I’ve been tardy with smelling new, and not so new ‘fumes, having stuck to the tried and tested path of the smells I love.
However, I’ve recently got hold of a batch of samples. Here’s my quick take on them all.
DSH Dirty Rose – I like birch tarry scents, which isn’t quite the same as leathery, though they often are comfortable companions. But, like March, I find rose tricky. This is rose and leather, straight up, braided together as odd bedfellows. The result is more leather than rose, but the rose is a screechy background element – like trying to listen to a favourite tune with odd interference.
Mona di Orio Jabu: a very pretty and bright orange opening. Midway through, this veers towards Carnation, one of her first three perfumes. I think it’s down to the fleshy tones of good quality ylang ylang. But it has little of the smutty smoulder of Carnation, which makes it a less appealing iteration for me.
Aesop Marrakech and Mystra – I’ve been dying to try these for some time. They get positive reviews from Turin in the Guide, and their rarity is an added draw. I’m a sucker for that. Mystra is murky green spice with dirt and death sprinkled on top. In a good way. I think. It has none of the clammy crypt of Messy Minute. Marrakech is cardamom. Then a little more, before broadening its remit to an oriental bouquet garni. It’s the more wearable of the two, but possibly the less interesting. Neither of these two are immediate ‘fall-in-love’ types, but they might well be growers. Though perhaps they don’t have enough tenacity for that…
l’Eau Serge Lutens – the brightness of a nuclear explosion powered by white musks and indeterminate florals (magnolia?). Do you remember being told it was dangerous to stare at the sun, and immediately finding the first opportunity to test that out? This is that experience. Everything else is made a shadow of something by its intensity. My nostrils are seared. Anti-perfume, my arse.
Francis Kurdjian assortment – I don’t like orange blossom and therefore this range really tested my limits – all the facets from squeaky to soapy to screamy to pretty to purty to yawn. Cologne pour le soir was nice, but not a patch on Bois d’Armenie thank you very much.
Dior Ambre Nuit – oh my word. I love Cologne Blanche (and still need a bottle), Bois d’Argent (still a long term favourite with its dusky quiet combo of myrrh and honey and iris and incense) and Eau Noire (though the decant I have is enough for all time, and btw this is a much much better display of Kurdjian’s skill than his eponymous range). This is a fantastic addition to that rather obscure, beautiful trio. Turin said something about floor polish and biscuits – in a complementary way. I’m not sure what he yattering about – it’s that big ole brain of his getting in the way maybe. But I really like it too. In a comment on March’s Wednesday post, I said this: ‘I´m a little smitten with the new(ish) men´s Dior, Ambre Nuit, which is faux fruity to start with, generic mensy in parts and with a Nazgul drydown sans tobacco. I think you´d hate it, but I thought I would too.’ It isn’t really fruity, having more of the plum-in-the mouth roundness of a full-bodied, but quietly spoken perfume of the highest order. It does have a men’s woody-synthetic aspect, but for some reason this made me love it more. As if it’s saying to the whole gang Look at what I can do with your common or garden aromachems, and weep in envy, baby, weep. The rose is quiet and loveable (yes, I’m contradicting myself) and there’s a big shift from the first 30 minutes (by far the best part of the scent) to the drydown (which is very Ambre Narguile to my nose, plus and minus several elements, but you get my drift). I love it. And it’s rare I find something new to love.
What have you tested recently? Love? Like? Meh? Loathe?
Vetiver pour Elle was in the Guerlain shop in Montreal! No need to go to Paris — I now have my very own bee bottle (but am not looking forward to my next credit card statement). Also sampled the Tonka Imperiale, which was very sweet, and unbelievably long-lasting.
Well, this thread has dampened my lemming for FK Pour Le Soir, which is great, as there are a million-and-one other things I need to sniff. Although now I am intrigued by the Balenciaga, must work on that.
Just dipping a toe into fumeology, as it can quickly hurt my wallet!
I’ve gotten several samples recently, of which I loved:
Havana Vanile: Delicious, right up my alley. Can be a bit rich & full-bodied, so it’s for nights out and home with wine & a snuggie.
Incense Rose: Initially off-putting, as it’s VERY dry and a bit mature for my comfort zone. Did inspire compulsive snifffing of my wrist throughout the drydown, as that incense is addicting.
