The Candy on My Desk

Housekeeping details – in the move to the new blog host on May 1-ish, we lost about 30 hours of blog posting, including Patty’s Winners post with all the great haircolor comments on there (which bums me out), and the tail end of the Dune comments and my responses.  I haven’t given up entirely, but my guess is we aren’t getting that stuff back, and I’m sorry. Patty’s trying to fix her inability to comment.  Finally, my comment notification in my inbox seems a bit spotty.  Okay, on to today’s post…


It’s a testament both to the avalanche of new releases and the amount of samples I get that I have things like Donna Karan Iris sitting around here somewhere, still unsniffed, two (?) months after receiving it.  It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of my half-assed, poorly-researched, utterly biased candy samples posts (unlike my scrupulously prepared, impartial regular posts.)  So here’s a review of everything on my desk today, with my stream-of-consciousness analysis.

Ego Facto Prends Garde a Toi – which is French for, I pee on your hand and then as if that weren’t nasty enough I morph into a green floral with a wallop of Patty’s patented Tampax-fresh accord, although they’re calling it “mineral.”  Green notes, jasmine, lily of the valley, lily, hyacinth, nettle, woody notes, warm sand accord and kill.me.now.  Oh, look — up there in the sky — it’s Mister Yuck!  Welcome back, my friend!

Lelong Pour Femme – why can’t every woman smell like this?  Why why why? Heck, everyone – every man, woman, dog.  When I opened up the mailer I thought, something wonderful’s in here.  This, my friends, is perfume!   A heady floriental, notes are mandarin, bergamot, magnolia, lilac, fig, jasmine rose, tuberose, ylang ylang, iris, orchids, sandalwood, vetiver, oakmoss, musk.  So – all your suspicions that I am a lover of heinous old-lady fragrances have been confirmed.  Here’s a link to Musette’s review. UPDATE:  And a link to Posse commenter Donna’s review, I’d forgotten about this!

ANOTHER UPDATE:  I’m not sure I’m being fair to Lelong by calling it “old lady,” it’s a zaftig, femme-retro thang (with a big rack sillage, warm and sexy.)  Here’s a perfect, direct crib from mals’ comment below:   “Wonder what I´m NOT getting out of LPF, that I don´t perceive it as “old lady”? I mean, I get a big retro vibe – it seems very much to me like an orchid satin prom dress, complete with wrist corsage and halter top and dyed-to-match shoes. Immediate spray-on Femininity. I know a number of people find it on the vampy side, too, but I don´t. I perceive it as a smooth, creamy floral, with an innocent sensuality rather than outright sexiness – a generous bosom supported (and guarded from roving hands, maybe) by a really sturdy 50s style bra.”

NOT Lelong Pour Femme? – Anita, honey, I think that’s the same juice.  IMO.  And thanks for sending me two of them, since I like it so much and I’m too cheap to buy a clock-bottle.

Ego Facto Poopoo Pidoo – eh.  Notes are citrus, orange blossom, rice powder, amber, woods, musk, and it’s done by Dominique Ropion.   I thought it would be more like KenzoAmour but it’s waaay powdery and a little sweet, sort of a cross between Kenzo Flower and Lostmarc’h Lann-Ael.  Kind of fun, but not for me.

Piguet Visa (vintage) —  I am on record as saying I like the new version, a fruity number done by Aurelien Guichard, although I know it’s a major disappointment to vintage perfumistas – sort of like if they reissued Bandit and it smelled like Kelly Caleche.  Now that I’ve smelled the vintage, I understand what they’re weeping over.  Honestly, though, can you even make something like this legally anymore?   That base!!!   I wonder how many animals are in there … damn. That’s giving my vintage Femme a run for its money, skank-wise.  So intensely out of fashion I can’t really blame Piguet.   I do remember a quote from them saying they were a perfume company and not a museum, and I still like their new versions.  Baghari is great.  Also this reminds me I need to get ahold of some of Futur, I loved it at Sniffa last fall and then … I never smelled it again.

