Thursday rolls around again...what fragrance are you wearing?
I am wearing Une Rose by Frédéric Malle.
Reminder: tomorrow we're doing "down the rabbit hole Friday": wear the perfume that turned you into a perfumista (whatever that means to you).
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2014, where I'll try to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: shown are the Frédéric Malle + Pierre Hardy travel sprays, $285 each (they hold 10 ml refills).
Today felt like a day for A*Men Pure Malt. I have a lot of this stuff.
Yum, you smell great.
I tested this a few months ago at Macys and I really liked it. I wish it was easier to test all the amen flankers.
I was just thinking that it’s odd that there isn’t a Mugler counter at any of the US stores…I wonder if there is in France, or if there too they’re just shoved in with all the rest of the perfumes.
Our Macy’s is kind of small and off the path, so I just assumed it was a mistake or leftover from last year’s holidays. They only have the refill station for Angel and Alien at the women’s counter. I am sort of growing to respect what TM is doing with his fragrances – developing for the most part well executed flankers, even if in liminted quanities. I wish they were easier to get/smell. I can’t really use the word “enduring” for the fragrance industry, but perhaps more standard or available? Maybe that would blow apart the aesthetic. I don’t know. It’s just nice to see that someone cares about their products, sniff, sniff. Well, I’m all soupy today. I mean, even the concept of refillable bottles is pretty cool.
I like the refill stations too (they’re not at my Macys I don’t think, but Nordstrom used to have them).
I found a tester of this at a duty-free shop (Dallas airport, maybe?) and immediately bought a bottle.
YMMV but Pure Coffee is even better than Pure Malt (which is terrific, I own both). You should check it out!
Hello, Eliza!
Never tried it but now- will seek it out to sniff.
Luckily here in T.O. we surely have lots of TM counters, especially at the Hudson Bay. This A*Men: how is it; is that for men or rather unisex?
In Re to Mm. TM himself – recently done a small research , after this exclusiff’s came out ( I didn’t fall in love with any of them – may be a good thing though 🙂 ; and found he’s transited into a really weird territory! not sure if i liked it; most definitely not!
And: his name was bought , so he has not influence on all these recent juices that keep coming out.
Interesting info…
Yes! Txs.
You can check it out yourself, but, pls keep your kids out . LOL!
The recent juices is a different story, kids are allowed…
Good evening everyone. I am wearing Hermes’ Caleche Delicate. It is discontinued, which has me trying to find more. I love it for this time of year. If anyone out there knows where I might find a bottle, or two, please let me know. The Amazon prices are way too high for me.
I really liked that one too! No idea where to get any though, sorry.
Sampling Mojave Ghost, or trying to. I think this one needs to be sprayed. All I’m getting is a vaguely generic musk once in a while like I sprayed something mainstream and dull yesterday and it’s still on my clothes.
I think it might actually be nice under the right circumstances but today it really doesn’t suit my mood. Should have gone with something super-aggressive and leathery.
Have not heard great things about MG so far.
I almost tried that one today. It was in the Luckyscent autumn bag, but I’ve not been a huge fan of Byredo in general, so I passed that to try the Naomi Goodsir.
Mmm, something super aggressive and leathery has me thinking of Anubis. Now I think that’s what I should’ve gone with today as well.
…one vote for Rien! Perhaps “assertive and leathery”, though.
Well, I came home and my sample of Musc Tonkin EDP was waiting so I’m sporting MKK on the right and MT on the left. I smell raunchy (good raunchy).
Cool day and rain tonight, and had a craving for Santal de Mysore. Yum.
It’s that sort of day here too.
Here too. I’ve not tried that one, but it’s on my list to get a sample.
I’m wearing Lyric Woman. I think seeing it mentioned here a couple of times yesterday made me think of it this morning.
I didn’t really “get” Une Rose when I tried it but that was a few years ago and I should really try again. It’s the one that is supposed to smell like wine dregs and truffles, isn’t it? It sounds like something I *should* like!
Yes, it’s very earthy. I bet it sells the least of their three (it is 3, I think?) roses.
I wore that yesterday. I love how this happens. Someone sees a sotd listed and ends up wearing it the next. Sometimes it goes on a for a few days!
Re Une Rose: what’s your favourite rose in FM, if you have any?
