I’m having the hardest time accepting that it’s 4degrees warmer (WARMER) in Central IL than in Santa Barbara CA. Let’s ignore the fact that we’re 2 hours ahead – the sun set awhile ago (not that we had much in the way of a sunset; we’re expecting thunderboomers a little later)….we’ll just give that a bye. It’s Central Illinois, people. In early March! That’s just not right. Even weirder? Two days ago it was arctic. And yesterday I was in a tshirt and yoga pants, battling a lice-infested apartment. Okay, to be fair the lice were probably gone (the tenants moved out a week ago and there’s no carpeting – can lice survive in carpeting? ) But…..ewww…. lice are just gross.
and none of this has anything to do with a perfume review. I’m just crabbing because I lost several hours sleep this morning, which I was craving after the 9-hr Epic Cleanfest and Lice Battle. Our boys have been prepping for DST for the past two weeks; like trees, dogs don’t go by clocks – they go by light. So they’ve been shaking their collars and dancing at the bedroom door earlier and earlier. Sigh. I could’ve really used that extra Sunday Sleep, though studies show (at least for now) that ‘catching up’ on sleep isn’t that great a thing. So….
okay, that STILL doesn’t have anything to do with a perfume review. And unless I rein in the crabbing we’ll be here all day. So….let’s talk about Swapmania, shall we? Well, just a little bit. What I want to discuss is all the new/cool/unexpected stuff I got from my few swaps. As happened in the last swap, it’s the extra goodies from generous swappers that proved to be the most intriguing. Masha and I swapped for some Majmua, the one so many of you wax eloquent about – and I can’t smell it. :(( But she also threw in this rollerball vial of golden liquid….and that’s the topic of today’s ramble.
Crazy.
So…you all know my perfume cabinet is chockablock with some of the most expensive perfumes and attars on the planet – and El O couldn’t care less. Tribute? huh. Carnal Flower? “wow. you have on a LOT of perfume”. Mitsouko? ‘ah-choo!’. So imagine my surprise when I tried this little rollerball of golden liquid. Really lovely, it smelled like an unidentifiable blossom dipped in wild honey. I had no idea what it was. I was prepared to just like this little rollerball a whole lot until I wore it to bed on Friday night. El O (yeah, El O!!) walked into the bedroom, stopped dead in his lumbering tracks and said “you smell GOOD!”. What the heck? Okay. Now I’m worried. Crap. Is this going to be another cash-fest like Jubilation 25 or Epic? Wore it to the Cleanfest/Lice Battle and the next door neighbor complimented me as well (pre-cleaning, obviously)! Crap. With heart in mouth, I emailed Masha…..Masha replied that it is a perfume oil from Swiss Arabian, called Noora. And it has orange blossom as a dominant note. MORE Crazy! I am not a fan of orange blossom, finding the usual greeny-soapiness to be a bit grating. Somehow, though, Noora avoided all that, and wove this silken, honeyed tendril of golden elixir…it’s not quite ‘exotic’ and I think that’s what works here – it’s generic ‘pretty’ with just a smidge of a hint of unusual. Amouage has nothing to worry about – they’re worlds apart – but this is one of those scents you could wear every day, as wallpaper and people would think you smell GOOD without really thinking about perfume.
Here are the notes for Noora, from the website:
betcha not one of these guys has ever had to clean a lice-infested apartment. Heck, they probably have somebody to brush their hair!!
I’ve ordered several scents before from Al Madina Traders, which carries some Swiss Arabian perfumes, as well as Rasasi and Al Haramain. What’s great about the site is that a lot of the “Avon-ish” scents come in tiny roll-on bottles, for just a few bucks each.
yes, SA has some really nice-smelling scents for decent prices! there are other arabian perfume companies that do great musks and rose scents. they also do versions of western scents. i find them in a local arabian shop.
best compliment (also weirdest): Hmmmm, I just want to attach myself to you, you smell so good! (shalimar edt and parfum in summertime.)
worst comment: Reminds me of a urinal cake. (l’artisan tubereuse.)
second worst: Smells like a dentist’s office around here. (poivre parfum by caron.)
Ew. Urinal cake!
what do those do, anyway?
b-(
xo >-)
Another in the lemming line! I do believe you should do this for a living- created lemmings amidst lice, half-naked fish and squirrels is quite an accomplishment!
