Let’s face it – you and I, we’re in the same boat. When it comes to sampling, I end up trying many things for the same reason you do – I read about it somewhere recently, on our blog or somebody else’s. Then my greedy little mind says, oooh, I have got to get me some of that – and off I go to the discounter, eBay, etc., to score my fix.
Today I’m looking for your comments on what you’ve tried recently after reading/hearing about it here or elsewhere, and whether it lived up to your expectations. How about those of you who bought some vintage Emeraude, I know some of you did. Anyone try any Replique? Shout out to Anita – how’d that Yves Rocher Gardenia play out, hon? Fess up, all of you – did your search yield satisfying results?!?? You won’t hurt my feelings if you hated something I loved.
Also, regarding those comments: It’s fun when everybody plays, I love when you strike up conversations with each other, and I’m letting go of the concept that I have to reply to each and every one of your comments. It’s our fault we’re such comment whores, and/but now that the volume of comments is high, it can take literally most of the day to respond to them. I want you to know I do read every single comment, even if it takes me a day or two, and it’s one of the chief joys of this blog.
In the meantime, we’re way overdue for a candy samples post, wherein I wax brief and semi-coherent on a variety of things. Here’s some of what I’ve gotten my hands on just in the last two weeks.
KenzoAir – one of those scents that keeps popping up like a Whack-a-Mole in online perfume discussion, and since I don’t maintain a proper to-try list I forget about needing to try it, plus also since they’re all named so generically I keep thinking I have tried it. Notes are bergamot, anise, vetiver, amber, woods. It disappointed me as a dabber; then I do what I do in such cases and just pour some in my hand and splash it on with abandon, figuring what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger. This deserves a heavy hand; I’d have loathed it two years ago (vetiver and anise, kill.me.now) but now I just sniff it happily and think what a perfect duo they are. I wish it were a little less woody, but I guess you can’t have everything. Although I can’t see why not. Done by Maurice Roucel, if you need a little shove in the try-me direction.
Replique dupe from Irma Shorell/Long Lost Perfume. Just before hell freezes over I’m going to learn to love green chypres. I’m aesthetically incapable of appreciating the top of this or any other green chypre, they all strike me as a mélange of chocolate and grasshoppers, but the drydown! The drydown is totally worth it. It’s not as dirty as my vintage bottle, and it’s soft and alluring without being powdery. FWIW my girls, who mostly refrain politely from telling me how much they loathe whatever I have on (unless I goad them) liked it too. I still think it’s probably better appreciated by Melissa, or Louise.
Caron Eau de Reglisse – which I won’t yammer on again having just mentioned it in my anise post, but once I figured out you could buy it for 3 cents online (okay, $30) I got a bottle. I really love how gingery it is as well, I hadn’t really noticed that before. It’s so tall I bet it immediately launches an attack on my Serges, forcing them to choose between the taint of Betsey Johnson or hurling themselves off the shelf to certain death.
Guerlain Mitsouko Fleur de Lotus – hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!! Wow… whiskey tango foxtrot! Okay, holding this one back for regular review, sorry!
Still awaiting my delivery from Mr. Postman, pleeeeeeaaase: Carla Fracci Giselle, which is Patty’s fault, plus those two new Hermanessences (thanks to Anita for getting that spelling permanently imbedded in my lizard brain) because I’m too lazy to drive to Tysons, and some Osmanthe Yunnan, another decant, for what I’ve spent on OY decants why don’t I just buy the damn thing? I don’t know.
Okay, your turn! What foolishness have you been up to lately? Go on, spill, I won’t tell anyone, your secret is safe with me!
image: monster, Maple White’s sketchbook, forgottenfutures.com. No, it doesn’t have anything to do with this post, but isn’t it fun? We could call it March Meets Angel for the first time.
Oops, this was meant to go under Somerville Metro Man’s Patou rave. Sorry.
OOH! I just bought, unsniffed, minis of Chaldee, Adieu Sagesse, and Normandie – no other ones available, sadly. (I blame, I mean credit, Helg for that purchase…) I am a sucker for carnation, so I’m thrilled to hear that the Adieu Sagesse is so carnation-focused and so great.
I hope you enjoy them. They turn up pretty regularly on fleabay, there’s a whole set too.
Ralph Lauren’s Tuxedo. Jesus, no wonder this stuff goes for $300 a bottle. Vintage aldehydes. Yum.
Seriously? SERIOUSLY???? What HAVEN’T I bought at your suggestions?
I owe my “perfume sample library” to you… any time you reference a scent, I just pull it out of the appropriate neurotically labeled drawer… (should someone be committed for OCD??)
No, you should be congratulated. (For your organization, not for listening to me!) My samples are, in general, pretty organized.
Let’s see, I’ll start with the list of recent purchases.
-Ferre. I’ll attribute this one to MUA and chalk this unsniffed purchase up to “experience” and “building character”.
-YR Gardenia. The lemming here originates with the posse and mua. Hardly use the stuff, but just love it. Makes me want to pot up the real deal for the garden.
-Eau de Guerlain. (From Disney). The Perfume Guide gets the credit on this one. The option to go ‘fume sniffing at Epcot was a welcome change from waiting for the kiddies to ride roller coasters. And really, if you are going to cave and spend many dollars in Orlando, I think scent makes a good choice. By the way, “Italy” had a great collection, too.
-Osmanthe Yunnan. Patty’s posts turned me on to this, and TS’s review haunted me until I caved and purchased. (In Chicago, which required some steeling of the nerves after
the ChicocoaScentsation story. The folks there were reasonably polite, and I did get one of those beautiful vials of Vanille Galante.)
Other:
Yesterday, I shot over to Nordstrom to check out the Portofino thingy. Liked it quite a bit, but my skin devoured the orange blossom. I found it by hovering over my arm, but that seems like an odd way to live. Actually, I tried this one out at Epcot, too, while scoffing at the ‘exclusive’ sign. I never believe those claims, but perhaps it actually WAS still exclusive. In the event, budget didn’t allow for 2 bottles, and the Guerlain (or perhaps LT’s review?) was calling me.
