Happy Year of the Horse!
We're celebrating with five questions: four entirely unrelated + one that is vaguely related. As always, answer as few or as many as you like.
1. Name a smell (not a perfume, just a smell) that everyone else loves, but you hate.
2. Name a perfume everyone else hates — or that just generally isn't beloved by perfumistas — but you love.
3. Your most recent scrubber?
4. A fragrance you love to find lingering on your clothing, or your scarf or coat, the day after you wore it?
5. Since this Horse year is associated with the element of wood, name your favorite woody perfume.
Note: top image shows Canada's new stamps for the 2014 Lunar New Year aka Chinese New Year.
Happy year of the horse! This makes me miss home, because I could still reap the benefits of being unmarried and receiving red packets of money from friends and relatives if I were there…
To answer questions:
1. Leather, definitely. Especially the scent of new car seats, it makes me feel ill. I do love the feel of buttery leather, though.
2. Hmm, I can’t think of any fragrances I like that are downright loathed by perfumistas, but there are a few perfumes I love – Parfums D’empire Osmanthus Interdite, Acqua di Parma’s Mandorlo di Sicilia – that are not talked about much.
3. Ormonde Jayne Sampaquita, which I really expected to like, but there is this underlying note I find in most OJ fragrances that makes me think of swimming pool chlorine/water.
4. Amouage Epic Woman lingers beautifully.
5. OJ Woman is the only OJ fragrance I like, but I really like it. I also love Bois des Iles and Feminite du Bois.
I keep waiting for red packets to catch on in the US 🙂
That would depend on whether I would be on the giving or the receiving end.
HA, so true. And I wouldn’t be getting them now. I was given one once at a Chinese NY brunch, but that was many moons ago.
Oh yes, I know what you mean about leather! When I was little I used to take piano exams once a year, and the examiner was occasionally a woman who wore a leather jacket, leather boots, and in retrospect, probably copious amounts of leathery perfume. I didn’t like the scent of leather in the first place, but combined with my nerves before the exams, it made me nauseated. For many many years, smelling leather always reminded me of piano exams and made me gag.
Fortunately there’s been some time between now and the leather lady. As I got older, I’ve had more experience with leather in the form of favorite purses and soft gloves, so I’ve come to enjoy smelling leather.
Discount stores usually smell of popcorn and plastic – gross.
Sorry, I put this comment in the wrong place!!! It should be below.
Pretty sure not everyone loves this smell, but I worked in an office where people loved the smell of micowaving popcorn. I like the taste, but loathe the smell!
Une Fleur de Cassie–it seems many find this difficult & unpleasant, but I loved it immediately–no diaperish element to my nose.
The current formulation of L’Heure Bleue didn’t work on me at all.
And I got it on my coat sleeve. A washable down jacket, thank goodness.
Enjoy catching lingering whiffs of Shalimar or Ode a la Vanille (and I used to hate Shalimar–this is a recent development).
Favorite woody perfume right now is Sycomore.
Happy Chinese New Year. Is the horse supposed to be lucky?
HATE the smell of microwave popcorn! It actually pretty much keeps me from eating it.
No, not lucky exactly.
I don’t like the smell of any popcorn.
Both microwave and movie-theater popcorn have that horrible artificial butter stench. I think that’s also the ingredient that causes “popcorn lung” in workers who make microwave popcorn. It’s just evil.
Undina, have you ever tried air-popped popcorn? I know I’m in the minority (or possibly the only one), but I always preferred it.
No, I haven’t. But I keep my mind open in case I come across it.
There is a note that completely confounds me and I don’t know what it id. It is the smell used in Feb reelection and it is also showing up in a new Redden product for curly hair. Loathsome. Atrocious. If anyone can tell me what it is, please do so can steer clear.
I like Amazing Grace and just traded their honey buns holiday set for a body spray I was not aware they offered. I never see AG mentioned here.
I would have cut off my own arm at the elbow to distance myself from Naomi Goodsir Bois d’Ascese.
Felt like I was trapped in an underground car park. Gak!
I love day-old Bandit on anything.
Since Fleur de Louis is considered a woody scent, it is my pick, and a new favorite.
The Year of the Horse is my year. I let 2002 get away from me and 12 Years from now I will be older than dirt. So yippee ki yay, and happy weekend!
Feb reelection was suppose to be Febreeze. Even my phone balks at typing the word apparently.
Gosh — was wondering what Fab reelection might be, thanks!
Victoria from Bois de Jasmin once said that the original febreeze was a floral with rose and lily of the valley notes.
Thanks, but the note I get smells like some faux patchouli mixed with that toxic WV tap water.
JJ, according to Wikipedia 9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol), the chemical from the WV spill “has been patented for use in air fresheners.[5] U.S. Patent 4915825 describes a froth flotation process for cleaning coal where a mixture of 95% MCHM, 4% water, and 0.1% 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol monoether (such as 4-(methoxymethy)cyclohexanemethanol) is used as a frothing agent, and finely divided coal particles adhere to air bubbles induced into the agent which rise to the surface. Other cyclohexane-based alcohols can also be used. MCHM has the advantage of being less toxic than previous frothing agents containing 2-ethylhexanol.[6]” and that “It is a colourless oil with a faint mint-like alcohol odor.” National Geographic (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140110-4-methylcyclohexane-methanol-chemical-spill-west-virginia-science/) says “The chemical 4-methylcyclohexane methanol is a greasy substance commonly described as smelling like licorice (or sometimes coconut oil).”
