Okay, Nawt is taking a break today because I need to catch up on reviews of some new stuff I’ve gotten. Still feel bad about that very brief Kelly Caleche review, but that’s all I got!
CB I Hate Perfume Greenbriar 1968 — One of the new ones from CB, this one is a marvel. Sawdust, fresh cut hay (drool… haaaaayyy!!!), pipe tobacco, smoke, old leather work gloves and dirt. This is based on memories of CB’s grandfather, and it is my absolute favorite of the new five. It has a slightly green sappy smell on the open. Must be the pipe tobacco that gives it a slightly sweet smell. But that doesn’t last as a dominant thing forever, it starts to leather up – a lot – in the drydown, the pipe tobacco gets less sweet, the dirt mixes in, goes dominant for a while, then takes a back seat, and then it seems to settle into a lot of leather and hay, sharp and pungent and perfect. This is so enchanting in all of its changes, and there are many. Fans of CB’s should go wild over this one. If you’re not a fan of CB, what in the hell is wrong with you?!?!
CB I Hate Perfume I Am a Dandelion — Christopher says he worked a long time to get this one exactly right. He did have a dandelion accord, but didn’t feel it was ever quite right, and then he ran across the milky note he needed for this new dandelion. I never smelled the first dandelion accord, but this one has the dirt and some green stems, and as it dries down, that slightly milky note that he says had been missing shows up and makes it the exact perfect match for laying in your yard on a summer day, surrounded by dirt and green, picking that dandelion and holding it to your nose and falling asleep smelling that milky beautiful smell. It’s magic. Wearing this one, I feel like I am 8 again with no worries in the world, and that’s a great thing.
CB I Hate Perfume Eternal Return — This is the ocean archtype. I’m not very aquatic perfume friendly, so I was leary about this one, but Mr. Genius made ocean work for me or at least I don’t hate it. There’s the salty ocean air and some green notes on the open, and they are just blooming gorgeous, but then my nose sorta wigs out and I just can’t smell right, it becomes very light, this is likely some mis-nosmia I have to the next notes. Ever have that happen to you? You just can’t get a bead on what you’re smelling? Anyway, it’s not an aquatic mess in the least, and I wish I could give you more info, but my nose just blew up on this one. I think I need to spritz it to get a better feel for it so it will get on my clothes, etc. Of the three new ones, it’s the one I like the least, but only because of the above-described misnosmia.
There are two more new ones. One is a dark summer forest one, and I can’t remember what the other one is, but I should have them to test by next week, yeah!!
Memoire Liquide — This is a new bespoke line that showed up Fred Segal’s in Santa Monica first and now is at from Bendel’s in NYC as well, and there’s a ton of them, and they let you make up your own, as well (bespoke, duh!). We decided to start picking up a few since it’s like $45 for a little 1/2 ounch bottle of perfume. 2 ounces of the EDP is like 60-65, I think? Anyway, they’re quite good, I was surprised and not expecting them to be more than just little throw-aways. I’ll just hit a couple of them here only because there are so many! Fleur de Tabac is a really rich, great tobacco scent, with a rich undertone in it. It is supposed to be the flowering tobacco, so it has a little spicy edge to it that gives it a new slant on tobacco. Vetiver is Bergamot, green vetiver, cedar and… da da daaaaa… hay. Hello! It has a nice bright bergamot open and then it’s all about the vetiver and hay. I don’t get a lot of cedar in this at all. It could be my eternal love for hay and vetiver that makes this my favorite, but it’s pretty great. Liaison Secrete is gardenia and green leaves. Hoping for an Isabey Gardenia or at least one tempered with enough green leaves to hold off the bleu cheese… but no. Blucheez-orama. Those of you that are fans of Velvet Gardenia from Tom Ford and Jardenia from JAR, but hate the price tag on both, you might like this one. It’s not quite as stinky as the expensive ones or the stink doesn’t las as long, which may mean it doesn’t have whatever in there that y’all are loving, and the drydown seems a little plasticky to me, but given my general problems with most gardenia perfumes, I have no idea if that would be true for anyone else.
The price point is decent on the Memoire Liquides, which I think makes it a line worth exploring since there is so much variety — gourmands, fruits, tobaccos, leather, florals. It’s got it all. Robin at Now Smell This has a post with quite a number of the perfumes available. So while I don’t think most of these are destined to be classics, many of them seem to be well-made, though I haven’t even dented the line, and I think you can find a new favorites in there that will make your nose and your wallet happy.
Let’s see, what else do I have? Oh, that Micallef Black Sea thing, March could not be more right about how perfect it is. Notes of pink pepper, clove, cypress, saffron, gaiacwood, muguet, carnation, sandalwood, cedar, incense, ciste, vanilla. There’s something in there that reminds me of Aqaba, but not in that over-the-top way that Aqaba has, but just in the mix of incense, carnation and clove — it’s like Aqaba that isn’t going out in the too-short skirt, showing too much cleavage and wearing too much and bright of lipstick shouting “look at me!!!” Oh, damnit, I got it too close to the Opium parfum, which, BTW, is the only version of Opium that I can wear, it hugs the skin so nicely, and I really pretty much love it, even though I don’t want to. It’s the Opium I was talking about that reminded me of the Aqaba, it was right next to the Black Sea — oops, sorry! Wait, Opium next to the Black Sea, that’s lyrics on my arm. Back to the Black Sea, which has that enchanting spicy incense going, with just enough wood to make it interesting. This one is a definite keeper. I *need* it for me, but I’m going to figure out how to get my darling husband to wear it, it would be perfection on him.
PSA — For those of you wanting to try Demeters, but not wanting to get a larger size, Demeter is doing their smaller sizes now, $3 for 11 ml. After July 1, the minis then will be what they are calling “Humongous Miniatures,” 15 ml or 1/2 ounce for $5. That’s a pretty great deal.
