Part 3- Fully fledged perfumistas- share your fragrances

[shoeprincess2]

Part 2 is nearly full!

Yes, Farnesiana is super-almondy. I love it, but it's too much for many people.
I will have a mimosa/cassie/heliotrope-fest (expect Farnesiana, Eau d'Hiver, Cinéma, Une Fleur de Cassie) in March when the mimosas are in bloom...

Kiwi I have a box of almond samples - listing them here just in case it will give you or some other closet almond fetishist some fresh (um, maybe not the most appropriate word with almond...) ideas: Sweet Oriental Dream and Amandes Orientales by Montale; The People of the Labyrinths by Luctor et Emergo; Alessandro by Mazzolari; Jour de Fete by L'Artisan; Rakhat Loukhoum by Serge Lutens; Confetto by Profumum Roma; Loukhoum by Keiko Mecheri. To my shame I haven't smelled them all (they are not exactly light summer perfumes) so maybe now would be a good time Perhaps I'll work on almond perfumes and also go through my By Kilian pouch this month. It's always fun to learn something new!

Flora, you may enjoy this blog - it's one of my favorites. I've resisted going through the vintage rabbit hole, as it can be expensive and frustrating. But I love her writing and will buy the book if/when it comes out. I already love vintage Carons

YouOldSlag you definitely like hesperides There are further subcategories (in this system used by perfume pros): l'hespéridé aromatique, l'hespéridé boisé, l'hespéridé fleuri boisé, l'hespéridé fleuri chypré, l'hespéridé épicé... Actually quite a range! It will be interesting to see whether the aromatics (=throw in a bunch of Herbes de Provence: thyme, rosemary, sage, lavender...) work on you - if so, there is a world of unisex and masculine options out there for you.

Samples arrived this morning, but after I had already doused myself in Petit Fracas, so have put aside to try over the next few days, but couldn't help smelling the fragrances in the bottles and trying a tiny bit of Teint de neige on the back of one hand. I have a horrible feeling, seeing as I researched them all so thoroughly before deciding on which to sample, that I am going to love all of them.

First impressions of T de N is that it has nowhere near as much powder as I expected. Yes, it has vintage powder thing going on, but not so much actual powder, I found No22 more powdery. However it is lovely and soft, somewhat more vintage smelling than I expected, there is something sweet in base and a little musk, and it is somewhat reminiscent of L'Heure Bleu to me.

I tried a spray of l'heure Bleue when I was out this afternoon. I expected to really like it but I didn't really. It seems to have a very strange undernote (if that's the right word.) I was a bit disappointed. I didn't try any other Guerlain. Should have tried a couple of the others.

Vivienne - L'Heure Bleue is my all time favourite BUT ONLY for evenings and in winter. I would not dream of wearing it in daytime, especially when bright and sunny. Yes, there is an undernote; to me, it is something feminine - goodness knows what - plus aniseed. The first I can't really speak for, but the aniseed I love (eg as caraway in savoury things) and in my experience all kinds of aniseedy smells can grow on you.

Guerlain's Apres L'Ondee is a much lighter but - I think - still lovely scent and with some of the same vibe. Perhaps you would like to try that???

I am a Guerlain fan on the whole, but even I don't like the fabled Mitsouko. I can't stand anything 'fruity'. Each to their own....

On the other hand, Guerlain's Vol de Nuit is, IMO, also pretty special.

Thank you so much ProFumo. A nostalgia fest!
I think it's the sort of mossy chypre quality in Antilope that I like. In memory, it rather reminds me of early Diorella. That was a dear friend's favourite, so I never wore it myself. I still rather admired it from afar, however. I believe the modern version is different. Any views on it from fellow perfumistas?

Shh, don't tell anyone - I had to order a vintage mini of Antilope from Germany. The description contained the magic words "herbaceous leather", "hay", "narcissus" and "civet".

Badvoc I'm afraid you'll have to do some in-store sampling - I think Sun Moon Stars is a floral oriental. Maybe this list will give you some ideas what to try next? I personally like Cinéma by YSL. Cologne du 68 by Guerlain might also be worth a try. Afaik both are still available in better mainstream perfume stores (=airports, big department stores).