Test-driving Rose Praline now. Big beautiful sweet rose off the top, lovely but loud on me. Getting to the sweets now, subduing it slightly.
Love this blog, keep up the great work!
Sampling Tom Ford’s Black Orchid…love the huge opening and the first couple of hours (reminds me a bit of Clive Christian’s X-I’ll have to do a side by side), four hours later it is a little sickly sweet.
Also tried Balenciaga Paris this morning, I like it, but it’s to light or missing something for me…might layer it with Tom Ford’s Bois Marocain next time.
Love all the suggestions and reviews. I sniffed the new Balenciaga a couple weeks ago, and keep thinking about it. My pusher–ahem, I mean the world’s best SA, Josie at Needless Markup in SF, sprayed a little on a ribbon, and told me to keep it for a few days. If you like riding horses, it is a familiar, stimulating smell, like freshly cleaned saddle, with that sweet whiff of violets beckoning you out for a trail ride. Two other samples–Parfums de Nicolai SacreBleu– I think I love it. I promised myself no more bottles this month, though. I wore it on one wrist, L’Heure Bleu on the other, and dabbed a tiny bit of Coty L’Origan from my very tiny old bottle– and the Sacre Bleu really soars. I don’t know how to express it, but if it were music, the Coty would be Bach, the LHB Mozart, and the SacreBleu– Beethoven’s 9th, the Chorale. It’ll still be there next month, right? The next sample–Ineke’s Evening Edged in Gold– sample all gone now. Whenever I wore it, there seemed to be something missing, which I realized was the cloud of worry over my head. It is a definite feel better perfume. Also, I have a friend who is devoted to the old Chloe, which is increasingly hard to find, and I decided to try to help her replace it with something new. I brought her my sample of Carnal Flower, and watched her sniff it skeptically– then really enjoyed her reaction when she realized what a wonder fragrance was before her. It was that Tuberose note. She also loved Gucci Rush. I’m going to take her next week to smell Tuberose Criminelle– can anyone recommend any other Chloe replacements?
Thanks for these pithy mini-reviews, Lee! I love your fav patch Coze, so I plan to hook up soon with samples of all four of the Diors that you like.
As for new scents tested, I bought Cuir de Lancome unsniffed, based on March’s review and its modest price, and wore it to work one day this week. Two or three hours in, I was amazed to find CdL very much like SL La Myrrhe, a scent that I love, love, love. That was a happy day!
Tonka Imperiale is lovey. I am rationing my decant until I can buy a full bottle or 2.
A surprise hit has be Nanette by Nanette Lepour. It is a woody incense on me that is wonderful.
On the one hand it’s LeLabo Oud 27 and the other Regina Harris Frankincense Myrrh Rose Maroc. The RH smells of wet newspaper, damp roses, tar. The Oud could possibly be used to get my wood stove going, PdE Cuir Ottoman? Lovely, musky, a tinch of sweet coconutty something.
Why is it that when you take your first sniff of something you either love or hate you get this sharp olfactory memory blast, but it is indefinable as to what it is? Sometimes the memory is right there and other times it’s literally impossible to describe it. Please tell me I’m not the only one this happens to.
My most troubling sample turned up in a Luckyscent parcel the other day.
Escentric Molecules Molecule 01.
H-E-L-P! I think I’ve found an anosmia. I get engine oil. Maybe this is why I don’t get the Ormonde Jaynes since they are supposedly based on the Iso E Super!
Oh noooo, my perfumista days are OVER:((
Hi Lee! I love this kind of quick round up of mini-reviews/impressions.
I fell in love with Jabu a couple months back. I don’t know MdO’s Carnation, but I really *love* the honeyed orange blossom of Jabu. Total comfort scent.
Eau Serge landed in my mailbox a couple days ago. Eau de Nasty! Exactly the kind of so-called “clean” musk that I hate… smells like the cheap drydown of thousands of cheap department store scents. Whatever.
Francis Kurkdjians: More than two drops of Lumière pour Femme will clear a ballroom, I’m convinced. It’s well-done, but packs the va-va-va-voom of a nuclear warhead on estrogen. On the other hand, Cologne pour le Soir is urinous on me (not in a good way).
Profumum Acquae Nobilis is an interesting and somewhat compelling vetiver/geranium. Very bracing. I like it, but not sure I’ll spring for a bottle.
Balenciaga Paris: a nice, sweetish violet cologne. Perfectly pleasant, and a great daytime perfume. Probably pushes the feminine boundary for most men, but for me it works fine.