Now for the drawing! Samples of each of the perfumes listed in today’s post. Just drop a comment if you want to be in the draw.
We always hope that the drawings help some of you who don’t comment normally to feel more comfortable jumping in. I just read somewhere again last night where someone felt that blog commenting was a tight group, but I have to tell you all that even though some people regularly comment on blogs, and we’ve gotten to know each other either online or some people in person because they live in the same area, this is one of the most welcoming groups of people I know. So if you ever hesitate to comment, just remember even the regulars had to comment for the first time, and you can be just an occasional commenter or a regular or just comment when there’s drawings. Any of those are fine!
Now I just have to try Black Sea. Sounds very me.
Enter me in the drawing, please – if it’s not too late 🙂
Hey – please enter me in the drawing! Except for Black Sea – guess what people – it’s available at Douglas – at least in Amsterdam and Berlin! That’s 2 more (European) countries! Besides, I like Red Sea.
Will do!
Enjoyed your reviews!
I think the Black tea from SF is a little more full bodied than that, but I am sensitive to tea notes or at least my nose is. On the whole it’s a light series of offerings, true.
What got me intrigued is your Black Sea ~ Opium comparison….mmmm…can I enter the drawing if not too late?
Thanks!
Absolutely! But I made an error on the opium, I actually wound up with it next to the Black Sea. I need to try it again without Opium nearby casting its spere of influence! I still think there are some parallels between the two, though.
Can’t wait for the next installment of Nawt’s story. Please enter me in the drawing.
Ah, Nawt and I are in deep conversation with Voracia as we speak. 🙂
Wow, I think I might actually kill for that Greenbriar -please enter me in the drawing! :d
There is no killing in perfume. 🙂 You are in the drawing!
Greenbriar sounds lovely. please include me in the drawing!
Will do, Rachael!
Hi there!
Always getting to the party so late….:((
Thanks Patty for making it possible for so many of us to discover such beauties! (I owe my first sample of Chanel Cuir de Russie to you!!) And now it is CB… I haven’t yet sniffed a single one of them, been busy with the Lutens, the Malles, the PG’s, the Montales lately, and it is so difficult to think of the CB line from Europe! But from all your descriptions I have the feeling that when opened these little vials are able to touch the soul. I wished he had a gallery somewhere closer by like Paris or London. Btw, I just ordered his book at Amazon, thanks for the tip!
And yes, please include me in the drawing 🙂
I hope he gets to Europe again too. I’m never sure if the European sensibility would embrace his approach or not? I keep thinking it should, it’s just a different way of seeing what perfume should be, the realists versus the impressionists. I don’t think they are for everyone, but that’s the beauty of perfume, they don’t have to be! 🙂
Mmmmm….hay…. Please put me in the draw!
And thank you so much for your warm, welcoming presence, and for actively cultivating comments from the hoi polloi out here. I often worry that I’m a little…too encouraged :”>
You know, Patty, I adore CB too, the perfume line and the man, but I often get a jarring cut-flowers-left-in-old-water note in the dry down of his fresh flower scents: “To See a Flower,” “Wild Pansy,” and a smidge in “Tea/Rose.” It’s not the dirt — I like that. It’s something else. Something my friend who inherited my purchases doesn’t get on her skin.
Oh, thank you!
I totally get that. I feel lucky that I don’t get that from CB, but I know others who have something just go wrong in the drydown. I think that happens with any perfume/line, it just doesn’t work, whether it is the base or some notes, the result is the same!
Two words — room sprays. 🙂 He has a few things in room sprays, and if they won’t work on your skin, they are great spritzed around. Not all of his scents are set up for that, so I just use water perfume sometimes.
I wish he would do candles. 🙁
:o…OMG!!!!!!!…..did someone say they had UNTRIED samples….what the heck is THAT….if I ordered a thousand samples,I’d have a dot of EVERY ONE of them up and down both arms and legs,AND,I have a special marker to let me know which is which….now just how compulsive is that????….I’m a sick-o,I tell ya….carry on…..:”>
Annie, that is too cute! I think we all may be tempted now to see whether we can pitch in & send you 1000 samples if you promise to send us a picture of yourself wearing all of them. Frankly, I’ve seen art installations that sound way less interesting. –Ellen
Yes, I know, *whispers* untried samples. I have a ton of them, it’s so sad! My problem is that I order so much for the business side of things to smell, I rarely order samples anymore, so the full bottles are my samples and the freebies I get are ones that I just can’t get to!
I’m an only occasional emerge-from-lurking commenter. It’s been only a little more than six months for me — but I’ve never felt so welcome in any kind of community as I have here. And I’ve watched online scent twins find each other, grown to depend on the parts of people’s life stories that they so generously share with the rest of us — my daily perfume blog reading has become an important part of my social life. (Maybe that says something about my social life, too, but I like to think it’s a Good Thing.) Abrazos a tutti, and especially to Patty and March and all the rest who work so hard to make these blogs the warm and informative and graceful and beautiful places that they are.
And yes, as another CB virgin :”>, lusting also after Black Sea, I’d love to be entered in the drawing!
Hey, JenniferR, thanks for posting! These are pretty amazing & fun people, aren’t they? I think I’ve gotten into it especially because I spend a big chunk of most days at the computer & it’s so lovely to dash over, see what my buds are saying, tease one of them, go back to work…. Glad you’re here, too! –Ellen
Thank you, Jennifer! The best part about fragrance is sharing them and hearing what others think too, and we are all just happy that so many of you like to hang around and yak perfume with us. 🙂
ooohhh comment! comment! good express reviews, I now have even more on my every growing list.
The only way I can get rid of my ever growing list is to start buying some of them. Not great advice for anyone. 🙂
thanks for the quickie reviews – i hadn’t noticed new ones at cbihateperfumes – so i’ll go check out the site. please enter me in your drawing – these interest me. xxx, m
I just went and checked, and he doesn’t have them up yet, but I know he said his web person is working on it, so I’m guessing int he next few days! But they take phone orders. Yes, I know, trying to be helpful. 🙂
I’d like to be in the drawing too! Haven’t posted lately….thanks for the encouragement.