So, does Febreeze smell like faux patchouli mixed with mint or licorice or coconut oil? 🙂
Wow! I hope you were able to cut and paste that. You are one resourceful, brilliant, funny crow!
I just tucked into a steaming plate of holy basil chicken and am breathing in some delicious anise as I type. I heard on NPR that the WV gunk smelled of licorice.
I used it only as a current toxic reference. I like to remain relevant even in my snark.
Kind Crow is a pip! 🙂
🙂
Holy basil chicken? That’s a cool name for a dish. We had Indian food tonight, and the restaurant was out of tamarind chutney — they used it all for a catering gig. The food was good, but it would have been better with tamarind chutney. Just sayin’.
You know, I like Amazing Grace too. I was on an airplane once where AG was the soap in the bathroom, and it was so lovely, and so improved the otherwise malodorous trip (airplane smell, the worst), I went out and bought to have at home, too!
I love Amazing Grace and mentioned it from time to time. I also love Falling in Love and, to a lesser extent, Inner Grace. I’m seeing a lot of posts on other boards complaining that Philosophy has reformulated Falling in Love. It makes me sad but I also feel like I just can’t go looking for backup bottles of such a common scent when I already own a lifetime’s worth of perfume. Sigh.
I love Amazing Grace. It is always on my wish list for the shower gel. That’s my answer for this question. You are NOT alone 🙂
Happy Year of the Horse! Couple of days ago I read an article on Chinese New Year in one of the lifestyle magazines and it turned out that as I was born on February 24th 1990 it was a year of the horse too!
1. Cassis, carrot and strawberry
2. Parfum d’Empire Eau Suave, it’s not much discussed
3. My Indian Childhood from D.S & Durga, meh!
4. Guerlain L’Heure Bleue and Prada Amber Pour Homme Intense
5. Sonoma Scent Studio Winter Woods
Love Eau Suave. I have a big decant, and once it’s gone will buy a full bottle.
Glad to see I’m not the only one who likes it.
1. new car
2. L’Artisan Cote d’Amour–my favorite cologne, but I’ve never seen it get much more than a “meh” from a reviewer
3. Annick Goutal l’eau de fier. It smelled like barbecue and tires to me. I thought I had successfully scrubbed it off and put on some ta’if, and my boyfriend sniffed me and said I smelled like “a sex library”
4. Portrait of a lady, or number 5
5. While not strictly wood, Chanel’s Cuir de Russie is the woodiest one I’m in love with right now.
I love Côte D’Amour too. In fact I’m still suffering the loss of a FB that I broke a while ago, still containing at least 30ml.
I would buy Sex Library perfume. Etat Libre d’Orange should get to work on it.
I would too! ELdO would be good; also CB I Hate Perfume.
1. I don’t know about other parts of the country, but here in SE Texas, a lot of people love the smell of tamales, whereas that smell makes me nauseated. A couple of times a year, someone will have a tamale sale, and on the day they are delivered, everyone will be eating tamales for lunch. I can’t even sit in the lunchroom on those days; I have to eat at my desk.
2. I don’t know of any perfumes I love that are generally hated, but there are a few I really like that seem to get no attention at all, such as Alexandra (by Alexandra de Markoff). I never see anyone else even mention it, but it is one of my standby perfumes–one that seems to work any time of year and for any occasion. Sort of a perfume to wear when I don’t know what perfume to wear.
3. I can’t remember any real scrubbers lately.
4. Amouage Gold Woman. Just a beautiful, classic scent.
5. Shiseido Feminite du Bois.
Galbanumgal–I don’t know if the horese is supposed to by lucky, but I did read that this year is supposed to be lucky for anyone born in a wood year. I hope this is so, as I was born in a wood year, and I could use some luck!
Interesting on #1, I love that smell. Wonder if it is corn or lard or what, that you dislike.
My guess is that it is the smell of the steamed husk.
Agree that’s an odd smell.
That could be it. I don’t think it is the lard, as I generally do not mind fatty smells. I don’t mind the smell of corn tortillas either, which are also made from masa.
Gong Xi Fa Cai!
1. I really can’t think of any smell that everyone loves but I hate…
2. CK Eternity (he-he-he)
3. Anything and everything by Opus Oils.
Gigi, Hanami and Zohar by Ayala Moriel were also scrubbers for me.
Is that the new spelling of what I know as Gung hay fat choy?
Mandarin vs Cantonese. I have family in Singapore…
Here’s a helpful link. The phrases are the same but pronounced slightly differently: http://goodcharacters.com/newsletters/gong-xi-fa-cai.html
Ah, thank you! And now I know how to say “red envelope, please”.
