Hi, everyone. Thanks for joining me on today’s Another Chance post I announced a couple of weeks ago, wherein I (and, I hope, some of you) took a few days to try out a fragrance we’ve not given much attention to, and/or one we are on the fence about, and report back. Here’s mine, and please leave yours in comments, I’d love to know what you discovered.
Annick Goutal Mon Parfum Cheri, Par Camille – I lurve me some Annick Goutal, as anyone who’s done any regular reading of the Posse knows. Collectively they have a kind of quirkiness, and often a herbaceousness, which I find captivating. They are charming, for lack of a better word. The first AG I ever tried was Gardenia Passion many years ago, when I snuck a spritz on multiple occasions from a friend’s bottle on her vanity; I didn’t even know what it was called. Then I stumbled across the boutique in Paris and left with some newfound knowledge, a bottle of Mandragore and a deep love for the line in general, if not each scent. Over the past year I’ve been filling in some empty spots in my collection – minis I’ve used up, older scents on eBay, etc. The super-popular Hadrien has never worked for me, but I adore several other AGs in summer – Sud, Camille, Chevrefuille, etc., and both Passion and Gardenia Passion are in regular rotation when it’s cooler outside. And have I mentioned how great Mandragore is any old time? Oh, I have?
Mon Parfum Cheri is a floral chypre and as such a more zaftig addition to the line, along the lines of Passion, and I thought I’d love it. Notes include violet, plum, patchouli, iris and heliotrope. I found a bottle of the EdP (as far as I know it was never released in the US in that formulation, only the EdT) and promptly bought it unsniffed.
Well, ugh. Oui, it is Monsieur Yuck, back after a long absence! I should have looked for the allegedly lighter EdT, because the EdP is such a patchouli monster. The drydown is just lovely, but I don’t have the patience to get through a top that’s so patch-heavy it’s like wearing some medicinal muscle-rub. Verdict: hard pass. In the meantime, Bois de Jasmin loved it; Gaia preferred the EdT (oh, how I miss Gaia), and will I blind-buy that one if given the right opportunity? Sure, why not.
Chanel No. 19 Poudré – at the opposite end of the quirky-charm spectrum from Annick Goutal we have Chanel. Setting aside decants of Les Exclusifs, I own exactly two Chanels – Coco, which stole my heart back in the day and I still love so much that I own several bottles of different vintages and concentrations; and Cristalle Eau Verte, which (if I’m being honest) barely qualifies as Chanel now that it’s had its claws removed, and I like wearing it in summer, it’s light and refreshing. So imagine my surprise when I stumbled across a bottle of No. 19 Poudré in a box downstairs; what was that doing here? Maybe I reviewed it, and so I did a search on the Posse… which wound up being a bit of a gut punch. No wonder I’d forgotten, it was at the peak of my former life being thrown on the pyre, and I’ve deleted as much of that year from my memory as possible. Anyhow. How great is this thing?! Notes are neroli, galbanum, jasmine, iris, white musk, vetiver, and tonka bean; the aldehydes and galbanum and …. strychnine have been exorcised surgically removed from the original No. 19 by Jacques Polge, and it’s only lightly green and (for the record) not powdery at all, more rooty iris in a meadow. My earlier review sums it up but this is dumbed down in all the right ways to make it enjoyable for me; if you’re a big No. 19 fan, don’t even bother, because I think you’d hate it. Verdict: a new bottle at my bedside, I’m literally wearing this right now.
Okay, your turn! What have you tried out, and what was the verdict?
I was gifted Sundrunk by Imaginary Authors…and I’m just not in love with it. On me, it first borders on insect repellant and then fades into oblivion within an hour. I’ll give it one more try tomorrow and then it’s probably time to pass it on.
My list is tooo long! Anything with lily of the valley. but you hate Mon parfum edp? I love that thing so much, I dont’ have any at my house, and that’s even worse. Maybe I’ve gone the other way, now I hate it where I once loved it.
I tried out a manufacturer’s mini of Sisley’s Eau de Soir that’s just been sitting there, and I’ve decided it is Not. My. Thing. I bought it because it’s listed as a green chypre, but I’ve discovered I like my green chypres either more bitchy (No 19, Scherrer No 1, Bandit) or more melancholy (Mitsouko, Chypre de Coty, Silences). Eau de Soir is just too…pretty. It’s not bad, it’s just meh (sorry, Jackie O!). But I liked the exercise, and it was good to go back and dig something out! (P.S. I do like the AG Mon Parfum Cheri, par Camille, but the sample I have must be the EdT because I’m not a patchouli fan, and I like this and how plummy it is.)
Hmmmmm, you’re really making me think I need to try that EdT, lol. And I have never liked that Sisley. I am glad you enjoyed the exercise though!
Heya March,
I did go back and wear a long neglected love over the last couple of days. Resina by Oliver & Co. LOVED it when I first tried it, bought a bottle, wore it a bit, forgot about it completely.
Spicy resinous amber goodness. I’ll be spritzing it heavily this autumn/winter season. Wearing it right now. So good.
