You’re My Favorite Mistake

I ordered a fragrance sample package from Luscious Cargo. I love my Luscious booty — the folks are friendly and helpful, the shipping is speedy and they always throw in something I haven´t tried that I usually love as much if not more than the thing I ordered.

So today my latest Luscious treat arrived.

And it was filled with somebody else´s order.

There was a cheerful note in there to “Ludmilla” (not her real name) saying they hoped she’d picked a winner. Which does make me wonder whether Ludmilla is out there right now somewhere, glaring at my Delraes and that other stuff she didn’t order.

I emailed Luscious and they said, hey, keep whatever it is we sent, your correct sample order will go out tomorrow, sorry, sorry, etc. Really, what is not to love about this company? (No, they are not paying me to shill.)

Anyway, here is an impromptu review of what they sent, because I figured why not, it´s fate, right?

Les Parfums de Rosine – Ecume de Rose – ecume translates as foam (I looked it up, correct me if I´m wrong) – this is, I guess, a marine rose fragrance? I´m just learning to wrap my nose around the rose, but this is a keeper. A beachy rose, unlikely as that sounds… well, maybe not that unlikely. Those scrubby rugosa beach roses I adore. It smells like rose, a marine note, and a little bit of suntan oil. I´m typing this while taking a head-trip to Nantucket. After one hour it reaches a state of Rose Nirvana. Ranking: #1

L´Artisan La Haie Fleurie – “(The Flower Hedge of the Hamlet): This beauteous brew of honeysuckle, jasmine, wisteria, tuberose, hyacinth, narcissus and white lily is a long-standing favorite here at Luscious.” – lusciouscargo. Oh, my. This is a SERIOUS floral: va-va-voom sillage, not for amateurs or the faint of heart. If you are a Fracas freak, or a Serge Nuit (or Datura Noir) Nut, this one will suit you right down to the ground. Ranking: #2

Idole de Lubin – everyone else already reviewed this, so all I´ll say is: I was disappointed. There. I´ve said it. It´s a lovely, spicy, amber-y fragrance. But I wanted Exotic Skank. This juice just wasn´t dirty enough for me. Ranking: #4 (I’m still sulking)

Robert Piguet Bandit – I described Parfum d´Empire Ambre Russe in an email to Patty as “Rasputin´s armpit.” Would suffice for this frag as well. You know what? I´m going to try this one again on a different day. Instinct tells me I might like this if I hit it right. But following the Rose and the Jasmine – ack! Scrubber! Ranking: #5

Ligne St. Barth Tiare – This one should have worked. I love the gardenia/tuberose aspect of tiare, and I don´t think there´s a lot else going on there, except vanilla. (Hey, are you noticing a pattern among these scents? Wonder if Ludmilla was going on/returning from a tropical vacation?) But it´s strangely medicinal on me. Ranking: #6

I need to clear my palate, so let´s sniff the: I Profumi de Firenze Acqua di Firenze – I spent two afternoons in the farmacia near the Uffizi in Florence trying the entire line on, between breaks to walk across the street and drink more coffee and eat another pastry. Those two days are a still a blur in my memory of powdered sugar, caffeine, and scent. This particular fragrance is white flowers and green leaves with rain notes. My 11-year-old loved this. It´s very green, very girly. Ranking: #3

Okay, I can only smell one more of these, and it´s going to be…

Josephine EDP by Rance – I gave up so I looked it up: “hawthorn and jasmine, surrounded by ylang ylang and hyacinth, followed by a heart of iris, blackcurrant, white peach, cloves, galbanum and violet leaves. The base notes – ebony, sandalwood, white musk, Bourbon vanilla and ambergris – complete the fragrance, amplifying its refined sensuousness. – lusciouscargo.” Well… it´s all there, particularly the hawthorne. Ranking: #7

There were others but, honestly, I can´t smell a thing. I´m going to eat my Pixie-Stix (yep, one included!) and call it a night.

Don´t forget – YOU can get your own Luscious Cargo sample, 8 for $13, at lusciouscargo.com!

Sconset cottage – westford.com
Uffizi – relaishotel.com