Scent Club, Part Deux

Today´s the Posse Scent Club, Part II (October) – this month we´re visiting Grandma´s house via virtual reality scents. But first, two public service announcements:

1) D.C.-area residents: Art With Flowers in Tysons is hosting Ron Robinson of Apothia this Sunday, October 21 from noon to 6 p.m. They´ll have food and drinks and discounts on items in their store (which in addition to niche lines like Santa Maria Novella, Serge Lutens, Ineke, L´Artisan, etc., sells flowers, an interesting selection of home accessories, candles and other fun goodies.) They´re in Tysons Galleria, where Saks and Neiman Marcus are, their telephone # is 703-903-6837. They´re outside the top-floor entrance to Macy´s, next to the Grooming Lounge. I´ll be stopping by on the early side to check it out!

2) There will be an informal D.C.-area sniffa on Saturday, November 10, starting in the morning at Friendship Heights/Chevy Chase DC area, strolling from Saks on down to NM and the various boutiques in the Great Wall of Bling, tentatively breaking for lunch at Maggiano´s. That´s my understanding of the rough plan, I´ll keep you posted. Any of you D.C. readers/lurkers: sniffing with new friends is fun. Don´t be shy! Come join us! Co-hosted by Louise (a regular poster here) and Nancy, both D.C. area residents and all-around great gals.

On with today´s post. In the last episode we traveled outdoors to Grandma’s house (which must be in the big, bad woods in a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale) via CB I Hate Perfume´s Wild Hunt, Burning Leaves and Gathering Apples.

Today we´re exploring the interior with the other three scents of the month:

Malle En Passant – one of the creations of Olivia Giacobetti and inspired by her memory of rain and lilacs outside a bakery, En Passant evokes wet pavement, bread, lilacs and cucumber. I´ve always been interested in people´s reactions to the fragrance; some folks find it cheerful and uplifting, and some find it wistful, even sad. I think the wet lilac note is particularly brilliant – it´s haunting, nearby and far away simultaneously. I can almost feel the damp blossoms brushing my skin. While En Passant is technically wrong for this time of year (lilacs are a spring flower), we´re also thinking about Grandma´s lilac eau de cologne, and how it reminds her of those long-ago springs when she and Grandpa used to sneak out to the barn and … well, never you mind.

Serge Lutens Fumerie Turque – here we are in the library, where Grandpa smokes his pipe daily while reading and perhaps napping in a comfortable leather armchair before the fire. Fumerie Turque is, by Lutens´ standards, a fairly linear, accessible scent with no particular oddities. To me it conjures up an old, slightly dusty, warm room full of books, comfortable furnishings, pipe tobacco (cherry, perhaps?) and fond memories.

Santa Maria Novella Nostalgia – this is the weirdo of today´s group, a cult-favorite offering from the generally staid, venerable Italian company. Nostalgia is a vehicle to take you where you want to go – it could be that GTO muscle car you rode in as a teenager, but it could just as easily be Grandpa´s ´55 Ford or even a Model A. With hints of gasoline, rubber, leather, car parts, asphalt and what have you, Nostalgia´s topnotes are an assortment of odd bits, but if you wait with a little patience for the rubber salvo to die down, you´re left with a lovely, rather smoky tobacco/leather drydown with surprising tenacity.

So, the floor´s open – do you think En Passant´s all that, or is it overrated? Did someone put hallucinogens in the tea of the folks at SMN, prompting them to come up with something so out of character? If you divorce Nostalgia from its background information and it´s just Scent X, is it appealing? Is it even wearable? Am I the only person to find Fumerie Turque more homebody-ish than the name implies?

Next month´s scent club – Foody! We´re sniffing Bois 1920 Sushi Imperiale, Serge Lutens Arabie and Rahat Loukoum, Guerlain Iris Ganache, L´Artisan Fou d´Absinthe and Bois Farine.Tentative dates are November 15 and 16.

vintage kitchen: ciaowinnipeg.com (it was a finalist in a new kitchen design competition, and how great is that?)

  • clare says:

    I already talked about these in Part I
    can’t read directions (duh, Clare) but I
    decided to go back and smell them again. Am
    I really the only one who smells plastic
    when the first notes of Nostalgia waft up?
    Comparing it to a baby doll smell made
    perfect sense to me. The dry down changes
    the scent considerably on my skin; it’s
    somehow sweeter but still smells chemical-y.
    I’m a newbie with a still unsophisticated
    nose but I am learning what I like. The
    Fumerie is more agreeable to me this time but
    I get a whiff of cough drops (cherry?). I
    do like this more as I wear it but somehow
    it reminds me of a mahogany bureau. I guess
    if I can enjoy smelling like burning leaves
    (I loved that scent) I could learn to like
    smelling like furniture. I am having such a
    good time with all of these new scents. I
    have come a long way since my Baby Doll and
    Shalimar days (daze). I enjoy all your
    comments.

