Part 3- Fully fledged perfumistas- share your fragrances

[shoeprincess2]

Part 2 is nearly full!

[shoeprincess2]

farewell- i think there was a fair bit of love for Cabotine in the second part of the perfumista thread. I know I owned a bottle about 20 years ago, when I was a shy, awkward teenager. I didn't appreciate then, so maybe I need to re-discover

[YouOldSlag]

I'm a big fan of Cabotine and its surprisingly affordable. A beautiful green floral!

[Haberdashery]

[IsabelleRinging]

I have never heard of Cabotine, where can I try it?

It is a bargain price on Cheap Smells £12.75 for 100mls!

[CointreauVersial]

I used to love Cabotine, very pretty.

My next batch of samples arrived today, including the Knize Ten. I opened the five samples for a quick sniff and got a little on my fingers, and it reeked! For hours. I don't know which one was the culprit but I clearly am not going to like all of them.

From what I could work out the Knize Ten smelled like a bicycle repair shop, all oil and rubber. I will report back once I've tried it on skin (which might not be this weekend as I have a family party and don't want to scare Granny ).

[YouOldSlag]

I was surprised to find Cabotine in my local High Street branch of The Perfume Shop. It was £20 for 100mls, so do as I do- try it in the shop then buy it cheaper online.

[Haberdashery]

Oooh, Cointreau, what did you get apart from Knize Ten?

I've just put some Knize Ten on. I am loving it so far. I have only just put it on but the opening is lots of tar and rubber, very uncompromising and harsh, but I'm also getting a sweet gentle floral note which is putting me very much in mind of Parma Violets (a smell I absolutely love). I'm very very interested to see how this develops. Not what I was expecting at all.

[CointreauVersial]

I'm trying the first of my newly-arrived samples today - Timbuktu by L'Artisan Parfumeur. I bought it mainly because it is rated very highly by Turin/Sanchez and the notes sounded interesting.

Well, I'm completely underwhelmed so far. I put it on first thing; it smelled innocuous and mildly soapy and had virtually disappeared by the time I got back from the school run. So I ladled on a bit more.....still....meh. If I press my nose into my wrist I can just detect an incensey note, but it's soooo soft. Maybe I've been spoiled by all the big butch Tauers and Tom Fords I've been sampling recently, but I do like a fragrance to have a bit of presence, like to smell it wafting around me occasionally during the day.

Anyway, I just re-read the Luca Turin review, and he said that he was similarly unimpressed the first time he tried it, but realised on later testing that it was a great fragrance, so maybe I'll come back to it.

I have Knize Ten, L'Heure Bleue (tried before, just wanted to wear it a few times), Le Labo Iris 39 and, the one I'm most looking forward to trying, Ambre Sultan.

[Haberdashery]

Exciting stuff. I know someone who loves Timbuktu but I've never tried it. I am looking forward to hearing what you think of Ambre Sultan.

Knize Ten continues surprising and lovely. I'm getting whiffs of dark leather and spice now in combination with something that's reminiscent of cherry Tunes. That and the violet must be some kind of olfactory illusion because they're not mentioned in the notes listed in various places online at all. I am absolutely in love with this. It's amazing. And I discovered that Manufactum sell 15ml of it for not much money at all. Hoorah!

[coffeeinbed]

I'd love to know what you think of Iris39, Cointreau.
been wearing it almost nonstop since Christmas.

[shoeprincess2]

Knize 10 sounds right up my street, seeing as I adore rubbery leather smells . Ambre Sultan is absolutely gorgeous. I have just put some on and it justs lifts my mood. Cointreau- I do think the big ballsy Tauers and Tom Fords spoil you for other fragrances. I feel cheated if a scent whispers instead of shouts. I'm not a loud person, either, so obviously I like my perfume to do the talking!

Just heard about another site www.thegroomingclinic.com- UK based and do a 7 pack sampler of Histoires De Parfum for a tenner .

Have a fragrant weekend

[DonaAna]

Hats off to Haber. You really have guts! Knize 10 conquered. You go girl!
Now go to Basenotes and find Alfarom there (he also has a blog). You'll probably like most of what he recommends - he loves rare, edgy, fierce things. CdG, Knize, whatnot... Go and enjoy, and please keep reporting! (I'm sure you'll enjoy his avatar too.) I wouldn't be surprized if Knize 10 had some methylionone in the mix - you have a good nose and I would trust it. Perfume companies take a lot of artistic liberty with notes lists and a butchy classic might not want to be seen in public wearing a gauzy violet tutu.

A superbusy workday. Haven't even thought about perfume, let alone put any on. Will wear something tomorrow for sure.

Coffee Iris 39 is lovely, really up my street. I also own Iris Silver Mist, 28 La Pausa, Zagorsk, and Pentachord White and these five great perfumes satisfy all my iris/irone needs.

Shoe I'm not sure anyone who hasn't tried Histoires de Parfums can call herself a true perfumista They have so many great perfumes they must have something for everyone. You actually inspired me to get out of my warm bed (yes, I'm wiped out) and walk all the way across the house to put on some Moulin Rouge. Mmmm, so good, I should wear this much more often...

