Part 3- Fully fledged perfumistas- share your fragrances

[shoeprincess2]

Part 2 is nearly full!

Ohhh will do shoeprincess!

I've also just saw that it was compared to Flowerbomb, which is odd because Flowerbomb is nothing like Coromandel but I love Flowerbomb so if it is like either I don't think I'll be disappointed :)

It still works out cheaper than a sample of something from Les Senteurs, so it's not bad value really.

Prada perfumes are okay mainstream and have many perfumista fans. For some unknown reason, I have a hard time with most of them (have an unloved bottle of their Vetiver).

I think my problem is that there are so many perfumes that I absolutely love and admire that I don't have time for something that's just okay. I like to set aside a lot of time for exploring new things, but almost never wear something that's merely okay for the second time. So my advice would be not to stock up on second-best - when your nose becomes more confident, mediocre 'this will do for now' perfumes will remain unworn and the money (and storage space!) will be wasted.

Have just dabbed on Silences by Jacomo. This is the budget alternative to Chanel No. 19. I bought a mini to compare because I've always been curious about this. The bottle is really crummy (the bottle is capped with a plastic stopper that shed plastic shavings). A curious anti-luxury moment

Shoe I like 'What we do in Paris is secret' so if you don't, you can always sell yours to me

Just had a spritz of Jour d'Hermès at Selfridges and am v much enjoying wearing it. First impressions were orange blossom and marmalade but I'm now getting rose, lily and grapefruit, all beautifully blended together. One spray on the wrist is giving me enough sillage to smell it, without feeling overwhelmed (I write as one who may recently have somewhat overdone the Ambre Sultan...).

Also picked up a sample of the new rose Lutens, La Fille du Berlin, from the nice SA there. She said someone from SL is coming in on Monday, so if anyone's interested in SL and is in London, may be worth a trip.

And another recent hit: En Passant (Frédéric Malle/Olivia Giacobetti), a quiet but uplifting lilac (+ lily + cucumber, to my nose).

Oh, and Profumo, thanks for the rec of Alla Violetta. I ordered, er, quite a few samples from them and all were safely and promptly delivered with quite a few (very nice) extras thrown in. :)

Clb major perfume envy! I've been meaning to visit the Hermes boutique to try Jour d'Hermes and am also curious about the new SL.
And love En Passant. Such a perfect spring perfume.

OOOO, I can't wait to try Jour d'Hermes! The reviews of it make it sound dreamy!

Contacted Estee Lauder, and indeed they do only sell Azuree in branches of Selfridges and Harrods. Luckily all branches sell it, not just the London store. Not sure I will like it, I do like leather scents, but think it might be a bit harsh for my tastes. Will try anything once though.

Wise words, Profumo, about Villoresi. I have now been warned! I can STILL smell carnation and rose after 10 hours, and a shower, and washing my hair. ... One lives and learns. But the finding out is fun

Jour d'Hermes sounds quite lovely, clb. Next time I'm near a decent department store, I'll HAVE to have a look for it.

Haberdashery - many thanks for what you have kindly sent in return. If the post does its stuff, I look forward to sniffing it tomorrow.

I've spent a dull evening with Silences. It's a nearly linear green. I love No. 19 EdP because it's a chameleontic shape-shifter and never dull during the 12 hours I wear it.

Early to bed after a hectic day. Am wearing Safari again - they surely got something right with this perfume.

Flora I've experienced some carnations from hell (Krasnaya Moskva, Bellodgia) and was not brave enough to try Garofano. Very odd - I really like cloves as a spice, but in a perfume it has a tendency to take over.

I, on the other hand, have been spending a lovely evening with Bois d'Ascese. Highly recommended. We started off with roadworks, went on to a very dry and spicy take on the inside of a cigarette packet (tobacco, not smoke, maybe a bit of crisp paper), progressed through something along the lines of cough medicine (sweet and aromatic, very soothing), and ended up in a church with a fire crackling somewhere nearby. Absolutely gorgeous (but not long-lasting enough, the whole thing only took a few hours).

Really looking forward to trying Spezie tomorrow. Thanks so much, flora. You have really brightened up my evening.

Possibly a bit too much laundry/musk in the drydown of the Jour d'Hermès? I shall have to try it again to be sure.

Sometimes completely unexpected good things happen. Like Mona di Orio's Tubereuse (the package was brought in first thing in the morning by our nanny). This is both bracing-fresh (neroli or orange blossom) and honeyed. Completely original, not a heavy-handed tuberose, rather like a lovely chiffon gown. Dabbed some on and put on my running gear

I have lurking on this thread with interest, you all seem very knowledgeable about fragrance.

Does anyone know if there is a website where you can enter some perfumes you like and it will suggest new ones that will please your nose? I want to try something new, but get overwhelmed in duty free and department stores.