Flora have you tried Douce Amère by Serge Lutens?
I ordered the vintage version because many modern versions of old perfumes that are still available have been thinned and cheapened beyond recognition (most Caron EdPs have suffered for example). But no idea how Antilope has fared. Vintage minis - if you can find them - are often an affordable way of wearing something very unique.

Florascotia, I did get a bottle of the Apres l'ondee a couple of weeks ago. It's lovely. I have gone a bit perfume mad since reading this thread. So perhaps it's as well I didn't love the l'heure bleue. But I might love it a bit more when my bank balance recovers! I think I once had a bottle of Diorella a long long time ago that my Mum bought for me. But I can't remember what it was like. Must try the Vol de Nuit. That sounds lovely.

As always, thanks ProFumo. I had not thought of - or even known of! - Douce Amere.
I so much agree about many vintage scents being better than modern ones.
Was horrified to discover that favourite bathroom air-freshener smell - from well-known USA 'green' household products company- has had its ingredients changed. Who knows why, but I suspect EU or US (?) perfume regulations. Was previously based on mood-uplifting orange peel. Now is still called 'citrus' but is in fact lemon grass which is not bad, when when it comes to the nice smells department is just not in the same class at all.

Your vintage Antilope sounds WILD...

Am saving up at present to buy a few drops of summertime favourite vintage Vent Vert from Surrender to Chance. Will see if it's available as a mini, also.

Vivienne, am so pleased that you like Apres L'Ondee. It's my favourite daytime scent for winter - other Perfumistas say it reminds them of spring, as well. I find that it does not last too well, but the first sniff is so lovely that I never mind re-spraying....

Thanks Profumo x

OK, too impatient, had a shower and washed the days scents off, just so I could try some more.

Carnal Flower on one wrist, Fleur nocturne on the other. Both gorgeous.

OMG!!! Fleur Nocturne is the beautiful, lush, white floral I've been searching for. It is simply a scrummy sweet gardenia/jasmine, a smidge of coconut and very soft subtle fruity notes. It is delicate, yet opulent. This one won't offend anyone so not for you tar and rubber lovers.

Carnal flower is in many ways similar, but at the same time very different. It is much greener, and I'm getting a waxyness from the tuberose and more 'thickness'. This smells like a real plant, there is freshness, there is a little earthiness and it is much more edgy than Fleur nocturne.

Neither of these two tuberose fragrances have the nauseating headyness of Fracas.

Out of the two I think I'm loving Carnal Flower more but I NEED both of these in my perfume box!

Kiwigirl - I have a sample of Un Rose Vermeille you can have. Only 1/2 ml left. Happy to swap if you have something you don't like. Yes, tis jammy!

The Reverie du Jardin got worse - it has an annoying, choking, nose-numbing note that I'm not enjoying. Not sure what it is, but like Orange Star I've been willing it to die away all afternoon.

Isabelle Fracas is too sweet and heavy on me too - I like the greener tubes.

Came here to flag a good eBay find - a fantastic niche sample set for someone who likes darker, borderline masculine woody/patchouli/rubber notes. (Obviously not my listing.) Some of my best sample finds have been such lots on eBay - fellow perfumistas moving on and clearing their cupboards.

Isabelle I think people use the word 'powdery' to refer to several quite distinct things and it can get very confusing. In my experience, people can mean at least three distinct things when they talk about powderiness: 1) aldehydes (smell that soapy slightly tart fizz when you spray Chanel No. 5 or No. 22 or Miriam - that to most people smells "perfumey" and to many of us also "old lady" and "dated"); 2) baby powder as defined by Johnson&Johnson - that's the reference; Bulgari Petits et Mamans is the same in a perfume bottle (citrus and vanilla, basically); 3) powder as the classic makeup scent, often rose-iris/violet - smell a Guerlain face powder or Lipstick Rose, HdP Moulin Rouge, Teint de Neige and countless others. I try to avoid the word "powdery" altogether, but if I use it, I normally mean #3 (classic face powder smell).

Profumo, I liked Beyond Love too when I had a little squirt of it a few weeks ago, in my memory it is smoother than Carnal Flower?? and seems quite a pure tuberose, not tainted with much else, but I would have to try it again to be sure.

Carnal Flower just gets better every time I sniff it. I want it to be summer so I can wear this whilst sitting outside on a balmy summers night, sipping something refreshing.

