Our standard weekend open thread: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the last fragrance you smelled on the street, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: top image is PhoTones Works #5519 [cropped] by PhoTones_TAKUMA at flickr; some rights reserved.
SOTD is Sensuous Noir by Estee Lauder. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
And you!
Ugh – it’s cold, dreary, pathetic & raining up here today. So, since it appears to be October in August, I’m wearing Coco edt to warm and brighten up my day. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!
It’s not too pleasant here either…August was a complete bust this year.
You smell amazing–I smelled something wonderful on a lady in the office Thursday, and asked her what it was. It was Coco. Really fantastic. I need to retry 😀
Coco is wonderful!
More weather complaints… I am sitting at a baseball game shivering and getting drizzled upon and I cannot believe it’s August. Chose AP l’Agent.
Thanks everyone – Coco was my signature scent for a long time. I love it!
My scent of the day is April Aromatics Calling All Angels. The weather has gotten much cooler, more cloudy and rainy. Looks like a premonition of autumn which will come really soon.
I’m considering a purchase of Atelier Cologne Santal Carmin and splitting it with a couple of friends. I could use a woody scent like that for autumn.
Hey, everyone is having the same weather!
Seems like so
I wish! It is supposed to be 102f here today again and very windy. Our lows have been in the low 80s so it doesn’t even cool off at night and all the rain has gone around us for the last month. Count your blessings.
Urgh, it’s pretty cool here and I feel like autumn is on the way and I hardly had a summer!
I took advantage of LAP’s bank holiday offer of free postage and ordered one of those scent boxes/sample sets that they started doing recently. I probably would have picked a slightly different combination if I were choosing the scents, but it’s still made up of things that I’ve only tried in passing so I’m looking forward to properly testing them.
SOTD is Tubéreuse Criminelle.
How nice of them to offer the sample sets!
I did not look to see which scents they were including, but yes, about time they did sample sets!
Would those of you in those chilly places mind sending some of that cool air down here? I’m really hoping the meteorologists are wrong this time–our forecast high for Monday is 97.
I’ve been on another vintage binge lately, mostly perfume nips and bath oil. I find that those little glass nips really do preserve the perfume in the best possible condition. So far I have not found a one that smelled off or damaged at all. Bath oils are another good option to consider. The oil base seems to preserve the scent quite well. They also can often be had at bargain prices compared with the EdT, EdP, and extrait versions, and of course a bath oil can be worn as a perfume. Recently I have acquired bottles of Raphael Replique, Prince Matchabelli Abano, and Mary Chess Strategy, all of which smell wonderful. I should add that all of these were completely full, unused bottles, which I find greatly increases the likelihood of the contents being unspoiled. I just have not had good luck with used, partial bottles.
Oh, I am so jealous!! Yes, do let’s switch.
Those Mary Chess bath oils were supposed to be wonderful…love that there’s one called Mary Chess Strategy.
The Strategy bath oil is wonderful. It only takes a small amount to make a very fragrant bath, and the scent lingers on the skin for some time afterward. Since I take my bath or shower at night, if I use this it becomes my bedtime fragrance as well. I can’t find any detailed list of notes for it. Fragrantica calls it a masculine oriental, and Basenotes classifies it as a feminine. I am pretty sure it was intended as a feminine, but it smells unisex to me.
Nips are awesome.
Yes, they are! I have been almost binge-buying them lately. It is nice to know that even if I take forever to use them up, they are not going to go bad.
Good to know about the bath oil. I had been wondering about that.
50 Roses – I’d love to switch! We had a “heat wave” in the 86 range right before July 4, and since then just a smattering of hot days and mostly low 70s and very cool nights. Our summer lasted 5 weeks! August has been like October, and I don’t want to turn on the heat yet. Last year our ungodly snowy, freezing winter lasted 5 months from December through the end of April. I know it’s hard when it’s hot, but 5 week summer vs. 5 month winter sucks.
Well, we get a 5 month summer and a 5 week (if that much) winter, which is not so great either. And by “winter”, I simply mean “days when the temperature stays below 60”, not snow or ice, which are rare here.
It looks like we both have to move to more temperate climates! 😉
I’m in heat wave territory as well. It’s reached 100 mark. Bleh. Nips are really fun! I have some I found at an estate sale, but are unlabeled. I open one and it was perfect with vintage goodness. Just wish I knew what I was….
Here is a post from Cleopatra’s Boudoir with some info that may be helpful:
http://cleopatrasboudoir.blogspot.com/2013/09/perfume-nips-and-perfume-typers.html
I have several sets of nips by the Nips company, in hinged plastic boxes like these here:
http://yesterdaysperfume.typepad.com/yesterdays_perfume/2009/12/perfume-nips-a-short-history.html
the colors/perfumes are:
black-Indiscret (Lelong)
silver-Black Satin (Angelique)
red-Silent Night (Countess Maritza)
green-Jealousy (Blanchard)
pink-Shocking (Schiaparelli)
white-White Lilac (Mary Chess)
brown-Breathless (Charbert)
yellow-Fleurs d’Amour (Roger & Gallet)
orange-Golden Chance (Harriet Hubbard Ayer)
blue-Evening in Paris (Bourjois)
purple-Tweed (Lentheric)
gold-Folie de Minuit (Lanier)
Lanier put our their own sets of nips with just their fragrances. I have three such set and the colors they used are:
gold-Folie de Minuit (“forest blend” or chypre)
black–Palomar (oriental)
white-Connoisseur (single floral)
red-Envoy (floral bouquet)
light blue-Virtuoso (“modern blend” or aldehylic floral)
I have some others that actually have the names printed on each nip, which is good because some of the colors are different. For example, Tweed is orange rather than purple.
I hope some of this is helpful.
Love the sunflowers in the picture and how all of the flowerheads are facing the same direction. Recently I sniffed some of my moss roses, which I thought had no scent, but discovered they do have a very light green type of smell and it’s quite nice.