Have a great weekend.
Ive actually came across a few very hard to find fragrances that really did not seem to match up with all of the hype surrounding them, but of course “to each their own”. I stick with colognes such as Obsession or Ck One.
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No thanks /:)
I’m with Loulou.
I was teaching junior high when obsession came out, and the girlf’ locker room was a cloud of it, enough to choke a horse.
You’re kidding, right?
He’s kidding, right?
Please? :-ss
selling..:(
I’m overdue for a sample order, but here’s some of what I’ve tried recently.
Recent hits:
AG Songes – what an unbelievable journey – from jasmine to soft white floral and onto woody wonderland.
Caron Parfum Sacre – the top notes scared me a bit, a bit old granny-ish (literally, not just a scent she’d wear) . After a few minutes moved into smooth and soothing spice, woods and (not too sweet) vanilla
M. Micallef Winter – soft and cheerful floral/spicy/woody – a combo I seem to get enough of this winter
Dior Escale a Portofino – spritzed at The Bay and with a tiny nudge from March went back and got a FB, no regrets
Recent misses:
Phoneix Black Alchemy Gelt – I love to eat chocolate, but never want to smell this sweet again – 3rd degree scrubber that stuck to me like Crazy Glue
L’Eau D’Italie Sienne L’Hiver – I was sure this would be true love based on all the praise I’d read, but alas, on me it was a sour celery seed mess.
I’m going to trudge through the snow today to check my mailbox for my unsniffed decant of Carnal Flower. Fingers crossed…
Any must sniff suggestions are welcome 🙂
Haven’t been sampling much… ordered a decant of Balsamo di Mecca unsniffed, haven’t received it yet tho. Loved my sample of Tonka Imperiale, it’s on the to buy list,along with the new Kilian Rose Oud that I didn’t expect to like but did. Hoping for a tax refund to cover these two bottles. Also waiting on a bottle of SL Sarrasins that I managed to snag on a swap list. My favorite stuff lately has been Plus Que Jamais and Incense Extreme… keep flip flopping between winter and spring in my head!
OMG – isn’t Tonka Imperiale fabulous? I’m actually on kind of a perfume-buying hiatus waiting for it to hit the States. I have a lovely decant and am saving up my pennies for an FB – and I don’t do FBs much (at least not expensive full-retail ones).
I tried SL Chypre Rouge yesterday… You know Maynards wine gums? The black ones? I think Chypre Rouge is black wine gums, curry powder and cumin. I like the wine gum part but the part that smells like that goulash my dad used to make… not so much.
I’m working on a wee bottle of vintage Cabochard i scored on ebay. Compared to some of the other pretty ladies around here it seems a little bossy at first with a kick of green (or citrus-ey) fizz, but it evolves really beautifully into a dark, quiet leather. I’m just a beginner at this, it could be completely off, but I love how unique it is.
Great reviews today, thanks to everyone for your thoughts!
I’ve been on a testing bender! Balenciaga Paris – have to agree with D’s assessment of wan chic; it’s a great one for a quiet meeting-type scent, with just enough interest to keep me from dozing off. Billy D is right re Iris 39, which is stunning (and surprising, since I’m largely anosmic to iris). It’s interesting and lovely, in that chilly-wills way. I stumbled upon a sample of Mayotte last night (that’s what used to be Mahora, right?). It’s like L’HB got knocked-up by Shalimar. Sort of messy, with no dirty bits. zzzzzzzzzzz
Margiela Untitled. It’s nice. No need to hack my arm off or anything – but…I expected ‘more’.
Revisit: 31 Rue Cambon. I always pass this over in favor of Bel Respiro, which is gorgeous. 31RC is a bit of a beast. If I don’t want to scare the pants off folks with Mitsouko, RC is a half-step down. It says ‘you might want to step off’ without actually pushing. I like the teeth.
xoxo >-)
ps. I felt bad re the FKs. Shelley and I got the royal treatment @ NM, so much hype (they know who we ‘are’:-) and all were so :-< that I had to fake any interest at all. The bubbles were the best part because they were just so silly! xo >-)
We’ve got a thing going on…an Ambre Nuit dialogue. And while I don’t think I’m done playing with this yet, I do have a development. Today’s installment:
This time, I sampled in the a.m. Sitting on my left wrist right now. And I’m having an easier time with it…it’s less puzzling, less offputting, more…meek? in a rose kinda-chypre way? It made me think, OH, I can wear this to start a day where I think I want a Diva/Magie Noire/name your challenging rose scent, but know better than to actually go through that kind of unction that early in the day. I could wear this, project that vibe, and not get a headache from too much input too early.