Come on, where’s my Donna Karan Iris? I thought it was on the desk….  yeesh, Soulgasm?  Robin, you wench, you gave me this, didn’t you?   Didn’t you?!?!  Gah.  Along with those Durgas; why can’t I find those, eh?  Did you smell this Soulgasm thing?  Notes: succulent peach, Anjou pear, South African freesia, ripe black currant, wild, night-blooming jasmine, delicate Eurasian lily, multi-faceted woodberry, clean musk, warm amber, sweet French vanilla.  Room-clearing.  JM&J … I can’t believe I sprayed this on, what a dumbass I am.  Well, it was on my desk … extremely fruital.  It’s like … it’s like the clearance rack at Claire’s threw up on me.  Like liquid Lifesavers, only sweeter.  It’s like blowing Pixy Stix up my nose, and not in a good way.   Mr. Yuck, please, save me!

Chloe Eau de Fleurs Capucine —  They released these in a three-set of eaux a few months ago.  I tried Neroli at Saks and found it too herbal, and the lavender didn’t interest me.  Capucine, though … hmm.  Notes for Capucine are bergamot, lemon, neroli, galbanum, sage, juniper berry, rose, jasmine, lily of the valley, ambroxan and musk.  Wow. That’s actually pretty cool, did anyone try this?  It’s intensely green, almost bitter – like an herbal-green rather than a grassy one.   I swear to God it reminds me so much of some man-cologne from my youth – Brut, maybe?  No, something green, Mennen aftershave?   Something my dad would have worn?  No, wait!  Wait, I swear, it’s Claiborne for Men!   (Notes for Claiborne are bergamot, lavender, lemon, cyclamen, juniper, rose, carnation, cedar, patch, musk, leather, moss, amber.)  Is it even possible?  I wonder.  Anyhow, of the set, worth trying.

Roger & Gallet Amande Persane – let’s end on a high note.  While this (sadly) isn’t sitting on my desk, I wish it were.  I tried it in Paris, where it had just come out.  Notes are bergamot, mandarin orange, bitter almond, iris absolute, tonka, atlas cedar.  I am already something of a R&G fangirl; they are stocked at a funny old grocery/pharmacy near me, and I am particularly partial to Gingembre spray and the Extra-Vieille and Cedrat soaps.  Amande Persane was a warm, uncomplicated charmer, with the lightly citrusy topnotes giving way very quickly to the heart of the fragrance, an almondy musk in which the iris displays its softer, more powder/wood side, although I wouldn’t describe the fragrance as powdery.  It’s surprisingly unsweet and a bit woody in the drydown.   It’s more purely nutty than cherry-almond (Rahat, Hypnotic Poison) and it doesn’t go Play-Doh/super-powder either (Jour de Fete, POTL.)  Also, for something that is relatively light and simple, it lasted about fifteen hours on my skin.  I’m looking forward to it showing up in the US.

Samples sources: all, private collection from friends, except I’m sort of wondering about the motivations of the “friend” who sent me Soulgasm…. (insert winking emoticon here)

  • LOL!! Love the stream of consciousness posts
    😡

    That Soul Wrenching Fruitobubblegummy Orgasmic thing had been a sample I got through a promotion as well and I couldn’t believe the advertorial was so at odds with what I was smelling. They were aiming at a completely different imagery than the death by fruit scent! Suffice to say that I smell no Anjou pear or anything, just a potent mix of Fructis aromachemicals radiating off a petri dish. Niiiiiiice……:((

    • March says:

      It was really … something, wasn’t it? I kept trying to decide if it was awful in a good way, or in an interesting way, but ultimately I decided the answer was no. Given that the name and packaging made me cringe, it was hard enough to get past that!