Best compliment: ‘C’mere, You smell like home’ by an ex on Shalimar EdP
Worst comment: ‘What is that SMELL? Like a locker-room laundry bag and…and…overripe fruit…and just WASH IT OFF please…’ my husband the day I sampled Boudoir
=))
Half-naked fish! It took me a minute – then I nearly swallowed my tongue, laughing!!!
The Boudoir reaction mirrors El O’s reaction to Yatagan. b-( He…very timidly…asked me if I needed, perhaps, to take a shower…:o
xo >-)
Orange blossom and honey? I’m IN! I just ordered some and will be comparing it to a bottle of “French Avon” Yves Rocher Orange Blossom Honey.
Best compliment ever: co-worker walks into my office and says, “What IS that? It smells like … it smells like … it smells like a bunch of goodness.” SSS Tabac Aurea.
You know, Yves Rocher has a lot of good, reasonably priced perfumes, too, and they should get more love! I like Cocoon and Voile d’Ambre, and Rose Absolue is sooo pretty.
Masha, I’m with you on the great Yves Rocher deals. Rose Absolue is really just as you described – so pretty.
Do I get line also?! I guess I’ll be hitting the Arabian sites.
My last great perfume compliment was a month ago for Neela Vermeire’s Trayee. I ordered her Discovery Set immediately!! Lol
I have yet to sample Neela’s stuff – I hear it’s gawjus!
xo >-)
I have a great work pal who’s esoteric skill set requires a lot of world travel. Neither his wife nor his 3 daughters care for fragrance, but he does, having had a mother who was a perfumista. He’s taken to surprising and delighting me with bottles of indigenous scents he’s brought back from some of his exotic destinations. They are usually oils of some type and often artisan-made with handprinted labels. And they’ve run the gamut from fabulous florals the like of which I’d never sniffed to musks that smelled suspiciously like goat urine. I have no idea how he gets all this stuff through customs. (I won’t let him tell me. I prefer plausible deniability if the feds come sniffing around – bad pun, I know). Is there any doubt how much I value this friend? I’ve told him he’s forbidden to transfer or quit. :d
May he keep his extremely cool job forever!
and may he become friends with us, too! [-o< xo >-)
Informative article about lice. When my daughter was in grade school 75% of her class ended up with lice. We saw the doctor in this article and following his directions, getting rid of them was comparatively painless.
http://santacruzwire.com/index.php/healthy-living/22-healthy-living/389-simple-housecleaning-can-banish-lice.html
My DH is usually non comital about most of my perfumes. But the latest comment that threw me, was when I put on some of my daughter’s L de Lolita. DH went on and on and on about how yummy and delish and sexy I smelled. He wouldn’t let go of my arm. Totally creeped my daughter out, that her father had this reaction to her perfume, even though I was the one wearing it.
And thanks for the laugh of the day, I split gut when I got to “SQUIRREL!”
Thanks for this article! I read it and was much relieved! I have had PSLS, with the itchies, etc…funny…that’s all gone now…/:)
:”>
xo >-)
Joining everyone else in needing to try this… and possibly some others from Swiss Arabian.
I rarely get comments on what I’m wearing. I’ve gotten compliments on Mythique (which I don’t really like) and Lyric Woman. The worst was probably a co-worker who said not a word but just sniffed and made a face one day when I was wearing Myrrhe Ardente.
And now I’m getting strange looks at the office for laughing out loud at SQUIRREL!
I LOVE Mythique! That and Iris 39 garner a lot of compliments!
You tell your office to settle down! [-( If a gal can’t lol at the office where can she?
😉
xo >-)
Orange blossom does not work on me, but smells lovely on others. A former colleague was testing fragrances for her upcoming wedding, and the day she was wearing SL Fleur d’Oranger, it was amusing to see just about all the straight guys in the office standing around her doorway.
Lice? ew. I’ll stop complaining about dealing with mice.
I’ve gotten lots of compliments about what I’m wearing, but I can’t think offhand of any outstanding ones. Have never gotten a negative “WTF are you wearing?”
Orange blossom can turn bitter/sharp/soapy on me. This is the only one I’ve found (apart from one that I make for myself) that stays true for several hours. I have no idea why orange blossom turns on so many people….Unfair!
OB usually goes soapy-bitter on me too, but Sweet Redemption stays pretty, and so does L’Artisan Seville a l’Aube (due out this summer, I think).