Somehow I missed Robin’s question, but Oakland Fresca has answered it for me. My cousin is a professor of Chinese literature and speaks fluent Mandarin, so I know a few phrases in Mandarin. And I also missed the 4th and 5th questions… are they additions? Anyway…
4. I love the lingering scent of Boxeuses. It’s always a lovely lingering.
5. CdG Kyoto and Cedarwood Tea by CB I Hate Perfume.
4 & 5 were below the jump…
Yeah … we are having the Chinese New Year holiday now in HK …
1. Lavender … I really don’t like the smell of lavender the way it is directly, it gives me headache and cannot smooth me for sleeping, I would have nightmare if a bunch of dried lavender sitting next to my bed … I am ok if it is not a dominant note in a perfume though
2. Nicki Minaj’s … haha … I really like the creepy bottles 😛
3. NST does help to stay away from lots of scrubbers around and interests me to look for some new juice … maybe it’s a body chemistry thing … Caron’s Tabac Blond is definitely not my thing … I felt a dead old lady sitting next to me all the time … haha …
4. I have 2 … OJ’s Ta’if and Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Lumiere Noire Pour Femme … I confess I like Rose.
5. One of my woody favourites is Chanel’s Bois des Iles.
haha I get the “dead old lady” effect from a lot of mass market perfumes, like my skin is molting off and forming a separate malevolent entity that smells of sour sweat with a slightly powery cast.
I also get instant headache from lavender and it has an anxiety-producing affect on me instead of relaxing.
1. People always talk about how wonderful babies smell, but I’m not remotely maternal and pretty indifferent to all the babies-related stuff.
2. OJ Tiare didn’t get an especially enthusiastic reception and it doesn’t get many mentions, but I think it’s wonderful. In fact, I just went and sprayed some on.
3. I couldn’t bear Tauer Verdant for longer than a few minutes.
4. I like how all of my favourites perfumes smell on clothing the next day, but if I had to pick one then Patchouli 24 has a particularly lovely far drydown.
5. Chanel Sycomore.
All the Tauer Pentachords were scrubbers on me; it has been a while since I tested them, so I had mercifully forgotten about them. I went and checked my notes, and indeed Verdant was the worst one for me. I wrote that it gave me a vomiting reflex, making it one of only a small handful of perfumes to do so (Iris Silver Mist being another). I really have not had much luck with the Tauer line in general. Zeta is the only one so far that I have genuinely liked.
I tried auburn and had the same reaction. Wasn’t willing to try the others. The non- pentachords I like/love except Rose un Vermeille is it? I found it sickly sweet and couldn’t face giving it a second go 🙁
It’s been a few months since I tried Verdant, but it’s the most recent one that provoked such a strong reaction. White made no impression on me and I never tried Auburn. Most other Tauers that I’ve tried I can either take or leave except Incense Rosé which I really like and Une Rose Vermeille which I, too, dislike.
Abyss: I have never been interested in human babies. I mentioned to a co-worker that I like the smell of baby powder, and he said “you need to have a kid, then.” I was horrified and responded that why would I do that when I could just buy some perfume?
I have very sensitive skin, and buy unscented baby products, like soap. Stores like Target track their customers, so after buying Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Creamy Wash a few times, Target started sending me coupons for diapers and pre-natal vitamins. Ha! My husband and I got a big laugh out of that.
Kindcrow, I’m with you on the lack of maternal impulses towards human babies! I sometimes like baby related stuff – but no particular interest in actual babies. When it comes to other species though – particularly dogs – I go into mommy overdrive. Actually, I get more goo goo towards older dogs than puppies –
What can I say – evolution got its wires crossed in me:)
Oh, yes, I’m all for animal babies!
Nothing smells better than a puppy! (And I had two human babies.)
Lol!
Abyss, google “Luca Turin Tiare” to find his highly positive review on Double Base Notes (originally in NZZ Folio).
Yup, I’ve seen that one before and he’s completely correct, of course 😀
I’m with you on both OJ Tiare (I did my part of “talking” – I posted a story about it on my blog) and Pentachords (I still can’t believe Andy thought it was a good project to release).
Yay, another Tiare fan!
1. New car. It’s not leather it’s plasticisers- chemicals leaching from everywhere! It gives me a massive headache.
2. No one seems to like Bond No9 Little Italy, but I kinda like the orange candy smell
3. Scrubber- Ramon Monegal Mon Cuir. Reminds me of Secretions Magnifiques
4. Anything amber
5. Never met a wood I didn’t like, especially sandalwood.
Me to about that new car smell. So many people say they love it. I hate it. Every conceivable synthetic material leaching into the air. Yuck.
1. burgers and fries
2. Molyneux Quartz
3. Agonist The Infidels and pretty much anything with tuberose in it.
4. Guerlain Encens Mythique d’Orient
5. FM Dries van Noten
Nasty head cold today. Chowing down on Ricola honey-herb cough drops. They smell/taste wonderful.
Get better soon!
Aw thanks. Upside of being sick: great excuse to stay on the couch and surf all the perfume sites. NST is keeping me happily entertained today.
1. Another smell that i loathe is the smell of a Yankee Candle store. I cut a wide swath around it when I’m at the mall.
me too–that place and Abercrombie are to be avoided at all times!
I like Quartz, too. A perfumista here sent me a sample, and I used it up right away.
Happy new year of the horse, everyone!
