teens. So, I almost immediately bought a bottle.
And favourite blind buy HAS to be Chanel Egoiste. Yowza. That is fragrance on another level. And its gingerbread/spicy sandalwood is superb around this time of year. Happy holidays to everyone!
I recently bought “Ex Libris” by Tokyo Milk and I am really happy with it! (Those 30ml wont last long!) I had this scent as a candle before so it wasn’t really a blind buy, however i wasn’t really sure about HOW unisex it would actually wear as a perfume. I got complements from my mother, who usually hates what I wear, so it really was my best buy in 2011
(“Frank” by Frank Los Angeles would be second best) and I can recommend it to everyone who isn’t put off by magnolia in perfume since I haven’t read too much about other people liking it!