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!!!

[mignonette]

I have a book recommendation- 'The Diary Of A Nose' by master perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena.

There is a good article in Dec UK Vogue by the author Francesca Segal on the misery caused when your signature perfume is discontinued and a debate about whether you 'should' have a wardrobe of fragrance or a signature scent. Her research adventures are mentioned here

KiwiGirl - Love the sound of your lilac Ragdoll cat. My British Longhair (ex stray) loves the smell of anything with banana or cinnamon in. Caught him eating a leftover Banana and Almond Friand last week.

I'm wearing last nights Bal A Versailles still as it does linger despite shower and hair wash. It is one of those scents that seems to sink into ones skin rather than sitting upon it. It is a rather feral, base fragrance so not suitable for every occasion ....

[YouHaveBeenOutbid]

Wow! I've been working my way through this thread for ages and have learned so much. Thankyou everyone! I started to wonder what it was that drew me to the perfumes I liked and discovered (and this will be much to anniewoo's disgust!) that it's tuberose. I've ordered some samples of Fracas and Creed's Love in White to try. Can't wait to give them a go.

[mignonette]

Youhavebeenoutbid

Look out for Prada Tuberose. Its' gorgeous and mixes/layers well with other scents.

[YouOldSlag]

YouHaveBennOutbid- You might like Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose and Gardenia. It's VERY tuberose and not very gardenia at all.

[DonaAna]

Ooh you are wearing and mentioning lovely things.
I've spent the day wearing Malle's Iris Poudre. It's probably slightly too mature and elegant on me - I now switched over to En Passant which is a joyous lilac. I don't usually wear light florals but this is just radiant. Enjoyed Le parfum

[DonaAna]

Ooh you are wearing and mentioning lovely things.
I've spent the day wearing Malle's Iris Poudre. It's probably slightly too mature and elegant on me - I now switched over to En Passant which is a joyous lilac. I don't usually wear light florals, but this is just radiant.

I've been reading The Emperor of Scent, a book on Luca Turin. Would not recommend it as a first perfume book, but it is fascinating nevertheless.

[shoeprincess2]

I have En Passant ready to test-might try tomorrow. I am currently wearing FM's Lipstick Rose- I'm not too sure about it. The rose-violet combination is quite heady and I only put a dab on! Certainly a great one for longevity, but think it wouls give me a headache if worn all day.

[Haberdashery]

So, I ordered a few samples. Lonestar Memories, Sycomore and Black March. All quite different but I am really looking forward to all of them.

I currently smell of Chanel No 19 Poudré, which I am liking more and more (I bought an actual whole bottle). There is something in it that is powdery but it's a much cleaner powder than the powder smell which I dislike in some other sweeter perfumes.

I also bought some Grey Vetiver which I'm adoring. What is the 'cold' smell in it? I like it a lot.

[SorrelForbes]

I really liked my sample of Grey Vetiver and noticed the 'coldness'. Very different from my other current likes.

[kiwigirl42]

shoeprincess2 I wore Lipstick Rose yesterday and really loved it but need to go and have a test spray of YSL Paris or Lancome Tresor - it reminds me of one of those, the former I think, and I'm wondering whether I actually prefer Paris - been yonks since I smelled it though!

Haberdashery wow, full bottle worthy - must be good! I like powdery!

SorrelForbes Silver Iris Mist is supposed to be another 'cold' smelling perfume.

Today I am trying Serge Lutens De Profundis. Its really fresh with the aroma of bluebell and hyacinths at the moment. Its supposed to dry down darker and more incensey/ orientally though.
Would not buy it but enjoying the sample!

[ThatsNice]

I'm waiting on some more samples from surrender to chance
Today I am wearing Molton Brown Lijiang that I got as a free sample last year. Just looked it up and surprised yet again that it has vetiver in. I detest pure vetiver in my essential oil kit . Who knew?!

[ThatsNice]

Kiwigirl I lived Paris in my youth. Was my signature scent Happy days
It is incredibly distinctive and recognisable though. I am loving trying new (to me), non mainstream perfumes, knowing I smell damned good but anonymous in the recognisability factor

[kiwigirl42]

ThatsNice I usually wear more niche as well - in fact, apart from Shalimar, I don't own any mainstream perfume at present but I'll wear anything if its good - I'm interested in Paris mainly because it had a really nice flanker called Paris in Spring (Paris a Printemps or something) which made it softer and less in your face). I thought it would be nice layered under some Louve!

[shoeprincess2]

kiwigirl42- That's interesting re: lipstick rose. I knew there was something familiar about it, but couldn't put my finger on it. My mum used to wear Paris when I was little. I shall have to do a side by side comparison. That said, i don't really think I'm a rose girl.

I tested En Passant yesterday and quite like it. It is like fresh cut lilacs, and I think it would be a perfect spring scent. My current favourite is still Ambre Sultan. Yesterday, I popped into Lush, after reading that Luca Turin had plauded the Gorilla perfumes. I tested The Voice of Reason. Oh goodness. I smelt like barbeque sauce. It was incredibly smoky. I had to go and scrub it off my hand and then it smelt quite nice. It was just TOO strong initially. Unbearably so.

[DonaAna]

I'm inspired by you and wearing Grey Vetiver by Tom
Ford. Warm and smoky vetiver, cool Iso E Super and bitter grapefruit. I feel very businesslike and ready to work.

Paris is a rose-violet and so is Lipstick Rose. I'm not supposed to say this but I detest the traditional make-up smell - to me roses and violets together have a nasty queasy intestinal slipperiness and I've never liked that. I do love a good rose though.

[kiwigirl42]

dona you can detest anything you like here!