      • mary says:

        Hey, the Soulgasm name comes from a music festival:”Soulgasm caters to NYC’s elite dancers and party people in a non-judgmental, sexually open and racially mixed environment. “It’s always been about the music and a place to have fun without the worries that big clubs bring,” says Co-Founder and Resident DJ ‘The Wizard’ Brian Coxx. Coxx has been known to break records on the underground level to major labels such as his own release last year, ‘Soulgasm Sessions-Vol. 1’ on Strictly Rhythm and more recently “Gone”, featuring NYC native, Yasmeen. He will also be starting his own label in Spring 2010, called, ‘Soulgasm Music’.” So—now we know!:d

  • Sharon VA says:

    I’m pretty sure I need to own Soulgasm. Opportunities like this just don’t come along everyday! Also, I work at a public library and there are times when having a spray-on repellent would come in handy.

  • Angela says:

    I remember that Amande Persane! It was so nice. I’ll be waiting for it to show up here, too. Maybe it will make it before the cold weather kicks in again–it would be perfect for fall.

    • March says:

      I was very surprised at how long it lasted, considering the notes. It was very comforting and you’re right, it would be perfect for fall. BTW I’m still looking at Portland for sometime the first couple of weeks in July.

      • Flora says:

        You’re coming to Portland this summer? Cool!

        They have several of the Lelong perfumes at The Perfume House, including Pour Femme. Just sayin’…..did I mention the full Montale line is there too?

        • March says:

          I guess I should announce that? /:) I thought I did, maybe I forgot. I haven’t bought tickets or anything, but I’m thinking early July.

  • Musette says:

    ps. March, with you on the Capuchin (didn’t I send you that one, too? If not, I gave it to Shelley). The other two were vastly uninteresting. Capuchin is exactly as you described, though I don’t think I will spring for a bottle until it’s at discount.

    xoxo >-)

    • Shelley says:

      Not me. As far as I’m concerned, that’s either a monkey or one of those B&W variety show guests that had an accent. ;;)

    • March says:

      You did send it to me! And if it ever shows up at discount, I may need to spring for a bottle myself. It was really interesting.

  • k-scott says:

    Nice March, I love the odds and ends reviews! Thanks for the tip on the R&G Amande Persane, sounds cool- I’ll keep my eyes peeled for it to show up in the US. I still haven’t tried Poopoo Pidou, but god I want to like it just for the name- POOPOO PIDOU!!! Just typing it tickles my funny bone.

    And speaking of hilarious, your idea for an AmEx frag is genius- when you go to use it you can’t. Ha! It would be like statement art. So, did you buy a new perfume yesterday (like you mentioned in your post)? What did you get? Inquiring minds want to know… 😉

    • March says:

      That Amande was lovely — soft and appealing and, well, almondy without being super-sweet. PooPoo I thought was a silly name but it sounded so great — I love those rice-type scents. This one, unfortunately, was more powder and less steam… 🙁

      I didn’t get myself anything. But I’m contemplating a couple of things on eBay…

  • maidenbliss says:

    The more I read the more I want it. Musette, Donna, Mals, March, enablers all. A real sturdy 50’s style
    bra, big-boned and sensual also yank my retro chain:x
    This calls for evening wear in feather/rhinestone encrusted mules, a satin vintage gown, reposing on a chaise lounge, cigarette holder held just so, smokin’ up the boudoir…’Why don’t you come up and see me sometime, big boy’ ala Mae West. Which is also the name of my street.

    • Musette says:

      You live on Mae West Street? 😮

      ^:)^

      Lelong is actually just……beautiful. It is BIG but it doesn’t have to be – you can……

      okay, wait. I was just about to deliver a whopping lie! =))

      It’s effin’ HUGE!