1. I was going to say the smell of new cars, but apparently it is more unpopular than I thought, looking at the comments above, lol! So I’d go with cilantro and airplanes…
2. Montale Intense Tiare never gets mentioned, but I really really love it. Runners up are une fleur de Cassie and New York: both amazing and wonderful, and not much celebrated…
3. I tried again Vanilla Tonka, and still dislike it.
4. Guerlain classics! Mitsouko, Shalimar, Vol de Nuit, Chamade… And the afore mentioned Intense Tiare and New York.
5. Bios des iles and Chene!
Speaking of cilantro: a male coworker once said (perhaps without thinking too hard about it first), “I don’t really like cilantro, it is such a feminine herb.” What? We made fun of him for months about that, but if once I thought about it I could kind of see what he was talking about. There is a bit of ivory soap-iness about the smell of cilantro, perhaps?
Yes, you nailed it! To me cilantro smells and tastes like soap!
Not necessarily feminine, but your coworker had a point! Lol!
😉
Happy lazy weekend and New Year everyone!
1. I like coffee very much (this may be an understatement, since my day pretty much revolves around my consumption of coffee), but I hate the smell of my clothes after I’ve been sitting in a coffeeshop. I just smell so burnt!
2/3 Nothing comes to mind.
4. There are so many fragrances that I love smelling on my clothes the next day. Lately it has been a mixture of vintage Shalimar (yum!), and boy I look goofy trying to huff up any traces of leftover Santal Majascule from the inside of my sweatshirt hoodie!
5. Since this Horse year is associated with the element of wood, name your favorite woody perfume.
Most recently, I rediscovered Bois Farine and am sorely tempted to buy a full bottle (though even 50 mL would be way too much…maybe there will be interest at the splitmeet? I can only hope!).
Is Bois Farine still sold in 50 ml? Check, you might have to do 100, which would be a lot to decant.
1. White musk, even in expensive artisanal perfumes
2. Lutens L’Eau. Everyone thinks this is bland. I smell mint and magnolia and all kinds of other rare things. Subtle is not the same as stupid.
3. Mont Blanc
4.. Pass
5. Just about anything wood except patchouli
I heartily 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th your dislike of white musk! Loathe the stuff.
2. Miss Dior Le Parfum -but not EDP-, Le Petit Robe Noir EDP
3. Your most recent scrubber? It was weired, I tried Fico di Amalfi by Aqua di Parma and at first it smelled so good, after 10 min it turned into smelling like my own sweat on a hot summer day but in a unpleasant phase or like on cloth the next day. I researched the internet for people describing a similar impression but all I found was praise about how fresh it was. Came to the conclusion that my sweat must smell quite amazing; however, to me Fico di Amalfi was true scrubber.
4. scarf: Rose Nacre du Desert
5. Vetivers and Le Labo Oud 27
I LOVE Miss Dior le Parfum! I don’t think many people realize how different it is from the EDT or EDP. Was very sad when I accidentally dropped a nearly full bottle on my bathroom floor last fall. It was very overpowering in there for awhile after, but loads of baking soda later, things calmed down. I can still catch whiffs of amber from it. I would love to see some blog reviews of it.
exactly! sorry about your bottle. This is also one that is great on scarfs.
check out: http://anotherperfumeblog.com/2012/09/04/impressions-miss-dior-le-parfum/
Interesting review, though I get most of the perfumey notes and rose, etc in the beginning and the vanilla and amber at the base.
1. I hate indolic/fecal/barnyard perfumes.
2. I don’t like the smell of skunk, but I really like skunks, so I usually smile when I smell one. Then I get worried that perhaps one has been hit by a car.
I love sweet gourmands.
3. Most recent scrubber: My second testing of Sikkim Girls. After scrubbing with soap and water, I doused the area with tea tree oil. It was OK the first time, but the second time, it screamed “overbearing generic perfume scent!!”
4. A carnation soliflore.
5. Current favorite woody perfume: Eau des Baux by L’Occitane.
Number 1 is not supposed to be a perfume, so … I hate the smell of new car and the smell of leather furniture.
I love Eau des Baux too! 🙂
Me 3, though I tend to think of it as an amber rather than a woody scent. Despite the cypress notes!
In answer to number 2, I’d probably say Chasse aux Papillons Extrême, which I love, but which seeems to be pretty much ignored by perfumistas.
My favourite wood is Wonderwood, but I must admit I haven’t tried too many,
To celebrate the year of the horse, I’m wearing Cuir Ottoman, thanks to the generosity of a donor at the freebie meet. It has the most amazing evolution, from a slap in the face with a leather bag to the smoothest vanilla 12 hours later.
I liked both versions of La Chasse, but yes, the Extreme didn’t seem to get as much love, and rarely hear La Chasse mentioned at all these days.
A trip down memory lane… I remember La Chasse was all the rage when I first started following NST.
