So I got samples of the new Augustes that Luckyscent is carrying, and of course just set them to one side because they are $245 for 40 ml, but they have really super-cute bottles according to the pictures. But in the spirit of not overlooking anything that is really spendy, let’s take a look at the Augustes.
Esprit de Chine has notes of Ambrette, Orange blossom, Lilac, Carnation, Muguet, White Musk, Tree Moss absolute, Sandalwood. The open is a little bitterish, but not in a bad way, just slightly sharped. The floral notes immediately soften that sharpness, adding a lovely floral quality, lots of interest from the distinctively greenish muguet and still slightly sharp ambrette. It’s underpinned very nicely with the base notes, the musk the most prominent, but not overpowering the florals. This scent is really lovely. It has a beautifully rounded feel to it that makes it grown-up without being “old Ladyish.” I would happily wear this.
Esprit de Cuir has notes Citron, Geranium, Galbanium, Jasmin, Clove, Birch, Opoponax, Tonka Bean absolute, Oak Moss absolute. Okay, it has a slightly citrus open that lasts for… a second, and then it goes right into full-on leather. Rich, earthy leather. You leather freaks should love this. I like leather, but it’s not something I find myself wearing all the time. This is elegant without being too refined. Earthy without being too raw. An interesting take on leather.
Esprit de Chypre has notes of Bergamot, Ylang, Citron, Patchouly, Nutmeg, Vetyver, Oak Moss absolute, Heliotrope, Cistaceae absolute (rock rose). Very mossy open in a great way. Just a hint of citrus. The nutmeg lends a nice spicy touch to the florals. I don’t smell the leather in any overpowering way, it’s very understated. Okay, this is probably my favorite of the three. It’s got a beautiful symmetry to it that you could wear for every day or for a really special evening.
Are any of them worth $245 for 40 ml? It says it is extrait de parfum, which leads me to believe it’s a decent strength, and it seems to have good lasting power. If it is extrait, $245 for more than an ounce of extrait is just not a bad price at all. I’d be in to buy the Chypre for sure at that price. I think all three are interesting, and I’m surprised there hasn’t been more.
Thanks for all the votes in the Top 25. We need more guys voting for the Men’s Top 25! You can vote by posting to comments at this post or e-mailing me at p geissler at gmail dot com.
Winner of the China Rain sample is Lora! Just hit the Contact Us button over on the left and send me your mailing address, and I’ll ship you off your sample!
This is absolutely riduculous. How can you possibly be serious about a company, a relationship, and children? You are not being a supportive, compassionate parent. You are being something that I do not even wish to say. Good luck to you, and GOD BLESS THE CHILDREN, for they will need it. Take care of your selves. GWG
Huh? This is a perfume blog, we talk about perfumes. Did you stumble in and think we did anything serious here?
I just pray that the children are fragrant…
I can’t even imagine how this comment got on here. Can you get a wrong number on teh interwebs? :-b
Meanwhile, the Auguste bottles are soooo pretty.
I agree with the bottles. I fell in love with them at first site.
Almost to the point of throwing money at them un-sniffed. I came to my senses though. They look like antiques. I haven’t gotten the samples yet but read a review somewhere that compared one to TABU. Did you get that impression? For sure TABU is a better value.
Maybe I’ll do that, put my TABU in a fancy bottle. I’ve always thought it deserved one.
One of them (don’t remember if it’s the Chypre or the Cuir) is a dead ringer for Tabu with a little Tabac Blond thrown in. Except that it’s quite probably got better ingredients than what’s sold in drugstores nowadays.
Murky is an apt description of these fragrances. I thought they were well done, especially the Esprit de Chine, but I can’t justify the price tag, either.
However, I looked on their website, and they have very reasonably priced edt’s, one of which is a magnolia! It’s hard to find a “true” magnolia, so I hope the lovely folks at luckyscent look into testing that one.
I’ll email my top 25 to you later on next week, P. I’m still tweaking my list. :d
Hugs!
I loved the chypre, liked the leather, and didn’t like the Chine. I find them very dense rather than murky, closer to feel of the older Guerlain extraits.
I loved the chypre but am not sure if I would wear if over some of my other chypres – still deciding. I prefer Chanel Cuir de Russie for a leather, especially since I didn’t find that the de Cuir stayed leather-like in the drydown.
