The Worst perfume ever!

[anniewoo]

Was in HOF today and as i have no money at the moment to spend (despite their sale) decided to cheer myself up with a spray ( or two) of their posh perfumes. Big Mistake- sprayed Serge lutyens Tuberose Criminale- and it was!!!! Well the smell was criminal- like camphor, moth balls mixed with wintergreen , that awful muscle rub stuff. Jesus wept and it lasts and lasts and lasts. Can't kill it off, despite Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio on my other wrist. You have been warned.....Though i do dare you!!!

I'm no expert but I tried this recently. It was very strong tuberose, very heady, and lingered a loooong time. I didn't actually like it, but if you like Tuberose, this will be right up your street. Didn't get much Gardenia and wouldn't want to be stuck in a lift with it. Very heady and rich.

I don't normally like 'heady and rich' so I'm a bit surprised at myself quite liking it!

Chanel Bois des Iles today - lovely sandalwood, but hasn't really thrilled me yet.

cardoon- the Tuberose and Gardenia one smells very expensive so even if people don't like it, they will at least think you are rich!

Estee Lauders are generally quality stuff and many perfume lovers love T&G.
I have a hard time with gardenia scents in general so am no expert.

I've had my surrender to chance samples.

So far I've tried Coromandel, I liked and appreciated it but didn't love it and I wouldn't buy. It had too much of a smokey smell for me, it reminded me of Dior Addict which I loathe.

Also tried Frederick Mall Portrait of a Lady, which I really liked. A heavy floral but quite musky as well. I want to try it again though as I don't trust one try.

I've also tried, at the shops, Guerlain Idylle and Insolence. I thought I was adoring Idylle but after an hour or so it was just too heavy and headachy for me and I washed it off. Insolence was too fruity for me. I think I don't like anything fruity it always has a distinct cough syrup smell for me.

I went out last night and wore Samsara. Which Ive loved for years and is still just one of the most sublime perfumes for me. It's the only Guerlain I've found that I really love despite tying hard. But I do have Après and heure bleu samples to try.

Does anyone wear J'Adore by Dior? I've been reading about this and think I need to try it.

I would really hate to offend anybodies sense of smell as my own is quite easily offended [hsmile]

< sticks to light citrus>

cardoon, I'm sure you'll be fine as long as you don't wear Poison or Angel (in my house anyway).

I wore LouLou really heavily for about five years so it's payback time for me- wear what you will!

Ohsiena. i can't stand fruity myself and Samsara is lovely although I was more of an Opium girl myself. I can remember Loulou too! Then Coco, volupte and Coco Madamoiselle. Back to Shalimar, via about 3 consecutive bottles of Angel to currently owning and using Shalimar parfum (managed to get a 30ml bottle for £60 on ebay!), Ambre Sultan, Tuberose Criminelle and Louve. Fleurs d'citronnier when really hot.
At present testing samples of Teint d'neige (possibly too much like baby powder but like it) and Lipstick Rose.

Have spent hours on www.luckyscent.com looking for samples today

I have fallen in love with my sample of Amouage Jubilation XXV for women. Gorgeous incensey spice, really warm. Horrified at the price of a full bottle though .

I tried Chanel Cuir de Russe this week too- a gorgeous leather, but not as punchy as the Tom Ford. It didn't last as long as I would have liked though, which surprised me, as the sample was the parfum.

Dona are you still there somewhere?

I have had my 13 testers of Chanel and am a bit confused! I like 3 of them, from wearing one a day to try to get a real feel of it (may need a 2nd test of each) but they are all very different! I like Sycamore, 18 and Jersey. I don't think they have much in common? The rest were a little powdery for me. It has made me realise that I like woody (only woody one I previously tried was Prada and got quite sickly) and am surprised by 18 as it seems to smell quite floral/rosey, but not cheap.

I can't buy all 3! Help!

Insanity, Sycomore is a great vetiver - good budget alternative: Encre Noire by Lalique (the masculine version). Try before buying. Jersey is a lavendar soliflore - try cheaper alternatives. Ch 18 is an ambrette fragrance, not easy to dupe.
Wear all of them a bit more? I have 3 full bottles of Les Exclusifs btw - C, CdR and 28LP. Plus samples of everything else.

Amouage XXV is stunning. Is Bal a Versailles a bit similar (and cheaper?) - somehow associate them with each other but might not remember correctly.

Scent of the day: Malle's Portrait of a Lady.

Ah hello again!
I did think Sycamore is a bit masculine. I am single at the moment, but wondered if people would think I had decided to become a lesbian if I smelled like a man! I did love that one the most though - had the strongest "Wow!" factor for me. Made me think of lovely wood in antique bureaus :) Will try your recommendation.

Am wearing 18 again today and love it too, second fave.
Jersey was a lot more femanine and summery.
Must try C and Cdr again though.

Women can like vetiver just like they can wear jeans or a chambray shirt. Many male perfumes smell very sexy on women - Sycomore is very unisex too and several female friends adore and own it. You should explore more vetiver fragrances, although what you have now is one of the very best.

This is supposed to be a great and inexpensive lavendar - haven't tried it but maybe you should!

I wear a lot of "masculines" (really, perfumes have no gender - it's just marketing) - they smell great on me and I often pair them with dresses and red lipstick.

I think it is something I am going to have to get. I can't imagine anything quite like it. I felt really confident wearing it, which makes a nice change as recently life has turned a bit upside down and I am piecing it back together, slowly. Part of the jigsaw may well have been found! Thank you so much :)

Well, I had a leisurely browse through the massive Duty Free shop at Gatwick yesterday, and came out smelling like the proverbial tart's boudoir.

