A giveaway! And crap I’ve accumulated to smell

Time for another giveaway this week. I’ll announce the winner on Monday!  This week will be Your Choice Giveaway for one winner.  You can have either the Guerlain Sous le Vent and Plus que Jamais samples (Derby, Vega, Metalys or Attrape Coeur also available, if you prefer two of those), or two samples from the Frederic Malle line that I have (which is about everything).  Just respond with the word “choice” in a comment to be entered in the drawing conducted by Buddy, the Wonder Dog.

I also want to say thanks to all of you who visit here either every day or once in a while.  We had 744,000+ hits in May and almost 37,000 visits. We always appreciate you dropping by!  I hope we’ll hear from some of the 1,000-2,000 people that drop by daily that don’t comment, even if it’s just to say what you’d like to see in a giveaway that would make you comment.

Such a nice article on how to pick a perfume.

March had posted last week about Hypnotic Poison, and when she starts waxing poetic about the addictive qualities of some perfume, well, I’m either going to hate it with the fiery blazes of a thousand suns or I will agree completely. Darned if it isn’t a nice little smell. I’ll toss in a decant of this or the new Lolita Lempicka L for this week’s winner as well, if they would like to try it. It’s just soft and a little gourmandy. An enchanting little scent. Bitter almond and spice with a little vanilla.  I’ve been craving almond scents lately — must be menopause that causes this. Not overly sweet like some almond/cherry scents get. This would be a nice scent on a guy as well.  Only thing I’m not liking about it is its lasting power, which seems a little short and also is odd for a perfume with Poison in the name, but the best notes seem to disappear too fast. But, alas, at the discounted rate, I can drench myself in it without breaking the bank. UPDATE:  the top and middle notes don’t stick around so much, but the vanilla in the base has a half-life of 30 years.  Just so you can’t say you didn’t know.  This is available at discounters everywhere, try Perfume.com where they offer a 10% discount with the PERFUMEPOSSE code.
After favorable reviews of the new Tom Ford Azuree from Bois de Jasmin and Legerdenz, I had to buzz down to the local Neiman-Marcus to smell this beachy concoction. I accidentally wound up with both the oil and the bronzing lotion. It really wasn’t an accident. Just asked for the oil, after debating between the two, but somehow both wound up in the bag and on my charge slip.  Now, the bronzing lotion does go on nice, but I don’t recommend it so much for the legs. I tried that, and it was drying a little too fast for me to get a great application. I prefer the Nars formulation for that glowy tan thing on the legs. The EL one is great for anywhere else, arms and neck and bustage. Oh, but the smell of the oil!  Beach breezes and rum punch in a bottle, and I mean that in a good way.  Lord, I yearn for a sickeningly sweet fruit drink topped off with 151 when I spritz this on. And it also is a great glistening oil for those tanned or bottle-tanned limbs to give them a pretty sheen and moisture and then make your nose happy thinking you’ve spent the last two weeks at Grace Bay Club in Providenciales, which, BTW, is just an amazing place to go (see picture over there on the left and a little up).   We spent four glorious days there many years ago. The people are wonderful, the water is wonderful, it’s not just a slice, it’s the whole damn loaf.  The only place better, I have heard, and which we plan to go to once we completely get rid of the children and our guilt at going on vacation without them, is Cap Juluca in Anguilla, or pretty much anywhere on Anguilla with a room and booze. The new Bond No. 9 Fire Island, due out in early July, is supposed to be very beachy as well.   A lemming has popped its little head out.  Azuree is available wherever Estee Lauder is sold. If you do not like that beachy smell, Azuree is not going to change your mind a bit.

Lolita Lempicka L perfume — I’m in a mixed bag of a mind on this one.  I really like the initial spritz of this.  Must be that Immortal note (who writes this stuff?). No, actually, the bitter orange and cinnamon are just gorgeous in this early on, intoxicating and beautifully blended, but as it dries down, it turns into a woody vanillla.  A nice one, though I will always prefer
Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille for woody vanilla, even though I can only wear that one about one day of the year.  This is available at Scentiments, they have a tester with the pretty blue bottle at a great price.

But as I sit here with L in one spot and Hypnotic Poison in another, I’m thinking… they would be good together.  Let’s find out!  I do
think they are better together than alone. Kind of a weird almondy vanilla spicy thing. I think I smell like carrot cake!  And that’s NOT a bad thing, my friends. Who knew there was Immortal and Solar notes in carrot cake. Mmmmmmm, carrrottt caaaake.    All in all, it’s not terrible, but pretty much not me. Like the Hypnotic Poison, the great top and middle don’t stick around long enough, and I’m left with a base that, again, has a half-life of 30 years.

That was bright, now I just want some carrot cake. Anyone have a great recipe?  I don’t want ordinary, I want the best carrot cake recipe known to womankind.