I still wear it 🙂
1. What I hate is that accursed synthetic woody amber that is becoming so widely overused. To me it has a nose-searing horseradish or hot mustard effect that ruins the olfactory experience. Either I am able to smell it much, much better than most perfumers, or that it smells entirely different to them. Or they’re just messing with us. 😉
2. I love most of the Calice Becker perfumes from the first two By Kilian series, such as Beyond Love, Liaisons Dangereuses, Pure Oud and Rose Oud. To me they are exceptionally lovely, perfectly balanced and wearable. I adore the elegant travel sets – the atomizer completely shields the perfume from light, which allows me to keep it handy on my dresser, while the extra refills are safely stowed in the fridge. I am always annoyed when others are so negative about BK.
3. A sample of Dolce & Gabbana L’Imperatrice came with something I ordered. It didn’t smell nasty, just cheap and boring. I couldn’t wait to get it off so that I could test something more interesting.
4. SSS Tabac Aurea lingers pleasantly, so I always wear it with the same outfit.
5. Rather than specifically woody perfumes, I love vintage perfumes that have real sandalwood basenotes, such as the 1970s Calandre I’m wearing today.
Noz, I agree with you on Liaisons Dangereuses — it’s a pleasure to wear.
1. Unfortunately, no love for any Tauer or Aftelier scents. I somehow don’t think indie is for me, unless it is the more mainstream ones like Diptyque or SL.
2. Love the above-mentioned Miss Dior le Parfum. Also, Gucci Guilty Extreme. On the fence about Jimmy Choo parfum.
3. Bandit is a total scrubber for me.
4. Miss Dior le Parfum lingers as a beautiful, soft amber.
5. Probably a tie between VCA Bois d’Iris and Diptyque Eau Duelle, though I still can’t decide between EDT and EDP (would love if anyone else has thoughts on this).
oh, you chose it as your scarf perfume!
1. Banana… Yick!
2. Micheal by Micheal Kors
3. I really really wanted to love Memo’s Irish Leather, but it’s not for me. 🙁
4. Angelique Encens.. It so nice to be surprised when I smell on clothes or scarves when I least expect it.
5. SL Chene. The oak is so beautiful.
Banana’s mine too. One of the few smells that turns my stomach in the literal sense!
Me three, on the banana smell! At least the super overripe ones. Perhaps it is a bit of a visual thing, too, since I am not overly fond of eating bananas and the really speckly soft brown ones gross me out. Luckily, I like making banana bread!
Do you eat banana bread?
I do eat banana bread! It is not my favorite, but I like it pretty well. It seems like enough people like it that if I happen to have some overripe bananas at my house they disappear pretty quickly in loaf-form.
Oh thank goodness I’m not the only one! People think I’m crazy when I tell them I don’t like bananas, the smell, the texture, the taste.. So unpleasant.
Banana bread,yes.The actual banana?NO!!Lol.The worst part of a banana is the texture when you eat it…that mushy,sticky…you get the idea…lol!Same with banana yoghurt,milk…I can only ask WHY???☺️
Totally agree on banana texture – UGH! They make me gag.
May I join the list of banana haters? I can’t stand anything remotely tasting of them, including banana bread. One of my brothers hates them too.
1. Little Tree air fresheners– all of them!
2. Shiseido Zen (gold cube bottle, not the vintage one that everyone laments has been discontinued)–not a fragrance, but a MOVIE that I love, love, love…that everyone else hates (and I know because I occasionally subject it to new people ever faithful that it will charm them) is the mid 80s Beatty/Hoffman flick Ishtar! If you haven’t seen it, try too!! Really. You’ll love it 🙂
3. I got a huge number of interesting and fun herbaceous citrus fragrances through the freebie meet–and a sample of Bond No. 9 Central Park was included. I was delighted to try and then I was not! One nano second of lime peel and several long hours of very powerful lime Jujube that scrubbing did not remove.
4. Any that I love, really.
5. Timbuktu
Happy New Year!!!!
Those little trees are soooo potent,they make my eyes tear up!!I am with you on that one!
I third the trees! Worse than the *plain* smell of cars, which I already dislike with a passion!
1.The smell of bacon….I just can’t!
2.Clean Lather.I just love it.
3.Vraie Blonde,when I got the vomit-note some people have mentioned!(I still love it though,but the weather plays a part in how it develops,in my opinion!)
4.Bendelirious!!!I love this fragrance sooo much!I have this weird habit:when I do laundry I always smell my tops and shirts to remind me of which perfumes I wore during the week.Bendelirious is the one where I can sniff the shirt the whole day,after wearing it!(Lol)
5.Serge Lutens Cedre!
Happy Weekend everyone!
Bacon!! How funny, that really is one of my favorite smells in the world. More for me 🙂
Yes! HAAATE Bacon! Can’t stand the smell of it. Or ribs, for that matter. Sometimes I find myself wanting to eat in another room if folks are eating stinky pork products!
Even worse is the new BEAST of a smell hanging around our local fast food outlets:Rib burger patties!!AWFUL.Smells fake and,dare I say “genetically modified”??Instantly put off eating there!(Once tried a frozen prepacked one,the taste is even worse than the smell)
Oh gag! Frozen rib burger just sounds horrible on all fronts!
1. Chanel nr 5
2. Manoumalia
3. no new ones, worst scrubbers ever, the Villoresi’s, they don’t work for me
4 . Dries van Noten
5. is OJ woman a woody fragrance?
Love Manoumalia!