I love quite a few blockbuster perfumes. I once wore Kouros on one wrist and Le Male on another I have a fondness for Poison, Amarige, etc, and have toyed with the thought of getting a mini of vintage Giorgio
Loud perfume is generally not a problem in Italy - frail old ladies wear Fracas on public transport. The only time I have gotten angry stares was when I was testing Code pour Femme by Armani in a supermarket.

[Rollergirl1]

What a great thread! I love perfume and I will take my time to go back and read all posts properly.

My current perfume is Valentina by (surprisingly enough) Valentino. I always seem to be drawn to the same types of perfume. Sweet, almost on the verge of being cloying. They are generally pink in colour (but I guess that doesn't mean anything?). Past faves have been Lola, Stella, Flowerbomb, Ghost, Jean Paul Gaultier.

My all time fave perfume, and the one that got away, is Strenesse by Gabriele Strehle. This one wasn't pink (although it smelled like it should be). No, this one looked like a big plastic test tube full of spunk. But it was utterly gorgeous and I was gutted when they stopped producing it.

DH is a bit of a "fragrance" nutter too. He loves loves loves most of the Commes des garcons stuff. The more artificial smelling the better. Bring on the nail varnish remover! I recently bought him Molecule 01, recommended by the salesman at Liberty's. I'm sure you've all heard about it. DH wasn't/isn't impressed. It just doesn't smell. You can smell it when he first puts it on but within 30 mins it's gone. Massive waste of money, don't believe the hype!

[Rollergirl1]

Still reading the thread, but just wanted to ask:

DonaAna: Have you read the book Perfume by Patrick Suskind?

[DonaAna]

Roller I have two copies of the Süskind book (love the cover art) but haven't read it

You are intriguing me with pink perfumes. I can think a several that smell pink to me - Beige by Chanel, Acqua e Zucchero by Profumum Roma, Gourmand Coquin by Guerlain - but I'm not quite sure what they look like. DDs love Aquolina Pink Sugar Acqua e Zucchero is e perfect brunch perfume for me (pure patisserie) so might wear it tomorrow.

Molecule 01 is pure Iso E Super. Some people can't smell it at all. I can feel in on me for up to 48 hours sometimes - it comes and goes but is very tenacious. I used to love Iso E Super but it's sloppily overused as a substitute for cedar these days in far too many perfumes these days and I've gotten a bit tired of it.

Anyone feeling a bit sample greedy? Don't forget Parfümeria Neroli. They have some of the cheapest perfume samples in Europe and a great lineup. Well worth the postage fees and currency calculations. My Acqua e Zucchero and Molecule 01 samples come from them...

[williaminajetfighter]

Isabelle. Kai is a great white flowers perfume. Really gorgeous and it's an oil so has lots of longevity. Apparently worn by Jennifer Aniston and other celebs blah blah

I've tried so many products but too many of the High st brands are watered down and just smell like alcohol. Right now love Serge Lutens Louve and this amazing perfume called Lemon Cloud. Crisp lemons on a cloud of marshmallows!

I buy all my samples from Luckyscent in the US. Is there a better UK source for samples?

[YouOldSlag]

Louve made me feel drunk on cherry brandy! Whoa there on the cherries Serge!

[Rollergirl1]

Surely the colour has nothing to do with the scent? That's just marketing, non?

[Rollergirl1]

So 16 - 25 girls like pink perfume. Let's package accordingly.

[Haberdashery]

I will definitely go and look out for Alfarom, DonaAna. Thanks for the tip. I was very surprised at how very floral Knize Ten turned out. I honestly wasn't expecting that. I'd read reviews but not looked up notes as, having been told it was a bit scary, I wanted to see what I thought without preconceptions.

Pink perfumes made me smile but I know exactly what you mean, Rollergirl. I hate 'pink' perfumes and am divided on brown ones but like very few of them. I like green, yellow, white, orange and tan/bronze perfumes. I like a few blue ones. Black ones are mostly OK. Purple, well, I'm not sure I know any purple perfumes. Maybe Poison?


William, Scents and Sensibility has been really good for me. They usually chuck a reasonably sized freebie sample in if you order a few at once so it works out as pretty decent value.

Intrigued by Histoires de Parfums. I will have to investigate.

[DonaAna]

UK is a pretty dismal place for a HC perfume lover - the main options are Les Senteurs and Scent and Sensibility and some of the better department stores. Escentual sometimes does samples.

Luckyscent sells many really unique perfumes. I love them and would order more often but Italian customs steal my packages.

I have a great selection of niche and mainstream perfumes locally - if I order by mail, I tend to order from perfume houses directly. But I love Alla Violetta and Parfümeria Neroli - both have exquisite things. But yes, for some things US based Surrender to Chance and Luckyscent are the only options. And Crystal Flacon is the place for decants - some UK based sellers there too.

Finally, there is First in Fragrance (German). I find their website clunky and never order from them, but they have a lot of unusual things too. Suendhaft intrigues me (their samples are 4? each).

[CointreauVersial]

DonaAna, noooo, not Giorgio! I love the description of it in the Turin/Sanchez book "a twelve foot singing canary".

Brings back too many memories of working there - happy days, though (met my DH there).

[williaminajetfighter]

Wow Donna you know your stuff!

Louve is great and I love cherry almondy smells. Also a big fan of Micallef Vanilla fleur. I really don't have a very refined palette! It's all food for me!

[Dailypolish]

I'm boring, I only wear one scent, it's my signature! Le Labo - Poivre 23