Put on some Grieg Morning Mood and spritz on the Ambre Nuit, I guess. (:|
Disappointed in the FK’s from the start, but there’s a whole audience for whom the stuff will not be repetitive, right? AND they can benefit from the complete concept thing.
In other news…have found the love for 31 Rue Cambon, and couldn’t be happier.
31 RC is one of my go-tos when I can’t make up my mind what to wear. Also a go-to because I love it.
Oh 31 RC is lovely. I gave my decant away, cus me and Chanels don’t play well together, but lovely nonetheless.
Sounds like AN fits a niche for you. I’m not sure, yet, that it does for me…
My little split will be more than enough. There aren’t many mornings when I need to carve Rose Beast.
WAIT…”undo”…I just experience The Big Shift. Why did mine take a couple of hours? Hmm, I’d say more choco-patch? Coromandel-y (obviously, I’m With Coco today)…weird, the official PR says “amber,” but this doesn’t feel amber…I like, but not amber…oh, what to do with this one?
What is it with the Chanels? I want them to want me…
You either are or you aren’t. I aren’t. And nor are you. Let’s walk away quietly together.8-|
On little cat feet…
I think its the romantic/emotive vs the classical/intellectual. Guerlain strikes me as the former and Chanel the latter.
People seem to fall into one or the other ways of ‘seeing’ the world.
Anyway that’s my current self-analysis of why Attrape-Couer got me and 31 RC didn’t.
And I’ll claim that because I’m a Gemini, I ♥ both. Better yet? I’ll defend No. 19…and L’Heure Bleu. @-)
And I got just the reverse. ACoeur brings up my lunch and 31RC is a dragon -in- a- peach silk camisole after my own heart. Then again, Mitsouko is my BFF! Yet I love Bel Respiro. And I’m not even a Gemini!! though I am an >-)
“my sister,my mother! my sister! my mother!”
xoxoxo
this is strange…:-?
when I posted my original comment you weren’t on here, Shelley. Huh.
Well, you and me and Francesca can dance down the Rue Cambon@};-
xo >-)
I think we must have been writing in tandem…
When I saw your 31RC vs Mitsouko comment, I started LOL. It so fits, doesn’t it? Me, saying “you might want to step down.” You, opting for teeth. ;))
And yes, the NM rep was SO gracious about trying to show and share. And I was clearly supposed to have some sort of epiphany, or Meg Ryan moment, and all I felt was … nice. Just nice. I could see that look in her eye as we walked away…”that should have been a sale…” …oh, I felt bad.
Obviously, not bad enough to buy. /:)
“…murky green spice with dirt and death sprinkled on top.â€
Gee, too bad I didn’t have any of that to wear to The Duchess of Malfi last night! Would have been perfect.
My only recent testing was the Ambre Nuit I mentioned getting from a friend the other day. And I really loved it. So much so that I was going to wear it again today, but then I thought Carnal Flower would be perfect to wear to the office in a blizzard.
Indeed – would’ve no doubt been right up the Cardinal’s corrupt street.
Another AN fan.
Take care in the snow.
Lee, how does Dirty Rose compare to Kelly Caleche? I’ve tried KC but not DR. I take it that the leather in DR is much more intense?
Yeah – they’re very different. DR is very much a leather scent with some floral quality. It’s not pretty. KC is pretty with a teeny touch of leather…
They live in different scent countries.
My latest sampling….Prada Benjoin. OMG!! Love at first sniff, called and ordered a bottle immediately!!:)
Oh yeah, that is quite quietly lovely.
Happy Friday, all :d/
One very pleasant that I’ve recently tested is the Maison Martin Margiela Untitled-it’s a galbanum-heavy nutty bright chypre, reminiscent of the older YSL Y. I can see craving this as the weather warms. Still very excited to try the new PG Papyrus-I love my greens =:)
Of the FKs, I only really enjoy the Lumiere Noire pour Femme-but would readily admit that it’s not especially unusual, just a very smooth patchy rose, though it maintains a bit of tartness for a good long while that I like. I’m not sensing much Noire about it. The other FKs were fairly bleh on me, though a re-try is warranted.