Today I am wearing Ineke Poet’s Jasmine. I had purchased the Floral Curiosities sample set and liked all of them. Since the Jasmine was the one I reached for the most, I got the 15 ml bottle – a nice size, and it also comes in the cute book style packaging.
We had lovely sunflower fields near here that were so incredible that they were causing serious traffic problems 🙂
SOTD = Oriza L. Legrand Jardins d’Armide
… from a sample. I like powder in all its glory and this one has it in spades! I like it and will enjoy the rest of my sample but that’s probably it for me. From the Oriza Legrand line, my favorite is still Chypre Mousse.
Question 1 – I will be in New Orleans in early October and I would appreciate recommendations for restaurants and unique perfumeries. I specified unique because I already have convenient access to NYC perfume places.
Question 2 – What perfumes are you allergic to? I know some of you had mentioned allergies to perfume: some get headachey, some develop respiratory issues and others get a rash. My issue is primarily of rashes and I’ve learned to apply using the spray and walk into the mist method to avoid any concentration on skin- this does not make it easy for me to “test” perfumes in store other than just smelling it from paper strips. Lately, I’ve been braver and started testing on-skin as long as I know I can wipe or wash it off immediately. Well, I’ve been coasting along until this week when to my consternation, I got rashy from two perfumes: 1) vintage Chanel Gardenia extrait – the hives formed within 5 minutes of application and on the exact place where perfume met skin but thank goodness it was on a very small strip of skin on my forearm; by the way, I had no problems with Chanel 1932 and Jersey extraits. 2) Aftelier Parfum Prive from a rollerball – no immediate reaction and I thought it washed off with my shower but the following day, I had tiny red bumps (and still do 2 days later) in the area where I applied the perfume! Grrrr. As far as I can tell, there are no similarities between these 2 perfumes so I still don’t know what could have caused it other than truly sensitive skin. In any case, one thing I learned and should have known — soap and water does not remove traces of perfume…just about the only thing that does is rubbing alcohol which I know I need to have on hand when I start testing on skin again.
1. Hove & Bourbon French are the 2 NO perfume houses I know about and both are worth a trip…(I mean, there are also perfume retail stores, but don’t know of any others making their own scents)
Good to know. Thanks, Robin!
I’ve never been, but always wanted to visit Hove Parfumeur. Sorry to hear about allergic reactions!
I’ll report back if I get to visit Hove Parfumeur.
I want to visit Hove’ too.
2. I wonder if Chanel Gardenia in its vintage form had real ambergris? That’s in the Prive.
Also, both have orange blossom — possibly ‘real’ orange blossom absolute is problematic for you.
I’d be tempted to email Mandy Aftel and tell her your story, and see if she’d help you narrow it down. There might be other notes she doesn’t list.
Good idea about emailing Mandy Aftel and I will do that!
Orange blossom – I have a quite a few perfumes with it (although perhaps only some have the real absolute). I’ll be alert to how I do with these on skin because now I am more determined to narrow down the cause. The real ambergis seems to be rarer and I may not encounter it elsewhere.
The only perfume I remember having an allergic reaction to was Cinnabar. I didn’t get blisters or bumps, but my skin turned bright red everywhere I put it. I believe it was the cinnamon in it. I have not trouble with actual cinnamon used in cooking, but cinnamon e.o., or a perfume containing it, will cause an allergic reaction.
You say you had tested the Gardenia on your forearm–was it on the inner or outer surface? I find that soft tissue, such as the inner arm/wrist, neck, and so on is much more sensitive than harder skin such as that on the outer arm or back of the hand. I am also allergic to the adhesive in band-aids. I can use them on “hard” skin but not on soft tissue. I develop a band-aid shaped rash, complete with blisters.
I tested on the inner forearm. The skin where Chanel Gardenia touched actually turned red first and the hives actually subsided right away. For band aids, I just use the non-latex kind and have had no problems. I used to get a wristwatch-shaped rash and finally figured out that I shouldn’t wear nickel-backed watches (hence my collection of Swatch watches which have a plastic backing and rubber-like straps) AND absolutely no leather watch bands ever.
You might try testing perfumes on the outer forearm or back of the hand. There just seems to be less of a chance of a bad reaction there. Putting it on the back of the hand seems to make it easier to wash off as well. I much prefer leather watch bands, as I find the metal bracelets tend to pinch. I don’t seem to have a nickel allergy, as I have never had a problem with any jewelry. By non-latex bandages, do you mean the fabric type? I have had reactions to those as well, and I do think it is the adhesive. I work in a lab, and we have to wear gloves. We used to have latex gloves (we use nitrile gloves now), and never had a problem, so I apparently don’t have a latex allergy.
The non-latex are “as advertised” on the box and are available in plastic or fabric. I don’t know anything about adhesives but could there be latex in adhesives? As to your gloves, is there a powder barrier between the gloves and your hands? (I’m thinking there isn’t since the lab has to be free of any extraneous particles.)
I don’t know what exactly is in the adhesive. I will look for the non-latex bandages and perhaps try them out–cautiously, on a small area. The reactions I have had before have happened quickly. Once, the company nurse took a blood sample from me and then slapped an adhesive bandage down before I could protest. I pulled it off as soon as I was out of the room, just a minute or two later, and already I had blisters.
We have, in the past, had both powdered and unpowdered gloves, but these days they are all unpowdered. I believe they found that the powdered type actually increased the incidence of latex allergies. Something about the particles of powder picking up bits of latex and transporting them deeper into the skin. None of them ever bothered me, though.
Incidentally, our lab has lots of extraneous particles! We always are amazed at how dusty it gets. The turnover rate for the air in the lab is something like 10 times per hour, and the incoming air is not very well filtered, so there is a lot of dusty air coming in all the time. I work in a petroleum refinery lab, so we do not have nearly the same requirements for particle control as, say, electronics assembly or medical labs.
Hajusuuri, I think that it’s actually the alcohol in perfume that I’m sensitive to, so I’ve been using your spray method more often to diffuse the dose in any one area. SD Alcohol 40 is the main culprit, and I try not to buy anything that contains it. Many cosmetics and hair products also use this ingredient, so I’ve become a real label-reader.