I discovered CB’s earlier this spring and I had to work at them….after testing and retesting….I learned to love them and wear some of them out!!! Black March and To Smell a Flower are my current favs….
Yeah, CBs take a new mindset, you have have to tilt your head away from traditional perfume smells. They just make me happy when I wear them, like I’ve been digging around in the world and just looked up, but without all the oogie smells normally associated with hard work. 🙂
Ah Nonya- just why I will sample fearlessly,wear anything in the car or the house, but I’m VERY careful about what I wear to dance class. Mind you, that is one classy water buffalo!
And yeah, those mini- anosmias are wildly frustrating and perplexing.
Patty- pls toss my name in this one too!
Absolely, Kyra!
btw, patty… i’m looking forward to nawt coming back!
yeah… i’m not in the cool CB circle myself. Or in the cool Demeter clique too. :-< it's budget piggy down to her last dollar. :@):@) i'm the one who always puts things in the fripperies cart then puts them back with a guilty look after the nag on the shoulder has her word with me =(( so true... that last statement you made about commenting. don't be shy lurkers... we don't bite. i remember when i was a novice at this and said some things here that were... well... perfume-naive. nobody here made me feel that i was being put in my place. we're really laid-back, fun, non-judgmental people. we only get snarky at fruity-florals, or dupes, or just plain bad fragrances. >:/
Oh, no! No CBs for you? I wish I had your discipline!
oh no! i meant… i never got to try them. :(( i want me some CB’s and Demeters
Please enter me into the drawing! Would love to sniff, sniff, sniff…late comment on the wrong scent, wrong time post yesterday. Tried wearing Chanel Cuir de Russie to tango, but venue was poorly air-conditioned, and I’m the gal who lives in Bangkok. Needless to say, I didn’t have to wonder too much about why no one wanted to dance close-embrace with me. I smelled like a water buffalo.
Cuir de Russie = water buffalo? Hmmmm, yeah, I can see that!
I have already called up the CB gallery to get his new series and am really eager to sniff, though I am not big on anything oceanic. But love the smoky leathers and crushed leaf things.
Oh, good! I’ll be anxious to hear what you think of them.
I don’t know which is making me happier, the new Five or anticipating his book release in July. I hope that date doesn’t get changed. I should ask him.
Hi, count me as a now-former lurker, just getting over her shyness. Loved the blog for months, so beautifully written, often hilarious, and it’s introduced me to a whole world of loveliness. Only my novice nose has kept me from posting so far, but I’d love to be signed up for the draw. I’ve really been dying to try anything by CB. Thanks!
Welcome, Karen! Make yourself at home — we all do! –Ellen
Welcome, Karen, and thank you for such nice words, we really appreciate them.
yes, CB is one that I think any budding perfumista has to try. His stuff may not work for you, but it is just an eye opener on the reality scent angle.
I’ve always been intrigued by CB I Hate Perfume, and although I’ve sniffed, I’ve never properly sampled. So please sign me up!
Absoltely will do!
What a lovely invitation to those of us who’ve hesitated to comment. I feel that if I don’t chime in today I never will. I’ve been reading (and sampling) for quite a few months now, but never felt equal to this expert and experienced crowd. Thank you. By way of introduction I’ll let you know that Borneo 1834 is the ONLY fragrance I’ve worn so far that both my DH and I loved. What does that say about us!?! 😕 (He also liked Prada but I can’t go there.) I of course, have loved many others and am lusting after even more! Please enter me in your drawing. And again, thank-you.
Sandy, yay! Thanks for de-lurking! I don’t think one needs to be expert, experienced, etc., to drop a note here. All you need is an opinion. –Ellen
Actually, you don’t even need an opinion–just a keyboard. :d Yay, another one for Borneo!
Welcome, Sandy! I think that you and your DH love Borneo says you are both refined people with great taste in freakish perfumes… 🙂
The new CBs sound wonderful, yay!
Any month with new CBs makes a good month. 🙂
I would love to entered into the drawing..
And so you shall be!
I like your blog. What Demeters
would you recommend?:)
Hi, J. Stavrou: We did have a post & a long chat about Demeters a few months ago, which might give you some ideas. If you go to the archive for March 5, 2007, there it is! Hope it’s of interest. –Ellen
I like most of their storm or nature scents. I’m not as fond of the foody ones. Welcome!
Commenting here is easy–everybody is funny and friendly, and the comments are really useful in a “that’s exactly it but I couldn’t think of the words” way, which the scent experience is full of.
For me, CB Musk smells exactly like my dog, after a long run and a swim, drying off in fresh spring grass. Spicy, animal, dirty, very healthy, if that makes sense. I love it, and wear it when I want to smell like that. It doesn’t smell at all like musk to me, which CB elaborated on in a friendly, informative e-mail. He’s super, so please enter me in the drawing–these, and the forest one, sound great.