I had a samp of Mystra awhile back, also motivated by LT’s review. It was interestingly bitter, but not the b-slap I was hoping for-and also amazing brief in its visit, given the opening. I do love my resins, though this wasn’t It 😕
I’m still puzzling over Ambre Nuit. Like Melissa, I get an appealing masculine/unisex vibe, and the dry down has a twisty path-sometimes a bit synthetic, other times nicely smokey. Very wearable, but not my favorite Amber-with first place in that category going to IDPF Ambra Grisea in all it’s briny smokey glory. I’ll stick with the brilliance of Eau Noire for my fav Dior cologne as well. Oh-and need some Bois d’Argent-it’s gone meh on me after a glorious debut 🙁
@};-
ah-that was “need some Bois d’Argent?”
Well, I’m down to 40mls so there’s no rush…. And no need (though I love the offer). It will be one I use up, no doubt. So maybe there is need. Hell, I’ve decided there is…
:d
I am enjoying CDG Daphne. It’s a love it or hate it scent, and didn’t get very good reviews. But screw that, more for me! At first the bitter orange blast, up front, put me off, now, I find it invigorating. Then the iris shows herself, not too rooty. The drydown is warm and incense(y). Lively to relaxing
You enjoy. Me – not smelled.
You know, I’ve F/B the wonderful Daphne, and have a large decant of Cartier Mysterieuse on the way, adore that Histories de Parfum 1969, and maybe my nose is too old, but there is something in common between them. Am desparately waiting for the H D P to put the little travel bottles up for sale, I reckon I will end up with most of their collection!
Morning, Lee! Thanks for the post. Haven’t tried any of the scents you mention…but have been making a point to try new scents. Seems I was doing it too much and neglecting all of my great bottles. So, for a happy balance, decided I would use Wednesdays as a “wear a sample scent” day. Also try things on the back of my hand on other days. If I don’t do this, I’ll never get through the samples! Here are a few I’ve tried recently:
Manoumalia – Wore for a day. Heady gardenia scent, very creamy. Didn’t care much for it, but thinking it might be killer in summer on a hot day.
Avignon – Tried on back of hand. Wow. Smoky wood fire. Haven’t tried anything like this before. Interesting! Not sure I’d wear it, but loved the effect.
Lavanila Passion Fruit – Sprayed on wrist at Sephora. Had Liaisons Dangereuses on the other wrist. I love passion fruit, but after the first burst of sour passion fruit (which I loved) that lasted about 1 minute, it turned into a very loud, sweet, fruity vanilla. LD won by miles. So glad I didn’t purchase this unsniffed (which I almost did).
Rubj – Swear this is a dup of an 80’s drugstore scent, but for the life of me, can’t place it. Wrote this on another blog post, but didn’t get much response. Would love to know what it reminds me of! The reminder is a good thing. Would love to try this in the EDP…especially because of the added passion fruit!
Honore des Pres Sexy Angelic – Absolutely love this, but as others have said, it’s so fleeting. Hoping they come out with a more concentrated version…or even bath and body products. I’d buy everything. Wondering if I should just go ahead and buy a bottle with the thought that I’m purchasing a very expensive afterbath spray/splash.
Amouage Gold – Worn for a day. Beautiful, rich, warm, spicy floral. Smells like a great classic. Could be headache inducing if wear too much!
Last one (sorry for the loooonnnggg post!) – Amaranthine – ALL CUMIN!!!! So sad…
Manoumalia – I actively disliked. Amaranthine – I wish I got cumin! The rest range from ‘love but never wear’ (Avignon) to ‘whatchoo talkin bout Willis?’ (Lavanila…).
Yeh Rubj…I’m the same, its ringing some sort of bell…its not Poison is it? I never had Poison, only enjoyed it on other people! Its also a bit headshoppy – (coming from me that’s a compliment). Onda too , love it, but its driving me mad because its on the edge of – something. My Kiki had leaked, but is there the ghost of Angel under that fruity lavender?
I’ve got all these on my full bottle list, just when I thought I’d beaten it into some sort of submission! And they are coming out in an EDP with passionfruit used to extend! Could be the lush fruity thing in overdrive, yumm-ee!
That’s the trouble with samples, just as you are hooked, they run out and you have to get a full bottle.