Yes, a lot of reviews described Teint de neige as smelling of baby powder, but it's not that simple, it's more the scent of old fashioned face powder to me, but there is more complexity to it. I like it. I think "an angel's dressing table" is a good description.

Oh, Profumo, that might just be my kind of thing... Thank you. Will take a closer look.

Powdery is a funny one. I have a horrible thing about powdery smells and find what I think of as powdery almost unendurable. For me it's baby powder and also a smell that is something between musk and fruit only with something else in there and it gives me a vile round sort of filled up feeling in my nose. I think that probably sounds a bit nuts and have no better words to describe it. I also loathe the cardboard deadness of iris.

I probably need to read the Aftel book so I can try and actually identify what I'm talking about as I am pretty sure that nobody on this thread can identify a 'round' smell (or at least not the same one as mine). I mainly like ribbony smells, for future reference. But wispy and smoky smells are fine, too. Also sparkly smells and soft smells. Hard smells are right out. Bouncy smells can just not bother as they are the worst of all.

PS, I have had a really shitty Saturday, for various reasons, but am v cheered by a spray of Eau D'Epices.

If I see anything described as powdery, or poudre, I run for the hills. It brings to mind that cloying old-lady makeup smell that I dislike intensely.

Isabelle "Carnal Flower" is my "going out" fragrance: I love it too. How nice to meet someone else who shares the same tastes. I wore it once and someone commented on the very strong smell of lavender. She meant the CF but identified it as lavender. I thought that was interesting and really highlighted how angular and green CF is, compared to something like Estee Lauder's "Tuberose Gardenia". I'm intrigued by the sound of the nocturnal flowers too.

My goodness, on another note, I tried Jo Malone's "Tea (Assam? Earl Grey?) and Cucumber" the other day. I know it's an oldie, given a second spin, but ... it was truly disgusting. People are forever complaining about the lack of longevity in JM's perfumes but, with cruel irony, this is sticking with me like some horrible stalker. It's like an over-ripe, lemony, creamy fruit and is just unbelievably sickly. I normally like JM but this seems really "off". I also think I tried it last time it was released and I don't recall having a reaction like this. I'm wondering if it's been tinkered with and sweetened up? Has anyone else had this reaction?

Jo Malone lost it when it got sold to Estee Lauder.
Their Vanille Anise is truly vile.

No perfume today but Weleda Sandthorn Body oil.
Lovely smell - a bit flowery and bit lemony.
And feels great as well.

With code lucky8, 8% off any order at Escentual.com today to celebrate the Chinese New Year - that's £2 off if you are buying the ELdO sample set.

Just ducking in to as a quick question if I may?
I tried some Tom Ford fragrances yesterday - Oud Wood, Tuscan Leather and Noir de Noir all of which I love but they are out of my price range for now. Apparently the common ingredient to all three is Oud? I have no idea what that is (sorry, not educated at all in fragrance) but I wondered if any of you had any recommendations for fragrances I could try if I love these?

Caron Secret Oud is nice.

I just had to try it after someone on a previous perfumista thread described it as smelling like a "tree stump that some woodland creature had wiped its bottom on"

Shop, hi! , oud is worm-eaten agarwood that has a special, warm, pungent smell. It has became extremely fashionable in Western perfumery a few years ago. The natural raw material is rare and inexpensive, so most perfume houses use synthetics.

No need to splash out for a full bottle. For £20, you can buy a 10ml decant of Tuscan Leather from Healer on Crystal Flacon (just email him)- he is UK-based, hope your mail service still complies. You can also buy bigger 8ml TF samples from Alla Violetta (shipping via UPS). I'm naturally biased but these are worth splashing out for. I wore Tuscan Leather to bed last night - it's simply very nice.

Other ouds that I like: Oud by Mona di Orio, Oud by Maison Kurkdjian, M7 Oud Absolu, Dior Leather Oud, Dior Oud Ispahan. All are expensive except M7 (=mainstream masculine).

D'oh, rare and expensive...

Testing another Tauer triumph today - Une Rose Chypree. The rose is at the spicy pot pourri end of the rose spectrum, and a few hours in it has developed into a gorgeous warm base, very like L'Air du Desert Marocain. An evening fragrance, possibly.