Hey, mejitamaggi: Welcome aboard! Haven’t tried the CB Musk, but I know what you mean about the dog scent. There are a few breeds of dog that have a very oily, dense coat, like Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, where I don’t like their smell much. But most dogs, when they are clean and healthy, smell lovely to me, especially when they’re sunwarmed or have just rolled in the snow & have that ozone-y overlay. Sometimes I fall asleep with my nose in the fur of Mia the Akita mix or Johnny Cash the Creole pitbull, and it’s so soothing. (Too much information? Sorry.) –Ellen
have you ever noticed that healty dogs’ feet smell like Fritos? Or maybe it’s popcorn. . .strange but true–try it! (obviously I spend way too much time with my dog hahahaha)
m
Oh, and “Johnny Cash, the Creole Pitbull” should completely have his own album, such a good name, with Dr. John covers, the whole bit…
I love Dr. John & I think he’d like that, if there was a muffuletta with seafood in it for him. (Maybe he would just stand by the piano looking dignified & concerned, one of his specialties.) He’s a New Orleans boy who came north after the hurricane. I didn’t name him, but he is “the dog in black,” so how could I change it? –Ellen
no, not too much information at all. My shepard/boxer mix smells great, when she doesn’t smell awful (oh, the things she finds to roll in) and I’ll confess: I look for fragrance that goes with the smell of the dog, since it’s a fairly sure bet that at least my coat has that imprint…CB’s Cradle of Light or Memory of Kindness are great, and CB’s dog, if she’s around when you visit, is a sweetheart first class…
I wish there were a CB Dog Feet, the smell of dog feet that have been walking through grass. It would have a clover note and the warmth of paw pads. I’d wear that to bed as a comfort scent. Then my DH could go to sleep with Dog on both sides of him. :d
I LOVE the smell of paws, and it ain’t no secret.
I don’t get Musk in CB’s musk either. March was really surprised when I liked it. It’s not one I’ll wear much, but I like knowing it’s there, like an old friend. 🙂
Hey, I think the system ate the end of my comment!
Anyway, have a great weekend, and please enter me in the drawing.
Thank you!
Hugs and love!
Patty, thank you for your last note to everyone about posting. You always set the right welcoming tone for everyone, no matter what. And, it’s nice to know that you like us…you really like us! :d:d:d:d:d
Confession time: I keep meaning to visit my friends at luckyscent or Scent Bar to test the CBs…but I have not…meaning: I have never tested them either. >>>Hangs head in embarrassment
Like?!! Heck no, we love all of you!!!
You need to hie yourself down to Scent Bar and smell some CBs. I’m not sure if they’ll be for you, but I think you would like Tea Rose and maybe another one or two. I’m thinking you’re not as fond of that reality scent thing as I am?
Another CB virgin here :”> Love the sound of that Greenbriar one – Hay! Tobacco! And I still desperately want to smell Burning Leaves and Black March.
I’ve been meaning to do a big Fripperies samples purchase to reward myself, but I haven’t quite earned the reward…I either need to win a drawing, lose two more pounds (hah!) or learn to swap. Or cheat :d
I hear ya on earning the reward. I’m so tired of eating cardboard veggie patties, I could scream. My Kingdom for a Snickers Bar! But instead I go get on the treadmill again and slog it out :: sigh::
Can’t you get a reward for patiently waiting for a reward? :-“
Ok, a while ago I ordered a bunch of the CB’s from their handsome website and loved picking them based on their names… summer of ’62, the fabled Black March, Just Breathe, the moldy canvas Mr. Hulot’s Holiday and the stinky kitchen one that smells like banannas ripening in a fruit bowl. But after the fun of matching the scent to the name wore off I didn’t find any of them to be something I would actually wear. The Black March is awesome at first in evoking the rich earth smell but then it goes so faint and namby pamby vaguely flowery that it makes me mad. Just Breathe has the same indistinct, generic pretty smell going on. All that to say that I am gamely still looking for one that I love and maybe there is something in your collection that is IT. March let me try the Black Salt and it is pretty fabulous.
I think Kelly felt that way about a lot of CBs. My guess is that it may not go with everyone’s skin as well, but she found Tea Rose that she completely adores. Have you tried that one?
Hi Patty, I enjoy your reviews so much, every day !:d
I LOVE the smell of hay, please recomend me some fragrances taht carry that note.
Please include me in the drawing,
THANK’s
Carmen.
Hay perfumes. Parfumeri Generale’s Bois Blond has a lot of hay in it, but it was a limited edition and may be hard to find now. Santa Maria Novella has a Fieno or Hay perfume. I like it, but I don’t find it to be a great exmple of a real hay note. Why am I drawing a blank? I need to compila hay perfumes into a list. That will be a longer project!
PATTY , THANK YOU SO MUCH, IAM KEPPING MY EYE AT LUCKYSCENT ,FOR THAT BOIS BLOND FROM PG.
HEY,A HAY PERFUME LIST? GREAT IDEA ! :d/
Other perfumes that list hay as an ingredient (just did a “find” in my perfume notes): Etat Libre d’Orange Jasmin et Cigarette, Frederic Malle Bigarrade Concentree, Guerlain Attrape-Coeur, Hermes Hiris (so, apparently Olivia Giacobetti likes it), Les Nereides Musc de Java, Lorenzo Villoresi Yerbamate, Patricia de Nicolai Vie de Chateau, The Different Company Osmanthus (one by J-CE). I smell it in Caron Farnesiana, but that must be the acacia. I also smell it in Comme des Garcons Nomad Tea, but I guess that would be the artemisia? Oh, then, there’s also that L’essence de Mastenbroek Eau de Polder at Luckyscent that is supposed to feature it prominently, but I’ve never smelled that. There’s also L’Artisan Fleur de Narcisse, the limited edition almost $300 a bottle one, and Bruno Acampora Sballo. I never realized it was that common until looking at this.
^:)^
How did you do that? You seem so…so…ORGANIZED!
GREAT info on perfumes that carry hay note!;)
Wow, lot’s of scent reviews. Add me into the contest. Someday I will get around to smelling Mr.Brosius; life as a college student on a budget is so hard, still this saturday I am graduating and should be coming out with some cash, I think it is time to sample.
Congrats, Jennifer, on the graduation!
Hello! Random commenter. Please enter me in the drawing 🙂 I’m still wondering exactly what hay smells like. The mini size Demeters sound great!