I remember a couple fo year ago I was contemplating between Portrait and Une Rose, later was under influence of the rave review by Robin :); so I tried them both in the booth repeatedly and picked the first one – POTL. Une Rose seemed to be way too church-y on me for some reason, for me not a very good thing. 🙂
SOTD is a rather lavish application of Cuir de Lancome. Yesterday I wore Jo Malone Saffron, and was so pleased with the saffron note that I did a search for other fragrances with saffron. I was led right back to Cuir de Lancome, and of course saffron and leather are a perfect combination.
Frederic Malle Une Rose – I’ve never smelled but I want to! My birthday is soon, and my cats are very tempted to buy my the Frederic Malle coffret set …
Hey. Never stop the cats from doing as they like.
Probably couldn’t even if you wanted to 😛
If you like saffron you should try Fifi Chachnil.
Rose, amber, tobacco and saffron?? Wow, that sounds amazing! And it is in the girliest bottle every 😀
It is amazing!
My cat bought me that last year good lil boy he is. I wish he hadn’t used MY credit card though! 😉
haha!
The saffron in Cuir de Lancome doesn’t stand out to me, but it sure is there somewhere adding to the depth and richness. My favourite safforn+leather (as always) is Floris Mahon Leather.
saffron+leather with iris,m jasmine, vetiver … I need to try this!
Lubin Korrigan for me.
That looks really nice, I’ll have to add it to my sample list.
It’s a vanillic oriental, very well done and quite hefty. I really like it on a rainy day.
Mitsouko EDT, not really vintage but old enough to be laden with oakmoss, so it is fantastic.
SOTD is Les Mythiques version of Organza Indecence. I really went whole hog with two sprays, lol! It’s the first I’m wearing it this season. Today I don’t care if I put on too much.
I have a 15ml bottle of the old stuff and a decant of the new, and I can’t tell a WHOLE lot of difference between them. So good for fall. There’s a ton of that dusty patch in there, and sometimes it irritates me – it feels raspy somehow, sometimes. But other times it’s just a dry perfect spice-vanilla.
It’s good to know there isn’t much difference, but since I’ve never smelled the original, I’m pretty happy with it anyway. Today my nose is pulling a lot of that cinnamony-orange-creme brulee vanilla quality it has. You are right about the patch – that scratchy part. I can only wear OI in just the right weather or it makes me feel like I’m wearing a wool sweater that’s too tight. But I like just that hint of patchouli to add some heft too.
I agree. I bought a decant of the original before i bought a bottle of the re-release and tested them together. To me the original is slightly boozier in the opening, but then they seem pretty much the same.
Snap! I’m wearing that tonight now that it’s bedtime. It’s my favourite cold weather scent and I’m taking full advantage of a cool and wet spring night to get some more of it before it’s put away for the summer. You smell divine 🙂
Yeah – it’s cool and wet here today so it just seemed perfect. I wanted something pillowy.
I was wanting some rose, so I chose Smell Bent’s Cocoa Rose. I get the lovely, spicy rose, but not the cocoa. I’ve never been a big fan of floral scents, but suddenly I’m a little tired of the green and the citrus aromatics that are usually my favorites. I am to work on adding more florals to my collection. I’ve gotten several of the Smell Bent fragrances, because on a small town librarian’s salary I can afford those, and there have been several that I really like. Any other good recommendations for floral notes to explore? They have to be inexpensive, and easily available online, because I live in a rural area, without access to anything other than Wally World.
It’s a little old school, but you may be able to find a small bottle of Givenchy Organza at one of the local drug stores. In very small doses it is a beautiful warm oriental vanilla. Sometimes our CVS or Rite Aid has good frags at the holidays – even a Demeter display.
How lovely – your CVS sometimes has Demeter? Which one do they have, Ann, S?
I don’t know – maybe it’s the Rite Aid? – but they seem to bring a few bottles on a displayer around the holidays for gifting. They seem to be special releases- I don’t really know b/c I’m not normally around the entire Demeter display. But they had a Chyrsanthemum the other year I was sorely tempted to buy.
I’ve seen the following Demeters at CVS: Wet Garden, Earl Grey Tea, Lilac, Honeysuckle, Dragon Fruit, Pure Soap, Pineapple, Baby Powder, and Vanilla Cake Batter. I haven’t seen them lately, but I didn’t know that this was a holiday thing, so I’ll be sure to check again.