      But it’s not obnoxious.

      and one can easily wear it daytime, just carefully.

      xo >-)

      • maidenbliss says:

        Can ya believe it? Every time I give out my address people feel the need to make a comment
        or two or three….where’s the sexy-face emoticon?
        What was the whopping lie:((? I want to know!!
        SOTD is TDC De Charmes Et Feuilles- aren’t you the one blabbering about it several times?
        I so totally love it!! I’m feeling sprightly:x
        So, is there an approximate twin of LeLong or does she stand in a class
        by herself? Hopefully without a dunce hat in back of room=)) for being naughty!

        • March says:

          Wait … unfair unfair!! *I* want to live on Mae West Street!

        • Musette says:

          Oh, the whopping lie was me about to tell you she doesn’t have to be Big.

          It is Big. But Beee yooo ti ful.

          I wore it today. Charmed me.

          Yay! on Charmes and Leaves! It’s pouring today and freezing cold so def no on the CyF – but I LUUUURve that stuff.

          I would think the closest I could get to Lelong is…

          😕 probably Fracas, another fave of my big-assed self!

          xoxoxo >-)

      • Flora says:

        Wearing it RIGHT NOW – AT THE OFFICE!:d:d:o

        Nothing else quite like it that I know in the modern perfume world, which is why I adore it so. I am a “vintage” model myself, and I could never have pulled it off in my twenties. One of the advantages of growing older is finding perfumes that were MADE for women, not ingenues.

        • mals86 says:

          Wow, LLPF at the OFFICE?!? 😮 You are a brave woman. I feel silly wearing it there (as I actually did the first time I tested it).

          But it really is gawgeous. And, honestly, not all that huge on me. But then I’m a cautious applier.

          • March says:

            … yeah. It’s like wandering around in your negligee and ostrich mules.

          • Musette says:

            oh hush. It ain’t all that. It’s actually kinda warm and bosomy and charming.

            Yeah, like the 8-x lovechild of Mae West and Jane Russell

            I LOVE it!

            xo >-)

          • Flora says:

            Hmm, I knew there was a reason my co-workers were staring at me today….:”>

  • March says:

    I’m contemplating going up there and changing my post now, because you’re right. It’s NOT old-lady, in the dry chypre or aldehyde sense Much more of a retro vibe as you described, a big-boned scent, and very sensual.

  • mals86 says:

    Thanks for the candy review!

    Poopoo Pidou did not grab me either, but then I don’t care much for those rice steam/wood pudding scents like Amour or HdP Blanc Violette.

    Wonder what I’m NOT getting out of LPF, that I don’t perceive it as “old lady”? I mean, I get a big retro vibe – it seems very much to me like an orchid satin prom dress, complete with wrist corsage and halter top and dyed-to-match shoes. Immediate spray-on Femininity. I know a number of people find it on the vampy side, too, but I don’t. I perceive it as a smooth, creamy floral, with an innocent sensuality rather than outright sexiness – a generous bosom supported (and guarded from roving hands, maybe) by a really sturdy 50s style bra.

  • Shelley says:

    Okay, I have to ‘fess up. But first, in order to bolster my wavering self, I’m going to mention that I’ve got a generous hit of that vintage Visa, and I, too, find it all that.

    The Lelong, however, not so much. But I just tried it once, and it was during one of those marathon sniffing sessions. Of which I’ve had no more than you can count on one hand, and which I intend to keep that way, since I’m pretty sure they come to no end for my sniffer nor for my migraineur tendencies. It was a hit Directly from THE Bottle of Musette, though, so there’s no doubt that I was smelling the right stuff. Just whether or not I was sniffing right. I’m a fan of some “old lady” scents – Norell, for example – so it can’t just be that. It’s got to be the direction of old lady…which I can’t conjure at the moment, because I just remember that my nose and brain said “um, don’t think so,” so I moved on.