I don’t find the price too high for extrait – Chanel and Guerlain extrait are more $ per ml. I’m not sure that I love the chypre enough to pay an extrait price for it. But I gladly pay more $ for the Chanel and Guerlain extraits that I love 😡
I love Esprit de Chine and will definitely get it, no question there. The other two I liked a lot, but not $245 kind of liked. 🙂
I really loved the chypre, but am having trouble justifying the price. I feel maybe $145 worth of love for it, but not $245 worth. And, like Gail, I’d be somewhat concerned about evaporation w/ those bottles.
and they say love can’t be quantified. I’m going to have to spend more time with the Chypre before I decide if I have that much love for it. But if Luckyscent had another 20% off sale, I think I could gen up enough love to go for it at right aroud 200. 🙂
Huh, they must have changed the listing on Luckyscent. I could have sworn they weren’t listed as extraits. Did you notice the disclaimer in red there now? About there being no way to reseal the bottles once they’ve been opened? I guess they don’t want us swapping bottles on MUA, huh? I think I’d be worried about evaporation too. All that said, I did like all three of these and would happily wear any of them. But not enough to buy them 🙁 I reserve that kind of cash outlay only for things that make me swoon (I’m looking at you Onda!!)
I’d definitely transfer the fragrance from those bottles once I got them and put them in something better sealed, then you can just display the bottle instead.
I agree about Onda. I don’t really have problem with the price if it is extrait/parfum, but if I had to choose between two things to buy, I’d buy any of Vero’s scents. 🙂
Sorry for being off-topic here, but does anyone know if there’s an evaporation problem with the MDCIs if you just buy the refill because you don’t want to spend 400 extra bucks on a bisque head?:-?
Francesca, I bought the refill at the beginning of 2007 when they first came to luckyscent, and I have not had a problem.
I hope this helps.
Thanks, Violetnoir, yes that does help. I loooooove Pdl’A and my little decant won’t last forever!
Oh, that is a beautiful fragrance. I bought Enlevement Au Serail, and it is just gorgeous.
Enjoy your MDCI!
Hmmm, I’ll have to get a little sample of that from TPC. Oh, God, I see freelance work in my future 😉
You know, I liked these OK, but certainly not enough to spend that kind of money (whew!). Agree with the “murky” girls. And they all smelled a bit the same and blurred together for me. Oh well.
The same, really? I agree with the murky after the open, but I thought all three were pretty distinct smelling. But, yeah, I think you’d have to love a lot to spring at that price.
Yeah, well, to be fair, I had no trouble distinguishing them. but they all shared a definite “-ade”, IMO, that I liked but wasn’t totally crazy about. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!(I am also broke, so I have no desire to be seduced by them)!:d
I think I must unearth my samps of the Chine and Chypre. Like CarmenC, I found them quite indistinct, “murky” is a great descriptor. But a re-try is always worthwhile…I change my mind so often.
I’d love to get empties of the bottles, for sure, and fill them with my classics and vintage goodies, though, some of which are now housed in odds and ends of containers.
I think murky is fair. I didn’t get a lot of distinct notes after the initial open. I do think they would play lots better in the winter.
Yeah, the bottles are really gorgeous. I haven’t seen them in person, but I drool on the Luckyscent pictures!
Okay. I need to sniff the Chypre and the Cuir. I like the sound of an elegant, earthy leather.
I can do another Top 25 Men’s list, if you need more. I promise it’ll be a completely different list. :d
Sure! No, just one vote, but women can vote in the men’s, and vice versa, so tell your friends!
I got these from Catherine Fructus, the Auguste perfumer. Though I haven’t really thoroughly tried them on — and the prospect of doing so in the heat now is daunting — I’ve found them very thick, almost murky. They were definitely composed with old formulas though I’m pretty certain that they weren’t the formulas of the original inspirations, more me-too perfumes of that time period. Hey, I might as well write a post on them too! They just don’t feel like summer to me…
They do not feel like warm weather scents at all to me. I get what you mean by murky. I didn’t find the notes really distinct, but I did like the feel of all of them and really loved the Chypre.
Did they use old formulas? I skipped the promotional literature. 🙂
It may not be said in so many words, but definitely these are old formulas. Nobody composes like that these days. My near-resident expert (geographically, I mean!), Octavian Coifan from 1000fragrances, agrees.