You’ve never smelled hay? Hmm, how to describe. There can be several. There’s fresh hay, which is very green. Dry hair smells a little differen. If you go and smell cut grass that has dried a bit, that’s close. It’s a dusty, rich smell. Wish I could explain it better.
warm and grain-y, almost sweet… dusty is a great way to desribe it – but not in the “house-dust” kind of way…. I’m not helping, am I #-o
That does help, thanks 🙂 I do know what grain smells like, so that gives me a better point of reference. I always used to read about sweet hay. Hrm, I’m getting hungry now, heh.
Wow, sounds yummy! I need to go sniff some dried grass. I only remember the smell of freshly-cut grass. And, omg, 175 comments! Heh.
All the new CBs sound so exciting! I wish CB could go inside my head and create something based on (don’t laugh) the smell of my old school…I cannot even describe the smell, it seemed to change daily yet thre’d be a constant base and heart notes to it.I know, I know…weird.
Thanks for encouraging new people to jump in, it can be quite intimidating to comment. I few short months ago I was seriously surprised to discover that there was such a scent culture, nay, a Universe out there. Lucky me to be able to read all the informative and sometimes downright hilarious rewievs this( and many others great ones)offer,it really enriches my life in all kinds of ways! Thank You!!!
Remember the smell of still damp mimeograph paper? When the teacher would pass out those worksheets everyone would lift the paper to their nose and sniff 🙂 Ahhh.
If you get that perfume made, let me know (but please have them leave out the smell of that awful sweet-banana stuff the janitors used to dump on barf before they cleaned it up. I can’t eat banana deserts to this day because of smelling that ha!)
Yes, I know that smell! Add the faintly pine smell of cleaner, a whiff of chalk dust, and you have my grade school exactly. Mmm, mimeo smell.
Hmmm. I’ve been wondering — perhaps someone here can tell? Schools don’t have mimeograph machines any more & I don’t think most of them use chalkboards either. So what are the smells of school now? –Ellen
Chalkboards have been replaced with dry erase boards, and the markers have a very peculiar scent – even the scentless ones.
Though of course all schools smell like children. If that’s a good smell or a horrible one I’ll leave up to you.
We’re a small, not well-known group of fragrance piggies, but we make up for it in eclecticism (is that a word?)
I’d love the smell of a school. Pencil shaving, chalkboard dust, wax, mimeograph paper, ink, no gym socks.
Please enter me! :@) squeeeeeeeeeal
But of course!
Wow that Greenbriar sounds amazing! Tobacco and hay and leather, yes, yes, yes. Oh and some Black Sea for carnation.
*sigh* Please enter me in the drawing. 😉
Also, do you know that although CB has a store in Brooklyn and I have loads of family also in Brooklyn and it all only two hours away, I still have not been? I’m thinking that this summer is the time to remedy this.
Have a great weekend!
You MUST go. If I were that close, he’d probably have me arrested as a stalker. 🙂
Hi again–just my second post and I’ve been lurking for months. Please enter me in your drawing 🙂 I’m up for sniffing anything and the black sea is definately a must sniff after everything you guys have posted about it.
You know, I have several CB samples (expensive but soo cute in their teeny bottles) and I’ve had a bit of a troubled relationship with them. Although I enjoy smelling them very much they’re all just so MUCH of an odd thing that I don’t generally wear them out of the house.
In Black March and To see a Flower the dirt takes over to the point that if I wore them out, people would think I was carrying sod in my pockets. Memory of Kindness? Layered maybe, but alone it is just one big tomato plant growing out of my neck. At the Beach is great, but it is SO accurate that I’ll wear it around the house with a smile but do I really want to smell like I’m salty/sweaty and slathered in coppertone suntan lotion at a work meeting??? CB Musk is dark smokey and WOW; I might get some wear out of it in the winter, but to be honest, I’m a little frightened of it. Revelation is probably the most wearable one for me. . .
Anyone else have this problem? Maybe I just need to put on my big-girl panties and go ahead and wear these since I do like them. So what if someone thinks I’m a tomato plant? :d
Melissa, welcome aboard! Hope you de-lurk again soon! The image of a gal with her “big-girl panties” on with a tomato plant growing out of her neck is just priceless. I’ll be thinking about it & chuckling for a while! –Ellen
Melissa, maybe if you wore At the Beach to a meeting, the people around you would start picturing themselves at the beach without knowing why. That might be desirable.
Haha! I like wearing things that smell like other things out, it completely undoes the idea of what a “traditional” perfume should be, which who said we should smell like flowers or musk or fruit? Tomato’s a fruit. :d
But having said that, I think wearing them out can be difficult, but at my advanced age, I find wearing something funky to be really comforting because my oddities are really getting more pronounced, so it fits.
Hi there, I love reading your blog but admit I am a lurker, hesitant to comment sometimes, so thanks for making me feel welcomed:-) I am a big fan of CB and Greenbriar sounds lovely…and I’m tempted by Black Sea!! Please enter me in the drawing, thanks
Glad you commented, D! See, not so bad. 🙂
It’s always so great to see how many fans CB has, he deserves them.
Please include me in the drawing.
Thanx!:)
Will do, Jamie!
Great post! Your comments on dandelion sap also brought me back to being eight, sitting in a field in Wisconsin, splitting dandelion stems to string them together, and without anywhere else to be in the whole world. I’ve gotta smell that! Please enter me in the drawing!
Such a great memory! Yeah, like that.
Aw, I was all ready for the Adventures of Nawt.
CB’s I am a Dandelion sounds like To See a Flower with a milky accord added. I love To See a Flower so will have to try it soon.
And Black Sea seems to be very hard to come by. I emailed both Fortnum & Mason and the Micallef website to ask to purchase samples. No reply from F & M but and got a reply from the Micallefs saying that it was not possible at this time, but perhaps if I were to travel to London or Paris they could do something for me. So disappointing.
Please enter me in the drawing. Thanks!
That’s a pretty close description! Not quite the same, but similar, but the drydown is very different. Love that.
I think Fortnums ship, but only under a pound? You may have to call them to get them to do it, though.