  • Deloris says:

    Hello Darlings,

    If you like to sniff, wear, or difuse great fragrance oils, then you need to check out my fall collection! I have a wonderful Spiced Pear fragrance, and also a kicky apple treat called Apple of Eden. Clear best sellers any time of year, but the autumn makes people remember these scents moe vividly. The candles I carry are really nice, too! Check out my website and give me a call if you are interested in anything.

  • Bluechile (Cathy) says:

    Well, I’m a bit late to this party, but I’ll play anyway …..:)

    FT: grilled, smoked fruit with a touch of incense (the incense is stronger in the drydown)

    En Passant: lilacs and bread. THis is a favorite of mine, but I prefer wearing it in the spring and find it a little bit “thin” for this time of year.

    Nostalgia: I like this one alot and find it similar to another favorite of mine, Bandit, but Nostalgia has more Road and less Maryjane than Bandit. I love sniffing this, but can’t picture a setting that I’d actually wear it.

  • SMY says:

    I’m not nearly as eloquent or experienced as the folks above, but here are my impressions:

    En Passant: utterly gorgeous! My grandmother used to grow lily of the valley flowers, not lilacs, but I did get a hint of lily of the valley in there, thus making the Grandma’s house theme appropriate. Beautiful watery lilac scent. This inspired me to go to Frederic Malle’s website and fill out their questionnaire.

    Fumerie Turque: very interesting although not one I’d wear. I don’t know if it’s the power of suggestion but I swear there’s a moment when I get a whiff of the Buddhist temple that my grandmother used to go to regularly. Perhaps it’s the smoke with a touch of fruit that resembles Chinese incense?

    Nostalgia: I have to say that I skipped this one, it just didn’t appeal and I’m trying to watch my budget.

    Because I ordered my packet late, my thoughts on the CB I Hate Perfume scents:

    Wild Hunt: lots and lots of dirt and twigs, then fading into a resemblance to the Rainstorm accord. Intriguing but again, not one I’d wear.

    As for Gathering Apples and Burning Leaves, I was able to sniff them on a past trip to the CBIHP gallery. Gathering Apples seemed spot on, but I’m allergic to apples so I had no desire to put it on! Burning Leaves smells uncannily like burning leaves, a smell that I love in the air, but not on my body. Nevertheless, CBIHP always makes for a fascinating olfactory trip.

    • March says:

      The CBIHP shop is so much fun to visit. Plus he has things (as you know) he sells in the store that he doesn’t sell online. Patty and I spent the better part of a day playing in CB’s shop, he was there, and he was lovely and gracious. I hope to visit again.

      I hear what you’re saying about Gathering Apples and Burning Leaves, but somehow I very much like to smell like Burning Leaves!:”> I think Wild Hunt can be disturbing, even if it’s strangely beautiful. I like the related scent Black March, which has that gentle touch of spring thaw.

      There’s a commonality among smoky scents like FT that can suggest incense. I get a strong incense note/feel from SMN Kyoto, and I don’t think that’s a universal experience, but that’s what it smells like to me.

  • perfumequeen says:

    Let me say, this idea of a scent club is wonderful!
    Here’s my two cents
    En Passant….Lovely in the technical sense. I love the wet lilacs and the smell of the salty fresh baked bread crust. I never did get cucmber, though I find that wet lilacs and cucumber smell similar. It does remind me of my Nana’s. SHe used to grow lilacs in her garden before she had to move to an apt. She never did bake bread though. I like to smell it, but I don’t want to wear it, lest I be taken for an older lady.

    The Serge Lutens was delicious. I got leather chair, library and tobbacco smoke. Not so much cherry, but it did have a pipe or cigarish bit to it, which I definately associate with my Pappy. (not the library though! he’s a tv man. but he USED to smoke cigars) the drydown is incredible nice. I’d definately wear this in cooler weather or when I feel like being warm and smoky sexy

    The Nostalgia wasn’t bad. I think I need to try it again soetime. I definately got rubber and motor car but somehow missed the dry down. I also got cheap man in it too for awhile. Needs more study

    Which brings me to an interesting question. All these smells are based on our perceptions of our grandparents. Our grandmas wore lilac and baked bread in a rusticky place. grandpas smoked and did something mechanical. SO what will OUR grandchildren associate with us? Lilac water is no longer fashionable, and smoking is not PC. Not to mention lots of us live in suburbs and buy our bread… thoughts? anyone?