1. Neroli and orange blossom. Odd because I really like the fresh flowers, but I can’t stand it in perfume. I wonder why.
2. Burberry The Beat. It was my first full bottle, so it has a special place in my heart. I do love the scent itself too.
3. Sécrétions Magnifiques. I didn’t actually wash it off, but maybe I should have…
4. Basically any fragrance I like the first day too 🙂
5. Not actually a wood, but I can only think of l’Artisan’s Coeur de Vetiver right now.
I liked The Beat Intense — don’t think anyone else liked that one either 🙂
1. Stargazer lilies. They’re not bad in moderation, but a bouquet in a closed room is unbearable.
3. Dior Oud Ispahan. I was disappointed that nobody took my lot at the freebie meet, because I want that sample out if my house.
4. Olympic Orchids Cafe V smelled great on a sweater even a week later. I don’t drink coffee, but I think it might be that smoky coffeehouse smell that yukiej dislikes.
Agree on the awfulness of stargazer lilies.
1. I hate the smell of cut apples, and apple cores are even worse. Oddly I don’t mind eating apples themselves.
2. CdeG Carnation is really pretty — alas that carnation scents seems to be quite out of fashion nowadays.
3. Did not take to Timbuktu one tiny bit.
4. Good thing I like Rien on my clothes, ‘cos it’s there for a while.
5. Adam Levine for Her is a cozy, woody scent. Not much perfumista love there, it seems, so back to 2…
I love CdG carnation. It was one of the first niche perfumes I smelled and have always wanted a bottle yet have never got around to it despite the fact that I think about it often. Must remedy that 🙂
1. Orange peels left in a lunchbox.
2. Canyon Dreams by Keiko Mecheri. One that has definitely flown under the radar.
3. Le Labo Oud. The drydown isn’t worth suffering through the opening.
4. L’Ambre des Merveilles smells wonderful on a scarf or coat. So does 31 Rue Cambon.
5. Tam Dao is my latest woody obsession.
Happy New Year everyone!
Oh yes! Second on L’ambre on a scarf. I sprayed my silk scarf down with it when I first got a bottle and that’s mainly how I wear it.
And I second Canyon Dreams! It’s beautiful! I have the coffret but I’m too scared to use up CD as I’m not sure I can afford a fb as much as I’d love one
Yes to Canyon Dreams! I treated myself to a bottle last summer and have barely worn it since… which is disgraceful, I realise now. I shall wear it tomorrow to make amends. Could certainly do with some easy breezy floaty California summer cheering up, I can tell you.
Yay to fellow Canyon Dreams lovers! Although the price is prohibitive. Once my decant is gone I doubt I’ll replace it with a bottle.
Can I add to your nr 1?Guavas that I forgot in the boot of my car,after travelling about 300miles,midsummer…I will NEVER eat a guava again!!Lol
That sounds absolutely disgusting, and it’s a shame the experience put you off guavas forever :(.
I tried Happ & Stahns 1922 Lily Noir today at Anthropologie and it is gorgeous!
I am not a lily lover; too heady and strong. This, is lovely and perfect for spring. It comes in two sizes. The small one comes in a shape similar to the old Chaos parfum crystal shard. Nice.
Mentioning it because I was so impressed and before I go get to.
I saw that one on-line a while back. I like both bottles. The purple ink bottle caught my eye and then I read the list of notes — vanilla, balsam, and carnation? Yes, please. Hmmm… might have to drag my sorry carcass to the nearest Anthropologie …
Get to dragging your kind carcass!
The purple bottle is also very nice and reminded me of the old Todd Oldham bottle.
Sometimes the Anthropologie scents are too big and confusing for me. This one made sense to me and made me think there might be a lily in my future.
1. Name a smell (not a perfume, just a smell) that everyone else loves, but you hate. … – Bleu Cheese!
2. Name a perfume everyone else hates — or that just generally isn’t beloved by perfumistas — but you love… – Spellbound
3. Your most recent scrubber?…. – Odalisque PdN
4. A fragrance you love to find lingering on your clothing, or your scarf or coat, the day after you wore it? …. – MFK Absolue Pour le Soir
5. Since this Horse year is associated with the element of wood, name your favorite woody perfume…. – Bois des Iles
Mmm Absolue pour le Soir… my favourite skank 🙂
It’s such exceptionally classy skank…
1. I don’t really like the smell of babies, either, like the ladies above. I think they mostly smell like sour milk or poop. I am not very fond of the smell of raw chicken, either.
2. I am fond of Joop! Nightflight, a masculine I tried at a duty-free shop and fell for. It was not expensive at all so I bought it then and there.
3. Had to scrub Blackbird by House of Matriarch. It smelled like burning asphalt on me.
4. I try very hard not to get perfume on my clothes but the cuffs of my winter jacket have a variety of perfumes on them that have rubbed off my wrists. They smell nice, though, no one perfume predominates.
5. Favorite wood is Bois des Iles or SSS Champagne de Bois.
I will second the raw chicken.
Can’t stand the smell of raw meat in general!
First off, I like the Canadian Year of the Horse stamps a lot better (in its simplicity) than the one from the U.S.