I want blue cheese! Please, enter me in the draw :d
Of course you do! You may not be as fond of that plasticky note, but it could be just plastic bleu cheese for me and something quite lovely for you. 🙂
Those CBs sound amazing, and I am thrilled about his new sample program.
But you don’t need to enter me in the drawing. My sample situation is like tribbles around here, thanks very much!:d
CB’s new sample program? I don’t think he has one? You mean the Demeters?
Luckyscent has a sample bag of various CB water scents for $42-though it doesn’t have Black March and some of the other yummies.
Hi Patty,
Great review (as always)!
I’m so sad I’m so far from USA and Europe, where you can buy the best fragrances of the world, so easy…
I need to find a way to get then (Black Seas seems to fit, and all the CB stuff). Just need !
Did you ever tried any Brazilian fragrance ? I could send you some samples. Nothing so exciting, I’m afraid.
Please, could you put me in the draw ?
Hey, Katia: I would love to hear more about Brazilian fragrances, and I bet a lot of others would, too. An ad sometimes pops up on here for an online service to order perfumes from Brazil (O Boticario?) but the website doesn’t give much information about the perfumes, so I wasn’t tempted to order.
I only know of two perfumes available in N. America that have a Brazilian influence, though both are French. One is Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier (MPG) Bahiana, which has coconut and caipirinha notes. (I like it, but not quite as much as the similar-feeling L’Artisan Ananas Fizz.) The other is Comme des Garcons Palisander (Brazilian rosewood). Have you tried either one? Also, I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s curious about perfumes that might not be widely exported.
Flor, who writes great comments, is in Brazil, though I don’t know where. Flor? I’d love to hear from you about this, too. — Ellen
Hello Ellen and Patty !
Boticario and Natura are two of the Brazilian fragrances and cosmetics “houses”.
Natura have an interesting program, helping indians and fair trading Amazon seeds and fruits.
Boticario I think does the same…
I’ve tried almost all the Boticario scents. They have Eau de Cologne concentrations, and just one (a new one) Eau de Parfum (Lily Essence). Some are nice (not great). My favorite is Linda (but it’s really sweet), and I tried Egeo Dolce this weekend and I hated (they say it’s for sexy women but smells like a child candy).
Natura have some fragrances I don’t care about, but they have two I’d love to try : Breu Branco and Priprioca. They have EDP, but it’s like USD 100,00 for 50ml, I think. Too expensive to buy without a try, but they don’t give samples without an order.
I’ll translate the notes from these and from Lily Essence and post it later.
Ellen, I don’t know Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Bahiana or Comme des Garcons Palisander (they’re not avaliable in Brazilian fragrance stores). But I’m very curious about them.
Patty, I’ll go to Boticario store today and let us see what I get.
Anyway, Ellen and Patty, please visit the sites
http://www.boticario.com.br
and
http://www.natura.com.br
and let me know what do you want to try. I’ll try to get the samples and send to you.
See you !
Katia.
I haven’t tried any Brazilian fragrances, I don’t think. What are the? Would definitely be interested!
I tried to message thos O Boticaro people to get samples of something or to see if they had it, and they never responded to me!
Yes, I’m impatient to hear what Voracia has to say for herself, but for CB? Anything! Great reviews and I really am concerned that I will need full bottles of at least 4 of the 5 (the 5th is the Under the Arbor/grapevine one). I really could just mainline a majority of his scents.
Good to know about the gardenia scent from the Memoire Liquides. I was so overwhelmed by the staggering number of scents they had that I simply didn’t bother to give them a second thought. Is releasing one scent at a time a sadly outdated custom now? I *miss* those days!
Yes, I believe that silly one at a time custom is a thing of the past. Maybe it’s because there are so many new releases every year, doing multiples is about the only way to get enough attention?
Sad. I wish they’d release less crap so the good stuff wouldn’t get passed over.
I would love to be in the draw, as these all sound like a drop of heaven.
I know what you mean about the anosmia. I feel like that about CB’s In the Library. After a few days I developed an unshakable feeling of almond scented creme mahogany wood polish – so maybe that is the very subtle almond custard smell. If that’s the case I don’t think CB’s public library was the same as mine… At any rate, I just love to wear it, even if it doesn’t put me into a particular mental scene.
I also thought I was anosmic to freesia, because I remember a science exhibit on genetics where I just could NOT smell the flowers. But in my bridal bouquet I had white freesia and I could smell them just fine. I started saying something along the lines of “EEEE! FREESIA! I CAN SMELL!! FREEESIA!!!!” and of course everyone around me had the brides-are-so-strange look. But it was worth it.
You are so funny. 🙂 There’s only been a couple of CBs that don’t work for me, In the Library, Mr. Hulot and Patch.
Wow, Patty! These ALL sound incredible. Please count me in for the drawing.
Yes, ma’am, you got it! They are well worth winning!
I know that “leave a comment” button is hard to click on. I have misspelled, mis-smelled and misspoke but ….. the big but….
always, and I mean always, there is nothin’ but a whole lotta’ love goin’ on here. So jump on in! 😡
P.S. I find that I have run short on samples to try (yeah, right!) so kindly enter me in the draw.
I’m such a doof. My reply to you is right up above as a reply to myself. 🙂
Patty,
These fragrances all sound so interesting and different. Please enter me into the drawing. I love Aqaba, but I never would have tried Opium parfum as a victim of Opium poisoning back in 1980 something. Maybe I’m strong enough now…?
You may want to revisit Opium. I’m not sure I could take the lesser concentrations, but the parfum doesn’t have the overt spill of the others. I was surprised by how much I liked it. Nay, shocked!
YOu saying your short of samples is like me saying it. 🙂 I need to commit myself to clearing out the section of untried samples soon, then either throwing them or giving them away.
Maybe that will be the next give-away, all the stuff I’m never getting around to sniffing.