OMG – I’ll have to drop by one of the high end downtown CVSs!
What kind of florals do you like? Rose? “Big White Florals”? Lily? There are so many variations on florals, from light & fresh to sexy as hell. What are some scents (in any category) you gravitate toward and maybe that will help us help you.
Also, Bois de Jasmin is doing their monthly “Recommend me a perfume” thread now, and that can be a a great resource.
http://boisdejasmin.com/2014/11/recommend-me-a-perfume-november-2.html
I am not a floral fan, or I haven’t been, so I have very little idea of what I like. I have a few rose fragrances, Demeter’s Pruning Shears and Flower Show, Smell Bent’s Cocoa Rose, and Tea Rose from Perfumer’s Workshop. I think Tea Rose is too strong for me, but I like the others. I have some other florals, such as Lush Lust, which is a big white floral, which I like to wear occasionally, but not often. I don’t particularly like the smell of real gardenia flowers, but I like Smell Bent’s Gardenia Oud. I like jasmin, but nothing too indolic. I used to like Lily of the Valley, but again, the one I have, which is a Caswell-Massey scent from the 1990s, is a little too strong. I will post to the Bois de Jasmin blog, and see if anyone can give me some recommendations. Thanks for reminding me about it.
If you prefer green and citrus as a rule and want floral, but not too far out of your comfort zone, then I’d try Baiser Vole, Jour d’Hermes, or most of the Diptyque florals (like Olene). I realize these aren’t cheap but decants can be had for pretty reasonable prices whilst you’re exploring. If this is what you decide to do, I’d also try Wit by Delrae and Pretty Machine by Kerosene.
I like Jasmine and Iris. They can be taken in different directions – they both go well with green and citrus notes but can be done in darker ways as well. My favorite Iris is Prada Infusion d’Iris, which I think would be a good transition into florals since you like green and citrus. Tocca does easy, pretty florals. They aren’t too challenging so would be a good place to start, and they aren’t too expensive. Stella is orange and bergamont with white florals, Violette is rose and violet, and Colette is citrus, jasmine, and violet. Most of the Tocca scents that I’ve tried have a vanilla/amber/sandalwood type drydown. Pacifica makes nice fragrances, they have a few jasmine options and are reasonably priced. Most of what I mentioned are available in rollerballs, for $20-25. Tokyo Milk is another brand I like, but I haven’t tried any of their florals.
Yesterday was Coco and today is Fleurs d’Oranger – two whole sprays! I guess my theme for the week is “go big or go home.”
Maybe that’s why my 10am cancelled – perhaps he could smell me from across campus. 😀
Lol. I think I used to do 2 sprays.. the more I’ve gotten into perfume and wanting to smell it around me- and having so much of it to spray- 4 sprays is about my starting point these days 😮
Maybe 2 for Epic and A La Nuit…
(I remember reading a review/comment when I first started reading blogs and was horrified about one of the guys comments that he sprays about 10 sprays. Yeah that doesn’t seem so mortifying anymore 😉 )
Ha! I consider Fleurs d’Oranger to be in the ranks of A La Nuit for sure – especially in the office.
You’re probably right. I’m so glad I no longer work in an office and can go perfume crazy 😀
I am wearing Sebastiane Espresso Royale, perfect sweet coffee scent for a crappy rainy day.
I have a question – are the Frederic Malle travel sprays ok to use and keep without the fancy travel case? Just the refills?
Oh yeah. I have Lys Med, and it’s a perfectly solid glass bottle that doesn’t need any case.
Thank you!
I think in the FAQ’s on the Malle site he mentions using the cases to avoid breakage. I’m sure if it’s placed somewhere safe it’ll be fine. And he may just be saying it to encourage sales of expensive travel spray holders.
I thought that might be the case :).
Maybe you need the case if you’re going to let it roll around in the bottom of your Birkin?
Ha!
Haaaa. Well played.
I have Musc Ravageur and Lys Mediterranee in the travel sprays with no cases, and mine have been fine. I just keep mine on a shelf in the closet with the rest of my perfume.
I’m wearing Baiser Vole. I came to perfume via indies and Lush, so I think this was the first one helped me seriously consider designer perfumes.
I love Baiser Vole. You smell great!
Today is DK Black Cashmere, which I am liking a lot. It feels to me like a cousin to Bois des Iles, all wood and spice.