    Poor Musette. I’m not sure if she wanted to knock sense into me, or just shake her head in disbelief. #-o
    🙂 >:d<

    • March says:

      The Lelong is a pretty different vein of Old-Lady. 😉 I think you like chypres and aldehydes, yes? Those tend to be a little drier, a little more mossy and challenging in that direction. Well, LPF has moss listed in it, I think, but I’d say it’s more Old School Sillage Monster — I mean, it’s more in the style ALTHOUGH NOT SMELLING ANYTHING LIKE Poison or Fracas or Amarige … I mean, it’s big. Real big. Zaftig. It’s broad. And A Broad. It’s no Norell. :)>-

      • Shelley says:

        I’m way open on chypres, quite tentative on aldehydes. Maybe I made the mistake of a careful half-spritz…sometimes that kills the Big Stuff. Kinda like driving a 12-cylinder around the neighborhood, but never taking it out on the open road. I like broads. And some Big Broads. :d I think, especially after seeing some of the chatter here, I just need to go back with my arms wide open, and see what happens.

      • Musette says:

        I wuz just gonna say that.

        On Shelley’s Preferences: 😕

        One >-) opinion:

        Definitely NOT the big flower bombs. Greener or incensy-ier. Incensier? Hee!

        Definitely closer to the bone.

        Me? Go Big or Go Home. At least with the Lelongs & Fracas of the perfume world.

        xoxo >-)

  • Robin says:

    Well I didn’t think you would actually spray the Soulgasm ON YOUR PERSON, LOL…is that hideous or what?

    • March says:

      WELL IT WAS ON MY DESK. [-( I HAD TO PUT IT ON.

      😉

      Really, for me? It’s kind of a fear-factor thing. Like, how much can it suck? Although it would have been equally hilarious if I’d loved it. Even I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so … so … the volume on that thing is at 11.

      • mary says:

        After reading you and Octavian on Soulgasm, I actually want to smell it–it sounds like big hot mess of a perfume. With that name, I have to think the perfumers intentionally made something big and loud with lots of olfactory reverb. I wonder if it will find its audience. I saw an ad somewhere–I’m wondering where it’s going to be marketed, and the price point on it. Octavian took the opportunity in his comments to tee off on the Boadacea line, which I haven’t smelled, but which I have been wanting to try. What do you think of those, March? I will search the Posse on those, next coffee time–cheers! ~o)

        • March says:

          Oh, I missed you, sorry. I’ll be surprised if Soulgasm is the hit of the century — who out there wants to wear something called that? And the packaging’s hideous. Other than that, though … 😉

          Truth: I tried neither the Bodacious stuff nor the other one I mix up with it — Boudicca Wode? The one that turns blue (and the one that doesn’t.) All I remember about Boadicea line was that someone had hooked Michele Obama up with it and I thought, she could do so much better. The Wode I’m sure I’ll get around to eventually. Someone reviewed it (NST?) and I didn’t think I’d like it but the notes sound very appealing.

        • March says:

          Oh and PS — I just went a-browsing and the Boadicea line was a release of ten fragrances, if I’m understanding correctly. And, in my snobby opinion, that’s about seven too many if you’re a newbie and you want me to take you seriously. Seriously …. 😉 how about one, or two, really interesting or gorgeous or thought-provoking or different scents? Ten? Stuff like that falls immediately off my radar.

          • mary says:

            Thanks, March–that news bit about the First Lady buying two of the Boadiceas caught my eye–I am so suggestible. And I guess the number of fragrances in the line is the reason why I don’t just break down and order some samples– it’s all too much. I will look up the notes on Wode, on yhour recommendation. For Soulgasm– I read a comment on of the blogs from someone who thought it was actually a “Bruno” type joke on the perfume industry. Now I really have to smell it. :-ss

      • Divalano says:

        Bwah ahahahahaha the Soulgasm. Really. You actually did it? I got it in my Sniffa bag & seriously, all the other perfumes ran to the other side of the bag, they wouldn’t be seen near it. You really do suffer for your art, don’t you? 😉

        • March says:

          Hey, I take my art very seriously. [-( I’m sure that shines through in my reviews… plus I HAD to spray it. It was on my desk! I set myself a goal like that, and I figure, hey — it’s fate. Thank GOD I didn’t find a wayward vile of Secretions on there…

  • Melissa says:

    I love your sample posts. There’s something refreshing about these quick hit reviews. No time to pretty things up too much!