Well can one have too many samples?? I’m afraid of what might happen if I ever came to the end of my sample stash. There could only be chaos waiting!
OOOOOOOhh, the CBs sound fabulous–especially the Greenbriar. I am forcing–I say FORCING–myself NOT to buy (must save money for Paris; repeat 3 times and rinse). But I would love to be in the drawing!!
You can wait! They’ll still be here when you get back. I’m so envious, you guys will have such a great time!!!
The Greenbriar sounds fantabulous, and I love dandelions, and, and… Do I need to tell you I want to be in the draw? =p~
I think you could have left a … and I would have figured it out. 🙂
Hiya Patty!
Count me in…those CBs sound great 😀 Between JCE, CB, Andy, and Bertrand, I could go crazy.
BTW, I WAS REALLY really looking forward to Nawt today 😛
[-o< More's coming, right???
yes, more is coming, I promise! My creative juices for that kind of writing get distracted easily, like with the IRS thing and doing my other taxes, it just leaves no room for mind playing.
Duchafour? I just re-smelled his Palisander, which I remember now how Much I adore aand the Sherbet for CdG. He’s really pretty brilliant. I find a lot of his things that I love.
Is he cute?
:((
I’ve never been able to find a picture of Bertrand, Patty! 🙁 Not nearly as photogenic as JCE, maybe?
And why doesn’t he have a fragrance under his own name at Frederic Malle yet?
I rarely comment also (but I read every day), and when I do, I’ve always felt welcome. I would love to sample that Black Sea, you make it sound amazing. And….a dandelion fragrance! How cool is that?
Absolutely! I thought that dandelion thing was weird at first, but once I smelled it, I loved it. There’s not a lot of CBs that I’ll wear all the time as my fragrance for the day, but I love to sniff them every day.
WeeWeewee quoth the piggy :
May I join ?
I’m salivating badly, just now.
Thanks, P !
You bet, my friend, but now I’m worried, you in the world di you get just lavender out of that Bruno Musc? I resniffed again and get nothing like that. I wonder if the musc in there is one you are anosmic to?
Loved reading these reviews. Add me to the drawing, please!
Absolutely, Jo!
Patty-Nawt will be missed, but such a great review! I am hoping to make a trip soon to CB, but meanwhile, please through my name into the fishbowl.
Happy Weekend, all!
Will do!!
Very intrigued by all of these today….would love to be in the drawing;)
You got it, C!
:d What’s up wit Nawt….perhaps she’s in jail with Paris(slap ma’ lips)….sooooo now today’s goodies have me on the floor,moaning,and drooling….please enter me in the drawing…I was going for something inane and simple this summer,but,let’s slather it on,and celebrate…LIFE IS SHORT!!!!…snort:d
Nawt and Paires? Hmmm…… or maybe Voratia knows her.
I would *love* to try Black Sea, I am lemming this something fierce 😡 Please do enter me in the drawing as well! 🙂
Will do! Black Sea is the best of the Micallefs I’ve smelled to this point, I do hope they find a spot to sell it over here or at least a European outlet that will ship.
Lovely to see you all….:x
:d yay!!!! I finally figured out how to circumvent that error message I got every time I wanted to comment. So FINALLY I can drop my 2 cents on various subjects again – you wouldn’t believe how relieved I am!
Lovely review, Patty – you’ve made me crave all these, so please enter me in the drawing.
NFW — error message?!? Hon, why didn’t you email me? I missed you! I was actually composing in my head an email asking whether I’d p!ssed you off in some way I was too dimwitted to fathom…
Sweetheart, you could never piss me off….. but Firefox took a sudden dislike to comments. Now, dim-witted as I am, I finally thought of using Internet Explorer instead, and voilà ! I’ve been reading the blog avidly, and believe me, I just HATED not being able to comment!
Welcome back, dinazad, I missed you too! I wondered if you’d (gasp!) gotten tired of perfume. #:-s
Missed you, J! So glad you found a way back to the land of the commenting. 🙂
Awwwww, thanks, girls! I missed you too!
I used to lurk too..till the first time I commented when you had a drawing!..And now I have mustered enough courage(?) to post a comment even when there is no draw(Yay!)..:)
oh..and Patty please (I like the alliteration) enter me in this draw. I still cannot believe that I haven’t yet tried any of the CB’s though I am lemming several and can’t wait to try the new ones.
Aw, CB is an experience. I know not everyone loves his stuff, and sometimes it doesn’t work, or many of them don’t, but It’s still an experience whether it turns out to be love or no.
I am one of those lurkers you speak of, finally taking the plunge.
I ventured into the world of perfume about 6 months ago and have been educating myself through an endless amount of sampling and perusing blogs such as this one. It can be kind of intimidating to join in the discussion when you don’t feel as knowledgeable as everyone else. It’s so nice to be encouraged to participate, so thank you! 🙂
I have to agree that those CBs sound fantastic. Please enter me in the drawing.
I’m way more newbier then that (maybe about 3 months in?), if that helps. 🙂 Hello!
Six months ago? You’re practically a pro. Welcome.
Welcome, Chelsea! Knowing everything is not allowed. 🙂 As many things as I have sniffed, I realize how little I do know when I talk to other people. I think it’s wonderful when people are all along the perfume spectrum and jump in!
Thank-you for being such warm, friendly people.
You make me =d> and =p~ and;)) and sometimes =)).
You are always >:d< and never [-x without ;;). You make me ^:)^ to your knowledge and [-o< that some of it will rub off on me. So I'll ~o) and =(( over more unsmelt samples. I haven't ever tried CB 's so >:)I’d love to be entered.
Amarie, that was adorable! I’ve never seen these smilies put to better use! –Ellen
What Ellen said, best use of smilies ever!!! This may require a special prize:-$
=d>=d>=d>
^:)^^:)^^:)^
:”> Thank-you. My 8 year old son helped. He choose the devil.>-)This is his other fav.