Oh Posse People, how I love to read your comments after work! I succumbed to Patty twice, both by way of MUA swaps: a sample of Le Temps d’Une Fete (love!) and a mini of J’adore. After her J’adore post, I remembered smelling it long ago and liking it, so I hunted down a mini, and hmmmm. Just doesn’t do it for me, but the little bottle looks great in my mini collection. 🙂
J’Adore doesn’t do it for me either, but (I’ve said this on here before) it’s one of the common “stalker scents” that I end up asking people what they’re wearing. I don’t like it on me, but clearly I like it on other people, and obviously it’s got killer sillage. In a good way.
I just got some of the minis of the Patou Ma Collection.
I wore Chaldee and it was better on me that it was on the strip I had smeeled it on previously.
Vacances is the most amazing green scent I’ve worn in years.
Colony is a Dole pineapple cocktail in a bottle and better than it sounds
Adieu Sagesse might be the best carnation scent I’ve tried.
After wearing these jewels I’m coming to loathe P&G for their benign neglect of this group of scents.
The other thing was the aforementioned Hermes Eau de Pamplemousse Rose which has the most realistic grapefruit note I’ve run across. Thankfully it was not fleeting on me just airy, sheer and beautiful. It stayed with me for well over 8 hours.
I’ve only had a chance to smell Vacances once. All I remember is being happy, happy, happy.
Oh, and I kept the q-tip dipped in Colony in my wallet for months. Yes, it is kind of like a pineapple cocktail…but much, much better.
Perhaps they will visit you again…
xo>-)
I’m so excited by your report on the Hermes. My sample will show up shortly, I’m sure. And Vacances is probably my favorite of the Patou Collection. Colony makes me giggle.
I was influenced to purchase the Giselle in parfum. I am eagerly awaiting its arrival. (I’m always too scared to purchase the “wrong” concentration, so I try to get the ‘best one.)
Every once and a while I will buy unsniffed after reading a review. I don’t have any expectations or anything, it just feels like an adventure. And it helps me compare my experience with the review descriptions… to build my smell vocabulary.
D … I’m with you on building perfume vocabulary. Plenty of my recently marked first year has been about that. Though I have learned to accept that sometimes my experience doesn’t match that in the review…which doesn’t mean that I am wrong.
And the adventure. Love the adventure. 🙂
Oh, I’d love to hear how it turns out! I’m getting the regular old EdT, I think.
March’s rec for vintage Emeraude was on the spot – I am tears-in-my-eyes grateful! So gorgeous, that stuff, all lush and plush and bosomy and soffffffft… ultimate romance.
And I, too, am plotting my conquest of Le Temps d’une Fete. Maybe after I pay for my split of Lyric!
Because I’m late to the perfume party and have only been sniffing things for about six months, I’m trying to avoid testing high-dollar niche stuff, Lyric notwithstanding. There are so, so many classic scents and decent designer frags to test before I start getting into the deep-pockets-niche area. (God bless Patricia de Nicolai for those 30ml bottles.)
Yes, three cheers for Patty-d!
PdN should get some sort of special commendation for those bottles, and I wish more stores over here carried them. I think I’ve seen them in two stores. And they’re so brilliant, what’s up with that?
I am so happy to hear about the Emeraude! I’ve had a couple people say, well, it’s just like Shalimar. Except I don’t care for Shalimar at all, and I think the vintage Emeraude is lovely.
I agree, Emeraude is not like Shalimar at all. That’s like saying Meg Ryan resembles Marilyn Monroe because they’re both blonde American actresses.
And I couldn’t even get near Shalimar in a tester without feeling the need to toss my cookies… until all those “go try the vintage higher concentrations” recommendations. I found a mini of parfum de toilette on evilbay for $10, and it is All That. It’s probably aged a bit – there’s hardly any citrus – but it’s niiiiiice. However, dabbing it on means wearing Creosote Vanilla for two days, so I have to be in the mood for it.
Am seriously considering bidding on some Real Old Vintage stuff, like Crepe de Chine and Revillon Carnet de Bal (about which I can find no information, nada, other than it’s an aldehydic floral), but only if it stays inexpensive. You Posse people are enablers!
I dunno…Meg’s lips are starting to bear a striking resemblance to Norma Jean’s bosoms 😉
Zing! So true– except that MM’s bosom was real.
What a tease — I wanted to read about Mitsouko Fleur whatever! Kevin said whiskey tango foxtrot too, I think.
She and Lee are terrible with the teasing…drunk with power!
Friday, I promise! It deserves more than three lines.
I’ve been trying, trying, trying and buying, buying, buying ever since I started reading these blogs and purchased PtG. It’s been a manic year! But oh, how wonderful! My most recent tries?
– Chamade EDP – I also have an EDT sample on its way, so need to compare the two, but love the EDP.
– Loads of L’Artisans – I’ve been ceremoniously going through them. Of the ones I’ve tried, the winners (i.e., bottle purchases) are: Dzing! (it’s elevated into my top 10 all-time favorite scents – huh? I’m shocked, but very happy), Vanilia (makes me happy every time I wear it), Premier Figuier (wonderfully green, fresh, and warm). Liked: Tea for Two, Drole de Rose, Timbuktu, Fleurs d’Oranger 2007, Fleur de Liane, Eau de Jatamansi. Didn’t care for: Passage d’Enfer, Fou d’Absinthe, Verte Violette, The Pour Un Ete, Safran Troublant, Patchouli Patch, Dzongkha. Still have a bunch to try…
I have a sample of L’Heure Bleue EDP on the way. I’m anxious to try it.
With the exception of a couple of overlaps (well, only one: Dzing) you and I are Evil Fragrance Twins!LOL!
