Part 3- Fully fledged perfumistas- share your fragrances

[shoeprincess2]

Part 2 is nearly full!

I've just ordered some samples from First in Fragrance:

Parfum D'Empire - Ambre Russe
Histoires De Parfums - Ambre 114 ( guess which note I'm exploring....)
Annick Goutal - Eau D'Hadrien ( have tried and want to wear a few times)
Nicolai - Vanilla Tonka
Etat Libre D'Orange - Bendelirious ( have loved every ELdO I've tried so far, and love the name of this one )
L'Artisan Parfumeur - Traversee du Bosphore

That knocks a few off my wish list....

About to go out, wearing Le Labo Labdanum and loving it.

Yesterday's Canyon Dream turned out to have a Shalimar drydown. 12+ hour perfume, and loved the end part. Wish I could skip the first two stages (kitchen spice rack and opoponax-fest) and fast-forward to the delicious drydown. But yes, 3 perfumes for the price of one

No luck at the car boot this morning- I didn't see a single bottle of perfume. I was also on the lookout for unwanted cosmetics and toiletries, perhaps left over from Christmas, but nothing. It was cold though, so not many stalls. I did however bag a vintage 70s Fisher Price activity centre for 50p, which the DCs have spent more time playing with today than their all the newer toys.

ShoePrincess was it you who liked Pure Poison? I'm wearing L'Artisan's Nuit de Tubereuse today and something about it calls Pure Poison to mind...the same sort of distinctive but ethereal/ radiant quality. I love it more and more each time I wear it but only have 4mls so don't want to run out just yet!

Fuzzybirds Hi - I don't know if you mean Celine Dion's 'Belong' (or 'Belonging')? It is very nice, a bit 'Cashmere Mist', fluffy-jumper-and-socks type of warm musk/white floral. Lovely after a bath and to wear to bed. I was bought it for Christmas a couple of years ago and it was only 15e - including lovely body lotion with a pretty sheen. I was surprised how nice it was, lasts a goodly while and finishes with a 'Johnson's Baby Powder' cleaness.

Fuzzy- no, it's not me, but I probably will like it as I have a thing for tuberose. I'll bob into Boots one day next week and have a sniff. The L'Artisan sounds lovely too. Ladame- I also like a bit of baby powder, so those scents sound nice.

I noticed that my coat sleeve smells of Nahema. It had excellent longevity on skin- 12 hours plus.

Auld- what did you think of the Tom Ford makeup. It always gets good reviews, but it is quite pricey. Is it really worth the money?

Oops sorry Shoe, I was too lazy to look back through the thread!

I can't quite work out what they have in common as I don't think Pure Poison has tuberose but they have a similar feel, both noticeable without being too 'in your face' iykwim.

Ladame I think it was her first one- just called 'Celine Dion' but 'Belong' sounds nice too. Her fragrances seem to be a bit different to normal celeb offerings as far as I can tell.

Shoe I went into John Lewis to try Nahema yesterday after your description, (love anything powdery) but they didn't have it there. Will keep my eye out for it elsewhere!

I may have just accidentally bought some Piguet samples from Ebay- Fracas, Visa and Calypso. Oh and and it looks like I've just won an old bottle of Lutece...

It might have been me that quite liked Pure Poison? I think it is gardenia and jasmine so not too dissimilar to tuberose, will have to give that one a try Fuzzy

I felt very extravagant wearing Portrait of a Lady to the swimming pool for dd's lesson today, but it livened up a very, otherwise, dull day for me.

The Tom Ford make up felt lovely on certainly. Is it worth it? Probably not but if I had the disposable income I probably would buy it. Alas I'll have to recreate it with my Sleek palettes and drugstore lippy.

I did notice a load of 'new' Piguet perfumes in Harvey Nicols when I was window shopping before my make-up appointment - one called Blossom was lovely - I'm more of a chypre; fougere and oriental woman so it is unusual for me to like a floral.

Morning all! Funnily enough I toyed with a TF lipstick in 'Flamingo' on Saturday but then decided against it. They also have an eye shadow palette I'd really like. But I already have lots of high-end makeup and luckily the colour range in TF is not exactly right for me . I'm gravitating towards a more natural makeup look (have finally figured out my thing - I need a range of bright and muted medium rose shades for cheeks and lips, very pale foundation or tinted moisturizer, and gray, khaki, platinum and light cool browns and beiges for eyes). But drugstore makeup is really good these days - I haven't found a liquid foundation that beats Revlon Colorstay and Max Factor lipsticks are really good. With high end, you get nicer packaging, a more scented product (often not a good thing) but not necessarily a better product.