    • Divalano says:

      what a great question! I have no kids so it would be niece & nephews. I think dark, woody, leathery, smokey ambery scents, maybe with a hint of vanilla would remind them of me. If they knew me a few years ago, vinegary darkroom smells (I had a bf who always smelled a bit of fix & developer) might do it, too. If they came to my house they’d think of garlicky cooking smells & if they got there at the right time of year & I hadn’t managed to kill the current one, the scent of blooming jasmine.

      • perfumequeen says:

        I’ve been pondering my question all day myself. My grandkids will definately associate my house with garlic, particularuly garlic cooking in olive oil. Is there any better smell to stimulate hunger? I cook with it ALL the time. As for my feminine smells…probably rochas femme/mitsouko esque chypres with the indolent fruit and light floral. dark and dank, yet very female. At least, that’s the way I see it. Those smells plus the christmas-y nutmeg pineapple candle I burn frequents because I am obsessed with the smell. And lavender. I always have sheets scented with lavender.

    • March says:

      That is a great question. I wonder whether there will be universal notes like lilac, or whether our diversity of choices will make each set of grandchildren’s memories more specific to the home they visited. Although certainly there’s some of that now, based on ethnic/cultural differences in cooking, say (curries, samovars, strong cheeses, etc.)

      I have thought about this for myself. Sometimes I feel sad that my kids probably won’t associate a particular fragrance with me (aka a signature scent) unless I give up my perfume rotation. For me, I’d say grandkids would remember the smell of baking cookies, and the smell of furniture oil.

  • capriccio says:

    I just splashed on FT again since I have mostly forgotten my first impressions–it is lovely on my girlfriend (she of the sweet-sucking skin), smoky and dry and well-rounded.

    EP is an incredible experience: I get the doughy bread note only in the first minute, then straight off to the wet lilacs. Someone mentioned a wet metal smell, and that, combined with the rainy cucumbers, show up after half an hour or so. The lilacs come back after a while and all is lovely and reminds me of the sort of weather and location I would like to be reading in, preferably on a covered patio with my favorite sweater on. It’s the smell of late spring remembering winter.

    Nostalgia’s top notes are le crazy. Let’s just say that I had a few very, very naughty years as a young adult and that that top note? Is exactly the same smell that comes from a certain very bad drug. Thankfully, it went away on my skin in under a minute (don’t need to recall that period in my life for much longer, thanks!), and started the long mellow. On me, unfortunately, it went to a nearly indistinguishable rendition of Bulgari Black. On the second trial, I even sprayed Black on my other wrist for comparison sake. Very, very close. I like Black, so I don’t mind that, but I was hoping for more of the industrial notes to stick around. Just not that initial one, heh.

    I have solved my decant storage problems thusly: I bought a rectangular tupperware thing that is just tall enough for the vials to stand upright in (probably made for large sandwiches or cookies), filled it 80% with uncooked rice, and stuck the little darlings in there alphabetically. Nothing falls over, any moisture is absorbed, and biggest bonus, I can easily take the whole shebang to a friend’s house when I want to force the pretty on them.

    • March says:

      I get a definite metallic note in En Passant I call “wet fence.” And it’s a great note, not like those grating, screechy metallics.

      I can definitely see the comparison to Bvlgari Black, which is a scent I admire more than appreciate. Black stays more rubbery to me, though.

      That sounds like another good solution to the sample vial storage problem.

  • Elizabeth says:

    En Passant is all that and a bag of chips! (And I deeply apologize for saying that). :”>

    It’s the perfect, slightly-damp lilac. The cucumber and bread stay in the background, but peek out just enough to add interest rather than a distraction.

    I have recently fallen in love with Fumerie Turque. “Homebody” – not to me! It reminds me of evenings spent with friends at outdoor narguile cafes in Istanbul, sipping the omnipresent apple tea and Turkish coffee and trying out all sorts of flavored tobaccos (mint and apple were our favorites), the smoke permeating the air.

    I can’t comment intelligently on Nostalgia, because I only tried it once, very brielfy. My thought: “This smells like a car interior!”

    • March says:

      See, but you’ve BEEN to Istanbul. So you have a completely different, legit set of information to bring to the table. I smell that and think “library and pipe!” but am pleased to hear it meets your requirements as well.

      And yes, En Passant is the perfect lilac. I find lilac difficult. The bread and cucumber are indeed a perfect accent.