My L’A Tops are: Verte Violette, Dzonghka, Passage d’E, TPUE and Fd’A
Well, at least I know who to hook up with, should they ever do a coffret!:-)
xo>-)
Interesting, Musette! Sign me up for that coffret. 🙂
definitely get samples of the Guerlains in parfum strength – that was the advice I read here when I was starting out. The first time I sniffed Shalimar and Nahama in parfum, it was instant love. And Mistouko and L’Heure Bleue – in my top 5 once I sniffed the parfum. In fact, now I am a huge Guerlain fan. To save $$ you can layer the edp and the parfum but once I use up my edp, I am sticking to the parfum
Yeah, I’ve heard that, but would never be able to purchase a bottle, so figure I’d rather not know what they smell like! Sad, I know. My father (I suspect because he’s French), however, has latched onto my perfume obsession with interest. He has a memory of a scent that his mother wore (probably somewhere back in the 30’s or 40’s!!!)…but he only remembers the box, and he remembers that it was Guerlain. He described the box, and it sounded exactly like the brown L’Heure Bleue parfum box. So, I sent him a link to a photo online, and he proclaimed, “THAT’S IT!!! I want to buy it for you!!!!” To which I back-peddaled (I know, I know) and said, no, no, you can’t do that! I was horrified that he would spend over $300 on a bottle of perfume for me that I would DIE to have. Know what I mean? It sounds just way too greedy and decadent. He’s so extremely generous that if he knew I would DIE to have it, he would buy it for me. But I’m an adult now (in my late 40’s – ahem!) and have a husband, and a job, etc., etc. I’m perfectly capable of purchasing that bottle myself. Why would I allow my 75+-year-old father to “waste” his pennies on that very expensive bottle of perfume??? He’s so very sentimental, though, that I could easily pluck at his heartstrings and say yes. But I can’t do it…unless he does it without my consent, of course. Ha ha ha. Oh, and how I wish I had that original bottle of my grandmother’s…
Karin … butting in here to say, I think you should let him buy it for you, if it would make him happy and not take away from his monthly food allowance or whatever. My dad’s 87 and he clearly gets a lot of joy out of buying me things he thinks I would love. Not *lots* of things, just special things. What a wonderful gift to have. Although… gosh, at this point I’d probably advocate trying to find a legit vintage seller, rather than a brand new bottle.
Ha ha…too funny. It’s not like my dad is on foodstamps or anything. He has plenty of $. I suppose it’s not something I would splurge on for myself, so having him buy it for me feels like I’m asking “daddy to buy me a perfume.” 😉 Perhaps that’s stupid pride, huh? That vintage bottle sounds intriguing…though it would have to have a box, and it would have to have some perfume left in it – not evaporated!!!
I’m with March on this one, Karin. My pop is 87 and nothing on this earth gives him more pleasure than to buy me a little sumpin-sumpin. I let him buy me a pair of socks, if you can believe it, and he was just so thrilled, with that little smug smile that says ‘see? that’s MY daughter and I take care of her’, bless his heart! And I’m in my 50s, honey. But guess what – you can be 87 yourself and you will always be Daddy’s Girl.
And that’s the way it should be, even if he only wants to buy you a stick of gum. Don’t make it be about your pride and ability to pay – it’s about his pride in being able to still ‘provide’ for his daughter. Weird, but true.
Ditto on the vintage seller, btw.
xo>-)
oops , this was supposed to comment about Party in Manhattan .
Since it didn’t , I’ll continue .
I recently swapped for some vintage Arpege , soo lovely .
Late to the action , I have some Jungle Elephant coming too , just for grins .
Jungle Elephant!!! Lord, I love that stuff. Review on here somewhere. In fact … in fact I can’t believe nobody’s brought that up, I think several people blame me for unsniffed purchases of the Elephant.
I’m gonna get some and layer it with Volcan d’amour, just because I can.
…and call it “Jungle Volcan, Elephant d’Amour”? heh heh
They removed some skank…noooooo…..!!??
My older decant will have to last me forever then .
Well, maybe they didn’t. Maybe it’s just me. It smells a little ripe, but not as dirty as it did.
HoneybunnyPotso’money!
I LOVE the Yves Gardenia. I was really surprised but I dunno why I would be, since I love their Rose (and I’m not a fan of rose). It’s no Lady Day but it’s as close to gardenia as I think one could get and the price-point is just ridiculous!
Being poo-ah has limited my FB purchases but I’ve more than made up for it in samps, which multiply like fragrant bunnies – because of you, Missy March, I have fallen in love with Terre d’Hermes, which really chaps my cheese as I’m boycotting H…. and we already know about Femme (of which I own not one but TWO bottles and a vintage from an incredibly generous friend)…
It’s the Posse’s fault for my Zornage fascination, if I am correctly recalling. I didn’t even know she existed until I fell in with y’all.
I’m blaming you for Drama Nuui, Full Bottle, by default – here’s how it goes: if not for you, I wouldn’t know about Luckyscent. If not for Luckyscent’s offer of the PG samps I wouldn’t have fallen in love with DN. Ha! So there. Your fault.
Apres l’Ondee? Your fault – fo’ sho!
Went back to Bandit, after a bazillion-year absence, because of you. That great vintage find in Iowa? Your fault. Bless you.
And when I cave on Sublime Balkiss I’m gonna blame you for that one, too!
And the chicken bottle! Let’s not forget the Chicken Bottle!
All. Your. Fault.
hee-heee!
xoxoxoxo>-)
Please see above, under bwaahahahaha!
Well, of COURSE you’d fall in love with the Hermes, isn’t that the way it always works out? Yield to it. Give in. And so glad to hear about the YR Gardenia, plus I think you did it during the sale, so it’s extra cheap! Yes, how can it be so good? I don’t know.