I'm working my way through the Serge Lutens wax samples they sent me. They are like dots of solid perfume.
I'm wearing Forreau Noir now, inspired by someone the other day (too lazy to check back, I'm sorry).
Its nice. Smokey lavender. Quite good for the autumninal rain ( or is it now winter rain?) today but not full bottle worthy ;0)

[mignonette]

DonaAna - Les meteorites by Guerlain probably not the make up for you then with its old time powdery violet scent....

Dreary, raining and grey here so have sprayed myself liberally with L'Oiseau de Nuit by Parfumeries Generale. Described as " cistus labdanum, softest leather tones an air of honey and davona liqueur. A classic hypnotic, dusky, oriental wonder", it is doing wonders for my mood. I do love most of PG's scents, especially Felanilla.

Here are my new samples ordered today. Two will hopefully be good enough to be Christmas gifts, full size-

Tauer -'Lonestar Memories' -"The scent of the American prairies, coffee on a camp fire, tobacco smoke, fresh woods, seasoned leather. A perfume of infinite adventure and the blue grass plains of Kentucky. Geranium, carrot seed and clary sage are a prelude to smoky leather, cistus, jasmine and vetiver which deepen into rich myrrh, tonka and sandalwood"

Lorenzo Villoresi - "Oils from thousands of rich, dew-spangled Bulgarian and damask roses enriched with iris, musk, narcissus, carnation and violets. Dark and intoxicating"

Eau D'Italie- Sienne L'Hiver A portrait of Siena, the warm brown city, and the earthy dark tones of winter. Geranium leaf combines with fern and violet, offering a vivid spicy green note; at the base is the exotic depth and heat of frankincense, labdanum, hay and a sumptuous gourmand note of white truffle.

Bex London - SE1 - "A wonderful amalgam of aniseed, orange and lemon which deepen into rich notes of pimento, jasmine, cadramom and nutmeg. The subtle base catches the smells of water and pierheads: drift wood, vetiver, salty sea moss and amber"

Robert Piguet- "Bandit Created by Germaine Cellier in 1944. The precursor of Fracas and its linear opposite: Bandit is a highly dramatic, animalic, dark leathery green chypre which pushes the limits to the utmost. Bandit is by no means for the shy, but it is ultra-chic, exquisitely refined, dazzlingly perverse. Brutally sharp top notes of artemesia. Bergamot and aldehydics lead to a heart of jasmine and orris, on a base of castoreum, civet, musk, leather and myrrh. An ambivalent, dangerous perfume which works admirably on either sex"

[niminypiminy]

I've been trying Lipstick Rose over the weekend, but I hate it. It starts off (on me, anyway), smelling strongly of rose-violet but then mutates to something which just reminds me of Lynx. Yuck!
I prefer my sample of FM Une Rose. Nice, warm rose. Probably lots else which I don't know how to describe. It's quite, um, womanly, if you see what I mean. And finally Houbigant Quelques Fleurs which was rather lovely very old fashioned, purely floral will have to see whether I carry on liking it by the time I get to the end of the sample.
And then I got an ancient teeny bottle of Shalimar out and fell in love with it again.

[coffeeinbed]

I'm wearing a Serge Lutens today - Chêne.
Smells like and autumn forest.

[shoeprincess2]

Today I am testing Diptyque's Philosykos. I like it. It reminds me very much of Marc Jacobs for men, which I bought for DP many moons ago and loved to smell on him and sometimes spray on myself. However, it is the EdT I am wearing and it does fade quite quickly. I am interested to know if anyone has the EdP and how it compares. Also, is L'Artisan Perfumeur's Premiere Figuier any nicer? I may ditch the hunt for a non-twee violet in favour of figs. Any fig-niacs out there?

[DonaAna]

Mig I wear Les Meteorites almost every day (and at each application, the perfume makes me gag. Thank God it fades quickly) Your new sample choices sound great! For some bizarre reason I have 3 samples of Lonestar Memories - more than enough for a lifetime...

Niminy I love Une Rose. I'm a great rose fan and it's one of the very best roses. There are so many different types of roses in perfumery - jammy roses, earthy patchouli and oud roses, abstract aldehydic roses, laundry detergent roses...

Grey Vetiver is almost gone (except that Iso E Super can linger on my skin for 48 hours). Am trying to decide what next. I need something big, gutsy, pure - L'Air du Desert Marocain? Coco? My evening perfume choices are often quite conservative, I avoid nasty surprises late in the evening.

[DonaAna]

Shoeprincess, some figgy ideas here.

Tauer's Pentachord White is definitely a non-twee violet. In general the butchy part of violet is violet leaf, a note that I enjoy. Have you tried Fahrenheit (Dior, men's department)? It's. Baleciaga EdP is a hybrid of violet and swimming pool chemicals (not my thing but a friend with a very refined nose loves it).

I broke my own rules and spritzed something new - The Unicorn Spell by Les Nez. I went for the violet leaf, and it's juicy tangy greenness is there, but it also has a very strange smell of plastic toys (My Little Pony to be exact).

[shoeprincess2]

Thanks DonaAna. Yes, I have put Pentachord White on my list for the Scent and Sensibility sample order. I haven't tried Fahrenheit. One for tomorrow in Boots, methinks, when I am on my travels.

[DonaAna]

Smell Fahrenheit on strip first - it has ultra-violet sillage!
A good article on violet here, it also lists some classics to try towards the end.

[Haberdashery]

I'm a fig-lover, too, shoeprincess. Premier Figuier is my favourite perfume of all time. I love Philosykos, too. A fig-lover earlier in the thread recommended Buddha's Fig which I still haven't tried, but is apparently good (and inexpensive).