  • Kim says:

    En Passant – I don’t get lilacs on my skin, just not nice yeast, so don’t really care for it

    Nostalgia – ICK! Scrub, scrub, scrub!

    Fumerie Turque – now we’re talking! On my most favorite list, creeping up onto my essentials list and onto my top ten. I get a lovely dry smoke, some tobacco, a touch of fruit (not sure which one, will have to check again) and enough vanilla to smooth edges and balance the scent. Lovely!

    Guess I’m not a true perfumista yet – I have managed to confine my vials to one room. Stay posted though!

    • March says:

      Fumerie Turque seems to be the hands-down winner today! And you are not the only person to think Nostalgia’s a scrubber.

      I remember reading someone saying they had samples they “hadn’t gotten around to yet” and thinking that was the most absurd thing I’d ever read. I know exactly what they’re talking about now.:”>

  • Carol says:

    Put on EP this morning to re-test and I just don’t care for it. Wish I was as talented as so many of you to smell all the different notes in it though. FT I do like (but not love) and the 3rd sounds very weird…. not sure if I should put on my to try list or not.

    Thought I would share my nifty new decant holder purchase… I probably don’t have as many decants as many of you, but I was getting frustrated trying to get them to stand up in various jewelry boxes, etc. and recently found something perfect for me at the Container Store. It’s actually supposed to be a lipstick holder – its clear lucite and I think has maybe 20 little compartments and each can fit about 4 1 ml decants. I love it and have fun making one row for those I love, one for those to try, one for Guerlains, etc. etc. It’s a new little “small pleasure” of mine.

    Finally, I’m jealous to hear of a sniffa trip in my old stomping grounds and sure hope one gets scheduled in Chicago some day!

    • Divalano says:

      Yay, the Container Store! I got 6 little 2×3″ tupperware type containers from them, and a longish desk organizer that fits them in a row of 3, 2 deep, with a little smidge of space at the end for some 5ml roll on decants. Heaven!! lol yes … I’m obsessed. I happily divided my decants & samples up by spices, woods & smoke, leather & musk, floral, fruit/food, vanilla.

    • Carol says:

      Oops – meant a new “little pleaser” as in March’s post the other day.

      And yes, Divalano – there are oh sooooo many ways to organize all those little babies – such good fun:) Sometimes my 6 year old and I climb up on my bed and I play perfume and he plays dinosaurs!

    • March says:

      Carol, my samps have outgrown their wooden spice box arrangement. I really need to get over to the Container Store, thanks for the push. I think they’d have something that would work much better than my current setup. And I don’t know about “talent” — it’s much easier going into it with a list of notes, and I honestly think between skin chemistry and anosmia, we can/can’t smell different facets. There are all sorts of musks I can’t smell, a pretty common problem.

      PS I do think they have sniffas sometimes in Chicago. I adore Chicago, my best friend from college lives there and I visit occasionally.

  • Robin says:

    Oooh, I want to come on the DC Sniffa! Is there a Hermes boutique down there yet??

    Now I’ll stand back, I’m quite sure lightning will strike your page shortly for suggesting that En Passant might even possibly, maybe, in a million years be over-rated.

    • March says:

      Come down, I’d love to see you again! I believe there *is* a Hermes boutique but I am not sure they have the fragrances in there. (Chanel doesn’t carry the frags either):( if you’d like I can call them and see.

      I’m glad to see you share my love for En Passant. Just throwing the bait out there.>:)

  • Linda says:

    I am really excited about November foodie scents. I have a question… I have a few of the frags to be sampled already; is it possible to order samples in the November pack and use the “POSSE” code, or must it be the whole pack?

    En Passant evoked instantly a day when I was hustling in to my university campus in Chicago a few years ago, in the sprinkles between rainstorms. There were glittering raindrops on the grass and the sky was that special leaden gray only Chicago can pull off. The three lilac trees near the atom bomb memorial statue by the Regenstein Library were giving off just that feeble, rain-soaked scent, and the exhaust, pavement, and earthen smells all seemed limpid and freshly washed.

    As for Nostalgia, it smelled like one thing and one thing only to me: a doll, maybe a baby doll or a Barbie.

    I was surprised to like Fumerie Turque… I expected to find it too smoky and too tobacco-ey but it was delightfully complex.

    • March says:

      I am fascinated by your Nostalgia smell. Doll, eh? Wow. And your example of En Passant as evocation of Chicago rainstorm as brilliant. And also shows how we bring our own time and place to virtual reality.

      • March says:

        PS I *believe* the POSSE code works for individual scents and not just the package, but I’m not sure (because I’m not sure that they’re all part of Patty’s store). If you want to know for sure, email her under “contact us” on the left there, it goes straight to her inbox.