Thanks, farouche! I have to look up SD Alcohol 40 but perhaps, in a bizarre way, that may help diffuse the concentration of the ingredients that are irritation triggers. I had this horrible thought that “I” am the .001% that the IFRA is trying to protect with all its ridiculous rules.
I hear you! I’ve tried a few solid perfumes to avoid the alcohol issue, but haven’t been very satisfied with them.
The only perfume I’ve been allergic to in your sense is I Profumi di Firenze Spezie de Medici. I sprayed some on my forearm, as you did, and within a minute had developed a pretty powerful red rash on the same spot. It’s too bad, too, because I love the smell of it. It has cinnamon but also red pepper, which I suspect was the cause. I washed it off in the store restroom right away and the rash subsided. There are certain pine and juniper trees/bushes to which I react similarly, so I always try to be cautious when testing any perfumes with those notes, but so far no problem.
Hmmmm, I think someone once mentioned capsaicin, which is present in chili peppers, as a trigger. It is also in cinnamon. I’ll watch out for these too. Thanks.
Sorry to hear about your allergic reactions my sweetheart. I rarely get any skin reaction after spraying a perfume on my skin. I had a little rash after using Bond-T from Giovanni Sammarco once (didn’t happen other times I wore it). There were a few more itchy situations but I can’t remember what perfumes caused the problem.
I’ll just have to be at the ready with an alcohol-based wipe when I next test on skin. Thanks sweetie!
Lots of perfumes are headache triggers for me but so are smoke, hormones, strobing or bright lights and changing atmospheric pressure so it’s hard to narrow down specifics and I certainly wouldn’t call it an allergy. A few do make me sneeze and I have found that Dev IV, which I love, makes my mother in law’s allergies and asthma go supernova.
The only perfume I have actually had a reaction to was a cheap Caldrea rollerball sample at a gift shop. I will stick to their cleaning products. I had scaly red patches on both arms for two weeks. Looked like severe photosensitivity but I didn’t even make it outside before I ran to wash it off.
I consider myself lucky that so far, perfumes don’t trigger a headache. I think I’ve gotten sneezy (with Amouage Interlude Man) and FM Dries Van Noten is forever banned as I almost suffocated on this one (and I still don’t know what in this perfume caused it). I try to be sensitive to my mom who cannot stand any kind of perfume, especially anything with synthetic woods and anything flowery perfumey– she’s like a bloodhound with synthetic woods and calls it out from 20 feet away.
You actually also gave me another idea…since the one from Aftelier was from a rollerball, I will find out what the ball is made of.
Hajusuuri, I got hives from vintage Caron N’Aimez Que Moi. It was dark, probably somewhat evaporated, so I wonder if the stronger concentration may be the cause as much as any specific ingredient.
Also, I’ve occasionally gotten skin irritation in the summer from perfumes that I’ve worn without problem at other times. Not sure if the ingredients react under UV, or if it’s just that my skin is more sensitive in the summer (which does happen). As a result, I don’t wear perfume when I’m planning to be outdoors in the sun and generally wear less in the summer.
Hmmmm, I was thinking that stronger concentration could cause a quicker reaction but I bet there is something in the vintage that may have been a trigger as well. The perfumista in me almost wants to sadistically test with other vintage perfumes to weed out the ones I should not wear on skin (I should still be ok with spray and walk into the mist).
On UV reactions, there may be something to that.
Hi Haju,
The only time I had a skin reaction from perfume was when I was pregnant. The midwife told me, “pregnant skin is weird” when I explained that had never happened before. I’m going to extrapolate and say ALL skin is weird. Allergies can develop and change throughout life, and perfume is so complex. Good luck narrowing this down.
Somewhat relatedly, I’ve recently had perfume take the paint/coating off my metal watch. Yikes. Gotta stop wearing perfume on my left wrist on watch days.
Agree – all skin is weird!
If I spray No 19 directly on my neck too often- meaning repeat applications (I love the opening!) on my neck all day and then wear it often every week, I get itchy. I don’t do it anymore b/c now I know better. I’m not sure what exactly it is that irritates my skin, but I can avoid it by spraying less. I also notice that I can get randomly irriated when I spray at the base of my neck or on my chest area, so I just try and avoid those.
I also notice that from time to time any of my fragrances will bother my chronic bronchitis/asthma if I spray it around my head. Most of my fragrances I apply by spraying one or two sprtizes on the back of my wrist, thereby creating a “puddle” that I dab around with my finger. It keeps the mist down around my head. It’s a bummer when I occasionally want to get all spritzy – which is a rare fragrance for me – but it’s better than having to use my rescue inhaler which I hate. There are also fragrances which I’ll only wear on my wrists or arms and avoid wearing around the head.
The only fragrance I ever tested that made me physically ill was Amouage Lyric for Men, and I have no idea why. I love other Amouage, so it must have been some anomally I have no desire to figure out. Good luck with your allergies!
Ha…and I am the opposite — i.e. spraying around my head had not caused any issues. It’s too bad that you are sensitive to something you really like but at least you have an alternate method to apply without exacerbating your asthma!
I’m glad you have no issues around the head! I think this means I am actually nuts, lol.
“It’s all in your head.” hahaha 🙂
Hove is really worth a visit. I purchased Habanera which is a beautiful powdery tobacco leather which takes me back to New Orleans every time In wear it.
Wowzers….Habanera sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the recommendation!
Verbena hates me! Any verbena. L’Occitane’s the worst, but even fragrances with just a small amount in them bring me out in a burning red rash. It’s such a shame, as I love the scent.
And as Nozknoz says, the problem is worse in the summer when my skin is probably feeling delicate because of the heat and the sun; even fragrances that have never caused a problem before can sometimes sting badly.
You poor thing – Verbena! Have you washed with verbena soap? Does it cause the same reaction? On sunlight, I really do think it does cause some king of chemical reaction that people with sensitive skin need to watch for!