Hi Winifreida! Don’t think it’s Poison. I wore Poison in the 80’s…hmmm…I’ll have to sniff Rubj again and see.
I have a sample of Kiki that I have yet to try. Luckyscent didn’t have Onda samples when I ordered, but I’m anxious to try it, too.
I was impressed by the new Ateliers from sniffing them on a blotter, but I need to try them on skin to say much more. In particular, the Trefle Pur was really fantastic.
*takes notes*
Thanks, Aubrey!
Hi Lee!
The hubs and I are both loving the new CDG Laurel (Actually, the full, rather ungainly name is Comme des Garcons x Monocle Scent Two: Laurel. Whew.) I’ve also fallen hard for Francis Kurkdjian’s APOM pour Femme, and his Cologne pour le Matin leaves me with a silly grin on my face every time I smell it. Surprisingly, as much as I loathed the original Prada, I love the new Prada L’Eau Ambree.
Best to you!
Someone sounds bright and cheerful. Great to hear from you, lovely smelling one!
Um…duck and cover time…Mecca Balsalm. On me it smelled like a campfire. Not that I have something against campfires, I just don’t want to smell like one. And Mystere EDP (Rochas). This is going for insane money on fleabay. I thought it was a pretty ordinary chypre, similar in some ways to JLS the first.
I’ve sniffed neither. Welcome to fume slackerdom.
LMAO on this entire post. You are not being at all respectful of Uncle Serge! (I did not run out to try it.) You’ve killed off my interests in the Aesops a teeny bit. Also: Neither of these two are immediate ‘fall-in-love’ types, but they might well be growers. Though perhaps they don’t have enough tenacity for that… hehe.
Well, they certainly were fuh-leeting. I think, for l’Eau, he’s run out of respect from me…. And I never thought I’d say that. I don’t hate it, and I could live more happily with hate.
Hon, I have tried the Eau several times now and each time I completely forget that it’s a Serge, it’s just that ‘meh’. Meh-be I’m missing something but I dunno…..it just seems so generic?
yeah, generic. In a ‘nice’ way – which is a word I never associate with Serge.
xo >-)
Ambre Nuit seems to provoke some pretty strong reactions! I keep trying it, liking it, but tiring of it after a couple of hours. It definitely has that masculine synthetic vibe that you mention. I think that’s what I like, but then object to a short while later. Maybe I’ll give my decant to my son. I bet that his skin would do marvelous things with it. 😡
It has that vibe in spades, and I guess it depends on whether you’re able to read that quietly or not…:-?
love this blog.
Discovery:
vintage Bourjois ‘Ramage’ , which I bought blind. Leathery flowery chypre.
Eau de Patou which is a wonderful rediscovery.
Rose fleurette, Quinacridone violet, Prince, sour Sudanese Frankincense from a giant DSH sampler pack I’m just starting to tackle.
Filles en Aiguilles by SL, Tom Ford Noir de Noir – never thought I like them.
As for the Aesops like some of the the Avedas, I’ll be happy whith a tiny dose from time to time, on my archeologic days.
Rather get Hors la Monde instead
The latest Montales are boring to horrible. The Kilians at last I sampled all except Oudh. There are only three I like, the rest I find not really arresting.
What a mixture of things. I’m reeling at the thought of all of those, A!
The Filles en Aiguilles is so great, isn’t it? I wasn’t sure at first, but now I’m kinda addicted to it. I’m probably wearing it more than anything else these days.
love it 🙂
Double thanks, robot.
wow love this blog..awesome perfumes
Thanks robot.
“Anti-perfume, my arse.”
Laughing my head off at that. Thanks Lee!
You are welcome!
Patch/ambers. After trying L’Eau Ambrée I felt that I needed to revisit the original Prada Amber, and was completely smitten by a dry, dusty-powdery cocoa/amber/patchouli thing it did on the first attempt. Had to try it again, different tester bottle, and that second time it turned into diet Angel on my skin. Confused, am trying more patchouli-laden ambers to see if I can get at that lovely effect in something else. I love Borneo, but it’s a different beast. Etro Patchouli was rather nice, but not quite it.
Also, I’m really enjoying my foray into classic gent’s fumes for a friend, and I may have to get a bottle of Habit Rouge for myself at some point.
Hey, you’re exploring lovely paths!
You know that there’s a fairly recent release of it in EdP, right? Bergdorf had it.