Speaking of drugstore, Bois de Jasmin joins the LRP/Avene/Bioderma/Vichy craze and had a lovely and inspiring article about her favorite parapharmacie products. I love LRP (the Effaclar line is miraculous for hormonal breakouts, and Eucerin and LRP have some of the best daily sunscreens I've ever tried, and my favorite thing ever for dry winter skin is the Eucerin Urea line). Warning - the article may incur impulse spending

Fuzzy car boots and jumble sales can be good. Lots of perfumista friends have found vintage treasures that way. Better luck next time!

Auld many places that sell Guerlain don't have the classics (Nahema, L'heure, Mitsy) any more. I spoke to a Guerlain rep some time ago and these are considered 'extended range' and are only available in select shops.

Picking a perfume for the day is a delicious task. Lots of contenders, still undecided... I had a sample-buying binge in February - need to tone it down in March and start wearing what I already have. (In-store sampling still allowed of course.)

Le Labo Aldehyde 44 it is. The tart smell of snuffed candle and unripe fruit; later, the majestic sleekness of a yacht lined with mahogany. A great unisex/masculine aldehyde, not something Aunt Mildred would wear [grin
Excellent for work - efficient and not conducive to daydreaming.
My sample is one of those minuscule 1/2 ml vials from Surrender to Chance. They are my least favorite vial type - hard to open, easy to spill, and the stick is useless for dabbing. High-quality dab vial caps (Kilians, Guerlain boutique samples) can be used as ad hoc droppers and are excellent for precise dosing of strong, tenacious and diffusive perfumes.
I generally prefer atomizers, but strong stuff smells better in minute doses. I dislike nuclear sillage.

I have stupidly bought a bottle of the new Jo Malone limited edition Ginger Biscuit cologne without testing it first, assuming I'd love it, but alas I don't (I posted a thread about it yesterday: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/1698241-aaargh-perfume-swap-site

A kind soul on the thread suggested I post here to see if anyone would be interested in swapping it for something else before I go down the Ebaying route, so if anyone loves it and would like to swap it for something else, please PM me!

Morning ladies! Just to let you know that if you are after any french pharmacy brands, escentual.com are currently selling a selection at a third off. LRP and Eucerin are a fantastic range- non sexy packaging but do their job very effectively.
ProFumo- sounds like we have pretty similar tastes in makeup colours. I am now more muted in my eyeshadows, and actually find that they make me more look more awake (always a good thing with a baby that STILL DOES NOT SLEEP THROUGH ) Yes, the Tom Ford looks sexy (as does the man himself) but they probably wouldn't work for me either. I do like a nice YSL lipstick though...

Anyway, back to perfume. Today, I am wearing A*Men Pure Malt by Mugler. Cor, it's leather and I love it. It was actually a free sample, when I ordered some other masculine samples on ebay. Prior to joining this thread, I would never have even contemplated these kind of scents, so thank you perfumistas. I would even go so far as to say that it is nearly as nice as Tuscan Leather.

The tart smell of snuffed candle and unripe fruit; later, the majestic sleekness of a yacht lined with mahogany.

Gosh, what an amazing description - that sounds very tempting!

Still haven't tried Miriam due to a weekend of DD being ill and everyone feeling exhausted. Will do so soon and report back.

Am also wearing Tom Ford today - another sample generously handed-on by Flybynight. It's Private Collection Moss Breches (which I had never heard of and first read the label as 'moss breeches' !). I like it; it's surprisingly old-fashioned for a modern scent, almost archetypically 'perfumy'. As one might expect, it's mossy, and dry, and delicately spicy. There's something else there, too, but as yet I can't put a name to it. Possibly incense, possibly good old hippy patchouli. Classy and warming; it suits today's grey and cloudy weather.

Wow, finally one of you is wearing A*men! Great ;)

Shoe Chanel get my colors right and their Coco Rouge range is fantastic (I think I have a full dozen of those lippies). Am allergic to Dior, and Armani and many other h/e ranges aim their shades for high-contrast people or to people with yellow undertones (yellow-based foundation makes my cool-toned porcelain-pale skin look dirty and sallow). So all those amazing reds and whispering nudes are a waste of time for me, I need the boring midrange And yes, light on my lids makes me look more awake...