Haven’t tried soap, but will have a try. You are right about the photosensitivity!
The only perfume I remember getting an allergic reaction to was Cher’s Uninhibited. I really liked the scent but immediately upon spraying I would become very itchy as if I had been simultaneously bitten by 25 mosquitoes!
Gosh, I’ve never heard of Uninhibited until now and I just looked it up and I feel like I want to smell it 🙂
That itchiness must have been awful.
I remember those perfume nips from when I was really young. My mom used to get them and sometimes she would let me put a little bit on. I specifically recall the Mary Chess Yram and Prince Matchabelli (various perfumes).
In an elevator recently a young man was wearing a cologne that was pretty good. It would have been awkward to ask, so I’ll never know what it was. It was fresh, but not too fresh, and there was some interest apart from that.
The last time I smelled anything really interesting was several years ago at the Phillips Collection on an older woman wearing a nice tweedy wool suit. I now wish I’d shadowed her until I had a chance to ask what it was.
I should think about strategies in case I have other perfume encounters. Maybe just saying I’m a perfume collector would be work? Has anyone else found a strategy that works?
I am just straightforward. Begin with a compliment, “My, you smell wonderful. Would you mind telling me what you are wearing?” I’ve never had anyone refuse, usually they are pleased that someone noticed.
Good points, and good to know it works. Thanks, Calypso!
I agree with Calypso. The direct approach is best. Were you afraid he’d read a little more into it than you intended? 😉
It seems like a personal question, I guess.
I use Calypso’s strategy. You smell amazing–what is that? Do you mind telling me? Most people, men and women have been happy to share.
My one recent notable failure was a thirty something sharply dressed executive man in the elevator who said, “No, it’s mine, and then you’ll go and buy it for your boyfriend.” I just laughed and reiterated that he smelled amazing, and went on my way. Little does he know that *I* would try to put it on ME. Bwa ha ha 😀
I guess around here (DC) I expect people to be competitive and not want to share their secret scent. LOL, not only will we wear it, we’ll talk about it with other fumeheads! 🙂
This happened to me on time when I was on an airplane and a stewardess smelled really good. I just very politely and openly (so it didn’t look weird or creepy) told her that I thought she smelled really nice and what was she wearing? If you keep it simple – almost like you are telling someone they have a nice dog or something – I think it translates OK. There are ways to say it that don’t sound stalker-y. Most people are actually happy to hear that someone else thinks they smell nice, esp. these days when fragrance can be so villified. In the case of the stewardess, she said something like Oh, my, well thanks and it was one of the Victoria’s Secret Angels, but I don’t remember which. One time I was in the grocery store (at the meat counter no less) and this older woman near me smelled just wonderful. I looked at her and said: you smell awesome. What is that? She looked at me with a bit of surprise, but then just said, it’s Addict. I said again that she smelled really good. One time I complimented an older teller at Rite Aid who was clearly wearing Chantilly and said how good she smelled, and she looked very pleased with herself. There was only one time I didn’t ask when I really wanted to – I was at a reception at the beginning of summer in my work capacity as a librarian with some “money” people and grantors, and one of the exectutives that was present smelled just wonderful. I believe it was Tauer’s Une Rose Chypree. She was very charming, but I felt if I complimented her about something so personal it would sound like I was ingratiating myself to her b/c of the grant. So I’ll never know. I think approaching a stranger about their fragrance is only a bit different than complimenting someone on a good haircut or outfit – people like to hear that they look/smell nice.
Interesting that it was older women mostly who had the intriguing perfumes.
I can’t really think of anything else that smells like Une Rose Chypree. It’s cool to think of an exec wearing something unusual like URC, instead of something more “corporate,” like Chanel.
Yeah – I thought so too – I’ve never smelled anything else like URC either. It is very unique. She also Australian with that great accent, and ended up having more interesting hors d’oeuvres chat than I expected. She was a neat lady.
Ha! Good one. Sometimes I just want to express appreciation and other times it’s all about information gathering.
A few months ago I went to the art museum and the door guard, a kind of intimidatingly big older guy, smelled awesome so I said, “I love your cologne. What are you wearing?” He smiled and told me he didn’t know, it was from his daughter who was always giving him samples to wear. About a month later, I went back to the museum and he remembered me and let my husband go in for free (I have a single membership) saying “today is your lucky day”
It’s great that you bonded with the guard over perfume!
Hot, humid, horrendous here…fall will arrive sometime in January, I’m afraid. A blink of the eye causes a storm of sweat! Ugh! so over this heat and humidity =(
On a happier note my samples arrived in the mail this am!
Knize 10-Nice! I like it but have a decant of Cuir Ottoman, which I like better.
Corsica Furiosa- Really liking this as I have nothing like it and I find it interesting and strangely exotic.
Hedonist- Instant attraction! Lovely classy sweet honey deliciousness
Onda Voile de Extrait- Oh ONDA!
Rozy Voile de Extrait- I am on the fence about you, Rozy…
I will have a good weekend playing with my new toys =)
Hope everyone has a lovely and fragrant weekend and the weather in your area is better than the weather in my area.
The CF has had mixed reviews but I like it too…reminds me of one of the older Diptyques & eventually I’ll remember which one.
I noticed the huge disparity in reviews as well. I think that makes things even more interesting. Anything that causes conflicting opinions is worth checking out, IMO =)
I have this image of you with your tiny vials of scent, tumbling through your fingers, thinking, “my Preciousss.” 😀 Wait, that would be me, after a sample purchase! Have fun with your new samples.
It sounds like we have very similar taste–I’m enjoying Rozy, but I think I like the EdP better than the voile d’extrait. For all my love of GREEN herbal scents, CF was a miss for me, and I love lentisque. I need to pick a sample to wear today. . .Onda sounds great, and I haven’t worn it in ages. Thanks for the reminder. Be well.
Hey, just call me “Sméagol”!!
