Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day today!! Let’s do something nice for our fellow man or woman today. I donated blankets to a co-worker’s church for distribution to the homeless in the downtown area. OK, back to fragrance. as I mentioned a while back, I’d been in a bit of a fragrance slump for a while, not wearing much of anything, and too busy and distracted to try anything new. But after pulling out some favorites and spending some quality time with them, my fragrant nose has been reawakened and I’m feeling eager and ready to get sampling some new goodies.
I’m looking forward to sampling the new Tom Ford Vanille Fatale. The notes sound right up my street, but who knows? Have any of you sniffed it?
And I’m also aiming to explore more of the Zoologist scents, particularly Camel, that I’ve heard some people rave about. Am kind of hoping that it might be in the vein of Serge Lutens’ Chergui. I think Zoologist is a pretty cool line and I already enjoy Nightingale, Civet and another scent of theirs whose name escapes me.
So what new (timewise or new to you) fragrances have you tried and fallen in love with? Or if you’ve been sampling up a storm and staying on top of new releases, what would you recommend should jump onto my sampling list? (No ouds or cumin bombs, please). 😉
Hope everyone has a great week and stays warm (or cool, for you lovelies in the Southern Hemisphere).
In my humble opinion, Camel is nothing along the lines of Chergui… sort of like comparing a hamster to the honey badger. This week I am finally getting around to ordering samples of SP Parfums (Funfair, Suntanglam, and Sunmilkflowers) plus some MCG (Syconium and Kitrea).
Hi, dear Ann! I am enjoying Zoologist Camel, I blind bought a travel bottle which I really never do, but it’s much dryer and, um, gauzier? than I expected. I love the dry hay opening but the spices and dried fruit stage is short lived, except that it’s not, really – it is in the air around me, and I get whiffs throughout the day, but I’d really like to amplify it and drink it in. I’ll be interested to see your thoughts!
I’ve been buying samples of vintage perfumes that for some reason I missed, to fill in historical gaps in my mind and/or scent library: all the Lanvins (Scandal, My Sin, Arpege), Shocking, and Tabu for “scandalous” scents, plus some Rive Gauche and Detchema minis I scored that, even though I’ve never smelled them, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to grab.
For Christmas, I bought my mom Diptyque Do Son. I think it’s fantastic. It’s indulgent while still being such a wearable perfume, a floral and sweet escape without being cloying or overbearing. The sillage on it is great. Sometime when I’m at her house, I might sneak a spritz or two. 😛
Welcome! You will have a lot of fun. When I got started with perfumes, I could not sample enough – well, I still kinda, sorta do. I love it, with it’s chance of discovering something that is great for me. You obviously know that feeling! I would add to not feel bad if you do not like a raved about line. For example, I do not like Serge Lutens (among a few others) at all and I tried countless samples. It felt like I “should” like him. Then it dawned on me that that is not what perfume is about. It’s about how you feel when you discover something that works for YOU – Imaginary Authors Cobra and the Canary. Enjoy yourself. :))
Oops. Previous post was a response to Amelia.
Hey Ann,
The eternal testing continues. I’ve got some DSH Perfumes, Fort & Manlé and Histories de Parfums samples to get my sniff on.
Looking forward to it.
Portia xx
Welcome Amelia; you found a wonderful group of perfume lovers! I’ve learned so much and love reading others’ fragrance finds and thoughts. I appreciate the generosity and time of the Posse and group’s guidance in the world of Perfume. Otherwise I’d never know about many of these wonderful fragrances! I finally sampled Serge Lutens Muscs Koublai Khan after reading all the various reviews. I know I’m late, but I actually quite enjoyed it! I also sampled DSH Sable Coat and Mink Stole this weekend and I adore especially Sable Coat.
Loved this post and looking forward to reading much more! we have brought pocket perfume
Hello all! I’m very very new to this – so hi!
I recently came across this world of fragrance after being given a tester bottle of Imaginary Authors – Cobra and the Canary (I think that’s the name) by the loveliest woman in a shop in Portland. I’ve never smelled anything and been literally stopped in my tracks before; I swear my heart skipped about a months worth of beats. Anyway, the shop owner (her name was Amelia- same as me, definitely fate) gave me the rest of the tester bottle as I couldn’t buy a full bottle because I was flying the next day.
I immediately went home and began researching fragrance and was brought here! I’m loving loving the world so far- everyone’s experience of scents seems so lovely and personal. Sorry for the novel of a first comment!
TL;DR I recently fell in love with Imaginary Authors Cobra and the Canary and it’s catapulted me into this world. I’m very new and know literally nothing, but hi!
Hi Amelia, and welcome to the rabbit hole of perfume exploration. The Posse is a great blog, I’ve been a reader for 10-12 years and learn so much. Imaginary Authors is one of my favorite small niche lines. The Cobra and the Canary is a favorite of mine too, along with Slow Explosions, Yesterday Haze and especially Memoirs of a Trespasser. They offer generous samples on their website too. Have fun!
Welcome, Amelia! You may a well just go ahead and freeze your credit card in a bowl of water now.
Also, samples add up quicker than you think. In fact many of us suspect they find dark corners and reproduce at will.
You will almost always regret blind buys, but you will probably also find one Holy Grail.
What you hate now you will likely love in a year or two, so don’t be in any big hurry to get rid of anything.
You’ll get the hang of all the acronyms eventually.
Check out Surrender to Chance, which is a decanting site associated with this site, so that you can test drive fragrances before committing to FBs ( Full Bottles)
Perfumistas are among the kindest, most generous people on the planet; you’re in good hands!
I’m only one post older than you: another newb. 🙂 But since I have that seniority (preen preen) welcome!
I’m not new to fragrance (heck, I’m not new to anything at my age) but I am new to off-the-beaten-path decants and analysis, instead of just “Ooooo! Smell priiiiiitty!”. And I did see the comment below about freezing your credit card. OMG yes. Someone please PLEASE HELP ME!! Remove that thing! And my internet access!! And…oh…wait. Never mind. 😉
Anyway, welcome!
The last perfume I really liked was Sisley’s Izia and I can really recommend trying it. It’s a lovely spring scent with great longevity. Otherwise, nothing I’ve tried recently impressed me. If you are not familiar with Bruno Fazzolari’s perfumes, you could explore them too. They are easier accesssible in the US anyway and certainly worth the try.
I smelled Vanille fatale on a card, it was lovely. It has frangipani flower in it. I love a floral vanilla, may need to do a skin test, although I hear the longevity is not too good on it.
I really want to smell Camel as it does sound like vintage Serge style. I also have been craving chocolate and tried Mancera Choco Violette. It does what it says on the bottle, and the chocolate is not sickeningly sweet. May need a decant of that.
I have samples of Musc Tonkin and Cuir Buluga, because I had tried each on paper when I was in Las Vegas at an actual Guerlain counter and I remembered I had liked one of them but could not remember which. The envelope with the two samples in in smells wonderful, but neither on its own has that smell. I think that I am going to have to get spray samples of both of these and also try layering them.
I fell in love with Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s Une Robe de Zibeline (sable coat). Gorgeous! Happy Martin Luther King Day – I try to do decent by folks every day – sometimes it’s just a little something, like helping someone carry stuff, whatever needs doing to help us all get through our day.
xoxoxoA
I recently tried Amouage Myths (woman) and hated it. I think that it was the first Amouage that I’ve outright hated. The Caron Aimez Moiwas a dislike. But I haven’t done a whole lot of sampling. I finally did take the plunge on Andy Tauer’s Vanilla Flash. At $63, that’s practically free in the world of niche.