July New Idea 2023

Woo Hoo! Let’s see how my month went for July New Idea 2023. Well! We have flown past the halfway mark. I won’t lie to you, this month has been a hard slog. My enthusiasm has waned and I’m spending quite a bit of time beating myself up over stupid ideas. I often forget when making recurring plans how much I love not having any… HA HA HA HA HA!

June New Idea $50 Surrender To Chance Voucher Winner = KayKay
Email me: portia (underscore) turbo (at) yahoo (dot) com (dot) au
I’ll send your voucher out ASAP

July New Idea 2023

A little recap for those who have forgotten.

This year I’m aiming to thunk five samples/decants a week. More if possible, there is a tonne of them here to be dealt with. Every thunk is called a WIN, because let’s face it who doesn’t need a few extra wins? These are easy wins but hopefully will give us all a sense of accomplishment that will carry over into daily life.

How It Works

1. No matter what size the sample or decant it only counts as ONE win.
2. To count as a win the decant MUST be thunked. Yeah, I know but this is how I’m playing it. You can have your own rules if you like.
3. Multiples in a day are acceptable. So, if you empty something in the morning, another after work and another before bed that counts as THREE wins.
4. Manufacturer Travel Size is not a sample or decant.
5. At the end of each successfully completed month I am allowed to reward myself with a splurge from ONE perfume store. Yeah that’s right. Sure you can buy 20 things if it makes you happy but it has to be ONE etailer or retailer in ONE TRANSACTION.

I’m going to celebrate by giving away a US$50 Gift Voucher to Surrender To Chance for every successful month to one lucky random commenter. Cool eh?

So let’s see how July New Idea 2023 went…..

FiF: First in Fragrance, LiP: Libertine Parfumerie, LS: LuckyScent, MPS: My Perfume Samples, MS: Manufacturers Sample, P1: Perfume 1, PG: Perfumista Gift, PP: Posh Peasant, RK: Ruth K, SG: Split Group, STC: Surrender To Chance, TPC: The Perfumed Court