  • Judith says:

    Well, your comments are quite interesting, but I’m not sure they are based on age (or for that matter, on gender). For the first–I would bet that I am every bit as old as you (if not older); for the 2nd–a whole bunch of the Basenotes guys really like Nostalgia, though they often complain it doesn’t last (it does on me). So–personal taste and associations, I guess–and maybe a little skin chemistry thrown in.:)

  • Patty says:

    So many people that hate my dear little En passant… :(( I can sniff this one coming out of the bottle and totally get why it could turn some people off, but on my skin it is just perfect. The lilacs are not too sweet as they can be in real life, but more like a scent coming from another room in the house.

    Fumerie Turque, dry barbeque, and I mean that in a good way. It does stay the same on me right after it settles in. It’s not one I wear much, but when I want that dry, smokey feel, it’s perfect.

    Nostalgia — don’t feel bad, I find this one spectacularly odd on the open, which is why I am so charmed in the drydown. It is pure comfort, but it takes it about 30 minutes to get there, and that 30 minutes I smell like hell in a weird way.

    • March says:

      Wow, you get a barbecue note? That is cool. I feel like I really minimize that aspect, it’s very creamy on me, a wee bit like CB’s in the library. More tobacco, less smoke, I guess.

      That En Passant is wonderful, isn’t it?

      Hey, wonder if you’d wear Nostalgia to work?!?

      • Judith says:

        I wore Nostalgia to work today (of course, in my job, you can get away with anything):d–but I really don’t think it smells that weird on me (although I agree with your comments on its “synthetic” notes). Maybe my nose is just weird.:)

  • Camille says:

    Not only samples but all things fragrance-related seem to find their way around my house. Empty bottles and Sharpie pens near my fragrance cabinet; bubble wrap and mailing bags on the floor of the closet; samples, funnels and more samples in a jar on the table next to my laptop/television chair; and all of the above in my bookbag, vying for space with the sensible books, pens, and paper clips….I can’t keep my obsessions neatly stored, apparently. 🙂

    I love En Passant until the cucumber note becomes apparent, which thankfully doesn’t happen until a few hours in. I don’t need a full bottle of this, but I keep a decant for the beauty and the memories it brings: My grandma had huge lilac trees bordering her backyard, and one of my very favorite things as a child was to pick big bunches of white and purple flowers and bring them in the house (to die quickly, of course, but hey, I was a kid and didn’t know I was supposed to enjoy the flowers *on the bushes*). I love how EP captures the fragile, fleeting beauty of those gorgeous flowers; I have a decant of EP that won’t spray any more, and getting another decant is high on my always growing list of to-dos…

    I adore Fumerie Turque. Adore. On me it’s rich and warm, with tobacco that’s initially very smoky before it becomes sweeter and tinged with fruit, the fruit dried and deep and honeyed. It dries down to a dark, spicy smooth vanilla that I crave. Definitely a cozy more than exotic scent to me, but exotic enough to satisfy my inner wild child. My only regret is that I live where I can’t wear it until November because the weather is just too warm for it before then. I’d wear it all year long if I lived anywhere that stayed below 70 most of the time. :d

    Haven’t sniffed the Nostalgia, but I’m admittedly not in a hurry to go find it. I’m not fond of rubbery scents–dislike Bulgari Black intensely.

    Looking forward to the next club ‘fumes. One of my all time faves is in that lineup, tho’ I was admittedly suprised to see it in the “foody” group.

    • March says:

      Your description of En Passant’s charms (for those of us who think it has charm) is spot-on. And I don’t need a bottle either (or a bottle of much of anything, for that matter) but I always have a decant to hand, sometimes just to smell it.

      It sounds like your fragrance addiction is in full swing! I have to be very careful not to leave Sharpies around where they might fall into the wrong (teeny) hands…/:)

  • Vasily says:

    A different perspective from an older male… I have a whole different set of associations with these based most likely on gender and age.

    En Passant: Lilacs & rain alternating through the midnotes, in the drydown becomes a rather undistinguished “fresh” scent which is I suppose the cucumber people are mentioning, with perhaps a touch of calone. Don’t get any fresh bread in this one. Not something I’d wear, though it’s pleasant enough. I think it would work best on (oddly enough) either a very young woman or a very mature woman in late winter, when you’re tired as hell of winter and long for a burst of spring. Back in the youthful 1960s, I used to splash on Pinaud’s Lilac Vegetal after shaving, a linear and rather short-lasting warm weather refresher. This brought back pleasant memories of those days but I outgrew Lilac Vegetal years ago.