Wow, to be entererd in drawing for such a wonderful pick would be my pleasure….thx.
Put you in!
Oooo, new CBs. Please count me in…
You are in!
Oh, Patty, I forgot to say that I love these days when you do the clean-up reviews. To my mind, the mini-reviews are just long enough to intrigue me and short enough so that you can cover a number from the line and compare them. Thanks!
I know that sometimes it seems I can’t shut the bleep up on Perfume Posse, especially since there’s this really cool threading feature. But I only started reading the blog last September and commenting maybe in October–or so. I was hesitant at first, as I felt like such a newbie, but I jumped in and nobody acted as if I was weird (or weirder than the people who run the blog anyway). 😉
Basically, the blog world only seems closed if you don’t open the door. I have a real problem with doors that I think speaks volumes about my psychology. I will sometimes stand outside a door waiting because I think it’s locked after having pulled at it tentatively. Then someone else will come along and pull it open with ease. It wasn’t locked at all. So walk right in, sit right down. Baby, let your hair hang down. (I remember when that song was new.)
Patty, I’m glad you brought up your anosmia. (Is misnosmia a word?) Now and then I will lose part of a scent. It’s like a phase that just isn’t there. I’m excited when I can find a smell again. Naturally, other times the fragrance really is no longer there because my skin has eaten it.
I’d love to try these fragrances. Patty, dear, please enter me in the drawing.
Misnosmia is a word now! It’s the mis-smell. Like getting bleu cheese instead of gardenias or crap instead of jasmine. This is how words are born! 🙂
Micallef Black Sea sounds like a true winner. Was it readily available at luckyscent?
CB seems to always come up with some fantastic “realities”.
Please enter me in the drawing as well.
Zeram – it’s not readily available anywhere in North America, as far as I know. Paris, Nice, Dubai and Fortnum and Mason in London…:((
What Lee said. I think if enough people started calling Luckyscent, they might pick it up. Even FIF in Germany doesn’t have that one. Not sure if it’s because they aren’t sending it out that far or what, but it’s my favorite of the line, and while I like some of the others, that one is their one hit they should have, if it were in wider availability.
I swear, someone could make a fortune just offering to ship crap from Europe that we can’t get here.
You shouldn’t say stuff like that around a guy recovering from a dose of the trots…
Dusan, you’re not alone. I haven’t had the chance to try anything from CB yet
😮
Please include me in the drawing and have a nice weekend:)
*gasp* you too? It pains me to know how many people there are in the world that have not had the pleasure.
Well, we’ll get you, my pretties, and your little noses too! 🙂
Ahem, is it safe to admit on PP that I haven’t tried a single CB? *takes cover*
Y’all keeping raving about how gorgeous and lifelike they are and I don’t doubt that for a minute. I guess this is me saying:
Bring on the Black Sea and the hay,
I’m feeling mighty greedy today,
Honey.
Dole out the oceans, the wood and the weed, but
I need me some hay sugar to quench the greed,
Sweetie.
=))
Lurkers, seriously, what Patty’s saying – all true! I just love it here and you’re missing out on sooo much fun by just reading. Having said that, better skip the first paragraph of this comment…
We don’t have Nawt today, but we have poetry! I just never know what riches to expect.
Yeah, isn’t it amazing that I can spew cheesy rhyme at 6 am and at the same time write stuff like “y’all keeping raving” :-b
Nawt another Friday without Voracia and co is what I thought, too, M.
I miss them…
I love Perfume Piggy poetry!
Haven’t tried CB? /:)
How can that be?
That would be agony for me
My poetry sucks so much, you really should flee
Wonder when CB is going to branch into Europe? I think he should have a little shop in Harrod’s or be available at Les Senteurs or something, or is he already?
Nah – he was available at a little store
But I’m sure that it exists no more;
Called Scent Systems and near Soho
Its strange website suggests it’s no go…
Your rhymes are fun, hon
They don’t suck – they rock! ^:)^
And yes, CB
is mystery to me…
however strange that may be :-j
Here’s an idea – next week’s chapter is all song&rhyme. Whaddaya say? :d
Hey, Patty: You know that next Friday we’ll be even more amped up waiting to hear what Nawt and Voracia talked about. Those CBs sound wonderful — I’d love to be in the drawing. Merci, ma cherie! –Ellen
I know! YOu guys are getting your expectations way too high, I’m afraid! 🙂
I did finally figure out the Eternal Return, what was mystifying me. At least on me, it confused me because of the skin smell. I swear, it smells like your skin when it comes out of the ocean, slightly salty and sweet? but I believe that is the intent, your skin when it comes out of the ocean, but with that lingering green note. So odd, it really does work for me the more I play with it.
Great reviews, Patty! As mostly a lurker and sometimes a commenter, I find your blog quite welcoming! Please do enter me in the drawing. I suspect I’ll be in love with the Greenbriar 1968. I can’t find it on the CB website:((
CB said all five should hopefully be up on the website the end of this week, but since we are at FRiday, it may be first of next, but you can always call to order! I’m waiting to see the notes for the Eternal return. I know it’s salt, ocean and like fir treet. Can’t wait for the other two to get here.
Seems like I should always put a disclaimer with any CB reviews and tell people I’m a huge FanGirl when it comes to him. :-“
Is it me or when I order from his website, it takes forever and a day to get anything from CB. Does he make small batches of the stuff himself? I’ve tried a few from his website and want to try more, even if it just the 2ml size. The Greenbriar sounds great. I seem to be loving the green scents lately.
Funny, I don’t get Blue Cheese from Gardenia, but I tend to stick with the natural ones (Sonoma Scent Studio has a nice one, blended with musk) rather than synthetic.
Oh, and please enter me in the draw! Thanks!
I just got a small amount of Wild Pansy and To See a Flower. They are quite nice! 🙂
I am a huge fan of CB. I finally bought Black March. LOVE the smell of dirt!