1. Day: Teo Cabanel Cafe Cabanel: MS: Last time I tried this I went ape shit for it too. Warm spicy caramel coffee that heads to milky vanilla rich amber. On the To Buy List. LOVE
2. Morning: Keiko Mecheri Mogador: MS: So pretty. Cool morning roses and greenery, a garden in bloom. Love this so much but wouldn’t wear it. Love
   Evening: Celine Saint-Germain-Des-Pres: STC 5ml: Wore it to work tonight, it was a hit. Gorgeous aldehydic floral with loads of bright herbal and citrus notes. A powdery vanilla dry down. If this was half the price I’d have a 200ml bottle. Maybe I need a bottle anyway?!? Love
3. Nope (A few of us Aussies are wearing JHaG Midnight Oud. I’m in 10 chest sprays and doing the house cleaning. Winter drudgery never smelled so good)
4. Day: Oriza L. Legrand Les Tourterelles de Zelmis: SG 10ml: This has taken a while to use because when over spritzed it’s an aldehyde bomb and I get headaches. Softer application is key for me. So pretty, rosy carnation floral with powdery honeyed amber dry down. Should be a win but Nope
   Bed: Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Tutti Kiwi: STC 5ml: I remember trying this when it was available in our department stores and not thinking it was something I’d ever like to smell like. Well, I was wrong. It is lovely, so pretty and like a super expensive hair conditioner. Fruity, like fruit, not confectionary. Like
5. Nope
6. Nope. Finished a L’Artisan Caligna shower gel.
7. Nope
8. Morning: L’Artisan Au Bord de L’Eau: SG 10ml: Was excited to find a large decant of this after draining a 2ml last month. I could see myself owning a bottle, maybe. Love
   Bed: Roja Dove Pierre de Velay Extrait No. 11: STC 5ml: Bloody hell. I’ve been known to knock Roja for his head up ass pretentiousness but this perfume smells AH MAY ZING! A woody white floral that is very masculine on me. OMG it’s nearly 500 pounds. LOVE but that’s just too much money.
9. Morning: Eight and Bob Egypt: STC 5ml: Used up most of this when I got it. So less than a ml. Lovely traditional menswear. The woody dry down is so comfortable. Like Posse review
   Evening: Ermengildo Zegna Musk Gold: STC 5ml: GAH! By the time I realised this was the gold standard musk for me it was DCd in Australia and I couldn’t find it anywhere. SO SAD! Spicy patchouli musks. Love
10. Evening: Soivohle Orris Ochre: Mine 10ml: I decanted this out for a holiday years ago. There was still almost the whole 10ml. I sent most of it off to three people in the Aussie Blind Sniff Swap. Had about 1ml left and wore it all at once. OMG! A perfect, dry, lightly bready, violet rich orris. What a perfume. This is one of the best July New Idea fragrances I’ve worn. L O V E
11. Nope
12. Nope
13. Nope
14. Nope
15. Morning: Serge Lutens Dent de Lait: STC 5ml: Metallic floral with milky sap. So pretty. We had a sunny winter day today and it felt like spring. So tenacious, I could still smell it when I had a midnight bath. LOVE
    Bed: Tom Ford Noir Anthracite: STC 5ml: Smells very old fashioned menswear with a metallic twist. Like
16. Nope
17. Morning: J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin Altruist: STC 5ml: Citrus and peppery rose with a weird assed metallic banknote that takes it well out of the cologne genre into something much more interesting. Like
    Evening: Tauer Perfumes Cologne du Maghreb: STC 5ml: Only oily dregs left in my decant. Just a whisper of herbal amber with a slight hint of pithy citrus. Gone in under an hour. Bummer
    Bed: Montale Vetiver Des Sables: STC 1ml: Threw it all on at once. Metallic, salty, twiggy and green. As it warms up on my body there is a pretty white floral breathiness underneath. Gorgeous. Like
18. Nope
19. Nope
20. Nope
21. Nope
22. Nope
23. Morning: Jessica Simpson I Fancy You: MPS 5ml: Fruity aquatic with a white and green bouquet. Very pretty. Like
    Evening: Mancera Aoud Violet: STC 5ml: This has been an interesting ride. Wearing Aoud Violet around the house, shopping, walking the dog or working is excellent. It’s a metallic, medicinal oudh that dries down to a soft twiggy amber. Wore it one night to the opera and it smelled like a chemical plant meltdown, was totally distracting. Like/hate
24. Day: Divine EdP: Unknown: This is the old stuff, smells so freaking good. My bottle is a little more modern. L O V E
    Bed: IUNX Splash Forte: STC 5ml: I bought a few of these when IUNX shut shop so you’ll be seeing them pop up. WISH I’d bought a couple of bottles now. Spicy, sweaty bay and woods. Freaking amazing. L O V E
25. Day: Cale Fragranze d’Autore Fulgor: PG: Fugor is so interesting. The open is squealing woods and combative narcissus. So over the top but never uncomfortable. The heart is like jonquils flowering on a rocky slope in the forest just as it starts to rain. Slowly it warms through to a warm, smoky and comforting amber/patchouli with an overlay of feral narcissus. 15 hours later I can still smell amber woods softly. LOVE
26. Nope
27. Nope
28. Nope
29. Morning: Volnay Etoile d’Or: SG 5ml: Spicy powder over amber. Reminds me of some of the OIriza Legrand line. Dry down is baby powder. LOVE
    Day: Pierre Guillaume Tonka Bodykon 31: STC 1ml: Chewy caramel amber with a few bells and whistles. Beautifully done. Like
30. Day: Parfum d’Empire Tabac Tabou: STC 2ml: Tobacco with animal fur, so growly and gorgeous. The narcissus and honey create the most fabulous floral animal. I remember not being particularly taken with this originally. L O V E
    Evening: DIOR Rouge Trafalgar: MS: Layering this over the remnants of Tabac Tabou made it infinitely more interesting and smell more early niche. Regularly I find it a bit like a Tocca or L’Occitane. That squeaky heart also has a Turkish Delight feel for me. Like but not very much
    Bed: Bambi’s Belly: Unknown: Strangely alluring hairy greenness topped with BarBQ sauce. QUEER! Like
31. Nope

YAY! 25 THUNKS in July! So please leave a comment with something you thunked in July for July New Idea 2023. I’ll pick a winner randomly. Then announce in the next New Idea 2023 post,

Did I splurge? Yes, I bought Etro Messe de Mineut and Perfume d’Empire Musc Tonkin, both from FragranceNet. So that’s two off my To Buy List.

Portia xx