I have to try Sweet Redemption (LOVE Calice Becker!), but I’ve heard Seville a l’Aube is like Nuit de Tubereuse, which turns rather horrible/scary on me….
the last bottle on Amazon is now gone. You will have to try on of the islamic stores online to buy a bottle.
try one of
Wow! They went fast! Musette should get a marketing job with Swiss Arabian!! ;-)
😕
xo >-)
Best comment I received: “You smell yummy” (wearing Crabtree & Evelyn’s Wisteria). Worst: “Potpourri/bathroom cleaner” (wearing Acasiosa), and “You stink!” (wearing Spellbound).
I like honey in fragrance; joining the lemming line.
It’s $12! That’s probably the least expensive lemming you’ll have this year! :d
xo >-)
Where are you in Cental Illinois? I’m just outside Champaign. And I can tell you that there is no perfume here. Not a drop. I don’t think it would help you with lice (ewww) anyway but it might as well be listed as a dry town. Let me know if you’d like to grab a cup of coffee. I’d love to meet up!
I’m actually closer to IA than Champaign – but we get together in Chicago a lot for mini-Sniffas. I go back home with some regularity. If you would like to join us, we’d love to have you!! Drop me an email with your info and I’ll let you know the next time we’re planning something! I’m at gmail (evilauntieanita)
At least you live in an actual ‘town’. I live in a 1400-person burg. It’s just weird.
xo >-)
Having finally come around to orange blossom recently, after being convinced that OB=soap, I’m heading off to order this Avon-of-Arabia. I am such a sucker for a Good Deal!
(What I’d love to know is, Why are you cleaning a lice-ridden apartment? Who’s moving in there?)
The last compliment I got from The CEO was on Dior Poison, Esprit de Parfum from the little mini bottle. Srsly! I used to HATE the stuff, back in the day, and now I think that several things have changed: 1) my perception, obviously 2) people aren’t using 16 spritzes at a time now, PTL 3) the Esprit is softer, more floral than the edt 4) even the edt, vintage or not (I have samples of both) seems to snuggle in and be all white-floral cuddliness on me, not much of that choky cough-syrup note I despised so much, and I never knew it would smell different on me than it did on the thousands of people that wore gallons of it when it was new.
Also got compliments – while at the Wal-Mart, if you can believe!- on Memoir Woman, which is a real weirdster of a scent.
How could they smell MemWoman over all the Shania? Yeah, I’m profilin’ [-( ;)) but the aisles in my Wally are difficult to traverse. I got caught in the cereal aisle by something HEAVILY APPLIED…..let me just say that the lice wouldn’t have stood a chance!
xo >-)
I always wind up walking behind older ladies trailing CLOUDS of Youth Dew or White Diamonds at Wal-Mart.
(I was actually in the fabric department at the time of the Memwah compliment.)
I don’t know what I’m smelling when I’m there – but it’s a lot of generic fruity-flora. A LOT. Like the checker who told me “I just stand in front of the sprayer until my chest’s wet”. 😮
xo >-)
Ordered it! How could I not at that price??? Would love to try this just to see what an Arabian Avon scent smells like. ;-)
As to comments, I never leave the house (ha) – work from home. And when I go out, I’m careful with how much I spray…so rarely, if ever, do I get compliments or otherwise on the scent I’m wearing. Maybe I should get out more!!!
The prices do encourage blind buying, that’s true. Though I noticed a seller on ebay that does sell samples of some of them for a few dollars each.
for $12, though…why not get the whole shebang?
xo >-)
This was for Maysoon, which is about $50, mucho dinero (ha!) and I’ve gotta draw the line somewhere…;-)
I can’t wait to hear what you think of the Maysoon!
xo >-)
Yeah, coconut and musk, sounds kinda risky….
ROTFL…”Avon of Arabia couched in a post on lice”. Definitely, you need to be in sales. I will have to check this out!
Best compliment: At the hair salon I had four stylists come over to smell “Straight to Heaven”. They asked what was “that beautiful smell” and ‘where do you get this stuff?”