1. A smell that everyone loves but I hate – I would have to pick bacon …I don’t hate bacon (in fact, I will eat it in moderation) but I do hate the fact that if I can smell bacon, it means that my hair had already absorbed the smell and that at least for some period of time, I will smell like bacon
2. A perfume everyone else hates but I love — L’AP Seville a l’Aube got mixed reviews. I do not have a scientific count/calculation but it seems like for every favorable review, there is a negative one…or perhaps I see polarity in the comments.
3. My most recent scrubber – if I had worn more of it today, OJ Orris Noir would have been a scrubber.
4. Smells wonderful as a lingering scent on clothing – Guerlain SDV
5. A favorite woody fragrance – Le Labo City Exclusives Gaiac 10, CDG Series 3 Incense – Kyoto
China’s stamp is also lovely, and Guernsey (!) did a fabulous series of six. Agree on the US — not their best.
I just looked at the Guernsey (fabulous) and China (WOW!!!!) stamps. China only did a 4000 piece run and got sold out within 1 hour of issue! Oh, and looking through google, the Philippines also has a set of gorgeous stamps — in 3-D!
Hard to see why China would do so few??? Boon for lucky collectors, I guess.
Actually, until I went searching for stamps for this post, did not realize how many countries did these stamps every year.
1. barbecue
2. Nocturnes by Caron: I feel like this one isn’t talked about much except to criticize the current reformulation. I’ve never smelled the original, but I actually quite like how it is now… I find it very cheerful.
3. Not sure I’ve tried anything lately that I’ve outright hated… I wasn’t a big fan of Santal Blanc or Rahat Loukoum.
4. Incense Rosé by Tauer
5. right now probably either Fille en Aiguilles or Dune
Smells: Some meats on the stove…I like barbecue smells, but some people cook steaks on oily skillets…yuck
Perfume all hate but I love: perfumistas nowadays seem to dislike all things marine, ozonic, cantaloupe, pear, lavender and violet… I say this is just a combination of fatigue/overexposure… if they are top quality and done right, I love those notes!
scrubber: none.. I try everything on paper first… but I get tempted from time to time to try on skin…been lucky lately.
Terre de Hermes parfum..smells better on clothing than on me…. that ungrateful b*tch! LOL
Favorite wood perfume: M7 FTW! 🙂 but I must admit I’ve been looking at Guerlain Homme L’Eau Boisée fondly lately…
Seconding M7
1) Have to come back to this one!
2) Paul Smith’s Rose (not yet sure whether I will buy another – its so much less expensive in the UK – but I really enjoyed using my bottle. Much preferred it to Stella and friends.)
3) Lush’s Bug. The top notes are especially offensive, but it doesn’t get that much better…
4) Most scents – special mention to Lipstick Rose and Infusion d’Iris
5) I think I may have a crush on Tam Dao…
Bug. Oh Merlin! I bought a few of the little size bottles from the range, and I got Bug. I don’t know what was wrong with me it must’ve been all those Lush fumes at the shop. It’s revolting to the point that I can’t really bring myself to open it. Lol!
Yeah, should have been called bug repellant:) It got some rave reviews that I cannot understand at all. People said it was ‘weird’ so I naturally thought I would like it!
Those little bottles are so cute though that its kind of a nice thing to have – even if you prefer it sealed. Hellstone was probably my favorite – maybe it will be a purchase one day:)
I have a crush on Tam Dao, too! Have made broad hints that I’d like it for Valentine’s Day…we’ll see.
I haven’t yet smelled the EDP so I need to wait until I travel somewhere that has it!
1. Everyone else loves, but you hate: washing detergent with scent and scented cleaning products
2. Perfume everyone else hates – but I like: Belle d’Opium
3. My most recent scrubber: can’t remember, too many
4. Lingering fragrance, I love: Moon Bloom by Hiram Green
5. Favorite perfume with wood notes: 10 Corso Como followed by Santal Noble
Yay for mentioning the scent of laundry detergent and scented cleaning products! It seems that they are getting even more revolting lately, plus they are making them sooo powerful — often my entire street stinks of department store detergents from neighbors’ washers and dryers, I wonder how can people live with that inside their houses …
Absolutely!
1. American-made milk chocolate. It often smells of sour milk to me.
2. Sushi Imperiale. I think most people react against the name, rather than the actual scent. Can’t figure out why people accept flights of fancy in names from brands like Pilar & Lucy, or offensiveness from ELdO, yet reject SI. Maybe it’s because Bois 1920 is so otherwise traditional?…
3. Ramon Monegal Pure Mariposa.
4. Vanillas and ambers.
5. SSS Champagne de Bois.
I like fantastical and/or outrageous names, but the problem with Sushi Imperiale is that the word sushi straight away evokes a particular smell for me and the smell it evokes (salty) is kind of horrid next to the actual smell of the amber type perfume.
Merlin, defending SI is just a losing campaign, I guess. ;>) This is one horse I’ll stop beating now!
1 )The smell of rain , especially on tarmac, depresses me beyond measure. Why do people romanticise it? They clearly never grew up in the south-west of England, where rain is hideously quotidian. Also the smell of fresh ironing – my mother loves it; it makes me want to gag.
Just thinking of those two smells renders me incapable of answering the other questions..!