Everyone should love Femme. And I’ll take responsibility for the Zornage, but I think you’re stretching it with the DN! 😉
But at least I can blame youfor the chicken bottle, right?
xo>-)
It’s been a while, but a post here on Miel de Bois convinced me to try it, just to see how skanky it really was. Lo and behold, I don’t get a bit of skank at all, just the honey and the bees. I have used up two samples, am working my way through a third, and should probably just buy a FB. Also due to the blogs, I bought a tiny little vintage bottle of Jolie Madame on the Bay. Personally, I prefer Cuir de Russie, but it was good to try it. I’m seriously considering ordering a Knize Ten sample from BeautyEncounter, given how LT and TS went on and on about it.
If you’re loving the MdB maybe you should scare up a bottle, I thought they were discontinuing it? Of course you hear things like that and it turns out to be a lie, not sure… I eventually came around to it as well, even it it’s a little footy on me 🙂
Knize Ten was going to be my Vienna scent until I smelled it… it just doesn’t work right on me. But everyone loves it, I certainly admire it. If you’re ordering, you might want to see if thay have Knize Sec, that’s pretty fab.
I also got a sample of MdB recently and it’s pretty nice. I’m pretty sure I don’t get the ‘pee’ thing people talk about. More surprising still is that I got a sample of Serge Noire at the same time, and few minutes after it burns out all my nostril hairs, I find myself with my nose stuck to my wrist. I love those sneaky perfumes that pummel you senseless then work some kind of magic spell.
Come sit by me on the Serge Noire. I think almost everyone else hated it. I thought it was grand.
I swear, SNoire in the drydown reminds me of some kind of incense my mom used to have in the 70s (though she wasn’t really a hippie or anything). But I swear I need to strap on a gas mask for the first ten to fifteen minutes because that stuff has the NAYAAAAASSSSTIEST opening I have ever experienced! I LMAO’d the first few times because I felt like ol’ Serge was really playing a sick joke on us.
Well, further evidence of my insanity. I thought the whole thing was fun, I raved about it. I’ve smelled it on some other people, though, and it can be pretty nasty. I could see not making it through that first bit. His Fd’Oranger is like that for me, you have to get through that first 15 minutes of cumin.
I ordered the Giselle unsniffed. That was the first time I’d ever done that and it turned out well, thank you. There is also a small bottle of Replique on the way as well. The description (I wore Tabu in high school years ago) really intrigued me. My next plan is to get to Nordstrom to try Escale a Portofino. I breathe all day so I might as well get as much pleasure from it as I can.
Now that is the most beautiful justification for perfume … I breathe all day etc. I’m going to have that embroidered onto something.
Glad to hear about the Giselle, maybe I should have just bought a bottle? But my unsniffed is so bad usually.
I vacillate wildly between being able to haughtily put my fingers in my ears and say “I can’t hear you,” or maybe even “yeah, Okay” and “thank heavens for PayPal” when I hear fabulous descriptions. I will not comment on whether those seemingly random vacillations have anything to do with the back and forth ability I have to put my head in the sand about budgetary realities… 😉
Sure, I’ve gone off “in search of” as a result of these (and other) discussions. Blasted Musette totally had me invest in Violettes and Rainwater, even when it’s the no longer in production Journeyman that floats my boat. (It turned out well; I ended up finding the dirt in there, and now like V&R quite a bit.) I just went off and ordered a sample set from Profumo as a result of another discussion, and have regular fleabay trolling binges, in search of a this or a that.
Every now and then, I actually feel ahead of the curve…I had Replique before our discussion here (a total fluke; I bid way low because I was intrigued by the picture–oh, dear, another potential bad reason for purchase–and won it), and had vintage Emeraude, because I had attempted to find something I knew my mother wore. Both ended up happy “a-HA” purchases. Both are minis…another way to reduce the investment pain.
Yeah, and I have a bottle of Tocadilly that I totally blame you for, March. But I searched the site and didn’t get a hit for that term…nonetheless, I still blame you. Because even if you didn’t send me off in search of that one, there are plenty of others that your whispers of sweet somethings sent my way…
Giggling that I’m now being blamed for things I’ve never even mentioned. Maybe you read my review of Tocade and off you went…
You might blame Helg for the Tocadilly. She recently did a review of it that was drool-worthy.
*Raises hand high in the air* Helg Tocadilly victim, right here!
Anyone who heads over there to check out the review and gets tempted can just shoot me an email instead…
Oh, maybe that was it. 😉 Nonetheless, I still blame March. I’m sure there’s plenty I *forgot* to blame her for.
Sweetlife, what did you think of the Tocadilly?
Um… Do I have to answer that? 😉
I thought it was pretty. And very, very, not me. And a little bit like a super-nice shampoo. I’d be happy as a clam if my shampoo smelled like that.
But I probably need to try it again. I wore it for all of ten minutes. I’ve been working hard and am all about the pleasure these days. My inner scientist is napping. I wish the rest of me were, too.
Now there’s a thought. What happens if one were to pour a generous dollop of EDT into an unscented shampoo? Better off with parfum, I suppose…no alcohol…
bwahahahaha! 😀
xo>-)
Shut up, you! I think you’re the one who persuaded me to buy the Volcan d’amour, and if it’s not all that I’m coming after you 😉
Not me! (was that ‘shut up, you’ for meee?:-D
I would LOVE a scent called Volcan d’Amour and, like you, would wear it to the Star Trek movie, what’s it smell like? Sounds all Fiery Goodness to me…
Hey, while I have you on the blogphone, you are Bandit Queen, are you not? I am having discussions with Missy March about lemon/pleather Bandit (a carded samp I got) v. Caramel-lemon/Bottega Veneta leather Bandit.