Black Cashmere is lovely – very austere with the wood and dry spices and incense, but there’s this beautiful creamy aspect to it that I find enormously comforting.
Was just checking this out on eBay last night! Too expensive for a blind buy…wish this was more readily available!
I’m doing my down the rabbit hole scent today and will be doing a result of the rabbit hole scent tomorrow.
My SOTD is Cristalle Chanel. I found NST on my search for a good online deal on this fragrance. I ended up buying Cristalle in an actual shop but other blogs were discovered and I ended up with a lot more fragrance than I will ever use up but it has been such fun to acquire all of it. So thank you again Robin! And your Cristalle review will always remain one of my favourite fragrance reviews.
Oh, nice because it’s one of my all time favorites too! I’ve been wearing it for longer than anything but Diorissimo.
Cristalle and Dioressimo were my first two Real Perfumes.
Austenfan, I am just like you. I purchased a bottle of Cristalle because of all the positive reviews I read on NST. NST is the absolute best resource for a “perfumista”. Needless to say, I love Cristalle and would have never tried it if it weren’t for NST.
And by the way, you smell magnificent!
Someone mentioned CB IHP Invisible Monster recently, and by happy coincidence, I came across a vial of the absolute. I haven’t looked up the reviews yet. So far, it seems like an olfactory plein air painting with an interesting chalk or clay note that evokes cliffs to my nose. Also flowers and other vegetation. We’ll see how it develops.
Interesting. Please update!
It’s very intriguing but, to me, more like a scent painting than a perfume. Which is his intent, I believe. To me, that aspect of melding with the skin, which Denyse Beaulieu describes as one of the essential aspects of perfume, one of the differences between perfume and parfum d’ambiance, isn’t there. It’s uncompromising. I find it surprisingly hard to adjust to. It gets spicier as time goes by, but there’s still this un-perfumey wind of adventure that blows through it. Very nice work.
I feel that way about almost all the scents I’ve smelled from that line (admittedly, not very many, largely because of the thing we’re talking about). I find them so beautiful, they really do feel like works of art (“scent painting” is so wonderfully apt), but indeed they seem to bear little relation to human physicality–it does seem like CB is more interested in depicting other elements of the natural world. I’m very impressed with them, yet I haven’t found one I wanted to wear on my person…
If anyone’s got a good rec for an entry point into the line, though, I’d love to hear it!
I’m just starting to test the ones I have. I think people mention Wild Hunt in the spring.
Thank you. 🙂 makes me wish for scent museums. The gift shops would be FABULOUS.
YES!
I’ve looked it up on the CB IHP website and see that it’s meant to “capture the smell of the islands in the Susquehanna River.” Interesting, I was tempted to mention river banks as well as cliffs, but omitted that because I don’t get any marine or pluvial notes. It does smell a bit spicier now, in a way that goes with the Johnny Quest adventure story.
Montale Moon Aoud from a spray sample. this one smell like a flanker to my favorite Montale Aoud Cuir d’Arabie with more saffron and less tobacco and better behaved overall. Very nice, but I am full-up on my aoud needs.
Wearing Tauer Phi – une rose de kandahar today. But alas it’s making me nauseated. This is not the first perfume to do this to me lately as I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather. Sigh.
Oh dear, hope you’re better soon!
The Tauers are at the top of my avoid-at-all-costs-if-under-the-weather list followed closely by several SSS favorites and the Slubmerhouse monsters. Not that I don’t love most of them but they can be a bit…anyway, hope you feel better.
I am wearing Nanadebary Gteen today. I used to wear this one a lot. I still like it, but it somehow found its way to the back of my perfume storage area.
Each time I clean out/re-arrange my collection I find at least a bottle or two I had nearly forgotten–it is like getting a new bottle for free.
I’m wearing Arquiste for J. Crew No. 31 today. It feels very nice indeed.