Oooh, except 3) Mona di Orio Violette Fumee – except I’m sure that’s actually perfume heresy to admit. It was too, too much for me.
#3 HERESY! (jk…I love it though)
and I love your use of “quotidian”… I will now have to find a good use for the word in everyday life!
Ah yes, it is indeed an ace word ! 🙂
I’m a little late to the party – yesterday was non-stop until late last night!
1. Name a smell (not a perfume, just a smell) that everyone else loves, but you hate.
Cooking pork – bacon but especially pork chops. Luckily I live alone and NEVER cook either!
2. Name a perfume everyone else hates — or that just generally isn’t beloved by perfumistas — but you love.
Either of the two Guerlains: Samsara or Mahora. I don’t think they’re hated, but they’re rarely mentioned and most Guerlain fans don’t think they are “true” Guerlains.
3. Your most recent scrubber?
Tauer’s lavender one, and I love lavender! But something in it literally made me sick, and now even the thought of it turns my stomach.
4. A fragrance you love to find lingering on your clothing, or your scarf or coat, the day after you wore it?
Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille – it becomes a very dry and woody vanilla leftover on clothing, not sweet at all.
5. Since this Horse year is associated with the element of wood, name your favorite woody perfume.
The above-mentioned Samsara – the vintage extrait is actually oily on skin it has so much real sandalwood e.o. in it! Honorable mention to SSS Champagne de Bois.
It is interesting to me how many people seem to dislike the smell of pork cooking, more so than most other meats it seems like? I have a friend who strongely dislikes the smell of day-old (or older) cooked meat, and as a result never wants to eat her leftovers. Perhaps the pork smell aversion is more common than I thought?
I have read that the human liver cannot break down pork lard – so maybe it’s a survival mechanism?
My liver obviously doesn’t have that instinct…I find the smell of bacon irresistible.
😀
Actually, I love liver and bacon too…
Rappleyea: In my experience, Samsara and Mahora are still in the Guerlain tradition (as they were still by Jean-Paul), but L’Instant de Guerlain and Insolence are not.
I agree! While Samsara and Mahora don’t exactly have the Guerlinade, they do have a modified version of it. L’Instant and Insolence just have that ubiquitous white musk base!
Dear Rappleyea: Do you think that Idylle and LPRN are more “Guerlain” than LIDG and Insolence? Just wanted to get your opinion while we’re on the subject.
1. I really dislike the smell of bacon. Although I don’t understand other people’s bacon obsession, I will admit that it can add great flavor to a dish and I will eat it in moderation. Though having said that, just this morning I ate everything *but* the bacon on my plate.
2. A lot of people find FM’s Fleur de Cassie “difficult”, but I think it’s so beautiful and easier to wear than a lot of other fragrances.
3. I cannot love L’Artisan Seville a l’Aube. I think it’s the orange blossom. It just turns into pez dispenser candy when it comes into contact with my skin. Other scrubbers are Tauer Une Rose Chypree and SL Chypre Rouge.
4. There are so many perfumes in my collection that I love smelling the next day: Azagury parfum (wore this on my wedding day), Hermes Eau des Merveilles, MFK Lumiere Noire Pour Femme, FM L’Eau d’Hiver.
5. I adore CDG Kyoto & Hinoki & Le Labo Gaiac 10.
1. Agree with those who don’t like the smell of babies. I don’t even like the clean ones. Prefer puppies. I really don’t like vanilla, musk or gardenia in fragrances.
2. I love ozonics, marines, and aquatics.
3. Whatever the latest incarnation of J’Adore is.
4. Aliage.
5. DSquared He Wood Ocean Wet Wood.
1. BBQ
2. Un Jardin Apre la Mousson, Samsara
3. It’s been a while (I’ve become quite savvy in avoiding those)
4. Patchouli Magique
5. Bois des Îles, Mitsouko
P.s. Love the Chinese zodiac Canada Post stamps. They come out every year and certainly make mundane postal errands feel a tad more exciting.
I also think Apres la Mousson deserves more credit than it gets!
I love that one! I think in North America, there is an aversion to the cantaloupe/melon note in fragrances. Probably why Le Parfum de Therese and Diorella aren’t doing as well as they should. I also like Eau Emotionelle, although it’s more on the sweeter side.
1. Name a smell (not a perfume, just a smell) that everyone else loves, but you hate.
I can’t think of a smell that is generally loved, but a couple that are certainly loved by some people, but definitely not me are cigarettes and dogs.
2. Name a perfume everyone else hates — or that just generally isn’t beloved by perfumistas — but you love.
L’Air du Temps and Giorgio Beverly Hills Red.
3. Your most recent scrubber?
Nearly the entire Ormonde Jayne line. There is something in the base that does not agree with me at all.
4. A fragrance you love to find lingering on your clothing, or your scarf or coat, the day after you wore it?
Amouage Majan
5. Since this Horse year is associated with the element of wood, name your favorite woody perfume.
Bois des Iles and Eau de Tommi Sooni II
I think that Tommi Sooni II also qualifies as a very good perfume that flies under the perfumista radar. Love the tobacco, lime, woody notes and would have bought a bottle if it hadn’t skewed a bit masculine on me.