    So, with the exception of Visa the Magnificent, I haven’t spent any time with the above list. I had a sample of Soulgasm that magically disappeared, unopened. And I think that I did a quick sniff of Poopoo Pidoo, but I don’t really recall. Maybe it was the name that interfered with the formation of a scent memory? Mild traumatic reaction at the thought of having to tell people what I was wearing? @-)

    • March says:

      Um, yes. Don’t smell that Soulgasm. It’s not you. Just saying. How do you feel about Parure, anyway? And are you having any easier a time getting on the Posse since we moved hosts?

      Poopoo Pidoo is, as my teen says, an unfortunate name.

      • The French way of writing Marilyn’s “boo-boop-ee-doop” in “I wanna be loved by you” is “pou-pou-pi-dou”. I guess this was a compromise. Pierre Aulas, who head Ego Facto, actually speaks pretty good English but I’m sure he didn’t catch the connotation, which is a pity. It’s a lovely fragrance.

        • March says:

          I … actually knew that. If you say it out loud in English it’s more obvious. And to some degree, English speakers need to get over ourselves. Example: Rochas Poupee.

  • Ann N. says:

    Hi March, thanks for the informative post on odds ‘n ends. Although I’m not a Fracas or Bandit fangirl, I find myself liking Baghari, Futur and Visa, in their modern iterations. I don’t do animalic well at all in most cases, so I will have to remain blissfully ignorant of some of the vintage versions. You’ve now got me itching to try the Lelong.
    BTW, most of the Cartiers are winging their way to you as we speak and ought to be in your hot little hands today or tomorrow. Hope you had a marvelous Mother’s Day!!

    • March says:

      Hah, I had totally forgotten about the Cartiers! I’m looking forward to trying them, and thanks! I did have a nice mother’s day, yes. I got to watch oldest kid’s dance performance last night, which was a fun way to finish the weekend. She’s in a high-school belly-dancing troupe, and they are amazing! They danced at the White House for the big Easter Bash this year.

      I think you might like the Lelong, it does NOT have an animalic base. It’s a lovely, retro floriental.

  • Austenfan says:

    With you on Roger& Gallet. I have their bodylotions. Lovely smell, lovely texture and great for your skin.

    • March says:

      I have heard others rave over their lotions. People are funny about those things — I suppose since I’m such a scent freak, I buy/wear very little scented lotions, I want my lotion unscented. (I’m addicted to a particular one from Trader Joe’s.) But it’s always nice to know that a brand has a good line of body products. :)>-

      • karin says:

        I’m the same way – don’t like scented lotions. I typically use Cetaphil Body Cream (which is great BTW), but am looking for something different, more natural but scentless. Will have to check out Trader Joe’s. March, what’s the name of it (if you don’t mind posting)?

        • March says:

          I’m looking at it right now! 🙂 It’s a pump top, and it’s called TJ’s Moisturizing CREAM, Extra Dry Formula. It says “unscented herbal blend with aloe” at the bottom. If you don’t have dry skin you might hate it — it’s very thick, almost a cream out of the dispenser. I slather it on my hands, arms and legs, I have bottles all over the house. I like it because its very light smell, as opposed to “scent,” doesn’t smell unpleasant the way some do. I think they do make a lighter-weight unscented lotion, stocked next to this one.

      • carter says:

        I highly recommend Penhaligon’s Bluebell bath oil:d

  • Fiordiligi says:

    Thank you for the giggles! Now, for me, it’s got to be the Lelong – must try – and I do need to sniff the vintage Visa too, because I’m another vintage person (in both senses).

    You know, it’s no wonder I’m not really interested in most new releases when they are almost all so predictably unpleasant. Isn’t it sad? I loved the comment about an explosion at Clare’s. What a great description!