On one arm:

Jo Malone Pomegranite Noir - nasty and sharp at first, but pleasant enough after a while. I liked it more than I thought I would. Spicy and slightly fruity.

Chanel Coromandel - just to check I might just love it enough to pay £75 (!) for a bottle. I think I do......

On the other arm:

Eau Sauvage - ahhhh, that takes me back; it was what all the cool boys wore beck in mid-80s Oxford. But it lasted about ten minutes on me.

Guerlain Little Black Dress - overpowering black cherry, which lingered all day. Not for me.

I'm wearing my sample of Coramandel today, I bought a 30ml spray from Surrender to Chance because I liked the tiny sample so much and I shall be hotfooting it to Selfridges with my bank card in my hot little mitt to buy the actual real deal this week. What do you reckon my chances are of getting the Chanel assistants to hand over some Les Exclusifs samples ?

I got a Beige sample a while ago.
In a miniature replica bottle.

If you buy a bottle, it's normal to get a few free samples (think ahead which ones you'd pick). I got once free champagne and a mini with no purchase - but I do know more about Chanel perfumes than most of their vendeuses

I'll let you know how I get on, I'm thinking of asking them what samples they recommend and hoping they won't foist things they're having trouble getting rid of onto me.

I found this thread a couple of days ago and as a rather inept perfume lover (always seem to buy the wrong things!) I have been reading with interest - it really has turned from a "Worst" to a "Best" perfumes thread!
I also started reading the Luca Turin/T Sanchez Perfume guide a couple of weeks ago, makes for a very good read and has made me want to explore Guerlain perfumes a bit more, so far I haven't found one that works on my skin.

I've just ordered about 30 $ worth of samples from Surrender to Chance, to have delivered to my mum's UK address as the website says they won't ship to Italy, where I live (not surprised, given how often post seems to go missing here..). But I've just read a couple of comments about duty - does anyone know if the postman will demand to be paid duty upon delivery?? The total value was 33 dollars I think...

I've just placed an order with lucky scent for samples - all almond/ vanilla loukoum type fragrances.

I wore Teint de Neige again yesterday - suddenly discovered what it reminded me of - only the smell of dog poo bags that they put on to 'disguise' the smell of dog poo! So definitely can NEVER buy that one. DH and DS amost died laughing when I told them. its still a lovely baby powder type scent tho

I've spent a day in Lipstick Rose (Malle) too. Its the loveliest violet I've tried. It starts with a blast of rose and dies down to a parma violet type accord. Really nice.

I've ordered a sample of Mandorlo di Sicilia off ebay - apparently, according to the description, Crisp top notes of bergamot arouse the senses, while the aromatic essence of star anise imbues the top notes of the fragrance with a dynamic freshness.

Floral heart notes of jasmine intertwine with the fruity notes of white peach, enhanced by the gentle caress of Mediterranean green almond.

The base notes are announced by the coffee accord, while cedar wood nestles in the sensual delicacy of white musk and vanilla.

Today is Shalimar parfum day!

shall we call a new thread something more positive and have an official 'perfume club'.

That would be great - if this thread stays alive until 1000th message. The Best Perfumes Ever?

I'm enjoying two gorgeous things today: Theorema EdP by Fendi (discontinued but great) and Frederic Malle's Cafe Society candle: "The ephemeral odor of the living room a few minutes after the end of a Parisian dinner when the guests have just left." (To me, one of the best perfume blurbs ever - I don't normally even like perfumed candles.) DD1 agreed and exclaimed "Che bel profumo!" when she came home from the playground.

I ordered the Malle candle from Alla Violetta, and got a generous amount of extras - a sample of Alien (scary!), Penhaligon's Orange Blossom, Amouage Interlude Woman, Traversée du Bosphore by L'Artisan, Heeley Menthe Fraiche, Terre d'Hermes EdT and Bas de soie by Lutens. I already have samples of the last four - would have loved to get the parfum version of Terre...

Although my taste in perfume has become drier, I like quite a few almond perfumes. Tonka Imperiale by Guerlain, and in small doses, Hypnotic Poison. To me, Farnesiana by Caron and Cinema by YSL are quite almondy too.

Spaghettina, I'm in Italy too. Explore your local profumerie - the selection here is incredible, I can get most perfumes locally here, even niche ones. Alla Violetta Boutique is really great and they do free UPS deliveries to Italy if your order exceeds 49 euros. (Their samples are much nicer than those from Surrender to Chance.)

Perfumes ordered from the US to Italy are often seized by Italian customs - you are sent a lot of paperwork and should in theory pay for a "sanitary inspection", but my samples have gotten lost and I have never received them.

If I need perfumes from outside the EU, I get them sent to my mother's address abroad. She's not in the UK so I don't know about import duties there - I've only had to pay duties for big (>100 USD) orders.

Ok, so I have now tested all my StC samples and I haven't really been taken by any of them. Fracas was probably my favourite of the 5 I ordered, though my DP said that I smelt like a Lush store (men either love or loathe tuberose, it's true!) So, I have put together an order for lessenteurs with the following samples in my basket:-

• Serge Lutens- Ambre Sultan & A La Nuit
• Frederick Malle- Portrait of a Lady & iUne Fleur De Cassie

I ordered a sample of Gelsomino Nobile (AdP) from ebay- there is a funny synthetic note that I do not like. I assume that is the jasmine?

I tried Florabotanica (Balenciaga) this morning on my way back from the cinema (went to a mother and baby only viewing of the new Woody Allen film). It's ok, but nothing special.