Did something change or did I get a dud samp? The samp screeches Lemon Pledge and Sams Club leather.
xo>-)
Yes it was for you — I’d swear it was you with the Volcan. Someone here is keeping mum and letting you take the fall, my dear. And yes, le Queen of the Bandit c’est moi! I am, however, only the Queen of the Vintage Bandit, so you’re pretty much on your own with the Lemon Pledge version. I do have a bottle of fairly newish edp, and I caint say as I recall smelling furniture polish. In fact, it’s quite good and the main thing I noticed was how much less dry it is than the original, and I get tons of flowers with it in its later stages. So basically I would say that they have either fucked it up bigtime or you got yerself a dud.
Oh, and no, it hasn’t arrived yet, nor the Replique, but I’ll be sure to report back once the two of them have landed.
Louise! It’s slowly coming back to me now… Oh, Looooeeeeze…
Sorry, we were busy for two hours this morning getting lacquered up and covering each other in scent. You should see my right hand.
….. is it me or does that sound dirty?
Reply to Carter looking for Louise — comments no longer nesting!
Looks like they are nesting jes fine to me. You tell your little buddy there that she can run but she cannot hide. The Volcan sees all!
At first I read “liquored up”. . . suppose one got lacquered up AND liquored up– imagine the effect on one’s manicure.
Non sequitur (because I couldn’t squeeze into the right part of the thread): I too would love to say “Oh, my perfume? Volcan d’Amour”.
I try not to liquor before I lacquer, it tends to spoil the results.
Dirty 😉
nesting? not!
um, yeah? I would love to claim the Volcan…but I can’t. Though I’m off to study it now ;))
Alright, it’s official: I am senile.
Hold up … does that really mean “love volcano?”
I believe it would be Volcano of Love?
xo>-)
I am completely impervious to your suggestions, March, here or elsewhere, online or off. Not 😉
Melissa covered the trip to Hermes and the fun we had, but omitted the details of the new Gentiane Blanche, and the Pamplemousse Rose, both mentioned here. I think she omitted them because they raised “fleeting” to a new high point. Both were lovely, for at most 42 seconds…so sad. I did fall in love with Terre d’Hermes and may need to find a bottle; rumor at the boutique was that it will be coming out in extrait. The SA’s comment: “weird, eh?”.
I also got a bottle of Le Temps d’une Fete on PP’s recommendation, and like it very much. It has that certain “de Nicolai-ade” base that I like to well.
I also got a cheap bottle of AA Anisia Bella, and am loving it. The anise is not too sweet, and I get a long-lived tart citrus drydown. Fabulous!
Am looking forward to testing Replique (soon), and retrying the Reglisse.
And on the (off) topic nail polish topic, I highly recommend the Nubar line-fabulous colors, and a bullet-proof base and topcoat.
Time to go shopping 😉
Woo-hoo, Temps d’une Fete! 🙂 And we find another intersection in our Venn diagrams…
Do you think I will be in that Venn as well?
xo>-)
Waiting to see if we have a double-intersect with that Drama Nuui…
if we do, that should put me firmly in the center of that Venn – let’s chat soon; I’m packing up!
xo>-)
So…. do you feel like JCE’s raised his game and taken fleeting to a whole new level? 😉 I’m still looking forward to my samples.
Terre d’Hermes strikes me as something that would be perfect on you.
Agh, don’t talk np with me, woman! I am not starting another insane collection! Although Diva’s friend said to her enviously, how great to have a mom who buys perfume and nail polish! As long as she puts the caps back on tight (finger-tapping emoticon here)
Did you say Terre d’Hermes EXTRAIT? I’ll say weird. Hmm. Inneresting. But I love the Terre.
Oh, curse you woman! I was wondering about those polishes and not buying them because I had no reliable information. Well, at least they’re cheaper than Chanel. The Chanel color that I have worn for years on my toes in summer (discontinued, natch) has now become something of a cult favorite or something because when it comes up on ebay the bidding is wild. Approx $75 for each of the last two bottles at auction! I finally resorted to emailing a seller in England who had just listed a bottle and BEGGING her to have mercy and just sell me the thing, and God love her, she did.
No, I won’t tell y’all the color because things are bad enough when I have to prostrate myself to complete strangers in foreign countries just to score a bottle, but it’s so good that the bum on the corner in front of the bodega flagged me down and said “Darling, your toes look fabulous!” I kid you not 😉
And that is why I Love New York
xo>-)
Me too 🙂 Precisely why.
The other day I was downtown getting a mammogram (one day I am going to cut these things off and be done with it — and my hair, too) and as I was walking past a beautiful pre-war apartment building I overheard an elderly woman say to the doorman, “Henry, I have just realized what is missing from my life” and Henry goes, “What is that, Mrs. Abernathy?” and she says “Meat! Meat is missing from my life, dear”.
See? Few here understand the psychic fabulosity that is New York. It is, in my opinion, all that is wonderful (as in full of wonder) in the world because there is a little bit of everything both sublime and wackadoo in those few square miles.
And there is great art. And great shopping.
xo>-)
Wow, and I thought spending $15 for a d/c’d Essie was bad, you’re in a whole new league. You can’t find something similar? I’m sure you’ve looked! 😉
No The Shade That Shall Not Be Named is just unbelievably beautiful and unique. The funny thing is that it got a crap rating on MUA and I’ve been buying the stuff for years for less than retail, long after it was discontinued. No Interest Whatsoever. Suddenly its the damn ticket and the bidding is vicious. But even I am not stupid enough to pay $75 for a bottle of polish, she said as she ripped into her new miniscule $350 bottle of perfume.
Ooooh, what’d you get for $350?!? Or is that metaphorical…
Ha! If I had a functioning memory, I would list about 75 samples and 10 full bottles, if not more. All courtesy of the Posse! Other blogs have influenced these purchases as well.
Most recent Posse influenced FB purchase was PdN Le Temps d’Une Fete. Your post on The Party has me squirreling away samples and hovering over the “I’ll Take One” button for a full bottle on Lucky Scent. Oh, but the price!