Worst: Well, dh hates aldehydes and most BWF’s but mostly he just says they give him a headache (of course I am wearing Vega this a.m., to see if it’s all aldehydes or only some brands). Anyway that’s not too bad. Now my daughter, when she got in trouble and was getting a lecture and grounded a few months ago, spitefully (you know teen girl spiteful) said, and Mom I don’t like that perfume you’re wearing either….it smells like…like…(she’s hissing at this point)…a fruity floral!! (It was Belle Helene.) So take that! (My baby knows how to hit me where it hurts! :-) )
I choked on my breakfast shake when I got to “fruity floral.” How funny! (OK, maybe AFTER the fact…)
Lol, yes she has obviously picked up on my disdain for fruity, candy florals…I was waiting for something much worse myself! :-)
Yeah, those teenage daughters know all your tender spots…
I think we should record some of these conversations and play ’em back to our grandchildren. Like I tell them all the time: I hope someday you have a child just like you. No better, no worse….just.like.you! :-)
Lady, you have really outdone yourself this time: creating a lemming for some Avon of Arabia couched in a post on lice. Amazing! I do love me some orange blossom, so might have to try and dig up a dab of this. My best compliment was years ago, at my job at a smallish newspaper. I had on a light spray of Calyx, when it first came out, and one of the paste-up guys looked and me and said, “Wow, you smell good enough to eat!”
My ex-hub and Calyx! :-w My girlfriend wore it and he said ‘you smell intoxxxxicating’.;/ So I had to go buy some. Luckily, he thought I smelled intoxxxxxxxicating, too!
xo >-)
That Calyx does have a way with the menfolk!! And BTW, now that I see that this lovely is all sold out – arrghh – you (or someone) might need to send me a bit of it, pretty please. Thanks!
:d sent you an email!
xo >-)
I just love your posts, Ms A >:d<
I don’t think the emoticons work for me anymore at all.
My husband truly likes just about everything I wear, so if he has a negative comment on something, I know it’s really bad. Perfume compliments from people in the wild are rare. Dior Addict has probably gotten the most compliments. A friend of mine turned up her nose a little at Tom Ford Black Orchid but then changed her mind, does that count?
Those Culver’s cod commercials make the stuff look delightful (hand battered etc blah blah). I’m in the boonies enough that the nearest Culver’s is an hours drive >:p
It does count!
Culver’s is a good 45 mins from us, too – in either direction. I don’t like most of their food, not being a fan of fast food in general – but they really do a good job on the fish and chicken stuff, probably because it’s cooked to order. And the batter is light (even so, I rip about half to 80% of it off because I am just weird that way)
and for some weird reason the emoticons only work for the admins (Patty, March, me). We don’t know why.
xo >-)
i don’t even like honey scents! And I’m lemming this big time.This could be the one, and it’s so cheap if it isn’t, oh, well, the dogs will smell good. So maybe your pinball stylings seduced me, but you know I’m gonna be on Amazon, drooling.
I usually get tons ‘o compliments on Bvlgari Black (yeah, go figure) which is pretty cheap when you buy online. That and one el cheapo I got from the Gap, “The Natural.”
A friend wrinkled her nose at Grossmith’s and said “THAT”S JUST WRONG.” Which was actually an opinion I shared.
I don’t like honey in perfumes, either, but in Noora, it’s so darned pretty! It’s my only honey scent, actually.
I succumbed, got a bottle on ebay! I can’t wait to try it!
Darn it! I had just resolved not to buy any more perfume for at least six months, and – as with Tammy – you made me a lemming monster and I have ordered a sample of Noora. And, again like Tammy, I hate orange blossom and honey! What is this strange power you have, and can you market it?
Hon, if I could market that I would…I would…
I would buy each and every one of you a FB of the Amouage of your choice!
Or at least a bottle of Noora!
If it will assuage your conscience, consider: as Masha said, this is less than the cost of a large cheese pizza!
xo >-)
Eeeerggghhhh…you and Tom, damn it.
You and Tom can talk me in to anything.
I hate orange blossom, honey, musk AND vanilla, but you not only talked me in to a lemming, but did it via a post replete with lice and crabs. Or something.
You should forget the green energy gig, and write perfume adverts!
:))
We aim to serve.
xo >-)
Ha I actually have Demeter’s Funeral Home and wear it quite often.
When I first got my bottle of Safran Troublant, after going through oodles of testers of it, I spritzed and a few minutes later my husband walked into the bedroom and said, “What stinks?” OMG! My husband is a stinky guy. He works for the railroad and grease is usually the least offensive of the various odors he purveys.
I still love and often wear Safran Troublant. My husband’s favorite perfume on me? Skin Musk from Bonne Bell.
=))
That must’ve really chapped your cheese!
xo >-)
‘regular’ guys so often seem to like the simpler, least-expensive stuff. I know El O does. I wore Sand and Sable once and he went nuts for it!
Noone really compliments me on my perfume choices. The last time someone complimented me on my perfume was a few months ago. I was wearing the current version of Shalimar EDP.
well, that makes sense. Shalimar is definitely one to be noticed! :x
xo >-)