I am fairly new to this game and just getting into “green” scents and have been wanting to explore a bit. The only thing “green” I have is SSS Forest Walk, which also has a lot of “other stuff” in the mix. I am intrigued by vetiver but really don’t know of any accessible vetiver heavy scents. I really loved the opening of CF but only had it on my hot sweaty hand (I had just gotten back from a spin class) for about 15-20 minutes before jumping in the shower. I liked it a lot in that time.
Any accessible greenies that you would recommend, Especially if you think we may have similar tastes?
Have a great remainder of your weekend=)
I think some good green ones to start with that are easy to get to are some Chanels – Cristalle has both galbanun and vetiver – and it has the swamp water vetiver so it’s really a good way to train the nose. No 19 has a crisper, dryer, fresher vetiver, and then Sycomore has a deep smokey vetiver. The Pour Monsieurs also prominently feature vetiver. If you have access to Annick Goutals – the Heure Exquise has a ton of galbanum, and there is her Vetiver. Guerlain also has some good learning, classic fragrances with vetiver – their men’s Vetiver is a classic; there is Vetiver Pour Elle; and then Chamade is a whopper galbanum heavy fragrance…. A good place to go to do some research is the Perfumed Court b/c you can search fragrances by notes and by tester packs to help with sniffing and learning. Good luck!
Thanks for those suggestions! I have made a list and will scare up some samples.
AnnS has great recommendations, and I agree. I would also point you toward Perfume Shrine’s blog series on “Springtime awakenings: Green Fragrances” and “Perfumery Material: Galbanum” as great starting points in your explorations, if you have not already seen those articles.
I’m no expert. I mentally sort my greens into cologne/citrus greens, floral greens, herbal greens and dark/earthy greens. There is overlap of course.
Readily accessible things to try in the citrus greens are things like Atelier Cologne’s Trefle Pur and Cedrat Envirant, PdN’s Eau d’Ete, Hermes Jardin Sur le Nil (and en Mediterranee, all those are worth a try!). More floral greens would be things like PdN’s Le Temps de Une Fete (reformulated, but I haven’t smelled the new, sorry!), Atelier’s Sous Le Toit de Paris, Chanel’s Bel Respiro, maybe even Nikki St. Phalle, and Lauder’s Private Collection. I think I’d put Guerlain’s Chamade here, but warning, I like it only in extrait–others like it in all forms.
Herbal greens for me are things like Cartier’s III L’Heure Vertueuse, (Corsica Furiosa would go here), Piguet’s Futur, Sisley’s Eau de Campagne, Miller et Bertaux Green, green, green and green.
Dark/smoky/eathy greens are things like Parfumerie Generale Papyrus de Ciane, Jacomo’s Silences, (harder to find but must try:) Ormonde Jayne’s Woman (and Man).
That may be more than you wanted to hear 😀 Sadly, this is a quick list, and I’m sure I’ll think of other things I should have included. Yep, like Guerlain’s Vetiver (I’d put it under the cologne/citrus greens). Ok, I quit. I really love green things. And incense, and musks, and florals. Fruit and very sweet things are tough for me to love in fragrance, just so that we are honest about my biases. Hope you find many new tiny vials to dribble through your fingers in joy, as you select your fragrance for the day. Be well.
oh boy! another list of samples to get- However, being old and cursed with memory issues, some of these sounded familiar, so off I went to my embarrassingly large sample stash.
OJ Woman- remember getting this sample a couple of years ago (!), taking a whiff and thinking it was the foulest stuff imaginable! Now trying it again and I like it! It is deeply darkly lovely.
Nicoli- Le Temps D’une Fete- another older sample that I didn’t like and STILL don’t like- too florally sweet for me, although I know it has a cult following.
Nicoli- Vetyver- Gosh I like this! Like a bracing wind just blew through my head!
Thanks for your suggestions! All those unknown future perfume encounters make me anticipatorily happy =D
It’s fascinating to watch how tastes change in this perfume exploration. Some of the ultra clean scents I used to love, I still like, but they are remembered loves. Big florals that I shied away entrance me now. It’s a huge art appreciation class for me, with scents to color each day, each occasion with a tone/timber to enhance the experience. Who knew I’d have a whole collection of fragrances to wear to sleep! Hope you find one or lots to love. Do report back, please 😀
Now I think I see a bunch that *I* need to test too! There is just so much to explore in the “green” category. Once you open that door, it’s a lot of fun!
I’m very curious about Corsica Furiosa and Rozy. It’s a rainy day here – good day for some sample shopping!
Go for it! I have to say, I was expecting Rozy to pack more of a punch, based on the reviews I read. For some reason, the voile de extrait seemed very tame to me, although I know the others (EDP and Extrait) are similar but different enough to result in a completely different sensation.
I was torn about testing CF because I am ticked off that Parfum d”Empire no longer offers 50ml bottles. It’s REALLY sticking in my craw, you hear me Marc Antoinne?!
I agree – 100 ml is way too much for me at this point, although I sometimes wish I’d gotten Cuir Ottoman in the larger bottle. I don’t ever want to run out of that one!
Oddly, our August weather is atypical only that it’s a little warmer than usual. Wearing Ferre (Woman), as a fail-safe perfume.
Just got 2 N-M catalogs in the mail. One has a scent strip for Diana Vreeland Perfectly Marvelous (sort of afraid to try–I can smell powerful synthetics from the closed thing–probably not the best way to test). The other has a Fracas insert advertising a nice little coffret featuring a 1 oz edp + .25 oz rollerball for $80. The larger catalog features ornaments & other Christmas things, yikes!
I have not read good things about the DV scents so far — pity. But maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised, who knows.
Wearing CB I Hate Perfume Memory of Kindness this morning; it’s a sunny and pleasant day here, and I’m headed for the farmers market, so it just seemed to fit in somehow. I haven’t worn it all summer, actually, I think, which is unusual for me.