Oh and a happy report back on the Tyson’s Hermes boutique. They are truly a gracious bunch there! Trina, the “Managing Director” assisted us personally and prepared samples for all of us. They also allowed Louise and me to share one of the travel sets and to select a mix of the Hermanessences (giggle) to go in it. I can’t think of the name of the fragrance manager, but she was lovely and helpful as well. Bravo!
Wow, jawdropping service from Hermes! That’s good to know, particularly after their behavior in Chicago… I have samples on the way, it sounds like the two new ones can be pretty light.
Dang-ola! Can you send her to Chicago? I’m feeling NO Hermes love right now and it’s really irritating because I am such a fan of the Birkin Bag! And the wallet. And the notebook. And the carryall…
Of the Hermanessences, the only ones that really stick in my mind are Osmanthus Y and Poive Samarcande, which I absolutely love on a hot summer’s day.
Kiss those gracious Hermes folk for me – they are always welcome to come to Chicago and teach some manners!
xo>-)
Because of comments and posts here, I have been slowly exploring the Commes des Garcons line – there are some real wonders there! Much to my surprise, 8 88 was a total hit for me. So I tried CG 2 (floral wonder), White (cumin wonder) and am working my way through the series – so far like the red series best.
Dang, we should do a post just on CdG. The only ones that disappointed me were Synthetic (although there was something I liked in there) and Guerilla. The incenses are probably best known, as you know…
I haven’t yet tried ANY CdGs!!!! I need to GET WITH THE PROGRAM!!!
Sorry to disagree with you….but I think the Original CDG is the best, outstripping the incenses…
Doll, what I meant (and said totally unclearly) is that I think the incenses are the most well-known of the series. I agree with you that if I had to pick the “best” CdG, the original would certainly be in the running.
Tom Ford Black Orchid. I was prepared for a stinkfest of outrageous proportions. (Bear in mind I’m happy to pile on the Nuit Noire, and have layered Bandit with Shocking in the past, and was ready for worse.) It was Marbella in a bottle. It was big and loud but not cheap – really quite happily vulgar, but not really dirty.
Marbella in a bottle is a great description! It’s not something I want to wear often, but I admire it.
You layered Bandit with Shocking?:-O
Must try… those are two of my most fave perfumes in this galaxy!
xo>-)
Huh.
OK then – well here is my chance to thank each and everyone who ever waxed lyrical about Ormonde Woman (ncludng The Perfume Guide) – it was true love at first sniff and this has finally become the holy grail for me after years and years – for the time being anyway! Have not been so obsessed with ANY fragrance for a long time and of-course I had to get a friend to bring back a bottle from London. Will walk over hot coals for a decent green/woods frag. Am also waiting with baited breath for my samples of Giselle on Patty’s recomendation, Apothia Pearl on Nava’s recommendation and Chaos on everyone’s recommendation. Yummo! BTW has anybody bought a copy of the latest Spring newlsetter that is part of the The Perfume Guide and if so is it worth it?
Oh, Ormonde Woman. I feel like I should make a little obeisance whenever I talk about OJ. Congrats on your excellent taste. And not to enable, but at some point you might slowly work your way through the others, or they have a sample set. OJ is probably one of those lines that I’d say, whatever they’re charging is worth it. Champaca has a special place in my heart, I can’t imagine life without Champaca. We’ll know soon enough about the rest of your list, eh?
I haven’t bought the spring one, but I think their comments are great fun to read. I liked (I think?) the first one that came out after the book, because they put some of the most serious oversights in there. PS Hope you love Chaos!
♥♥♥ OJ Woman
So, so weird…I wore that yesterday…alllllll daaaaaaay yesterday 😉
I am seriously losing track of what I’m sniffing on a daily basis because I feel like the samples on my desk are breeding when the lights go out. Do they make a prescription for this problem? For real. So just to pick a few:
– Washington Tremlett Clove Absolute: samples were in my shopping basket before you could spell ‘eugenol’, but I sadly discovered it wasn’t the zesty lemon pomander thingie I was hoping for. At all.
– Rykiel Woman edp: scored a vial in a swap after your recent mention and it’s nice stuff; always good to know what you’re writing about over here.
– CdG + Stephen Jones: I don’t know what the hell all the fuss has been about, but if it came with a fancy-shmancy hat GWP I might be more excited.
– Amouage Ubar: (tipping my hat to Carter’s comment above) I could maybe see wanting a bottle if I were a Veddy Rich Lady, but a sample is enough for my current incarnation.
– SL Arabie: Haven’t actually read about this anywhere recently, but swapped for a mini and I think I love it; it also allows me to put my El Attarine craving on hold.
So glad you got the KenzoAir and are able to dig the vetiver/anise love! And hey, it’s chee-ee-eap… I should probably buy myself a small bottle for summer.
Oh, and I have to throw this in for the sheer weirdness: someone commented about loving the kitschy bottle of Cacharel LouLou on NST and I became insanely possessed and bought a mini parfum for $10 on the bay just because I think the thing is so frickin cute! Whether LouLou will actually suit me is another question, but stranger things have happened. 😀
Oh, that’s so great! That’s happened to me with bottles … can I bore you with a story? I have the big Michael Edwards book, Perfume Legends, which is a fun read, lots of photos too. And for each perfume they always discuss the development of the bottle and how it ties in, and this of course is fascinating. Well, Loulou is in there (and I think you’ll love the scent, truly) and they go on about the bottle in their usual fashion and I’m thinking, well, okay, but it’s still really tacky!!! On further reflection, though, I think it was very much of its time. Anais Anais doesn’t do much for me (bottle wise) either but is iconic and instantly recognizable.
Hah! I just noticed I can edit comments on the homepage now! So I can take out my multiple abuses of “great” and “actually”
I’m lusting after that Perfume Legends book. Since it’s out of print, though, the cost is prohibitive. Amazon has two used copies – each for $387!? I’m curious about his Fragrances of the World book, though. Does anyone have this? Is it a duplicate of what’s online or is it worth purchasing?