Wearing Apres L’Ondee today, and having a really hard time with it. I got a sample in a swap (thank you!) and tried it for the first time last night. I got the violets and carnation, but also a sort of gasoline smell. And it made me feel kind of sick-to-my-stomach in the same way that going to a gas station does. I’ve gotten this scent/sensation before, notably with Elie Saab Le Parfum, and with a few others I can’t remember at the moment. Anyone have any idea what this note is? I looked on Fragrantica and Basenotes, and the two (AlO and Elie Saab) only seem to have some floral notes in common. I don’t think orange blossom turns to gasoline…
Dear missionista. I thought my nose was broken when I first (and so far only time) I wore Aprs l’Ondee and all I got was a sharp non-drinking alcohol smell. Histoires de Parfum Edition Rare Petroleum smells like gasoline. I think birch tar also sometimes smells like gasoline – have you tried SL Boxeuses? It sometimes gives off a faint gasoline scent. I hope you solve your mystery!
It’s possible it’s 2 or more notes in combination responsible for the scent you are getting. Not that it’s any help in solving the mystery!
I have that problem w Tresor. It makes me feel queasy.
Today I need a holiday getaway, and since that’s not possible I spritzed some Bronze Goddess. My body may be at my desk, but dang it, my spirit is lounging at the beach!!
My body may be at my desk, but my spirit having a cherry Coke (I am wearing Bendelirious today).
Fun! Cherry coke, yummmm.
It was one of those days when I couldn’t make up my mind, so went with an “everymood” perfume for me, Gress Cabaret. I don’t know what concentration it is (edt I’m guessing) but oh, how I wish there’d been an extrait. It would probably be amazing in extrait.
My husband finally cottoned on to the fact that I’d bought him a girl perfume (and decanted it into a very plain bottle). He stopped wearing it, which was a SHAME because it smelled so great on him – lots of musk and incense, not enough rose to smell femme. Maybe I’ll swipe it back, because Cabaret really is terrific.
In a “whatever, I want to be in bed” mood today.
I recently got the Luckyscent autumn grab bag of scents and am trying Naomi Goodsir Or du Serail today. I’m not a huge fan of coconut scents – of any kind – at all. So the coconut note in this has my wrinkling my nose a bit. That being said, the apples, smoke, and tobacco are really nice.
Another day of warm weather in San Diego means AA Herba Fresca for me. We’re having Santa Ana (very hot dry windy) conditions and my skin and nose and even hair are very dry and unhappy. I have to put on hand lotion every hour or else they start itching like crazy! I don’t mind the heat, but I’m o glad it isn’t dry dry dry like this all the time.
L’ete en douce for the summer weather in November. Perfect fragrance and perfect weather, just wish it was a lazier day …
Oops, should have specified that the weather is perfect for my bones, but, odonata9, you are definitely right that this is no fun for the skin …
I wore Herba Fresca frequently this summer. It’s a good no brainier and unlikely to offend others in the heat.
It’s a Bvlgari Black kind of day here, leftovers that linger from last night. Wonderful stuff!
It’s a great autumn scent.
Me too! I was wearing this the other night when my teen daughter came in for a snuggle (I’m savoring these moments!). She’s not a huge fan of all my perfume experimenting, but took a big sniff and told me how good I smell!! Victory!
DC Cultural Alert — (Somewhat) Perfume Related Exhibit
The Sackler Gallery is hosting “Unearthing Arabia: The Archaeological Adventures of Wendell Phillips.” There are artifacts, photos, maps, documents and films from excavations in 1950-1951 and 1998-2006 at sites in Yemen that were part of ancient incense trade routes. The exhibit highlights the hardships and risks of archeology in such an unsettled area. I was intrigued that one of the team members was a woman who kept the business records and expertly drove a huge truck over desert and mountain trails.
Also, yesterday, there was a huge potted golden trumpet plant (brugmansia) beside the Castle yesterday (in front of the entrance to the Dillon Ripley Center). I was leaving the museum at 5:30, when it’s already dark now, and the scent of its dozens of huge, hanging flowers had drifted into the Enid Haupt Garden. There’s no guarantee that it’s still there, as they’re in the process of moving the potted plants to a greenhouse for winter, but it’s worth checking if you’re in that area.
I go for walks during breaks and lunch at work, and there is a house where the Brugmansia blooms in November and March. It’s impossible for me to smell them when it is cold. The other day, the sun was shining on the blooms, and I went in for a sniff, and the flowers smelled wonderful (not very strong, but wonderful). If your flowers hang over the public sidewalk, then I figure I get to sniff them 🙂 Likewise, if you let your cat trespass onto my property, then I get to pet it 🙂
Ineke has a perfume called Angel’s Trumpet (another name for Brugmansia). I need to get a sample.