Starting to think about my one-year move away from home, starting a year from now (okay, I’m one of those crazy planners), and as I opened my perfume drawer this morning I realized I’m going to have to figure out how I’ll handle the perfume. My collection’s probably smaller than many here (probably 25 bottles and a mess of samples), but there’s no way I can fly to Europe with 25 FBs. I’ve never tried decanting…guess that’s what I need to figure out.
It’s not hard to decant.
For taking perfume out of non-spray bottles, the best tip I’ve seen is to use cocktail straws as pipettes. Real disposable pipettes are nice, but the cocktail straws are cheap and readily available, plus I like to use a straw to apply perfume from non-spray bottles, to avoid contaminating them.
Great tip! Time to scare up some cocktail straws…
That was thank to commenter Joe, by the way.
I use cocktail straws also, esp. when I have one of those tiny little bottles with the teeny tiny openings. Or with perfume. I agree decants are a great way to take something with you b/c you will likely find frags in Europe that you care about as well. You could always prepare a package with some of the decants in it, well wrapped up, and then have someone fedex the box to you after you get settled into your new digs.
Over here, it’s a chilly 12 degrees (54F) with patches of fog. Not exactly what I’d call summer weather. I think I’ll go with Timbuktu.
Oh! send a cool breeze my way, Pretty Please!
Sampling Perles de Lalique today. A nice dry, spicy patchouli rose. Kinda wondering if I should have bought this instead of Marni, but why live with regrets when you could have two bottles instead 🙂
Does anyone have any favourite scents where plum is a major note? I love it in Vetiver Fatal by Atelier Cologne and Boyfriend by Kate Walsh but I’m wondering if there are other scents I should try before investing in any full bottles 🙂
Have you tried Gold leather? It’s also from Atelier Cologne. You might want to look up Robin’s review. I think she described it as a plum jam note.
Ooo, I haven’t tried it – I’ve only seen Silver Iris from the metal collection at my local Sephoras (in Canada). Thanks for the tip (and Robin for the review, which I just checked out), I have added it to my sample wishlist! 🙂
It’s not just Sephora. Most places don’t carry it. I just checked luckyscent and even they don’t have it.
You might want to order samples directly from Atelier’s website. It’s $25 for the entire collection of sixteen. These are 2ml vials, probably one of the best deals out there when it comes to sampling.
Ah, this makes me feel better/less deprived – I’ve had to order some of the smaller travel size sets through the US Sephora, so I had assumed it was just a Canadian issue and we were lagging behind.
Just went ahead and placed the sample order – great deal with no charge for shipping! It’s such a nice line and there are others I want to try like Blanche Immortelle so thank you for the tip!!
No worries. One more tip: Etiket based in Montreal carries Atelier. They offer 15% off on your first order and free shipping across Canada. You might want to keep them in mind if you decide to buy a full bottle at some point. I’m Canadian too by the way.
That is faaantastic, thank you yet again! 😀 Hello from the Hamilton, ON area 🙂
Ume from Keiko Mecheri is a lovely plum scent
Certainly sounds lovely – thank you, have added this to the wishlist too 🙂
BK Liaisons Dangereuse is a beautiful rose-plum scent. I especially love it in the fall.
Sounds wonderful, thank you, I’ve put it on the list! I’m already looking forward to getting this batch of samples in the mail and I haven’t even ordered it yet 🙂
My nose gets a deep plum in Amouage Memoir Woman. There is also plum in the Natori edp.
Wonderful, thank you 🙂 I already had Memoir on my want list for the incense, so I guess it just got bumped even higher up the sample list 🙂
I love the plum in L’Artisan’s Voleur des Roses. But you have to love patchouli, too!
Patchouli and I are definitely friends – added to the list, thank you 🙂
I just discovered Kenzo Jungle l’elephant and it’s gorgeous. It has a super rich stewed prune/plum in amongst all the spices.
This is one of my favorites too! Its so all encompassing that I find myself daydreaming of all kinds of adventures when I wear it.
ah, this one I actually got a sample of a few weeks ago but I haven’t tried it on the skin yet. On the vial dip-stick I mostly just noticed the cardamom! (Not a complaint.) I’ll give this a shot on my skin ASAP, thanks for the heads up 🙂
SOTD: Heeley Vetiver Veritas. It’s quite nice! The weather is warm and muggy so I’m enjoying this indoors.
I need to put this vetiver on my must try list. This year has turned into my vetiver year and I still have a lot to smell!
I am on a green spree! I’ll add this to my list and although this is apropos to nothing, who can resist a name like VetiverVeritas? 😉
Wore Dame Perfumery’s new Black Flower Mexican Vanilla this morning while I was helping serve at the high school band booster’s pancake breakfast fundraiser. Worked just fine for the purpose, though I’m still not much of a vanilla aficionado.
Now cleaning up house. After that, I’ll shower; after THAT, I’ll put on some Smell Bent Florist’s Fridge. Lovely stuff, carefree floral
People probably wondered why the pancakes smelled so great this year! 😉
I should send a postcard to get the freebie sample. If I stick to the rules, I have to send in a postcard of my hometown, city, state but how often does one have a postcard of where they live?
When I wear DSW Coeur de Vanille, my hubbie always says I smell like pancakes. I can’t decide if I should take offense, lol.
Hi R –
Not sure if you’ll see this, but I’m wondering when our next Swapmeet or Freebiemeet or Splitmeet might be. Is there a page on NST where I can see upcoming events? I’ve got stuff to swap or give away!
I’m wearing a very small dot of TF Noir de Noir.
Thanks,
Debby
I was sampling Noir de Noir last night – addictive 🙂
No page…we’re not that organized, sorry!
Will announce final dates for Splitmeet & Swapmeet on 6 September. Splitmeet is probably on 20 September. Swapmeet is sometime in October.
Next Freebiemeet is in January.
Thanks!
Another perfume with plum is Mary Greenwell Plum. I like that one for spring and fall especially.