    • March says:

      The vintage drydown, as we’ve been discussing above, is pretty intensely animalic. And I should have been fairer to Lelong, which is simply beautiful and more approachable — as mals pointed out a good date-night frag.

      New mass market releases are, in general, not things I want to wear (too gourmand, too fresh.) But there are always exceptions — I quite like Narciso, for instance. And we all have our moderately drecky, guilty pleasures.

  • I have some of the vintage Visa and it’s full of an old base called Animalis: now you know why. I can also understand why it wasn’t re-edited as is, apart from the problem of the availability of raw mats: it’s actually not very easy to wear, not because of the skankiness but because it’s clearly from another era, as you say. Still, I’m happy to have it.

    • Melissa says:

      Animalis? Too funny. You’re right about it not being easy to wear. It’s a stunner, but it’s challenging.

    • March says:

      Animalis — that explains things! Thanks.

      I wish you were here to chat with about Piguet — they’re businesspeople, but at least they seem to put their head and heart into their reissues. The newer ones feel faux-retro to me, and I don’t mean that negatively. At least they’re adult. Visa’s like a vintage fruity with a modern signature (the base?) Baghari … I don’t understand the structure, which is wonderful. To me it smells like they made an aldehyde using some sort of sleight of hand — it’s like an *illusion* of aldehyde without being the thing itself. And their existing versions of Bandit and Fracas smell nicely old-school. I do need to try Futur again … how do you feel about them?

      • Musette says:

        Baghari. 😡

        xo >-)

        Fracas!!! ^:)^ (I have a buncho older (80s) bottles of Fracas so I don’t know what constitutes ‘old’ v. reform. I haven’t bought new F since the 80s! Love what I have, though, whatever iteration it is.

        xoxo >-)

      • I met Joe Garces when he was in Paris. He’s very passionate about fragrance. Baghari does have aldehydes but what Aurélien Guichard has done is use intensely powdered-sugar notes to create the same type of brightness and effervescence without the connotations of aldehydes.
        Of course, the new Bandit pales next to the vintage which has got real animal materials in it, and much better jasmine, but it’s quite good. I don’t find the Fracas to be hugely different. Futur, which they tried to reproduce faithfully, feels thinner and screechier. Visa and Baghari don’t even attempt to reproduce the originals.

        • March says:

          Thanks, D. Aldehydes are not always my best friend, and I was curious what was going on in there in new Baghari that seems to make it a more successful fragrance for me. BTW Joe Garces has been very nice and hysterically funny the couple times I’ve met him.

          I can’t hold new Bandit’s newness against it, just because even in its imperfect form it’s so much better than many other things… Futur I smelled in extrait at Bergdorf, and I wish I’d paid more attention!

    • Flora says:

      Oh wow, that sounds decadent! In a good way of course!

  • carter says:

    Vintage Whore (aka Old Hooker) that I yam, I cannot believe that I’ve never smelled Visa, and now I’m kicking myself for passing on a recent split offer of one and the samel-). I think that somewhere in the back of my mind I am afraid (no, I am convinced) that one sniff of Visa will end in tragedy, vis-a-vis my Visa.

    Now let us pray[-o< that some diabolical genius perfumer>:):-b doesn’t and insult to imaginary insult by creating a masterpiece of equal brilliance and calling it “Mastercard.” Ca-ching $-)#-o:-<

    • Melissa says:

      =))

      No more scents named after credit cards! A little too close to home. @-)

    • March says:

      Visa old and new smell totally different to me, so I’m not sure one would spoil the other — new Visa is one of the few really fruity things I can think of (at least on me) that is beautiful.

      Or, wait … how about “AmEx” — every time you try to use it, you can’t?