No?!?! It’s out of print? I had no idea.
PS I need to go back and read the comments. I loved the Betsey Johnson bottle, even though I know it’s hideous. I love how it looks on my shelf next to, say, the Guerlains. Or CdG. It’s such a cheap tart of a bottle.
I’ve fallen for the Sonia Rykiel’s, after reading about several of them here. I have four now (Belle, le Parfum, the original, and Not for Men!). They are mine, now, and I love them all, bwah ha ha!!! So thanks everyone, for the heads up!
They’re fun, aren’t they, and a perfect example of something you’d probably never know about if it weren’t for the perfume blogs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in a retail store.
I purchased Belle en Rykiel unsniffed cause I found it at Marshall’s for $15!!! Love the bottle. Didn’t realize it was an amber scent, though…I typically have major problems with amber. I sprayed it on a card, but haven’t worn it yet. I may be able to live with it. Need to work on my amber aversion. 😉 I dropped the bottle in my fall/winter drawer and look forward to trying it when summer’s over (though, we won’t talk about THAT yet). Would love to try the other Rykiels.
I’d say that was definitely a “file away for fall” scent.
I got samples of the new Bois 1920 scents after reading a review of them and LOVED Come la Luna. I’ve now bought more little samples. Can’t leave it alone but can’t quite bring myself to spring for the $160 for a full bottle. 🙁
Also I just had to try Emotionelle since I truly love Parums Delrae, but in this case I should have listened to you. I think this is the one where March told Patty to “wash it off forthwith.” Even though I love Parum de Therese, this one is just plain GROSS. >:-<
Will put an obligatory plug in here that I really try to do a decant before a bottle unless something’s super cheap. There’s the wiki scent splits page, and The Perfumed Court, and MUA (that’s all I can think of.) If I work through a decant then I can have a bottle.
I should maybe show more restraint about things like Emotionelle, but that amount of melon is heinous. It’s very realistic, though.
Oh, and I have samples of The Party in Manhattan and Amouage Ubar on the way so if Party (and/or the lipstick fiasco) don’t kill me, I’ll be in a position to pontificate ad nauseum on those as well.
The PIM’s a weird one. I swear when we first tried it, it was dirtier. Seriously, the stench was astonishing (in a good way). Then I got another sample recently, newer, from Lucky, and it’s been toned down a bit. We were discussing this on Grain de Musc. I think they removed some skank.
Oh bloody hell! I was so looking forward to the skank!
Well maybe I’m an idiot. Maybe it’s just me. Or my nose broke. I swear that first bit was filthy.
You should have your nose insured, like Liberace’s hands.
No sooner had I typed this than the doorbell rang and lo and behold it was the cute guy in short pants bearing my luckyscent order. The HA has landed! They showered me with samples because of the price and because I had to wait 35 years for it to be back in stock. But no Ubar! They promised! I’m sulking! The Party is there, but I’m glorying in the magnificence of the Attar and don’t want to, um, pollute the effect. Its effulgence, if you will. My limpet agrees.
(sorely tempted to say I was on the precipice of a priapic comment…)
Stay strong!
you and your limpet. blimey
And effulgent!
Totally.
I recently obtained a sample of Les Nez Turtle Vetiver, which I have been spraying on nearly every day for two weeks now trying to decide not whether or not I like it, because I really, really like it, but if I like it enough to buy it even though I’m broke.
Why am I broke, you ask? Because of Homage Attar. But I added to the pain by immediately running to ebay for Replique, thank you very much March, and a half-full (or half-empty depending on your general outlook) bottle of Volcan d’amour, because someone here praised it to the heavens but I don’t remember anything about it other than that. So I’ll letcha know.
One nice little aside is that after the Replique discussion I decided to get out my bottle of vintage l’Origan, not because the note were anything alike but because it just tickled some little brain funny bone and I just had to smell it again after about, oh, five years since the day I last took a whiff. OMG has it always been this good?
Oh, Homage Attar will break you! And I hope the Replique turns out okay, have you gotten it yet? (Kicking myself for not buying that bottle.) I don’t know anything about Volcan d’Amour, but the name’s grand, isn’t it?
Yes, in fact L’Origan HAS always been that good, for a long time. I first got some in an old mini set with L’Aimant and some other things, and then I got a bottle. I can’t remember offhand but I think it’s a riff of another fragrance. Stunning, isn’t it?
PS And oh, I think after five years L’Origan smells that good because you’ve smelled so much worse.
PS For anyone reading this, I’m referring to VINTAGE L’Origan, I think it’s still in production. I’ve not tried it but assume it’s bad in its current iteration.
Oddly enough, it’s not bad in its current iteration. It’s not GOOD (and certainly not Grrrrreat!) but it’s not bad. L’aimant, on the other hand, has suffered much in the past 30 years. My mother loved Emeraude, L’Origan and L’Aimant – of those three, only L’O is even remotely wearable in current form. Emeraude will blister the skin right off you, so be careful. L’A is just toilet water – from the toilet.
xo>-)
No, it’s still good, if faint and fleeting! It seems to be a VERY light cologne version of the original– speaking of which, I bought a bottle of vintage L’O on the ‘Bay after being nudged into finally doing so by a comment here. It’s arrived, but is still unopened as I dither about the right occasion, weather, etc for the great reveal. Meanwhile I often spritz the cheapo modern eau into bath water.
Hey, thanks you all, that’s good to know. I assumed incorrectly that it’d be wretched.
I’ve smelled so much worse? Like, when I was in diapers? My teens? Definitely. And I am planning to smell even worse in my dotage 😉
The Aug 12 ’08 post of Grain de Musc identifies L’Heure Bleue (1912) as being a riff on L’Origan (1905).
Totally!
xo>-)
Aha! So L’Origan was FIRST!
Still waiting on the Replique and the Volcan. I swear, the main reason I bought the Volcan is because I had to be able to say “Oh, this? It’s Volcan d’amour.”