FYI–Lush has announced that they are completely discontinuing their Retro product category, so if you are a fan of any of these products, buy them while you can. Some items, such as Potion lotion and Tramp shower gel, are already gone. Apparently, the plan is to introduce a North American version of the Lush Kitchen, whereby they make special items available as limited editions, available (I take it) only online, and for only a short time. Perhaps they will bring back some of these discontinued items from time to time as Kitchen products (I hope)? I do have two bottles of Violet Nights bath oil, which was one of the UK Kitchen products, bought via ebay, and I can report that it is wonderful.
Autumn has truly arrived with rain, wind and about 12C. Even the leaves are beginning to turn yellow. Can’t complain though, everyone in Sweden is still walking around in a bit of a daze talking about The Most Perfect Summer Ever.
SOTD is Tauer Une Rose Chypree wich I haven’t worn for a year I think. Perfect today!
Oh I love the Tauer Roses! Which is an amazing admission as I was firmly convinced I hated anything “rose.” Just goes to show you to never judge a scent by the listed notes =)
Most perfect summer ever sounds like heaven! My younger sister got to travel to Stockholm about 10 years ago and was very impressed with how beautiful it is. It’s been far too long since I’ve worn my decant of URC, so I must fix that pronto.
I spent today the same way I’ve spent most of the last two weeks–unpacking. JHAG’s Vengeance Extreme was wonderfully up to the task though.
Ooh, you’ve moved to the NY area, right? We should get-together if that is the case!
Yes, great, I’d love it! E-mail me at missionista at yahoo and we can set something up.
As soon as this nasty cold leaves my body, it may be time for another New York perfume hang…
Oy – that was supposed to be in reply to Hajusuuri above. I blame the cold.
Please, join in! I’d love to meet NY fumies!
I’m in if we can do this Thurs coming up or possibly Tues 9/2. After that I’m pretty much living at school until thanksgiving
…and then there were 5! emailed the group!
Hi everyone!
I’m thinking of buying my first bottle from an online discounter, but I keep chickenning out. I think it’s because I don’t understand how they manage to get such discounts on fragrances still sold full price elsewhere. It always makes me think there is something fishy (or maybe the department stores are the one stealing us!)… Anyone could explain? Has everyone had only good experiences? (Not talking about ebay, here!)
I don’t know which one you have in mind, but I have bought from Fragrancenet, and had only good experiences. I got some Shiseido Feminite du Bois a few years ago, and it is absolutely the real deal.
Sometimes, it may be a question of a reformulation or packaging change. Once the new formula/package hits the stores, the old one is sold off to the discounters.
This is correct, usually it’s a refo or packaging change. New goes to retail, older stock goes to discounters. Or a discontinuation (I have bought a good deal of recently-discontinued fragrances).
I have had very good luck with items I’ve bought from Fragrancenet, Beauty Encounter, Perfumania, StrawberryNet, and 1st Perfume.
I’ll third 50 roses and Mals – there are a lot of reasons that the discounters get those bottles, including stores going out of business, etc. I’ve ordered scores and scores of bottles from fragrance net, beauty encounter, and a few others and never had a problem. You want to pay attention to special discounts given for “members” which can be very useful – often they want your email address. I have a special email account I only use for shopping to isolate shopping PR and stuff from my personal stuff. Also, if you are nervous, about the juice changing, only buy bottles with sprayers, which is 95% of what’s available anyway. Also use paypal or a CC if you can, and not your checking account info. Once you do this, you’ll see it’s no big deal.
Thanks everyone for soothing my worries! 🙂
I recently made the leap of faith and bought a bottle of Lolita Lempicka Elle L’Aime from Overstock. I am very happy with it. I would buy online again if I needed another bottle.
It’s also worth searching Amazon. Some of them, like Beauty Encounter, also list on Amazon, too.
I’d like to know what everyone wears to work when they want to feel professional, focused and intelligent. My question isn’t about what’s work-appropriate, ie low-sillage, polite, inoffensive blah blah. I own many perfumes that I bought because they transported me in some evocative way and as a result I own very few that I want to wear to work – they make me daydream and drift mentally and generally resent being at work. My work reliables are Black Cashmere and Vent Vert but I’d love to hear yours.
When I worked in an office I often wore Dior Eau Fraiche which I think is no longer in production. I also wore Roger & Gallet Lavande Royale which is definitely no longer in production. (Waaah . . . )
I liked those for work because of their (relative) simplicity – citrus top notes and vanilla/oakmoss base notes with something nice in the middle. I felt dressed but not overdressed when I wore them to work.
If I were working in an office now I would wear something comfortable (for me) like an eau de cologne. I like 4711, Chanel, and Guerlain eau de colognes. Or one of the Hermes Hermessences, I really like Iris Ukiyoe. For something more floral I would wear Jour d’Hermes or Kai because they don’t distract me but they do make me happy.
Interesting thanks! I also wear 4711 in the absolute heat of summer (a colleague thought it was mozzie spray…good lord) and I own and like Kai but it reeks of tropical holiday to me, so not work-friendly.
Jour d’Hermes is one of my work fragrances. I also like Annick Goutal Eau d’Hadrien, Prada Infusion d’Iris and Bulgari Eau The Vert. In cooler weather, Chanel 31 Rue Cambon is the best! Makes me feel extremely put-together!
L, you’ve inspired me to try 31 Rue Cambon, thanks! I really like everything else you’ve listed, so maybe this will be my Chanel gateway scent. 🙂
Infusion d’Iris is my favorite boss perfume.
Some of my favorite unobtrusive but great smelling office perfumes are Cacharel Noa; Balmain Ivoire; Cartier Baiser Vole; Love, Chloe; and Esprit d’Oscar. I also agree that Infusion d’Iris is a great work scent – I often layer it with a little Chanel No. 19.
Oh, and also Stella.
Agree on Infusion d’Iris and Chanel No. 19 – not that I’ve worn them together, but I can see how they would layer nicely, and it’s that iris keeping things cool and logical. No 19 is my Invisible Armor fragrance.