It’s cold and rainy here today, so I chose Yvresse this morning and it’s still going strong.
I do enjoy a fruity chypre !
Cold and windy and rainy here, I’ve had to bring the forest inside for a walk thru the woods, SSS Winter Woods is my scent today.
Pharrell’s Girl today. I am enjoying my 10mL spray. The violet leaf and woods are pleasant. It seems potent, though; one spray to my chest is quite a bit for my office. Be well. (Look, no superlatives or hyperbole ;))
Haha!
I completely over sprayed Girl at sephora last week! It will be a while until I’m ready to sample again. 😉
Went with Fille en Aiguilles today. Not sure what’s going on with my nose, but the cedars are bothering me. Not an icepick to the nose like yesterday, but it is bothering me a bit. I suspect it’s hormonal, because this isn’t normally a problem.
I’m wearing my second big perfume love ever today, Giorgio’s Red. This is the scent I relentlessly stalked a woman down the length of our mall to find out what it was. It had that kind of effect on me, and it still does. Sure Red is dated. It’s big ole ’80s “I gotta be strong to drown out the smell of all that hairspray” strong. But worn in conservative amounts, it’s still beautiful and, I think, relevant.
A month ago, I opened up an old trunk I use to store a few throw blankets I leave out on my couches in the cooler weather. When last I’d put these away, I’d stuck an empty bottle of Red into the trunk. The smell that wafted out of that steamer trunk was so perfect it made me tear up a little. Modern versions aren’t dreadful, but they aren’t chypres anymore, either. I’m so glad I picked up some backup bottles before reformulation. Mine still smell like that first time I smelled it, and fell so hard for it.
As many of you today I was rather indecisive and, then , remembering one recent post in Bois D’J I went into my “old juices section”, and found L’arte De gucci bottle I have since (my God!) 1992 sitting pretty in the darkest corner of the closet shelf, not much used up as I was not a flower girl even in my twenties….
Since now I’m much more adventurous in trying even what smells “flowery”, so I’ve applied it and now exploring its development may be for the first time.
Well, let us know what you think!
Hi! will do,Mals.
Was it you that love L’arte? Please tell me so I will pay extra attention.
I do love it, but don’t feel like you have to love it on my behalf! I am definitively a floral-appreciator, and it’s rare that I like something that ISN’T very floral. So you have permission to say, Nah, too much rose.
So true!
Even sandalwood probably has some kind of flowers or at least berries of some sort; (have to look up wiki for that).
So far my experience I would not say too much rose, and I do love roses in Voleur de Roses, Shilloh, POTL, some other ones can’t come up with at this moment.
L’arte is flowery on me for sure but not sweet (my DH said “you smell like a bouquet) , and a drydown is very nice, kind of quiet, very close to the skin. I bet this would be stunning in hot & dry weather, right after the beach or a couple of hours on the sun.
Have to try that combination next summer. Long time! (Sigh)
Those travel sprays look so nice. At first I thought they were lipglosses but then I read the text below. Today I am wearing Si.
I went with Traversée du Bosphore today. Such a great scent.
Those travel spray look great and mature. But $285 for 10 ml?
Same for me today – it was wonderful!
I went a little nuts last night applying my newly arrived Wrappings.. and had to really scrub in the shower to make myself presentable today. My son is applying to area private high schools, but some days it feels like I am applying as well. Was on a meeting/tour at a school this morning and fussed and fussed about what to wear. Went for the hip but manicured mama look, a slight stretch (given my growing girth–pun intended!), and Mohur as my scent. I think “we” are a slam dunk for the school!
Good luck to both of you. At least when he applies to college, you won’t need to get dressed up!
My SOTD is Blackberry and Bay by Jo Malone. I am honestly starting to get bored wearing the same fragrances all the time. After tomorrow, for some excitement, I am going to start using the 100’s of samples I have accumulated. Maybe I might find a new love and Santa will bring it to me for Christmas!
