Nothing is really capturing my attention for any kind of in-depth review, but I do have a bunch of samples and scents running around here that are begging for a quickie, so let’s just plug our nose and do it. I can’t believe I’m doing this right after a shower.
Calvin Klein Beauty – bottle is really pretty, the scent is not fruity, generically floral, a little bright, but doesn’t skew young, though a younger person could wear it pretty happily. Generically pleasing and nonoffensive. Don’t they say that women rated the prettiest have the most average facial features? I expect it should do pretty well, even though no one will remember it. Datability – it could probably make you to the meet the parents stage, but you’d need something more to close the deal
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soleil – I really like these beachy ELs, probably more than I like most of the things they do except the old Cinnabar. This year’s take on BG, it’s perkier, with some bright top notes. I’m not sure that I like it better than the original, but it’s a nice, fresh variation for hotter summer days when the regular BG may be a little too heavy. At $55 for 100 ml, I’m not sure you can go wrong. Datability – summer fling only.
Estee Lauder Wild Elixir may not be all that wild, but it’s sparkly on the top like champagne bubbles, then drops into green floral territory that’s really pretty nice. It doesn’t have a lot of that Estee Lauder “perfumey” feel to it, which is great as well. Again, you won’t remember it next year, but maybe not all of the scents we were need to imprint in order to be worthy. It would be easy to wear, probably leans more younger in feel, but I’d feel comfortable wearing it, too. Datability – “Who was that girl you dated a few years ago, started with a K, or was it a C?”
Keiko Mechieri Tuberose. Not feeling it. Too plasticky, even though tuberose tends to that. It needs something else. Like a scrub off my finger. Sorry, Keiko! Datability – “Oh, wait, my buddy is waving me over over, nice meeting you!”
Aquolina Pink Sugar Sensuelle. Don’t hate. Every now and then I like spritzing on the Pink Sugar and totally feeling my inner sugar goddess. It doesn’t last long, but that syrupy sweet gooey thing is a little luxurious in a world where I think I’ve outgrown it. I like this version better than the original, it’s a little deeper. Now, for some, that’s a bug, not a feature, but when I’m sinking into the sugar sigh, might as well go all in. Datability – Good, sweet hook if the guy doesn’t mind the good, sweet hoook.
Well, yes, this has been a downscale week. Not sure why, guess I’m all niched out with all those big bucks bottles that have been coming out the last couple of months.
Okay, worst perfume mistake you made on a date? I haven’t made one in a while, but it has to be the days of Giorgio, and for about three weeks, before I realized that stuff was toxic in anything bigger than an eyedropper drop, I spritzed it on and went out. I think I made myself sick before the night was over.
When Dinos run the Earth, I went out with a midwestern man type wearing Bal a Versailles perfume. He hated it, telling me he really preferred no perfume at all.
Hmmm…I’m sure I’ve made some, given that I haven’t always been judicious in my application. DH is not a lover of perfume and I tend to be quite cautious now. A year ago, I received a bottle of J’Adore L’eau as a gift and applied it after my shower. Half an hour later, DH thanked me for spraying for ants in the bathroom… BTW, would anyone like a very, very slightly used bottle of J’Adore L’eau?
Now I really wish the emoticons were working in the comments so I could use the little guy rolling on the floor laughing! :-D
P.S. I just HAD to stop at Macy’s tonight and smell J’Adore L’Eau after that – it’s not bad at all, in fact it reminds me of a slightly less sweet Max Mara, which I own and wear regularly, especially in the summer. Just a little astringency to the Dior, maybe touch of lemon, but it’s pretty. Does *not* smell like ant spray!
Not sure about dating errors with fragrance – can’t remember back that far – but I am pretty sure I gassed my former co-workers with WAY too much Patou Sublime back in the day. It was my first ambery perfume and I went overboard in my newfound admiration for the genre. Sorry guys! (I still love Sublime but if I wear it now it’s just a drop or two.)
Spritzed on some Passage d’Enfer once and smelled like a cheap cardboard car freshener for an entire day. I think only I noticed, but it really gave me a kick in the pants confidence-wise.
I would have been wearing Joy, Opium, or Lauren in my dating years, and don’t remember any unfortunate incidents. Even though they’re heavy scents, I have always been very light-handed in my perfume application.(Maybe because I know my taste runs to heavier scents?)
Opium got the most physical reaction from the lads (neck nuzzling and such) while Joy elicited more verbal compliments. (“You smell pretty, like flowers”)
No perfume mistakes on a date for me, as I didn’t really wear fragrance during that time in my life (didn’t feel I was “sexy” enough to pull it off, sadly), but I do have a great-perfume/should’ve-turned-into-a-date-/wow-was-I-clueless story.
In Grade 12 I went on a search for a while to find something that smelled good on me, and spent most of my free time while in Vancouver for a band trip (I told you I was a geek ;)) sniffing away and asking for samples – because back then you could actually get them without offering your future firstborn child.
I actually found something I liked and smelled good on me while I was there, the lovely Anne Klein II. A little while after we came home, one of my male friends gifted me with a bottle of this fragrance. Geoff was tall, good-looking and really sweet, and my oblivious younger self just said thank-you and left it at that. Honestly, I could smack her/me up the side of the head. I want to yell at her, “Hey numbskull! High school boys don’t randomly give gifts of perfume to girls who are just friends!” It’s true that youth is wasted on the young.
Sadly, although I loved that Anne Klein II, I lacked the confidence at the time to wear it. So it languished in my bathroom for years until I finally *sob* gave it away. Still kicking myself a bit about that.
Oh, that IS a great story! Bittersweet! Geoff sounds lovely, and you were sweet and naive! I hope you both found equally lovely partners!