    Nostalgia: Good Lord. Starts with a chemical rush, segues into an obnoxious rubber, dries down into a good-enough leather. Wouldn’t want to be near someone wearing this. Wouldn’t want to be near myself if I were wearing it. If scent is communication, this communicates “hey, I just got out of the chemical lab and am probably toxic … want to smell me?? Leave me alone!!” I suppose it could be called “amusing” and “modern” in a repulsive college chem-lab sort of way.

    Fumerie Turque: Somewhat linear but utterly delightful, a great tobacco scent that has great longevity. Actually, rather than linear, I’d describe this one as developing quickly on my skin: starts with a somewhat floral set of topnotes followed by pure Turkish tobacco, with some sort of dried fruit presenting itself in the midnotes, ending with a delightful ambery-vanilla-tobacco drydown. This is the only one of these scents I’d actually purchase and wear, and it’s now on my list of cool-weather favorites, very nearly a Holy Grail of tobacco frags for me. I get neither the library nor cherries from this one, and on me it’s not at all sharp. I’d call it mellow and warm and comforting. I was a pipe smoker in the 60s and 70s, and this one reminds me of certain quality British and Danish blends I’d favor, which often had a hint of dried fruit in them.

    • March says:

      Those are great suggestions for the perfect time/person to wear En Passant. It is a “go away winter” scent. And I agree that Nostalgia has some very synthetic-type smells in it, which are clearly more attractive to some folks and less to others. FT is getting a lot of love on the blog today.

  • Divalano says:

    My vials are not ALL over the apt, tho they do tend to wander from their little boxes in the fridge to the kitchen hutch shelf, to my dresser, to my makeup bag, & now & then to the veggie drawer (where the scrubbers go to live with the film, batteries & chocolate) … depending on how often I’m using them & my opinion of them at the time.

    EP: nothing about these notes compels me to try it. The cuke/lilac combo sounds scary to me.
    Nostalgia: I keep attempting to try this one. Was at Aedes on Thurs, really thought I would. Picked up the bottle, sniffed, couldn’t bring myself to spray. Went for the new Parfum D’Empires instead. Patty, I’m sorry ….
    FT: I think I like this, not sure yet. Have tried my decant a few times. Too heavy in summer, for sure. I think I’d like it to be a bit drier & smokier but on the whole it’s warm & pleasing. I don’t get actual cherry but I can smell what could be cherry if it went just a bit fruitier.

    • March says:

      Goodness, that sounds like a fun sniff!!! To live that close to such great stores…=:) green with envy. (As opposed to nauseated.)

      The bottle sniff is a good test. Sometimes I sniff and think: no way. And I ignore that instinct at my peril.

      Lilac in general is not a love-note for me, particularly combined with LOTV. It smells very fakey, like Glade. I think that’s part of what charms me with En Passant — to me the lilac is balanced and not overpowering, watery without the dreaded “aquatic” note. But there are plenty of people up there taking a pass.

  • Judith says:

    I do find En Passant lovely, but I don’t wear it much (I’m just not that much of a lilac girl). Fumerie Turque and Nostalgia are, however, two of my HGs. My favorite time/place to wear FT is outside, in weather cold enough to see your breath; it’s great at all times, but magical then. I never really throught of the library, strangely enough. My favorite time to wear Nostalgia is–any time. I’m not trying to be weird here. I just REALLY like it(and find it oddly comforting)–under any name.

    • March says:

      Oh, that’s a perfect suggestion — I will have to try FT on a see-your-breath day! I felt like I wasn’t getting everything out of it, if that make sense. And I think the cold would do it for me.

      • March says:

        Okay, based on the comments I am weird for finding Nostalgia so weird. I feel the same way about Bvlgari Black. That rubber note in general makes me feel like I’m in a sex shop or something. I guess perspective is all.:”>

        • Divalano says:

          Maybe some people find that sex shop note enticing? Just saying 😉
          Actually, I was thinking that there’d be a certain appeal if it smelled like a latex dress …… 😕

          • Judith says:

            Does not smell like a latex dress–sorry. 🙁 One that smells more like that to me is DSH Erotica, and for some reason, I’m not to crazy about it. With Nostalgia, I really do get the automobile thing–gas, leather (or maybe pleather) seats and all.

          • Judith says:

            “to crazy” = “so crazy” (or maybe “too crazy.” MORE COFFEE!!:((

          • Divalano says:

            I don’t think I’d want to smell like a latex dress. They’re very pretty but not sniffalicious to me. Still, I’d think latex dress smell would be a more sensual connotation than old tire? Maybe that’s me, lol.