I fell for the Francis K Cologne Pour le Soir but didn’t go for the giant bottle, rather a decant, so maybe just as well if it is going to be a bit blah.
I did try the new Balenciaga on a blotter and 13 days later I can STILL smell it, in the bottom of my handbag! At first I got far too much of a Devon Violets vibe from it but the drydown seems lovely so perhaps I should investigate further. I do love the bottle….but like Carter I recently acquired some La Fuite des Heures; now that is “proper.”
Ambre Nuit I need to sniff; it seems to be rather polarizing.
I love me some sweet violet to sniff, though never to wear. I should investigate this while you go for the AN.
Do you love? Or not so much?
I was more enthusiastic about the Francis K range than I am now — the orange blossom has turned out to be a synthetic used in detergent. Why not? Trouble is it turns sour on my skin, and as a rule, nothing goes bad on my skin.
And I get the same feeling as you from the Lutens: that stuff is tenacious, isn’t it? My flatmate quite likes it, even though as a rule she wears the original Azurée. Go figure.
I guess I’ve pretty much blogged on all my recent wows. I’m less enthusiastic than you about Ambre Nuit: it felt less original than the rest of the line and played into masculine codes a little too much for my taste. But then, I’m not an amber lover in general.
A “like” is the new Balenciaga, a little violet as wan and chic as its face, Charlotte Gainsbourg: I’ll be testing it some more, review forthcoming.
But what I’ve falled passionately in love with is a raw material, angelica: starts out herbal, earthy and rooty, segues into musk… I’d wear it as is. Hint: the next L’Artisan has it in spades, though it’s not the main theme.
Hi CC. The new Balenciaga is a great daytime office scent for me. I love the metallic (but not overly-so) violet. Chic is a good descriptor. I’ll be watching for your review.
Oh, angelica. I used to help my grandma make candied angelica back in the 70s. Does that still exist? It’s an amazing smell.
I’ve been growing angelica, waiting for a recipe for just that!!
Ta-da!
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/knowhow/glossary/angelica/
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-candied-angelica
Oh, you are most awesome. >:d<
Ooooh, Angelica! I’ve recently found some Angelique Encens, and adore the herbal bitter parts of it enormously. And the new L’A has it? In spades? 😮 😡
It does, but also lots of other goodies… I hope to be able to break my vow of silence in a few weeks.
You and Patty.
:-w
Just kidding. I’ll wait, patiently. o:-) (Walks away, muttering about PG new one, L’Artisan new one…) Louise, I’m fond of my little morsel of Angelique Encens, too.
Insider knowledge is a killah, ain’t it? I used to like Patty and Denyse…:d
Well for me Eau Serge was sort of Eau why bother. The Maison Francis Kurdjian scents were nice, but “meh” to me..
Perhaps I’ve entered my grumpy old man phase of perfumista..
Nothing wrong with a smidgeon of grumpy now and again. Hey, look at your avatar!
Hello! “…murky green spice with dirt and death sprinkled on top.” I could be wrong, but I believe this might be the Grim Reaper’s debut appearance here on the Posse! 8-x. But in a good way <:-p Lately I am digging the hell (dirt and death...digging the hell...see what I did there?) out of my vintage Balenciaga La Fuite Des Heures extrait. Germaine Cellier just rocks my leetle world. Tempus fugit, baby!
Oh, yes, and the new Balenciaga (as Denyse mentions below) as well as my new sample of Tarantella, which is really, really good stuff. Naturally it’s nearly impossible to come by. Naturally.
I know just how exclusive you Manhattanites are, hon.
This one came from Australia by way of DC.
I didn’t go thinking you were born there…;) 😡
Who is?
:(|):(|):(|) Where’s the koala bear emoti when you need it?
I revisited Tarantella a couple of days (weeks?) ago – I remember the first time I smelled it, when the leather came roaring out after an ‘okay’ opening. Love it.
xo >-)
ps. how’s the snow out there? do you have enough Mallomars to see you through?
Pretty darn snowy! I am craving oatmeal like nobody’s business, resisting the siren call of the Mallomars. Speaking of enabling…=;:@);))
I’m sure he’s popped in one or two times before.
And I’m overjoyed to see your extended metaphors in full flurry.
Iris 39 has been a godsend. Never really noticed it before, but its fantastic.
Oh yeah – that is indeed lovely.