  • Flora says:

    I have been cheerleading for Lelong pour Femme for ages, ever since I found it at my local shop, the only brick-and-mortar store I know of that carries it. Yeah, it pretty fabulous, isn’t it? This time, the old “they don’t make ’em like they used to” isn’t true- it feels very retro in the best possible way. Why Lelong does not promote this gem more aggressively is one of life’s great mysteries.

    Holy crap, did someone actually NAME a perfume Soulgasm??!?! It apparently smells about as bad as the name sounds, thanks for the warning.

    I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

    • March says:

      Do they make it in anything other than that clock bottle? I poked around on line and it was fairly pricy. Also that bottle cracks me up. And part of its retro attraction for me is that (for a change) it doesn’t have an uber-skanky drydown, just old-ladyish 😉 so it always seems to work. I’d never even heard of it until Anita wrote about it.

      Yes, it’s (sadly) true about Soulgasm. I dropped in the notes in my post just now, no wonder I wanted to retch. It’s very sweet … hee, I just stumbled across Octavien’s review, how do you think he liked it?

      http://1000fragrances.blogspot.com/2010/02/soulgasm-from-sasha-varon-fragrance.html

      • March says:

        Crap, that’s Octavian spelled correctly /:) and thanks, I did have a lovely Mother’s Day. I played with the kiddies and worked in the garden a bit.

      • Musette says:

        Donna was the generous genius who introduced me to Lelong! She sent me a little samp of the PERFUME! which is so incredible it makes me weep.

        I am forever in her debt.

        You can get the edp pretty inexpensive and if you couple it with the body CREAM (not the lotion) you get a fair approximation of the perfume. I got both on the eeeB.

        Funny you should mention Lelong today – I am back in hospital mode with my pop and had a 500mile turnaround drive yesterday. 🙁 I’m almost too tired to speak and I still have to go back down to P today to check on my pop, of course. Mitsouko ain’t the thing, as I will probably start stabbing people with syringes…and aldehydes are just too knifey for a chilly spring day like today. Lelong was my choice for getting through the day and seducing everyone (men and women alike) with my fantabulous scent, so I can get what I need to get done!

        On that stupid perfume bottle – I beeyotched about that in my review. I would actually lay down serious simoleans for the perfume – if I didn’t feel like I was paying for that stupid clock! :-w

        Glad I sent you two of the samps – that was a weird thing, kinda like me finding cumin in Ald44 – sometimes my nose just ….. /:)

        y’know?

        xoxoxo>-)

        • March says:

          Hey, now I am in your debt, because who knows when I would have tried it on my own? 😡 Maybe never. And it seems so big and bosomy, I want to put some on right now…

      • Flora says:

        LOL, Octavian does not hide his feelings very well either! :d

        The EDP bottle of the Lelong only has a simulacrum of a clock – on the Parfum bottle, it’s functional. Plus with the EDP you get those fabulous leopard-print buffalo horns, or whatever they are supposed to be. Trust me, it’s the most funnnest botle cap EVAH!

        • March says:

          … you are really enabling me with this one, you know that? :-w I thought Octavian’s was hilarious, that’s the most splenic I’ve ever seen him.

    • mals86 says:

      LeLong Pour Femme is faaaaaabulous. Retro fabulous, but still. I imagine I’ll be wearing it frequently, particularly on Date Nights. (Thanks again for the sample, D.)

    • March says:

      HEY, PS — I totally forgot about your Lelong review!! You’re allowed to pimp on the blog … just added a link in the post, it’s a great review, very informative. :)>-

  • mary says:

    Happy Mother’s Day, March! Thanks for reviewing the odds and ends on your desk. Oy, the TF accord. I decided this am to use up my Parfum Sacre sample for Mother’s Day. I love reading about Rogers and Gallet– used to find their soaps at Cost Plus on SF . . .

    • March says:

      Hey, Parfum Sacre seems like a wonderful choice for Mother’s Day … and many of the R&Gs are nice. I know at least one gal who’s very fond of the Blue Lotus. I think their Gingembre is my favorite ginger.