Today I’m testing Rose Alexandrie from whatever Armani calls its pricey line–the scent’s very pretty, has an appealingly quaint, throw-back quality to it. But it’s also setting off my hay fever–headache, itchy eyes, sneezing, the works. I think I’m going have to scrub it. So much the better for my wallet…
Meanwhile, I had the most hilarious outing to Fancy Department Store Which Shall Remain Nameless yesterday–was told “cuir” in a fragrance’s name means it has an oud base, that ambergris is a rare ingredient found only in New Zealand, and that a certain Fancy Niche Line’s national sales director is the company’s nose. It almost started to seem like a fun game–I think maybe in this world, you only thought that was Charlize Theron in all the J’Adore ads–secretly I’ve been standing in for her for years, because we’re basically twins 😛
Well you seem to have taken it all quite calmly – I get really annoyed when people talk %^%&$%R; especially because they usually do it with an air of total certainty…
It is irritating, but sometimes so outlandish that it becomes comedic. That’s when I say “tell me more,” ,strap in for the ride, and take mental notes so I can laugh about it later.
It’s sort of like a modern day Jane Austen scene.
Unless they are rude, no patience for that.
Yup that’s what yesterday turned into. It was just so over-the-top!!
Yeah, you know, I try to keep my cool about it, having been reminded by several NSTers that SAs are typically given so little training or support (to say nothing of the overall economic conditions SAs typically function under), such that encounters like this say more about the broader system than the specific person in front of me… but still, there’s something really icky about seeing the extent to which customers are being sold products based on outright falsehoods. And not all of that is the lack of education–sometimes the person knows the truth and is just… saying something else. I did actually call out the person the Fancy Niche Line (…rhymes with Gillian)–she appeared to be traveling with the national sale director, rather than an SA–and she admitted, indeed he wasn’t really the nose. Not cool.
(In addition to the troubling ethics of asking for people’s money of the basis of a lie!, this swirl of misinformation just bums me out for the newbie who might have been interested in perfume, but finds it impossible to sort out. No wonder people are confused!!)
I wondered if you were referencing that line. There is a SA at my local luxury dept store who I dislike intensely. She has been assigned as the in-house expert on fragrance and nobody else could touch the exclusive testers last time I was there (several years ago). She gave me the same spiel so I waited until she was distracted and grabbed the Guerlain associate and forced her to make me some samples and have an intelligent discussion about the scents. She was happy to and hadn’t been allowed to sniff them. I know full well that Ms. Pretentious is fully aware of the drivel she spouts but just says anything to make a sale as I had called her on some gross misinformation re. skincare before.
I do think it’s funny if the SA is either genuinely oblivious (the makeup remover containing bride’s tears, for example) or else obviously gritting her teeth and following orders (the eye roll is obvious), but I really hate being judged as stupid.
That is too funny! I hope you told the person what ambergris really is 😉 I have a science background, and I had to stop asking questions about skincare. I tend to know a lot more than the sales associates and I felt bad when they didn’t understand how something worked and I didn’t want to explain it to them, when I asked in the first place. Although, I’ve never really experienced flat out wrong information, usually just a not well understood regurgitated message.
Yeah, you know I do think the first two incidents were along the lines of what you’ve experienced, regurgitation (…and mangling, along the way) of info that wasn’t understood well to begin with. This outs the culprit but I am pretty sure the cuir/oud mistake was the SA confusing Dior’s Cuir Cannage with their fragrance called Leather Oud. And who knows, the New Zealand coasts are probably as good as any for finding whale vomit; one can imagine the SA having been told something about sourcing and it coming out as “Only in NZ.” (Actually, I was mainly skeptical of the idea that natural ambergris could be sourced sufficiently reliably/economically for use by a fragrance company as gigantic as Dior, even their “private collection”? But maybe they put two drops in an enormous vat and can thus claim it as an ingredient without affecting the price of a bottle…)
In any case though, as I just mentioned to Merlin, indeed this business about the sales director being the nose was something else entirely! The person absolutely did know better and yet…
SOTD was Chamade.Why I don’t wear this more often is baffling to me,it’s classic Guerlain.
Well, it is for sure A classic Guerlain 😉
I’m in Osmanthus Interdite. Strange, I bought it in September 2012, but I’v only really started to wear it in this season! (if one can think of wearing a perfume fairly regularly as ‘wearing it in’.)
You know, it’s funny… I am not much of a Guerlain fan, but I do adore Chamade, and have always wondered whether that was because it doesn’t seem very Guerlainish to me.
Okay, maybe it gets more Guerlainy by the drydown.
Today I wore Guerlain Terracotta Le Parfum as the antidote to rain. I smelled good.