I enjoyed Le Labo's snuffed candle vibe on my morning run but then had to test another aldehyde I love - Vega by Guerlain. It's a curious fusion of Chanel 5 / Caleche type slightly tart bite and the typical hedonic Guerlinade base. Shali-lite again (I see a theme here - and curiously met someone on the street who wore Shalimar). If I had to order something from Vendome right now this might be it. The only problem is that this is a fleeting affair, over in a few hours.

Haber the base of Miriam may be to sweet for you. Tauer has orientalist tendencies and many of his perfumes have a sweeter and warmer heart and base. Miriam is a challenging perfume with a vintage feel - it was a grower on me. I went to the launch and it was easy to see that it was not a crowdpleaser.

Lurking hope you'll find a taker. Jo Malone does not work on me but I managed to sell my unwanted worn-twice Pomegranate Noir for almost the full price.

I picked out my sandalwood raw material sample and have been smelling the strip repeatedly on three consecutive days (perfume slows down on paper and fabric - it's an alternative way of enjoying perfume, particularly good for single notes and challenging perfumes). Pure sandalwood is curiously cool and subdued, almost dill-laced and feels almost the same than menthol pastille (the inrush of smooth cool air). Dries van Noten is quite close in that (slightly obsessed with it). Miriam iirc also has a true sandalwood heart so need to smell its base together with the raw material to really compare and contrast them.

Oh and Flora, I have some Moss Breches, will wear it later!

Hope you enjoy it, ProFumo. I'm still liking it a lot, but it's reminding more and more of my long-gone student days. If it's not patchouli I'm getting, then it's something pretty darn like it! However, there is still a bracing undertone that makes it more balanced and interesting. Incense plus sandalwood plus cedar??? The delicate element has gone and it's now much, much more powerful. I'm working at home, and would not wear this one to the office! But outdoors, in the cold, I think it would be fantastic.

Raw sandalwood sounds fascinating ....Who'd have thought it would be cool?

I'm having a Rose day today - L'Occitane Rose 4 Reines shower gel, followed by Malle Une Rose fragrance, then, for good measure, I just applied some Body Shop Wild Rose handcream. I am very fragrant!

ProFumo - I agree with you about the pesky little vials. The S to C ones aren't too bad, but I have some from an eBay seller which are rubbish - the stopper is already collapsing, and I will have to use up the samples quickly if I don't want it leaking everywhere. BUT it is much easier than a spray if you want to apply a small amount of something you are not sure of.

Luckilly I have all the Guerlain classics - LHB, Mitsouko, Nahema, Jicky,Vol de Nuit etc. Weird thing about all the Piguet fumes in Harvey Nicks was that they didn't have Bandit, which I do have and get my leathery kicks from in lieu of Tuscan Leather. Am getting a Tom Ford scent after a fashion Youth Dew Amber Nude, £20 off ebay.

Put on some Le Labo Santal (saving Moss for another day) and the heart of this smells exactly like my raw material. So this is Aussie sandalwood, cool like milk from the fridge but quite faint and subdued, but with the same mentholated/incensey vibe. My reference sandalwood is one of those sandalwood soaps from the 1970s - that's a much clearer, warmer and more pungent smell. Is that Mysore or just some nasty industrial brew Quite a few perfumistas seem to hoard those soaps too

Cointreau gotta love a rosefest. Une Rose is fantastic.
Pm me your adress and I'll send you some Tonka asap!

Auld you are very lucky with your Guerlains - they will appreciate in value as reformulations will change many classics.

Urgent! DH going to London tomorrow and may be able to get to Covent Garden. Which shops are nearby?

I'm interested in Les Senteurs, L'Artisan and Channel.

Which will give him samples?

Harbinger, I can't link on this tablet but there is a good London Perfume Shopping Guide on the Persolaise blog, which gives the lowdown and locations on all the stores.

Ah, my mother always had Roger & Gallet sandalwood soaps in the '70s. I used to love them.

I think there's a L'Artisan shop in Covent Garden, harbinger, actually in the market buildings, but I've not been there and don't know what the samples policy is like. Les Senteurs has branches in Marylebone, very near Marble Arch, which isn't too far from Covent Garden, I suppose, and Belgravia. Chanel has a boutique on Old Bond St, which is easily walkable from Covent Garden. Again, I don't know about samples, I'm afraid.

SotD is a sample of The Different Company's Bergamote (from Alla Vittoria). Uplifting citrus, with surprising longevity: I'm still enjoying it now. Similar, at this stage, to Séville à l'Aube.

Chanel have a pop up shop in Covent Garden now, right next to Artisan.
Not sure if they have perfumes, it might be make-up only.