  • Lee says:

    These are a not-for-me three. EP – beautiful, but too wafty. FT^ – lovely, but too thick in the drydown for me – I feel a leetle suffocated. It shares this with Musc Rav, but somehow, I let thayt one get away with it. Nostalgia – funtime play scent, but something I’d never wear.

    Now next month – holy guacamole! – I wear 4 out of 6 of those…

    • March says:

      I’m skeeered of next month. The lineup was a little different, and I said, if I have to wear all those more or less together my nose will drop off. It was a little too sweet.

      The thought of Arabie and Rahat in particular terrify me.:)>-

  • Elle says:

    I keep wanting to find the magic in En Passant, but can’t. Adore lilacs, bread and especially adore the smell of wet pavement…but this doesn’t simply doesn’t invoke any real memories of those for me. On my skin, it’s just a yawn. 🙁
    Fumerie Turque and Nostalgia, however, I *adore*. I thought I’d fallen out of love permanently w/ FT, but rediscovered it in August and have been wearing it non-stop ever since. Brilliant comfort scent. Nostalgia just makes me happy. A scent of complete contentment.

    • March says:

      See, this is why I love all you perfume fangirls (and guys). You have described Nostalgia, a fragrance that would cause many people to scratch their heads, as “a scent of complete contentment.”^:)^ I feel the same way about Versace’s The Dreamer, which I believe Robin at NST described as tootsie rolls and auto parts (although that may have been Chandler Burr.) And not in a good way.;)

  • Anne says:

    Firstly. This club. Yes, I too find perfume vials in the strangest places throughout the house. Helg, isn’t it just so wonderful to not feel alone in this joyful obsession?

    Now to the other club. I had gotten En Passant about a year ago, wanted to love it so, so much. Tried it, scrubbed it. So, with a semi-open mind tried a new sample (you never know) and I actually felt like I was going to be sick, felt actual run to the bathroom nausea. TMI, I know, but I never would have thought an artisan crafted perfume thats all about lilacs, rain, and bread could make anyone feel that way. I think I am done with this one for a looonngg time. Over-rated? You know how I’m answering that! I could just eat anything made by Con Agra if I wanted THAT feeling again.

    Fumerie Turque. So there is yang to that yin from En Passant. Tried this one last autumn/winter when everyone was saying what an amazing scent this is. Warm, comforting, curl up by the fireplace with a good book, kinda scent this is. Did not get it at all. A thick sharpness that repelled me. This time, I just loved it. Went through my sample in a few days. If ‘homebody-ish’ is that stay at home with the book by the fireplace kinda homebody-ish then yes to that question.

    And lastly. The weirdo to Patty was not so weird on me. Did not get the muscle car components on my skin. Could smell them in the vial but on me just bright orange leather with a drydown that is rather warm and sweet. Liked it as a SMN, liked it as scent X, but I haven’t gone back.

    Off to TPC. Someone’s going to Paris and she has soooo many things to do!

    • March says:

      Anne — Wow, that’s terrible about En Passant. Sometimes that’s what happens; I certainly wouldn’t blame you if you never sniffed it again. And yes, that’s what I meant about Fumerie Turque — based on the name, and the fact that Lutens did it, I was expecting some little twist of oddity and overall much more exoticism (Turkey striking me as very exotic). But it’s definitely a comfort scent. Nostalgia I find hilarious.

      Oh, are you going to Paris?! When?

      • Anne says:

        Sorry 2 post screw ups. As I re-read…. Rita not Helg. And I wish I were going to Paris, but I was referring to Miss Patty.

        Also re: En Passant, have you ever heard of anyone having that kind of reaction to a perfume (excluding Britany Spears’ Curious)?

        • March says:

          Sure. Christopher Brosius is wildly sensitive to some chemical components of fragrance. He has to be really careful what he sniffs. The only one I can think of that made me want to vomit was Borneo, although Hampton Court’s Nantucket Nasty came in a close second. Boucheron Trouble was a mall scrubber (twice), something in there makes me sneeze and sneeze and sneeze. Had to have my sweater dry-cleaned the first time. So the name Trouble turns out to be apt.:-w

        • Rita says:

          It is nice to know that I am not alone 😡

  • Rita says:

    Overlook the fact that I cannot spell grade school words 8-}

    • March says:

      Well, I didn’t even notice what it was, so I wouldn’t worry. Most of us blog first thing in the a.m., me with kids in the background. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

  • Rita says:

    I agree that Fumerie Turque is quite linear for a Lutens scent. It is very interesting that you get that cherry note, March, as I get no fruit at all, only the dusty books, tobacco, and vanilla. I cringe at the thought of cherry :-& Thank goodness my nose was spared! My dad used to smoke a pipe when I was younger(thankfully he no longer has this habit) and he was the first thing I thought of when I sprayed this on. I feel exactly the opposite as helg-I would rather smell this on someone else, definately not me. Don’t get me wrong, I think the scent is lovely and I can tell why many people would love it, but it is just not a scent I can wear every day. I love my daddy, but I do not want to smell like him all day, and I do not want to smell like his bad habits, either! As for the other two scents, I haven’t gotten around to them yet, I have so many samples sitting around. Yesterday I decided I wanted to place all my perfumes-samples,decants,full bottles,everything-in one place. I had to laugh out loud. It made me think of a past post in which March talked about her little vials all throughout her house. When I read that, I thought to myself, “How much perfume does this lady have? I will never be able to smell that many scents!” Thanks to the great people here and the ladies at the Perfumed Court, I own more perfume now than I have used in my entire life, and I had vials stashed in three rooms! And to think I only found you guys a few months ago! :d

    • March says:

      Go, Rita!!!! Yay! Obsession achieved!!! They’re all over my house, and I try to corral them only because I don’t want Hecate dumping them out.

      The cherry’s really nice, though — like that cherry pipe tobacco, not like cherry cough drop (one of my least favorite notes in fragrance.):-&

      So, now that you’re hooked, what fragrance(s) have you discovered recently that you really like?

      • Rita says:

        Right now I am longing for full bottle of Muscs Koublai Khan. I’ve been checking the Perfumed Court, even evil-bay like crazy waiting to snatch one, but someone always always beats me to it.
        :(( What makes me even more sad, Robby said he would buy me a bottle if I can find one. The torture! I am one stressed out perfumista.

  • helg says:

    To answer you:

    “do you think En Passant’s all that, or is it overrated?”
    Overrated. It’s yeasty to me and not in good way. I don’t smell real lilacs rained upon… 🙁

    “Did someone put hallucinogens in the tea of the folks at SMN, prompting them to come up with something so out of character?”

    Perhaps! Interesting thought.

    “If you divorce Nostalgia from its background information and it’s just Scent X, is it appealing?”

    I only judge by smell. I have smelled lots of things and wondered why it made people stand in awe and the reverse. Sometimes it’s good to detach yourself Brech-style.

    “Am I the only person to find Fumerie Turque more homebody-ish than the name implies?”

    It’s certainly cosy (a great quality in a fragrance meant to be actually worn and not just admired from afar) and no, Turkey is not that exotic to me.

    • March says:

      Helg, thanks. Since I often smell samples, completely divorced from the bottles, the store, and the marketing angle, I’m less biased (or more ignorant, depending on your view.);) And I find the *idea* of Turkey very exotic, although perhaps the reality would be much less so.

  • Maria says:

    Oh, I do enjoy this club! I suppose that even in this august company, I am one of the club weirdos. Blame it on my skin! (But, hey, at least I don’t have to take minutes.)

    En Passant is lovely. On me the very first instant is a bit lily-of-the-valleyish, which I don’t mind at all. After that it’s all beautiful rain-drenched lilacs. Sometimes I think I detect a quarter note–never a full note–of something wheaty, but that could just be the power of suggestion. I’ll wear this one a lot in spring.

    Fumerie Turque is, as you say, linear but comforting. I enjoy wearing it, as it doesn’t have a single sharp edge, but I also don’t get excited about it.

    Now Nostalgia: I get a whiff of something rubbery for a fraction of a second. After that it just smells on me and my DH like a cheap men’s cologne from the 1960s, and not a leathery one at that. Yuck. I was expecting something interesting, not something I would have smelled on a high school boy.

    I’m so looking forward to November’s picks. I’m surprised but pleased to see Arabie there, which, I believe, Patty thinks of as emanations from the Antichrist but I like.

    So, March, are you going to reveal what neglected Serge Lutens you recently smelled anew? And, oh, how I wish I could join you gals in the D.C. sniffa. :((

    • March says:

      Definitely something wheaty in the En Passant; part of what makes it so wonderful, in my opinion. I get a lot of cucumber, too.

      That’s too bad about Nostalgia! I remember the first time I tried it on, not knowing what to expect, and their line is so tame. I picked the bottle back up and stared at it, like, WTH?!?! What IS that? But I like it, once we get past the melting rubber…

      I am going to do my Big Serge Reveal on Thursday, along with a review of the scent. Someone guessed it right away, too. But I felt like I’d already crammed enough extraneous stuff into this particular post!