Youth truly is wasted on the young. I look back at pictures of myself and wonder how on Earth I could possibly have thought I was so fat and ugly. I wept myself to sleep over it night after night. I am 5’8″, and I weighed all of 122 lbs, yet I thought I was obese.
I hear ya, Tammy. I wore a size 5 and agonized over the curve of my inner thighs. Crazy.
I was just contemplating a couple of days ago that, fortunately, some of the difficulties of the teenage years yield some decent paybacks later on. I had horrible acne growing up, but that oily, ruddy, couldn’t-tan-because-of-my-prescriptions skin turned into a face that doesn’t need blush, has no wrinkles or sun damage at the age of 40. And now I’m old enough to really appreciate it. :)>-
On the perfume front, those awkward teenage years give me a heightened appreciation that, why thank you very much, I DO rock it in scents like Black Cashmere now.
Sorry, no dating/perfume stories since I didn’t really use/wear/appreciate fragrance until about 2004 or so (major allergy asthma issues).
However, I like this speed-dating with scents post. Quick idea of what it is and keep moving!
Not a date, something way weirder. Time spent with someone I was so wild about, my gums hurt and I could barely hear for the buzzing in my ears! (ever had that? I don’t recommend it). He smelled like dulce de leche and in a desperate attempt to counteract the scent-lust (I was in total thrall, almost beyond Reason) I spritzed a half-gallon of Fresh Lemon Sugar. It sort of helped keep me in line. Sort of.
:”>
xo >-)
Okay, what’s it gonna take for you to spill the whole story?
I’ll save that for a post…maybe 😉
xo >-)
Back When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth, I went out with a Midwestern All-American Boy type (yeah, I know, I know) wearing Bal a Versailles perfume. He hated it, telling me he really preferred no perfume at all. Gaaaacck!
I married one of those Midwestern All-American Boys, and have been blissfully happy for 20 years, but I must say, he could care less about perfume.
He doesn’t hate it….but other than the money I spend on it, he doesn’t even notice it, which is probably worse!
Well, it all worked out, since we’re married now, but I used to love Anais Anais, until my (now) husband told me “That’s what my sister wears all the time. My mom too, I think.” Awesome.
I also put on some straight up patchouli for old times’ sake, and he confessed that he always hated patchouli. I hope he thought it was somebody else reeking, when I wore it to every single Dead show we went to.
Waves at fellow Dead Head!
My first evening out in California was to an indoor Dead concert in Long Beach. I had just moved from the rural Deep South.
It was many concerts and several years later before I realized that the combination patchouli and pot were NOT the same smell. A co-worker was wearing a patch-heavy fragrance, and I thought she had been smoking dope on her break, which horrified me, considering I was teaching pre-school at the time!
Bad choice for a date-several summers ago I went (on a very hot evening) to a movie and had oversprayed Sushi Imperiale. It was overwhelming, and I managed to nauseate myself. And my date, I’m sure.
No second date, needless to say!
I went fruity mainstream for a few generally cheap and sometimes unsniffed FB’s during the summer! Kill me now, it started with Patou’s Patou Forever (yep, it is raspberry Joy and I love it), continued with Insolence EDP, then yikes extended to a couple of the Escada OTT fruities,which are really fun and hit the spot in the heat and humidity of late summer Down here. I could lose my perfumista stripes if I’m not careful! It goes back to last summer with the stonking CSP Vanille Banane and the wonderful Pulp. A few favorites like the Hermes Nil and my adored Nuit de Tube toyed with mango in a way I really liked so I decided to follow the note a bit, was a bit disappointed with Parf Gen Mango Metisse, he should have pushed the boat out I reckon…then I found the Escada Taj Sunset, based on the most hugest shampoo mango note possible, but I like it.
I think its out of my system now!
W, you just made my day with the Escada mention, mangomaniac that I am! Must try ASAP, and since it’s an LE I might have to stock up if I like it enough. :-)
Also a big Patou For Ever fan!
I still cringe when I think of the amount of fruity Bath & Body Works spray and lotion (can’t remember if it was Sun-Ripened Raspberry or Country Apple) I wore on one date. It was the 1990s and I was young! That’s my only excuse. He told me later that he loved how his apartment smelled like me for days after I left. Gah.
I think it’s been 2 full years now since a mainstream scent interested me at all. And about 3 years since I actually bought one. What I notice is that my shampoos and deodorants are smelling more and more like the mainstream perfumes, as though they are moving towards each other (the bathing products are smelling better and more complex, the perfumes, less so- they have almost met in the middle!). Seriously, it can be hard to tell the difference in some blind tests. In fact, with some girlfriends, a well-known, ubiquitous brand of European deodorant won over a number of dept.-store perfumes! I think it was called, “Golden Exotic Musk”. And it’s only 3 euros a bottle! That’s a deal!
😕
Masha, I almost choked on my coffee here – I was thinking that very thing last night, as I was rinsing out the shower (El O is sort of messy) – I thought he’d spritzed some nice, generic perfume – except he wouldn’t know a perfume if it bit him on the nose. Turns out it was his bodywash (I use unscented soap). I thought I’d lost my mind – or my nose. Glad to know it’s not just me, smelling the similarities.
xo >-)
So it’s definitely not just me who’s noticed? I think some entrepreneur could put “Golden Exotic Musk” in a pretty bottle and sell it for major money, though I’m thinking the legality might be a little hazy….But hey, they probably already do this in some countries!
Ladies, great minds are converging! LT said something similar (or rather TS attributed to him) at that seminar I attended last fall: the functional fragrances are getting better and better and the mainstream perfumes are getting cheaper and less good, and the two lines on the graph are about to cross. I think LT was especially fond of Tide spring woods or something. Wish we had that “Golden Exotic Musk” here in the US!
Liked your take and the fun approach to rate these fumes :)