Portia
Yummmmmm! Perfect timing! I love those resin-y scents in fall!
I’ve been giving this one second and third chances over the last couple of days…CB I Hate Perfume 7 Billion Hearts. I love his perfumes because you generally don’t need to wait for them to bloom. They start as soon as they hit your skin…no alcohol burn off. Not so 7BH. I remembered this as a very intense non-sweet rich vanilla. I stumbled across my sample while awaiting a bottle I’d snagged on e-bay recently and was quite puzzled because…at first sniff almost nothing. Kinda astringent. After about 1/2 hour it did begin to bloom into recognizable vanilla but not as intensely as I remembered. Thought it was a matter of a sample past it’s prime but just got the new unused bottle last night and nope, same exact experience. Apparently 1) my memory sucks and 2) I’ll be using this one for layering. Suggestions for perfumes that can use a nice boost of vanilla layering? Sigh.
Huh. I hardly get any of the vanilla, my skin really amplifies the incense base (to the extent you could call it amplified — it’s a pretty delicate scent). I would be bummed if all I got was some vanilla at CBIHP prices…
I get lovely dry vanilla about 1/2 hour in. I didn’t remember the wood and smoke and I think that’s what shook me up. I’ve heard others refer to the opening as a bit medicinal and that’s how the first couple of minutes struck me. Now that my expectations are adjusted, I think I’ll enjoy it more. I used it under a tea/honey/vanilla cake scent this am and it was pretty spectacular.
I was thinking about this post yesterday so burrowed into my small box of stuff (I’m really not a collector and divested myself of almost all my samples when packing for this move — someone at the local charity shop will really luck out). Pulled out Theo Fennell Scent. I don’t wear this much but each time I do I wonder why I don’t. It’s beautiful. All I can recall on the notes is saffron. But there are the pongy flowers, some cumin, resins, etc. Chypre, oriental, blah, blah, blah. It’s one of those perfumes that sits beautifully on skin. There’s a tiny bit left this AM even after shower. A vanity project, it seems, by a jeweller, created by Christophe Laudamiel. I think you can find it on eBay etc.
Oooooh, I LOVE Scent! It’s very, very cumin-y on me and that was the deal-breaker for a lot of people, but for a few of us it was perfect.
I also love Theo Fennell Scent and wear it a lot in cold weather, I think I’ll try wearing it in warm weather this year and see how it feels.
In honor of your pending post I decided to revisit Ines de la Fressange – the Morillas version (no matter how hard I try, I cannot love the Becker one). I’ve been wearing it while I do all the icky, unsexy garden stuff (hauling bricks and hoeing out runner weeds) because, try as I might, I cannot imagine the elegant Mme Ines doing any of that ;-). It’s got some orange and blackcurrant in the opening which always translates as muskmelon (cantaloupe) to my nose – and I shouldn’t love it. But I do. But it’s not compelling. Heck, it’s not even all that interesting! Which is probably why I don’t wear it all that often. But I do love it, in all its fruitchouli goodness!
xoxoxo
Pretty sure I swapped my bottle away at some point because I decided it wasn’t “interesting” enough — and I kinda wish I hadn’t, because it’d be perfect for the way you are using it.
I stumbled across a decant of Frapin’s 1270. I’m sure I must have tried it when it was received but had no memory of it whatsoever. Based on notes, I should hate it as there is a LOT of fruit going on in those top notes but it’s an amazing dose of boozy fruit that is deepened by a lot of other gourmand notes as it develops and I absolutely love it.
Hehe I feel like this was a culty perfumista thing when it first came out? I don’t know how I felt about it then, but I actually think I’d love it now.
I love Goutal, too, and though Mon Cherie is not typical of the house, I love that one, too. I blind bought a partial last year. And, though not a Chanel fan, I do like 19 in all its iris glory. I’ve only sampled it and would love a bottle. I blind bought four bottles of indie perfumer Happyland and love all four. A friend sent me Guerlain Nerolia Bianca, which I love in spite of its bubblegum quality. And she sent me Dali Sunrise in Cadaques, which I like but don’t love. It’s just okay. So, mostly winners.
Absolutely winners! And I am definitely going to try out the Mon Cheri in the EdT formulation, which is supposed to be less patch-y, because the drydown is so nice.
I own both the EDP and the EDT of MPCPC and I think they are pretty similar. I adore them, but I guess that if you dislike the EDP you are not very likely to love the EDT.
I adore both and got both for a song on ebay, quite shortly after the scent came out. I think a lot of people blind bought it and ended up not liking it.
I never gave 19 Poudré a fair chance. I should try it again, it sounds so good!
Chanel No. 19 Poudre is one of my old standbys (the other being Herme’s Hiris). I have had both of them since their launch and still love and wear them.
I’m feeling kinda dumb mine was sitting in a box all this time, but it’s perfect right now!
is that the Basement Box? That was the most ….. stunningly weird… thing I’d ever seen – that box of lovelies just….. I just stood there and looked at it, wondering WTF? (I didn’t boost anything, sweatergawd! )