Gonna wear it to see the new Star Trek 😉
A logical choice.
omg you two slay me. Live long and prosper. btw the movie was fun.
The movie was a blast! Spock, Kirk, Uhura (Zoe Saldana– wow) and the rest of the cast are fab.
I think they did really well with their casting, and it would please old Trekkies as well as kids who know nothing about the series. Having said that, it was me and the other oldsters at the matinee!
I loves me some oldsters, but I can’t take the candy wrappers (how much cello-wrapped hard candy can these women lift in those handbags? It’s like being being pumped with adrenalin and able to move a car off of a pinned body) and the one on the left loudly repeating and/or explaining each line of dialog for the one on the right. I just go insane.
You’re cracking me up. If I have to sit through one more movie where the wife is repeating each line to her husband…. Oy vay. And I love the questions out loud: “Is that her daughtah?” “Whose body wazzat in tha swimming pool?” “Wasn’t she married ta the otha fellah?”
I don’t mind the candy wrappers/cough drops so much in the movies as in someplace like the opera, where I paid a fortune and want to slap anyone around me who’s disturbing the peace. Last time I went the two people in front of me were TEXTING. They now ask you not to text in movies… and why yes, I DID say something to them! A marginally more polite version of I AM NOT HERE TO STARE AT THE GLOW FROM YOUR EFFING PHONES.
I was in an alternate universe and wore Diorissimo to Star Trek – it was just weird. Later I put on Tocade (which, btw, is nearly impossible to get off once it’s on – it’s one of those that will leave of its own accord and Not One Minute Sooner) – Tocade would’ve been a much better choice.
Movie was fab – there were only about 12 people in the whole theatre so that was nice. I’m a serious fan so I got all the jokes – El O thought I was insane.
And everybody in it was so cute! And in such great shape! Yow!
xo>-)
Those matinee demographics always skew 70+ at my local theaters. I’m cheap, so usually find myself in an audience of people old enough to be my parents.
I look forward to hearing what choice your Serges make. 🙂 I’m guessing they opt for hurling themselves to death. I also am wondering why I don’t have Reglisse yet. Didn’t realize it the price was now below free. Must get some.
I did get some vintage Emeraude after reading your post on it. *Love* the stuff. And today I read about SMN Melograno on PP. Came home, ordered a sample from TPC, then went to dig through my own samples and found one there (sigh). Realized I can rather successfully imagine I am lounging around at a Tuscan cafe when I wear this. Will be getting a full bottle ASAP. And it doesn’t hurt that I’m in a “kill me w/ powder” mood these days. Speaking of which, I also sampled Washington Tremlett’s Iris Absolute. Wowza! *Immediately* ordered a bottle. Mainlining powder.
Must remember I shouldn’t post when I’m half asleep at night or early in the morning. I read about Melograno on PST, *not* here. I should at least try to reread my comments and edit. It seems my modus operandi in life is to live and not learn.
An iris powder bomb? It’s working! Just the suggestion that reading about a scent on PP causes us to scramble to obtain it doubled my usual inclination to hunt it down. Thanks for the Iris Absolute tip Elle! Oh, and where did you order it? FIF?
I haven’t seen that iris anywhere either.
FIF is the only place, I’ve seen, that has the Iris Absolute.
Yep, ordered it from FIF. However, if I possessed the teensiest bit of patience (which I clearly don’t when it comes to perfume), I might have emailed LS and asked if they were planning on carrying it. They well may be, since they have the WT Clove in. If you liked L’Artisan’s Orchidee Blanche, the Iris Absolute is along those lines. I actually quite disliked the opening notes of Iris Absolute, but the dry down completely won me over. Nice honeyed notes.
Hey have you tried the clove yet?
No, not yet, but should have a sample of it by tomorrow. It sounds scrumptious! Frankly, my arm is tired from patting myself on the back for having resisted the temptation to order it unsniffed. 🙂
This whole thread-w/in-a-thread is one example of getting me started on a scent… 🙂
Yeah, that’s how I got mixed up with KenzoAir!
I just tried it today. Vacillating. At first I like it, then I don’t like it at all, then I really like it. You know how it goes. Stay tuned. 🙂
I actually got a sample today as well. I can’t believe it. I *should* have loved it to distraction. I don’t. I think it’s a skin chemistry issue. It has great incense and rose notes, but it’s also veering into shaving cream territory on my skin. And in the dry down, it’s getting a little bit of a medicinal twang from the clove. Sob!!! I don’t dislike it. I’ve been getting whiffs where I stop and wonder what that lovely scent is…but they’re not enough to fight the fact that it really isn’t “me” and I can’t get past the shaving cream thing. I’m again reminded that notes on paper do *not* necessarily match up to reality on skin. I need to have that tattooed on my hand so that I remember it when I am feeling compelled to type in an unsniffed order.
Shaving cream! That’s it exactly. Do not like the shaving cream phase at all (must be clove + citrus? ugh) Of course it didn’t help matters that I was literally wearing it on one finger, my entire upper body covered with other things… playing with Louise. I know this shocks you. I’ll have to retry.
The Serges are already plotting their getaway, something about a soft landing in my lingerie drawer. 😉
Yeah, where’ve we set “free” now? $65? I forget. Anything less than that doesn’t actually count as a fragrance purchase… really, you like the Melograno that much? I can try that locally, I think I’ve avoided it because I’m a dimwit and it sounds like melon.
Also, laughing — I kept thinking, when the hell did we talk about Melograno, I missed it?!?! So thanks for sorting me out.
So glad my Melograno is getting the attention it deserves . I use the shampoo , hair balm , bath oil, soap and edt almost every day…*wink* , purchased in Italy , but LAFCO will hook you up . Unless you want a samp from MEEEE…
Thanks, I owe Art With Flowers a visit anyway, I’m pretty sure they have it there. You must smell great!