Hello a subject I find I often think about. I find Chanel 19, No5, help me focus. in summer some citrus chypres- Clarins Eau Dynamisante and Lancome O being favourites. I also agree Infusion d’Iris would work well as would Balmain Ivoire and Chanel 19 Poudre. In autumn and winter warm and crisp scents variably work well for me- absolutely agree re Rue Cambon also though No22 can be perfectly thoughtful in icy weather. Sometimes Lady Vengeance and AP also just hit the right note! Oddly I also love wearing Joy and it makes everything feel pulled together at work.
It used to be Cristalle and now it’s Jasmine White Moss and Ferre. I wear Rien when I want feel like and Executive Lady, which is once in a while.
Boy. I have to start a new separate wish list for this. Thanks everyone.
Chanel 28 la Pausa and vetiver perfumes, such as AG and Guerlain.
I am still wearing Imaginary Authors “Yesterday Haze”. I’ve worn it 5 days in a row!
Thats SERIOUS Commitment!5 days!:-))
Sounds like you’ve already found your fragrance for the signature scent challenge!
I am loving Nejma Fragrances.. # 7 is my favorite!
I get lots of compliments, I do find that for me it is very easy to ask ” What are you wearing? You smell so good? ” I always get a smile and answer, I am a fragrance whore I say and they laugh… oh well I must know and make sure I have it my stash or I will find it online …
Lauriej – thanks – good to the direct approach works!
I admit it. Ok. Here it goes: I love Allure Sensuelle
I loved it even when Iwasn’t much into perfume, but now it seems less bold and rather a very easy sweet and warm but fresh at the same time, very pleasant cool weather fragrance.
I don’t own a bottle yet but I’ve been spraying it on myself in every perfume shop I see. I want to fimd a flaw in it, but I can’t.
After all those years of Bois des Iles and Cuir de Russie I can’t end up buying an Allure version.
Don’t feel alone just because a lot of perfumistas don’t particularly rate it – I love it and bought it a few years ago when EVERYONE was into and buying CM. Allure Sensuelle is lovely and it so so depends on skin type. I was recently in Harrods in London with a friend and we were at the Amouage counter with a lovely SA who let us try everything and the scents were really different on my friend to me. Quite noticeably….so go with your heart and not your head or rather go with your own nose and not “noses!” BTW I didn’t like ANY Amouge on me:((
I visited with a friend in the west village yesterday and was amazed at how much Bleeker street had changed. One nice change is the number of fragrance shops all on one block – Bond #9, Annick Goutal and Diptyque. I really loved the new AG shop, modern but still feminine and romantic. Also found the SAs to be knowledgeable and quite nice. I would love to try her shower gel.
SOTD: Field Notes from Paris
Oh swoon! I’d love to visit the AG shop!!!
Bought some Petite Cherie shower gel, which is pretty nice if, not miles ahead of my favourite Yves Rocher.
I’m stuck at home in the midst of a writing frenzy with NO FOOD in the house – left. So I’ve resorted to an olfactory indulgence instead: Une Bois Vanille. Usually something I spritz on in the fall and winter but I am famished!
No food? that’s dreadful!
(Maybe when you get a chance to shop for groceries you can pick up a couple of those shelf-stable meals. Just for future emergencies. 😉 )
Late again to the party. Summer is definitely still here in this corner of Andalucía, but it’s been a benign one, with max. temperatures around 33ºC. SOTD is Déjà le Printemps by Oriza. Their sample set is fantastic. This is a green floral but on me the dominant note is fig and I love it. I would buy a FB of one of these but would really like a 50 ml bottle. These are powerful fragrances and a little goes a long way.
Better late than never, I always say =) Andalucía! I immediately visualized horses! THE most beautiful horses! EVER!
I’m from Jerez, the home of the famous Carthusian (Cartuja) horses. We also have a Horse Fair every spring.
And the sherry!
Of course! A much-maligned and often under-rated wine with many different varieties, from crisp, white fino to nearly-black, raisiny Pedro Ximenez.
Someday I’d love to visit Spain! Are there any Spanish fragrance houses or niche noses? We always hear about French, Italian, American, etc, even Russia has the Xerjoff…. What’s what for fragrances in Spain?
Yes, there are some: Carner Barcelona has some lovely fragrances – Tardes is a beautiful woody floral. There are others with excellent references too, Then there’s Ramón Monegal, whose fragrances I’m not familiar with, and a new indie house called Scent on Canvas -some of theirs are exquisite. As for designer frags – there’s Loewe, Adolfo Dominguez, Jesus del Pozo…as well as the traditional quality cologne by Álvarez Gómez.
Thanks for the recommendations! I’ll have to put these on my list to explore. I don’t know about any of them, so it will be fun.
Spending the weekend mostly commando but have been sampling a few from Parfums d’Empire and the new one from Del Rae, Wit. Wit reminds me of PdN Kiss Me Tender an Baisure Vole EDP mixed together. Nicely done, but I wish it had a bit of sparkle or something. 3 Fleurs was nice enough and I really liked the spicy dry down of Aziyade but the opening was full of cumin that wasn’t so much my thing.
I did give in to a spritz of PdN Number One Intense an hour or so ago. Was surprised to see my bottle at the less than half mark. Yay! I’ll have to get another bottle when it runs dry.
I had this CRAZY idea a couple of weeks back,that I was DONE with perfume(and some other stuff in my life).Even said goodbye here on NST to fellow fumies!!I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT YOU GUYS!!Lol!!In all seriousness,had an interesting discussion with my bestie Merlin,about how we MIGHT define ourselves,as perfumistas,artists,whatever.Made me realise,again,that yes,I AM a mad perfumista,and I LOVE perfume and always will!No matter how much I protest,I still do love this journey of discovering old and new scents,and the fascinating stories about and around them!!Happy Sunday Eve,NST!Johanob
P.S!Come say hallo on facebook too!I recently joined and would love to connect to some NST’ers!(JJ BE on the facebook)
Whew! Glad you’re back, Johanob!
Lol!Thank you Hajusuuri!Good to be “home”….
Nice to see you back! Have you had a look at Facebook Fragrance Friends?