Thank you.

Am playing safe today - Creed's Fleurissimo. Tuberose, blended with lots of other flowers - and a bit of mint, perhaps? - followed by a light dusting of powder. Very lovely - refined, elegant, well-balanced - but also somehow rather impersonal. But certainly a scent to wear for a formal, discreet occasion; I can't imagine it offending anyone.

Science this. The problem though is that because the underlying database is vast, many of the suggestions are quite obscure.
My suggestion is to work out some of the main notes or the general style of your current favorites, and then armed with this knowledge "I like rose/jasmine/tuberose/almond/woody ambers/spicy orientals/light gourmands" look for some perfume samplers that feature that note or style (many of us have ordered from Les Senteurs, Scent and Sensibility Surrender to Chance and other sample suppliers). Or, if that is too daunting, go to a shop with a good selection and sniff some Annick Goutal, L'Artisan Parfumeur, Diptyque, Chanel or Hermes perfumes. The open secret is that many duty frees are full of not-so-special perfumes - overly fruity, sweet and bland. There are so many great perfumes out there but finding them requires some extra work. I can also recommend two terrific books that make finding great perfumes much easier and much more fun. Le Snob: Perfume (the title is misleading, nothing snobbish about this useful little book that suggests about 100 stunning perfumes) or Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin and Tanya Sanchez. Armed with this knowledge, you will find gems at the duty free but also understand why so many of us are heavily into limited-distribution or niche perfumes.

at Mona di Orio's Tubereuse. This would be a dangerous gateway drug to any cologne/neroli/hesperide lover The light brisk brightness of citrus teamed with the honeyed pollen of, I think, heliotrope. Underneath, some clean and virginal tuberose. Many tuberose perfumes go over the top with coconut - here you get just a hint. The end result is an effervescent, light and green take on tuberose: very work-appropriate.

What do you like, Science? Maybe someone who likes similar things might be able to suggest some things to try for you?

Right, MdO Tubereuse has gone straight on the list. :)

Today is L'Artisan's Seville à l'Aube. I love this stuff and have already raved ad nauseam so won't go on.

Thanks Profumo, I'll have a play with that site.

Haberdashery, I fear my perfume history is rather mainstream and brash I currently wear jo Malone orange blossom layered with jo Malone white jasmine and mint. I love it but it fades really quickly (in an hour, it's pretty much gone). I have also worn L'Eau D'Issey for years, off and on. I still like it but would like to try something new. Others I have loved over recent years are Chanel cristalle eau vert and ckbe. Many years ago I wore and loved ysatis ( having read some comments on this upthread), kenzo (in a lalique style flowery bottle) and first by van cleef and arpels. I appreciate this is all probably terrible to you perfumistas

I love flowery fragrances (particularly jasmine) but with a bit of citrus to cut across the sweetness (I think). I also like sandalwood, I think because it reminds me of growing up in a house that usually smelled of joss sticks! Lots of mainstream perfumes give me a headache. Particular dislikes include Hugo boss (round bottle, red lid), cacherel's loulou, vanderbilt and amarige (with apologies to anyone who wears these). I have a very acute sense of smell (I think because I am very shortsighted), which not only means I can tell what has been cooked in a house many hours earlier and what my husband has had for lunch, but also means most fragrances are immediate loves or hates.

If anyone has any suggestions based on that rather chequered history, I'd be very grateful. I am near a big shopping town, travel a bit and can get to London so can source most things.

I took delivery of a mini bottle of jardins du bagatelle this morning, love it!

Hi Science Several contributors to this thread - me included - have praised a fresh but gentle scent: Guerlain's 'Apres L'Ondee'. It's springtime floral and slightly mossy-smoky-woody. One never can tell, but I don't think it should provoke headaches. Should be testers in big department stores.

I'm a Guerlain fan, so will also mention their modern series of mainly floral colognes, all called 'Aqua Allegorica'. There are several different ones, mostly quite delicate. They might be worth trying.

I'm really into the flowery ones too at the moment. When I was a child I simply loved Lily of the Valley. The new Jour d' Hermes sounds nice. Florascotia, I treated myself to Apres L'Ondee a few weeks ago after reading about it on this thread. It's lovely. And certainly didn't produce a headache! I don't buy much perfume (that was before this thread). I don't think anybody could be disappointed with Apres l'Ondee.

Has anyone tried Molton browns navigations through scent perfumes? I am currently in love with singosari. It's spicy, woody and earthy and patchouli but not the dusty 1970s smell I associate with patchouli..... Anyone?

Also love Seville a l'aube (thanks to an order from luckyscent of their top perfumes from 2012) but have always had a soft spot for neroli...

I have reported it ^^